planted four or five great guns to batter the town (though the town was impregnable on that side, because of the river's running between them): however, the archers, observing that their bridge was almost finished, and expecting to be besieged as soon as the enemy had passed the river, abandoned the town, and marched away in great confusion. The castle held out two or three days, but the garrison was forced at last to surrender, and march away without their arms.

This little action revived the Duke of Burgundy's courage, so that he encamped about Amiens*, and pitched his tents in two or three several places, giving out that he kept the field, to see if the king would venture a battle with him. At length he approached so near, that his artillery fired into and over the town; and in that camp he continued for six weeks together. There were in the town 1400 of the king's menat-arms, and 4000 frank-archers, and with them the constable, with all the great lords of France, as the grand-master, the admiral, the marshal, the seneschals, and a great number of persons of quality besides. In the meantime the king was at Beauvais, where he assembled a great army. The king was attended by his brother the Duke of Guienne, Duke Nicholas of Calabria † (eldest son of Duke John of Calabria and Lorraine, sole heir of the house of Anjou), and by the rest of the nobility of his kingdom, assembled by virtue of the arriere-ban; who, as I have been since informed, had a great curiosity at that time to find out the intrigue and mystery of this expedition, for they saw his business was far from being done, and that he was deeper engaged in war than ever he was before.

Those who were in Amiens had a design to sally out and attack the Duke of Burgundy's army, if the king would have

* On the 6th of March, 1471, he encamped at Mez, near Amiens; on the 10th, he advanced to the Abbey of St. Acheul; and on the 27th, he encamped in the Valley of the Cross, close to Amiens. Lenglet, ii.

198.

† Nicholas, Duke of Calabria and Lorraine, was born in 1448. He was the son of John of Calabria and Mary of Bourbon. He succeeded his father in 1470, and died, unmarried, on the 24th of July, 1473. Anne, the daughter of Louis XI., had been betrothed to him from her cradle; but, probably from the hope of espousing Mary of Burgundy, he renounced that alliance, although he had twice received the dowry of his intended bride.

N

advanced, and joined them with the forces which he had at Beauvais. But the king, having notice of their design, sent express orders to forbid it; for though, in all probability, this action was likelier to turn to his advantage than otherwise, yet it could not be attempted without manifest danger, especially to those in the town, for they were obliged to sally out of the gates; and there being but two, and one of them very near the Duke of Burgundy's army, and their whole body consisting of infantry, if they had been repulsed, it would have been difficult for them to have made their retreat, and they would have been in great danger, not only of being cut in pieces themselves, but also of losing the town. In this posture of affairs the Duke of Burgundy despatched one of his pages (called Simon de Quingy, who was afterwards Bailiff of Troyes) with a letter to the king, only of six lines, but under his own hand. The letter was very humble, and in it he complained that he had been tempted to invade him upon other people's designs, and declared that, if he had been rightly informed, he was confident he never would have attempted it.

Meanwhile the king's army in Burgundy had fought and defeated the whole force of that country, and though the number of the slain was not very considerable, yet the victory was great; many prisoners were taken, and an abundance of towns besieged and carried by storm. The news of this defeat extremely surprised the Duke of Burgundy, who immediately caused a report to be spread in his army that his forces had won the battle. The king was highly pleased at the receipt of the Duke of Burgundy's letter, for the reasons above mentioned, and because he did not love to carry on tedious enterprises; he returned him an answer, and sent a commission to empower certain persons in Amiens to enter upon a truce. At first a cessation was agreed on for some few days only; but at length, as I remember, they had one for a year*, with which the Constable of St. Paul seemed to be highly displeased: and without doubt (whatever some people may say or think to the contrary) the constable was the Duke of Burgundy's mortal enemy. Several treaties

*On the 10th of April, 1471, the king and duke made a truce for three months; at the expiration of which term, another truce was made for a year.

and conferences they had, but never the least friendship proceeded from any of them, as the event demonstrated. Yet they continued sending one to the other, and endeavouring a reconciliation; the duke did it in hopes by this means to recover St. Quentin, for whenever the constable entertained the least suspicion or fear of the king, he promised to restore that town; and sometimes it proceeded so far, that, by the consent of the constable, the Duke of Burgundy's forces approached within two or three leagues of the town, in expectation to be received; but when they were to be admitted, the constable's heart always failed him, and he sent them back, which proved afterwards highly to his disadvantage. He had a strong opinion that, by the strength of his position, and the great number of his forces (which the king had to pay), he should be able to keep the king and the duke in the same jealousy and discord as they were in at that time; but his design was very dangerous, for they were both of them too powerful and too sensible to be imposed on at that rate.

Upon the breaking up of these armies, the king retired into Touraine, the Duke of Guienne into his own country, and the Duke of Burgundy into Flanders; and affairs continued in that posture for some time. The Duke of Burgundy called a general assembly of the Estates * of his country, to whom he remonstrated the damage he had sustained by not having a good body of men-at-arms ready as the king had; assuring them that, if he had had but 500 men-at-arms ready to secure his frontiers, the king had never undertaken that war, and they had continued in peace. He laid also before them the dangers to which they were still exposed, and pressed very hard that they would allow and pay him for 800 lances. At last they consented to give him a subsidy of sixscore thousand crownst, besides all other duties that they yearly paid him ; neither was Burgundy comprehended in this grant. But his subjects made great scruple, (and for several reasons), to put themselves into such a state of subjection as the kingdom of France was in, by reason of

The three Estates of Burgundy met at Abbeville on the 22nd of July, 1471; and on the 12th of August following, a report of their proceedings was made to the town-council, at Mons. Gachard, i. 225.

This subsidy of 120,000 crowns was not raised until towards the close of 1471. Gachard, i. 225.

their standing army. And to speak impartially, their unwil lingness was not without cause; for when he had once got 500 or 600 horse, he hankered after more, and attempted more boldly upon his neighbours; the sixscore thousand crowns he multiplied to 500,000, and increased his guards to such a number, that at last they became a great grievance to his subjects. My opinion is, that guards, or standing forces, may be employed very usefully under a prudent and judicious prince: but when it is otherwise, or he happens to die, and leaves his successors, children, the service in which their governors employ them is not always safe or advantageous for either prince or subject.

Notwithstanding these correspondences and truces, the hatred between the king and the Duke of Burgundy rather Increased than diminished. The Duke of Guienne, upon his return into his own country, solicited the Duke of Burgundy very hard to marry his daughter; which proposal the Duke of Burgundy did willingly entertain, and indeed so he did whoever was proposed; so that I am of opinion he had no mind to have a son-in-law, nor that his daughter should marry in his life-time, but chose rather to keep her as a decoy to allure princes to his party, and bind them to his assistance; for he had so many and so great enterprises in his head, as could not be compassed in one man's life. Besides, to speak the truth, they were but little better than impossible, for one half of Europe was not sufficient to content his insatiable desire of extending his dominions. He had courage enough to undertake the most difficult enterprises, his body was capable of as much pains and fatigue as was necessary; he was powerful in men and money; but he was defective in judgment, and in the cunning management of his affairs: and if a prince be deficient in that point, let him be every way as complete and as nicely qualified for heroic actions as he will, it signifies nothing; so that I look upon sense as proceeding entirely from the grace of God. In short, he that could have taken part of the king's qualities, and mingled them with the duke's, might have made a perfect prince; for certainly the king was much superior to him in judgment and management. and the end sufficiently demonstrated it to all the world.

CH. IV. Of the Civil Wars between the Princes in England, during the Difference between Louis XI. and Charles, Duke of Burgundy.1470.

IN mentioning the preceding passages, I had almost forgotten to speak of Edward, King of England; for those three great princes, King Louis XI. of France, King Edward IV., and Charles, Duke of Burgundy, were contemporaries. I shall not here observe the method and order of writing which is usual among historians, nor name the years and moments of time when every action happened; neither shall I produce any examples out of history (of which you know enough, and it would be like talking Latin to monks). I shall only give you a plain account of what I have seen, known, and heard of these three great princes above mentioned. In my judgment, you that live in the age when these affairs were transacted, have no occasion of being informed of the exact hours when everything was done.

*

I have formerly mentioned the reasons that prevailed with the Duke of Burgundy to marry the sister of Edward, King of England, and it was principally to strengthen his alliance against the King of France; otherwise he would never have done it, for the love he bore to the house of Lancaster, to which he was allied by his mother, who was Infanta of Portugal, but her mother was the Duke of Lancaster's daughter; wherefore his kindness for the house of Lancaster was as great as his hatred to that of York. At the time of this marriage, the house of Lancaster was quite depressed, and of the house of York there was no great talk; for Edward, who was both Duke of York and King, enjoyed the peaceable possession of the kingdom. In the war between these two contending houses, there had been seven or eight ‡ memorable battles in England; in

See book i. chap. 5.

Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Blanche his wife. She married John, King of Portugal; and died on the 19th of June, or 18th of July, 1415.

There had been twelve, viz., at St. Albans, in 1455; at Bloreheath, in 1459; at Northampton and Wakefield, in 1460; at Mortimer's Cross, Barnerheath and Towton, in 1461; at Hexham, in 1463; at