The whole management of this affair was very strange. I do not speak it either to excuse the constable’s faults, or to upbraid the duke or the king, for both of them had been sufficiently injured by him: but there was no necessity for the Duke of Burgundy, who was so potent a prince and of such an illustrious and honourable family, to have given him his protection in order to imprison him; and without dispute, it was the highest act of injustice and severity imaginable to deliver him up to a person who, he was sure, would put him to death, especially upon the account of avarice. After this dishonourable action the duke’s good fortune was strangely altered; so that by reflecting upon what God has done in our time, and does still every day, it is evident He will not let injustice go long unpunished, and that all these strange dispensations proceed solely from Him; for these sudden chastisements are beyond the power of nature, especially when they are inflicted on such as commit violence or cruelty, who are commonly great persons, as kings, princes, or potentates. The house of Burgundy had been in a very prosperous and flourishing condition for a long time, and for a hundred years, or thereabouts, four of that family had reigned in as great splendour and reputation as any house in Christendom. Others, perhaps, were more potent, but they were involved in wars and afflictions, whilst this family enjoyed an uninterrupted career of peace and plenty. The first great person of this family was Philip the Bold[497], brother to Charles V., King of France[498], who married the daughter and heiress of the Earl of Flanders, countess of that country, Artois, Burgundy, Nevers, and Rethel. The second was John. The third was Philip the Good, who annexed to his hereditary territories the duchies of Brabant, Luxembourg, Limbourg, Holland, Zealand, Hainault, and Namur. The last was Charles, who after his father’s death was reputed to be one of the richest and most powerful princes in Christendom, and possessed, in jewels, plate, household stuff, and books, more than any other three houses of Europe could boast of. Of ready money I have seen more elsewhere (for Duke Philip the Good had levied no taxes for a long time), and yet he left his son above 300,000 crowns in ready cash, and at peace with all his neighbours; but that was of no long continuance. Yet I will not lay the beginning of the wars solely to his charge, for there were other persons as deeply concerned in that affair as himself.