ath of Charles V., which followed soon after that of
Edward III., and the youth of his son, Charles VI., put the two kingdoms
for some time in a similar situation; and it was not to be apprehended,
that either of them, during a minority, would be able to make much
advantage of the weakness of the other. The jealousies also between
Charles's three uncles, the dukes of Anjou, Bern, and Burgundy, had
distracted the affairs of France rather more than those between the
dukes of Lancaster, York, and Gloucester. Richard's three uncles,
disordered those of England; and had carried off the attention of the
French nation from any vigorous enterprise against foreign states. But
in proportion as Charles advanced in years, the factions were composed;
his two uncles, the dukes of Anjou and Burgundy, died; and the king
himself, assuming the reins of government, discovered symptoms of
genius and spirit, which revived the drooping hopes of his country. This
promising state of affairs was not of long duration: the unhappy prince
fell suddenly into a fit of frenzy, which rendered him incapable of
exercising his authority; and though he recovered from this disorder, he
was so subject to relapses, that his judgment was gradually but sensibly
impaired, and no steady plan of government could be pursued by him. The
administration of affairs was disputed between his brother, Lewis,
duke of Orleans, and his cousin-german, John, duke of Burgundy: the
propinquity to the crown pleaded in favor of the former: the latter,
who, in right of his mother, had inherited the county of Flanders, which
he annexed to his father's extensive dominions, derived a lustre from
his superior power: the people were divided between these contending
princes; and the king, now resuming, now dropping his authority, kept
the victory undecided, and prevented any regular settlement of the state
by the final prevalence of either party.

At length, the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy, seeming to be moved by the
cries of the nation, and by the interposition of common friends, agreed
to bury all past quarrels in oblivion, and to enter into strict amity:
they swore before the altar the sincerity of their friendship; the
priest administered the sacrament to both of them; they gave to each
other every pledge which could be deemed sacred among men: but all this
solemn preparation was only a cover for the basest treachery, which was
deliberately premeditated by the duke of Burgundy. He