were very ill provided, and having no pay, they were forced to live upon free quarters. But the king, for all their great numbers, found them employment enough; so that by degrees they came to a treaty; especially the Duke of Nemours, who swore fealty to the king*, and engaged to continue firm and loyal to his cause: however, he afterwards revolted, which was the occasion (as the king often told me) of the displeasure he retained against him so long. But when the king found he could not finish the war in the Bourbonnois so soon as he expected, and that the Count of Charolois was advancing on Paris, apprehending lest the Parisians should give admission to him, and to the Dukes of Berry and Bretagne (who were marching from Bretagne, and all of them. pretending the good of the kingdom), and fearing likewise that if the Parisians should receive them, all the other towns would do the like-he resolved by great marches to throw himself and what forces he had with him into Paris, and (if possible) hinder the conjunction of those two mighty armies; but he had no intention of fighting, as he has since told me many times in our discourse about these affairs.

CHAP. III.

How the Count of Charolois encamped with his Army near Montlhery, and of the Battle fought in that place between him and the King of France.1465.

As I said before, as soon as the Count of Charolois was informed of the king's departure, that he had left Bourbonnois, and (as he at least supposed) was marching directly to fight him, he resolved also to advance forward and meet the king. Then, communicating the contents of the letter he had received from the above-mentioned lady (still concealing her name), he declared his resolution of venturing a battle, and encouraged his soldiers to behave themselves like men. Upon this, he immediately advanced with his army, and took up his quarters at Longjumeau, a village not far from Paris; but the Count of St. Paul, with the whole vanguard, marched • This cath, dated November 5. 1465, is quoted by Lenglet, vol. ii,

p. 561.

с

forward to Montlhery, which is about two leagues beyond; from whence several scouts and spies were immediately sent out, to discover which way the king took, and to give notice of his approach. After some deliberation, Longjumeau was chosen for the place of battle, in the presence of the Count of St. Paul, the Lord Haultbourdin, and the Lord of Contay; and thither, by agreement amongst themselves, the Count of St. Paul was to retire, upon the first notice of the king's arrival.

Now you must know, that the Count of Maine*, with 700 or 800 men-at-arms, was marching against the Dukes of Berry and Bretagne, who had in their army several wise and experienced officers, who had been cashiered by king Louis at his first accession to the crown, though they had done his father eminent service in the recovery and pacification of his kingdom; which treatment the king afterwards acknowledged to be an error, and frequently repented. Among others, there was the Count of Dunois †, a person considerable in all things; the Marshal de Loheact, the Count of Dammartin§, the Lord of Bueil, and many others, besides fully five hundred men-at-arms, who, having deserted his majesty's service, had retired to the Duke of Bretagne, as they were all his subjects, born in his country, and at that time in his army. The Count of Maine, who, as I said before, was marching against them, finding himself too weak to engage them, retired before them as they advanced, and

* Charles of Anjou, first of the name, Count of Maine, son of Louis II., Duke of Anjou, and Yolande of Arragon. He was born on the 14th of October, 1414, and died on the 10th of April, 1472.

† John, Bastard of Orleans, Count of Dunois, and Grand Chamberlain of France, was the son of Louis of Orleans and Mariette d'Enghien, the wife of Aubert Le Flamenc, Lord of Cany. He died on the 24th of Nov., 1468. André de Laval, Lord of Loheac, Admiral and Marshal of France, died in 1486, at the age of seventy-five.

§ Antoine de Chabannes, Count of Dammartin, Lord of Saint-Fargeau, and grand-master of the king's household, was born in 1411. He was the son of Robert de Chabannes, and Alix de Bort. He married, by contract signed on the 20th of September, 1439, Margaret de Nanteuil, Countess of Dammartin; and he died on the 25th of December, 1488.

John, fifth of the name, Lord of Bueil, Count of Sancerre, knight, councillor and chamberlain of the king, and Admiral of France, was the son of John, Lord of Bueil, and Margaret Dauphine, Lady of Mermande. ile commanded ninety-five lances in 1474.

retreated towards the king; whilst the Dukes of Berry and Bretagne were endeavouring to join with the Burgundians. Some would have it, that the Count of Maine held intelligence with them ; but I could never discover this, and

therefore do not believe it.*

The Count of Charolois being posted, as I said before, at Longjumeau, and his van at Montlhery, was informed by a prisoner that was brought to him, that the Count of Maine had joined with the king†, who had then in his army all the standing forces in the kingdom, amounting to about 2200 men-at-arms, besides the arrier-ban of Dauphiny, and about forty or fifty gentlemen of Savoy, all very good soldiers.

In the meantime the king had called a council of war, at which the Count of Maine, Monsieur de Brezey ‡, the Grand Seneschal of Normandy, the Admiral of France §, who was of the house of Montauban, and several other officers, assisted and in conclusion, whatever had been said either for or against it, his majesty resolved not to fight, but only to throw himself into Paris, without coming near the place where the Burgundians were encamped; and in my judg

* Oliver de la Marche, who is generally well informed, mentions the Count of Maine among the princes and lords who were in league with the Count of Charolois.

"The Count of Maine was with the king, to whom he brought about five hundred lances, and blamed him for having determined to fight; and as he could not divert the king from his purpose, he said to him, My lord, I had come to you to serve you and accompany you, and endeavour to effect a friendly arrangement between you and your cousin of Charolois, and the other princes of your blood, and not to fight against them; and as it pleases you to do so, and not otherwise, I shall depart; so farewell.' And so he departed with all his company, many of whom murmured greatly against him; for they thought he should have taken leave earlier, and without coming so far. And when the king heard that he had really departed, and abandoned him in this peril, he said that he was betrayed. Nevertheless, he remained unmoved, and kept his army together; and, having exhorted his men, determined to fight Charolois before the arrival of his brother, the Duke of Berry, and the Duke of Bretagne.”—Hennin, p. 430.

Pierre de Brezé, Lord of Varenne, Count of Maulevrier, Grand Seneschal of Anjou, Poitou, and Normandy, was the son of Pierre de Brezé and Clemence Carbonnel. He married Jeanne Crespin, and was killed in the battle of Montlhery, on the 16th of July, 1465.

§ John, Lord of Montauban and Romilly, Marshal of Bretagne, and Admiral of France, was the son of William of Montauban and Bona Visconti. He died in May, 1466.

ment, his resolution was good. He had no great confidence in the Grand Seneschal of Normandy, and therefore asked him one day very seriously, whether or no he had given anything in writing under his hand and seal to the princes who were confederate against him; to which the grand seneschal replied that he had, and they might keep it, but his body should be the king's: and he said this jocularly, as his custom was to speak. The king was satisfied, and gave him the command of his vanguard, and the charge of his guides, because, as is said before, he wished to avoid a battle. But the seneschal being resolved to have his own way, privately told some of his confidants: "I will bring the armies so close together this day, that he must be a very experienced general who will part them without fighting:" and, indeed, he was as good as his word, and the first men killed were himself and his troops. This expression of his the king afterwards told me himself; for at that time I was in the service of the Count of Charolois.

In short, on the 27th of July, 1465*, the king's vanguard was advanced near Montlhery, where the Count of St. Paul was posted, who immediately informed the Count of Charolois (who was encamped at Longjumeau, about two leagues off, at the place marked out for the field of battle) of their arrival; desiring him to send him a reinforcement with all speed, for all his men-at-arms and archers were dismounted and on foot, and so encumbered with their waggons, that they could not possibly retreat to Longjumeau, according to the orders he had received, without seeming to run away, which would involve the whole army in great danger. Upon receiving this message, the Count of Charolois immediately sent a large detachment of troops under the command of the Lord Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy, to reinforce the Count of St. Paul with all diligence; and was himself in suspense whether he should follow him or no; but at length he marched after the rest of the army, and arrived about seven in the morning. Five or six of the king's standards were, however, already planted along the side of a great ditch, which separated the two armies.

There was still in the host of the Count of Charolois the

The battle of Montlhery was fought on Tuesday, the 16th of July. mee the Chronique Scandaleuse, and Lenglet, vol. ii. p. 27.

Vice-chancellor of Bretagne, called Rouville, and with him an old soldier, called Maderey*, who had surrendered Pont Saint Maxence to the Burgundians. These two were in no little fear, in respect that the whole army murmured against them, seeing the battle was ready to begin, and the forces they had so much boasted of were not yet arrived to join the army. Whereupon, before the fight began, they both betook themselves to their heels, and fled that way by which they presumed they would find the Bretons. The Count of

Charolois found the Count of St. Paul on foot, and his troops ranged themselves in order of battle as they marched up; and we found all the archers dismounted, and every man with a stake planted before him; several pipes of wine had been broached, and were set for them to drink; and from the little I saw, never men had more desire to fight, which I took to be a good omen, and which comforted me extremely. Our first orders were, that every man should alight, without any exception: but that was countermanded afterwards, and nearly all the men-at-arms mounted again. However, several good knights and squires were ordered to remain on foot; and among the rest, the Lord des Cordest and his brother. The Lord Philip de Lalain was likewise on foot (for at that time, among the Burgundians, it was most honourable to fight in that manner among the archers), and there was always a large number of these volunteers among them, to encourage the infantry, and make them fight the better; which custom they had learnt from the English, when Duke Philip made war upon France, during his youth, for two-and-thirty years together without

The Chronique Scandaleuse names him Madre, and says that he was captain of Pont Saint Maxence, "for Master Pierre L'Orfèvre, Lord of Ermenonville."

† Philip of Crèvecœur, Lord des Cordes or Desquerdes, Governor of Artois and Picardy, and Knight of the Golden Fleece, passed over to the service of Louis XI. after the death of Charles the Rash, and was named Marshal and Grand Chamberlain of France. He was the son of James of Crèvecœur, and Margaret de la Trémoille, Lady of Desquerdes. He died on the 22nd of April, 1494, at the age of seventy-six.

Antony, Lord of Crèvecoeur and Thiennes, councillor and chamberlain of Duke Philip the Good, Knight of the order of St. Michael, councillor and chamberlain of Louis XI., and Grand Louvetier of France, was the son of James de Crèvecœur and Bonne de la Viefville. He died about 1493.