Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/248

 2 1 2 Readings in European History mercy and delivered up the towns which had been con- fided to their protection, Coutances, Bayeux, Lisieux, and Avranches, with their castles and suburbs. As for Evraux and Seez, he already had them in his power. Of all Nor- mandy there only remained Rouen, a very rich town, full of noble men, the capital of all Normandy, and Verneuil and Arques, strong towns well situated and well defended. Returning from Caen, the king, having left garrisons in the various cities and castles, laid siege to Rouen. The Normans, seeing that they could not defend them- selves, nor could expect any aid from the king of England, began to think of surrender ; nevertheless they judiciously took precautions in order to remain faithful to the king of Eng- land. They humbly asked the king of the French to grant a truce of thirty days, which should close at the feast of St. John, for their own city [Rouen] and for Verneuil and Arques, which were in league with Rouen. In this interval they might be able to send to the king of England and ask for aid in so pressing a danger. If he should refuse, the Normans agreed to place their goods and persons, the city and the said castles, in the hands of the victorious Philip, king of the French, and to give as hostages sixty sons of the burghers of Rouen. At the feast of St. John, the burghers, having received no aid from the king of England, fulfilled their promise and delivered to the king of the French their city of Rouen, a rich town, the capital of all Normandy, with the two castles of which we have spoken above. Three hundred and six- teen years had elapsed since this city and all Normandy had ceased to belong to the kings of France. The Northman Rollo, who had come with his pagan followers, had taken it by right of arms in the time of Charles the Simple. VI. ST. Louis We are particularly fortunate in possessing full and interesting accounts of St. Louis, who was the very ideal of a devout and sagacious mediaeval ruler. The