advice, committed the fault of repudiating his wife. She married Henry, duke of Plantagenet, who already possessed Anjou and Normandy, and had become king of England. As her dowry she brought him a third part of France; and thus the antipathy of husband and wife changed the face of the two kingdoms. The sons of the king of England had revolted against their father; Louis abetted them, but without success. He died (A. D. 1180), after having proved himself a weak devotee and an imprudent sovereign.

His son, Philip II. surnamed the August, commenced his reign by an act which, even in those times of superstition and rapine, was thought outrageous. The Jews were masters of the little commerce that existed, their political situation having forced them to become industrious, and the king drove them out of the kingdom by an edict. He was capable, however, of better deeds: he exterminated the banditti called Brabantins, and withstood the pope's legate. He overcame the king of England, who was in possession of the half of France, and went on the crusade with his successor Richard, the Lion-hearted, to rescue Jerusalem from the Saracens. The two kings suceeeded only in taking St. Jean d'Acre; and Philip, on his return, invaded Normandy during Richard's absence. Having divorced himself from his wife, he was excommunicated by the pope, and the kingdom put under an interdict; that is to say, masses and divine worship were suspended; meat was not allowed to be eaten; marriages were put off, &c. Philip had the good sense to laugh at this interdict, and he seized on the temporalities of the bishops. Another bold action distinguished his reign: John, surnamed Lackland, king of England, had murdered young Arthur, his competitor; and Philip caused him to be tried by his peers, as his vassal, declaring Normandy, Anjou, Tourain, &c., on his conviction, to be forfeited to the crown of France. He executed this judgment at the head of an army. Thus the French monarchy, which had been dismembered by the feudal government, began to recover its unity. Philip Augustus, we may add, was the first of the French kings who kept a standing army, and this was a new blow to the feudal system.

A fourth crusade, which was set on foot at this time, (A.D. 1204), produced only a short-lived conquest over the Greek empire. The crusaders crowned their chief, Badouin of Flanders, at Constantinople. A more lamentable crusade was directed against the Christians of the south of France, called the Albigenses. Myriads of them were exterminated, and many burned, because they entertained doubts, as their adversaries alleged, on some mysterious doctrines. It was to this prince that Pope Innocent III. offered the crown of England; John, on his oart, surrendered his kingdom to the pope, who upon this became his protector. A powerful league was formed against Philip. John, earl of Flanders and emperor, assembled 200,000 men, and they were already partitioning France, when Philip with 50,000 defeated them in the plains of Bovines. A French bishop signalised himself in this famous battle; he

killed his enemies with an iron club, that be might not infringe the canons of a council, which prohibited priests to shed blood. The English barons, after having compelled John to sign their great charter, rose against him, when he retracted it; upon which some of them acknowledged Louis, the son of Philip Augustus, as their king; and this young and very warlike prince kept his ground for some time in England. In looking back on this twelfth century, we observe several efforts of the human mind to break through its vassalage to lords and priests. On the one hand we see an increasing multitude of monastic orders, and begging friars, the devourers of the nation, and the militia of the pope; and we see laymen, the dupes of their interpretations of the apocalypse, and various parts of Scripture, leaving their wealth to pious foundations. But we behold also some men, driven to extremity by the luxury and pomp, pride and rapacity of the clergy, coming forward as reformers, or shaking off the yoke of credulity. We may notice also in this account a vicissitude that has frequently occurred; the clergy, at first poor and austere, enriching them. selves by abusing the terrors of the people; when rich, arriving at a high pitch of corruption; then falling into contempt, and disgracing religion; spoiled, and growing rich again, only to be despoiled afresh. The popes exacted of the nations of Christendom taxes of every de'scription, and proclaimed themselves infallible; upon this arose Berenger and Arnold of Brescia, those forerunners of the Reformation. Unto the time of Luther, the same causes produced the same effects. Every thing in human affairs tends to abuse, and abuse leads to resistance and revolution.

Schools began at this time to be established in the bishoprics. That of Paris soon became the most famous in Europe, although the course of instruction pursued in it was very imperfect 3000 students listened in the open air to the lectures of the logician Abelard the lover of Heloise, names which seem hardly to belong to so rude an age. But truth was sought for, not in nature and reason, but in the distorted doctrines of Aristotle; men did not reason, they wrangled. During this period, chivalry flourished in castles and tournaments, while the people were oppressed by the most gallant of its votaries. The troubadours were incessantly singing of beauty and love; and these men opened the path for the career of Dante and Petrarch, those fathers of modern literature in Italy, where insurrections, like those which had produced the communes in France, were just beginning to lay the foundation of republics. The crusaders had brought a dreadful malady from Asia; and France was filled with leprous people. Contagious and pestilential diseases were in this age also as frequent as want. Perpetual war, by interrupting the cultivation of the country, brought on famine and mortality; the dead corpses, lying unburied, produced the plague.

Louis VIII., called the Lion, defeated the king of England in France, where he was endeavouring to establish himself; after which, as the agent of the Inquisition, founded by Innocent

he added to the possessions of the crown the vast assignments of his uncle, the earl of Poitiers, who died without children. In this reign the Sicilians, resolving to shake off the heavy yoke of Charles of Anjou, rose at Palermo, at the hour of vespers, and slew all the French throughout Sicily. Charles was from home. The king of Arragon endeavoured to seize on this island, when the pope excommunicated him and proclaimed a crusade against him. Philip put himself at the head of the crusaders, but returned to die at Perpignan, having taken only Gironne, after a long siege. Two monasteries disputed for his heart. This prince was much under the influence of the pope; and to him the holy see was indebted for the Venaissin, which it retained till the revolution.

Philip IV., his son, surnamed the Fair, succeeded to the throne. Edward I. king of England paid homage to him for Guienne, which he acknowledged he possessed as a vassal of the crown of France; but, some disagreement having taken place between the two nations, Philip cited Edward before his court, and on his refusal to appear, he fell upon Guienne sword in hand. The war was then transferred to the dominions of the earl of Flanders, who was in allegiance with Edward. Here the French beat the English and conquered Flanders. A pope, who yielded in pride to none of his predecessors, Boniface VIII., was the second enemy against whom Philip had to contend. Being in urgent need of money, and wishing to spare the people, who were already overwhelmed with imposts, he laid a light tax upon the clergy. The pope immediately issued a bull, forbidding the ecclesiastics to pay it without the permission of the holy see. Philip replied by prohibiting the laity to pay any thing to the church. The pope insulted the king in another bull; but, being forced to yield, he made peace by canonising Louis IX., and he was allowed a small tax for St. Peter. Shortly after, however, the pope re-commenced his insolent proceedings. A French bishop, his legate, insulting the king, was driven by him from his presence; when the pope, rendered furious, fulminated new bulls, and summoned the king, under penalty of an interdict, to acknowledge himself king by the favor of the pontiff. Philip on this called an assembly of the people (1302) to his assistance. The national assemblies had fallen into disuse, but he now included in them the deputies of the communes, which have been since called the tiers-etat. The three orders voted separately for the maintenance of the independence of the crown; and, though the clergy at first wished some respect to be shown to the pope, the nobility opposed it. Money, however, was the main thing wanted, and an old French historian well remarks on this subject, Public assemblies are a good means of levying taxes.'

The pope, on the other hand, called a council, which declared the omnipotence of the tiara. The king retorted by causing the French bishops and nobles to accuse the pope of imposture and heresy. Excommunication was then hurled against him; and the crown of France was offered to a prince of the house of Austria. The

pope, after this, was seized and insulted in his own territory, by the French partisans; and, though afterwards rescued, died, it is said, from vexation and anger. During this time the Flemings, headed by an aged weaver, had revolted, and massacred the French; and, on the count of Artois proceeding thither with an army, he lost the battle of Courtray, at which 20,000, Frenchmen were killed. The king now took the command of the army in person, but also failed to reduce the rebels: all he could do was to re-instate the earl of Flanders in the possession of a few cities. Some time after the pope excommunicated his successor.

The proceedings against the Templars is a notable event of this reign. Philip the Fair pursued them to destruction with a fury that is inexplicable, but did not seize upon their wealth. The pope showed, also, as much animosity against them as the king. They were suddenly arrested throughout all France, and put to the torture, when the confessions they were expected to make were dictated; and if they retracted they were burnt in a slow fire. Among those who were thus sacrificed were the grand master himself and all the great officers. The possessions of the order were given to the Hospitallers, since called the order of Malta.

The re-uniting of Champagne and Lyons to France, and the rendering of the parliament stationary at Paris, are also to be attributed to Philip the Fair. This latter was before a moveable and feudal assembly, following the court, and composed of noblemen chosen by the king. As these men of war could neither read nor write, men of the law, called clerks, or learned men, were added to the number, who acted as their counsellors. By degrees, the nobles having retired, these men remained sole judges. The peers, great lords of the soil, or domestics of the court, also possessed the right of admis sion to the parliament. This assembly was, properly speaking, the king's tribunal; and, since the time of Louis IX., took cognizance of all the appeals in the kingdom. It now generally sanctioned the Roman law, and made the study of the laws necessary; transferring to the learned men, and gentlemen of the long robe, a part of that authority and influence which had hitherto been engrossed by the military order. Thus the code of Justinian at first inflicted a heavy olow on feudalism; but, in later times, the agents of the kings derived from it precepts and precedents in favor of despotic power.

In the thirteenth century some progress was made towards modern civilisation. Under Louis IX. a public library was formed in France; and Roger Bacon, the English monk, a prodigy for his time, discovered part of the science of natural philosophy; and invented the camera obscura. Mean shows, and mountebank theatricals, under the name of mysteries, were at least steps that now lead us forward to Polyeuctes and the Tartuffe. Theological disputes and wrangling still continued, it is true, but the Sorbonne was founded in Paris, and the citizens derived, even from the disorders of the university, habits of anti-feudal independence; while the brotherhoods, or corporations, gave them the

strength of political organisation. The mayors, provosts, and sheriffs, were also accustomed to resist arbitrary measures; and the tiers-etat attained a solidity of character and power which the crown felt to be useful to itself.

Upon the death of Philip, A. D. 1314, the royal authority was exercised successively, during a short space of time, by his three sons. Louis X., surnamed le Hutin, caused Enguerrand de Marigny, the superintendant of the finances, to be condemned to death: they were only able to prove him a rogue, though they accused him of sorcery, and the king soon after repented of this unjust prosecution. The most memorable event of this reign was the enfranchisement of a great part of the serfs in the country districts. The king set the example in his domains, which the lords by degrees imitated. In the preamble of the edict, dated 3rd July, 1315, it is declared that 'according to the rights of nature every one ought to be born free.' Liberty, however, was sold to the peasants as it had been to the citizens, and many of them, accustomed to slavery, and judging that liberty was not worth the price, wished to remain in that state. The want of money has often made men commit or repair acts of injustice. The Jews were recalled in the hope of plundering them; but, on the whole, Louis occupied himself much for the public good. He died in 1316, not without suspicion of his being poisoned.

Some historians here introduce, as king, a posthumous child of Louis, who lived only eight days, and was called John; but Philip V., called the Long, became the effective successor, in opposition to the claims of a daughter of Louis. He made some reforms in the administration; excluded the bishops from the parliament in which they still preserved some influence; and endeavoured, we are told, to establish a general system of exchanges and measures. He also disarmed the citizens, in order more certainly to abolish private war, and named in every commune a captain to command a royal militia or national guard, which often appears to advantage in the wars of those times. Horrid cruelties were committed in this reign on the Jews and the lepers, who were blackened with the most absurd accusations, and were burned by hundreds, in order that they might be plundered. Hospitals also having become as numerous as they were richly endowed, their funds were frequently confiscated.

Charles IV., surnamed the Fair, punished many of the extortionate financiers of this period, who were generally Italians. He made war on the English A. D. 1321, in Guienne: and his sister, the wife of Edward II., dethroned that prince. Charles having died without children, Edward III. laid claim to the throne of France, as the nephew, by his mother's side, to the late king. The peers, however, decided, that Philip of Valois, who was descended from St. Louis by a younger branch, ought to be preferred. The crown had been almost elective under Philip the August, and women had been excluded under Philip the Long; but it was since that time agreed, that they did not even transmit the succession to a male; thus in process of time,'

says Mr. Bodin, was established the usage, once called the Salic law, now legitimacy.' SECTION V.-THE BRANCH OF THE VALOIS. The reign of Philip VI. was one chain of calamities. He at first determined upon the reduction of the Flemings, who had revolted against their count, under the conduct of the brazier Arteveldt. He afterwards succeeded in making the king of England do homage to him for Guienne, as that prince was not then in a situation capable of supporting a war. But his brother-in-law, whom he had justly banished, having taken refuge in England, stirred up, A. D. 1336, a terrible combination against him. Edward III. entered into an alliance with the Flemings and the emperor, and took up arms to reclaim the crown of France. The earl of Hainault joined him, with several other of the French lords. A strong fleet, consisting it is said, of 120 vessels, and manned by 40,000 men, was defeated by that of the English in the battle of Ecluse; Edward was there in person. He supported a furious war in Brittany, which the earl, the king's nephew, had excited, and availed himself of the advice of another traitor, Geoffrey of Harcourt, who counselled him to make a descent upon Normandy, and penetrated as far as the gates of Paris. He then retired into Picardy, followed by the French, who, urged by their imprudent impetuosity, attacked him at Crecy, August 26th, 1346. The Genoese crossbow men gave way, and threw the French army into confusion; it was defeated, and 30.000 slain were left on the field of battle. French historians say, that, through an excess of honor or military pride, their troops would not use the cross-bow, considering it as a cowardly weapon; hence they hired foreigners for this purpose. The English, less scrupulous, formed bodies of cross-bow-men among themselves. It is also stated that they first used cannon in this battle.

The

After this victory, Edward laid siege to Calais which did not surrender, until it had endured a dreadful famine. The devoted conduct of six citizens of this town, who, in order to save it, went bare-footed, and with ropes round their necks, to expose themselves to the wrath of Edward, appears like an incident in ancient history. Voltaire, however, disputes the truth of this story. To all these reverses were added a famine and a plague, which depopulated France. Disaster was now at its height; the people could no longer fight or pay. Some fanatics, called flagellants, went about the country scourging themselves till they drew blood, thinking to appease the wrath of heaven. The king died, broken-hearted as it is said, and hated by his subjects. He had established the gabelle, a tax upon salt. Under his reign Dauphiny was added to France, on. condition that the prince royal should bear the name of Dauphin; and Jane of Anjou sold Avignon to the pope.

John, the son of the former king, was also an impolitic and still more unfortunate prince. He at first caused the earl of Eu, his constable, to be beheaded, because he was suspected of keeping up a correspondence with Charles the Bad,

Philip the Fair succeeded in rendering the royal power almost absolute; he had freed himself from that of the Pope, and he strengthened himself by assembling the states-general, who had no proper idea of their own rights. The rivalry of the three orders had only tended to secure the preponderating influence of the king, and the states at first looked upon themselves only as a council destined to record his will. Now we see them assuming another attitude. Those of the north, or of Langue d'Oil, had the greatest influence on the public affairs. The states of 1355 acted upon the principle that the king had no right to impose taxes, but with the consent of the nation, represented by them, and determined to take upon themselves the receipt and employment of the revenues. For this purpose they sent into the Bailiwicks deputies with the title of officers of the receipts, and named a standing commission, consisting of three members of each order, to watch over the conduct of the king, during their vacations. They took also the greatest precautions to guarantee the useful employ of the surplus funds, and to fix the limit of the king's expenses. The prince of Wales, called the Black Prince, the son of Edward, and one of the heroes of this age, now headed the English forces in France. Entrenched with 8000 men, most of them Gascons, in an advantageous post, near Poitiers, and attacked by John, who had 60,000, he completely beat him and took him prisoner. Charles, the Dauphin, assembled the states, who, as the organ of the nation, appeared now to be sensible of its rights. They were strong,' says a French historian, in the unanimity of discontent. They ordered an enquiry into the causes of the people's complaints, and granted subsidies, but on such conditions that the court, being of fended, endeavoured to collect them on its own authority, but this the people refused to obey. The states were again assembled, and it was found necessary to comply with the prescribed conditions.

The Dauphin tried one means of raising money, which his predecessors had often employed; the alteration of the exchanges. On this the Parisians revolted under the conduct of a private citizen, M. Marcel; and the king of Navarre, who had been imprisoned by John, escaped and supported the insurrection. The people were harangued alternately by him, by the Dauphin, and Marcel. Paris became at this time a true democracy; the revolters having, for their rallying signal, a red and blue hood. Marcel now began to form a confederation between the cities of France and the capital; when the Dauphin, having taken the title of regent, slipped away, and went to Compiegne to assemble the states general.

France upon this was thrown into the greatest confusion. Profiting by the disorder, the nobility

There was but one step from this excess of anarchy and the evils of civil war to the restoration of absolute power, and to that every thing was at last yielded. The states of Compiegne first granted, it is true, the taxes under the names of aids and free gifts; but they annulled every thing that the former states had done, as the work of seditious men and traitors; and several deputies were condemned to death. Paris, having been blockaded, surrendered; Marcel was assassinated, and the regent made his entry.

A treaty with England restored his liberty to John, who stipulated for the cession of one-third of the kingdom, and 3,000.000 of gold crowns. Not being able to raise this enormous sum, John voluntarily returned to London, where he diea in the Savoy, 1364. He is said to have been the author of that fine saying, that if good faith were banished, she would take refuge in the hearts of kings. Having obtained Burgundy by inheritance, John left it in apanage to one of his sons: thus commenced the famous house of Burgundy, and thus this feudal custom of apanage began again the dismembering of the kingdom.

When Charles V. ascended the throne the whole of the public affairs were disorganised, but, being both prudent and clever, he rapidly retrieved his affairs. Charles the Bad of Burgundy did not cease to conspire, and proved a formidable opponent: Bertrand de Guesclin however defeated him, when the war still raging furiously in Brittany that accomplished captain proceeded thither. Here he found Montfort, supported by the English, who made him prisoner in the first battle that was fought, and peace was soon after restored.

Charles V. had by good management recruited his treasury, when, the people of Guienne being dissatisfied with the English, he declared war against them and the talents of de Guesclin rendered him every where successful. The court of peers condemned the English princes as rebellious vassals, and confiscated their French provinces. De Guesclin, appointed constable, executed this decree. New treasons on the part of the king of Navarre, a long and ill-advised war, undertaken against the duke of Brittany, and extirpation of the English, wholly occupied the rest of Charles's reign. About this time the western schism of the church took place; the pontifical see having been removed from Rome to Avignon, two, and even three popes were elected at once; and the different kings espousing different sides, disputes, wars, and scandalous offences, were multiplied in all directions.

Charles, during his whole reign, assembled no meetings of the states; he conceived the plan of holding, instead of parliaments, seats of justice, where he obtained the ratification of the laws, in the presence of the peers, the nobles, and a few of the principal citizens. His administration,