8o HISTORY OF FRANCE. [chap. enjoyed. The Ordinance of Orleans had given him an army, the conquered provinces owned no prince save himself. Of the princes of the blood, his brother, the Duke of Berri, was a mere lad ; Duke Charles of Orleans was a man of gentle, poetical temper, aged, and worn out by long captivity ; King Rene of Anjou had spent his strength in vain attempts on Naples and Catalonia. He was besides of a romantic turn, which made him the most honourable and loyal, as well as the most simple of men. The Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, was growing old, but his son, Charles the Bold, count of Charolois, showed signs of a still greater grasp of ambition, and of a sterner and more resolute character. They were by far the most formid- able neighbours of France, uniting the duchy and county of Burgundy with the wealthy states of the Netherlands. They thus commanded some of the richest cities and bravest chivalry in existence. Holding the middle line between France and the Empire, the Dukes of Bur- gundy, though every inch of their dominions was held either of the Emperor or of the French King, were in real power the equal of either of their lords. The only remaining great feudatory was the weak and dull Francis II., duke of Britanny. The new king himself had inherited more than all the cunning of Charles V., with the ironical temper and hard heart of Charles VII. His object was to play off the one power against another, so as to triumph over all. He had no love for princes or nobles, and gave his confidence to men of a lower class, among whom were memorable his barber, Oliver le Afaiivais or le Daiin, and his provost-marshal, Tristan fHcrimte. 39. The League of the Public Weal, 1464. — Lewis's first desire seemed to be to undo his father's measures ; so he imprisoned Dammartin, and released Alen^.on and Armagnac, making the brother of the latter Diike 0/ Netitoiirs. Lewis had a great deal of a certain kind of piety, a kind which was not at all connected with truth, mercy, or justice, but which made him scrupulous in re- ligious observances. One of his first acts was an attempt to repeal the Pragmatic Sanction, by which he saw that the clergy and nobles gained more than the king. He knew the power of wealth, and hated display and splen- dour, so that he always had large sums at command. He was therefore able to buy back the towns on the
