(

Had it not been for this prince, France would most probably have fallen under the domination of England. During his reign, the French re-conquered almost all the places taken by the English. This prince possessed a vigourous mind, but a delicate constitution of body, and was suddenly carried off in his forty-seventh year. He was one of the best of the French sovereigns, a patron of literature, and a sagacious statesman. He possessed a library of several hundred volumes; which was extremely large for the age.

§ It was through Du Guesclin, a celebrated general, whom the king raised to be Constable of France, that the French, after having been beaten by the English during thirty years, began to beat the latter in turn.

13. Charles VI., styled the Well Beloved, succeeded to the kingdom, 1380. He first made war on the Flemings, whom he defeated in the battle of Rosebeck. A formidable invasion, of which the object was the British shore, failed, in consequence of a tempest that dispersed and wrecked his ships. During this reign, a civil war occurred between the houses of Orleans and Burgundy, the cause of which pertained to the regency. Charles had fallen into a state of insanity, which, of course, rendered a regency necessary. In the midst of the contention, and of the miseries which it inflicted on France, Henry V. of England, invaded the country, and gained the memorable battle of Agincourt. The consequence of this victory, and other advantages gained by Henry, was the acknowledgment of his right to the French throne, on the death of Charles. These sovereigns died soon after, and within two months of each other.

§ Charles was a weak prince, and his insanity reduced him almost to idiotism.

The fleet which was fitted out for the invasion of England, consisted of 1287 sail, of which, sixty were ships of the line. In the centre was a wooden city, having a diameter of 3000 paces, provided with towers and bastions, and constructed over boats fastened together. It was so contrived as to be put together, or taken to pieces, in a day; and was intended to furnish lodgings for the troops, when they should be landed. The wreck only, of this singular city, reached the British shore.

Cards were invented in the reign of Charles VI., to amuse that monarch, and to relieve him from the melancholy which followed his alienation of mind.

14. Charles VII., surnamed the Victorious, was crowned at Poictiers, 1422, while, at the same time, the infant Henry

VI., was crowned at Paris, through the agency of the duke of Bedford, the English regent of France. This competi tion issued in war. The first great military operation un dertaken by the English, was the siege of Orleans, a place of the utmost importance. And here a transaction occurred, which is one of the most wonderful on record. This was the raising of the siege, and the consequent deliverance of France from the grasp of English power, by means of Joan of Arc, otherwise called the Maid of Orleans. The enthusiasm which she inspired at this juncture, by pretending to a divine commission, and by her singular and courageous appearance at the head of the French troops, rendered them invincible.

§Joan was a young country girl, of twenty-seven years, a domestic. of a tavernkeeper. Presenting herself to the council of Charles, who had fled in despair to Dauphine, she declared that God had, in a revelation, apprised her that the royal troops would force the enemy to retire from the siege. An assembly of divines pronounced her mission to be supernatural; and, at her own request, she was clothed like a man, and, in complete armour, headed the troops. A white palfrey bore her gaily to the scene of combat; while on her banner was displayed the image of our blessed Saviour. The English, raising the siege of Orleans, fled before her. The hopes of the nation were raised, as if by a miracle, and other conquests succeeded. The impulse which her heroism excited, enabled Charles to extend his triumphs to the banks of the Seine.

As a recompense for her important services, she was ennobled by Charles, together with the whole of her family, and their heirs and descendants. After she had effected the object of the mission, she requested leave to retire, but she was retained in the service, from the belief that it would be benefited by her presence. At the siege of Compeigne, not long after, she was made prisoner; and being tried by the English for sorcery, she was condemned to be burned. This sentence, which is an eternal disgrace to the judges who presided at the trial, was barbarously put into execution. When led to the stake, the heroic maid, overcome by her emotions, burst into tears. To prolong her tortures, a scaffolding of plaster had been contrived, with so great an elevation, that the flames required a considerable time to penetrate to her body, which was gradually consumed.

The tide of fortune turning against the English, they lost many of the French provinces; and, after the battle of Formigny, which was gained by Charles, they lost Paris itself. In the southern dominions, however, the French arms were paralized, for a time, by the brave Talbot, an illustrious EngHis death, and the fatal disputes between the

171

houses of York and Lancaster, placed the whole of the French monarchy, with the exception of Calais and Greignes, under the dominion of Charles, 1450.

§ The death of this prince was hastened by the undutiful and unnatural conduct of his son, the Dauphin. The latter formed a plot to cut off his father by poison. so haunted by the idea of treachery and poison, that he could not be This was discovered; but the king was prevailed on to receive that degree of nourishment, which was necessary to support life.

The Pragmatic Sanction originated in his reign, in a general assembly of the clergy and nobility, representing the Gallican church. Its aim was, to check the despotism of the popes. The superiority of the assemblies of the clergy over the See of Rome, formed the basis of its regulations.

ENGLAND.

Family of Plantagenet.-Branch of Lancaster. 14 Edward II., surnamed of Carnarvon, from the place of his birth, ascended the throne in 1307. He was the opposite of his father in character and disposition, being weak, indolent, and destitute of penetration in selecting his advi

sers.

Yet his inoffensive disposition, joined with his misfortunes, entitles him to respect, as well as commiseration. He made war on the Scots, but was terribly defeated by Robert Bruce, in the battle of Bannockburn. In consequence of this battle, the latter was established on the throne of Scotland, 1314. Edward was unfortunate in all his connexions. His queen, Isabella, sister of the French king, was an ambitious and worthless woman, and his favourites were equally detested by the people, and injurious to their sovereign. Edward, at last, fell a victim to his wife's cruelty and lust, and miserably perished.

§ It was in obedience to his father's dying request, that Edward invaded Scotland. He marched at the head of one hundred thousand men. Bruce met this immense force with only thirty thousand. The army of the latter was however advantageously situated. A hill covered his right flank, a morass his left, and to screen his front, he had dug deep pits, planted them with stakes, and covered them with turf. The English, confident in their superior numbers, rushed forward without precaution. Their cavalry was entangled in the pits, their ranks were broken, and the Scottish horse, pouring through the openings, scattered on every side slaughter and dismay. The English threw down their arms and fled, and were pursued to the gates

of Berwick. The defeat of Edward sunk him in the estimation o

his subjects.

The most famous of his favourites, were Gaveston, and the two Spencers, father and son. The queen, who persuaded the king to recal them after they had been banished by parliament, at length fixed her affections on Mortimer, a powerful baron. A breach soon followed between her and the Spencers, and going over to France with her paramour, she found the means to form such a party in England, that on her return with some French troops, she made her husband prisoner, and forced him to abdicate his crown in favour of his son, then fourteen years of age. While he was in prison, he was put to death by the keepers, who, with infinite barbarity, thrust a red hot iron into his bowels, until he was internally consumed. These wretches were instigated by Mortimer and the queen.

15. Edward III., succeeded his father, 1327, under the regency of Isabella and Mortimer. But to such a regency, he would not submit. At the age of eighteen, he assumed the reins of government, hanged Mortimer at Tyburn, and confined the queen, his mother, for life.

The conquest of Scotland soon became an object of ambition, and marching to the north with a large army, he vanquished the Scots at Halidown Hill, with little loss on the side of England.

On the death of Charles the Fair, in 1328, Edward, having a claim to the throne of France, as being the son of Isabella, the sister of the deceased king, and first in female succession, prepared to assert his claim (since the French rejected it) by the fortune of arms. For this purpose, he invaded France in 1339, and from that time to 1360, war raged furiously between the two countries, with only occasional suspensions.

During this long contention, were fought the famous battles of Cressy, in 1346, and Poictiers, in 1356. The battle of Cressy was fought between Philip, the French king, on the one side, and Edward and his son, the Black Prince, on the other. The army of Philip amounted to one hundred thousand men, that of the English, only to thirty thousand. The battle of Poictiers was fought between the Black Prince, and King John of France. The former commanded only sixteen thousand men, while the army of the latter amounted to sixty thousand. Notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, the English obtained a decided victory in both engagements. The heroism of the Black Prince has rendered his name ever famous in the annals of war.