of Austria Emperour comes from Spain into the Low-Countries is Crowned at Aix la Chapelle 564 His Cession and Renunciation of the Empire and his retreat into a Convent 645 Charlotta Queen of Cyprus her Death 512 Charles Bastard Brother to the King of Navarre 589 Charles Duke of Savoy not well looked upon by the King Francis I. 599 Besieges the City of Geneva without Success ib. His Death 636 Charles Duke of Lorraine Son of Francis is brought to the Court of France 646 Count Charolois out of favour with Lewis XI 481 482 483. Joyns with the other Princes and discontented Party and takes the Field 484 c. Makes an Alliance with the English by marrying his Sister Margaret 486 Goes against the Liegeois and chastises the insolence of those of Dinant 488 Chastillon made Prisoner by the English 388 389 Chaumont Governor of the Milanois chaces the Venetians from the Territories of Ferrara 547 Chastisement of Robels after a most noble and royal manner 612 613 Cherifs and the beginning of their Reign 551 Christiern III. King of Denmark 607 Christopher Columbus discovers the New World 516 517 Claude of France Marries Francis I. then Duke of Valois 555 Clement V. Pope 441 Clement VI. Pope 364 His Death 372 Clement VII his Election to the prejudice of Vrban VI. the Cause of a Schism in the Church 396 His Death Coligny Admiral of France 645 Combat of Birds in the Air the one against the other 513 Combat or Battle of Renty between the Emperour Charles V. and Henry II. 638 Combat Naval 642 Combat bloody betwixt Birds of all sorts of Species 426 Comets of an extraordinary magnitude 494 Comines quits the Duke of Burgundy ib. Is taken Prisoner 511 Cominges County United to the Church 458 County otherwhile preferred to that of Dutchy 434 Council of Trent assigned by Pope Paul III. who sends his Legates thither 613 Councel of Eighteen Persons established 485 Councel a Prince that will have sincere Advice ought to hide his own Sentiments 545 Constantinople taken by force by the Turks 465 Michael Corbier a Monk Antipope 359 Courtray Pillaged Burnt and Sacked by the French 406 Creation of a Chamber in each Parliament 357 Croisade in England against the Clementines 407 Crosses appear in the Air and on their Clothes 536 de Crouy Count de Reux ravages the Frontiers of Picardy 606 D Oliver DAin Barber to Lewis XI punished with Death 508 Dampierre Admiral his Death 433 Daufin of France Commands an Army in Roussillon 612 Daufine United and incorporated to the Crown of France 369 David King of Scotland driven from his Kingdom 360 His Death 391 Diepe Escalado'd by the French 455 Difference and Quarrel between the Pope and the Emperour 359 Difference between France and Austria 516 Difference quarrel between the French and the Arragonians for the Limits of the Partage of the Kingdom of Naples 537 Difference and quarrel raised at Venice between the French and Spaniards for Precedency 652 And Doria General of the French Galleys 587 Quits the King's Service and goes into the Emperour's 588 589 Chaces the French out of Genoa 590 Dragut a famous Corsaire or Pyrate gives chace to Andr. Doria's Galleys 634 Joyns the Galleys of France on the Coasts of Tuscany 639 Charles Prince of Duras 368 Most dexterously ruines the Duke of Anjou's Army and remains quietly in Possession of the Kingdom of Sicilia 408 Is Crowned King of Sicilia and Besieges Queen Jane in Naples Usurps Hungary his Death 409 E EClipses 616 Edict of Chasteau-Brian for a search after the Religionaries 631 Edward III. King of England Marries the Daughter of the Earl of Hainault 357 Renounces to the Crown of France ib. 380 Renders Homage to the King of France 358 Declares War against him 361 Recommences War with France 365 Lands in the Lower Normandy comes and defies King Philip de Valois to Fight him under the Walls of Paris and from thence retires to his County of Ponthieu 366 Defeats the French in the Battle of Crecy ibid. Besieges and takes Calais 367 Lands at Calais with a dreadful Army 379 Makes a Peace with France and with Flanders 380 Is defied by the King of France who denounces War against him 388 His Death and his Children 394 Edward Earl of Savoy his Death 358 Edward Son of John Baliol King of Scotland 360 Edward Duke of York Crowned King of England 467 Edward of York King of England utterly forsaken by the English flies into Flanders to the Duke of Burgundy 492 Returns into England and recovers the Throne 493 Lands at Calais 496 Accommodation with France 497 His Death 509 Eleonor Queen of France procures an Enterview between the Emperour and the King 608 Elizabeth Queen of England 651 Openly embraces the Protestant Religion ib. Emmanuel Emperour of Greece comes into France 419 Emmanuel Philibert Duke of Savoy Commands the Imperial Army in the Low-Countries 635 Empire of the East its end 465 C. d'Enguien gives Battle to the Imperialists and gloriously gains the Victory 616 Enterprise of the French upon Genoa very shameful 522 Enterview of the Kings of France and England Charles and Richard 413 Enterview of the King of France and Castille 482 Enterview of the Kings of Fr. Engl. 497 Enterview of the Kings of France and of Arragon 544 Eugenius IV. Pope 454 d'Eureux John in Bretagne 394 Expedition of the French and the Venetians against the Turks without Success 536 F FAction very pernicious in Paris 377 Famine and Plague 393 Federic utterly dispoiled of his Kingdom of Naples takes refuge in France 536 His Death 542 Felix lays down his Papacy in favour of Pope Nicholas 461 Ferdinand otherwise Ferrand Bastard of Alphonso of Arragon King of Naples 518 His Death ib. Ferdinand and Isabella conquer the Kingdom of Granada 516 League themselves with the Venetians and the Pope against the French 521 Surnamed in Raillery John Gipon makes Inroads upon the French 525 Usurps Navarre 551 Shares the Conquests of the Kingdom of Naples with the King of France 536 Drives out the French and makes himself Master of all 538 c. Makes a Peace with King Lewis XII 542 Receives from the Pope the investiture of the Kingdom of Naples 554 His Death 560 Ferdinand Son of Alphonso King of Naples abandons his Kingdom 520 Restored by means of the Italian Confederate Princes 521 His Death 525 Ferdinand Brother of Charles V. elected King of Hungary 584 Elected King of the Romans 593 Emperour 652 Ferdinand King of Hungary defeated of his Armies by the Turks 606 Flemmings abandon the French and acknowledge Edward of England for their King 362 Flanders over-run and ravaged by the English 397 In great Troubles split into divers Factions 403 Florence troubled by the two Factions of the Passy and the Medecis 501 Cast off the yoak of the Medicis and return to their popular State 586 Reduced under the Dominion of the Medicis 562 De Foix Gaston General of the King's
Gibbelins of Tuscany especially those of Florence and restored all the Guelphes to their Lands and Dwellings In the mean time the young Conradin had sent a Manifesto to all the Princes of Europe declaring himself to be the rightful Successor to the Kingdom of Sicily and imploring their assistance to recover that Succession of his Fathers Insomuch that with the aid of the antient friends of the House of Souaube or Scwaben and some Year of our Lord 1267 adventurers that sought their fortunes he gathered a huge Army and came into Italy about the end of October observing and giving ear rather to the importunities of the Gibbelines who pressed him to march on then the wise Counsels of his Mother who feared the unexperimented Youth of her Son scarce Sixteen years of age would be Ship-wrack'd against the fortune and courage of Charles He had brought with him out of Germany the young Frederic Son of Herman Marquiss of Baden who said likewise he was Duke of Austria being Son of a Daughter of Henry Brother to Frederic last Duke of those Countreys and withal he held himself certain of the assistance of Henry and Frederic Brothers of Alphonso X. King of Castille who upon his arrival in Italy were to declare in his favour Those Brothers having been driven out of Spain by the King Alphonso had retired themselves into Africk to the King of Tunis where they had acquir'd a great deal of reputation Money and Friends Henry having information of the progress of Charles in Italy was come to proffer him his Service with Eight hundred Horse and had lent him a considerable sum of Money In requital Charles had gotten him to be chosen Senator of Rome hut because he afterwards thwarted him in his designs of obtaining by the Pope the Kingdom of Sardinia that Spaniard was alienated from him and secretly conspired with Conradin so that he disposed the City of Rome to receive him driving thence or imprisoning all those that contradicted and when he saw him approaching near he set up his Flags and Arms upon the Gates and joyned openly with him Conradin having spent the Winter at Verona despising the Popes Thunders embarqued at the coast of Genoa on some Vessels belonging to Pisa Being landed in Tuscany he surprized and cut in pieces those Forces that Charles had left there and Year of our Lord 2268 at the same time Conrad being come from Antioch caused all Sicily to Revolt except only Messina and Palermo These prosperous beginnings betraid young Conradin and flattered him to bring him to his death while he was entring into the Kingdom of Sicily Charles quitted the Siege of Nocera and came to meet him resolved to decide the quarrel by a Battle it was fought the Five and twentieth day of August near the lake Fucin now Year of our Lord 1268 called the lake Celano the French gained it but not without much hazard and much blood Conradin Frederic Duke of Austria and Henry of Castille saved themselves by flight but being discover'd they were taken and brought back to the Conquerour After this Victory he took upon him again the dignity of Senator of Rome which he had been obliged to lay down and by the Pope was constituted Vicar of the Empire in Tuscany His Fame would have been beyond a parallel had he been but as merciful as valiant and had not exercised such mortal feverities upon his prisoners of War and such people as revolted from him Year of our Lord 1269 They were so great that being resolved to pass into Africk with St. Lewis the King not knowing what to do with Conradin and Frederic whom it was very dangerous to keep and more to set them free in a Kingdom full of Factions and Rebellion he caused their Process to be made by the Syndics of the Cities of that Kingdom Those Judges having condemned them to death as disturbers of the Churches quiet their Heads were cut off upon a Scaffold in the midst of the City of Naples the Twenty seventh day of October an execution which makes posterity tremble yet with horror but which seemed a retribution of the Divine Justice for those yet more horrible barbarities which Frederic the Grand-father of Conradin had used to all the Family of the Norman Princes Henry de Castille had his Life given him but was confin'd to a prison from whence he got not out till Five and twenty years after to return into Spain Almost at the same time this Conrad Prince of Antioch Son of one Frederic a bastard of the Emperour Frederic II. who was come from the East to the assistance Year of our Lord 1269 of Conradin and had contributed to make the Island of Sicily revolt being taken by some belonging to Charles was hanged and thus ended by the Hangmans hands that famous and glorious Race of the Prince of Scwaben of whom there have been so many Kings and Emperours I should have told you before that Conradin being upon the Scaffold after he had made bitter complaints of his misfortunes and the cruelty of his Enemies threw down his Glove in the Market-place as a token of the investiture of his Kingdoms to such of his kindred as would prosecute his quarrel a Cavalier having taken it up carried it to James King of Arragon who had Married a Daughter of Mainfroy's The abuses and the designs of the Court of Rome were grown to such a height and come to that pass that the King St. Lewis though very devout to the Holy See made this year a Pragmatique to stop the current of them in France especially touching the dispensation of Benefices This same year the Marriage of his Daughter Blanch was made with Ferdinand eldest Son to Alphonso X. King of Castille the Pope having given his Dispensation for the near consanguinity between the parties The Nuptials were celebrated at Year of our Lord 1269 Burgos Philip Brother to the Bride Edward Prince of England James King of Arragon the Bride-grooms Grand-father Alhumar King of Granada and divers other Princes and great Lords honoured the Solemnity with their Presence and it was expresly said in the Contract that if Ferdinand died before his Father her Children should represent him and succeed to the Crown The affairs of the Christians in the Levant being reduced to the last extremity by Bendocabar Sultan of Egypt the exhortations of the Pope and the zeal of St. Lewis stirred up those of the West to make one more great attempt to support them The King of Arragon and Edward eldest Son to the King of England promised to Second St. Lewis and his Brother Charles to go thither with all the force of Italy The number of Adventurers of the Cross consisted of Fifteen thousand Horse and Two hundred thousand Foot which were divided in two Armies to attaque the Saracens in two several places at once Year of our Lord 1270 The Arragonian and the English undertook to go and make War in the Holy Land the Arragonian
came to the Crown Three hundred years after by King Henry the Fourth surnamed the Great The Daughters were named Isabella Blanch Margaret and Agnes Isabella was Married to Thibauld the II. King of Navarre and died without Off-spring Blanch a little before this Voyage to Africk Married Ferdinand called De la Cerde eldest Son of Alphonso X. King of Castille and had two Sons who were unjustly deprived of the Kingdom by their Grandfather because their Father had preceded him and Representation had no place Margaret was Affianced to Henry Duke of Brabant and Limbourg then that Prince turning Monk Married to John his Brother and Successor They had no Children Agnes Espoused Robert Duke of Burgundy and brought him many Philip III. King XLIV POPES A Vacancy GREGORY X. Elected the 1st of September 1271. S. Four years four Months ten days INNOCENT V. Elected in January 1276. S. Seven Months JOHN XXI Elected in July 1276. S. Eight Months NICHOLAS III. Elected in November 1277. S. Two years nine Months Vacancy of Two Months Martin IV. Elected Feb. 21. 1281. S. Four years one Month seven days HONORIUS IV. Elected in April 1285. S. Two years one Month whereof six Months in this Reign PHILIP III. Surnamed the Hardy King XLIV Aged Twenty five years four Months Year of our Lord 1270 THE Christian Army wholly disconsolate for the death of their King and ready to sink under their Toils and Dangers resumed courage and received refreshments upon the arrival of Charles King of Sicily who with his Naval Forces landed at the very time the King his Brother was giving up the Ghost Being come ashoar he came and paid him his last Duty and caused his Flesh to be all taken from his Bones as it was then the Custom when any died in Foreign Countries He carried the said Flesh to Sicily with him and buried it in the Abby of Montreal near Palermo and King Philip kept the Bones which he deposited in St. Denis in France The Funeral being over they continued the Siege Charles having the Command of the whole Army because Philip being fallen Sick could not act At the end of three Months the taking of the place being most infallibly certain though not till the Winter was over King Philip's impatience who much desired to Year of our Lord 1270 go and take possession of his Kingdom and yet more the interest of his Uncle Charles who cared for nothing but to get Money and oblige the King of Tunis to pay him Tribute were the Motives that made them give Ear to Propositions of Peace with that Barbarian King Year of our Lord 1270 They allowed him a Truce for Ten years provided he would defray the whole Expences of that Expedition and that he would pay to Charles as much Tribute as he paid to the Pope Annualy That he would deliver up all the Christians he then held in Slavery That he would grant free liberty of Trade and exemption of Imposts to all their Merchants and would permit them to dwell in Tunis and have the Exercise of the Christian Religion At the end of the Siege Prince Edward of England arrived there with his Forces hoping that after the taking of that place the two Kings would go into the Holy-Land as they had promised but they thought it fitter to return to their own homes and left him to pursue his Voyage Year of our Lord 1270 Heaven seemed to be angry at their return all manner of misfortunes followed them Part of the Vessels wherein Philip was Embarked arrived happily enough at the Port of Trapani or Trapos in Sicily but the others that had King Charles and his on board were overtaken with a moit furious Tempest which destroy'd most of them with the loss of Four thousand Men all their Equipage and the Treasure that was in them Besides all this Thibauld King of Navarre being taken Sick ended his days at Trapani about the end of December his Brother Henry the Fat succeeded him Isabella of Arragon Queen of France being great with Child hurt her self by a fall from her Horse and died in the City of Cosenza Alphonso Brother of St. Lewis was taken off with a Pestilential Fever at Siena and his Wife Isabella de Toulouze died in the same place about twelve days after him So that King Philip cloathed in Mourning Weeds for the Death of his Father his Wife and his nearest Relations after so much Expence and Toil brought nothing back into France but empty Chests and Coffins full of the Bones of the dead Year of our Lord 1271 He staid in Sicily about two Months departed towards the end of February crossed Italy and arrived at Paris in the beginning of Summer He was Crowned at Rheims the Fifteenth day of August or as others say the thirteenth by the Bishop of Soissons the Archbishops See being vacant Of the ancient Pairs of the Laity there was none assisted at this time but the Duke of Burgundy and the Earl of Flanders Robert Earl of Artois bore the Sword of Charlemaine they name it Joyeuse At their going thence he intreated the King to go and visit his Country and received him in his City of Aâ—ras with such Welcom and Expressions of Joy as hitherto had not been heard of in France This King passing thorough Rome paid his Devotions on the Tomb of the Apostles At Viterbo finding the Cardinals had been there Assembled for two years together without coming to any agreement concerning the Election of a â—ope he exhorted them to make some end that the Church might be no longer without a Head His good Advice did not take effect till Eight Months afterwards upon their electing of Thibauld de Piacenza Archdeacon of Liege who went Legat into Syria with Prince Edward he took the name of Gregory X. Year of our Lord 1271 The Earldom of Toulouze was vacant by the decease of Jane the Daughter of Raimond and Wise of Alphonso Philip put himself into possession pursuant to the Terms of the Treaty made with Raimond in the year 1228. but it was King John that annexed it to the Crown Year of our Lord 1271 This year died Richard pretended King of the Romans The year after his Brother Henry III. King of England followed him and his Son Edward I. of that name who was in the Holy Land succeeded Year of our Lord 1272 Year of our Lord 1272 In a Bloody Quarrel the Earl of Armagnac had against Gerard Lord of Casaubon his Vassal it hapned that Roger Earl de Foix whom the Earl of Armagnac had called to his aid pursued Gerard and besieged him in a Castle belonging to the King whither he was fled and had put himself under his Protection The King angry for the little Respect these Earls had for him marched into those Countries with an Army capable of striking a terrour to the very heart of Spain He besieged Roger in his Castle de Foix and being resolved to level a Mountain wich hindred his approach
Crowned King of Sicily there re-assured them wholly So that Charles whether for that or for some other reason raised the Siege at the latter end of September and went back into Calabria The Arragonian notwithstanding finding himself unequal in Strength to Charles whom he observed to be daily supplied out of France bethought himself of a Villanous piece of Subtilty which made him keep Sicily but with the loss of his Honour He profer'd Charles to decide this great Quarrel by a Personal Combat between them each to be assisted with an hundred choice Knights Charles more brave then well advised accepted the Challenge notwithstanding the contrary Counsel and reiterated Commands of the Pope King Edward being related to both undertook to secure the Field for them at Burdeaux the day was appointed to be the first of July the year following and upon the word of this perfidious Man Charles raised imprudently the Siege and agreed to a Truce In the interim the Pope pouring all the Treasures or Viols of his Wrath upon the head of the Arragonian not only Excommunicated him but likewise degraded him of his Kingship and exposed his Kingdom as a prey but he turned all this into raillery and as though he would obey the Popes Sentence he would no longer be called King but the Knight of Arragon Lord of the Sea and the Father of three Kings The day of Combat being come Charles enters the Field with his hundred Knights and remained there from the Suns rise till Sun setting The Arragonian appeared not but towards night comes post thither goes to the Seneschal of Burdeaux takes Witness that he had presented himself and leaves his Arms with him to serve for Testimony then retires in great hast feigning he was in dread of some suprizal by the King of France A very brave act of Apparence or Comparition worthy the Courage of a Prince to whom his Subjects have given the Surname and Epithet of Great The Pope who had thundred his Excommunication against him the former year did re-aggravate it again in this published a Crusado or Holy War against him with the very same Indulgences and Priviledges as for the Holy Land and gave his Kingdom to Charles de Valois the second Son of France whom he caused to be invested by Cardinal John Cholet his Legat whom he expressly sent into France And certainly the destruction of Peter having place that Crown was devolved to this Charles Year of our Lord 1283 by Hereditary Right since he was the Son of that Kings Sister Year of our Lord 1284 These Threatnings did not daunt the Arragonian he was confirmed in his Crime by the good success of Roger de Lauria his Admiral This Captain the ablest Seaman of his Age having gained several Advantages over Charles's Subjects came and planted himself before Naples in his absence engaged Charles the Lame his Son to a Battle the fifth of June vanquished him and carried him Prisoner to Palermo His Head ran great danger of serving as a Reprizal for the Head of Conradin The Sicilians had Condemned him to Death Constantia drew him subtilly out of their hands and sent him into Arragon to the King her Husband Year of our Lord 1284 The Fathers anguish was the greater for that he arrived there within three days after the taking of his Son with a good number of Ships well Armed He had much ado to keep Apulia and Colabria and having wrastled six Months longer with his Misfortunes Year of our Lord 1285 he died at Foggi in Apulia the 17th of January in the year 1285. leaving his Son Charles the Lame the Heir to his Misfortunes as well as to his Crown Year of our Lord 1284 The foregoing year Alphonso King of Castille died dispossessed almost of all his Estate by Sancho his unnatural Son On his Death-bed he made his Will and Testament whereby he left him his Paternal Curse deprived him of the Succession and recalled Alphonso and Ferdinand who were the Sons of his eldest Son Ferdinand and upon their default Philip King of France to whom Castille already did belong by right of Blanch de Castille the Mother of St. Lewis but Sancho knew how to keep himself securely enough in possession of it Year of our Lord 1284 The 16th of the Month of August King Philips eldest Son of the same name and the Surname of Fair Aged but Fifteen years Married Jane Queen of Navarre and Countess of Brie and Champagne who was but Thirteen the Pope having given Dispensation because she was his Cousin German A Legat of the Pope having caused the Croisado to be Preached against Peter King of Arragon King Philp would go himself in this Expedition to Install Charles his second Son in that Kingdom He had no less then Twenty thousand Horse and fourscore thousand Foot He Shipt part of these Foot-Soldiers in fourscore Vessels which he took with him to carry Ammunition Provisions and Artillery James King of Majorca and Minorca whom Peter his Brother had devested of his Lands followed him or to say better Conducted him in this Voyage thereby to recover them Year of our Lord 1285 The Army being drawn together at Narbonna began to march in the Month of May. Perpignian surrendred to James and received the French Elna was taken by Storm and all that were within destroy'd excepting the Bastard de Roussillon who shewed them a passage through the Mountains These two Cities were belonging to James The Arragonian who guarded the narrow Passages finding the French at his back quitted his Posts and left their entrance into Catalonia free They on the suddain took several little places and laid Siege to Geronde That King was lying in wait to relieve it but being beaten and grievously wounded in an Ambuscade he had designed to intercept the Convoy which was marching from the Port of Roses the place surrendred for want of Provisions after a two Months Siege Three Months after the Fight that King died of his Wounds in Valentia Alphonso his eldest Son succeeded him in that Kingdom and James the second Son seized on that in the Island of Sicilia Year of our Lord 1285 The rest of the Campagne was not so happy for the French the Admiral Lauria knowing that out of an imprudent Management and Husbandry to save Charges they had sent back the Vessels belonging to the Pisans and Genoese who were under pay fell upon the rest of the Fleet and defeated them all except such as escaped into the Port de Roses The scarcity of Provisions and Sickness brought the whole Army almost to nothing The King falling Sick and hoping for no good by the approaching Winter took his way towards France and was brought back to Perpignian in a Litter Year of our Lord 1285 Geronde and all the places he had Conquer'd in Catalongne held but a very few days after his departure The Melancholy he conceived upon this Revolution and the agitation of the Journey increased his Sickness so
with incredible Artifice tended to no more but to make him possessor of the Dutchy of Milan To bring this to pass he had Married his Sister to Maximilian King of the Romans and had secretly taken the investiture of that Dutchy as vacant by default of Hommage and other Duties not tendred but this he must wrest from John Galeas Son of his eldest Brother who held it by a just Title This was a young Man of little Courage whom he already kept as his Captive having chaced away his Mother Bonne de Savoy Sister to the Kings mother who had forfeited her Reputation by her Gallantries in her Widdow-hood but he had married a Wife as Couragious as Beautiful who being Daughter of Alphonso Duke of Calabria Son of Ferdinand King of Naples was able with the assistance of her Brother to retard the Execution of his malitious designs This was the motive which obliged Ludovic to stir up the King to the Conquest of Naples to ruin or at least to Embarrass that House which was alone able to prevent him He had the City of Genoa under his subjection which nevertheless held of the Crown of France the Kings Favourites having obtained the investiture for him for eight Thousand Crowns in his Alliance Hercules d'Est Duke of Ferrara his Father in Law Bentivoglio Lord of Bologna and some other Lords In those Days there were five great Governments or Powers in Italy two Republicks Venice and Florence this holding more of a Democracy or Popular State the other an Aristocracy or Government by Nobles the Church or Pope the King of Naples and the Duke of Milan Venice was Governed by their Senate none of her Citizens daring to raise themselves above the rest At Florence the Medici had usurped all the Authority after they had extirpated the Passi Peter the Head of the Family behaved himself with unsufferable haughtiness Lewis Sforza as we have told ye Governed the Milanois a Man that was perfidious sanguinary crafty and very aptly Surnamed the Moor not only because his Skin was tawny but likewise because he exceeded the Africans in Treacheries and Disloyalty In the Holy See was then sitting or rather intruded Alexander VI. who disposed of all things at his pleasure and to say truth he had paid for the tripple Crown It will suffice to give you his just Character to say in a word that never any Mahometan Prince was more Impious more Vicious or more Faithless than he and if any one did ever surpass him in his abominations it was Caesar Borgia his Bastard Son At Naples Reigned Ferdinand Bastard of Alphonso King of Arragon He had two Sons Alphonso and Frederic And Alphonso had a Son named Ferdinand as was his Grandfather Aged twenty or two and twenty years This last seemed to be of a good disposition and gained the Love of the Nobility and People but his Father and Grandfather were held in execration amongst all their Subjects for their Taxes Monopolies and bloody Cruelties the son exceeding the Father as much in wickedness as the Father exceeded all other Princes Besides all these Potentates had no Religion but by their Actions and in their Discourse professed a most Villainous and Brutish Atheism but withal pretended to great Wisdom and the finest Politicks Year of our Lord 1492. 93. 94. There were two men that wholly Governed the Kings mind Stephen de Vers his Chamberlain and Seneschal of Beaucare and William Briconnet his Treasurer General and Bishop of St. Malo By their means this War was undertaken but Briconnet having afterwards more thorowly considered and weighed it be-became of a quite contrary opinion Two years was it absolutely resolved upon then laid aside then again under consideration and debate There was not Wisdom enough in the Kings Council no money in his Coffers no assurance of his Allies for in Italy he had none for him but the Traitor and perfidious Ludovic in whom no prudent man would put any confidence but under-hand there were against him the wise Venctians and openly or barefac'd Pope Alexander and Peter de Medicis Upon the rumour of this War Ferdinand King of Naples sent to the King to Year of our Lord 1494 offer him Hommage and pay him an Annual Tritute of fifty Thousand Crowns These proffers having been rejected such grief and fear Seized upon him that his last day was the five and twentieth of January in the year 1494. being aged Seventy two His Son Alphonso more wicked then himself and more unfortunate took the Scepter After many delays the King pressed by the continual Sollicitations of Ludovic to which were likewise joyned those of the Cardinal of Saint Peters c. an irreconciliable Enemy to Pope Alexander left Paris in the Month of July having given the Regency to Peter Duke of Bourbon during the time he should be out of France He remained a while at Lyons in great uncertainty what he should do then again at Vienne from thence he passed to the City of Ast where he sojourned near a Month whilst they drew his Cannon over the Mountains with much difficulty In that place he was like to die of the Smal-Pox For two Years past had the Princes of Italy those great Men in War and Politicks so much vaunted by their Historians taken notice how this Design was forming which could not but prove fatal hereafter to the liberty of their Country and for the present invade their Peace and Power and yet they had not Skill or Prudence enough to divert a Prince who was but young and guided by a Council without Brains nor Courage enough to meet and fight his Forces which were but inconsiderable So that there is reason to believe that God had sealed their Eyes tied their Hands behind them and raised up this young King to chastize them Indeed Hierosme Savanarola a Dominican had a long time before filled all Italy with predictions of his coming and affirmed that he had a Commission from Heaven to Dethrone the Tyrants For this great Enterprize he had belonging to himself but sixteen hundred Gents-Darmes each with his two Archers on Horse-back his two hundred Gentlemen three or four hundred Horse lightly arm'd twelve thousand Foot half Swisse and half French but withal a great number of young Lords and Nobility who went Volunteers all very fit and useful for a Day of Battle but not any wise proper in Affairs that required length of time as not able to undergo Hardship nor be under Command Alphonso was resolved to carry the War into Ludovic's Country to this effect he had sent an Army into Romagnia commanded by young Frederic his Son and another by his Brother Frederic towards the Coasts of Genoa Frederic goes on Shoar at Rapalo thinking thereby to make the Genoese rise by the intelligence of those that were Banished but the Duke of Orleans who commanded the French Fleet beat the others in the Post which they had fortified and Daubigny having with some Forces outmarched
them that they could scarce forbear doing the like to his person Year of our Lord 1495 The same Day he had news of Alphonso's flight That King finding himself mortally hated by his Subjects whom both he and old Ferdinand had Treated most cruelly resigned his Crown which he had not worn a year to young Ferdinand his Son and retired to Messina in Sicilia where he shut himself up in a Monastery to do pennance all the rest of his Days They were not many for before the end of that year he ended his life Dying of the Gravel which made him Languish with most grievous Torment Alphonso's fears and astonishment was so strange that although the French were yet above sixty Leagues distant he fancied they were in the very Streets of Naples and that the Trees and Stones cried out France His wife begging him to stay but only three days that she might say she had been one whole year in her new Kingdom he would not allow her that little satisfaction but said he would throw himself out of the Windows if they offer'd to detain him any longer He made so much hast to fly thence that he took none of all the vast Riches with him which he had heaped up in his strong Castles The misfortunes of this House or rather the Judgments of the Almighty God followed the Son as they had done the Father and Grandfather Ferdinand came and had posted himself at the passage de Cancello near the Abbey of Saint Germans to defend the entrance into the Kingdom As soon as ever the Mareschal de Rieux drew near to attack him he quitted it and all his Forces Disbanded John James Trivulcio a Milanese by Birth but who having been Banished by Ludovic was Listed in his Service came over to the Kings Party and gave him up Capoua which gave example to all the rest to do the like the City of Naples shut her Gates against him in a word he retired to the Island of Ischia leaving the defence of the Castles of Naples to his most considing Officers The two and twentieth of February the King made his entrance into that City the People triumphing at his Victory and receiving him as if he had been their founder and deliverer The Castles did not hold out long Thus in four Months this young King marched thorough all Italy was received every where as their Soveraign Lord without using any Force only sending his Harbingers to mark out his Lodgings and Conquer'd the whole Kingdom of Naples in fifteen days excepting only Brindes Year of our Lord 1495 Greece was almost ready to follow the same Dance with Italy Bajazeth Siezed with the extreamest Terror had drawn away all his Garrisons to strengthen his City of Constantinople the Grâ—ecians were ready to cut the Throats of all the Turks and the Turks cast their eyes towards Zemes or Zizim and wisht he were their Soveraign The jealous Venetians and the Pope made this design miscarry amidst all those fair hopes they poysoned that Prince before he was resigned into the hands of the French And withal gave the Turks notice of all the correspondence the King held in those Countries Which cost the Lives or Ruin of above fifty Thousand Christians whom the King was to have furnished with Arms to have Siezed divers maritime Towns at the time he was to pass into Greece This Bright Sun-shine of Fortune did so dazle the young King and all his Council who had but little Sence or Judgment that they scarce minded or took care of any thing Several Cities that had set up the Standard of France returned to the Arrogonians for want of sending some body to receive and take possession for the King the Favourites on whom he bestowed the Governments squandred away the Ammunitions his Soldiers lived at discretion and his Lords became insolent The People were not eased no justice was done to those Gentlemen of the Angevin Faction who had been thrown out of all their Estates So that the Love they had at first for the French was soon converted into hatred and made them forget the sorrows under the foregoing Tyrannies Year of our Lord 1495 Whilst the King and his Court full of young Fopps wasted their time in dancing Feasting Gaming and pleasant Walks the Venetians laboured to form a League against him comprizing the Pope the Emperor the Arch-Duke his Son Ferdinand King of Arragon and Ludovic Sforza so many Heads could not readily be brought to agree together it required near a whole years time to adjust them And the League they thought to contrive to obstruct his going into Italy could now only serve them to turn him out again At first Ludovic would by no means side with them on the contrary he endeavoured his utmost to hinder them but having attained his own ends he was the most zealous to promote and hasten it It was concluded about the end of Lent and published upon Palm-Sunday in presence ☞ of the Turkish Ambassador The Venetians and the Pope his good Friends would needs gratify him with that joyful news before he took his leave The information the King had thereof put him upon thoughts of his return but yet ere he went he would needs make his Triumphant entrance into Naples the Thirteenth Day of May. He was on Horse-back in an Imperial Habit a Crown upon his Head the Globe in his right Hand and a Scepter in his Left under a Canopy born by the greatest Lords of that Country and the People shouting aloud and crying Long live the August Emperor With this Ceremony he was conducted to the great Church where he received anew their Oaths of Fidelity He left in all four Thousand men to defend that Kingdom and the Country furnished him with twice as many Gilbert de Bourbon Duke of Montpensier had the Title and power of Vice-Roy a good man but of little judgment and one that loved his ease so much he seldom rose from his Bed till Noon Daubigny the Office of Constable and the Government of Calabria George de Sully that of the Dutchy of Tarente Gratian Guerre a Gascon that of Abruzzo Stephen de Vers the Dutchy of Nola. He parted from Naples the Twentieth of May. The Pope had offended him too much to stay his coming he went from Rome and retired to Orvieto But the King did not fail to restore all those places he held belonging to the Church As soon as he was gone some distance the Colonnas lately so zealous for his Interests turned their backs upon him the Florentines alone out of a desire to regain their own offer'd to maintain his quarrel and to furnish him with a good force to convoy him but he refused both the one and the other and again confirmed the Liberty of the Pisans He lost twelve or fifteen days time at Pisa and at Sienna during which the Confederates Army had leasure enough to Assemble Perhaps he waited for news from the Duke of Orleans who remained yet
Honorable of those People in the Town-Hall and pardoned their Crime in the name of the King The other Cities were Taxed but according to their faculties and at such moderate Sums that they were rather Subsidies then any punishment Year of our Lord 1500 The apprehensions the King had of Maximilian hindred his Forces from drawing out of Milanois to go about the Conquest of Naples Whilst he was treating to renew the Truce with him he sent a Party of them under the conduct of the Lord de Beaumont to subdue the City of Pisa in favour of the Florentines and another Party commanded by Yves d'Allegre to Caesar Borgia to assist him in turning out the Vicars of Romandiola As for Beaumont having been beaten off upon three assaults at Pisa finding his Swiss Mutined and the Florentins not very diligent in supplying him with provisions as they had engaged to do he leaves that City at Liberty and takes his march towards Milan Borgia without striking one blow drew into his Nets the Cities of Pesaro and Rimim Fayano maintained a Siege three times but at the last their courage failed and it Surrendred But this was not till the year after The protection which the King granted to Bentivogle and the Florentins kept him from laying Hands likewise Year of our Lord 1500 upon Bologna and Pisa as he had a great mind to do This year the 25th of February on St. Mathias day Charles Son of Philip Arch-Duke of Austria and of Jane of Spain Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella came into the World and near the same time the little Prince Michael went out of it as it were to yield up the Birth-right to him This Michael was Son of Isabella eldest Sister of Jane and Wife of Emanuel King of Portugal who died before her Child The Pope gave Emanuel permission to Marry the Third who was named Margaret Year of our Lord 1500 The Centenary Jubilé ended this fourteenth Age. After it had been Celebrated at Rome Alexander sent it into the Provinces and made use of this Pious juncture to animate the Christian Princes to league themselves against the Turks who in favour of Ludovic had made cruel irruptions in Friuli Whilst the Venetians were employed in the Milan Wars and withal had taken from them the City of Modon and Coron in Peloponese It seemed as if Heaven invited the Christians to this enterprize for during the Years 1500 and 1501 all Germany and the Low-Countries saw the shapes of Crosses of all Sizes not only in the Air but likewise on their Cloathes especially on their Linnen as their Shirts Night-caps Napkins and Sheets They were of a confused Colour and most times appeared Bloody and could not be scowred out with Soap but vanished by little and little So many Authors of those Countries testifie this Prodigy that it may be believed without too much Credulity Nor would it be an impossible thing to deduce some reasons for it from ordinary causes And we may boldly say that they were so disposed by the Soveraign Master of the Vniverse who fore-seeth all things that the effects which they produce though they be purely natural may however when they draw our Eyes to consider the singularity of them with attention forewarn us of his Holy will or presage what is to come King Lewis had strength enough to have Conquer'd the Kingdom of Naples without help And yet he was so ill advised as to share it with Ferdinand King of Arragon and thus allowed of a Partner with him in Italy where he was absolute Master Ferdinand's division was Puglia and Calabria the King had Naples Terra del'Avoura and Abbruzzo Ferdinand had for a long time devoured all that Kingdom in his hopes for he pretended that Alphonso the Great Brother of John his Father could not give it to Ferdinand his Bastard but he concealed this desire of his with a profound dissimulation in so much as although he had shared in the Spoil of the unfortunate Frederic he still made a shew as if he would assist him thereby to have the fairer opportunity to oppress him To this purpose he sent the great Captain to him who under pretence of securing some places of safety for a Retreat upon occasion made them give him two or three of their best Towns which he detained when the Treaty with the French came to be declared Year of our Lord 1501 In order to this Conquest Daubigny the Count de Gajazza and the Valentinois commanded the Kings Army by Land Philip de Cleves Ravestein commanded that by Sea which rendevouz'd at Genoa Frederic having no aid but from Fabricia Columna Constable of the Kingdom did make no long resistance When the French had forced Capoua where seven or eight Thousand Persons were Massacred and Naples and Cajeta terrified at the cruel fate of that City had afterwards surrendred he came to a Treaty with Daubigny and Nemours whereby he agreed to give up all those Towns in the division made for the King within six days They suffer'd him to keep the Island of Ischia for six Months to retire whither he pleased and to take away any thing out of the Castles of Naples excepting the Cannons belonging to Charles VIII Being reduced to this condition having no Kingdom and his relation Ferdinand having betray'd him under colour of assistance he thought he had no other game to play but to cast himself upon the Kings mercy He had a safe conduct given him to go into France where he was received with much Humanity and obtained a Pension of thirty Thousand Crowns which was continued to him even after the French were driven again out of Naples In the French Army there were a great many young Princes and Lords that went Volunteers Amongst others Lewis eldest Son of Gilbert Earl of Montpensier It is related of him that going to pray to God over his Fathers Tomb at Puzzeoli reflecting in his thoughts upon the miseries he had endured and the deplorable manner of his Death his blood was so moved thereby that he was put into a Feaver of which he Died at Naples thereby demonstrating that to be a false belief and observation That Love ever descends towards our Posterity but never ascends to our Parents Gonsalvo on his side had as little trouble in Conquering the other part of the Kingdom Frederic had put his Son Alphonso into Tarenta which he thought impregnable having left the care of his Son and of the place to the Earl of Potentianne and Leonard Bishop of Rodes These two Captains finding no hopes of Succours capitulated in good time and promised to surrender the place in four Months Had they held it but six the quarrel that happened between the French and Spaniards had saved it and with it their young Prince This surrender compleated the Conquest of the Kingdom Gonsalvo had sworn to that young Prince upon the Holy Eucharist that he would give him the liberty to retire whither soever he pleased yet
Salusses Gonsales being encamped on a Moorish ground called otherwhile Palus Minturniae within a League of their Bridge put them to a full stop and made them pass their Winter in very cold and untenentable Lodgings The inconveniencies of the Season almost ruined their Army and the sharkings of the Commissaries to whom the ruin of Armies is profitable compleated it The best of their Officers died of Sickness and on the contrary the Enemies encreased their numbers by the additions of the Vrsini The Marquiss understanding they had passed the Gariglian to come and attack him he retreated to Cajeta Year of our Lord 1504 Gonsales besieged him immediately the Marquiss finding a Horrible Famine would sooner be with him then any relief made his capitulation the first Day of the year 1504. It imported that the Soldiers might go free away either by Sea or Land and that all Prisoners should be deliver'd up without Ransom Gonsales interpreting this in his own Sence and Mode excluded such as belonged to the Kingdom of Naples Lewis d'Ars would not be comprehended in this Treaty but retreated with Trumpets sounding and Colours flying quite through all Italy The cause of these Misfortunes was laid at the Doors of the Financiers John Heroet Intendant of the Finances was condemned to Banishment with so much the greater Justice as being in the King's Favour he nevertheless had a greater Love for Money which is the real and only true Soveraign of those people then for the Honour of so good a Master The three Armies which Lewis had sent against Spain put him only to expences without any Progress The Naval one scowred the Coast of Castille and Valentia then retired to Marseille and for the two Land ones that which was commanded by Alain d'Albret and the Mareschal de Gie only saluted the Walls of Fontarabia then disbanded thorough the Contests of the two Chiefs and perhaps out of the little affection the Lord d'Albret had for the King's Service by reason of the Differences formerly between them in Bretagne when they courted the Dutchess Anne such as remained went to joyn the third which besieged Salses These having batter'd the Place forty Days together King Ferdinand arrives with thirty thousand Men which made them raise their Siege After this there was a Truce between the two Kings as to their Countries of France and Spain by the mediation of Frederic Ferdinand made him believe that he was ready to restore the Kingdom to him if Lewis would consent and propounded to bestow his Sister in Marriage upon Alphonso she was Widdow of Ferdinand the Young King of Naples Year of our Lord 1504 The Kings discontent and trouble for so much ill success for the loss of his reputation and for his not being able to detect and unravel all these Spanish Fourbes and Intrigues were so great as cast him into a fit of Sickness which brought him to extremity The Queen believing him dead thought of retiring her self into Bretagne and sent away her Equipage The Mareschal de Gie having stopt it incurr'd her indignation she could never forgive this in him who was born her Subject and prosecuted him Criminally with that heat that the King was forced to send his Process to the Parliament of Toulouze as the most severe in the Kingdom where notwithstanding they could find no Colour to condemn him to any other Punishment but to be banished from Court The Spaniard using still the same Artisices had sent his Ambassadors into France together with those of the Arch-Duke his Son to Treat of a Peace But as they offer'd nothing that was satisfactory they were dismissed and the King made an Alliance with the Emperor and with the Arch-Duke By this Treaty they confirmed the Marriage of his eldest Daughter or of the Second in case the Elder died with Prince Charles which he caused to be signed by Francis de Valois his presumptive Successor to the Crown and other Princes of the Blood and Grandees of the Kingdom The Emperor gave him the investiture of the Dutchy of Milan for him and for his Children as well Males if he had any as his two Daughters provided he paid 120000 Florins payable in two Six Months a pair of Gold Spurs every Christmas-day and an assistance of five hundred Lances when the Emperor should go to take the Imperial Crown at Rome Year of our Lord 1504 About this time hapned the death of Frederic King of Naples who was now fully undeceived of the fraudulent hopes given him by Ferdinand and shortly after towards the end of the Year hapned that of Isabella Wife of Ferdinand a great and generous Princess and indeed the Spaniards lift her above all other Heroines Year of our Lord 1505 Her death changed the Interests of all Princes The Power of the Arch-Duke being augmented by the Kingdom of Castille and the Alliance of Henry King of England whose eldest Son Arthur had married his Sister Catharine began to create some fears in Lewis some confidence in Maximilian and some kind of jealousy in Ferdinand himself who perceived that his Son-in-law would not leave the Administration of Castille to him as Isabella had ordained by her Testament By these motives the King and he made Peace which they fastned with some Ties Ferdinand married Germain Daughter of John de Foix Vicount of Narbonne and of Mary the King's Sister who gave him his share of the Kingdom of Naples in Dowry upon condition it should all fall to her Husband if she died the first but should return to the King if she survived and brought no Children Year of our Lord 1505 Those banished from Naples and the Gentlemen of the Angevin Faction were restored to their own the Queen Widdow of Frederic went out of France and retired to Alphonso Duke of Ferara her Relation Year of our Lord 1506 This hindred not Philip from passing into Spain with his Wife The Castillans soon flocked to this Young Prince Handsome Liberal and who had married their Soveraign Ferdinand was forced to give way to him and to go out of Castille never to return so long as Philip lived Very happy yet that he left him the Indies and the Kingdom of Naples whither he made haste because Gonsales would have put it into the Hands of Philip finding he could not usurp it for himself as he could heartily have desired Year of our Lord 1506 The Great Lords of France and other most notable Persons having considered the Inconveniencies that would flow from the Marriage of the King 's Eldest Daughter with Charles of Austria assembled of their own proper mouvement as they said in the City of Tours where the King was and intreated him to give her to Francis Duke of Valois his presumptive Heir which he granted them forthwith and they contracted the two Parties the eight and twentieth day of May. A fresh Affront which Maximilian might add in his Red-Book where he wrote down all those Injuries the French had done him Like
make a Peace with the King Ferdinand and the Venetians having brought him a little to heart again he fell to practise his wonted Artifice which was to amuse the King with Propositions of an Accommodation and to engage the Queen to act who by Motives of Conscience Caresses Intrigues and Importunities often disarm'd him and made him relent With this his trouble in Mind occasioned by the death of his Nephew the misunderstanding which arose between the Cardinal Sanseverin who was Legate and la Palice who had the Title of General the little obedience the other French Captains yielded to this last and the ill-timed good Husbandry or sparingness of the Treasurer Pay-Master to the Army did not only render that Victory fruitless but occasioned the loss of the Dutchy of Milan For the Treasurer disbanded a considerable part of the Forces and la Palice left Sanseverin but six thousand Foot and a thousand Horse and led the rest into Milan There being encamped at Pontevica a Place proper to relieve Milan Cremona Bress and Bergamo four thousand Lansquenets which made up two thirds of his Infantry and had been raised in the Territories of the House of Austria were recalled by the Emperor Maximilian at that instant when the Swiss were entring into that Country In few Words the French reduced to two or three thousand Men did wholly abandon all Milanois Maximilian Sforza was restored to that Dutchy by the Year of our Lord 1512 Swiss who declared themselves Protectors of it The City of Genoa revolted and created a Duke which was Janus Fregosa Almost at the same time the King of England sent a Herauld to declare a War against the King and the Emperor who had so often protested never to seperate from him forsook him and knit a new Alliance with Julius Amidst this rout amongst the French the Council of Pisa who were retired to Milan made their escape to Lyons During the time they had been at Milan they held four or five Sessions in which the Fathers had Summond Julius to name some free Place for the Council and to meet there in Person to justifie himself had declared him suspended of the Papal Administration and forbid to pay him Obedience The Council of Latran much more numerous and better authorized thundred with more force especially after the Emperor had owned them In their third Session which was upon a Friday the sixteenth of November a Bull was read which condemned the Council of Pisa their Abettors and Adherents and confirmed the Excommunications and Degradations which Julius had fulminated against the Cardinals and Bishops who composed it As also their Letters Monitorie of the fourteenth of August whereby he put the Kingdom of France under interdiction excepting the Dutchy of Burgundy and tranferr'd the Faires from Lyons to Geneva In the Fourth which was the eleventh of December there was read a Decree which adjourned the King and the Prelates Chapters and Parliaments to appear before him within sixty Days and to shew their Reasons why Year of our Lord 1512 they would not have the Pragmatick Sanction abrogated The Lure which King Ferdinand had made use of to engage the Young King of England his Son-in-Law in a War against France was the Promise he had made him to assist him with all his Forces to conquer Guyenne Upon this assurance the English by the end of May landed a great Army near Fontarabia but Ferdinand had of a long time formed the design of conquering Navarre so that in stead of joyning with him he falls upon that unhappy Kingdom nothing concerned in the Quarrel and took occasion upon the apprehensions of their Army to invade it the more securely and easily Year of our Lord 1512 King John d'Albret had not dar'd to arm himself for fear of giving him that Pretence he desired to oppress him So that as soon as he appeared on the Frontiers he coward-like retired into Bearn and abandon'd the whole Kingdom to him excepting only some Fortresses When Ferdinand had usurped Navarre he sought out some Title to it that he might still hold it He could find no other but the right of War and a Bull of the Popes which left it as a Prey to the first Occupier because John said he Year of our Lord 1512 was an Abettor of the Council of Pisa and an Ally of the King of France Enemy to the Holy See But as to the right of War unless they mean the Force ✚ or Power of the Sword which gives no right but amongst the Barbarians Ferdinand had none at all since John had no way wronged him and was so far from taking Arms against him that on the contrary he proffer'd him free Passage thorow his Kingdom And as to the other Point that Bull so much alledged is no where to be found but could it be produced it could give no right to a Crown which is held only from God and if it could give any it was published say the Spaniards in the Month of July and the Invasion was made in June Which is to chop off a Man's Head and then pronounce his Sentence The Succors which the King sent to John his Ally being ill conducted did him no Service The Duke of Longueville Governor of Guyenne and Charles Duke of Bourbon who commanded them could not agree The King sent Francis Duke of Valois thither His Authority stifled their Discord he entred into Navarre in dispite of the Duke of Alva who was encamped at Saint John's de Pied de Port and laid Siege to Pampelonna but the want of Provisions and Inconveniences of the Season constrained him to De-Camp at the end of six Weeks Ferdinand having reaped what Fruit he could hope for by this War did willingly make a Truce with the King About these Times began the Reign of the Cherifs in Affrica by one Mahomet Benhemet who saying he was descended of the Blood of his Great Prophet and having Sanctified himself in the Opinion of the People by a tedious and long Solitude animated them with a furious Zeal to Make War upon the Christians and those Moors that had made Alliance with them and by the help and means of his two Sons conquer'd the Kingdoms of Fez of Morocco and of â—remissen Year of our Lord 1513 The wrath of Julius had no bounds he had framed a Decree in the Name of the Council to transfer the Kingdom of France and the Title of Most Christian to the King of England When he was just on the Point of publishing it the Heavens taking pitty of him and of all Christendom called him cut of the World the three and twentieth of February He died of a lingring slow Feaver contracted as they said thorow Grief for that he could not persuade or incline the Venetians to make an Agreement with the Emperor So violent were his Passions much fitter for a Turkish Sultan then the common Father of all Christians Year of our Lord 1513 The Cabal of Young Cardinals having observed
that the Oldest were sometimes the most passionate would essay whether amongst the youthfull there might not be found one more Temperate And for this consideration elected John de Medicis Son of Laurence who was but thirty six years of Age. He took the Name of Leo X. There were two Opinions in the Kings Council the one to make an Accommodation with the Venetians the other to regain the Emperor Stephen Poncher Bishop of Paris was of the first such as would be complaisant to the Queen stood for the second This Princess passionately desired to marry Renee her second Daughter to the Arch-Duke Charles and this Advice had carried it if she would at that very time have given her up to Maximilians Hands to breed her and had not obstinately resolved to keep her near her self till she were marriageable Ferdinand on the other side fearing lest the Venetians should renew and joyn in friendship again with France endeavoured to reconcile them with Maximilian and propounded to get Veronna to be restored again to them but the Emperor demanded prodigious Summs of Money and very crabbed Conditions So that the Venetians not being able to come to an Agreement on reasonable Terms with him condescended to a League with the Kings Year of our Lord 1513 By means of their Assistance and during the Truce he had with Ferdinand he believed he might recover the Dutchy of Milan He gave Commission for this to la Trimoville the most renowed of his Captains together with sixteen thousand Foot one thousand Men at Arms and two thousand light-Horse to whom the Venetian Army commanded by Alviane newly deliver'd by the French were to joyn in case of need At his arrival though he had not much more then the half of his Men it spread so great a Terror thorow Italy that all the Places in Milanois surrendred to him excepting Coma and Novarre in the last of which Duke Francis Sforza put himself with five thousand Swisse At the same time the Fleet which consisted of nine Galleys and some Ships having appeared on the Coast of Genoa the Fiesques and the Adornes drew near to Genoa with four thousand Men and having beaten some Soldiery whit which Duke Janu Fregoso thought to hinder their Passage from the Mountains chaced away that Duke and restored that Seigneury to the Obedience of the King having caused Antonio Adorno to be created Duke to administer in his Name Year of our Lord 1513 The injoyment of this Conquest lasted not so long as the time they had imploy'd in acquiring it La Trimoville had besieged Sforza in Novarre and made a Breach but he durst not make his Assault because the said Breach was hardly large enough and there was another Body of Swisse coming to relieve the besieged There were two Opinions that divided the Officers la Trimoville thought it best to go and meet the Swisse John Jacques Trivulcio on the contrary to avoid fighting and wait for the French Troops that were marching to re inforce them The plurality of Votes made them resolve to pursue the first and for that purpose Trivulcio with the Van-Guard should go and take his Lodgment upon that Road whilst la Trimoville should remain yet some time longer before Novarre with the Rear-Guard to expel the Swisse if they endeavour'd to make any Sallies But having some Lands of his own in the Place they had assigned him to take his Lodgment and besides being proud and haughty his Pride and Avarice made him turn another way and take his Lodgment near la Riota in a Boggy Ground and cut up and down with deep Trenches so that the Horse could be of no Service nor be able to help the Foot Year of our Lord 1513 The Swifse that were in Novarre therefore marching forth in the Night which could not have been imagin'd and having joyned the others came with much fury to charge the French Army at the first birth of Day Their Charge was received with the like courage Fifteen hundred of their Men were slain and as many wounded nevertheless they gained the Victory and hew'd all the German Infantry in pieces together with the Gascons La Trimoville wounded in the Leg retreated with all his Cavalry to Vercel and from thence to Susa The burthen of the War fell afterwards upon the Venetians they maintained it well enough but all those Cities that had given themselves up to the French returned and submitted themselves to the mercy of Sforza and were chastized for their defection by great Fines which served him to pay the Swisse The Adornes who had not yet held the Government of Genoa above one and twenty Days having not wherewith to support themselves after such a revolution made their best advantage of it They assembled the People and having declared that they would not maintain an ambitious Government to the great hazard of their Country withdrew themselves out of the City most of the People and Senate conducting them forth with Tears and Wishes for their return By the interest of Cardonna General of Ferdinand's Army and upon the Popes recommendations Octavian Fregosa was â—etled in that Principallity and not Janus who was formerly expell'd Hitherto Maximilian although he had abandoned the King had not yet formally declared himself When he found the opportunity so fair he enters into open hostility against him and then was France in more eminent danger then it had of a long time been For on the one side the Swisse extremely puff'd up by the Victory at Novarre entred by the Dutchy of Burgundy and he with the King of England fell upon them in Picardy Year of our Lord 1513 The Swisse besieged Dijon with five and twenty hundred Men to whom the Emperor had joyned the Nobless of the Franche-Comte and some German Horse commanded by Vlric Duke of Wirtemberg La Trimoville having defended it six Year of our Lord 1513 Weeks judged it better to turn this Torrent another way which after the taking this Place would have overflowed all even to Paris than to render it more violent by thus putting it to a stop He enters upon a Treaty with them and manag'd it so wisely as to send them back into their own Country obliging himself that the King should pay them six hundred thousand Crowns and should renounce the Council of Pisa and the Dutchy of Milan He had no express Order to make these conditions but thought he might be allowed to do it for the saving of all France and thereupon gave them up six Hostages two Lords and four Citizens The King refusing to ratifie this Treaty their Heads were in great danger Only the fear the Swisse had of losing the great Summs of Money he proffer'd them saved the Lives of those innocent Persons Year of our Lord 1513 At the same time about mid July the Emperor and the King of England had besieged Terovenne with above fifty thousand Men. The French Army happily enough threw a Convoy of Provisions and Ammunitions into
to stay for the Assistance the King was sending to him Solyman did not fail of that help he had promised him for by Land he fell upon Hungary and took from Ferdinand the Cities of Strigonia and Alba and by Sea he sent an Hundred and Thirty Galleys to the King commanded by Barbarossa who after he had filled the City of Ostia and the Coast along the Popes Territories with Terror and Amazement without doing them any mischief because the Year of our Lord 1544 forementioned Paulin being with him took them into the Kings protection cast Anchor on the Coasts of Provence the Fifth of July Francis de Bourbon Earl of Enghien joyned him with two and twenty Galleys and both of them in Conjunction besieged the City of Nice the fifth day of August The City having been Batter'd from the tenth of the Month to the twentieth the Governor Andrea de Montfort abandoned it and carried all into the Castle which being Built upon a Rock and generously defended feared neither Mines nor Guns Besides the French had taken so little care to furnish themselves either with Ammunitions or Provisions for the Mouth that they soon found want of it and were forced to borrow Powder and Ball of the Turks When Barberossa therefore perceived that he lost his Reputation and Men before this Place and that moreover Andrea Doria and the Duke were coming to Relieve it he raised the Siege and retired to the Coasts of Provence He staid there all the Winter not without committing many Barbarities upon the very French themselves whom he held in scorn for their negligence and want of care even to the Treating the Count d'Enghien by the name of Youth and little pretty Minion In the Spring he asked leave of the King who wanted not much entreaty to let him be gone either being very little satisfied with the other The Siege being raised Enghien brought back his Land Forces to this side the Var and took post to find out the King upon a report spread abroad that there would be a Battle to Relieve Landrecy After his departure the Duke of Savoy and the Marquess Du Guast employ'd their Army in taking Montdevis and in Fortifying Carignan There was only a Garrison of Swiss in Montdevis who Capitulated but Du Guast brutish and perfidiously put them all to the Edge of the Sword Boutieres had abandoned Carignan and begun to demolish the Fortifications Du Guast seized upon the Place Repaired it and put in a Garrison of Four Thousand men and three Thousand more at Quiers to assist them in Case of necessity The King not being satisfied with the Conduct of Boutieres who had forsaken a place which Commanded a good part of the Country on the one side and the Plain even to Suza recalled him and gave the Command of all beyond the Mountains to the Count d'Enghien When this Prince Arrived Boutieres was besieging Yvree and was just upon the taking it he was very unwilling another should bear away the Honour of a Conquest so near at hand wherefore the Prince having sent to him for some of the Forces to Convoy him he goes and meets him with the whole Army chusing rather if we may say so to let the Prey escape then that another should have the Quarry After the Emperor had subdued the Duke of Cleves had received a body of twelve Thousand English and re-inforced his Army to the number of fifty Thousand Fighting men he came and laid Siege to Landrecy The King had put Captain la Lande into the Place with two Hundred Horse and three Thousand Foot and had ordered the Lord Desse to assist him but the Fortifications were new and apt to crumble and be beaten down and the Frosts intermingled with cold showers did equally incommode the Besiegers and the Besieged who stood in myre up to the Mid-Leg The Attacks were weak and faint the Emperor thought to gain the Place by Famine In effect they suffer'd much but when they could scarce hold any longer after a brave resistance of two Months the King went from la Fere upon the Oyse and putting himself at the head of his Army approached within two Leagues of the Besiegers The Emperor believing he would give him Battle drew his Forces from the further side of the Sambre and joyned them with those on this side so one side of the place remaining open and free the King Relieved the Garrison and provided it with all things necessary then having executed what he desired he made his Retreat by Night very securely and put his Army into Garrisons on the Frontiers Four or Five dayes after his departure the Emperor likewise marched off but not willing to loose all his time and pains and to recompence his not taking Landrecy he seized upon Cambray by Correspondence of the Bishop who was of the House of Crouy put in a Garrison as a bridle upon the Town and Built a Citadel to curb them which was Erected at the Citizens proper Charges making them believe it was to preserve them from falling into the hands of the French Year of our Lord 1544 In the Year 1544. Four great Eclipses were Visible in our Hemisphere one of the Sun which hapned upon the Four and Twentieth of February and the other three of the Moon The first being in the same Month was not a Total one but at the two others which were seen in July and November the whole Disque of that great Luminary of the Night was quite obscured During these frightful events in the Heavens Francis the first Son of Henry the Dausin came into the World the Twentieth day of January The beginning of this Year found William Earl of Fustemberg a German before Luxemburgh which he block'd up with Twelve Thousand of his Country-men For upon I cannot tell what discontent whether real or affected he had quitted the Service of France for that of the Emperor The Prince of Melfy having order from the King marched that way with his Forces and with so brave a Resolution that Fustemberg durst not stay for him but retired The Frosts were so excessive sharp that it turned the Wines into Ice in the Vessels which they were fain to cut with Axes and the Lumps were sold by the pound In Piedmont the Count d'Enghien young valiant and who with an Army of well disciplin'd Men sought only an opportunity of Fighting having taken all the Posts about Carignan began his Blocade there the first day of February The Marquess Du Guast that he might put in some Supplies thought to Seize upon Carmagnoles the Count got thither before him and left him no possibility of saving the Place but by hazarding a Battle The Kings Council having given the Count leave to venture it he observing that Du Guast was on his March to pass over the Po prevented him and passed it first himself to meet him Thus the two Armies came to engage nigh the Burrough of Cerizolles the Fourteenth of April which
the Parliament of Provence which they durst never have undertaken had it not been upon an assurance of the support of those that govern'd and even by their instigation particularly the Connestable who thought to involve the Cardinal de Tournon as principal Author of that Massacre he being his Capital Enemy The business was first brought before the Kings Great Council then the King took it upon himself and afterwards referr'd it to the Grand Chamber of the Parliament of Paris The Cause was Pleaded at Fifty Audiences or Hearings with great heats and vehement sollicitations After all this noise there was none but Guerin the Kings Advocate in the Parliament of Provence who paid for all those that had contributed to this Massacre He was Beheaded in the place called the Greve at Paris The Historian of Provence relates how on the day he lost his head his Picture or Effigies appeared in the palm of his wives hand traced in lines of blood and was seen by great numbers of people during several days Lewis Adhemar Earl of Grignan and Governour of Provence who had given Commission to d'Oppede to Levy Forces in his absence was like to have lost his Lands D'Oppede was sent away absolv'd having done nothing but by good order from the King but he survived not long after it and the Huguenots were revenged on him by giving out that he died of an inward fire which cruelly burnt up all his Bowels Year of our Lord 1550 and 51. The abuse of the Banquiers and of the Datary of the Court of Rome touching the resignation of Benefices were come to that pass that all the Clergy of France complained of it The King redressed this by an Edict and Charles du Moulin the most resolute of all the French Lawyers wrote a most Learned Book against the Petites Dates but which being very vehement raised so great a Storm against him amongst the Catholique Zealots for the interests of the Pope that for fear of being Treated as an Heretique he retired into Germany where he kept himself private till the rupture which hap'ned between the King and Pope Julius III. The Pic's Lords of Mirandola being at variance amongst themselves for the possession of that County Paul III. had endeavour'd to reconcile and agree them and not able to compass it had sequestred it in the hands of King Francis That King had restored it to Lewis Pic. Galeot Pic his Nephew assassinated his Uncle and Usurped it then fearing his other Relations would revenge this parricide retired to King Henry II. and had admitted a French Garrison into the place and also as it was reported had agreed upon an exchange for some other Lands in France However it were the King used it as a City properly his own and made it his place of Arms and his Assemblies in that part of the World The King wanted some occasion to interrupt the Progress of the Emperor he was over-joy'd to meet with this which follows D'Aramon his Ambassador made use of all industry with Solyman who was returned from the Persian War to break the Truce of Hungary and he wanted not considerations and motives to incite him to it for the Emperor had in Barbary taken the Cities of Mahadia and Monester from the Corsair Dragut one of the Grand Seignior's Captains and King Ferdinand held secret intelligence with Frier Georges Monk of the Order of Saint Poll a Hermit who by the testamentary institution of John Year of our Lord 1551 the pretended King of Hungary governed the Affairs and Country of Isabella and Stephen her young Son Solyman had given orders to take that Monk dead or alive the Monk having notice of it retired had cantonniz'd himself in some strong Castles he had purchased and provided from whence he began to make War upon the Queen He was reconciled and fell out again with her two or three several times and as he apprehended the power of the Turk he privately made an agreement with Ferdinand and perswaded the Widdow to restore Transilvania to him upon conditions very advantageous both for him and the Pupil if they had been observ'd But soon after Ferdinand fearing this mans inconstancy or rather that he would force him to make good what he had promised sent word to John Baptist Castalda General of his Forces to make him away which he Executed by the hands of some Assassines who went and Murthered him in a House of Pleasure to which he was retired Solyman could not suffer that Transilvania for which John had rendred him Homage should be possessed by Ferdinand He powred a very numerous Army in upon that side and almost totally Invaded it The Imperailists did not fail to publish that the King of France had drawn him thither but we find by the Memoirs of those times that he did his utmost to disswade him from making War in Hungary because the common danger re-united all the German Princes with the Emperor and it was his interest to divide them And therefore he could rather have wished that Solyman would have made use of his Sea Forces and landed in Puglia to facilitate an enterprize the French then had upon Sicily All these things make it evident that the King had firmly resolv'd to concern himself in the business of Parma by other ways and means then mediation or accommodation and that it was not the Dutchess of Valentinois that made him enter upon that War that there might be occasion to bestow some employment upon Brissac whom she loved infinitely It is true that at that Ladies request or perhaps to keep him at distance and absent from her he made him Governour of Piedmont in the place of John Caracciol Prince of Melsy whom he recalled to Court and to make up the Complement of good fortune for Brissac it hap'ned that the said Prince returning into France died at Suza and left a vacancy for a Mareschal which the King immediately conferr'd on him It sufficed the King to assist his Allies without directly breaking with the Emperour wherefore he sent to Brissac to make use of some indirect means to that end Brissac therefore disbanded a part of the Forces in Piedmont who had order to File away towards Parma over the Milanois under favour of the Truce two by two sometimes three without any weapons and by easie Journeys Gonzague mistrusting the Craft and Contrivance set Guards upon the ways who Massacred the greatest part of them so that there came not above four or five hundred to Miranda who went over by the Mountains at Genoa During this assay the Pope strove to perswade the King to abandon the Duke of Parma and the King endeavour'd to gain the Popes good Will that he might take him into his Protection But as the first had sharply replied to the Kings Remonstrances threatning him with his Ecclesiastical Thunder the French Ambassador raising the Tone of his Voice declared that the King would for no consideration whatever relinquish his
a League with the Saracen King who gave him Powerful assistance with which help he so tormented the Governors of places that some quitted them and others went and joyned with him There was none but Bernard Earl of Barcelonna that persevered in the fidelity he owed the Emperor Year of our Lord 827 The next year Aizo got a very great re-inforcement of the Saracens and the Emperor on his part gave Pepin an Army to chastise him and to re-settle his affairs in those Countries But the Infidels ransacked the Counties of Gironna and Barcelonna at their pleasure before the French Forces were in condition The negligence of their Commanders was the cause of this delay which was most severely punished at the general Assembly of Aix with the loss of their imployment And whatever other favour they held of the Emperor This done to repair their fault he gave a great Army to his Son Lotaire who advanced as far as Lyons but having conferred with his Brother Pepin he went no farther because the Saracens had made no new attempt This was the last Trial the French made for those Marches For the following year there being a division bred in the Royal Family whereof Bernard Earl of Barcelonna was the pretence the Saracens and Spaniards too made great advantages of the same So that France could preserve only the Lower Marches to wit the Counties of Barcelonna Ampuries Roussillon Cerdagne Vrgel Paillars Ossonna and Ribagorce The People of the higher Marches seeing themselves abandoned by the Year of our Lord 828 French bethought themselves of making a King and chose Eneco or Inniguo Earl of Bigorre surnamed Arista by corruption from Ariscat a word which in that Country Language signifies the bold the resolute By whose valour and the eredit he had amongst the Gascons and the Inhabitants of the Pyreneans they promised themselves assistance sufficient enough to make Head against the Saracens As indeed he regained Pampelonna and some other Cities from those Infidels Year of our Lord 829 Or 830. 'T is here therefore we must assign the beginning Of the Kingdom of Navarre and not 70 years earlier by one Garcia Ximenes For all the Six Kings whom they place before this Inniguo Arista are fabulous as well as the pretended Kingdom of Sobrarue where they tell us they Reigned Now Sobrarue is a little Country between the Ancient Earldom of Arragon and that of Ribagorce which is within the precincts of the Kingdom of Arragon not of Navarre and hath but six Leagues of extent and some Burroughs in a Valley with the Abbey of Penna Inniguo Arista had for Son and Successor Ximene or Semenon d'Innigo and he had one Innigo de Semenon and Garcia both Kings D'Innigo II. was Son of Garcia II. who had two Sons which were Successively Kings viz. Fortunius Garcia and Sance Abarca the first of that name After him the Succession of their Kings of Navarre is clear and indisputable The Bulgarians ransacked Pannonia Superiora as they listed Balderic Duke of Friuli never stirring to repel them But his cowardly neglect was punished as it Year of our Lord 829 deserved He was devested of all his Honours and his Dutchy was divided into four Counties The Emperor desperately fond of his Wife and of his Son Charles bestowed Rhetia and part of the Kingdom of Burgundy upon that Child his other Brothers present But Trembling with jealosie and wrath Year of our Lord 829 Louis Emperor Lotaire Emperor and King of Italy Pepin King of Aquitaine Louis King of Bavaria Charles King of Rhetia aged 6 years Then all the reâ—t of the Party that had been for King Bernard the Relations Year of our Lord 829 and Friends oâ— those whom the Emperor had put to Death those whom he had Banished and sent away and afterwards recalled Leagued themselves together and taking this opportunity of the discontent of these young Princes Heated and Animated the People with divers rumours and reflections The Emperor fore-saw the Tempest well enough by the gathering of these clouds His Wife as well to have the Absolute Government of her Husbands weak Spirit as out of affection increased his Apprehensions and perswaded him to put an entire confidence in Bernard Earl of Barcelonna whom she loved with the Office of Chamberlain that she might ever have him near her Year of our Lord 830 Bernards Pride and his too great familiarity with the Empress bred envy and jealousy which caused several other Lords to joyn with the contrary Party All the discontented therefore address themselves to Pepin And in the ill humour he had conceived against his Mother-in-Law easily made him believe that Bernard was her Gallant and that she had bewitched her Husband and therefore it was a becoming Duty in the Son to revenge those injuries Practised against his Father and to restore him to his Honour and Witts again He believes them and takes the Field The Emperor being informed that he approached permits Bernard to retire sends his Wife to a Monastery at Laon and comes to Compeigne The Conspirators Seize the Empress she promises them to perswade her Husband to suffer himself to be shaved or deposed and upon this assurance they grant her the liberty to speak with him in Private They having conferred together made an agreement that the Empress should wear the Vail for a time but that he should demand some longer time to consider and resolve them Mean time his Son Lotaire arrives from Italy who confirmed all that had been done shutts up his Father in the Abbey of St. Mard at Soissons and appointed some Monks to instruct and advise him to put on the habit Some time after the Empress was brought to her Husband and upon the Peoples clamours confined to the Monastery of St. Radegonde of Poitiers Year of our Lord 830 In this Miserable condition the Debonnaire passed the Spring and Summer-season his Courage so sunk that he would have consented to turn Monk if the very Monks themselves who designed to take advantage of the opportunity and by some methods bring the Affairs of Court into their management by his means had not dissuaded him and found a way for his escape out of that Captivity One Gondeband amongst others stickled much in his service and went in his behalf to his two Sons Pepin and Lewis to entice them to embrace their Fathers Case to which they were already much inclined out of the jealousy of the growing power of their elder Brother and his undertaking to govern all things according to his own fancy The Power of these two Brothers serving as a Counter-poise to that of Lotaire there needed a general Assembly to settle the Government The contrary Faction would have it in Neustria where they were the stronger to degrade him or at least to dissolve his Marriage with Judith because she was of Kin to him But yet he had Friends or craft enough to have the meeting held at Nimiguen There making his
which Hugh and Hebert submitted to their King Year of our Lord 942 There was a mortal hatred betwixt William Duke of Normandy and Arnold Earl of Flanders because this Last would constrain Herluin Earl of Monstreuil to become his Vassal and had taken his Castle whilst William on the contrary had espoused Herluin's quarrel and powerfully assisted him Arnold not being able to have his will of Herluin betook himself to base and treacherous means to compass it For having upon pretence of reconciliation procured an enter-view with William in an Island on the Somme right against Pequigny he caused him unhappily to be assassinated the 18 th of December An. 942. That good and vertuous Prince had just designed before he was murthered to take upon him the Habit of St. Bennet in the Monastery of Jumieges which he had begun to rebuild He left but one Son named Richard Born of Sporta his wife who was Daughter of Hebert Count of Senlis he Succeeded him in his Dukedom A great part of the Normans were yet Idolaters and there came every day new flocks of them from the North who encouraged them in their Superstitions After the Death of William they rebelled against his Son and would force him to Year of our Lord 943 renounce his Baptism Hugh the Grand allied to his Father assisted him against those impious revolters beat them in several rencounters and help'd him to destroy their Leaders their names were Setric and Rodard The King knowing that while the Normans were divided their little Duke Richard might easily be stript and that it would be a Noble act to recover so great and good a Country went to Rouen about Autumn and Siezed upon Richard's person under pretence of breeding him in his own Court The Burgher's at first took the Alarm and stood in his defence so that he was fain to shew him to the people and confirm the Dutchy to him but their first heat being spent he so managed the business that persuading them he would have a great care of his Education they suffer'd him to be carry'd away to Laon. When he had gotten him absolutely in his power Arnold Earl of Flanders whose interest it was to exterminate all the Normans by his Presents and Counsel easily inclined him to the resolution of incapacitating him for ever and resuming Year of our Lord 943 the Dukedom Before they came to the Execution of this Richard's wise Governor by name Osmond craftily drew him out of the Danger He stole him out of Court trussed up in a Faggot of Herbs and conveyed him into Senlis That City one of the strongest in those days was then held by Count Bernard Uncle to Richard by his Mother who kept that Pupil and would not surrender him either to the King nor to the Normans till he could see a little more clearly what was like to be the event of that War then threatned Year of our Lord 943 During these stirrs Hebert of Vermandois died at Peronne tormented with the gnawing remorse of his treacheries crying perpetually in his Agonies We were twelve of us that betrayed King Charles He had three Sons Hebert and Robert who shared his Lands and Hugues or Hugh pretended Arch-Bishop of Reims King Lewis who had that fault that he could not dissemble adventures rashly Year of our Lord 944 too early to ruine them His precipitate revenge drew great troubles upon him the other Grandees apprehending the like usage joyned all to defend them Even Hugh agreed with the Normans and King Otho made one and openly declared against Louis who for that reason reconciled himself to Hugh At first this Duke had embraced the cause of little Richard but the King promising he should share the Dutchy of Normandy with him and likewise have the Territory's belonging to the Bishopricks of Evreux Lysieux and Bayeux he not only abandoned the Pupil but also joyned with the King to ruine him They entred the Country therefore at the same time the King by the way of Rouen and Hugh towards Evreux Bernard Count of Senlis who had saved his Nephew did likewise preserve his Country by his wonderful Sagacity He advised the Normans to pretend a submission to the King to avoid the desolations of a War and afterwards easily persuaded him to reserve all that rich Province to himself and take away from Hugh those places which he had conquer'd so that by this Method he caused a new rupture between those Princes Year of our Lord 944 He afterwards omitted not to make those advantages he had designed for he engaged the discontented Hugh to undertake once more the protection of Richard and to promise him his Daughter Emine who was not however married till Sixteen years after And more-over this little Prince being still dispossessed he so craftily contrived his affairs that he restored him And thus it was There was a Chieftaine or Norman King named Aigrold who being come some years before from Denmark had taken his Habitation in Constentin This Prince having consulted with Bernard revolts against Lewis and sends to summon him to set the little Richard at Liberty Upon this news Bernard counterfeiting great zeal assures the King that all Normandy was united for his service and by these plausible pretences obliges the King to go thither in person to suppress that Pâ—rat His Army and Aigrold's being near each other Aigrold seems to be afraid and demands a Confâ—rence the King agrees to it and to that end goes to the Village of Crescenville in the mid-way between Caen and Lisieux The train was so well laid that the Norman finding himself the stronger cuts off all that came with him Seizes upon his person and sends him Prisoner to Rouen Year of our Lord 944 In this rencounter Herluin Earl of Monstreuil the principal subject of the quarrel between the deceased William and Arnold was slain by Aigrold in revenge for that although he had always been protected by William nevertheless he had ingratefully sided with Arnold to oppress Normandy and it's little Duke Year of our Lord 945 In vain did Queen Gerberge implore the assistance of King Otho her Brother for the deliverance of her Husband He refused to apply any other means but only his mediation By vertue of a plenarie power Signed by the Bishops at his desire and by all the French Lords he decreed with them at a Conference held at St. Clair sur Epte That Louis should restore Richard to his Dutchy and receive hommage and from that time he should be set at Liberty and give his second Son and two Bishops for security But Louis getting out of the hands of the Normans remained still under the power of Hugh who upon I know not what pretences detained him at least a year under the guard of Thibault Earl of Blois his Cousin German and would not let him go till he had gotten the City of Laon of him In the mean time King Otho who had conquer'd the County of Burgundy whether he
958. not without suspition of poyson and thus left his Conquest imperfect Year of our Lord 958 Now the complaints of the Lords and Prelats and the earnest entreaty of the Pope pressing King Otho he resolved to go himself after he had Crowned his Son Otho II. at Aix la Chapelle though he were but seven years of Age. Upon his Arrival in Italy Berenger his Son and his Wife abandoned the Cities and Country and retired each of them into a strong Fort. Otho was there received with universal applause recovered Pavia was Crowned King of Lombardy at Milan by the Arch-Bishop and thence marched to Rome where he received the Imperial Crown upon Christmass-day by the hands of John XII who had been put into the Holy Chair by the Credit and Money of his Father Alberic before Year of our Lord 960. 961. 962. the Age of 18 years This Alberic was the Son of Marosia who had chaced King Hugh from Rome after which he had changed the Government there and made himself Consul that he might command in Chief with a Prefect and some Tribuns Year of our Lord 963 Now the young Pope who had earnestly desired Otho to come quickly changed his mind and recalled Berenger to Rome as soon as Otho was gone from thence to reduce the rest of those places which that Tyrant still held Otho being informed of this odd fantastical news did not give over his Conquests then when he thought it seasonable to return to Rome he led his Army thither The young Pope being fled with Berenger and the Treasure of the Church he caused his Process to be made not for his Intrusion but for Murther Sacriledge Adultery Incest Simony and other enormous crimes For this end he Assembled a Council John was cited before them in due form and not appearing they deposed him and in his place put Leo who was the VIII of that name Year of our Lord 963 This Pope to avoid the trouble the Cabals caused in Elections gave the Emperor Otho the power thenceforward to Elect the Popes and Bishops and to give him Investiture The Ecclesiastical History does likewise observe that this John XII was called Octavian before his Election and that he was the first Pope that changed his name Whilst Otho was passing the Christmass Holy-days at Rome with the new Pope having quartred his Army out of the City the Faction and money of John the deposed Pope made the Romans rise to Attaque him Treacherously he had notice of it time enough to prevent surprize put himself in the head of his Army Year of our Lord 965 and came boldly to them They were afraid and coming to a composition with him gave several Hostages He delivered them up again some few days after upon the entreaties of Leo but no sooner was he gone to besiege Camerin but they revolted drove out Leo and received John in their City where he exercised most revengeful cruelty upon Leo's Friends He had continued it to the end had he not been killed in the very act of enjoying a Woman After his death the Romans persisting in their Rebellion Elected the Arch Deacon Bennet Immediately Otho returns again reduces Rome to a Famine compels Bennet to ask pardon in the Synod of Bishops and causing him to be degraded of his Priest-hood sent him Prisoner into Germany where about a year after he died at Hamburgh Some months thence believing Italy might remain in Peace because he had taken Berenger and confined him to Bamberg in Germany he returned home and marched his Army with him After his departure some Lombard Counts revolted having Adelbert and Guy the Sons of Berenger at their head But Duke Burchard whom he sent back overthrew them in a great Battel which was fought on the Banks of the Po. Guy the most mischievous of them all was left dead upon the place and Adelbert escaped with much ado This last having gathered some Forces together hazards another Battel An. 968 ☞ which loosing he died with grief And thus with him ended the second Kingdom of Italy or if you will it passed over the German Princes who let it moulder away and come to nothing After Pope Leo VIII was dead and that John XIII had been set in the Chair with the consent of Otho on whom Leo had bestowed the power of Confirming the Election of Popes the Prefect Consuls Tribuns and other Magistrates of the City of Rome displeased that Otho had greatly limited their power which before led all Italy as they pleased they put this Pope in Prison then turned him out of Rome calling to their aid Rofroy Count of Campania The Pope retires to Pandolfus Prince of Capoua who restored him and John his Brother slew Rofroy In recompence the Pope erects an Arch-Bishoprick at Capoua Year of our Lord 966 and bestowed it on the murtherer of his Enemy But Otho desiring to remedy things once for all by suppressing these Rebellions returns to Italy where he setled his Authority by severe punishments by rewarding Year of our Lord 966. and 967. of friends by creating new Counts by good and wholesome Laws and in fine by the conquest of Calabria and Puglia which he wrested from the Grecian Empire who had kept them hitherto Year of our Lord 968 And to compleat all he Crowned his Son Otho at Milan by the hands of the Pope and joyned him in the Empire This young Prince three years after that is to say in An. 971. Married Teophania or Tifaine Daughter of the Emperor Nicephorus who was then dead Thus Otho but little inferior to Charlemaine raised the Western Empire the ☞ Title thereof ever since that time remaining as it were annexed to Germany with pretences much more great and extensive then their Forces We shall henceforth speak no more of the affairs of Italy and little of Germany unless where things do joyntly relate to the French Year of our Lord 962 During these Transactions in Italy divers quarrels were troublesome to France the two greatest were that about the Arch-Bishoprick of Reims and the hatred of the Counts Thibauld de Chartres and Arnold of Flanders against the Normans The first might have been ended by restoring Hugh of Vermandois to his Dignity in Reims Artold the Arch-Bishop being dead An. 962. if the Queen could have suffer'd it But far from giving her assent she so brought it about that the Council of Soissons refer'd it to the Pope who declared him Excommunicated Year of our Lord 963 The Brethren of this Hugh furiously Animated against Guibuin Bishop of Chaalons who in that Assembly had proved thechief obstacle against his restoration Burnt the City Year of our Lord 964. and 65. The Earl of Chartres was supported by the King against the Normans because he was joyned both by alliance and affection to the Interest of the Sons of Hugh the Great He lost a Battel in Normandy for which he received satisfaction by the conquest of Evreux which the King put
them to retire Then made himself Master of Reims and Soissons But suffering this heat of good success to grow cool few People declared for him and even the Archbishop of Reims whom he importuned to Crown him told him that he could not do it of his own head and that it was a publick Business that is to say it required the Consent of the Lords of the Kingdom Year of our Lord 989 It was greatly Hugh's interest to gain Arnold Bastard Brother of Duke Charles to his Party To this end he gives him the Archbishoprick of Reims which was vacant by the death of Aldaberon having first taken an Oath from him in Writing but six months after his being in that Town Charles his Brother was introduced there and made himself Master by means of a Priest named Aldager and in Confederacy as was thought with the Archbishop who notwithstanding ever denied it and remained Prisoner in the hands of Charles either really or at least pretended Year of our Lord 990 At the same time William III. Earl of Poictou and Duke of Aquitain refused to acknowledge the two Kings Capet and Robert though he were Uncle to Robert by the Mother openly accusing the French of Perfidiousness and their having abandoned the Line and Blood of Charlemaine Both the Kings marched that way to bring him to Obedience and besieged Poitiers He repulsed them smartly pursues them to the Loire and there happens a bloody Engagement but the conclusion was to the Advantage of the French Year of our Lord 991 The year ensuing this Duke made War upon the Count of Anjou for Mirebalais and Loudunois and did so roughly handle him that in the end he was constrained to acknowledge him and hold them in Fief of him Year of our Lord 991 Charles living in too great security at Laon and with too much confidence in Ancelin King Hugh gained that Traitor who like another Judas upon Holy-Thursday-night opened the Gates and delivered the poor Prince and his Wife up to him He sent them away Prisoners to Senlis and from thence to Orleance where they were shut up in a Tower Year of our Lord 992 The Archbishop Arnold his Brother was taken with him The Bishops of France Assembled in Council at Reims made his Process as one that was guilty of Perjury and who had broken his Faith to King Hugh and therefore degraded him of his Prelature after which the King sent him Prisoner to Orleance to keep his Brother company Gerbert a Benedictine Monk who had been Tutor to the Emperor Otho III. and to King Robert was chosen in his place He was so Learned for those times particularly in the Mathematicks that it gave him the Reputation of a Magician amongst the ignorant Year of our Lord 993 Anno 993. William III. Duke of Aquitain made Peace with the King and owned to hold his Lands of him But another William Duke of Gascongne kept himself still independent He it was who having gained a memorable Battle against a Fleet of Normands landed in Gascongny towards the end of this Century and believing he obtained that Advantage by the intercession of St. Sever who was said to have appeared that day on a white Horse with glittering Arms fighting against the Barbarians put his Dukedom under the protection of that glorious Martyr and Erected a Church and Abby over his Tomb round about which Edifice is built that City called St. Sever Cape of Gascongny Many believe but without any certain proofs that Hugh Capet confirmed the Inheritance of all the great Estates Dutchies and Earldoms to those Lords that had usurped them and it is probable that they themselves had first given such as depended upon them to their own Vassals thereby to engage them to maintain and justifie them in their Usurpations It is certain he annexed to the Crown which had scarce any thing left in Propriety the Earldom of Paris the Dukedom of France containing all that is between the Loire and Seine and the Earldom of Orleance Amongst a very great number of Lords who enjoy'd of the Regal Rights the Eight most considerable were the Dukes of Burgundy Normandy Aquitain and Gascongne Bretagne then held of Normandy the Earls of Flanders of Champagne and Thoulouze This last was likewise Duke of Septimania and Marquiss of Gothia the Earl of Barcelonna in the Marches of Spain and the Earl of Anjou on the Frontiers of Bretagne this held of the Dutchy of France All these Lords had a great many more besides who took upon them to be Soveraigns I do not speak of the Estates that were set up in the Kingdom of Lorrain amongst others the two Dutchy's that bare that name to wit the higher or Mosellanick which retains it to this day and the lower which is Brabant Nor of those that were framed out of the Ruines of the Kingdom of Arles and that of Transjurane as the Earldom of Burgundy those of Viennois Provence and Savoy Daufine the Dukedoms of Zeringhen and Alman and divers others because those Countries were not of France but held of the Emperors of Germany who were Titularies of those two Kingdoms The Grandees of the Kingdom thought that Capet ought to suffer all from them because they had set the Crown upon his Head His Patience and Courage which he exercised diversly according as occasion required kept them from running to extremity and maintained him in his Throne One Adelbert Count de la Marche and Perigord was one of the most unruly and concerned himself in all their Quarrels Fulk Nerra had some Pretensions to the City of Tours he besieged it in his behalf The King sent and commanded him to desist Adelbert would do nothing and asking him Who was it that made you a Count He insolently replied Those same that made you a King continued the Siege and took the Town Year of our Lord 993 This year was memorable for the death of Conrad King of Burgundy William III. Duke of Aquitain and Hebert Count of Meaux and Troyes Conrad left his Estate to his Son Roldolph called the Faineant or Do-nothing William left his likewise to his Son of his own name but surnamed Fierabras and the third dying without Children to Eudes his Brother Earl of Chartres and Tours who was the first that intitled himself Earl of Champagne William IV. of that name Earl of Toulouse and of Arles turned Monk and his Son William V. succeeded him After the death of the Count of Poitou his Son being yet but young found his Country in Combustion by the Rebellion of many of his Vassals especially Adelbert who besieged Poitiers and made divers other Enterprizes but in the end he met with that fate which attends the Factious being slain at the Siege of a small Castle Boson his Fathers Brother succeeded in his Dominions Year of our Lord 994 95. The Pope could not suffer their having Deposed the Archbishop Arnold without his Authority which the Bishops of France believed to
that he left all his Warlike Engines behind and part of his Men who were kill'd or drowned upon the Retreat Never after durst he shew his head in any place where he knew Lewis could come and abandoned all Anjou to him and his new Fortifications of Anger 's which were presently demolish'd Year of our Lord 1214 Before the Month was expir'd after Lewis's Victory King Philip his Father gained a much more signal one nigh the Village of Bouvines which is between L'Isle and Tournay against the Emperor Otho and his Confederates They had an Army of 150000 fighting Men his was weaker by one half but strengthned with the flower of the Nobility and many Princes of the Blood viz. Eudes Duke of Burgundy Robert de Courtenay Robert Earl of Dreux and his Brother Philip Bishop of Beauvais The Battle was fought the 25th of July and lasted from Noon till Night Guerin Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and a little before elected Bishop of Senlis to whom the King left all things drew up the Army in Battalia Matthew Baron of Montmorency William des Barres Seneschal to the King Henry Earl of Bar Bartholomy de Roye Gaucher Count de Saint Pol and Adam Vicount de Melun had the greatest shares in the Danger and in the Victory Guerin fought not with his hands because of his Quality of Bishop nor did Philip Bishop of Beauvais smite with the Sword but a Wooden Club believing that to beat out Peoples Brains was not shedding of Blood The King ran a great hazard in his own Person having been beaten down trod under the Horses Feet and wounded in the Throat but in fine his Enemies were worsted every where Otho put to flight his great Standard being a Dragon with an Imperial Eagle over it and the Chariot which bore it broken all to pieces and five Earls amongst whom were Ferrand and Renauld with two and twenty Lords that carried Banners taken Prisoners The Fortune-tellers had assured the old Countess of Flanders Ferrands Aunt that there should happen a great Battle that the King should be overthrown Horses tread over him and that Ferrand should enter in Triumph into Paris The first part of this Prediction held good without Equivocation the second was likewise true but after another manner then they imagined for indeed they carried him into Paris in Triumph but in quality of a Captive loaden with Chains and linked fast in a Chariot drawn by Ferrand Horses that is according to the Language then used of an Iron-grey-Colour The Parisians made the King a most pompous Entrance and Celebrated his Victory with Solemn Joy for eight days together Ferrand was shut up in the Tower of the Louvre without the City Walls and Renauld in the new Tower of Peronne with Shackles on his Legs and a Chain that fastned him to a great piece of Timber Philip had made a Vow in the midst of his Joy for this most happy success to build an Abby in honour of God and of the Blesled Virgin his Son Lewis performed it by founding that of Nostre-Dame de la Victoire near Sanlis The Lords of Poitou that had favour'd the English finding that Lewis was Victorious sent to tender him all manner of Submission He would not trust to their words but went into the Country with his Army to bring things to a full period The Vicount de Touars the most considerable of them all obtained the Kings Pardon without much ado by the intercession of Peter Duke of Bretagne the rest were utterly lost and King John who was then in Partenay could not have avoided being taken if he had not bethought himself of interposing the Popes Legat to demand a Truce That power was so formidable that the King durst not deny him and agreed to it for five years Year of our Lord 1215 When that was done Prince Louis or Lewis whether out of devotion or jealousie of the Power of Count de Montfort took up the Cross on him against the Albigeois and made a Voyage to Languedoc Montfort came to Vienne to meet him and the Legat to Valence Montfort who accompanied him received Bulls from the Pope Year of our Lord 1215 which in Consequence of the Decree of the Council of Montpellier held some Months before gave him the Tolosian Territories in guard or keeping and all those other that had been Conquer'd by the Adventurers of the Cross upon Condition to receive Investiture of the King and render him Feodal Duty So that we may say ☜ the Pope named and the King Confer'd upon his Nomination From thence Lewis was at Montpellier then at Beziers where he gave order the Walls of Narbonne and Tolose should be demolish'd Mean while the Lateran Council notwithstanding the pitiful Remonstrances of the Count de Tolose who was there in Person with his Son adjudged the propriety of his Lands to Montfort reserving only those he had in Provence for his Son and four hundred Marks of Silver yearly for his Subsistance to be understood if they shew'd themselves obedient to the Holy See From that time Montfort took on him the Quality of Earl of Toulouze and came to receive Investiture from the King in the City of Melun While Lewis was yet in those Countries the English Lords sent to offer him the Crown of England and demand Assistance against the Tyrannies of John who was Excommunicated by the Pope and who had robb'd them of their Liberties and Priviledges for which cause they had taken up Arms to Dethrone him They had the City of London and some other places for them nevertheless their design did not go on well and their dispair forc'd them to seek their safety by some Foreign Assistance Year of our Lord 1215 16. The Tyrant seeing his loss infallible stuck not to abase the Dignity of his Crown to gain the Popes Protection He satisfies him therefore and becomes his Vassal and Tributary of a thousand Mark of Silver but this abasement added scorn to the execration his Subjects had for him Now the Holy Father resolv'd highly to protect his new Vassal Excommunicated the English and sent a Legat into France to divert Lewis from that Enterprize and desired King Philip to put a stop to it Philip makes protestation of all Respect and Obedience to the Holy See but said he could not impose upon his Son that necessity not to pursue the Rights of his Wife who was Neece to King John So that Lewis accepted the Crown of England and landed with a great Equipage in the Isle of Thanet thence went to London where he was solemnly Crowned John being excluded from his Capital City retired to Winchester and by his flight gave him full leisure to receive the Hommage of all the Nobility and secure all about London The Legat not being able to put a stop to Lewis by any Arguments or Persuasions Excommunicated him and all his Adherents but he appeal'd to the Pope they had not yet found out the
better to spoil and ruine the whole Countrey about Toulouze pull down the Houses root up the Vineyards and burn the Corn which so disheartned the Toulousains that both they and their Earl were forced to submit to what conditions he pleased Year of our Lord 1228 The Treaty was chalked out at Meaux and compleated at Paris the Earl and Deputies of Toulouze being present The Earl was deprived of all his Lands excepting some little fragments they for meer pity left him It was order'd they should all devolve to his Daughter Jane who should be Married to Alphonso the Kings Brother into whose custody she was put forthwith That the Earl should pay Seventeen thousand Marks of Silver part to the King some to the Monks de Cisteaux and the rest for a Foundation of Doctors in Divinity at Toulouze That the Walls of that City and of Thirty more should be demolish'd for performance whereof he should give Hostages and in the mean time remain prisoner That there should be an exact search after Heretiques at his charge and that for pennance he should go and make war five years against the Saracens These Articles Signed he and those of his company that had been Excommunicated were at Nostre-dames of Paris upon Good-Friday bare-footed in their Shirts to receive Absolution of the Popes Legat. That done the Earl returned prisoner to the Tower of the Louvre till he had given his Hostages About the Feast of Pentecost the King gave him the Order of Knighthood and sent him into his own Countrey The Legat went with him and setled the Inquisition which exercised great severities and was again the cause of many troubles and Massacres Year of our Lord 1228 The Male-contented could not disgest that the Government should be in the hands of two Strangers a Spanish Woman and an Italian Cardinal they therefore took up Arms again drew to their party Robert Earl of Dreux elder Brother to the Duke of Bretagne and Philip Earl of Boulogne the Kings paternal Uncle to whom they promised the Crown so that the King feared a second time to be involved by this conspiracy and had been surprized if the Earl of Champagne had not run seasonably to him with 300 * Horse-men to bring him off In Spring the Conspirators turned all their Force against the Earl of Champagne and Brie They demanded those Counties of him for Alix Queen of Cyprus Daughter of his Uncle Henry who died in the Levant and more then that called him Traytor and accused him of having poysonned the deceased King proffering to convict him by Duel a reproach that made him so black and loathsome amongst his Vassals that they joyned in League with his Enemies against him The Count finding so heavy a burthen on his Shoulders and his City of Troyes besieged implores the assistance of the Queen Regent who caused the King to march to his relief and commanded them if they had any thing to say against the Earl they should come and require justice upon him in her Court But they who would not acknowledge her Regency as if the Kingdom had been vacant elected in a private Assembly or Cabal the Lord de Coucy for King who was in great reputation for his Wisdom and Justice The Queen Regent having got intelligence gave immediate notice of it to Philip Earl of Boulogne whom they had made believe they would give the Crown to by this means she took him off from them then by divers politique contrivances made all their designs vanish but not their ill intentions Year of our Lord 1228 For a few days afterwards the Duke of Bretagne by their assistance and Councils took up Arms again and called the King of England to his aid who landed in Bretague with considerable Forces but when he saw the King conducted by the Queen Regent had taken the Castle de Belesme au Perche from the Duke which was held impregnable he Shipp'd himself again The Duke thus abandonned was constrained to betake himself to an agreement Year of our Lord 1229 The very next year he broke it but not without punishment the King having taken all his Holds and Places and gained all his Vassals and Friends shuts him up in his City of Nantes so that to get out of the Briars and make the best of a bad bargain he was forced to render him hommage of Allegiance for the Dutchy The Bretons who pretended they owed but ouly single Homage named him because of his so doing Mau-clerc as who should say Witless or wanting Judgment and Understanding Thibauld Earl of Champagne was ill rewarded for the good services he had done the Queen Regent She took in hand the cause of her Cousin Alix and condemned him to pay her Forty thousand Marks of Silver and sell to the King to raise that Money the Counties of Blois Chartres Sancerre and the Vicount of Chasteaudun Year of our Lord 1230 After all these disorders there was a calm and peace for four years which was only a little disturbed by some tumults caused by the remainders of the Albigensis and the hurly-burlies of the Scholars belonging to the University of Paris It was then the fairest Ornament of the Kingdom and the innumerable numbers of Scholars that flocked thither from all parts of Europe brought great riches to that City which in a manner made all the other Universities in Christendom submit to it Now some of them having been ill handled in some scuffle with the Citizens and not obtaining such satisfaction as they desired they all resolved to quit Paris not without having first published a great many Songs and Licentious Poems which fullied the reputation of the Queen Regent and Cardinal Romain the Popes Legat who swayed her The Duke of Bretagne and the King of England proffer'd to receive them into their Countries and to grant them great priviledges but the Kings Council fearing that capital City might be deprived of so great an advantage and benefit found means to allay their heats and keep them there Year of our Lord 1231. and the following The Inhabitants of Marseilles and the adjacent Countreys being revolted against Raimond Berenger Earl of Provence called in Raimond Earl of Toulouze to Command them because he was next Heir For we must know that Gilbert Earl of Provence and Nice had had two Daughters Faidide who Married Alphonso Great Great Great Grandfather of Raimond de Toulouze and Douce that had married Raimond Berenger Earl of Bacelonna from whom was descended the Earl of Provence now mentioned He therefore accepted of their Homage and acted as their Lord whence follow'd a War that lasted four years between those two Cousins This Earl of Provence having been harrass'd by divers Revolts and other misfortunes was at the end of his days made compleatly happy by the Marriage of four Daughters he had by his Wife Beatrix of Savoy a most Virtuous Princess For all four of them had the honour to be Married to Kings Margret who was
King having read it stood much amazed It must be some Intelligence he gave to the King of Castille Whatever it were he was made a Prisoner carried to Paris thence transferr'd to the Castle of Janville in Beausse then some days afterward brought back again to Paris where he was Hanged on the publick Gallows in the presence of the Dukes of Burgundy and Brabant and of Robert Earl of Artois Guilty enough had he committed no other Crime but the bewitching his King and fettering both his Sacred Person and Mind in his Artificial Snares The Fortunes of all those whom he had advanced were utterly ruined the Bishop of Bayeux his Brother-in-Law made his escape to the Pope where he remained a long time in Exile Year of our Lord 1277 The boundless Ambition of Charles King of Sicilia aspired to all He thought to hold all Italy by the Offices of Senator of Rome and Vicar of the Empire he was contriving the Conquest of the Grecian upon the right Baldwin had to it whose Daughter he had taken for his second Wife and this year 1277. he purchased the Title of King of Jerusalem of the Princess Mary Widow of Frederic Bastard of the Emperor Frederic the II. and Daughter of Raimond Rupin Prince of Antioch and Melisinda Daughter of Aymeric de Lusignan King of Cyprus and Jerusalem This Kingdom had been already annexed to Sicilia by the Marriage of Yolante de Brienne who was Heiress to it and since it hath ever remained so annexed Year of our Lord 1278 But the Pope the Emperor Rodolph and the Emperor Michael Conspired together to put a stop to that Grandeur which run up too fast and threatned to stifle theirs And besides the Pope it was Nicholas III. of the House of Vrsini who not only did not desire to have to so Potent a Neighbour but withall was cruelly offended for that having demanded one of his Daughters for one of his own Nephews Charles had received his insolent Proposition with raillery and contempt Year of our Lord 1278 At the same time the power of Rodolph mightily increased by the Victory he gained over Othocare King of Bohemia who was left dead in the Field Of the Spoils of that Prince whose Domestick he had been he got the Dutchy of Austria and invested his Son Albertus in it His Posterity have still preserved it and have taken the name of it as more illustrious then that of Habspurg Year of our Lord 1278 Not to thwart the Pope who sought to pick a Quarrel Charles quitted the Title of Senator and that of Vicar He wanted but little in Anno 1279. of losing Provence likewise Queen Margaret Widow of St. Lewis his Sister-in-Law disputed it with him as being elder Daughter of Earl Raimond Berengier and implored assistance of the Emperor of whom that County was held because of the Kingdom of Arles Notwithstanding the business being brought to Examination Provence was left to Year of our Lord 1279 Charles upon Condition of doing Homage to the Emperor whose Daughter Clemence should likewise be Married to the Son of his eldest Son His Name was Charles as was his Fathers and Grandfathers Year of our Lord 1279 Edward King of England crossed over Seas with Alienor his Wife and came to King Philip at Amiens to Treat of their Affairs Philip agreed he should have the Earldom of Agenois and surrendred up that of Pontieu which belonged to Alienor by right of her Mother She was Jane the Wife of Ferdinand III. King of Castille and Daughter of the Earl Simon and Mary Daughter and Heiress of William likewise Earl of Pontieu Reciprocally Edward renounced the Dutchy of Normandy but retained Thirty Livers Rent upon the Exchequer or Court of Justice of the Province John otherwhile Lord of the Island de Procida had been devested of his Estate by Charles for having tamper'd in some Conspiracy Being therefore prompted by a cruel Resentment he framed the design to bring the King of Arragon as Heir to the House of Scwaben by his Mother into the Kingdom of Sicilia and made so many Journeys backwards and forwards to the Pope the Emperor and the Sicilians that he brought the Project to his desired issue Year of our Lord 1281 Mean time Pope Nicholas who had projected for the most part what we shall find to break out in those Countries hapned to die and a French Cardinal it was Simon de Brie was Elected in his room he was named Martin IV. This last knew nothing of the Tragical design contrived by his Predecessor and had intentions quite contrary but it being already put in motion he found the effect of it before ever he could foresee the blow The Death of Nicholas did not discourage the Conspirators the Lord de Prochyda continuing his Voyages disguised like a Monk brought from Constantinople Three hundred thousand Ounces of Gold to the Arragonian who was ready to put a great Naval force to Sea under pretence of making War upon the Saracens and had the Craft the better to conceal his intentions to borrow Twenty thousand Gold Crowns of King Philip and even as some say of Charles himself whom he was going to Dethrone Year of our Lord 1282 He lay for some time upon the Coasts of Africa to favour the Enterprize agreed upon and in the mean while Charles neglected the Advice was given him to stand upon his Guard and be aware and employ'd all his Forces for the Conquest of the Eastern Empire in which he did not succeed very well his Fleet having been worsted at Sea by that of the Emperor Michael Whilst he is thus lull'd asleep by his ill fate the Sicilians upon an Easter-day at the first ringing of the Bell to Vespers cut the Throats of all the French that were in the whole Island which they did execute with so much fury and rage that the good Friers Jacobins and the Cordeliers did with pleasure wash their hands in Blood and Murthered their unhappy Enemies at the very Altars The Fathers ripping up the Wombs of their own Daughters if great with a French Child and dashing little Infants against the Rocks They killed Eight thousand in two hours space and pardoned but only one by reason of his rare Probity He was called William des Pourcellets a Gentleman of Provence Year of our Lord 1282 Charles who was at this time in Tuscany more enraged then frighted at so terrible a blow Arms himself powerfully by the assistance of the Pope and the King of France which was brought him by the Earl of Alenson and besieges Messina That City terrified with the glittering of his Arms and the Fulminations of the Holy See would have surrendred at the very first and all the Island afterwards if his just Wrath could have received them to any Mercy but that Prince being grown inexorable dispair puts some courage into their faint hearts and the arrival of the Arragonian who landed at Palermo about the end of August and was
all his Forces with him Year of our Lord 1289 Don Sancho King of Castille desired earnestly to have a Peace with King Philip and for that reason he would have given him up the two Sons of Alphonso de Cerda and to this intent had endeavoured to get them out of the hands of the Arragonian who kept them Now the Arragonian having denied so to do he Treated with Philip obliging himself to give the Kingdom of Murcia to the eldest of those two Brothers and some other Lands to the second The Arragonian hearing of this Treaty made haste to set them at liberty that so they might be obliged to him and continue still Enemies to Sancho In effect they were so ill advised as to refuse to stand to the Agreement which Philip their Cousin German had made for them and immediately took up Arms against the Castillan Year of our Lord 1290 Philips displeasure for being thus cantradicted by these two Brothers was craftily manag'd by the Castillan so that those two Kings had Interview at Bayonne and there made a Treaty by which Philip according the Advice of some interessed Counsellors totally abondoned his unhappy Cousins and withall yielded up and gave to Don Sancho all the rights he might have to the Crown of Castille This year Alexander III. King of Scotland dying without Children there arose a long and bloody Quarrel for the Succession between two Lords each of them pretending to be the next Heir Both of them being of the Blood Royal by their Mothers who were the Daughters of Scotland Their names were Robert Bruce and John de Baliol. This last was Originally of Normandy History does not mention of what part for there are divers places have the name of Baliol. These two Competitors having referr'd their Difference to Edward King of England he gives Judgment in favour of Baliol whether he believed his Title to be the better or whether it were because he made himself his Vassal as the Scots reproach him and had promis'd to hold his Crown of him Year of our Lord 1291 Alfir Sultan of Egypt had in the year 1288. wrested all the Cities of Tripoly Syria Lidon and Tyre with some other strong Holds out of the hands of the Christians They had nothing more left in all those Countreys but the Sea-Port Town of Ptolemais which made a Truce with the Sultan The French the Pisans the Genoese and the Venetians had each of them their distinct Quarters and Magistrates The Pope the King of Cyprus the Earl of Tripoly the Patriach of Jerusalem and the Templars contended for the Soveraignty Amidst these Divisions there was nothing but Murthers Robberies and Plunderings both within and without the City Besides all this they were so imprudent as to suffer some numbers of new Recruits that were come to them as Adventurers of the Cross to break the Truce The Sultan Mebee-Arafe who succeeded to Alfir demanded Reparation but as it was not in their power to deliver up the Violators he besieged the City and after Forty days continual attaques gained it by Storm putting to the Sword all that were within excepting only such as could save themselves on Ship-board Such was the end of the Christians Conquests in Syria and their Expeditions into the Holy Land For although the Popes have since caused the Croisado's to be preach'd for the recovery of it and several Princes and great Persons have made ✚ â—ow to go thither for the same purpose Nevertheless since the loss of Ptolemais none of them have gone thither but only some Pilgrims Year of our Lord 1291 Charles the Lame was in the end forced that he might free his Children and release those Gentlemen he had given in Hostage and who were all sent into Arragon to persuade his Cousin Charles Earl of Valois to renounce the Kingdom of Arragon upon which Condition King Alphonso engaged himself to go with his Forces into the Holy Land and in his pasiage through Sicilia to do his utmost to induce his Brother James Usurper of that Island to restore it to Charles the Lame Who in the mean while gave his Daughter Clemence in Marriage to Charles de Valois and for a Portion the Counties of Anjon and Maine Year of our Lord 1291 Otheline Earl of Burgundy ready to be trod under foot by Robert Duke of Burgundy who would have the Earldom to hold of the Dutchy and do him Homage cast himself head-long into the protection of King Philip bringing to him his eldest Daughter named Jane that he might Marry her to one of his Sons and in favour of this Alliance he from that time gave him up his Earldom reserving only to himself the Revenue during his Life This Jane was afterwards Married to Philip the Long the Kings eldest Son who was then but in his Cradle and her Sister Blanch to the second who was called Charles the Fair. Year of our Lord 1291 The excessive Usury of the Italian Bankers suckt all the Substance of the poor People The King had need of Money he was glad oâ— such an opportunity and pretence to do Justice to get some from them He therefore caused them all to be seized upon May-day night This was a sweet Knot or Nose-gay of May-Flowers but since under the same pretence they laid hold of many honest Merchants likewise and raised great Fines or Taxes upon them as well as upon the Blood-sucking Leeches this inquiry which in it self was just and necessary was converted into a most odious Robbery Year of our Lord 1291 It is believed that this year the holy Virgins little House at Nazareth where the Incarnation of the Word was declared to her was by Angels transferr'd to the top of a little Mountain in Dalmatia on the other side of the Adriatique-Sea That from thence three years afterwards it was brought to the hither-side in a Wood that belonged to a Widow named Loretta and that it was removed at two other times into two several places in the last whereof the Angels left it There is a Magnificent Church built there and a pretty good Town and both are called by the name of Loretta Year of our Lord 1291 The Emperor Rodolph ended his days in the Burrough of Geâ—inesheim near Spire the last day of September having Reigned Eighteen years He laid the foundation of the prodigious Grandeur of the House of Austria but undermined that of the Empire in Italy by neglecting to go thither and selling the Soveraignty to divers Cities of Tuscany in the year 1286. especially to that of Luca and Florence who bought it of him with their Money Year of our Lord 1292 In his room Adolph Earl of Nassau was elected the 6th of January and Crowned at Francfort a brave and generous Prince who would have maintained that Title better then any of his Ancestors had he but had as much Riches as Vertue The Peace between France and England had lasted to this time to the great satisfaction of both
Forces belonging to the Navarrois continued their Incursions in Normandy Year of our Lord 1365 it was believed they might be drawn from thence by a Diversion towards Navarre A League was therefore made with the King of Arragon his Capital Enemy who immediately fell with an Army into that Kingdom The Navarrois had the more apprehension because he knew that France was necessarily obliged to joyn with that Prince the King of England having made a League with Peter King of Castille an Eternal Enemy to the Arragonians Wherefore Captal de Buch and the rest of his Friends applied themselves with so much zeal that they made his peace with the King By this Treaty he renounced all his rights to Champagne and to Burgundy upon condition he should have the Lordship of Montpellier in Languedoc which was given him The Habits of Men of Quality and honest People dwelling in Cities was a long Gown and a Hood almost of the same fashion as the Monks sometimes they threw these back upon their Shoulders and made use of a Cap or Bonnet for their Heads Now luxury and folly had shortned their long Robe so much that their Thighs and the whole motions of their Bodies from their Reins was plainly Year of our Lord 1365 seen They had likewise brought in use a certain sort of Shoes the Toes whereof were turned up with a long neck they named them Poulenes and at their Heels a kind of Spurs The King by his Edicts banished these ridiculous Modes after the example of his Holiness who but a while before had by his Bulls condemned the dissoluteness of Apparel both in the one and the other Sex France could not rid her self of those droves of Robbers that knawed her to the Year of our Lord 1365 very bones The English tolerated them that they might have their help upon occasion and there were not Forces enough besides to suppress them Gueselin found out a way to carry them all off into Spain upon this occasion Alphonso XI King of Castille had had by his lawful Wife a Son named Peter who succeeded him and by a Mistress five Natural Sons the eldest of whom was called Henry and was Earl of Tristemare This Peter was rightly surnamed the Cruel and the Wicked for he shewed himself more a friend to the Alcoran then to the Gospel having alliance and amity with the Moorish Kings He overturned all the Laws and committed all the Injustice and Cruelties that Tyrants can commit He lived in publick Adultery with Mary de Padilla and had in Anno 1361. caused his Wife Blanch to be poyson'd who was Daughter to Peter Duke of Bourbon and Sister to the Queen of France a Princess as vertuous as fair after she had endured all the outrages imaginable for ten years together He put the Lady to death that had been his Fathers Mistress and shed the blood of the greatest in his Kingdom almost every day nor did he spare his own Brothers having Murthered Frederic one of the five who was Grand Master of St. James and often attempted against the lives of the other four Henry being thereâ—ore prompted by a just Resentment for the death of his Brother and his Mother and besides authoriz'd by the Law of Nature which allowed him to defend his life rose up against him with the greatest part of the Nation Leagued himself with the Arragonian and made War upon him for some time Year of our Lord 1365 His Cause in the beginning had not so much success as justice he was overmatch'd and worsted by the Tyrant and took shelter in France The King gave him protection the more willingly because it offer'd a fair occasion to employ his Soldiery It was thought fit for the better countenance of it to let John de Bourbon Count de la Marche Cousin German to the late Queen Blanch have the chief Command in appearance but for their true Conductor Bertrand du Gueselin who was delivered out of the hands of Chandois the Pope the King and Don Henry having paid down his Ransom Year of our Lord 1366 With these Forces and great numbers of the Nobility Volunteers even out of those Countries under the obedience of the English the Count de la Marche and Gueselin carried Henry back into Spain The Pope fearing this Army might approach near Avignon sent them Two hundred thousand Livers with Indulgences The King of Arragon gave them passage and the Dutchy of Borgiae to Gueselin and before they entred upon Castille they regained all those places Peter had taken from him and put them honestly again into his hands Upon the arrival and sight of Henry all the Nobles of Castille excepting one single Knight abandoned the Tyrant They all cry'd out Long live King Henry and open'd their Gates to him in a word he was Crowned at Burgos about the end of March. That done he liberally rewarded with Estates in Lands all such as had follow'd him and thinking himself secure upon the Tyrants flight he discharged the most part of his Forces who would have lain too heavy on his new Subjects reserving only Fifteen hundred Lances with Gueselin and Bernard Bastard of the Count de Foix. Year of our Lord 1366 The Tyrant made his escape first towards Portugal but the King of that Country having refused to allow him any retreat there he got into Galicia and from thence by Sea to Bayonne to implore the assistance of the Prince of Wales The jealousie that Prince had for the fame of du Gueselin made him give an ear to his supplications he promised to restore him and to act Personnally in the Employment To this end he retains the Gascon Lords and the same Companies that had served du Gueselin who were disbanded by Henry but the Arragonian keeping the passages shut and well guarded they could not get to him but with a great deal of difficulty Year of our Lord 1367 There was no other way but by Navarre King Charles the Bad having made a League with either Party found himself perplexed In the end he leans towards the Tyrant and gives him passage and three hundred Lances Whilst he was wavering betwixt both Parties and endeavoured to delude them both he was made Prisoner by Oliver de Mauny who held the Castle of Borgia upon that Frontier It was imagin'd he had contriv'd it so himself to keep his Faith with Henry but Oliver treated him as a real Prisoner and got a good Ransom from him When Henry knew that his Enemies had taken the City of Navarrette he came to meet them and instead of stopping their passage and hindring their having Provisions brought to them which he might easily have done being above three times more numerous then they he gave them Battle This was the Fourth of April between Nagera and Navarrette but he lost it through the Cowardize of his Brother Teilo who betook himself to flight upon the first Charge Gueselin was made Prisoner with the Mareschal d'Endreghen and some
affectionate to the Princesses which hapned the Sixth day of January in the year 1386. Year of our Lord 1386 The same year the Widow-Queen and her Daughter going into the Countrey fell into the hands of Horvat Governour of Croatia one of King Charles's Partisans or Confederates who to revenge the death of his Master caused the Widow and the Murtherer Gato to be massacred He kept the Princess some time then sent her to Sigismund having first obliged her by all sorts of Oaths to pardon him Sigismund did not think himself bound by her promises and therefore having surprized him made him dye amidst a thousand torments Year of our Lord 1386 The news of Charles's Murther being brought into Italy Thomas de Sanseverin caused Lewis II. eldest Son of the deceased Duke of Anjou to be proclaimed King and Clement VII to be owned Pope Afterwards Marguerite the Widow of Charles being retired to Cajeta with Ladislaus or Lancelot her Son aged about Ten years he reduced almost the whole Kingdom and Naples it self Thus all things went on smoothly for Lewis till Mary de Blois his Mother and Governess having sent Clement de Montjoye Nephew to Pope Clement with the Title and Authority of Vice-Roy the Sanseverins thinking themselves under-valued were alienated from her Service and turned to Ladislaus Year of our Lord 1386 In the mean while Lewis was put into possession of Provence and invested with the Kingdom of Naples by Clement but it was not without great trouble before the Provensaux would acknowledge him the Kings Counsel themselves inciting them underhand to a Rebellion upon divers motives because they would have disposed them to give themselves up to France After Five or Six years Truces and petty Wars the Council resolved to attacque the English not in Guyenne only but even in their own Island For this end they made the most formidable preparations of Men Engines and Ships that ever yet were seen They bought up or hired all the Vessels they could light on from the Ports of Sweden to those in Flanders they built a City of Wood which was to be taken in pieces to shelter themselves upon their Landing The King went to Sluyce to take a view of his Army and Navy consisting in Nine hundred Vessels The Duke of Berry's envy and jealousie retarded the progress he would needs break the design because he was not the contriver In order to which he made them wait for him till the Fourteenth of September when the Seas began to appear un-navigable So the Forces drew off into Quarters part of this numerous Fleet were scattered by Tempests the English pickt up many that were wrack'd or stragled Year of our Lord 1386 There was no reason to trust the Duke of Bretagne too much because of his too many Obligations to the English and the consideration that their suppression must he his ruine wherefore they warily minded his actions but he to justify himself laid Siege to Brest which they yet held as a bridle to Bretagne The Constable assisted him in the undertaking the place was mightily streightned but when they were at the last gaspe the Duke of Lancaster who was going into Spain with great Forces made them raise the Siege The occasion of his voyage was this Ferdinand last King of Portugal had no Child but a Daughter born of a Lady whom he had taken from her Husband He caused this Girl to be owned as his presumptive Heyress as likewise the Mother had been owned Queen and married her to John King of Castille who was a Widower and had two Sons but when he died the principal Cities of Portugal apprehending the Castillan bondage had more mind to have a bastard Brother of Ferdinands for their King his Name was John Froissard names him Denis thorow a mistake instead of saying he was Grand Master of the Order D'Avis The fortune of the War was favourable to the Bastard he gained a Battle at Juberot against his adversaries the Castillans having out of an ugly jealousie suffer'd the Gascons and French to be defeated who took their part with above Eight thousand Men and then were afterwards themselves defeated Notwithstanding this advantage it was to be feared the Castillan would be able yet to crush them and therefore the Bastard sent to the Duke of Lancaster inviting him to come and pursue the right he had to the Kingdom of Castille as on the other hand the Castillian had recourse to France Year of our Lord 1386 The Duke of Lancaster passed therefore into those Countreys with a huge force conquer'd a part of Castille and struck such a terror into all the rest that King John made some overtures of Peace but he spun out the Treaty awhile expecting the French succours when he sound those did not come the Duke of Bourbon their Conductor marching very slowly he concluded the Treaty the Duke of Lancaster Sealed it by the Marriage of two of his Daughters one with the King of Portugal and the other with the Castillans eldest Son This little piece of Honour cost the English very dear the losses they suffer'd by contagious Sicknesses in Spain and afterwards by Storms in their return were so great that the Duke of Lancaster hardly carried home the sixth part of his Men and not one but in a languishing condition half dead with malady and pain At last by a just punishment from Heaven Charles the Wicked who had blown up so many flames and burnt so many entrails with his violent poysons was most cruelly burnt himself He had caused his Body to be wrapp'd all over with Sheets drenched in Spirit of Wine and Sulpher to corroborate the natural heat decay'd by his debauches this took fire I know not by what accident and broiled him to the very bones whereof he died three days after being the First of January in the year 1387. Charles called the Noble his Son succeeded him Year of our Lord 1387 The Constable Clisson and the Admiral John de Vienne had so fill'd the King's Head with the expedition for England that he makes another preparation to execute it this year The state of Affairs was very favourable all England was in combustion against King Richard because he had put mean and vile People into places of the highest Trust who bear all the sway which his Uncles could not endure nor indeed would they have the Power lodged in any other hands but their own Now when France was on the point of making advantage of these troubles the Duke of Bretagne either of intelligence with the English or without thinking of them was cause of interrupting the Enterprize this time as it had been formerly Clisson was then in Bretagne to dispatch the Forces that were at Treguier that they might go and joyn with those at Sluyce but at the same time he was Treating of the Marriage of one of his Daughters with John the Son of Charles de Blois whom he had purposely got out of the hands
of all these was Lonvet the President of Provence who had an ambition to govern in despite of all the Grandees He chose rather to be the ruine of his Master whom he had strangely fetter'd then to be thrust away from him so that Year of our Lord 1425 he found means by his contrivances to animate him against the Constable but the Constable made his Party so good that the King found himself abandoned of all the Grandees and all his places refused obedience to him excepting Selles and Vierzon Then he saw it was high time to discharge Louvet and all the rest Taneguy generously sacrificing his fortune to serve his King begged leave to be gone as his Reward Louvet upon his retreat as his Master-piece of Court-craft put the Lord de Gyac in his place The Constable had no little ado to reconcile himself to the King who fled before him that he might not see him At length he suffers him to approach that he might get assistance of the Breton Who being in the end satisfied by the expulsion of his Enemies came to him at Saumur rendred him Homage and gave him his Contract and the Contracts of all the Lords within his Dutchy under Hand and Seal commanding them to go upon his Service They did him but little good but they might Year of our Lord 1425 have done him a great deal of hurt The Seventh of September Charles the Noble King of Navarre ended his Life Blanch his only Daughter Married to John the Brother of Alphonso King of Arragon was his Heiress Year of our Lord 1424 and 25. As on the one hand these Broils prejudiced the Affairs of King Charles on the other hand the Quarrel which hapned between the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Gloucester about Jacqueline Countess of Hainault and the Duke of Brabant her lawful Husband did much retard nay set back those of the English forasmuch as it diverted the Forces of those two Princes who would undoubtedly have wholly subdued France had they joyned them to the Duke of Bedfords Jacqueline would not endure that the Duke of Brabant whom she affirmed was nothing to her should enjoy her Lands and the Duke of Gloucester who had Married her did serve and assist her in that Quarrel The Duke of Bedford desiring not to distaste the Duke of Burgundy endeavour'd to patch up some agreement between the Parties the Duke of Brabant submitted but Gloucester regarded it not but still pursued the right of his pretended Wife with Sword in hand Year of our Lord 1424 and 25. He and the Burgundian pickered by Letters and went on so far as to defie each other to a Personal Combat agreeing upon the time the place and the Weapons The Duke of Bedford having assembled the chiefest of the French and English Lords brought that Challenge to nothing and declared that there was no just or legal cause for Combat And to testifie to the Burgundian that he had no hand in the Enterprizes of his Brother he desired they might see one another at Dourlens as they did upon the Eve of St. Peters day This did not hinder them from making a brisk War in Holland where the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Burgundy tried their Forces but at two years end the Pope having declared that the Marriage of Jacqueline with the Duke of Gloucester was of no value that Prince desisted from his prosecution and Married a Damlet whom he entertain'd Year of our Lord 1425 The English had taken and fortified the City of Pontorson nigh Auranches from whence they perpetually molested Bretagne the Constable laid siege to it and regained it in a short time He was not so happy at Saincte James de Beuveron which they had repaired His Soldiers having forsaken him for want of their pay he made a shameful retreat and left all his Artillery and Equipage to the Enemy Pontorson was afterwards besieged by the English and having surrender'd the Duke of Bedford came to the Frontiers of Bretagne with a great Army upon which the Duke was so astonished that he renounced the Alliance he had made with France returned to that with England and promised to do Homage to King Henry The shocks great Captains meet with does often times proceed from the malice Year of our Lord 1426 and envy of those that are of the Kings Council whose care and province it is to provide for the subsistance and payment of the Armies The Constable knew that Gyac was the cause of his disaster because in stead of sending him Money he stop'd the current from running that way and diverted it to his own use and entertained his Prince in solitude and private pleasures that he alone might enjoy his Person and his Favours For this reason in the Month of January following he went with a strong hand to surprize him in his Bed at Issoudun and after some slight formalities of Justice caused his Head to be cut off or as others relate drowned him Year of our Lord 1426 Another Gentleman named le Camus de Beaulieu undertook to supply the place of Gyâ—c and tread in his footsteps some while after People were amazed to see the Constable rid himself of him as he had done of the other The Mareschal de Bouslac by his order slew him in the open Street and almost in the Kings sight in the City of Poitiers He remembred too well what the Favourites had contrived at Montereau and against the Duke his Brother wherefore he would suffer none to be near the King of whom he was not well assured he therefore places the Lord de la Trimouille at Court whom he judged to have sentiments contrary to the two former his House owing all their good fortunes and rise to the Dukes of Burgundy But this Man soon blinded with his new fortune as well as those whose post he now had taken he kept the Princes as much at distance as he possibly could so that even the Constable himself retired into Bretagne This proceeded to a kind of a War which divided the Court and retarded all the Kings Affairs for seven or eight Months Year of our Lord 1426 and 27. It would be endless to take notice of all the Sieges Fights and Enterprizes in these Wars both Foreign and Domestick There was not a City or Burrough but had Garrisons Forts and Castles were built in all convenient places upon Hills on Rivers in narrow ways and in the open Fields Every Lord had his Soldiers or to speak more properly his Bands of Robbers who maintained themselves by feeding on the poor Country People I shall therefore mention only the most remarkable Events in this place that the French raised the Siege of Montargis in the year 1426. and the year after recovered the City of Manse which had been taken by the English during the divisions of the Court. The Siege of Orleance was yet much more memorable and more important The Year of our Lord 1428 Earl of
Orange and from thence into the Franche-Comte from whence he was conducted into Brabant The Duke of Burgundy received him as the Son of his Soveraign and assigned him twelve thousand Crowns for his use and the Castle of Gueneppe within four Leagues of Bruxels for his oridinary Residence Year of our Lord 1457 Whatever noble Reception and Entertainment he met with in that Country he had not been long there before he sowed division between the Father and the Son having gained the Lords of the House de Crouy who governed the Father and countenancing and abetting them against the Son who could not endure them The first year of his sojourning there they brought Charlotte of Savoy to him to Consummate his Marriage by whom a Son was born about three years afterwards who died Year of our Lord 1456 The Kings wrath discharged it self upon John Duke of Alenson the Dauphins God-father This Prince returning from Dauphine where he had been to brew some Intrigue with his God-son and having contrived I know not what League with the English to make some disturbance in favour of them was seized and imprisoned in the Castle de Loâ—hes Year of our Lord 1457 In the year 1457. as it is usual after a long War to squeeze the Finances of what they have sucked in during the publick Calamities the King called those to account who had managed the Treasury One John Xancoins Receiver General convicted of misdemeanour and of having detained sixty thousand Crowns was banish'd for ever his Goods consiscate and the fair Houses he had built bestowed upon the Count de Dunois Year of our Lord 1458 Two years after the imprisonment of the Duke of Alenson for it required all that time to find out proofs the King convened his parliament and his Pairs at Montargis to make his Process They laboured three Months in it he being at Baugency The business not going on with that expedition as he desired he removes the Assembly to Vendosme where he intended to be present At last by a Sentence of the Tenth of October they condemned the Duke to lose his Head and confiscated all his Estate The King gave him a pardon for his life but took the best of his Lands and sent him back Prisoner to Loches Year of our Lord 1458 The Twenty sixth of December of the same year was the last of brave Arthur's days Earl of Richmond Constable of France who had likewise been Duke of Bretagne a year and an half by the death of Peter the Simple second Son of his eldest Brother He had no child and so the Duthy went to Francis his Nephew Son of Richard Earl of Estampes his younger Brother Charles of Anjou Earl of Mayne had the Office of Constable The same year the Twenty seventh of June Alphonso King of Arragon and Sicilia pass'd into the other World At his death he left the Kingdom of Naples then called Sicilia on this side the Fare to Ferdinand his Natural Son Rene of Anjou finding this a fair opportunity to pursue his right against him before he could be well setled sent John Duke of Calabria his Son into those Countries This Prince guided by the destiny of his Predecessors had very prosperous beginnings and an unfortunate end Year of our Lord 1459 Since the taking of Constantinople the Duke of Burgundy had for two or three times made shew as if he would employ his Forces and Person against the Insidels We may fee in Oliver de la Marche the Vows which he and the Lords in the Assembly of Bruges made on the Peacock at a stately Banquet all this vanish'd into Air together with the Wine and Mirth of the Feast Year of our Lord 1459 As little did Pope Pius II. this was Aeneas Sylvius succeed in his Project which was to unite and engage all Christendom against the Turks In order to which he had convened a General Assembly at Mantoua where appeared Ambassadors from all Soveraign Princes and the War was resolved upon with great designs but without any effect The French Ambassadors returned but ill satisfied the Pope not condescending to favour Rene in his pretence to the Kingdom of Naples but threatning to Excommunicate the King upon the score of the Pragmatick whereupon John Dauvet Attorney General of the Parliament made Protestations and appealed to the future Council Year of our Lord 1458 and 59. The Duke of Tork had for the second time vanquish'd and taken King Henry Prisoner afterwards Queen Margaret with the aid of the Scots slew that Duke in Battle and deliver'd her Husband but Edward Son of that Duke having brought other Forces tried fortune once more and defeated the Queens Army under the Walls of York Then Henry being fled into Scotland and Queen Margaret into France he was Crowned King in the year 1461. This was the first Act of the Tragedy between the Houses of York and Lancaster that of York wore the White Rose and Lancaster the Red. Year of our Lord 1460 and 61 It was now thirteen years that the Dauphin had been absent from the Court his Father sent often for him which he cared not to obey he often called upon the Duke of Burgundy to send him back telling him he nursed and hugged a Serpent which when well warmed in his Bosom would one day make him feel his mortal Sting He sometimes proceeded even to threaten the Duke and stirred up divers of his own People against him who finding himself so harrass'd sent at last a smart Message desiring him to consider whether he would maintain the Peace of Arras or not For this time therefore the King left him quiet but two years after his Counsel or his own Resentment pressing him he was about to go and fetch him with an Army However he changed his mind again and thought it were better punish him by advancing Charles his second Son to the birth-rights of eldership according to the power the Kings of the first and second Race had had Which no doubt he would have put in execution had not the Pope strongly dissuaded him or perhaps if he could have had time enough to dispose the minds of the French Nation to admit of such a change Year of our Lord 1461 While he was at Meun on the Yeurre in Berry he had notice that his Domesticks had plotted to take away his life The poor Prince after that thought he saw nothing but poyniards and poyson His apprehensions were so great that not knowing from what hands he might take his food without danger he refrained from eating some days after which it was not in his power when he would have done it to swallow any thing So that he died of hunger the Two and twentieth of July about the midst of his Sixtieth year and near the end of the Nine and thirtieth of his Reign Never Prince had greater Traverses or more potent Enemies nor overcame them more gloriously After he had driven those out of France that
attempted at his Crown he sound a more dangerous Enemy in his House that attempted on his Life He might have been called Happy had he had another Father and another Son He was affable debonnaire liberal just He tenderly loved his People and spared them as much as it was possible rewarded those that served him very largely took particular care of the Justice and Policy of his Kingdom laboured greatly for the reformation of the Church and was so religious he would not charge it with any Tenths But being of somewhat too soft a temper he was governed and led away by his Favourites and Mistresses too much and in his latter days became apprehensive jealous and suspicious to the extreamest degree He had three Bastards by his Mistresses and eleven Legitimate Children by his Wife Mary Daughter of Lewis II. Duke of Anjou four Sons and seven Daughters Of his Sons two only survived him which were Lewis and Charles As for Daughters Radegonde died betroathed to Sigismond eldest Son of Frederic V. Arch-Duke of Austria Yoland was Wife of Ame VIII Duke of Savoy Catharine of Charles Duke of Burgundy Jean or Joan of John II. Duke of Bourbon and Magdelain of Gaston Prince of Viana and Earl of Foix another Jeane and Mary Twin-Sisters did not outlive the age of Infancy LEWIS XI King LIV. Aged XXXVIII Years POPES PIUS II. 3 years under this Reign PAUL II. Elected the 29th of August 1464. S. 7. years wanting one Month. SIXTUS IV. Elected the 9th of August 1471. S. 13 years whereof 12 under this Reign Year of our Lord 1461 THe conduct which the Prince had made appear in all his actions particularly towards his Father and towards his People of Daulphine made it plainly enough known what his Friends and Subjects were to expect from him He ever Governed without Counsel most commonly without Justice and without Reason He thought it the finest Policy to go out of the great and beaten Road of his Predecessors to change every thing were it from better to worse that he might be feared His judgment which was very clear but too subtil and refined was the greatest enemy to his own and his Kingdoms quiet having as it seems taken pleasure in putting things into disorder and throwing the most obedient into Rebellion He rather loved to follow the bent of his own irregular fancies then the wise Laws of the Land and made his Grandeur consist in the oppression of his People in the pulling down of the great ones and the raising up of others from the very dust and nothing This is what another calls putting their Kings hors de page i.e. out of their Minority he should have said putting them out of their Sence and their Reason The Creatures of the late King formed a Party in favour of Charles his second Son they named him the young Lord which perhaps tended to exclude the Eldest He therefore stood in need of diligence and power to prevent it The information given him by the Count du Mayne not so much out of affection as of hatred to the Count de Dammartin who had been his Rival in the favour of Charles caused him to mount on Horse-back the soonest he could And the Duke of Burgundy and his Son accompany'd him with four thousand Horse chosen out of ten Thousand He went directly to Reims where he was Crowned the 15 th of August by John Juvenal of the Vrsins Before he received the Sacred Unction he would be made a Knight by the Duke then distributed that honour to 117. Lords At the end of the Feast the Duke kneeling down beseeched him to forget the injuries which had been done to him upon occsion of the discontents that had been betwixt his Father and himself He granted him that request but he excepted against seven and under pretence of that number pardoned not any one He made his entrance into Paris the last day of August followed by thirteen or fourteen thousand Horse The feastings being ended the Duke returned into Flanders the Count went on Pilgrimage to St. Claude's in the Franche-Comte and the King to Amboise to see his Mother She died in a short time after to the great regret of the wisest who could have wished that the respect he had for her might for a longer time have been as a Bridle to the voilence of her Son He was much delighted at Plessis les Tours the Count found him there at his return to whom he gave the Government of Normandy and 12000 Crowns by Establishment But it was only a Paper-security and seeming marks of Friendship which were accepted for no other then they were given These two Princes resembled each other too little and knew one another too well to love on either side and indeed from that time the Count treated secretly with Romille Vice-Chancellor of Brittany and gave him his Commission Sealed Year of our Lord 1461. and 62. As soon as Lewis was entred into his Kingdom he Governed himself as in a conquered Country He destituted all the Officers of the Royal Family of War of Judicature and of the Treasury treated all the Creatures belonging to the King his Father very ill took delight in destroying all he had set up gave nothing but Berry to his Brother for his whole Apenage or Portion set the Duke of Alenson at liberty and put the Count de Dammartin into the Bastile restored the Count of Armagnac to his Lands loaded the people with Taxes strip'd the great ones and offended all the Clergy Year of our Lord 1461 Never had any private person laboured more to reduce the power of the Pope within the terms of the Canons then Aeneas Sylvins and never Pope did struggle more to enlarge it bounds of right and reason then the same when he was Pius II. The Pragmatique was a Curb very troublesome to his undertakings He made so many applications to the King that he allowed of a Declaration in November 1641. to abolish it The Court of Rome transported with an insolent joy did immediately cause that Constitution to be dragged along the Streets But it was not yet time for the oppositions of the University hindred the effect of the Declaration and the King never troubled himself to have it put in Execution because the Pope had failed of his word in many things John Gefrey Bishop of Arras had the Cardinals Cap as a recompence for having negociated this affair with the King Year of our Lord 1462 In the mean time the Pope maintained the Bastard Ferdinand in the Kingdom of Naples so that John de Calbria the Son of Rene of Anjou after various revolutions was utterly driven thence The Kings intreaties could obtain nothing from the Holy Father in favour of those Princes of his own Blood But Pius thinking to slatter him confirmed the Title of Most Christian to him which had been already derived to him with more honour from his Ancestors and exhorted him to a Croysade against the Turks presenting him
Year of our Lord 1465 days after This was the 4 th of January In hatred towards that good Prince and in prejudice of the pretensions he had to Milan the King had a little while before acknowledged Francis Sforza for Duke of Milan and with that had not only given up to him all the right the French had to the Seigneury of Genoa But had also remitted and given him Savona which he yet held declaring to all the Princes of Italy that whosoever should assist the Genoese against Sforza should be his enemy So that Sforza by the support of his great name made himself master of Genoa and of all that Signeury Year of our Lord 1465 The Author of the Antiquities of Orleans says that the River of Loire was Frozen this year in the Month of June If this prodigie were true we must needs conclude it proceeded from a natural cause since Chronology demonstrates to us that the thing upon which he would have it to be a Miracle could not happen in that time as he hath put it The Breton having dispatched his Ambassadors to Tours to demand the Term of three Months carried his practises on so cunningly that his League was ready for their purpose before the King had discovered any steps of it The Dukes of Bourbon and Alenson all the other Princes of the Blood except the Counts d'Estampes de Vandosme and d'Eu almost all the Grandees and all the late Kings old Captains were in it amongst others the Duke of Nemours and the Counts of Armagnac of St. Pol of Dunois of Dammartin who made his escape from the Bastille through a hole the Mareschal de loheach the Lords D'Albret de Bueil de Gaucour and de Chaumont d'Amboise They called it a League For the Publick Good because the Princes gave it that fair pretence While the King was at Poitiers the Bastard d'Armagnack Siezed his only Brother Charles and carryed him into Bretagne All the zealous Servants of the Deceased Charles his Father flocked in to him and got him to write a Manifesto to all the Princes of France inviting them to unite with their Party for the easing of the People and the reformation of the Kingdom After the King had attempted in vain to reclaim them by fair promises and flattering words he went to strike the first blow at them who had the first declared themselves These were the Dukes of Bourbon and Dammartin who had begun the War in Berry Bourbonnois and Auvergne All Berry submitted except Bourges which was guarded by the Bastard of Bourbon Rion in Auvergne waited a Siege and sustained it John Duke of Nemours the Count d'Armagnac and Charles Sire d'Albret brought a considerable reinforcement to the Duke nevertheless he gave Ear to a Treaty with the King promising to summon his Confederates to a Peace and to abandon them if they would not accept of reasonable conditions Nemours gave his positive word to the King to side with his Party but he kept it not and the King kept the Oath he made to himself to be revenged in time and place convenient Year of our Lord 1465 In this Country the King had notice that the Count of Charolois had taken the Field with the Duke his Fathers leave who had assured him when they parted that if he fell into any danger he should not want an Hundred Thousand Men to bring him out again He knew likewise that this Count had fifteen Hundred men of Arms eight Thousand Archers and a great equipage of Artillery and Waggons that he had made his Rendevous before Paris and that the Duke of Bretagne and Monsieur were to joyn him Year of our Lord 1465 The Charolois sent the fairest pretence in the World before him the Abolition of Imposts and the publick good He burned the Seats of those Officers at all the places of Receipts and tore their Registers paid the expences of his Soldiers and kept them in good Discipline If this good order could have held all had been his own or if the Breton had come at the time appointed they had been Masters of Paris there being few Soldiers in it and many male-contented and lovers of Novelties The fear of losing Paris made the King leave his other game to get to Paris before the Charolois As soon as he had repassed the Loire the Duke of Bourbon Dammartin Nemours and Albret broke their words with him and having gotten together ten Thousand men marched to joyn with the other Confederates The Lords of the League were all to be at St. Denis towards the end of the month of June the Charolois waited for them ten or twelve days and in the interim attempted the Suburbs of Paris by several Skirmishes When he found none stirred in his favour and that he had no certain news of them nor of the Bretons march he was in great perplexity and thought to retire back again Nevertheless the Vice-Chancellor Romille a Normand and very subtil shewing him from time to time Letters from his Master which he wrote upon blanks Signed before wrought so far that he engaged him to pass the River Seine over the Bridge at St. Cloud to go and joyn the Breton towards Estampes where he thought to have met him He quartered that day at the Village of Lonjumeau his advanced Guard at Montlehery The King returning from Berry kept the same Road and came to Quarter at Chastres a League on this side of Montlehery Both Armies were mightily surprised to find themselves so near each other The Kings design was to slip aside and reach to Paris without hazarding a Battel but Peter de Breze Grand Seneschal of Normandy concerned that he should ask him whether he had not given his Hand and Seal to the Princes engaged them to fight where he was killed one of the very first Thus hapned it to be a rencounter rather then a Battel It was on Tuesday 16 th of July near Montlehery from whence it took Year of our Lord 1465 name Both Armies to speak properly had the worst and neither of them any advantage The Kings left Wing and the Burgundians right were broken and in the rout the fright was so great that there were run-aways both of the one and other Party that posted it for fifty Leagues together without baiting or looking behind them each of them declaring they had lost the Battel on their â—â—de The two Chiefs fought Valiantly in person the Burgundian was twice near being taken Prisoner or slain In the Evening the King tyred with being on Horse-back all the day was conducted by the Scotch-men of his Guards to the Castle of Montlehery His men seeing him no more believed him to be dead And the Count du Mayne and the Lord de Montauban withdrew themselves with Eight Hundred Lances The Burgundian Army being half broken all in a Consternation fearing a new Engagement the next day which they could not have sustained the Principal Officers were in deliberation to dislodge that
would leave it to them two He failed not to take his advantage of these inconsiderate words He would not have his Brother be so near a Neighbour to the Burgundian his Interest was to place him at the other end of the Kingdom to break off their Communication That young Prince Weak Year of our Lord 1468. and 69. and Inconstant of mind was Governed by Oder-Daydie Lord of Lescun a Gascon and vain who would needs be a Prophet in his own Country by his means he was persuaded to renounce Champagne and accept of Guienne with the City of Rochel This change was the loss of that young Prince The Cardinal de la Ballue in whose hands the Treaty of Peronne had been Sworn with much regret suffered it to be altered whether out of love to Monsieur or that he would have had the King still in some perplexity This good Prelat and William de Hoeraucoux holding Intelligence with the Burgundian wrote to Monsieur to dissuade him and represented many things to him for his advantage but contrary to the Kings intentions Their Letters having been intercepted and they Seized they ingenuously confessed their practices The King sent the information to his Brother who suffering to be overcome by his Carasses accepted of Guyenne and came to meet him at Tours The Bishop was shut up in an Iron Cage a punishment he well deserved since he was the first inventor of it The Cardinal was convey'd to the Bastille where he remained twelve years the Pope demanding him as liable only to his Justice and the King pressing the Pope to let him have Judges assigned him within the Kingdom to hear his cause Year of our Lord 1469 The good correspondence between the two Brothers seemed to be perfected and the King to gain or wean Monsieurs Heart from the Countries on this side allured him with a great Match in Spain Henry King of Castille had a Daughter named Jeane but whom the Castillians held for a Bastard because he was esteemed impotent in so much as they had constrained him to declare the Infanta Isabella who was his Sister his Heiress The King sent the Cardinal of Arras to demand this Isabella for Monsieur But the Lords of the Country having stollen her away and married her to Ferdinand Infant of Arragon he seeks to have Jane which Henry agreed to A Matter for a long War if Charles had lived The first day of August the King being at his Castle of Amboise instituted an Order of Knighthood in honour of St. Michael and limited the number of Knights to 36 yet was it never filled up in all his Reign The French particularly Honoured St. Michael as the Tutelary Angel of that Monarchy And a better could not be pitched upon to tread down the Pride of the English who carr'd Dragons in their Ensigns then that Prince of they Celestial Militia who is painted with a Dragon under his feet And indeed it had been reported that he was seen at the head of our Army 's sighting against them for the French He imagined by means or vertue of this Collar that he should have drawn all the Grandees of the Kingdom within his clutclies when he held this Chapter And therefore the Duke of Bretagne refused it and the Duke of Burgundy doing yet worse received the Order of the Garter and wore it to his Death The Breton had in his service one Peter Landays his Treasurer a man of Low Birth but very knowing and able to countermine all the Artisices of Lewis XI It was he that led him to all these evasions and emboldned his Master to withstand all his devices and his threats Thus what ever endeavours he could use though he were on his Frontiers with an Army he could never disunite him from the Burgundian but only obliged him by a Treaty made at Saumur to renounce all offensive Leagues against the Kingdom Year of our Lord 1470 In the year 1470. John the Natural Son of Lewis Duke of Orleance left this world aged 70 years having divers years before left the Court because of his almost continual pain of the Gout which the hardships in the Wars had brought upon him This Prince valued in all things says Comines having made himself as able a Counsellor as he was a Captain was one of the principal instruments God made use of to drive the English out of France Therefore the Princes of his Family gave him the County of Dunois King Charles that of Longue-ville the Office of Great Chamberlain and the Lieutenancy General of his Army's and strong Forts A power of so great extent that it hath been communicated to none but himself in the third Race Year of our Lord 1470 The renunciation which the King caused the Breton to make had most respect to Edward of York King of England and Brother in Law to the Burgundian of whom it was hourly reported that he was coming to Land at Calais He was wholly prevented by the Earl of Warwick who in revenge of some injuries received from him set himself to carry on the interests of the House of Lancaster and had even Debauched the Duke of Clarence his Brother He had the foregoing year defeated his Army and afterwards took him Prisoner Then Edward having escaped beat him in his turn So that he was forced to save himself in France about the end of the Month of May this year From thence returning into England with the Succours the King leâ—t him he changed the Scene a second time For all slocked to him according to the Genius of that Country which loves change and Year of our Lord 1471 Edward wholly forfaken fled into Flanders to the Duke of Burgundy his Brother in Law Then King Henry who was in the Tower of London was set at Liberty and Warwick and Clarence took upon them the Government of the Kingdom Though the King still resented in his Heart the affront received at Peronne nevertheless being of a fearful Spirit and the length of any enterprize putting him out of patience if the success were not as swift as his desires he would have lived in peace if the Constable and those that were about him had not excited his resentment to draw him to a rupture They feared and the Constable most of all that a Peace making them appear useless the King might think of retrenching their great allowances and his stirring mind if it were not employ'd abroad might put him upon great alterations at home in his Court. Besides these motives there was also an Intrigue of the Bretons and the Constables in favour of Monsieur As they desired to strengthen him against the King they had inspired him with a desire of marrying the only Daughter of the Burgundian And because they knew the Father would not easily consent to it they believed they should sooner bring it about by force then by friendship and therefore they resolved to engage the King to make a War upon him The Bias they took
together from the Month of December It 's Head was in the Sign of the Ballance and it had a long Tail turning a little towards the North. In Spring the King drew near towards Guyenne the Monk had perhaps reiterated his Dose However it was Monsieur died the 12 th of May. In the mean time the Burgundian passionately desiring to recover St. Quintin and Amiens was entred into a Treaty with the King who promised to restore it and to leave the Counts of Nevers and St. Pol to his Mercy and the Duke reciprocally did oblige himself to abandon Monsicur and the Breton to him Neither of these Dreamt of keeping their Word of Faith The Duke Signed the first the King deferr'd from day to day expecting what would become of his Brother when he had certain news of his Death he scoffed at the Duke and Seized Guyenne again into his own hands Although in many actions he had not too much of the Fear of God before his Eyes nevertheless he had great Devotion towards the Saints enriched their Churches went several Pilgrimages every year particularly to places Consecrated to our Lady He Ordained on the first of May that at the sound of the great Bell at Noon every one should kneel down and say the Ave Maria. The same day after the procession William Chartier Bishop of Paris Died suddenly not without suspicion that some had contributed towards his Death Year of our Lord 1472 It was in this year that Philip de Comines quitted the Duke of Burgundy whose Domestick and Subject he was to go into the Service of the King his Soveraign Lord. If the Motive thereto had been Honest no doubt but it would have been explained by him who hath reasoned so well on every thing else Who could express the rage the Duke of Burgundy was in when he Learn'd the Death of the Duke of Guyenne He entred into Picardy with a Torch in one hand and his Sword in the other Hitherto burnings had not been practised by either Party nevertheless he made a Bon-fire of all the open Country and Sacrificed all that fell under his power to his Friends Ghost Nesle taken by assault endured all sorts of cruelties because the Inhabitants had killed a Herald at Arms who went to Summon them and two men besides during a Surcease which had been allowed them to Treat in The reverence to the Altar could not save those innocent people who fled to the Church for refuge and such as escaped the Sword were all hanged or had their hands cut off His blind fury ran aground at the Siege of Beauvais The want of attacking it roundly at first made him lose six Weeks time and two Thousand Men. It is Memorable that upon a General Assault which was given the Thursday 9 th of July the Men within being ready to give ground the Women conducted by one Jane Hatchete did wonders repelling the Enemy with showers of Stones Wild-fire and Lead melted with scalding Rozen The Effigies of that Woman is yet to be seen in their Town-Hall grasping a Sword in her hand and there is a procession the 10 th of July which is the Day on which the Siege was raised where the Women march first the Men following after Year of our Lord 1472 Going thence the Burgundian Ravaged all the Country of Caux took Eu and St. Valery but was repulsed before Diepe then before Rouen and having threatned Noyon he retired to Abbeville From Guyenne the King passed into Bretagne to force the Duke to renounce the League and surrender the Monk to him who had Poyson'd Monsieur For Odet-Daydie had Seized him and transfer'd him to Nantes The Monk was found dead in Prison the Devil as was said having broken his Neck the Night before that day wherein they were to pronounce his Sentence This was what the King desired that so the Proof of the Crime might perish with the Poysoner and it was more easie now for the Breton to avoid the heavy strokes of his power by the ordinary craft of his Landays He granted him a Truce the 10 th of September and remained still in Poitou till it was converted into a final peace Which was brought about by the Mediation of Odet-Daydie whom he allured to his Service by great rewards He knew better then any Prince in the World how to gain Men discover his Enemies secrets distract them with jealousies divide the most united but in his mirth he could not hide his secrets every thing came to light and he was likewise more subject to commit faults then able to repair them which he strove to do by Methods more frequently bad then good Year of our Lord 1472. 73. In the beginning of Winter the Burgundian accepted a Truce In the Month of February the Duke of Alenson who had a troubled and unquiet mind for having contrived I know not what League with him was made Prisoner and conveyed to the Castle of Loches and from thence to the Lowre The following year the Parliament by a Sentence of the 18 th of July Condemned him to loose his Head The King his Godson gave him his Life and Seventeen Months after took him out of Prison and put him into a Citizens House at Paris under a good Guard Year of our Lord 1474 where he soon Died. John V. Count of Armagnac who had been once more driven from his Country after the Death of Monsieur had again Siezed upon his City of Leytoure by certain correspondence and had there surprised Peter de Bourbon Beaujeu Governor of Guyenne He was straightly besieged in that place by the Kings Army commanded by the Cardinal of Arras 'T is said that having capitulated with him that good Prelate broke his Faith so that the City was invaded during the Suspension and the Count miserably Murth'red in his House His Brother Charles was brought Prisoner to Paris During the Truce the Burgundian wont to conquer the Dutchy of Guelders Duke Arnold had either sold or given it to him disinheriting his wicked Son Adolph who had a long time held his Father Prisoner and was himself so now by the Burgundian at Ghent This new Acquisition gave him the Appetite to encrease on the German side He flatter'd the Emperor Frederick with the marriage of his Daughter to his Son Maximilian and was even willing she should give him her promise and a Diamond With this Lure he brings Frederick to Mets thinking by his Authority to make himself Lord of that Town which did not Succeed and got his promise that he would raise his Dukedom to a Kingdom With these hopes he went awhile after to him at Treves carrying along the Regal Ornaments and made him a Feast with more then Royal Profusion But the Emperor meant the Marriage should be first accomplished and the Duke would sign the Contract in Quality of King They could not agree thereon And the Emperor left him there without taking his leave Year of our Lord 1473 The King let
him run after his fancies and endeavoured then to recover Perpignan whereof John King of Arragon was repossessed by Intelligence it was only the Town for the Castle held out still for the French Their Army went thither after the taking of Leytoure King John besieged in the City though Aged above Seventy years defended himself bravely for two Months together till his Son Ferdinand came to his assistance and relieved him The Twelfth day of August Nicolas d'Anjou Son of John of Calabria who had Succeeded to the Dutchy of Lorrain after the Death of his Father Died of the Plague at Nancy Thus his Cousin Rene of Lorrain Son of his Aunt Yoland d'Anjou and de Ferry who was Son of Antony Count of Vaudemont restored the Dukedom to their House whence it came For about four or five years past the Constable play'd double betwixt the King and the Burgundian and incited them the one against the other He thought their broils was his only safety but both offended with his duplicity agreed his ruin at the price of his head and his plunder if they could but catch him He had some hint of it and broke the project by the many reasons he gave the King in writing But after he had obtained his pardon he again offended him more grievously then ever For he Seized on the City of St. Quentin and which was worse had the impudence to confer with him well Armed upon a Bridge with a Barrier betwixt them as he had been his equal Year of our Lord 1474 The Burgundians ambition was insatiable He had invited Edward of the House of York to make a descent in France where the Burgundian promised to do as much by his correspondence as they with their Forces and nevertheless instead of waiting for them he went and ruined his Army before the Town of Nuz building great designs upon the taking of this place which lies on the Rhine The apparent reason why he laid that Siege was to re-settle Robert de Bauiere in the Arch-Bishoprick of Cologn whose Channons had refused to admit him and for their Chief had taken one of their Colleagues to wit Herman Brother of the Landgrave of Hesse Year of our Lord 1474 As King Rene was good liberal and devout so was he inconstant and variable of Courage tame and weak His Sons and Grand-sons being all dead there remained only his Daughter Yoland mother of Rene Duke of Lorrain but that House was at distance from him and such as were near made him believe that having received so many troubles from her he ought not to love her and inclined him according to their interests to give his Succession one while to the King of France another while to Charles Count du Maine his Nephew Son of his Brother of the same name another time to the Duke of Burgundy And this is the reason of so many several Wills and divers Donations made by him on that Subject It is believed that he caused one to be written in Letters of Gold and Adorned with Miniature whereby he made the King his Heir to the County of Provence It is certain that this year 1474. he instituted Charles du Maine in all his Lands reserving only the Dutchy of Barr which he left to his Daughters Son Duke Rene. Now the following year when he saw the King had Seized his City of Anger 's and the Castle of Barr for the Portion said he of Mary d'Anjou his Mother he changed his mind or pretended so and to make him afraid said he would bestow it upon the Duke of Burgundy but the King being purposely advanced as far as Lyons hindred him and thereupon hapned the defeat of that Duke as you shall see Whilst he was battering his Head against that potent Body of Germany which is all of Iron the King accumulated Enemies on that part against him especially the Swisse whose alliance he had gained with the Cities of Basle and Strasburgh and others on the Rhine Sigismund Duke of Austria Rene Duke of Lorrain and even the Emperor Frederic Sigismund with the aid of the Swisse re-enters the County of Ferrete and caused Hagenbac's head to be cut off for the Concussions he had useâ— â—ene Duke of Lorrain sent to declare War against him even before Nuz by a Moorish Servant who belonged to the Lord de Craon and Frederick Armed all the power of the Empire to force him to raise the Siege Nevertheless durst he not attack him though he were four times more in number The Bishop of Munster alone had brought thither 1200 Horse and 60000 Foot all cloathed in Green with 1200 Waggons Year of our Lord 1475 The Truce betwixt the King and the Duke being expired the King goes into the Field and snatched from him Roye Montdidier and Corbie but neither this multitude of Enemies nor the Winter long and sharp nor the loss of his Towns could not make his stubborness Flexible which held him still to that Siege for ten Months from its beginning In the Month of June Edward King of England caused his Army to Land at Calais which took up three Weeks time Whilst he was putting them ashoar he sent two or three dispatches to him prayed him and pressed him to come and joyn with him the Duke making now one delay and then another The Mediation of the Apostolick Legat and of the King of Denmark who was in a City near at hand was a plausible pretence for him to withdraw from that dangerous enterprize with Honour but he obstinately refused it In the end when he saw it was too long a business though he was within ten days of taking the City by Famine he consented it should be put into the hands of the Legat. That done he comes post to find the English at Calais leaving his Forces in Barrois so shatter'd that he durst not let them be seen He conducted the King all along the way to Peronne and from thence went to see the Constable at St. Quentin who gave him his word he would deliver that City and all his other places up to the English the Duke assured them of it But when they would have approached he caused them to Fire upon them It is hard to express whether was then greatest their amazement or their rage the Duke having spent a great many words to Interpret this in the best Sence returned to Barrois to recruit his Forces Edward was a Voluptuous Prince very Fat and naturally slow who sought only to cram his Purse and who having undertaken this War rather to screw money from his Subjects then to acquire Dominion or Honour had brought over with him some of the Fattest London Citizens such as loved their ease mightily that so their weariness and toyl might make them sooner willing to desire a Peace It hapned therefore that during the Burgundians absence the King by force of intrigues of flattery and withal some Presents whereof the English are very greedy persuaded that Prince and
tax which he had ordered for their maintenance Being returned to Tours he fell into the like Fitts of fainting as before His Servants having vowed him to Saint Claude he went thither on Pilgrimage and left the General Lieutenancy of the Kingdom to Peter de Bourbon Lord of Beaujeu his Brother Never was such a Pilgrim seen the Countries he passed felt his Devotions he marched accompanied with six thousand Soldiers and did always some terrible thing or other in his way In this he seized Philibert Duke of Savoy and brought him into France that young Prince dying the next year in the City of Lyons and his brother Charles succeeding him he declared himself his Guardian For since the decease of Duke Ame IX their Father he had alwayes had a great hand in the affairs of Savoy upon pretence that these young Princes were his Sisters Children Year of our Lord 148 Happily for Italy Mahomet being on the point to begin again the Siege of Rhodes and to send a new Army to Otranto dyed at Nicomedia the third of May. Now whilst his two Sons Bajazeth and Zizim were contending for the Empire between themselves the Pope and King Ferdinand took the courage to besiege Otranto and the Turks whilst the division betwixt their Princes lasted expecting no succours surrendred upon composition A short while after Zizim having been defeated twice fled to Rhodes where expecting to find an Asylum he fell into captivity For the Knights for a Pension of 50000 Crowns which Bajazeth promised to pay them yearly detained him Prisoner and with the Kings permission sent him to the Castle of Bourgneuf in Auvergne where he remained some years treated honourably enough Year of our Lord 1489 Year of our Lord 1481 Every thing gave apprehensions to King Lewis he still kept his wife at distance from him and these last years he continued her in Savoy he bred his Son like a Captive at Amboise amongst Servants lest he should grow too high-spirited and alwayes took along with him the first Prince of the blood Lewis Duke of Orleance not suffering any to cultivate his mind by any Education He married him this year to one of his daughters named Jane a most wise Princess but ugly and Lame and one whom the Physitians assured uncapable of bearing any Children Perhaps themselves had taken a course for that purpose Year of our Lord 1481 A little while after his return from Saint Claude he fell again for the third time into his fits of Swooning He caused himself to be carry'd to Clery where he had built a Church to his good Our Lady And there he received some relief but which lasted not long Year of our Lord 1481 The 10th of December Charles d'Anjou Count du Mayne being sick at Marseilles whereof he dyed the next day by his Testament instituted King Lewis his universal Heir in all his lands to enjoy the same he and all the Kings of France his Successors recommending most earnestly to him to mantain Provence in it's liberty 's Perogatives Customs Rene Duke of Lorraine Son of Yoland d'Anjou reclaimed against this institution maintaining that it could not be made to his prejudice the King on the contrary justified it to be good because Provence is a Country ruled by written Law according to which any person may dispose of his own in favour of whom he pleaseth besides the Counts of Provence had always called the Males to their Succession to the prejudice of the daughters Palamedes de Fourbin Sieur de Souliers who managed the Mind of Charles made him find these reasons to be good and for this he in recompence had the Government or to say better the Soveraignty of Provence during his whole life Year of our Lord 1482 When the Affairs of Mary of Burgundy began to be setled that Princess going ahunting fell from her horse and died of it at Gaunt the 25th of May with the fruit wherewith her womb was pregnant In four years she had borne three children Philip Margret and another that had but a short life The death of Mary brought trouble and disorders afresh amongst the Flemmings Her Husband had so little Authority because of his Covetous Poverty amongst those people who were wont to have Princes extreamly Liberal and Magnificent that he was forced to suffer that the Children he had by her should remain under the guard of the Gauntois After a great famine which had afflicted France during the year 1481. there followed an Epidemical Sickness altogether extraordinary which seized upon the Great as well as the Little ones It was a continual and violent Feaver which set the Head on fire whereby the most part fell into Phrensies and died as it were Mad. Year of our Lord 1482 William de la Mark called the wild Boar of Ardenne incited and assisted by the King Massacred most inhumanely Lewis de Bourbon Bishop of Liege either in an Ambuscade or after he had defeated him in Battle and soon after himself being taken by the Lord de Horne brother to the Bishop successor to Lewis had his head cut off at Mastrict Desquerdes had even the last year made himself Master of the Town of Air at the price of 50000 Crowns bestowed on the Governour From this advantagious Post which bridled the Flemmings he made them incline as well by cunning too as force to treat of the Marriage of Margret Daughter of their deceased Princess with the Dauphin Charles though she were hardly two years old and Charles almost twelve The Gauntois Ambassadors having seen the King at Clery made report to their Council of the Kings intentions He demanded for her dowry only the County of Artois and they would needs add to it those of Burgundy of Masconnois Auxerois and Charolois thereby to weaken their Prince so much that he might never be able to bring them under his Yoke Year of our Lord 1482 The King was in so ill a condition that hardly could he suffer them to see him to present so advantagious a Treaty The Daughter was to be put into his Hands about the end of this Year but there remaining yet some difficulties to be determined they brought her not into France till the April following and the Wedding was celebrated at Amboise at the end of July Year of our Lord 1483 Then Edward King of England who upon the faith of the Treaty of Pequigny had ever flattered himself that the Dauphin should Marry his Daughter and held himself so well assured that he made her be called the Dauphiness seeing himself bafled by the French and scoffed by his own Subjects as one fouly imposed upon was so moved with shame and grief that he died the 4th of April delivering France from the apprehension of many mischiefs he might have done them during the Minority of Charles VIII He had two Sons Edward and Richard and five daughters Marry'd to Noblemen of that Country He had also had two Brothers George Duke of Clarence
Instrument of Oblivion or Abolition the Twentieth of June The Mareschal de Rieux declaring openly for him received some of his men into Ancenis and took upon him the command of the Army as for Rohan and Quintin his Brother they adhered to the Royalists The Lord de Laval was not suffered to remain Neuter as he would fain have done they forced him to deliver up Vitre to the King Dole was taken and sacked The Duke of Bretagne's affairs had a good aspect for those two or three Months that the King was at Paris Rieux regained Vannes d'Albret brought him a Thousand Horse and the King of England sent him some Foot In retaliation the Kings Army commanded by la Trimoville taking the Field in the Month of April took Chasteau-Briand and razed it gained Ancenis then Besieged Fougeres a Rich place and of great importance which surrendred and after that St Aubin du Cormier The French and Bretons Forces Leagued together joyned in one Body to go to the relief of Fougeres contrary to the wise Counsel of the Mareschal de Rieux Being on their March they were informed the place had Capitulated and Saint Aubin du Cormier likewise The Kings Army commanded by la Trimoville apprehending they would go and retake St. Aubin marched up to them The Battel was fought near the Burrough of Orange between Renes and St. Aubin the 28 th Year of our Lord 1488 of July La Trimoville obtained the Victory the Duke of Orleans and the Prince of Orange who alighted and fought for the Bretons were made Prisoners six Thousand of their Men being slain Year of our Lord 1488 The Dame de Beaujeu did soon after set the Prince of Orange at Liberty he having Married her Husbands Sister and made him Lieutenant for the King in Bretagne But she kept the Duke of Orleans with great care in the Castle of Lusignan and afterwards in the great Tower at Bourges Some days before this Battel there had been another fought in the Air Great Flocks of Jays and multitudes of Pies grappled so furiously with their Bekes and Claws against each other that a Vast deal of ground was quite coverd with their Dead Carcasses The fidelity of the Breton Lords was sorely shaken by this rude Shock The Vicount de Rohan encouraged to declare the pretensions he had to the Dutchy as being the Son of Mary Sister and as he alledged partly Heiress of Duke Francis I. caused Dinan and St. Malo's to fall into the Kings hands this last place was plundred But Renes very couragiously told the Herald that came to Summon them That they would sooner chuse to be nothing then to be unfaithful The Duke thus ill handled by the blind Baggage Fortune was advised to endeavour an accommodation with the King To effect this he sent the Count de Dunois and wrote to him with that submission not usual from the Dukes of Bretagne The King had great pretension to that Dutchy and demanded the Noble Guardianship of the Daughters they agreed upon Arbitrators to judge the right of it But in the mean while he consented to a Peace with the Duke upon condition he should not marry them without his leave that he should renounce all Foreign Leagues and Alliances and should let him keep those places he had Conquer'd in that Country The Treaty was agreed in the Castle of Vergy in Anjou where the King was at that time and Signed at Coiron by the Duke Soon after the Duke grown very old overwhelmed with Sorrow and hurt with a fall from his Horse died at Nantes the 9 th day of September having Reigned two and Thirty years By his Will he appointed the Mareschal de Rieux Guardian to his Daughters with whom he joyned Odet-Daydie Earl of Cominges his Gossip and Intimate Friend and allotted Frances de Dinan Dame of Chasteau-Briand to be their Governess They were two Anne and Isabeau the latter Died about two years after At this time they retired to the City named Guerrande Year of our Lord 1488 The Duke of Lorrain after the Death of the Breton reconciled himself to the Court upon hopes of obtaining some assistance towards recovery of the Kingdom of Naples Opportunity presented it self very fairly most of the Barons of that Country being revolted against King Ferdinand by reason of his Tyrannies and invited Rene to come and take possession of that Crown His Holyness Pope Innocent VIII did favour him whose Galleys with Julian de la Rovere Cardinal of St. Peters waited for him a long time in the Port of Genoa and the French Nobless shewed a great deal of eagerness to follow him But those that Governed the King thwarted this Prince as much as they possibly could as envying him the Glory of this Conquest So that making too long delay the Pope makes an agreement with Ferdinand and such as had faln off cast themselves upon his Mercy which did but ill Succeed with them for he made them all Prisoners and Alphonso his Son coming to the Crown commanded their Throats to be cut The Prince of Salerno wiser then the rest would not trust to it but retired to Venice resolving to seek out some abler Protector The Lorrianer withdrew into his own Country greatly confounded and ashamed and much sunk in his Reputation The Bretons being somewhat at their ease on the French-side were embroiled amongst themselves about the Marriage of their Dutchess Anne The Mareschal was obstinately bent to have her married to the Lord d'Albret to whom the Father had promised it in Writing But Montauban her Chancellor and the Earl de Cominges thought it too inconsiderable a Match and too weak to restore the Affairs of that Dutchy being ruined himself the King having Seized on all his Towns in Gascongny and besides the Princess had no manner of inclination for him So that as soon as ever she had attained the Age of puberty she made her protestations against that promise which were declared to him personally The Count de Dunois opposed it as much as they but for another end He aimed to have her Married to the Duke of Orleans whereas the rest designed her for the Arch-Duke Maximillian Their Disputes grew so high it had like to have come to blows The Dutchess got out of the Mareschals hands being assisted by her Chancellor and the Count de Dunois The Mareschal way-laid her thinking to stop the journey but his respect made him desist and leave her her presence having disarmed him Fearing to be Besieged in Redon by the French she would needs retire to Nantes the Lord d'Albret and the Mareschal refused to admit her but only with her Family-attendance upon this refusal she goes to Renes where the Inhabitants made her a Solemn reception Thus there were two Parties Cantonized the one at Renes with the Dutchess the other at Nantes with the Mareschal who was her Guardian and Authorized by the Orders of the defunct Duke During these Garboils the King seizes upon the
troublesome Master diverted him from all these laudable Exercises and Employments before he had persevered in them one Year and made him plunge anew in the delights of Fopperies and Women Year of our Lord 1492 The Marriage being made with the Dutchess of Bretagne they were to consider of sending back Marguerite of Austria Maximilian cruelly affended at this double Affront cried out Treachery and accused Charles of having forfaken his own Wife to ravish the Wife of his Father in Law Henry King of England jealous of the growth of the French Manarchy and perceiving too late the Fault he had committed in suffering Bretagne to be lost leagned himself with him and both agreed to joyn their Forces that they might fall upon Picardy Year of our Lord 1492 The English failed not to land at Calais at the Time prefixt and laid siege to Boulogne but finding his endeavors signified little that Maximilian came not to joyn his Forces as was promised and withal heard the Rumors of a dangerous Faction in England he found it safest to retire again and took an hundred and fifty thousand Crowns for the Charges of his Army and for some Monies he had lent to Francis II. Duke of Bretagne Father of the new Queen Maximilian in the mean time not having sufficient Forces made use of Craft he Surprized the Cities of Arras and Saint Omers by intelligence and by Night entred into Amiens from whence he was vigorously repulsed His Anger being a little evaporated he consented they should get a Truce of the King for a Twelve-month in the Name of his Son Philip but he would neither be comprised nor named in it The Kingdom of Granada after a War of eight Years successively was entirely conquer'd by the taking of her Capital City Boabdila the last of their Kings having sustained a Siege of eight Months surrendred it to Ferdinand and Isabella the second Year of our Lord 1492 Day of January of this Year 1492. Thus ended the Dominion of the Moors in Spain where it had lasted neer eight hundred Years but not their Nation nor their Mahometan impiety which the Severities of their Inquisition and their repeated Proscriptions could not wholly extirpate but with much difficulty Now as if every thing had contributed to Fill and Crown the House of Spain with Honor and Riches that they might transfer it to the House of Austria it hapned almost at the same time when they finisht this War thae Christopher Colombus discover'd the new World or that Hemisphear opposite to ours That great Sea-Captain a Year of our Lord 1492. And 1493. Genoese by Nation having found by a Relation in Manuscript of a certain Marriner and by Arguments drawn from the disposition of the World and roundness of the Globe composed of the Sea and Land that there were habitable Countries in those Parts opposite to these which we inhabit after he had in vain apply'd himself to divers Princes obtained with much ado three Vessels of Ferdinand and Isabella to go and seek out that which he did imagine might be found He loosed from Cadix in the Month of August of the Year 1492. And sailed so far that he discovered the Islands of Florida from whence he returned into Spain in the following March bringing back with him convincing Marks and Tokens of his discovery and the infinite Riches of those Countries The Spaniards were pleased to name them the West-Indies An hundred Years before this two Venetian Captains named Zeni had found out the Northern Estotiland Year of our Lord 1493 Two Months after his return into Spain Pope Alexander VI. who was by birth an Arrogonian gave to Ferdinand and Isabella and to all their Successors Kings of Castille all the Lands discover'd and to be discover'd beyond a Line that was to be drawn from the Arctick to be Antarctick Pole distant from the Azores about a hundred Leagues towards the West and by South upon condition he should send some honest and learned Men thither to instruct those People in the Christian Religion Saint Bennet's Order had the Honor of the first Mission One named Dom N. Bueil a Catalon was sent thither with twelve Priests and sowed the first Seeds of Faith there Year of our Lord 1492 That nothing might be wanting to the Happiness of Spain the young King Charles VIII did of his own good Will surrender the Counties of Rousillon and Cerdagne to Ferdinand without requiring the three hundred thousand Crowns for which Sum they were engaged but only a Promise that he should be a friend to France The World was amazed and scandalized at this suddain and unexpected Generosity Common Fame laid the blame of it upon a Cordelier Frier by Name Oliver Maillard a famous Preacher in those days and Confessor to the young King It was reported that being suborned by Ferdinand who sent him Barrels of Silver in stead of Wine and having associated himself with John Mauleon another Monk of the same Order to help carry on this Intrigue this last being Confessor to the Dutchess of Bourbon they publickly affirmed that King Lewis XI being on his Death-Bed had given Order for the restitution of these Counties and that his Soul would have no rest till it were performed That with this Theme and by these Suggestions the two honest Fathers some add a third Man Saint Francis de Paulo cast so much terrour into the Soul of that Lady and of Lewis d'Amboise Bishop of Alby who had been Tutor to the King that they perswaded and engaged him to make this fine Restitution Year of our Lord 1493 The German Princes and the Swisse becoming Mediators concerning the differences between France and the House of Austria a Conference was agreed upon to be held at Senlis where the Deputies from the Emperor Frederic from Maximilian his Son and the Arch Duke Philip his Grandson concluded with the King's Deputies to put an end to all Disputes That the King should send Year of our Lord 1493 Marguerit back to the Arch Duke her Brother that together with her he should render up the Counties of Artois and Burgundy but that he should retain the Castles belonging to the four Cities in Artois till four Years were expired and that then Philip being in majority should come and swear and ratify the Peace Ever since the Year 1492. there had been some discourse set on foot of the Rights and Title the King had to the Kingdom of Naples and Arguments used to enflame that young Prince with the Love and Desire of so fair a Conquest Year of our Lord 1492. 1493. And 1494. The Earl of Salerno and those Gentlemen that were banished from Naples having taken Sanctuary in France made the first propositions Afterwards Ludovic Sforza was the principal Agent and brought the King to a determinate resolution for this Enterprize which cost Italy it's liberty and a vast deal of Money Blood and Trouble to France The whole thrid of this design which he spun
Ferdinand and stept in before him prevented his getting into Romagnia These successful beginnings engaged Charles the more He parted from Ast the sixth day of October At Turin he borrowed the Dutchess of Savoyes Rings and at Casal the Marchioness of Montferrats and pawned them for twenty four thousand Ducats Ludovic with his Wife came to receive him at Vigeue and accompanied him as far as Piacenza He arrived at Pavia the thirteenth of October There he found Duke Galeazo very ill of some Morsel his good Uncle Ludovic had caused to be given him Being at Piacenza he heard of his Death and then Ludovic who had accompanied him thither took his leave of him to go and reap the Fruit of his Crime and make sure of the Dutchy without any regard to Galeazo's Son as yet but five years old The French trembled with rage that this wicked Wretch should bring the King to be witness of a Parricide upon the Person of his Cousin-German They thought it much more just and safe to revenge this Death upon that Tyrant and to conquer the Dutchy of Milan and the City of Genoa then to run to the farther end of Italy crossing above an hundred Leagues thorow the Enemies Country in the midst of Winter without Money and without Provisions to seek out a Kingdom which would be impossible to keep unless they could first be Masters of Genoa and the Milanois Such was the sentiment of Desquerdes a great Soldier and had he lived had so much Credit with the King as would no doubt have perswaded him to take that Course but he died at Lyons Ludovic's Intrigues who had gained Stephen de Vers overthrew all that good Counsel and the King went forward taking his march by Tuscany The taking a small Castle by storm on the Confines of the State of Florence and afterwards the Fort of Serezanella which capitulated and then the defeat of some Succors which Paul Vrsinus was bringing did so astonish Peter de Medecis that he consigned four Places into the King's Hands which were even the very Keys of that Country to hold them for some certain Time and consented that he should borrow Two hundred thousand gold Crowns of that City Ludovic had fancied to himself that the King would put those places into his hands pretending that two of them belonged to the City of Genoa And for this purpose lent him twenty Thousand Ducats The Council having fairly denied him he retired but left some of his Emissaries about the King to watch their opportunities and dispose things for his advantage His fingers itched to get Pisa One day while the King was in that City his men had persuaded the Pisans to fall on their Knees as he went along to Mass and cry out for Liberty The young King was moved with Pity and the Master of Requests who went along before assured him that what they craved was Just Thus without considering that City was none of his he granted them their desires The Florentines at all times French by inclination taking their opportunity of the Kings approach banished Peter de Medecis from their City by a Sentence of the Senate and recovered their Liberty He retired to Bologna and from thence to Venice with so little Credit that one of his own Factors refused to let him have a Piece of Cloth he sent for The 17 th of November the King entred into Florence his Army in Battallia and himself Armed at all points his Lance upon his Thigh The Florentines partly by force partly out of good will treated upon and agreed a Confederation with him which was proclaimed in all the Cities of Italy with a Manifesto declaring that the King was come thither only to chace away the Tyrants and from thence to carry his Arms against the Turks the capital Enemies to Christendom Picus Mirandolus that marvellous Prodigy of all sorts of Sciences Died in Florence the same Day the King made his entrance The very same hour he went forth the City of Pisa threw off the yoak of the Florentines the People pull'd down their Arms and erected the Kings Statue in the room of them This prodigious success of the French their great train of Artillery which was drawn by Horses and so well managed that in a few hours they could shatter and beat down the strongest Walls as likewise their Combats which was no Childrens play like the Italian fighting bred a Terror over all Young Ferdinand soon retreated from before Aubigny even to Rome and his Uncle Frederic getting out of the Port at Legorne retured to Naples All cried out Vive France the places about Rome strove which should first surrender and the Vrsini made their Peace with the King Then his Holyness to his great regret intreated Frederic to withdraw his Forces and himself was constrained to let the King make his entrance into Rome he being retired to the Castle St. Angelo Year of our Lord 1494 The King entred there Armed as into an Enemies Town upon the 28 th of December and disposed of his Soldiers and Artillery in all the publick places So that Alexander fearing to be taken by force and deposed as he well deserved capitulated with him and condescended to what ever he desired Amongst other things he let him have five or six of his best places for a certain time the investiture of the Kingdom of Naples Caesar Borgia his Bastard Son who was called the Cardinal of Valentia for Hostage and Zemes or Zizim the Brother of Bajazeth to make use of him against the Turks Year of our Lord 1495 The Treaty being finished the Pope came down from his Castle He and the King saw each other often with more appearance of Friendship then any real confidence And the King shewed great respect to his Dignity even to the kissing of his Feet giving him water to wash at Mass and taking his Seat in the Chappel below the Dean and Cardinals Which did not so well please such as expected he would have made use of his power in reforming the Roman Church and purging the Holy See of a Tyrant who defiled with all the abominations imaginable the House of God The eight and Twentieth of January the King went from Rome continuing his march towards the Kingdom of Naples Being at Velitri the Cardinal Bastard Son of the Pope who was an Hostage slunk away from him and returned back to Rome At the same place Antony de Fonseca Ambassador from Ferdinand King of Arragon seeking some pretence for a Rupture made sharp complaints for that the French invaded the Empire of all Italy and urged that when his Master treating with King Charles had promised not to oppose him in his Progress meant it only in relation to the Kingdom of Naples whereas the King had taken divers places from the Florentines and from the Holy See The French replied smartly And the dispute growing hot the Ambassador tore the Treaty in pieces in the Kings presence which so inceased
in his City of Ast with orders to bring him a re-inforcement of eight or nine Thousand men But Lewis who had some pretensions to the Dutchy of Milan having found a fair opportunity to surprize the City of Novarre had amuzed himself there leaving the King exposed to great danger And indeed it Succeeded but ill with him for Ludovic Besieged him in it before he could have time to furnish it with Victuals Though the Kings Army were very weak yet being on it's March he sent a re-inforcement of some Companies which came to him from France commanded by Philip de Savoy Earl of Bresse and another besides who were in eight Galleys to execute an enterprize upon the Genoese The Fregoses Enemies to Ludovic and the Adornes made him believe it very easie but it fell out very ill the Genoese Year of our Lord 1495 taking his Galleys in the Port of Rapalo and the Earl of Bresse who was advanced into the very Suburbs retreating with a great deal of shame The Confederates had in their Army neer forty thousand sighting Men Francis Marquiss of Mantoua commanded them in Chief the King had not above nine thousand at most yet they durst not attack him in the Mountains but waited for him at his descent neer the Village of Fornoua in a Valley of about a Mile and a half wide where he was necessarily to pass Fornoua is a Village about nine Miles on the other side of Piacenza The King being come to Lodge there the little River of Tar was between the two Armies sent to the Confederates to demand Passage and receiving no Answer he resolved to make Way with the Sword Theyca me to Blows on the Sixth of July the Confederares in less then a quarter of an Hour were beaten back to their very Camp with the loss of three thousand of their Men The Field was the Kings and this important Victory which did not cost him above fourscore Men and a small part of his Baggage secured him the Way to Ast He arrived there the Fifteenth of the Month very much harassed and tyred not so much by the Enemy who followed him at a great distance as the Difficulties of the Ways and the Scarcity of Provisions Year of our Lord 1495 Whilst he refreshed himself and walked from Ast to Quiers and to Turin the Florence Ambassadors solicited him for the Restitution of their Towns He commanded those Captains that held them to surrender them but he was so easy and so little absolute that very far from obeying him they presumed to sell them some to the Pisans and the rest to the Venetians The Confederates after the Battle of Fornoua had sent part of their Forces to the Siege of Novarre The Duke of Orleans had not turned out the useless Mouths soon enough and had suffer'd himself to be coop'd up in hopes the King would soon come and deliver him But as he had not oblig'd him over-much and besides had more Passion for a new Amour he had begun at Quiers then for the War he made no great haste but left him to suffer the extremest Famine Year of our Lord 1495 At length however he resolved to disingage him and came to Vercel with that Design His Army encreasing every day the Enemies were afraid and hearkned to a Treaty Whilst that was concluding they permitted the Duke of Orleans and three Days afterwards his whole Garrison more then half Hunger-Starved to crawl out of the City which was left to the Charge of the Inhabitants upon condition that if they did not agree upon the Treaty the Duke should return and put himself into the Castle which some Men of his had still in their keeping Some few Days after the Treaty being almost perfected there arrived a Party of sixteen thousand Swisse who came to the French Army The Duke of Orleans insisted highly to give Battle to the Enemy the gaining of it would at least have been so of all the Milanois He had been satisfied in his Desires had there not been more apprehension of the boldness of the Swisse then the Enemies Army for being double their own Number they might have seized the King's Person if they would This consideration made them think it more Prudence to conclude with Sforza They restored Novarre to him and the Port de la Spezzia and he promised to furnish a certain number of Ships and Men for the Conquest of Naples to give Passage through his Countries to pay the King four score thousand Crowns and fifty thousand to the Duke of Orleans to make Restitution of the eight Galleys taken by the Genoese at Rapalo and to admit the French to Equip their Fleets in that Port. The King's impatience was so great he had not leisure to stay till the Execution of this Treaty as soon as it was Signed he went away with all speed to Lyons to Dance Masquerade and make Love Sforza observing him so wholly taken up with his Pleasures not in a likely-hood of returning thither suddenly did not perform one Article of the Treaty Ferdinand King of Naples did for his part take the Advantages he ought of his Absence and his Carelesness All the Princes that were in the Italian League contributed to restore him to his Kingdom The Pope and Cardinal Sforza practised to gain the Cities for him by their Intrigues especially that of Naples The King of Arragon his Relation sent him two Armies One for the Land-service commanded by Ferdinand Gonzales the Vulgar called him Gonsalvo who assumed the Name of the Great Captain the other for Sea-service by Villamiarmo The Venetians did likewise set two Armies on Foot Grimani was Chief of that at Sea and Francis de Gonzague of the other but this arrived not till the end of the Year These crafty Politicians imagined that this conjunction would in time give them the whole Empire of Italy for Ferdinand engaged Brindes and Otranto to them and soon after Grimani seized upon Monopoli Mola Siponte and Trani The French could hardly save Tarenta the City of Cajeta revolted and penn'd them up in the Castle On the other side Frederic and Gonsalvo made themselves Masters of Regio of Saint Agatha and Seminaro Aubigny shut them up in Seminaro they sallied forth to remove him and lost the Battle This might have proved the Total ruine of Frederic had Aubigny pursued his Point home but he fell Sick by the intemperance of the Climat or his own Intemperance and the French Affairs languished with him Ferdinand was more Fortunate at Sea So soon as he appear'd upon the Coast with some Ships of his own and some belonging to the Spaniard Salerna and Malfus set up his Standard the Citizens of Naples who had not dared to stir for three Days together upon the fourth besought him to send some Men on Shoar Montpensur was so imprudent as to March out of the Town to attack them No sooner was he out but they shut the Gates at his Heels and scarcely
could he by going a long way about get entrance into the Castle del Ovo again From thence he descended again into the City with his Sword and Flambeau in Hand and strugled mightily to recover it but the Revolters opposed him with Retrenchments and Barricado's which they wrought upon with so much diligence both Night and Day that they coop'd him in the Castle This hapned at the same time as the Battle of Fornowa After three Months Siege and continul Skirmishes Montpensier wanted Provisions and was informed at the same time that the relief which was coming from France by Sea meeting with great Storms was driven to Legorne and there dispersed In this extremity he capitulated with the Enemy to deliver up the Castles in a Months time if he were not relieved In the mean time he bethinks himself but very late to send to Aubigny to dravv all his Forces together and come to disengage him Aubigny could not go in Person being yet sick he sent Percy who cut four thousand of the Count de Matalonas Men in pieces near Eboli Ferdinand vvas so much dismay'd that he had thoughts of Flying but the Neapolitans and the Colonnas whom fear of Punishment had made desperate labour'd so much as to make him change his Fear into Year of our Lord 1495 a Re-assurance Percy coming thither found their Intrenchments so well guarded that he could not approach the Castle whereupon he returned to Nola. Mean while Stephen de Vers whom the King had made Duke of Nola being gone into France did earnestly sollicite they would provide for the maintaining of that Kingdom the Ambassadors from the Florentines the Cardinal of Saint Peters c. and Signor Trivultio joyned their Intreaties and the French even those that had advised against the first Attempts for this Conquest declared all with one Voice that it now concerned the Honor of the Nation to preserve it and not suffer the Great Monarch of France to be braved by those Bastards of the House of Arragon Every one desired this excepting those that managed the Affairs particularly the Cardinal Briconnet who either by intelligence with the Pope or out of Sloath and Cowardize hindred the rest from acting The King might be angry with them if he pleased nothing went forward Year of our Lord 1496 The importunity of those Lords who were engaged in the Kingdom of Naples the reproaches of the French and those of his own Conscience obliged the King to resolve upon a new Effort for the Affairs of Italy He parted from Tours where he left the Queen his Wife came to Saint Denis to take his Farewell of the Holy Martyrs advanced to Lyons and gave out his Orders every where then when it was believed he would have passed the Mountains he returned Post to Tours whither the Charms of one of the Queens Maids attracted him as it were per-force These grand Preparations amounted to six Vessels loaden with Provisions and Men for Cajeta Year of our Lord 1496 Ludovic had perswaded the Emperor Maximilian to enter into Italy to embrace the Defence of Pisa which he thought by this means to get into his own Hands Upon this Expedition it was that the Pisans pull'd down the King's Statute to set up the Emperors in its stead As for the rest of this Enterprize no more then in all his others he showed neither Valor nor Perseverance and to speak the Truth he minded no more but only to make his Musters compleat that he might get the Pay and then drew off again like a Hireling The French Affairs declined from Bad to Worse Aubigny was Sick still Percy marr'd his greatest Success by his unsufferable Pride the Germans Mutined for want of Pay and the Garrisons were quite unfurnished And to compleat these Misfortunes Montpensier suffers himself to be shut up in Atella by three Armies of Venetians Spaniards and Arrogonians and for want of Provisions capitulated to Surrender the whole Kingdom in one Month. The other Chiefs especially Aubigny and Guerre refused to obey him in the execution of this Infamous Treaty As a Punishment for this Stubborness Ferdinand banished both him and all his Soldiers into the Maritime Countries where the Pestilential Air destroy'd most of them Of five thousand Men he had with him hardly did five hundred escape and Montpensier himself died at Puzzoli of Sickness or of Poison From Atella Gonsalvo passed to Calabria reduced Manfredonia and Cosenza and Besieged Daubigny in Gropoli That generous Captain defended himself so bravely that he made an honourable composition they gave him leave to carry back his Forces into France with Colours Flying but the surrender of Cajeta was comprehended in it Nothing was left the French of this glorious and suddain Conquest but a villanous Disease which cannot handsomely be named The Spaniards having gotten it in the Islands of Florida where it is almost Epidemical had brought into and infected the Kingdom of Naples with it the Women whom they had spoiled with this Venome communicated it to the French Year of our Lord 1496 Before Cajeta was Surrendred King Ferdinand Died and Frederic his Uncle ascended that mournful Throne with the good wishes and acclamations of all his Subjects Ferdinand King of Spain his own people called him so and the French in railery John Gipon made an Inroad towards Narbonna in favour of Ferdinand King of Naples Charles d'Albon Saint Andre Lieutenant for the King in Languedoc did not only repress them but in ten hours forced the City of Salses in sight of their Army The Spaniards fearing they might draw the whole burthen of the War upon themselves entred into a Conference which towards the end of the year produced a Truce for some Months Year of our Lord 1497 Several designs were set on foot and divers means considered and projected for the recovery of the Kingdom of Naples sometimes to receive Hommage and Tribute of Frederic at other times to agree with the Pope who was Lord of the Fief then to begin with the Milanois and give the conduct to the Duke of Orleans To this purpose Levies were made amongst the Swiss and the Cavalry advanced as far as Ast but the Duke refused that employment Several consultations were held afterwards some resolutions taken but no effects though the several and various interests of the Italian Princes did call every day for the Kings return and opened the Gates wide enough for his re-entrance Year of our Lord 1498 But his Health hourly diminishing as well because he was of a washy constitution and had loved the Ladies too much or perhaps some slow working poyson given him by the Italians made him lose the relish of all these Conquests nay even of those amongst the Beauties so that he now thought of nothing but how to lead a quiet and Christian life He therefore turned himself wholly towards God and applied himself to the reforming of his State He heard the complaints and causes of his Subjects
10 Months under this Reign Year of our Lord 1498 LEwis Duke of Orleans Succeeded to Charles VIII as being the nearest to him of the Masculine Line and his Cousin in the third and fourth degree His Age was ripe his Temper very Humane Sweet and Just his Prudence tried and his Ministers honest and disinteressed The long Imprisonment he suffered had made him more merciful and his Adversities had taught him more wisdom He proved the better King by having been so long a Subject and had Learned to moderate the severities of Sovereign commands by having undergone and felt the weight of them The 27 th of May he was Crowned at Reims the first of July he was Crowned at St. Denis the day after he made his entrance into Paris and by a Decree of the Council took the Title of King of France and of both Sicilia's and Duke of Milan This Dutchy belonged to him by Right of Valentine his Grandfather From the first day of his ascending the Throne he incessantly laboured for the felicity of his People easing them from the burthen of Imposts and taking great care that Justice should be Administred duly to them As to the first he diminished the Taxes year after year though they were already easie enough Because he knew the Princes Exchequer to be like the Spleen the less it is the more healthful the Body of the State does ever find it self He did so much abhor new impositions that wanting Money for his War in Italy ho chose rather to expose the Offices belonging to his Revenue to Sale then to take any thing from his People However in length of time he found that such Venality caused those evils he would avoid and therefore would he have taken that off again had he survived but a year or two longer As to the distribution of Justice he Created divers Companies of Judges out of pure zeal to have it equally administred and without any pecuniary Interest which ever since hath been the only end of all such Creations He setled that called the Grand Council which had been before projected by Charles VIII He made a Parliament for Normandy at Rouen to whom he first gave the Title of perpetual Exehequer and three years after he did the same for Provence in the City of Aix He made most excellent Ordinances for the abbreviating of all Process but there happening to be some Articles that touched the Priviledges of the University that great Body stirred in it with too much heat The tumult had proceeded to a Sedition had not the King made hast to get to Paris His presence quelled the hottest Heads amongst them and banish'd the Rector Year of our Lord 1498 Upon his first coming to the Crown he dispatched Ambassadors to the Pope to Venice and to Florence and three Months after he received theirs who brought him complements and excuses King Frederic and Duke Ludovic sent none to him he being their declared Enemy From that hour divers negociations were set on foot Those Potentates were not become much wiser for all the dangers they had undergone they busied themselves more about their little particular revenge then to preserve the common Liberty of Italy Alexander had reconciled himself with the Vrsini but he hated King Frederic to the Death for having denied to give his Daughter to Borgia his Bastard and the Venetians sought to ruin Ludovic because he hindred their aggrandizing and had a design upon the City of Pisa which they endeavoured to appropriate to themselves As for the Florentines they had an extraordinary passion to recover their Towns and made a War to that end Thus all the three blinded by their interest did eagerly Sollicite the Kings alliance An occasion proffer'd it self wherein the Pope might oblige him which was that desiring to break his marriage with Jane Daughter of King Lewis XI he wanted a Commission from him to take cognisance of that affair And to obtain this he gave the Dutchy of Valentinois to his Bastard who straightway laid down his Cardinals Cap. The Pope sent him into France with a Bull which named three Judges for the Kings Tooth these were Philip de Luxembourgh Cardinal Bishop of Mans Lewis d'Amboise Bishop of Alby and Peter Bishop of Sente who was a Portugueze The Bastard would have played the Sir Politique and said he had not brought the Bull the King informed to the contrary gave him a sowre look and assured him he would go forward He was therefore forced to produce it He had likewise brought a Cardinals Cap for George d'Amboise Archbishop of Rouen who managed all Affairs In recompence the King made him Marry Charlota Daughter of Alain Lord d'Albret and Treated a League with him by which the new Duke was to serve him towards the recovery of the Milanois and he afterwards to assist him in dispossessing all those petty Lords who detained the Cities of Romandiola We must observe that about Two Ages before this when the power of the Popes was much weakned such as were then Governours of the Towns belonging to the Holy See had usurped the absolute Soveraignty of them and that they might possess them with some apparent Title had obtained the Seigneury or Lordships thereof from the Popes under the Title of Vicars or Lieutenants upon condition of paying them a certain Tribute yearly but since then had taken no care to satisfie the same and had sometimes even taken up Arms against the Popes The Polentines Citizens of Ravenna had usurped Ravenna and Cerviae but the Venetians had taken them into their hands The Malatestes had made themselves masters of Cesena but that returned again to the Holy See by the Death of Dominique the last of that Branch dying without Children The Riari did yet hold Imola and Forli Pandolphus Malatesti Rimini Astor Manfrede Faenza John Sforza Pizaro as the Bentivogles did Bologna and the Baillons Perugia Year of our Lord 1499 The Kings Marriage with Jane was declared Null by the Commissioners upon cleer proof that Lewis XI had forced him to it though in truth he consummated it afterwards Being at liberty he Married Anne of Bretagne Widdow of his Predecessor and his first inclinations The Nuptials were kept the Eighteenth of January The people of Paris who alone of all the People in France had received much favour from Lewis XI highly murmured that the King should repudiate his Daughter and there were some scrupulous Doctors that blamed him in their Pulpits but Jane patiently underwent that affliction and gave her self up intirely to God spent her days devoutly in the Nunnery of the Annunciation in the City of Bourges where she put on the Sacred Vail Year of our Lord 1499 Before he began to stir at all in the Affair of Italy he bethought himself of securing the friendship of his Neighbours first of the King of England then of Ferdinand and Isabella and afterwards of the Arch-Duke Son of Maximilian Ferdinand and Isabella withdrew their Forces out of
after all he detained him and sent him into Spain to Ferdinand who indeed treated him with much more humanity then he could expect after so much Treachery Year of our Lord 1501 This War ended Rauestein went with the Fleet against the Turks King Ferdinand though he were entred into the League refused to send his Ships The want of good intelligence between the French and the Venetians turned this expedition to their great shame The French having Attaqu'd Metelin's Capital City in the Island of the same name lost a great number of their Brave Men there at their return a Tempest horribly shatter'd them and such as were forced into the Islands belonging to the Venetians found them a more faithless and ruder Enemy than the Turks Year of our Lord 1501 Above all things the King desired the Alliance of Maximilian that he might have from him the Investiture of the Dutchy of Milan About the end of September the Cardinal George d'Amboise who was called the Legate the Pope having given him that Commission in France went upon that Errand to wait upon him in the City of Trent with a stately Equipage his Train consisting at least of Eighteen Hundred Horse The Emperor demanded with great instance the freedome and release of the Sforza's he agreed to that of the Cardinal Ascagnia and had his word reciprocally for a prolongation of the Truce and the Investiture but which should be only for the Kings Daughters not for the Sons Year of our Lord 1501 He made this exception because he ardently desired to have the Kings Eldest Daughter and that Dutchy in Dowry for Charles his Grand Son The Arch-Dukes Ambassadors being come to the King at Lyons that Marriage was agreed upon the Tenth of August it was again confirmed by the Arch-Duke and Jane of Castille his Wife in the Month of November in their passage thorough France into Spain They were magnificently received at Paris the Arch-Duke took his Seat in Parliament in quality of Pair of France The King and Queen entertained them at Blois Fifteen days together and caused them to be conducted to the Frontiers with all imaginable honour even with the power of granting Pardon in every City they passed thorough Year of our Lord 1502 The limits for the division of the Kingdom of Naples had not been well express'd there soon arose a Debate for the Country called Capitanata of very great importance because of the Toll for Cattle which were brought thither to Graze in Winter the French would have it to be a part of Abbruzo the Spaniards of Puglia From words they proceeded to blows the Spaniards more haughty although the weaker began the brawl in several places The two Generals the Duke of Nemours and Gongales conferring together concluded a Cessation to bring the controversie to an amicable composure but the Spaniards soon broke it again by divers Acts of Hostility In so much as the King who was then at Ast sent to the Duke of Nemours a command to make down-right War upon them since they had already violated the Peace two several times He was gotten into Italy to endeavour and take care for the preservation of his Dutchy of Milan and the Florentins his Allies and suppress the horrible Tyrannies of Coesar Borgia called the Duke of Valentinois For as to the former Maximilian had broke the Truce the Swiss threatned him with an irruption into the Milanois unless they might have Bellinzzone setled upon them which was already in their hands and the Venetians did openly enough show their hatred against him And for the latter there was a League made betwixt the Vitellozzi the Vrsini John Paul Baillon and Pandolphus Petrucci to restore Peter de Medicis to the Signory of Florence as for Coesar Borgia he brought all the Petty Princes of Italy into dispair not sparing the King of France's Allies Year of our Lord 1502 From all parts there came complaints to the King of the violent proceeding and enormous Treacheries of that Man nevertheless being as politique as wicked he knew how to appease his anger by constraining Vitellozzi with grievous Menaces to Surrender up the Towns to the Florentins and by this means gained so great Credit and Interest at Court that the King believing him a very necessary instrument for his Affairs renewed the Alliance with Alexander VI. which drew the hatred of all Italy upon him and perhaps the Curse of God with ✚ whom it is impossible to be well whilst we joyn in Society with the wicked Whilst he was in Lombardy the Genoese invited him to honour their City with his Presence He made his entrance in great Pomp the Six and Twentieth of August and after he had tarried there Ten days returned into France The War in Naples and settlement of that Conquest which seemed almost perfected required him not to have left Italy so soon but he relied on the Truce which he thought was certainly consented to by Maximilian though indeed it was not concluded In a short time the Spaniards were driven almost out of all the places of Capitanata Puglia and Calabria and Goncales found himself shut up in Barletta without Provisions or Ammunition The War had been at an end if the Venetians had not speedily furnished him or if d'Aubigny had been believed he would have brought the whole Army to have forced him there but the Duke of Nemours divided them most unluckily into several bodies to besiege the other Towns and in the mean while Gonsales wisely timing his Affairs recovered himself Year of our Lord 1503 The Arch Duke with his Wife repassed thorow France conferred with the King at Lyons and treated an accommodation touching the business of Naples by which it was agreed that Charles the Son of Philip but one year old should be Married to Claude the Kings eldest Daughter which Queen Anne very passionately desired that for her Dowry she should have the Kingdom of Naples that in the mean time the Kings should enjoy their Divisions and that the Country which was in Debate should be Sequestred in the hands of the Arch-Duke The Ambassadors from Ferdinand his Father in Law whom he brought with him and Year of our Lord 1503 who were fully impowred Signed this Treaty and swore to it submitting themselves to Excommunication in case it were violated the Heraulds proclaimed it and the two Princes sent notice of it to their Generals The Duke of Nemours obey'd but Gonsales refused to submit to it unless he had an express Order from Ferdinand A reinforcement of two Thousand Germans which he had newly received from Maximilian the assurance he had that the Pope and the Venetians declined the Kings interest and the Information given him that four thousand French which were set on Shore at Genoa had disbanded by the failure of the Treasurers who believing the Peace was concluded had kept back their Pay raised his courage and he assured himself of being owned provided his success deserved it Till then the
French had the advantage but fortune turned her back upon them on a suddain the King neglecting to make the necessary provision relying upon the Arch-Dukes faith and the Spaniards recruiting his Forces during this mock-Peace Besides all this the rashness of the French Generals who imprudently engaged the Enemy and fought with more of fury then conduct lost all d'Aubigny who ought to have drawn things out in length and waited the French Supplies made hast to fight the body of their Army Commanded by Hugh de Cardonna Emanuel de Benavide and Antonio de Leva This was on the one and twentieth Year of our Lord 1503 of April near Seminara in Calabria and in the same place where a few years before he gained a memorable Victory he now met a contrary fate His defeat did in some manner oblige the Duke of Nemours to try his fortune and endeavour to vanquish Gonsalvo before this General should be joyned with the victorious Army He fought him near Cerignoles in Puglia the eight and twentieth of the same Month and had yet more misfortune then d'Aubigny for he was slain upon the place and d'Aubigny had made his escape to Angitola 'T is true he was immediately besieged there and in few days forc'd to capitulate and agree that all his Men should quit that Kingdom himself remaining a hostage till that were fully performed After this Gonsales had nothing that could hinder him from going whither he would Naples open'd her Gates to him the thirteenth of May and received him with acclamations of Joy the French Soldiers that were there retiring into the Castles The Cities of Capoua and Aversa followed the example of Naples Amidst this grand revolution the constant fidelity of Peter Caracciole Duke of Malfy deserved singular commendation he refused all the advantageous conditions which Gonsales proffer'd him and chose rather to lose all his Lands and go out of that Kingdom with his Wife and Children then to be wanting in his Faith to the French The Chasteau Neuf or New-Castle did not hold out long Peter de Navarre having made a breach by springing of a Mine the Garison was so astonished at this unknown new-thunder which burst out of the Earth that they surrendred Year of our Lord 1503 upon composition a Day before the Arrival of the Kings Navy which brought two Thousand men and a great quantity of all sorts of provisions The Castle del'Ovo held three Weeks longer and was likewise taken by the same invention You may therefore observe that in this War Peter de Navarre a Soldier of Fortune bearing the name of his own Country taught them the way of filling a Mine with Gun-Powder to blow up their Walls whether of his own invention or rather he bringing it to greater perfection For it was said that he had seen it practised by the Genoese at Serazenella when they besieged it upon the Florentins in the year 1487. where the Mine having only crackt the Wall because it was not deep enough nor enough charged they had laid aside this invention as of little use or effect But that he having observed their mistakes and the cause why it miscarried corrected them and had found the way to make them very useful There yet remained several places in possession of the French as Aquilea and the Rock of Evander some others in Abruzzo and Venouza in Puglia where the brave Lewis d'Ars and the Duke of Malfy had put themselves in after the Battel of Cerignoles Also Rossana Matelona Sanseverina and two or three other Cities belonging to the Lords of the Angevin Faction still held for the Party And as the Battel of Cerignoles was rather a rout then a defeat Yves d'Alegre had carried off four thousand Foot and four hundred Men at Arms whom he had quartered about Cajeta to refresh themselves This place being strong and withal a Sea-Port to receive Succours from France Gonsales went and laid Siege before it to shut up that back door d'Alegre immediately put in all the men he had left him and defended himself well enough till the Arrival of the French Army The Arch-Duke at his parting from Lyons was gone to visit the Duke of Savoy his Brother in Law He was not afraid upon the receipt of all this news to return to the King at Blois This was a great Testimony of his good conscience and integrity or a very bold and confident dissimulation He omitted nothing that might seem to justify him sent away immediately to Gonsales and wrote earnestly to his Father in Law In fine he demeaned himself so fairly that the King believed he acted with sincerity and prayed him not to apprehend that he would tax him with it For if his Father in Law had committed a piece of Treachery he would in no wise act like him but would rather a Kingdom should be lost which he was able to regain then to lose his honour which can never be retrieved Year of our Lord 1503 In the mean time Ferdinand would not yet clearly discover his intentions to his Son in Law he designed to hold him in suspence that he might hold the King so too lest he should make hast to relieve the Castles of Naples and Cajeta which still held out But when Philip had made known to him by a Courier that he should not leave the Court of France till he had fully satisfied the King in this matter he sent ambassadors thither who diowned his proceedings as having exceeded his Commission which however was not true And after this thinking to gain time by new Forberies they made a new proposition which was to surrender the Kingdom to Frederic but the King would hear nothing from a Prince in whom there was no Faith and commanded them to depart the Kingdom As for the Arch-Duke he treated him still civilly and suffered him to return into Flanders Year of our Lord 1503 That this affront might not rest upon France the King had resolved to shock Ferdinand with all his might and power And to this purpose he set four Armies on Foot three at Land and one for the Sea The greatest of the Land Armies commanded by la Trimoville and composed of eighteen thousand Foot and near two thousand Men at Arms were to recover the Kingdom of Naples and the other three to attack Spain The first commanded by the Lord d'Abret and the Mareschal de Gie were to make an irruption towards Fontarabia this consisted of five thousand Foot Swiss and French and about one thousand Men at Arms. The second conducted by the Mareschal de Rieux almost twice that number had order to enter by Roussillon The third was a Naval Army who at the same time were to scower the Coasts of Catalongne and of the Kingdom of Valentia and take care that nothing should be convey'd from Spain to the Kingdom of Naples Year of our Lord 1503 La Trimoville who was upon the march with his Forces moved slowly for most part of the Italian Lords
such as lay aside a great many Wares but can never find Money to pay or fetch them away The following Month he sent to Summon the King to perform what he had promised by the Treaty which was to restore the banished Milanese the fifty thousand Florins for the Investiture the five hundred Lances to attend him into Italy whither he desired to go to take the Imperial Crown The King satisfied him in all things excepting the Payment which was not yet due but underhand he supported the Duke of Guelders against the Arch-Duke and put some jealousy into the Heads of the Pope and the Venetians insomuch as they prayed the Emperor not to enter into Italy with an Army The Pope having discover'd the Genius and the Conduct of these Princes being Proud and Presumptuous believed himself to be above them all in Understanding as well as in Dignity that therefore he could awe them with a Nod lead them as he pleased and in the end destroying them by one another drive them both out of Italy and govern alone himself And they on their Parts were weak enough to believe they could do nothing without him and so by their fears encreased his Power He made the King set a great Value upon the Power he gave him to dispose of the Benefices in Milanois and the two Cardinals Caps the one for the Nephew of the Cardinal d'Amboise the other for la Trimovilles and therefore for this he in return obtained that the King should employ his Forces to recover Bologna for him out of the Hands of John Bentivoglio This Lord finding himself assaulted by him who had ever been his Protector intreated him at least to interceed with his Holyness that he might have the liberty to go out of the Town Year of our Lord 1506 and carry his Goods along with him Julius did not seem to be a jot the better pleased with the French but on the contrary he despised the King and the Nation though he had very great obligations to them besides For in the time of Pope Alexander his Capital Enemy he found his Refuge in France and a great deal of kindness from Lewis six years together but far from bearing in mind so many Favors this good Prelate when his Brain was pretty well warmed with Wine it evaporated in Discourses injurious both to the King and Kingdom of France The King and Courtiers were not wanting in their returns by reparties so much the more picquant as they were Ingenious and which left their tormenting Stings in his haughty and implacable Soul Year of our Lord 1507 The first important Occasion wherein they perceived his hatred was about the Affairs of Genoa where his Emissaries by their contrivance turned a Commotion which hapned betwixt the Nobility and the People into a down-right revolt against the King The mutinous Rabble being at perpetual Discord with the very insolent Nobless chose eight Tribunes under whose Authority they took those Places which Lewis de Fiesque held along the River and far from restoring them as the King commanded besieged Monaco so that Ravestein not thinking himself secure at Genoa went thence and then they Elected a Duke who was only a simple Dyer named Paul de Nova The Pope had omitted no under-hand Devices to excite this Rebellion The Emperor on his Part had blown up this Flame as much as it was possible and yet both the one and the other left these Wretches in the Perils they had drawn them to They had raised a Fort to defend the Passage into the Mountains which surrounds their City and had posted themselves near it with all their Militia The King presenting himself with twenty thousand fighting Men Master'd it at the first Assault and put their Army to a Rout which astonished them so much that they brought him the Keys of their Town without any Composition Year of our Lord 1507 Two days after which was the twenty ninth of April he made his Entrance in Arms having his Back and Breast-piece on his Sword drawn in his Hand all the People crying out for Pardon and Mercy and the Women and Children cloathed in White casting themselves down at his Feet Their Crime was expiated only by the Blood of Demetrius Justinian of Paul de Nova and a fine of three hundred thousand Ducats which was laid out in building of Castles to bridle them The King's Clemency pardoned all the rest and made them experiment the truth of that Devise which he had on his Coat of Armour the Day he made his Entrance It was a King of the Bees surrounded with his Swarm with these apt Words Non utitur aculeo Rex cui paremus Year of our Lord 1507 It would have been facile for him with a Victorious Army and in the astonishment it gave to all Italy to have made a mighty Progress which way soever he would have turned his Sword but he was so fearful of displeasing the Pope and of drawing the Innundation of all Germany upon Milanois very much exasperated against him by some Speeches of Maximilians in their Diet that to avoid all jealousy both in the one and other that he designed any Enterprize he disbanded his Forces He had likewise returned immediately into France had he not waited for King Ferdinand who desired to confer with him The Arch-Duke Philip died in the five and twentieth of September in the foregoing Year being eight and twenty years old By his Testament he left Charles his eldest Son under the Protection of King Lewis and desired him to take the Guardianship which he generously did and had so great and particular a care of his Education assigning him Philip de Crovi-Chevres a most ingenious Lord for his Governor that he made him much more able and knowing then consisted with the benefit of France Jane de Castille his Wife who before had her Mind a little discomposed was so concerned at his Death that she lost all her Wits and Reason she being therefore uncapable to Govern Ferdinand parted from Naples where he had been to take Possession to come and administer the Kingdoms of his Grand-Son In his Passage he conferr'd with the King at Savonna each of them treated the other with all imaginable Honour and Token of reciprocal Affection King Lewis went first to visit Ferdinand in his Galley Ferdinand came to see him in his House putting themselves thus into one anothers Power without any precaution They Swear upon the most Holy Sacrament to keep the Peace but the Event made it apparent that on Ferdinand's Side it was but feigned he stood no longer in need of the Friendship of Lewis the jealousy of the Arch-Duke which had before troubled him was now vanisht with his Life The German Princes were much heated in the Diet of Constance against the King they were made to believe that he dispised them and that the Army he had Marched over the Mountains to Chastize the Genoese were to invade all Italy In this beliefe they
had promised the Emperor to set a Potent Army on Foot but when Intelligence came that he had Disbanded his they grew Cool on the suddain and refused to furnish the Soldiers they had promised Upon the Report of their great Preparations for War the King the Pope the Swisse though otherwise Enemies amongst themselves re-united to hinder the Emperor from coming into Italy And in effect when he would have passed Year of our Lord 1508 along the Valley of Trent with five or six thousand Men a very small Appareil for so much Noise as he had made the Venetians shut up the Passage against him He was very much disgusted and enraged but more yet when Bartholomew d'Alviane their General having defeated some of his Troops was received into their City in Triumph It was enough for them to have stopt his Army after that they agreed to a Truce with him for a Year The King was extreamly offended that they had done it without his participation and that they had excluded the Duke of Guelders and this Affront made up the measure of fifteen or twenty others he had received The Pope the Emperor and Ferdinand hated them no less for different Causes and particularly because they had encroached upon each of their Territories but it was very difficult to get all these Princes who had such different Interests to enter into the same League Truly there was neither Security nor Advantage for King Lewis to associate either with Ferdinand and Maximilian who had ever been and could not but always be his Enemies nor with the Pope who mortally hated the French Nation and who besides had the ambitious thoughts in his Head of over ruling all Italy There was no Amity nor Confederation that he could trust to but the Venctians And there were none but they that would suffer him to be in those Countries provided he attempted nothing against them and would let them enjoy their Usurpations Nevertheless when he proposed this in his Councel without whose Advice he never resolved on any thing all those that were there present shaping their Opinions so as to make them suit with the hatred he had declared against the Venetians rather then grounding them on the Reasons of sound and good Politicks were of a contrary Opinion There was none but Stephen Poncher Bishop of Paris who not able to make his Fidelity stoop to that unfaithful complaisance argued vehemently and rationally that France could not have better Confederates in Italy than they and that the Society of all the rest was ruinous and destructive The Advice of the Multitude and Passion of the King which would have been very just in a private Person made him commit that over-sight to joyn and clubb with his most Mortal Enemies for the ruin of the Venetians by the Treaty of Cambray Thither under Colour of accommodating the Differences between Charles the Emperors Grand-son and the Duke of Guelders came first Margaret Widdow Dutchess of Savoy and Sister of the defunct Arch-Duke and the Cardinal d'Amboise then the Spanish Ambassador arrived as Mediator to whom the other two did not communicate the main Secret till they had agreed upon all that was betwixt them because they suspected Ferdinand They concluded then to make War upon them inseparably to recover those Lands they detained from them That the Pope should admonish them upon pain of Excommunication to restore them and that the Emperor should give the King the Investiture of the Dutchy of Milan pure and simply for him for Francis Duke of Valois and for all their descendants The Spanish Ambassador would not Sign till he had a New Order from his Master nor the Pope neither till the Venetians should have refused so much their good Fortune had blinded them to give him up Facnza and Rimini for which he would have abandon'd all the rest Year of our Lord 1509 Nothing appeared of all the Treaty but the Confirmation of the Peace between the Princes and this League was held so secret that the Venetians came to the knowledg of it sooner by the Effects then by information or other discovery Those People before so insolent and daring were greatly astonish'd when they found at the same Time the King on the other side the Mountains with forty thousand Combatants beginning a War upon them and the Pope thundring them with his excommunications which makes mighty impressions upon Peoples Hearts when they are sharpned and seconded by the terror of an Enemies Sword The King having passed the River Addo pursued their Army so close that he fought them the fourteenth day of May and gained that memorable Battle de la Giera d'Adde neer the Village d'Aignadel within four Miles of Caravaz All their Infantry were cut off and their General Alviane having lost an Eye was made Prisoner In fifteen days time the Kings without scarce striking a Blow conquer'd all the Places they detained from him He might also have taken Vicenza Padoua Verona Treviso and all those that belonged to the Empire or to the House of Austria had he not had more Justice than Ambition lodg'd in his Heart He sent back the Deputies of all those Cities who brought him their Keys to the Emperor who took them into his Obedience and sent in some Garrisons The Pope had sent an Army of ten or twelve thousand Men into Romagnia it was commanded by the Cardinal de Pavia by Francis Maria de la Rovere Son of his Holinesses Brother and by the Duke of Ferrara this having the Title of Gonfalonnier of the Church and the other of Duke of Vrbin by the adoption of Guido-balde de Montfeltre Brother to his Mother King Ferdinand had only a Small Navy in the Golse and watched to make his Advantage as he did of the Labour and expence of the French Year of our Lord 1509 Now the Loss only of the Battle of Aignadel put the Signoria of Venice into such a consternation that dispairing of being able to keep any thing in the Terra Firma they resolved to shut themselves up close in the Islands of their Gulf and in this dispair commanded the Governers of all Places that belonged to the Pope or to Ferdinand to open the Gates to them and recalled their Magistrates from Verona Padua Vicenza and others upon which the Emperor had any Pretensions Thus those three Potentates by the Valor of the French rather then by their own Strength recover'd all that had been usurped by the Venetians and the Ambition of that Republick because they had not bounded it saw their Signory contracted in a Moment within the very Shoars of their Canal I have read likewise in the Memoires of those Times that the King drawing his Army neer caused some Vollies of Random Cannon-Shot to be made against the City of Venice However it were thinking he had done all he retired to Milan and sent the Cardinal d'Amboise to the Emperor who having made him wait a long while and having consumed all the Money
he had scraped together in his Hereditary Estates and amongst the People of the Low-Countries in superfluous Expences was with much ado got thither upon the earnest Sollicitations of the Pope who desired to have him in Italy to Counter-ballance the Power of the King He assigned him a day whereon he was to be at Guardia which is on the Confines of the Valley of Trent and Milanois to discourse with the King but because in the mean Time the Inhabitants of Treviso had denied Entrance to a Governor whom he sent thither and set up the Venetian Colours he made his Excuse upon this fresh Accident that he could not be at the Rendezvous This resistance of Treviso made the Venetians find they had with too much hast abandoned what they possessed in the Terra Firma This grain of Hope and Comfort dispell'd their fear Maximilian's slowness gave them time to take breath and their Courage began to rouze after they had by repeated Supplications the meanest and most abject that can be imagined mollified the Pope so much as to admit and hear their Ambassadors whatever Instance or Arguments the Emperors and the Kings could urge to the contrary But nothing was so favourable to the Recovery of their Affairs and to the Ruine of the Emperor as the Kings departure who notwithstanding promised to assist him with five hundred Men at Arms for whilst he neglected to take Order for the preserving his Places and minded not to gain the Affection of the People nor Curb and keep them in Awe by strong Garrisons they had partly per-force partly by Surprize regained the most important City of Padua This was about the time the King returned into France Year of our Lord 1509 The Emperor who had none but vast Designs had projected to besiege Venice and crush that Republick in the very Head but this was neither the Popes nor the Kings intention but by delaying it too long he had not the opportunity to do it the King and Ferdinand having called home their Naval Forces Besides it concerned his Reputation to recover Padua in which the Confederates but particularly the French assisted him pursuant to the Treaty of Cambray He laid Siege to it with six and thirty thousand Foot 1800. Men at Arms and a thousand light-Horse but there were in the Town twelve thousand Foot two thousand Horse two hundred Sons of Noble Venetians Volunteers every one of them resolved to be buried in a City the preservation or loss whereof decided the Fate of the Republick And indeed they defended themselves so bravely that the Emperor decamped the seventeenth day of the Siege and having disbanded almost all his Troops retired greatly inraged with the Confederates Nevertheless a more strict Alliance between the King and him was again cemented he wanting his Assistance to get satisfaction of Ferdinand who kept back all the profit of the Administration of the Kingdoms of Spain They both referr'd this difference to the Councel of France which ordained that Ferdinand in case he had no Children should have the Administration of Castille but should annually pay fifty thousand Ducats to the Emperor and as much for the maintenance of the Pupil Year of our Lord 1510 In the mean time his Holiness was reconciled to the Venetians notwithstanding the Kings and the Emperors remonstrances and took off their Excommunication having imposed what Conditions he pleased upon them He was daily more and more alienated from the King and every Hour forged some complaint or other against him for things of no consequence and most commonly without any just Grounds On the contrary the King sought all means and opportunities to regain his Good-Will but his Care and good Offices proved ineffectual as to that purpose his Holiness creating him Enemies in every Corner For at the same Instant he solicited the Swisse against him by his Instrument Matthew Schiner Bishop of Sion whose vehement Harangues moved and agitated that Savage People as a Storm of Wind blows the Leaves He likewise animated the Young King of England Henry VIII who mightily dâ—sirâ—d to signalize his Name and Advancement to the Crown by some Glorious Enterprize To which he was likewise prompted by Ferdinand his Father in Law who desired to embarass the King fearing he should tear the Kingdom of Naples from him Henry's Father was dead the Year before about the one twentieth of April A small occasion of Interest served to bring Julius into the Field Alphonso Duke of Ferrara had some Salt-pits at Comachio and the Pope was in possession of those of Cervia This last had wont to vend his Salt in Lombardy but Alphonso Year of our Lord 1510 had treated with the King to furnish him at a much cheaper Rate Now Augustin Ghisi Farmer of the Popes Salt-Pits having complained of it to his Holiness he commanded the Duke to break off this bargain with the King and upon his refusal began to make War upon him with design as it appeared to embroil the King and have an occasion to quarrel with him The Swisse on their Side sought to make some brawl they demanded some old Debts and an Augmentation of their Pensions of twenty thousand Livers yearly It had been no more then â—his Summ alone all the time of Lewis XI and now was raised to sixty thousand The addition they pressed for was not considerable considering the great danger they could put Milan into but they proceeded in such an insolent manner that the King believed himself obliged in Honour to refuse them He would also let them see that he could do well enough without them having engaged the Vallies of Sion and the League of the Grisons to his Service They were so offended at this his slighting them that they devoted themselves entirely to the Pope under this specious Title of Defenders of the Holy See for a thousand Florins Pension for each Canton The Lord de Chaumont Governor of the Milanois going to the Assistance of the Ferrarois drove the Venetians out that Dukes Country and by the taking of several Places brought their former Terror again upon them Thereupon the â—ive and twentieth day of May died at Lyons George d'Amboise the wise and prudent pilot of France a Minister without Covetousness or Pride a Cardinal with one single Benefice who having no other aim for Riches but to encrease the Publick Store heaped up for himself a Treasure of Benedictions to all Posterity Every one mourned him excepting Julius who alone rejoyced for having ascended the Holy Chair as he had done by Steps not altogether Canonical he apprehended lest if the King had become strongest in Italy this Cardinal might have made his Process and degraded him for it It might be thought that his hatred being now no longer enflamed by that Object should have extinguished of its self but on the contrary being now freed from those Fears which somewhat daunted him it broke forth with all its Violence and yet without any ill Effect for that
time For his Army having twice approached Genoa could not make them stir a re-inforcement having been timely put in and Chaumont shut up the Passages to Milan so carefully against the Swisse that having in vain attempted to get thorough in several Places they returned again Year of our Lord 1510 The King perceiving that whether he would or not there must be a War with Julius appointed an Assembly of the Gallican Church at Tours about the end of September to know how far in Conscience he might proceed upon such an Occasion The Assembly having considered eight Questions which he caused to be propounded answered as to the substance of them that this was a just War Year of our Lord 1510 and that he might make it offensive to defend himself After this Advice he made inhibition his Subjects should not apply themselves to the Court of Rome for Provisions of Benefices or carry any Money out of the Kingdom Of all the Potentates in Italy there were none but the Duke of Ferrara the Florentins and the Bentivogli dispossessed of Bologna that took his Part The Venetians were openly in League with the Pope who for above a Twelve-Month past had renounced the League of Cambray King Ferdinand likewise having received from him the investiture of the Kingdom of Naples for a white Palefroy without payment of the forty thousand Ducats as his Predecessors were wont to do He did not however declare himself so soon but acting the Mediator between the one and the other he pretended to appease the Pope to animate him the more dived into the Kings and the Emperors Secrets and amused them with divers propositions The only considerable Ally that stood for the King was the Emperor who being always indigent by his continual Expences and delaying his Affairs from Diet to Diet where the Pope by his Intrigues easily blasted all his Designs especially in the matter of getting Monies was not at all advanced in his business against the Venetians yet however he being obstinately bent to bring them to reason notwithstanding all the Intercessions of the Pope was obliged to hold himself strictly united with the King Who for his own part flatt'ring his Ambition proffer'd to assist him with all his Forces to reduce the City of Rome and all Italy to his Obedience excepting Milan the Dutchy of Ferrara the Seigneuries of Genoe Florence and the Kingdom of Naples Thus both the one and the other to pull down the Pride of Julius concluded between themselves to assemble a General Council for the reformation of the Church as well in it's Head as in it's Members Year of our Lord 1510 This Year an Epidemical Disease spread it self over all France which they named Coqueluche because it clowded the whole Head with a drowsy yet painful heaviness It caused likewise great Pains in the Stomach the Reines and the Calves of the Leggs with a burning Feaver attended with dangerous Deliriums and a Disgust of all sorts of Food Few People were exempt from it and a great many Died of it Year of our Lord 1510. 11. The mischief to the King's Designs was that weakness of his to spare Julius and not utterly ruine him as it was in his Power for above two Years He had forbid Chaumont from attacking the Lands belonging to the Church this did not keep him from excommunicating that General and the Duke of Ferrara likewise A few days after Chaumont had a fair opportunity to take him in Bologna where he had rashly engaged himself but in stead of besieging the Town smartly he suffered himself to be amused with Propositions for an accommodation several days together in which time the Venetians and Turks came with some Forces and freed him from that Peril Year of our Lord 1511 When those Forces were joyned Julius commanded his Generals to besiege Ferrara and to facilitate the taking of it first to attack the little City of Miranda belonging to the Children of John Picus who had in no manner offended him This Siege not going on with speed enough to his Mind he goes thither himself notwithstanding the Frost and Snow having no regard neither to his Age of seventy Years nor to the Dignity of his Sacred Tiara He hastned on the Works ordered the Batteries encourag'd and pusht on the Soldiers sometimes by Caresses otherwhile by Threats And the Town being taken on composition the nineteenth of March he was carried into it thorough the breach The King's Reputation being much declined in Italy by the taking of Miranda he sent fresh Troops thither and Orders to Chaumont not to spare Julius any longer Chaumont followed him so close at the Heels that he constrained him to retire to Bologna and from thence to Ravenna but thereupon this honest General happens to die at Corregio and amidst the weakness caused by his Sickness was so touched with Scruples of Conscience that he sent to beg Absolution of the Pope The Command of the Army fell to Trivulcio because of his Office of Mareschal and the King confirmed it till he could send Gastande Foix his Nephew who was as yet but twenty Years of Age. King Ferdinand was press'd by both Parties to declare himself he was unwilling to Arm against the Emperor being Grand-Father to the young Prince the insolence of Julius shock'd him the Kings Power was ever formidable to him and whatever the event of this War might be he almost equally feared both the one and the other So that he thought it fitter to endeavor an accommodation and engaged those three Potentates to send Ambassadors to Montoua that they might find out some expedients Year of our Lord 1511 Stephen Poncher Bishop of Paris a Prelate of rare Prudence and great Learning went thither in behalf of the King Matthew Lang Bishop of Curs for the Emperor Many things were propounded the French Ambassador yielded and complied in several Points but the more he gave ground the more the others flew off Year of our Lord 1511 In the mean time the Pope desired the Bishop of Curs to come to him at Ravenna He thought to gain him by force of Promises and the splendor of a Cardinals Cap which he had newly communicated to eight other Prelates very considerable for their Learning or Credit of which number was Matthew Schiner to fortifie and support himself by their Suffrages against the Council with which he was threatned But the Bishop who more valued the Dignity of his Character then the Roman Purple did not mind his Proffers but treated him with unheard of haughtiness For he obliged him to come and meet him as far as Bologna sat on a like Chair as his and would confer with none but himself leaving it to his Gentlemen to treat with those Cardinals the Pope had sent to him Withal he kept firm to the Interests of the Emperor and the King and returned without concluding ought Year of our Lord 1511 Trivulcio therefore began the War anew and took Concorda Approaching Bologna
the Fossez but at their return not standing well upon their Guard they were Charged and put to the rout The Battle was fought the eighteenth of August near Guinegaste it was named The Battle of Spurrs because in this Fight the French made more use of them then of their Swords The more Valiant notwithstanding shewed great Personal courage which they paid for the Duke of Longueville and the Chevalier Bayard were hemm'd in and carried away by the English Terovenne capitulated fifteen Days after The two Princes not being able to agree who should have it commanded it to be dismantled against the express Terms of the Capitulation and burnt it all excepting only the Churches Tournay fearing the like Fate surrendred in good time to the Kings of England who built a Citadel to bridle them About the same Time James IV. King of Scotland the only Ally the King had left him having marched into England to make a Diversion was beaten by the English Army and slain upon the Spot the seventeenth of September Year of our Lord 1513 The King's Spirit bore him up bravely against all these Adversities but he had a Domestick trouble greater then those of all his Enemies This was his own Wife who moved with the Scruples common to her Sex could not endure he should be at variance with the Pope and should maintain a Council against him She still making a noise in his Ears upon these two Points he was oft-times forced to keep Peace within Doors to lay down his Arms when his Affairs were most promising and in a fair way of bringing Julius quickly to reason In fine being quite tyred and overcome by her Importunities and the remonstrances of his Subjects whom she stirred up on all Hands he renounced his Council of Pisa and adhered to the Latran Council by his Procurators who caused his Mandate to be read in the eight Session the fourteenth of December Year of our Lord 1513 the Pope then Presiding He likewise promised to appear concerning the Business of the Pragmatick but because of those Enemies who encompassed him round on all Hands he demanded a competent Time which was granted him The Cardinals de Sancta Croce and Sanseverin went to Rome to cast themselves at the Feet of Pope Leo and presenting themselves in the Council in the Habits of simple Priests craving pardon on their Knees acknowledging they had justly been degraded by Pope Julius and detesting the Assembly of Pisa as Schismatick were restored to their Dignities and took their Places in the Sacred Colledg After these submissions the Pope seemed in appearance to be satisfied with the King but did not omit underhand to incite the Emperor to make War upon him that he might be so much embroil'd as not to have leasure to return into Italy Year of our Lord 1514 Queen Anne survived but few Days after this reconciliation which she had so infinitely desired She died the ninth of January at the Castle of Blois Her Husband loved her so entirely that his Heart bowed under this Asslication he put on Black for Mourning shut himself up for several Days in his Closset and turned all the Fidlers Comedians Jugglers and Buffoons out of the Court. Having no Children he with great tenderness bred up Francis Duke of Valois whom the Laws of the Kingdom appointed necessary Successor Queen Anne out of a hatred she had ever conceived for Louisa Mother of this Prince had hindred his Marriage with her Daughter Claude The King would have it consummate the eighteenth day of May at Saint Germains en laye Himself had as then no thoughts of re-marrying but the Duke of Longueville who was Prisoner in England and endeavoured to make a Peace between the two Crowns having talked of a Marriage between the King and Mary the Sister of King Henry the good Prince hearkned willingly to it out of the desire he had to settle his People in Peace and the King of England inclined thereto as perceiving the Fourberies of Ferdinand his Father in Law who had disappointed him three several times Year of our Lord 1514 The Peace and Marriage were made in London on the same Day being the second of August The King of England was to hold Tournay and Lewis obliged himself to pay him six hundred thousand Crowns at two payments as well for the Expences of his War as for the Arrears of the Pension that had been promis'd by the Treaty of Pequigny and confirmed by that of Estaples in 1492. In this Summ they had deducted his Wives Portion which was four hundred thousand Crowns The Marriage was compleated at Abbiville the tenth Day of October Year of our Lord 1514 The young Duke of Valois who was all fire and flame for the fair Ladies did not want some Sparks for this new Queen and Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk who loved her before this Marriage and followed the Court of France in Quality of Ambassador from England had not extinguished his first Flames But the remonstrances of Arthur de Gouffier Boisy having made the Duke of Valois consider whose Governor he had been that he was going to play a ticklish Game and had reason to apprehend the like from the Duke of Suffolk the wean'd himself of his Folly and caused every Motion of that Duke to be narrowly observed The good King's Grave was not far distant from his Nuptial Bed As he was raising a Potent Army to re-pass the Alpes making himself secure of Fortunes favour since he had gained the King of England his most dreadful Enemy a fit Year of our Lord 1515 of Vomiting seized upon him in his Hostel des Tournelles at Paris and brought him so low that he died of it the first day of January Anno 1515. He was fifty three years of Age and had Reigned seventeen His Humour was open gay and easie he loved to hear the Truth and that of things even concerning himself without shewing any Anger unless it reflected on the Honor of some Ladies of whom there were not many Stories to relate the Queens severe Chastity and his great and manly Soul above those triflings and vain divertisements that begets so much Corruption having made them keep themselves mightily reserved He pleased himself in reading of good Books and cherish'd and advanced Learned Men but more those that were able to instruct and do him Service then such as could only flatter and please the Ear with their soft difcourses Never Prince loved his People so much nor was so much beloved as he As he spared them as much as he could himself so he took care they should not be a Prey to the Grandees and Sons of War He had so well regulated the last that often times the Provinces would request it as a Favour and Advantage that he would send them Companies of his Men at Arms. He was more then once observed to have Tears in his Eyes when he was forced to lay some little Subsidy upon them and upon
the prospect he had of what would be squander'd and wasted in Luxury and vain Prodigallity by Francis I. after his death he sighing said Ah! we labour in vain this great Boy will spoil all Two Male Children he had by Anne of Bretagne died in the Arms of their Nurses There were only two Daughters left Claude who was married to Francis I. and Renee who in Anno 1528. was by that King married to Hercules Duke of Ferrara a petty Prince whom he made choice of purposely that he might not be able to contend with him for the Dutchy of Bretagne FRANCIS I CALLED The Great KING AND THE Father of Learning King LVII Aged XX Years and about four Months POPES LEO X. near seven Years under this Reign ADRIAN VI. Elected the 4th of January in the Year 1522. S. 1 Year and above eight Months CLEMENT VII Elected the 29th of November 1525. S. 10 Years and above 10 Months PAUL III. Elected the 13th of October 1534. S. Years and one Month whereof 12 Years and a half under this Reign Year of our Lord 1515. in January THis is the third time in the Capetine Race that the Scepter for want of Male-Children in the direct Line passes in a collateral Line Lewis I. Duke of Orleans had two Sons Charles who was Duke of Orleans after him and John who was Earl of Angoulesme Lewis XII was the Son of Charles and from John came another Charles who was Father of Francis I. who succeeded to Lewis XII He was crowned at Reims the five and twentieth of January and took the Title of Duke of Milan with that of King of France When this Prince appeared on the Throne in the Flower of his Youth with the Meene and Stature of a Hero with wonderful dexterity and address in all the noble Exercises of a Cavalier Brave Liberal Magnificent Civil Debonnaire and well Spoken he attracted the Adoration of the People and the Love of the Nobility and indeed he had been the greatest of Kings if the too high Opinion of himself grounded upon so many fair Qualities had not inclined him to suffer himself to be entangled in the Snares of Women and the Flatteries of Courtiers who corrupted his Mind and made it spend its self most in outward vain Glory and superficial appearances His first Cares were to seek the Alliance and Amity of the Princes his Neighbours The King of England taking yet to Heart the Infidelity of Ferdinand his Father in Law continued the Peace with him on the same Conditions as he had made with his Predecessor and to last during both their Lives The King sent back Queen Mary to him who afterwards married the Duke of Suffolk The Arch-Duke likewise being thereto obliged by the Flemmings who in no wise would have a War with France and besides judging there might be danger to let things stand without any Colligation between France and England sent the Count of Nassaw Ambassador to him who after he had rendred the Homage due for the Counties of Artois and Flanders treated a perpetual confederation between the two Princes Year of our Lord 1515 The Band and Knot that was to tye this fast was the Marriage in future of his Master with Renee the Queens Sister It was stipulated under terrible Oaths and great pains of refusal on either Part for which Francis stak'd down the Faith of several great Lords and twelve of his best Cities for security The Conditions were six hundred thousand Crowns of Gold and the Dutchy of Berry for her and for her Children That she should renounce to the Succession of Father and Mother namely to the Dutchies of Milan and Bretagne and that the King should be engaged to assist the Arch-Duke with Men and Ships to go and take Possession of the Kingdoms of Spain upon the Death of Ferdinand his Grand-Father It would have been very easie also for the King to have confirmed the League made by his Predecessor with the Venetians but Ferdinand refused the continuation of the Truce unless upon the same Conditions as the last which was that he should not meddle with or touch the Dutchy of Milan Which the King not having accepted of the said Ferdinand the Emperor the Swisse and Sforza Duke of Milan made a League which imported That to compel the King to renounce that Dutchy the Swisse should attack France by the way of Burgundy That in order to it they should receive three thousand Ducats Monthly from the other Confederates and that King Ferdinand should fall with a powerful Army into Guyenne or Languedoc The Pope for whom they had left room in this League did not enter till the Month of July when he found that the King who had kept this design conceal'd all the Winter marched in good earnest to pass the Mountains Upon his access to the Crown he supplied the Offices of Constable and Chancellor with two Persons whereof one caused great mischiefs to France in this Reign only and the other was the occasion of such as were felt then and perhaps may last to all the following Ages He gave that of Constable to Charles de Bourbon who afterwards stirred up great Troubles against him and that of Chancellor to Antony Duprat at that Time first President of Paris who to furnish the Prodigal and conquering Humor of a young King with Money suggested to him the Sale of Justice by creating a new Chamber of twenty Counsellors in the Parliament of Paris and so proportionably in all the others to augment the Tailles and lay new Imposts without waiting the Consent or Grant of the Estates as was the ancient Order and Practice of the Kingdom Year of our Lord 1515 All the Apparel for War being ready the King went to the City of Lyons where he staid some time till Trivulcio and the Lord de Morete with the Mountainers whom the Duke of Savoy had sent to them could find a Passage over the Alpes for his Troops which were arrived in Dauphine For the Swisse who had posted themselves at Suza and those Parts hindred their way by Mount Cenis and the Mount of Genevra which begin both in that Place The Popes Army and that belonging to Ferdinand were encamped on the other side of the Po towards Piacenza and Parma and Prespera Columna had come and lodg'd himself with a thousand Horse in Villa Franca which is within seven Leagues of Saluzzes where he thought himself very secure When with incredible difficulty and by meer strength of Arms Trivulcio had made them sling and hoyst the Artillery over the tops of the Mountains and from thence with no less toyl let them down again in the Country of Saluzzes the King's Forces passed the Alpes at Dragonniera Roquepavier and other Passes which are nigh Provence La Palice who was passed one of the first having correspondence Year of our Lord 5115 with some Inhabitants of Villa-Franca used so much Skill and Celerity that he surprized Prospera as he was sitting down
to Table and made both him and all his Prisoners Some days before Emard de Prie with five or six thousand Men was gone to Genoa to attack Alexandria and some other Towns on this side the Po. Octavian Fregosa had at the same time treated with the King who left to him the Signeury of Genoa to be not a Duke but only Governour in his Name These tydings brought to Lyons the King parted from thence the fifteenth day Year of our Lord 1515 of August accompanied by seven Princes of the Blood and an infinite number of Great Lords having before-hand left the Regency to Louise de Savoy his Mother who was stiled Madame As he was going forth arrives an Ambassador from England to let him know from his Master that he ought not to pass into Italy for fear of disturbing the Peace of Christendom which only served to discover the inconstancy of that Prince and the jealousy he had left a young King should out-strip him in the Race of Honour who had lived a much longer time King Ferdinand's Menaces signified as little as the King of Englands Remonstrances He was but too well pleased that the first Efforts and Attempts of this new Conqueror were to fall upon Italy and not upon Spain And therefore as soon as he was certain of his March that way he disbanded the greatest part of his Forces and little cared for that League he was entred into for the defence of Milan This Shock or Surprize of Prospera Colomna's being very considerable because Year of our Lord 1515 it was the first essay of the whole Enterprize greatly changed the disposition of the Minds of the Emperor the Pope and even the Swisse who after having burnt Chivas and Verceil retired to Novarre whilst the King was assembling his Troops at Turin He immediately set forwards to follow them without delay being informed how they began to disagree and judg'd he had a fair opportunity either to vanquish them during their disunion or to treat the more advantageously with them And indeed some of their Chiefs began to give ear to the Propositions that were made by him but knowing he was come to Verceil they dislodg'd from Novarre and retired to Galerate He followed the same Pace and got into all their Towns without striking one Blow Being thus repulsed and at variance with each other they set a Treaty on Foot by the mediation of Charles Duke of Savoy their ancient Allie He obtained them all the satisfaction they could hope for that is to say great Summs of Money as well for their Pensions as to make good the Treaty of Dijon and a very fair settlement in France for Duke Sforza in recompence for his Dutchy of Milan But thereupon arrives a re-inforcement of ten thousand Men from their own Country who desiring to have their share in the Honor and Spoil as well as their Compagnons whom they found very rich broke off all and led them back to Milan This did not however take away all hopes they might be pacified by adding an over-plus Summ to stop the Months of the most Troublesom and Active but one Day when all seemed to be at an end and the King was ready to send Money for performance of the Articles the Cardinal of Sion whilst they were all met to make the final Conclusion begins to Harangue them with so much earnestness that he made them take up their Arms to come and Charge the French who were lodged at Marignan within a League of Milan and expected no less then such a sudden Onset Therefore the thirteenth of October about four in the Afternoon they came and Charged the French Van-guard with impetuosity who having been forewarn'd received them much better then they imagined they could not however hinder them from gaining the enclosure of their Camp and some Pieces of Canon But the King hastning to that part with the Flower of his Nobility and Gentdarmerie prevented them from piercing any further Never was there a more furious scuffle not heavier Blows the Fight lasted four hours in the Night nought but their over weariness made Truce between them till break of Day but did not part them many of both Parties lying down by each other all the Night The King with his Armor on rested himself upon the Carriage of a Gun where the great Thirst his toyl had brought upon him made him relish even a little Water mixed with Dirt and Blood brought to him by a courteous Soldier in his Morion Year of our Lord 1515 He did not waste all the Night in reposing himself but the greatest Part in placing his Guns his Musquetiers and Gascon Cross-bow Men. The Day appearing the Swisse returned to the Assault with more vigour then the Night before but the Cannon broke their Battallions the Bullets and Arrows made a great Slaughter then the Horse sallied and ran over them some of their Companies were driven into a Wood who were all cut in Pieces About nine in the Morning the rest thinking themselves vanquisht because they had not been able to Vanquish and withal observing Alvaine approach with the choice of his Venetian Cavalry began to make their retreat towards Milan none endeavouring to pursue them excepting Alvaine who thinking to Charge them in the Rear soon found by their fierce resistance that they dreaded their Italian Lances but little This was all the Share he had in this Battle whatever the Authors of that Nation are pleased to relate The French kept the Camp cover'd with ten thousand dead Swisse and three or four thousand of their own Men but of the bravest and for the most part Gentlemen Francis de Bourbon Brother to the Constable the Prince of Talmont only Son of Lewis de la Trimoville Bussy d'Amboise Nephew to the Cardinal of that Name the Count de Sancerre and eight or ten other Lords of Note were slain there Claude Duke of Guise who commanded the Lansquenets in the absence of Charles Duke of Gueldres his Maternal Uncle was trod under Foot a German Gentleman his Esquire saved his Life at the expence of his own by covering him with his own Body and receiving the Blows they made at his Master This ill Success begot new discords between the Swisse those that would have agreed with the King demanded Money of Sforza that they might be gone they knew well enough he had none and thereupon they returned by way of Coma which the King had left open for them The rest follow'd them the next day but left fifteen hundred of their Men with Sforza to maintain the Castle together with five hundred Italians he had there promising in a short time to come back to his assistance as likewise on his side the Cardinal of Sion going to the Emperor for the same purpose vow'd to return again speedily So that upon this assurance he shut himself into the Castle with one John Gonzague Jerome Moron and some Milanese Gentlemen The City surrendred the next day
to the King but he judged it was not convenient for his Majesty to enter into it 〈…〉 had the Castle likewise which he ordered should be Besieged by the 〈…〉 and Peter de Navarre As soon as he came first into Italy the Pope had feignedly begun to Treat with him After the Battle of Marignan he was in so great haste thorough fear that he treated without disguise not waiting the Resolutions of the Swisse Diet nor the Emperors who earnestly conjured him not to do so Amongst other Articles the King took into his protection his Person the Ecclesiastical Estate Julian and Laurence de Medicis and the Estate of Florence obliged himself that from that Time forward the Milanese should be furnished with Salt from Cervia consented free Passage should be allowed for the Vice-Roy of Naples Forces to retire promised not to assist or protect any of his Feudataries against him Reciprocally the Pope was to withdraw the Soldiers he had sent to the Emperor against the Venetians and surrender Piacenza and Parma to the King and Modena and Reggio to the Duke of Ferrara The Constable not relying solely upon the Success of those Mines with the which Peter de Navarre had vaunted to take the Castle of Milan in a Month made use of Money which does its effect more certainly then Gun-Powder and corrupted some Captains so that they began to Mutiny The Swisse Cantons assembled at that time at Zuric were just sending away a powerful Relief to Sforza and the Pope who had not yet concluded his Treaty would not have failed to joyn his Troops and those of Naples but Moron who was all the Councel the unfortunate Sforza had persuaded him to make a Composition with the King He yielded him all his Rights to the Dutchy conditionally he should have a certain Summ of ready Money to pay his Debts thirty thousand Ducats Pension to be paid him in France or given him in Benefices with a Cardinals Cap and several other Conditions for his Servants and such as had been of his Party The Treaty signed he came out of the Castle and was conducted into France by some Lords little bemoaned for being fallen from that high Degree of Soveraignty because the exravagancy of his Mind and his more then brutish Vices had rendred him unworthy of it The Castle being surrendred nothing more opposed the Conqueror Hugh de Cardonna with Ferdinand's Army retired to the Kingdom of Naples and the Pope dissembling his displeasure for the restitution of those Places he had been obliged to make went to Bologna to confer with the King face to face He arrived there the nineteenth of December and the King two days after On the Morrow he rendred him Obedience his Chancellor Antony du Prat pronounced the Words bare-headed and on his Knees the King standing by cover'd Year of our Lord 1515 confirmed them by bowing his Head and Shoulders After that they lock'd themselves up for three Days together in the Palace There it was that the young King for vain hopes and by the Advice and Counsel of his Chancellor condescended to abolish the Pragmatick and to make the Concordat Whereby the Pope conceded to the King the right of nominating to Bishopricks and Abbeys in all the Territories of the Kingdom of France and Dauphine and the King granted to the Pope the Annates of those great Benefices upon the foot of their currant Revenue which were augmented above the one half since the discovery of the Indies The Holy Father very free of other Folks Money made him a Present of two Tenths upon the Clergy and the Title of Emperour of the East But the King refused the last At the same Time the renewed Alliance with the Swisse was concluded notwithstanding the Contrivances of the English It was upon these Conditions That they should serve France with and against all excepting the Pope the Emperor and the Empire That they should surrender the Valleys of Milanois That the King should pay them six hundred thousand Crowns and should continue to them their Pensions Five of the Cantons did at that time refuse to Sign to this Year of our Lord 1515 When the King had taken Care for the security of Milan where he left the Constable with seven hundred Men at Arms and ten thousand Foot Soldiers he parted from Bologna the fifteenth of December and by great Journeys came to his Mother and his Wife who staid for him at Lyons Year of our Lord 1516 His happy Progress and his new Alliances kindled the greater jealousy in the Emperor King Ferdinand and the King of England his Son in law in so much as they 〈…〉 common Consent to make a War upon him both in Italy and France at the 〈◊〉 time To which the King of England was inclined with the more heat and â—â—erness as being incensed for that the King hindred him from governing the young King and the Kingdom of Scotland by such People as were dependant on him But as they were taking their Measures for this Design it hapned that King Ferdinand as he was going to Seville died in the little Village of Madrigalet the two and twentieth of February of a Dropsy occasioned by a Beverage which Germain his Wife had given him to enable him to get Children Guichardin making his Elogy says there was nothing to be reproved in him but his not observing or keeping his Word and that as for the Avarice they reproach him with it was manifest at his Death he was not stained with it because he left but very little Money in his Coffers He adds that this Calumny proceeded from the corrupt judgment of Men who more applaud the Prodigality of a Prince which oppresses and grinds his Subjects then the good Husbandry of One that thriftily manages their Substance as a good and careful Father of his Family ought to do He left the Government of Arragon to his Bastard Son Bishop of Saragossa and that of Castille to Francis Ximenes Cardinal Bishop of Toledo His Daughter Jane was Distracted still and shut up in a Castle where she clambred along the Walls and crawled up the Tapistry Hangings like a Cat. Four Months after on the six and twentieth of June John d'Albret who might have made some stirrs in the Kingdom of Navarre whence Ferdinand had turn'd him out ended his Days in a Village in Bearn Catharine de Foix his Wife survived him but eight Months Their Son Henry aged but fourteen years inherited the Title of that Kingdom of which he had nothing left him but the little Parcel on this side of the Pyreneans Year of our Lord 1516 The Death of Ferdinand gave King Francis the opportunity and desire of marching his Armies into the Kingdom of Naples which in this juncture was half revolted He imagined that Charles having need of him for a Passage that he might go and take Possession of the Spanish Dominions and withal being under the apprehension of some trouble in the Succession to
into their Hands and retired to Mantoua The Emperor continued the Truce for five Years with the Venetians for twenty thousand Crowns they were to pay him each Year and the King desiring to fasten and secure the Confederation with the Pope by some fresh Ties gave up into his Hands again the writing whereby he had obliged himself to surrender Reggio and Modena to the Duke of Ferrara Christendom enjoy'd a most Vniversal Calm when She was troubled with two of the most horrible Scourges or Plagues that did ever torment Her Selim the Turkish Sultan having conquer'd Syria laid Ismael Sophy's Power in the Dust extinguish'd the domination of the Mamalucs in Egypt by the utter defeat and death of Campson the last Egyptian Sultan vaunted that in quality of Successor to Constantine the Great he should soon bring all Europe under his Empire and at the same Time the Bowels of the Church began to be torn and rent by a Schisme that hitherto no Remedies have been able to take away The first Evil gave occasion for the birth of the second Pope Leo desiring to oppose all the Forces of Christendom against the furious Progress of the Turks had sent his Legates to all the Christian Princes and formed a great Project to attack the Insidels both by Sea and Land Now to excite the Peoples Devotion and get their Alms Year of our Lord 1517. 18 19. and the following and Benevolence for so good a Work he sent some according to the usual Custom in such Cases practic'd to preach Indulgences in every Province This Commission according to the allotments made of a long time amongst the four Orders Mendicants belonged to the Augustins in Germany Nevertheless Albert Archbishop of Mentz either of his own Head or by Order from Rome allots and gives it to the Jacobins The Augustins finding themselves wronged in their Interest which is the great Spring even of the most Religious Societies Camplain make a Noise and fly to Revenge Amongst Year of our Lord 1517 these there was a Monk named Martin Luther of Islebe in the County of Mansfield Doctor and Rcader in Theologie in the Vniversity of Witemberg a bold Spirit Impetuous and Eloquent John Stampis their General commanded him to preach against these Questors They furnished him but with too much Matter for they made Traffick and Merchandize of those sacred Treasures of the Church they kept their Courts or Shops rather in Taverns and consumed great part of what they gained or collected in Year of our Lord 1517 Debauches and it was certainly known besides that the Pope intended to apply considerable Summs to his own proper use Perhaps it would have been better done to prevent these Disorders only to have reremoved the occasion of his clamor but the thing seemed not worth while to trouble their Heads about it In the mean time the Quarrel grew high and was heated by Declamations Theses and Books on either side Frederic Duke of Saxony whose Wisdom and Vertue was exemplary in Germany maintained him and even animated him as well for the Honor of his new Vniversity of Witemberg which this Monk had brought in reputation as in hatred to the Archbishop of Ments with whom he had other disputes He at first began with proposing of Doubts then being hard beset and too roughly handled he engaged to maintain and make them good in the very Sence they condemned them in They had neither the Discretion to stop his Mouth or seize upon him but threatning him before he was in their Power he takes shelter and then keeping no more Decorum he throws off his Mask and not only declaimed against the Pope and against the Corruptions of the Court of Rome but likewise opposed the Church of Rome in many Points of Her Doctrine And truly the extream ignorance of the Clergy many of them scarce able to read the scandalous Lives of the Pastors most of them Concubinaries Drunkards and Vsurers and their extreme negligence gave him a fair advantage to persuade the People that the Religion they taught was corrupt since their Lives and Examples were so bad At the same Time or as others say a Year before to wit in Anno 1516. Ulric Zuinglius Curate at Zuric began to expose his Doctrine in that Swisse Canton and since almost every Year new Evangelists have arisen in such Swarms that it would be difficult to number them Year of our Lord 1518 Every Day brought forth some occasion of difference between the King and Charles of Austria the Lords de Chevres and de Boisy met at Montpellier to determine them but the Death of de Boisy made that great Work be left imperfect William his Brother Lord de Bonnivet much less wise then he held the same Rank in the Kings Favor who made him Admiral of France Year of our Lord 1518 About the same Time John Jacques Trivulcio lost it and died for Grief at the Burrough of Chastres under Montlehery Lautree his antagonist had given the King an ill impression of him upon his being made a Burgher amongst the Swisse and his Brother and others of his Kindred puting themselves into the Venetians Service There had been some Seeds of division sowed between the King of France and the King of England their Counsels before things grew to a greater height thought sit to unite them by a new Alliance The Admiral therefore going to London made a Treaty to this effect That the King of England should give his Daughter as then but four years of age to the Daufin not yet compleatly one year old That there should be a defensive League between the two Crowns and that Tournay should be restored to the King of France who should pay two hundred and sixty thousand Crowns for the Expences the English had been at there and three hundred thousand more in twelve years time besides that he should acknowledge to have received other three hundred thousand for the Dowry of the little Princess The King not having the Money ready gave six Lords in Hostage and by this means got Tournay It was likewise agreed that the two Kings should have an entre-view at their convenient time between Boulogn and Calais In Maximilian's Councel it was judged more proper for the Grandeur of the House of Austria to give the Empire to the Arch-Duke Charles his Grandson then to Ferdinand his younger Brother to whom for the same reason King Ferdinand his Grand-father would not leave his Kingdom of Arragon who bred him in his own Court. And therefore Maximilian treated with the Electors to get them to design him King of the Romans but before he had accomplished that affair he died at Lints in Austria aged sixty three years the two and twentieth day Year of our Lord 1519 of January in Anno 1519. After his Death King Francis and Charles declared themselves Aspirers or Competitors for the Imperial Crown without shewing however the lest picque against one another Of the Capetine Race none but Charles
which they called la Bicoque three Miles from Milan where there is a very spacious House and Gardens round about it enclosed with deep Ditches and Fields parted in divers places with Water Channels which are derived and brought thither according to the Custom of that Country to water their Grounds Prosper Colomna who thought the Victory secure stood his ground waiting their coming Lautrec assaulted them on three Sides himself on one Hand his Brother on the other and the Swisse in the place of most Difficulty and to gain their Cannon The two first did no great Matters as for the Swisse they attack'd with fury but the height of the Fossez stopping them the Artillery made them fall in heaps and the Arquebusiers who were placed amongst the Wheat taking them in Flank they were well paid for their rashness by the death of three thousand of theirs so that they were constrained to retire and having rejoyned the French they together returned very orderly to their Quarters at Monce The next Day their Blood being cool'd and Lautrec having passed the Addo near Tressa they even took their walk homewards thorow the Territory of Bergamo so disheartned and baffled in Courage for having met with such unconquerable resistance that for divers Years they did nothing worthy of their ancient Valor but indeed became more pliable and much more manageable then before For Lautrec having put things in Order at Cremona he retired into France to sollicite for a supply of ten thousand Men which the Admiral Bonnivet was to transport to those Countries Year of our Lord 1522 As soon as he was gone Prosper besieged Cremona and Lescun who was in the Place believing it could be no prejudice to his Honor if he made such Composition as should secure the King's Affairs without hazarding ought capitulated to leave the Place within forty Days which expir'd the six and twentieth of June with Arms Colors flying and his Artillery if within that time there did not come an Army that should pass over the River Po by force or should take some considerable Place in the Dutchy of Milan He likewise promised that all the others held by the King in Milanois should be evacuated excepting the Castles of Cremona of Novara and of Milan The time being come he got some few days more to be added having purposely started new Difficulties about the evacuation of some Castles which being setled he executed the Treaty and came back into France Before he departed he had the further displeasure of being informed how Prosper Colomna with his Army had made himself Master of Genoa and made Antony Adorna Duke the City was surprized during a conference of capitulation which is a very dangerous time and opportunity This last Blow taking away all hopes from the King of being in a capacity to gain any thing in Milanois this year he recalled those Forces he was sending and who were already got into Astesan Though the miscarriage indeed proceeded from his own Negligence in not sending Supplies till too late amusing himself in Hunting Dancing and amongst the Ladies nevertheless John de Beaulne Samblancay Surintendant of the Finances suffer'd for it Madame enrag'd that he should dare to justify before the King that she had diverted the three hundred thousand Crowns designed for Lautrec resolved to ruine him The Chancellor Duprat Minister of her revenge and who besides had some jealousy of the Credit of that grave old Man whom the King called his Father ordered a Commission to try him who condemn'd him to be hanged In the mean time they made use of all Ways and Means to get in Money Then did they begin to alienate the Sacred Demeasnes of the King they continued to sell Offices of Judicature to create great Numbers of new ones without which the Monarchy had been upheld eleven hundred years together to raise the Tallies and to lay several new Imposts Publick report accused the Chancellor for advising all these things which bred so much disorder who to flatter the Covetous humor of a Woman and the ostentation of a Young King furnished them with expedients and confidence to overthrow all the Ancient Laws of the Kingdom whereof by his Office he was Guardian and Defender Year of our Lord 1522 The King had no less to do in Guyenne and in Picardy The Emperor going into Spain thorow England had prevail'd with Henry to take his part against Francis Arriving in Castillia he soon suppressed the remainders of the Santa Junta punishing some few of the Seditious pardoning the rest and rewarding such as deserved it Particularly Ferdinand of Arragon who had refused to be Head of the League He did him great Honour and Married him to Germaine de Foix Widdow of his Grand-Father King Ferdinand who was extraordinary Rich but almost past the Age of Child-bearing With the Forces that were remainders of this insurrection and some others he made up an Army which besieged Fontarabria and the King of England Landed another at Calais having first sent a Herald to defy the King at Lyons This being commanded by his Brother in Law the Duke of Suffolk joyned with the Count de Bures Governor of the Low-Countries who had one of twelve thousand men but both these made no progress and the English were diminished one half in five Weeks time after they took the Field Year of our Lord 1522 Whilst the Christian Princes were thus engaged to their mutual destruction Solyman the Turkish Sultan who Succeeded his Father Selim II. two years since was now lodg'd upon the Ramparts of Christendom For the preceding year he took the City of Belgrade in Hungary and this year he wrested Rhodes out of the hands of the Knights of St. John's It was believed Pope Adrian might have saved it if upon his Arrival in Italy he would have sent thither the fifteen hundred Foot he brought along with him instead of ordering them to March as he did into Milan For they might have got in by the help of the Venetian Fleet then on those Seas and by the favour of those Winds which wasted in several other Vessels It were difficult to name a Siege more Famous then this same either for the dreadful numbers of the besiegers for the brave resistance of the besieged or the many and furious Assaults There were above fifty Mines and twice as many Countermines about this place It was batter'd with above six-score thousand Canon Shot so that most of it was blown up into the Air or beaten down to dust The Turkish Army consisted of two hundred thousand Men of whom above fifty thousand were Slain and as many perished by Sickness The fifth Month of the Siege the Knights having no more Gun-Powder left no Pioneers Year of our Lord 1522 nor 〈◊〉 hardly any men for defence some lying by of their Wounds or of Sickness others dropping down with over-Working and Toyling they accepted of the Capitulation proffered them by Solyman which was to go
the progress of those Opinions and to reform the Clergy whose dissolute behaviour had given rise to those Scandals The year after Lewis Berquin of Artois for Preching Luther's Errors was burnt in Paris the two and twentieth of March. This very year 1528. were forced the first Seeds Englands Schism The Cardinal Woolsey to be revenged of the Emperour who had deluded him and despised him as likewise to oblige King Francis who slattered his ambition and his avarice had perswaded his Master that his Marriage with Catherine of Arragon was not good it being against the Law of God that a Woman should marry the two Brothers for when Henry took her Year of our Lord 1528 she was then Widow of his eldest Brother Arthur that therefore the Pope must declare it null and that afterwards he might marry with Margaret the Kings Sister Widow of the Duke of Alenson In effect the Irons were put into the Fire and the Pope as things then stood betwixt him and the Emperour hearkned most willingly to it and commissioned two Cardinals Campejus and Woolsey to he judges of the matter upon the place He also sent a Bull to Campejus which dissolved the Marriage with order nevertheless not to deliver it nor to let it be seen but as a Secret But finding the Emperors Affairs succeeded better then his own and that he would make him repent it he sent to Campejus to Burn it and to wira-draw the business After which Catherine refusing to own those two Cardinals for Judges and appealing to the Holy See before whom the Ambassadors from the Emperor and the Arch-Duke Ferdinand protested likewise a Nullity of all that they could judge his Holiness removed and brought it before himself which enraged the King of England beyond expression Mean while Woolsey repented he had carried it on so far because he perceived now that Henry who so earnestly desired the Divorce had no inclination to marry Margaret of France but a Damoiselle of the Queens his Wife with whom he was Furiously in Love She was called Anne Bullen was Imbued with the opinions of Luther ☞ yet withal too gallent and one that could Sing and Dance too well to be wise or staid Henry observing therefore that he retarded the business instead of helping it forward with dispatch let him fall into disfavour and immediately every one turned their backs upon him This proud Cardinal who used ordinarily to say the King and I saw himself forsaken of all his Friends displaced from his Office of Chancellour then Banished to his Bishoprick afterwards made a Prisoner persecuted all manner of ways and reduced to the extremest misery In fine the following year as they were bringing him from York to London to answer to such Treasons as were laid to his Charge he dyed as it hath ever been desired those proud Ministers may die and fall who abuse the Authority of their Masters Year of our Lord 1529 After the ruine of the French Army in the Kingdom of Naples the Spaniards reduced all the Towns and Places at their ease In Milanois the Confederates Army commanded by the Duke of Vrbin regained Pavia which Dugast had taken but the Count de Saint Pol was surprized at Landriana by Antonio de Leva who marched out of Milan not above five Leagues from it In the midst of this danger his Lansquenets proved Turn-Coats his Italians abandoned him he was overcome and made prisoner All his Horse and his Van-guard made their escape to Pavia After this Defeat there was a kind of tacit Truce between the Princes All would have a Peace the King out of desire to get home his Children the Pope upon the consideration of his many former miseries and sufferings and the Emperor because he had obtained what he desired About the Month of June it was first concluded at Barcelona between the Pope and the Emperor very advantageous to the first because the other had a most eager desire to go and receive the Imperial Crown at Rome The principal Conditions were that the Emperor should give his Bastard Daughter to Alexander de Medicis That he should re-establish that Family in Florence with the same Power and Authority it had before they were driven from thence and that he should procure those Cities and Places to be restored which belonged to the Church On the other hand the Pope received him as Homager for the Kingdom of Naples upon the presenting him annually with a white Horse and gave him power of nomination to the four and twenty Cathedral Churches which were in controversie with this he also granted him a fourth part of the Fruits and Revenues of the Church as well in his own Lands as in those of the Arch-Duke Ferdinand to be employ'd in making a War against the Turks In the following Month of July Margaret Aunt to the Emperor and Louisa Mother of the King meeting at Cambray to Treat of a Peace between the two Crowns did conclude it likewise in presence of the Ambassadors from the Pope the King of England and the Venetians It was published the Fifth day of August The Articles were almost the same as those at Madrid excepting that the King retained the Dutchy of Burgundy to which the Emperor reserved his Rights and Actions to be pursued by fair and friendly methods and proceedings It was likewise agreed he should revoke the Sentence of Condemnation pronounced against Bourbon and that he should restore all his Goods moveable and immoveables Year of our Lord 1529 to his Heirs and as to his Ransome he should pay two Millions of Gold Crowns to the Emperor or for his Account to wit 1200000 Crowns ready Money upon the Release of his Children 400000 to the King of England as from him and for security of the remaining 400000. he should engage to him the Lands which Mary of Luxemburgh had formerly in Flanders Brabant and Haynault and which she brought to the House of Bourbon-Vendosme Moreover that he should redeem the Flower de Luce this was a Jewel of Price which Duke Philip the Good had pawned to the King of England whom he should likewise satissie in the Emperors behalf for the Sum of 500000 Crowns in Gold which he had promised to that King in case he did not Marry his Daughter As for the Venetians and Florentines the Allies of France they were comprized in this Treaty after such a manner that they were left to the discretion of the Emperor Although the King of England was discontented that it had been concluded without his knowledge nevertheless standing in need of the King for the vacating of his Marriage he forgave him the 500000 Crowns and gratified his Son Henry whose God-Father he was with the redemption of the Flower de Luce. In return the King so order'd it that the Doctors of his Universities and those of Italy held favourable Consultations touching the Divorce Whilst the Treaty was on Foot the Emperor leaving Spain Landed at Genoa the 12 th of August
he suspected abstained from being his Judges and that they would send Commissioners to Cambray to take Information and hear those proofs he would offer The Holy Father perceived then the Fault he had committed by his Precipitating a thing of that Importance and could well have desired to find out some remedy But the time was past his fatal hand had given the blow which made so desperate a Wound as wholly cut off England from the Communion of the Church of Rome For Henry transported with fury that he had posted him up at Rome withdrew himself absolutely from all obedience to the Pope declared himself Head of the Anglicane Church and persecuted severely all those that opposed this change It is observed that if the Pope had deferr'd the Judgement but ten Months death would have disengag'd him from all these Intricacies and cut this knot by taking Catherine out of this World as it did in January following Year of our Lord 1533. and 34. The Kings constancy for the Catholick Faith was then like to be sorely shaken by two strong Temptations the one was the King of Englands Summons Solliciting him to break with the Pope to preserve the strict Colligation that was between them the other the Induction of his dear Sister Margaret who would needs have perswaded him to call in Philip Melancthon and give him Audience concerning the means he had to propound for accommodating the differences in Religion But as to the first he replyed in Substance to the King of England A Friend even to the Alter And for the second the Cardinal de Tournon put by that dangerous blow and fortified the Kings mind so well that he would never after give the least Ear to any of those Reformers but in time did also wean his Sister from that Fondness she had and hankering after Novelties Each day Accumulated more and more cause of Quarrel and War between the King and the Emperor This last had great Jealousie of the Enter-view at Marseille and the Marriage there Solemnized He likewise thought himself highly affronted for that the King was entred into the League of the German Princes Confederated at Smalcalde and he was no less so for his assisting of the Dukes of Wirtemberg in the Diet of Ausburgh where their cause against his Brother Ferdinand was Judged who detained their Lands as also for that William Langey by his Contrivances and his Perswasive and Powerful Eloquence broke the League of Scwaben which had lasted for seventy years to the great advantage of the House of Austria King Francis on his part complained of a very Bloody and cruel injury He had in the number of his Esquires a Gentleman of Milan named Francis de Merveille who had gained much wealth in his Service And knowing that he would be willing to make some shew of it in his native Country he sent him to Milan in quality of Secret Ambassador Merveille was so vain as not to conceal his Employment the Emperor knew of it and made complaint to Sforza with Threats who promised to give him Satisfaction Now it happened either by chance or otherwise that some People of that Country made a Quarrel with Merveille and some body was killed in the Fray The Duke fails not to lay hold of this opportunity to content the Emperor and under colour of Justice but without any form causes his head to be cut off by night and in the Prison This hap'ned a little before the Kings journey to Marseille In pursuance of the Kings League with the Confederates of Smalcalde Philip Landtgrave of Hesse Espoused the Quarrel of the Dukes of Wirtemberg who that he might have Money to prosecute the same engaged Montbelliard to the King and declared War against Ferdinand over whose Army having gained a Notable Victory he re-Established them in their County and obliged Ferdinand to allow all Liberty to the Protestants the Sacramentaries and Anabaptists not Comprised Vpon which condition they acknowledged him King of the Romans The Landtgrave had promised Francis to go into Italy which however he did not and this King with the Design of renewing a War set up a Militia in all his Provinces which he distributed in seven Bodies of Six Thousand Men each they were named Legions This institution lasted not long it would have rendered the People too Powerful and the Government too weak The twenty fourth of September died Pope Clement Two days after the Cardinals being assembled in Conclave elected Alexander Farnese named Paul III. At this time John Cauvin or Calvin aged twenty four or five years began to expose his Doctrine more conformable to that of the Sacramentaries than to that of Luther and which went much farther for it did not only touch upon the inward belief but overthrew all the Exteriour and the Ceremonies He was a Native of Noyon Son of Gerard who was the Bishops Secretary A Man very studious of a sharp and penetrating Wit a Melancholly and Sickly Temper an angry and passionate humour no very smooth Tongue but an Eloquent and Fluent pen and who was oft reproached that he coverd a Violent ambition and extream obstinacy with the Vaile of great Modesty and Humility Year of our Lord 1534 He took the first Impression of those new Doctrines when he was Studying the Law at Bourges from a certain German named Melchior Volmar who taught the Greek Tongue and was entertained by Margaret Queen of Navarre Sister of King Francis A very generous Princess who having a great love for Learning had suffered her reason to be prevailed upon by these Broachers of Novelties It is held that he laid the first foundation of his Sect at Poitiers and there instituted the form of the Lords Supper or Mandâ—cation that from thence he sent three of his Companions into divers Parts to sow his Dogmatisms and that himself retired to Nerac to Gerard de Roussel and James le Feure of Estaples who were there sheltred under the protection of Queen Margaret and had already establisht secretly in that little Court a form of a Church almost the same as he intended to bring forth into the World He stayed but a few Months at Nerac and passed into Italy to see Renee de France Dutchess of Ferrara who was imbued with the same opinions as Margaret Then when Geneva had expell'd her Bishop and the Catholick Religion he there established the Seat of his residence And from thence he sent his Disciples to Preach his Doctrine over all France and the Low-Countries exposing them to all sorts of dangers and deaths which he kept himself far enough off from the fire of Persecution and hazarded nothing but his Paper and Ink. This same year 1534. and the following was acted that Bloody and Horrible Tragedy of the Anabaptists in the City of Munster Those Phanaticks thinking to Establish their Whimseys by subverting the Lawful Power had chosen for their King a Taylor named John of Leyden Their Bishop besieged them and reduced them to
three Counties and in the mean time the King declared all the Vassals in those Countries acquit and discharged from their Oathes to him from all Faith and Homage and enjoyned them to serve the King upon the Penalty of Forfeiture of their Fiefs and to be Proclaimed Rebels whereof publication to be made upon the Frontiers The Heraulds went therefore to Summon Charles by posting up Papers and making Proclamation He replied fuming with rage that since they recalled him into France he would return thither with such powerful Justifications as would Year of our Lord 1537 make the Treaties to be duely observed and in the mean while for Comparition Adrian de Crouy Count de Roeux having drawn together the Commons of the Low-Countries came and ransacked the Frontiers of Picardy This proceeding of the Kings was variously spoken of but none could approve of the Alliance he made with Solyman the Enemy of Christendom as well to defend himself against the Emperor as in hatred to the Venetians with whom he was extreamly offended for having despised his Amity and the offer he made to share Milanois with them One might nevertheless in some Measure excuse this League of a Christian King with an Infidel not only by the example of the Kings of Spain Grand-Fathers of this Emperor who had contracted the like with Mahometan Kings but even by that of the Emperor himself who had endeavour'd earnestly to do the same with Solyman so that he was no less guilty in that particular but less prevalent or skilful or less fortunate then Francis The Kings attempts did not answer this grand Arrest or Decree of his Parliament He took only Hesdin and Saint Paul and having spent his first Fire returned in the beginning of May to Paris leaving his Army with the Count de Saint Paul and order to Fortifie the City of the same name where they put three Thousand Men in Garrison So soon as he was retired the Enemies being Assembled forced that City and received that of Monstreuil upon Composition but they could gain nothing at Terouenne the Dauphin and Montmorency having got their Troops together timely enough to Relieve it as they did During this Siege a Conference was held at the Village of Bommy at the solicitation of the two Queens Eleonora of France and Mary of Hungary where the Deputies agreed upon a Cessation of all hostilities for three Months in the Low-Countries that they might endeavour to bring about a Peace Some believed the King accepted of it to Transport all his Forces into Italy pursuant to the Treaty made with the Turks who at the same time were to fall upon the Kingdom of Naples In effect the Emperor Solyman did himself lead an Army of One Hundred Thousand Men into Albania from whence he sent Lusti-Bacha and Barbarossa to Cruise upon those Coasts and discover the Country resolved to follow them as soon as they had gained any Port but when he found that the King was making War in Flanders he returned with great Indignation that he should break his word with him As for Barbarossa having no certain News of the King he was fallen upon the Island of Corfu belonging to the Venetians where finding the Places too well provided he ruined the open Country and carried Sixteen Thousand Souls into Captivity The same Summer King Ferdinand received two great Foiles by the Turks the one at Belgrade in Hungary the other before a City in Dalmatia where his two Armies besieging those two places were shamefully defeated In the Interim it hapned in Piedmont as well by the little esteem the Soldiers had of Humieres as the particular quarrels amongst the other Officers and the Mutinies of the Lansquenets the French Forces were dissipated Humieres was retired into Pignerol to wait for Supplies from France and had quitted the Field to Du Guast who had retaken several Towns and almost the whole Country of Salusses The Marquess whom we told you had so unworthily forsaken the French Party was kill'd with a Cannon Bullet at the Siege of Carmagnoles His death so enflamed the fury of the Soldiers that they forced the Place and Du Guast to revenge his death hanged the Captain The Love of Liberty could not be so soon effaced out of the hearts of the Florentines One that was of Kin to the new Duke Alexander named Laurence de Medicis slew him in his own Chamber whither he had allured him with the hopes of meeting a certain Lady for whom he had a great passion but flying as soon as the blow was given the Cardinal Innocent Cibo Son of a Sister to Leo X. who was then at Florence and Alexander Vitelli Captain of the City Guards set up a young man of the House of the Medicis in the place of Alexander where he maintain'd himself in spite of Strossy and other Zealots for their Liberties His name was Cosmo and descended of one Laurent Brother of the Grand Cosmo To gain the People he promised them at first that he would have from the City but Twelve Thousand Crowns for his Maintenance but when he was well establisht he raised it to Twelve Hundred Thousand As for Laurence de Medicis after he had wandred in divers places because Cosmo had Year of our Lord 1537 set a price upon his head he was at last stabbed at Venice by two Assasins Christierne III. King of Denmark introduced Lutheranisme into his Kingdom and turned out the Bishops but kept the Canons that he might have the bestowing of Prebends He did the same in Norway which he had Conquer'd Some years before King Gustavus Erecson had made a like change in Sweden The King being informed that his Affairs went on very ill in those Countries that du Guast besieged Humieres in Pignerol and that before the years end he would drive the French quite out of Piedmont resolved to prevent it and in some measure satisfie Solyman to go thither in Person At Lyons being fallen sick of a slight Feaver he gave order to the Daufin and to the Mareschal de Montmorency to march before-hand with the Army At first coming they forced the Pass of Sufa guarded by ten thousand men a famous exploit in War drove Du Guast to Quiers and got several advantages which drew the King himself thither with great hopes of recovering Milanois His Army was found to be above Forty Thousand Men the French were in good Heart the Enemy affrighted and their Places ill provided but it was the end of October he apprehended the inconveniences of the Season the length of some Siege the Irruption of the Flemmings and the uncertainty of accidents so fatally experimented before Pavia So that making a specious pretence of the having given his word to the Queen of Hungary that he would not do any thing that should obstruct the Peace he upon the mediation of the Pope and the Venetians granted a Truce of three Months for those Countries beyond the Mountains and prolonged that with the Low-Countries
King who was the most generous Prince in the World and it was followed The two Sons of France and the Constable went as far as Bayonne to meet the Emperor and offer'd to go into Spain as Hostages which he refused The King himself though indisposed went to Chastelleraud where they embraced caused him to be received in every City with the same honour and suffer'd him to exercise the same Authority as himself For he held the Chapter of his Order Year of our Lord 1539 upon Saint Andrews day at Bourdeaux he granted Pardons and emptied the Prisons in many places Year of our Lord 1540 He made his entrance into Paris the first day of January the Parliament went in a Body to compliment him the Sheriffs bare the Canopy of State over his head the two Sons of France being on either side the Constable marched before with his Sword drawn in his hand he released all Prisoners and the City presented him with a Silver Figure of Hercules as bigg as the Life At his leaving of Paris the King accompanied him to Saint Quintin and his two Sons to Valenciennes He promised to go and visit him in Flanders and moreover granted him free passage for a Thousand of his Italian Forces which he ordered to come into Flanders and furnish'd them with Provisions The City of Ghent unfortunately abandoned by the King their Soveraign Lord to the wrath of Charles was so severely Chastised that she had reason to repent the having given him birth His Army being entred as it had been by Assault he caused Five and Twenty or Thirty of the Principal Burghers to be Executed proscribed a far greater number Confiscated all their publick Buildings took away their Artillery their Arms and their Priviledges Condemned them to above Twelve Hundred Thousand Crowns Fine and that they might never rise again built a Citadel and left a strong Garrison to awe them which of the greatest City in Europe hath made a vast Solitude or Wilderness Hitherto the Emperor had amused the King so that out of the highest complaisance he remained upon the Frontiers of Picardy whil'st he oppressed the Ghentois but when he had nothing more to fear he began to faulter and apply Conditions and Restrictions to his promise The King finding he objected some difficulties on behalf of the Princes of Italy because in effect they desired a Duke of Milan of their own Nation consented he should keep that Dutchy provided he would give the Low-Countries and the Counties of Burgundy and Charolois in Dower to his Daughter who should Marry the Duke of Orleans The Emperor demanded that before any thing else were done he should restore the Duke of Savoy to all his Lands that he should declare himself a Friend to his Friends and Enemy to his Enemies Then the King finding himself deceived entred into so great suspicion of the sidelity of all those that governed him that he resolved to get out of their Nets and Snares and then some who observed him to be of this humour failed not to give him a secret account of and advice against their proceedings The first that Sufferd by it was the Admiral de Brion Three men had at that time engrossed all the Kings favour the Constable the Cardinal de Lorraine and Brion The first was so Powerful that all addressed themselves to him Governours Ambassadors Cities the Parliament it self who called him Monseigneur i. e. My Lord. The second was beloved by the King for his generosity and for the credit he had at Rome he was the only man in France who treated the Constable from high to low and as a great Prince treats a Gentleman The third had rendred himself very agreeable and moreover was favoured by the Ladies particularly by the Dutchess d'Estampes who put him in a way to have got the Start of both the other in a short time These though they hated one another yet both united to set him beside the Cushion and contrived a secret Accusation against him for having ill managed the Kings Affairs in Piedmont He instead of justifying himself by humble and submissive Language spake arrogantly to the King and said his Innocency feared no examinations or Scrutiny He therefore sent him Prisoner to the Bois de Vincennes and appointed four and twenty Commissaries chosen out of several Parliaments to make his process they set about it at Melan the Court being at Fountainbleau The Chancellour Poyet was pleas'd and hugg'd himself at it and would needs preside out of an interessed complaisance He chose rather to do mischief then not make himself a necessary instrument So that he behaved himself more like a party then his Judge every foot interposing Orders and even threats from the King to biass and bring the proceedings to what he aimed at So that Brion though he were not found guilty but of some small Exactions upon the Fishermens Boats was degraded of his Offices and declared unworthy to hold any for the future condemned to pay a fine of seventy thousand Crowns and shut up in the Bastille Year of our Lord 1540 Some months after the intercession of Anne de Pisselieu Dutchess d'Estampes his near Kinswoman obtained an Order from the King that his Process should be reviewed by the Parliament of Paris Who by a Decree of the fourteenth of March 1542. declared him absolv'd of the crimes de peculat or purloining the Kings Treasure and exaction by consequence quit of his Fine or Amercement But as his courage was haughty the affront received stung him so deep that he was never well afterward but dyed of grief in the year 1543. Annebaut had his Office of Admiral The following year Poyet had his turn John de Bary la Renaudie a Gentleman of Perigord had a great process against du Tillet a Clerk of the Parliament the Year of our Lord 1541 business had been before several Parliaments this time la Renaudie demanded an Order of Evocation to remove it to another Court the Dutchess d'Estampes pressed the Chancellour to Seal it and interposed the Kings Authority but whether he thought it not just or otherwise he refused it The King took it very ill he had not obey'd his Orders and the Dutchess Animated him so highly and raised so many complaints against him on all hands that he sent him Prisoner to the Bastille the second day of August and Ordered that they should make process against him For this purpose there were taken out of divers Parliaments a certain number of Judges whom himself approved of The proceedings very long and often Interrupted lasted till the year 1545. when by Sentence of the three and twentieth of April he was deprived of the Office of Chancellour declared disabled of holding any Office Royal condemned to pay a hundred thousand Livers Fine and to be confin'd five whole years in such place as it should please the King The Judgment was pronounced in the Audience of the Grand-Chamber the Doors being set
open he present and bare-headed This done he was shut up in the great Tower of Bourges from whence he could not get out till he had given up almost all he had for his Fine At last he dyed in the City of Paris oppressed with poverty Ignominy and old Age So unhappy that even in this his Lamentable condition he was not pittied When he was Imprisoned the King gave the Seals to Francis de Montolon President in parliament a Person of rare probity a vertue hereditary in his Family The Constables favour did not last long after the loss of Poyer the King forbid him the Court in the year 1542. and would never recal him so long as he lived In the time of this his retirement he built the castle of Esc ouan Common same attributes the cause of his disgrace to the Council he gave for the Emperours passing through France which proved not so much to the Kings advantage as was imagined Perhaps the Cardinal of Lorrain and the rest of his Enemies made use of that reproach to give his Master an ill opinion of him Or perhaps the King conceived some jealousie at his sticking so close to the Dausin who by embracing the interests of that young Prince opposed the raising of the Duke of Orleans and by secret Combinations hindred the Emperour from giving him his Daughter with the Dutchy of Milan which he could not do without holding Correspondence with Strangers and indeed it was said that he in Clandestine manner Suffered the Courtiers of that Prince to travel thorough France Whatever it were the King began to think it dangerous to have men of too great parts in the Administration of Affairs and therefore committed them to the Cardinal de Turnon and the Admiral Annebaut Persons of no Extraordinary Genius or Sagacity but of affections less Interested and wholly devoted to him Year of our Lord 1540. and 41. Whilst the Emperor was at Ghent Martin Duke of Cleve came to demand the investiture of the Dutchy of Guelders You must know that Charles last Duke of Guelders dyed Anno 1537. and William Duke of Cleve and Antony of Lorraine as kindred of the Defunct had pretensions to that Dutchy The Lorrainer was the nearest being the Son of a Daughter of that House notwithstanding the Estates of the Countries called in William to be their Mainburgh he survived but one year and Martin his Son took the Administration Now the Emperour who desired to joyn this piece to the Low-Countries having denyed him the investiture he came into France and put himself under the Kings protection who made him Marry Jane Daughter of Henry d'Albret King of Navarre Year of our Lord 1541 The Nuptials were celebrated the year following at Chastelleraud with such Profusion as cost the poor People dear by encreasing the Gabelle and therefore was called the Salted Nuptials But the Bride being but eleven years of Age the Marriage was not consummated and the Fathers and Mothers never having consented caused it to be dissolved The years 1540. and 1541. were spent almost in nothing but intrigues and Negociations After the truce of Nice the King of England bestirr'd himself mightily he feared lest by the mediation of the Pope the two Kings should agree together to fall upon him He might the Justlier apprehend it because his cruelty had drawn the hatred of most of his own Subjects upon him For he had Invaded and broken open the Monasteries even those of the Nuns which much incensed their Parents who were forced to maintain them he had taken away all Abbey-Lands Abolished the order of Malta and caused the Memory of St. Thomas of Canterbury to be Condemned and his Sacred Bones and Reliques to be Burnt Having therefore reason to fear he courted the Emperor and the King divers ways He offered the first to Marry his Niece Widow of Sforza Duke of Milan to the other he propounded to assist him in the recovery of that Dutchy and promised to declare whenever he should desire it Another while he proffered the Emperor to give his Eldest Daughter she was named Mary to the Brother of the King of Portugal but he would not Marry her as Legitimate for would he have bestowed her as such the King would willingly have taken her for his second Son As for the Emperor he employed all his intrigues to three ends the one was to recover the good Will of the Protestant Princes another to make the Turk believe there was a good and perfect Correspondence between him the King of France and the King of England and the third to amuse the King with new offers he made to give the Low-Countries under the Title of the Kingdom of Belgica to Charles Duke of Orleans whom he called his God-Son The King gave no Faith to this Proposition and replyed that he did not demand his Hereditary Countries but should be contented to have his own again But Solyman was so allarmed at this pretended Union of the three Kings that he flew out against Francis called him Ingrateful and Fickle-pated and had like to put Rincon his Ambassador to death If the Emperor had his hands full of business with the Protestants of Germany his Brother Ferdinand had yet a harder task with the Turks in Hungary John Earl of Sepus had agreed with Ferdinand Auno 1536. upon condition that the part he then was possessed of in the Kingdom should be his during Life with the Title of King and that after his death it should be re-united to the other but contrary to his word he Married with Jane Daughter of Sigismond King of Poland and had a Son by her when he died After his Decease which hap'ned in the year 1540. Ferdinand would Seize upon that part the Widow to maintain her Son had recourse to the Turk thus broke out that Flame of War again which compleated the ruin of Hungary For in the year 1541. Roquandolf General for Ferdinand lost a great Battle near Buda against the Bashaw Mahomet Then Solyman himself coming with a dreadful Army Seized Treacherously upon the Widow and the Orphan and the City of Buda which they held Year of our Lord 1541 It was believed that if the Emperor had immediately joyned his Forces with his Brothers he might have saved Hungary but he was labouring an Accommodation with the Protestants to whom after several Conferences he granted a second Interim and Reciprocally having given them very ill Impressions of King Francis he obtained all he desired from them For the Diet promised him great Supplies against the Turks declared the Duke of Cleve an Enemy to the Empire engaged to contribute to the Restauration of the Duke of Savoy and forbid all Subjects belonging to the Empire from Listing themselves in the Kings Service With all this instead of Marching towards Hungary to make head against Solyman he carries the War into Africa against the Pirat Barbarossa which many interpreted a flight rather then an attaque He Landed and laid Siege to
was upon the Easter Monday The Victory fell intirely to the French they Slew two Thousand of the Enemies upon the Place took their Artillery their Baggage great quantity of Ammunitions four Thousand Prisoners without the loss of any more then two Hundred men in all The Lord de Boutieres who returned into Piedmont upon the rumour there would be a Battle Termes Montlue and de Thais had the greatest share in the honor of that day The first Commanding the Van-guard the second the Light-horse the third the Forlorn-hope and the last the French Bands that is to say the Infantry The nobless of the Court whom a desire of honour had brought thither in post hast shewed that day very great feats of Valour The next day some were Knighted in the Field of Battle amongst others Gilbert Coiffier la Bussiere a Gentleman of Auvergne who having bravely Fought in the first Ranks received this honour from the hands of the Count d'Enghien as likewise from Boutieres and de Thais Which I mention that we may know the Customs of those times and observe that Knight-hood might be Confer'd upon the same man by several Persons one after another The Marquess wounded in the Knee escaped to Milan with Four Hundred Horse only Amongst his Equipage were found several Chariots full of Shackels and Padlocks designed to have chained the French withal so certainly did his pride make him confident of Victory The fruits of this days success were the City of Carignan and all the Marquisate of Montferrat excepting Casal Milan had followed it had the King but sent Supplies of Men and Money but so far was it from this that he recalled Two and Twenty Ensignes of Foot who made up Twelve Thousand Men of whom he stood in need for the defence of the Kingdom being informed that the Emperor who had made a League with the English was drawing a vast Army together near the Rhine and that both were to fall upon France at the same time And indeed the Kingdom found it self this year in great danger these two potent Princes had divided it betwixt them and had projected to joyn their Armies before Paris to saccage that great City and from thence ravage all to the Loire They would have made up together Fourscore Thousand Foot and two and twenty Thousand Horse It is certain that if the Emperor had come directly to Paris he had found Francis all in disorder for having promised himself Year of our Lord 1544 that Luxembourgh would make a long resistance he had not much hast'ned the coming of the Swiss But the good Fortune of France had so disposed things that being tempted by the facility he found in his March of taking Luxembourg which Francis d'Angliure d'Estauges Surrendred very lightly then afterwards the Castle of Commercy the City was burnt Ligny and Brienne he fixed upon the Siege of Saint Disier the three and twentieth of June Saint Disier contrary to the expectation of all men resisted six Weeks by the Valour of that la Lande who had before so generously defended Landrecy That brave Captain was there slain upon the Rampart the Count de Sancerre whom the King had joyned with him took the Command as Chief He finding himself at the end of his Ammunition obtained a suspension of Armes for Twelve dayes which being expired and no Assistance coming he Surrendred the Place From thence the Emperor sent notice to the King of England that he was Marching towards Paris and Summon'd him to be there according to Agreement But the King of England by his Example having resolved also to Conquer some Places sent him for answer that he would advance as soon as he had taken Boulogne by the Sea Coast and Monstreuil He was then before Boulogne with twenty Thousand men and the Duke of Norfolk his Lieutenant before Monstreuil with ten Thousand English and twelve Thousand Flemmings whom the Counts of Bures and de Roeux had brought thither The Emperor not being able to make him remove from thence desired at least he would allow him his Army being much weakned to save his honour by a Truce To which he consented but for his own part refused to hear of such a thing He had a mind to let them see that of himself he was able to make Conquests in France In the mean while the Emperor descended along the Marne and entred so far into Champagne that the Forces of the Daufin watching him close and cutting off his Provisions and Forrage on all Sides he found himself in very great danger of Perishing with his whole Army There were at that time two Parties at Court one for the Daufin the other for the Duke of Orleans This last saved him Anne de Pisselieu the Kings Mistress opposite to Diana de Poitiers who was for the Daufin loved the Duke of Orleans mightily and studied his Interest to the prejudice of his Brothers that he might be her support when the King chanced to fail her This Woman too Credulous looking on the Emperor as already Father in Law to that Prince revealed all the Secrets of the Kings Council to him and it was she who brought it so to pass by means of Nicholas de Bossu Longueval that he made himself Master of Espernay and of Chasteau-Thierry where he met with Provisions in abundance without which all had been lost Fear had like to have depopulated all Paris when it was known that he was in Chasteau-Thierry and that his flying Parties came as far as Meaux some fled to Rouen others to Orleans all the Roads were throng'd with Carts loaden with House-hold Goods Women and Children and that which encreased the disorder was a many Herds of Rascals that Robb'd these poor People The King sent Claude Duke of Guise to Paris to encourage them and himself came thither soon after But the Emperor instead of approaching it took to the left and went to Soissonâ— Being lodged in the Abby called Saint John de Vignes which is in the Suburbs the propositions for a Peace were set on Foot A Jacobin Monk of the Noble House of the Guzmans in Spain mentioned it first to the Kings Confessor The Daufins Party would have none those for the Duke of Orleans pusht it on with extraordinary importunity the King sided with the Latter The Deputies being therefore Assembled at Crespy in Luonnois concluded it the eighteenth of the Month of September The Principal Articles were that the Emperor within two years should at his own choice either give his Daughter or the Daughter of Ferdinand to the Duke of Orleans and for Dowry the Dutchy of Milan or else the Low-Countries and the Counties of Burgundy and of Charolois That if he gave Milan he should keep the Castles of Milan and Cremona till a Child were born of that Marriage That the King should renounce to the Kingdom of Naples and to Milan in case the Emperor gave the Low-Countries to the Duke of Orleans That he should restore the
much his passion hurried and transported him that the Season was very far spent and that neither his Men nor his own health which was very much impaired would be able to endure the Rains the Frosts and Snows After he had therefore secretly agreed with Albert he came and laid Siege to Mets the Eighteenth of October with an Army of an Hundred Thousand Men and at the same time the Count de Raeux entring Picardy after having burnt Noyon Roye Nesle Chauny and the Royal House of Folembray assaulted Hesdin and took it by Storm but the same year the Duke of Vendosme recover'd it The terror the Parisians were in lest the Count de Raeux should come and sack their City destitute of Defence or Forces caused the King to free them from the like apprehensions in time to come to command it should be fortified on that side towards Picardy but at the Charge of the Citizens Year of our Lord 1552 The City of Mets was large but weak and ill fortify'd the Duke of Guise notwithstanding undertook to defend it against all the Emperors Forces He was accompanied with a great number of Princes and Lords and had with him all the Flower of the Nobility and Five Thousand chosen Men. He was forced to his great grief to beat down all the Suburbs and many fair Churches that were in them amongst others Saint Arnolds to which was joyned an Abbey Royal and wherein were to be seen the Monuments of seven or eight Princes of the Corolovinian House As to the rest the good order and Method he took concerning the Provisions the Ammunitions and the Guarding of the Place his indefatigable care his industry and his courage gave the Emperor much more trouble then he imagined and by making him limit there his Ne plus ultra acquir'd that Duke a never dying Fame The faithless and artificious Albert after he had some time entertain'd the French with intention to have surpriz'd Mets declar'd himself openly for the Emperor after his having surpriz'd the Duke of Aumale but the Siege advanced not the more for that It lasted two Months with great damage and breaches made by their Canon yet durst not the Besiegers give an assault In the mean time the severities of the Winter and the tedious fatigues joyned with the Valour of the French did so ruine the Emperors Army that having lost Thirty Thousand Men he raised the Siege upon the first day of January and retired to Thionville It was the most melancholly object in the World to see his Souldiers so benum'd with Cold they had not so much as the strength to run away but yielded themselves up to any that would take them The French instead of beating out their Brains took care to warm them and save their lives by all manner of comfortable Remedies The Duke of Guise made his generosity appear no less on this occasion then his Valour had before appeared in the Siege he Vanquisht his Enemies in a manner by so much the more Noble and Glorious as it made even those to Celebrate his Victory who were overcome by it Towards Italy Ferdinand de Sanseverina Prince of Salerno having been ill treated by Peter de Tolledo Vice-Roy of Naples had put the King upon thoughts of a Design against that Kingdom assuring him that as soon as the French Army appeared near Naples the City would rise To do this the King caused the Famous Corsair Dragut to go upon those Coasts and chase away the Galleys of Andreas Doria from that Port which he performed having pursued him and taken seven of his Vessels If the Prince of Salerno to whom the King had lent his own hed been there at this time of their consternation he might certainly have entred into Naples but not arriving till three weeks after Dragut returned discontented to Barbary and the Design mis-carried So long as this War lasted Solyman failed not every year to send a Naval Force to assist the King in his Attempts Those always did great mischief upon the Coasts of Sicilia and Naples but brought little advantage to the French only the hindring of Doria from molesting of Provence and giving them trouble at Siena and in the Island of Corsica As to the Affairs of Piedmont though Ferdinand de Gonzague after the Truce made between the King and the Pope had withdrawn and joyned to his Army all the Forces he had in the Dutchy of Parma nevertheless he did nothing all that Spring besides the taking three or four petty places for which Brissac had his revenge by the surprizing of Alba a place very important and by the Conquest of Verrue and some other places The King wanted some Post or Place in the midst of Italy and on the Sea-Coast to keep the Pope in awe and fear to make it his rendezvous from whence he might attaque the Kingdom of Naples and to receive the Turkish Navies They chose Sienna for this purpose situate in Tuscany and possessed of a Territory of fifteen or sixteen Miles about it wherein there were twelve or fifteen small Towns They had hitherto governed themselves as a Republick under protection of the Emperor but were divided into four Factions mortal Enemies to each other During their Division Hurtado de Mendoza whom the Emperor had setled there for Governor perswaded the silly people to build a Citadel to defend and preserve their liberty from all invasions of the Gentry and Ambushes of the Duke of Florence who was indeed ready to fall every hour upon them had he not feared to offend the Emperor When he had thus curbed them he began to exercise an insupportable Tyranny Year of our Lord 1552 as well upon the one as the other They durst not openly kick at him but made their Addresses to the King and put themselves under his Protection by means of the Cardinal de Tournon who was at that time retired to Venice The King sent Three Thousand Men to Eneas Picolomini Martin Bandin and two more Sienois to deliver their Country or rather to bring it under his own power Nicholas de Vrsini Count de Petigliani having set open his Castle to them which was almost the only passage into the Country they drove the Spaniards out of Sienne razed the Citadel and seized upon all the places of that Seigneory excepting Orbitello whither the Spaniards made their Escape Soon after the King sent the Cardinal of Ferrara thither in Quality of his Lieutenant-General and then Paul de Termes to Command his Army under the Authority of that Cardinal Termes in a short time drew Twelve Thousand Foot together for the defence of that Seigneory and carefully stored all the places Year of our Lord 1553 No sooner was the Spring come when the Emperor desiring to revenge the affront he had received at Mets caused Terouane to be assaulted All the people of the Low Countries out-vied each other and contributed their utmost to ridd themselves said they of a Wolf which lay
and Pensions for his Nephews and Friends That the Duke of Ferrara and in his absence a Prince whom the King should name should have the General Command of the Armies This League was held secret for some time the Cardinal de Lorrain at his going to Rome had by his fair words drawn in Hercules de Ferrara to be an Allie but his eloquence had not the same power over the Venetians The Cardinal Nephew did likewise employ motives of interest and those of fear He propounded to give them Ravenna in pawn and Puglia when it was conquer'd threatning in case they did not make a League with him to call in the Turks which they dreaded above all things but all this could not move them On the other hand King Philip foreseeing the Pope would by his Sentence endeavour to deprive him of the Kingdom of Naples and Excommunicate him prepared to assemble all the Cardinals together at Pisa to declare the promotion of the Pope not Canonical and by that means invalidate all that he should do to his prejudice He had thirteen or fourteen very sure on his side without reckoning such others as he might gain besides In the mean time the Duke of Alva informed of those Treaties after he had taken order for the Affairs of Milanois and Piedmont passed by Sea into Tuscany where he conferr'd with the Duke of Florence and from thence went to the Kingdom of Naples At the same time the King who had resolved upon the rupture wrote to his Ambassador at Constantinople his name was la Vigne that he should speak of it to Solyman as if he did it for his sake and by that means endeavour to procure a considerable assistance Solyman much pleased to find that a new flame was breaking forth in Christendom promised wonders and made his Fleet put out to Sea But it served the French only to clear themselves in some sort For an Agent of the Kings named Codignac who was discontented going over to the Spaniards had given the Turks some jealousie upon the Kings designing to make himself Master of Italy as if he from thence intended to pass into Greece as Charles VIII would have done and to encrease their apprehensions he discover'd to them I know not what kind of ancient Prophesies which threaten that the Franc's shall overthrow the Empire of the Crescent Year of our Lord 1555 Though this League were concluded before the end of the year 1555. it did not hinder but by the mediation of Mary Queen of England and Cardinal Pool the King and the Emperor were inclined and at last brought to agree upon a general and trading Truce for five years It was treated at Vaucelles near Cambray the fifth of February in Anno 1556. The Emperor contributed much to it Year of our Lord 1556 very well satisfied that this calm consolidated the new begun Reign of his Son When the Cardinal Caraffa heard of this Truce he made a great complaint to the King that they had abandoned the interests of his House that they left it exposed to the vengeance of the Spaniards and the Florentines He demanded that for security the King would at least be pleased to put those places into the hands of the Pope which were yet left him in Sienna He imagined that by this means he should be sought to by those Princes and that they would be glad to buy his amity and when the King had refused them he importun'd his Uncle so much that he condescended he should go Legate into France to dispose the King to break the said Truce He came in a proud Equipage but concealing his Design and giving out it was to labour for a Peace between the two Crowns He saluted the King at Fontainbleau made him a Present of a Sword and an Hat which had been blessed by the Pope and entertain'd him in private with his grand Designs The King was very irresolute but in the end the Legates vast promises and the opinion he possess'd him with that nothing was able to resist his power and withal the artificial address of Valentinois who had already made Alliance with the Guises by giving one of her Daughters to the Duke of Aumale with the intrigues of the Queen who desired a War in Italy to employ her Kinsman the Mareschal de Strozzi there thrust him into the Precipice and made him resolve to declare a War against the Spaniard But before this the Council thought expedient to send to the Emperor and to King Philip to admonish them to recall the Duke of Alva and his Forces out of the Territories of the Holy-See They had already taken divers places there and even the City of Ostia which the Nephews had neglected to provide The Legate made his entrance into Paris with the Magnificence usual on such Ceremonies At Court and in the City he shewed himself a Cavalier to the Nobility a Gallant in the Ladies Company of a merry humour amongst the gay people made Courtship to the Dutchess of Valentinois and gave her extraordinary fine Presents both from his Holyness and from himself The Queen being brought to Bed of Twin-Girls he had the honour to be Godfather to one of them and gave her the name of Victoria as expressive of the great advantages the League between the Pope and the King would acquire in Italy but soon after this presage vanished with the life of that Princess In the mean time whilst the Army they were to send into Italy was making ready they gave Strozzi orders to assist the Pope to whom they sent Three Thousand Men under the Conduct of Montluc who made the Duke of Alva retire from the Neighbourhood of the City of Rome Then when they had fathom'd Philip's intentions by his haughty reply they judged it was high time the Duke of Guise should pass the Alpes At the beginning of March a Comet with a flaming Train was visible in the Eight Degree of Libra and lasted but twelve days only The Emperor fancied this Phaenomena called him to the other World so that not being able to gain his Brother to a consent of yielding the Empire to his Son he Commissioned some Ambassadors to carry his Renunciation to the Electoral Colledge However they went not till two years after because of the War new breaking out between the two Crowns and Three of the Electors were dead That done he Embarqu'd at Sudburg in Zealand about the beginning of September and went into Spain where he retired into the Covent of Saint Just of the Order of the Hieronymites which is in the midst of a delicious Valley surrounded with high Rocks in the Province of Estramadura eight Miles from Placentia near the Burrough of Scarandilla It is believed this was otherwhile the place of Sertorious his retirement He reserved no more to himself of all his great Train and his large-possessions but twelve Men a little Horse to ride out for Pleasure and Air and one Hundred Thousand
each other Philip on the River of Antie and Henry along the Somme They lay there almost three Months without having any other Ren-contre besides one Skirmish because they were then upon propositions for an Accommodation The Popes Nuncios made the first mention of it the Constable and the Mareschal de Saint André whose favour was in a languishing condition at Court got Philip to give some Ear to it making use for that purpose of the interest of the Duke of Savoy who could no way be restored to his Estates but by a Peace Christierne Dutchess of Lorrain equally obliged to either King as Aunt to the first and nearly Allied to the second having newly given her Daughter Claudia to the Duke his Son promoted it with much industry and went with all the Messages to and fro so that at length she brought it to a Conference between their Deputies where her self and her Son assisted as Mediators Which proved a great reputation and honour to them both in all the Courts of Christendom Two Months before which was in October the Constable was freed from his imprisonment upon his parole and came to wait upon the King at Amiens who received him with inexpressible demonstrations of affection even to the making him lye in his own Bed It is said that this Lord having had notice the Kings affection towards him declined very much recover'd it again by the Credit of the Dutchess of Valentinois he seeking her Alliance and treating of a Match between his Son Danville with Antoinetta Daughter of Robert de la Mark and Frances de Brezé who was the Daughter of that Dutchess He had already agreed with the Spaniards on all the Articles of Peace but fearing lest he might alone be charged with the reproach of a Treaty so disadvantageous he contrived it so that the King upon the winding of it up should joyn with him the Cardinal Lorrain Mareschal de Saint André John de Morvillier Bishop of Orleans and Claude de l'Aubespine Secretary of State The Conference began in the Abbey of Cercamp the fifteenth of October and from that time the two Kings dismissed their Forces The difficulty concerning Calais was the greatest Remora Queen Mary would by all means have it again the King would needs keep it Thereupon that Princess hap'ned to dye without Year of our Lord 1558 any Children of a Dropsie caused by her infinite grief for the loss of that place and the little esteem her Husband had for her The fifteenth of November was the day of her decease and the sixteenth that of the Cardinal Pool her dear Cousin who had taken great pains to restore the Catholick Religion in England About this time the two Princes made a Truce for two Months then their Deputies parted Elizabeth succeeded Mary pursuant to the Will of Henry VIII Philip did yet for some time carry on the interest of Elizabeth then abandoned them lest they should prejudice his own He had likewise some design of Marrying her or at least to get her for his Uncle Ferdinand's second Son but the King who had great reason to hinder that Alliance and not suffer Elizabeth to take that Crown which he believed did belong to his Sons the Dausins Wife so ordered it that the Pope received the Envoy sent by that Princess to him but ill and treated her as illegitimate This injury made her determine openly to embrace the Religion of the Protestants who made no doubts concerning her and to repeal all Acts made by Mary and corroborate and revive those of Edward and put them in force Year of our Lord 1559 The Deputies from the two Crowns met again towards the end of January at Cateau in Cambresis where in few days they came to a final agreement on all the Articles Elizabeth fearing to be left alone sent her Deputies thither also By the Treaty between France and Spain that of Crespy and the preceding were confirmed The two Kings mutually restored all they had taken from each other for eight years past The King restored the Duke of Savoy to all his Lands and Estates yet still reserved the right he had but whilst that could be examined by Commissioners on either part which was to be done within three years time he kept by way of pawn or Security Turin Pignerol Quiers Chivas and Villeneuve of Ast Moreover he quitted all those he held in Tuscany to the Duke of Florence and those in Corsica to the Genoese gave his Sister Margaret in Marriage to the Duke of Savoy with Three Hundred Thousand Crowns in Gold and his Daughter Isabella to King Philip with Four Hundred Thousand The people who always desire Peace at what price soever testified a great deal of joy The Constable and the Mareschal de Saint André stood in need of it to recover their former favour which was in the wain but the Guisian party the sage Politiques the whole Nobility highly blamed it as a manifest juggle or Cheat whereby France was looser of one hundred ninety and eight strong places for three only which were given them these were Han le Catelet and Saint Quentin When Queen Elizabeth found the Treaty went forward and the Deputies for King Philip who pretended to mannage her concerns but acted very coldly obtained nothing for her advantage or interest She would needs Treat upon her own single account She got little more by it It was agreed that the King should either render up Calais to her and the re-conquer'd Country or if he liked it better pay her the Sum of Five Hundred Thousand Crowns which being referred to his own choice there was no doubt but he would keep that place which is the Key of his Kingdom During the Treaty the Spaniards God knows for what design exhorted the King very zealously to exterminate the new Sectaries and hinted that there were many of them even in his Court its self and of great quality amongst others Dandelot about whom they found some Books of that sort when they took him at Saint Quentin Upon which the King sent for him and asked him what he thought of the Mass Dandelot made him a very criminal reply which enraged him so greatly that he was almost in the mind to have kill'd him He commanded him to be made a Prisoner and put Blaise de Montluc into his Office a creature of the Duke of Guises The Constable his Uncle had very much ado to get him out of Prison and restore him It was suspected to be the Effect of a certain Conference held between the Cardinal de Lorrain and the Cardinal de Granvelle that by this Stratagem the first had a design to weaken the Constable by ruining his Nephews or to render Year of our Lord 1559 him suspected of Heresie if he protected them and that the other had a design of Setting the great Families of France to Daggers-drawing and of stirring up a Faction by making the Religionaries grow desperate believing they would joyn in a body
the one and then with the other In the midst of all these a young King as weak in mind as in body exposed to the first occupier and the prize contended for the Government of the Kingdom As for the Guises they were Five Brothers the Duke the Cardinal de Lorraine the Duke d'Aumale the Cardinal de Guise and the Marquess d'Elbeuf we are not to make any reck'ning of the three last because they acted nothing but by the inspiration and motion of the other two The Duke drew his Party to him by the Reputation of his Valour his Liberality and his Affability the Cardinal de Lorraine by his Eloquence and his Learning They were notwithstanding of very different humors the Duke moderate just undaunted in dangers the Cardinal hot undertaking and vain puffed up with good success but trembling and faint-hearted at the least frowns of Fortune Amongst the Princes of the Blood there was Anthony King of Navarre Lewis Prince of Condé the Duke of Montpensier and the Prince de la Roche-sur-yon Anthony was a voluptuous and fearful Prince and more considerable for his Quality then his Power Lewis was Valiant Hardy and one the greatness of whose Courage and meanness of whose slender Fortune made him fit to undertake every thing Anthony did not stand firm but abandoned his younger Brother to his Year of our Lord 1559 very death he fluctuated in doubts of Religion and was neither a good Catholick nor right Lutheran His Brother followed the Opinions of Calvin The Guises seized upon the Kings Person because he had Married their Niece Mary Steward Queen of Scotland and upon the favourable pretence of the Catholick Religion The others made sure of the Male-contents the disbanded Souldiers and the protection of the Religionaries whose dispair was yet much greater and stronger then their numbers The Mareschal de Saint André a Lord as brave as witty and polite but very Luxurious and over-head and ears in debt devoted himself wholly to them and promised the Duke to bestow his Daughter upon which of his Sons he pleased with all the Estate belonging both to him and his Wife reserving only the clear revenue during their term of Life This he did fearing to be devoured by his Creditors should he ever happen to be expell'd the Court. The Constable a great temporiser and who had wont to be prime Minister of State could not stoop now to be Inferior He admitted the flatteries and caresses of both Parties but at length adhered to the Guisians in hatred to the novel opinions being perswaded by his Wife and second Son that the Title he bare of the first Christian Baron would not allow him to linck himself with those who did impugne the Catholick Religion The Duke of Montpensier and the Prince de la Roche Sur-Yon though both of the House of Bourbon were led by the same motives and did not so much respect the proximity of Blood as the name of the Ancient Church and the King from whom they would not start aside for any other Consideration whatsoever A motive directly contrary to the Constables cast the Admiral de Coligny and his Brother Dandelot Colonel of the French Infantry on the side of those Princes who favour'd the new Religion of which they were thoroughly convinced and perswaded besides that they had the Honour to be Allied to the Prince of Condé For he had Married Elenora de Roye Daughter of one Magdelain de Mailly who was their Sister by the Mothers side she and they being Born of Louisa de Montmorency who was first Married to Frederic du Mailly Then to the Mareschal de Chastillon Father of these two Lords When King Henry II. received his hurt the Queen Mother was in suspence a day or two whether to joyn with the Constable or the Guises She looked upon both the one and the other as her Enemies being all Allied to the Dutchess of Valentinois whom she hated mortally though in her Husbands Life-time she feigned to love her even to the height of confidence But she thought her self much more affronted by the Constable then the Guises because it was he that had last adventur'd to contract an Alliance with that Woman Besides the Guises utterly abandoned her notwithstanding the repugnance of the Duke d'Aumale who was her Son in Law and withal they promised this Queen so much Service and so great Submission that she resolved to stand by them To which me may add that being Uncles to the young King as they were it might perhaps have been out of the reach of her power or interest to have set them aside When the Constable perceived his Game was near lost he sent in all post hast to the King of Navarre to press him to come and take that Place and Authority his Birth justly claimed under the young King but that Prince who was slow and irresolute and who withal did not much confide in him because he had once advised the deceased King to seize upon the remainder of his petit Kingdom did not make much hast This signal fault and after this his strange irresolutions and the weakness of his Conduct during all this and the following Reign may be accounted indirectly amongst the principal and main causes of all the Troubles and Misfortunes that befel the Kingdom of France Wherefore the Guises having gained the Mastery at Court the King declared to the Parliaments Deputies when they came to wait on him That he had committed the direction of his Affairs to them that is to say the Intendance or Over-sight of all the Affairs of War to the Duke and that of the Finances or Treasury to the Cardinal Being thus establish'd they consider'd of removing out of the way all those that might be obnoxious They left the Constable and Mareschals of France no more Commission but to Bury the late King and sent the Princes of Condé and de la Roche Sur-Yon into Spain the first to carry the Coller of the Order to King Philip the other to get the Treaty of Peace confirmed They likewise banished the Dutchess of Valentinois from the Court but first obliged her to restore and deliver up the Jewels and the rich Furniture and Year of our Lord 1559 Goods the late King had bestowed upon her and took away her fair House of Chenonceaux to accommodate the Queen-Mother in exchange for the Castle of Chaumont upon the Banks of the River Loire Desiring by embellishing the face of their new Government with a shew of Goodness and Justice towards the publick to condemn the Government past they took the Seals from Bertrandi Cardinal and Archbishop of Sens whose reputation was not of the best and restored them to the Chancellor Ol vier a person really of a much more then ordinary merit and of great probity but who soon perceived they had recalled him to servitude rather then to a freedom of function in the highest Office of the Kingdom The Queen-Mother in the mean time
Parliament of Paris verified it not without great difficulty and with this Clause in consideration of the present juncture of the times but not approving of the new Religion in any manner and till the King should otherwise ordain The other Parliaments prescribed several modifications When the Triumviri had absented themselves the Admiral appeared most powerful at Court and was effectually so for some days but he afterwards lost himself in the Queens good opinion by his own fault For too much prosperity having made him lay open his heart too much he would needs make it appear to her the strength of the Huguenots was much greater then in truth they were demanding Temples for Two Thousand One Hundred and Fifty Congregations Year of our Lord 1562. February He did it with intent to persuade her that she might find amongst them strength enough to maintain her self against all the World She pretended to believe it and charged him to take an account how many Men those Churches upon occasion of necessity could furnish her with fit to bear Arms but they prudently denied to discover their whole strength and in the mean time the Queen imagined he would have her depend solely upon his Credit so that she put her self upon her Guard towards him and resolved though she did make use of him yet not by subjecting her self Now he and the Prince of Condé observing withal a potent League was preparing to attack them believed it was lawful to joyn the German Princes to their party since their Adversaries had taken the Spaniards into them The Duke of Guise and the Cardinal his Brother having notice of it labour'd with great assiduity to prevent such assistance themselves went to Savern to discourse with the Duke of Virtemberg from whom the Prince hoped to get a considerable party They craftily feigned a great propensity to Luthers Doctrine and made him believe that if they had but some good correspondence with the German Princes who generally were of that Church they would bring both the Catholicks and Zuinglians to reason and by that means restore the Church to Unity The Duke of Wirtemberg was cajolled with this specious pretence and sell from the Huguenots the more readily for that in truth the Lutherans hate them but little less then the Roman Catholicks do themselves At his return from Saverne the Duke of Guise having sojourned some days at his Castle of Joinville was desired by his Confederates to come speedily to Paris because the Huguenots being countenanc'd by the Regent the Prince of Condé the Admiral and their Governor the Mareschal de Montmorency would needs be uppermost They were permitted to Preach in the Fauxbourg Saint Merceau and in that of Saint Antoine the Chevalier du Guet or Captain of the Watch had order to Guard them with his Archers and they had disarm'd the people of Paris for fear they should run open-Mouth upon them which had so raised their courage that the Priests could not carry the Holy Sacrament along the Streets without danger of an up-roar month March About the latter end of the foregoing year there hap'ned a great Tumult in the Fauxbourg Saint Marceau where they broke open the Church Doors of Saint Medard pull'd down the Images kill'd divers persons and dragged the Priests most shamefully to Prison because some Catholicks had abused a man whom they sent to bid them leave off jangling their Bells which hindred their hearing the Minister The Parliament having taken Information upon complaint of either party found the Huguenots guilty and punish't their insolency with the death of two or three of them Now the first day of March as the Duke of Guise was passing thorough the little Town of Vassy it hap'ned that some quarrel arose between some that were of his Train and the Huguenots who held their meeting in a Grange and he going thither to pacifie them was wounded on the Cheek with a stone His people seeing his face all bloody their rage grew to such a height that they slew near threescore of them and wounded above two hundred This is what the Huguenots have called the Massacre of Vassy and which in effect proved as it were the first signal to all those bloody Wars for Religion which afterwards afflicted this unhappy Reign though it were a pure accident without any design or fault in the Duke of Guise After he had taken with him the Cardinal his Brother in his passage by Reims he came to Mantueil his friends came to him in Crowds and the Constable sent to Complement him In the mean time the Prince of Condé was gone to Monceaux to make Complaint to the King about the Murthers at Vassy The Regent found her self mightily perplext She promised the Huguenots to do them justice wrote to the King of Navarre who was at Paris to provide for the safety of the King and Kingdom sent for the Duke of Guise to come to Court without any Company and enjoyned the Mareschal de Saint André to repair to his Government of Lyonnois But the Navarrois sharply reproved the Huguenot Deputies who carried him the complaints from those of Vassy the Duke of Guise replyed that he was busie and could not yet appear at Court and the Mareschal told the Queen to her face that in the posture things then stood he could not abandon the Kings Person Year of our Lord 1562. March Shortly after the Duke of Guise came to Paris attended by a Thousand or Twelve Hundred Horse His Enemies would have made it a Crime de Laesae Majestatis for having Marched in by the Gate Saint Denis thorough which the Kings make usually their Entry as likewise because the Prevost des Marchands and the Eschevins who went out to meet him made him a Speech and the People made loud Shouts and Acclamations as to the King It is not credible the Queen had any suspition that the Duke aimed at the Crown but she imagined that he and his Confederates intended to snatch the Government out of her hands This apprehension putting her into extream trouble she had recourse to the Prince of Condé who was retired to his House and wrote several Letters to recommend her Son to him as likewise the Kingdome and her self with expressions so affectionate and so full of Compassion hinting that the Confederates kept her in Captivity as gave him just cause to arm himself though he had not had the least inclination to it Their principal aim was to bring the King back to Paris that they might have him entirely at their devotion The Prevost des Marchands who was for them came to Melun to request it of the Queen and demand the Parisians might have their Armes again restored to defend themselves against the Huguenots The last particular was granted and the other was promised in time convenient mean while the Confederates so contrived it that the Commission for the Government of Paris was given to the Cardinal de Bourbon the Mareschal de
out the Prince and intreat him earnestly to come to Court assuring him that whatsoever had been done against the Protestants was much against her will and that with his Assistance she would endeavour to repair it The Prince began to listen to it and was inclined to condescend when news was brought him that the Huguenots coming out of Church at Sens were all Massacred and their Houses saccaged by the Soldiers the fault whereof was charged upon the Cardinal de Lorrain Archbishop of that City The Prince having heard the particulars said to his People that they must hope for nothing now but from God and their own Courage They then caused white Cassocks of Cloth to be made for all their Cavalry and endeavour'd to animate and keep up their Spirits by Printing several little Books some for their Justification others to bespatter the House of Guise and particularly the Cardinal de Lorrain Year of our Lord 1562 Yet there were many Envoyez and propositions sent from the one to the other The Prince demanded the Edict of January should be observed that there should be Justice done for such as were Massacred and that the Triumviri should quit the Court. They to repel these Attaques presented a Petition that there might be no other Religion in France but the Catholick That all Servants belonging to the King all Governors Officers Magistrates c. should make a publick Profession of it or be deprived of their Employments That all such as had laid violent hands on things Sacred should be punished for their Sacriledge That no man should bear Arms but such as were Commissioned by the King of Navarre upon which Conditions they offer'd to retire from Court month June These Messages having effected nothing towards a reconciliation the Queen would needs confer with the Prince her self the place was assigned at Toury where either came accompanied with about Fifty Horse and all the necessary precautions The King of Navarre was with the Queen The Gentlemen belonging to them who were kept at Eight Hundred paces distance left they should chance to quarrel could not be restrained from running to embrace each other weeping to express both the joy for their present meeting and the sorrow for that fate which threatned to change this friendship into a Scene of fury and these Salutations into the necessity of cutting suddenly one anothers Throats In sine the Queen could not gain her ends The King of Navarre and the Prince picqu'd each other with reproaches and the Conference broke off The Prince had a good part of the Nobles and Soldiery for him The Confederates had the Parisians the Name and Person of the King which are necessarily followed by the Great Officers and Parliament The Six and Twentieth of June the Parliament declared all such as had seized those Cities before mentioned Rebels and guilty of Treason However they excepted the Prince of Condé as if it must have been supposed that the Huguenots detained him by force The Armies on either part took the Field and these being the one in the Country of Orleannois the other in Dunois the Queen made one Essay more which was like to have succeeded to the destruction of both the Factions She proposed to the Prince by the advice of Valence to make the Guises and the Constable quit the Court if he would lay down his Arms and come and put himself into hers and the King of Navarres hands The Prince running inconsiderately into this toyl goes to the Queen at Talsy as soon as ever he heard the Triumviri were retired and by a second imprudence promised to leave the Kingdom if they returned not to Court The Admiral de Coligny and the other Chiefs of his Party mightily in pain and disquiet both for him and themselves came the next day and made him sensible he could not in honour engage his word to the prejudice of what he had promis'd them and was in Conscience bound to make good and thus they obliged him to recal it at the next Conference which was held the following day and brought him back again to his Army Every one admiring the Queen Mother had not taken the whole Covey as she might easily have done with one fair draught of her Net which she could not possibly have forborn had it been for her Interest so to do month June and July The number of Cities the Huguenots had seized were too many for their Forces and kept them scattered at too great a distance from each other they soon lost most of them again together with a great many of their Men Blois and Anger 's were forced with all the Cruelties attending the fury of a Civil War Mans and Tours were abandoned The Duke of Aumale who Commanded the Kings Armies in Normandy for the Duke of Bouillon was suspected of Huguenotisme recover'd all the places about Rouen and the Duke of Estampes Governour of Bretagne Valongne Vire Saint Lo and Bayeux At Vire were the greatest Cruelties committed because the Huguenots had been most cruel there During the Negotiations and the many difficulties there are in Cementing together the several Members of a new made Party where most times three break off whilst they are soddering one the heat of the Princes zealots began to grow cool Most part came to him full of resolution and with the hopes and expectation of being led on to Battle immediately expecting that a few moments either would give them Victory or a brave and glorious death but when they found things were drawn out in Length many desired lieve to return so that being unable to keep them longer together there with him he sent John de Partenay Soubize to Lyons John de Hangest-Yvoy to Bourges the Count de la Rochefoucaud Year of our Lord 1562 to Angoâ—lesme Dandelot into Germany and Briquemault to England the two last to hasten those Supplies which had been promised him in those Countries month July and August The Kings Army was encreased to Five and Twenty Thousand Foot and Five Thousand Horse they were divided in two bodies one of them with whom the King was in Person commanded by the King of Navarre and the Duke of Guise went to besiege Bourges the other commanded by the Mareschal de Saint André was sent to Poitiers This last place was taken by Battery in fewer dayes then the Soldiers had to pillage it it was gained on the first day of August The other was reduced by Composition the Nine and Twentieth of the same Month. They had sustained near upon a Five Weeks Siege and might have held it longer if Yvoy who defended it with Two Thousand Men had not suffer'd himself to be prevailed upon either by fear or the cajoleries and allurements of the Court. And indeed he soon after quitted the Party and retired to his own home month September Bourges being taken most part of the Chief Officers were for going directly to Orleans where they might have coop'd up the Prince and by
that means cut off the greatest head of the Faction The Queen would not have it so the Duke of Guise himself thought the enterprize too difficult and favouring the Parisians in what they most desired was of opinion they should lay Siege to Rouen The Army Arrived there about the Twentieth of September and just in a nick of time to hinder that Progress the Huguenots might have made with the help of the English For on the same day a Treaty of Confederation was signed between Queen Elizabeth and them at Hampton-Court specifying that she should furnish them with Six Thousand Men one half to be put into Havre de Grace which should be delivered to her and which she should keep for the King and was to serve for a place of retreat and refuge to the Huguenots which in a few days afterwards was Executed The Fort Saint Catherine was taken by Storm The City maintained their Attaques with all possible Resolution They proffer'd them such composition as was reasonable enough and for three several times the Queen Mother hindred the Duke of Guise from giving the Assault being perswaded by the prudent Coun sel of the Chancellor that nothing can be more prejudicial to a Soveraign then to make Conquests upon himself and pillage his own Cities But when they found the Besieged did continue to reject with Stubbornness those favours and that mercy they were importuned to accept the Kings Council gave the Duke lieve to let loose the Reynes to Victory He therefore gave a general Assault the Five and Twentieth of October Their resistance was not equal to their obstinacy they abandoning all at the first Shock The Soldiers pillaged them above eight dayes together which proved the more cruel because they were extreamly rich Montgomery who had a Galley lying there ready upon all occasions it was one of the Kings which hapned to put into Rouen when the Huguenots master'd the Town soon got aboard of it with his Friends together with the English The Slaves to whom he had promised their Liberty rowed with such force that it slid quite over the Chain they had laid cross the River at Caudebec They hanged up John du Bose d'Esmandreville President of the Court of Aydâ—s two Councellors belonging to the City Marlorat the Minister and Eight or Ten Captains amongst others du Cros who had been Governor of Havre de Grace and deliver'd the place up to the English By way of Reprizal or Retaliation the Prince caused the Heads of some Catholicks to be cut off that were in his Hands amongst others John Baptist Sapin Councellor of the Parliament of Paris and John de Troyes Abbot of Gastine who were taken in Vendosmois as they were on their way to Spain from the King Giles leu Maistre first President of the Parliament revenged the Death of Sapin who was his Nephew upon some unfortunate Huguenots that were Prisoners in Paris whom he sent to the common Place of Execution These retaliations had gone on to infinity if the Captains of the Catholick Party who apprehended the like Reprisals should they have fallen into the Enemies power had not engaged their Chiefs to desist from such kind of Process and to make good the usual Rules of War and Martial Customes and Laws The Five and Twentieth of October the King of Navarre had been wounded in the Trenches while he was making water by a Musquet shot in his left Shoulder The City being taken he would needs be carried in his Bed by his Year of our Lord 1562 Swiss Soldiers to make a Triumphant entrance thorough the breach His wound was not Mortal but his too assiduous entertainment of the Damoiselle du Rouet one of those Sirenes the Regent employ'd to enchant that poor Prince withal heated his blood too much after which his impatience to be Cured making him venture by Boat to Paris he was seized with a Trembling and afterwards fell into a cold Sweat the Symptomes of approaching death as indeed it proved for the Boat stopping at Andelis he there resigned his last breath the Seventeenth day of November shewing himself in this last Act as he had done in all the other Four wavering and irresolv'd between the Catholick Religion and the Confession of Ausbourg but discovering enough the bad opinion he had of the Government by an express order he gave to fore-warn his Wife from coming to the Court to stand well upon her Guard and Fortifie her places The trouble the Prince was in for the bloody Conquest of Rouen was yet augmented by the unwelcome News brought him from Guyenne Duras had raised Five Thousand Men for him in that Country this Army of Fellows pickt up at random and most Robbers living without order were charged by Montluc and cut in pieces near the Burrough de Vere between Perigueux and Sarlat Which brought the Prince two great dis-advantages the one that he lost this considerable Supply the other that Montluc's Forces having nothing else in those Parts to fear joyned with the Kings Army some dayes before the Battel of Dreux There have been many Volumes Printed of all the Minute passages in every Province particularly in Guyenne Languedoc and in Daufiné the surprising taking and retaking of Towns a World of little Fights and Skirmishes the Barbarities and Massacres committed on both sides the Insolencies and furious rage of the People which to say the truth they were but too much and too highly provoked unto by the Huguenots in divers places I shall therefore only observe in gross that Sommerine for the Catholick Party made a rude War in Provence against his Father the Count de Tendes who held with the Huguenots That in Daufiné the Baron des Adrets having taken up Armes for these and the Count de Suse for the other pursued each other by turnes very close and smartly and that the Baron made himself Terrible by his enormous Cruelties Precipitating Massacring and Drowning without Faith or Compassion such as resisted him in any place That Tavanes a zealous Catholiâ—k having retaken Chaalon and Mascon preserved for a time all Burgundy from being any further involved in the Civil War That Normandy was all laid waste and desolate the higher by reason of the Sieges of Rouen and Havre and the lower by the Count de Montgommery and the Breton Troops which the Duke d'Estampes had brought in thither to make head against him That Joyeuse preserved one part of Languedoc in the Ancient Religion That Montluc as we may find in his Commentaries rendred the King great Service in Guyenne but that he exceeded the bounds even of severity it self against the Huguenots I shall add that their Party had the disadvantage almost every where unless in Languedoc where they held all the best Cities excepting Toulouze which intending to seize upon in the Month of May they were drove thence after an obstinate Fight of many dayes and the loss of Three Thousand of their Men not reckoning about Two Hundred more who were
dispatched to the other World by several sorts of Death and Torments That at Lyons they defended themselves against Tavanes and afterwards against the Duke of Nemours who besieged that City the one after the other That above Fifty Thousand of theirs were Slain as well in Battle as in Tumults Seditions and Up-roars and that where-ever they were strongest they broke or melted all their Shrines Reliquaires and sacred Vessels of Gold and Silver which the Prince Coined into Money with the Arms and Effigies of the King and this made Money much more common in France then ever it had been known before this War The dread the Pope was in lest they should hold a National Council in France obliged him to assemble the General Council of Trent The Cardinal de Lorrain went thither this year upon the fifteenth of November with great equipage accompanied by forty Bishops and a good number of the most learned Doctors His Holyness had some reason to take the Allarm upon it the power of this great Cardinal gave him so much jealousie that he called him the Pope on the other side the Mountains And apprehended hended he would bring the Doctors of the Ausbourg Confession into the Lists For Year of our Lord 1562 he had given some hints and tokens at least in appearance that he did not disapprove their Confession altogether and they well knew that in his passage by Inspruc he had conferr'd with the Emperor So that the Pope as if he had beâ—n to deal with the greatest enemy of the Church Muster'd up all his Forces sent for all the Bishops in his own Dominions where they are very numerous borrowed even of his Neighbours and pray'd the King of Spain to assist him with his to strengthen his party in the Council that he might be able to make head against those of France and Germany Though Philip had lost his cause at Venice about precedency he failed not to revive it again in the Council Claude Ferdinand de Quinones Count de Luna his Ambassador before he would come to Trent had demanded of the Pope what place he should have there the Pope instead of giving a direct answer eluded and referred the decision of that right to those Legates who presided for him in the Council The Cardinal de Gonzague who was chief of them found an expedient to satisfie the Spaniards and not much prejudice the French Which was that the Ambassador of France should keep his place next the Emperor and in their Congregations he of Spain should by provision only have one apart by himself either next to Ecclesiastiques or on a Seat distinct just opposite to the other Ambassadors The Cardinal de Lorrain out of the apprehension he had lest this dispute should break up the Council obliged Lansac the Kings Ambassador to accept of this condition and to allow the Count should have a Seat apart near the Secretary to the Council He took this place therefore and having Commanded his Orator to speak went out the first of any for fear of some dispute at the Door But the difficulty was not determined as to the other Assemblies particularly the Sessions of Council and at solemn Mass where the Seats were not placed in the same manner so that the French demed the Spaniard the like favour there The Legates durst not decide it of their own heads but when they had received Orders from the Pope to give him the like rank at all ceremonies they contrived another expedient Vpon Saint Peters Day the Fathers of the Council being at Chappel there appeared a Seat between the last Cardinal and the first Patriarch and the Spanish Ambassadors sate there They had likewise given private Order to have two Censers that they might give the Incense to the French and him at the same time The French would not suffer it the Divine Service was interrupted the Legates the Ambassadors and some Bishops to prevent the scandal endeavour'd to find a Medium which was that they should omit the giving of Incense c. that day After this Council the same controversie was renewed at Rome by Lewis de Zuniga Requesens Great Commander of the Order of Saint James Ambassador of King Philip Henry Clutin de Oysel who was so for the King courageously maintained the right of France The Spaniard caused divers expedients to be propounded whereby he aimed to preserve an equality but they were all rejected by the French who would not only keep his ancient place and station but would have the Spaniard do so too that is beneath him So that the Pope after he had vainly sought to find out expedients did most solemnly adjudge the precedency contended for to belong to the French and maintained him in the possession of it Which was performed on the day of Pentecost in the year 1564. Requesens having protested against this Judgment and not appearing at the Celebration of that Festival Year of our Lord 1562. November Notwithstanding since that time the Ambassadors of Spain have many times disputed for the Precedency with those of France though for the most part to their own shame as well at Rome as in other Courts of Princes till in our dayes the most August King Lewis XIV upon a contest hapned in England between his and one from Spain obliged Philip IV. expresly to renounce it by an Authentick Instrument in Writing The 12 th of November Dandelot Arrived at Orleans with Twelve Cornets of Reisters making Six and Twenty Hundred Horse and Twelve Ensignes of Lansquenets under them near Three Thousand Men whom the Landegrave of Hesse had furnished him withal and some few dayes before Duras had brought in the Remnants of the Battel de Vere This Crime of bringing strangers into the Kingdom was in some sort excusable in them by the example of the contrary Party who had first caused both Horse and Foot to be raised in Germany by the Rhingrave and Count Rocandolf who were Protestants and had likewise called in some Spaniards which they might very well have let alone since there were above an hundred Catholicks in France for every Huguenot Year of our Lord 1562 The Princes Army being Twelve Thousand fighting men took the Field Their resolution was to go directly to Paris believing that upon the first and sudden fright they might force them before the Triumviri could return or put the Queen in so much dread that she would be brought to a more reasonable accommodation The event made the vanity of this Design plainly appear he could not so much as take the little Town of Corbeil and besides when he was lodged at Arcueil and other neighbouring Villages the Queen engaged him in divers Conferences wherein she pretended mildly to yield to him in divers points to hinder him from falling upon the Suburbs till the Parisians were recover'd from their terrible consternation and to debauch his best Officers amongst which number was Genlis who retired to his own home but yet remained ever a Huguenot
about preparing and equipping it and every year he laid out above a Million of Gold for the expences The King apprehending that the Leaguers if he ran them into despair might get them to land upon the coasts of France durst no longer deny those things they ask'd of him He gave them that Edict which bare the specious name of Year of our Lord 1588 Re-Vnion By which renewing his Coronation Oath he swear to root out all Schisms and Heresies and never make any Peace or Edict in favour of the Huguenots ordained likewise all his Subjects of what quality soever to swear the same and that his death hapning they should acknowledge no Prince for their King who was an Heretique or abettor of Heresie Declared Rebels and Criminals de Lesae Majestatis those who refused to Sign this Edict and approved all that had been done the 12 th and 13 th of May and since as well at Paris as in other Cities as being done out of pure Zeal for the Catholique Religion He swear this Edict with an appearance of great joy all those that were of his Council and of his Court did the same thing excepting the Duke of Nevers who refused the Oath three or four times till the King enjoyned him to it upon pain of disobedience The Parliament did forthwith Register and make publication of it and all the great Cities received it This done the King returned to Chartres towards the end of the Month and the Queen brought thither the Duke of Guise and presented him to the King There appeared in their countenances and in their discourse and in either of their proceedings so many marks of Confidence and a cordial Affection that the whole Court was overjoy'd at this reconciliation and the most cautelous believed it might be unfeigned At this time the King of Navarre was returned from Bearn to Rochell and sought to gain the favour of that City where indeed he had no very great credit during the life of the Prince of Condé Lesdiguieres was buisy in Danfiné curbing the Cities of Gap and Grenoble with Ports he mated Grenoble so effectually that they demanded a Truce for six Months He and Montmorency had also besieged the Pont Sainct Esprit when the Edict of Re-Union was brought to him It made the Mareschal put up his Sword but hastned la Valete to make a League Offensive and Defensive with Lesdiguieres There was nothing in Daufiné that made head against the last but only Charles de Simiane d'Albigny nor did he spare any thing to gain his amity he offer'd to give him his Daughter in Marriage to share his Authority between them and to leave it solely to him at his death These advantageous proffers had less power and influence over the Spirit of Albigny then that zeal he was confirmed in for the Religion of his Ancestors he ever constantly resisted him but not with so much success as courage month September and October The Provenceaux in the mean time were risen up against Valete the Kings private Orders the Parliaments hatred to the Duke of Espernon and the ambition of Vins who pretended to that Government did but too much animate those Spirits whose Blood is soon heated and easily incited to a commotion The supplies which came to him from Daufiné did but little service when the Parliament had once set him beside the Government most of the Gentry and all the Cities abandon'd him excepting four or five petty places which he maintained till the death of the Duke of Year of our Lord 1588 Guise when the face of Affairs were changed by the Kings changing of his mind month August In the precedent Month of August the Duke of Espernon saw himself in most dreadful danger his kind fortune and great courage drew him out of it Having staid some days in the Castle of Loches after his leaving the Court before he resolved to go to Angoulesme the Mayor of the Town had order from the King to oppose his entrance and not able to do so because Espernon had prevented the Courier he undertook to seize him in the Castle or the Kings House where he lodged He entred therefore with Ten Men well armed under colour of bringing a Courier to him but running rashly into the Wardrobe instead of going directly to his Closet he mist his prey and perish'd with his Brother-in-law who crept in thorow a hole to come to his aid The other Conspirators and their friends who had taken Arms in the City apprehending to be over-born by the Soldiers who came thundring in to the Dukes assistance and the Duke to be starved to death having not eaten in Thirty hours this fear and that necessity made an accommodation between them and obliged them to stand to it Villeroy was taxed as having abused or contrived Letters under the Signet to destroy Espernon but the King clearly owned the business He was grown so peevish that towards the end of the same Month he dismiss'd the Chancellor de Chiverny Villeroy and Pinard Secretaries of State and Pompone de Bellievre Sur-Intendant des Finances At the same time he heaped Favours upon the Leaguers for he put the Seals into the hands of Francis de Montolon Advocate in Parliament whom they revered because of his servent zeal for the Catholique Religion He also declared the Cardinal de Bourbon the nearest of kin to his Blood In effect he was so but not the fittest to succeed and he permitted the Clergy to furnish Five hundred thousand Crowns towards the expences of the War Now that the said Body Ecclesiastical might raise it without alienating their Fund he consented to the erection of an alternate Receiver and two Comptrollers of the Tenths hereditary in each Diocess This Fund was ordained for the maintenance of two Armies which he had raised He gave the one to the Duke of Mayenne and the other to the Duke of Nevers but this was upon the refusal of the Duke of Guise who by advice of the Arch-Bishop of Lyons resolved to remain at Court and got a constant and certain Fund setled to keep his Table of Grand Maistre month July and August The event made it appear that this resolution was not prudent for the beams of his power shining perpetually so bright in the Kings Eyes awakened his resentments which perhaps might else by little and little have been extinguished and laid to sleep in the shades of oblivion He was offended that the Pope should in a Letter call the Duke and the Cardinal de Bourbon Machabéans and say they had saved the people of Israel Besides this the Duke of Nevers and Lognac Captain of Year of our Lord 1588 the Forty-five did perpetually stir up his indignation The Duke of Nevers because he irreconcileably hated the Duke of Guise and Lognac because having in some manner succeeded to the Kings favour after Espernon as Second with Bellegarde Cosin-Germain to that Duke well knew that the House of Guise always enemies
appear more plain to him then any thing else had done Now when they perceived his recovery they repented of having too openly discover'd themselves and endeavour'd to sooth him by new caresses and fairer profers then before And he on his part knew how to dissemble as well as themselves but intended for the future to order his Affairs by other measures then theirs In this mind he essay'd to make a new Party with the Cardinal de Bourbon upon whose Head he promised to set the Crown I cannot tell how far this intrigue was carried on but there is great likelihood the Dukes irresolution hindred the prosecution of it During this universal disorder the Royal Authority was very languishing for the great Cities had their designs for liberty the Lords and Governors for Soveraignties ☜ and private Gentlemen and Captains thought of nothing but Plunder and Robberies for which reason they were all of a mind to prolong the War whence they alone reaped the profit These Purloiners had the fifths of all Prizes Ransoms and Seizures disposed of the Tailles and Publick Money at their own pleasure laid new Imposts upon Passages and Rivers devoured all the labours and substance of poor People Then when they were to march served not above three weeks or a month and so returned again to their own homes But never without grumbling The King might give them new Salaries great Pensions Benefices Confiscations Year of our Lord 1592 grant them all Boons they demanded and engage the clearest of his Demeasns to them yet they were never satisfied month May. It was justly to be feared by him that if the Estates should at last elect a King all the Princes of Italy and the rest of the Catholicks might own him they being concerned only to have a King in France not whether it were he in particular before any other and lest the Pope who had some obligation to the Spaniards for his promotion should continue to assist the League This was Clement VIII for Gregory XIV died and Innocent IX his Successor Reigned but a short time Besides he wanted Money and was vexed to be no more but the Companion of his Subjects These Considerations inclined him to find out some way for an Accommodation with the Duke of Mayenne They entred upon it without much difficulty and without taking in the King of Spain or communicating it to the Lords of either Party as knowing too well those People did not at all desire an end of the Troubles Villeroy and Duplessis were made choice of for this Negociation They came to this Agreement That the King should take six Months time to be instructed by such ways and means as should be no prejudice either to his Dignity or his Conscience That the Nobility of his Party should send a Deputation to the Pope to desire his Authority for it That in the mean time they should endeavour to make a Peace and that he should be owned by those Princes that were united They afterwards further agreed That the Huguenots should enjoy those Edicts had been granted to them before the year 1585. That the Exercise of the Catholick Religion should be restored every where That the Gentdarmerie and Infantry should be regulated That the Tailles and Imposts should ☜ be moderated and that the Priviledges of Officers and of Cities should be preserved But when it came to treat of the interests of the Duke of Mayenne the Propositions seemed so excessive to Duplessis-Mornay that he dissuaded the King from giving ear to them Villeroy forbore not to enter again into Conference with the Mareschal d'Aumont and the Mareschal de Bouillon and to attend the King who was very well satisfied with his franc and loyal proceeding The fruit of these Conferences which lasted two Months proved more then a little for the benefit of the Catholick Religion for the King promised that he would forthwith send the Cardinal de Gondy and Pisany to Rome which did not overmuch please the Huguenots This Treaty being grown publick because too many People would concern themselves in it strangely alarmed the Spaniards and all the other Chiefs of the League The King and the Duke of Mayenne had both like to be abandoned the latter by all his Partisans the other by his Huguenots There were some amongst these who thinking to bind the King yet faster lest he should forsake them fortified themselves with the Queen of England and the Hollander and would needs have given them Year of our Lord 1592 May footing in France A proof hereof was evident by the Enterprise of du Fay his Chancellor in Navarre who having gotten a Commission for the fortifying of Quilleboeuf had scarce raised his Works Breast-high when he would needs Cantonize himself there and denied entrance to Bellegarde to whom the King had given the Government thereof Two or three Envoys from the King did in vain employ both their Persuasions and Menaces to make him lay aside so desperate a design his ambition had taken too high a stand to be brought down so easily he expected a supply of Eight hundred English but two days before the arrival of them he fell sick either of melancholy or otherwise and perished in the midst of his attempt He was so mightily possessed with the humour that death it self could not wean him from it for he gave order they should bury him in one of the Bastions there as if intending still to keep possession So soon as he expir'd Bellegard entred into it Villars thought he might carry the place upon this change and before it were defensible The Duke of Mayenne and he besieged it with four thousand Men but it was either so well defended or so ill attaqu'd that at the end of fifteen days they were constrained to decamp for fear of being beaten by the Count de Saint Pol and Fervaques who were coming to relieve it with Twelve hundred Horse and fifteen hundred Foot Villars going to this Siege had surprized the little Town du Pont-Audemer Whilst he was busie in fortifying it Bose-Rose one of his bravest Captains offended at his arrogance and some scurvy language he had given him seized on the Fort of Fescamp and Cantonized there This Fort was upon a Rock near thirty fathom high towards the Sea which washes the foot of it twice a day but never rises to the top but twice in the year and it was at one of those Spring-Tides that Bose-Rose surprized it by Escalado Villars flew thither immediately to recover it and not able to draw him thence he block'd it up by two Forts wherewith at last he reduced him to extremity but Bose-Rose thought it much safer to cast himself into the Arms of the King then to compound with one he had so much offended After the raising of the Siege of Rouen the greater part of the Kings Army was gone into Champagne he besieged Espernay and out of the apprehension of a relief to come would needs cover himself with a
Son to whom he promised to give the Revenue in propriety but the Honorary Soveraignty to the Swiss thereby to oblige them to his protection month June He took but few Men along with him believing that of those under the two forenamed Generals and the Lorrainers commanded by d'Aussonville he might make up a very considerable Army and as for his Frontler of Picardy he relied upon the Forces of the Mareschal de Bouillon the Count de Sainct Pol and the Admiral de Villars recommending above all things to them a good Correspondence and a readiness when necessary to joyn their whole Strength together To whom when in one entire Body he gave the general Command to the Duke of Nevers And for the Affairs of the Kingdom in gross he establish'd a Council at Paris of whom he made the Prince of Conty Chief The event shewed the method he had taken both for the one and other was not good For the Count de Soissons jealous they had preferr'd the Prince of Conty before him fomented the Leaven of those Factious remains in Paris and so much did those of the said Council as also the Chief Commanders in the Armies countermine each other that they did his work but negligently It is fit we know that in the Month of March the Duke of Longueville was kill'd by a strange accident Taking a review of his Army at Dourlens a Piece discharged Year of our Lord 1595 by accident shot him in the Head whereof he died in a few days at Amiens The day month March before he expir'd his Wife was deliver'd of a Son whom France may justly account for one of the most generous and most accomplished Princes of his Age. The King was God-father and gave him his name and the Government of the Province and till he were of Age gave the Commission of it to the Count de Sainct Pol his Paternal Uncle The Constable of Castille having forced the Lorrainers to abandon all they had taken in the Franche-Comte and Tremblâ—cour who had put himself into Vesou to capitulate prepared to enter into the Dutchy of Burgundy and had made a Bridge at Gray upon the River Soane besides one belonging to the Town The King having notice of month June it resolved with the Mareschal Biron to go and meet him only with two hundred Maistres and five hundred Arquebusiers on Horseback to retard his March a day or two and during that time make a Retrenchment to part the Castle of Dijon from the City and then leaving therein a thousand Bourgeois go forth and fight the Enemy with his whole Army within a League or two of Dijon This undertaking would have been judged rashness had the event not justified it The last day of June being at Fontaine Francoise the mid-way between Dijon and Gray he discover'd the Enemies whole Army descending from Sainct Seyne and at the same time found himself charged by the Duke of Mayennes French Troops commanded by that Duke and by Villars Houdan He there stood in need of all his Vertues Biron being rudely repulsed the King maintain'd the shock with a hundred Horse only made several stout charges and drove back four or five Squadrons almost to the gross of the Duke of Mayennes Army But certainly had he advanced further he must have lost many of his Men his Honour and perhaps his Person The Duke of Mayenne sent three times and the fourth went himself to intreat the Constable to march on to certain Victory but he being as cold to action as hot in words and imagining the Duke pretended to teach him his trade he stirred not but replied with pride and senceless gravity he knew well enough what he had to do The same day he retired to Sainct Seyne and the next day to Gray where he denied entrance to the French nay even to the wounded The King on the contrary took care they should be dress'd and sent a safe-conduct to Villars to carry him to Chalons This day was much more famous for the Kings wonderful Exploits then either for the number of the Combatants or of the slain for there were not sixscore kill'd upon the place and acquired him greater advantage yet then honour for as much as the Castillians coldness his suspicions and inhumanity towards the French broke them quite off from the Spaniard whereas the King open'd his Arms so kindly and favourably to them that he drew a great part to his service Year of our Lord 1594 month July The Duke of Mayenne not knowing how to extricate himself from the Artifices of the Spaniards thought of returning to Sommeriue in Savoy and from thence send to demand security that he might go to Spain and give an account to King Philip of his Conduct and complain of the ill proceedings of his Agents The King perceiving him at the very brink of the Precipice gave him assurance he was ready to receive him into favour and to treat him much nobler then he could ever justly hope for from those Renegado's To which he added that till they had agreed upon the Conditions between them he might remain at Chalons where he should neither be besieged nor invested Before he accepted of these Offers the Duke made another great and last effort to persuade the Constable to relieve the Castle of Dijon The Constable having absolutely refused it he took leave of him as if he would have undertaken it himself with what Forces he had and retired to Chalon From thence he gave order for the surrender of the Castles of Dijon and Talon to the King in retribution of his kindness Whilst the King was yet at Dijon he advised the kindred of Charlote de la Trimouille Widow of Henry Prince of Conde to present him a Petition desiring the Process against that Princess might be removed to the Parliament of Paris That all proceedings made by the Judges of St. John d'Angely might be set aside That new information might be taken and that in the mean time she might be set at liberty upon their Bail upon condition to appear for her within four Months The King having allowed it sent John de Vivonne Marquiss of Pisani to Saintonge to be Governor month July and Aug. to the young Prince and to bring both him and his Mother to Court He had a double end herein one to secure himself of the Person of the Prince whom the Huguenots might possibly have made their Head the other to plant him betwixt himself and the Count de Soissons who seeing him without Children accounted himself presumptive Heir and trod upon his Heels After he had spent some weeks in quieting Burgundy restoring their Parliament which had been interdicted and calling back the Counsellors who had remov'd themselves to Semur he entred with his Army upon the Franche-Comte with design to fight the Castillian and if he obtain'd a Victory to conquer that Province He staid there near upon three weeks during which he oft-times harceled the Spaniard to
Treasury As to the remainder he soon made himself so much Master of the Council for the Finances that he retrencht all the little Tricks and Projects and made it apparent to those grand Statesmen that to discharge his Office there was no need of so great Politiques and Craft but only to be diligent and laborious and both know how to add and to substract The Kings clearest Revenues were alienated or engaged to the greatest Lords he assigned their payments on the Espargne or Exchequer and restored all these Alienations to the Kings who made them treble the value He likewise abolish'd all those Levies they had setled for their own profit without any other Authority but the Licence of a Civil War He also caused all such Priviledges to be revoked as had been granted for above thirty years together with all Patents of Nobility from the said term King Henry III. had sold a thousand in Normandy alone and it was said that under colour of that profusion others had traded for above double that number Those Gentlemen of Parchment were allowed the Exemption they had enjoy'd during all that time for their re-imbursement Then was the famous Priviledge called The Franchise of Chalo Sainct Mars utterly abolished After these Revocations he sent Commissioners into the Provinces to regulate the Tailes And because the open Country was much destroy'd he was constrained to lessen them about Six hundred thousand Crowns and to remit all Arrears to the year 1597. which amounted to above twenty Millions As well it would have been impossible to have raised them and then it was not so much a loss to the King as to the Receivers who had advanced one part of it and those Captains and Lords who had Assignments on the other They cancell'd all the Obligations the Debtors had given to the former and revoked the Assignments of the latter His design was said he to take off all the Tailles to this purpose to dis-engage the Kings Demeasns in which he labour'd very much and so supply what more should Year of our Lord 1599 be wanting by an Augmentation of Imposts upon Wares These happy thoughts whether really intended or not were very sutable to the Kings great goodness who in effect cherish'd his People as his Children and was much more fearful of oppressing them then desirous to fill his own Coffers Any other way but that of Arbitration would have better pleased the Duke of Savoy He would willingly the Spaniards had undertaken his defence and although he had already experimented at the Treaty of Vervins they had not over-much zeal for his interests he omitted not to solicite them and to give them great Respect but when they had made him know they would not engage their young King in a War for love of him he thought it might do well to inform the Pope with the Reasons he had for detention of the Marquisate Francis d'Arconnas Count de Touzaine his Ambassador in the Court of Rome and Sillery who was there in the same Quality for the King gave in an Abstract of their Titles whilst those were under examination the King demanded as having been disseized he should be restored before all other Proceedings and the Duke replied that the said Maxim of Right had place between private Men not amongst Potent Princes as the King was to whom if they should once adjudge the possession he would never quit or surrender it again Upon this Sillery propounded an Expedient viz. that the enjoyment should rest in the Duke till a definitive Sentence provided he would hold it as a Feif Mouvant of Daufine Arconnas not yielding to that the Pope found out another which was that it should remain in Sequestration in his hands The Patriarch of Constantinople this was Calatagirone General of the Order of St. Francis whom he had honoured with that Title was enjoyned by him to propound it to the two Princes and if they approved it to demand a prolongation of the time agreed for Sentence which was ready to expire Both of them feigned to think well of it and yet neither of them were really contented for they feared lest the Pope if he had it in his hands should take a fancy to bestow it upon one of his Brothers Sons Thereupon Arconnas either with design to gain his friendship or to fore-stall his Judgment went and assured him on the behalf of his Duke that if the Marquisate fell to his Master he might dispose of it to such of his Nephews as he should think fit The Pope interpreted this Compliment a high injury to his Integrity and from that time waved the Arbitration Year of our Lord 1599 The Duke was not much troubled he was setting other Engines at work in France by means of his Ambassadors When he found they could not succeed to his wishes he resolved to come himself and because he knew his Council would not permit him to hazard thus his Person and Reputation he order'd Roncas to write to him that the King would be very glad to see him though on the contrary he had told his Agents plainly that unless he were disposed to render up the Marquisate he would find little satisfaction in his Voyage This Prince had so good an opinion of his own ability and his Talent of Wit which indeed were admirable that he doubted not to gain the heart of the King and his Ministers by his subtil ingenuity or over-persuade them by his Arguments and Reasons In the Month of June was fought that famous Duel betwixt Philipine his Bastard Brother and the Lord de Crequy Philipine was slain and that sinister accident for he relied much upon the like presages should have made him alter his Resolution but another Omen seemed to promise he should reap something of his labour which was that in the Month of September all the Fruit-Trees in Savoy put forth their Blossoms which turned to Fruit in less time then an hour So he parted from Chambery the first day of December with his Council a Train of twelve hundred Horse whereof he sent back the one half from Lyons and great Riches in Moneys Toys and Jewels The Marriage of Queen Margaret being dissolv'd the Kings Agents engaged him upon seeking for Mary de Medicis Daughter to Francis in his life time Duke of Florence month October and November and Niece of Ferdinand Brother and Successor to that Francis but in the interim his heart which was not wont to be long in freedom was taken by the attractive Charms of Henrietta de Balsac a pleasant airy witty and engaging Virgin Lady and indeed she came of a Race that inspired Love for her Mother was that Mary Touchet who had been Mistress to Charles IX and was after Married to the Lord d'Entragues from whose Embraces this young Venus sprung Her Parents desiring to make the best of such an opportunity were very watchful and kept her close lest enjoyment should extinguish that bright flame of Love her Eyes had
not common in France for a long time for King Henry II. was the first who wore Silk Stockings at his Sister's Wedding month June Yet till those Troubles hapned which turned the whole Kingdom upside-down under the Reigns of Charles IX and Henry III. the Courtiers did not use much Silk but after that the very Citizens began to wear it frequently For 't is a most certain Observation that Pride and Luxury does never spread so much as during Publick Calamities For which I can guess at no other reason but that it is a Curse from Heaven which ever comes hand in hand with the Plague of Civil War Now King Henry IV. believing this Manufacture might in like manner be set up at Paris treated with certain Undertakers who Built several places in the Tuilleries the Castle of Madrid and at Fontainebleau to breed Silk-Worms they sending every year into Spain for the Eggs and gave order for the planting great Numbers of white Mullberry-Trees and raising Nurseries of them in all the adjacent Parishes the Leaves of those Trees serving as Pasture for those precious Worms or Catterpillers Year of our Lord 1603 In the year 1599. he had by Edict Prohibited all Foreign Manufactures as well of Silk as Gold Silver pure or mixt at the request of the Merchants of Tours who pretended to make quantities sufficient to furnish the whole Kingdom But as those kind of Establishments accommodate only the Undertakers and incommode all others it was soon found that this Project ruined the City of Lyons which may justly be called the Golden Gate of France destroy'd their Fairs and withal diminished the Customs by one half These Considerations tendred to the King as he was never obstinate to prefer his absolute Authority to evident Reason and Demonstration he made no scruple to revoke it In the Month of June Ferdinand de Velasco Constable of Castille passed thorow France on his way to England to finish that Treaty of Peace with King James which Taxis the Ambassador in Ordinary from Spain had begun I shall here observe that he concluded it about the middle of June in the following year to the great regret of the King of France who knew by this what he was to hope for from King James a Prince heedless and timorous a Philosopher in words yet having nothing but the meen of a Soldier And who withal was not yet so well setled in England as to venture or dare to shock any one of his Neighbours month May June July c. Divers things caused great inquietudes in the King There were some which troubled his Divertisements and others that tended to the disturbance of his Kingdom The Jealousies the Queen his Wife had of his Amours the Malice of his Mistresses especially the Marchioness de Verneuil the heats of the Count de Soissons which many times broke out upon Points of Honor for the most part rather imaginary then real and the Insolency's of the Duke d'Espernon were of the first sort The procedure of the zealous Catholicks who sought by oblique Methods to engage him to ruin the Huguenots as on the opposite the Discontents of the Huguenots who endeavour'd to Cantonize that they might not be taken unprovided were of the second We shall Discourse of the two first Points hereafter As for the Count de Soissons being already much offended for that Rosny had refused to allow him a certain Impost upon Linnen-Cloath which he begg'd of the King the false Reports made to him by the Marchioness of Verneuil push'd him on to such an extremity of resentment that he talked of nothing but to be revenged by the Death of Rosny and although the King did openly enough take part with this last he could never allay the Count's Passion but by obliging Rosny to disown by a Publick Writing what he was accused to have spoken of the Count and offer to fight any Man that durst maintain the contrary The Brave Grillon had suffer'd himself to be persuaded to lay down his Command of Mestre de Camp in the Regiment of Guards the Duke of Espernon Collonel of the French Infantry took it to be his Right to Nominate the King would retrench that Right and had destin'd it for Crequy Son-in-Law to Lesdiguieres Espernon after having made all his efforts by Intrigues and by Remonstrances to maintain his pretended Right retired Male-content to Angoulesme Nevertheless being informed the King threatned to follow him he was advised to submit to his Pleasure When the King saw he acquiesced obediently he did him Justice for he order'd Crequy to wait upon him in that Country to make Oath to him and to take his Attach on his Provisions However he reserved the disposal of that Office and the like in all other the old Bodies but would have them be subject to the same Devoirs towards their Collonel That when two Companies hapned to be vacant in the Regiment he would fill up one by Nomination of the Collonel who should not be installed nor take place but from the day they had given their Oaths to that Officer and taken his Attache That as for the like Officers in other Regiments the Collonel should Nominate and he choose Captains out of those so named and as to the Lieutenants Ensign-Collonels Sergeant-Majors and their Ayds Prevosts Mareschaux de Logis and other Officers he should dispose of such by his sole Authority Which raised his Power above that of Princes and almost in a condition to make Head against the King himself month June In the Council his Ministers animated with Zeal against the Huguenots and too much persuaded of the Spanish Grandeur endeavour'd to divide the King from the Protestants to reduce him to an entire submission to the Pope to bring in the Jesuits and to unite him with Spain and Rome thereby to extirpate Calvinisme from all his Territories Taxis Ambassadour from the Catholick King offer'd Year of our Lord 1603 him all the Forces of Spain for that purpose representing that the Huguenots were the greatest Enemies to his Person and often had sollicited King Philip to help them to dethrone him He was indeed but too well informed that the Chiefs of the Huguenots as Bouillon la Trimouille his Brother in Law Du Plessis-Mornay Lesdiguieres and some Gentlemen that were his Domesticks but had quitted him when he went to Mass and almost all the Protestant Ministers had no more that Love for him which otherwhile they had shown but sighed after some other Protector He could not how-ever resolve to treat those as Enemies who had so tenderly nursed and bred him up and had Sacrificed every thing for his sake and he consider'd withal that if he could have forgot their eminent Services he must thereby have alienated from him all the Protestant Princes and have remained alone exposed to the Mercy of the same Power and Persons that had formed the League which was what they desired He chose therefore rather to restrain the hatred
the future That whomsoever the Chapter should nominate to lift or take up the said Shrine should be bound to take out Letters of Pardon under the Great Seal that so this favour might be derived indeed from the Prince and proceed in a judicial order We shall pass by these things and many others the like to observe the management of two very important Affairs without doors wherein the Kings Authority and Prudence had the best share I mean the difference between the Pope and the Seigneory of Venice and the Truce between the Spaniards and the States of the United-Provinces As to the first His Holiness complained for that the Seigneory Year of our Lord From 1605 to 1606. had put a certain Canon to death convicted of ravishing a Girl of Eleven years old and then cutting her Throat for that they detained two other Ecclesiastiques in Prison a Canon and an Abbot the first for having inchiostré that is to say besmear'd a door belonging to a Kinswoman of his with Ink which is the highest affront in those Countries because she had refused to consent to his infamous desires The second because he was Accused of incest with his own Sister of Assassinates Poysonings Robbery on the High-ways Magick and of many other Crimes He was offended yet more at three or four Decrees made by them against the honour and the liberty of the Church By one in 1602. they had excluded the Lords Spiritual under what title or pretence soever from the right of emphyteutique prelation By a second of the year 1603. they had forbidden the building of any Church Convent or Hospital without permission of the Senate upon pain of banishment for such as transgress'd and confiscation of the Ground and Edifice By a third of the year 1605. they extended that Decree made first only for the City of Venice in the year 1536. to all the Cities and Territories under their obedience viz. That no Ecclesiastique should be allowed to leave bequeath or engage any Goods to the Church and if it were found that they possessed any of that sort the said Goods should be distrained and the value restored to whom it should belong To which was added That henceforward none should give any Estate in Lands to the Clergy nor to the Religious Orders without the consent of the Senate who would allow of it upon good consideration still keeping and observing the same solemnities as are observed upon the alienation of the publick demeasnes The two first Decrees were made in the time of Clement VIII the third was renew'd during the vacancy of the Holy See Paul V. declared to the Ambassador of the Seigneory That he would have this last to be abolished The Ambassador having Year of our Lord 1605 written thereof to the Senate received for answer to his Holiness That the said Decree contained nothing that was contrary to the Ecclesiastical Liberty that it respected only Year of our Lord 1606 the Seculars over whom the Republick had a Sovereign Power That it was not just that such Lands as maintained the Subjects of the State and was to bear the Charges should fall into Mortmain and that the Senate had ordained nothing therein but Year of our Lord 1607 what the Emperors Valentinian and Charlemain the Kings of France from Saint Lewis even to Henry III. Edward III. King of England the Emperor Charles V. and several others most Christian Princes had ordained in the like matters But the Pope very far from taking these reasons for currant payment demanded moreover that they should deliver up the Prisoners to him and sent two Briefs to his Nuncio for Martin Grimani Duke of the Seigneory which ordained him to do both the one and the other under pain of Excommunication and interdiction When these Briefs arrived at Venice the Duke was in his agony so that they deferr'd the opening of them till the Election of a new one who was Leonard Donati Vnder the Authority of this Duke the Senate made answer to the Pope That they could find nothing in the Decree nor in their own conduct that did any way deviate from the respect they owed to the Holy See or which was not of the rights of their Soveraignty in temporals At the same time they nominated Duodi Ambassador Extraordinary to go and declare the reasons for their so doing to his Holiness In the mean time he from France it was Fresne Canaye and the Cardinal Delfini made use of all their skill to allay the Popes indignation but on the one side the Cardinals of the Spanish Faction and on the other the Catholick Kings Ambassador Ferdinand Paceco Duke d'Ascalona puff't him up and heated him with specious motives of Religion and Honour The Cardinals did this to cast the good man into some Embarass hoping the troubles of such a perplexed business would shorten his days As for the Duke of Ascalona he sought to revenge himself for some resentment he had against the Venetians and thought hereby to give his Master an opportunity that might signalize his power in Italy The extraordinary Ambassador from the Seigniory coming too late sound all things in a flame and notwithstanding all the respects he could tender to the Cardinals and all the Arguments and Reasons he could urge he saw some time after a Bull posted up in the publick places of Rome declaring that the Duke and the Senate had by their undertakings against the Authority of the Holy See the rights of the Church and the priviledges of the Ecclesiastiques incurred those Censures contained in the Holy Canons the Councils and the Constitutions of the Popes ordained them to deliver up the Prisoners into the hands of his Nuncio declared their Decrees null and invalid enjoyned they should revoke them raze and tear them out of their Archives and Registries and cause it to be proclaimed throughout all their Territories that they had abolished them and this within four and twenty days which he allowed as the utmost time And in case they obeyed not he declared Excommunicate them their Abettors Counsellors and Adherents And if after the four and twenty days prefixed they did abide the Excommunication with stubbornness then he aggravated the Sentence and subjected the City and State of Venice to interdiction This made Duodi retire from thence without taking his leave of the Pope bringing along with him Nani the Ambassador in Ordinary from the Seigneory month May c. This thundring Bull was sent to all the Bishops within the Territories of the Seigneory to publish it the number of those that obey'd was the lesser the Senate had taken such good order there that this great flash of Lightning could set no part on fire divine Service went on still in the open Churches and the Sacraments were administred as before The Ancient Religious Orders stood firm but most of the new ones quitted that Country particularly the Capucins and the Jesuits both very strictly tyed to his Holiness interest the latter having
to be Earl of Flanders his unfortunate end 296 Baldwin King of Constantinople comes into France to demand assistance 300 Baviere the Dutchy extinct by the death of Tassillon 103 Bearn Vicounty 315 Beatrix of Savoy 300 Belisarius conquers the Kingdom of the Vandals 24 Benefices the great ones at the disposition of the Popes That the same Ecclesiastick cannot in Conscience hold more then one 301 Perpetuated in their Houses 291 Benevent Dutchy made Tributary to the Emperor Lewis the Debonair 121 Bennet Archdeacon is elected Pope 186 His degradation and his death Bennet XI Pope does things with more mildness then Boniface his Predecessor 332 His death ibid. Benenger Roman Earl of Provence Rebellion of his Subjects 300 Berenger Duke of Spoleta 156 Berenger I. King of Italy 162 Crowned Emperor of the East 162 Forsaken of the Italians and dispossest Calls the Hungarians into Italy His death ibid. Berenger King of Italy with his Son Adelbert is abandoned of his Subjects 188 Banished into Germany ibid. Berenger Archdeacon of Anger 's an Heresiark and Head of the Heretical Sacramentaries his several Retractions and Death 229 Berenger Raimond Earl of Provence his death 303 Bernard King of Italy makes Oath of fidelity to the Emperor Lewis the Debonair 121 Appeases the Tumult of the Romans 121 Conspires against the Emperor his Uncle and is taken Prisoner 122 His death 123 Bernard Earl of Barcelona the Favourite of the Empress Judith 126 St. Bernard opposes Henry the Monk disciple of Peter Bruys in Languedoc 245 Abbot of Clervais in high esteem amongst the Prelats the Grandees and the People 243 Preaches the Croisado by command of the Pope 244 Acquires great Reputation to his Order 271 Causes Innocent II. to be owned 303 Bernard Saisset Bishop of Pamiez made Prisoner 326 Berthier Maire of the Neustrian Palace his unhappy end 69 Bertoald Maire of the Palace 42 Bertradi Daughter of Simon de Montfort Marries Foulques le Rechin who was Aged 222 She leaves her Husband to Marry King Philip though nigh of Kindred 222 Robert de Bethune Earl of Flanders his death 350 Bilicbild Queen of France 65 Blanch Wife of Lewis the Lazy 198 Blanch of Castille Widow of Lewis VIII and Regent of the Kingdom causes Lewis her eldest Son to be Crowned 295 Her death and burial 306 Blanch of France Queen of Castille 313 Blanch of Artois Queen of Navarre 316 Blanch of France betroathed twice and Married in fine to Rodolphus Duke of Austria 321 Blanch of Burgundy 324 Blasphemy Edict against Blasphemers 252 Beomond Prince of the Normands in Apulia 222 Boniface Bishop of Ments takes great care for the re-establishment of Ecclesiastical Discipline by the Convocation of divers Councils 112 113 Boniface Marquiss of Montferat joyns with the French in the Expedition to the Holy Land 256 Is made King of Thessaly ibid. Boniface VIII elected Pope 325 Endeavours to make Peace in Christendom ibid. Makes himself an Enemy to the King of France Philip the Fair divers causes of enmity 326 Arbitrator of the differences between the King of France the English and Flemings 328 Publishes a general Indulgence afterwards called a Jubile 328 Attributes the Temporal Power to himself as well as the Ecclesiastical 329 Disaffected to the French 329 Excommunicates Philip the Fair. 329 Is accused of Heresie and divers other Crimes 329 Ill treated at Anagnia by the French his death 332 Boson Brother of Queen Richilda 143 Is Crowned King of Burgundy defeated and vanquished in Battle 151 Bourges Archbishop takes the Title of Primat and that of Patriarch over the Archbishops of Narbona Bourdeaux and of Ausch 337 Bourgogue or Burgundy united to France and loses the Title of a Kingdom 22 Bourgogne or Burgundy Dutchy yielded by King Henry to Robert his Brother 214 Bourgogne Transjurane and the Kingdom of Arles pass into the hands of the Emperor Conrad and the Princes of Germany 215 Bourgogne or Burgundy County the Subject of a great Quarrel 238 Difference and a hot War between Reinauld Earl of Burgundy and Bertold Duke of Zeringben for the County ibid. Given to Philip the Fair. 324 The Bourgundians make themselves Masters of a part of Gall. Their Conversion to the Christian Faith 8 Of the Mariners Compass and its first invention 330 Brabant Chief of the Dukes of Brabant 210 Brittain Great subdued by the English Saxons 8 Bretagne casts off the yoak of the French 135 Loses the name of Kingdom and takes that of County then of Dutchy 144 In great trouble 184 Subjected to the Duke of Normandy 215 In great trouble 245 Bretons make great Incursions upon the Territories of the French and are brought to reason 56 Subjected to the Crown of France vanquished 123 Obstinate for their liberty 124 Brosse Peter de la a Barber advanced to a Supream Fortune endeavours in vain to ruine the Queen of France 318 Is Hanged ibid. Brunebaud banished to Rouen is set at liberty 35 Gets away the Huns by force of Money 42 Chaced by the Austrasians 42 Leads a Vicious Lewd Life 43 Her unhappy end 45 Bruno Archbishop of Colen 184 Bulgarians have a quarrel with the Avari and are totally vanquished 121 Ransack Panonia Superiora 124 Ransack Lumbardy 162 Burdin favourite of Henry V. Emperor confined to a perpetual imprisonment 274 C. Calistus II. Pope under the protection of France against the Emperor 236 Calistus III. Antipope 272 Canal begun for the Communication between the Rivers of Rhine and the Danube remains imperfect 104 Candia falls under the Dominion of the Venetians 263 Cardinals in great splendour 292 The Cardinals their growth and their authority 282 Fall from their so great power ibid. Carloman Son of Pepin King of Austrasia 95 His death 97 Carloman eldest Son of Charles the Bald revolts against his Father is punished 144 Carloman King of West France Aquitain and Burgundy 148 His death 156 Carloman Son of Charles Martel Duke and Prince of the French in Austrasia 86 He and Pepin shut up their Brother Griffin in a Castle 84 Bring the Duke of Aquitain and the Duke of Bavaria to reason who were revolted 86 Marches afterwards against the Saxons 86 Quits the World and takes on him the Habit of St. Bennet at Mount Soracie 87 Caroloman comes into France on behalf of Astolphus King of the Lombards and is shut up in a Monastery at Vienne and his Sons shaved Anno 754. 92 Caroloman Son of Lewis the German King of Bavaria 148 Great preparation for Italy without effect 146 His death 149 Carmelites their institution and establishment 339 Carobert King of Hungary 334 Castille in trouble and divisions about the Crown 316 Catares Hereticks 278 Celestine Pope lays down the Triple Crown or Thiara 325 Celibate of the Priests 288 Disorder falling thereon ibid. Cenobites 4 Chape or Mantle of St. Martin born at the head of their Armies 244 Thomas de Champeaux Doctor in Theology takes the Habit of a Frier at St. Victors 276 Chanons Regulars in esteem
290 Charles Martel his birth 78 Maire or Prince of Austrasia 79 Held Prisoner happily escapes 78 Beaten by the Frisons 79 Beats and untrusses part of Rainfroys Forces 79 Routs the said Rainfroy another time 79 Makes himself Master of all the Kingdom of Neustria and that of Burgundy 81 c. Reduces Bavaria 82 c. Sacketh Aquitain 82 c. Utterly defeats the Saracens 83 Persecutes the Prelats and seizeth on the Treasures and Revenue of the Church to pay his Soldiers Reduces Burgundy 82 Vanquishes the Frisons and subdues Ostergow and Westergow 82 Carries the War a third time into Aquitain ibid. Again marches against the Duke of Aquitain ibid. Goes into Languedoc against the Saracens who were got into that Country defeats them in Battle near Sigeac and regains divers places which they had taken ibid. Is sollicited by Pope Gregory the II. to declare against Luitprand King of the Lombards in favour of the Church 84 He shares the Kingdom between his three Sons Carloman Pepin the Brief and Griffon ibid. His memory blasted after his death ibid. Charlemain his Birth 85 Shares the Kingdom of France with his Brother Carloman and has Neustria for his part 95 Subjects Aquitain entirely to his obedience 96 After the death of his Brother he remains sole King of France 97 His Manners and Conditions ibid. Defeats the Saxons in Battles and brings them to reason 98 Passes beyond the Alps with a potent Army makes himself Master of all Lombardy and utterly extinguisheth that Kingdom 59 Goes to Rome confirms those Donations to the Pope which had been made to him by Pepin his Father and adds more to them ibid. Makes a second Voyage to Rome and is declared Patrician and Crowned King of Lombardy ibid. Orders he establishes in that Kingdom before his departure ibid. Makes divers Expeditions into Saxony 100 c. Passes into Spain against the Moors reduces the M. of Spain under his Dominion 105 Makes a third Voyage causes Pepin his eldest Son to be Baptized and Crowned King of Italy and Lewis his second Son King of Aquitain 101 Subdues the Breton Army 106 Reduces the Dutchy of Bavaria under his obedience 102 Makes an Alliance with the Scots 104 Makes an Expedition against the Huns which succeeds very fortunately 104 A noble design for Communication between the Rhine and the Danube 104 At length subdues and quells the Saxons 108 Passes into Italy punishes those that had abused Pope Leo and is Crowned Emperor of the West 106 Highly regarded by all Princes 107 Shares his Dominions amongst his three Sons 108 Makes a Peace with the Danes the Sarazins of Spain and the Greeks 110 His Death his Elogy his Wives and his Children 111 Charles eldest Son of Charlemain his feats of Arms. His death 110 Charles King of Rhetia 126 Has for his share the West part of France and then Aquitain 127 Charles Brother to Pepin of Aquitain shorn and shut into a Monastery 137 Charles the Son of Lotaire King of Burgundy 139 Charles King of Provence and of Burgundy 139 He unites with Charles his Uncle against Lewis the Germanick 141 Charles the Bald Emperor and King of France 145 A difference happens between him and Lothaire his Brother after the death of their Father 205 c. He Marries Hermentrude carries his War into Aquitain and Bretagne and makes a Peace with the Bretons 132 133 134 Makes himself Soveraign of Aquitain ibid. Is reconciled with Lotharius his Brother Is turned out of his Kingdom by the conspiracies of his Subjects 138 139 He seizes upon the Kingdom of Lorraine after the death of Lotharius 142 And shares it with Lewis the Germanick his Brother Seizes likewise on the Kingdom of Burgundy 143 Is Crowned Emperor of Italy by the Pope 145 Vain Enterprize upon the Succession of Lewis the Germanick 146 Passes to Italy in assistance of Pope John 146 Is hated of his Subjects and Poysoned 147 His Elogy ibid. Charles III. called the Gross Crowned King of Italy and then Emperor 154 Is received to the Crown of France by preference to Charles the Simple 154 Comes to the relief of Paris against the Normands 155 Repudiates his Wife His unfortunate end 156 Charles the Simple Son of Lewis the Stammerer his Birth 149 Crowned King of France 158 Makes himself of all Lorraine 164 Abandoned of all his Subjects because of the insolence of his favourite 165 Too great simplicity 167 Is made Prisoner by his Subjects ibid. His death 168 Charles a French Prince Duke of Lorraine 188 Gets the ill-will of the French by making himself Vassal to the King of Germany 189 The Crown of France denied him he hath recourse to his Sword to recover his pretended right 202 Taken Prisoner with his Wife 203 His death 204 Charles the good Earl of Flanders 237 Assassinated and Massacred 238 Charles of Anjou chief of the Branch of that name 297 Accompanies St. Lewis the King in his Expedition to the Holy Land 304 c. Charles the Lame Son of Charles of Anjou 320 Charles Earl of Anjou His election for the Kingdom of Sicilia confirmed by Pope Clement IV. 310 Passes into Italy is Crowned King of Sicilia by the same Pope his happy progress 310 c. Defeats Conradin in Battle takes him Prisoner and causes his Head to be cut off 311 Constituted by the Pope Vicar of the Empire in Italy ibid. Passes into Africk and joyns the French Army before Tunis 314 Great contest for the County of Provence 319 His too great ambition blinds his Judgment and makes him lose Sicilia 318 His death 321 Charles Earl of Valois 321 Of his right to the Kingdom of Arragon 323 Charles of Valois gets possession of the Authority after the death of Philip his Brother 344 Conquers Guyenne 351 Strangely sick ibid. Charles the Lame set at Liberty 323 Is Crowned King of Sicilia ibid. Renounces the Kingdom of Arragon 324 Marries his Daughter to the Earl of Valois ib. Charles the Fair Marries Blanch of Burgundy ibid. Charles de Valois Marries Clemence of Sicily ib. Makes Peace with the Arragonian 325 Charles Earl of Valois makes War in Guyenne against the English 326 Leaves France and goes into Italy 328 Passes into Sicilia with a potent Army in favour of Charles the Lame his Nephew and makes a Peace between the Parties 330 Is sent by the Pope to Florence to calm the Factions in that Republick ib. Charles the Fair his Wife accused of Adultery 336 Charles IV. called the Long King of France 350 Causes a general Inquisition concerning the Financiers Farmers and Tax-gatherers ib. Repudiates his Wife accused of Adultery to Marry the Daughter of the Emperor ib. His death his Wives and Children 353 Charles VI. regulates the Benefices Charles VII makes some orders about the Benefices 282 Chartreux and the establishment of their Order in France 232 Childebert I. of the name King of France 20 Seizes upon Clairmont in Auvergne 22 Makes War upon Amalaric King of the
upon the Kingdom of Burgundy and upon the Loire to his own confusion his death 217 Eudes or Otho Duke of Aquitain and Gascongne 221 Rebellion of his Subjects his death Eudes Earl of Corbeil 234 Eudes Duke of Burgundy 347 Eudon Earl of Pontieure seizes the Dutchy of Bretagne to the prejudice of Hoel 245 Eugenius II. elected Pope 124 Comes into France 127 Exarchat of Ravenna and its dependances 92 King Pepin makes a donation of it to the Apostle St. Peter and St. Paul not to the Emperor Constantine ib. Excommunications rendred despisable 270 Their force 290 Exemptions and Immunitles granted to Monasteries 271 Exemptions of Bishops were granted by the Diocesan but with the Consent of his Brethren ib. Exemptions of Monasteries by whom granted and the reasons 268 Expeditions beyond Seas 244 F. Faction strange 150 c. Famine great 〈◊〉 France 59 Famine horrible and cruel 213 Faramond or Pharamond first King of France 6 His death 7 Fastrade Queen of France her Marriage her death 105 c. Favourites of Princes cause of great troubles and uproars 333 Federic II. King of Sicilia is elected Emperor and repasses into Germany 265 Renews the Alliance between France and Germany 266 Federic II. cause of a Schism 272 Federic I. of the name called the Barbarossa Emperor 246 Federic I. Emperor his ambition put a stop by Pope Adrian uphold Victor against Alexander III. Pope 289 Upholds Calistus III. ib. Is unfortunate ib. Asks pardon of his Holines at Venice ib. Goes to the Holy Land 303 Shares his Empire amongst his Children his death 306 Federic Grandson of the Emperor of that name Duke of Austrasia 306 Federic Duke of Austria joyns with Couradin in the War of Sicily his unhappy end 311 Federic of Arragon takes the name of King of Sicily 325 Ferdinand of Castille called la Cerde his death 317 Ferrand of Portugal Earl of Flanders 266 Feast of Fools 293 Feasts or Festivals and of their Celebration 52 53 Feasts of Christmas and Easter Celebrated by the Kings of France with great solemnity 93 Fiefs and their Original 35 St. Filibert imprisoned 68 Financiers prosecuted 344 Financiers and Maloistiers call'd in question and punished 350 Flagellants 309 Flanders made a County 104 Given to William Duke of Normandy Son of Robert 238 Subject of a great feud ib. Divided 330 Revolts and is lost as to France ib. In trouble 351 Flochat Quarrel betwixt him and the Duke of Transjurains 59 Florence Republick in Troubles by reason of the Factions which torment it 330 Flota Peter a Man violent and covetous 329 Formosa Pope cause of a horrible scandal to the Roman Church 161 Forces Difference there was otherwhile betwixt those belonging to the King and those of the Kingdoâ—â— 238 Fulk Archbishop of Reims is assassinated and the Murtherer eaten up of Lice 162 Fulk le Roux or the Red Earl of Anjou his death 164 Fulk le Bon or the Good Earl of Anjou 164 His death 180 Fulk Earl of Anjou a Capital Enemy of the Bretons his death 184 Fulk le Rechin takes Beltrade for his third Wife 223 Fulk King of Jerusalem his death 243 Fulk Archbishop of Reims menaces his King to withdraw his Subjects 266 France and its first establishment in Gall. 20 Divided into Oosterich or Eastern part and Westrich or Western part 20 France the Western part without a Chief 155 Dismember'd in divers parts ib. France united preserves it self against the Authority of the Popes 287 Franciscans and Dominicans of their jealousies against each others and their Enterprises on the Functions of Ordinary Pastors 303 Their Quarrel with St. Amour Vide Quarrel Franciscans Religious their Institution and Establishment 339 French and their Original 2 Their incursions into Gall. ib. The French Nation divided into diverse People 3 Occupy a part of Germania Secunda 6 Their first Kings and of their inauguration ib. Chaced byond the Rhine by the Romans 7 French their Conversion to the Christian Religion 15 They snare the Lands of Gall amongst them to the Loire 17 Their Manners and Customs ib. Cross themselves and make an Expedition for the recovery of the Holy Land Their Conquests 260 c. Fredegonda causes Sigebert to be assassinated and her Husband Chilperic 32 c. She likewise causes Pretextat Archbishop of Rouen to be assassinated 38 Her death 41 Friers Minors or Cordeliers their institution 264 Friers Preachers or Jacobins their institution ib. Friers Preachers and Frier Minors and of their Enterprizes upon the Rights of the Ordinaries 339 Frisons and Neustrians attaque the Austrasians 79 G. Gaifre Duke of Aquitain his obstinacy not to acknowledge King Pepin chastized 93 c. His death 94 Ganelon and his fable 140 Gascogne divided into Dutchy and County its extent 121 Gascogne and Aquitania Secunda ransack'd and desolated by the Normands 142 Gascogne The House of Gascogne resolved into that of Poitiers or Aquitaine 209 Gascons make irruptions upon the French 35 Make themselves Masters of a part of the Novempopulania or Aquitania Tertia 42 Subdued by the French 56 Punish'd for their insolence 121 Reduced under a Duke of their own Nation 143 Brought to reason 209 Gaveston Favourite of the King of England 334 Gaul its situation 1 Conquer'd by Caesar ib. Divided by the Romans into divers Provinces and Governments ib. Its Towns and Cities 1 2 Of their Revolts 2 Part of it conquer'd by the Visigoths another part by the Burgundians and the remainder by the French 3 4 c. Gautier de Bevierre crosses himself for the Holy Land 260 Gauzzelin Abbot of St. Germain des Prez 145 Gedoin Abbot of St. Victor 276 Geffroy Plantagenest Earl of Anjou Marries the King of Englands Daughter 239 Quarrels with his Father in Law 240 Dispossessed in part of his Dutchy of Normandy ib. Geffroy Martel Earl of Anjou 216 Besieges and takes the City of Tours An Act of Piety ib. Geoffrey Martel quits the World and shuts himself up in a Monastery 217 Geoffrey the Bearded 217 Geoffrey Martel ib. Gefrey Brother of Henry King of England is made Earl of Nantes His death 247 Geffrey of Bretagne takes up Arms against the King of England his Father 250 Geffroy Duke of Normandy and Bretagne 249 His death 254 Gelasius is elected Pope 236 Is driven from Rome by the Emperor Henry V. and comes into France ib. Gelasius II. acknowledges the power of Councils 289 General of an Army The divisions betwixt Generals of Armies of a pernicious Consequence 40 Generosity admirable 165 Genseric King of the Vandals sacks the City of Rome 11 Gerfroy Grise-gonnelle Earl of Anjou his death 188 Gerfroy Duke or Earl of Bretagne his death 211 St. Gerard. 205 Gerard Bishop of Angoulesme acknowledges Anaclet for Pope 274 Subject of that acknowledgment ib. His death 275 Gerberge Queen of France endeavours to release her Husband of his Imprisonment 179 Governs the State under the King of Lotaire her Son 184 Gerbert elected Archbishop of Rheims very skilful in
the Mathematicks 203 Deposed 204 Gibellins in Italy 348 Giles Bishop of Rheims degraded of his Bishoprick and banished to Strasburgh 40 Gillon is elected King of France in the place of Childeric 12 Revolt of the French against him 13 Godfrey King of Denmark undertakes against the French 109 Descends into Frisia and pillages the Country ib. Godfrey of Buillon Head of the first Croisade to the Holy Land elected King of Jerusalem his glorious Exploits 224 c. His death Gondebaud King of Burgundy 15 Conquers the two Narbonnensi 16 The Armor between the Seine and the Loire unite with the French 15 Gondebaud calling himself Son of Clotaire comes from Constantinople into France to reap the Succession of his Father his unhappy end 35 38 Gondebaud a Monk employs himself for the deliverance of the Emperor Lewis the Debonnaire 126 Gondemar King of Burgundy 21 Gondioche King of the Burgundians his death and his Kingdom divided amongst his four Sons 13 Gontran King of Orleans and of Burgundy takes too much licence in his Marriage 29 Leagues himself with Chilperic against Sigebert their Brother 32 Adopts his Nephew Childebert and places him in his Throne 33 Seizes upon the Kingdom of Paris and a part of Neustria 37 Takes Fredegonda into his protection ib. Gontran King of Orleans makes War against the Visigoths in Languedoc 39 Effects of the inconstancy of the mind 40 His death ib. Gotelen Duke of Lorraine 221 Goths and their Country divided into Ostrogoths and Visigoths 2 Gregory II. Pope opposes the Emperor Leo stoutly in defence of Images 84 Gregory III. Excommunicates the Emperor Leo. Gregory VII menaces Philip King of France to Excommunicate him if he do not reform himself 221 Gregory VIII Antipope 272 Gregory IX Pope in contest with the Emperor Violent proceeding His death 301 Gregory X. Pope 315 Griffon Son of Charles Martel by his Brothers shut up in Chasteauneuf in Ardenne 84 Is set at liberty by Pepin his Brother 87 Grimoald Maire of the Palace of Austrasia 58 Causes the young King Dagobert to be shaved and sets his Son upon the Royal Throne 60 Grimoald Son of Pepin Espouses the Daughter of the King of Frisia 77 Assassinated and slain 78 Guelphes and Gibbelins two Factions in Italy 303 Girard de la Guette a Financier of Paris advanced to the Gallows 350 Guy Duke of Spoleta Emperour of Italy 156 Chaced out of Lombardy 160 His death ib. Guy of Burgundy dispoiled of those Lands he held in Normandy 2 6 Guy-Geofrey-William Duke of Aquitaine Re-conquers Saintonge then passes into Spain against the Saracens 220 His death 222 Guy Earl of Auvergne deprived of his Earldom 265 Guy Count de Saint Pol. 298 Guy Earl of Flanders vanquish'd and made Prisoner 308 Guy de Dampiere Earl of Flanders 322 Is held Prisoner at Paris with his Wife and Children 325 Guy Earl of Flanders is restored to his County Guy Brother to the Daufin of Vienne a Templer burnt alive 336 Guyemans a faithful Friend of King Childeric's 12 H. Hatred mortal between William of Normandy and Arnold Earl of Flanders 127 Hatred mortal of the Flemmings against the French its beginning 257 Hebert Count of Vermandois His death 162 Hebert Count of Meaux and of Troyes his death 178 Henry Duke of Friuly falls into the Country of the Huns. 105 Henry Duke of Saxony comes to the relief of Paris his death 155 Henry the Bird-Catcher King of Germany 165 His death 170 Henry II. called the Lame Emperour 208 Henry Duke of Burgundy his death 209 Henry Son of King Robert is Crowned and Associated by his Father 212 213 Henry King of France surmounts his Enemies 214 Chastises the Felony of the Sons of the Earl of Champagne his Nephews 216 Expedition of small effect in Normandy 217 He assists the Duke of Normandy against his rebel Subjects ib. Coldness between his Majesty and the Earl of Anjou ib. Divers Emparlances with the Emperor Henry III. 218 Second Expedition into Normandy unsucsessful Causes his eldest Son Philip to be Crowned 218 His death his Wife his Children 218 219 Henry IV. Emperor in contention with the Popes 209 Seized by his Son Henry his death ib. Henry V. Emperor in contention with the Popes Pascal II. and Galasius for the nomination to Bishopricks 223 Is Excommunicated ib. Reconciled to the Pope 234 Arms powerfully against France to his confusion ib. Henry King of England in contention with the King of France 234 235 Is obliged to make Peace with him 236 Renewing of the Quarrel ib. Loses his three Sons at Sea 237 Conspiracy of his Domestick Officers against his Person ib. Declares his Daughter Matilda Heiress of all his Estates In contention with his Son in Law the Earl of Anjou his death 240 Henry Duke of Normandy Espouses Alienor 246 Gets into possession of the Kingdom of England ib. Henry King of England becomes very powerful undertakes against Languedoc for the County of Tholoze 247 Makes War again upon the King of France 249 Arms his own Children against him ib. Accused of the Murther of the Archbishop of Canterbury 250 In debate with the King of France 254 Takes up the Croisade for the recovery of the Holy Land His death 255 Henry the Young takes up Arms against the King of England his Father 252 His death 253 Henry VI. Emperor 256 His death 259 Henry Earl of Champagne Generalissimo of the Christians in the Holy Land 257 His death 259 Henry IV. deprived of the Empire by his Son 272 His ill conduct ib. Henry V. Emperour the cause of a Schism 272 Forces the Pope to agree to what he pleases 273 Renounces the Investitures ib. His death ib. Henry VI. Emperour is Excommunicated 275 Henry pretended King of the Romans his death 304 Henry of Castille takes up Arms against Charles of Anjou King of Sicilia 311 Henry III. King of England comes into France and treats with the King for Normandy and other the Lands his Predecessors had been possessed of 310 Feud with the Barons of his Kingdom ib. His death 315 Henry the Fat King of Navarre 315 His death 317 Henry Count of Luxemburg is elected Emperor 334 Passes into Italy his death 335 Hermengarde Empress her death 123 Hermenegilde takes up Arms against the King of Spain her death 38 Peter the Hermit a Gentleman of Picardy 223 Hildebrand Popes Legat in France 229 Hildegarde Queen of France 102 Hilduin Bishop of Liege unsaithful to his Prince 205 Hinomar Bishop of Laon deposed and persecuted 142 Reabilitated 161 Hinomar Archbishop of Reims 139 His death 153 Hoel Son of the Duke of Bretagne Assassinated 184 Hoel Duke of Bretagne 221 Disputes the Dutchy of Bretagne against Eudes de Pontieure 244 Abandoned by the Nantois 247 Honorius II. Pope his death 239 Hugh Son of Valdrade 151 Hugh Bastard of Valdrade ib. Hugh the Great Tutor to Charles the Simple 155 Hugh King of Italy comes into France 168 Hated of his Subjects 170 Hugh le Blanc Earl of
the Christians in the Levant passes into Affrica besieges Tunis his death 312 313 Elogy ib. His Children ib. Louis Son of King Philip and the eldest of the first Bed his death 317 Louis Earl of Euvreux 321 Louis the Debonair deposed by the Bishops 127 Leonis Peter Antipope surnamed Anacletus his real Right enfeebled by his ill Conduct 274 Louis VI. courageously opposes the unjust pretentions of the Popes 306 Louis Hutin eldest Son of Philip the Fair is Crowned King of Navarre 334 His Wife accused of Adultery 336 Louis Hutin King of France ib. He finds the Kingdom in Combustion for the vexation of Imposts and alteration of Moneys 344 Inquisition after the Financiers ib. He takes up Arms against the Flemings 345 His death his Wives and Children ib. Louis eldest Son of the Earl of Flanders accused for designing to poyson his Father 348 Louis Count of Nevers and Rhetel his death 523 Lewis Count of Flanders of Nevers and of Rhetel 524 Louis de Bavierre passes the Mountains 352 Luitgarde Queen of France her death 106 Lutgarde Queen of France 209 Luzignan Hugh Count de la March 438 M. Of St. Magdelane and the finding of her Corps 341 Mahaut Countess of Flanders 345 Mahomet his death 47 Of his Successors 59 Mainfroy Prince of Tarentum Mainfroy the Bastard usurps the Kingdom of Sicilia and disturbs the Pope and Territories of the Church 309 Contracts an Alliance with the King of Arragon ib. His death 310 Manuel Emperor of Greece his perfidiousness and horrible Treason 244 Merchants of France 256 Marches of Spain fall under the Dominion of the French 101 Margaret of Provence Marries King Lewis IX 300 Margaret of Provence accompanies the King St. Lewis in his Voyage to the Holy Land 304 Margaret Countess of Flanders 304 Margaret of France betrothed to Henry Duke of Brabant and afterwards Married to Henry his Brother 313 Margaret of France Marries the King of England 321 Marriages of our first French 49 Marriage of the Degrees prohibited by the Canons 52 Marriage The French did repudiate their Wives when they pleased The Kings themselves had often times several 72 Marriages prohibited such as Marry within the degrees forbidden are most commonly unhappy 223 Marriages prohibited even to the seventh degree 232 Marriage of King Philip with Isemburge of Denmark 258 Marriage of Mary Agnes with King Philip. 260 Marriage of Isabella d'Angoulesme with King John without Land 261 Marriage of Jane de Toulouze with Alfonso Earl of Poitou Marriage of St. Lewis with Margaret of Provence 300 Marriage of Beatrix Countess of Provence with Charles Earl of Anjou 303 Marriage of Berenguelle de Castille with Alfonso King of Leon declared null 306 Marriage between the Princess of Arragon and the eldest Son of the Bastard Mainfroy 309 Marriage of Blanche of France with Ferdinand of Castille 312 Marriage of the Children of St. Lewis 313 Marriage of Philip the Hardy with Mary of Brabant 316 Marriage of Jane Queen of Navarre with the eldest Son of the King of France 320 Marriage of the two Daughters of the Earl of Burgundy with the two Sons of Philip the Fair. 324 Marriage of the Earl of Valois with the Daughter of the King of Sicily 324 Marriage of Lewis of France with Blanche of Castille and of Philip of France with the Daughter of the Earl of Boulogne 241 Marriage of Rodolfe Son of Albert with Blanche of France 328 Marriage of Jane of Burgundy with Philip d'Euvreux 345 Marriage of Margaret of France with the Earl of Nevers and Rhotel 348 Marriage of Jane Countess of Burgundy and Artois with the Duke of Burgundy Of Margaret of France with the Earl of Flanders and Isabella of France also with the Daufin of Viennois 349 Marriage of Mary Daughter of the Emperor Henry of Luxemburg with the King of France 350 Marriage sometimes permitted to the Subdeacons sacriledge in the Deacons 274 Mary of Brabant Queen of France 316 Mary of Luxemburg Queen of France her death 350 Marles Thomas revolts against Enguerand de Boves his Father 227 Excommunicated by the Popes Legat his unhappy end 235 236 Marseilles besieged and rendred at discretion 308 St. Martial revered as an Apostle 231 Martin Governor in part of Austrasia his unhappy end 69 70 Martin IV. Pope Excommunicates and degrades the Arragonian and causes a Croisade to be published against him 320 Martin Monk of the Cistertians a Cardinal his praise 293 Matthew de Montmorency goes to the Holy Land 261 c. Matthew Abbot of St. Denis in France Regent of the Kingdom in the absence of the King St. Lewis 312 Matthew first Duke of Milan 325 Matilda Daughter of Henry King of England declared Heiress of all his Estates 239 c. Maxime seizes on the Empire his death St. Mayeule 205 Malec-Sala Sultan utterly defeats the French Christian Army 305 Melun the subject of a War 208 Meroveus third King of France from whom the Kings of the first Race have taken the name of Merovingians 10 Joyns with the Romans against Attila ib. Continues his Conquests in Gaul his death 11 Meroveus Son of Chilperic Espouses Brunehaud 32 Shut up in the Monastery of St. Calais 33 Escapes from the Monastery his unhappy end ib. Metaphysick of Aristotle 265 Meteors representing Battles in the Air. 257 Metropolitans Their Authority lessened by the Popes 230 Milan Dutchy and their first Duke 325 Militia and Military Discipline in the days of the Carlovinians 117 Militia The first of the Kings of France who had any Forces in pay 259 Milon Vicount of Troyes 325 Milon the Popes Legat in France 264 Miracles supposed 188 Missionaries Apostolick sent into Gaul to declare and preach the Faith of Jesus Christ 4 Mogles People and Nations 302 Monks declaiming against the Temporal Goods of the Church and the Sacraments condemned 276 Monk John the Cardinal comes into France on behalf of the Pope 329 Monks and their first Establishment in Gall. 4 Seize upon Cures Church of the Eleventh Age quit them but retain the Revenues ib. Molay James great Master of the Templars burnt alive 333 Mommole Patrician 34 Monarchy French divided into five Dominions or Governments 156 Monasteries 53 Built and founded in great numbers in France 74 75 Filled with Hypocrites 285 Moncade Gaston Lord of Bearn 315 Money amongst the first French 49 The change and abasing of Money cause of an emotion and rising amongst the Populace of Paris 333 Monothelites France had no share in their disputes 76 Munderic pretends to be King his death 23 Mutiny of the Flemings against their Earl 351 N. Namur chief of the Counts of Namur 216 Nantilde repudiated by King Clotaire II. who afterwards takes her again 55 Narbona held by the Saracens rendred to King Pepin 93 Navarre falls under the Dominion of the French 101 Its beginning to be a Kingdom 125 In trouble and divisions after the death of King Henry the Fat 317 Neomenie makes himself Master of Bretagne and drives
228 c. Saint Amour William great quarrel with the Orders of the Friers Mendicants 307 Saintonge the subject of a great War 208 Saladin King of Egypt tears the holy City of Jerusalem out of the hands of the Christians 254 Saliens ancient People of the French 7 Salomon seizes on the Kingdom of Bretagne 140 His unhappy end 144 Sanc first of the Hereditary Dukes of Gascongne 137 Sanche Duke of Castille makes a Peace with the King of France 323 Saracens become Mahometans 59 Saracens of Africa become the Masters of Spain 77 Saracens pass from Spain into France and make some Conquests there 80 They enter into Languedoc and destroy all that Country 83 Wherefore called Moors 83 They over-run all Provence and lay it waste ib. Torment Italy 146 Savari de Mauleon General for the English in Guyenne 296 The Saxons revolt 52 Throw off the Yoak of the French Dominion 79 Divided into several People ib. Made Tributary to the French 91 Entirely subdued become Christians 108 Schism in the Church caused by the dispute concerning the Worshipping of Images 84 Sclavonians have a quarrel with the French Austrasians 55 Make inroads upon Turingia 56 Sergius II. elected Pope without permission of the Emperor 136 He was not the first who changed his name but Sergius IV. ib. St. Ademar Institutor of the Order of the Templers 290 Sicilia a Kingdom its beginning and extent 242 243 By what means Sicilia fell under the Dominion of the Kings of Arragon 310 Dismembred in two 326 Siege and taking of Angens 144 Sigebert King of Austrasia chastises the Avari out of Turingia 29 Marries Brunehaud 30 Unfortunate taking upon the City of Arles 31 War with Chilperic his Brother 31 Assassinated and slain 32 Sigebert Bishop 62 Sigeric King of the Visigoths 4 Sigismund King of Burgundy abjures Arianism and receives the Orthodox Faith 20 Causes his Son Sigeric to be Strangled his retreat into a Monastery 21 His unhappy end ib. Silingi a barbarous People 4 Silvester II. Pope Example of extream severity 209 Simon de Montfort does Cross himself to go into the Holy Land 260 Simon Count de Nesles Regent of the Kingdom in the absence of St. Lewis the King 312 Of Simony 18 Bishops of Bretagne accused and convicted of that Crime 136 Prelats in France who voluntarily renounced their Benefices for this cause 229 Simplicity too great in a Prince 167 Sobrarve a little Territory in the Kingdom of Arragon 125 Sorabes reduced to reason 121 Spencers Hugh Father and Son Favourites of the King of England 351 c. Their unhappy end 352 Stilicon Massacred 4 Succession of Males to the Crown by preference to the Females 346 Suedes embrace the Christian Religion 110 Suevi over-run and ravage Gaul and then pass into Spain 270 Swiss Their generous Conspiracy against the oppressions of the Lieutenants of the House of Austria 334 T. Tanchelin his errors Church of the Twelfth Age. Tancred Son of Rebert Guischard 224 Tancred causes great discord between the Kings of France and England 256 Tartars make their irruptions their Original 302 Tassilon Duke of Bavaria and his Son Theudon shaved and confined to a Monastery 103 Te Deum Sung by the Benedictins in time of Lent 231 Templers their Institution and Confirmation Church of the Twelfth Age. Are utterly exterminated and their Order abolished throughout all Christendom 333 Thassilon Duke of Bavaria gives an Oath of Fidelity to King Pepin 93 Theodad King of the Ostrogoths his death 23 Theodald Maire of the Neustrians Theodald Son of Grimoald his death 78 Theodebald King of Mets. 25 His death 26 Theodebert Son of Thierry makes War in Languedoc then named Septimania 24 Theodebert Son of Thierry succeeds to the Crown of his Father and makes War against Clotair his Uncle 24 25 Carries his Arms into Italy his death his Children 24 Theodebert Son of Chilperic his death 32 Theodebert King of Austrasia vanquished in Battle and exterminated with his whole Race 43 Theoderic King of the Visigoths joyns with the Romans against Attila his death 10 11 Theoderic King of the Ostrogoths establishes the Kingdom of Italy 14 Theoderic King of Italy passes into Gall and comes to relieve the Visigoths against the French and the Burgundians and becomes King of the Visigoths 16 His death 21 Theudis King of the Visigoths in Spain his death 25 Thibauld Earl of Chartres and Tours 216 Thibauld Earl of Chartres declares War against the King 235 Thibauld Earl of Champagne falls into the Kings disgrace and is severely handled 243 Thibauld Earl of Blois and Chartres 245 Thibauld Earl of Champagne his death 246 Thibauld Earl of Champagne 260 Thibauld Earl of Champagne difference about Alix Queen of Cyprus his Cousin 299 Thibauld Earl of Champagne becomes King of Navarre 301 Thibauld Earl of Champagne becomes Chief of a new Croisade His death ib. Thibaud King of Navarre 312 His death 315 Thierry King of Austrasia otherwise of Mets treacherously abandons Clodomir his Brother 20 c. Makes himself Master of Turingia 21 Chastises the Auvergnats who had revolted against him ib. His death ib. Thierry King of Neustria and of Burgundy 64 He is shaved and confined to the Monastery of St. Denis ib. Recalled and resetled in his Royal Throne 6 Fights unfortunately against Ebroin Maire of the Palace and falls into his hands His death his Wife and his Children 70 Thierry called de Chelles King of France 81 His death 83 Thierry Earl of Alsatia disputes the Earldom of Flanders and remains sole Master and Possessor 168 Thierry of Alsatia Earl of Flanders he passes into the Holy Land 243 Thierry first Earl of Holland 146 Thierry Earl of Alsatia and Flanders his death 249 Thibauld III. Earl of Blois 259 Thibauld Earl of Champagne 296 A Conspiracy against him 299 Tietgaud Archbishop of Triers deposed and Excommunicated 140 St. Thomas Aquinas his death 316 Thomas Prior of St. Victor assassinated in the Arms of a Bishop Church of the Twelfth Age. Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury undertakes the defence of the Church is assassinated in his Cathedral ib. Thuringia falls under the Dominion of the French 22 Title of King of Jerusalem annexed to that of Sicilia 319 Treason divinely punished 178 Translation of a Bishop from one See to another condemned 160 Trebisond Kingdom its beginning 263 Truce between the French and the Saracens of Spain broken 123 Truce or Peace of God established in France to prevent Factions Murthers and Robberies 253 Truce with the English and the Fleming 327 Truce with the English 299 Truce granted to the Flemings 330 Trincavel Son of the Earl of Beziers comes hostily upon the Kings Territories 301 Toloze County subject of a War 138 Subject of a great quarrel between the Kings of France and the Kings of England 248 Totila King of the Ostrogoths his death 26 Touars Guy Duke of Bretagne 263 Tournay erected to a Bishoprick Church of the Twelfth Age. Troubles and Factions in Normandy
Armies beyond the Alpes his noble Exploits and glorious Death 550 Francis I. King of France heretofore Duke of Valois 556 Seeks the Alliance and Amity of his Neighbour Princes 527 Passes the Mountains for recovering the Milanois his happy Progress 558 c. Renews the Alliance with Charles of Austria 562 Birth of a Daufin ib. Renews the Alliance also with the English 563 Aspires to the Empire after the Death of Maximilian ib. Is hurt with Jeasting and Sporting 566 Sends an Army into Italy 569 Spaniards enter upon Guienne the English into Picardy 572 575 Drives the Imperialists out of Provence pursues them into Italy and lays Siege to Pavia 578 Is made Prisoner of War before Pavia and transferr'd to Spain 579 Is set at Liberty 582 Unites Bretagne to the Crown 594 Makes an Alliance with Solyman against the Emperour and the Venetians 606 Gives passage thorow France to the Emperour Charles V. to go into Flanders and does him all the Honour imaginable 608 Demands reparation of him for the Murther of two of his Ambassadors declares War against him and does attaque him in five several places 612 Carries his greatest Forces towards the Low-Countries and makes a considerable Progress there 614 Attaques the English in his own Country 619 Joyns in league with the Protestant Princes of Germany 620 His Death his Elogie his Wives and his Children 620 621 G GAbelle taken off from Guienne 640 Galeas John his Death 518 Gaunt Revolt and rising the Gantois 465 Gaston Phebus Earl of Foix makes the King his Heir 373 His Death 413 Gaucourt Lewis Prisoner of War 448 Governor of Daufiné beats the Duke of Savoy and the Prince of Savoy 452 Gentdarmerie reduced all into Companies d'Ordonance 457 Genoa puts its self under the Obedience of the King of France 416 Falls under the Dominion of Fregosa 460 Revolts against the King of France who brings them to reason 543 Is surprized by the Italians 572 Brought again to obey the King 587 Restored to Liberty 590 Geneva Revolt drives out their Bishop and changes their Government and Religion 599 Besieged in vain by the Duke of Savoy ib. Genoese relieved by the French against the Barbarians of Tunis 412 Revolt against France 551 Restored to obedience of the King 552 Gentlemen Pensioners of the King 501 Gonsalvo Ferdinand Great Captain 523 Federic de Gonzague first Duke of Mantoua 580 Ferdinand de Gonzague Governor of Milan 623 Gravelle Chancellour of the Empire 600 Gregory XI Pope restored to the See of Rome 394 His Death 396 Gregory XII Pope of Rome 422 Grignan Governor of Provence 618 The M. du Guast Governor of the Milanese for the Emperour 604 Defeated in Battle makes his Escape to Milan 616 Causes two Ambassadors of France to be killed 612 Guerin Kings Attorney in the Parliament of Provence 629 Gueschin Bertrand defeats the Navarrois 384 Made Prisoner in the Battle of Auroy 385 Brings from Spain the Bastard Henry de Castille against King Peter the Cruel his Brother 387 After is vanquish'd and taken Prisoner ibid. Is recalled from Spain by K. Charles 390 Is made Connestable of France his happy Progress 391 Secures all Bretagne for the King of France 392 His Death 397 c. Guienne is all regained by the French from the English 463 Gueldres Adolf Chief of the Gantois Forces 500 501 Guise the Duke Commands the King's Army in Italy 643 c. Guise Claude Duke at the Battle of Marignan 558 The C. de Guise Governor of Champagne repels the Germans 575 The D. of Guise refreshes with Men and Ammunition the City of Peronne 604 de Gyac 437 Beheaded 450 H. HAbits and their Reformation 386 Hangest de Hugueville 427 Harcourt Geffrey calls the English into Normandy 374 Harcourt Lewis Count Beheaded ib. Harfleur taken by Assault and Sacked by the English 418 Henry of Castille rises against King Henry his Brother to his Confusion 386 Denies his Brother in his turn and seizes on the Crown 387 Defeated again in Battle retires into France ib. He returns into Spain and remains King of Castille by the Death of his Brother 388 Henry of Castille defeats the English in a Sea Fight 391 Henry IV. King of England his Death 431 Henry V. King of England he Besieges and takes Rouen and Masters all Normandy 435 c. Marries Catherine of France 439 His Entry and his Coronation in Paris 440. ib. His Death ib. Henry VI. is Proclaimed and Crowned King of France 454 Marries the Daughter of Renee of Anjou 459 Causes Humphrey Earl of Glocester to be put to Death 460 Is vanquish'd by the Duke of York saves himself in Scotland 467 Is set at Liberty 492 Henry VII King of England His Death 547 Henry VIII King of England sees King Francis I. and they make a League betwixt them 594 Causes his Marriage with Catherine of Arragon to be dissolved and Espouses Anne of Boulen 595 Withdraws himself wholly from the obedience of the Pope and declares himself Head of the Church of England 596 Sollicites the French in vain to break with the Pope 597 His Cruelties draw the hatred of his Subjects upon him 611 Henry II. King of France 622 Seeks the Preservation of the Alliance with the Turks 625 Visits the Provinces of his Kingdom 626 Rupture between his Majesty and Pope Julius III. 630 c. Sollicites Solyman to break the Truce in Hungary ib. Quarrels openly with the Emperor 631 Makes a League with the Princes of Germany 632 Makes divers Edicts to procure and raise Money even on the Churches 632 Seizes upon Lorrain and gets the Cities of Mets Toul and Verdun ib. Takes divers places in Luxemburgh 633 Design against Naples miscarries 634 Great arming to small purpose 636 Ravages Brabant Hainault Cambresis the Country of Namur and Artois 638 Makes Peace with the Spaniard 651 Pursues the Religionaries most curelly 653 His Death and his Children 654 Heresies which appeared during the Fourteenth Age. 445 And infected France in the Fifteenth 527 Hesdin forced demolished and razed by the Imperialists 637 Hesse Landgrave takes the quarrel of the Dukes of Wittemburgh Hungary attaqued and desolated by the Turks 597 Humbert Daufin of Viennois makes a Donation of his Seignory of Daufiné to the King of France 369 Humieres Governor for the King beyond the Mountains 606 John Huss burnt alive 435 I JAcqueline Countess of Hainault Holland Zealand and Frizeland is carried away by the English 440 La Jacquerie 378 La Jaille beaten in Artois 642 Jane Queen of Sicily causes her Husband to be Strangled 368 Jane of Burgundy Queen of France her Death 369 Jane or Joan Queen of Naples dethroned by Charles de Duraz. 404 Her Death ibid. Jane or Joan II. Queen of Naples 431 Jane or Joan the Pucelle Chaces the English from before Orleans 451 Carries the King to Reims to be Crowned 451 Her other Exploits 452 c. She is taken Prisoner of War at the Siege of Compiegne by the English her Death
453 Her Memory justified 466 Jane Queen of Naples her death 448. 454 Jane Queen of France takes upon her the sacred Vail in a Convent 534 Jane of Castille loses her Wits 642 Jane Queen of Spain her Death 642 Indies West by whom discovered 516 517 John I. King of France 371 Defeated and vanquish'd in Battle and taken Prisoner by the English near Poitiers 374 Makes Peace with the English and is set at Liberty 380 Repasses into England 382 His Death his Wives and his Children 383 John XXII Pope degraded and another substituted in his place 359 His Death 361 John King of Arragon in War with the Castillian 482 John d'Albret King of Navarre deprived of his Kingdom by the Arragonians 551 Innocent VI. Pope 372 Innocent VII Pope of Rome 420 his Death 422 Innocent VIII Pope favours Reneé Duke of Lorrain against Ferdinand King of Naples 514 Inquisition cause of great Troubles in the Kingdom of Naples 625. Interim granted to the Protestants of Germany 610 Investiture granted to King Lewis XII of the Milanois by the Emperour 541 Investiture of the Kingdom of Naples given by the Pope to Ferdinand of Arragon 547 Isabella de Valois Dutchess Widdow of Bourbon made Prisoner by the English 389 Isabella of Bavaria Queen of France claims the Regency 435 c. Her death 456 Isabella of Bavaria Wife of King Charles VI. the too strict Union of this Princess with the Duke of Orleans gives a Scandal 421 Held Prisoner and afterwards gotten away by the Duke of Burgundy 435 Isabella Queen of Arragon her Death 542 Iscalin Paulin afterwards called the Baron de la Garde goes on behalf of the King to Solyman at Constantinople 612 Italy divided into two Factions for the Pope and for the Duke of Milan 629 Jubilé Centenary celebrated 536 Julius Pope 541 Recovers Bolognia upon John Bentivoglio 543 Enemy of France 547 He Leagues and Arms against the Venetians 545 Reconciled with them 546 Quarrels with the Duke of Ferrara about some Salt-Pits 547 Sollicites the Swiss and the King of England against France ib. Besieges the City of Miranda in Person 548 His Death 552 Julius III. Pope 628 Leagues with the Emperour against the Duke of Parma and the Count de la Miranda 629 Breaks with the King of France 630 c. Juliers the Duke kill'd in a Battle 389 Juvenal John Chancellor 430 K KNoles an English Captain 379 L LAdislas seizes upon Rome and the Lands of the Church 425 Ladislas the Young King of Hungary 460 Landgrave of Hesse Prisoner 624 Languedoc the Government of it given to the Lord de Chevreuse 416 Lanoy 583 Vice-Roy of Naples 584 Laon the Cardinal de Laon his Death 411 Lautrec bravely defends Bayonne 575 General of the Armies of the League in Italy his Exploits 587 c. Governor of the Milanois his Death 590 Lancaster Duke Lands at Calais with an English Army traverses and runs thorow all France without doing any considerable Exploit 387 Lands at Calais and over-runs the Country of Caux 388 Enters France in Arms. 427 Passes into Spain and Conquers a part of Castille 408 League of the King with the Venetians the Florentines and Sforsa for the deliverance of the Pope and the Children of France that were Prisoners 420 League of the Princes against the House of Burgundy 426 League the first the Kings had with the Swisse 501 League and rising of the Spaniards called the Santa Junta 565 League Holy League in England to prevent a Schism League offensive and defensive between the Pope the King of France and the Holy See 605 Leon King of Armenia flying from the cruelty of the Turks takes refuge in France 408 Leo X. Pope 552 His Death 552 D Leve Anthony General for the Emperour in Piedmont 602 Liege in great Troubles about the Election and Establishment of a Bishop 424 Taken by Storm sacked and burnt by the Duke of Burgundy 490 Implacable hatred of the Liegois against the House of Burgundy 424 Limoges taken by Storm by the English 392 Loire the River Loire frozen in the Month of June 484 Lorain Charles Cardinal raises himself and his House very much 629 c. Longueville Duke Prisoner in England 554 Lewis or Lovis of Bavaria Emperour Excommunicated by the Pope degraded from the Empire his Death 367 Lowis the Great King of Hungary Revenges the Death of the King of Sicilia his Brother 368 Lovis Duke of Anjou seizes on the Regency after the Death of Charles V. c. 400 His Death 408 Louis Duke of Orleance Brother of King Charles VI. 412 Is assassinated by order of the Duke of Burgundy 423 The Dutchess his Wife comes from Blois to Paris to complain to the King 424 c. Louis II. Duke of Anjou invested with the Kingdom of Naples 426 Louis of Anjou King of Sicily 430 Louis of Anjou King of Naples 454 His Death ib. Louis XI King of France his return from Flanders and his Coronation at Reims 481 Ill Conduct in the beginning of his Reign 482 His Death his Elogy his Wives and his Children 505 506. Louis King of Hungary vanquished by the Turks 584 Louis or Lewis XII King of France heretofore Lewis Duke of Orleance 532 His Marriage with Jane Daughter of Lewis XI declared null 534 Makes Peace and Alliance by Marriage with the King of England His Death 554 Louysa of Savoy Mother of King Francis I. Regent of the Kingdom during the Voyage of her Son into Italy 580 c. Her Death 594 Luther and of his Defection and going out of the Church the Birth of Lutheranisme 562 Lutheranisme introduced in Sweden in Denmark and Norway 606 Lutherans sought after in France 575 Punished ib. Called Protestants 562 Louret President of Provence 449 Luxury breeds from Desolation 374 M Perrin MAcé 377 Island of Madera's discover'd 439 Mahomet takes the City of Constantinople by force 465 His Death 503 Majority of the Eldest Sons of France Memorable Ordonance 393 c. Mantoua from a Marquisate erected to a Dutchy 592 Marcellus II. Pope 642 Mareschals of France 623 Margaret of Burgundy marries the Daufin of France 504 Margaret of Scotland Queen of France Her Death 506 Margaret of Austria Wife of Charles VIII is sent back into Germany to Maximilian her Father 516 Margaret Sister of King Francis I. passes into Spain 581 Marriage of Charles VI. with Isabella of Bavaria and of John of Burgundy with Margaret of Bavaria 408 Marriage of the Daufin of France with the Daughter of the Duke of Burgundy and the eldest Son of the Burgundian with Michel of France 421 Marriage of Catherine of France with the King of England 439 Marriage of Margarite of Anjou with the King of England 459 Marriage of King Lewis XII with Mary Sister of the King of England 544 Marriage of Philip of Spain with Isabella of France 654 Of the Duke of Savoy with Margaret Sister of King Henry II. 653 Mary Queen of England her Death 651 Mary Queen
of France Wife of Lewis XII 554 Takes the Duke of Suffolk for her second Husband 568 Mary Queen Widdow of Hungary Governess of the Low-Countries 601 Mary Princess of Scotland 613 Mary Queen of Scots great Troubles in Scotland for her concern 618 Brought into France 624 Mary Queen of England declares War against France 646 William de la Mark called the Wildboard of Ardenne Beheaded 504 Marseilles Besieged by the Imperialists without Success 577 Martin V. Pope transfers the Council of Siena to Basil 448 Prince Maurice 631 Maximilian Emperour Besieges Terouene 502 Maximilian is Elected and Crowned King of the Romans 510 His Death 563 Maximilian King of Bohemia in contest with Charles V. his Uncle 638 Meaux Besieged and taken by the English 440 Medicis Peter chaced and banished from Florence 520 Medicis Laurence invested in the Dutchy of Vrbin 561 The Medicis restablished in Florence 591 Laurence de Medicis Assassinates and kills the Duke of Florence his unhappy end 606 Cosmo de Medicis Duke of Florence ib. Declares himself against the French and against Siena 640 Melfe the Prince of Melfe or Malsy 616 Mercier Sieur de Novain Favorite of King Charles VI. 411 Milan conquer'd by King Lewis XII and by the Venetians 534 The investiture granted to Lewis XII by the Emperour 542 Abandoned by the French 550 c. Regained by the French and as soon lost for them 552 Falls under the Dominion of the Emperour 578 Mines the way to fill them with Powder to blow up a Wall 539 Pic Mirandulus his Death 520 Moncado Vice-roy of Sicilia slain in Fight 589 Moncins Governor of Guyenne Massacred by the Bourdelois 627 John de Montaigu Favorite of Charles VI. 411 Montargis surprized by the English 453 Montecuculi drawn by four Horses for Poisoning the Daufin 603 John de Montfort remains sole Duke of Bretagne by the death of Charles de Blois 385 Defeats in Battle Charles de Blois abandons Bretagne and retires to England 367 Returns into Bretagne 393 Montmorency a Town not inconsiderable burnt 379 Montpelliers Mutinies of the People because of the Imposts 397 John de Montaigue Surintendant punished with Death 425 Montpensier the Duke made a Prisoner of War 647 Moscovy 502 Muley-Assan King of Tunis dispoiled of his Kingdom by his Son who puts out his Eyes 456 Mutinies and Popular Commotions because of the Imposts and excessive Subsidies 402 403 c. N NAples Kingdom conquer'd by the French and soon after retaken from them 521 Strange Revolution against the French who are driven out of that Kingdom 538 C. of Nassau Prisoner of War 512 The C. of Nassau Ambassador in France 557 Enters into Champagne and Besieges Mouson 567 Makes an irruption upon Picardy Louis of Navarre 603 Navarre Usurped by Ferdinand of Arragon 551 Reconquer'd by the French but soon lost again 565 The D. of Nemours General of the Army for the King in the Kingdom of Naples 537 Slain in the Battle of Cerignoles 538 I. Earl of Nevers goes to the Assistance of the King of Hungary against the Turks 417 Nice Besieged in vain by Barbarossa 615 Nicholas I. Antipope 359 Nicholas the Pope is owned in France 461 The Duke of Normandy Commands a very Potent Army with small Success 365 Normandy over-run and ravaged by the English 374 United inseparably to the Crown 381 Falls under the Power of the English 437 Is wholly regained from the English 463 Is put under the Power of a new Duke 487 Brought to the Obedience of the King 488 O OBservance strickt of the Order of Saint Francis 443 Officers maintain'd in their Offices 489 The mutation of Officers a Cause of great trouble ib. Oliver de Blois attempts upon the Person of the Duke of Bretagne 436 He and his Brothers Condemned to Death 437 Oliver Francis Chancellour of France 623 Orange Prince 510 Orange Prince Prisoner of War 513 Is made Lieutenant for the King in Bretagne ib. General of an Army without Power 586 Order of the Star Instituted or rather renewed abandoned to the Chevalier du Guet 372 Order of the Garter Instituted 371 Order of the Collar its Institution 408 Order of Saint Maurice Instituted 526 Orleans Besieged by the English succour'd and deliver'd by the Pucelle Joane 450 Orleans Charles Duke set at Liberty 458 Orleans John Bastard Earl of Dunois and great Chamberlain his Death 492 Orleans Charles Duke his death 483 Orleans Louis Duke Espouses the Princess Jane of France 503 Orleans Louis Duke Chief of the Council 508 Makes a League and a new Party against the State with the Duke of Bourbon and others 510 Absents far from Court retires into Bretagne forms a new Party against the Government and raises Forces ib. Is made Prisoner of War 513 Commands the French Ships in Italy 519 c. Duke of Orleans second Son of France Commands an Army in Luxemburg his Exploits 612 c. His Death 619 Regal Ornaments 441 Ottranto taken by Assault by the Turks 503 Retaken by the Christians ib. P PAlavicini Manf. 569 De la Palisse Mareschal of France 567 His Death 579 Ambrose Paré Chyrurgeon 619 Paris enlarged and fortified 375 Is oppressed and suffers strangely during the Contest and War between the Houses of Orleans and of Burgundy 426 c. Reduced to obedience of King Charles VII 464 Blocked up by the Princes 486 In great Astonishment 604 Parisians Enterprize upon the City of Meaux to their Confusion 378 Stick to the King of Navarre ib. Divided into Factions Insolence insupportable 377 c. Mutiny because of Imposts take up Arms Arm themselves with Iron Mallets for that reason named Mallotins 403. c. Chastized severely 406 Arm and range themselves under Colonels and Captains 488 Parliaments of Bourdeaux and Burgundy their Institution 506 Parliament of Paris made Semestre 640 Parliament of Bretagne Established ib. Parma Subject of a War between the Pope and the King of France 629 630 c. Pavia Besieged by the King of France 577 c. Taken by Assault and Sacked by the French 585 Paul III. Pope 597 Mediator of a Peace between the Emperour and the King and confers with them 607 608 His Death 628 Paul IV. Pope 642 Makes a League offensive and defensive with the King against the Spaniard 644 Strips the Caraffes his Nephews of all their Offices and chaces them out of Rome 653 Paulin a brave Captain 618 Pembrook E. Lands in Bretagne over-runs Anjou and Poitou 388 Vanquish'd in a Naval Fight by the Spaniards and taken Prisoner 391 The C. de Perigord Archambauld Talegrand Condemned to Death 418 Perpignan surprized by the Spaniard or King of Arragon Philip de Valois King of France 357 Sends to the Navarrins their lawful King and Queen 358 The English declare War against him 361 His advantage over his Enemy 362 Makes a Truce with Edward ib. Becomes hated of the Nobility 365 Is Defeated 366 His Death 370 Philip King of Navarre his Death 365 Philip of Navarre calls the
English into Normandy 374 Philip Duke of Burgundy Son of John undertakes to revenge the Death of his Father 438 Seeds of Division between him and the English 440 He joyns to Flanders and Artois several other Counties and Lordships 450 He takes in second Marriage the Princess of Portugal 452 Institutes the Order of the Golden Fleece ib. He withdraws from the English and makes his Peace with the King of France 454 Besieges Calais upon the English in vain 456 Philip of Savoy is kept Prisoner 483 Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy his Death 488 Philip of Spain armes Powerfully against France 646 Enters himself upon Picardy 647 Philip of Spain Marries the Queen of England Recalled from England by the Emperour Charles V. his Father 966 Pius II. Pope his Design to make a War against the Turks without effect 467 Pius II. endeavours to extend the Power of the Popes beyond the bounds of all right and reason 482 Pisa shakes off the yoake of the Florentines 520 Pisseleu Anne Dutchess of Estampes 583 Diana of Poitiers Mistriss of Henry the Daufin afterwards King of France 622 623 Pompadour Geffrey Bishop of Periguex 511 Poncher Stephen Bishop of Paris 545 The Portuguese discover great Countries and Sail to the Indies 439 Posts and Couriers established 501 Poyet Chancellour of France deprived of his Office His death 610 Pragmatique abolished by a Declaration of the Kings that had no effect for the opposition it met with 482. 488 Set up by the Gallicane Church 526 Suppressed 526 Abolished by King Francis I. 560 The Praguerie a dangerous Commotion 457 Du Prat Chancellor Archbishop of Sens assembles a Provincial Council 590 Ant. du Prat Cardinal Archbishop of Sens His Death 599 The Provost of Paris Massacred 378 Protestant Princes of Germany and of their great Forces 620 Are vanquished 624 Protestants of Germany when and wherefore so named See Luther Protestants of Merindol and Cabrieres Massacred 618. 629 Provence parted in two 368 Psalter of the Virgin 539 Q QUarrel which arose between the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Bedford 449 Question about Property or Propriety makes a great debate and noise and ended with Fire and Faggot 443 R Giles de RAiz Mareschal of France Condemned to be Burnt alive 458 Rance de Cere General of an Army for the King at Naples 585 The C. de Rangon General of an Army in Italy 604 Ravenna taken and Burnt by the French 550 Rebellion severely chastised 609 Reconciliation of King Lewis XI with his Brother 491. Betwixt the Houses of Orleance and of Burgundy 458 c. Registers Baptisteries Religion Catholique abolished in England 626 Religionaries assemble by Night at Paris and are severely Punished 647 Peter Remi Sieur de Montigni Financier Drawn and Hanged 358 René of Anjou succeeds not in his Enterprize upon Naples 467 René Duke of Lorraine 496 Inconstant and variable ib. Is dispoiled of his Dutchy of Lorraine 497 Is amongst the Swiss and the Germans at the Battle of Morat 498 Is called to Naples to take that Crown 514 Rhodes Besieged by the Turks but bravely defended 503 Besieged and taken by the Turks 572 Richard II. Surnamed of Bourdeaux King of England 394 He and his Uncles Lancaster and Glocester have mortal jealousies of one another 416 He is made Prisoner Degraded and Deposed and Condemned to a perpetual Imprisonment 418 His Death Richard Duke of York excites a Civil War in England 464 Richard Duke of Glocester seizes tyrannically upon the Crown of England 504 505 Richmond Arthur Earl Connestable of France 448 c. Connestable and Duke of Bretagne His Death 466 Rincon Ambassadour of France assassinated 612 Robert the Wise King of Naples His Death 364 Rochefort William Chancellour of France 408 Rochell quits the English and returns to the Obedience of the King of France 391 Rome in great Trouble for the Election of two Popes 396 Attaqued taken by Assault Pillaged and ravaged by the Imperialists 585 586. Of the Rosarie 539 Rouen Besieged and taken by the English 437 Quits the English and returns under the obedience of the King of France 465 Roussillon sold to the King 482 Roussillon and Cerdagne rendred to Ferdinand 517 Rupture between France and the Empire 646 S SAcramentaries write against the Holy Sacrament 598 Eustace de Saint Peter a Burgher of Calais his Heroick Generosity to save his fellow Citizens 367 Saints or holy Persons living during the Fourteenth Age. 445 Salisbury E. Besieges Orleans 451 Lands in Bretagne 454 Salusses Marquiss Commands the King of France's Army in Italy 541 Commands the Army before Naples after the Death of Lautrec 590 Savoy erected to a Dutchy 433 Secret Women uncapable of Secresie 617 Secretaries the Kings Secretaries encreased 640 Sepus John King of Hungary in part 611 Sforza Ludowic surnamed the Moore was the principal Motive that determin'd King Charles IX to the Conquest of Naples 518 Seizes tyrannically upon the Milanois 520 c. Leagues with the Venetians and the Pope against the French 523 Treats with the King of France without executing any one Article of the Treaty agreed upon 523 Ludowic Sforza stripp'd of all his Estates takes refuge in Germany 534 His unhappy end 535 Sigismond Emperour comes to Paris 433 Sixtus IV. Pope solicites the Princes to Unite against the Turks 493 Solyman gets the best part of Hungary and lays Siege to Vienna in Austria 562 Attaques Hungary by Land and sends relief to the King 614 Seizes on Transilvania 630 Duke of Somerset Regent or Protector of England 626 Divisions between him and the Earl of Warwick 628 Agnes Soreau or Sorel Mistriss to King Charles VII 460 Stuard Robert King of Scotland 390 Suffolck Jane designed by King Edward and after his Death Proclaimed and received Queen of England 636 Made Prisoner 637 Swiss beat and utterly defeat the Burgundians in divers Battles 498 c. Refuse to engage against the French in Milan 535 Seize upon Bellinzonne ib. Devote themselves to the Pope against France 547 Beat and drive the French from before Novare 552 Enter into the Dutchy of Burgundy and Besiege Dijon 552 League with the Pope the Emperour the Arragonian and others against France for defence of the Milanese 557 George de Sully 522 T TAlbot a brave Soldier His death 464 Talmont Prince slain in the Battle of Marignan 559 Tamberlan 412 Toledo Peter Vice-Roy of Naples his Death 639 County of Tolosa united inseparably to the Crown 381 John Duke of Touraine Son of Charles VI. declares against the Armagnac's 433 His Death 434 Treaty of Marriage between the King of England Catherine of France Daughter of King Charles VI. 439 Treaty of Alliance between France and the Empire 542 Treaty of Madrid for the Liberty of Francis I. and for a Peace between the said Prince and the Emperour 582 Treaty of Peace between France and England 628 Transilvania invaded by the Turks 630 Truce between the French and English 415 416. Turks and
763 Send Deputies to King Henry III. to proffer him the Government of the Country 769 d'Estree beloved of Henry IV. goes to the Siege of Amiens the murmurings of the whole Army obliges her to quit the Camp 859 Sollicites the King to marry her 869 Her death 871 Europe began to be more enlightned in the 16th Age. Chu 16 th Age. F FAbian Son of Blaise de Montluc assists his Brother Bertrand in his Design for the East-Indies 701 Famagusta the Capital City of Cyprus gainedby the Turks 713 Federick Marquiss of Baden assists the King against the Huguenots 710 Ferdinand Emperour Brother of Charles V. 692 His death ib. Flemmings cannot endure the Inquisition 695 Final taken by the Spaniards 893 Florida whence the Name 700 Florence Duke assists the Duke of Nevers to seize upon Marseilles 769 la Force Massacred at the Saint Bartholomews 720 His Son Escapes ib. Fort Charles in Florida built by the Spaniards and taken by Dowinique de Gourgues 701 Fra Paolo otherwise Pol Soaue writes for the Republique of Venice against the Pope 926 Is like to be Murthered 928 France in Civil War for Religion 679 Hath always the preference before Spain 685 Afflicted with two most cruel Maladies 757 Their King essentially most Christian 798 Francis I. settles the Art of making Silk in Poitou 904 Was not severe against the Huguenots Church 16 th Age. Recalls his Legats from the Councel of Trent ib. Francis II. King of France 657 Falls Sick 670 His Death and Burial 671 Franche-Comte attaqued by the French 842 Promised to Biron with a Daughter of Spain 884 Given to Isabella Clara Eugenia Infanta of Spain 869 Conditions of that Donation ib. Frisia gives all Power to the Prince of Orange 751 Fuentes Governor of the Low-Countries 843 Besieges Cambray 847 Gains a Victory upon the French 847 Obliges Prince Maurice to raise the Siege of Grol 848 Takes Cambray and does not make an ill use of his Victory over the French ibid. Personal Enemy of Henry IV. 878 Fulgentius writes for the Venetians against the Pope 926 G GAbriella d'Estreé beloved of Henry IV. assists at the Ceremony of his Conversion 832 Gantois hate the French and the Roman Religion 762 Gascons in Dispute with the Provenceaux 825 Gaspard Bishop of Modena Nuncio in France 871 Delegated to take cognisance of the Nullity of Marriage of Henry IV. and Margaret of Valois 871 Geneva the Duke of Savoy endeavours to seize it 802 Withdraw from their Obedience to the Bishop Church 16 th Age. Call in Calvin and Farel to be their Pastors ib. Is as it were the Pontifical seat of Calvinisme ib. Gerard Balthazar a Franc-Comtois Emissary of the Spaniards Kills the Prince of Orange with a Pistol 767 Gondi the Cardinal confers with Biron 806 Golf of Venice the Ceremonies used there at the Reception of Henry III. 733 Gregory XIII Pope regulates the Calender 761 Gregory XIV declared an Enemy of the Peace and Union of the Church Enemy of the King and of the State 815 His death 818 Grisons renew the Alliance with Henry IV. 892 Quit the Roman Religion Chur. 16 th Age. Guiche the Countess beloved by the King of Navarre 773 Angry at the King 's forsaking her she endeavours to debauch his Sister 814 Guienne acknowledges Henry IV. 824 Guises make themselves Masters at Court under Francis II. 657 c. Duke of Guise possesses the whole favour of Francis II. 660 The Huguenots would ceaze him to make his Process 665 Fortifies himself with the Name of the King 669 Causes the Prince to be apprehended and prosecuted 670 Gains the Battle of Dreux 686 And makes the Prince Prisoner ib. His Courtesie and Gallantry ib. Lays Siege to Orleans 887 Is assassinated by Paltrot ib. Justifies himself of the Murther at Vassy 887 His Praises ib. Guise Duke returns into France with his Uncle the Cardinal of Lorrain 692 Defends Poitiers bravely and acquires much reputation 706 Is the Principal Author of the Saint Bartholomew 717 Is made the Chief to execute that Massacre 718 Declares for the League and seizes on the Cardinal of Bourbon 768 The Pope compares him to the Machabees 784 Has several Advertisements given him of his Danger 786 Is assassinated by the Order of Henry III. at the Estates of Blois ib. His Body is burnt by Richelieu 787 Guise the Cardinal bears the Cross in a Procession 764 Would make himself Master of Normandy 781 Is hindred by the Duke of Espernon ib. Guise Duke before Prince of Joinville made Prisoner at the Death of his Father 787 Escapes out of Prison 817 Is attaqu'd near Abbeville by King Henry IV. 821 Aspires to the Crown 832 Kills Saint Pol Governor of Reims and makes his accommodation with Henry IV. 841 Reduces Marseilles to obedience of the King 852 Gustavus Ericson introduces the Confession of Ausburgh in Sweden 913 H. HAinaut suffers scarcity 760 Hampton-Court the place in England where the Treaty between Queen Elizabeth and the Huguenots was concluded 683 Havre de Grace deliver'd to the English ibid. Besieged by the French Surrendred 689 Henry d'Angoulesme Bastard Brother to Charles IX has Order from the King to kill the Duke of Guise 712 Henry of Navarre Espouses Margaret of Valois 717 Generosity of that Prince who refuses to kill the Sole Heir of the Kingdom 740 Hates his Wife who hath as little Love for him 750 Henry III. is kill'd on the same day and at the same place where he advised the Massacre of St. Bartholomew 795 Henry Cardinal Archbishop of Evora King of Portugal after the death of Sebastian 752 Henry grand Prior of France Bastard Brother to the King 753 Henry III. King of France and of Poland 737 Leaves Poland 732 Makes his Entrance into Paris 739 Hates the House of Guise 745 Loves the Princess of Condé 757 Forms the design of putting the Duke of Guise to death 780 Besieges Paris reduces it to extremity and is kill'd at Sainct Cloud 795 Heemskerk Admiral for the States of the United Provinces attaques the Spanish Flota is slain his death glorious 790 Henry IV. his coming to the Crown 797 Gains the Battle of Ivry 705 Besieges Rouen 821 820 Beats up the Duke of Guise's Quarters at Abbeville 821 Opposes at Fontaine-Francoise and bears the brunt of the whole Spanish Army and gives proofs of his Heroick Courage 845 Receives his absolution from Rome 849 His consternation upon the loss of Amiens 858 Regains that Town in Sight of the Arch-Duke 862 Demands of the Duke of Savoy the Restitution of the Marquisate of Salusses 876 His Marriage with Mary de Medicis 885 Does what he can possibly to save Biron and in fine leaves him to the Law 895 Loves the Princess of Condé and is ready almost to declare War against the Arch-Duke upon her occasion 936 c. Forms the Design to pull down the House of Austria 938 His Wife Mary de Medicis Crowned 941 Is Murthered 942 Predictions of his death 941
Protests to Francis her Brother she will forsake her Errors ib. She repents it again and writes to Calvin ibid. Mary Stuart Wife of Francis II. 671 Is beheaded Mary of Cleves espouses the Prince of Condé 717 Mary de Medicis Married to Henry IV. 885 Is Crowned and declared Regent 941 Massacre of Vassy the first Signal of the War for Religion 679 Matthias Arch-Duke Brother to the Emperour in the Low-Country 751 Matilda Wife of Alphonso III. King of Portugal the Subject of the Pretensions of Catherine de Medicis to that Kingdom 753 Prince Maurice besieges Newport is beaten at first by the Arch-Duke Albert and at length gains the Victory 880 Maximilian II. succeeds to Ferdinand I. 692 Maximilian Emperour Elected King of Poland 740 Duke of Mayenne leads an Army Royal against the Prince 742 The Spaniards in deliberation for cutting off his head 842 Agrees with the King 851 Puts the King upon the Siege of Amiens 858 Serves well in that Siege 859 Horace de Monte a Neapolitan Archbishop of Arles Named for the dissolving of the Marriage of Henry IV. 871 Montmorency Connestable of France comes to the Assembly of the Grandees Convocated by Catherine de Medicis at Fontainbleau 668 Harrasses the Army of the Huguenots 697 Gives them Battle is wounded to death his great courage in that last moment ibid. The Prince of Montpensier at the Estates of Orleans 670 Seeks the Heyress of Sedan for his Son 818 His Death 824 Morisco's exterminated in Spain 933 Mouker the place where Requesens gained a Battle 751 Moulins place of the Assembly where they made the Famous Edict of that Name 694 Mustapha Bassa enters the Island of Cyprus 713 N. NAmur Surprized by Don Juan of Austria Governor of the Low-Countries 751 Nani Ordinary Ambassadour of Venice to the Pope retires with Duodi the Extraordinary Ambassador 926 Nantes the Parliament of Renes is transfer'd thither 665 The place of the Famous Edict of that name 866 Adolphus of Nassaw vanquish'd by Albert 880 Philip of Nassaw restored to Liberty marries Eleonor of Condé and is restored to his Principality 924 Nemurs Duke put in Prison after the death of the Duke of Guise 787 Escapes 789 Is made Governor of Paris 806 Aspires to the Crown 831 His strange Kind of Death 844 Nerac Jane d'Albret banishes thence the Roman Religion which Charles IX re-establishes 693 Nerestan Philibert Captain of the Guard du Corps is made Grand-Maistre of the Order of Nostre-Dame of Mount Carmel Church 16 th Age. Neyen John or Ney a Cordelier deputed by the Arch-Dukes to mediate a Peace between them and the United Provinces 929 Nevers Duke pursues the Huguenots receives a blow which he feels all his life after 698 Nicholas III. Pope Chu 16th Age. Nicosia taken by the Turks 713 Fra. Noialles Bishop of Dags Ambassadour in Turky 716 Notables assembled at Saint Germains en Laye 765 La Noue Francis a Huguenot Captain his Wisdom in admiration amongst the Catholiques 698 The Nouueaux a Cabal under Charles IX 724 Noyers a Castle of the Prince of Condés a Soldier measures the Fosse or Graft and they would have surprized that Prince 702 Noyon taken by the Duke of Mayenne 829 Besieged by Henry IV. 839 Is taken ib. O d'O Surintendant of the Finances under Henry III. 752 Upon the refusal of the Duke of Longueville declares to Henry IV. the Sentiments of those Catholiques who follow'd him 798 His death 840 His Vices ib. d'Ognagne a Spanish Captain Conducts the Soldiers who surprized Amiens 857 Ochinus Bernardinus Apostatises question whether he were the Institutor of the Capucins Chur. 16 th Age. Orange Prince Founder of the States of the United Provinces 699 Orange Prince is thwarted by the Flemmish Lords 752 Provinces that obey'd him 751. 757 Is elected Lieutenant by the Arch-duke Matthias 751 Puts the Ducal Vesture upon the Duke of Anjou 759 Is assassinated ib. Recovers of his Wounds ib. Discovers the Treachery of Salsede ib. Thwarts the Duke of Anjou 762 Treats the French courteously after their Attempt upon Antwerp Retires to Antwerp 763 Is Kill'd 767 Order of Saint Michael greatly vilified 753 Its Institutor and reasons for its Establishment 753 754 Orders new of Religious are the Promoters of the League Ch. 16 th Age. Order of the Annunciation ib. Order of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem Ch. 16 th Age. Order of Saint Lazarus ib. Order of the Celestial Annunciado's ib. Order of the Templers ib. Orleans the Prince of Condé goes thither and the Huguenots make it their place of Arms. 686 d'Ossun Surnamed the Brave flies at the Battle of Dreux and for madness starves himself to Death 687 Ostend attempted by the Duke of Anjou but misses his aim 762 Besieged by Duke Albertus 889 How long the Siege lasted 913 c. Oysans a Fort built by Lesdiguieres 785 P PAceco Duke of Ascalone Ambassadour from Spain foments the Division between the Pope and the Venetians 926 Pacification of Ghent 695 Papaux a Name given to the Catholiques by the Huguenots 673 Pareus Ambros accused of having Poisoned Francis II. 671 Paris besieged by Henry III. reduced to extremity and saved by a detestable Monk 794 795 Parliament of Paris gives the Name of Conservator of the Country to the Duke of Guise 667 Parma Duke brings Relief to Don Juan of Austria 751 Commands the Army after the Death of that Prince 752 Takes Maestrickt 757 Takes Breda 758 Takes Tournay after it had been bravely defended by a Lady ib. Invests Antwerp Hath much ado to resolve to come into France 811 Enters Paris and hath Compassion of them 812 Takes Corbeil ib. Retires from Ivetot with great industry 822 Dies at Arras 827 Paul IV. his Death 662 Endeavours to set up the Inquisition every where ib. The Romans beat down his Statuas ib. Paul III. suspends the Council of Trent 668 Approves of the Jesuites Ch. 16 th Age. Paul V. declares the Cardinal de Joyeuse Legate in France for three Months that he may represent him as Godfather to the Daufin the Son of Henry IV. 923 The Paulette its Author and its Establishment 912 Perigueux sacked 740 Perthau Bassa escapes at the Battle of Lepanto 714 Philibert Emanuel Duke of Savoy yields his Right in Portugal to the King of Spain 752 His Death 757 Philip of Spain intermeddles with the Affairs of France under pretence of Religion 678 Sends Ambassadors to Charles IX to sollicite him to depute to Nancy where the Assembly of Christian Princes was assigned 691 Causes the Council of Trent to be Published and sets up the Inquisition in the Low-Countries 695 His merciless Councils ib. Puts his Son to Death and causes his Wife to be Poisoned 700 Seizes upon Portugal 753 Equipps a mighty Fleet against England 783 Gives the Low-Countries to his Daughter Isabella the Conditions of the Donative 869 His Malady his Death his Age and his Successor ib. Philip III. King of Spain is married to Margaret of France
d'Imbercourt They likewise called in the Bishop of Liege the Duke of Cleves and the Son of the Count de St. Pol. They were all divided about the marriage of the Princess Ravastein desired to have her married to his Nephew the Son of the Duke of Cleve The Chancellor Hugonet and the Lord d'Imbrecourt to the Dauphin and the Gauntois to some German Prince The Deputies from these were gone to the King of France in behalf of the States of Flanders and said they had full power to negociate a Peace The King shewed them maliciously some Letters from the Princesses Council which mentioned the quite contrary Their brutish Pride believed the Council plaid upon them and prompted them immediately to revenge As soon as they were return'd to Gaunt they laid hold on Hugonet and Imbercourt made Process against them under pretence of some concussions and cut off their heads not being moved with the humble Prayers and Intreaties or the abundant Tears of their Princess who with dishevel'd Hair came to the place of Execution to Implore the Lives of her two faithful Servants With the same fury they took away Ravastein and the Dutchess Dower from her gave her a Council of their own chusing and drew Adolph of Guelder out of Prison to command their Forces Ever since the War for the Publick Good the King had always had a Mortal desire for revenge against James de Armagnac Duke of Nemours This Lord after the Death of the Count d'Armagnac had retired himself into the strong Castle of Carlat in Auvergne in the year 1476. Peter de Bourbon-Beajeu had order to take him He could not have compassed it by force he makes use of fraud giving his Faith he should have no hurt yet nevertheless he brings him to the Bastille About seven or eight Months after the Parliament had orders to proceed against him Those men of honesty could not find any thing charged upon him sufficient to make him Guilty the King sends them to Noyon the 20 th of June to teach them their Lesson and put out of their places such Counsellors as refused to conclude he deserv'd Death The rest returning to Paris Chancellor Peter Doriole presiding they condemned him the 4 th of August to lose his Head and the same day the Sentence was put in Execution The King would have his two Sons who were yet but Children stand under the Scaffold that their Fathers Blood might run down upon their Heads Year of our Lord 1477 The Flemmings and the Duke of Bretagne earnestly Sollicited the King of England not to suffer the Heiress of Burgundy to perish without assisting her but the King amuzed him still with the Marriage of the Dauphin to his Daughter and spared neither Presents nor Pensions to all that were about the King who besides was over-burthned with Fat too much addicted to his pleasures and who feared dangers greatly because he had greatly suffer'd His Brother George Duke of Clarence having medled too much in his affairs or for some other cause which was never known fared but very ill he caused him to be drowned in a But of Malmesey In these times Oliver le Daim the Kings Barber who made himself a man of great importance had taken a Commission to reduce the City of Gaunt thinking he had much Credit amongst them because he was a Country mans Son of those parts The Gauntois baffled him as he deserved Retreating thence he by surprize got the Kings Forces into Tournay that from thence he might molest the Flemmings The Gauntois having taken Arms went Head-long to attack this place But they were ill handled and Adolph de Gueldres killed in their retreat This was about the beginning of July Year of our Lord 1477 It had been their design that he should Marry the Princess who very glad to be so deliver'd from him resolved in fine to determine which to take of the many that aimed to get her She therefore chose Maximillian Son to the Emperor Frederic to whom she had plighted her Faith in her Fathers Life time The Marriage was Consummated at Gaunt about the end of July He was so poor that his Wife was forced to be at the charges for the wedding for his Equipage and the maintenance of his Servants At first she got no advantage by a Husband who had no assistance from his Father very covetous nor his Uncle Sigismond rich enough in money but of a very poor Spirit Nevertheless upon the consideration of his Father who was Emperor the King being entred into some Conferences with him found it fit to grant him Truce for a year and to restore to him Quesnoy Bouchain and Cambray which were in the Territories belonging to the Empire Others say they drove out the French Garrisons and rendred themselves to Maximillian The Lord de Craon this was George de la Trimoville who commanded the Kings Army in Burgundy treated the Prince of Orange ill and did not restore him to his Lands as the King had promised notwithstanding he had express orders This was the cause that the Prince joyned himself again with Claude de Vaudrey and some other Noble-men of the Country and led away almost all the Province from him It is true that the Battel he afterwards lost nigh Montguyon brought back the Dutchy but the War did not end there as to the County Amongst other events the Lord de Craon shamefully raised the Siege before Dole The King was so angry that for this and his plundrings he set him aside and put Charles d'Amboise Chaumont in his place This man laid the foundation of the first League which the Kings of France have had with the Swisse He stipulated that the King should give a Pension of 20000 Livers yearly to the Cantons and as much to some particular people for which they should furnish him with six Thousand men to be paid by him and should give him the first Rank amongst all their Allies at which they made some difficulty because the Duke of Savoy had ever held it The Truce being expired Maximillian caused some Forces to enter Burgundy who more by the Factions of the People that regretted their ancient Princes then by their own proper strength took Beaune Chastillon Bar Semur and divers other places with so great facility that if the Emperor Frederick had assisted his Son never so little he had at that time re-conquered all the Dutchy The Lord d'Amboise who had money and men in abundauce chased them almost as easily out again as they gotten in and thereupon the Truces were renewed for some Months The Kings of France had for a long time had a good number of Gentlemen Pensioners to attend and to Guard them King Lewis encreased the number and gave them a Captain ✚ His impatience to know speedily all that passed in every part of his Kingdom was the occasion of setling the Posts and Couriers who for a long time were only for the Kings Service Italy had divided it self in
two Factions one for the Pope and Ferdinand King of Naples the other for the Duke of Milan with the Venetian and the Florentines At Florence there were two Potent Families that of the Passi most ancient and that of Medecis richest The latter as then Governed and the two Brothers Julian and Laurence were the Heads Year of our Lord 1478 The Passi under the secret protection of the Pope conspired to assassinate them at Church upon Sunday 26th of April Julian was Murthered Laurence saved himself in the Sacrary The Populace being raised ran upon the Passi and exterminated all of them The Conspirators who had gotten themselves into the Palace to Seize it were shut in there and Hanged up at the Windows amongst others the Arch-Bishop of Pisa and they imprisoned a young Cardinal Nephew to the Pope who was found to be Innocent Now the Pope upon pretence of revenging the Honour of the Ecclesiasticks commenced a rude War on the Florentines both with the Fulminations of the Church and with material Arms and Forces The King endeavoured an Accommodation but being unable to effect it he took part with the Florentines and sent Philip de Comines to them who only brought some Succours from Savoy and Milan He had no mind to employ his Forces in so Forraign an Expedition but to frighten the Pope he spoke of calling a Council and continuing the Pragmatick For this purpose he convened all the Prelats and the Deputies of the Universities of the Kingdom at Orleans and dispatched a Noble Embassy to the Pope Guy d'Arpajou Vicount de Lautrec was the principal to demand of him that he should off the Excommunication he had thundred against the Florentines and that they should severely punish all the Complices of that Conspiracy The Scandalous Chronicle has noted That in this year in a Monastery of Benedictines in Avergne it was that of Issoire there was found a Monk both Male and Female who made use of either Sex particularly of the Femininr as appeared by proving great with Child Year of our Lord 1479 The second Truce expired Chaumont got first into the Field and scowred all the Franche-Comte even to the City of Dole Which having been taken by the Teachery of the German Forces who entring therein to relieve it introduced the French was sacked and destroyed and remained some years Buried under its own Rubbish At the same time Maximilian with his Army besieged Terouenne The Kings which was commanded by Desquerdes going to its Relief the Besiegers raised their Siege to encounter them The Shock was given near the Village of Guinegaste Desquerdes at first made the Flemmings give ground but pushing it too far the Counts of Nassaw and de Romont rallied some Companies and put the French to a Rout The Field remained to Maximillian though much more cover'd with the dead Bodies of his own Men than of Enemies and this day regained him some Reputation in his Affairs Year of our Lord 1479 At Sea the Normand Captains took 80 Vessels laden with Wheat which the Flemmings were bringing from Prussia and all their Fleet of Herrings an inestemable damage to that Country In these times arose the power of the great Czar of Russia or Muscovy Russia had heretofore many Princes But they were as Slaves to the Cham of those Tartars who Inhabit the other side of the Volga Duke John shook off that Yoke of Slavery and besides Conquered divers Cities in Russia Alba who obeyed the Duke of Lithuania and reduced to his Command the Great and Famous City Novogorod Capital of Russia then that of Mosco which takes it's Name from the River on which it is Scituate and gives it to all this State Year of our Lord 1479 When the good King Rene was Dead which hap'ned the 10 th of July in the year 1479. The King not openly permitted Charles II. Count de Mayne to put himself into possession of Provence according to the Testament we have before mentioned but likewise interposed his Authority with the Provensals to Enthronize him in that County being perhaps well assured of what hap'ned two years after Year of our Lord 1480 As all things went according to his wishes it hap'ned that being at a Village near Chinon during the Month of March he was on a Sudden deprived of his Speech and all manner of Knowledge At two days end he recover'd both the one and the other But his Body remained so Weak and Languishing that he could never regain his perfect Strength The Legat Nephew to the Pope took his time upon occasion of this Malady to intecede for the Cardinal de la Ballue who on his part did so cunningly feign a Retention of Urine that the King believing he would not live long and making conscience to let him die in Prison set him at Liberty towards the end of November upon condition he should leave the Kingdom which he did and retired to Rome Revenge jealousie and distrust which are the Signs of a weak and ill temper'd Soul encreased upon his Spirits whilst he decreased in Strength He was afraid that if they thought him uncapable to act they would usurp the Government the Duke of Bourbon being the only Prince almost that had the Qualities requisite for such a Pretension he fell into so much hatred against him that he caused his Lands to be Seized and sought out some colourable occasion to ruin him At the same time whether he could not confide in his natural Subjects or for some other reason he disbanded the Franc's Archers and in their stead raised Companies of Strangers especially Swissers Year of our Lord 1480 In this condition he was glad to make Truce with Maximilian for Seven Months to Commence in August The following year it was prolonged a Twelve-month more Year of our Lord 1481 Year of our Lord 1480 The Sultan or Grand Seigneur Mahomet II. caused the Island of Rhodes to be Besieged by the Visier Messite one of his Captains and sent almost 〈◊〉 the same time the Bassa Gedue Acmet to make a Descent on the Coast of Calabria The first after he had lost ten Thousand Men and spent three Months time shamefully raised the Siege but the other took Otranto by Assault the 27th Day of August and struck a Terror through all Italy Charles Duke of Burgundy whose thoughts had only been for War desiring to imitate the Roman Discipline had begun to keep and to exercise his Men in Camps The King after his example caused one to be made in a Plain near the Pont de Larche retrenched and closed up with Waggons He gave the command of it to Desquerdes and put in 10000 Foot Pikemen and Halberdiers for experience had taught him in the Warrs with the Swiss and Liegois that those were the best Weapons or Arms for the Infantry 2500 Pioneers and 1500 Lances After these Soldiers had remained there a Month only he disbanded them and took off as I believe the 1500 thousand Livers