FRA 
tiff, fruitful in intrigue, fummoned new enemies from 
every quarter to diflurb the tranquillity of his reign. The 
fpiritual thunders of excommunication were hurled 
againft Louis ; and the execution of the fentence was 
entruited to the arm of Leopold of Auftria, brother of 
the vanquifhed and imprifoned Frederic. A confiderable 
fum of money fecured the perfeverance of Leopold ; and 
jt was at length determined that a new council of the 
electors (hould be held, to transfer the imperial crown to 
Charles. Seduced by thefe flattering expectations, the 
King of France, with a fplendid equipage and a large 
train of nobility, fet out for the frontiers of Germany ; 
but he was foor, convinced that he followed an airy phan¬ 
tom, which conftantly eluded his grafp. Of the various 
princes who had profefled themfelves in his interefl, the 
avarice of Leopold alone fecured his appearance ; even the 
king of Bohemia abfented himfelf; and the death of his 
Utter Mary, queen of France, finally diflblved his engage¬ 
ments. The death of queen Mary was occafioned by a 
fall, which deftroyed the hopes which Charles had de¬ 
rived from her pregnancy. Solicitous to eftablifh by 
male heirs the peaceable fucceflion of the crown, on the 
death of his confort he raifed to the royal bed his coufin- 
german, Joanna daughter to Louis count of Evreux ; 
and, anticipating the calamities which were to affliCt his 
kingdom, he endeavoured, by every alliance, to avert the 
impending ftonvt. In his treaty with Robert Bruce king 
of Scotland, he had inferted' an article, that in cafe 
either monarch (hould die without an heir apparent, the 
ftates of the kingdom (hould fill the vacant throne, and 
the other king (hould fupport with his whole force 
the legality of their nomination againft the pretenfions 
of any competitor. But even thefe precautions were too 
weak to reftrain the enterprifes of inordinate ambition ; 
and the vigilance of the monarch, though thus inceflantly 
difplayed, was infufficient to proteCt his fubjeCts from the 
cruel wars to which they were deftined. 
Charles, on the death of Edward II. king of England, 
in 1327, had fummoned his fon and (ucceffor, Edward III. 
to yield him homage for the lands which he held in 
France; but, in conformity with the moderation of his 
government, he accepted as an excufe the unfettled date 
of that monarch’s affairs; and equally inclined to propi¬ 
tiate the views of the princes of the blood, he beftowed 
on L,ouis, grandfon of Louis IX. the province of Marche 
in exchange for Clermont, and ereCted into a dukedom 
liis barony of Bourbon. The gradual decay of his health 
announced his approaching diftblution, and he expired, 
A.D. 1328, in the feventh year of his reign, and the 
thirty-fourth of his age, leaving his queen pregnant. 
Being on his death-bedreminded of fettling the fucceflion, 
he anfwered, that if his confort was delivered of a daugh¬ 
ter, that important care belonged to the parliament. 
From Hugh Capet to Louis the Boifterous, the crown 
of France had defcended from father to fon for eleven 
generations; and the fucceftive reigns of the different 
monarchs had all contributed to extend their dominions 
and authority. They had fhalcen off their fe'rvile depen¬ 
dence on the clergy, had reduced the exorbitant power 
of the nobility, and had eftabliftied the royal revenue on 
a more certain and permanent foundation ; after near three 
centuries and a naif the immediate pofterity of Hugh ex¬ 
pired in Charles IV. and the leeptre paflfed over to the 
race of Valois. 
From the ACCESSION of the HOUSE of VALOIS, 
to the CONQUEST of FRANCE by HENRY V. 
of Eds GLAND. 
The male pofterity of Philip the Fair was extinguifhed 
in Charles iV. and,while the fucceflion depended on the 
fruit of His widow’s pregnancy, the unfettled ftate of the 
kingdom demanded a regent. Two competitors appeared 
for this important truft ; and in their pretenfions to the 
regency, urged their claims to the crown. The one was 
Philip de Valois, coufin-german to the deceafed king, 
Vol. VII. No. 459, 
N C E. 677 
being the fon of Charles de Valois brother of Philip the 
Fair; the other was Edward HI. king of England, who 
in right of his mother afpired to the throne of France as 
the nephew of Charles the Fair. But females had long 
been excluded by an eftabliftied opinion which had 
acquired the force of law. It had been recently con¬ 
firmed in the fucceffion of Philip the Long, in preference 
to the daughter of Louis X. and even had it been admit¬ 
ted, it muft have proved fatal to the hopes of Edward, as 
each of the three laft kings had left behind them daughters 
who were ftill alive. Under thefe circumftances, Edward 
thought proper to abandon the ground of immediate fe¬ 
male fucceflion; and to affert, that although his mother 
Ifabella was, on account of her fex, incapable of the fuc¬ 
ceflion ; yet he himfelf, who inherited through her, was 
liable to no fucli objection, and might claim by the right 
of propinquity ; and that while the weaknefsof a woman 
was precluded from afeending the throne of France, the 
fame exclufion did not extend to the male claimants of 
her ifflie. Yet, had this argument been allowed, the 
profpeCts of Edward would have been intercepted by 
Charles king of Navarre, defcended from the daughter of 
Louis the Boifterous; but they were equally oppofed by 
cuftom and policy ; the claim of Philip de Valois to the 
regency was therefore unanimoufly admitted ; and, on the 
queen dowager being delivered of a daughter, he in right 
of fucceflion afeended the throne. 
The coronation of Philip VI. furnamed the Fortunate , 
was celebrated at Rheims, A. D. 1328 ; and among the 
peers who aflifted was Louis count of Flanders, perfe- 
cuted and driven into exile by bis fubjeCts for his invaria¬ 
ble attachment to France. The honour and interefl; of 
Philip loudly urged to reftore him; for which purpofe he 
levied a powerful army. Accompanied by the king of 
Navarre, the duke of Burgundy, and the flower of the 
French nobility, he entered Flanders, and found the 
Flemings ftrongly entrenched on the fide of a fteep moun¬ 
tain, with a river in their front, and the town of Caffel 
in their rear. Their inferior numbers were fupplied by 
the ftrength of their pofition ; and Philip muft have re¬ 
tired equally inglorious with his predeceffors, had he not 
been faved from fo difgraceful a meafure by the precipi¬ 
tate valour of the Flemings themfelves. On the memo¬ 
rable eve of St. Bartholomew they iflued from their 
works, and attacked the French with an impetuofity as 
refiftlefs as it was unexpected ; they penetrated even to 
the tent of the king, who efcaped with difficulty amidft 
the general confufion. But his fkill and example foon 
rallied his flying troops, and he feverely avenged his 
his danger and difgrace ; the Flemings were totally de¬ 
feated ; the town of Caflel was abandoned to the flames ; 
and the fubjeCts of the count of Flanders were compelled, 
reluctantly, to receive k mafter whom they now regarded 
with additional hatred. 
Although the pretenfions of Edward III. had been re¬ 
jected by the general voice of France, yet that monarch 
ftill perfifted in claiming what he confidered as his right; 
and, in 1330, both nations prepared for war. Philip 
diligently levied new forces, and fitted out a confiderable 
fleet; he attached to his interefts the pope, the king of 
Navarre, the duke of Brittany, and the count of Bar; and 
fortified himfelf on the fide of Germany with the alliance 
of the king of Bohemia, the Palatine, the dukes of Lor- 
rain and Auftria, the bifliop of Liege, the counts of 
Denxpont, Vaudemont, and Geneva. On the other hand, 
Edward was fupported by his father-in-law the count of 
Hainault; and engaged by large fubfidies the dukes of 
Brabant and Gueidres, the archbifliop of Cologn, the 
marquis of Juliers, the count of Namur, and the lords 
of Fauquemont and Baquen. A confiderable time had 
been employed in thefe negociations; but in 1338, both 
fides, impatient of further delay, were ready to enter 
upon aCtion. Edward, with a formidable armament, 
paffed the feas, and landed at Sluys. But two obftacles 
ftill remained ; the vaflals of the empire could not aCt 
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