Great Britain -- History -- Henry VI, 1422-1461; Margaret, of Anjou, Queen, consort of Henry VI, King of England, 1430-1482
The battle was fought at a place called Bulgneville, and the fortune
of war, as it would seem, turned in this case against the right, for
Rene's party were entirely defeated, and he himself was wounded and
taken prisoner. He fought like a lion, it is said, as long as he
remained unharmed; but at last he received a desperate wound on his
brow, and the blood from this wound ran down into his eyes and blinded
him, so that he could do no more; and he was immediately seized by the
men who had wounded him, and made prisoner. The person who thus
wounded and captured him was the squire of a certain knight who had
espoused the cause of Antoine, named the Count St. Pol.
[Sidenote: Isabella's terror and distress.]
In the mean time Isabella had remained at Nancy with the children, in
a state of the utmost suspense and anxiety, awaiting the result of a
conflict on which depended the fate of every thing that was valuable
and dear to her. At length, at the window of the tower where she was
watching, with little Margaret in her arms, for the coming of a herald
from her husband to announce his victory, her heart sank within her to
see, instead of a messenger of joy and triumph, a broken crowd of
fugitives, breathless and covered with dust and blood, suddenly
bursting into view, and showing too plainly by their aspect of terror
and distress that all was lost. Isabella was overwhelmed with
consternation at the sight. She clasped little Margaret closely in her
arms, exclaiming in tones of indescribable agony, "My husband is
killed! my husband is killed!"
[Sidenote: Heavy tidings.]
Her distress and anguish were somewhat calmed by the fugitives
assuring her, when they arrived, that her husband was safe, though he
had been wounded and taken prisoner.
[Illustration: Distress of Margaret's Mother.]
[Sidenote: Sympathy for Isabella.]
[Sidenote: Isabella's interview with her uncle.]
There was a great deal of sympathy felt for Isabella in her distress
by all the people of Nancy. She was very young and very beautiful. Her
children, and especially Margaret, were very beautiful too, and this
greatly increased the compassion which the people were disposed to
feel for her. Isabella's mother was strongly inclined to make new
efforts to raise an army, in order to meet and fight Antoine again;
but Isabella herself, who was now more concerned for the safety of her
husband than for the recovery of her dominions, was disposed to pursue
a conciliatory course. So she sent word to her uncle that she wished
to see him, and entreated him to grant her an interview. Antoine
acceded to her request, and at the interview Isabella begged her uncle
to make peace with her, and to give her back her husband.
[Sidenote: Negotiations for peace.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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