Part 3

Among the few survivors, now prisoners to Bajazet, were the Count de Nevers, the Counts d’Eu and de la Marche, the Lord Henri de Bar, the Lord de Coucy, and Sir Guy de la Tremouille; these had been set aside by Bajazet, on account of the richness of their dresses, as apparently men of note, who would pay large ransoms; all the other prisoners were put to death in their presence, being brought forth in their shirts and cut to pieces without mercy: “upwards of three hundred gentlemen of different nations,” says Froissart, “were thus pitilessly murdered.” The Lord Boucicaut, Marshal of France, was led forth naked like the others, but spared on the intercession of the Count de Nevers, who threw himself at the feet of the Sultan, and succeeded in that instance in softening his anger, which was great in consequence of the severe loss he had sustained in the battle, full thirty of his own men having fallen for every Christian. The Count de Nevers and his remaining companions were eventually ransomed, but the Lord de Couci and the Count d’Eu both sunk under their misfortunes and died in Turkey, and the Lord Henry de Bar died on his journey back; so that few indeed returned from this disastrous campaign.

The illumination represents the payment of the ransom, and is remarkable, as well as some others relating to the same portion of the history, for the care with which the illuminator has adhered to the general features of Turkish costume in the dresses of the persons who are receiving and registering the money; this is the more singular, as in the apartment and other accessories there is no attempt at an Eastern character; but at that time, it may be supposed, that the turban and flowing robe were as much conventional and traditional appendages of a Turk, as the meagre legs, sharp features, and lace ruffles were of a Frenchman in the time of Hogarth.

PLATE XX.

THE ARREST OF THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER.

Richard II. having, as related in the description of Plate XVIII., decoyed his Uncle from his castle of Pleshy, under pretence of wishing his presence at a conference with the citizens, proceeds, conversing with him, towards London, when, on arriving at Stratford, at the top of a lane leading to the Thames, where an ambuscade had been prepared, he suddenly galloped forward, leaving the Duke behind, who was instantly surrounded by a body of men, under the command of the Earl Marshal, who said, “I arrest you in the King’s name!” The Duke, panic-struck on seeing himself thus betrayed, called loudly after the King, who, without turning his head, made off towards London, followed by his attendants. A boat was waiting in the river, and the Duke having been forced on board was carried over to Calais. Finding that he was closely imprisoned in the castle of Calais, he questioned the Earl Marshal as to the intentions of the King and the cause of his arrest. The Earl merely informed him that he must remain in banishment for a time; but the Duke suspected the worst, and requested a priest who had said mass before him, to confess him. His fears were not groundless; for Froissart relates, that, “on the point of sitting down to dinner, when the tables were laid and he was about to wash his hands, four men rushed out from an adjoining chamber, and, throwing a towel round his neck, strangled him.” This is not exactly the fact; as, by the subsequent confession of one of the murderers, it was known that he was smothered with pillows. It was given forth that the Duke of Gloucester had died in his bed at the castle of Calais, and the treacherous Earl Marshal, his near relative, put on mourning, as did all the knights and squires in Calais. Froissart tells us, that some believed and others disbelieved this story; but it is clear that it was generally disbelieved; for, among other acts of treachery, it no doubt led to his deposition, and, there is every reason to suspect, to a similar end.

In the Illumination there is a happy attempt at expression, though not of the most elevated kind; it is, however, highly characteristic, particularly the features of the Duke calling anxiously to the King, whose supercilious nonchalance, as he coolly rides off, is very happily portrayed. The back ground, however, does not very felicitously represent the sort of country where an ambuscade or surprise could be executed with very good effect, and looks exceedingly like the suburbs of a Dutch or Flemish village of the present day.

PLATE XXI.

RICHARD II. SETTING OUT ON HIS EXPEDITION TO IRELAND.

A truce having been finally agreed upon between England and France, it was determined in the English Council, in the year 1394, that the opportunity should not be lost of making an attempt to completely subdue the Irish, which the King’s grandfather, Edward III., with all his military energy had not been able to effect, partly in consequence of the numerous wars in other quarters, in which he was engaged at the same time. Richard II. carried over an army of 4,000 men-at-arms and 30,000 archers, such a force as had never been seen in Ireland; and, with the assistance of his Uncles, who accompanied him, and the Earl of Ormond, who held large estates in that part of the country under English dominion, succeeded in subduing four kings or chiefs, who acknowledged his supremacy, and came to reside at Dublin. But it appears by Froissart’s description that they were little more than savages. It seems, however, that our chronicler shared the common prejudices that existed then, and, unfortunately, exist still against poor Ireland; for he says, among other things, in treating of their mode of warfare, that “they have pointed knives, with broad blades, sharp on both sides, with which they kill their enemies; but they never consider them as dead until they have out their throats like sheep, and opened them and taken out their hearts, which they carry off with them; and some say, who are well acquainted with their manners, that they devour them as delicious morsels.”[10]

The Illumination is peculiarly spirited, both in execution and arrangement, and the costumes are made out with sufficient accuracy to render them highly valuable as authorities. The picture represents the King at the head of his army, just issuing, apparently, from one of the ancient gates of London.

PLATE XXII.

THE VISION OF ROBERT L’ERMITE.

Robert Mennot, a squire of the country of Caux, in Normandy, a man whom Froissart describes as “of religious and holy life,” caused, about this time, much discussion upon the subject of a vision which he declared he had seen during a storm at sea, on his return from Syria. He described the vision as like a figure as bright as crystal, which said, “Robert, thou shalt escape from this peril, as well as thy companions for thy sake, for God has favourably heard thy prayers: he orders thee by me to return to France as speedily as thou canst, and instantly on thy arrival to wait on the king, and relate what has befallen thee. Thou wilt tell him to listen to peace with his adversary the King of England, for their wars have lasted too long. Do thou interfere boldly when conferences shall be holden to treat of peace between King Charles and King Richard, for thou shalt be heard; and all those who shall in any way oppose or prevent peace from taking effect, shall dearly pay for their wickedness _in their lifetime_.”

He had several interviews upon the subject of his vision with the King of France and his Council, and was present at a conference to treat of peace, where he spoke eloquently in its favour; but the Duke of Gloucester and some others were sceptical, and declared the whole a cheat. Nevertheless, his influence was considerable; and, by order of the King of France, he passed over to England, where he was well received by the Court of Richard II. He had many private interviews with the King, and his uncles the Dukes of York, Lancaster, and Gloucester; but the latter still continued incredulous. Robert the Hermit returned to France, laden with presents, after a month’s sojourn at the English Court.

The vision is exhibited in the illumination after the true conventional style of Catholic legends. The ship and figures in the foreground, with the deeply serpentine waves, forcibly call to mind old engravings in some of our early printed Bibles, which point to the source of such illustrations in the Catholic missals and illuminated Bibles, from which, with slight alteration, they were frequently copied.

The border is taken from another part of the volume, the one attached to the present subject being very similar to one already given. In the present border the arms of _De Commines_ occur again, and, in this instance, on “a field of France,” as though under the protection of that power.

PLATE XXIII.

THE LORD DE LA RIVIERE.

One of the first acts of the regency of the Dukes of Burgundy and Berri was the imprisonment of nearly all the King’s late ministers and advisers, against whom many heavy charges were brought, but few proved. Sir Oliver de Clisson had the good fortune to receive timely information, and effect his escape. But the Lord de la Riviere and Sir John le Mercier were seized and thrown into prison, and all their estates confiscated. Their subsequent pardon is thus related by Froissart[11]:--

“The Lord de la Riviere and Sir John le Mercier, after having been carried from prison to prison, and to different castles, were at last given up to the provost of the Châtelet, and in daily expectation of being put to death, through the hatred of the Dukes of Berry and Burgundy and their advisers. They had been in this melancholy state for more than two years, without the King being able to assist them. He, however, would not consent to their execution; and the Dukes of Berry and Burgundy perceived that the Duke of Orleans strongly befriended them. The Duchess of Berry was incessant in her entreaties with her lord in their favour, more particularly for the Lord de la Riviere; but they could not condemn one without the other, for they were both implicated in the same accusation. The solicitations of many worthy persons, added to the justice of their cause, were of much weight; and several of the great Barons of France thought they had now sufficiently suffered, and should be set at liberty; for that Sir John le Mercier had wept so continually when in prison, his sight was weakened so, that he could scarcely see, and it was currently reported he was quite blind.

“At length there was an end put to their sufferings; for the King, although he had consented to their imprisonment, for reasons which had been given him, granted them this pardon, deferring further enquiry into what had been laid to their charge until a future opportunity, and when he should be more fully informed. All his lands and castles were restored to the Lord de la Riviere; and, in the first instance, the beautiful castle of Auneau, near Chartres, on the borders of Beauce; but he was ordered thither, and never to recross the river Seine, unless recalled by the King’s own mouth.

“Sir John le Mercier returned to his fine house of Noviant, of which he bore the title as Lord, in the Laonnois; and he had similar orders not to repass the rivers Seine, Marne or Oise, unless specially commanded by the King.

“They also bound themselves to go to whatever prison they might hereafter be ordered to by the King or his commissioners.

“The two Lords thankfully accepted this grace, and were rejoiced to be delivered from the Châtelet. On gaining their liberty, they thought they should be allowed to see the King, and thank him for his mercy; but it was not so: they were forced to quit Paris instantly, and set out for their different estates.

“They, however, gained their liberty, to the great joy of all who were attached to them.”

Among the figures in this illumination, that of the jailor is extremely characteristic; it is a happy impersonation of the jailor of all times, and might serve nearly as well for the representative of Dickens’s well-known Dennis, the hangman, with his knotted stick, as for the jailor of the Lord de la Riviere, near five centuries ago.

PLATE XXIV.

THE CORONATION OF HENRY IV.

On the last day of September, 1399, Henry Duke of Lancaster held a parliament at Westminster, at which were assembled the clergy, nobility, and deputies from different towns, according to their extent or wealth. In this parliament the Duke challenged the Crown of England, and claimed it as his own, for three reasons: first, by conquest; secondly, from being _the right heir to it_; and, thirdly, from the free resignation of it to him by King Richard. The parliament, being unanimous in his favour, was then dissolved; and the coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on the 13th of October.

The procession consisted of between eight and nine hundred horsemen, &c. &c.; and fountains of red and white wine were constantly playing along Cheapside and in the neighbourhood of the Abbey. The whole of the ceremony is described in a minute and interesting manner by Froissart.[12]

The illumination is one of the most rich and carefully executed in the volume, and forms a most interesting illustration of the ceremonial pageantry of the period.

PLATE XXV.

THE MEETING OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY WITH THE EARL OF DERBY AT PARIS.

The Earl of Derby was still in banishment, on account of his quarrel with the Earl Marshal, when the citizens of London determined, in consequence of many grievances, to attempt the removal of King Richard from the throne; and sent the Archbishop of Canterbury as their ambassador to the Earl, who was residing at Paris, proposing to him to return to England, and assume the government of the country. Froissart states, that, when the Earl of Derby heard the proposition from the Archbishop, he did not immediately reply, “but, leaning on a window that looked into the gardens, mused a while, having various thoughts in his mind.” He at length turned, and replied somewhat evasively, in a speech which our chronicler gives at full length. The Archbishop then recommended calling a council of his most intimate friends, which advice was adopted; and the council being unanimously in favour of accepting the proposals of the citizens of London, it was determined that he should immediately leave France by way of Brittany, under pretence of a visit to the Duke, who was his uncle by marriage. “To shorten the matter,” says Froissart, “the Earl managed his affairs with much discretion, and took leave of the King and all the Lords who were then at court; and, on his departure, made very handsome presents to the King’s officers, as he was bounden to do, and to the heralds and minstrels resident in Paris, who attended the farewell supper he gave at the Hotel de Clisson, to such of the French Knights as chose to partake of it.”

The miniature, which represents the meeting of the Archbishop and the Earl, is very richly coloured and carefully executed, particularly in the gilding; the gold employed about the fire, and in representing sparks in the smoke, being introduced with remarkably happy effect. The plan of the fire-place is very accurately made out, and might suggest, perhaps, something in modern arrangements, as it seems, by means of the projecting canopy, to combine the advantages of an open grate with those of a stove, for it is not sunk in the wall like modern grates, by which much heat is lost in the chimney, but, on the contrary, stands out nearly as forward as a detached stove, by which a great economy of heat is effected.

PLATE XXVI.

WILLIAM OF HAINAULT SETTING OUT ON HIS EXPEDITION AGAINST FRIESLAND.

The duke Albert of Bavaria, and his son the count d’Ostrevant, having determined to invade Friesland and attempt its conquest, proclaiming that they had a lawful claim on it, raised a large army for that purpose. The king of France sent five hundred lances to their assistance; and Richard II. of England, also anxious to show his good feeling towards his cousin the count d’Ostrevant, sent two hundred archers and a body of men-at-arms, under the command of three knights of repute, two of whom were named Colleville and Cornewall; the name of the third was unknown to Froissart[13].

The Frieslanders in the meantime had determined to die with their liberty, rather than submit to any lord whatsoever; but the odds against them were fearful, as they could only raise an army of about thirty thousand men, the greater part having no other arms than hatchets or such like rude weapons, whilst Froissart tells us, that, had the fleet which bore their enemies to their shores been ranged in a line, it would have reached from Enchysen, where they embarked, to Kuynder, whence they intended to effect their landing--a distance of twelve leagues. In fact, the army of invaders amounted to upwards of one hundred thousand men. After an obstinate battle the Frieslanders were defeated with cruel slaughter; but in consequence of that want of continuity of plan and action which characterises nearly all the European wars of the middle ages, this victory led to no important results; and, after burning a few villages, the army re-embarked and returned to Lower Friesland to pass the winter.

The simple and natural arrangement of the line of armed men and their banners, with which the Gothic artist has formed his miniature picture, might afford some useful hints to modern designers of cartoons; the simplicity is perhaps carried too far, but then it is free from the great vices of the modern schools, such as overstrained attitudes, exaggerated expression, fantastic, affected, and unnatural grouping, and artificial or rather theatrical effects of sudden light and shade. Without imitating the defects of these early practitioners of the art, a study of their earnest and unaffected simplicity of treatment might add much of that nobleness and repose of effect which is so deficient in modern historical pictures, and which ought to be one of their principal qualities. The contrivance by which the illuminator has in the small space of his miniature conveyed the idea of the passing of a large army, by means of the crowded line, or rather stream, of helmets, just seen over the steep banks of the hollow way through which they are passing, might certainly be improved to very good effect.

PLATE XXVII.

THE LANDING OF THE LADY DE COUCY AT BOULOGNE ON HER RETURN FROM ENGLAND IN THE YEAR 1399.

Almost immediately after the deposition of Richard II., in 1399, the lady of Coucy, who had been in attendance upon his queen Isabella, daughter of Charles VI., returned to France, conveying the first tidings of the events which had just occurred. Rumours had already reached that country through some merchants of Bruges, but the whole truth was not known at Paris till the arrival of this lady. The grief of the king, when he heard of the misfortunes which had overtaken his son-in-law, was so great that it caused a return of his frenzy, and his uncles again resumed the government of the kingdom. The citizens of Bourdeaux, where Richard was born, were much attached to him, and, on hearing of his deposition and imprisonment were greatly excited, as were the people of all the surrounding country; for he had always been popular in that province. These circumstances gave the French great hopes that they might detach them from their allegiance to the English, and they carried on many intrigues and secret negotiations with that view; but after the first effervescence of feeling was over, the people of the Bordelais took a calm view of the question, and decided, as Froissart quaintly narrates it, that as France was at that time oppressed with heavy taxes, it would be better for them to remain true to the English, who left them frank and free; saying, “If the Londoners have deposed king Richard and crowned king Henry, what is it to us? &c. &c.--we have more commerce with the English than the French, in wines, wool, and cloth. Let us therefore be cautious how we listen to propositions which we may hereafter repent[14].”

It appears from this passage that actually more of the Bourdeaux wines were consumed in England than in France; so that an immense commerce of exchange between that district and England, equally advantageous to both, must then have flourished, which the interference of modern tariffs has, comparatively speaking, utterly destroyed.

The picture represents the disembarkation of the lady of Coucy at Boulogne-sur-Mer; and might, with slight alteration in the dresses of the principal personages, represent a party landing at Boulogne at the present time; for on the Continent, where liberal institutions and machinery have been more recent introductions than with us, habits and customs are far less changed. The form of the wheelbarrow is precisely that of the French wheelbarrows of the present day, and the blue frock of the man is still frequently worn by the barrow-men; the other porter too is carrying a trunk by means of a twisted rope, just in the manner which has descended to his successors of the present day on the quais of Calais and Boulogne, whilst the very form of the trunks is still orthodox with the manufacturers of such articles in the provincial towns of the Continent.

The respective characters of the party landing are most admirably delineated; the courtly step of the two male attendants, as they advance in earnest conversation, is cleverly contrasted with the boorish postures of the sailors and porters; and the serious propriety of the manner and expression of the lady, bearer of such evil tidings, is equally well discriminated from the pert nonchalance of the waiting-maid with her toilet-box and bundle. It is, on these accounts, one of the most interesting miniatures in the volume, though neither so richly coloured or highly finished as many others.

PLATE XXVIII.

THE DEATH OF POPE CLEMENT OF AVIGNON.

This picture represents the death of Robert of Geneva, who died in the year 1394, at the papal palace of Avignon, with the title of Pope Clement VI., though, whether rightfully enjoyed or not, Froissart says he shall not discuss, as a matter not within his province. The heading of the chapter, “De la mort du pape Clement d’Avignon et de l’election du pape Benedic I., Chappitre 59,” is in red ink in the MS. The commencement of the chapter is, “En ce temps au mois de Septembre trespassa de ce siècle en son pallais d’Avignon Robert de Geneve, cy dessu nommé en nostre histoire[15].”

PLATE XXIX.

THE KING OF FRANCE RECEIVING THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE DEFEAT IN TURKEY.