almost a distinct state or kingdom. These several provinces
were the possessions of lords, dukes, and barons, who ruled over them,
respectively, like so many petty kings, with almost absolute sway,
though they all acknowledged a general allegiance to the kings of
France or of England. The more northern provinces pertained to
England. Those in the interior and southern portions of the country
were under the dominion of France.

[Sidenote: Great families.]

The great families who held these provinces as their possessions ruled
over them in a very lordly manner. They regarded not only the
territory itself which they held, but the right to govern the
inhabitants of it as a species of property, which was subject, like
any other estate, to descend from parent to child by hereditary right,
to be conveyed to another owner by treaty or surrender, to be assigned
to a bride as her marriage portion, or to be disposed of in any other
way that the lordly proprietors might prefer. These great families
took their names from the provinces over which they ruled.

[Sidenote: Anjou.]

[Sidenote: King Rene.]

One of these provinces was Anjou.[1] The father of Margaret, the
subject of this history, was a celebrated personage named Regnier or
Rene, commonly called King Rene. He was a younger son of the family
which reigned over Anjou. It is from this circumstance that our
heroine derives the name by which she is generally designated--Margaret
of Anjou. The reason why her father was called _King_ Rene will appear
in the sequel.

[Footnote 1: See map at the commencement of the volume.]

[Sidenote: Lorraine.]

Another of the provinces of France above referred to was Lorraine.
Lorraine was a large, and beautiful, and very valuable country,
situated toward the eastern part of France. Anjou was considerably to
the westward of it.

[Sidenote: 1429.]

[Sidenote: Marriage of Rene to Isabella.]

The name of the Duke of Lorraine at this time was Charles. He had a
daughter named Isabella. She was the heiress to all her father's
possessions. She was a young lady of great beauty, of high spirit, of
a very accomplished education, according to the ideas of those times.
When Rene was about fourteen years old a match was arranged between
him and Isabella, who was then only about ten. The marriage was
celebrated with great parade, and the youthful pair went to reside at
a palace called Pont a Mousson, in a grand castle which was given to