XIV. Notice of a Portrait of John, King of France. By the Eight Hon. CHARLES TENNYSOX D'EYNCOUET, F.E.S., F S.A. In a letter to J. Y. AKERMAN, Esq., Secretary. Read 18th March, 1858. MY DEAR SIR, THE portrait of John, King of France, which is now placed in the Muse"e des Souverains at Paris, being, I believe, the only picture honoured by such a distinction, has an especial claim to our notice. Not only is it one of the earliest examples of portrait-painting which has been preserved to us, but the history of the monarch whom it represents is so closely interwoven with that of our own country, as to render him a subject of interest to English archaeologists. Taken prisoner at the battle of Poictiers in 1356, where he saw his army annihilated, and his principal adherents cither slain fighting for him or captives with him, John passed a considerable portion of the remainder of his life in England, and died here in 1304. I need not, however, recall to your recollection the events of his captivity, as they formed the subject of a very interesting com- munication from the llcv. Edward Trollope, F.S.A., which was read to our Society the 29th of January, 1857, and will appear in the Proceedings of the Lincolnshire Architectural Society.* That communication related chiefly to the monarch's residence at the Castle of Somerton, in Lincolnshire ; a period of his life peculiarly interesting to myself, as he was conducted to that fortress by my ancestor, William Lord d'Eyncourt, and remained there in his custody. The accounts detailing the King's expenses during his imprisonment at Somerton, from the llth of August, 3350, to the 21st of March, 1360, enable us to form some idea of his comforts and discomforts, and of the occupations and amusements with which he endeavoured to alleviate the weariness of his captivity. 1 " Memoirs of the Associated Architectural Societies. 1 These accounts form a portion of " Comptes de 1'Argenterie des Rois de France an 14 Siecle, publics pour la Socicte" de 1'Histoire de France, par L. Douet d'Arcq." Paris, 1851, p. 193. The accounts of King John extend from 30th June, 1359, to the 8th July, 1360, when the King reached Calais on his return to France. The original MS. is preserved in the Bibliotheque at Paris. The Due d'Aumale has since discovered among the Cond6 MSS. the accounts for a previous portion of the King's captivity, from 25th Dec 1358, to the 1st of July, 1359; which his Royal Highness has printed in the Miscellanies of the Philo-
