A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Volume 4Guizot, François
History
A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Volume 4
Guizot, François
France -- History
Never was man more dumbfounded than King Henry, who said to King Francis,
‘Brother, you have done me a better turn than ever man did to another,
and you show me the great trust I ought to have in you. I yield myself
your prisoner from this moment, and I proffer you my parole.’ He undid
from his neck a collar worth fifteen thousand angels, and begged the King
of France to take it and wear it that very day for his prisoner’s sake.
And, lo, the king, who wished to do him the same turn, had brought with
him a bracelet which was worth more than thirty thousand angels, and
begged him to wear it for his sake, which thing he did, and the King of
France put what had been given him on his neck. Thereupon the King of
England was minded to get up, and the King of France said that he should
have no other chamber-attendant but himself, and he warmed his shirt and
handed it to him when he was up. The King of France made up his mind to
go back, notwithstanding that the King of England would have kept him to
dinner; but, inasmuch as there was to be jousting after dinner, he
mounted his horse and went back to Ardres. He met a many good folk who
were coming to meet him, amongst the rest l’Aventureux [a name given to
Fleuranges himself], who said to him, ‘My dear master, you are mad to
have done what you have done; I am very glad to see you back here, and
devil take him who counselled you.’ Whereupon the king said that never a
soul had counselled him, and that he knew well that there was not a soul
in his kingdom who would have so counselled him; and then he began to
tell what he had done at the said Guines, and so returned, conversing, to
Ardres, for it was not far.”
“Then began the jousts, which lasted a week, and were wondrous fine, both
a-foot and a-horseback. After all these pastimes the King of France and
the King of England retired to a pavilion, where they drank together.
And there the King of England took the King of France by the collar, and
said to him, ‘Brother, I should like to wrestle with you,’ and gave him a
feint or two; and the King of France, who is a mighty good wrestler, gave
him a turn and threw him on the ground. And the King of England would
have had yet another trial; but all that was broken off, and it was time
to go to supper. After this they had yet three or four jousts and
banquets, and then they took leave of one another [on the 24th of June,
1520], with the greatest possible peace between the princes and
princesses. That done, the King of England returned to Guines, and the
King of France to France; and it was not without giving great gifts at
parting, one to another.” [_Memoires de Fleuranges,_ pp. 349-363.]
[Illustration: The Field of the Cloth of Gold----45]
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