Archaeologia http://journals.cambridge.org/ACH Additional services for Archaeologia: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here IX. Narratives of the arrival of Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, in England, and of his Creation as Earl of Winchester, in 1472: Communicated in a Letter from Sir Frederic Madden, K.H. F.R.S., &c. to Hudson Gurney, Esq. Vice­President Frederic Madden Archaeologia / Volume 26 / January 1836, pp 265 ­ 286 DOI: 10.1017/S0261340900018889, Published online: 12 June 2012 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0261340900018889 How to cite this article: Frederic Madden (1836). IX. Narratives of the arrival of Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, in England, and of his Creation as Earl of Winchester, in 1472: Communicated in a Letter from Sir Frederic Madden, K.H. F.R.S., &c. to Hudson Gurney, Esq. Vice­President. Archaeologia, 26, pp 265­286 doi:10.1017/S0261340900018889 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/ACH, IP address: 130.194.20.173 on 12 Mar 2013 265 Narratives of the arrival of Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, in England, and of his Creation as Earl of Win- chester, in 1472 : Communicated in a Letter from Sir FREDERIC MADDEN, K.H. F.R.S., 8fc. to HUDSON GURNEY, Esq. Vice- President. Read 12th June, 1834-. British Museum, June 6, 1834. DEAR SIR, YOU may, perhaps, recollect, that after the singular reverse of fortune by which King Edward the Fourth was obliged to leave his crown and kingdom in the hands of the Earl of Warwick, he embarked on the 3d October, 1470, from Lynn,a accompanied only by his brother the Duke of Gloucester,15 the Lord Scalesc brother of the Queen, the Lord Hastings'1 his Chamberlain, and some few hundred followers; and with this comparatively scanty retinue steered in three small vessels for the dominions of his brother-in-law, the Duke of Burgundy, under whose protection his only hope of safety seemed to lie. So sudden had been the change which reduced the monarch to the condition of an exile, that he had not time even to collect his treasure or wearing ap- parel, and, in the words of Hall (who here follows the testimony of the con- a So says Hall, f. 208b, ed. 1548, but Jean de Waurin, author of the Ancknnes Chroniques d'Angleterre, and a contemporary, states it to have been at Ipswich {Hepshuye). See Recherches stir Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, &c. by M. Van Praet, 8vo. Par. 1831, p. 329. b Afterwards King Richard the Third. Maurice (Hist, de la Toison d'Or) and M. Van Praet call him Duke of York, which is not so correct, since he was not created Duke of York till 28th May, 1474. c Anthony Wydeville, Lord Scales, second Earl Rivers, beheaded in 1483. <1 William de Hastings, made Lord Chamberlain and Baron Hastings, 1 Edw. IV., and K. G. the year following. Beheaded by order of Richard Duke of Gloucester, 13 th June, 1 Edw. V. VOL. XXVI. 2 M -66 JVotices of Louis de Bruges, temporary historian Philippe de Cominese) he departed " without bagge or bagage, without clothe, sacke, or male!"f He had not long quitted the coast before his vessels were descried by some piratical ships belonging to the Easterlings, which gave chace, and it was with difficulty that the King and his companions reached the port of Alcmaer, about six leagues to the north of Haerlem, into which the Easterlings, from the superior size of their ships, and the tide being low, could not follow them. In this peril, with the enemy anchored at a short distance, awaiting only the re- turn of the tide to make Edward a captive, it was very fortunate for the King, that the Governor of Holland under the Duke of Burgundy, Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, happened to be at the time on the spot. On being informed of Edward's danger, he immediately went to the King's vessel, welcomed him with every mark of respect, and conducted him to the Hague, where he entertained the King at his own expense from the 9th October to the 26th December, when they set forward together to the town of Aerden- bourg. The following day they arrived at the Chateau of Gruthuyse, situated at Oostcamp, a village distant about a mile from the town of Bruges, and after stopping there two days, proceeded to Aire, in Artois, where the mother-in- law of the Duke of Burgundy (Edward's sister) was dwelling. After receiving from the Duke the strongest assurances of assistance, Edward returned to Bruges on the 13th January, 1470-1, and was lodged, with a part of his suite, at the Hotel of Gruthuyse, until the 19th of the following month, when he departed for Zeeland, where the ships furnished by the Duke for his return to England, awaited him.s In requital for these acts of kindness and generosity on the part of the Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, Edward took an early opportunity, after his re- accession to the throne, to manifest his gratitude; and on the occasion of the former's arrival in England in September, 1472, he not only caused him to be received and treated with extraordinary honour, and publicly complimented by e The expression of Comines is, " si i.'avoient ni croix ny pille." He adds, that the King was obliged, for want of money, to take from his back a robe furred with martin, to recompense the mas- ter of the vessel he sailed in. Memoires, torn. i. pp. 156, 158, ed 4to. 1747. f f. 208b. S Memoires de Comines, 1. iii. c. 5. Hall, ff. 208, 209. Recherches sur Louis de Bruges, p. 10. Seigneur de la Gruthuyse. the Speaker of the Parliament, but conferred on him the dignity of Earl of Winchester. I have thought it necessary to say thus much towards the illustration of two curious narratives preserved in the Additional MS. 6113, which describe, in the,words of a Herald, who must have been an eye-witness, the reception of the Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, when in England, (which has been very cur- sorily noticed by our historians), and the ceremonial of his creation as Earl of Winchester. Believing that these narratives have never been printed, and, as, independent of their historical interest, they afford some curious particulars of the manners of the period, I beg leave to submit them to the notice of the Society of Antiquaries. With respect to the personal history of the Seigneur de la Gruthuyse, every thing hitherto known of him has been collected together and published by M. Van Praet, with that minute research for which he is so highly distinguished. I have already referred to this volume, and shall subjoin from it a slight bio- graphical sketch of the individual before us, which may serve to supply the imperfect notice given in Dugdale's Baronage, vol. ii. p. 283. Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse,h Prince of Steenhuyse,1 Earl of Winchester, Lord of Avelghem,k Hamste,1 Oostcamp,™ Beveren," Thielt ten Hove,° Spiere.P &c. was son of Jean de Bruges by Marguerite de Steen- huyse, and grandson of Jean d'Aa, third of that name, surnamed de Bruges, by 1> The name of Gruthuyse was derived from two Flemish words signifying grout-house, so called from a tax on beer, under the denomination of gruyte, or grains, the proceeds of which were named gruyte-geldt, grout-money ; which tax had been granted to one of Louis de Bruges' ancestors, as early as the year 1200. i A principality two leagues from Grammont, acquired by the father of Louis de Bruges, on his marriage with Marguerite, heiress of Felix, Prince of Steenhuyse. k Situated two leagues and a half from Courtrai. It was the seignory of the Chatelainship of Audenaerde, and brought to the family of De la Gruthuyse, by the mother of Louis de Bruges. 1 A village and seignory in the isle of Schouwen, purchased the 21st June, 1455, of Philip the Good. m A village lying three quarters of a league from Bruges, on which stood a beautiful chateau, now destroyed. u A seignorial territory, four leagues from Courtrai. o Adjoining to the town of Thielt, about four leagues and a half from Bruges. p A seignory in Austrian Hainaut, held in right of his grandmother, Agnes de Mortagne. 268 Notices of Louis de Bruges, Agnes de Mortagne, Lady of Spiere.i He early distinguished himself in the military exercises of the age, and bore off the prize in different tournaments held in the years 1443, 1447, and 1450. Two years after, he was appointed Governor of the town of Bruges, and was the means of defeating the rebellious projects of the inhabitants of Ghent. The following year we find him employed in the command of the third division of the Duke of Burgundy's forces against the rebels; and after the battle called lajourne'e de Gavre, in which the people of Ghent lost nearly 16,000 men, he received from the Duke the honour of knighthood. In the famous assembly held at Lille, in February 1454, for the purpose of undertaking an expedition to the Holy Land, the Seigneur de la Gruthuyse took an oath to accompany the Duke or his brother, until death. In 1455, he married Marguerite de Borssele, descended from an ancient family of Zeeland, daughter of Henri de Borssele, admiral of Holland, and knight of the Golden Fleece.