The history of Levvis the eleuenth VVith the most memorable accidents which happened in Europe during the two and twenty yeares of his raigne. Enricht with many obseruations which serue as commentaries. Diuided into eleuen bookes. Written in French by P. Mathieu historiographer to the French King. And translated into English by Edvv: Grimeston Sergeant at Armes

AN ELOGIE OF LEWIS THE eleuenth French King.

LEWIS of Valois only like vnto him-selfe and vn∣like to all other Kings, was borne at Bourges, and presented at the font by Iohn Duke of Alancon; he past his infancy in the ruines & miseries of France, and the most sensible afflictions of his father, to whom there was a part of the Crowne remaining. At eleuen yeares the greatest of the Realme, abusing the innocency of his first age, to couer their discontentment and ambition, made him the head of a faction, which was so vniust, vnnaturall & odious vnto the French, as it was presently abandoned euen by them that were the Authors, and lasted but nine months. At fourteene yeares hee was married to the Princesse of Scotland, at fifteene Generall of a royall Army into Normandy and Languedoc: At twenty one hee put all Germany in alarum, tooke Mombeliart, besieged Basill, de∣feated sixe thousand Swisses & ouer-run Alsa••ia. The bayes of this triumph were all couered with bloud, and soone after with tears, by the death of the Princesse of Scotland his wife.

The difficuly which hee felt to submit his yong and boyling hu∣mors to the temper of reason, and his will to that of his father, drew him from the Court, and intertained him some yeares in Dauphine, whereas he married Charlotte of Sauoy, and made warre against the Duke of Sauoy his father in law, drawing vnto his seruice some by promises, others by fauour and presents, but most of all by rigour & seuerity, oppressing his subiects of Dauphine with vnknowne char∣ges, so as the cyment of his designes was tempered with bloud, sweat & teares. The King, who was not insensible of Complaints, and wept by his subiects teares, made it knowne that he did loue his estate bet∣ter then his sonne. He came into Dauphine, and at the first glance of his eyes he dispersed the designes of such as would trouble the order of nature and the Lawes of the Realme.

Lewis, desiring rather to trust the enemies of his house then his fa∣thers bounty, retires to Bruxelles to Duke Phillip, wheras he liued six yeares with Charlotte of Sauoy his wife, and there receiued the first blessing of his marriage, by the birth of his sonne Ioachim of Valois, who dyed presently. All this time taught him a lesson of patience, being forced to make a vertue of necessity, learning to be wise in pro∣sperity

and constant in aduersity. In the end Charles gaue him place and left him the Realme vnited vnder the obedience of one, the En∣glish being expelled, and hauing nothing remaining vnto them but Calis. All the forces of this powerfull house of Bourgondy did ac∣company him vntill hee had the Crowne set vpon his head, which he tooke at Rhemes. Paris receiued him as it were in triumph, and all France seemed to reuiue againe at the rising of this Starre.

The contempt of Princes of the bloud, & the change of officers, the seueritie in searching out things past, with the oppression of the peo∣ple, were the cause of a league which was made against him betwixt the Duke of Berry his brother, and the dukes of Burgundy, Brittany, Calabria, and Bourbon, with the greatest of the realme. A powerfull and famous faction, which abused the simple, made the wicked mad, and thrust good men into despaire. The bad successe of the Battell of Montlehery was not able to shake the constancy and fidelitie of the subiect. Paris, whose motions had alwaies caused the rest of France to wauer, held firme, and this great storme fel, and was dispersed be∣fore her wals. The greatest Cities of the realme, and the chiefe Pro∣uinces cōtinued constant in their duties, & the interest of priuat men being contented, the pursute of the publike good was staied. These ar∣rowes being vnbound, Lewis had good meanes to breake them. The D. of Normandy is forced to quit Roan, & the D. of Brittaine auoids the storme by his submission. The duke of Burgundy is troubled with the mutinies of his subiects, who desirous of innouations & change did more affect the Earle of Charolois then the Duke of Bourgundy.

Lewis to be reuenged kindles a fire in his estate, and stirs vp them of Liege, yet making shew that he desired nothing more then the obser∣uation of the treaty of Conflans: relying too much vpon his wit and forces, he ingaged himselfe indiscreetly in Peronne, where the Castle was in show his lodging, and in effect his prison; he saw himselfe for∣ced to arme against his friends, & to receiue a law from him to whom he thought to giue it. The assembly of the estates at Tours iudge of the iniury of his promises, and cannot yeeld that Normandy (one of the goodliest flowers of the crowne of France) should be dismembred: they declare war against the D. of Bourgundy. The King takes the towne of S. Quintin, then Amiens, and seeing that the Duke of Burgundy, in the desolation of his affaires, was prest to giue his daughter in marriage to the Duke of Guienne, he doth not in this pro∣speritie imbrace the opportunitie, but is content to haue amazed his

enemy, and grants him a truce, during the which he sees, as from the shore, that cruell tempest of England which ouerthrew the house of Lancaster, whom he fauoured, & assured the Scepter in that of Yorke, succoured and supported by the D. of Burgundy. The Duke of Gui∣ennes death brake the truce and hopes of peace, and brought all them to the brinke of death and despaire which had followed his fortune, who were reduced to such misery, as then the most miserable, hearing the discourse, found therein consolation and amazement. Many fa∣milies were ouerthrowne, and that rich and famous house of Ar∣magnac was full of strange tragedies and reuolutions. The warre, furiously inhumane, began againe, and the Duke of Bourgundy armed to reuenge his death vpon innocents. The towne of Nesle saw heapes of dead carkasses in her streets, and streames of bloud in her Churches: Beauuais stayed the torrent of his fury, and diuerted it vpon Normandy.

The D. of Brittany, although he were gouerned by another head, considering the danger wherein hee was, submitted himselfe to the stronger, and seeing the K. at Angiers with an army of 50000. men came vnto him to demand a peace. The King of Sicily was dispos••est of his country of Anjou, beeing forced to retire into Prouence with griefe to suruiue his Son Iohn D. of Calabria & Lorraine, & Nicholas Marques of Ponte his grand-child. Hee doth represent the estate of his age & house in the deuice which he carried of an old stock which had no greene sprout to make it liue, it was Rene D. of Lorraine, Son to Yo∣land of Anjou his daughter. The Constable, who would diuide his heart in two to nourish & entertaine the warre, thrust the duke of Bur∣gundy into fury & the King into distrust of him, & hauing left the path of moderation & wisedome, he came vnto the king by that of pride & distrust, refusing to represent himselfe vnto his maiesty but armed, nor to speake vnto him but by a barre, & vpon a causey well garded with soldiers.

The D. of Burgondy not able to liue idly during this Truce seekes for worke in Germany, passeth to Treues, propounds to change his dukes Crowne for a Kings, & is offended with the Emperor for refu∣sing it: He besiegeth Nuze, and seeing that the crosses, which he had in his affaires proceeded onely from the King, he perswades the K. of England to passe the seas, to renew the pretensions of his predecessors, and to make a fatall combustion of all France. But Lewis diuerts this storme, and makes a bridge of gold for this King to repasse the sea, sen∣ding

him home as wel content with peace as he was come resolute to war. The King reapt both honor & profit, and by his foresight disap∣pointed the great designes which were laid vnder fauor of this army, and although it had diuers pretexts, as diuers branches of the same stock of sedition and ambition, they were all dangerous; all the kinds of this poison were mortall.

The Duke of Bourgundy was forced to accept a peace of the king, against whom he had proclaimed warre: The coale, which entertai∣ned the fire of discord was quenched, and this head that made the windes to blow; which caused the quiet of France to tremble, was cut off at the Greue.

The Duke of Bourgundy, to reuenge a light iniury done vnto the Earle of Romond, vndertakes a great warre against the Sui••les, which by the vnfortunate euent of three battels, made him to loose his bag∣gage at Granson; his reputation, his forces and his hopes at Morat; and at Nancy his life, with a part of his estate. The King reapt the fruit of this warre, hauing fauoured and supported the Duke of Lor∣raine against the great designes of this Conqueror. Hee seased vpon both Burgundies, and vpon a part of Artois, and had forced the Arch∣duke Maximilian to leaue the low countries, and to leade the Princesse his wife into Germany, with repentance of his mariage, if the battell of Guinegaste had not troubled the face of his affaires, and changed the designes of warre into resolutions of peace, which was confirmed by the marriage of Charles Dauphin of France with Margaret of Austria.

Age, which neuer comes alone, suffers not the King to vndertake any long and difficult conque••s, and binds him to thinke vpon the meanes to leaue his crowne peaceably vnto his Sonne, as it was rich, mighty, and more assured then hee had receiued it from his father, hauing beautified it with many goodly flowers, as Burgundy, Anjou, Barre, Prouence, and the recouerie of the Townes in Picardy, and of some in Artois.

Being prest with troubles of mind as much as with the languishing of the body, and reduced to an estate more lamentable then lamen∣ted, in the which he could not liue, & would not dye: he straue foure whole yeares against the force of an incurable disease, and repulst by strange meanes the approches of death, to retaine life, which was but too long for his miseries, and infirmities, as it had beene too short for his designes and hopes. He was forced to yeeld himselfe to dis∣cretion

the 30^th. day of August 1483. the 22^th. yeare of his raigne, and of his age the sixtith. He carried nothing from the place which hee left, but the proud title to haue freed the Kings of France from subiec∣tion or wardship, capable to command, not a Realme only, but the whole world. He was interred at our Lady of Clery, hauing obtained from Pope Sixtus the fourth an excommunication against all such as would lay his body in any other tombe then in that which hee had built for himselfe, and Charlotte of Sauoy his wife. He did often visit this last abode, and did lye in it sōmetimes, that by the meditation of death, he might descend liuing into the graue.

The triumphant Chariot of the prosperities of his life was drawn by Wisdome, Iustice, Liberality and Reputation; wisdome made him victorious ouer his enemies, Iudge of the controuersie betwixt the Crownes of Castile, and Nauarre: Protector of the liberty of the Common-weales of Italy: Arbitrator of the peace betwixt Rome and Florence, and then betwixt Rome and Venice, He added the county of Prouence to the Crowne: Hee vndertooke strange impossible de∣signes. Iustice, alwayes in heat by his extreame seuerity, did more of∣ten put the sword of execution into his hand, then the ballance of due consideration: hee caused many great men to feele his rigour whose processe he began by the execution.

Liberality, opened him the hearts and gates of townes, which hee battered with his money; caused many which were distracted from him to come like Bees at the sound of a bason: hee vsed it to bind the English to his friendship, the Suisses to his succors, and the Brittaines to his seruice: Reputation hath held all the powers of Europe in ad∣miration of him, and hath made him to bee redoubted of strangers, and feared of his Subiects.

Yet the differences betwixt the priuate and publike fortunes of this Prince were great; his fortunes were of long Time in fauour amidst his prosperities: In his raigne, he was a wise, happy King, a good and a bountifull maister, a distrustfull friend, a cruell enemy, and a terrible neighbour; in his house a bad son, a bad father, & a bad husband: he had no children by Margret Steward his first wife, and by Charlotte of Sauoy, his second, hee had Ioachim, Charles, Francis, Anne and Ioane.