Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 17.djvu/105

Edward Margaret of Bourbon, sister of the queen of France. The prince was much vexed at this, and, his temper probably being soured by sickness and disappointment, behaved with rudeness to both D'Albret and his intended bride. On the other hand, Charles offered the lord the pension which he had lost, and thus drew him and his uncle, the Count of Armagnac, altogether over to the French side. The immense cost of the late campaign and his constant extravagance had brought the prince into difficulties, and as soon as he returned to Bordeaux he called an assembly of the estates of Aquitaine to meet at St. Emilion in order to obtain a grant from them. It seems as though no business was done then, for in January 1368 he held a meeting of the estates at Angoulême, and there prevailed on them to allow him a fouage, or hearth-tax, of ten sous for five years. An edict for this tax was published on 25 Jan. The chancellor, John Harewell, held a conference at Niort, at which he persuaded the barons of Poitou, Saintonge, Limousin, and Rouergue to agree to this tax, but the great vassals of the high marches refused, and on 20 June and again on 25 Oct. the Counts of Armagnac, Périgord, and Comminges, and the lord of Albret laid their complaints before the king of France, declaring that he was their lord paramount (, i. 548 n., Buchon). Meanwhile the prince's friend Chandos, who strongly urged him against imposing this tax, had retired to his Norman estate.

Charles took advantage of these appeals, and on 25 Jan. 1369 sent messengers to the prince, who was then residing at Bordeaux, summoning him to appear in person before him in Paris and there receive judgment. He replied: 'We will willingly attend at Paris on the day appointed since the king of France sends for us, out it shall be with our helmet on our head and sixty thousand men in our company.' He caused the messengers to be imprisoned, and in revenge for this the Counts of Périgord and Comminges and other lords set on the high-steward of Rouergue, slew many of his men, and put him to flight. The prince sent for Chandos, who came to his help, and some fighting took place, though war was not yet declared. His health was now so feeble that he could not take part in active operations, for he was swollen with dropsy and could not ride. By 18 March more than nine hundred towns, castles, and other places signified in one way or another their adherence to the French cause (, vii. Pref. p. lviii). He had already warned his father of the intentions of the French king, but there was evidently a party at Edward's court that was jealous of his power, and his warnings were slighted. In April, however, war was declared. Edward sent the Earls of Cambridge and Pembroke to his assistance, and Sir Robert Knolles, who now again took service with, him, added much to his strength. The war in Aquitaine was desultory, and, though the English maintained their ground fairly in the field, every day that it was prolonged weakened their hold on the country. On 1 Jan. 1370 the prince sustained a heavy loss in the death of his friend Chandos. Several efforts were made by Edward to conciliate the Gascon lords [see under ], but they were fruitless and can only have served to weaken the prince's authority. It is probable that John of Gaunt was working against him at the English court, and when he was sent out in the summer to help his brother, he came with such extensive powers that he almost seemed as though he had come to supersede him. In the spring Charles raised two large armies for the invasion of Aquitaine; one, under the Duke of Anjou, was to enter Guyenne by La Reole and Bergerac, the other, under the Duke of Berry, was to march towards Limousin and Queray, and both were to unite and besiege the prince in Angoulême. Ill as he was, the prince left his bed of sickness (, 1. 4043) and gathered an army at Cognac, where he was joined by the Barons of Poitou and Saintonge, and the Earls of Cambridge, Lancaster, and Pembroke. The two French armies gained many cities, united and laid siege to Limoges, which was treacherously surrendered to them by the bishop, who had been one of the prince's trusted friends. When the prince heard of the surrender, he swore 'by the soul of his father' that he would have the place again and would make the inhabitants pay dearly for their treachery. He set out from Cognac with an army of twelve hundred lances, a thousand archers, and three thousand foot. His sickness was so great that he was unable to mount his horse, and was carried in a litter. The success of the French in Aquitaine was checked about this time by the departure of Du Guesclin, who was summoned to the north to stop the ravages of Sir Robert Knolles. Limoges made a gallant defence, and the prince determined to take it by undermining the walls. His mines were constantly countermined by the garrison, and it was not until the end of October, after a month's siege, that his miners succeieded in demolishing a large piece of wall which filled the ditches with its ruins. The prince ordered that no quarter should be given, and a terrible massacre took place