Part 14 (2/2)
[Footnote 22: See Fig. 35.]
[Footnote 23: See G, Fig. 35.]
[Footnote 24: See Fig. 36.]
[Footnote 25: See Fig. 36.]
[Footnote 26: See Fig. 36.]
[Footnote 27: See Fig. 36.]
[Footnote 28: See Fig. 36.]
[Footnote 29: See Fig. 36.]
[Footnote 30: See the general bird's-eye view, Fig. 37.]
[Footnote 31: The parts of the castle marked red are those taken by the Burgundians; those marked black are still retained by the defenders. At _a_ is marked the breach in the barbican; at _b_ the filling up of the fosse and the first breach made in the curtain; at _c_ the second breach. At _o o_ are seen the Burgundian posts established on the night of the 6th and 7th of June; at _x_ the outline of the subterranean pa.s.sage of the refuge postern of the donjon; at _z_ the quarry; at P the route traversed by Pierre Landry and Eleanor's escort; at R their place of concealment, and at S the point where they were got into the castle by means of a rope.]
[Footnote 32: See Fig. 45.]
[Footnote 33: See Fig. 45.]
[Footnote 34: See Fig. 45.]
[Footnote 35: See Fig. 45.]
CHAPTER XI.
_THE FIRST DEFENCES AGAINST FIRE ARTILLERY._
King John had possessed himself of the duchy of Burgundy and united it with the crown; he resigned it in favour of his son Philip, who, as is well known, had distinguished himself on the fatal day of Poictiers.
From that epoch till the time of Charles the Bold, the duchy had remained in the hands of the descendants of King John; and although the dukes of Burgundy were very warlike, and had formed a league with the English against the crown of France, in consequence of the quarrel that arose in 1400 between Philip and the Duke Louis d'Orleans, brother of Charles VI., the duchy was relatively at peace, while the north of France, as far as the Loire, was in the power of foreigners.
After the death of Charles the Bold before Nancy, King Louis XI. lost no time in despatching to the province of Burgundy La Tremoille, baron of Craon, who, acting in concert with the Prince of Orange, soon reduced the whole province into subjection to the king of France; this was in 1477.
The town of La Roche-Pont (at that time the abbey alone preserved the name of Saint-Julien, and the town had adopted that of the castle) had been deemed by Charles the Bold worthy of special attention. Recognising the advantageous site of the place and the importance of its strategic position, this prince had adapted the ancient defences to the new mode of attack. The old castle of La Roche-Pont, several times repaired, still showed some of its defences dating from the end of the twelfth century, the donjon being particularly well preserved; but the abbey and the entire plateau had been surrounded by a new wall by Philip, about 1380, and the town had been rebuilt within this enclosure, the right bank of the larger stream being completely abandoned. At the end of the fourteenth century there existed only a suburb on the slopes of the plateau along the left bank, and this suburb had no other defence than a wall of inconsiderable strength on the north. The great-grandson of Anseric, Sieur de la Roche-Pont, having died without male heirs, the fief of La Roche-Pont had reverted to the Duke Philip, who, as well as his successors, appointed the governors of the town and castle, henceforth a ducal domain.
The enclosure of the town had been rebuilt in great part on the Roman foundations. It consisted of a substantial wall rising about twenty-four feet above the outside ground level, without machicoulis, strengthened with cylindrical towers thirty-six feet in height surrounded by machicoulis and covered with conical roofs. Machicoulis formed also the upper defence of the curtains and towers of the castle, whose plan had not been changed.
This place had not suffered any attack since the date of these new works, and it was intact under Charles the Bold. During his struggle in the north with the people of Ghent and Hainault, and as a precaution against the intrigues of Louis XI., he had thought it needful to put the town of La Roche-Pont in a good state of defence. Now, limited though its efficiency was, the artillery of the king of France already played a sufficiently important part in sieges to render it necessary to provide against its effects. The duke therefore raised several boulevards to replace the walls and receive artillery. (Fig. 48.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 48.--THE TOWN OF LA ROCHE-PONT IS FORTIFIED BY CHARLES THE BOLD.]
As shown in our plan, the bailey of the castle no longer existed. It was replaced by a wide ditch, A, of little depth; its bottom was on a level with the two boulevards, B and C. A third boulevard surrounded the base of the donjon externally, in the place of the ancient _chemise_. This boulevard commanded the stone bridge rebuilt in the fourteenth century on the Roman piers. Before the north front was raised an isolated boulevard of earth, D, of slight elevation, but commanding the road of the plateau. At the angles of the north front two large towers, E, F, adapted to receive cannon, flanked the angles and were in a position to sweep the boulevard, D. Set back on the eastern side, a similar tower, G, commanded the valley of the rivulet. Two boulevards, H and I, forming projections beneath the defences of the fourteenth century, commanded the course of the river, and could cross their fire with the boulevard B, and the tower E. A boulevard was also raised on the eastern salient at K.
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