vigorous defence. The king had a considerable army in Champagne, of which the duke was extremely afraid; for by the truce he had no liberty to invade the Duke of Lorraine's territories, who had put himself under the king's protection. The Lord du Bouchage and the other ambassadors strongly pressed the Duke of Burgundy to perform his agreement. The duke told them always he would, and yet the eight days (by which time the constable was to be either executed or delivered to the king) were expired a month since. At last, finding himself hard pressed, and fearing the king might put a stop to his conquests in Lorraine, which he extremely desired to complete, in order to open a passage through Luxembourg into Burgundy, and join all his territories together (for if this little duchy were once subdued, he might go from Holland almost as far as Lyons, without leaving his own dominions); for these reasons he wrote to his chancellor and to the Lord of Humbercourt (both of them the constable's inveterate enemies) immediately to repair to Peronne, and on a certain day to deliver the constable* to such ambassadors as the king should send to receive him (for in the duke's absence, they two had the administration of all his affairs); and he sent the Lord of Aimeries orders to deliver him to them.

In the meantime the Duke of Burgundy vigorously pushed the siege of Nancy, in which town there was a strong garrison that made a brave defence. One of the Duke of Burgundy's captains, called the Count of Campobasso (born in Naples, but banished that kingdom upon account of his having espoused the interest of the house of Anjou), had lately entered into a correspondencef with the Duke of Lor

*The duke did not consent to deliver the constable into the hands of the king until the latter had assured to him the complete and entire confiscation of the property of the prisoner, only a portion of which had been assigned to him by the treaty of the 13th of September, 1475. Louis XI. therefore issued new letters, dated 12th November, 1475, by which he not only ratified his former engagements, but left the duke his choice between all the property of the constable, or those towns in Lorraine of which Charles the Bold had taken possession. The duke chose the towns, as is proved by the king's letters, dated 18th December, 1475, in which he promises not to quarrel with the Duke of Burgundy for his choice. Lenglet, iii. 444-448.

† Molinet thus states the reasons which induced the Count of Campobasso to betray his master. That cobleman, he says, "was cap.ain of

raine (a near relation and next heir to the house of Anjou, after the death of King René*, his maternal grandfather), and promised to prolong the siege by not providing the army with ammunition, and other things that were necessary for the taking of the town by force. It was indeed in his power, for he was then a person of the greatest influence in the army, and therefore his villany and perfidiousness to his master were the greater, as you shall hear hereafter; and this was a kind of earnest of all the misfortunes that happened afterwards to the duke. I really believe the duke expected he would have been master of the town before the day came on which he would be obliged to deliver up the constable, and then he would not have done it. Besides, if the king had had him sooner, his majesty would have attempted something more in favour of the Duke of Lorraine than he did; for the king was informed of his intrigue with Campobasso. But the king would not engage in the quarrel between them, though he was not bound by treaty to stand still, and let the Duke of Burgundy overrun Lorraine. Besides, he had a considerable army upon the frontiers, but, for several reasons of state, he thought it better to stand neutral.

The Duke of Burgundy not being able to take Nancy+ before the day on which the constable was to be delivered up, and that day being come, those who were commissioned to deliver him (being the constable's mortal enemies), delivered him willingly at the gates of Peronne into the hands of the Bastard of Bourbon, Admiral of France, and the Lord of St. Pierre, who conducted him to Paris. I have been since informed by several persons, that within three hours messengers came post from the duke with orders to the Lord of Aimeries not to deliver up the constable till after the taking of Nancy; but they arrived too late. Imme

400 lances, which he had brought from Italy; but on New Year's Day, Duke Charles gave 100 of the lances to Signor Angelo, the count's son, to command, and as many to the count's younger son, at which the said Campobasso was greatly displeased." Molinet, i. 77. Oliver de la

Marche (ii. 420) says it was because the duke owed him money. *René, surnamed the Good, Duke of Anjou, and King of Sicily, was the son of Louis II., Duke of Anjou, and Yolande of Arragon. He died on the 10th of July, 1480.

Nancy surrendered to the duke on Thursday, November 30. 1475.

diately upon his arrival at Paris his trial began *, and the duke sent all his papers and whatever he thought might be brought in evidence against him. The king pressed the court to despatch, and persons were appointed to manage his trial: so that upon the proofs that the King of England had before given in against him, and those that the Duke of Burgundy now furnished, the constable was found guilty, condemned, executed, and all his estates confiscated.

CH XIII.-A Digression concerning the Duke of Burgundy's Error in delivering up the Constable to the King, contrary to the Safe-conduct which he had given him; and what happened to him afterwards.—1475. THE whole management of this affair was very strange. I do not speak it either to excuse the constable's faults, or to upbraid the duke or the king, for both of them had been sufficiently injured by him: but there was no necessity for the Duke of Burgundy, who was so potent a prince and of such an illustrious and honourable family, to have given him his protection in order to imprison him; and without dispute, it was the highest act of injustice and severity imaginable to deliver him up to a person who, he was sure, would put him to death, especially upon the account of avarice. After this dishonourable action the duke's good fortune was strangely altered; so that by reflecting upon what God has done in our time, and does still every day, it is evident He will not let injustice go long unpunished, and that all these strange dispensations proceed solely from Him; for these sudden chastisements are beyond the power of nature, especially when they are inflicted on such as violence or cruelty, who are commonly great persons, as kings, princes, or potentates. The house of Burgundy had been in a very prosperous and flourishing condition for a long time, and for a hundred years, or thereabouts, four of that family had reigned in as great splendour and reputation

commit

* The trial began on the 27th November, and the constable was executed on the 19th December, 1475.

as any house in Christendom. Others, perhaps, were more potent, but they were involved in wars and afflictions, whilst this family enjoyed an uninterrupted career of peace and plenty.

The first great person of this family was Philip the Bold *, brother to Charles V., King of France †, who married the daughter and heiress of the Earl of Flanders, countess of that country, Artois, Burgundy, Nevers, and Rethel. The second was John. The third was Philip the Good, who annexed to his hereditary territories the duchies of Brabant, Luxembourg, Limbourg, Holland, Zealand, Hainault, and Namur. The last was Charles, who after his father's death was reputed to be one of the richest and most powerful princes in Christendom, and possessed, in jewels, plate, household stuff, and books, more than any other three houses of Europe could boast of. Of ready money I have seen more elsewhere (for Duke Philip the Good had levied no taxes for a long time), and yet he left his son above 300,000 crowns in ready cash, and at peace with all his neighbours; but that was of no long continuance. Yet

I will not lay the beginning of the wars solely to his charge, for there were other persons as deeply concerned in that affair as himself.

Immediately upon the death of his father, his subjects, upon very little importunity, willingly granted him a supply for ten years, each country by itself; which could not amount to less than 350,000 crowns per annum, besides the revenue of Burgundy; and at the time of the constable's being delivered up to the king, he had raised an additional 300,000 crowns, and had by him in his coffers 300,000 more. All the goods he could obtain of the constable's were not worth 80,000 crowns (for in money he had but 76,000), and yet for so poor and inconsiderable an advantage, he committed so base and dishonourable an But he paid dearly for it; for God stirred up a new

act.

Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, born on the 15th of January, 1341, was the son of John, King of France, and Bonne de Luxembourg. He married Marguerite, Countess of Flanders, and died on the 27th of Apr, 1404.

+Charles V., born on the 21st of January, 1337, married Jeanne Bourbon, and died on the 16th September, 1380

enemy against him, who was impotent and inconsiderable both in power, years, and experience; and made him jealous of his subjects, and suspicious of his best servants, and place his greatest confidence in another†, who constantly betrayed hiin. And are not these the same steps and methods in which God Almighty proceeded in the Old Testament with those whose fortunes he intended to change from better to worse, from prosperity to adversity? Yet the duke's heart never relented: but to the end he imputed all his success to his own wisdom and sagacity, and before his death was more potent and in greater renown than any of his predecessors.

Yet before the surrendering of the constable, he was grown very diffident and distrustful of his best subjects, and seemed to hate and despise them; for he had sent for 1000 Italian lances, and had numbers of them in his

army before Nuz, The Count of Campobasso had 400 Italian men-at-arms under his command, but no revenue of his own; for, as I said before, being a partisan of the house of Anjou, upon account of the wars which they had raised in the kingdom of Naples, he was banished, and having lost all his estate, he had served ever since either in Provence or Lorraine under René, King of Sicily, or Nicholas the son of John, Duke of Calabria; after whose death the Duke of Burgundy entertained most of his servants, and particularly all the Italians, and among the rest this count, and one James Galeot, a gentleman of great courage, honour, and loyalty.

When this Count of Campobasso went into Italy to raise his men, he received from the duke 40,000 crowns by way of advance. Passing by Lyons, he accidentally fell into the acquaintance of a certain physician called Simon of Pavia, by whom he signified to the king that, if his majesty would comply with his demands, at his return he would betray the Duke of Burgundy into his hands; and he made the same proposals to the Lord of St. Priest ‡, the king's ambassador at that time in Piedmont. When he came back,

* René II., Duke of Lorraine, who was at that time twenty-five years of age.

The Count f Campobasso.

Louis, Lord of St. Priest, knight, chamberlain of the king, was sent