Charles the Bold Part 14

Certain rich citizens bought their lives with large sums, others _were sold as slaves,_[24] or were hanged or beheaded, or were thrown into the Meuse.[25] In the monasteries, life was conceded to the inmates but that was all. All their property was confiscated. The Count of St.

Pol, now Constable of France, tried to intercede for the citizens with Philip who remained at Bouvignes, but to no result. It might have been chance or it might have been intentional that at last flames completed the work of destruction. The abode of Adolph of Cleves, at the corner of Notre Dame, was found to be on fire at about one o'clock in the morning of Thursday, August 28th.

That Charles was responsible for this conflagration Du Clercq thinks is incredible.[26] He would certainly have saved all ecclesiastical property which was almost completely consumed. Indeed, Charles gave orders to extinguish the flames as soon as they were discovered, but every one was so occupied with saving his own portion of booty that nothing was accomplished and the town-hall caught fire and the church of Notre Dame. From the latter some ornaments and treasures were saved and the bones of Ste. Perpete, with other holy relics, were rescued by Charles himself at risk to his own life.

"It was never known how the fire originated. Some say it was due to a defective flue. To my mind," [concludes the pious historian],[27] "it was the Divine Will that Dinant should be destroyed on account of the pride and ill deeds of the people. I trust to G.o.d who knows all. The duke's people alone lost more than a hundred thousand crowns' value."

_Cy fust Dinant_, "Dinant was," is the sum of his description, four days after the conflagration.[28]

On September 1st, Philip, who had remained at Bouvignes while all this pa.s.sed under the direction of Charles, took boat and sailed down to Namur. It was almost a triumph,--that trip that proved one of the last ever made by the proud duke--and the procession on the river and the entry into Namur were closed by a humble emba.s.sy from Liege in regard to certain points of their peace.

Du Clercq gravely relates, by the way, that the Count of St. Pol's men had had no part in the plunder of Dinant. This was hard on the poor fellows. Therefore, Philip turned over to their mercies, as a compensation for this deprivation, the little town of Tuin, which had been rebellious and then submitted. Tuin accepted its fate, submitted to St. Pol, and then compounded the right of pillage for a round sum of money. Moreover, they promised to lay low their gates and their walls and those of St. Trond. In this way, it is said that the constable made ten thousand Rhenish florins. Still both he and his men felt ill-compensated for the loss of the booty of Dinant.

Charles continued a kind of hara.s.sing warfare on the various towns of Liege territory. The people of Liege themselves seem to have varied in their humour towards Charles, sometimes being very humble in their pet.i.tions for peace and again very insolent. As a rule, this conduct seems to be traceable to their hope of Louis's support. On September 7th, there was one pitched battle where victory decided the final terms of the general peace, and after various skirmishes and submissions, Charles disbanded his troops for the winter and joined his father at Brussels.

[Footnote 1: _Doc. inedits sur l'hist. de France_. "Melanges," ii., 398.]

[Footnote 2: Polain, _Recits historiques sur l'ancien pays de Liege_, I, etc.]

[Footnote 3: See Kirk, _Charles the Bold_, i., 329.]

[Footnote 4: Jacques de Hemricourt suggested four chief points of difficulty in Liege government:

1. The size of the council--two hundred, where twenty would do.

2. The equal voice granted to all gilds without regard to size, when all were a.s.sembled by the council to vote on a matter.

3. Extension of franchise to youths of fifteen.

4. Facile naturalisation laws. (_See_ Kirk, i., 325.)]

[Footnote 5: In many cases when the interdict was imposed, it is probable that it was only partially operative.]

[Footnote 6: See Victor Hugo, _Le Rhin_, i. The Walloon dialect varies greatly between the towns. Here are a few words of the "Prodigal Son"

as they are written in Liege, Huy, and Lille:

LIEGE. Jesus lizi d'ha co: In homme aveut deux fis. Li pus jone derit a s'pere: pere dinnez-m'con qui m'dent riv' ni di vosse bin; et l'pere lezi partagea s'bin.

HUY. Jesus l'zi d'ha co: Eun homme avut deux fis. Li peus jone derit a s'pere etc.

LILLE. Jesus leu dit incore: un homme avot deux garchens. L'pus jeune dit a sin pere-mon pere donez me ch que j'dor recouvre d'vo bien; et l'pere leu-z-a done a chacun leu parchen.

See also _Doc. inedits concernant l'hist. de la Belgique_, ii., 238, for comment on Scott's treatment of the language.]

[Footnote 7: The numbers are probably exaggerated. To-day it contains about two hundred thousand.]

[Footnote 8: Du Clercq, iv., 203.]

[Footnote 9: Du Clercq, iv., 249.]

[Footnote 10: Du Clercq, iv., 239-262.]

[Footnote 11: Gachard, _Doc. ined_., ii., 285, 322. For letters and negotiations anterior to this peace see p. 197 _et seq_.]

[Footnote 12: Duclos, v., 236.]

[Footnote 13: Book ii., ch. i. To-day there are only about eight thousand inhabitants.]

[Footnote 14: In addition to Commines and Du Clercq _see also_ Kirk, i., 385, for quotations from Borgnet and others.]

[Footnote 15: Gachard, _Doc. ined_., i., 213, _et pa.s.sim_.]

[Footnote 16: Gachard, _Doc. ined.,_ ii., 350.]

[Footnote 17: Est falme commune que tres haute princesse la ducesse de Bourgogne, a cause desdictes injures at conclut telle hayne sur cestedite ville de Dinant qu'elle a jure comme on dist que s'il li devoit couster tout son vaellant, fera ruynner cestedite ville en mettant toutes personnes a l'espee. (Gachard, _Doc. ined_., ii., 222.)]

[Footnote 18: Gachard, _Doc. ined_., ii., 337, _et pa.s.sim_.]

[Footnote 19: Du Clercq, iv., 273.]

[Footnote 20: He says messengers were put to death without regard to their sacred office, even a little child being torn limb from limb.

Priests were thrown into the river for refusing to say ma.s.s, and the situation was strained to the last degree.]

[Footnote 21: _Qui a mande ce vieil monnart vostre duc_, etc.]

[Footnote 22: Du Clercq, iv., 278.]

[Footnote 23: De Ram, _Doc.u.ments relatifs aux troubles du pays de Liege,_ "Henricus de Merica," p. 159.]

[Footnote 24: Vel vendebantur in servos. See De Ram _et pa.s.sim_ for doc.u.ments.]

[Footnote 25: It seems to be well attested that the prisoners were tied together and drowned.]

[Footnote 26: Du Clercq, iv., 280.]

[Footnote 27: _Ibid._, 281.]

[Footnote 28: In 1472, a new church was erected "on the spot formerly called Dinant" and after that, little by little, the town came to life. (Gachard, _a.n.a.lectes Belgiques_, 318, etc.).]

CHAPTER VIII

THE NEW DUKE

1467