44- C. Gross branches of government, especially the king's council, the judiciary, the army, and taxation; he said that "the daughter of the king" is, as it were, the eye of France, which must always be vigilant for the welfare of the realm.' Again, in 141 3, in presence of the King^ Gerson indicated (/lowi/ie juiivp'sitatis) how the evils of the past might be avoided and how the realm might be well governed in the future.- In 141 3 the University took a very prominent part in the agitation which led to the adoption of the Cabochian Ordinance, the Magna Charta of medieval France f and in 141 6 the rector and various doctors deliberated with the Parlement of Paris as to the measures which should be taken against evil-doers who pillage the king's subjects.^ The political activity of the University also manifests itself in the relations of France to foreign powers, especially to England. In 141 2 the rector and masters write to the King that the English should be driven from the duchy of Normandy, which they have invaded ; similar letters were sent to the Dukes of Guienne and Bur- gundy ;' and in 14 18 the University beseeches the King and the Duke of Burgundy to relieve Rouen, which is besieged by the English. "^ Soon afterwards, however, we find the rector and masters acting in sympathy with England. In 1420 they accepted the Treaty of Troyes, and in 1422 gave thanks because Henry V. had taken Melun from Charles VII. ; in 1424 they celebrated the vic- tories of the English over the French, and urged Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, to desist from his plan of warfare against the Duke of Burgundy because such warfare might endanger the union of France and England.' The University also manifested much zeal in the persecution of Joan of Arc.** After Charles VII. had succeeded in making headway against the English and in asserting his authority in France, it could not be expected that he should look with favor on the Parisian masters who had consorted with his enemies in the dark days preceding the advent of Joan of Arc. In the second half of his reign the Uni- versity was no longer a power in the political life of France ; and ^ Chartidariutn, IV. 1 36; Schwab, Gerson, 417. ^Ibid., IV. 261. 3 Ibid., IV. 252-253, 257 ; CoviUe, Les Cabochiem (Paris, 1S88). Coville, pp. 115- 133, gives an interesting account of the political influence and political theories of the University. ^ Chaitidarium, IV. 320. ^Ibid., IV. 243-244. ^ Ibid., IV, 357. The rector and masters also issued a proclamation calling upon the French cities to aid the King against the English, " the ancient enemies " of France {Ibid., IV. 355-356). '^ Ibid., IV. 380, 403, 435, 437 ; see also ibid., IV. 413. ^ Ihid., IV. 510-528. For the relations of the University to Henry V. and Henry VI. (1420-1437), see Jourdain, E.vciirsiotis Historiques, 311-335.
