Part 2

The nephews of Geoffrey, Alleyne and Peter Roux, succeeded their uncle in possession of the castle; but the Duke de Berri, who had purchased it of the Montpensier family, determined to obtain possession, and put an end to the dominion of these freebooters. After many fruitless attempts, by force and negociation, Sir William le Boutellier, with Sir John Bonne-lance, and others, formed a close siege, surrounding the castle with block-houses, &c. &c. But all attempts might have been vain but for the over-cunning of the nephews, who, offering to surrender the place for ten thousand francs, if the two knights would bring the money into the court-yard of the castle, had concealed a body of armed men in a tower near the entrance-gate, to seize them when they should be off their guard.

The knights brought the money, but, having suspicions, had concealed a body of horse, during the night, within a short distance of the entrance, and soon perceiving that treachery was intended, they, as Froissart says, “made a signe to him who bore the horn to sound for their ambuscade;” these, putting spurs to their horses, galloped into the castle, the gate being open, and the nephews were instantly arrested in the king’s name.

The tower above-mentioned was found filled with armed men, who confessed the purport of their concealment there. The intended treachery of Alleyne and Peter was thus proved beyond doubt, and they were eventually tried, and publicly executed. The castle had been in the possession of Geoffry and his nephews above 15 years, and was regained about 1390.

The moment selected by the Illuminator appears to be that, when, after the arrest of Alleyne and his brother, the tower near the gate was opened, and the men-at-arms came from their ambush confessing the intended treachery of the brothers, and begging for mercy, as is minutely related by Froissart. A standard-bearer is seen planting the standard of the Duke de Berri over the gate-tower, and calling by sound of horn the besieging troops, who are seen entering in an orderly manner in the foreground. It may, perhaps, represent the calling of Sir William’s ambuscade of cavalry, but the former view accords best with the arrangement of the picture, and I have no doubt but that was the intention of the artist.

PLATE X.

THE GREAT ASSAULT UPON THE TOWN OF AFRICA.

During the sixty-one days that the siege lasted, many were the skirmishes and encounters before the town and at the barriers; but the principal assault occurred in consequence of a challenge having been sent by ten Saracens to meet ten Christians in combat, between the town and the camp. Ten knights, among whom was Sir John Russel, an Englishman, having accepted the challenge, went forth to the ground of combat, and the army was drawn up in battle-array to witness the encounter, but the Saracens never came, and the commander thinking it a pity that the day should pass without a little fighting, as they were all prepared, ordered a general assault upon the town. They took the outer wall by storm, but it was little advantage to them, as the enemy retired behind the inner line. The loss sustained by the Christian troops was very great, for numbers fell victims to the heat alone on that day, whilst many were killed in the combat; the Saracens sustaining but slight loss.

After the raising of the siege, the Saracens of Africa, Tunis, Morocco, Granada, and other places, formed an alliance for the purpose of making themselves masters of the Mediterranean, and revenging this siege of Africa. They succeeded so well in annoying the trade of the Venetians, Genoese, &c., that merchandise from the east and south was scarcely to be had for any money; and Froissart winds up the chapter by telling us, that “all sorts of spicery became enormously dear.”

In this illumination, the cannon of the period, made of timber, hooped with iron, are very accurately depicted, as well as the arms and accoutrements of the cross-bowmen: but the view of the town is evidently imaginary, the artist having, probably, seen none but Flemish or French towns, from his impressions of which he seems to have designed his view of Africa.

PLATE XI.

THE JOURNEY OF CHARLES VI. OF FRANCE, AND HIS BROTHER THE DUKE OF TOURAINE, FROM MONTPELLIER TO PARIS.

In the year 1389, the King, being then about 21 years of age, visited Toulouse, and many places in the south of France, accompanied by his brother the Duke of Touraine, and a great retinue. He remained three days at Montpellier, for, says Froissart, “the town and the ladies afforded him much pleasure.” However, he was impatient to return to Paris, and the following dialogue with his brother is quaintly narrated:--

“‘Fair brother, I wish we were at Paris, and our attendants where they now are, for I have a great desire to see the Queen, as I suppose you must have to see my sister-in-law.’ ‘My Lord,’ replied the Duke, ‘we shall never get there by wishing it, the distance is too great.’ ‘That is true,’ answered the King, ‘but I think, if I pleased, I could very soon be there.’ ‘Then it must be by dint of hard riding,’ said the Duke of Touraine. ‘I also could do that, but it would be through means of my horse.’ ‘Come,’ said the King, ‘who will be first, you or I?--let us wager on this.’ ‘With all my heart,’ answered the Duke, who would at all times exert himself to get money.”

Our Chronicler goes on to relate, that they quitted Montpellier at the same hour early the next morning, the King attended only by the Lord de Garencières, and the Duke by the Lord de Viefville. All four being young and active, they rode night and day, having themselves occasionally carried forward in carts when they wanted repose.

The King performed the journey in four days and a half; the Duke accomplished it in four days and one third; but it appears that the King would have won but for taking an unreasonable nap of eight hours at Troyes, in Champagne. It is evident that they must have made considerable exertions, as the distance is above 570 miles. Froissart tells us, that “the ladies of the court made great joke of the adventure;” and also adds, “you must know, that the Duke of Touraine insisted on the wager being paid in ready money.” The amount was five hundred francs.

This illumination is very neatly executed, particularly the distant landscape: the houses, seen over the wall, show that, whatever changes have taken place in monumental architecture, the houses of the people, or peasantry, have undergone little change in the simple principles of their construction since the fourteenth century.

PLATE XII.

SIR PETER DE CRAON RECEIVED BY THE DUKE OF BRITTANY.

Froissart relates that “he was in Paris at the time of the daring attack made by Sir Peter de Craon on the Constable de Clisson, and was very anxious to ascertain the true cause of the original disgrace of de Craon, which eventually led to that desperate attempt at revenge.” From Froissart’s information, it appears that de Clisson was in no way connected with Sir Peter’s disgrace. It seems that Sir Peter being handsome, accomplished, and rich, and of nearly the same age as the youthful Duke of Touraine, became a great favourite at Court, the Duke making him his constant companion, and causing him to dress in clothes of the same colour and device as his own, carrying him with him wherever he went, and intrusting him with his most secret thoughts. Froissart proceeds:--“The Duke, at that time young and amorous, much amused himself with the company of ladies and damsels, and, as I heard, was much attached to a young frisky lady of Paris[2].” This intrigue, which it appears was a very innocent flirtation, became known to his Duchess, who cautioned the young lady, one of noble family, never again to hold converse with the Duke as she valued her life. The Duke was soon aware that he had been betrayed, and eventually persuaded his Duchess to confess to him that it was from Sir Peter de Craon that she had obtained her information; and Froissart declares, that “if it was so, Sir Peter behaved most shamefully.”

The King, at the request of the Duke of Touraine, his brother, dismissed Sir Peter from the Court, who, finding himself disgraced, took refuge with his friend and relative the Duke of Brittany, by whom he was well received.

The illumination represents the moment of his reception by the Duke of Brittany. The figures of Sir Peter and his attendant are very well executed, but some of the others are carelessly finished, appearing as though sketched out by the master, but finished by inferior hands. Most of the miniature pictures in the magnificent volumes from which these are taken, are placed, like the present, at the commencement of the chapters, and the pages so ornamented are additionally enriched with an elaborate border, occupying the outside margin. The pages are written in double columns, and the present Plate is a fac-simile of the outside column of page 238 of the Vol. containing this portion of the Chronicles. The volume is about eighteen inches high by twelve broad. The words at the top of the Plate are the conclusion of a chapter, relating to a truce between England and France, and are--“ne jamais la paix tant que je vive ne me accorderay”--words spoken by the Duke of Gloucester, uncle of Richard II., who declares, he will never, while he lives, consent to make peace by the surrender of Calais. The head of the chapter, written like all the others in red ink, is:--“De Messire Pierre de Craon, et comment il enchey en l’indignation du roy de France et duc de Thouraine son frere et comme’t il fut recoeilles du duc de Bretagne[3].”--Chapp’re XXV.

The chapter commencing with a richly-ornamented capital, begins:--“En ce temporal dont je parolle estoit trop gran[4].”

PLATE XIII.

THE SUDDEN DEATH OF COUNT GASTON DE FOIX.

The Count having passed the morning in the forest of Sauveterre, on the road to Pampeluna, in Navarre, in hunting, during greater part of which he had much exerted himself in hunting a bear, repaired in the afternoon to dinner at the inn of Riou, on his way to his town of Orthés. Having called for water to wash, his two squires, Raymonet de Lasne and Raymonet de Copane, advanced, Emaudon d’Espaign took the silver basin, and another knight, called Sir Thibaut, the napkin. The Count rose from his seat and stretched out his hands to wash; “but,” says Froissart, “no sooner had his fingers, which were handsome and long, touched the cold water, than he changed colour, from an oppression at his heart, exclaiming, ‘I am a dead man; Lord God have mercy on me!’” He never spoke afterwards; and the two squires who had brought the basin, drank the water, that they might not be suspected of having poisoned it. Gaston de Foix was born 1331, and died 1391.

This illumination is coarsely executed in many respects, doing but little justice to the fine person of the great Count, who was considered one of the handsomest men of his time. It is, however, very interesting, as detailing accurately many interior domestic arrangements, which will be found not greatly differing from old country inns still remaining in remote parts of England, but more frequently in France and Germany.

PLATE XIV.

THE KING OF HUNGARY IN COUNCIL WITH HIS LORDS AND THOSE OF FRANCE.

The Sultan Bajazet[5] appears to have indulged an imaginary scheme of universal empire, purposing to leave to each country its own laws and governors, and reserving to himself only his authority as their lord paramount. With this view, in 1396, he threatened the kingdom of Hungary with invasion, in his way to Rome, which he projected to make the seat of his liberal and universal empire; how liberal, may be inferred from his threat, “that his horse should eat his oats on the altar of St. Peter’s.” Sigismond, king of Hungary, applied to Charles VI. of France for assistance, and many knights of France and other countries, with a considerable force, went to Buda under the command of John of Burgundy, then twenty-two years of age, and son of the duke Philip, to attack Bajazet, with the ultimate project of regaining the Holy Land. Soon after the arrival of the French force, there being no sign of the threatened approach of Bajazet, the king of Hungary held a council, in which were present the principal lords of France and the most influential Hungarian nobles[6]; when it was determined to cross the Danube, and march at once into Turkey. This is the council represented in the present illumination. The figures in bronze armour appear to be Hungarians; the other three on the opposite side are doubtless John of Burgundy, Count of Nevers; the Lord de Couci; and Philip of Artois, Count d’Eu. The water in the distance is, no doubt, intended for the Danube, and not the sea, which it better represents. The whole picture is, however, very carefully executed, and the group outside the tent extremely spirited and natural. A subsequent illumination upon the same subject will illustrate the fate of the expedition.

PLATE XV.

THE DUKES OF BURGUNDY AND BERRI--IN COUNCIL.

In the year 1393, Charles VI. was seized with a frenzy, or madness, during his expedition against the Duke of Brittany; and the Dukes of Burgundy and Berri, the King’s uncles, were, in a council[7] of the principal barons and prelates of the kingdom, appointed regents of the realm during the King’s illness. The illuminator has represented them as sitting in council; the figures in front appear to be members of the commonalty of Paris, who already began to assume an important position in the government; the figure on the left, enveloped in a blue mantle, is evidently intended for a fat and comfortable citizen; a lawyer and a prelate seem to be discussing some very knotty point with many words and gestures, but the two Dukes--the stern men of the sword--take the matter very quietly, and will evidently settle the question according to their own good caprice and interest. The artist has, on this occasion, been very correct in his heraldry: above the Duke of Burgundy is suspended a shield, bearing the ancient and modern arms of Burgundy, quarterly; ancient Burgundy, one and three, bends of or and azure within a bordure gules; modern Burgundy, two and four, azure sémé of fleur-de-lis or, within a bordure compony gules and argent. The arms of Berri were, as depicted, azure, three fleur-de-lis or, within a bordure engrailed gules, as borne by the last unfortunate Duke de Berri, assassinated at the door of the French opera in 1821.

PLATE XVI.

THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY AND THE KING OF FRANCE SITTING IN COUNCIL UPON THE STATE OF THE CHURCH OF ROME.

The Emperor of Germany (Wenceslaus of Luxembourg) visited France, at the solicitation of Charles VI., for the purpose of consulting upon the best mode of terminating the schism of the Romish church, and of putting an end to the rivalry of the two popes of Avignon and Rome, by bringing about the abdication of one of them. It seems needless to add, that the negociations which followed, with such a view of the case, utterly failed.

The illumination represents the Emperor and King sitting in council; probably in the Cathedral of Rheims, where the principal consultations were held.

As a view of the interior of a cathedral, it is particularly interesting at the present time--the repairs and restoration of the Temple Church having called much attention to the polychromic effects produced by the architects of the middle ages, as it exhibits clearly the general and profuse adoption of positive colours and gilding to heighten architectural splendour. The vaulted ceiling of the nave is painted rich full brown, the groining being gilt; the ceiling of the choir is painted deep blue, equally enriched with gilding. This simple colouring of the illuminator exhibits the general effect of polychromic architecture as well as if he had elaborated the intricate devices by which the effects were more generally varied and enriched, and is a sufficient proof, if any sceptics yet remain to require it, that the architects of the middle ages, as well as their ancient Grecian predecessors, considered _colour_ just as essential as _form_ in a grand architectural whole.

The tapestry hung round the lower part of the walls, to the height of ten or twelve feet, is a part of the finish of our cathedral decorations which has, as yet, found no restorer. But it forms an essential feature in their general effect, as planned by their architects; and, ever since it was torn down by our puritanical ancestors, those noble churches have assumed that cold and stony nakedness of aspect which was never intended by their great creators, and which destroys the air of well tended grandeur and richness they were intended to produce; giving, instead, an appearance of desolation and neglect.

It is quite apparent that the author of this miniature picture painted from what he saw, and that he was greatly impressed by the leading features of the monumental architecture of his day; for it will be observed that he has cut short the transept, reckless of proportion or perspective, for the express purpose of bringing into his picture the circular windows, with their elaborate tracery, one of the most splendid features of that phase of Gothic art.

PLATE XVII.

SIR JOHN FROISSART PRESENTING HIS BOOK TO RICHARD II.

Froissart, who originally came to England in the suite of Philippa of Hainault, queen of Edward III., returned, after an absence of twenty-seven years, in 1395, and was well received by Richard II., in recollection of his services and attachment to the Black Prince, his father, and to King Edward and Queen Philippa, his grandfather and grandmother.[8] Froissart relates, with an affecting and very pleasing _naïveté_, his renewal of old friendships after so long an absence, but is more particularly minute in his description of the interview with the King, when he presented his book of love poems, the romance of Meliador. He says, that “he (the king) opened it, and looked into it with much pleasure;” and continues, “he ought to have been pleased, for it was handsomely written and illuminated, and bound in crimson velvet, with ten silver gilt studs, and roses of the same in the middle, with two large clasps of silver gilt, richly worked with roses in the centre. The King asked me what the book treated of? I replied, ‘Of love!’ He was pleased with the answer, and dipped into several places, reading parts aloud, for he read and spoke French perfectly well, and then gave it to one of his knights, called Sir Richard Credon, to carry to his oratory,” &c. &c.

This illumination forms the frontispiece to Chapter 54.

PLATE XVIII.

INTERVIEW OF RICHARD II. WITH THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, AT THE CASTLE OF PLESHY.

The King had at this time great suspicion that his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, was plotting his deposition, which, whether true or false, enabled persons about the King to exasperate him greatly against his uncle, who determined to arrest him at once. This he feared to do openly, on account of the Duke’s popularity, and effected his purpose in the following manner:--Under pretence of deer-hunting, he went to a palace he had at Havering-at-the-Bower, in Essex: it is about twenty miles from London, and as many from Pleshy, where the Duke of Gloucester generally resided. The King set out from Havering one afternoon without many attendants, and arrived at Pleshy about five o’clock. He came so suddenly to the castle[9] that no one knew of it, until the porter cried out, “Here is the King!” The Duke, who was very temperate, and never sat long at his meals, had already supped, and immediately went out to greet the King; who, under pretence of a meeting with the citizens on the next morning, at which his presence would be advantageous, induced his uncle to accompany him unattended. The mode of the arrest is exhibited in another illumination, which will appear in our next number.

This illumination is a good example of the custom of taking out a portion of the wall, in order to exhibit an interior and exterior view at the same time. The grooms and attendants waiting in the castle-yard are full of character and spirit, and the interior of the apartment, exhibited to us by the bold excision of the illuminator, portrays very accurately the furniture and fittings of the time, and affords valuable hints to artists treating events of this period.

PLATE XIX.

THE RANSOM PAID TO BAJAZET FOR THE COUNT DE NEVERS, &c.

As related in the description of Plate XIV., the Hungarians, with the body of French, German, and English volunteers, invaded Turkey, and, after many successes of no serious consequence or advantage, laid siege to the city of Nicopolis. But Bajazet had in the mean time not been idle or afraid to attack them, as they supposed, but had been diligently occupied in raising a great army, and was now secretly advancing upon them, ordering a small body of eight thousand men to move forward in advance, as if they were the whole army; but, whenever they met the enemy, to fall back to the main body, which was then to extend as much as possible, enclosing the Christians, and crushing them by numbers.

On the Monday preceding Michaelmas-day, in the year 1396, the small body was perceived by the scouts of the French and Hungarians. The French lords received the information as they sat at dinner, and, somewhat heated with wine, hastened at once to the attack. The King of Hungary sent his marshal, Steulemschalle, to countermand an immediate attack, as he had received information which caused him to suspect the truth, and that the Turks wore in much greater numbers than appeared. But the impetuous Frenchmen were not to be restrained. They rushed upon the enemy with this small band of volunteers, in all not exceeding 700, it is said, and, after performing prodigies of valour, were all either cut to pieces or taken prisoners. The Hungarian army, seeing the French enclosed on all sides and destroyed, were seized with panic, and fled; great numbers being slain by the Turks in pursuit: in short, the rout was most complete, and the King and the Grand Master of Rhodes barely escaped.