Berri led him at a future day to claim supremacy in the Bourbonnais, where a father and uncle disputed the succession. Although Suger boasts that Louis established his suzerainty there, it does not appear that the lords of Bourbon at this early period recognised it. The reign, as the policy, of Louis the Fat naturally divides into two periods. In the first of these the young prince directed his efforts towards the conquest of his paternal duchy, and the humbling of its barons. During this time, there was little or no rivalry between him and the monarch of England, who had not yet put forth a claim to the sovereignty of Normandy. In the early and local wars of the French king the aid of the clergy proved efficacious to give him superiority, Louis having prudently begun by being their champion. And the Church, in turn, permitted its retainers and parishioners to be his soldiers, whilst even the curates ably performed the duties of warlike officers. But as Louis subdued his turbulent vassals, and humbled even the large and more independent feudatories on his border, he found himself confronted with a more puissant rival, Henry, by that time not only King of England, but Duke of Normandy, his struggle with whom fills the latter portion of his reign. Robert Short Hose, when pressed by his brother Henry, had vainly besought French as well as Flemish aid. The result of his obtaining neither was his being crushed at Tinchebray, in 1106. "Forty years after the conquest of England by the Normans under William the Conqueror, the English under Henry conquered Normandy." Such is the reflection of William of Malmesbury. About the time of this English reconquest of Normandy, occurred another event, of a nature to arouse Louis. The Emperor Henry the Fourth, who but a little before had come a suppliant to France, apparently unnoticed, expired, and the imperial crown fell upon the head CHAP. IV. IV. CHAP. of his son, the active and formidable Henry the Fifth. To this young emperor, lord of Italy, Germany, and a great portion of France, Henry of England gave his daughter Matilda in marriage. This was menacing to the King of France, whose uncle, Robert of Flanders, was, moreover, especially embarrassed by the circumstance. The King of England had been in the habit of paying Robert of Flanders 300 marks annually, and of supporting the count against the emperor. Henry of England refused to continue the subsidy, and animosity arose. About the same time William Clyton, son of Robert Short Hose, escaped from Normandy, and put himself under French protection. Henry, in defence, began to rebuild the fortifications of Gisors, a frontier town, which by treaty was to remain open. Louis, supported by the Count of Flanders, immediately flew to arms. Henry, says William of Malmesbury, "mindful of paternal example, preferred baffling French fatuity by patience, to repelling it by arms,' and an accommodation ensued, by which Gisors was given to Prince William, Henry's eldest son, on his doing homage for it to Louis. The war between the monarchs broke out later, when Theobald, Count of Chartres, rushed into hostilities with Louis, on account of Le Puiset being refused him. Theobald joined Henry, whilst Robert of Flanders, combating for Louis, was slain in an engagement at Meau. Peace once more ensued, but was manifestly insecure, the causes of quarrel and of rivalry between the two monarchs being so many and so difficult of adjustment. The capture of the Count de Nevers, as he was traversing Normandy, in 1116, again occasioned war between Henry and Louis; and the latter set about a more vigorous resistance. He embraced the cause of William Clyton and his claims, and, with the aid of the Counts of Anjou and Flanders, invaded Normandy. Henry the First was by no means popular with the chivalry of the Louis IV. time, whilst the fate of his brother was universally de- CHAP. plored, and sympathy awakened for his son. found the principal of the Norman, and many of the English, barons ready to forsake Henry. The allies of the French king took possession of Evreux and of Alençon, their triumph being somewhat abated by the death of the young Count of Flanders. Louis himself surprised Andelys, whilst Henry, who had burnt Evreux, was approaching it. It was near this fortress, at the village of Brenneville, that a rencontre took place on the 21st of August, 1119, between the two kings. There were not more than four hundred on each side. De Crespigny, a Norman noble, who had gone over to Louis, first charged with eighty knights, who were soon surrounded by Henry's soldiers, and their horses slain. As the great object in such fights was then to take and ransom captives, it was the horses only, not the knights, who were killed; the knights were not, it appears, even disarmed. The rest of the French, and especially Bouchard of Montmorency, tried in vain to rescue their friends. On one occasion, when Henry advanced into the midst of the fight, De Crespigny rushed at him and struck the king on the helmet with his sword. He was in turn struck down by an English knight, who had to defend him when down against the attempts of several English to slay the assailant of their king. Meanwhile Louis fled with the rest of his troops, lost his way in the woods, and with difficulty reached Andelys. But three men perished in the engagement. Henry sent back the royal standard which he had taken; and William, Henry's son, sent William Clyton his palfrey. Peter of Marilly and others flung away their crests and accoutrements to escape among the crowd. Robert de Courcy, who pursued the French rashly to Andelys, was the only one of the English captured. Louis withdrew to Paris, chagrined at his defeat. He was met by Amaury de Montfort, who advised. CHAP. him to summon not only all the counts to his succour, but to apply to the bishops, that the priests might muster their parishioners and rally in the king's defence. Louis made the appeal, and it was answered by the counts and the population, who came, says Orderic, like wolves, to plunder all they could lay their hands on, even in their own country. The armed citizens of Laon and Noyon, who had lately formed municipalties under their bishop, were amongst the worst. This complaint of Orderic shows that De Montfort's advice, or Louis's policy, was something more than summoning the rural clergy and their parishioners to arm for their country's defence. The appeal was made to the townsfolk also, then becoming powerful; in exchange for these succours Louis the Fat was prepared to impart, and to persuade the bishops to impart, a certain share of municipal freedom. This liberal policy, suggested by the rise and by the wants of the civic and industrious class, was rendered more compulsory by the example of Henry of England. That prince granted or regranted their celebrated charter to the citizens of London, about the time that Louis, then prince, was a guest at Westminster. Henry, on the subjugation of Normandy, held a parliament there; in which he provided for the peace and good government of the duchy, curbing the arbitrary power of the noblesse, and showing himself the protector of the people. One of his chief modes of accomplishing this was to grant charters to the towns, and to rely on the fidelity and gratitude of the civic classes, rather than on the futile allegiance of a turbulent noblesse.* * When king Charles the Fifth reconquered Normandy in the fourteenth century, and was anxious to conciliate the towns, he promised to gratify their desires. These were, to have the privileges and liberties granted them by King Henry the See First of England, confirmed. cens. The causes which weighed upon and influenced such princes as Henry the First of England, could not but make themselves felt upon lesser potentates. Hence, whilst the attempts of citizens to establish certain liberties were fiercely contested by lords and prelates down to the close of the eleventh century, a few years after occur several instances of a compromise and agreement between townsfolk on the one hand, the lords and prelates on the other. In the last year of the century, a bishop of Beauvais came to an accord with the citizens, and swore, in accord with them, a commune, which was opposed by the Count, and, singular to say, also by the canons. At Noyon, a considerable town, not far distant from Beauvais, the bishop adopted the same policy, and in a more open manner, assembling the citizens himself, and proposing to them the conditions of a free municipality, to which he and they swore. One of the clauses of the charter was, the citizens were to be amenable to justice not in the prelates' court, but to their own magistrates. What indeed the citizens now chiefly aimed at, was to have their causes tried by their own magistrates. Judicial fines having become one of the great sources of revenue, count, prelate, and king were, of course, anxious to retain jurisdiction. But this power was so frequently abused and turned to purposes of extortion, that the citizens insisted on its abrogation, and maintained that, except in great criminal and capital cases, civic courts and magistrates, not the Count or his judges, should decide. To free themselves from all feudal exactions, except that of a fixed cens, or tribute, was also, no doubt, a main object of civic efforts. Although the fact of having procured a residence in a town freed the person from some of the evils of villennage and serfage, some still remained; and the lords of towns, as well as of wider domains, pretended to limit the right of his lieges to marry, or make use of their natural liberty, CHAP. IV. |