The Romance of History (Volume 2); France - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1831. Excerpt: ... HISTORICAL SUMMARY. FIFTEENTH CENTURY. I Camia VI. ob. 1422. Chables VII. 1461. Lotru XI. 1483. Charles VIIL 1498. Louie XII. Charles possessed only the shadow of royalty, and the grandees fought for the substance. This is worthy of remark. When Hugh Capet ascended the throne, the nobles did not think it worth their while to oppose him. A prodigious change has taken place: royalty is now making gigantic strides towards tyranny; and the office of king, with or without the title, is worth applying for. The Duke of Orleans was made lieutenant-general much to the dissatisfaction of John, surnamed Sans-Pcur, the Duke of Burgundy. A. D. 1404. On some pretext of a difference of opinion with regard to taxation, John entered Paris with an army, and the duke left it without one. A. D. 1407. The duke was afterward treacherously murdered by his enemy; and a cordelier defended the deed with the maxim, that " it is lawful to kill a tyrant." John himself, however, produced a better argument still--an army, and the Parisians, who had no particular reason to grieve for the murder, were satisfied. The young Duke of Orleans, patronized by the Count d'Armagnac and other nobles, took up arms to avenge his father's death; and even the mad king himself, having recovered his reason, such as it was, for a moment, entered the field against John. A. D. 1411. Henry V. of England thought the opportunity too favourable to be allowed to slip; and with an invading army, weak in numbers but strong in valour, he gave battle to the French at Agineourt, and gained what is called a glorious victory. A. D. 1415.1 D'Armagnac recognised the conqueror as King of France. John Sans-Peur visited Paris, where the revels consequent on the event lasted three days, at the rate of a thousand murders a-d...