II. the question at rest for ever. The king in reply CHAP. reminded him, that since he had unlawfully slain the bishop of Chichester,153 his adherents had openly boasted of his pretended claim to the succession, whence it was not surprising if the advisers of the crown should occasionally adopt measures of precaution: but added, that to set his mind at ease on that subject, he still held him to be a true and faithful subject, and his own well-beloved cousin. York now demanded that all persons" noised or indicted of "treason should be apprehended and imprisoned in the Tower, till they could be brought to trial; and the king replied that a new council should be appointed, in which he should be included, and that all matters in debate should be decided by the majority of that council.154 To satisfy hiin, however, he ordered the duke of Somerset into custody on which York disbanded his army, and submitted to visit Henry in his tent unarmed and bare-headed. There the two rivals met: the charge of treason was retorted from one to the other: and the duke, as he left the king, was immediately arrested. Had the advice of Somerset been followed, he would have been brought to his trial, or terrified into a confession, and executed. But Henry 153 The murder of the Bishop at Portsmouth was attributed to the emissaries of the duke. 154 These instruments have been preserved by Stow, 393–395. The last is also in Fenn, i. 65. II. : CHAP. recoiled from the idea of shedding the blood of a cousin the report, that the earl of March was advancing with an army to liberate his father, intimidated the council, and an offer of his liberty was made to the duke on condition that he would again swear fealty to the king. He took the oath on the sacrament in St. Paul's before the lords and a numerous audience, and was permitted to retire to his castle of Wig An unsuccessful attempt to recover Guienne. Oct. 17. more. 155 At this moment, when Henry was relieved from all apprehension of a contest for the throne, arrived a deputation from the inhabitants of Guienne, who, impatient under the yoke of their new masters, offered to renew their allegiance, and solicited the aid of an English army. The invitation was accepted with eagerness, and the command given to Talbot, the veteran Earl of Shrewsbury, who had reached his eightieth year. With four thousand men he sailed to Guienne; his son Lord Lisle brought him a reinforcement of an equal number: and before winter, Bourdeaux, with the whole of the Bordelais, and Chatillon in Perigord, had submitted. The next spring he opened the campaign with the capture of the town of Fronsac but there the tide of victory turned: the French marshals Loheac and Jalagnes ad 155 See the oath in Stow, 395. Whethamstede, 349, and Rot. Parl. v. 346. II. vanced with twenty-two thousand men: and CHAP. the count of Penthievre invested the important fortress of Chatillon. Talbot hastened to its 1453. relief: early in the morning he surprised and July 20. defeated a numerous body of the enemy: but the fugitives gave the alarm, and the French retired into an intrenched camp lined with three hundred pieces of cannon.156 Talbot, yielding to the ardour of his followers, ordered an assault and his opponents were seen to waver, when the count of Penthievre, arriving with a new body of men, determined the fate of the battle. The English commander, who had his horse killed under him, and his leg broken, was slain, as he lay on the field, with a bayonet : his son, though repeatedly urged to retire, fell in attempting to rescue his father; and the army, after the death of its leader, dispersed in every direction. A thousand men, who had fought their way into the fortress, were made prisoners. From Chatillon Charles pursued his victorious career, till he had reached the gates of Bourdeaux. That city was obstinately defended by six thousand armed citizens, and four thousand English but famine compelled them to surrender after a siege of seven weeks, on condition Oct. 19. that the English should retire with all their pro 156 Eneas Sylv. oper. p. 441. He says these bombards had been brought on carriages, and discharged three hundred stones into the midst of the English. VOL. V. II. CHAP. perty, and the natives with a few exceptions should be received under the protection of the conqueror. From that moment Guienne was incorporated with the dominions of the French monarch.157 Birth of a prince. March 6. While the nation was intoxicated with the joy caused by the first successes of Talbot, Henry summoned a parliament, which, besides liberal supplies of money, voted an army of twenty thousand archers to be raised and paid at the expense of the several counties.158 It had been intended that the king should put himself at the head of this force: but the design was at first postponed, and ultimately abandoned on account of the declining state of his health. If Oct. 13. that circumstance raised, another occurred to lower, the hopes of the Yorkists. In autumn the queen was delivered of a son, whom she called Edward. It was in vain that the king's enemies attempted to throw doubts on the legitimacy of the young prince. Their suspicions were silenced by the concurrent voice of the 157 Monstrel. iii. 41-59. Hall, 165, 166. Æneas Sylv. ibid. 158 Rot. Parl. 230-233. On what principle the different proportions were fixed, is not mentioned: but if on that of population, it will follow that Norfolk contained more inhabitants than any other county. It was to raise 1012 men: the next in number were Lincoln 910, York 713, Kent 575, and Wilts 478. The cities and towns, which were counties at the same time, were rated as follows: London 1137, York 152, Norwich 121, Bristol 86, Coventry 76, Newcastle 53, Hull 50, Southampton and Lincoln 44, and Nottingham 30. nation: and the prospect of an undisputed succession was hailed with joy by the friends of tranquillity, 159 CHAP. II. Unfortunately, however, Henry by this time Henry's had sunk into a state of mental, as well as bo- incapacity. dily incapacity.16 His melancholy situation, 160 He 1454. Feb. 14. which could not be concealed, rendered it necessary to prorogue the parliament: and recalled the duke of York into the cabinet. soon gained the ascendency over his rival, and Somerset was committed to the tower. 161 When Nov. 25. the parliament re-assembled, he opened the session in the king's name, with the title of his lieutenant. The commons had already shewn themselves stedfastly attached to the royal cause but the duke had contrived to throw into prison their speaker, Thomas Thorp, one of the barons of the exchequer. In an action for trespass (whether it were real or feigned is unknown) he had obtained a verdict in his own favour with damages to the amount one thousand pounds and Thorp had been committed to the Fleet, till he should give security for that sum, and pay a proportional fine to the crown. was in vain that the commons petitioned for the Feb. 16. It 159 Fab. 456. 160 Apud Claryngtone subito occidit in gravem infirmitatem capitis, ita quod extractus a mente videbatur. Wyrcest. 477. Ut sensu pro tempore careret et memoria.... nec valeret pedibus pergere, nec sursum erigere verticem, nec de loco in quo sedebat, bene se movere. Whetham. 349. 161 Rym. xi. 362. Rot. Parl. v. |