Bundvica. aspect, clairvoyant character.] sheepheard) Iames of Are, and Isabell hir mother; brought vp poorelie in their trade of keeping cattell; borne at Domprin In vita (therefore reported by Bale, Ione Domprin) vpon Meuse in Lorraine, within the diocesse of Thoule. Of fauour was she [Joan's counted likesome, of person stronglie made and manlie, of courage power, and great, hardie, and stout withall: an vnderstander of counsels though she were not at them; great semblance of chastitie both of bodie and behauiour; the name of Iesus in hir mouth about all hir businesses; humble, obedient; and fasting diuerse daies in the weeke. A person (as their bookes make hir) raised vp by power diuine, onelie for succour to the French estate then deepelie in distresse; in whome, for planting a credit the rather, first the companie that toward the Dolphin did conduct hir, through places [Her all dangerous, as holden by the English, (where she neuer was afore,) all the waie and by nightertale safelie did she lead: then at the Dolphins sending by hir assignement, from saint Katharins church of Fierbois in Touraine, (where she neuer had beene and knew not,) in a secret place there among old iron, appointed she hir sword to be sought out and brought hir, (that with fiue floure delices was grauen on both sides,1) wherewith she fought and did manie slaughters by hir owne hands. On warfar rode she in armour cap a pie & mustered as a man; before hir an ensigne all white, wherin was Iesus Christ painted with a floure delice in his hand. perilous journey to Charles's Court.] [Her sword among old Katharine's was found iron at St. church at Fierbois.] Grand chro. 4. From head to foot [was she clad in Her armour]. ensign.] [Charles of his lords thoro picked him This saluta eth after him, but she out.] tion appear heere. [See Unto the Dolphin into his gallerie when first she was brought; some and he, shadowing himselfe behind, setting other gaie lords before him to trie hir cunning, from all the companie, with a salutation, (that indeed marz all the matter,) she pickt him out alone; 2 who therevpon had hir to the end of the gallerie, where she held him an houre in secret and priuate talke, that of his priuie chamber was thought verie long, and therefore would haue broken it off; but he made them a signe to let hir saie on. In which (among other), as likelie it was, she set out vnto him the singular feats (for sooth) giuen hir to vnderstand by reuelation diuine, that in vertue 1 Cp. 1 Hen. VI., I. ii. 98-101. 2 Cp. 1 Hen. VI., I. ii. 60-67. S" Reigneir. My Lord, me thinkes, is very long in talke."-1 Hen. VI., I. ii. 118. p. 239, below.] [His courtiers thought that Charles long she held in talk.] Les grand chronic. [She Orleans, and gave her an ariny, and she relieved Orleans, and caused him to be crowned at Rheims.] Dissention betwixt the duke of Glocester and of that sword shee should atchiue; which were, how with honor and victorie shee would raise the siege at Orleance, set him in state of the crowne of France, and driue the English out of the countrie, thereby he to inioie the kingdome alone. Heerevpon he hartened at full, appointed hir a sufficient armie with absolute power to lead them, and they obedientlie to doo as she bad them. Then fell she to worke, and first defeated, indeed, the siege at Orleance; by and by incouraged him to crowne himselfe king of France at Reims, that a little before from the English she had woone. Thus after pursued she manie bold enterprises to our great displeasure a two yeare togither: for the time she kept in state vntill she were taken and for heresie and witcherie burned; as in particularities hereafter followeth. Act I. sc. iii.-I preface this scene by quoting what Holinshed says about the open dissension of Gloucester and Winchester. In 1425 [Hol. iii. 590/2/60. Halle, 130.] fell a great diuision in the realme of England; which of a sparkle was like to haue grown to a great flame. For whether the bishop of Winchester, called Henrie Beaufort, (sonne to Iohn duke of Lancaster by his third wife,) the bishop of enuied the authoritie of Humfreie duke of Glocester, protectour of the realme; or whether the duke disdained at the riches and pompous estate of the bishop; sure it is that the whole realme was troubled with them and their partakers: Winchester. [Richard Woodvile (by Winchester's The action was partly developed from the first article in a series of five charges against Winchester, preferred by Gloucester at some time after February 18, and before March 7, 1426.1 [Hol. iii. 591/1/68. Halle, 130.] 1 First, whereas he, being protectour, and defendour of this land, desired the Tower to be opened to him, and to lodge him therein, Richard Wooduile 2 esquier (hauing at that time the charge of the keeping of the 1 Parliament met at Leicester on February 18, 1426.-Rot. Parl., iv. 295/1. On March 7, 1426, Gloucester and Winchester agreed to submit their differences to the arbitration of a committee of the Upper House.-Rot. Parl., iv. 297/2. Gloucester's five articles are not in Rot. Parl., but Winchester's answers to articles 4 and 5 appear there (298/1-2). 2 Created Earl Rivers on May 24, 1466.-Dugdale, iii. 231/1. Father of Elizabeth Woodvile, who married Sir John Grey, and (secondly) Edward IV. Woodvile's son Anthony is Earl Rivers in Rich. III. lord at refused to admit Gloucester within the Tower) refused his desire; and kept the same Tower against him order) vndulie and against reason, by the commandement of my said of Winchester; Winchester styles Gloucester a "most vsurping Proditor" (1. 31). Gloucester retorts (11. 33, 34): Stand back, thou manifest Conspirator, Thou that contriued'st to murther our dead Lord; Tower.] The fourth article of Gloucester's charges contains this accusation : [Hol. iii. 591/2/33. Halle, 131.] 4 Item, my said lord of Glocester saith and affirmeth, that our souereigne lord, his brother, that was king Henrie the fift, told him on a time, (when our souereigne lord, being prince, was lodged in the palace of Westminster, in the great chamber,) by the noise of a spaniell, there was on a night a man spied and taken behind a * tapet of the said or hangchamber; the which man was deliuered to the earle of Arundell to be examined vpon the cause of his being there at that time; the which so examined, at that time confessed that he was there by the stirring and procuring of my said lord of Winchester; ordeined to haue slaine the said prince there in his bed: wherefore the said earle of Arundell let sacke him 1 foorthwith, and drowned him in Caused the Thames. Obeying their master's command (1. 54), "Glosters men beat out the Cardinalls men, and enter in the hurly-burly the Maior of London and his Officers." The Mayor directs an officer to make " open Proclamation" against rioting, and threatens also to "call for Clubs" (11. 71, 84). Gloucester and Winchester then retire. After describing (ii. 595) how, on October 30, 1425, possession of London Bridge was contested by the followers of Gloucester and Winchester, Fabyan says (ii. 596): ing. [Winchester man to Prince of afterwards suborned a murder the Wales, Henry V.] him to be put in a sack.] of London bloodshed.] And lykely it was to haue ensued great Effucyon of blode shortly [The Mayor therupon, ne had ben the discressyon of the Mayre and his prevented Brether, that exorted the people, by all Polytike meane, to kepe the kynges peas. Act I. sc. iv.-Lords Salisbury, and Talbot, Sir William Glansdale, Sir Thomas Gargrave, and others enter "on the Turrets" of the bridgetower captured by the English (see p. 210 above), whence, through "a secret Grate," they can ouer-peere the Citie" (11. 10, 11). Talbot's narrative of his captivity and ransom (11. 27-56) contains nothing authentic save the exchange by which he obtained his freedom. But 66 The lord Talbot ransomed by exchange. [Talbot at the siege of Orleans.] captains used to view Orleans from a grated window in he was not released until 14331 (Holinshed was wrong in saying that Talbot was ransomed "with out delaie "), and the historic date of this scene is 1428. In 1431 an English force defeated some French troops at Beauvais. Many of the Frenchmen were taken. [Hol. iii. 606/2/34. Halle, 164.] Amongst other of the cheefest prisoners, that valiant capteine, Poton de Santrails, was one; who without delaie was exchanged for the lord Talbot, before taken prisoner at the battell of Pataie. But Talbot's association with Salisbury, in the siege of Orleans, is unhistorical. Salisbury was dead, and the 'battle of Patay-which deprived Talbot of his liberty-had not been fought, when Bedford [Hol. iii. 599/2/48. Halle, 146.] appointed the earle of Suffolke to be his lieutenant and capteine of the siege; and ioined with him the lord Scales, the lord Talbot, sir Iohn Fastolfe, and diuerse other right valiant capteins. The following excerpt shows that the circumstances of Salisbury's and Gargrave's deaths (11. 1-22; 60-88) are faithfully presented: [Hol. iii. 599/2/5. Halle, 145.] In the tower that was taken [The English at the bridge end (as before you haue heard) there was an high chamber, hauing a grate full of barres of iron, by the which a man might looke all the length of the bridge into the citie; at which the bridge- grate manie of the cheefe capteins stood manie times, viewing the citie, and deuising in what place it was best to giue the assault. gun against They within the citie well perceiued this tooting hole, and laid a peece of ordinance directlie against the window. tower. The besieged pointed a this tooting hole (spy hole).] [One day, Salisbury, and Glans dale were looking out at the window, the master It so chanced, that the nine and fiftith daie 5 after the siege was laid, the earle of Salisburie, sir Thomas Gargraue, and William Gla[n]sdale, with diuerse other went into the said tower, and so into the high chamber, and looked out at the grate; and, within a short space, the sonne of the maister-gunner, perceiuing men looking out at the window, tooke his match, (as his father had taught him; who was gone downe to dinner,) and fired the gun; the shot whereof Gargrave.] brake and shiuered the iron barres of the grate, so that one of the The earle of same bars strake the earle so violentlie on the head, that it stroke gunner's son fired, and mortally wounded Salisbury and Salisburie 1 Rymer, x. 536. 3 Poton] Pouton Hol. 2 Journal, xv. 427, 428. 4 Talbot and the others left Jargeau for Orleans on December 29, 1428.Chron. de la Pucelle, ix. 287. 5 See p. 209, n. 2, above. awaie one of his eies, and the side of his cheeke.1 Sir Thomas [and Sir Gargraue was likewise striken, and died within two daies. After a messenger brings news that Charles and Joan are coming to raise the siege (II. 100-103), and during the two remaining scenes of Act I., historic time must be supposed to have advanced from October, 1428-its position in sc. iv. ll. 1-97-to April 29-May 8, 1429. When Joan had received " a sufficient armie" (p. 212 above), she [Hol. iii. 600/2/68. Halle, 148.] roade from Poictiers to Blois, and there found men of warre, vittels, and munition, readie to be conueied to Orleance. Thomas Gargrave] slaine. Orleans.] Heere was it knowne that the Englishmen kept not so diligent watch as they had been accustomed to doo, and therefore this maid (with other French capteins) comming forward in the dead time of the [p. 601] night, and in a great raine and. thunder, [Joan enters [Cp. I. iv. 97] entred into the citie 2 with all their vittels, artillerie, and other necessarie prouisions. The next daie the Englishmen boldlie assaulted the towne, but the Frenchmen defended the walles, so as no great feat worthie of memorie chanced that daie [The English betwixt them, though the Frenchmen were amazed at the valiant Orleans.] attempt of the Englishmen: whervpon the bastard of Orleance gaue knowledge to the duke of Alanson, in what danger the towne stood without his present helpe; who, comming within two leagues ... 1 Mons. (v. 194) says that Salisbury "ainsi blessé,... véquit l'espace de huit jours." He died at Meung, "au bout de huit jours de sadite blessure."Ibid. If this limit of time be accepted, we must suppose that Salisbury was mortally wounded on or about October 27, for it appears from various inquisitions post mortem dated in January, 1429,-which were examined by Mr. Oswald Barron,—that the Earl died on November 3, 1428. The date Nov. 3 agrees with the following record of a contemporary chronicler: "le régent de France. partist de Paris le mercredi, veille de Saint-Martin d'yver [Nov. 10] mil quatre cent vingt-huit. Et le comte de Salcebry estoit mort la sepmaine devant."-Journal, xv. 379. The date Oct. 27 is not, however, reconcileable with Mons.'s assertion (v. 194) that Salisbury was wounded on the third day of the siege. According to the more exact Chron. de la Pucelle the siege began on October 12 (ix. 281, 282); the bridge-tower was taken by the English on October 24 (ix. 284, 285); and, on October 25, the French fortified their end of the bridge and planted guns to batter the tower (ix. 285, 286). After October 25 "advint un jour" on which Salisbury was mortally wounded (ix. 286). It does not necessarily follow that, because Mons. gave a wrong prior date, the third day of the siege, he was therefore mistaken in regard to the length of time during which Salisbury lingered between life and death. The beginning of the siege is vaguely dated by Mons. "environ le mois d'octobre."-v. 192. 2 On April 29, 1429.-Chron. de la Pucelle, ix. 309. assault |