Articles on Re-enacting and Living History

The Medieval German Experience

Being thoughts on correctly portraying the people and their lives

From Tomasz:

A levy (especially one coming from a freie Reichstadt) was a non professional army of citizens who had to fulfill their duty and guard theit city or to fight for it (or the emperor when he called). So it would be
composed from craftsmen, traders etc. There were regulations how much armour and weapons everybody should have (depending on his income), most of these men would be helebardiers with a helmet and a kind of bodyarmour or handgunners or crossbowmen. The levy would be commanded by Guildmasters or
Master Craftsmen from the same city, sometimes also by contracted mercenary captains. Longbows were not used in the empire as a weapon of war, simpler (though shorter bows were used for hunting). So it´s not wrong for you to call your group a levy (or a part of it), you just have to portray it ;-) So
you all should have clothes fron the Kassel area, which would been influenced by the big Hanse-cities like Lübeck and Hamburg. This means: felmish style, maybe a little poorer in decoration (though I do no know how rich Kassel was in the 1470ies), and maybe a little behind high fashion.

The Italian export armour would be ok for southern germany (though Italianarmourers made the export pieces to comply with the taste of the countrythey sold it to); but Barbutas were, as far as I know, only used at large inItaly. And speaking of it: northern Italy was connected to the empire, but
was not a real part of it, the rest consisted of city-states, duchies andkingdoms, and of course the Papal State. Clothing and armour were quite,when not very different from these used north of the alps. And never mindhaving to tell this to telling your italian friend. I´m polish, but as I
live in southern germany, I portray somebody from here. No problem ;-)

 

From Holger:

You're absolutely right about "Reichsheer". The "bann" originally is a legal term, meaning the right of the emperor to summon an army. "Heerbann" signifies an army recruited along constitutional lines, in contrast to a paid "private" army, which the emperor could recruit as well.

What's a Kussknecht? "Kuss" is a kiss, "knecht" a servant; I can't imagine the tactical pattern behind that... :-) Could it be "Fußknecht", which would mean servant on foot? ("ß" is a double "s", used after long vowels.)

being from Kassel myself, this doesn't come easy to me, but as one historian has put it: "If there was a shining centre in the Empire during the late Middle Ages, Kassel was certainly one of the places most far away from it". 

The north of Hessen has been poor and remains poor until now. Kassel was quite insignificant until the 18th century and has never been a free city, always subjected to the Landgraf. But certainly they had a civic militia under the Landgraf's command. And anyway, the people from north Hessen were always known as very good soldiers. They also had a strong tradition of serving as mercaneries, or rather: being sold as such by the Landgraf, e.g. in the American War of Independance.

 What do You think of this scenario for re-enactment: The militia on foot from Kassel's citizen, strengthened by some of the Landgraf's knights acting as officers, on their march to join the imperial host (Reichsheerbann) to defend the Empire's frontiers, say, in the 1470ies against the Burgundians (1474/5 Siege of Neuss in the Rhineland)? This was about the last time the medieval Empire has shown its muscles. I can get You some data on that. The Empire was some sort of federal state and had to recruit his force from the territorial princes, which makes it possible to combine the local and the imperial element for Your force.

 I've got an idea now of what you're heading for and I know material that might benefit you. There's a chronicle of Hessen written around 1500 with detailled descriptions of the wars fought and many illustrations. I'm going to scan them from the printed edition, so you can get a first hand impression of how you have to look like on re-enactment :-) There is more, but it will take until January, currently I'm very busy to get my dissertation ready for print.

 So here are just some instant replies to things you asked:

 - Hessen-Kassel ceased to exist as a territory of its own in 1866, when it was conquered by the Prussians, while Hessen-Darmstadt to the south was spared. This was shortly before the German national state was founded in 1871. When Prussia was dismembered in 1945, the two joined together as "Hessen", which today is one of Germany's 16 "lands", similar to a U.S. state.

 - From around 1900 or so, the city is spelled "Kassel", before that it was "Kassel". I think both ways might be found in medieval sources. German re-enactors would surely choose the "C" version, since it feels much more historic.

 - Until 1458, there was just the Landgrafschaft (langravedom?) of Hessen. Then it got divided between the sons of Ludwig II. (1413-1458), this way:

 Hessen-Kassel: Ludwig III. (1458-1471), Wilhelm I. (the Elder, 1471-1493), Wilhelm II. (the Middle, 1471-1509).

Hessen-Marburg: Heinrich III. (1458-1483), Wilhelm III. (the Younger, 1483-1500).

Then Marburg fell to Kassel.

So it's perfectly possible to specalise on Hessen-Kassel, however the two late medieval Hessen stuck closely together and they were very small. Most important for re-enactment might be, that in the Marburg region there's much more still alive from the period, especially the splendid castle finished by Wilhelm III. (historic Kassel was destroyed by bombing in 1943). For getting the historic feel, it might be useful not to concentrate on Kassel only.

 - Much of the military action against the archbishop of Mainz and the rebellious counts of the Sternerbund between Marburg and Kassel seems to have been already fought (and won) unter Ludwig I., so he might be interesting, too.

 I hope this helps you a bit, more is to come. If you'll ever come to Kassel for searching that village, give me a notice. I grew up near Kassel and know the area.

 I forgot: There is a museum at Bad Wildungen, which hosts the landgrave's collection of armour, including the two handed sword Wilhelm II. got as a present from the pope. I'll see whether I can get some pictures.

 

 

From http://www.r3.org/bookcase/de_commynes/decom_5.html

In the dispute between the two claimants to the [arch-] bishopric of Cologne, one of whom was the brother of the landgrave of Hesse and the other a relative of the count-palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Burgundy took the side of the palatine and undertook to place the claimant in office by force, hoping thereby to capture several places. He besieged Neuss near Cologne in 1474.6 The landgrave of Hesse and some soldiers were inside the town. The duke had so many great schemes in his mind that he was submerged by their weight, because at this same time he wanted to persuade King Edward of England to bring over the great army which he had prepared at the duke's urgent request; he did his utmost to finish off this German enterprise. This involved garrisoning Neuss, if he were able to take it, and another town or two above Cologne. The city would be forced to capitulate. Then after leaving there he would travel up the Rhine as far as the county of Ferrette, which he then held, so that all the Rhine, from there to Holland, where there were more powerful towns and castles than in any other realm in Christendom except for France, would be his. The truce which he had with the King had been extended for six months and already most of this period had elapsed. The King urged him to prolong it still further so that he could do as he liked in Germany, but the duke did not want to do this because of his promise to the English.

I would gladly have omitted to mention the siege of Neuss as it is not strictly relevant to our story, for I was not present, but I am forced to speak about it because of the things which stemmed from it. The landgrave of Hesse and many of his relatives and friends, with up to eighteen hundred horsemen as I have been told, had stationed themselves inside the town of Neuss. All of them were fine soldiers, as they were to demonstrate. They also had as many infantry as were necessary. The landgrave was brother of the elected bishop who was the opponent of the man supported by the duke of Burgundy. So the duke besieged Neuss in 1474.

He had the finest army he had ever had, especially his cavalry, because on the pretext of certain projects he had in mind in Italy he gathered some thousand Italian men-at-arms, both good and bad; these had as their leader a man of most perfidious and dangerous character from the kingdom of Naples, called the count of Campobasso. There was also Giacomo Galeotto, a very worthy Neopolitan nobleman, and several others whom I pass over for brevity's sake. Likewise he had more than three thousand fine English soldiers, as well as very large numbers of his own subjects who were well mounted and armed and who were already well trained in warfare. The artillery was very numerous and powerful. All this force he held ready to join the English on their arrival; these were rapidly preparing in England.

But this type of preparation takes a long time because the king cannot undertake such an exploit wihtout assembling his Parliament, the equivalent of our Three Estates, which is a very just and laudable institution, and on account of this the kings are stronger and better served when they consult parliament in such matters. When these Estates are assembled, the king declares his intentions and asks for aid from his subjects, because he cannot raise any taxes in England, except for an expedition to France or Scotland or some other such comparable cause. They will grant them, very willingly and liberally, especially for crossing to France. There is a well-known trick which these kings of England practise when they want to amass money. They pretend they want to attack Scotland and to assemble armies. To raise a large sum of money they pay them for three months and then disband their army and return home, although they have received money for a year. King Edward understood this ruse perfectly and he often did this. This army took more than a year to get ready and he then sent word to the duke of Burgundy, who was besieging Neuss at the beginning of the summer; he thought that within a few days he would be able to place his candidate in possession of the [arch-] bishipric and that several places, including Neuss, would remain his so that he could achieve his ends which I have told you about.

I consider that this was God's own doing, out of pity for this kingdom, because the duke's army was already very experienced by several years' campaigning in this kingdom without anyone offering it battle or taking the field in strength against it, unless they were defending the towns. But it is also true that this resulted from the King's actions, because he did not want to place anything in jeopardy. He did this not only because he was frightened of the duke of Burgundy but also because he feared the disaffection which could arise in his kingdom if he should lose a battle. For he knew he was not well thought of by all his subjects, especially the great lords. If I dare speak the whole truth, he has told me many times that he knew his subjects well and this would happen if his affairs went badly. For this reason when the duke of Burgundy invaded he did no more than strongly reinforce the towns on his route. So in a short time the duke of Burgundy's army broke itself up without the King imperilling his state. This, it strikes me, is to proceed intelligently.

Nevertheless, with the strength of the duke of Burgundy's army which I have told you about, and if the king of England's army had come, as doubtless it would have done, by the beginning of the campaigning season, had not the duke of Burgundy made the mistake of staying so obstinately before Neuss, it cannot be doubted but that this kingdom would have borne very serious hardships. For never before had an English king brought across such a powerful army at one time as this one of which I am speaking, nor one so well prepared to fight. All the great English lords, without exception, were there. They probably had more than fifteen hundred men-at-arms, a great number for the English, all of whom were very well equipped and accompanied. There were fourteen thousand mounted archers, all of whom carried bows and arrows, and plenty of other people, on foot serving their army. In all this army there was not a single page. Besides this the king of England was to send three thousand men to land in Brittany to join the duke's army. I saw two letters written by my lord of Urfé ([later] chief esquire of France). He was then a retainer of the duke of Brittany. One was addressed to the king of England and the other to Lord Hastings, Lord Chamberlain of England, and amongst other things, they said that the duke of Brittany would achieve more in a month by his intrigues than the armies of the English and the Burgundians would achieve in six, however powerful they were. I believe that what he said would have been true had things been pushed ahead further. But God, who still loves this country, managed things as I shall show subsequently. These letters I mentioned were bought from an English secretary for sixty silver marks by the King, our late master.

1. June 1473.
2. Adolphe married Catherine of Bourbon (d. 1469) on 18 December 1463.
3. Arnold, duke of Guelders (1423-73), was imprisoned from 1465 to 1470 at Thielt, Guelderland. All MSS. except P. read mois.
4. Charles was at Doullens 17 January-3 February 1471.
5. Mary, daughter of Charles the Rash, see Chatper Six, Book 2, Footnote 2.
6. The siege began on 30 July 1474. 

 2
[Charles the Rash's mistakes]

[i German forces]

THE duke of Burgundy was already deeply committed before Neuss, as I told you, and was finding things more difficult than he anticipated. The citizens of Cologne, which lay four leagues higher up the Rhine, spent a hundred thousand gold florins a month because of their fears of the duke of Burgundy. They and the other towns above them on the Rhine had already put fifteen or sixteen thousand foot soldiers in the field. These, with their heavy artillery, were camped on the edge of the river Rhine opposite the duke of Burgundy. They were attempting to disrupt his food supplies, which came upstream by water from Guelders, and to sink the boats by cannon-shots.

The Emperor and the electoral princes of the Empire had assembled to discuss this affair and had decided to gather an army. The King had already sent them several messengers to urge them to do this. So, in return, they sent to him a canon of Cologne, belonging to the house of Bavaria, and another ambassador with him. They took to the King a detailed list of the army, which the Emperor intended to assemble if the King, for his part, was willing to be involved in it. They did not fail to get a favourable answer and promise for everything they demanded. Moreover, in sealed documents the King promised, both to the Emperor and to several of the princes and towns, that as soon as the Emperor arrived at Cologne and was in the field the King would send twenty thousand men under the command of my lord of Craon and Slazar to join him.

So the German army, which was almost unbelievably large, got ready. All the German princes, both temporal and spiritual, the bishops and the towns sent a great number of men to it. I was told that the bishop of Munster, who was not amongst the most powerful, led there six thousand infantry and fourteen hundred horsemen, all clothed in green, besides twelve hundred carts. But, of course, his bishopric lay close to Neuss. The Emperor took more than seven months to gather this army and at the end of that period he went to camp about half a league from the duke of Burgundy. Several of the duke's men have told me that his army, together with that of the king of England, did not amount to more than a third of the one I have just been speaking about, in the number either of men or of tents, both large and small. Besides the Emperor's army, there was also that other army I mentioned on the other side of the river opposite the duke of Burgundy, which was harrassing his army severely and intercepting his supplies. As soon as the Emperor and the imperial princes were before Neuss they sent a doctor, who had great authority amongst them, to the King. He was called Dr. Hesler and later became a cardinal, and he came to request the King to keep his promises and send the twenty thousand men as he had agreed, otherwise the Germans would come to terms with Burgundy. The King made him very hopeful, had given him four hundred crowns, and sent back with him to the Emperor a certain Jean Tiercelin, lord of Brosse. Nevertheless the doctor did not go home entirely satisfied. Amazing negotiations were carried out during this siege because the King sought to make peace with the duke of Burgundy, or at least to prolong the truce so that the English would not come. The king of England, on the other hand, strove with all his might to force the duke of Burgundy to leave Neuss and to make him keep his promises to help him in the war in this kingdom, saying that they were in danger of wasting the campaigning season. Lord Scales, nephew of the Constable and a very fine knight,7 and several others, were twice sent as ambassadors about this matter. But the duke was perverse, and indeed God had troubled his senses and understanding, because all his life he had laboured to get the English to cross the Channel and, at the very moment when they were ready and everything arranged to their liking, both in Brittany and elsewhere, he obstinately pursued an impossible objective.

With the Emperor there was an apostolic legate8 who every day went from one army to the other trying to arrange a peace. Likewise to the king of Denmark,9 who was staying in a small town close to the two armies, worked for the same end, so the duke of Burgundy could easily have arranged an honourable settlement which would have allowed him to withdraw to meet the king of England. But he did not know how to do it and sent excuses to the English, alleging that his honour would be slighted if he raised the siege, and making other feeble excuses. Yet these were not the Englishmen of his father's day and the former wars with France. They were inexperienced and raw soldiers, ignorant of French ways, so he proceeded very unwisely because if he had wanted to use them in the future he should have guided them step by step in the first campaign.

ii Here I speak about the King's intrigues against the duke of Burgundy and of the war he waged against him in Picardy whilst the duke was still occupied with the siege of Neuss

While the duke was in this obstinate mood war broke out against him in two or three other places. One began when the duke of Lorraine, who was at peace with him, sent a defiance to the duke at Neuss at the instigation of my lord of Craon. Craon wanted to use the occasion to serve the King, and he did not fail to promise Lorraine that he would become an important figure. Immediately they took to the field and caused much damage in the duchy of Luxembourg, and razed a place in the duchy, called Pierrefort, two leagues from Nancy. Moreover, it was arranged by the King and some of his servants, whom he charged with this, that an alliance should be made for ten years between the Swiss and the towns of the Upper Rhine, Basle, Strasbourg and others, which had formerly been at loggerheads. A peace was also made between Duke Sigismund of Austria and the Swiss so that Duke Sigismund could recover the county of Ferrette which he had pledged to the duke of Burgundy for a hundred thousand Rhenish florins. All was agreed except for one difference between Sigismund and the Swiss, who wanted to have the right of passage through four towns in the county of Ferrette whenever they wanted, either with or without their forces. This dispute was submited to the King, who decided in favour of the Swiss. From all this you can appreciate the troubles which the King secretly stirred up for the duke. All these things were executed as they had been planned, for one fine knight Sir Pierre de Hagenbach, governor of the county of Ferrette for the duke of Burgundy, together with his force of eight hundred men, was captured. His men were released without obligation but he was taken to Basle where he was charged with committing certain excessess and acts of violence in the county of Ferrette. In the end he had his head chopped off10 and Ferrette was handed over to Duke Sigismund of Austria. The Swiss began to fight in Burgundy and took Blamont, which belonged to the Marshal of Burgundy, who was himself a member of the house of Neufchâtel. The Burgundians went to his aid but were defeated and the Swiss caused much havoc in that region before retiring again after this attack.

7.
8. Anthony Woodville, lord Scales, was the son of Jacqueline de Luxembourg, sister of Saint-Pol.
9. Alessandro Nami, biship of Forli.
10. Christian I (1448-83).
9 May 1474 at Breisach. 

3
[The war in Picardy and Artois: Emperor Frederick III replied to Louis XI]

THE truce between the King and the duke of Burgundy expired, much to the King's regret because he would rather have had an extension. Yet seeing that he could not obtain one, he went to besiege a miserable little castle called Tronchoy. This was early in 1475 at the start and at the best part of the season. It was taken by assault in a short time. Next day the King sent me to parley with those who were in Montdidier. They left the town taking their baggage with them. The day after, together with the Admiral, the Bastard of Bourbon, I went to speak with those who were before Roye and they too surrendered the place to me because they were not expecting any help. They would not have given it up if the duke had been present. Nevertheless, in spite of our promise these two towns were burnt. From there the King went to lay siege to Corbie where they were expecting us. We made splendid headway and the King's artillery fired for three days. My lord of Contay and several others were garrisoning the place but they delivered it and marched away with their baggage. Two days later the miserable town was pillaged and fired like the other two. The King then thought he would withdraw his army and force the duke of Burgundy to accept a truce, seeing his desperate situation. But a lady whom I know well -- and will not name because she is still living -- wrote to the King, telling him to bring his men to Arras and its neighbourhood. The King trusted her because she was a lady of honour. I cannot praise her for this because she was under no obligation to do it. The King sent the Admiral, the Bastard of Bourbon, together with a strong force, which burnt a large number of townships between Abbeville and Arras. The citizens of Arras, who had suffered no adversity for a long time and were very haughty, forced the soldiers who were in the town to sally out against the royal troops. But their numbers were not eqaul to the King's men and they were so strongly repulsed that as large number were killed or taken, including all their leaders, Sir Jacques de Saint-Pol, brother of the Constable, the lords of Contay and Carency and others, amonst whom were the closest relatives of the lady who had been responsible for the expedition. Indeed she suffered heavily through it, although the King in time made good her losses out of his favour for her.

About then the King sent Jean Tiercelin, lord of Brosse, to the Emperor, to prevent him from coming to terms with the duke of Burgundy and to make excuses for the fact that he had not sent his troops as he had promised, and to assure him he would do so, and to exaggerate the exploits and the injuries which he was causing the duke, both in Picardy and in Burgundy. Besides this, he made a new proposal that they should promise each other not to make a peace or truce without each other, that the Emperor should take all the lordships which the duke held in the Empire and which should rightly be held of him, that he should declare them forfeit to himself and that the King should likewise take those which were held of the crown, such as Flanders, Artois, Burgundy and several others.

Although the Emperor was never noted for great bravery he was a man of some judgement, and as a result of his long life he had accumulated a wealth of experience. When these intrigues between us and him had lasted a long time he became tired of the war, although it was costing him nothing, because all the German lords had come at their own expense, as was usual when it was an imperial matter. The Emperor thus replied that close to a certain German town lived a great bear who caused a lot of damage. Three drinking companions from the town went to the taverner to whom they owed money and pleaded with him to allow them credit just once more and said that within two days they would pay him back everything, because they were going to capture this bear which caused so much harm. Its skin would be worth a great deal of money, not to speak of the presents which everyone would give them. The landlord agreed to their demand and when they had eaten they set off for the place where the bear lived. They came across the bear's den more quickly than they had expected. Becoming frightened they took to their heels. One climbed a tree, one fled towards the town but the third was caught by the bear who trampled him to the ground and pushed its snout close to his ear. The poor man, prostrate and pressed against the ground, feigned death because by its nature this animal will leave whatever it is holding, whether it is man or beast, when it no longer moves, thinking it is dead. So the bear left this poor man, have scarcely injured him, and went back to its den. As soon as the man realized that he was safe he jumped up and set off back to the town. His friend who was in the tree, and who had seen this strange occurrence, climbed down and ran after him shouting to him to wait for him. He turned and waited for him. When they met, the man who stayed in the tree asked his friend to say truthfully what counsel the bear had given him, after it had kept its snout close to his ear for so long. He replied, 'It told me never to sell a bear skin before catching the bear.' With this story the Emperor reproached the King and gave no other reply to our ambassador. It was as if he has said, 'Come here as you've promised and we'll kill this man if we can, and then we'll share out his properties.'
4
[The adventures of Jacques de Luxembourg and the siege of Neuss]

i I speak about the Constable, who was already very suspicious, and mistrusted both the King and the duke, and what happened to him whilst the duke of Burgundy was besieging Neuss

YOU have heard how Sir Jacques de Saint-Pol and others had been captured before Arras. This capture displeased the Constable considerably because Sir Jacques was a very good brother to him. This was not the only misadventure to befall him because at the same time his son, the count of Roussy, who was the duke's governor of Burgundy, was also captured.(11) The Constable's wife, a lady of great merit and sister to the Queen who protected and favoured her, also died whilst the intrigues, which had begun against him (as you have heard) and which had been brought to a successful conclusion at Bouvignes, were still in progress. Ever since that time the Constable had felt insecure and suspicious about both sides and especially he was fearful of the King. It clearly seemed to him that the King repented having withdrawn his consent to the documents agreed at Bouvignes. The count of Dammartin and others were quartered with the men-at-arms close to Saint-Quentin. The Constable feared them as his enemies and kept himself shut up in Saint-Quentin where he had just three hundred infantry from his own lands, because he was not entirely sure of the reliability of the men-at-arms [of the royal ordonnance companies which he commanded]. He was very troubled because the King urged him several times to take the field to serve him in Hainault, and to lay siege to Avesnes at the moment when the Admiral, with the other force, was wasting Artois with fire, as I told you. Eventually he did so but in great dread, as he was very afraid. He was only there a few days and kept a strong bodyguard about him. He then retired to his own places and sent word the the King that he had raised the siege. I know all about this because the King ordered me to listen to his messenger. He justified himself by saying that he had been reliably informed that there were two men in the army who had been ordered by the King to assassinate him. He mentioned so many pieces of incriminating evidence that people were almost beginning to believe him and to suspect one of the two of having told him something about which they should have kept quiet. I do not want to name anyone or speak further about this affair.

The Constable sent frequent messages to the duke of Burgundy's army. I believe he was trying to get him away from this foolish expedition. When his messengers had returned he sent some news to the King which he thought would please him and let him know some of the small matters why he had sent to the duke. He thought that by doing this he would satisfy the King. Sometimes he sent word that the duke's affairs were progressing well, in order to frighten the King a little. But he was himself so frightened that he might be attacked that he asked the duke to send him his brother, Sir Jacques de Saint-Pol (who was at Neuss, prior to his capture), also the lord of Fiennes(12) and other of his relatives whom he could put into Saint-Quentin with their men, and who would not have to wear the St. Andrew's cross. He promised the duke he would hold Saint-Quentin for him and restore it to him some time later and would give him his sealed undertaking. This the duke agreed to do. When Sir Jacques, the lord of Fiennes and his other relatives twice found themselves within a league or two of Saint-Quentin and ready to enter it, the Constable found that his fear had evaporated, repented of his decision and sent them away. He did this three times, so much did he want to remain in this state of balance, steering between the two, because he was extremely afraid of both of them. I learnt these things from many people, especially from Sir Jacques de Saint-Pol himself. He told the King about them when he had been brought a prisoner before him; I was the only other person present. His willing replies to the King's questions did him a lot of good. The King asked him how many men he had to get into the town with. He replied that on the third occasion he had about three thousand men. The King also asked him whether, if he had found himself the stronger, he would have held it for the King or the Constable. Sir Jacques replied that on the first two occasions he came only to reinforce his brother but on the third occasion, seeing that the Constable had twice deceived both his master and himself, if he had got the upper hand he would have kept the town for his master without doing anything violent or prejudicial to the Constable, except that he would not have sallied out at his command. Consequently, shortly afterwards, the King released Sir Jacques de Saint-Pol from prison and gave him men-at-arms and fine possessions. He employed him up to his death and this good fortune was the result of his replies.

ii Here I return to speak about the siege of Neuss and about the agreement made between the Emperor and the Duke of Burgundy

Since I began to speak about Neuss I have touched upon several matters one after another. All these happened at this time because the siege lasted a year. Two things in particular put extreme pressure on the duke of Burgundy to raise the siege; one was the war which the king was waging on him in Picardy, where he had burnt three small towns and wasted a quarter of the flat countryside of Artois and Ponthieu, and the other was the great and urgent request -- the army which the duke had been striving all his life to lure across the Channel and which he had never succeeded in doing up to then. The king of England and all the nobles of his realm were highly discontented by the duke of Burgundy's delays. Besides the pleas which they sent to him they also issued threats, because of the great expense they had been put to and because the season was passing. The duke of Burgundy greatly delighted in opposing the huge German army composed of contingents from any princes, prelates and towns. This was the biggest army within living memory, or indeed for a long time before that. Yet all of them together did not succeed in making him leave his position. But he paid dearly for this piece of vanity because he who has the profits of war has the honour. All the time, this legate, whom I mentioned, had been coming and going from one side to the other and finally a peace was agreed between the Emperor and the duke. The town of Neuss was placed in the legate's hands, to be disposed of according to papal decree. But to what kind of a dilemma must the duke have been reduced when he saw himself pressed by the war which the King was waging against him as well as by the requests and menaces of his friend, the king of England? For on the other hand he could see that the town of Neuss was reduced to such a state that within fifteen days he would have a stranglehold upon it because of famine (and this could have happened in as few as ten days, as I have been told by one of the captains who was in the town, whom the King took into his service). So for these reasons the duke of Burgundy raised the siege in 1475.

11. Antoine de Luxembourg was captured at the battle of Guipy, 20 June 1475.
12. Another Jacques de Luxembourg.  

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