III., he went (A. D. 1223) on the crusade against Raymond of Toulouse, expecting to deprive him of his dominions, on the pretext, that he favored heretics. Having failed in this enterprise, he died, leaving a son about twelve years old, who was made king, and a widow, Blanch of Castile, who became regent. This princess first quelled the factions of some of the great lords; she then pursued the war against the unfortunate earl of Toulouse, who basely submitting, suffered the inquisition to continue its ravages among the Albigenses, and even engaged The piles were himself to exterminate them. again lighted; councils prohibited the laity from reading the Bible; and the breviary was given to them only in Latin. This,' as a modern French historian observes, speaks volumes.'

Young Louis IX., whom the church counted as a saint, was really as good a prince as the times would permit. He vanquished the English at Taillebourg and at Saintes, where they The pope, were assisting a rebellious vassal who had just excommunicated the emperor, being obliged to flee from Rome, went to ask an asylum in France; which Louis had the firmness to refuse, and this disturber took refuge at Lyons, a city of which the archbishop was the lord. But, being at the point of death, Louis vowed if he recovered to set out on the crusade, and neither the queen, nor the bishops, could divert him from his purpose. He performed prodigies of valor in Egypt, (A. D. 1249), but without any useful result; sickness and famine annihilated his army, until, made prisoner by the Mussulmans, with all his men, he was compelled to contract for his liberty at the price of During this time a madman took upon himself to preach the crusades to the shepherds and peasants; 100,000 fanatics, called pastoreaux, followed him; they did nothing but rob, say the historians, and they were massacred. It is conjectured however that at least a portion of these unfortunate wretches fell in with this project only to shake off the feudal yoke.

an enormous ransom.

After the death of his mother Louis returned to France, and devoted himself wholly to the administration of the kingdom. He maintained peace as much as possible among the great vassals, and often yielded with more delicacy than good policy to the claims of the neighbouring kings. The pope had just laid the king of the Two Sicilies under an interdict; he offered his kingdom to the brother of Louis IX., who held the earldom of Anjou in apanage, but he reserved to himself an annual tribute, under pain of excommunication. The earl accepted it, and went over into Italy with a multitude of volunteers, who thus became crusaders, because they were called together in the name of the pope; and who thought it a pious work to dispossess an excommunicated person. Naples was conquered in a short time, and the usurper beheaded the legitimate king. Louis, in the meanwhile, seized on the temporalities of the bishops, while they were pillaging the people; and yet would have becoine a cordelier, if it had not been for the queen. This superstitious prince still uniformly wore the cross; and, notwithstanding his age,

determined on a new crusade. Alleging that he
should be able to convert the bey of Tunis, he
disembarked in Africa, A. D. 1270; and, after
having seen his army perish under a scorching
sun, died miserably.

The reign of Louis IX. was the epoch of
great political improvements. Since the capitu-
laries of Charlemagne had fallen into disuse,
there were no longer any national laws; every
province, or rather every feudal sovereignty, was
governed by the caprice of its lord, or by usages
not committed to writing, which were called
customs. Every lord had his own tribunal,
before which the people pleaded and combated.
Louis IX. caused laws or establishments to be
reduced to writing, to govern that part of France
which was immediately subject to him: he
abolished judicial combat, which had been
already prohibited by a council, and fixed a
scale of pecuniary mulets, though it must be
allowed imperfectly. He bestowed upon all the
towns, which were formed into communes, the
privilege of trial by peers, or juries, and gave
them new guarantees for their freedom from the
feudal yoke. He also established appeals in the
place of citations, which forced the judges to
act with the utmost rigor against the appellants;
and personally administered as king the last degree
of the feudal jurisdiction. A private gentleman,
imprisoned by the count of Anjou, with whom
he had a suit, appealed to the king, who heard
the cause; he was acquitted and the king's
brother was condemned. So great an act of justice
was then an unheard of novelty. Feudal family
wars, in which relations were obliged to take
part, under penalty of losing their inheritance,
were forbidden. The art of coining money, of
which a multitude of lords had possessed them-
selves, was restricted. Justinian's code, which
had been taught at Bologna since the twelfth
century, began at this time to be known in
France. The priests, or clergy were still, how-
ever, the only literary men; they filled the offices
of barristers; they also practised medicine, and
thus rendered themselves indispensable, for the
time being, to the community. When any per-
son died intestate, and on this account the
church was deprived of the legacy of part of his
money, which was obligatory in the case of all
wills, the whole or part of the inheritance was
confiscated: the establishments repressed these
abuses. Louis IX. was in many respects the
restorer of justice; but his religious zeal was
too violent. He inflicted dreadful punishments
upon those who swore by the name of God or
the saints, and he established by ordonnances the
frightful regimen of the Inquisition. He, how-
ever, showed the firmest opposition to the
covetous despotism of the popes: declaring, in
his famous law denominated the Pragmatic
sanction, that the kingdom was dependent on God
alone.

After the death of the king (A. D. 1270) his son continued the war against the Tunisians, and granted them a peace on their paying a tribute. This was the issue of one of those distant expeditions which had impoverished Europe.

The young king, Philip III. surnamed the Bold, returned into France, where

FRANCE.

strength of political organisation. The mayors,
provosts, and sheriffs, were also accustomed to
resist arbitrary measures; and the tiers-etat at-
tained 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
Louis
a short space of time, by his three sons.
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 He also system of exchanges and measures. 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 He at first determined upon the calamities. 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 But situation capable of supporting a war. 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 The earl of Flemings and the emperor, and took up arms to reclaim the crown of France. 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. The 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.

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. 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.

Some

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

king of Navarre, a powerful and active monarch, endeavoured to bring the peasantry again under who had some claims to the crown. Edward the ancient yoke of iron: the latter, armed with III. now again carried the war into France; forks and sticks, pillaged the castles and inurderupon which John summoned the states-general, ed the nobles, who, forming themselves into in order to procure subsidies. But here again troops, slaughtered in their turn immense we must pause to survey one of the great epochs multitudes. This war of extermination is known of this history. by the name of Jacquerie, and the revolted peasants were called Jacques bons hommes.

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.

6

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 died 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,

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however, was throughout skilful and paternal; and the historians have surnamed him both the Good and the Wise.

In this fourteenth century an almost imperceptible progress was made by the human mind. While the capuchins were disputing, and even fighting on the question, whether their scourges should be made round or pointed, a Neapolitan invented the compass, and a Swiss cordelier gun-powder. Charles encouraged learning; he collected 900 volumes, which, however, treated of little else than astrology. Universities were multiplied, but they were only occupied in the study of theology and logic. At this time Sallust and Cæsar were translated into French, and a few other Latin works preserved in the monasteries. Some curious particulars of the domestic life of this prince are on record: he always rose at six o'clock; and having performed his private devotions, as well as attended mass, he gave audience to all who presented themselves, rich and poor, receiving their petitions, and reading them himself. At ten o'clock he dined, spending but a very short time at table, and eating only of one dish; he always diluted his wine with a considerable portion of water. During dinner he listened to the discourse of some learned man. After dinner he gave audience to foreign ambassadors, and then admitted his own ministers, to learn from them the state of the kingdom. At one o'clock he retired into his chamber and reposed himself; an hour afterwards his chamberlains entered and entertained him with light conversation; at three he attended vespers, and afterwards walked in his garden. On his return the queen brought in his children, whom he examined respecting their progress in education. In winter, instead of walking, he employed himself, it is said, in reading the Holy Scriptures. He took little supper, and early went to bed. Though he spent his time at home, in this plain and simple manner, he always appeared in public with considerable splendor. His dress was magnificent; the gens d'armes preceded him; his squires carried his ermine mantle, his sword, and his regal hat; and he walked always by himself, his brothers and the princes of the blood following him at some distance. He seems to have been fond of literature, and no present was more acceptable to him than

books.

We now again come to one of the most unfortunate reigns in this history, that of Charles Vi. He was a minor; his uncles, the former king's brothers, disputed for the regency, and the duke of Anjou, who obtained it, took the opportunity to enrich himself by a system of rapine. He had completely plundered the treasury, when the king came to age. The Parisians, however, rose, and refused to pay the taxes; when the government, intimidated, pretended to suppress them by an ordinance, and convened the states. These granted some subsidies; but, when the court wished to obtain others by arbitrary means, the people murdered the collectors. This is what is called the insurrection of the swaddlers. The king returning out of Flanders, where a revolt against the duke had been suppressed by the carnage of Rosbeck, entered VOL. IX.

Paris at the head of his army, caused the richest
of the citizens to be arrested, executed several,
among whom is mentioned a venerable magis-
trate of seventy years old, declared that the
Thus
whole of them deserved death, and was satisfied
only by the payment of an enormous sum.
in the fourteenth century an end was put to the
resistance of the Flemish and French communes
against arbitrary power.

The war continued in Flanders; and was on
the point of being carried into Brittany, to revenge
the sudden arrest of the constable Clisson, when
the king, passing through the forest of Mans, a man
clothed in white, and of a hideous form, issuing
from a thicket, seized his horse, and cried out,
'King, go no farther; you are betrayed.' This
was sufficient to drive Charles out of his senses;
he became raving mad. Some time after, having
recovered the use of his reason, he relapsed at
a masked ball, at which the fire had caught his
clothes. It was in vain that a pretended magi-
cian endeavoured to cure him; he had but ano-
ther lucid interval, and his madness became the
signal of the most frightful discord. It was during
this period, that Richard II. of England married
the daughter of Charles VI.

Two monks, who had boasted that they could cure the king, but who had only increased his malady, were executed on the Place de Grève, because they had given rise to atrocious suspicions about the duke of Orleans, his only brother. These suspicions were afterwards revived; the duchess, who was a Milanese, was accused of having attempted to poison the dauphin; and the duke was said to have employed enchantments against his brother, and to maintain a criminal correspondence with the queen, Isabella of Bavaria. This princess, on her side, had the king entirely under her influence, and treated him most unworthily; he was often, together with his children, deprived of the necessaries of life. About this time, the duke of Orleans having been named lieutenant-general of the kingdom, John, surnamed the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, became jealous of him. A dreadful enmity was excited between these two princes, and two furious parties were formed. The duke proposed a new tax; John, who was present at the council, opposed it, in order to make himself popular; he left Paris, and returned with some troops to support his views. The queen and the duke fled, while John kept possession of the dauphin. These two enemies afterwards appeared to be reconciled; they consulted together; they shared the same bed; but on a sudden the duke of Orleans was surrounded by assassins and sacrificed. The perfidious John, forced to acknowledge his guilt, at first left Paris, and occupied himself in subjugating the people of Liege who had risen against their bishop, but entered it again at the head of his army, and behaved with the utmost haughtiness. No one regretted the duke; he was generally detested, and a cordelier was found, who made an apology for the assassination, alleging, that it was lawful to kill a tyrant, a doctrine that the Jesuits have since often revived.

But the young duke of Orleans, assisted by the count of Armagnac, his father-in-law, raised

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