III OF ARTOIS, nephew and adversary of the above, Count of Beaumont-le-Roger, Lord of Conches, son-in-law of Charles of Valois, aged 36.
THIERRY LARCHER D’HIRSON, Canon, Chancellor to the Countess Mahaut, aged 53.
BÉATRICE D’HIRSON, niece of the above, lady-in-waiting to the Countess Mahaut, aged about 29.
THE HOUSE OF HAINAUT:
JEAN OF HAINAUT, brother of Guillaume the Good, Count of Hainaut, Holland and Zeeland.
PHILIPPA OF HAINAUT, his niece, second daughter of Guillaume the Good and of Jeanne of Valois, affianced to Prince Edward of England, aged 9.
THE GREAT OFFICERS OF THE CROWN OF FRANCE:
LOUIS OF CLERMONT, Lord, then first Duke, of BOURBON, grandson of Saint Louis, Great Chamberlain of France.
GAUCHER DE CHÂTILLON, Lord of Crèvecoeur, Count of Porcien, Constable of France since 1302.
JEAN DE CHERCHEMONT, Chancellor.
HUGUES DE BOUVILLE, one-time Great Chamberlain to Philip IV, the Fair, Ambassador.
THE RELATIONS OF THE KING OF ENGLAND:
THOMAS DE BROTHERTON, Earl of Norfolk, Marshal of England, son of Edward I of England and of his second wife Margaret of France, half-brother to King Edward II and cousin to the King of France, aged 23.
EDMUND, Earl of KENT, younger brother of the above, Governor of Dover, Warden of the Cinque Ports, aged 22.
HENRY, Earl of LEICESTER and LANCASTER, called Crouchback, grandson of Henry III of England, cousin-german to King Edward II, aged 42.
THE COUNCILLORS:
HUGH DESPENSER, the elder, Earl of Winchester, aged 61.
HUGH DESPENSER, the younger, son of the above, Earl of Gloucester, the favourite of King Edward II, aged 33.
BALDOCK, Archdeacon, Chancellor to Edward II.
WALTER STAPLEDON, Bishop of Exeter, Lord Treasurer.
The Earls of ARUNDEL and WARENNE.
THE LADIES-IN-WAITING TO QUEEN ISABELLA:
LADY JEANNE MORTIMER, née Joinville, great-niece of the Seneschal de Joinville, the wife of Roger Mortimer, Baron of Wigmore, aged 37.
LADY ALIENOR DESPENSER, née Clare, the wife of Hugh Despenser, the younger.
THE BARONS OF THE OPPOSITION:
ROGER MORTIMER, the elder, Lord of CHIRK, one-time Justiciar of Wales, aged 67.
ROGER MORTIMER, the younger, eighth Baron of WIGMORE, the King’s former Lord-Lieutenant and Justiciar of Ireland, nephew of the above, aged 36.
JOHN MALTRAVERS, THOMAS DE BERKELEY, THOMAS GOURNAY, JOHN DE CROMWELL, etc., English lords.
THE ENGLISH BISHOPS:
ADAM ORLETON, Bishop of Hereford.
WALTER REYNOLDS, Archbishop of Canterbury.
JOHN DE STRATFORD, Bishop of Winchester.
THE GUARDIANS OF THE TOWER OF LONDON:
STEPHEN SEAGRAVE, Constable.
GERARD DE ALSPAYE, Lieutenant.
OGLE, Barber.
THE COURT OF AVIGNON:
POPE JOHN XXII, ex-Cardinal Jacques DUÈZE, elected at the Conclave of 1316, aged 79.
BERTRAND DU POUGET, GAUCELIN DUÈZE, GAILLARD DE LA MOTHE, ARNAUD DE VIA, RAYMOND LE ROUX, Cardinals and relations of the Pope.
JACQUES FOURNIER, Counsellor to John XXII, future Pope Benedict XII.
THE LOMBARDS:
SPINELLO TOLOMEI, a Sienese banker in business in Paris, aged about 69.
GUCCIO BAGLIONI, his nephew, a Sienese banker of the Tolomei Company.
BOCCACCIO, a traveller for the Bardi Company, father of the poet.
THE CRESSAY FAMILY:
PIERRE AND JEAN DE CRESSAY, sons of the late Lord of Cressay, aged about 31 and 29.
MARIE, their sister, secret wife to Guccio Baglioni, aged 25.
JEAN, called Jeannot or Giannino, supposed son of Guccio Baglioni and of Marie de Cressay, in fact JEAN THE POSTHUMOUS, son of Louis X Hutin and of Clémence of Hungary, aged 7.
All the above names have their place in history; their ages are given as in the year 1323.
‘I SEE,’ SAID ISABELLA, ‘that you wish me to be left utterly alone.’
‘What do you mean by alone, Madame?’ cried Hugh the Younger in his fine, well-modulated voice. ‘Are we not all your loyal friends, being the King’s? And is not Madame Alienor, my devoted wife, a faithful companion to you? ‘That’s a pretty book you have there,’ he added, pointing to the volume, ‘and beautifully illuminated; would you be kind enough to lend it to me?’
‘Of course, of course the Queen will lend it to you,’ the King said. ‘I am sure, Madame, that you will do us the pleasure of lending the book to our friend Gloucester?’
‘Most willingly, Sire my husband, most willingly. And I know what lending means when it’s to your friend, Lord Despenser. I lent him my pearls ten years ago and, as you can see, he’s still wearing them about his neck.’
She would not surrender, but her heart was beating wildly in her breast. From now on she would have to bear the daily insults all alone. If, one day, she found means of revenging herself, nothing would be forgotten.
THE CHASTISEMENTS PROPHESIED by the Grand Master of the Templars and the curses he had hurled from amid the faggots of his pyre continued to fall on France. Fate had destroyed her kings like pieces on a chess-board.
Philip
