like, shall be made by the thirty-six persons, or the major part of them, they shall within fifteen days after they are brought before the king, be verified in form in the courts of parlia ment and chambers of accounts, and all the officers sworn to observe them; and no instruments of the king from the chancery or elsewhere shall disannul or make them void.

14. The commission of the said thirty-six persons shall last two months, and they shall have power to adjourn once for forty-two days: and if any of their number shall be sick, or incapacitated any way to act, the rest shall substitute others in their room.

15. The king and the said lords shall entirely maintain all the pacts and agreements made between them, as well in relation to the appanage of the Duke of Normandy, as other things granted to the said lords and their adherents, as fully as if expressly set down in this treaty.

16. And seeing the king, during the said troubles, seized into his hands the lands and lordships of Parthenay, Vouvent, Mirebeau, Secondigny, Coudray, Salvart, and Chastellerault, and conferred the same upon his uncle, the Count of Maine, in prejudice to and to the dispossessing of the Count of Dunois of the said territories; it is agreed, for the public tranquillity, towards which the Count of Dunois does much contribute, that the Count of Maine shall surrender up all those lands to the king, in due form, who shall effectually reconvey them to the Count of Dunois, who shall enjoy them peaceably, and without any molestation whatsoever.

17. And the king shall, by way of compensation to the Count du Maine, confer upon him the land and signiory of Taillebourg.

18. The king restores Anthony de Chabannes, Count of Dammartin, to all his honours, castles, territories, &c., as he and his wife, Margaret de Nanteuil, enjoyed them in the time of the late king. All his personal estate shall also be restored, notwithstanding any decree of parliament to the contrary.

19. Both parties shall mutually swear to the exact observation of all these articles, and enjoin them to be observed by all their officers, parliaments, prelates, &c.; and if the king would contravene any of them, they shall no manner of way assist him therein.

20. Both parties shall swear and promise they will not

seek for a dispensation of their said oaths and promises, on any occasion whatsoever.

Lastly. If any of the said lords shall attempt anything against the king, in prejudice of the said treaty, the others shall be obliged to assist the king against them.

CHAP. XV.

How the King recovered into his hands whatever had been given to his Brother, by the Division between the Dukes of Normandy and Bretagne.-1465.

BUT to return to the Dukes of Normandy and Bretagne, who had marched to take possession of the Duchy of Normandy. It was not long after they had made their entry into Rouen, before they began to fall out and differ about the division of the spoil; for the persons of quality and officers whom I have mentioned were still with them, and having been used to great honours and preferments in the reign of Charles VII., perceiving the war was at an end, and the king was not to be depended upon, they thought it hard not to be advanced to some considerable post, and every man expected the best place for himself.

The Duke of Bretagne pretended to a share of them, and thought it very reasonable that part of them should be wholly at his disposal, since he had brought the greatest number of troops into the field, and had been at the greatest expense in the war; which the Duke of Normandy refusing, the dispute grew so high, that, for the safety of his person, the Duke of Bretagne was forced to retire to Mount St. Catherine, near Rouen; and the debate continued so strong, that the Duke of Normandy, by the assistance of the citizens of the town, had resolved to have besieged him, had he not marched away directly for Bretagne. As soon as the king had received the news of this division, he drew down with his forces towards that country, and one may easily imagine he knew what he had to do, for he was a perfect master in that science, and knew how to improve everything to his own advantage. Some of those who had the command of the principal towns began to deliver them up, and make their peace with him. I speak not of these affairs upon my own knowledge, for I was

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not there present, but as the king has since been pleased to inform me. He treated privately with the Duke of Bretagne (who was in possession of some towns in Lower Normandy), in hopes to persuade him altogether to abandon his brother's interest: they had several conferences together at Caen, where they came to an accommodation *, by which the said town of Caen and several others were to remain in the hands of the Lord de Lescut, with a certain number of paid troops; but this treaty was so intricate and perplexed, I believe neither of them understood it very well. Immediately after this, the Duke of Bretagne returned into his own country, and the king went back towards his brother.

The Duke of Normandy, finding himself unable to hold out against the king, who had taken Pont de l'Arche, and other places about him, resolved to fly, and take sanctuary in Flanders. The Count of Charolois was still at St. Tron t (a small town in the diocese of Liege), but much troubled and disturbed, his army having been defeated and broken, and part of it employed (though in the winter time) against the Liegeois; which division vexed him at the heart, for the only thing which he most ambitiously desired, was to see a duke in Normandy, because by that means the king would be much weakened, and be deprived of almost the third part of his kingdom. He ordered some forces immediately to be raised in Picardy, to reinforce the garrison of Dieppe ; but before they could be assembled, the governor had made his peace, and the king became master of all the duchy of Normandy, except such places as were left in the custody of the Lord de Lescut by the treaty at Caen.

CHAP. XVI.

The new Duke of Normandy retires into Bretagne very poor and disconsolate, upon account of his having miscarried in his Design.-1465. THE Duke of Normandy (as I said before) had once a design to have retired into Flanders, but on a sudden, a reconcilia

*This treaty, dated at Caen on the 22nd of December, 1465, was ratified on the following day by Louis XI. The article mentioned by Commines does not occur in it.

†The Count of Charolois was at Saint-Tron from December 21. 1465, to January 12. 1466; and again from the 25th to the 30th of Jan, 1466.

tion was made between the Duke of Bretagne and him,* when it was too late; for both of them found their errors, and soon grew sensible that there was nothing in this world so firm and stable, but that division is able to destroy it at last. And, indeed, it is next kin to an impossibility, that many great lords of equal quality and power should continue long in a confederacy, unless one of them be invested with a supreme command and authority over the rest; and it is absolutely necessary, that that person should be a man of great wisdom and highly beloved, to keep them all in obedience. With my own eyes I have seen many examples of this nature, and therefore I speak not by report besides, we are all but too much inclined to divide thus to our own prejudice, without any regard to the consequences which may follow; and, in my opinion, one wise prince with the command of 10,000 men, and money to pay them, is more to be feared and esteemed than ten, who every one of them has 6000, and all of them allied and confederate together; and the reason is, because they have always so many ceremonies and punctilios of honour to be adjusted and accommodated between them, that half their opportunity is lost before they can agree or decide among themselves.

In this manner the Duke of Normandy retired into Bretagne, poor and disconsolate, being forsaken by all those officers that had served his father, Charles VII., who had made their peace with the king, and were advanced to places of higher trust and honour than they ever enjoyed under his father. These two dukes were wise, as the proverb says of the Bretons, when it was too late, and kept themselves close in Bretagne with the Lord de Lescut, their chief servant; during which time, several ambassadors were still going and coming, sometimes from them to the king, sometimes from the king to them; now from them to the Count of Charolois, then from the count to them; sometimes from the king to the Duke of Burgundy, and then again from the Duke of Burgundy to him: some for intelligence, and some to debauch their respective subjects, and make

* They made a treaty of perpetual alliance, which was signed by the Duke of Bretagne on the 10th of August, 1467, and by the Duke of Normandy on the 22nd of the same month,

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what pernicious bargains they could, and all under the specious pretence of amity and friendship.

However, some were honest, and went with a true zeal to accommodate matters between them; but they were not a little conceited, to presume so far upon their own wisdom as to think that their presence could prevail anything upon such powerful princes as they, who were cunning and penetrating, and understood their own interest too well. I saw the proposals myself, and truly, in my judgment, neither the one nor the other were reasonable. But there is a sort of people so vain and self-conceited as to believe they can perform things which they do not understand; for very often their masters will not tell them their secret thoughts. People of such a kidney are sent only in formality, and to fill up a table, and many times to their own cost; for always they have some hanger-on or other who has some secret designs, as I have observed at all times, and in all places, wherever I have been concerned; so that (as I said before) great princes ought to be very careful into whose hands they commit the management of their affairs; and it also concerns those who are employed in negotiations abroad, to be very cautious how they undertake them; and he that can excuse himself and get off (unless he knows himself capable of performing it, and finds his master to be well affected to the business) is, in my judgment, the wisest man; for I have known many an honest man much puzzled and troubled in managing such an affair. I have seen princes of two quite contrary, or, at least, very different, dispositions; some are of so subtle and jealous a temper, that no man knows how to live with them, and they think everybody betrays them. Others are as confident on the other side, and commit too much to their ministers, but then they are so dull and so unskilful in state affairs, they cannot distinguish when a man does well or ill; and these princes are very wavering and inconstant, and their love changes suddenly into hatred, and their hatred into love; and though neither with the one nor the other, are there many good ministers to be found (and where they are, they do not continue long in favour, and are never safe), yet I had rather live with a wise than with a weak prince, for there a man may have an opportunity of excusing himself and recovering his favour;