geres, an understanding, if not an actual treaty, existed between Conan and Henry, regarding the possession of the duchy of Britanny. In the year 1160, Conan had married the sister of Malcolm. King of Scotland, by whom he had only one daughter, Constance, afterwards celebrated for her own misfortunes, and for the tragic fate of her son Arthur.

The Duke of Britanny himself, though he had shown some activity in the earlier part of his career, and still from time to time exerted himself for a brilliant effort, was fond of ease, and was of a ductile and not very vigorous mind. The turbulent state of the duchy, the frequent necessity of contesting the possession with his stepfather Eudes, the persuasions of the English monarch, and very probably the influence of his own wife, who, like her brother Malcolm, was strongly attached to the house of Plantagenet, easily induced Conan the Less to consent to a treaty of marriage between his daughter Constance, and Geoffrey, the third son then living of Henry the Second. It was arranged between the Duke of Britanny and the English monarch, that the young Prince and Princess should be solemnly affianced to each other, and that the duchy of Britanny should by given up to them on the consummation of their union. In the meanwhile, however, the custody of the heiress of the duchy, together with all power and rule therein, was to be vested in Henry, Conan

only reserving to himself the county of Guingamp, which was sufficient for that prince's ambition. *

At what precise point of time this treaty was entered into, I do not know; but it is certain that before the capture of Fougeres, Henry levied a sort of contribution or tax in Britanny for the support of the Christians in Palestine. He had also levied the same in Normandy; but there it was done with the full consent, or rather by a vote of the nobles of the province, which does not appear to have been the case in Britanny. After the fall of Fougeres, the greater part of the barons of the duchy, intimidated by his brilliant success, submitted, and did homage to the English King, but Henry did not remain long to secure his newly-acquired possession. Indeed, the extraordinary rapidity of this prince's movements almost leaves the slow march of history behind. At one hour we find him in the heart of Britanny, the next he is making war in Auvergne.

The county of Auvergne was a fief of the Duchy of Aquitaine, but the bonds between the two were very slight, and I do not find any act by which the

* It is certain that such a treaty did take place, and that in virtue thereof Henry exercised sovereignty in Britanny, and received the homage of the Breton nobles; and yet I find in the curious old chronicle of Nantes, usually called the Chroniques Annaulx, under the year 1170: "Conanus in Leone cum Guihomaro congreditur," as if Conan was still recognised as Duke, and waging war with one of his revolted vassals.

feudal connection was marked during the lapse of many years before the present time. William VI., Count of Auvergne, left two sons, Robert, who succeeded him, and William. Robert died, leaving another son named William VII., who was almost immediately dispossessed of the county by his uncle, and sometimes took the title of Count du Puy, though both princes are more usually called Counts of Auvergne. The two were reconciled after a certain time, and appear to have been amongst the most notorious plunderers of the age. To put a stop to their malefactions, Louis King of France marched into their territories, defeated them, made them both prisoners, and kept them in confinement for a considerable time. From their prison, they applied for aid to the King of England as their feudal lord, and he, in return, claimed their deliverance from the French monarch. After some delay, in order, apparently, to save the dignity of Louis, the two Counts were set at liberty; and almost immediately their ancient quarrel concerning the succession of Auvergne broke out afresh, upon which Henry was appealed to as their sovereign. Henry accordingly advanced into the county, ordering the two Counts to meet him on a day which he fixed; but the elder, not trusting to his right of possession, did not appear, appealed to the court of the King of France, and, it would seem, sought the protection of that monarch in person. Henry, in the meantime, decided the cause in favour of the nephew, whose just right

the county was, and very shortly after the siege of Fougeres, attacked some territories of the usurping Count of Auvergne as a punishment for the violation of feudal law which that nobleman had committed in carrying the cause between himself and his nephew to the court of the King of France. Louis, it would appear, contrary to the legal rights of Henry, had thought fit to act as judge; and the war which the latter now waged in Auvergne thus personally affected the King of France, who, instigated by his nobles, immediately pronounced it an injury to himself, and in retaliation attacked the Norman Vexin, and ravaged a considerable part of that territory. Henry returned in haste, and held a conference with Louis in the hope of adjusting their claims amicably. But the jealousy or the patriotism of the French king's courtiers, the instigations of Becket, and the great preparations which had been made for the war, all combined to render Louis obdurate and difficult to be satisfied.. The conference broke up, without producing any pacific result, and hostilities were almost immediately renewed.

of

In the early part of 1167, the French forces continued their ravages on the frontiers Normandy, and the Andelis were burnt by the troops of Louis. Henry however carried hostilities into the French Vexin, and knowing that Louis had established his chief magazines at Chaumont, a place considered almost impreg

nable, he attacked, took, and burnt the town to the ground; destroying or seizing all his enemy's stores, as well as his military chest, which act in fact put a stop to the war, as Louis's means of protracting it were lost in Chaumont; and a truce was agreed upon in August, to last till after Easter in the following year.

In the meantime, circumstances had arisen in Britanny which rendered this suspension of hostilities a very seasonable relief to the king of England. I cannot discover whether the Viscount de Leon, and his valiant son Guiomark, had been amongst those who actually did homage to Henry after the fall of Fougeres, though there can be but little doubt that they affected submission; but taking advantage of the dissensions between the King of England and Louis, they were already in arms before the end of the year 1167. The name of Guiomark stands at the head of the list of insurgents; but Eudes, Viscount of Porhoet, was also a party to the revolt, as well as almost all the noblemen of any consequence who had formerly given him support, except indeed the Lord of Fougeres. Henry immediately marched from the Vexin into Britanny, and following his usual policy of always striking first at the chief of his enemies, he advanced into the territories of Leon, attacked and took, one after another, the castles and fortresses of Guiomark and the Viscount, and reducing them both to submit, demanded and obtained hostages