VIII. -- CHAP. enlarging on the policy of the Pope, who appealed to the French clergy, appealed himself to all classes of the French, and summoned, for the first time, the three estates to assemble in the cathedral of Notre Dame, in April 1302. On a former occasion Philip the Hardy had summoned the nobles and clergy. In the present quarrel not only the clergy, but the noblesse, might be considered as having special causes of complaint against the legists and the magistrates of the king; those who profited most by the anti-feudal and anti-ecclesiastic policy and laws of the seneschals and baillis were the inhabitants of towns. And these, accordingly, were now summoned by the ordonnances of Philip to assent and give their opinion, simultaneously with the nobles and the clergy. Previous to the assembling of the estates, the king caused the last bull of the Pope to be burnt in the presence of the court and people, a novel and remarkable proceeding. At the same time a kind of summary of the bull, or of its arguments, was prepared by the chancellor, the condensation of papal pretensions being not ill calculated to disgust opinion in France, at that time far more loyal than devout. In this summary the Pope is made to tell the King of France that he is subject in temporal matters as well as in spiritual; that the conferring of benefices and prebendaries belonged to the Holy See; that if the king had the guard of them, it was but to preserve them for future incumbents, and that if the monarch had conferred any benefice, such grant was null. A fitting and corresponding reply by royalty was joined to this, letting the Pope's "fatuity know that the king was subject to none but God in temporal matters, that the conferring of benefices belonged to the crown by right, and that this right would be maintained." * Dupuy has collected all the information and documents respect ing this dispute, and they form a goodly volume. VIII. Pierre Flotte, the chancellor, spoke in much the same CHAP. terms to the assembled states. He enlarged upon the evil designs of Rome against the Gallican Church, the Pope reserving so many bishoprics and preferments for strangers, who resided out of the kingdom, that prelates had no means of promoting the deserving ecclesiastics of their own diocese. The local and national clergy were in all preferments set aside, and these heaped upon the Pope's creatures: archbishops had now no power over bishops, who looked and appealed to Rome. It was the king's intention to right the wrongs of the national clergy if the Pope would allow him. This appeal, principally addressed to the clergy, was enthusiastically answered by the nobles, in whose name Robert Count of Artois made offer of their lives and substance for the king's defence-if the monarch was prepared to dissemble or endure the encroachments of the Pope, his nobles were not. The Tiers Etat, or the deputies of the towns, were as ardent for "the liberty," that is, the independence, of the kingdom. The clergy alone asked for time to prepare an answer; but being pressed, they admitted that they were also obliged to defend the king and the national liberties, many of them having taken an oath to that effect for the counties, baronies, and fiefs which they held. Each of the estates then withdrew, in order to prepare letters expressive of their declared sentiments. The nobles addressed theirs to the cardinals of the Church of Rome, complaining of the Pope's conduct, and saying that none but anti-Christ would have been guilty of such deeds. This expression, attributed by Dupuy to the assembled nobles of France, is a remarkable reproduction of the old reproach of the Albigenses. The commons also addressed their letters to the cardinals, and were, it appears, still more disrespectful to his Holiness, the cardinals in their answer complaining of this, whilst denying that the Pope had ever claimed tem VIII. CHAP. poral jurisdiction over the crown or kingdom of France. The prelates took the opportunity of disapproving of the Bishop of Pamier's mission; they demanded that the Gallican Church should be left entire, and themselves dispensed with proceeding to Rome. After making their declaration and drawing up these letters, the first States General of France were dismissed. The Pope made answer to the French clergy in a style neither consistent nor temperate. He accused that Belial, Pierre Flotte, of misrepresenting him, yet insisted that the grand distinction of the Chancellor between things temporal and spiritual was a Manichean heresy, implying that there were two principles. As the conclusion to these singular premises, the Pope boasted that he would dethrone Philip, by raising up numberless enemies to him, both on the side of England and of Germany, who would soon show him how much the power of a king of France could avail against that of a Sovereign Pontiff. Boniface was not wrong in thus pointing out the weakness of Philip the Fair. At the time of the assembling of the States General word must have reached him of a movement of the Flemings against his lieutenants, and the massacre of a considerable number of his soldiers. "It has been related," writes Villani, "how the King of France obtained the signory of Flanders, the count and his two sons remaining in his prisons, his officers and his baillis occupying the county; and how the weavers and fullers, the butchers, shoemakers and others, petitioned against the taxes on their trades and those upon the land, which were insupportable. These grievances were neither listened to nor rectified. On the contrary, the king's baillis, at the prayer of the grandee citizens and in return for their money, put the chiefs of these trades and of the lower orders of the people in prison. These chiefs were Pierre Konig, weaver, and Jean Bride, butcher. Konig was small 1 VIII. and spare, blind of an eye and more than sixty, spoke CHAP. no language save Flemish, but with all that was powerful to stir the whole country." At the news that these heads of trades were arrested and in prison, the people of Bruges rose in insurrection, overpowered with ease the small force that the governor, Jacques de St. Pol, had at his disposal, and liberated the prisoners. Both parties repaired to Paris, where the Parlement gave sentence against the people. When this was known, the commune armed all the citizens adhering to it, and the few French having already evacuated Bruges, the people marched to the neighbouring towns, of which they slew the baillis, killing the rich proprietors who dwelt in the country. To put a stop to these disorders Jacques de St. Pol raised a force of 1500 knights, with a body of infantry, and entered Bruges. No resistance was offered, and the palace of the municipality was occupied by the French. The town seemed resigned to its fate, when it began to be rumoured that St. Pol had not concealed his intention of hanging a certain number of the citizens on the following day. The Bruges folk determined to anticipate such acts of vengeance. Pierre Konig reappeared amongst them, and his insurrection was speedily organised. The newly arrived French force was surprised, the horses and accoutrements of the knights seized by the conspirators, whilst the soldiers, making an effort to muster on foot, were cut in pieces or stoned. The bodies of 1200 knights and of 2000 infantry strewed the streets of Bruges: Jacques de St. Pol, who had been lodged near the gates, escaped. Such an outrage upon the crown of France, and upon its army, could not but bring upon Flanders all the forces that Philip was able to muster. The Flemings prepared to resist the storm. They chose Guy of Juliers, grandson of the Count of Flanders, to be their commander. Though a cleric, he did not hesitate to VIII. CHAP. obey the call, in order to avenge his family, so cruelly betrayed by the French king. His brother, made prisoner at Furnes by the Count d'Artois, had perished in that rude prince's keeping. His first attempt was to induce the people of Ghent to join the insurrection; but its rich burgesses preferred French rule to that of the Count of Flanders. Bruges, however, was supported by all the lesser and maritime towns of Flanders. Guy of Namur, a son of the Count, who had escaped to Germany, also returned with a body of soldiers from that country, and reassured the Flemings. These surprised one of the ducal manors, in which were 500 French, and then took Courtray, occupying the town but not the castle. It was immediately besieged, as well as that of Cassel, the people of Ypres rallying to the Flemish cause. The French garrison of the town of Courtray sent pressing messengers for aid, and Robert of Artois marched with 7000 knights and 40,000 foot, of which one-fourth were archers. The Flemish were but 20,000, of which none but the chiefs had horses. Neither were their armour or their weapons of a perfect kind, the latter being a lance like a boar spear, or a knotted stick pointed with iron, and called in Flemish a good day. The Princes of Juliers and Namur posted their combatants on the road which leads from Courtray to Ghent, behind a canal that cominunicated with the river Lys. A priest came with the host, but there being no time to receive the communion, each man took some earth in his mouth. The counts then knighted Pierre Konig and the chiefs of bands, and took their station on foot with the rest. The French had nine battalions or divisions, their archers or light troops being Lombards or Navarrese and Provençals. These the constable placed foremost, to commence the fight and harass the Flemings by their missiles. But the Count d'Artois overruled this ma |