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CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Stephen E. KTiicher 
 Memorial Book Collection 
 
 Gift Of 
 Mrs. Siiaabeth T. Ufhicher 
 
THE 
 
 CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
^^^m. 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited 
 
 LONDON - BOMBAY ■ CALCUI'i'A 
 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK • BOSTON - CHICAGO 
 DALLAS • SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 THE MACiMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO 
 
Cbe <3lobz coition 
 
 THE 
 
 CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 JOHN BOURCHIER, LORD BERNERS 
 
 EDITED AND REDUCED INTO ONE VOLUME 
 BY 
 
 G. C. MACAULAY 
 
 FORMERLY FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 
 
 irXeov ijfiLO-v iravro'S 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED 
 
 ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON 
 
 1913 
 
COPYRIGHT 
 
 First Edition 1895 
 Reprinted 1899, 1904, 1908, 1913 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The present volume is intended to supply what can hardly be said to exist 
 already, a popular Froissart for English readers. This is an aim which needs 
 no apology. Every one ought to read Froissart, but nevertheless, considering 
 the difficulties which stand in the way, it is hardly surprising that a very large 
 number of educated persons should be in the position of Henry iVIorton in Old 
 Mortality, obliged by sincerity to say ' No,' if the question, ' Did you ever read 
 Froissart?' should be put to them. And yet he is recommended to the reader 
 on so many grounds besides the rather doubtful one suggested by Claver- 
 house. Not to mention the charm of the narrative as narrative, we must 
 admit that there is no school of history like reading the record of chroniclers con- 
 temporary with the events which they relate, and of all such chroniclers Froissart 
 is surely the most readable. It has been the fashion with some historians to 
 depreciate his authority, and it is possible, doubtless, to convict him of num- 
 berless inaccuracies and of some serious misrepresentations ; but the good 
 faith of the writer is unquestionable, and if we consider the extent of his 
 narrative, embracing, as he says, England, France, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, 
 Flanders, and the adjoining countries, and the difiiculty of obtaining news, 
 which compelled the chronicler himself to travel far and wide and to collect 
 information from the mouths of those who had taken part in the events, we 
 shall be rather surprised at the general trustworthiness of the Chronicles than 
 at their particular errors. Their authority for a student of history in regard to 
 this or that series of events depends upon a variety of circumstances which it 
 would not be proper to discuss in this volume. For some parts the chronicler 
 is dependent on his predecessor, Jean le Bel, for others he is himself a con- 
 temporary authority; and naturally far greater weight attaches to his narrative 
 of events in France, Flanders and Hainault, than in England, Spain and the 
 East. But the real value of the work is as a picture of manners, a drama in 
 which the personages are living characters and not mere historical names, 
 and the chronicler himself moves among them, not the least real and living. 
 Let it be admitted that the narrative of events is full of inaccuracies in detail. 
 yet how characteristic it is of the times. Take for example the story of the 
 first campaign against the Scots (due originally to Jean le Bel). What a 
 chronicle of mismanagement and helplessness ; and yet it is told as the most 
 natural thing in the world, and we cannot doubt that whatever inaccuracies 
 it may contain are mere mistakes of ' topography,' as Fielding might say, and 
 that the narrative is thoroughly typical of fourteenth century warfare in a 
 
THE CHRONICLES OE EROISSART 
 
 difficult country. They go up hills and down dales, not knowing whither they 
 go nor where the enemy is, and this not in an enemy's country but in their 
 own. They leave all the baggage and provisions behind them at midnight in 
 a wood, to be picked up by any'one who may chance to find them. When they 
 at length discover the enemy, they cannot bring him to an engagement, and he 
 comes and goes as he pleases. Finally he departs unfought with, and they con- 
 sider the campaign at an end, having suffered terribly for weeks from hunger, wet 
 and weariness. All this is told in the most graphic manner and without a word 
 of blame to any one. Or again, as characteristic of that combination of pitiless 
 cruelty with knightly sport, of which the most chivalrous characters were capable 
 in that age, take the story told by Froissart of the sack of Limoges. ' It was 
 great pity to see the men, women and children that kneeled down on their knees 
 before the prince for mercy, but he was so inflamed with ire that he took no 
 heed to them, so that none was heard, but all put to death as they were met 
 withal, and such as were nothing culpable : there was no pity taken of the 
 poor people, who wrought never no manner of ti^eason, yet they bought it 
 dearer than the great personages, such as had done the evil and trespass'; 
 and then shortly afterwards it is related how the prince passing by in his litter 
 stayed to see the gallant defence made by three French knights, ' and beheld 
 them gladly and appeased himself in beholding them,' and granted them their 
 lives when they surrendered. There is pity expressed by the chronicler for 
 the poor people who had done nothing and made no resistance, but the prince 
 is still for him 'the flower of chivalry.' These examples are types of his 
 representation of war, and we cannot doubt that they are true types. And it 
 is the same with every other department of human action. His pages breathe 
 the spirit of the times to which they belong, and let them contain what inac- 
 curacies they may, they are a truer picture of the period than any modern 
 historian with all his researches, or any modern historical novelist with all his 
 genius and imagination could present to us. In reading Froissart we are 
 reading the true history of the fourteenth century and breathing the very air of 
 that age of infinite variety, in which the knight errant appears side by side 
 with the plundering adventurer, and in which the popular movements in 
 Flanders, France and England sounded the first notes of alarm to feudal 
 oppressors, while the schism of the papacy prepared the way for religious 
 revolution. 
 
 The difficulties which stand in the way of the reader of Froissart are, first, 
 the vast e.xtent of the Chronicles and their rambling and disconnected 
 character, and secondly, so far as the English reader is concerned, the want 
 of a satisfactory translation ; for though the language of the original is by no 
 means difficult, yet it is not every one who is prepared to face the unfamiliar 
 forms and spelling of fourteenth-century French. The existing English ver- 
 sions are two in number, one of the early sixteenth and the other of the early 
 nmeteenth century. The first is \ igorous and spirited, but full of inaccuracies 
 of text and translation and of irregularities of style, and also disfigured by 
 many misprints and by the utter corruption of many proper names ; the other 
 IS respectable and commonplace, with far fewer blunders, though by no means 
 faultless in this respect, but certainly not in any sense alive with the spirit of 
 the origmal. A new translation is evidently desirable ; but on the whole it 
 seems safer to attempt the task of editing a portion of the older of the exist- 
 mg versions, which can hardly be said as yet to have been even corrected for 
 the press. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The translation of Froissart by Lord Berners is established as an English 
 classic, and many generations of Englishmen have made their acquaintance 
 with the Chronicles through it. At the same time, though it has been re- 
 printed in the present century, it is only to be obtained at a rather high price 
 and in a somewhat inconvenient form. An edition of the whole translation 
 would require far more space than the single volume to which I am limited 
 would afford, but there is some consolation for the omissions which the plan 
 of this work renders necessary. Froissart is one of those authors of whom it 
 may be said in a certain sense that the half is more than the whole. The 
 student of history indeed would not willingly spare a single page, but the effect 
 of the whole narrative will often gain considerably by the omission of the less . 
 important gests of arms, which interfere with the flow of the main current of 
 the story, and we may perhaps also consent to spare from a popular edition 
 the history of some of the events that lay remote from the chronicler's own 
 field of observation, as the chapters relating to the English expedition to 
 Portugal and Galicia, which are called by a good authority ' les plus confus et 
 les plus inexacts de toute I'oeuvre historique de Froissart,' and the events in 
 England in the latter years of Richard II., in relating which he is admittedly 
 very inaccurate. By such omissions as these the exuberant bulk of the 
 Chronicles may be reduced, and the more interesting and important parts of 
 them may be more satisfactorily presented to the reader. In many cases the 
 omissions are such as to give greater continuity to the story ; but in order 
 to indicate clearly what has been omitted, as well as to supply any links that 
 may be required for the understanding of the narrative, summaries have been 
 inserted of that which is left out, vaiying in length according to the importance 
 of the matter dealt with and its more or less direct bearing upon that which is 
 given in full. Notwithstanding therefore the very considerable extent of the 
 omissions, the result is not a series of extracts, but a continuous history. The 
 fact that a larger proportion is omitted of the second volume than of the first 
 is due to the greater diffuseness of the Chronicles in the later period : the first 
 volume includes the events of more than fifty years, the second those of 
 only fifteen. 
 
 The portion of Lord Berners' translation which is here edited is given as in 
 the text originally printed, with the following exceptions : — First, the spell- 
 ing has been modernised. Secondly, the misprints, errors of punctuation 
 and such mistakes as seem likely to be mere slips of the pen or oversights 
 have been corrected, a matter which is naturally made much easier by the 
 possibility of referring to the original French text that was used by the trans- 
 lator. Mention has been made of these numerous corrections only where they 
 are at all doubtful or raise any point of special interest, but where additional 
 words are inserted they are enclosed in square brackets. Thirdly, proper 
 names have been brought to an intelligible and tolerably consistent form. 
 What this means can only be appreciated by those who are familiar with the 
 mass of corruption and confusion which is exhibited by the manuscripts and 
 early editions of Froissart in regard to this point, and with the considerable 
 addition to the chaos for which our translator and his printers are responsible : 
 but a task which would otherwise have been hopeless has been rendered com- 
 paratively easy by the labours of modern French editors, and above all by the 
 invaluable index of proper names appended to Kervyn de Lettenhove's edition. 
 In many cases proper names have been given in their correct forms, so far 
 as that can be ascertained, but those which appear in an English dress, such 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 as Walter Manny or Bertram of Guesclin, have not necessarily been made 
 French again, and it has been thought well to retain well-known geographical 
 names such as Bretayne, Burgoyne, Galice, Pruce, Gaunt, etc., rather than 
 to substitute for them their modern equivalents. 
 
 With the exception of the changes above indicated, no alteration has been 
 made in the text of the translation : the style, with all its strange irregularity 
 and carelessness, remains unchanged, the mistakes of translation are repro- 
 duced, to be corrected only in the notes, if they are sufficiently important, and 
 the division into chapters and headings of chapters are as the translator made 
 them, reproducing from the early printed editions the divisions made by the 
 .copyists of a certain class of MSS. In the notes, where reference is made to 
 'the original' or 'the French text,' what is meant is the text which the trans- 
 lator had before him, and wherever in the notes a rendering is substituted for 
 that of the translator without further remark, it is meant as a more exact 
 rendering of that particular text. In cases where a difference of reading comes 
 in that fact is carefully stated, and the expressions 'true text' or 'better text ' 
 refer to the readings of modern critical editions based on the best MSS. The 
 notes are for the most part confined to such points as have been here referred 
 to, and touch upon the substance of the history only very occasionally and 
 where points of special interest arise. As regards the French text from which 
 the translation was made, all that need be reported will be found in the Intro- 
 duction dealing with Lord Berners and his translation. 
 
 The headings of the pages and the dates will serve to facilitate reference, 
 and the glossary is intended not only to explain such words as need explana- 
 tion, but also to set forth in a convenient form the chief characteristics of the 
 translator's diction. Lord Berners' Froissart is an important English prose 
 text, and extensive as is the use which has been made of it by the editors of the 
 ' New English Dictionary,' it is probable that even they may glean something 
 from this new edition. In that part of the great lexicon which has already 
 been published our glossary might have supplied them with the new words 
 'bidaus,' 'cinquantenier' and 'countersingle,' and with the phrase 'to be beaten' 
 in the sense of ' to fight,' with new meanings of ' anger ' (verb) and ' assister,' 
 with earlier instances than any which they have quoted of the use of ' carriage ' 
 in the sense of ' vehicle,' and with valuable additional quotations for 'again' 
 if.e. in ' comparison with '), ' assised ' and ' closing.' 
 
 As regards obligations to other writers, the chief acknowledgment is due 
 to Kervyn de Lettenhove, whose magnificent edition of Froissart, with its 
 index (or rather dictionary) of proper names and glossary, I have had con- 
 stantly by my side. For a large part of the first book I have also used the 
 unfinished edition of Luce. For the facts connected with the life and descent 
 of Lord Berners I am indebted chiefly to Dugdale {Baronage of England), to 
 the memoir given by the editor of the reprint of 1812, and to the introduction 
 prefixed to the edition of ' Huon of Bordeaux,' edited for the Early English 
 Text Society by Mr. S. L. Lee. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Edward's designs on France 
 
 Battle of Cadsand 
 
 War with France 
 
 PAGE 
 
 xiii 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Title-page of the first volume . xxvii 
 
 Preface of the translator . xxviii 
 
 Prologue of sir John Froissart . i 
 
 Predecessors of king Edward III. . 3 
 
 The queen of England in France, 1 326 5 
 
 Queen Isabel in Hainault 7 
 
 Expedition to England 9 
 
 Execution of the Spencers 10 
 
 Accession of Edward III. . 12 
 
 War with the Scots, 1327 13 
 
 Marriage of Edward III. 25 
 
 Death of Robert Bruce . 26 
 
 Philip of Valois crowned, 1328 29 
 
 Battle of Cassel . 29 
 
 Homage of Edward III. 31 
 
 War with the Scots, 1332 35 
 
 39 
 
 Jaques d'Arteveld 40 
 
 42 
 
 Edward III. Vicar of the Empire 45 
 
 47 
 
 Siege of Cambray 4S 
 
 Edward III. enters France . 51 
 
 The hosts at Buironfosse 52 
 
 The French in Hainault 56 
 
 War on the frontiers, 1339-40 58 
 
 Battle of Sluys 61 
 
 Council of Vilvorde . 63 
 
 Siege of Tournay 64 
 
 Edinburgh castle taken, 1341 - 65 
 
 Events during the siege of Tournay 66 
 
 Siege of Tournay raised, 1340 68 
 
 War in Brittany, 1341 70 
 
 War with the .Scots, 1341 . 72 
 
 The king and the countess of Salisbury 73 
 
 War in Brittany, 1342 . 75 
 
 The order of the Garter founded 82 
 
 The earl of Derby in Gascony, 134S • 83 
 
 Capture of La Reole . . 87 
 
 Death of Jaques d'Arteveld . 88 
 Siege of Aiguillon, 1346 . . .91 
 
 Expedition of Edward III. to France, 1346 . 93 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Edward III. in Normandy 94 
 
 Capture of Caen 97 
 
 The English near Paris 9^ 
 
 Passage of the Somme lOl 
 
 Battle of Crecy 102 
 
 Siege of Calais . 107 
 
 Invasion of England by the Scots 109 
 
 Battle of Nevill's Cross . 1 10 
 
 Betrothal of the earl of Flanders 1 13 
 
 Surrender of Calais, 1347 114 
 
 The chaplet of pearls, 1350 117 
 
 Death of king Philip, 1350 , . 118 
 
 Expeditions of the prince ofWales, 1355-56 118 
 
 Events before the battle of Poitiers 1 19 
 
 Order of the two hosts . 121 
 
 Mediation attempted 122 
 
 Battle of Poitiers 124 
 
 Return of the prince to Bordeaux . . 131 
 
 Government by the three estates in France . . 133 
 
 Disturbances in Paris . 135 
 
 The Jacquerie, 1357 . . 137 
 
 Death of Etienne Marcel 139 
 
 Peace of Bretigny, 1360 140 
 
 Battle of Brignais, 1361 . 14O 
 
 The Companies, 1361-62 142 
 
 Accession of Charles V. 144 
 
 Battle of Cocherel, 1364 14^ 
 
 Coronation of Charles V. . 151 
 
 Battle of Auray . . I C2 
 
 End of the wars in Brittany, 1364 . 1^3 
 
 Don Peter of Castile . 153 
 
 Henry the bastard . 154 
 
 Flight of don Peter, 1366 \t-j 
 
 Don Peter at Bordeaux . 1^8 
 
 Council at Bayonne . igi 
 
 The companies quit Spain . . 163 
 
 Preparations for the expedition to Spain 164 
 
 Passage of the mountains, 1367 igy 
 
 Preparations of king Henry ign 
 
 The prince at Navaretta . 170 
 
 Letter of the prince of Wales . 17, 
 
 Battle of Najara . . . 174 
 
 After the battle of Najara . igo 
 
 Return of the prince from Spain ig. 
 
 Deliverance of Bertrand du Guesclin . ig^ 
 
 Discontent in Gascony, 1368 igc 
 
 War renewed in Spain ,g-, 
 
 Battle of Montiel . jgg 
 
 Capture of don Peter . jgp 
 
 The prince of Wales summoned to Paris jqg 
 
 Renewal of war, 1369 . . . jq. 
 
 Sir John Chandos and the earl of Pembroke jq^ 
 
 Death of queen Philippa jq^ 
 
 Death of Chandos . . jq^ 
 
 Limoges given up to the French, 1370 . jqq 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Sack of Limoges by the English 201 
 
 Bertrand du Guesclin constable 203 
 
 Death of the prince of Wales, 1376 205 
 
 Death of Edward III., 1377 206 
 
 Affairs of the Church, 1377 207 
 
 Election of Urban VI., 1378 209 
 
 War with the king of Navarre 210 
 
 Peter de Bournazel at Slays 213 
 
 Affairs of Flanders, 1379 . 214 
 
 Election of Clement VII., 1378 217 
 
 The queen of Naples and the pope 219 
 
 Sir John Hawkwood 221 
 
 John Lyon at Ghent . . 222 
 
 The white hoods at Ghent, 1379 225 
 
 Burning of the castle of Wondelghem 231 
 
 Alliance of Bruges and Ghent 232 
 
 Death of John Lyon 233 
 
 War in Flanders . . 234 
 
 Wreck of Arundel's ships, 1379 235 
 
 The earl of Flanders at Ghent . 236 
 
 Surprise of Oudenarde . 239 
 
 War renewed in Flanders, 1380 241 
 
 Expedition of Buckingham to France 242 
 
 Battle near Roulers . . 243 
 
 Siege of Ghent . . 245 
 
 Defeat of Arnold de Clerck . . 247 
 
 Philip d'Arteveld captain, 1381 248 
 
 Wat Tyler's rising . 250 
 
 The comnions at Blackheath 253 
 
 The commons in London 255 
 
 Death of Wat Tyler . 259 
 
 Punishment of the rebels . . 261 
 
 Death of Grutere and Bette at Ghent, 1382 263 
 
 Famine in Ghent 265 
 
 Conference at Tournay. 267 
 
 Speech of Philip d'Arteveld 269 
 
 March of the Gauntois towards Bruges 271 
 
 Victory of the Gauntois . 273 
 
 Bruges taken . . . 274 
 
 Escape of the earl of Flanders . 277 
 
 Siege of Oudenarde 279 
 
 French intervention . 281 
 
 The flying hart . . 282 
 
 French expedition to Flanders . 284 
 
 Before the battle of Rosebeque 284 
 
 Battle of Rosbeque, 1382 . . 289 
 
 After the battle of Rosebeque 290 
 
 The French king's return to Paris 292 
 
 English sympathy with the Flemings . 294 
 
 Crusade of the bishop of Norwich, 1383 296 
 
 The bishop of Norwich in Flanders 298 
 
 Death of the earl of Flanders . 302 
 
 Title-page of the second volume 307 
 
 Preface of the translator 30S 
 
 Froissart's journey, 1388 . . 309 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 The prince of Wales in Bigorre 310 
 
 Froissart's journey . .512 
 
 The duke of Anjou in Bigorre, 1373 322 
 
 Froissart's journey 325 
 
 Foix and Armagnac 327 
 
 Gaston de Foix 329 
 
 His son's death 330 
 
 Peter of Beam . 334 
 
 The bascot of Mauleon . 336 
 
 Household of Gaston de Foix 339 
 
 War in Portugal, 1385 . 340 
 
 Battle of Aljubarrota 344 
 
 Story of the lord of Corasse 352 
 
 Affairs of the Church 356 
 
 Affairs of Portugal . . 359 
 
 The French fleet at Sluys . 360 
 
 Capture of the constable de Clisson 361 
 
 Events of the years 1386-88 . 369 
 
 The Scots invade England 1388 370 
 
 Battle of Otterburn . 372 
 
 After the battle of Otterburn . 377 
 
 Affairs of Juliers and Gueldres. 381 
 
 Peace between England and France 382 
 
 Entry of queen Isabel into Paris, 1389 383 
 
 Visit of the king of France to Avignon 389 
 
 The king of France in Languedoc 391 
 
 Wager of the king with the duke of Touraine . 306 
 
 Death of Urban VI. . 307 
 
 Affairs of the Church, 1389 . . ong 
 
 Expedition to Africa, 1390 naq 
 
 Peter de Craon . ^qc 
 
 Attack on the Constable, 1392 .08 
 
 French expedition to Brittany .12 
 
 Madness of the king of France 41 c 
 
 Dance of savages ,jp 
 
 Death of pope Clertient -22 
 
 Froissart in England, 1395 . 2^; 
 
 Debate in the Privy Council, 1395 427 
 
 Irish affairs . . ' 
 
 Expedition to Turkey, 1396 .%r 
 
 Battle of Nicopoli . )^ 
 
 Mission of Jaques de Kelly V'i 
 
 Return of the French prisoners fl-^ 
 
 Affairs of the Church . ^^^ 
 
 The pope besieged at Avignon ^5^ 
 
 Conferences about the state of the Church ^61 
 
 462 
 
 Death of the duke of Lancaster 
 
 The earl of Derby lands in England ?52 
 
 Capture of Richard II. ^6^ 
 
 Richard II. brought to London .^ 
 
 Execution of the king's advisers ^<r. 
 
 Abdication of Richard ^g^ 
 
 Coronation of Henry IV. ^ ^ 
 
 Death of Richard II., 1400 '^^ 
 
 Glossary ^'^ 
 
 ' 477 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 ON LORD BERNERS AND HIS TRANSLATION 
 
 The translation of the Chronicles of sir John Froissart ' out of French into our maternal 
 English tongue,' made by John Bourchier, lord Berners, at the command of king Henry 
 the eighth, is undoubtedly an English classic. It is not only one of the most extensive 
 and important texts of English literature during the period of the formation and 
 development of a native prose style, but it has been also the means by which English- 
 men have chiefly beconie acquainted with the former exploits of their countrymen and 
 the 'noble adventures of feats of arms done and achieved in the wars of France and 
 England,' as registered in the Chronicles of Froissart. As a translator he was first in 
 the field and held his ground unchallenged until the present century. His version is 
 full of faults, and the author of it was neither a sound French scholar nor sufficiently 
 master of his literary tools to write lucid or grammatical English ; but it has merits 
 which go far to atone for its defects. It was made by a man who could enter into the 
 spirit of the original, though often at fault in the letter, a man who had himself taken a 
 part both in war and in politics, and who, though capable when left to himself of the 
 worst kind of style, was content when translating to reproduce to the best of his power 
 the simplicity and vigour of his author, and this at a time when the ideals of the middle 
 ages had not wholly passed away and before the pure well of fourteenth-century English 
 had been very seriously defiled. For these reasons his version has been by many 
 regarded as representing Froissart better than a more accurate translation in the modern 
 style. As is observed by a French critic, ' la traduction de lord Berners presente, pour 
 les Anglais, a raison de la naivete de son vieux langage, un charme presqu' egal a celui 
 du texte original de Froissart.' 
 
 I 
 
 Before entering upon the criticism of this translation it is proper to state shortly 
 what is known of its author. John Bourchier, or Bourgchier, lord Berners, or (as it was 
 often written) Barnes, belonged to a family which was of great distinction and import- 
 ance. The founder of its fortunes had been Robert Bourchier, Chancellor of England 
 in the year 1340, and the first layman who held that office. This Robert Bourchier 
 accompanied Robert d'Artois into Brittany in 1342, was with Edward III. in the cam- 
 paign of 1346, and was present at the battle of Crecy (vol. i. chs. 91 and 128 of this 
 translation). His son, John Bourchier, fills a certain place in the Chronicles of Frois- 
 sart. He is mentioned as distinguishing himself at the siege of Dinan in 1342, he was 
 present at the battle of Auray (i. 226), he accompanied the prince of Wales to Spain, 
 he was shipwrecked with Arundel (i. 356), and he was in the expedition of Thomas of 
 Woodstock, then earl of Buckingham, in 1380 (i. 361). Afterwards, when in the year 
 1384 the burgesses of Ghent requested the king of England to appoint a governor for 
 them, John Bourchier was sent with the title of 'reward (rewaert) of Flanders,' the 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 same style which had been used by Philip van Arteveld (i. 447 and ii. i, etc. ). This 
 post he held for rather more than a year, and then returned in consequence of the 
 reconciUation of Ghent with the duke of Burgundy (ii. l8-2o). His son Bartholomew 
 is mentioned by Froissart as made knight before Saint-Omer by the earl of Buckmgham 
 in 1380 (i. 361). 
 
 This Bartholomew died without male issue and the barony of Bourchier passea 
 eventually to the descendants of his younger brother. William Bourchier, son of this 
 younger brother, married in 1419 Anne, daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, youngest 
 son of Edward III., and in the same year was created earl of Eu in Normandy. This 
 William earl of Eu had four sons and a daughter. The sons were — (i) Henry earl of Eu, 
 afterwards viscount Bourchier, and finally earl of Esse.\ ; in 1449 as,sociated with others in 
 a commission to govern Calais for five years, and in 1454 lord Treasurer of England : 
 (2) WilHam lord Fitzwarren : (3) Thomas, who became archbishop of Canterbury and a 
 cardinal, Chancellor of England in i486 : (4) John, who married Margery, widow of 
 John Ferreby and heiress of sir Richard Berners of West Horsley, Sussex, was sum- 
 moned to parliament as <i baron in 1455 by the designation of John Bourchier de 
 Berners, chevalier, and was commonly called lord Berners, though before this time there 
 was perhaps no barony of Berners. This John Bourchier fought for Henry VI. at the 
 first battle of St. Albans in 1455, but afterwards with the rest of his family he became 
 attached to the house of York, and was appointed by Edward IV. constable of Windsor 
 Castle. His eldest son, Humphrey, married Elizabeth Tylney, and was killed fighting 
 for Edward IV. at the battle of Barnet in 1471, leaving one son, the subject of this 
 notice, then a child not more than four years old, and two daughters, Margaret and 
 Anne. Three years later, on the death of his grandfather, the boy succeeded to the 
 title and estates. 
 
 John Bourchier, lord Berners, the future translator of Froissart, was born either in 
 1467 or 1469, and probably grew up under the guardianship of Thomas Howard, after- 
 wards duke of Norfolk, to whom his mother was married some few years after his 
 father's death. ^ He was made a knight of the Bath in 1477, being then at most ten 
 years old, on the occasion of the betrothal of the king's second son, the young duke of 
 York (afterwards murdered in the Tower), to Anne, daughter and heiress of John Mow- 
 bray, duke of Norfolk. He was educated at Oxford, probably at Balliol College, and 
 afterwards travelled abroad, where he may probably have been during the troubles of 
 the reign of Richard III., which took place while he was still quite young. Whatever 
 line he individually might have taken owing to his connexion with the Howards, it is 
 evident that the behaviour of Richard III. had alienated the rest of the Bourchier family 
 from his cause ; and we find that several members of it gave assistance to the earl of 
 Richmond. One, if not two, of lord Berners' uncles had taken part in the insu Tection 
 of Buckingham ; one of them, Thomas Bourchier, fought for Richmond at I jsworth 
 field ; and finally the ceremony of coronation on the accession of Henry VII. /as per- 
 formed by cardinal Bourchier, then archbishop of Canterbury, the great-uncle of lord 
 Berners. 
 
 The services thus rendered were requited by the favour of Henry VII., in which 
 naturally lord Berners shared. He was first summoned to parliament by the style of 
 'John Bourgchier lord of Berners ' in the nth year of Henry VII., having been previ- 
 ously employed at the siege of Boulogne in 1492. Some authorities say that he distin- 
 guished himself in putting down the insurrection of 1497, but this is perhaps a .nistake, 
 arising from confusion between lord Berners and his uncle Thomas Bourchier. On the 
 accession of Henry VIII. he became a favourite with the king and was employed in vari- 
 ous military enterprises. In 1513 we find him as captain of the pioneers at the siege 
 of Terouenne, where he did good service, especially in the recovery of a gim, which had 
 been left behind on the road by negligence and had nearly fallen into the hands of the 
 
 1 Besides the connexion formed by the marriage marriage of John Mowbray, third duke of Norfolk 
 of his mother with Thomas Howard, who succeeded with the great-aunt of Lord Berners. He himself 
 to the dukedom, there was an earlier kinship by the afterwards married a Howard. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 French. In 1514, on the occasion of the marriage of the king's sister Mary with Louis 
 XII. , lord Berners was one of those who gave attendance upon her to Abbeville. Shortly 
 afterwards he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer for life. 
 
 In 1518 a special embassy was sent to the Spanish court to congratulate Charles V. 
 on his accession and to endeavour secretly to detach him from the interests of France. 
 For this important mission the archbishop of Armagh and lord Berners were selected. 
 Several of the original despatches sent by the ambassadors are extant among the Cotton 
 MSS. in the British Museum. The first report was favourable, but changes took place 
 in the views of Wolsey as regards the French alliance, and from some of the despatches 
 it is evident that he was dissatisfied with the doings of the envoys. In the month of 
 August lord Berners fell seriously ill, and did not recover his health during his stay in 
 Spain. For this reason they would have desired to return by land, but they were so 
 ill supplied with money for their expenses, that they were compelled to come back by 
 the nearest way. They took leave of the Spanish court in January 15 19 and took ship 
 at Saint Sebastian.-' 
 
 Lord Berners with his wife attended the king at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and 
 on July 2nd 1520 he was thanked by the Privy Council for an account of that ceremonial 
 which he had forwarded to them. Towards the end of the year 1520 he was appointed 
 to the post of deputy of Calais, one of the most important offices of trust under the 
 crown. Here he seems to have remained for the rest of his life, busying himself partly 
 in strengthening the fortifications, as we learn from his letters to Wolsey, and here it 
 was that he chiefly found leisure for literary pursuits, being debarred, it seems, by the 
 state of his health from active military service. In the latter part of his life he must 
 have been somewhat embarrassed in money matters, partly perhaps owing to some law- 
 suits in which he had been involved, and he was a debtor to the crown at the time of 
 his death to the extent of at least ^^500. Henry VIII. was anxious to secure payment 
 out of his estate, and when the deputy lay on his death-bed, the king set agents at Calais 
 to watch over his personal effects. Lord Berners died on the l6th of March 1532-33, 
 and was buried in the church of Saint Mary at Calais. All his goods were immediately 
 placed under arrest, and an inventory taken, which exists still in the Record office. 
 Among his effects were eighty books, chiefly French and Latin, but the titles unfortu- 
 nately are not given. 
 
 He was married to Catherine, daughter of John Howard, duke of Norfolk, 
 apparently the sister-in-law of his mother, by whom he had two daughters, Mary and 
 Jane. He left also several illegitimate children. 
 
 Besides the translation of Froissart he made several other translations : as ' The 
 Hystorye of the moost noble and valiaunt Knyght Arthur of lytell Brytayne,' translated 
 from the French. No copy of the early editions of this is known to exist. It was 
 republished in 1814 by Utterson from a seventeenth-century edition. 
 
 'The Castel of Love,' translated from the Spanish at the instance of the lady 
 Elizabeth Carew. Of this there is a copy in the British Museum supposed to have been 
 printed about 1540, but probably this was not the first edition. 
 
 ' The ancient, honorable, famous and delightful Historie of Huon of Bourdeux, 
 enterlaced with the Love of many Ladies,' translated from the French at the desire of 
 the earl of Huntingdon. One copy only exists of an early edition and that without 
 date (being imperfect at the beginning and the end), but supposed to be of the year 
 1534. It has been edited by Mr. S. L. Lee for the Early English Text Society. 
 
 'The Golden boke of Marcus Aurelius,' translated from the French at the desire of 
 his nephew, sir Francis Bryan. This is a translation from a French version of the well- 
 known work by Guevara. The first edition bears the date 1534. It became very 
 
 1 In one of the despatches the ambassadors good game to teach men to fly. My lord Berners 
 report that at Saragossa the king joined in the answered that the Frenchmen learnt it well beside 
 national exercise of 'casting canes,' that is, hurling Guingate at the journey of Spurs.' These de- 
 javelins and galloping away in Parthian fashion, spatches will be found summarised in Brewer's 
 'whereof the French ambassador said it was a 'Letters and Papers of the reign of Henry VIII.' 
 
 b 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 popular and went through many editions before North published his 'Dial of Princes,' 
 from the same original slightly expanded, in 1557- 
 
 Lord Earners is said also to have composed a treatise ' of the duties of the inhabitants 
 of Calais,' which has been perhaps rightly identified with ' Ordenances for Watch and 
 Ward of Calais,' printed with other documents relating to Calais for the Camden Society in 
 1846; and a comedy called ' Ite in vineam meam,' which was sometimes acted in the 
 great church at Calais after vespers. This last is not extant. 
 
 .Some remarks may be here made on this list of works before passing on to the main 
 subject of this Introduction. The translator's prologue to the romance of ' Arthur of 
 Little Britain ' closely resembles in some respects the preface to the translation of 
 Froissart, but it is written in a much simpler style and is more humble in its pretensions. 
 The writer declares that he cannot render the work into ' fresh, ornate, polished English,' 
 because of his insufficiency in ' the facundious art of rhetoric,' and that he is but a learner 
 of the language of French. The style of the preface to Froissart is much more formed 
 and testifies to a terrible progress in the art of rhetoric, as it was then conceived, nor 
 does the translator any longer speak of himself as ignorant of French. On the whole 
 we may perhaps assume that ' Arthur of Little Britain ' was his first considerable work 
 in literature. 
 
 The Froissart may probably have come next, and then the ' Castle of Love ' and 
 ' Huon of Bordeaux.' The 'Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius' was the work of his 
 last years, though he was not apparently occupied upon it, as has been sometimes stated, 
 during the very last week of his life. The colophon of this book states that it was ' ended 
 at Calais the tenth day of March ^ in the yere of the reigne of our soveraygne lorde 
 kyng Henry the VIII. the xxiii.,' that is 1531-32, a full year before the translator's death. 
 I have not seen a copy of the first edition, nor do I know where one is to be found, and 
 it is possible that it may contain the reading xxiiii. (as stated by Mr. Lee), though 
 Dibdin reports otherwise; but certainly in the edition of 1535, and in subsequent 
 editions so far as I know, it is xxiii. In any case, however, the book does not seem 
 to have been printed in the translator's lifetime, and no doubt it was published by sir 
 Francis Bryan, himself afterwards a translator of Guevara. At least twelve editions of 
 this book are recorded between 1534 and 1560, and there can be no doubt that the 
 credit of making Guevara known in England must be assigned to lord Berners rather 
 than to North. It has been suggested therefore that the ' Golden Book ' and not the 
 ' Dial of Princes ' was the real father of what is called Euphuism in England : but it is 
 vain to attempt to trace Euphuism, except in a very restricted sense, to the influence of 
 any single book, and it will soon be acknowledged that the translators of Guevara 
 were no more really responsible than Lyly for a style which had developed simultaneously 
 in all the neighbouring countries. If nothing else could be adduced to shew that the 
 tendency existed already in English literature, the prefaces to lord Berners' Froissart, 
 written before he could possibly have read Guevara, would be enough to prove it. 
 
 II 
 
 In his translation of Froissart's Chronicles, lord Berners no doubt found a truer 
 satisfaction than in any of his other works. His delight was in history rather than in 
 fiction : it is history which alone in his judgment ' complecteth all profit,' moving us to 
 emulate the example of those who have been before us, with the prospect of ourselves 
 becoming an example to those that shall come after. There is a real enthusiasm, 
 visible through the artificiality of the rhetoric, in his praise of history, and he evidently 
 desired that the narratives with which he dealt should have at least the semblance of 
 truth. In the prologue to ' Arthur of Little Britain ' he naively lets his readers into 
 the secret that he undertook to translate the book before he had read it, and declares 
 that as he advanced with his task he had been so staggered by the ' unpossibilities ' of 
 the story, that he had thought to have left and given up his labour. However, he had 
 ^ It is a curious coincidence that the translation of Froissart also was finished on the loth of March. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 consoled himself with the reflection that divers other 'noble histories' in which the 
 deeds of famous knights of old were related, seemed to our understanding not less 
 incredible, and that the first author of the book had probably devised it ' not without 
 some measure of truth or virtuous intent. ' Just so we may conceive that he was enticed 
 into attempting ' Huon of Bordeaux ' by the specious semblance of history which the 
 first part of that romance presents, and that ' the instant desires of his nephew, Francis 
 Bryan, knight,' that he would translate the ' Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius,' may 
 have been powerfully seconded by the pretence, which the author made and long 
 maintained, that it was all genuine history. 
 
 Be this as it may, the translation of Froissart's Chronicles was undertaken, as already 
 stated, at the command of the king. The first volume was ' Imprinted at London, in 
 Fletestrete, by Richard Pynson, printer to the kynges noble grace, and ended the xxviii. day 
 of January, the yere of our lorde MDXXIII.' (that is 1523-24) : the second volume was 
 finished at Calais the loth day of March in the 1 6th year of the reign of king Henry 
 VIII. , and printed as before by Richard Pynson, the printing being ended on the last day 
 of August in the year 1525. Pynson issued at least two editions of the book, but with 
 the same date and imprint. It was also printed by William Myddylton, ' in Fletestrete, 
 at the signe of the George,' without date, but the title-page and imprint of this (prob- 
 ably unauthorised) edition have the words ' of the church of England and also of Ire- 
 lande in earth the supreme heade ' added to the king's title, proving its date to have 
 been at least as late as 1533. Of this edition I have seen only one volume, the copy in 
 the British Museum being made up with the second volume of one of Pynson's, but a 
 note in the Grenville copy of Pynson's edition states that there exists an issue of the 
 whole book printed by Myddylton. Myddylton 's edition, so far as I know it, is a line 
 for line reprint of Pynson's, but executed in a very much inferior style. Finally the 
 book was republished in 1812, under the superintendence of E. V. Utterson, in the form 
 of a tolerably accurate reprint of Pynson's first edition, with a few notes on mistranslated 
 passages and many emendations of proper names, given on the authority of the lately 
 published translation by Johnes. Of these last many are not to be relied upon, and it 
 should be remarked that by an oversight the black-letter title-page printed for the first 
 volume is that of Myddylton's edition and not Pynson's. 
 
 With the exception of some correction of the punctuation, which remains, however, 
 exceedingly defective, this last publication reproduces designedly all the errors of the 
 original edition. These, which are sufficiently numerous to leave the reader often in 
 doubt about the true 'sentence of the matter,' consist of two classes, those which pro- 
 ceed from the translator himself or the French text which he used, and those for which 
 he is indebted to his printers. It is pretty clear that the translator did not take the 
 trouble to revise his own proofs, indeed such mechanical work would no doubt in that 
 age be considered as belonging solely to the printer. Many of the errors are obviously 
 due to misreading of the translator's handwriting, as ' Beamon ' for ' Beauieu ' (vol. i. ch. 
 3), 'creylles' for 'oreylles' (i. 17), ' Issodnii ' for 'Issodun' (i. 21), 'drewe' for 'drove' 
 (i. 44), ' their grefe ' for ' them grace ' (i. 56), ' the kyng harde noyse ' for ' the kyng 
 harde masse' (i. 124), ' Muquateners ' for ' Cinquanteners ' (i. 349), 'Dunce' for 
 'Dunoe' (ii. 206), 'mylke' for 'myllet' (ii. 215), and very many more, including a 
 curious case where, the translator having written no doubt, ' as at that tyme sir Johan 
 Warnes was capitayne of Calays ' (Warnes being a corruption in the French text of 
 d'Ewrues, i.e. d'Evreux), the printer has substituted the name most familiar to himselfin 
 connexion with that office, and we read ' as at that tyme sir Johan Bernes was capitayne 
 of Calays,' that is, no other than our translator himself, translated for the occasion into 
 the fourteenth century (ii. 157). The mistakes of punctuation are still more numerous, 
 and are often such as to destroy the whole sense of the passage. Of these various 
 errors very few have as yet received any correction, so that the present may be said 
 to be the first attempt to give a thoroughly readable text of any considerable portion 
 of the book. 
 
 Lord Berners had certainly some qualifications which might have been expected to 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 fit him for his task as translator of Froissart. In such famihes as his, if in any, the 
 tradition of the age of chivalry was likely to be still alive. The Chronicles which he 
 translated are full of the deeds of his ancestors, for we must remember that he was 
 descended not only from the Bourchiers, but also from Edward the third and from his 
 son Thomas duke of Gloucester, whose grandson was the grandfather of our translator ; 
 so that it may fairly be said of him, ' les gloires de son pays etaient aussi pour lui des 
 <^loires domestiques ' (Lettenhove, i. 3, 457). He was a man of the world quite as much 
 as a man of letters : he had travelled in various countries and had been engaged in 
 important service both of war and of diplomacy. Finally he had found leisure for his 
 hterary task in a post which of all others carried with it most associations of the period 
 of which the Chronicles give us so living a picture. Calais was the prize won on the 
 field of Crecy, the gate by which the English entered France, the vital point on which 
 negotiations for peace so often turned, the town of the world which the English loved 
 best, ' for as long as they be lords of Calais, they said, they bare the keys of France 
 under their girdle ' (ii. 179). In the position of captain of Calais, a post which had been 
 also to some extent associated with his family in former times, he could hardly fail to have 
 a sense of the living reality of the conflicts of which Froissart wrote the chronicle and in 
 which his ancestors had taken a leading part. Add to this finally that his lifetime began 
 within seventy years of the latest events chronicled by Froissart, and that the English 
 language of his day was not yet very much altered from that of the fourteenth century. 
 
 Against these considerations must be set several disadvantages, of which some 
 arise from defects personal to the translator, others belong to the times in which he 
 lived. The absence of the means for anything like a critical study of Froissart's 
 Chronicles reduced the translator to a text of his author which in many respects is very 
 unsatisfactory ; and this corruption of the French text is really responsible for many of 
 the apparent blunders of translation, as will be sufficiently pointed out in the notes to 
 this edition. Then again, the undeveloped state of English prose style at the beginning 
 of the sixteenth century threw unusual difficulties in the way of so extensive a work, 
 difficulties with which the literary ability of the translator was hardly competent to 
 grapple successfully. In fact it is evident that he had not a sufficient literary training 
 for his task, and he shews a certain gentlemanly indifference to accuracy both in his 
 rendering of the French and in his style of expressing himself in English. It is of these 
 disadvantages and defects and of the manner in which they appear in the translation that 
 I propose now to speak, and first of the French text from which the version w&s made. 
 
 At the time when the work of translation was being done there existed at least five 
 printed editions of the Chronicles — (l) the editio princeps, printed at Paris for Antoine 
 Verard, without date, probably about I495 ; (2) another edition published by the same, 
 probably about 1497 ; (3) an edition printed by Michel Lenoir, Paris, 1505 ; (4) an 
 edition published by G. Eustace and F. Regnault,-' Paris, 1513; (5) an edition by A. 
 Verard, F. Regnault and J. Petit, Paris, 1518 : all are in 4 volumes, small folio, and 
 are printed in Gothic letters, and they not only all represent the same text, but the later 
 editions are printed page by page from the earlier, with only the most trifling alterations 
 or corrections, so that Denis Sauvage was justified in saying that for critical purposes 
 they are equivalent to a single edition.^ As regards the first book, where alone the 
 
 1 That is, some copies bear the name of Regnault. V^rard's editions have ' Haneskerly,' which is re- 
 
 2 It may be of some interest to determine by produced by the translator, while Lenoir has 
 means of the sHght variations that exist, which ' Kanerly ' ; and finally for the distinction between 
 particular one of these editions was used by the the two editions of Verard we may quote vol. i. ch. 
 translator. The evidence chiefly depends upon 125, where all the other editions, Including V^rard's 
 variations in the form of proper names: for ex- first, have ' larsin ' or ' larcin/ while V^rard's second 
 ample, the edition used by the translator had the has 'darsin,' on which the translator has founded 
 reading ' dongport ' for ' ung port 'in vol. i. fol. 5 an absurd mistake. Such evidence as this tends 
 (vol. i. ch. 10 of the translation), a reading ex- to shew that the translator used V^rard's second 
 hibjted only by the early editions of Verard and by edition, but the variations in these early issues are 
 that of Lenoir : in vol. i. ch. 112 the translator has so trifling that they may be regarded for most pur- 
 ' Mauleon,' which is given by the two early editions poses as the same. 
 
 of Verard but not by Lenoir or the rest : in i. 221 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 difference of redactions is of serious importance, the text represented by these editions 
 belongs to that which is called by Kervyn de Lettenhove the second redaction, that is 
 the class to which by far the greater number of existing MSS. are referred ; but of this 
 it is a considerably abridged copy. 
 
 The text is of course not a critical one, that is, it was printed apparently from a 
 single manuscript without comparison with others, and the result is that it contains a 
 considerable number of corruptions, especially of proper names. That lord Berners 
 should exercise much criticism upon it was perhaps not reasonably to be expected, but 
 it is certainly surprising that he should have let pass without correction so many mis- 
 takes about the names of places which must have been perfectly familiar to him, and 
 that he sometimes even introduces corruptions of such names, which were not in his 
 French text. For example, he has not only acquiesced in the reading ' Poictou,' or as 
 he calls it ' Poyters,* for ' Ponthieu ' in the letters patent of vol. i. ch. 24, where he must 
 surely have known that Ponthieu and Montreuil were the places spoken of, but he has 
 actually changed ' Ponthieu * into Poictou in some other places, e.g. i. 247, where the 
 name occurs in connexion with the towns of Abbeville, Saint-Valery and Crotoy, with 
 the position of which the captain of Calais must certainly have been well acquainted. 
 The case is much the same with the English names. In a few cases he has made 
 corrections: he rightly gives ' Shene ' for ' Renes ' {i. 314), *Brendwode' (Brentwood) 
 for ' Brehoude ' (ii. 200), and * Edenborowe ' for ' Haindebourg,' and he has sometimes 
 given the names of well-known English families in a more correct form ; but these cases 
 are rather the exception. * Mombray ' for ' Mowbray ' must surely be a misprint, but 
 *Pennefort' and ' Penbruges ' for 'Pembroke,' * CanoU ' for 'ICnoUes,' * Caurell ' for 
 ' Calverley,' ' Quenfort * for * Oxford,' ' Volengy ' and ' Bouligney ' for ' Buckingham ' {a 
 bad case, for the person in question is Thomas of Woodstock, the translator's ancestor) 
 and many others, are forms which an Englishman who had any knowledge of the history 
 might be expected to correct ; and such names as * lie of Vbyque ' for ' Isle of Wight, ' 
 *Brendpest' for 'Kent, Essex,' 'Aude' for 'Tweed,* 'Germeney' for 'Yarmouth,' 
 need not have been left unreformed. There are also cases in which the translator has 
 made matters worse by unfortunate attempts at correction, as where he writes ' Hull ' 
 for 'HeuUe* (ii. 239), the correction required being 'Henley.' His attempts to correct 
 the text where proper names are not involved are even less successful, as will be 
 seen in the notes to this edition. 
 
 As the copyists of the manuscripts often thought themselves at liberty to abridge the 
 French text, so the translator still further abridges in his version. As an example of 
 the extent to which this double process is sometimes carried we may take the description 
 of the English order before the battle of Poitiers. The full text of the second redaction 
 as given from the best MSS. in Lettenhove's edition (vol. v. p. 411) is as follows : — 
 
 En ces parolles que Ii rois de France disoit et monstroit k ses gens pour yaus enco- 
 ragier, revinrent Ii iiii chevalier dessus nommet, et fendirent le presse et s'arresterent devant 
 le roy. Li estoient Ii connestable de France et Ii doi marescal et grant fuison de bonne 
 chevalerie, tout venu et arrest^ pour savoir comment on se combateroit. Li rois demanda 
 as dessus dis tout en hault : ' Signeur, queles de vos nouvelles ? ' II respondirent : ' Sire, 
 bonnes ; si ar^s hui, se il plaist a Dieu, une belle journ^e sus vos ennemis. ' ' Tele I'esp^rons- 
 nous k avoir par le grasce de Dieu,' ce respond) Ii rois. ' Or nous dittes le maniere de 
 leur convenant et comment nous les porons combatre. ' Adont respondi messires Eustasses 
 de Ribeumont, sicom je fui enform^s, pour tous ; car il Ten avoient pryet et cargiet, et 
 dist ensi : ' Sire, nous avons veu et consid^r^ vos ennemis : si poeent estre par estimation 
 ii"* hommes d'armes, iiii™ arciers et xv^ brigans.' ' Et comment gisent-il?' dist Ii rois. 
 ' Sire,' respondi messires Eustasses, 'il sont en tr^s-fort liu, et ne poons veoir, ne imaginer 
 qu'il n'aient fait que une bataille ; m6s trop bellement et trop sagement I'ont il ordonn^, 
 et ont pris le lone d'un chemin fortefyet malement de haies et de buissons, et ont vesti 
 celle haie, d'une part et d'aultre, de leurs arciers, telement que on ne poet entrer, ne 
 chevaucier en leur chemin, fors que parmi yaus : si convient-il aler celle voie, se on les 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 voet combatre. En celle haie n'a que une seule entr(5e et issue, oil espoir iiii hommes 
 d'armes, ensi que ou chemin, poroient chevaucier de fronch. Au coron de celle haie, antra 
 vignes et aspines, oil on ne poat aler, ne chevaucier, sont leurs gens d'armas, tout i piet, 
 et ont mis leurs gens d'armes tout devant yaus, leurs arciers k maniere d'una herce : dont 
 c'ast trop sagement ouvr^, ca nous samble, car qui vodra ou pora venir par fait d'armes 
 jusques k yaus, il n'i entara nullemant, fors que parmi ces arciers, qui ne saront mies Mgier 
 k desconfire. ' 
 
 The text of the above passage in Verard's edition, from which the translation was 
 made, is this : — 
 
 En ce point revindrent les trois nobles chevaliers dessus nO!n?n.ez, lesqueh fendirent la 
 fresse at approcherent le roy, qui leur demanda das nouvelles. Massira Eustace de Ribau- 
 mont si respondit pour tous, car ses comfaignons I'en avoient prii, at dist : ' Sire, nous 
 avons regard^ les Anglois, si peuvent bien estre par estimacion deux mille hommas d'armes, 
 quatre mille archiers et quinze cens brigans. Si sont en ung tres fort lieu, et ne povons 
 ymaginar quilz ayant fait que une bataille. Mais moult saigement I'ont ordonn^e, et ont 
 frins le long du chemin fortiffi^ durement de haye et de buyssons, et ont vestue celle haye 
 d'une partie de leurs archiars tellement qu'on ne peut antrer ne chevaucher en leur chemin 
 fors que parmv eulx. Si convient-il aller celle voye qui les vault combatre. En calle haye 
 n'a que une seuile entree ne yssue, oil espoir quatre hommes d'armas ainsi que au chemin 
 pourroyent chevaucher de front. Au bout de celle haye, entre vignes et espines, oil Ton na 
 peut aller ne chevaucher, sont leurs gens d'armes tout k pied, et ont mis tout devant eulx 
 leurs archiers en maniere d'una herse, qui ne seroit mye legi^re chose a desconfire. ' 
 
 The words in italics are those which are omitted by the translator. Altogether it 
 will be seen the passage is reduced to about half its original length, but it must be 
 noticed that it is only in the first book (that is, vol. i. chs. I-317 in the English version) 
 that the French text had bean abridged to this extent. In the remainder of the 
 Chronicles the text which the translator followed was one which had been but very 
 slightly shortened by omissions. 
 
 As regards the accuracy of the translation we must not expect a very high standard. 
 The translator has not, he says, followed his author word by word, and it is not part of 
 the plan of the present edition to correct the translation like a schoolboy's exercise. 
 But setting aside the cases where a deviation from the true sense is due to corruption of 
 the French text,' there remain a considerable number of downright mistranslations, the 
 result either of carelessness or blundering. For example, he translates ' despecer les 
 chaussees ' into ' cut short their kirtles ' (i. 80) ; ' povres gens I'amonterent premiere- 
 ment, et meschans gens le tuerent en le parfin,' 'poor men first niounteth up, and un- 
 happy men slayeth them at the end ' (i. 115); ' le roy de France les avoit advancez,' 
 'the French king followed him ' (i. 159) ; 'depuis cent ans,' 'in a hundred year after' 
 (i. 270) ; 's'il est qui fait, il est qui dit,' 'if it be as he doth, it is as he saith ' (i. 387) ; 
 ' se fist sire et roy du pays dont elle se clamoit dame,' ' was lord and king of the country 
 called Daure ' (ii. 42) ; ' il la garda d'estre prinse,' ' he kept himself sure enough from 
 taking' (ii. 167) ; 'qu'on I'oublia en France,' 'that he forgat France' (ii. 174) ; ' pour- 
 tant qu'il les avoit avancez,' 'because he was advanced by their means' (ii. 229). In 
 most of these cases, as in others which might be quoted, the blunders arise simply from 
 ignorance of French : but there are also mistakes which are due to mere carelessness, 
 as when he renders ' unze fils' 'a son' (i. 307), and repeatedly mistranslates the names 
 of the days of the week, making ' jeudi ' ' Tuesday ' and ' mardi ' ' Wednesday ' {e.g. i. 
 152, 220, 222). That he had no special knowledge of older French words and forms is 
 clear from his not understanding such words and expressions as ' esclistre,' ' juper,' ' se 
 
 1 without reference to the translator's French ally suppose that ' the fourth part ' in ch. 382 (where 
 
 text it is impossible to say for certain in any single the tnie reading of the French is 'les quatre 
 
 instance whether the mistake is that of the transla- pars') must be a mistake of the same kind. In 
 
 tion or not. To take a single example : the reader, this instance, however, he would be wrong, for 
 
 having found in vol. i. ch. ^81 the words ' bien les the translator's French text gave here ' la quarte 
 
 trois pars' translated 'the third part,' would natur- part.' 
 
INTRODUCTION xxi 
 
 deviser,' 'jangle,' ' se delivrer de ' (ii. 153), 'se clore' (ii. 197). On the whole it must 
 be concluded that lord Berners had an insufficient knowledge of the language which he 
 undertook to translate and was not a sound French scholar even judged by the standard 
 of his own time, and we have already noticed the humility with which he speaks of his 
 own attainments. At the same time it may be observed that in several passages he has 
 given a more correct rendering than his modern competitor. For example in i. 325, 
 where Johnes says : ' The queen was not very far advanced in pregnancy ; but the 
 doctors had forbidden her bathing,' etc., Berners more rightly gives : 'The queen being 
 in childbed was not well at ease, and her physicians had defended her in any wise 
 that she should not enter into no bain. ' Again, in i. 403 Johnes has this : ' But some 
 imagine the king would not have interfered in the matter, if it had not been for the 
 intrigues of the duke of Burgundy ; for if nothing had been done, he would have annexed 
 Flanders to the crown of France by some means or other ; for the earl of Flanders was 
 not enough in his favour to induce him to exert himself in his aid.' Nothing could be 
 much worse than this either as regards correctness or style, while Berners is both 
 accurate and spirited : ' But some thought that if king Charles had lived still till that 
 time, that he would have done nothing, and if he had, men supposed that he would 
 thereby [have] annexed the county of Flanders to the crown of France : for the earl of 
 Flanders was not so well in his grace that he would have done anything for him, without 
 he had well known why.' Finally: 'If the Turks and Tartars have frequently hurt 
 Christendom, the Genoese felt it not,' where Berners correctly gives : 'The Turks and 
 Tartars should do much damage to Christendom, if the Genoways were not ' (ii. 40). 
 A few more passages might be added, but certainly not enough to justify the remark 
 which has been made, that the older version is the more accurate as well as the more 
 spirited of the two. 
 
 The English style of lord Berners is partly correspondent to the looseness of transla- 
 tion which has been noticed. It has no claim whatever to purity or accuracy, and the 
 manner of expression is often intolerably careless. Sentences are begun, broken off, 
 begun again, and after all never ended ; verbs are left without subjects and relatives 
 without antecedents : grammatically the style is often hopeless ; it is the style of a man 
 who has not sufficient command over the language in which he writes to express clearly 
 that which he means to say, who struggles with a material of which he is not master. 
 Let us take a few examples out of many of this formlessness of style, to justify that which 
 has been said, and the sentences quoted may serve also as specimens of the spelling 
 used in the original edition ; — 
 
 ' And whan these knightes and other men of armes knewe the wyll and answere of king 
 Dapeter, wherby they reputed hym right orgulus and presumptuous, and made all the hast 
 they myght to auaunce, to do hym all the hurte they coulde. So they all passed,' etc. (i. 229). 
 
 ' Ye haue harde right well here before, howe the kyng of Nauer, who hadde to his 
 wyfe the frenche kynges suster, for the loue of the one and of the other, it was sayd and 
 purposed, that the herytage of the chyldren of the kyng of Nauer, the whiche was fallen 
 to them by the ryght of their mother, y^^ the french kyng their vncle, by the succession of 
 his suster, ought to haue power therof in name of the chyldren, seyng the chyldren were in 
 his kepynge, wherby all the lande that the kynge of Naver held in Normandy shulde be in y^ 
 french kynges hand, as long as his nephewes were within age. Of all these maters, ' etc. (i. 327). 
 
 ' For ye knowe howe the puissaunce of the prince of Wales and of Acquitayne put 
 kynge don Peter, your cosyn, into possession of all these herytages and landes closed within 
 Spayne, and afterwarde by a journey of batayle y* don Henry had at Nauntuell agaynst don 
 Peter, who there loste all agayne, and don Henry put in possession as he was before ' (ii. 33). 
 
 ' It can nat be said but that the knightes of Fraunce, of Bretayne, of Burgoyne and of 
 Byerne, but that^ right valiantly fought' (ii. 34). 
 
 ' Ye haue well herde here before how sir Peter of Craon, who was a knyght of great 
 
 1 The omission of ' they ' is not an accident or a misprint, but a regular feature of the style, in imita- 
 tion perhaps of old French. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 lygnage ; but he was farre out of the frenche kynges grace and the duke of Thourayns : if 
 he dyd so moche to cause them to be displeased with him, he dyd yvell. Ye have herde 
 also howe he was gone into Bretayne,' etc. (ii. i8i). 
 
 For these enormities and for many more of the same kind our translator alone is 
 responsible : the style of the original author is almost always lucid and fluent, and it cer- 
 tainly gives no excuse for the confusion and obscurity of expression which we have noted. 
 It is going much too far therefore to speak, as some have done, of this translation as a 
 model of English prose, written in a style simple and direct, but at the same time 
 flexible and mobile, with artistic combinations of the Romance and Teutonic elements 
 of the language. It has many merits, as we shall presently see, but it is not a model 
 of style. Nor can it be pleaded for the writer that the age had not yet learnt to express 
 itself clearly in prose. The generation before that of our translator had made a very 
 great advance ; the style of Mallory's Morte Darthur (this also a translation, or series of 
 translations, from the French) is excellently adapted to its purpose, and for directness 
 and lucidity Caxton is a far better writer than Berners. 
 
 But enough has been said of the faults of the work that is before us : it remains to 
 speak of its merits. The writer has the qualities of his defects. If he is not properly 
 speaking a man of letters, he is on that account the more familiar with courts, embassies 
 and statecraft. He has seen battles and taken part in the conduct of sieges, and he 
 knows the language of politics and of diplomacy. This, it cannot be denied, is some 
 qualification for translating Froissart. Again, having no formed style of his own, he is 
 more apt to follow the style of the original than to attempt to improve upon it : and 
 this is in fact his greatest merit. He has not attempted to produce an original work in 
 the guise of a translation : not only the matter but to a great extent the manner is that of 
 the original, while at the same time the English is idiomatic enough to avoid the sugges- 
 tion of a foreign source. It is true that under any exceptional stress his powers of clear 
 expression break down, as we have seen, but ordinarily he flows along happily enough, and 
 gives us very often no bad reproduction of the style of Froissart. If we wish to know of 
 what he was capable in this matter of style when left to his own guidance, we have only to 
 read the preface of the translator, prefixed to the first volume of the work. It is difficult to 
 conceive anything more unlike the style of the translation than this stilted performance, 
 with its regular balance of clauses and its absurd arrangement of synonyms in triplets : e.g. 
 'for whan we (beynge vnexpert of chaunces) se, beholde and rede the auncyent actes, gestes 
 and dedes, howe and with what labours, daungers and paryls they were gested and done, 
 they right greatly admonest, ensigne and teche vs howe we maye lede forthe our lyues : 
 and farther, he that hathe the perfyte knowledge of others' ioye, welthe and highe pros- 
 perite, and also trouble, sorowe and great aduersite, hath thexpert doctryne of all 
 parylles ' : with much more of the same kind, in regard to which he is justly afraid 
 that if he should write all that he would on the subject, he should ' too sore torment ' his 
 reader. It is, however, only the sense that he ought to write something impressive in a 
 good literary style that drives him to his stilts : he comes down from them as soon as he 
 has something practical to say, either about his reasons for translating Froissart, his 
 methods of naming persons, countries and cities, or his reckoning of miles and leagues. 
 All this he expresses in a simple conversational manner, as of one gentleman explain- 
 ing things to another ; and when his work of translation begins, he resigns himself 
 willingly to the guidance of his author, whose narrative he reproduces with the spirit of 
 one to whom it is a living drama and not an unreal pageant. It is this fresh vitality of 
 the story, combined with the simplicity of the rendering, that constitutes the redeeming 
 merit of the translation, a merit sufficient to cover a multitude of defects. Add to this 
 a certain vigorous picturesqueness of phrase, which is certainly not to be found in the 
 work of his modern rival, and a diction not too far removed from the time of his author, 
 EngUsh enriched with that admixture of French which had been incorporated with it 
 in the fourteenth century, but not overloaded with new foreign importations, such as an 
 unskilful translator might be tempted to introduce. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 As examples of graphic and forcible expression we may take a few passages here and 
 there, quoting also the modern translation, not because it is specially bad, but as giving 
 an average standard for comparison : — 
 
 * The horses whan they felt y^ sharpe arowes, they wolde in no wyse go forward, but 
 drewe abacke, and flang and toke on so feersly, that many of them fell on their maisters ' 
 {i. 162). 
 
 The modern rendering is : ' The horses smarting under the pain of the wounds made 
 by their bearded arrows, would not advance, but turned about, and by their unruliness 
 threw their masters.' 
 
 'Gylbert answered and sayde, Holde thy pease, fole, for whan I wyll, with y*^ erle's 
 puyssance, all the whyte hattes shall be cast downe ; and suche there be that bereth them 
 nowe, that here after shall haue no nede of any hatte' {i. 349). 
 
 Johnes has : ' Gilbert replying said : Hold thy tongue, fool ; whenever I please, with 
 the assistance of my lord, I can put down these white hoods ; and some of them who 
 now wear them will not in a short time have heads to put them on.' 
 
 Again : ' [He] caste about his eyen, and the firste thynge he sawe was a Sowe, the greattest 
 that euer he sawe, and she semed to be so leane and yueli fauoured, that there was nothyng 
 on her but the skynne and the bones, with long eares and a. longe leane snout. The 
 lorde of Corasse had marueyle of that leane Sowe, and was wery of y^ sight of her, and 
 comaunded his men to fetche his houndes, and sayd, Lette the dogges hunt her to dethe 
 and deuoure her' (ii. 37). 
 
 The modern translator says : ' Casting his eyes about, the first thing he observed was 
 an immensely large sow ; but she was so poor, she seemed only skin and bone, with long 
 hanging ears all spotted, and a sharp-pointed lean snout. The lord de Corasse was dis- 
 gusted at such a sight, and calling to his servants said. Let the dogs loose quickly, for I 
 will have that sow killed and devoured.' 
 
 And finally : ' The constable defended hymselfe valyauntly with that wepyn that he had; 
 howebeit, his defence hadde vayled hym but lytell, and the great prace of god had nat ben ; 
 styll he sate on his horse tyll he had a full stroke on y^ heed, with whiche stroke he fell fro 
 his horse ryght agaynst a bakers dore, who was vp and busy to bake breed, and had left 
 his dore halfe open, whiche was happy for the constable ; for as he fell fro his horse he fell 
 agaynste the dore, and the dore opened, and he fell in at the dore, and they that were a 
 horsebacke coulde nat entre after hym, the dore was to lowe and to lytell. . . . Thus syr 
 Olyuer of Clysson was lefte in this case, as a man halfe deed and more, in the bakers house, 
 who was sore abasshed whan he knewe it was the constable : as for his men, had lytell 
 hurte, for syr Peter and his men loked for nothynge but to haue slayne the constable. 
 Than syr Olyners men assembled togyther, and entred into the bakers house, and there 
 founde their mayster, sore hurte on the heed, and the blode rennynge downe by his vysage, 
 wherwith they were sore abasshed, and good cause why : there they made great com- 
 playntes ; fyrste they feared he had ben deed. Anone tydinges hereof came to the kynges 
 lodgynge, and it was sayde to the kynge, as he was goynge to his bedde : Ah, syr, we 
 canne nat hyde fro you the great myschiefe that is now sodenly fallen in Parys. What 
 myschefe is that ? quod the kynge. Syr, quod they, your constable syr Olyuer of Clisson 
 is slayne. Slayne, quod the kynge ; and howe so, and who hath done that deed ? Syr, 
 quod they, we canne nat tell ; but this myschefe is fallen on hym here by in the streate of 
 saynt Kateryn. Well, quod the kynge, hght vp your torches ; I will go and se hym ' 
 (ii. 181). 
 
 ' The constable parried the blows tolerably well with his short cutlass ; but his defence 
 would have been of no avail, if God's providence had not protected him. He kept steady 
 on horseback some time, until he was villanously struck on the back part of his head, 
 which knocked him off his horse. In his fall he hit against the hatch of a baker's door, 
 who was already up to attend to his business and bake his bread. Having heard the 
 noise of horses on the causeway and high words, the baker had, fortunately for the con- 
 stable, half opened the hatch ; and sir Oliver, falling against it, burst it quite open and 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 rolled into the shop. Those on horseback could not follow him, as the entrance was 
 neither wide nor high enough,' and so on. 
 
 The version of Johnes is quoted in these passages not because it deserves scorn- 
 ful treatment, but simply to shew that in all these cases, as in others which might 
 be found on every page, the older translator has the advantage. The work done 
 by Johnes was very respectable, and he was the first to call attention to an im- 
 portant class of manuscripts, with variations and additions which had not before been 
 publicly noticed, but we cannot doubt about the comparative merits of the two versions, 
 notwithstanding the superior accuracy of the later one. Let ' them that default find ' 
 do as the translator prays them to do and endeavour to amend where need shall be. 
 There is no doubt that the book was popular with those to whom it was addressed, and 
 that it was truly a pleasure to the noble gentlemen of England ' to se, beholde and rede 
 the highe enterprises, famous actes and glorious dedes done and atchyued by their valyant 
 aunceytours. ' It has also remained among the monuments of the English language, 
 and if not exactly a masterpiece, it has seemed nevertheless more successful than any 
 other version in rendering the charm and simplicity of the original text. 
 
THE FIRST VOLUME 
 
iioluni oE 0ir ^oljati ifro^gr^art: of tlje tronpcle^ of (£n5= 
 
 lanDe, jfraunce, »)pajne, ^ortpngale, »)Cotlaiti5E, Bcetapne, 
 
 jflarttiEC0, ant) otljer placet aliiopnj'nffe* '9Eran0lateti out of 
 
 Jfrtitc^e into our maternal enfflpsi^lje tonge hp 3oI)an 
 
 Bourct)ier, fenigljt, lorDc Berner^; Sit ti)e comauntie: 
 
 ment of ourc mooist ])iQ^t retiouteti grouerajne 
 
 lor&e ftpnj ^enrj t!)e tiiiu, fepng; of 
 
 (Knfflantie anO of jfraunce anU Ijtfflj tie= 
 
 fentier of tijt c!)ri0ten faptl)e, etc* 
 
THE PREFACE OF JOHN BOURCHIER, KNIGHT, 
 
 LORD BERNERS, 
 
 TRANSLATOR OF THIS PRESENT CHRONICLE 
 
 What condign graces and thanks ought men to give to the writers of histories, 
 who with their great labours have done so much profit to the human life. 
 They shew, open, manifest and declare to the reader by example of old 
 antiquity, what we should enquire, desire and follow, and also what we should 
 eschew, avoid and utterly fly ; for when we (being unexpert of chances) see, 
 behold and read the ancient acts, gests and deeds, how and with what labours, 
 dangers and perils they were gested and done, they right greatly admonish, 
 ensign and teach us how we may lead forth our lives : and farther, he that 
 hath the perfect knowledge of others' joy, wealth and high prosperity, and also 
 trouble, sorrow and great adversity, hath the expert doctrine of all perils. 
 And albeit that mortal folk are marvellously separated both by land and water, 
 and right wondrously situate, yet are they and their acts (done peradventure 
 by the space of a thousand year) compact together by the histographier, as it 
 were the deeds of one self city and in one man's life : wherefore I say that 
 history may well be called a divine providence ; for as the celestial bodies 
 above complect all and at every time the universal world, the creatures therein 
 contained and all their deeds, semblably so doth history. Is it not a right 
 noble thing for us, by the faults and errors of other to amend and erect our 
 life into better? We should not seek and acquire that other did ; but what 
 thing was most best, most laudable and worthily done, we should put before 
 our eyes to follow. Be not the sage counsels of two or three old fathers in a 
 city, town or country, whom long age hath made wise, discreet and prudent, 
 far more praised, lauded and dearly loved than of the young men? How 
 much more then ought histories to be commended, praised and loved, in 
 whom is included so many sage counsels, great reasons and high wisdoms of 
 so innumerable persons of sundry nations and of every age, and that in so long 
 space as four or five hundred year. The most profitable thing in this world 
 for the institution of the human life is history. Once the continual reading 
 thereof maketh young men equal in prudence to old men, and to old fathers 
 stricken in age it ministereth experience of things. IVIore, it yieldeth private 
 persons worthy of dignity, rule and governance : it compelleth the emperors, 
 high rulers and governours to do noble deeds, to the end they may obtain 
 immortal glory : it exciteth, moveth and stirreth the strong, hardy warriors, 
 for the great laud that they have after they ben dead, promptly to go in hand 
 with great and hard perils in defence of their country : and it prohibiteth 
 reprovable persons to do mischievous deeds, for fear of infamy and shame. 
 
PREFACE OF LORD BERNERS 
 
 So thus through the monuments of writing, which is the testimony unto virtue 
 many men have been moved, some to build cities, some to devise and estab- 
 blish laws right profitable, necessary and behoveful for the human life, some 
 other to find new arts, crafts and sciences, very requisite to the use of man- 
 kind. But above all things, whereby man's wealth riseth, special laud and 
 cause ought to be given to history : it is the keeper of such things as have 
 been virtuously done, and the witness of evil deeds, and by the benefit of 
 history all noble, high and virtuous acts be immortal. What moved the strong 
 and fierce Hercules to enterprise in his life so many great incomparable 
 labours and perils ? Certainly nought else but that for his merit immortality 
 might be given to him of all folk. In semblable wise did his imitator, noble 
 duke Theseus, and many other innumerable worthy princes and famous men, 
 whose virtues ben redeemed from oblivion and shine by history. And whereas 
 other monuments in process of time by variable chances are confused and 
 lost, the virtue of history, diffused and spread through the universal world, 
 hath to her custos and keeper it (that is to say, time) which consumeth the 
 other writings. And albeit that those men are right worthy of great laud and 
 praise, who by their writings shew and lead us the way to virtue, yet never- 
 theless the poems, laws and other acts that they found, devised and writ ben 
 mixed with some damage, and sometime for the truth they ensign a man to 
 lie ; but only history, truly with words representing the acts, gests and deeds 
 done, complecteth all profit : it moveth, stirreth and compelleth to honesty ; 
 detesteth, irketh and abhorreth vices ; it extoUeth, enhanceth and lifteth up 
 such as ben noble and virtuous ; depresseth, poistereth and thrusteth down 
 such as ben wicked, evil and reprovable. What knowledge should we have of 
 ancient things past, an history were not, which is the testimony thereof, the 
 light of truth, the mistress of the hfe human, the president of remembrance 
 and the messenger of antiquity? Why moved and stirred Phalerius the king 
 Ptolemy oft and diligently to read books.'' Forsooth for none other cause, 
 but that those things are found written in books that the friends dare not shew 
 to the prince. Much more I would fain write of the incomparable profit of 
 history, but I fear me that I should too sore torment the reader of this my 
 preface ; and also I doubt not but that the great utihty thereof is better known 
 than I could declare ; wherefore I shall briefly come to a point. Thus, when I 
 advertised and remembered the manifold commodities of history, how bene- 
 ficial it is to mortal folk, and eke how laudable and meritorious a deed it is 
 to write histories, fixed my mind to do something therein : and ever when this 
 imagination came to me, I volved, turned and read many volumes and books 
 containing famous histories ; and among all other I read diligently the four 
 volumes or books of sir John Froissart of the country of Hainault, written in 
 the French tongue, which I judged commodious, necessary and profitable to 
 be had in English, sith they treat of the famous acts done in our parts, that is 
 to say, in England, France, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Bretayne, Flanders and 
 other places adjoining ; and specially they redound to the honour of English- 
 men. What pleasure shall it be to the noble gentlemen of England to see, 
 behold and read the high enterprises, famous acts and glorious deeds done 
 and achieved by their valiant ancestors ? Forsooth and God, this hath moved 
 me at the high commandment of my most redoubted sovereign lord king 
 Henry the VIII., king of England and of France, and high defender of the 
 Christian faith, etc., under his gracious supportation, to do my devoir to trans- 
 late out of French into our maternal English tongue the said volumes of sir 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 John Froissart ; which chronicle beginneth at the reign of the most noble and 
 valiant king Edward the third, the year of our Lord a thousand three hundred 
 and twenty-six/ and continueth to the beginning of the reign of king Henry 
 the fourth, the year of our Lord God a thousand and four hundred ; the space 
 between is threescore and fourteen years ; requiring all readers and hearers 
 thereof to take this my rude translation in gre. And in that I have not followed 
 mine author word by word, yet I trust I have ensued the true report of the 
 sentence of the matter ; and as for the true naming of all manner of person- 
 ages, countries, cities, towns, rivers or fields, whereas I could not name them 
 properly nor aptly in English, I have written them according as I found them 
 in French ; and though I have not given every lord, knight or squire his true 
 addition, yet I trust I have not swerved from the true sentence of the matter. 
 And thereas I have named the distance between places by miles and leagues, 
 they must be understood according to the custom of the countries whereas 
 they be named, for in some place they be longer than in some other : in Eng- 
 land a league or mile is well known ; in France a league is two miles, and in 
 some places, three ; and in other country is more or less : every nation hath 
 sundry customs. And if any fault be in this my rude translation, I remit the 
 correction thereof to them that discreetly shall find any reasonable default ; 
 and in their so doing I shall pray God to send them the bliss. of heaven. — 
 A:\iEN. 
 
 - IT %%Vi^ entietl) tf)e preface of 0ir loliati ©ourc!)fer, fem'gljt, 
 locDe ffierner0, tcattedatouc of tijisJ present cronjcle: anO 
 Ijerafter folotoetl) tl)e table,^ toi'tlj all tlje cljaptters as tliej? 
 gitanDe in tp bofee in orDer, from one to four fjuntireti, fjfti'e 
 anti one, toti'tlje be in number <^<^<^<^ anli iL3 ct)apiter£f» 
 
 1 A correction of ' sixteen." and instead of it a table is given above of the pages 
 
 2 The table of chapters is omitted in this edition, in the present volume. 
 
THE 
 
 CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Here beginneth the prologfue of sir John 
 Froissart of the Chronicles of France, 
 England and other places adjoining. 
 
 To the intent that the honourable and 
 noble adventures of feats of arms, done and 
 achieved by the vifars of France and Eng- 
 land, should notably be enregistered and 
 put in perpetual memory, whereby the prewe 
 and hardy may have ensample to encourage 
 them in their well-doing, I, sir John Frois- 
 sart, will treat and record an history of 
 great louage and praise. But, or I begin, 
 I require the Saviour of all the world, who 
 of nothing created all things, that he will 
 give me such grace and understanding, that 
 I may continue and persevere in such wise, 
 that whoso this process readeth or heareth 
 may take pastance, pleasure and ensample. 
 It is said of truth that all buildings are 
 masoned and wrought of divers stones, 
 and all great rivers are gurged and as- 
 sembled of divers surges and springs of 
 water ; in likewise all sciences are extraught 
 and compiled of divers clerks ; of that one 
 writeth, another peradventure is ignorant ; 
 but by the famous writing of ancient authors 
 all things ben known in one place or other. 
 Then to attain to the matter that I have 
 enterprised, I will begin first by the grace 
 of God and of the blessed Virgin our Lady 
 Saint Mary, from whom all comfort and 
 consolation proceedeth, and will take my 
 foundation out of the true chronicles some- 
 time compiled by the right reverend, 
 discreet and sage master John le Bel, 
 E 
 
 sometime canon in Saint Lambert's of 
 Liege, who with good heart and due dili- 
 gence did his true devoir in writing this 
 noble chronicle, and did continue it all his 
 life's days, in following the truth as near 
 as he might, to his great charge and cost 
 in seeking to have the perfect knowledge 
 thereof. He was also in his life's days 
 well beloved and of the secret council with 
 the lord sir John of Hainault, who is 
 often remembered, as reason requireth, 
 hereafter in this book, for of many fair and 
 noble adventures he was chief causer, and 
 by whose means the said sir John le Bel 
 might well know and hear of many divers 
 noble deeds, the which hereafter shall be 
 declared. Truth it is that I, who have 
 enterprised this book to ordain for pleasure 
 and pastance, to the which always I have 
 been inclined, and for that intent I have 
 followed and frequented the company of 
 divers noble and great lords, as well in 
 France, England and Scotland, as in divers 
 other countries, and have had knowledge 
 by them, and always to my power justly 
 have enquired for the truth of the deeds of 
 war and adventures that have fallen, and 
 especially sith the great battle of Poitiers, 
 whereas the noble king John of France 
 was taken prisoner, as before that time I 
 was but of a young age or understanding. ^ 
 
 1 This extraordinary sentence does not at all re- 
 present the original, which maybe thus translated : 
 ' True it is that I who have enterprised to set in 
 order this book, have for pleasure, which hath 
 ever inclined me thereto, frequented the company 
 of divers noble and great lords, as well in France 
 as England, Scotland and other countries, and 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Howbeit, I took on me, as soon as I came 
 from school, to write and recite the said 
 book,' and bare the same compiled into 
 England, and presented the volume thereof 
 to my lady Philippa of Hainault, noble 
 queen of England, who right amiably 
 received it to my great profit and advance- 
 ment. And it may be so that the same 
 book is not as yet examined nor corrected 
 so justly as such a case requireth ; for feats 
 of arms dearly bought and achieved, the 
 honour thereof ought to be given and truly 
 divided to them that by prowess and hard 
 travail have deserved it. Therefore to 
 acquit me in that behalf, and in following 
 the truth as near as I can, I, John Froissart, 
 have enterprised this history on the foresaid 
 ordinance and tnie foundation, at the 
 instance and request of a dear lord of mine, 
 Robert of Namur, knight, lord of Beaufort, 
 to whom entirely I owe love and obeisance, 
 and God grant me to do that thing that 
 may be to his pleasure. Amen. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Here speaketh the author of such as were 
 most valiant knights to be made mention 
 of in this book. 
 
 All noble hearts to encourage and to shew 
 them ensample and matter of honour, I, 
 sir John Froissart, begin to spe.ik after 
 the true report and relation of my master 
 John le Bel, sometime canon of Saint- 
 Lambert's of Liege, affirming thus, how 
 that many noble persons have ofttimes 
 spoke of the wars of France and of England, 
 and peradventure knew not justly the truth 
 thereof, nor the true occasions of the first 
 movings of such wars, nor how the war at 
 
 have had acquaintance with them. So I have 
 always to my power justly enquired and demanded 
 of the wars and adventures,' etc. The translation 
 given by Johnes is equally incorrect. 
 
 1 The better reading is, 'a rimer et a ditter les 
 guerres dessus dites.' The translator seems to 
 think that the book presented to queen Philippa 
 was a first edition of this history ; but Froissart 
 draws a distinction between that book (which may 
 probably have been in verse) and the present work, 
 undertaken at the instance of Robert of Namur. 
 Lower down, where the translator has, 'it may be 
 so that the same book is not as yet examined nor 
 corrected so justly as such a case requireth,' the 
 author meant to say that perhaps that book was 
 not so carefully composed as it should have been. 
 
 length continued : but now I trust ye shall 
 hear reported the true foundation of the 
 cause, and to the intent that I will not 
 forget, minish or abridge the history in 
 anything for default of language, but rather 
 I will multiply and increase it as near as I 
 can, following the truth from point to point, 
 in speaking and shewing all the adventures 
 sith the nativity of the noble king Edward 
 the III., who reigned king of England and 
 achieved many perilous adventures, and 
 divers great battles addressed, and other 
 feats of arms of great prowess sith the year 
 of our Lord God mcccxxvl, that this 
 noble king was crowned in England : for 
 generally such as were with him in his 
 battles and happy fortunate adventures, 
 or with his people in his absence, ought 
 right well to be taken and reputed for 
 valiant and worthy of renown ; and though 
 there were great plenty of sundry person- 
 ages that ought to be praised and reputed 
 as sovereigns, yet among other and princi- 
 pally ought to be renowned the noble 
 proper person of the foresaid gentle king, 
 also the prince of Wales his son, the duke 
 of Lancaster, sir Raynold lord Cobham, 
 sir Gaultier of Manny ^ of Hainault, knight, 
 sir John Chandos, sir Franck of Hale and 
 divers other, of whom is made mention 
 hereafter in this present book because of 
 their valiant prowess ; for in all battles 
 that they were in, most commonly they had 
 ever the renown, both by land and by sea, 
 according to the truth. They in all their 
 deeds were so valiant that they ought to 
 be reputed as sovereigns in all chivalry ; 
 yet for all that, such other as were in their 
 company ought not to be of the less value 
 or less set by. Also in France in that time 
 there were found many good knights, 
 strong and well expert in feats of arms ; for 
 the realm of France was not so discomfited 
 but that always there were people sufficient 
 to fight withal, and the king Philip of 
 Valois was a right hardy and a valiant 
 knight, and also king John his son, Charles 
 the king of Bohemia,'^ the earl of Alencon, 
 the earl of Foix, sir Saintre, sir Arnold 
 
 1 The form ' Manny ' for ' Mauny ' is retained 
 throughout. 
 
 2 The king of Bohemia is called Charles by 
 Froissart, but his name was in fact John. In his 
 latest redaction (Vat, MS.) Froissart states when 
 relating the battle of Crecy that he was rebaptized 
 as Charles. 
 
PKEDECESSOKS OF EDWARD III. 
 
 [d'Audrehem, sir Bouciquaiit, sir Giiichard] 
 d'Angle, the lords of Beaujeu, the father 
 and the son, and divers other, the which 
 I can not their names, of whom hereafter 
 right well shall be made mention in time 
 and place convenient to say the truth and 
 to maintain the same. All such as in cruel 
 battles have been seen abiding to the 
 discomfiture, sufficiently doing their devoir, 
 may well be reputed for valiant and hardy, 
 whatsoever was their adventure. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Here the matter speaketh of some of the 
 predecessors of king Edward of England. 
 
 First, the better to enter into the matter 
 of this honourable and pleasant history of 
 the noble Edward king of England, who 
 was crowned at London the year of our 
 Lord God Mcccxxvi., on Christmas- 
 day, living the king his father and the queen 
 his mother, it is certain that the opinion of 
 Englishmen most commonly was as then, and 
 oftentimes it was seen in England after the 
 time of king Arthur, how that between two 
 valiant kings of England there was most 
 commonly one between them of less 
 sufficiency both of wit and of prowess : and 
 this was right well apparent by the same 
 jcing Edward the third ; for his grand- 
 fether, called the good king Edward the 
 first, was right valiant, sage, wise and hardy, 
 adventurous and fortunate in all feats of 
 war, and had much ado against the Scots, 
 and conquered them three or four times ; 
 for the Scots could never have victory nor 
 endure against him : and after his decease 
 his son of his first wife, who was father to 
 the said good king Edward the third, was 
 crowned king and called Edward the second, 
 who resembled nothing to his father in wit 
 nor in prowess, but governed and kept his 
 realm right wildly, and ruled himself by 
 sinister counsel of certain persons, whereby 
 at length he had no profit nor land, as ye 
 shall hear after ; for anon after he was 
 crowned, Robert Bruce king of Scotland, 
 who had often before given much ado to the 
 said good king Edward the first, conquered 
 again all Scotland, and brent and wasted a 
 great part of the realm of England, a four 
 or five days' journey within the realm at two 
 times, and discomfited the king and all the 
 
 barons of England at a place in Scotland 
 called Stirling, by battle arranged the day 
 of Saint John Baptist, in the seventh year 
 of the reign of the same king Edward, in 
 the year of our Lord Mcccxiv. The 
 chase of this discomfiture endured two days 
 and two nights, and the king of England 
 went with a small company to London : 
 and on mid-lent Sunday in the year of our 
 Lord Mcccxvi. the Scots won again the 
 city of Berwick by treason ; but because 
 this is no part of our matter, I will leave 
 speaking thereof. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Here mine author maketh mention of the 
 parent of this good king Edward the 
 third. 
 
 This king Edward the second, father to 
 the noble king Edward the third, had two 
 brethren, the one called [the earl] marshal, 
 who was right wild and diverse of condi- 
 tions, the other called sir Edmund earl 
 of Kent, right wise, amiable, gentle and 
 well beloved with all people. This king 
 Edward the second was married to Isabel, 
 the daughter of Philip le Beau king of 
 France, who was one of the fairest ladies 
 of the world. The king had by her two 
 sons and two daughters. The first son 
 was the noble and hardy king Edward the 
 third, of whom this history is begun. The 
 second was named John, and died young. 
 The first of the daughters was called Isabel, 
 married to the young king David of Scot- 
 land, son to king Robert de Bruce, married 
 in her tender yongth by the accord of both 
 realms of England and Scotland for to 
 make perfect peace. The other daughter 
 was married to the earl Raynold, who 
 after was called duke of Gueldres, and he 
 had by her two sons, Raynold and Edward, 
 who after reigned in great puissance. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Hereafter beginneth the occasion whereby 
 the war moved between the kings of 
 France and England. 
 
 Now sheweth the history that this Philip 
 le Beau king of France had three sons and 
 
THE CHRONrCLES OF FROISSART 
 
 a fair daughter named Isabel, married into 
 England to king Edward the second ; and 
 these three sons, the eldest named I-ouis, 
 who was king of Navarre in his father's 
 days and was called king Louis Hutin, the 
 second had to name Philip the Great or the 
 Long, and the third was called Charles ; 
 and all three were kings of France after 
 their father's decease by right succession 
 ench after other, without having any issue 
 male of their bodies lawfully begotten. 
 So that after the death of Charles, last 
 king of the three, the twelve peers and 
 all the barons of France would not give 
 the realm to Isabel the sister, who was 
 queen of England, because they said and 
 maintained, and yet do, that the realm of 
 France is so noble that it ought not to go 
 to a woman, and so consequently to Isabel, 
 nor to the king of England her eldest son : 
 for they determined the son of the woman 
 to have no right nor succession by his 
 mother, since they declared the mother 
 to have no right : so that by these reasons 
 the twelve peers and barons of France by 
 their common accord did give the realm of 
 France to the lord Philip of Valois, nephew 
 sometime to Philip le Beau king of France, 
 and so put out the queen of England and 
 her son, who was as the next heir male, as 
 son to the sister of Charles, last king of 
 France. Thus went the realm of France 
 out of the right lineage, as it seemed to 
 many folk, whereby great wars hath moved 
 and fallen, and great destructions of people 
 and countries in the realm of France and 
 other places, as ye may hereafter [see]. 
 This is the very right foundation of this 
 history, to recount the great enterprises 
 and great feats of arms that have fortuned 
 and fallen. Sith the time of the good 
 Charlemagne king of France there never 
 fell so great adventures. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Of the earl Thomas of Lancaster and 
 twenty-two other of the great lords and 
 knights of England, that were beheaded. 
 
 The foresaid king Edward the second, 
 father to the noble king Edward the 
 third, on whom our matter is founded, 
 this said king governed right diversely his 
 
 realm by the exhortation of sir Hugh 
 Spencer, who had been nourished with 
 him sith the beginning of his yongth ; the 
 which sir Hugh had so enticed the king, 
 that his father and he were the greatest- 
 masters in all the realm, and by envy 
 thought to surmount all other barons of 
 England ; whereby after the great dis- 
 comfiture that the Scots had made at 
 Stirling great murmuring there arose in 
 England between the noble barons and 
 the king's council, and namely against sir 
 Hugh .Spencer. They put on him that 
 by his counsel they were discomfited, and 
 that he was favourable to the king of 
 Scots. And on this point the barons 
 had divers times communication together, 
 to be advised what they might do, whereof 
 Thomas earl of Lancaster, who was uncle 
 to the king, was chief. And anon when sir 
 Hugh Spencer had espied this, he pur- 
 veyed for remedy, for he was so great 
 with the king and so near him, that he 
 was more beloved with the king than all 
 the world after. So on a day he came to 
 the king and said, 'Sir, certain lords of 
 your realm have made alliance together 
 against you, and without ye take heed 
 thereto betimes, they purpose to put you 
 out of your realm ' : and so by his mali- 
 cious means he caused that the king made 
 all the said lords to be taken, and their 
 heads to be stricken off without delay, 
 and wnthout knowledge or answer to any 
 cause. First of all sir Thomas earl of 
 Lancaster, who was a noble and a wise, 
 holy knight, and hath done sith many 
 fair miracles in Pomfret, where he was 
 beheaded, for the which deed the said 
 sir Hugh Spencer achieved great hate in 
 all the realm, and specially of the queen 
 and of the earl of Kent, brother to the 
 king. And when he perceived the dis- 
 pleasure of the queen, by his subtle wit 
 he set great discord between the king and 
 the queen, so that the king would not see 
 the queen nor come in her company, the 
 which discord endured a long space. Then 
 was it shewed to the queen secretly and to 
 the earl of Kent, that without they took good 
 heed to themselves, they were likely to be 
 destroyed, for sir Hugh Spencer was about 
 to purchase much trouble to them. Then 
 the queen secretly did purvey to go into 
 France, and took her way as on pilgrim- 
 
THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND IN FRANCE, 1326 
 
 5 
 
 age to Saint Thomas of Canterbury, and 
 so to "Winchelsea, and in tlie night went 
 into a ship that was ready for her, and her 
 young son Edward with her, and the earl 
 of Kent and sir Roger Mortimer, and in 
 another ship they had put all their iJurvey- 
 ance, and had wind at will, and the next 
 morning they arrived in the haven of 
 Boulogne. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 How the queen of England went and com- 
 plained her to the king of France her 
 brother of sir Hugh Spencer. 
 
 When queen Isabel was arrived at Bou- 
 logne, and her son with her and the earl 
 of Kent, the captains and abbot of the 
 town came against her and joyously re- 
 ceived her and her company into the 
 abbey, and there she abode two days : 
 then she departed and rode so long by 
 her journeys that she arrived at Paris. 
 Then king Charles her brother, who was 
 informed of her coming, sent to meet her 
 divers of the greatest lords of his realm, 
 as the lord sir Robert de Artois, the 
 lord of Coucy, the lord of Sully, the 
 lord of Roye and divers other, who 
 honourably did receive her and brought 
 her into the city of Paris to the king her 
 brother. And when the king saw his 
 sister, whom he had not seen long before, 
 as she should have entered into his chamber 
 he met her and took her in his arms and 
 kissed her, and said, ' Ye be welcome, 
 fair sister, with my fair nephew your son,' 
 and took them by the hands and led them 
 forth. The queen, who had no great joy 
 at her heart but that she was so near to the 
 king her brother, she would have kneeled 
 down two or three times at the feet of the 
 king, but the king would not suffer her, 
 but held her still by the right hand, de- 
 manding right sweetly of her estate and 
 business. And she answered him right 
 sagely, and lamentably recounted to him 
 all the felonies and injuries done to her 
 by sir Hugh Spencer, and required hiin 
 of his aid and comfort. When the noble 
 king Charles of France had heard his 
 sister's lamentation, who weepingly had 
 shewed him all her need and business. 
 
 he said to her : ' Fair sister, appease your- 
 self, for by the faith I owe to God and to 
 Saint Denis I shall right well purvey for 
 you some remedy.' The queen then 
 kneeled down, whether the king would 
 or not, and said : ' My right dear lord 
 and fair brother, I pray God reward you.' 
 The king then took her in his arms and 
 led her into another chamber, the which 
 was apparelled for her and for the young 
 Edward her son, and so departed from 
 her, and caused at his costs and charges 
 all things to be delivered that was behoveful 
 for her and for her son. After it was not 
 long, but that for this occasion Charles 
 king of Fiance assembled together many 
 great lords and barons of the realm of 
 France, to have their counsel and good 
 advice how they should ordain for the 
 need and besynes of his sister queen of 
 England. Then it was counselled to the 
 king that he should let the queen his sister 
 to purchase for herself friends, whereas 
 she would, in the realm of France or in 
 any other i:)Iace, and himself to feign and 
 be not known thereof; for they said, to 
 move war with the king of England, and 
 to bring his own realm into hatred, it were 
 nothing appertinent nor profitable to him 
 nor to his realm. But they concluded that 
 conveniently he might aid her with gold 
 and silver, for that is the metal whereby 
 love is attained both of gentlemen and of 
 poor soldiers. And to this counsel and 
 advice accorded the king, and caused tliis 
 to be shewed to the queen privily by sir 
 Robert d'Artois, who as then was one of the 
 greatest lords of all France. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 liowthat sir Hugh Spencer purchased that the 
 queen Isabel was banished out of France. 
 
 Now let us speak somewhat of sir Hugh 
 Spencer. When he saw that he had drawn 
 the king of England so much to his will, 
 that he could desire nothing of him but it 
 was granted, he caused many noblemen 
 and other to be put to death without 
 justice or law, because he held them 
 suspect to be against him ; and by his pride 
 he did so many marvels, that the barons 
 that were left alive in the land could not 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 bear nor suffer it any longer, but they 
 besought and required each other among 
 themselves to be of a peaceable accord, and 
 caused it secretly to be known to the 
 queen their lady, who had been as then at 
 Paris the space of three year, certifying 
 her by writing, that if she could find the 
 means to have any company of men of arms, 
 if it were but to the number of a thousand, 
 and to bring her son and heir with her into 
 England, that then they would all draw to 
 her and obey her and her son Edward, as 
 they were bound to do of duty. These letters 
 thus sent secretly to her out of England, 
 she shewed them to king Charles her 
 brother, who answered her and said : * Fair 
 sister, God be your aid, your business shall 
 avail much the better. Take of my men 
 and subjects to the number that your friends 
 have written you for, and I consent well to 
 this voyage. I shall cause to be delivered 
 unto you gold and silver as much as shall 
 suffice you.' And in this matter the queen 
 had done so much, what with her prayer, 
 gifts and promises, that many great lords 
 and young knights were of her accord, as 
 to bring her with great strength again into 
 England. Then the queen, as secretly as she 
 could, she ordained for her voyage and 
 made her purveyance ; but she could not 
 do it so secretly but sir Hugh Spencer 
 had knowledge thereof. Then he thought 
 to win and withdraw the king of France 
 from her by great gifts, and so sent secret 
 messengers into France with great plenty 
 of gold and silver and rich jewels, and 
 specially to the king and his privy council, 
 and did so much that in short space the 
 king of France and all his privy council 
 were as cold to help the queen in her voyage 
 as they had before great desire to do it. 
 And the king brake all that voyage, and 
 defended every person in his realm on pain 
 of banishing the same, that none should be 
 so hardy to go with the queen to bring her 
 again into England. 
 
 And yet the said sir Hugh Spencer 
 advised him of more malice, and be- 
 thought him how he might get again 
 the queen into England, to be under the 
 king's danger and his. Then he caused 
 the king to write to the holy father the 
 pope affectuously, desiring him that he 
 would send and write to the king of 
 France, that he should send the queen his 
 
 wife again into England ; for he will acquit 
 himself to God and the world, and that it was 
 not his fault that she departed from him, 
 for he would nothing to her but all love and 
 good faith, such as he ought to hold in 
 marriage. Also there were like letters 
 written to the cardinals, devised by many 
 subtle ways, the which all may not be 
 written here. Also he sent gold and silver 
 great plenty to divers cardinals and prelates, 
 such as were most nearest and secretest 
 with the pope, and right sage and able 
 ambassadors were sent on this message ; 
 and they led the pope in such wise by their 
 gifts and subtle ways, that he wrote to the 
 king of France that on pain of cursing he 
 should send his sister Isabel into England 
 to'the king her husband. 
 
 These letters were brought to the king 
 of France by the bishop of Saintes, whom 
 the pope sent in that legation. And when 
 the king had read the letters, he caused 
 them to be shewed to the queen his sister, 
 whom he had not seen of long space before, 
 commanding her hastily to avoid his realm, 
 or else he would cause her to avoid with 
 shame. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 How that queen Isabel departed from France 
 and entered into the Empire. 
 
 When the queen heard this tidings, she 
 knew not what to say nor what advice to 
 take ; for as then the barons of the realm 
 of France were withdrawn from her by the 
 commandment of the king of France, and 
 so she had no comfort nor succour, but all 
 only of her dear cousin sir Robert de 
 Artois ; for he secretly did counsel and 
 comfort her as much as he might, for other- 
 wise he durst not, for the king had de- 
 fended him. But he knew well that the 
 queen was chased out of England and also 
 out of France for evil will and by envy, which 
 grieved him greatly. Thus was sir Robert de 
 Artois at the queen's commandment ; but 
 he durst not speak nor be known thereof, 
 for he had heard the king say and swear that 
 whosoever spake to him for the queen his 
 sister should lose his lands and be banished 
 the realm ; and he knew secretly how the 
 king was in mind and will to make his 
 sister to be taken, and Edward her son 
 
QUEEN ISABEL IN IIAINAULT 
 
 and the eail of Kent and sir Roger Mor- 
 timer, and to put them all in the hands of 
 the king and of sir Hugh Spencer. Where- 
 fore he came on a night and declared all 
 this to the queen, and advised her of the 
 peril that she was in. Then the queen was 
 greatly abashed, and required him ail 
 weeping of his good counsel. Then he 
 said : ' Madam, I counsel you that ye 
 depart and go into the Empire, whereas 
 there be many great lords, who may right 
 well aid you, and specially the earl Guil- 
 liam of Hainault and sir John of Hainault 
 his brother. These two are great lords 
 and wise men, true, drad and redoubted 
 of their enemies.' Then the queen caused 
 to be made ready all her purveyance, and 
 paid for everything as secretly as she 
 might, and so she and her son, the earl of 
 Kent and all her company departed from 
 Paris and rode toward Hainault, and so 
 long she rode that she came to Cambresis ; 
 and when she knew she was in the Empire, 
 she was better assured than she was before, 
 and so passed through Cambresis and 
 entered into Ostrevant in Hainault, and 
 lodged at Bugnicourt, in a knight's house 
 who was called sir d'Aubrecicourt, who 
 received her right joyously in the best 
 manner to his power, insomuch that after- 
 ward the queen of England and her son 
 had with them into England for ever the 
 knight and his wife and all his children, 
 and advanced them in divers manners. 
 
 The coming thus of the queen of England 
 and of her son and heir into the country of 
 Hainault was anon well known in the 
 house of the good earl of Hainault, who 
 as then was at Valenciennes ; and sir John 
 of Hainault was certified of the time 
 when the queen arrived at the place of sir 
 d'Aubrecicourt, the which sir John was 
 brother to the said earl Guilliam, and as 
 he that was young and lusty, desiring all 
 honour, mounted on his horse and departed 
 with a small company from Valenciennes, 
 and came the same night to Bugnicourt, 
 and did to the queen all honour and rever- 
 ence that he could devise. The queen, 
 who was right sorrowful, began to declare 
 (complaining to him right piteously) her 
 dolours ; whereof the said sir John had 
 great pity, so that the water dashed in his 
 eyen, and said, ' Certainly, fair lady, 
 behold me here your own knight, who shall 
 
 not fail you to die in the quarrel. I shall 
 do the best of my power to conduct you 
 and my lord your son, and help to bring 
 you into your estates in England, by the 
 grace of God and with the help of your 
 friends in that parts : and I and such other 
 as I can desire shall put our lives and 
 goods in adventure for your sake, and shall 
 get men of war sufficient, if God be pleased, 
 without the danger of the king of France 
 your brother.' Then the queen would 
 have kneeled down for great joy that she 
 had, and for the good-will he offered her, 
 but this noble knight took her up quickly 
 in his arms and said : ' By the grace of 
 God the noble queen of England shall not 
 kneel to me ; but, madam, recomfort your- 
 self and all your company, for I shall keep-- 
 you faithful promise ; and ye shall go see 
 the earl my brother and the countess his 
 wife and all their fair children, who shall 
 receive you with great joy, for so I heard 
 I hem report they would do.' Then the 
 queen said : ' Sir, I find in you more love 
 and comfort than in all the world, and for 
 this that ye say and affirm me I thank you 
 a thousand times ; and if ye will do this ye 
 have promised in all courtesy and honour, 
 I and my son shall be to you for ever 
 bound, and will put all the realm of 
 England in your abandon ; for it is right 
 that it so should be.' And after these 
 words, when they were thus accorded, sir 
 John of Hainault took leave of the queen 
 for that night, and went to Denaing and 
 lay in the abbey ; and in the morning after 
 mass he leapt on his horse and came again 
 to the queen, who received him with great 
 joy. By that time she had dined and was 
 ready to mount on her horse to depart with 
 him ; and so the queen departed from the 
 castle of Bugnicourt, and took leave of the 
 knight and of the lady, and thanked them for 
 their good cheer that they had made her, 
 and said that she trusted once to see the 
 time that she or her son should well re- 
 member their courtesy. 
 
 Thus departed the queen in the company 
 of the said sir John lord Beaumont, who 
 right joyously did conduct her to Valen- 
 ciennes ; and against her came many of the 
 burgesses of the town and received her right 
 humbly. Thus was she brought before the 
 earl Guilliam of Hainault, who received 
 her with great joy, and in likewise so did 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the countess his wife, and feasted her right 
 nobly. And as then this earl had four fair 
 daughters, Margaret, Philippa, Jane and 
 Isabel, among whom the young Edward 
 set most his love and company on Philippa, 
 and also the young lady in all honour was 
 more conversant with him than any of her 
 sisters. Thus the queen Isabel abode at 
 Valenciennes by the space of eight days 
 with the good earl and with the countess 
 Jane de Valois. In the meantime the 
 queen apparelled for her needs and busi- 
 ness, and the said sir John wrote letters right 
 afFectuously unto knights and such com- 
 panions as he trusted best in all Hainault, 
 in Brabant and in Bohemia, and prayed 
 them for all amities that was between theiii, 
 that they would go with him in this enter- 
 prise into England ; and so there were 
 great plenty, what of one country and other, 
 that were content to go with him for his 
 love. But this said sir John of Hainault 
 was greatly reproved and counselled the 
 contrary both of the earl his brother and of 
 the chief of the council of the country, be- 
 cause it seemed to them that the enterprise 
 was right high and perilous, seeing the 
 great discords and great hates that as then 
 was between the barons of England among 
 themselves, and also considering that these 
 Englishmen most commonly have ever great 
 envy at strangers. Therefore they doubted 
 that the said sir John of Hainault and his 
 company should not return again with 
 honour. But howsoever they blamed or 
 counselled him, the gentle knight would 
 never change his purpose, but said he had 
 but one death to die, the which was in the 
 will of God ; and also said that all knights 
 ought to aid to their powers all ladies and 
 damosels chased out of their own countries, 
 being without counsel or comfort. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 How that the queen Isabel arrived in England 
 with sir John of Hainault in her company. 
 
 Thus was sir John of Hainault moved in his 
 courage and made his assembly, and prayed 
 the Hamowes to be ready at Hal, and the 
 Brabances at Breda, and the Hollanders 
 to be at Dordrecht at a day limited. 
 Ihen the queen of England took leave of 
 
 the earl of Hainault and of the countess, ar 
 
 thanked them greatly of their honour, fea 
 
 and good cheer that they had made he 
 
 kissing them at her departing. Thus th 
 
 lady departed and her son and all h< 
 
 company with sir John of Hainault, wl 
 
 with great pain gat leave of his brothe 
 
 saying to him : ' My lord and brother, 
 
 am young and think that God hath pu 
 
 veyed for me this enterprise for mir 
 
 advancement. I believe and think veri. 
 
 that wrongfully and sinfully this lady hal 
 
 been chased out of England, and also hi 
 
 son. It is alms and glory to God and 1 
 
 the world to comfort and help them that 1: 
 
 comfortless, and specially so high and £ 
 
 noble a lady as this is, who is daughter 1 
 
 a king and descended of a royal king; w 
 
 be of her blood and she of ours. I ha 
 
 rather renounce and forsake all that I hav 
 
 and go serve God over the sea and neve 
 
 to return into this country, rather than thi 
 
 good lady should have departed from u 
 
 without comfort and help. Therefore, dea 
 
 brother, suffer me to go with your good-wil 
 
 wherein ye shall do nobly, and I shal 
 
 humbly thank you thereof, and the bette 
 
 thereby I shall accomplish all the voyage. 
 
 And when the good earl of Hainault hac 
 
 well heard his brother, and perceived th 
 
 great desire that he had to his enterprise 
 
 and saw well it might turn him and hi 
 
 heirs to great honour hereafter, said ti 
 
 him : ' My fair brother, God forbid tha 
 
 your good purpose should be broken or let 
 
 therefore in the name of God I give yoi 
 
 leave ' ; and kissed him, straining him by thi 
 
 hand in sign of great love. 
 
 Thus he departed and rode the sam. 
 night to Mons in Hainault with the queei 
 of England. What should I make Ion; 
 process? They did so much by thei' 
 journeys that they came to Dordrecht ir 
 Holland, %vhereas their special assembli 
 was made. And there they purveyed fo" 
 ships great and small, such as they couk 
 get, and shipped their horses and harnes; 
 and purveyance, and so commended them 
 selves into the keeping of God and tool, 
 their passage by sea. In that company 
 there were of knights and lords first sii 
 John of Hainault lord Beaumont, sii 
 Henry d'Antoing, sir Michael de Ligne, 
 the lord of Gommegnies, sir Perceva 
 de Semeries, sir Robert de Bailleul, sii 
 
EXPEDiriOM TO ENGLAND, 1326 
 
 Sanses de Boussoit, the lord of Vertaing, 
 the lord of Potelle, the lord Villers, the 
 lord of Hennin, the lord of Sars, the 
 lord of Bousies, the lord of Aubrecicourt, 
 the lord of Estrumel, and sir Wulfart of 
 Ghistelles, and divers other knights and 
 squires, all in great desire to serve their 
 master. And when they were all departed 
 from the haven of Dordrecht, it was a fair 
 fleet as for the quantity, and well ordered, 
 the season was fair and clear and right 
 temperate, and at their departing with the 
 first flood they came before the dikes of 
 Holland ; and the next day they drew up 
 their sails and took their way in coasting 
 Zealand ; and their intents were to have 
 taken land at Dongport ; ^ but they could 
 not, for a tempest took them in the sea, that 
 put them so far out of their course that they 
 wist not of two days where they were : of 
 the which God did them great grace, for if 
 they had taken land at the port whereas 
 they had thought, they had been all lost, 
 for they had fallen in the hands of their 
 enemies, who knew well of their coming, 
 and abode them there to have put them all 
 to death. So it was that about the end of 
 two days the tempest ceased, and the 
 mariners perceived land in England and 
 drew to that part right joyously, and there 
 took land on the sands without any right 
 haven or port at Harwich, as the English 
 chronicle saith," the 24th day of September, 
 the year of our Lord MCCCXXVI., and so 
 abode on the sands three days with little 
 purveyance of victual, and unshipped their 
 horses and harness, nor they wist not in 
 what part of England they were in, other 
 in the power of their friends or in the 
 power of their enemies. On the fourth day 
 they took forth their way in the adventure 
 of God and of Saint George, as such 
 people as had suffered great disease of cold 
 by night and hunger and great fear, whereof 
 they were not as then clean rid. And so 
 they rode forth by hills and dales on the 
 
 J This name is a false reading in the text which 
 the translator followed, a corruption of the words 
 ' ung port.' 
 
 2 The statement from the ' English chronicle ' that 
 they landed at Harwich on the 24th of September 
 1326 is due to the translator. The English chronicle 
 to which he refers here and also in chaps. j8, 19, 20, 
 etc., is evidently Fabyan's New Chronicles 0/ Eng- 
 land and Fnince, or Concordance 0/ Histories, 
 printed by Pynson in 1516. The reference here is 
 to p. 429. 
 
 one side and on the other, till at the last 
 they found villages and a great abbey of 
 black monks, the which is called Saint- 
 Edmund, whereas they three days refreshed 
 themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 How the queen of England besieged the king 
 her husband in the town of Bristow. 
 
 And then this tiding spread about the 
 realm so much, that at the last it came to 
 the knowledge of the lords by whom the 
 queen was called again into England. And 
 they apparelled them in all haste to come 
 to Edward her son, whom they would have 
 to their sovereign lord. And the first that 
 came and gave them most comfort was 
 Henry earl of Lancaster with the wry 
 neck, called Tort Col, who was brother to 
 Thomas earl of Lancaster, beheaded as ye 
 have heard herebefore, who was a good 
 knight and greatly recommended, as ye 
 shall hear after in this history. This earl 
 Henry came to the queen with great com- 
 pany of men of war, and after him came 
 from one part and other earls, barons, 
 knights and squires, with so much people 
 that they thought them clean out of perils, 
 and always increased their power as they 
 went forward. Then they took counsel 
 among them that they should ride straight 
 to the town of Bristow, whereas the king 
 was, and with him the Spencers. The 
 which was ii. good town and a strong, and 
 well closed, standing on a good port of the 
 sea, and a strong castle, the sea beating 
 round about it. And therein was the king 
 and sir Hugh Spencer the elder, who vv'as 
 about ninety of age, and sir Hugh Spencer 
 his son, who was chief governour of the 
 king and counselled him in all his evil 
 deeds. Also there was the earl of Arundel, 
 who had wedded the daughter of sir Hugh 
 Spencer, and divers other knights and 
 squires repairing about the king's court. 
 Then the queen and all her company, 
 lords of Hainault, earls and barons, and 
 all other Englishmen, took the right way 
 to the said town of Bristow, and in every 
 town whereas they entered they were re- 
 ceived with great feast and honour, and 
 always their people increased ; and so long 
 they rode by their journeys that they arrived 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 at Bristow, and besieged the town round 
 about as near as they might : and the king 
 and sir Hugh Spencer the younger held 
 them in the castle, and the old sir Hugh 
 Spencer and the earl of Arundel held 
 them in the town. And when the people 
 of the town saw the great power that the 
 queen was of (for almost all England 
 was of her accord), and perceived what 
 peril and danger evidently they were in, 
 they took counsel among themselves and 
 determined that they would yield up the 
 town to the queen, so that their lives and 
 goods might be saved. And so they sent 
 to treat with the queen and her council in 
 this matter ; but the queen nor her council 
 would not agree thereto without she might 
 do with sir Hugh Spencer and with the 
 earl of Arundel what it pleased her. 
 
 When the people of the town saw they 
 could have no peace otherwise, nor save 
 the town nor their goods nor their lives, 
 in that distress they accorded to the queen 
 and opened the gates, so that the queen 
 and sir John of Hainault, and all her 
 barons, knights and squires, entered into 
 the town and took their lodgings within, 
 as many as might, and the residue without. 
 Then sir Hugh Spencer and the earl of 
 Arundel were taken and brought before the 
 queen, to do her pleasure with them. Then 
 there was brought to the queen her own 
 children, John her son and her two 
 daughters, the which were found there in 
 the keeping of the said sir Hugh Spencer, 
 whereof the queen had great joy, for she 
 had not seen them long before. Then the 
 king might have great sorrow and sir 
 Hugh Spencer the younger, who were fast 
 enclosed in the strong castle, and the most 
 part of all the realm turned to the queen's 
 part and to Edward her eldest son. 
 
 CHAPTER Xn 
 
 How that sir Hugh Spencer the elder and the 
 earl of Arundel were judged to death. 
 
 When the queen and her barons and all 
 her company were lodged at their ease, then 
 they besieged the castle as near as they might. 
 The queen caused sir Hugh Spencer the elder 
 and the earl of Arundel to be brought forth 
 before Edward her son and all the barons 
 
 that were there present, and said how that 
 she and her son should take right and law 
 on them according to their deserts. Then 
 sir Hugh Spencer said, ' Madam, God be 
 to you a good judge and give you good 
 judgment,^ and if we cannot have it in this 
 world, I pray God we may have it in 
 another.' Then slept forth sir Thomas 
 Wake, a good knight and marshal of the 
 host, and there openly he recounted their 
 deeds in writing, and then turned him to 
 another ancient knight to the intent that 
 he should bring him on that case fauty,^ 
 and to declare what should be done with 
 such persons, and what judgment they 
 should have for such causes. Then the 
 said knight counselled with other barons 
 and knights, and so reported their opinions, 
 the which was, how they had well deserved 
 death for divers horrible deeds, the which 
 they have commised, for all the trespass 
 rehearsed before to justify to be of truth ; ^ 
 wherefore they have deserved for the 
 diversities of their trespasses to have judg- 
 ment in three divers manners — first, to be 
 drawn, and after to be headed, and then 
 to be hanged on the gibbet. This in like- 
 wise as they were judged so it was done 
 and executed before the castle of Bristow in 
 the sight of the king and of sir Hugh Spencer 
 the younger. This judgment was done in 
 the year of our Lord MCCCXXVi., on Saint 
 Denis' day in October 
 
 And after this execution the king and the 
 young Spencer, seeing themselves thus be- 
 sieged in this mischief, and knew no comfort 
 that might come to them, in a morning be- 
 times they two with a small company entered 
 into a little vessel behind the castle, thinking 
 to have fled to the country of Wales. But 
 they were eleven days in the ship, and en- 
 forced it to sail as much as they might ; but 
 whatsoever they did, the wind was every day 
 so contrary to them by the will of God, that 
 
 ^ This should be, ' God give us a good judge 
 and good judgment'; but Verard's edition, from 
 which the translation was made, has ' vous ' for 
 'nous.' 
 
 2 This appears to mean, 'To the intent that he 
 should find him guilty on the charge ' (' fauty ' for 
 'faulty'); but the original means, 'To the intent 
 that he should declare upon his fealty (f^ault^) 
 what should be done with such persons,' etc. 
 
 3 Or rather as follows : * 'That the accused had 
 well deserved death for divers horrible deeds which 
 they had heard in that place rehearsed, and held 
 ihem for true and manifest.' 
 
THE SPENCERS EXECUTED 
 
 every day once or twice they were ever 
 brought again within a quarter of a mile 
 to the same castle. 
 
 At the last it fortuned, sir Henry Beau- 
 mont, son to the viscount Beaumont in 
 England, entered into a barge and certain 
 company with him, and spied this vessel 
 and rowed after him so long that the ship 
 wherein the king was could not flee fast 
 before them, but finally they were over- 
 taken, and so brought again to the town of 
 Bristow and delivered to the queen and her 
 son as prisoners. 
 
 Thus it befell of this high and hardy 
 enterprise of sir John of Hainault and his 
 company. For when they departed and 
 entered into their ships at Dordrecht, they 
 were but three hundred men of arms ; and 
 thus by their help and the lords in England,^ 
 the queen Isabel conquered again all her 
 estate and dignity, and put unto execution 
 all her enemies, whereof all the most part 
 of the realm were right joyous, without it 
 were a few persons such as were favourable 
 to sir Hugh Spencer and of his part. 
 And when the king and sir Hugh Spencer 
 were brought to Bristow by the said sir 
 Henry Beaumont, the king was then sent 
 by the counsel of all the barons and knights 
 to the strong castle of Berkeley, and put 
 under good keeping and honest, and there 
 were ordained people of estate about him, 
 such as knew right well what the)' ought 
 to do ; but they were straitly commanded 
 that they should in no wise suffer him to 
 pass out of the castle. And sir Hugh 
 Spencer was delivered to sir Thomas Wake, 
 marshal of the host. And after that the 
 queen departed and all her host toward 
 London, which was the chief city of 
 England, and so rid forth on their jour- 
 neys, and sir Thomas Wake caused sir 
 Hugh Spencer to be fast bound on the 
 least and leanest^ horse of all the host, and 
 caused him to wear on a tabard such as 
 traitors and thieves were wont to wear. 
 
 1 'And the lords in England,' is added by the 
 translator. 
 
 2 This is a correction of the words 'best and 
 leviest,' which I take to be a misprint for ' lest and 
 lenest.' The original is ' sur le plus petit et le plus 
 maigre cheval,' In what follows the translator has 
 added the explanation, ' such as traitors and thieves 
 were wont to wear,' which is certainly wrong, for 
 Froissart says it was a tabard with the arms that 
 sir Hugh Spencer was wont to bear, put upon him 
 here in derision. 
 
 And thus he was led in scorn after the 
 queen's route throughout all the towns as 
 they passed, with trumps and canayrs to 
 do him the greater despite, till at the last 
 they came to the city of Hereford,^ whereas 
 the queen was honourably received with 
 great solemnity and all her company, and 
 there she kept the feast of All Saints with 
 great royalty, for the love of her son and 
 strangers that were there. 
 
 CHAPTER XHI 
 
 How sir Hugh Spencer was put to his 
 judgment. 
 
 When this feast was done, then sir Hugh 
 Spencer, who was nothing beloved, was 
 brought forth before the queen and all the 
 lords and knights, and there before him in 
 writing was rehearsed all his deeds, against 
 the which he could give no manner of 
 answer. And so he was then judged by 
 plain sentence, first to be drawn on an 
 hurdle with trumps and trumpets through 
 all the city of Hereford, and after to be 
 brought into the market-place, whereas all 
 the people were assembled, and there to be 
 tied on high upon a ladder that every man 
 might see him ; and in the same place there 
 to be made a great fire, and there his privy 
 members cut from him, because they re- 
 puted him as an heretic and so deemed, and 
 so to be brent in the fire before his face ; 
 and then his heart to be drawn out of his 
 body and cast into the fire, because he was 
 a false traitor of heart, and that by his 
 traitor's counsel and exhortation the king 
 had shamed his realm and brought it to 
 great mischief, for he had caused to be 
 beheaded the greatest lords of his realm, 
 by whom the realm ought to have been 
 sustained and defended ; and he had so 
 induced the king that he would not see the 
 queen his wife nor Edward his eldest son, 
 and caused him to chase them out of the 
 realm for fear of their lives ; and then his 
 head to be stricken off and sent to London. 
 And according to his judgment he was 
 executed. Then the queen and all her 
 lords took their way toward London, and 
 did so much by their journeys that they 
 
 1 Froissart evidently thought that Hereford was 
 on the way from Bristol to London. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROJSSART 
 
 arrived at the city of London, and they of 
 the city with great company met them and 
 did to the queen and to her son great 
 reverence, and to all their company, as 
 they thought it best bestowed. 
 
 And when they had been thus received and 
 feasted the space of fifteen days, the knights 
 strangers, and namely sir John of Hai- 
 nault, had great desire to return again into 
 their own countries, for they thought they 
 had well done their devoir and achieved 
 great honour, and so took their leave of the 
 queen and of the lords of the realm : and 
 the queen and the lords required them to 
 tarry longer a little space, to see what shoulil 
 be done with the king, who was in prison ; 
 but the strangers had so great desire to 
 return into their own countries that to 
 pray them the contrary availed not. And 
 when the queen and her council saw that, 
 they yet desired sir John of Hainault to 
 tarry till it was past Christmas, and to 
 retain with him such of his company as 
 pleased him best. The gentle knight 
 would not leave to perform his service, 
 but courteously granted the queen to tarry 
 as long as it pleased her, and caused to 
 tarry such of his company as he could get ; 
 that was but a few, for the remnant would 
 in no wise tarry, whereof he was displeased. 
 When the queen and her council saw that 
 they would not abide for no prayers, then 
 they made them great cheer and feasts. 
 And the queen made to be given to them 
 plenty of gold and silver for their costs and 
 services, and did give great jewels to each 
 of them according to their degrees, so as 
 they all held themselves right well content. 
 And over that they had silver for their 
 horses, such as they would leave behind 
 them, at their own estimation without any 
 grudging. And thus sir John of Hainault 
 abode still with a small company among the 
 Englishmen, who always did him as much 
 honour as they could imagine, and to all 
 his company. And in likewise so did the 
 ladies and damosels of the country ; for 
 there were great plenty of countesses and 
 great ladies [and] gentle pucelles, who 
 were come thither to accompany the queen. 
 For it seemed well to them that the knight 
 sir John of Hainault had well deserved the 
 cheer and feast that they made him. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 The coronation of king Edward the third. 
 
 After that the most part of the company 
 of Hainault were departed and sir John 
 Hainault lord of Beaumont tarried, the 
 queen gave leave to her people to depart, 
 saving a certain noble knights, the which 
 she kept still about her and her son to 
 counsel them, and commanded all them 
 that departed to be at London the next 
 Christmas, for as then she was determined 
 to keep open court, and all they promised 
 her so to do. And when Christmas was 
 come, she held a great court. And thither 
 caiTie dukes,' earls, barons, knights, and all 
 the nobles of the realm, with prelates and 
 burgesses of good towns ; and at this 
 assembly it was advised that the realm 
 could not long endure without a head and 
 a chief lord. Then they put in writing all 
 the deeds of the king who was in prison, 
 and all that he had done by evil counsel, 
 and all his usages and evil behavings, and 
 how evil he had governed his realm, the 
 which was read openly in plain audience, 
 to the intent that the noble sages of the 
 realm miglit take thereof good advice, and 
 to fall at accord how the realm should be 
 governed from thenceforth. And when all 
 the cases and deeds tliat the king had done 
 and consented to, and all his behaving and 
 usages were read and well understanded, the 
 barons and knights and all the counsels ^ 
 of the realm drew them apart to counsel ; 
 and the most part of them accorded, and 
 namely the great lords and nobles with the 
 burgesses of the good towns, according as 
 they had heard say and knew themselves 
 Ithe most part of his deeds. Wherefore 
 ■■they concluded that such a man was not 
 'worthy to be a king, nor to bear a crown 
 royal, nor to have the name of a king. 
 But they all accorded that Edward his 
 eldest son, who was there present and was 
 rightful heir, should be crowned king instead 
 of his father, so that he would take good coun- 
 sel, sage and true, about him, so that the realm 
 from thenceforth might be better governed 
 
 ' Froissart says nothing about dukes here. 
 
 2 The French word is ' consulz' (or ' consauls'), 
 which elsewhere in this passage is rightly rendered 
 'burgesses,' as just below, 'avec les consulz des 
 bonnes villes.' 
 
ACCESSION OF EDWARD III. 
 
 n 
 
 ,'than it was before, and that the old king 
 I his father should be well and honestly kept 
 j as long as he lived, according to his estate. 
 1 And thus as it was agreed by all the 
 nobles, so it was accomplished ; and then 
 was crowned with a crown royal at the 
 palace of Westminster beside London the 
 young king Edward the third, who in his 
 days after was right fortunate and happy 
 in arms. This coronation was in the year 
 of our Lord MCCCX.xvi., on Christmas- 
 day, and as then the young king was about 
 the age of sixteen ; and they held the feast 
 till the Conversion of Saint Paul following, 
 and in the meantime greatly was feasted 
 sir John of Hainault and all the princes 
 and nobles of his country, and was given to 
 him and to his company many rich jewels. 
 And so he and his company in great feast 
 and solace both with lords and ladies tarried 
 till the Twelfth day.^ And then sir John of 
 Hainault heard tidings how that the king 
 of Bohemia and the earl of Hainault his 
 brother and other great plenty of lords of 
 France had ordained to be at Cond^^ at a 
 great feast and tourney that was there cried. 
 Then would sir John of Hainault no longer 
 abide for no prayer, so great desire he had 
 to be at the said tourney, and to see the 
 earl his brother and other lords of his 
 country, and specially the right noble king 
 in largess^ the gentle Charles king of 
 Bohemia. When the young king Edward 
 and the queen his mother and the barons 
 saw that he would no longer tarry, and 
 that their request could not avail, they gave 
 him leave sore against their wills, and the 
 king by the counsel of the queen his mother 
 did give him four hundred marks sterlings 
 of rent heritable to hold of him in fee, to 
 be paid every year in the town of Bruges, 
 and also did give to Philip of Chateaux, his 
 thief esquire and his sovereign counsellor, 
 a hundred mark of rent yearly, to be paid 
 at the said place, and also delivered him 
 much money to pay therewith the costs of 
 him and of his company, till he come into his 
 own country, and caused him to be con- 
 ducted with many noble knights to Dover, 
 and there delivered him all his passage free. 
 And to the ladies that were come into 
 
 1 ' Ju.sques au jour des Roys.' 
 
 2 Conde-sur-Escaut. 
 
 ^ ' Le plus noble roy en largesse ,' the most 
 noble and liberal king. ' 
 
 England with the queen, and namely to the 
 countess of Garennes, who was sister to 
 the earl of Bar, and to divers other ladies 
 and damosels, there were given many fair 
 and rich jewels at their departing.' And 
 when sir John of Hainault was departed 
 from the young king Edward, and all his 
 company, and were come to Dover, they 
 entered incontinent into their ships to pass 
 the sea, to the intent to come betimes to 
 the said tourney ; and there went with him 
 fifteen young lusty knights of England, to 
 go to this tourney with him and to acquaint 
 them with the strange lords and knights that 
 should be there, and they had great honour 
 of all the company that tourneyed at that 
 time at Conde. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 How that king Robert de Bruce of Scotland 
 defied king Edward. 
 
 After that sir John of Hainault was 
 departed from king Edward, he and the 
 queen his mother governed the realm by 
 the counsel of the earl of Kent, uncle to the 
 king, and by the counsel of sir Roger 
 Mortimer, who had great lands in England 
 to the sum of seven hundred pounds of rent 
 yearly. And they both were banished and 
 chased out of England with the queen, as 
 ye have heard before. Also they used 
 much after the counsel of sir Thomas 
 Wake, and by the advice of other who 
 were reputed for the most sagest of the 
 realm. Howbeit there were some had 
 envy thereat, the which never died in 
 England, and also it reigneth and will 
 reign in divers other countries. Thus 
 passed forth the winter and the Lent season 
 till Easter, and then the king and the queen 
 and all the realm was in good peace all this 
 season. Then so it fortuned that king 
 Robert of Scotland, who had been right 
 hardy and had suffered much travail against 
 Englishmen, and oftentimes he had been 
 chased and discomfited in the time of king 
 Edward the first, grandfather to this young 
 
 1 This should be : ' And the ladies . . . 
 especially the countess of Warren, who was sister 
 to the earl of Bar, and divers other ladies, gave 
 him great abundance of fair and rich jewels at his. 
 departing.' The countess of Warren was daughter 
 of Henry earl of Bar and of Eleanor, sister of 
 Edward I. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 king Edward the third, he was as then 
 become very old and ancient, and sick (as 
 it was said) of the great evil and malady.^ 
 When he knew the adventures that was 
 fallen in England, how that the old king 
 Edward the second was taken and deposed 
 down from his regaly and his crown, and 
 certain of his counsellors beheaded and put 
 to destruction, as ye have heard herebefore, 
 then he bethought him that he would defy 
 the young king Edward the third, because 
 he was young and that the barons of the 
 realm were not all of one accord, as it was 
 said : therefore he [thought] the better to 
 speed in his purpose to conquer part of 
 England. And so about Easter in the year 
 of our Lord Mcccxxvii. he sent his de- 
 fiance to the young king Edward the third 
 and to all the realm, sending them word 
 how that he would enter into the realm of 
 England and bren before him as he had done 
 beforetime at such season as the discom- 
 fiture was at the castle of Stirling, whereas 
 the Englishmen received great damage. 
 
 When the king of England and his 
 council perceived that they were defied, 
 they caused it to be known over all the 
 realm, and commanded that all the nobles 
 and all other should be ready apparelled 
 every man after his estate, and that they 
 should be by Ascension-day next after at 
 the town of York, standing northward. 
 The king sent much people before to keep 
 the frontiers against Scotland, and sent a 
 great ambassade to sir John of Hainault, 
 praying him right affectuously that he would 
 help to succour and to keep company with 
 him in his voyage against the Scots, and 
 that he would be with him at the Ascension- 
 day next after at York, with such company 
 as he might get of men of war in those 
 parts. When sir John of Hainault lord 
 of Beaumont heard the king's desire, he 
 sent straight his letters and his messengers 
 in every place whereas he thought to 
 recover or attain to have any company of 
 men of war, in Flanders, in Hainault, in 
 Brabant, and in other places, desiring them 
 that in their best apparel for the war they 
 would meet him at Wissant, for to go over 
 
 1 ' La grosse maladie,' which Is commonly ex- 
 plained to mean leprosy, but Scheler in the 
 supplement to his Froissart glossary says 'epilepsy, 
 referring to ' morbus grossus 'in Du Cange. 
 Another reading here is 'gouttes.' 
 
 the sea with him into England. And all 
 such as he sent unto came to him with a 
 glad cheer, and divers other that heard 
 thereof, in trust to attain to as much honour 
 as they had that were with him in England 
 before at the other voyage. So that by 
 that time the said lord Beaumont was 
 come to Wissant, there was ready ships for 
 him and his company, brought out of 
 England. And so they took shipping and 
 passed over the sea and arrived at Dover, 
 and so then ceased not to ride till they 
 came within three days of Pentecost to the 
 town of York, whereas the king and the 
 queen his mother and all his lords were 
 with great host tarrying the coming of sir 
 John of Hainault, and had sent many before 
 of their men of arms, archers and common 
 people of the good towns and villages ; 
 and as people resorted, they were caused to 
 be lodged two or three leagues off, all 
 about in the country. And on a day thither 
 came sir John of Hainault and his company, 
 who were right welcome and well received 
 both of the king, of the queen his mother, 
 and of all other barons, and to them was 
 delivered the suburbs of the city to lodge 
 in. And to sir John of Hainault was 
 delivered an abbey of white monks for him 
 and his household. There came with him 
 out of Hainault the lord of Enghien, who 
 was called sir Gaultier, and sir Henry 
 lord d'Antoing, and the lord of Fagnolle, 
 and sir Fastres du Rceulx, sir Robert de 
 Bailleul, and sir Guilliam de Bailleul his 
 brother, and the lord of Havreth, chatelain 
 of Mons, sir Allard de Briffeuil, sir Michael 
 de Eigne, sir John de Montigny the younger 
 and his brother, sir Sanses de Boussoit, the 
 lord of Gommegnies, sir Perceval de 
 Semeries, the lord of Beaurieu and the 
 lord of Floyon. Also of the country oi 
 Flanders there was sir Hector of Vilain, 
 sir John de Rhodes, sir Wulfart de 
 Ghistelles, the lord of Straten, sir Gossuin 
 de la Moere : and divers came thither of 
 the country of Brabant, as the lord of Duffel, 
 sir Thierry of Walcourt, sir Rasse de Gres, 
 sir John de Kesterbeke, sir John Pyliser, 
 sir Giles de Coterebbe, the three brethren 
 de Harlebeke, sir Gaultier de Huldeberg 
 and divers other : and of Hesbegnons' 
 
 _ 1 The translator found ' Eehaygnons * (Bohe- 
 mians) in his edition and has reproduced it, but it is 
 clearly wrong. Hesbaing is in the district of Liege. 
 
fVAJ! WITH SCOTLAND, 1327 
 
 J5 
 
 there was sir John le Bel' and sir Henry 
 his brother, sir Godfrey de la Chapelle, 
 sir Hugh d'Ohey, sir John de Libyne, sir 
 Lambert d'Oupey, and sir Gilbert de 
 Herck : and out of Cambresis and Artois 
 there were come certain knights of their 
 own good wills to advance their bodies : so 
 that sir John of Hainault had well in his 
 company five hundred men of arms, well 
 apparelled and richly mounted. And after 
 the feast of Pentecost came thither sir 
 Guilliam de Juliers, who was after duke of 
 Juliers after the decease of his father, and 
 sir Thierry of Heinsberg, who was after 
 earl of Loos, and with them a right fair 
 rout, and all to keep company with the 
 gentle knight sir John of Hainault lord 
 Beaumont, 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 The dissension that was between the archers 
 of England and them of Hainault. 
 
 The gentle king of England, the better 
 to feast these strange lords and all their 
 company, held a great court on Trinity 
 Sunday in the Friars,^ whereas he and the 
 queen his mother were lodged, keeping 
 their house each of them apart. At this 
 feast the king had well five hundred knights, 
 and fifteen were new made. And the 
 queen had well in her court sixty ladies and 
 damosels, who were there ready to make 
 feast and cheer to sir John of Hainault and 
 to his company. There might haVe been 
 seen great nobless [in serving] plenty of 
 all manner of strange victuals. There were 
 ladies and damoselsfreshlyapparelled, ready 
 to have danced if they might have leave. 
 But incontinent after dinner there began a 
 great fray between some of the grooms and 
 
 ^ This is John le Bel. canon of Saint Lambert's 
 in Liege, on whose chronicle this early part of 
 Froissart's history is founded. He was therefore 
 an eye-witness of the events of this campaign. In 
 the account which follows of the affray at York 
 some MSS. have this addition ; ' There sir John le 
 Bel, canon of Liege, upon whose chronicles and on 
 whose relation of this and of other events I have 
 founded and ordered this book, was in great peril : 
 for all unarmed he was among them for a long 
 time, and arrows were flying on all sides, and he 
 himself was wounded by them and also divers of 
 his companions, nigh unto death.' 
 2 ' En la maison des Freres Mineurs.' 
 
 pages of the strangers and of the archers ol 
 England, who were lodged among them in 
 the said suburbs ; and anon all the archers 
 assembled them together with their bows, 
 and drove the strangers home to their 
 lodging. And the most part of the knights 
 and masters of them were as then in the king's 
 court ; but as soon as they heard tidings of 
 the fray, each of them drew to their own 
 lodging in great haste, such as might enter. 
 And such as could not get in were in great 
 peril, for the archers, who were to the 
 number of three thousand,' shot fast their 
 arrows, not sparing masters nor varlets. 
 And it was thought and supposed that this 
 fray was begun by some of the friends of 
 the Spencers and of the earl of Arundel's, 
 who were put to death before by the aid 
 and counsel of sir John of Hainault, as ye 
 have heard before, [who] as then pera'd- 
 venture thought to be somewhat revenged 
 and to set discord in the host. And so 
 the Englishmen, that were hosts to these 
 strangers, shut fast their doors and windows 
 and would not suffer them to enter into 
 their lodgings : howbeit some gat in on the 
 back side and quickly armed them, but 
 they durst not issue out into the street for 
 fear of the arrows. 
 
 Then the strangers brake out on the 
 back side, and brake down pales and 
 hedges of gardens, and drew them into a 
 certain plain place and abode their com- 
 pany, till at the last they were a hundred and 
 above of men of arms and as many unhar- 
 nessed, such as could not get to their 
 lodgings. And when they were assembled 
 together, they hasted them to go and suc- 
 cour their companions, who defended their 
 lodgings in the great street. And as they 
 went forth, they passed by the lodging of 
 the lord d'Enghien, whereas there were 
 great gates both before and behind, open- 
 ing into the great street. And the archers 
 of England shot fiercely at the house, and 
 there were many of the Hainaulters hurt, 
 and the good knight Fastres de Rceulx and 
 sir Perceval de Semeries, .and sir Sanses 
 de Boussoit, these three could not enter in 
 to their lodgings to arm them, but they did 
 as valiantly as though they had been 
 armed. They had great levers in their 
 hands, the which they found in a car- 
 penter's yard, with the which they gave 
 1 A better reading is ' two thousand.' 
 
i6 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 such strokes that men durst not approach 
 to them. They three beat down that day, 
 with such few company as they had, more 
 than sixty ; for they were great and m.ighty 
 knights. Finally the archers that were at 
 the fray were discomfited and put to chase, 
 and there was dead in the place well to the 
 number of three hundred. And it was said 
 they were all of the bishopric of Lincoln. 
 
 I trow God did never give more grace and 
 fortune to any people than he did as then 
 to this gentle knight sir John of Hainault 
 and to his company. For these English 
 archers intended to none other thing but to 
 murder and to rob them, for all that they 
 were come to serve the king in his busi- 
 ness. These strangers were never in so 
 great peril all the season that they lay, nor 
 they were never after in surety till they were 
 again at Wissant in their own country. 
 For they were fallen in so great hate with 
 all the archers of the host, that some of the 
 barons and knights of England shewed 
 unto the lords of Hainault, giving them 
 warning that the archers and other of the 
 common people were allied together to 
 the number of six thousand to the intent 
 to bren or to kill them in their lodgings 
 either by night or by day. And so they 
 lived at a hard adventure ; but each of 
 them promised to help and aid other, and 
 to sell dearly their lives or they were slain. 
 So they made many fair ordinances among 
 themselves by good and great advice, where- 
 by they were fain oftentimes to lie in their 
 harness by night, and in the day to keep their 
 lodgings and to have all their harness ready 
 and their horses saddled. Thus continu- 
 ally they were fain to make watch by their 
 constables in the fields and highways about 
 the court, and to send out scout-watches a 
 mile off to see ever if any such people were 
 coming to themward, as they were in- 
 formed of, to the intent that if their scout- 
 watch heard any noise or moving of people 
 drawing to the city-ward, then incontinent 
 they should give them knowledge, whereby 
 they might the sooner gather together, each 
 of them under their own banner in a 
 certain place, the which they had ad- 
 vised for the same intent. And in this 
 tribulation they abode in the said suburbs 
 by the space of four weeks, and in all that 
 season they durst not go far from their 
 harness nor from their lodgings, saving a 
 
 certain of the chief lords among them, who 
 went to the court to see the king and his 
 council, who made them right good cheer. 
 For if the said evil adventure had not been, 
 they had sojourned there in great ease, for 
 the city and the country about them was 
 right plentiful. For all the time of six 
 weeks that the king and the lords of Eng- 
 land and more than sixty thousand men of 
 war lay there, the victuals were never the 
 dearer ; for ever they had a pennyworth 
 for a penny, as well as other had before 
 they came there, and there was good wine 
 of Gascoyne and of Alsace, and of the 
 Rhine, and plenty thereof, with right good 
 cheap as well of pullen as of other victuals ; 
 and there was daily brought before their 
 lodgings hay, oats and litter, whereof they 
 were well served for their horses and at a 
 meetly price. 
 
 CHAPTER XVU 
 
 Here the history speaketh of the manner of 
 the Scots and how they can war. 
 
 And when they had sojourned three weeks 
 after this said fray, then they had know- 
 ledge from the king by the marshals of the 
 host, that the next week every man should 
 provide for carts and charettes, tents and 
 paviHons, to Ue in the field, and for all 
 other necessaries thereto belonging, to the 
 intent to draw toward Scotland. And 
 when every man was ready apparelled, the 
 king and all his barons went out of the 
 city, and the first night they lodged six 
 mile forward. And sir John of Hainault 
 and his company were lodged always as 
 near the king as might be, to do him the 
 more honour, and also to the intent that 
 the archers should have no advantage of 
 him nor of his company. And there the 
 king abode two days and two nights, tarry- 
 ing for all them that were behind, and to 
 be well advised that they lacked nothing. 
 And on the third day they dislodged and 
 went forward till they came to the city of 
 Durham, a day's journey within the country 
 called Northumberland, the which at that 
 time was a savage and a wild country, full 
 of deserts and mountains, and a right poor 
 country of everything saving of beasts, 
 through the which there runneth a river 
 
Jl^AJ! WITH THE SCOTS, 1327 
 
 17 
 
 full of flint and great stones, called the 
 water of Tyne. And on this river standeth 
 the town and castle of Carlisle, the which 
 sometime was king Arthur's, and held his 
 court there oftentimes. Also on that river 
 is assised the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
 in the which town was ready the marshal 
 of England with a great company of men 
 of arms, to keep the country against the 
 Scots : and at Carlisle was the lord Here- 
 ford and the lord Mowbray, who were 
 governours there, to defend the Scots the 
 passage ; for the Scots could not enter into 
 England, but they must pass this said river 
 in one place or other. The Englishmen 
 could hear no tidings of the Scots till they 
 were come to the entry of the said country. 
 The Scots were passed this river so privily, 
 that they of Carlisle nor yet of Newcastle 
 knew nothing thereof, for between the said 
 towns it was twenty-four English mile.' 
 
 These Scottish men are right hardy and 
 sore travailing in harness and in wars. For 
 when they will enter into England, within 
 a day and a night they will drive their 
 whole host twenty-four mile, for they are 
 all a-horseback, without it be the trandals 
 and laggers of the host, who follow after 
 afoot. The knights and squires are well 
 horsed, and the common people and other 
 on little hackneys and geldings ; and they 
 carry with them no carts nor chariots, for 
 the diversities of the mountains that they 
 must pass through in the country of North- 
 umberland. They take with them no pur- 
 veyance of bread nor wine, for their usage 
 and soberness is such in time of war, that 
 they will pass in the journey a great long 
 time with flesh half sodden, without bread, 
 and drink of the river water without wine, 
 and they neither care for pots nor pans, for 
 they seethe beasts in their own skins. They 
 are ever sure to find plenty of beasts in the 
 country that they will pass through : there- 
 fore they carry with them none other pur- 
 veyance, but on their horse between the 
 
 1 In the original, 'twenty-four English leagues.' 
 The actual distance in a straight line is over fifty 
 miles. I'he translator, in spite of what he says in 
 his preface on the subject, has not taken any pains 
 to distinguish the leagues or miles of different 
 countries, and translates the word 'lieue' by 
 'mile' or 'league' indifferently, not only in Eng- 
 land, where he seems to think that miles andlea^'ues 
 are the same, but also in France, where he adrnits 
 that they are different, 
 C 
 
 saddle and the panel they truss a broad 
 plate of metal, and behind the saddle they 
 will have a little sack full of oatmeal, to 
 the intent that when they have eaten of the 
 sodden flesh,' then they lay this plate on 
 the fire and temper a little of the oatmeal ; 
 and when the plate is hot, they cast of 
 the thin paste thereon, and so make a 
 little cake in manner of a cracknell or 
 biscuit, and that they eat to comfort withal 
 their stomachs. Wherefore it is no great 
 marvel though they make greater journeys 
 than other people do. And in this manner 
 were the Scots entered into the said country, 
 and wasted and brent all about as they 
 went, and took great number of beasts. 
 They were to the number of four thousand 
 men of arms, knights and squires, mounted 
 on good horses, and other ten thousand 
 men of war were armed after their guise, 
 right hardy and fierce, mounted on little 
 hackneys, the which were never tied nor 
 kept at hard meat, but let go to pasture in 
 the fields and bushes. They had two good 
 captains, for king Robert of Scotland, who 
 in his days had been hardy and prudent, 
 was as then of great age and sore grieved 
 with the great sickness ; but he had made 
 one of his captains a. gentle prince and a 
 valiant in arms called the earl of Moray, 
 bearing in his arms silver, three oreillers 
 gules ;- and the other was the lord William 
 Douglas,^ who was reputed for the most 
 hardy knight and greatest adventurer in all 
 the realm of Scotland, and he bare azure, 
 a chief silver.'' . These two lords were 
 renowned as chief in all deeds of arms and 
 great prowess in all Scotland. 
 
 1 Froissart says, 'When they have eaten so 
 much of the cooked flesh that their stomachs seem 
 weak and feeble, they set this upon the fire,' etc. 
 The original has ' une grant piece plate,' which 
 the translator makes into a plate of metal, but the 
 better reading is 'plate pierre,' a flat stone. 
 
 2 ' Un^ escut d'argent a trois oreilles de gueules ' : 
 'oreilles' for 'oreillers,' i.e. pillows. 
 
 3 Froissart calls him William throughout, but 
 his name was in fact James, as the chronicler, who 
 claims personal acquaintance with the Douglas 
 family and had stayed at Dalkeith castle, ought to 
 have known. 
 
 ^ The better text adds 'et trois ^toiles de gueules 
 dedens I'argent, ' 
 
i8 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 How the king of England made his first 
 journey against the Scots. 
 
 When the king of England and his host 
 had seen and heard of the fires that the 
 Scots had made in England, incontinent 
 was cried alarm, and every man commanded 
 to dislodge and follow after the marshals' 
 banners. Then every man drew to the 
 field ready apparelled to fight. There was 
 ordained three great battles afoot, and to 
 every battle two wings of five hundred men 
 of arms, knights and squires, and thirty 
 thousand other, armed and well apparelled, 
 the one half on little hackneys and the 
 other were men of the country afoot, sent 
 out of good towns at their wages ; and 
 twenty-four thousand archers afoot, ^ beside 
 all the other rascal and followers of the 
 host. And as these battles were thus 
 ordered, so they advanced forward, well 
 ranged .and in good order, and followed the 
 Scots by the sithe of the smoke that they 
 made with burning ; and thus they followed 
 all that day till it was near night. Then 
 the host lodged them in a wood by a little 
 river side, there to rest and to abide for 
 their carriage and purveyances. And at that 
 day the Scots had brent and wasted and 
 pilled the country about within five mile - of 
 the English host ; but the Englishmen 
 could not overtake them. And the next 
 day in the morning all the host armed them 
 and displayed their banners on the field, 
 every man ready apparelled in his own 
 battle, and so advanced without disordering 
 all the day through mountains and valleys ; 
 but for all that they could never approach 
 near to the Scots, who went wasting the 
 country before them. There were such 
 marishes and savage deserts, mountains and 
 dales, that it was commanded on pain of 
 death that none of the host should pass 
 before the banners of the marshals. And 
 when it drew toward the night, the people, 
 
 1 The meaning of the original is that each of the 
 three divisions (or battles) had two wings of five 
 hundred men-at-arms on horseback, and altogether 
 there were eight thousand fully armed men, knights 
 and squires, thirty thousand other armed men, some 
 mounted and some on foot, sent by the good towns, 
 and twenty-four thousand archers. 
 
 - The translator renders ' lyeue ' by ' mile ' 
 throughout this narrative. 
 
 horse and carriage, and namely the men 
 afoot, were so sore travailed, that they 
 could not endure to labour any further that 
 day. And when the lords saw that their 
 labour in following the Scots was in vain, 
 and also they perceived well, though the 
 Scots would abide them, yet they might 
 take their field in such a place or on such a 
 hill that they could not fight with them, 
 without it were to their great damage and 
 jeopardy, then was it commanded in the 
 king's name by the marshals that the host 
 should take their lodging for that night, 
 and so to take counsel and advice what 
 should be best to do the next day. So the 
 host was lodged in a wood by a river side, 
 and the king was lodged in a little poor 
 abbey : his men of war, horse and carriage 
 were marvellously fortravailed. And when 
 every man had taken his place to lodge 
 there all night, then the lords drew them 
 apart to take counsel how they might fight 
 with the Scots, considering the country that 
 they were in : for as far as they could 
 understand, the Scots went ever forwards, 
 all about burning and wasting the country, 
 and perceived well how they could not in 
 any wise fight with them among these 
 mountains without great peril or danger, 
 and they saw well also they could not over- 
 take them : but it was thought that the 
 Scots must needs pass again the river of 
 Tyne homeward ; therefore it was deter- 
 mined by great advice and counsel that all 
 the host should remove at midnight, and to 
 make haste in the morning to the intent to 
 stop the passage of the river from the Scots, 
 whereby they should be advised -^ by force 
 either to fight with them, or else to abide 
 still in England to their great danger and 
 loss. 
 
 And to this conclusion all the host was 
 accorded, and so supped and lodged as well 
 as they might that night, and every man 
 was warned to be ready at the first sound- 
 ing of the trumpet, and at the second blast 
 every man to arm him without delay, and 
 at the third every man quickly to mount on 
 their horses and to draw under their own 
 standard and banner ; and every man to 
 take with him but one loaf of bread, and to 
 truss it behind him on his horse. It was 
 also determined that they should leave 
 
 ^ ' Advised ' here seems to mean ' brought to 
 1 resolve.' 
 
WAR WITH THE SCOTS, 1327 
 
 19 
 
 behind them all their loose harness and all 
 manner of carriages and purveyances, for 
 they thought surely to fight with the Scots 
 the next day, whatsoever danger they were 
 in, thinking to jeopard, either to win or to 
 lose all. And thus it was ordained and so 
 it was accomplished : for about midnight 
 every man was ready apparelled ; few had 
 slept but little, and yet they had sore 
 travailed the day before. As great haste as 
 they made, or they were, well ranged in 
 battle the day began to appear. Then they 
 advanced forward in all haste through 
 mountains, valleys and rocks, and through 
 many evil passages without any plain coun- 
 try. And on the highest of these hills and 
 on the plain of these valleys there were 
 marvellous great marshes and dangerous 
 passages, that it was great marvel that much 
 people had not been lost, for they rode ever 
 still forward and never tarried one for 
 another ; for whosoever fell in any of these 
 marshes with much pain could get any aid 
 to help them out again, so that in divers 
 places there were many lost, and specially 
 horse and carriages ; and oftentimes in the 
 day there was cried alarum, for it was said 
 ever that the foremost company of their 
 host were fighting with their enemies, so 
 that the hindermost weened it had been 
 true ; wherefore they hasted them over 
 rocks and stones and mountains with helm 
 and shield ready apparelled to fight, with 
 spear and sword ready in hand, without 
 tarrying for father, brother or companion. 
 And when they had thus run forth often- 
 times in the day the space of half a mile 
 together toward the cry, weening it had 
 been their enemies, they were deceived ; 
 for the cry ever arose by the raising of harts, 
 hinds and other savage beasts that were 
 seen by them in the forward, after the which 
 beasts they made such shouting and crying, 
 that they that came after weened they had 
 been a-fighting with their enemies. 
 
 Thus rode forth all that day the young 
 king of England by mountains and deserts 
 without finding any highway, town or 
 village. And when it was against night 
 they came to the river of Tyne, to the same 
 place whereas the Scots had passed over 
 into England, weening to them that they 
 must needs repass again the same way. 
 Then the king of England and his host 
 passed over the same river with such guides 
 
 as he had,' with much pain and travail, for 
 the passage was full of great stones. And 
 when they were over, they lodged them that 
 night by the river side, and by that time 
 the sun was gone to rest, and there was but 
 few among them that had either axe or 
 hook, or any instrument to cut down any 
 wood to make their lodgings withal ; and 
 there were many that had lost their own 
 company and wist not where they were. 
 Some of the footmen were far behind and 
 wist not well what way to take ; but such 
 as knew best the country said plainly they 
 had ridden the same day twenty -four 
 English miles, for they rode as fast as they 
 might without any rest, but at such passages 
 as they could not choose. All this night 
 they lay by this river side, still in their 
 harness, holding their horses by their reins 
 in their hands, for they wist not whereunto 
 to tie them. Thus their horses did eat no 
 meat of all that night nor day before : they 
 had neither oats for forage for them, nor 
 the people of the host had no sustenance of 
 all that day nor night, but every man his 
 loaf that he had carried behind him, the 
 which was sore wet with the sweat of the 
 horses ; nor they drank none other drink 
 but the water of the river, without it were 
 some of the lords that had carried bottles 
 with them ; nor they had no fire nor light, 
 for they had nothing to make light withal, 
 without it were some of the lords that had 
 torches brought with them. 
 
 In this great trouble and danger they 
 passed all that night, their armour still on 
 their backs, their horses ready saddled. 
 And when the day began to appear, the 
 which was greatly desired of all the whole 
 host, they trusted then to find some redress 
 for themselves and for their horses, or else 
 to fight with their enemies, the which they 
 greatly desired to the intent to be delivered 
 out of the great travail and pain that they 
 had endured. And all that day it rained 
 so fast that the river and passage was 
 waxen great and risen so high, that or it 
 were noon there might none pass the 
 passages again ; wherefore they could not 
 send to know whereas they were, nor where 
 to have any forage or litter for their horses, 
 nor bread nor drink for their own susten- 
 
 1 ' Passed over the said river by fording.' The 
 translator mistakes the meaning of the words 'h. 
 gu^s,' as he does also elsewhere. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OE FROISSART 
 
 ances ; but so all that night they were fain 
 to fast, nor their horses had nothing but 
 leaves of trees and herbs : they cut down 
 boughs of trees with their swords to tie 
 withal their horses and to malce themselves 
 lodges. And about noon some poor folks 
 of the country were found, and they said 
 how they were as then fourteen mile from 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and eleven mile from 
 Carlisle, and that there was no town nearer 
 to them wherein they might find anything 
 to do them ease withal. And when this 
 was shewed to the king and to the lords of 
 his council, incontinent were sent thither 
 horses and sumpters to fetch thence some 
 purveyance ; and there was a cry in the 
 king's name made in the town of Newcastle, 
 that whosoever would bring bread or wine 
 or any other victual should be paid there- 
 fore incontinent at a good price, and that 
 they should be conducted to the host in 
 safe-guard ; for it was published openly 
 that the king nor his host would not depart 
 from the place that they were in, till they 
 had some tidings where their enemies were 
 become. And the next day by noon such 
 as had been sent for victual'returned again 
 to the host with such purveyances as they 
 could get, and that was not over much, and 
 with them came other folks of the country 
 with little nags charged with bread evil 
 baken in panniers, and small poor wine in 
 barrels, and other victual to sell in the host, 
 whereby great part of the host were well 
 refreshed and eased. 
 
 And thus they continued day by day the 
 space of eight days, abiding every day the 
 returning again of the .Scots, who knew no 
 more where the English host lay than they 
 knew where they were ; so each of them 
 were ignorant of other. Thus three days 
 and three nights they were in manner with- 
 out bread, wine, candle or light, fodder or 
 forage, or any manner of purveyance, either 
 for horse or man : and after the space of 
 four days a loaf of bread was sold for six- 
 pence the which was worth but a penny, 
 and a gallon of wine for six groats that was 
 worth but sixpence. And yet for all that, 
 there was such rage of famine that each 
 look victuals out of other's hands, whereby 
 there rose divers battles and strifes between 
 sundry companions ; and yet beside all 
 these mischiefs it never ceased to rain all 
 the whole week, whereby their saddles, 
 
 panels and countersingles were all rotten 
 
 and broken, and most part of their horses 
 
 hurt on their backs : nor they had not 
 
 wherewith to shoe them that were unshod, 
 
 nor they had nothing to cover themselves 
 
 withal from the rain and cold but green 
 
 bushes and their armour, nor they had 
 
 nothing to make fire withal but green 
 
 boughs, the which would not burn because 
 
 of the rain. In this great mischief they 
 
 were all the week without hearing of any 
 
 word of the Scots, upon trust they should 
 
 repass again into their own countries the 
 
 same way or near thereabout ; whereby 
 
 great noise and murmur began to rise in the 
 
 host, for some said and laid it to others' 
 
 charge that by their counsel the king and 
 
 all they were brought into that danger, 
 
 and that they had done it to betray the 
 
 king and all his host. Wherefore it was 
 
 ordained by the king and by his council 
 
 that the next morning they should remove 
 
 the host and repass again the river about 
 
 seven mile thence, whereas they might pass 
 
 more at their ease. Then it was cried 
 
 throughout the host that every man should 
 
 be ready apparelled to remove the next day 
 
 betimes : also there was a cry made that 
 
 whosoever could bring to the king certain 
 
 knowledge where the Scots were, he that 
 
 brought first tidings thereof should have for 
 
 his labour a hundred pounds [of] land to 
 
 him and to his heirs for ever, and to be 
 
 made a knight of the king's hand. 
 
 When this cry was made in the host, 
 divers English knights and squires to the 
 number of fifteen or sixteen, for covetise 
 of winning of this promise, they passed 
 the river in great peril and rode forth 
 through the mountains, and departed each 
 one from other, taking their adventure. 
 The next morning the host dislodged and 
 rode fair and easily all the day, for they 
 were but evil apparelled, and did so much 
 that they repassed again the river with 
 much pain and travail, for the water was 
 deep because of the rain that had fallen, 
 wherefore many did swim and some were 
 drowned. And when they were all over, 
 then they lodged the host ; and there 
 they found some forage, meadows and fields 
 about a little village, the which the Scots 
 had brent when they passed that way. 
 And the next day they departed from 
 thence and passed over hills and dales all 
 
J'/AJf WITH THE SCOTS, 1327 
 
 (lay lill it was noon, and then lliey found 
 some villages brent by the Scots, and there- 
 about was some champaign country with 
 corn and meadows, and so that night the 
 host lodged there. Again the third day 
 they rode forth, so that the most part of 
 the host wist not which way, for they knew 
 not the country nor they could hear no 
 tidings of the Scots. And again the fourth 
 day they rode forth in like manner, till it 
 w.is about the hour of three,' and there 
 came a squire fast riding toward the king 
 and said : ' An it like your grace, I have 
 brought you perfect tidings of the Scots 
 your enemies. Surely they be within three 
 mile of you, lodged on a great mountain, 
 abiding there for you ; and there they have 
 been all this eight days, nor they knew no 
 more tidings of you than ye did of them. 
 Sir, this that I shew you is of truth, for I ap- 
 proached so near to them that I was taken 
 prisoner and brought before the lords of 
 their host ; and there I shewed them tidings 
 of you, and how that ye seek for them to the 
 intent to have battle. And the lords did 
 quit me my ransom and prison, when I had 
 shewed them how your grace had promised 
 a hundred pounds sterling of rent to him 
 that brought first tidings of them to you ; 
 and they made me to promise that I should 
 not rest till I had shewed you this tidings, 
 for they said they had as great desire to 
 fight with you as ye had with them : and 
 there shall ye find them without fault.' 
 
 And as soon as the king had heard this 
 tidings, he assembled all his host in a fair 
 meadow to pasture their horses ; and be- 
 side there was a little abbey, the which was 
 all brent, called in the days of king Arthur 
 le Blanche Lande.- There the king con- 
 fessed him, and every man made him ready. 
 The king caused many masses to be sung 
 to housel all such as had devotion thereto ; 
 and incontinent he assigned a hundred 
 pounds sterling of rent to the squire that 
 had brought him tidings of the .Scots, ac- 
 cording to his promise, and made him 
 knight [with] his own hands before all the 
 host. And when they had well rested 
 them and taken repast, then the trumpet 
 sounded to horse, and every man mounted, 
 ^ 'Jusque ^ heure de tierce,' which of course 
 would be nine o'clock in the morning, not three 
 o'clock, a-<i the translator has it. They arrived within 
 sight of the Scots ' about mid-day ' on the same day. 
 " The abbey of Blanckland, south of Hexham. 1 
 
 and the banners and standards followed 
 this new-made knight, every battle by 
 itself in good order, through mountains and 
 dales, ranged as well as they might, ever 
 ready apparelled to fight ; and they rode 
 and made such haste that about noon they 
 were so near the Scots that each of them 
 might clearly see other. 
 
 And as soon as the Scots saw them, they 
 issued out of their lodges afoot, and or- 
 dained three great battles in the availing 
 of the hill, and at the foot of this moun- 
 tain there ran a great river full of great 
 rocks and stones, so that none might pass 
 over without great danger or jeopardy ; 
 and though the Englishmen had passed 
 over the river, yet was there no place nor 
 room between the hill and the river to set 
 the battle in good order. The Scots had 
 stablished their two first battles at the two 
 corners of the mountain, joining to the 
 rocks, so that none might well mount upon 
 the hill to assail them, but the Scots were 
 ever ready to beat with stones the assail- 
 ants, if they passed the river. And when 
 the lords of England saw the behaving and 
 the manner of the Scots, they made all 
 their people to'alight afoot and to put off their 
 spurs, and arranged three great battles, as 
 they had done before, and there were made 
 many new knights. And when their 
 battles were set in good order, then some 
 of the lords of England brought their 
 young king a -horseback before all the 
 battles of the host, to the intent to give 
 thereby the more courage to all his people, 
 the which king in full goodly manner 
 prayed and required them right graciously 
 that every man would pain them to do 
 their best to save his honour and common 
 weal of his realm. And it was commanded 
 upon pain of death that none should go 
 before the marshals' banners, nor break 
 their array without they were commanded. 
 And then the king commanded that they 
 should advance toward their enemies fair 
 and easily ; and so they did, and every 
 battle went forth in good array and order 
 a great space of ground, to the descending 
 of the mountain whereas the Scots were. 
 And this the English host did to the intent 
 to see if their enemies would break their 
 field or not, and to see what they would 
 do ; but they could not perceive that they 
 were about to remove in any wise : they 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 were so near together that they might 
 know each other's arms. Then the host 
 stood still to take other counsel. And 
 some of the host mounted on good horses 
 and rode forth to skirmish with them and 
 to behold the passage of the river and to 
 see the countenance of their enemies more 
 nearer. And there were heralds of arms 
 sent to the Scots, giving them knowledge, 
 if that they would come and pass the river 
 to fight with them in the plain field, they 
 would draw back from the river and give 
 them sufficient place to arrange their 
 battles either the same day or else the 
 next, as they would choose themselves, or 
 else to let them do likewise and they would 
 come over to them. And when the Scots 
 heard this, they took counsel among them- 
 selves, and anon they answered the heralds, 
 how they would do neither the one nor the 
 other, and said, ' Sirs, your king and his 
 lords see well how we be here in this realm 
 and have brent and wasted the country as 
 we have passed through, and if they be 
 displeased therewith, let them amend it 
 when they will, for here we will abide as 
 long as it shall please us.' 
 
 And as soon as the king of England 
 heard that answer, it was incontinent cried 
 that all the host should lodge there that 
 night without reculing back. And so the 
 host lodged there that night with much 
 pain on the hard ground and stones, always 
 still armed. They had no stakes nor rods 
 to tie withal their horses, nor forage, nor 
 bush to make withal any fire. And when 
 they were thus lodged, then the Scots 
 caused some of their people to keep still 
 the field, whereas they had ordained their 
 battles ; and the remnant went to their 
 lodgings, and they made such fires that it 
 was marvel to behold. And between the 
 day and the night they made a marvellous 
 great bruit, with blowing of horns all at 
 once, that it seemed properly that all the 
 devils of hell had been there. Thus these 
 two hosts were lodged that night, the 
 which was Saint Peter's night in the begin- 
 ning of August ' the year of our Lord 
 Mcccxxvn. 
 
 And the next morning the lords of Eng- 
 land heard mass and ranged again their 
 battles as they had done the day before ; 
 and the Scots in like wise ordered their 
 1 St. Peter in Vinculis, ist August. 
 
 battles. Thus both the hosts stood still in 
 battle till it was noon. The Scots made 
 never semblant to come to the English 
 host to fight with them, nor in like wise 
 the Englishmen to them ; for they could not 
 approach together without great damage. 
 There were divers companions a-horseback 
 that passed the river, and some afoot, to 
 scrimmish with the Scots, and in likewise 
 some of the Scots brake out and scrim- 
 mished with them ; so that there were 
 divers on both parties slain, wounded and 
 taken prisoners. And after that noon was 
 past, the lords of England commanded 
 every man to draw to their lodging, for 
 they saw well the Scots would not fight 
 with them. 
 
 And in like manner thus they did three 
 days together, and the Scots in like case 
 kept still their mountains. Howbeit there 
 was scrimmishing on both parties, and 
 divers slain and prisoners taken. And 
 every night the Scots made great fires and 
 great bruit with shouting and blowing of 
 horns. The intention of the Englishmen was 
 to hold the Scots there in manner as besieged 
 (for they could not fight with them there- 
 as they were), thinking to have famished 
 them. And the EngHshmen knew well by 
 such prisoners as they had taken that the 
 Scots had neither bread, wine nor salt, nor 
 other purveyance, save of beasts they had 
 great plenty, the which they had taken in 
 the country and might eat at their pleasure 
 without bread, which was an evil diet, for 
 they lacked oaten meal to make cakes 
 withal, as is said before ; ^ the which diet 
 some of the Englishmen used when they 
 had need, specially borderers when they 
 make roads into Scotland. 
 
 And in the morning the fourth day 
 the Englishmen looked on the mountain 
 whereas the Scots were, and they could 
 see no creature, for the Scots were departed 
 at midnight. Then was there sent men 
 a-horseback and afoot over the river to 
 know where they were become ; and about 
 noon they found them lodged on another 
 mountain, more stronger than the other 
 was, by the same river side, and where 
 there was a great wood on the one side, 
 to go and come secretly when they list. 
 Then incontinent the English host dis- 
 
 1 Froissart Eays only that they did not object to 
 this diet provided they had oatmeal. 
 
WAR WITH THE SCOTS, 1327 
 
 23 
 
 lodged, and drew to that part, embattled 
 in good order, and lodged them on another 
 hill against the Scots, and ranged their 
 battles and made semblant to have come 
 to them. Then the Scots issued out of 
 their lodges and set their battles along the 
 river side against them ; but they would 
 never come toward the English host, and 
 the Englishmen could not go to them, 
 without they would have been slain or 
 taken at advantage. Thus they lodged 
 each against other the space of eighteen 
 days ; and oftentimes the king of England 
 sent to them his heralds of arms, offering 
 them that if they would come and fight 
 with him, he would give them place suffi- 
 cient on the plain ground to pitch their 
 field ; or else let them give him room and 
 place, and he assured them that he would 
 come over the river and fight with them : 
 but the Scots would never agree thereto. 
 
 Thus both the hosts suffered much pain 
 and travail the space that they lay so near 
 together : and the first night that the 
 English host was thus lodged on the second 
 mountain the lord William Douglas took 
 with him about two hundred men of arms 
 and passed the river far off from the host, 
 so that he was not perceived, and suddenly 
 he brake into the English host about mid- 
 night crying, 'Douglas I Douglas ! Ye shall 
 all die, thieves ' of England ! ' and he slew, 
 or he ceased, three hundred men, some in 
 their beds and some scant ready ; and he 
 strake his horse with the spurs and came 
 to the king's own tent, always crying 
 ' Douglas ! ' and strake asunder two or 
 three cords of the king's tent and so 
 departed, and in that retreat he lost some 
 of his men. Then he returned again to 
 the Scots, so that there was no more done : 
 but every night the English host made 
 good and sure watch, for they doubted 
 making of skryes ; and ever the most 
 part of the host lay in their harness ; and 
 every day there were scrimmishes made, and 
 men slain on both parties : and in conclu- 
 sion, the last day of twenty-four, there was 
 a Scottish knight taken, who against his 
 will shewed to the lords of England what 
 state and condition the Scots were in : he 
 
 ^ The translator found ' larron * in his text, but 
 a better reading is ' baron ' ; 'Ye shall all die, ye 
 English barons ' ; or with ' Engles ' alone, ' Ye 
 shall all die, ye English.' 
 
 was so sore examined that for fear of his 
 life he shewed how the lords of Scotland 
 were accorded among themselves that the 
 same night every man should be ready 
 armed, and to follow the banners of the 
 lord William Douglas, and every man 
 to keep him secret. But the knight could . 
 not shew them what they intended to do. 
 Then the lords of England drew them to 
 council, and there it was thought among 
 them that the Scots might in the night 
 time come and assail their host on both 
 sides, to adventure themselves either to 
 live or die, for they could endure no longer 
 the famine that was among them. Then 
 the English lords ordained three great 
 battles, and so stood in three parties with- 
 out their lodgings, and made great fires, 
 thereby to see the better, and caused all 
 their pages to keep their lodgings and 
 horses. 
 
 Thus they stood still all that night 
 armed, every man under his own standard 
 and banner ; and in the breaking of the 
 day two trumpets of Scotland met with 
 the English scout-watch, who took the 
 trumpets and brought them before the king 
 of England and his council, and then they 
 said openly, ' Sirs, what do ye watch 
 here? Ye lose but your time, for on the 
 jeopardy of our heads the Scots are gone 
 and departed before midnight, and they 
 are at the least by this time three or four 
 mile on their way ; and they left us two 
 behind to the intent that we should shew 
 this to you.' Then the English lords said 
 that it were but a folly to follow the Scots, 
 for they saw well they could not overtake 
 them : yet for doubt of deceiving they 
 kept still the two trumpets privily, and 
 caused their battles to stand still arranged 
 till it was near prime. And when they 
 saw for truth that the Scots were departed, 
 then every man had leave to retray to 
 their lodging, and the lords took counsel 
 to determine what should be best to do. 
 And in the meantime divers of the English 
 host mounted on their horses and passed 
 over the river, and came to the mountain 
 whereas the Scots had been ; and there 
 they found more than five hundred great 
 beasts ready slain, because the Scots could 
 not drive them before their host and because 
 that the Englishmen should have but small 
 profit of them. Also there they found 
 
24 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 three hundred cauldrons made of beasts' 
 skins with the hair still on them, strained 
 on stakes over the fire, fiill of water and 
 full of flesh to be sodden, and more than a 
 thousand spits full of flesh to be roasted, 
 and more than ten thousand old shoes 
 . made of raw leather with the hair still 
 on them, the which the Scots had left 
 behind them ; also there they found five 
 poor Englishmen prisoners, bound fast to 
 certain trees, and some of their legs broken.^ 
 Then they were loosed and let go : and 
 then they returned again, and by that time 
 all the host was dislodged : and it was 
 ordained by the king and by the advice of 
 his council that the whole host should 
 follow the marshals' banners and draw 
 homeward into England. And so they did, 
 and at the last came into a fair meadow, 
 whereas they found forage sufficient for 
 their horses and carriages,^ whereof they 
 had great need, for they were nigh so 
 feeble that it should have been great pain 
 for them to have gone any further. The 
 English chronicle saith that the Scots had 
 been fought withal, an sir Roger Mortimer, 
 a lord of England, had not betrayed the 
 king ; for he took meed and money of 
 the Scots, to the intent they might depart 
 privily by night unfought withal, as it 
 may be seen more plainly in the English 
 chronicle, and divers other matters, the 
 which I pass over at this time and follow 
 mine author.^ 
 
 And so then the next day the host dis- 
 lodged again and went forth, and about 
 noon they came to a great abbey two mile 
 from the city of Durham ; and there the 
 king lodged, and the host there about in 
 the fields, whereas they found forage suffi- 
 cient for themselves and for their horses. 
 And the next day the host lay there still, 
 and the king went to the city of Durham 
 to see the church, and there he offered.* 
 And in this city every man found their 
 own carriages,* the which they had left 
 
 1 Or (according to a better text) 'and two {or 
 two others) who had their legs broken.' 
 
 2 Froissart says simply, ' hor.ses.' 
 
 3 This statement abont Roger Mortimer is an 
 addition by the translator from P'abyan's Chronicles. 
 
 < In the original we have ; ' Then the king did 
 fealty to the church of Durham and to the bishop 
 {or bishopric), and also to the burgesses, for he had 
 not done it as yet.' 
 
 5 Throughout this passage 'carriages' is a 
 translation of ' charois,' ' charettes,' or some similar 
 
 thirty-two days before in a wood at mid- 
 night, when they followed the Scots first, 
 as it hath been shewed before ; for the 
 burgesses and people of Durham had found 
 and brought them into their town at their 
 own costs and charges. And all these 
 carriages were set in void granges and 
 barns in safe-guard, and on every man's 
 carriage his own cognisance or arms, where- 
 by every man might know his own. And 
 the lords and gentlemen were glad when 
 they had thus found their carriages. 
 
 ■Thus they abode two days in the city of 
 Durham, and the host round about, for 
 they could not all lodge within the city ; 
 and there their horses were new shod. 
 And then they took their way to the city 
 of York, and so within three days they 
 came thither ; and there the king found 
 the queen his mother, who received him 
 with great joy, and so did all other ladies, 
 damosels, burgesses and commons of the 
 city. 
 
 ■The king gave licence to all manner of 
 people, every man to draw homeward to 
 their own countries. And the king thanked 
 greatly the earls, barons and knights of 
 their good counsel and aid that they had 
 done to him in his journey ; and he retained 
 still with him sir John of Hainault and all 
 his company, who were greatly feasted by 
 the queen and all other ladies. Then the 
 knights and other strangers of his company 
 made a bill of their horses and such other 
 stuff as they had lost in that journey, and 
 delivered it to the king's council, every 
 man by itself; and in trust of the king's 
 promise, sir John of Hainault lord Beau- 
 mont bound himself to all his company that 
 they should be content for everything com- 
 prised in their o\vn bills within a short 
 space : for the king nor his council could 
 not so soon recover gold or silver to con- 
 tent their desires ; but he delivered them 
 sufficient by reason to pay all their small 
 charges and to bring them home withal 
 into their own countries ; and anon after 
 within the same year they were paid for 
 everything they could desire. Then they 
 of Hainault bought little nags to ride at 
 their ease, [and sent back] their lackeys and 
 pages and all their harness and baggages 
 by_ water in two ships that was delivered to 
 
 word, and means carts for the baggage and not the 
 
 baggage itself. 
 
MARRIAGE OF EDWARD III., 132S 
 
 25 
 
 them, the which ships with their stuff 
 arrived at Sluys in Flanders. And sir 
 John of Hainault and his company took 
 their leave of the king, of the old queen, 
 of the earl of Kent, of the earl of Lancaster 
 and of all the other barons, who greatly 
 did honour them. And the king caused 
 twelve knights and two hundred men of 
 arms to company them, for doubt of the 
 archers of England, of whom they were not 
 well assured, for they must needs pass 
 through the bishopric of Lincoln. 
 
 _ Thus departed sir John of Hainault and 
 his rout in the conduct of these knights, 
 and rode so long in their journey that they 
 came to Dover, and there entered into the 
 sea in ships and vessels that they found 
 ready there apparelled for them. Then the 
 English knights departed from thence, and 
 returned to their own houses ; and the 
 Hainowes arrived at Wissant, and there 
 ihey sojourned two days in making ready 
 their horses and harness. And in the 
 meantime sir John of Hainault and some 
 of his company rode a pilgrimage to our 
 Lady of Boulogne ; and after they returned 
 into Hainault, and departed each from 
 other to their own houses and countries. 
 .Sir John of Hainault rode to the earl his 
 brother, who was at Valenciennes, who 
 received him joyously, for greatly he loved 
 him, to whom he recounted all his tidings, 
 that ye have heard herebefore. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 How king Edward was married to my lady 
 Philippa of Hainault. 
 
 It was not long after but that the king and 
 the queen his mother, the earl of Kent his 
 uncle, the earl of Lancaster, sir Roger 
 Mortimer and all the barons of England, 
 and by the advice of the king's council, 
 they sent a bishop ^ and two knights ban- 
 nerets, with two notable clerks, to sir John 
 of Hainault, praying him to be a mean that 
 their lord the young king of England might 
 have in marriage one of the earl's daughters 
 
 1 This should be: 'And the other barons of 
 England who had continued to be of the council of 
 the king sent a bishop,' etc. Or according to a 
 better text, ' took advice to marry him. So they sent 
 a bishop,' etc. 
 
 of Hainault, his brother, named Philippa ; 
 for the king and all the nobles of the realm 
 had rather have her than any other lady, 
 for the love of him. Sir John of Hainault 
 lord Beaumont feasted and honoured 
 greatly these ambassadors, and brought 
 them to Valenciennes to the earl his brother, 
 who honourably received them and made 
 them such cheer, that it were over long 
 here to rehearse. And when they had 
 shewed the content of their message, the 
 earl said, ' Sirs, I thank greatly the king 
 your prince and the queen his mother 
 and all other lords of England, sith they 
 have sent such sufficient personages as ye 
 be to do me such honour as to treat for the 
 marriage ; to the which request I am well 
 agreed, if our holy father the pope will 
 consent thereto ' ; with the which answer 
 these ambassadors were right well content. 
 Then they sent two knights and two 
 clerks incontinent to the pope, to Avignon, 
 to purchase a dispensation for this marriage 
 to be had ; for without the pope's licence 
 they might not marry, for [by] the lineage 
 of France they were so near of kin as at 
 the third degree, for the two mothers were 
 cousin -germans issued of two brethren.^ 
 And when these ambassadors were come to 
 the pope, and their requests and considera- 
 tions well heard, our holy father the pope 
 with all the whole college consented to this 
 marriage, and so feasted them. And then 
 they departed and came again to Valen- 
 ciennes with their bulls. 
 
 Then this marriage was concluded and 
 affirmed on both parties. Then was there 
 devised and purveyed for their apparel and 
 for all things honourable that belonged to 
 such a lady, who should be queen of 
 England : and there this princess was 
 married by a sufficient procuration brought 
 from the king of England ; and after all 
 feasts and triumphs done, then this young 
 queen entered into the sea at Wissant, and 
 arrived with all her company at Dover. 
 And sir John of Hainault lord Beaumont, 
 her uncle, did conduct her to the city of 
 London, where there was made great feast, 
 and many nobles of England, and the 
 
 1 The meaning is that the kinship came by the 
 relationship of both to the house of France. The 
 mother of Edward was daughter of Philip the Fair 
 and the mother of Philippa was daughter of Charles 
 of Valois. 
 
26 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 queen was crowned. And there was also 
 great jousts, tourneys, dancing, carolling 
 and great feasts every day, the which en- 
 dured the space of three weeks. The 
 English chronicle saith this marriage and 
 coronation of the queen was done at York 
 with much honour, the Sunday in the even 
 of the Conversion of Saint Paul, in the year 
 of our Lord Mcccxxvii. In the which 
 chronicle is shewed many other things of 
 the ruling of the realm, and of the death of 
 king Edward of Caernarvon, and divers 
 other debates that were within the realm, 
 as in the same chronicle more plainly it 
 appeareth : the which the author of this 
 book speaketh no word of, because per- 
 adventure he knew it not ; for it was hard 
 for a stranger to know all things.^ But 
 according to his writing this young queen 
 Philippa abode still in England with a 
 small company of any persons of her own 
 country, saving one whowas named Watelet 
 of Manny, who abode still with the queen 
 and was her carver, and after did so many 
 great prowesses in divers places, that it were 
 hard to make mention of them all. 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 How king Robert of Scotland died. 
 
 And when that the Scots were departed by 
 night from the mountain, whereas the 
 king of England had besieged them, as ye 
 have heard herebefore, they went twenty- 
 two mile through that savage country with- 
 out resting, and passed the river of Tyne 
 right near to Carlisle ; and the next day 
 they went into their own land, and so de- 
 
 ^ The reference is to Fabyan, p. 439. It maybe 
 noted that the inaccuracy here was corrected in 
 Froissart's final revision, where he says that the 
 young queen after landing came to Canterbury and 
 thence by Rochester and Dartford to Eltham, 
 where she was met by the bishop of Durham, who 
 had espoused her by procuration, and many lords 
 and ladies. Here sir John of Hainault parted from 
 her and returned, and she passed on to London, and 
 without making any stay there proceeded north- 
 wards to York. Here she was received by the 
 young king and his mother, and the marriage was 
 celebrated by the archbishop of York in the 
 cathedral on the day of the Conversion of Saint Paul, 
 1327 (1:328). The king was then seventeen years 
 old, and the young queen not quite fourteen. At 
 i-aster they came to London and Windsor, where 
 great festivals and jousts were held.— Vat. MS 
 
 parted every man to his own mansion. 
 And within a space after there was a peace 
 purchased between the kings of England 
 and Scotland ; and as the English chronicle 
 saith,^ it was done by the special counsel of 
 the old queen and sir Roger Mortimer ; for 
 by their means there was a parliament 
 holden at Northampton, at the which the 
 king being within age granted to the Scots 
 to release all the fealties and homages that 
 they ought to have done to the crown of 
 England, by his charter ensealed, and also 
 there was delivered to the Scots an indent- 
 ure, the which was called the Ragman, 
 wherein was contained all the homages and 
 fealties that the king of Scots and all the 
 prelates, earls and barons of Scotland ought 
 to have done to the crown of England, 
 sealed with all their seals, with all other 
 rights that sundry barons and knights ought 
 to have had in the realm of Scotland. And 
 also they delivered to them again the black 
 cross of Scotland, the which the good 
 king Edward conquered and brought it 
 out of the abbey of Scone, the which was 
 a precious relic ; and all rights and interests 
 that every baron had in Scotland was then 
 clean forgiven. And many other things were 
 done at that parliament to the great hurt 
 and prejudice of the realm of England, 
 and in manner against the wills of all the 
 nobles of the realm, save only of Isabel the 
 old queen and the bishop of Ely and the 
 lord Mortimer : they ruled the realm in 
 soich wise, that every man was miscontent. 
 So that the earl Henry of Lancaster and sir 
 Thomas Brotherton, earl marshal, and sir 
 Edmund of "Woodstock, the king's uncle, 
 and divers other lords and commons were 
 agreed together to amend these faults, if 
 they might. And in that meantime the 
 queen Isabel and sir Roger Mortimer 
 caused another parliament to be holden at 
 Salisbury, at the which parliament sir Roger 
 Mortimer was made earl of March against all 
 the barons' wills of England, in prejudice 
 of king and his realm, and sir John of 
 Eltham the king's brother was made earl 
 of Cornwall. To the which parliament 
 the earl Henry of Lancaster would not 
 corne, wherefore the king was brought in 
 belief that he would have destroyed his 
 
 1 The whole of this which follows down to the 
 words 'follow mine author' is inserted by the 
 translator from Fabyan. 
 
DEATH OF ROBERT BRUCE, 1329 
 
 27 
 
 person ; for the which they assembled a 
 great host and went toward Bedford, 
 whereas the earl Henry was with his com- 
 pany. Then the earl marshal and the earl 
 of Kent, the king's uncle, made a peace 
 between the king and the earl of Lancaster, 
 on whose part was sir Henry lord Beau- 
 mont, sir Fulke Fitz-Warin, sir Thomas 
 Rocelin, sir William Trussel, sir Thomas 
 Wither and about a hundred knights, who 
 were all expelled out of England by the 
 counsel of queen Isabel and the earl 
 Mortimer : for he was so covetous, that he 
 thought to have the most part of all their 
 lands into his own hands, as it is more 
 plainly shewed in the English chronicle, the 
 which I pass over and follow mine author. 
 The foresaid peace, which was purchased 
 between England and Scotland, was to 
 endure three year ; and in the meantime 
 it fortuned that king Robert of Scotland 
 was right sore aged and feeble : for he was 
 greatly charged with the great sickness, so 
 that there was no way with him but death. 
 And when he felt that his end drew near, 
 he sent for such barons and lords of his 
 realm as he trusted best, and shewed them 
 how there was no remedy with him, but he 
 must needs leave this transitory life, com- 
 manding them on the faith and truth that 
 they owed him, truly to keep the realm and 
 aid the young prince David his son, and 
 that when he were of age they should obey 
 him and crown him king, and to marry him 
 in such a place as was convenient for his 
 estate. Then he called to him the gentle 
 knight sir William Douglas, and said before 
 all the lords, ' Sir "William, my dear friend, 
 ye know well that I have had much ado 
 in my days to uphold and sustain the right 
 of this realm ; and when I had most ado, I 
 made a solemn vow, the which as yet I 
 have not accomplished, whereof I am right 
 sorry : the which was, if I might achieve 
 and make an end of all my wars, so that I 
 might once have brought this realm in rest | 
 and peace, then I promised in my mind to 
 havegoneand warred on Christ's enemie5,ad- 
 versaries to our holy Christian faith. To this 
 purpose mine heart hath ever intended, but 
 our Lord would not consent thereto ; for I 
 have had so much ado in my days, and now 
 in my last enterprise I have taken such a 
 malady that I cannot escape. And sith it 
 is so, that my body cannot go nor achieve 
 
 that my heart desireth, I will send the 
 heart instead of the body to accomplish 
 mine avow. -'\.nd because I know not in all 
 my realm no knight more valiant than ye 
 be, nor of body so well furnished to accom- 
 plish mine avow instead of myself, therefore 
 I require you, mine own dear especial 
 friend, that ye will take on you this voyage, 
 for the love of me, and to acquit my soul 
 against my Lord God. For I trust so 
 much in your nobleness and truth, that an 
 ye will take on you, I doubt not but that 
 ye shall achieve it, and declare then shall I 
 die in more ease and quiet, so that it be 
 done in such manner as I shall declare unto 
 you. I will that as soon as I am trespassed 
 out of this world, that ye take my heart out 
 of my body and embalm it, and take of my 
 treasure, as ye shall think sufficient for that 
 enterprise, both for yourself and such com- 
 pany as ye will take with you, and present 
 my heart to the Holy Sepulchre, whereas 
 our Lord lay, seeing my body cannot come 
 there : and take with you such company 
 and purveyance as shall be appertaining to 
 your estate. And wheresoever ye come, 
 let it be known how ye carry with you the 
 heart of king Robert of Scotland at his 
 instance and desire, to be presented to the 
 Holy Sepulchre.' 
 
 Then all the lords that heard these words 
 wept for pity : and when this knight sir 
 William Douglas might speak for weeping, 
 he said : * Ah, gentle and noble king, a 
 hundred times I thank your grace of the 
 great honour that ye do to me, sith of so 
 noble and great treasure ye give me in 
 charge ; and, sir, I shall do with a glad 
 heart all that ye have commanded me, to 
 the best of my true power, howbeit I am 
 not worthy nor sufficient to achieve such a 
 noble enterprise.' Then the king said, 
 'Ah, gentle knight, I thank you, so that 
 ye will promise to do it.' 'Sir,' said the 
 knight, ' I shall do it undoubtedly by the 
 faith that I owe to God and to the order of 
 knighthood.' 'Then I thank you,' said 
 the king, ' for now shall I die in more ease 
 of my mind, sith that I know that the most 
 worthy and sufficient knight of my realm 
 shall achieve for me that which I could 
 never attain unto.' And thus soon after 
 this noble Robert de Bruce king of Scot- 
 land trespassed out of this uncertain world, 
 and his heart taken out of his body and 
 
28 
 
 THE CHROmCLES OF FROISSART 
 
 embalmed, and honourably he was interred 
 in the abbey of Dunfermline in the year of 
 our Lord God MCCCXXVii. , the seventh day 
 of the month of November.^ 
 
 And when the springing-time began, 
 then sir William Douglas purveyed him of 
 that which appertained for his enterprise 
 and took his ship at the port of Montrose 
 in Scotland, and sailed into Flanders, to 
 Sluys, to hear tidings and to know if there 
 were any nobleman in that country that 
 would go to Jerusalem, to the intent to 
 have more company. And he lay still at 
 Sluys the space of twelve days or he de- 
 parted, but he would never come a-land, 
 but kept still his ship, and kept always his 
 port and behaviour with great triumph, 
 with trumpets and clarions, as though he 
 had been king of Scots himself; and in 
 his company there was a knight banneret 
 and seven other knights of the realm of 
 Scotland, and twenty-six young squires and 
 gentlemen to serve him ; and all his vessel 
 was of gold and silver — pots, basins, ewers, 
 dishes, flagons, barrels, cups and all other 
 things ; and all such as would come and 
 see him, they were well served with two 
 manner of wines and divers manner of 
 spices, all manner of people according to 
 their degrees. 
 
 And when he had thus tarried there the 
 space of twelve days, he heard reported 
 that Alphonso king of Spain made war 
 against a Saracen king of Granade. Then 
 he thought to draw to that part, thinking 
 surely he could not bestow his time more 
 nobly than to war against God's enemies : 
 and that enterprise done, then he thought 
 to *go forth to Jerusalem and to achieve 
 that he was charged with. And so he 
 departed and took the sea toward Spain, 
 and arrived at the port of Valence the 
 great.' Then he went straight to the king 
 of Spain, who held his host against the 
 king of Granade Saracen, and they were 
 near together, on the frontiers of his land. 
 
 1 This date .<;hould be 7th June 1329. Froissart 
 adds that the earl of Moray died almost immedi- 
 ately after, but the corruption of the text made the 
 statement unintelligible to the translator, who there- 
 fore omitted it. It is in fact inaccurate. Note 
 that the William Douglas of this story is really 
 Jame-S Douglas. 
 
 ~ Vajenza in Aragon, called 'Valence le grant' 
 to distinguish it from Valence in Dauphine' and 
 from Valencia in Portugal. 
 
 And within a while after that this knight 
 sir William Douglas was come to the king 
 of Spain, on a day the king issued out into 
 the field to approach near to his enemies. 
 And the king of Granade issued out in 
 like wise on his part, so that each king 
 might see other with all their banners 
 displayed. Then they arranged their battles 
 each against other. Then sir William 
 Douglas drew out on the one side with all 
 his company, to the intent to shew his 
 prowess the better. And when he saw 
 these battles thus ranged on both parties, 
 and saw that the battle of the king of 
 Spain began somewhat to advance toward 
 their enemies, he thought then verily that 
 they should soon assemble together to fight 
 at hand strokes ; and then he thought 
 rather to be with the foremost than with 
 the hindermost, and strake his horse with 
 the spurs, and all his company also, and 
 dashed into the battle of the king of 
 Granade, crying, ' Douglas ! Douglas ! ' 
 weening to him the king of Spain and his 
 host had followed, but they did not ; where- 
 fore he was deceived, for the Spanish host 
 stood still. And so this gentle knight was 
 enclosed, and all his company, with the 
 Saracens, whereas he did marvels in arms, 
 but finally he could not endure, so that he 
 and all his company were slain. The 
 which was great damage, that the Spaniards 
 would not rescue them. 
 
 Also in this season there were certain 
 lords that treated for peace between Eng- 
 land and Scotland. So that at the last 
 there was a marriage made and solemnised 
 between the young king of Scotland and 
 dame Joan of the Tower, sister to king 
 Edward of England, at I5erwick, as the 
 English chronicle saith,' on Mary Maudlin 
 day, the year of our Lord Mcccxxviii., 
 against the assent of many of the nobles 
 of the realm. But queen Isabel the king's 
 mother and the earl Mortimer made that 
 marriage ; at the which, as mine author 
 saith, there was great feast made on both 
 parties. 
 
 1 The addition from the 'English chronicle' is 
 from the words * on IVIary Maudlin day' to 'that 
 marriage.' — Fabyan, p. 439. 
 
PHILIP OF V A LOIS CROWNED, 132S 
 
 29 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 How Philip of Valois was crowned king of 
 B'rance- 
 
 King Charles of France, son to the fair 
 king Philip, was three times married, and 
 yet died without issue male. The first of 
 his wives was one of the most fairest ladies 
 in all the world, and she was daughter to 
 the earl of Artois. Howbeit she kept but 
 evil the sacrament of matrimony, but brake 
 her wedlock ; wherefore she was kept a 
 long space in prison in the castle Gaillard, 
 before that her husband was made king. 
 And when the realm of France was fallen 
 to him, he was crowned by the assent of the 
 twelve douze-peers ^ of France, and then 
 because they would not that the realm of 
 France should be long without an heir 
 male, they advised by their counsel that 
 the king should be remarried again ; and 
 so he was, to the daughter of the emperor 
 Henry of Luxembourg, sister to the gentle 
 king of Bohemia ; whereby the first 
 marriage of the king was fordone, between 
 him and his wife that was iii prison, by the 
 licence and declaration of the pope that 
 was then. And by his second wife, who 
 was right humble, and a noble wise lady, 
 the king had a son, who died in his young 
 age, and the queen also at Issoudun in 
 Berry. And they both died suspiciously, 
 wherefore divers persons were put to blame 
 after privily. And after this, the same 
 king Charles was married again the third 
 time to the daughter of his uncle, the lord 
 Louis earl of Evreux, and she was sister 
 to the king of Navarre, and was named 
 queen Joan. And so in time and space 
 this lady was with child, and in the mean- 
 time the king Charles her husband fell 
 sick and lay down on his death-bed. And 
 when he saw there was no way with him 
 but death, he devised that if it fortuned 
 the queen to be delivered of a son, then he 
 vpould that the lord Philip of Valois should 
 be his governour, and regent of all his 
 realm; till his son come to such age as he 
 might be crowned king ; and if it fortuned 
 the queen to have a daughter, then he 
 would that all the twelve peers of France 
 should take advice and counsel for the 
 further ordering of the realm, and that 
 1 Froissart says simply ' les douze pers.' 
 
 they should give the realm and regaly to 
 him that had most right thereto. And so 
 within a while after the king Charles died, 
 about Easter in the year of our Lord 
 Mcccxxviii., and within a short space 
 after the queen was delivered of a daughter. 
 
 Then all the peers of France assembled 
 a council together at Paris, as shortly as 
 they might conveniently, and there they 
 gave the realm by common accord to sir 
 Philip of Valois, and put clean out the 
 queen Isabel of England and king Edward 
 her son. P'or she was sister-german to 
 king Charles last dead, but the opinion of 
 the nobles of France was, and said and 
 maintained that the realm of France was 
 of so great nobless, that it ought not by 
 succession to fall into a woman's hand. 
 And so thus they crowned king of France 
 Philip Valois at Rheims on Trinity Sunday 
 next after. 
 
 And anon after he summoned all his 
 barons and men of war, and went with all 
 his power to the town of Cassel and laid 
 siege thereto, in making war against the 
 Flemings, who rebelled against their own 
 lord, and namely they of Bruges, of Ypres, 
 and of [the] Franc ; for they would not 
 obey the earl of Flanders, but they had 
 chased him out of his own country, so that 
 he might not abide in no part thereof, but 
 only in Gaunt, and scantly there. These 
 Flemings were a sixteen thousand, and had 
 a captain called Colin Dannequin,^ a hardy 
 man and a courageous. And they had 
 made their garrison at Cassel, at the wages 
 of divers towns in Flanders, to ,the intent 
 to keep the frontiers there about ; but ye 
 shall hear how the Flemings were discom- 
 fited, and all by their own outrage. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Of the battle of Cassel in Flanders. 
 
 And on a day they of the garrison of 
 Cassel departed out to the intent to have 
 discomfited the king and all his host. And 
 they came privily without any noise in 
 three battles well ordered, whereof the first 
 battle took the way to the king's tents, 
 and it was a fair grace that the king had 
 not been taken, for he was at supper, and 
 1 Nicholas (or Clais) Zannequin. 
 
30 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 all his company, and thought nothing of 
 them. And the other battle took the 
 straight way to the tents of the king of 
 Bohemia, and in manner they found him 
 in like case. And the third battle went to 
 the tents of the earl of Hainault, and in 
 like wise had near taken him. These hosts 
 came so peaceably to the tents, that with 
 much pain they of the host could arm them, 
 whereby all the lords and their people had 
 been slain, an the more grace of God had 
 not been : but in manner by miracle of 
 God these lords discomfited all three 
 battles, each battle by itself, all in one 
 hour, in such wise that of sixteen thousand 
 Flemings there escaped never a person,' 
 captains and all were slain. And the king 
 and lords of France knew not one of 
 another, nor what they had done, till all 
 was finished and achieved ; for they lay in 
 three sundry parties one from another : but 
 as for the Flemings, there was not one left 
 alive, but all lay dead on heaps, one upon 
 another in the said three sundry places. 
 And this was done on Saint Bartholomew's 
 day the year of our Lord MCCCKXVIII. 
 
 Then the Frenchmen entered into the 
 town of Cassel and set up the banners of 
 France. And the town yielded them' to 
 the king, and also the town [of] Poperinghe 
 and of Ypres, and all they of the chatelainy 
 of Bergues, and then they received the earl 
 Louis their lord, and sware to him faith 
 and loyalty for ever. Then after the king 
 and his people departed and went to Paris, 
 and he was much honoured and praised 
 for this enterprise and aid that he had done 
 to his cousin Louis earl of Flanders. 
 And thus the king was in great prosperity 
 and every day increased his royal estate ; 
 for, as it was said, there was never king in 
 France 'that held like estate as did this 
 king Philip of Valois. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 How the earl of Kent and the earl Mortimer 
 in England were put to death. 
 
 This young king Edward of England was 
 
 _ 1 Another text of Froissart says, ' Of all these 
 si.xteen thousand Flemings there escaped but one 
 thousand.' In any case the exao:^eration is very 
 great. The loss on the Flemish side was probably 
 less than four thousand. 
 
 governed a great space, as ye have heard 
 before, by the counsel of the queen his 
 mother and of Edmund of Woodstock 
 earl of Kent, his uncle, and by sir Roger 
 Mortimer earl of March. And at the last 
 envy began to grow between the earl of 
 Kent and the earl Mortimer, insomuch 
 that this earl Mortimer informed so the 
 young king by the consenting of the old 
 queen Isabel his mother, bearing the king 
 in hand, that the earl of Kent would have 
 empoisoned him, to the intent to be king 
 himself, as he that was next heir-apparent 
 to the crown; for the king's younger 
 brother, who was called John of Eltham,' 
 was newly dead. And then the king, who 
 gave light credence to them, caused his 
 uncle the earl of Kent to be taken and 
 openly to be beheaded, without any manner 
 of excuse to be heard ; wherewith many of 
 the nobles of the realm were sore troubled 
 and bare a grudge in their hearts toward 
 the earl Mortimer : and according to the 
 English chronicle ^ the earl suffered death 
 at Winchester, the tenth day of October, 
 the third year of the king's reign, and lieth 
 'ouried at the Friars in Winchester. But, 
 as mine author saith, within a while after, 
 as it was reported, queen Isabel the king's 
 mother was with child, and that by the 
 earl Mortimer, whereof the king was in- 
 formed, and how the said Mortimer had 
 caused him to put to death the earl of Kent 
 his uncle without good reason or cause, for 
 all the realm reputed him for a noble man. 
 Then by the king's commandment this earl ■ 
 Mortimer was taken and brought to Lon- 
 don ; and there before the great lords and 
 nobles of the realm was recited by open 
 declaration all the deeds of the said Mor- 
 timer. Then the king demanded of his 
 council what should be done with him; and 
 all the lords by common assent gave judg- 
 ment and said, ' Sir, he hath deserved to die 
 the same death that sir Hugh Spencer died.' 
 And after this judgment there was no dila- 
 tion of sufferance nor mercy, but incon- 
 tinent he was drawn throughout London 
 and then set on a scaffold and his members 
 cut from him and cast into a fire, and his 
 heart also, because he had imagined trea- 
 son, and then quartered, and his quarters 
 
 1 A correction for 'John a Gaunt.' 
 
 2 The references are to Fabyan, p. 441 and 
 thereabout. 
 
HOMAGE OF EDWARD III. 
 
 3" 
 
 sent to four of the best cities of the realm, 
 and his head remained still in London. 
 
 And within a little space after, the king 
 commanded, by the advice of his council, 
 that the queen his mother should be kept 
 close in a castle, and so it was done ; and she 
 had with her ladies and damosels, knights 
 and squires, to serve her according to her 
 estate, and certain ladies assigned to her to 
 maintain therewith her noble estate all 
 days of her life ; but in no wise she should 
 not depart out of the castle, without it 
 were to see such sports as was sometime 
 shewed before the castle gate for her re- 
 creation. Thus this lady led forth her life 
 there meekly, and once or twice a year the 
 king her son would come and see her. 
 The English chronicle sheweth divers other 
 considerations why the earl Mortimer 
 suffered death, the which was on Saint 
 Andrew's even in the year of our Lord a 
 thousand three hundred and twenty-nine, 
 the which I pass over and follow mine 
 author. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 Of the homage that king Edward of Eng- 
 land did to the king of France for the 
 duchy of Guyenne. 
 
 And after that the king had done these 
 two executions, he took new councillors of 
 the most noblest and sagest persons of his 
 'realm. And so it was, about a year after 
 that Philip of Valois was crowned king of 
 France, and that all the barons and nobles 
 of the realm had made their homage and 
 fealty to him, except the young king of 
 England, who had not done his homage 
 for the duchy of Guyenne, nor also he 
 was not summoned thereto, then the king 
 of France by the advice of all his council 
 sent over into England the lord d'Aubigny, 
 the lord Beausault, and two notable clerks, 
 masters of the parliament of Paris, named 
 master Simon of Orleans and master Peter 
 of Maisieres. These four departed from 
 Paris and did so much by their journeys 
 that they came to Wissant, and there they 
 took sea and arrived at Dover, and there 
 tarried a day to abide the unshipping of their 
 horses and baggages ; and then they rode 
 
 forth so long that they came to Windsor, 
 whereas the king and the young queen of 
 England lay : and then these four caused 
 to be known to the king the occasion of 
 their coming. The king of England for 
 the honour of the French king his cousin 
 caused them to come to his presence and 
 received them honourably ; and then they 
 published their message. And the king 
 answered them how that the nobles of his 
 realm nor his council was not as then about 
 him, but desired them to draw to London, 
 and there they should be answered in such 
 wise, that of reason they should be con- 
 tent. And so they dined in the king's 
 chamber, and after departed and lay the 
 same night at Colebrook, and the next day 
 at London. 
 
 It was not long after but that the king 
 came to his palace of Westminster, and all 
 his council was commanded to be there at 
 a certain day limited. And when they 
 were all assembled, then the French ambas- 
 sadors were sent for, and there they declared 
 the occasion of their coming and delivered 
 letters from their master. Then the king 
 went apart with his council to take advice 
 what was best for him to do. Then was it 
 advised by his council that they should be 
 answered by the ordinance and style of his 
 predecessors, by the bishop of London. 
 And so the Frenchmen were called into 
 the council-chamber. Then the bishop of 
 London said, ' Lords that be here assem- 
 bled for the king of France, the king's 
 grace my sovereign lord hath heard your 
 words and read the tenour of your letters. 
 Sirs, we say unto you that we will counsel 
 the king our sovereign lord here present, 
 that he go into France to see the king your 
 master, his dear cousin, who right amiably 
 hath sent for him : and as touching his 
 faith and homage, he shall do his devoir in 
 everything that he ought to do of right. 
 And, sirs, ye may shew the king your 
 master that within short space the king of 
 England our master shall arrive in France 
 and do all that reason shall require. ' 
 
 Then these messengers were feasted, and 
 theking rewarded them with manygreat gifts 
 and jewels ; and they took their leave and 
 did so much that at last they came to Paris, 
 where they found king Philip, to whom 
 they recounted all their news, whereof the 
 king was right joyous, and specially to see 
 
32 
 
 THE CBRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the king of England his cousin, for he had 
 never seen him before. 
 
 And wheji these tidings were spread 
 abroad in the realm of France, then dulces, 
 earls and other lords apparelled them in 
 their best manner ; and the king of France 
 wrote his letters to king Charles of 
 Bohemia his cousin and to the king of 
 Navarre, certifying them the day and time 
 when the king of England should be with 
 him, desiring them to be with him at the 
 same day : and so they came thither with 
 great array. Then was it counselled the 
 king of France that he should receive the 
 king of England at the city of Amiens. 
 And there to make provision for his coming 
 there was chambers, halls, hostelries and 
 lodgings made ready and apparelled to 
 receive them all and their company, and 
 also for the duke of Burgoyne, the duke 
 of Bourbon, the duke of Lorraine and sir 
 John of Artois. There was purveyance for 
 a thousand horse, and for six hundred 
 horse that should come with the king of 
 England. 
 
 The young king of England forgat not 
 the voyage that he had to do into France ; 
 and so he apparelled for him and his com- 
 pany well and sufficiently: and there de- 
 parted out of England in his company two 
 bishops, beside the bishop of London, and 
 four earls, the lord Henry earl of Derby, 
 his cousin-german, son to sir Thomas earl 
 of Lancaster with the wry neck, the earl 
 of Salisbury, the earl of Warwick and the 
 earl of Hereford, and six barons, the lord 
 Raynold Cobham, the lord Thomas Wake, 
 marshal of England, the lord Percy, the 
 lord Manne' and the lord Mowbray, and 
 more than forty other knights ; so that the 
 king and his company were about a thou- 
 sand horse: and the king was two days in 
 passing between Dover and Wissant. Then 
 the king and his company rode to Bou- 
 logne, and there tarried one day. This 
 was about the mid of August the year of 
 our Lord God a thousand three hundred and 
 twenty-nine. 
 
 And anon the tidings came to king 
 Philip of France how the king of England 
 was at Boulogne. Then the king of 
 France sent his constable with great plenty 
 of knights to the king of England, who 
 
 1 This name, which the translator writes 
 'Manny,' perhaps stands for ' Mohun.' 
 
 as then'was at Montreuil by the sea-side, 
 and there was great tokens of love and 
 good cheer made on both parties. Then 
 the king of England rode forth with all 
 his rout, and in his company the constable 
 of France ; and he rode so long that they 
 came to the city of Amiens, whereas king 
 Philip, and the king of Bohemia, the king 
 of Mallorca and the king of Navarre were 
 ready apparelled to receive the king of 
 England, with many other dukes, earls 
 and great barons; for there was all the 
 twelve peers of France ready to feast and 
 make cheer to the king of England, and 
 to be there peaceably to bear witness of 
 the king of England's homage. There 
 was the king of England nobly received, 
 and thus these kings and other princes 
 tarried at Amiens the space of fifteen 
 days. 
 
 And in the mean time there were many 
 words and ordinances devised; but as far as 
 I could know, king Edward of England 
 made his homage to the king of France all 
 only by word, and not putting his hands 
 between the king of France hands, nor 
 none other prince nor prelate limited for 
 him : nor the king of England would not 
 proceed any further in doing any more con- 
 cerning his homage, but rather he was de- 
 termined to return again into England. And 
 there was read openly the privileges of 
 ancient time granted, [in] the which was de- 
 clared in what manner the king should do 
 his homage, and how and in what wise he 
 should do service to the king of France. 
 Then the king of France said, 'Cousin, 
 we will not deceive you : this that ye have 
 done pleaseth us right well as for this pre- 
 sent time, till such time as ye be returned 
 again into your realm, and that ye have 
 seen under the seals of your predecessors 
 how and in what wise ye should do.' 
 
 ^ And so thus the king of England took 
 his leave and departed from the king of 
 France right amiably, and of all other 
 princes that was there, and returned again 
 into England, and laboured so long that he 
 came to Windsor, where his queen received 
 him right joyously, and demanded tidings 
 of king Philip her tincle and of her hneage 
 of France. The king shewed her all that 
 he knew, and of the great cheer and honour 
 that he had there, and said, in his mind 
 1 Montreuil-sur-Mer. 
 
HOMAGE OF EDWARD III., 1329 
 
 33 
 
 there was no realm could be compared to 
 the realm of France. 
 
 And then within a space after the king 
 of France sent into England of his special 
 council the bishop of Chartres and the 
 bishop of Beauvais, the lord Louis of 
 Clermont, the duke of Bourbon, the earl 
 of Harcourt and the earl of Tancarville, 
 with divers other knights and clerks, to the 
 council of England, the which was then 
 holden at London, for the performance of 
 the king of England's homage, as ye have 
 heard before. And also the king of Eng- 
 land and his council had well overseen the 
 manner and form, how his ancient prede- 
 cessors had done their homage for the 
 duchy of Acquitaine. There were many as 
 then in England that murmured and said 
 how the king their lord was nearer by true 
 succession of heritage to the crown of 
 France than Philip of Valois, who was as 
 then king of France. Howbeit, the king 
 and his council would not know it nor 
 speak thereof as at that time. Thus was 
 there great assembly, and much ado how 
 this homage should be performed. These 
 ambassadors tarried still in England all that 
 winter, till it was the month of May follow- 
 ing, or they had answer definitive. How- 
 beit, finally the king of England by the 
 advice of his council and on the sight of his 
 privileges, whereunto they gave great faith, 
 was determined to write letters in the 
 manner of patents sealed with his great 
 seal, knowledging therein the homage that 
 he ought to do to the king of France, the 
 tenor and report of the which letters patents 
 followeth : — 
 
 'Edward, by the grace of God king 
 of England, lord of Ireland, and duke of 
 Acquitaine, to them that these present letters 
 shall see or hear send greeting. We would 
 it be known that as we made homage at 
 Amiens to the right excellent prince, our 
 right dear cousin, Phihp king of France, 
 and there it was required by him that we 
 should knowledge the said homage, and to 
 make it to him expressly, promising to bear 
 him faith and troth, the which we did not 
 as then, because we were not informed of 
 the truth ; we made him homage by general 
 words, in saying how we entered into his 
 ■ homage in like manner as our predecessors, 
 dukes of Guyenne, in times past had entered 
 into the homage of the king of France for 
 D 
 
 that time being ; and sith that time we have 
 been well informed of the truth : therefore 
 we knowledge by these presents that such 
 homage as we have made in the city of 
 Amiens to the king of France in general 
 words was and ought to be understanded 
 this word, liege man ; and that to him we 
 owe to bear faith and troth as duke of 
 Acquitaine and peer of France, earl of 
 Ponthieu and of Montreuil.' And to the 
 intent in time coming that there should 
 never be discord, for this cause we promise 
 for us and our successors, dukes of Acqui- 
 taine, tliat this homage be made in this 
 manner following. The king of England, 
 duke of Acquitaine, holdeth his hands 
 between the hands of the king of France, 
 and he that shall address the words to the 
 king of England, duke of Acquitaine, shall 
 speak for the king of France in this 
 manner : Ye shall become liege man to the 
 king, my lord here present, as duke of 
 Guyenne and peer of France, and to him 
 promise to bear faith and troth : say "Yea." 
 And the king of England, duke of Guyenne, 
 and his successors, saith " Yea." And then 
 the king of France receiveth the king of 
 England, duke of Guyenne, to this said 
 homage as liege man, with faith and troth 
 spoken by mouth, ^ saving his right and all 
 other. And furthermore when the said 
 king entereth in homage to the king of 
 France for the earldom of Ponthieu and 
 
 1 The translator has made sad work here. It 
 should be : ' We make it known hereby that when 
 we did homage at Amiens to the excellent prince 
 our dear lord and cousin Philip king of France, 
 it was said and required of us on his part that we 
 should acknowledge the said homage to be liege 
 homage, and that in doing the said homage we 
 should promise expressly to bear faith and loyalty 
 to him ; the which thing we did not as then, because 
 we were not informed of the truth. And we did 
 homage then to the kmg of France in general 
 words, saying that we entered into his homage as 
 our predecessors, dukes of Guyenne, had formerly 
 entered into the homage of the kings of France 
 that then were. And after being well informed 01 
 the truth, we acknowledge by these presents that 
 the said homage . . . was, is and ought to be 
 understanded for liege homage, and that we owe to 
 bear faith and loyalty to him, as duke of Acquitaine 
 and peer of France, and earl of Ponthieu and 
 Montreuil. And we promise henceforth to bear 
 faith and loyalty to him.' It is surprising that lord 
 Bemers, familiar as he must have been with the 
 true names, should have allowed ' Ponthieu ' to be 
 printed as ' Poyters ' throughout this document. 
 
 2 'A la foi et a la bouce,' that is, ' homage de foi 
 et de bouche,' according to the usual forms. 
 
34 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 of Montreuil, he shall put his hands between 
 the hands of the king of France for the 
 said earldom. And he that shall speak for 
 the king of France shall address his words 
 to the king and earl and say thus : Ye 
 shall become liege man to the king of 
 France, my lord here present, as earl of 
 Ponthieu and Montreuil, and to him pro- 
 mise to bear faith and troth: say "Yea." 
 And the king, earl of Ponthieu, saith 
 " Yea." Then the king of France receiveth 
 the king and earl to this said homage, by 
 his faith and by his mouth, saving his right 
 and all other. And after this manner it 
 shall be done and renewed as often as 
 homage should be done. And of that we 
 shall deliver, and our successors, dukes of 
 Guyenne, after these said homages made, 
 letters patents sealed with our great seal, if 
 the king of France require it : anil beside 
 that we promise in good faith to hold and 
 to keep effectuously the peace and concord 
 made between the kings of France and 
 the kings of England, dukes of Guyenne,' 
 etc. 
 
 These letters the lords of France brought 
 to the king their lord, and the king caused 
 them to be kept in his chancery. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 How the lord sir Robert of Artois was chased 
 out of the realm of France, 
 
 The man in the world that most aided 
 king Philip to attain to the crown of 
 France was sir Robert earl of Artois, who 
 was one of the most sagest and greatest 
 lords in France, and of'high lineage ex- 
 traught, from the blood royal, and had to 
 his wife [the] sister - german to the said 
 king Philip, and always was his chief and 
 special companion and lover in all his 
 estates. And the space of three year all 
 that was done in the realm of France was 
 done by his advice, and without him no- 
 thing was done. And after it fortuned that 
 this king Philip took a marvellous great 
 displeasure and hatred against this noble- 
 man sir Robert of Artois, for a plea that 
 was moved before him whereof the earl of 
 Artois was cause. * For he would have won 
 
 1 This should be : ' Whereof the earldom of 
 Artois was cause, the which the said sir Robert 
 
 his intent by the virtue of a letter that he 
 laid forth the which was not true, as it was 
 said : wherefore the king was in such dis- 
 pleasure, that if he had talcen him in his 
 ire, surely it had cost him his life without 
 remedy. So this sir Robert was fain to 
 void the realm of France and went to 
 Namur, to the earl John his nephew. 
 Then the king took the earl's wife and her 
 two sons, who were his own nephews, John 
 and Charles, and did put them in prison, 
 and were kept straitly, and the king sware 
 that they should never come out of prison 
 as long as they lived : the king's mind 
 would not be turned by no manner of 
 means. 
 
 Then the king in his fury sent hastily to 
 the bishop Raoul^ of Liege, and desired 
 him at his instance that he would defy and 
 malce war against the earl of Namur, with- 
 out he would put out of his country sir 
 Robert earl of Artois. And this bishop, 
 who greatly loved the king of France and 
 but little loved his neighbours, did as the 
 king desired him. Then the earl of 
 Namur sore against his will caused the 
 earl of Artois to avoid his land. 
 
 Then this earl sir Robert went to the 
 duke of Brabant, his cousin, who . right 
 joyously received him and did him great 
 comfort : and as soon as the king of 
 France knew that, he sent word to the 
 duke that if he would sustain, maintain or 
 suffer the earl of Artois in his country, he 
 should have no greater enemy than he 
 would be to him, and that he would make 
 war against him and all his to the best of 
 his power with all the realm of France. 
 Then the duke sent the earl of Artois 
 privily to Argenteul, to the intent to see 
 what the king would do further in the case : 
 and anon the king knew it, for he had spies 
 in every corner. 
 
 The king had great despite that the duke 
 snould so deal with him; and witliin a 
 brief space after the king purchased so by 
 reason of his gold and silver, that the king 
 of Bohemia, who was cousin-german to the 
 duke of Brabant, and the bishop of Liege, 
 the archbishop of Cologne, the duke of 
 Gueldres, the marquis of Juliers, the earl 
 
 would have won by," etc. The translator mistook . 
 
 Ja comte for le comte,' as he has several times 
 done elsewhere. 
 
 1 .4oul (or Adolf) de la Marck. 
 
IVAR WITH THE SCOTS, 1332 
 
 35 
 
 of Bar, the lord of Loos, the lord Fau- 
 quemont and divers other lords were 
 allied together all against the duke of 
 Brabant, and defied him and entered with 
 a great host into his country by Hesbaing, 
 and so came to Hanut, and brent twice 
 over the country whereas it pleased them. 
 And the king of France sent with them the 
 earl of Eu his constable, with a great host 
 of men of arms. 
 
 Then the earl William of Hainault sent 
 his wife, sister to the king, and his brother 
 sir John of Hainault lord Beaumont into 
 France to treat for a peace and sufferance 
 of war between the king and the duke of 
 Brabant. And at last the king of France 
 with much work consented thereto, upon 
 condition that the duke should put himself 
 utterly to abide the ordinance of the king 
 of France and of his council in every matter 
 that the king and all such as had defied 
 him had against him ; and also within a 
 certain day limited to avoid out of his 
 country the earlof Artois : and to make short, 
 all this the duke did sore against his will. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 How king Edward of England took the town 
 of Berwick against the Scots. 
 
 Ye have heard herebefore recited of the 
 truce between England and Scotland for 
 the space of three year. And so the space 
 of one year they kept well the peace, so 
 that in three hundred year before there was 
 not so good peace kept. Howbeit king 
 Edward of England was informed that the 
 young king David of Scotland, who had 
 wedded his sister, was seized of the town of 
 Berwick, the which ought to appertain to 
 the realm of England : for king Edward 
 the first, his grandfather, had it in his 
 possession peaceably. Also the king was 
 informed that the realm of Scotland should 
 hold in chief of the crown of England, and 
 how the young king of Scots had not done 
 as then his homage. Wherefore the king 
 of England sent his ambassade to the king 
 of Scots, desiring him to leave his hands 
 off the town of Berwick, for it pertained to 
 his heritage ; for kings of England his 
 predecessors have been in possession there- 
 of : and also they summoned the king of 
 
 Scots to come to the king of England, to 
 do his homage for the realm of Scotland. 
 
 Then the king of Scots took counsel how 
 to answer this matter ; and finally the king 
 answered the English ambassadors and said, 
 ' Sirs, both I and all the nobles of my realm 
 marvel greatly of that ye have required us 
 to do : for we find not anciently that the 
 realm of Scotland should anything be 
 bound or be subject to the realm of England, 
 neither by homage or any other ways : nor 
 the king of noble memory our father would 
 never do homage to the kings of England, 
 for any war that was made unto him by any 
 of them : no more in like wise I am in will 
 to do. And also king Robert our father 
 conquered the town of Berwick by force of 
 arms against king Edward, father to the 
 king your master that now is ; and so my 
 father held it all the days of his life as his 
 good heritage : and so in like manner we 
 think to do to the best of our power. How- 
 beit, lords, we require you to be means to 
 the king your master, whose sister we have 
 married, that he will suffer us peaceably to 
 enjoy our franchises and rights, as his an- 
 cestors have done herebefore, and to let us 
 enjoy that our father hath won and kept it 
 peaceably all his life days : and desire the 
 king your master that he would not believe 
 any evil counsel given him to the contrary. 
 For if there were any other prince that 
 would do us wrong, he should aid, succour 
 and defend us for the love of his sister, 
 whom we have married.' Then these am- 
 bassadors answered and said, ' Sir, we have 
 well understanded your answer. We shall 
 shew it to the king our lord in hke manner 
 as ye have said. ' And so took their leave 
 and returned into England to the king, with 
 the which answer the king of England was 
 nothing content. Then he summoned a 
 parliament to be holden at Westminster, 
 whereas all the nobles and wise men of the 
 realm were assembled, to determine what 
 should be best to be done in this matter. 
 
 And in this meantime sir Robert earl of 
 Artois came into England, disguised like a 
 merchant, and the king received him right 
 joyously and retained him as one of his 
 council, and to him assigned the earldom 
 of Richmond. 
 
 And when the day of the parliament ap- 
 proached, and that all the nobles of the 
 land were assembled about London, then 
 
36 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FKOJSSART 
 
 the king caused to be shewed the message, 
 and how he had written to the king of 
 Scots, and of the answer of the same kin^ 
 Wherefore the king desired all the nobles of 
 his realm, that they would give him such 
 counsel as should appertain to the saving 
 of his honour and right. And when they 
 were all assembled in council, they thought 
 that the king might no longer bear by his 
 honour the injuries and wrongs that the 
 king of Scots did him daily : and so they 
 reported their advice to the king, exhorting 
 him to provide for his force and strength of 
 men of war, to attain thereby the town of 
 Berwick, and to enter into the realm of 
 Scotland in such wise, that he should con- 
 strain the king of the Scots to be joyful to 
 come and do his homage to him. And so 
 all the nobles and commons of the realm of 
 England said they would gladly and will- 
 ingly go with him in that journey. And of 
 their good wills the king thanked them 
 greatly, and desired them to be ready ap- 
 parelled at a day assigned, and to assemble 
 together at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. And 
 then every man went home and prepared 
 for that journey. 
 
 Then the king sent again other ambassa- 
 dors to the king of Scots his brother-in- 
 law, sufficiently to summon him ; and if he 
 would not be otherwise advised, then the 
 king gave them full authority to defy him. 
 And so the day of the assembly of the king's 
 host approached, at the which day the king 
 of England and all his host arrived at New- 
 castle-upon-Tyne, and there tarried three 
 days for the residue of his host that was 
 coming after. And on the fourth day he 
 departed with all his host toward Scotland, 
 and passed through the lands of the lord 
 Percy and of the lord Neville, who were 
 two great lords in Northumberland, and 
 marched on the Scots. And in like wise so 
 did the lord Ros and the lord Lucy and 
 the lord Mowbray. Then the king and all 
 his host drew toward the city of Berwick, 
 for the king of Scotland made no other 
 answer to these second messengers, but as 
 he did to the first ; wherefore he was openly 
 defied and summoned. 
 
 And so the king of England and his host 
 entered into Scotland ; for he was counselled 
 that he should not tarry at siege at Berwick, 
 but to ride forth and to burn the country, 
 as his grandfather did. And so he did ; in 
 
 which journey he wasted and destroyed all 
 the plain country of Scotland, and exiled 
 divers towns that were closed with dikes 
 and with pales, and took the strong castle 
 of Edinburgh and set therein a garrison ; 
 and so passed the second river in Scotland, 
 under Stirling, and ran over all the country 
 thereabout to Scone, and destroyed the good 
 town of Dunfermline ; but they did no evil 
 to the abbey, for the king of England com- 
 manded that no hurt should be done thereto : 
 and so the king conquered all the country 
 to Dundee and to Dumbarton, a strong castle 
 standing on the marches against the wild 
 Scots, whereas the king of Scots and the 
 queen his wife were withdrawn unto for 
 surety. For there were no Scots that would 
 appear afore the Englishmen ; for they were 
 all drawn into the forests of Gedworth, the 
 which were inhabitable, and specially for 
 them that knew not the country ; wherein 
 all the Scots were, and all their goods, and 
 so they set but a little by all the remnant. 
 And it was no marvel though they were thus 
 driven, for the king their lord was but fifteen 
 year of age, and the earl of Moray was but 
 young,' and the nephew of William Douglas 
 that was slain in Spain was also of the same 
 age ; so as at that time the realm of Scot- 
 land was dispurveyed of good captains. 
 
 And when the king of England had run 
 over all the plain country of Scotland and 
 tarried there the space of six months, and 
 saw that none would come against him, 
 then he garnished divers castles that he had 
 won, and thought by them to make war to 
 all the other. Then he withdrew fair and 
 easily toward Berwick, and in his returning 
 he won the castle of Dalkeith, pertaining to 
 the heritage of the earl Douglas. It was a 
 five leagues from Edinburgh, and therein 
 the king set good captains and then rode 
 small journeys till he came to Berwick, the 
 which is at the entry of Scotland. And 
 there the king laid round about his siege, 
 and said he would never depart thence till 
 he had won it, or else the king of Scots to 
 come and to raise his siege perforce. 
 
 And within the town there were good 
 men of war, set there by the king of Scots. 
 Before this city there were many assaults 
 and sore scrimmishes nigh every day ; for 
 they of the city would not yield them up 
 simply, for always they thought to be res- 
 ' ' Plus jeune,' says Froissart. 
 
CAPTURE OF BERWICK, 1333 
 
 37 
 
 cued : howbeit there was no succour ap- 
 peared. The Scots on mornings and niglits 
 made many skryes to trouble the host, but 
 little hurt they did ; for the English host 
 was so well kept that the Scots could not 
 enter but to their damage, and oftentimes 
 lost of their men. 
 
 And when they of Berwick saw that no 
 comfort nor aid came to them from any part, 
 and that their victuals began to fail, and 
 how they were enclosed both by water and 
 by land, then they began to fall in a treaty 
 with the king of England, and desired a 
 truce to endure a month : and if within the 
 month king David their lord, or some 
 other for him, come not by force to raise 
 the siege, then they to render up the city, 
 their lives and goods saved, and that the 
 soldiers within might safely go into their 
 country without any damage. 
 
 This treaty was not lightly granted ; for 
 the king of England would have had them 
 yielded simply, to have had his pleasure of 
 some of them, because they had held so 
 long against him : but finally he was con- 
 tent by the counsel of his lords. And also 
 sir Robert of Artois did put thereto his 
 pain, who had been all that journey with 
 the king, and had shewed him always how 
 he was next inheritor to the crown of France. 
 He would gladly that the king should have 
 made war into France, and aleft the wars 
 of Scotland. So his words and others in- 
 clined greatly the king to condescend to 
 the treaty of Berwick ; so this truce and 
 treaty was granted. Then they within the 
 city sent word to their king in what case 
 they stood ; but for all that they could find 
 no remedy to raise the siege ; so the city 
 was delivered up at the end of the month, 
 and also the castle ; and the marshals of the 
 host took possession for the king of Eng- 
 land, and the burgesses of the city came and 
 did their fealty and homage to the king, 
 and sware to hold of him. Then after the 
 kingenteredwith great solemnity and tarried 
 there twelve days, and made a captain there 
 called sir Edward Balliol : and when the 
 king departed, he left with the said knight 
 certain young knights and squires, to help 
 to keep the lands that he had conquered of 
 the Scots and the frontiers thereof. 
 
 Then the king and his people returned 
 to London, and every man into their own 
 countries ; and the king went to Windsor, 
 
 and sir Robert of Artois with him, who 
 never ceased day nor night in shewing the 
 king what right he had to the crown of 
 France : and the king hearkened gladly to 
 his words. 
 
 Thus in this season the king of England 
 won the most part of the realm of Scotland, 
 who had many expert knights about him : 
 among other was sir William Montague 
 and sir Walter of Manny ; they were hardy 
 knights and did many deeds of arms against 
 the Scots. And the better to have their 
 entry into Scotland, they fortified the 
 bastide of Roxburgh and made it a strong 
 castle, and sir William Montague did so 
 well in all his enterprises that the king' 
 made him earl of Salisbury and married 
 him nobly. And also the lord of Manny 
 was made of the king's privy council and 
 well advanced in the court. 
 
 True it was that some of the knights 
 of Scotland did ever the annoyance they 
 could to the Englishmen, and kept them 
 in the wild country among marishes and 
 great forests, so that no man could follow 
 them. Some season the Englishmen fol- 
 lowed them so near, that all day they 
 scrimmished together ; and in a scrimmish 
 this said lord William Montague lost one 
 of his eyen. In the said forest the old king 
 Robert of Scotland did keep himself, when 
 king Edward the first conquered nigh all 
 Scotland, for he was so often chased that 
 none durst lodge him in castle nor fortress 
 for fear of the said king. And ever when 
 the king was returned into England, then he 
 would gather together again his people, and 
 conquer towns, castles and fortresses, just 
 to Berwick, some by battle and some by 
 fair speech and love. And when the said 
 king Edward heard thereof, then would 
 he assemble his power and win the realm 
 of Scotland again. Thus the chance went 
 between these two foresaid kings. It was 
 shewed me how that this king Robert 
 won and lost his realm five times. So this 
 continued till the said king Edward died 
 at Berwick. And when he saw that he 
 should die, he called before him his eldest 
 son, who was king after him, and there 
 before all the barons he caused him to 
 swear that as soon as he were dead, that 
 he should take his body and boil it in a 
 cauldron, till the flesh departed clean from 
 the bones ; and then to bury the flesh and 
 
38 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 keep still the bones ; and that as often as the 
 Scots should rebel against him, he should 
 assemble his people against them, and 
 carry with him the bones of his father : for 
 he believed verily that if they had his bones 
 with them, that the Scots should never 
 attain any victory against them. The which 
 thing was not accomplished ; for when the 
 king was dead, his son carried him to 
 London, and there he was buried.^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 How king Philip of France and divers other 
 kings made a croisey to the Holy Land. 
 
 Now let us return to our first purpose. 
 When king Phihp returned from Paris, 
 after that the king of England had been 
 there," he went to visit his realm ; and in 
 his company the king of Bohemia and the 
 king of Navarre, with many dukes, earls 
 and lords, for he held great estate and 
 noble. So he rode through Burgoyne 
 till he came to Avignon, where he was 
 honourably received of pope Benedict and 
 of all the college, and did him as much 
 honour as they could : and he tarried a 
 long space there, and was lodged at Ville- 
 neuve without Avignon. In the same season 
 the king of Aragon came to the court of 
 Rome, and there was great cheer and feast 
 made at their meeting, and there they were 
 all the Lent season. And in that season 
 tidings came to the court of Rome, that the 
 enemies of God were greatly strong, and 
 had nigh conquered all the realm of Rasse, 
 and taken the king there, who was before 
 become Christian, and made him to die by 
 a great martyrdom ; and also these infidels 
 sore did menace Christendom. And on 
 the Good Friday the pope himself preached 
 of the passion of God before these kings, 
 exhorting them to take on them the cross 
 against the Saracens ; so that the French 
 king moved with pity took on him the 
 cross, and desired the pope to agree thereto. 
 The pope accorded and confirmed it with 
 his absolution de pena et culpa, clean con- 
 fessed and repentant.^ So thus the king 
 
 1 Froissart adds : * Wherefore mischief befel him 
 after, as ye have heard.' 
 
 2 The original does not imply that the king of 
 
 ^■"f^::^;^^, and con<ir.ed it, .ith X^k^^ "^1^!^^^^^^^ 
 
 took on him this voyage, and with him the 
 king Charles of Bohemia, the king of 
 Navarre, and king Peter of Aragon, with 
 many dukes, earls, barons, knights and 
 squires, and also the cardinal of Naples, 
 the cardinal of Perigord, the cardinal 
 Blanc, and the cardinal of Ostia. And 
 anon after, this croisey was preached and 
 published abroad in the world, the which 
 tidings was great pleasure to many lords, 
 and specially to such as were in mind to 
 dispend their season in deeds of arms. 
 
 When the French king and these said 
 lords had been a certain space with the 
 pope and had devised and confirmed their 
 enterprise, then they departed from the 
 court and took their leave ; and the king of 
 Aragon went into his country, and the 
 French king in his company, till they 
 came to JMontpellier, and there tarried a 
 certain space. And there king Philip of 
 France made a peace between the king of 
 Aragon and the king of Mallorca, and 
 then returned into France by small journeys 
 at great dispense, and visited his towns and 
 castles, and passed through Auvergne, 
 Berry, Beauce and Gatinois, and so came 
 to Paris, whereas he was received with 
 great feast and glory. At that time France 
 was rich, in great ' puissance and in good 
 rest and peace : there was no war spoken of. 
 This croisey thus taken by the French 
 king, whereof he was as chief, there were 
 divers lords in sundry countries by great 
 devotion took on them the same. The 
 French king made the greatest apparel for 
 his voyage that ever was seen, either in 
 Godfrey de Boulogne's days or any other, 
 and had prepared in certain ports, as at 
 JNIarseille, Aigues-Mortes, at Narbonne, 
 and about Montpellier such a number of 
 vessels, ships, carracks and galleys, suffi- 
 cient to pass over sixty thousand men of 
 arms with all their purveyances, well pro- 
 vided of biscuit, wine, fresh water, salt 
 flesh, and all other things necessary for 
 men of war, to endure three years, if need 
 were. 
 
 And the French king sent certain mes- 
 sengers to the king of Hungary, desiring 
 him to be ready and to open the passages 
 
 condition that he would absolve from pain and 
 fault those who should truly confess themselves and 
 
EDWARD'S DESIGNS ON FRANCE, 1337 
 
 39 
 
 of his country to receive the pilgrims of 
 God. The king of Hungary was glatl 
 thereof, and said how he was all ready. 
 In Hke wise the French king sent to the 
 king of Cyprus and also to the king of 
 Sicily and to the Venetians. In like 
 manner they answered that they were 
 ready to obey, and the Genoways and all 
 they on the river of Genes. ^ And also the 
 king sent the great prior of France to the 
 isle of Rhodes to prepare all things necessary 
 in those quarters, and they of the Rhodes 
 accorded with the Venetians to provide 
 things necessary in the isle of Crete, the 
 which was under their seignory. Briefly, 
 every country was ready prepared to receive 
 the pilgrims of God. There were more 
 than three hundred thousand persons that 
 took on them the cross to go in this noble 
 voyage over the sea. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 How king Edward was counselled to make 
 war against the French king. 
 
 In this season, when this croisey was in 
 great forwardness, for there was no speak- 
 ing but thereof, sir Rohiert of Artois was 
 as then in England, banished out of 
 France, and was ever about king Edward : 
 and always he counselled him to defy the 
 French king, who kept his heritages from 
 him wrongfully : of the which matter the 
 king oftentimes counselled with them of 
 his secret council, for gladly he would 
 have had his right, an if he wist how ; and 
 also he thought that if he should demand 
 his right and it refused, what he might do 
 then to amend it ; for if he should then sit 
 still and do not his devoir to recover his 
 right, he should be more blamed than 
 before. Yet he thought it were better to 
 speak not thereof, for he saw well that by 
 the puissance of his realm it would be hard 
 for him to subdue the great realm of 
 France, without help of some other great 
 lords either of the Empire or in other places 
 for his money. 
 
 The king oftentimes desired counsel of 
 his chief and special friends and councillors. 
 Finally, his councillors answered him and 
 
 1 That is, the Riviera of Genoa. 
 
 said, ' Sir, the matter is so weighty and of 
 so high an enterprise, that we dare not 
 speak therein, nor give you any counsel. 
 But, sir, this we would counsel you to do : 
 send sufficient messengers, well informed 
 of your intention, to the earl of Hainault, 
 whose daughter ye have married, and to 
 sir John of Hainault his brother, who hath 
 valiantly served you at all tiroes ; and desire 
 them by way of love that they would coun- 
 sel you in this matter : for they know better 
 what pertaineth to such « matter than we 
 do. And, sir, if they agree to your intent, 
 then will they counsel you what friends ye 
 may best make. ' The king was content 
 with this answer, and desired the bishop of 
 Lincoln to take on him this message, and 
 with him two bannerets and two doctors. 
 They made them ready and took shipping 
 and arrived at Dunkirk, and rode through 
 Flanders till they came to Valenciennes, 
 where they found the earl lying in his bed 
 sick of the gout, and with him sir John 
 his brother. They were greatly feasted, 
 and declared the cause of their coming, 
 and shewed all the reasons and doubts that 
 the king their master had made. Then 
 the earl said, ' As help me God, if the 
 king's mind might be brought to pass, I 
 would be right glad thereof : for I had 
 rather the wealth of him that hath married 
 my daughter than of him that never did 
 nothing for me, though I have married his 
 sister ; and also he did let the marriage of 
 the young duke of Brabant, who should 
 have married one of my daughters : where- 
 fore I shall not fail to aid my dear and well- 
 beloved son the king of England. I shall 
 give him counsel and aid to the best of my 
 power, and so shall do John my brother, 
 who hath served him or this. Howbeit he 
 must have more help than ours ; for Hai- 
 nault is but a small country as to the regard 
 of the realm of France, and England is far 
 off to aid us.' Then the bishop said, 'Sir, 
 we thank you in our master's behalf of the 
 comfort that ye give us : sir, we desire you 
 to give our master counsel, what friends he 
 were best to labour unto to aid him.' 
 ' Surely,' said the earl, 'I cannot devise a 
 more puissant prince to aid him than the 
 duke of Brabant, who is his cousin-german, 
 and also the bishop of Liege, the duke of 
 Gueldres, who hath his sister to his wife, 
 the archbishop of Cologne, the marquis 
 
40 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 of Juliers, sir Arnold de Baquehem and 
 the lord of Fauquemont. These lords be 
 they that may make most men of war in 
 short space of any that I know : they are 
 good men of war, they may well make ten 
 thousand men of war, so they have wages 
 thereafter : they are people that would 
 gladly win advantage. If it were so that 
 the king my son, your master, might get 
 these lords to be on his part, and so to 
 come into these parts, he might well go 
 over the water of Oise and seek out king 
 Philip to 6ght with him.' With this answer 
 these ambassadors returned into England to 
 the king and reported all that they had 
 done, whereof the king had great joy and 
 was well comforted. 
 
 These tidings came into France and 
 multiplied little and little, so that king 
 Philip's enterprise of the said croisey began 
 to assuage and wear cold, and he counter- 
 manded his officers to cease of making of 
 any further provision, till he knew more 
 what king Edward would do. Then king 
 Edward ordained ten bannerets and forty 
 other knights and sent them over the sea 
 to Valenciennes, and the bishop of Lincoln 
 with them, to the intent to treat with the 
 lords of the Empire, such as the earl of 
 Hainault had named. When they were 
 come to Valenciennes, each of them kept a 
 great estate and port, and spared nothing, 
 no more than if the king of England had 
 been there in proper person, whereby they 
 did get great renown and praise. They 
 had with them young bachelors, who had 
 each of them one of their eyen closed with 
 a piece of silk : it was said how they had 
 made u. vow among the ladies of their 
 country, that they would not see but with 
 one eye, till they had done some deeds of 
 arms in France : howbeit they would not 
 be known thereof. 
 
 And when they had been well feasted at 
 Valenciennes, then the bishop of Lincoln 
 and part of his company went to the duke 
 of Brabant, who feasted them greatly and 
 agreed and promised to sustain the king of 
 England and all his company in his country, 
 so that he might go and come armed and 
 unarmed, at his pleasure, and to give him 
 the best counsel he could. And also, if 
 the king of England would defy the French 
 king, that he would do the same, and enter 
 into the country of France with men of war, 
 
 so that their wages might be borne, to the 
 number of a thousand men of arms. 
 
 Thus then the lords returned again 
 to Valenciennes, and did so much by 
 messengers and by promise of gold and 
 silver, that the duke of Gueldres, who was 
 the king's brother-in-law, and the marquis 
 of Juliers, the archbishop of Cologne and 
 Waleran his brother, and the lord of 
 Fauquemont came to Valenciennes to speak 
 with these lords of England before the earl 
 of Hainault and the lord John his brother. 
 And by the means of a great sum of florins, 
 that each of them should have for them- 
 selves and for their men, they made promise 
 to defy the French king and to go with the 
 king of England when it pleased him, with 
 a certain men of war ; promising also to 
 get other lords to take their part for wages, 
 such as be beyond the river of Rhine and 
 be able to bring good numbers of men of 
 war. Then the lords of Almaine took 
 their leave and returned into their own 
 countries, and the Englishmen tarried still 
 with the earl of Hainault, and sent certain 
 messengers to the bishop of Liege and 
 would gladly have had him on their party ; 
 but he would never be against the French 
 king, for he was become his man and 
 entered into his fealty. King Charles of 
 Bohemia was not desired, for they knew 
 well he was so firmly joined with the 
 French king by reason of the marriage of 
 John duke of Normandy, who had to wife 
 the king's daughter, whereby they knew well 
 he would do nothing against the French 
 king. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 How that Jaques d'Arteveld governed all 
 Flanders. 
 
 In this season there was great discord 
 between the earl of Flanders and the 
 Flemings : for they would not obey him, 
 nor he durst not abide in Flanders but in 
 great peril. And in the town of Gaunt 
 there was a man, a maker of honey, ^ called 
 
 1 'Qui avoit est<£ brasseur de miel,' 'who had 
 been a brewer of mead.' It seems probable that 
 Jaques d'Arteveld, who belonged to the craft of 
 weavers and exercised like his father the dis- 
 tinguished trade of a cloth-merchant, in-scribed him- 
 self as 'brasseur' only in order to conciliate the 
 support of the 'petits metiers.' 
 
JAQUES D' ARTE VELD 
 
 41 
 
 Jaques d'Arteveld ; he was entered into 
 such fortune and grace of the people, that 
 all thing was done that he devised : he 
 might command what he would through all 
 Flanders, for there was none, though he 
 were never so great, that durst disobey his 
 commandment. He had always going with 
 him up and down in Gaunt sixty or four- 
 score varlets armed, and among them there 
 were three or four that knew the secretness 
 of his mind, so that if he met a person that 
 he hated or had him in suspicion, in- 
 continent he was slain : for he had com- 
 manded his secret varlets, that whensoever 
 he met any person and made such a sign to 
 them, that incontinent they should slay him, 
 whatsoever he were, without any words or 
 reasoning ; and by that means he made 
 many to be slain, whereby he was so doubted, 
 that none durst speak against anything 
 that he would have done, so that every man 
 was glad to make him good cheer. And 
 these varlets, when they had brought him 
 home to his house, then they should go to 
 dinner where they list, and after dinner 
 return again into the street before his 
 lodging, and there abide till he come out, 
 and to wait on him till supper-time. These 
 soldiers had each of them four groats 
 Flemish by the day, and were truly paid 
 weekly. Thus he had in every town 
 soldiers and servants at his wages, ready 
 to do his commandment and to espy if 
 there were any person that would rebel 
 against his mind, and to inform him thereof: 
 and as soon as he knew any such, he would 
 never cease till they were banished or slain 
 without respite. AH such great men, as 
 knights, squires or burgesses of good towns, 
 as he thought favourable to the earl in any 
 manner, he banished them out of Flanders, 
 and would levy the moiety of their lands to 
 his own use and the other half to their 
 wives and children. Such as were banished, 
 of whom there were a great number, abode 
 at Saint-Omer's.^ 
 
 To speak properly, there was never in 
 Flanders nor in none other country, prince, 
 duke nor other that ruled a country so 
 peaceably so long as this Jaques d'Arteveld 
 did rule Flanders. He levied the rents, 
 winages and rights that pertained to the 
 
 1 The original says ' abode at Saint-Omer for the 
 most part and were called les cwolles or les outre- 
 avolles.' 
 
 earl throughout all Flanders, and spended 
 all at his pleasure without any account 
 making. And when he would say that he 
 lacked money, they beheved him, and so 
 it behoved them to do, for none durst say 
 against him : when he would borrow any- 
 thing of any burgess, there was none durst 
 say him nay. 
 
 These English ambassadors kept an 
 honourable estate at the town of Valen- 
 ciennes : they thought it should be a great 
 comfort to the king their lord, if they might 
 get the Flemings to take their part. Then 
 they took counsel of the earl in that matter, 
 and he ansvi^ered that truly it should be one 
 of the greatest aids that they could have ; 
 but, he said, he thought their labour in that 
 behalf could not prevail without they get 
 first the good -will of Jaques d'Arteveld. 
 Then they said they would assay what they 
 could do ; and so thereupon they departed 
 from Valenciennes and went into Flanders, 
 and departed into three or four companies ; 
 some went to Bruges, some to Ypres, and 
 some to Gaunt : and they all kept such port 
 and made so large dispense, that it seemed 
 that silver and gold fell out of their hands ; 
 and made many great promises and offers 
 to them that they spake to for that matter. 
 And the bishop with a certain with him 
 went to Gaunt, and he did so much, what 
 with fair words and otherwise, that he gat 
 the accord of Jaques d'Arteveld and did 
 get great grace in the town, and specially 
 of an old knight that dwelt in Gaunt, who 
 was there right well beloved, called the 
 lord Courtrisien,^ a knight banneret, and 
 was reputed for a hardy knight and had 
 always served truly his lords. This knight 
 did much honour to the Englishmen, as a 
 valiant knight ought to do to all strangers. 
 Of this he was accused to the French king, 
 who incontinent sent a strait command- 
 ment to the earl of Flanders, that he 
 should send for this said knight, and as 
 soon as he had him, to strike off his head. 
 The earl, who durst not break the king's 
 commandment, did so much that this 
 knight came to him at his sending, as he 
 that thought none evil : and incontinent he 
 was taken, and his head stricken off ; where- 
 of many folks were sorry and were sore 
 displeased with the earl, for he was well 
 beloved with the lords of the country. 
 1 Sohier de Courtray. 
 
42 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 These English lords did so much that 
 Jaques d'Arteveld divers times had together 
 the counsels of the good towns ' to speak 
 of the besynes that these lords of England 
 desired, and of the franchises and amities 
 that they offered them in the king of 
 England's behalf. So often they spake of 
 this matter, that finally they agreed that the 
 king of England might come and go into 
 Flanders at his pleasure. Howbeit they 
 said they were so sore bound to the French 
 king, that they might not enter into the 
 realm of France to make any war, without 
 they should forfeit a great sum of florins : 
 and so they desired that they would be 
 content with this answer as at that time. 
 The English lords returned again to Valen- 
 ciennes with great joy. Oftentimes they 
 sent word to the king of England how they 
 sped, and ever he sent them gold and silver 
 to bear their charges and to give to the lords 
 of Almaine, who desired nothing else. 
 
 In this season the noble earl of Hainault 
 died, the sixth day of June the year of our 
 Lord Mcccxxxvn., and was buried at 
 the Friars in Valenciennes. The bishop of 
 Cambray sang the mass : there were many 
 dukes, earls and barons, for he was well 
 beloved and honoured of all people in his 
 life days. After his decease the lord 
 William his son entered into the counties of 
 Hainault, Holland and Zealand, who had 
 to wife the daughter of duke John of 
 Brabant, and had to name Jahane. She 
 was endowed with the land of Binche, the 
 which was a right fair heritage and a pro- 
 fitable ; and the lady Jahane her mother 
 went to Fontenelles on I'Escault, and there 
 used the residue of her life in great devotion 
 in the abbey there, and did many good 
 deeds. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 How certain nobles of Flanders kept the isle 
 of Cadsand against the Englishmen. 
 
 Of all these ordinances and comforts that 
 the king of England had got on that side 
 of the sea, king Philip of France was well 
 informed of all the matter, and would 
 gladly have had the Flemings on his part. 
 
 1 'Consulz des bonnes villes,' i.e. deputies repre- 
 senting them. It is the word used for the burgesses 
 in the English parliament, see chap. 14. 
 
 But Jaques d'Arteveld had so surmounted 
 all manner of people in Flanders, that none 
 durst say against his opinion ; nor the earl 
 himself durst not well abide in the country, 
 for he had sent the countess his wife and 
 Louis his son into France for doubt of the 
 Flemings. 
 
 In this season there were in the isle of 
 Cadsand certain knights and squires of 
 Flanders in garrison, as sir Ducre^ of 
 Halewyn, sir John de Rhodes and the sons 
 of Le Trief ; they kept that passage against 
 the Englishmen and made covert war, 
 whereof the Enghsh lords being in Hainault 
 were well informed, and how that if they went 
 that way homeward into England, they should 
 be met withal to their displeasure : where- 
 fore they were not well assured. Howbeit 
 they rode and went about the country at their 
 pleasure ; all was by the comfort of Jaques 
 d'Arteveld, for he supported and honoured 
 them as much as he might. And after 
 these lords went to Dordrecht in Holland, 
 and there they took shipping to eschew the 
 passage of Cadsand, whereas the garrison 
 was laid for them by the commandment of 
 the French king. So these English lords 
 came again into England, as privily as they 
 could, and come to the king, who was right 
 joyous of their coming ; and when he 
 heard of the garrison of Cadsand, he said 
 he would provide for them shortly ; and 
 anon after he ordained the earl of Derby, 
 sir Walter Manny and divers other knights 
 and squires, with five hundred men of arms 
 and two thousand archers, and they took 
 shipping at London in the river of Thames. 
 The first tide they went to Gravesend, the 
 next day to Margate, and at the third tide 
 they took the sea and sailed into Flanders. 
 So they apparelled themselves and came 
 near to Cadsand. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 Of the battle of Cadsand between the 
 Englishmen and the Frenchmen. 
 
 When the Englishmen saw the town of 
 Cadsand before them, they made them 
 ready and had wind and tide to serve them. 
 And so in the name of God and Saint 
 1 'Ducre' seems to he a title. The person in 
 question is called by Froissart ' Messires Tchans 
 dlt Ducres de Halluin.' 
 
BATTLE OF CADS AND, 1337 
 
 43 
 
 George they approached, and blew up their 
 trumpets and set their archers before them 
 and sailed toward the town. They of 
 Cadsand saw well this greatship^ approach : 
 they knew well that they were Englishmen, 
 and arranged them on the dikes and on the 
 sands with their banners before them, and 
 they made sixteen new knights. They 
 were a five thousand men of war, good 
 knights and squires : there was sir Guy of 
 Flanders, a good and a sure knight, but he 
 was a bastard, and he desired all his com- 
 pany to do well their devoir ; and also 
 there was sir Ducre de Halewyn, sir John 
 de Rhodes, sir Giles Le Trief, sir Simon 
 and sir John of Brugdam, who were 
 there made knights, and Peter of Ingel- 
 munster, with many other knights and 
 squires, expert men of arms. 
 
 The Englishmen were desirous to assail 
 and the Flemings to defend. The English 
 archers began to shout and cried their 
 cries, so that such as kept the passage were 
 fain perforce to recule back. At this first 
 assault there were divers sore hurt, and the 
 Englishmen took land and came and 
 fought hand to hand. The Flemings fought 
 valiantly to defend the passage, and the 
 Englishmen assaulted chivalrously. The 
 earl of Derby was that day a good knight, 
 and at the first assault he was so forward 
 that he was stricken to the earth ; and then 
 the lord of Manny did him great comfort, 
 for by pure feat of arms he relieved him up 
 again and brought him out of peril, and 
 cried, ' Lancaster for the earl of Derby ! ' 
 Then they approached on every part ; and 
 many were hurt, but more of the Flemings 
 than of the Englishmen, for the archers shot 
 so wholly together,- that they did to the 
 Flemings much damage. 
 
 Thus in the haven of Cadsand there was 
 a sore battle : for the Flemings were good 
 men of war, chosen out by the earl of 
 Flanders to defend that passage against the 
 
 A 'Ceste grosse navire.' Froissart uses 'navire' 
 in its older meaning, i.e. ' fleet.' 
 
 2 * Qui continuelment traioient,' 'who shot with- 
 out ceasing.' It was the rapidity of the shooting 
 that made the long-bow so fatal a weapon, as com- 
 pared for example with the cross-bow. The author 
 in his last revision says : ' The cross-bowmen shot as 
 best they might, but the English set nothing by it, 
 for archers are much more rapid in shooting than 
 cross-bowmen.' Villani, speaking of the English 
 archers, says that they shot three arrows for one 
 of the cross-bows. 
 
 Englishmen ; and of England there was the 
 earl of Derby, son to the earl Henry of 
 Lancaster with the wry neck, the earl of 
 Suffolk, sir Raynold Cobham, sir Louis 
 Beauchamp, sir William Fitz-Warin, the 
 lord Berkeley, sir Walter Manny and 
 divers other. There was a sore battle and 
 well foughten hand to hand : but finally the 
 Flemings were put to the chase, and were 
 slain more than three thousand, what in the 
 haven, streets and houses. Sir Guy the 
 bastard of Flanders was taken ; and sir 
 Ducre de Halewyn and sir John de 
 Rhodes were slain, and the two brethren of 
 Brugdam, and sir Giles de Le Trief and 
 more than twenty-six knights and squires ; 
 and the town taken and pilled, and all the 
 goods and prisoners put into the ships, and 
 the town brent. And so thus the English- 
 men returned into England without any 
 damage. The king caused sir Guy bastard 
 of Flanders to swear and to bind himself 
 prisoner, and in the same year he became 
 English, and did faith and homage to the 
 king of England. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 How king Edward of England made great 
 alliances in the Empire. 
 
 After this discomfiture at Cadsand tidings 
 thereof spread abroad in the country, and 
 they of Flanders said that without reason 
 and against their wills the earl of Flanders 
 had laid there that garrison ; and Jaques 
 d'Arteveld would not it had been otherwise : 
 and incontinent he sent messengers to 
 king Edward, recommending him to his 
 grace with all his heart, counselling him to 
 come thither and to pass the sea, certifying 
 him how the Flemings greatly desired to 
 see him. 
 
 Thus the king of England made great 
 purveyances : and when the winter was 
 past, he took the sea, well accompanied 
 with dukes,' earls and barons, and divers 
 other knights, and arrived at the town of 
 Antwerp, as then pertaining to the duke 
 of Brabant. Thither came people from all 
 parts to see him and the great estate that 
 he kept. Then he sent to his cousin the 
 duke of Brabant, and to the duke of 
 1 The original has no 'dukes.' 
 
44 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSAKT 
 
 Gueldres, to the marquis of Juliers, to the 
 lord John of Hainault, and to all such as 
 he trusted to have any comfort of, saying 
 how he would gladly speak with them. 
 They came all to Antwerp between Whit- 
 suntide and the feast of Saint John. And 
 when the king had well feasted them, he 
 desired to know their minds, when they 
 would begin that they had promised, re- 
 quiring them to despatch the matter briefly. 
 For that intent, he said, he was come 
 thither and had all his men ready, and how 
 it should be a great damage to him to defer 
 the matter long. These lords had long 
 counsel among them, and finally they said, 
 * Sir, our coming hither as now was more 
 to see you than for anything else. We be 
 not as now purveyed to give you a full 
 answer ; by your licence we shall return to 
 our people and come again to you at your 
 pleasure, and then give you so plain an 
 answer that the matter shall not rest in us.' 
 
 Then they took day to come again a 
 three weeks after the feast of Saint John. 
 The king shewed them what charges he was 
 at with so long abiding, thinking when 
 he came thither that they had been full 
 purveyed to have made him a plain answer, 
 saying how that he would not return into 
 England till he had a full answer. So 
 thus these lords departed, and the king 
 tarried in the abbey of Saint Bernard ; and 
 some of the English lords tarried still at 
 Antwerp to keep the king company, and 
 some of the other rode about the country in 
 great dispense. The duke of Brabant 
 went to Lxjuvain, and there tarried a long 
 time, and oftentimes he sent to the French 
 king, desiring him to have no suspicions to 
 him, and not to believe any evil information 
 made of him ; for by his will, he said, he 
 would make none alliance nor covenant 
 against him ; saying also that the king of Eng- 
 land was his cousin-german, wherefore he 
 might not deny him to come into his country. 
 
 The day came that the king of England 
 looked to have an answer of these lords ; 
 and they excused them, and said how they 
 were ready and their men, so that the duke 
 of Brabant would be ready for his part, 
 saying that he was nearer than they, and 
 that as soon as they might know that he 
 were ready, they would not be behind, but 
 at the beginning of the matter as soon as 
 he. Then the king did so much that he 
 
 spake again with the duke, and shewed him 
 the answer of the other lords, desiring him 
 by amity and lineage that no fault were 
 found in him, saying how he perceived well 
 that he was but cold in the matter, and 
 that without he were quicker and did other- 
 wise, he doubted he should lose thereby the 
 aid of all the other lords of Almaine through 
 his default. Then the duke said he would 
 take counsel in the matter ; and when he 
 had long debated the matter, he said how he 
 should be as ready as any other, but first 
 he said he would speak again with the 
 other lords : and he did send for them, 
 desiring them to come to him whereas they 
 pleased best. Then the day was appointed 
 about the mid of August, and this coun- 
 cil to be at Hal, because of the young earl 
 of Hainault, who should also be there, and 
 with him sir John of Hainault his uncle. 
 
 When these lords were all come to this 
 parliament at Hal, they had long counsel 
 together. Finally they said to the king of 
 England : ' .Sir, we see no cause why we 
 should make defiance to the French king, 
 all things considered, without ye can get 
 the agreement of the emperor, and that he 
 would command us to do so in his name. 
 The emperor may well thus do, for of long 
 time past there was a covenant sworn and 
 sealed, that no king of France ought to 
 take anything pertaining to the Empire ; 
 and this king Philip hath taken the castle 
 of Crevecceur in Cambresis and the castle 
 of Arleux in Palluel, and the city of 
 Cambray ; ^ wherefore the emperor hath 
 good cause to defy him by us. Therefore, 
 sir, if ye can get his accord, our honour 
 shall be the more.' And the king said he 
 would follow their counsel. 
 
 Then it was ordained that the marquis 
 of Juliers should go to the emperor, and 
 certain knights and clerks of the king's, 
 and some of the council of the duke of 
 Gueldres ; but the duke of Brabant would 
 send none from him, but he lent the castle 
 of Louvain to the king of England to lie 
 in. And the marquis and his company 
 found the emperor at Nuremburg and 
 shewed him the cause of their coming. 
 And the lady Margaret of Hainault did all 
 her pain to further forth the matter, whom 
 J A better reading is, ' and divers other heritages 
 in the said county of Cambresis,' without any 
 mention of the city of Cambray. 
 
EDWARD III. VICAR OF THE EM EI RE, 1338 
 
 4i 
 
 sir Louis of Bavaria, then emperor, had 
 wedded. And there the marquis of Juliers 
 was made an earl,' and the duke of 
 Gueldres, who before was an earl, was 
 then made a duke. And the emperor gave 
 commission to four knights and to two 
 doctors of his council to make king Edward 
 of England his vicar-general throughout all 
 the Empire, and thereof these said lords 
 had instruments public, confirmed andsealed 
 sufficiently by the emperor. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 How king David of Scotland made alliance 
 with king Philip of France. 
 
 In this season the young king David of 
 Scotland, who had lost the best part of his 
 land and could not recover it out of the 
 hold of the Englishmen, departed privily 
 with a small company and the queen his 
 wife with him, and took shipping and 
 arrived at Boulogne, and so rode to Paris 
 to king Philip, who greatly did feast him, 
 and offered him of his castles to abide in 
 and of his goods to dispend, on the 
 condition that he should make no peace 
 with the king of England without his 
 counsel and agreement ; for king Philip 
 knew well how. the king of England 
 apparelled greatly to make him war. So 
 thus the king there retained king David 
 and the queen a long season, and they had 
 all that they needed at his cost and charge ; 
 for out of Scotland came but little substance 
 to maintain withal their estates. And the 
 French king sent certain messengers into 
 Scotland to the lords there, such as kept 
 war against the Englishmen, offering them 
 great aid and comfort, so that they would 
 take no peace nor truce with the king of 
 England, without it were by his agreement 
 or by the accord of their own king, who 
 had in like wise promised and sworn. 
 
 Then the lords of Scotland counselled 
 together, and joyously they accorded to his 
 request, and so sealed and sware with the 
 king their lord. Thus this alliance was 
 made between Scotland and France, the 
 
 1 The translator follows an inferior reading. 
 It should be : ' And then the marquis of Juliers 
 was made marquis of Juliers, who before was earl 
 of Juliers.' 
 
 which endured a long season after : and 
 the French king sent men of war into 
 Scotland, to keep war against the English- 
 men, as .sir Arnold d'Audrehem, who was 
 after marshal of France, and the Lord of 
 Garencieres, and divers other knights and 
 squires. The French king thought that 
 the Scots should give so much ado to the 
 realm of England, that the Englishmen 
 should not come over the sea to annoy him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 How king Edward of England was made 
 vicar-general of the Empire of Almaine. 
 
 When the king of England and the other 
 lords to him allied were departed from the 
 parliament of Hal, the king went to 
 Louvain and made ready the castle for his 
 abiding, and sent for the queen to come 
 thither, if it pleased her ; for he sent her 
 word he would not come thence of an whole 
 year, and sent home certain of his knights 
 to keep his land from the Scots. And the 
 other lords and knights that were there still 
 with the king rode about the realm of 
 Flanders and ITainault, making great dis- 
 pense, giving great rewards and jewels to 
 the lords, ladies' and damosels of the 
 country, to get their good-wills. They 
 did so much that they were greatly praised, 
 and specially of the common people, because 
 of the port and state that they kept. 
 
 And then about the feast of AH Saints 
 the marquis of Juliers and his company 
 sent word to the king how they had sped ; 
 and the king sent to him that he should be 
 with him about the feastof SaintMartin; and 
 also he sent to the duke of Brabant, to know 
 his mind where he would the parliament 
 should be holden; and he answered at Herck 
 in the county of Loos, near to his country. 
 And then the king sent to all other of his 
 allies that they should be there. And so 
 the hall of the town was apparelled and 
 hanged as though it had been the king's 
 chamber ; and there the king sate crowned 
 with gold, five foot higher than any other, 
 and there openly was read the letters of the 
 emperor, by the which the king was made 
 vicar-general and lieutenant for the emperor, 
 and had power given him to make laws and 
 to minister justice to every person in the 
 
46 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 emperor's name, and to make money of 
 p;old and silver. The emperor also there 
 commanded by his letters that all persons 
 of his Empire and all other his subjects 
 should obey to the king of England his 
 vicar, as to himself, and to do him homage. 
 And incontinent there was claim and answer 
 made between parties, as before the emperor, 
 and right and judgment given. Also there 
 was renewed a judgment, and a statute 
 affirmed, that had been made before in the 
 emperor's court ; and that was this, that 
 whosoever would any hurt to other should 
 make his defiance three days before his 
 deed, and he that did otherwise should be 
 reputed as an evil-doer and for a villain's 
 deed. And when all this was done, the 
 lords departed and took day that they should 
 all appear before Cambray three weeks after 
 the feast of Saint John ; the which town 
 was become French. 
 
 Thus they all departed and every man 
 went to his own. And king Edward, as 
 vicar of the Empire, went then to Louvain 
 to the queen, who was newly come thither 
 out of England with great nobleness and 
 well accompanied with ladies and damosels 
 of England. So there the king and the 
 queen kept their house right honourably all 
 that winter, and caused money, gold and 
 silver, to be made at Antwerp, great plenty. 
 Yet for all this the duke of Brabant left 
 not, but with great diligence sent often 
 messengers to king Philip, as the lord 
 Leon of Crainhem, his chief counsellor, 
 with divers other, ever to excuse him ; for 
 the which cause this knight was oftentimes 
 sent, and at the last abode still in the French 
 court with the king, to the intent always to 
 excuse him against all informations that 
 might be made of him : the which knight 
 did all his devoir in that behalf. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 How king Edward and all his allies did defy 
 the French king. 
 
 Thus the winter passed and summer came, 
 and the feast of Saint John Baptist ap- 
 proached ; and the lords of England and 
 of Almaine apparelled themselves to ac- 
 complish their enterprise : and the French 
 king wrought as much as he could to the 
 
 contrary, for he knew much of their intents. 
 King Edward made all his provision in 
 England, and all his men of war, to be 
 ready to pass the sea incontinent after the 
 feast of Saint John ; and so they did. Then 
 the king went to Vilvorde, and there made 
 his company to be lodged, as many as 
 might in the town and the other without 
 along on the river side in tents and pavilions: 
 and there he tarried from Maudlin-tide till 
 our Lady day in September,^ abiding weekly 
 for the lords of the Empire, and specially 
 for the duke of Brabant, on whose coming 
 all the other abode. And when the king 
 of England saw how they came not, he 
 sent great messengers to each of them, 
 summoning them to come as they had 
 promised, and to meet with him at IVIechHn 
 on Saint Giles' day, and then to show him 
 why they had tarried so long. 
 
 Thus king Edward lay at Vilvorde and 
 kept daily at his cost and charge well to 
 the number of sixteen hundred men of 
 arms, all come from the other side of the 
 sea, and ten thousand archers, beside all 
 other provisions ; the which was a marvel- 
 lous great charge, beside the great rewards 
 that he had given to the lords, and beside 
 the great armies that he had on the sea. 
 The French king on his part had set 
 Genoways, Normans, Bretons, Picards and 
 Spaniards to be ready on the sea to enter 
 into England as soon as the war were opened. 
 
 These lords of Almaine at the king of 
 England's summons came to Mechlin and 
 with much business. Finally they accorded 
 that the king of England might well set 
 forward within fifteen days after ; and to 
 the intent that their war should be the 
 more laudable, they agreed to send their 
 defiances to the French king — first the 
 king of England, the duke of Gueldres, 
 the marquis of Juliers, sir Robert d'Artois, 
 sir John of Ilainault, the marquis of 
 Meissen, the marquis of Brandebourg, the 
 lord of Fauquemont, sir Arnold of 
 Baquehera, the archbishop of Cologne, sir 
 Waleran his brother, and all other lords 
 of the Empire. These defiances were 
 written and sealed by all the lords except 
 the duke of Brabant, who said he would do 
 his deed by himself at time convenient. To 
 bear these defiances into France was charged 
 the bishop of Lincoln, who bare them to 
 1 i.e. from 22nd July to 8th September. 
 
irAff WITH FRANCE 
 
 47 
 
 Paris and did his message in such manner 
 that he could not be reproached nor 
 blamed : and so he had a safe-conduct to 
 return again to his king, who was as then 
 at Mechlin. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 How sir Walter of Manny after the defiances 
 declared made the first journey into 
 France. 
 
 In the first week that the French king was 
 thus defied, sir Walter Manny, as soon as 
 he knew it, he gat to him a forty spears 
 and rode through Brabant night and day, 
 till he came into Hainault and entered into 
 the wood of Blaton, as then not knowing 
 what he should do. But he had shewed 
 to some of them that were most priviest 
 about him, how he had promised before 
 ladies and damosels or he came out of 
 England, that he would be the first that 
 should enter into France, and to get either 
 town or castle, and to do some deeds of 
 arms. And then his intent was to ride to 
 Mortagne and to get it if he might, the 
 which pertained then to the realm of 
 France : and so rode and passed the wood 
 of Blaton, and came in it morning before 
 the sun-rising to Mortagne, and by adven- 
 ture he found the wicket of the gate open. 
 Then he alighted with his company and 
 entered in, and did set certain of his com- 
 pany to keep the gate, and so went into 
 the high street with his pennon before him 
 and came to the great tower, but the gate 
 and wicket was fast closed. And when the 
 watch of the castle heard the brunt and saw 
 them, he blew his horn and cried, 'Treason ! 
 treason ! ' Then every man awoke and 
 made them ready, and kept themselves still 
 within the castle. Then sir Walter of 
 Manny went back again and did set fire in 
 the street joining to the castle, so that there 
 were a threescore houses brent and the 
 people sore afraid, for they weened all to 
 have been taken. Then sir Walter and 
 his company rode back straight to Conde 
 and there passed the river of Hayne. Then 
 they rode the way to Valenciennes and 
 coasted on the right hand and came to 
 Denain, and so went to the abbey, and so 
 passed forth toward Bouchain, and did so 
 
 much that the captain did let them pass 
 through by the river. 
 
 Then they came to a strong castle per- 
 taining to the bishop of Cambray, called 
 the castle of Tliun, the which suddenly 
 they took, and the captain and his wife 
 within. And the lord Manny made a 
 good garrison and set therein a brother of 
 his called sir Giles Manny, who afterward 
 did much trouble to the city of Cambray, 
 for the castle was within a league of the 
 town. Then sir Waller Manny returned 
 into Brabant to the king his sovereign 
 lord, whom he found at Mechlin, and there 
 shewed him all that he had done. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 How that after the said defiances made the 
 Frenchmen entered into England. 
 
 As soon as king Philip knew that he was 
 defied of the king of England and of his 
 allies, he retained men of war on every side, 
 and sent the lord Galois de la Baume, a 
 good knight of Savoy, into the city of 
 Cambray, and made him captain there, and 
 with him sir Thibalt de Moreuil and the 
 lord of Roye, so that they were, what of 
 Savoy and of France, a two hundred spears. 
 And king Philip sent and seized into his 
 hands the county of Ponthieu, the which 
 the king of England had before by reason 
 of his mother : and also he sent to divers 
 lords of the Empire, as to the earl of Hai- 
 nault his nephew, to the duke of Lorraine, 
 the earl of Bar, the bishop of Metz, the 
 bishop of Liege, desiring them that they 
 would make no evil purchase against him 
 or his realm. The most part of these lords 
 answered how they would do nothing that 
 should be against him ; and the earl of 
 Hainault wrote unto him right courteously 
 how that he would be ready always to aid 
 him and his realm against all men, but 
 seeing the king of England maketh his war 
 as vicar and lieutenant of the Empire, where- 
 fore, he said, he might not refuse to him 
 his country nor his comfort, because he 
 held part of his country of the emperor. 
 
 And as soon as sir Hugh Quieret, sir 
 Peter Behuchet ^ and Barbevaire, who lay 
 
 ^ The true name is Nicholas Behuchet : Froissart 
 has probably confused him with his brother. 
 
48 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and kept the straits between England and 
 France with a great navy, knew that the 
 war was open, they came on a Sunday in 
 the forenoon to the haven of Hampton, 
 while the people were at mass : and the 
 Normans, Picards and Spaniards entered 
 into the town and robbed and pilled the 
 town, and slew divers, and defoiled maidens 
 and enforced wives, and charged their 
 vessels with the pillage, and so entered 
 again into their ships. And when the tide 
 came, they disanchored and sailed to Nor- 
 mandy and came to Dieppe ; and there de- 
 parted and divided their booty and pillages. 
 
 CHAPTER X.VXVni 
 
 How king Edward besieged the city of 
 Cambray. 
 
 The king of England departed from 
 Mechlin and went to Brussels, and all his 
 people passed on by the town. Then 
 came to the king a twenty thousand 
 Almains, and the king sent and demanded 
 of the duke of Brabant what was his 
 intention, to go to Cambray or else to leave 
 it. The duke answered and said that as 
 soon as he knew that he had besieged 
 Cambray, he would come thither with 
 twelve hundred spears, of good men of war. 
 Then the king went to Nivelle and there 
 lay one night, and the next day to Mons in 
 Hainault ; and there he found the young 
 earl of Hainault, who received him joy- 
 ously. And ever sir Robert of Artois was 
 about the king, as one of his privy council, 
 and a sixteen or twenty other great lords 
 and knights of England, the which were 
 ever about the king for his honour and 
 estate, and to counsel him in all his deeds. 
 Also with him was the bishop of Lincoln, 
 who was greatly renowned in this journey 
 both in wisdom and in prowess. Thus the 
 Englishmen passed forth and lodged abroad 
 in the country, and found provision enough 
 before them for their money ; howbeit some 
 paid truly and some not. 
 
 And when the king had tarried two days 
 at Mons in Hainault, then he went to 
 Valenciennes ; and he and twelve with him 
 entered into the town, and no more persons. 
 And thither was come the earl of Hai- 
 nault and sir John his uncle, and the lord 
 
 of Fagnolle, the lord of Werchin, the lord 
 of Havreth and divers other, who were 
 about the earl their lord. And the king 
 and the earl went hand in hand to the great 
 hall, which was ready apparelled to receive 
 them ; and as they went, up the stairs 
 of the hall, the bishop of Lincoln, who 
 was there present, spake out aloud and 
 said : ' William bishop of Cambray, I 
 admonish you as procurer to the king of 
 England, vicar of the Empire of Rome, that 
 ye open the gates of the city of Cambray ; 
 and if ye do not, ye shall forfeit your lands 
 and we will enter by force.' There was 
 none that answered to that matter, for the 
 bishop was not there present. Then the 
 bishop of Lincoln said again : ' Earl of 
 Hainault, we admonish you in the name of 
 the emperor, that ye come and serve the 
 king of England his vicar before the city 
 of Cambray with such number as ye ought 
 todo. ' The earl, who was there present, 
 said, 'With a right good will I am ready.' 
 ■So thus they entered into the hall, and the 
 earl led the king into his chamber, and 
 anon the supper was ready. 
 
 And the next day the king departed and 
 went to Haspres, and there tarried two 
 days and suflered all his men to pass forth ; 
 and so then went to Cambray and lodged 
 at Iwuy, and besieged the city of Cambray 
 round about, and daily his power increased. 
 Thither came the young earl of Hainault 
 in great array, and sir John his uncle, and 
 they lodged near to the king, and the duke 
 of Gueldres and his company, the marquis 
 of Meissen, the earl of Mons, the earl of 
 Salm, the lord of Fauquemont, sir Arnold 
 of Bakehem, with all the other lords of the 
 Empire, such as were allied with the king 
 of England. 
 
 And the sixth day after the siege laid 
 thither came the duke of Brabant with a 
 nine hundred spears, beside other, and he 
 lodged toward Ostrevant on the river of 
 I'EscauIt, and made a bridge over the water 
 to the intent to go from the one host to the 
 other. And as soon as he was come, he 
 sent to defy the French king, who was at 
 Compiegne, whereof Leon 'of Crainhem, 
 who had always before excused the duke, 
 was so confused, that he would no more 
 return again into Brabant, but died for 
 sorrow in France. 
 
 This siege during there were many 
 
SIEGE OF CAMBRAY, 1339 
 
 49 
 
 skirmishes ; and sir John of Hainault and 
 the lord of Fauquemont rode ever Hghtly 
 together, and brent and wasted sore the 
 country of Cambresis. And on a day these 
 lords, with the number of five hundred 
 spears and a thousand of other men of war, 
 came to the castle of Oisy in Cambresis, 
 pertaining to the lord of Coucy, and made 
 there a great assault : but they within did 
 defend them so valiantly, that they had no 
 damage ; and so the said lords returned to 
 their lodgings. 
 
 The earl of Hainault and his company 
 on a Saturday came to the gate toward 
 Saint -Quentin's, and made there a great 
 assault. There was John Chandos, who 
 was then but a squire, of whose prowess 
 this book speaketh much, he cast himself 
 between the barriers and the gate, and 
 fought valiantly with a squire of Verman- 
 dois called John of Saint-Disier : there was 
 goodly feats of arms done between them. 
 And so the Hainowes conquered by force 
 the bails, and there was entered the earl 
 of Hainault and his marshals, sir Gerard of 
 Werchin, sir Henry d'Antoing and other, 
 who adventured them valiantly to advance 
 their honour. And at another gate, called 
 the gate Robert, was the lord Beaumont 
 and the lord of Fauquemont, the lord 
 d'Enghien, sir Walter of Manny, and their 
 companies, made there a sore and a hard 
 assault. But they of Cambray and the 
 soldiers set there by the French king 
 defended themselves and the city so 
 valiantly, that the assaulters won nothing, 
 but so returned right weary and well beaten 
 to their lodgings. The young earl of 
 Namur came thither to serve the young 
 earl of Hainault by desire, and he said he 
 would be on their part as long as they 
 were in the Empire, but as soon as they 
 entered into the realm of France, he said, 
 he would forsake them and go and serve 
 the French king, who had retained him. 
 And in likewise so was the intent of the 
 earl of Hainault, for he had commanded 
 all his men on pain of death, that none of 
 them should do anything within the realm 
 of France. 
 
 In this season, while the king of Eng- 
 land lay at siege before Cambray with forty 
 thousand men of arms, and greatly con- 
 strained them by assaults, king Philip 
 made his summons at Peronne in Verman- 
 
 dois. And the king of England counselled 
 with sir Robert d'Artois, in whom he had 
 great at^ance, demanding of him whether 
 it were better for him to enter into the 
 realm of France and to encounter his ad- 
 versary, or else to abide still before Cam- 
 bray, till he had won it by force. The 
 lords of England and such other of his 
 council saw well how the city was strong 
 and well furnished of men of war and 
 victuals and artillery, and that it should 
 be long to abide there till they had won 
 the city, whereof they were in no cer- 
 tainty ; and also they saw well how that 
 winter approached near, and as yet had 
 done no manner of enterprise, but lay at 
 great expense. Then they counselled the 
 king to set forward into the realm, whereas 
 they might find more plenty of forage. 
 This counsel was taken, and all the lords 
 ordained to dislodge, and trussed tents and 
 pavilions and all manner of harness, and so 
 departed and rode toward Mount Saint- 
 Martin, the which was at the entry of 
 France. Thus they rode in good order, 
 every lord among his own men ; marshals 
 of the English host were the earl of 
 Northampton and Gloucester and the earl 
 of Suffolk, and constable of England was 
 the earl of Warwick. And so they passed 
 there the river of I'Escault at their ease. 
 
 And when the earl of Hainault had ac- 
 companied the king unto the departing out 
 of the Empire, and that he should pass the 
 river and enter into the realm of France, 
 then he took leave of the king and said 
 how he would ride no further with him at 
 that time, for king Philip his uncle had sent 
 for him, and he would not have his evil 
 will, but that he would go and serve him in 
 France, as he had served the king of Eng- 
 land in the Empire. So thus the earl of 
 Hainault and the earl of Namur and their 
 companies rode back to Quesnoy. And 
 the earl of Hainault gave the most part of 
 his company leave to depart, desiring them 
 to be ready when he [should] send for 
 them, for he said that shortly after he 
 would go to king Phihp his uncle. 
 
5° 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 How king Edward made sir Henry of 
 Flanders knight. 
 
 As soon as king Edward had passed the 
 river of I'Escault and was entered into the 
 realm of France, he called to him sir Henry 
 of Flanders, who was as then a young 
 squire, and there he made him knight, and 
 gave him yearly two hundred pounds ster- 
 ling, sufficiently assigned him ih England. 
 Then the king went and lodged in the 
 abbey of Mount Saint -Martin, and there 
 tarried two days, and his people abroad in 
 the country ; and the duke of Brabant was 
 lodged in the abbey of Vaucelles. 
 
 When the French king at Compiegne 
 heard these tidings, then he enforced his 
 summons, and sent the earl of Eu and of 
 Guines his constable to Saint-Quentin's, to 
 keep the town and frontiers there against 
 his enemies, and sent the lord of Coucy 
 into his own country, and the lord of Ham 
 to his, and sent many men of arms to 
 Guise and to Ribeniont, to Bohain, and the 
 fortresses joining to the entry of the realm ; 
 and so went himself toward Peronne. 
 
 In the mean season that king Edward 
 lay at the abbey of Mount Saint-Martin, 
 his men ran abroad in the country to Ea- 
 paume and near to Peronne and to Saint- 
 Quentin's. They found the country 
 plentiful, for there had been no war of a 
 long season ; and so it fortuned that sir 
 Heniy of Flanders, to advance his body 
 and to increase his honour, [went] on a 
 day with other knights, whereof sir John 
 of Hainault was chief, and with him the 
 lord of Fauquemont, the lord of Berg, 
 the lord of Bautersem, the lord of Cuyk 
 and divers other to the number of five 
 hundred : and they avised a town there- 
 by, called Honnecourt, wherein much 
 people were gathered on trust of the for- 
 tresses, and therein they had conveyed all 
 their goods ; and there had been sir 
 Arnold of Baquehem and sir William of 
 Duvenvoorde and their company, but they 
 attained nothing there. 
 
 There was at this Honnecourt an abbot 
 of great wisdom and hardiness ; and he 
 caused to be made without the town a 
 barrier overthwart the street, like a grate, 
 not past half a foot wide every grate, and 
 
 he made great provisions of stones and 
 quicklime, and men ready to defend the 
 place. And these lords, when they came 
 thither, they lighted afoot and entered to 
 the barrier with their glaives in their hands, 
 and there began a sore assault, and they 
 within valiantly defended themselves. 
 There was the abbot himself, who received 
 and gave many great strokes : there was 
 a fierce assault : they within cast down 
 stones, pieces of timber, pots full of chalk,^ 
 and did much hurt to the assailers : and 
 sir Henry of Flanders, who held his glaive 
 in his hands, and gave therewith great 
 strokes. At the last the abbot took the 
 glaive in his hands and drew it so to 
 him, that at last he set hands on sir 
 Henry's arm, and drew it so sore that he 
 pulled out his arm at the barrier to the 
 shoulder and held him at a great advan- 
 tage, for an the barrier had been wide 
 enough, he had drawn him through ; but 
 sir Henry would not let his weapon go for 
 saving of his honour. Then the other 
 knights strake at the abbot to rescue their 
 fellow : so this wrastHng endured a long 
 space, but finally the knight was rescued, 
 but his glaive abode with the abbot. And 
 on a day, when I wrote this book, as I 
 passed by I was shewed the glaive by the 
 monks there, that kept it for a treasure.^ 
 
 So this said day Honnecourt was sore 
 assailed, the which endured till it was 
 night, and divers were slain and sore hurt. 
 Sir John of Hainault lost there a knight of 
 Holland called sir Herman. When the 
 Flemings, Hainowes, Englishmen and Al- 
 mains saw the fierce wills of them within, 
 and saw how they could get nothing there, 
 withdrew themselves against night. And 
 the next day on the morning the king de- 
 parted from Mount Saint - Martin, com- 
 manding that no person should do any hurt 
 to the abbey, the which commandment 
 was kept. And so then they entered into 
 Vermandois, and took that day their 
 
 1 'Chaulx,' i.e. 'quicklime.' 
 
 2_ The fuller text has it as follows : ' But his 
 glaive abode with the abbot by reason of his great 
 prowess, who kept it many years after ; and it is 
 still, as I believe, in the hail of Honnecourt. It 
 was there assuredly at the time when I wrote 
 this book, and it was shewed to me on a day when 
 I passed that way, and I had relation made to me 
 of the truth of the matter and of the manner how 
 the assault was made; and the monks kept it still 
 as a great ornament.' 
 
EDWARD III. ENTERS FRANCE 
 
 51 
 
 lodging betimes on the mount Saint- 
 Quentin in good order of battle : and they 
 of Saint -Quentin's might well see them, 
 howbeit they had no desire to issue out of 
 their town. The foreriders came running 
 to the barriers skirmishing, and the host 
 tarried still on the mount till the next day. 
 Then the lords took counsel what way 
 they should draw, and by the advice of the 
 duke of Brabant they took the way to 
 Thierache, for that way their provision 
 came daily to them, and were determined 
 that if king Philip did follow them, as 
 they supposed he would do, that then 
 they would abide him in the plain field 
 and give him battle. 
 
 Thus they went forth in three great 
 battles : the marshals and the Almains had 
 the first, the king of England in the 
 middleward, and the duke of Brabant in 
 the rearward. Thus they rode forth, 
 brenning and pilling the country, a three 
 or four leagues a day, and ever took their 
 lodging betimes. And a company of 
 Englishmen and Almains passed the river 
 of Somme by the abbey of Vermand, and 
 wasted the country all about : another com- 
 pany, whereof sir John of Hainault, the lord 
 of Fauquemont and sir Arnold of Baquehem 
 were ciiief, rode to Origny-Saint-Benoiste, 
 a good town, but it was but easily closed : 
 incontinent it was taken by assault and 
 robbed, and an abbey of ladies violated, 
 and the town brent. Then they departed 
 and rode toward Guise and Ribemont, and 
 the king of England lodged at Boheries, 
 and there tarried a day, and his men ran 
 abroad and destroyed the country. 
 
 Then the king tooktheway to theFlamen- 
 gerie,^ to come to Leschelle in Thierache ; 
 and the marshals and the bishop of Lincoln 
 with a iive hundred spears passed the 
 river of Oise and entered into Laonnois, 
 toward the land of the lord of Coucy, and 
 brent Saint-Gobain and the town of Marie, 
 and on a night lodged in the valley beside 
 Laon : and the next day they drew again 
 to their host, for they knew by some of 
 [heir prisoners that the French king was 
 come to Saint -Quentin's with a hundred 
 thousand men, and there to pass the river 
 of Somme. So these lords in their return- 
 ing brent a good town called Crecy and 
 
 divers other towns and hamlets there- 
 about. 
 
 Now let us speak of sir John of Hainault 
 and his company, who were a five hundred 
 spears. He came to Guise and brent all 
 the town and beat down the mills : and 
 within the fortress was the lady Jane, his 
 own daughter, wife to the earl of Blois 
 called Louis : she desired her father to 
 spare the heritage of the earl his son-in- 
 law, but for all that sir John of Hainault 
 would not spare his enterprise. And so 
 then he returned again to the king, who 
 was lodged in the abbey of Fervaques, 
 and ever his people ran over the country. 
 
 And the lord of Fauquemont with a 
 hundred spears came to Nouvion in Thie- 
 rache, a great town ; and the men of the 
 town were fled into a great wood and had 
 all their goods with them, and had fortified 
 the wood with felling of timber about 
 them. The Almains rode thither, and there 
 met with them sir Arnold of Baquehem 
 and his company, and so there they assailed 
 them in the wood, who defended them as 
 well as they might ; but finally they were 
 conquered and put to flight ; and there 
 were slain and sore hurt more than forty, 
 and lost all that they had. Thus the 
 country was over-ridden, for they did what 
 they list. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 How the king of England and the French king 
 took day of journey to fight together. 
 
 1 La Flamengerie, dep. Aisne. 
 
 The king of England departed from 
 Fervaques and went to Montreuil, and 
 there lodged a night, and the next day 
 he went to the Flamengerie and made 
 all his men to lodge near about him, 
 whereof he had more than forty thousand : 
 and there he was counselled to abide king 
 Philip and to fight with him. 
 
 The French king departed from Saint- 
 Quentin's, and daily men came to him 
 from all parts, and so came to Buironfosse. 
 There the king tarried, and said how he 
 would not go thence till he had fought 
 with the king of England and with his 
 allies, seeing they were within two leagues 
 together. And when the earl of Hainault, 
 who was at Quesnoy ready purveyed of 
 
52 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 men of war, knew that the French king 
 was at Buironfosse thinking there to give 
 battle to the Englishmen, he rode forth 
 till he came to the French host with five 
 hundred spears, and presented himself to 
 the king his uncle, who made him but 
 small cheer, because he had been with his 
 adversary before Cambray. Howbeit the 
 earl excused himself so sagely, that the 
 king and his council were well content. 
 And it was ordained by the marshals, that 
 is to say by the marshal Bertrand and by 
 the marshal of Trie,' that the earl should 
 be lodged next the English host. 
 
 Thus these two kings were lodged be- 
 tween Buironfosse and Flamengerie, in 
 the plain fields without any advantage. I 
 think there was never seen before so goodly 
 an assembly of noblemen together as was 
 there. ^ When the king of England, being 
 in the Chapel of Thierache,^ knew how 
 that king Phihp was within two leagues, 
 then he called the lords of his host together 
 and demanded of them what he should do, 
 his honour saved, for he said that his inten- 
 tion was to give battle. Then the lords 
 beheld each other, and they desired the 
 duke of Brabant to shew first his intent. 
 The duke said that he was of the accord 
 that they should give battle, for otherwise, 
 he said, they could not depart, saving their 
 honours : wherefore he counselled that they 
 should send heralds to the French king to 
 demand a day of battle. Then an herald 
 of the duke of Gueldres, who could well 
 the language of French, was informed 
 what he should say, and so he rode till 
 he came into the French host. And then 
 he drew him to king Philip and to his 
 council and said, ' Sir, the king of Eng- 
 land is in the field and desireth to have 
 battle, power against power.' The which 
 thing king Philip granted, and took the 
 day, the Friday next after, and as then 
 it was Wednesday. And so the herald 
 returned, well rewarded with good furred 
 gowns given him by the French king and 
 other lords because of the tidings that he 
 brought. So thus the journey was agreed, 
 
 1 The marshals of the French host were Robert 
 Bertrand and Matthieu de Trie. 
 
 2 In the fuiier text it is observed that there were 
 in the French army four kings, France, Bohemia, 
 Navarre and Scotland. 
 
 3 La Capelle-en-Thi^rache, a. village in the de- 
 partment of Aisne. 
 
 and knowledge was made thereof to all the 
 lords of both the hosts, and so every man 
 made him ready to the matter. 
 
 The Thursday in the morning there were 
 two knights of the earl of Hainault's, the 
 lord Fagnolle and the lord of Tupigny, 
 they mounted on their horses and they two 
 all only departed from the French host and 
 rode to aview the English host. So they 
 rode coasting the host, and it fortuned that 
 the lord of Fagnolle's horse took the bridle 
 in the teeth in such wise, that his master 
 could not rule him ; and so, whether he 
 would or not, the horse brought him into 
 the English host, and there he fell into the 
 hands of the Almains, who perceived well 
 that he was none of their company and set 
 on him and took him and his horse. And 
 so he was prisoner to a five or six gentle- 
 men of Almaine, and anon they set him to 
 his ransom. And when they understood 
 that he was a Hainowe, they demanded of 
 him if he knew sir John of Hainault, and he 
 answered, 'Yes,' and desired them for the 
 love of God to bring him to his presence, 
 for he knew well that he would quit him 
 his ransom. Thereof were the Almains 
 joyous, and so brought him to the lord 
 Beaumont, who incontinent did pledge him 
 out from his master's hands ; and the 
 lord of Fagnolle returned again to the 
 earl of Hainault, and he had his horse 
 again delivered him at the request of the 
 lord Beaumont. Thus passed that day, 
 and none other thing done that ought to 
 be remembered. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 How these kings ordained their battles at 
 Buironfosse. 
 
 When the Friday came in the morning, 
 both hosts apparelled themselves ready, 
 and every lord heard mass among their 
 own companies and divers were shriven. 
 
 First we will speak of the order of the 
 Englishmen, who drew them forward into 
 the field and made three battles afoot, and 
 did put all their horses and baggages into a 
 little wood behind them, and fortified it. 
 The first battle led' the duke of Gueldres, 
 
 1 Perhaps a misprint for 'had.' The original 
 is 'eut.' 
 
THE HOSTS AT BUIRONFOSSE 
 
 53 
 
 the marquis of Meissen, the marquis of 
 Brandebourg, sir John of Hainault, the 
 earl of Mons, the earl of Salm, the lord of 
 Fauquemont, sir William of Duvenvoorde, 
 sir Arnold of Baquehem and the Almains ; 
 and among them was twenty-two banners 
 and sixty pennons in the whole, and eight 
 thousand men. The second battle had the 
 duke of Brabant and the lords and knights 
 of his country — first the lord of Cuyk, the 
 lord Berg, the lord of Breda, the lord 
 of Rotselaer, the lord of Vorsselaer, the 
 lord of Borgneval, the lord of Schoonvorst, 
 the lord of Witham, the lord of Aerschot, 
 the lord of Gaesbeck, the lord of Duffel, 
 sir Thierry of Walcourt, sir Rasse of Gres, 
 sir John of Kesterbeke, sir John Pyliser, 
 sir Giles of Coterebbe, sir Walter of 
 Huldeberg, the three brethren of Harle- 
 beke, sir Henry of Flanders, and divers 
 other barons and knights of Flanders, who 
 were all under the duke of Brabant's 
 banner, as the lord of Halewyn, the lord 
 of Gruthuse, sir Hector Vilain, sir John 
 of Rhodes, sir Wulfart of Ghistelles, sir 
 William of Straten, sir Gossuin de la 
 Moere, and many other : the duke of 
 Brabant had a twenty-four banners and 
 eighty pennons, and in all a seven thousand 
 men. The third battle and the greatest 
 had the king of England and with him his 
 cousin the earl of Derby, the bishop of 
 Lincoln, the bishop of Durham, the earl 
 of Salisbury, the earl of Northampton, and 
 of Gloucester, the earl of Suffolk, sir 
 Robert d'Artois, as then called earl of 
 Richmond, the lord Raynold Cobham, the 
 lord Percy, the lord Ros, the lord Mow- 
 bray, sir Lewis and sir John Beauchamp, 
 the lord Delaware, the lord of Langton, the 
 lord Basset, the lord Fitzwalter, sir Walter 
 Manny, sir Hugh Hastings, sir John Lisle, 
 and divers other that I cannot name : among 
 other was sir John Chandos, of whom much 
 honour is spoken in this book.-' The king 
 had with him twenty -eight banners and 
 ninety pennons, and in his battle a six 
 thousand men of arms and six thousand 
 
 1 In the later revision the writer says : ' I, 
 Froissart, writer of these chronicles, more than 
 once heard the gentle knight sir John Chandos say 
 that he was made knight by the hand of the king 
 Edward ofEngland on this Friday that the assembly 
 was at Buironfosse ; and since that he was more 
 valiant than any other who took arms on the side 
 of the English, I make mention of this here.' 
 
 archers ; and he had set another battle as in 
 a wing, whereof the earl of Warwick, the 
 earl of Pembroke, the lord Berkeley, the 
 lord Multon and divers other were as chief, 
 and they were on horseback.^ Thus when 
 every lord was under his banner, as it was 
 commanded by the marshals, the king of 
 England mounted on a palfrey, accompanied 
 all only with sir Robert d'Artois, sir Raynold 
 Cobham and sir Walter of Manny, and 
 rode along before all his battles, and right 
 sweetly desired all his lords and other that 
 they would that day aid to defend his 
 honour. And they all promised him so 
 to do. Then he returned to his own battle 
 and set everything in good order and com- 
 manded that none should go before the 
 marshals' banners. 
 
 Now let us speak of the lords of France, 
 what they did. They were eleven score 
 banners, four kings, six dukes, twenty-six 
 earls, and more than four thousand knights, 
 and of the commons of France more than 
 sixty thousand. The kings that were there 
 with king Philip of Valois was the king of 
 Bohemia, the king of Navarre, and king 
 David of Scotland : the duke of Normandy, 
 the duke of Bretayne, the duke of Bourbon, 
 the duke of Lorraine and the duke of 
 Athens : ^ of earls, the earl of Alen9on 
 brother to the king, the earl of Flanders, 
 the earl of Hainault, the earl of Blois, the 
 earl of Bar, the earl of Forez, the earl of 
 Foix, the earl of Armagnac, the earl 
 Dolphin of Auvergne, the earl of Joinville, 
 the earl of Etanipes, the earl of Vendome, 
 the earl of Harcourt, the earl of Saint-Pol, 
 the earl of Guines, the earl of Boulogne, 
 the earl of Roucy, the earl of Dammartin, 
 the earl of Valentinois, the earl of Auxerre, 
 the earl of Sancerre, the earl of Geneva, 
 the earl of Dreux ; and of Gascoyne and of 
 Languedoc so many earls and viscounts, 
 that it were long to rehearse. It was a 
 great beauty to behold the banners and 
 standards waving in the wind, and horses 
 barded, and knights and squires richly 
 armed. The Frenchmen ordained three 
 great battles, in each of them fifteen 
 thousand men of arms and twenty thousand 
 men afoot. 
 
 1 The original says : ' So these remained on 
 horseback to support those battles which should 
 waver, and were as a rear-guard." 
 
 2 The name of the duke of Burgundy is omitted. 
 
54 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 
 How these two kings departed from 
 Buironfosse without battle. 
 
 It might well be marvelled how so goodly 
 a sight of men of war so near together 
 should depart without battle. But the 
 Frenchmen were not all of one accord : 
 they were of divers opinions : some said it 
 were a great shame an they fought not, see- 
 ing their enemies so near them in their own 
 country, ranged in the field, and also had 
 promised to fight with them : ^ and some 
 other said it should be a great folly to fight, 
 for it was hard to know every man's mind, 
 and jeopardy of treason ; - for, they said, 
 if fortune were contrary to their king, as to 
 lose the field, he then should put all his 
 whole realm in a jeopardy to be lost ; and 
 though he did discomfit his enemies, yet 
 for all that he should be never the nearer 
 of the realm of England, nor of such lands 
 pertaining to any of those lords that be 
 with him allied. 
 
 Thus in striving of divers opinions the 
 day passed till it was past noon ; and then 
 suddenly there started an hare among the 
 Frenchmen, and such as saw her cried and 
 made great bruit, whereby such as were 
 behind thought they before had been fight- 
 ing, and so put on their helms and took 
 their spears in their hands ; and so there 
 were made divers new knights, and specially 
 the earl of Hainault made fourteen, who 
 were ever after called knights of the hare. 
 Thus that battle stood still all that Friday ; 
 and beside this strife between the council- 
 lors of France there was brought in letters 
 to the host of recommendation to the French 
 king and to his council from king Robert 
 of Sicily, the which king, as it was said, 
 was a great astronomer and full of great 
 science. He had oftentimes sought his 
 books on the estate of the kings of England 
 and of France, and he found by his astrology 
 and by the influence of the heavens, that if 
 the French king ever fought with king 
 Edward of England, he should be discom- 
 fited : wherefore he, like a king of great 
 
 1 Or rather, 'and also having followed them to 
 the intent that they should fight with them ' 
 
 - ' For he (z'.c. the king) knew not each man s 
 mmd, nor whether there were any treason.' 
 
 wisdom and as he that doubted the peril of 
 the French king his cousin, sent oftentimes 
 letters to king Philip and to his council, 
 that in no wise he should make any battle 
 against the Englishmen, whereas king 
 Edward was personally present. So that, 
 what for doubt, and for such writing from 
 the king of Sicily, divers of the great lords 
 of France were sore abashed ; and also 
 king Philip was informed thereof. How- 
 beit, yet he had great will to give battle ; 
 but he was so counselled to the contrary, 
 that the day passed without battle, and 
 every man withdrew to their lodgings. 
 
 And when the earl of Hainault saw that 
 they should not fight, he departed with all 
 his whole company and went back the same 
 night to Quesnoy. And the king of Eng- 
 land, the duke of Brabant and all the other 
 lords returned and trussed all their baggages, 
 and went the same night to Avesnes in 
 Hainault. And the next day they took 
 leave each of other ; and the Almains and 
 Brabances departed, and the king went 
 into Brabant with the duke his cousin. 
 
 The same Friday that the battle should 
 have been, the French king, when he came to 
 his lodging, he was sore displeased because 
 he departed without battle. But they of his 
 council said how right nobly he had borne 
 himself, for he had valiantly pursued his 
 enemies and had done so much that he had 
 put them out of his realm, and how that the 
 king of England should make many such 
 viages or he conquered the realm of France. 
 The next day king Philip gave licence to 
 all manner of men to depart, and he thanked 
 right courteously the great lords of their aid 
 and succour. Thus ended this great journey, 
 and every man went to their own. The 
 French king went to Saint-Omer's, and sent 
 men of war to his garrisons, and specially 
 to Tournay, to Lille, and to Douay, and to 
 the other towns marching on the Empire. 
 He sent to Tournay sir Godemar du Fay 
 and made him captain there and regent of 
 that country thereabout, and he sent sir 
 Edward of Beaujeu to Mortagne ; and 
 when he had ordered part of his business 
 then he drew toward Paris. 
 
EDWARD TAKES THE ARMS OF FRANCE 
 
 55 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII 
 
 How king Edward took on him to bear the 
 arms of France and the name, to be called 
 king thereof. 
 
 When that king Edward was departed 
 from the Flamengerie and came into Bra- 
 bant and went straight to Brussels, the 
 duke of Gueldres, the marquis of Juliers, 
 the marquis of Brandebourg, the earl of 
 Mons, sir John of Hainault, the lord of 
 Fauquemont, and all the lords of the 
 Empire, such as had been at that journey, 
 brought him thither to take advice and 
 counsel what should be done more in the 
 matter that they had begun. And to have 
 expedition in the cause they ordained a 
 parliament to be holden at the town of 
 Brussels, and thither to come was desired 
 Jaques d'Arteveld of Gaunt, who came 
 thither with a great company, and all the 
 counsels of the good towns of Flanders. 
 There the king of England was sore desired 
 of all his allies of the Empire that he should 
 require them of Flanders to aid and to 
 maintain his war, and to defy the French 
 king and to go with him whereas he would 
 have them ; and in their so doing he to 
 promise them to recover Lille, Douay and 
 Bethune. 
 
 This request was well heard of the 
 Flemings, and thereupon they desired to 
 take counsel among themselves : and so 
 they took counsel at good leisure, and then 
 they said to the king : ' Sir, or this time ye 
 have made to us request in this behalf : sir, 
 if we might well do this, saving your honour 
 and to save ourselves, we would gladly do 
 this ; but, sir, we be bound by failh and 
 oath and on the sum of two millions of 
 florins in the pope's chamber, that we may 
 make nor move no war against the king of 
 France, whosoever it be, on pain to lose 
 the said sum and beside that to run in the 
 sentence of cursing. But, sir, if ye will 
 take on you the arms of France and quarter 
 them with the arms of England and call 
 yourself king of France, as ye ought to be 
 of right, then we will take you for rightful 
 king of France and demand of you quit- 
 tance of our bonds, and so ye to give us 
 pardon thereof as king of France : by this 
 means we shall be assured and dispensed 
 
 withal, and so then we will go with you 
 whithersoever ye will have us.' 
 
 Then the king took counsel, for he 
 thought it was a sore matter to take on 
 him the arms of France and the name, and 
 as then had conquered nothing thereof, nor 
 could not tell what should fall thereof, nor 
 whether he should conquer it or not ; and 
 on the other side, loth he was to refuse the 
 comfort and aid of the Flemings, who 
 might do him more aid than any other. 
 So the king took counsel of the lords of the 
 Empire and of the lord Robert d'Artois 
 and with other of his special friends ; so 
 that finally, the good and the evil weighed, 
 he answered to the Flemings that if they 
 would swear and seal to this accord, and to 
 promise to maintain his war, how he would 
 do all this with a good will, and promised 
 to get them again Lille, Douay and 
 Bethune : and all they answered how they 
 were content. 
 
 Then there was a day assigned to meet 
 at Gaunt, at which day the king was there, 
 and the most part of the said lords, and all 
 the counsels generally in Flanders. And 
 so then all these said matters were re- 
 hearsed, sworn and sealed ; and the king 
 quartered the arms of France with England, 
 and from thenceforth took on him the name 
 of the king of France, and so continued 
 till he left it again by composition, as ye 
 shall hear after in this book. And so at 
 this council they determined that the next 
 summer after they would make great war 
 into France, promising to besiege the city 
 of Tournay ; whereof the Flemings were 
 joyful, for they thought to be strong enough 
 to get it, and that once gotten, they believed 
 shortly after to win again Lille, Douay and 
 Bethune, with the appurtenances pertaining 
 or holden of the earl of Flanders. 
 
 Thus every man departed and went home : 
 the king of England went to Antwerp, and 
 the queen abode still at Gaunt and was 
 oftentimes visited by Jaques d'Arteveld 
 and by other lords, ladies and damosels of 
 Gaunt. The king left in Flanders the earl 
 of Salisbury and the earl of Suffolk : ^ they 
 went to Ypres and there kept a great 
 garrison and made sore war against them 
 of Lille and thereabout. And when the 
 
 1 Not really the earl of Suffolk but his eldest 
 son : he is called earl of Suffolk also in the account 
 of his capture at Lille, chap. 46. 
 
56 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 king's ships were ready, he took the sea 
 and so sailed into England and came to 
 London about the feast of Saint Andrew, 
 where he was honourably received. And 
 there he had complaints made him of the 
 destruction of Hampton, and he said that 
 he trusted or a year longer that it should be 
 well revenged. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV 
 
 How the Frenchmen brent in the lands of 
 sir John of Hainault. 
 
 Now let us speak of king Philip, who 
 greatly fortified his navy that he had on 
 the sea, whereof sir Quieret, Behuchet and 
 Barbevaire ^ were captains ; and they had 
 under them a great retinue of Genoways, 
 Normans, Bretons and Picards. They did 
 that winter great damage to the realm of 
 England : sometime they came to Dover, 
 Sandwich, Winchelsea, Hastings and Rye, 
 and did much sorrow to the Englishmen, 
 for they were a great number, as a forty 
 thousand men. There was none that could 
 issue out of England, but they were robbed, 
 taken or slain ; so they won great pillage, 
 and specially they won a great ship called 
 the Chrisiofer, laden with wools, as she was 
 going into Flanders, the which ship had 
 cost the king of England much money, 
 and all they that were taken within the ship 
 were slain and drowned ; of the which 
 conquest the Frenchmen were right joyous. 
 The French king then sent and wrote to 
 the lord of Bosmont, the lord of Vervins,^ 
 to the vidame of Chalons, the lord John 
 de la Bove, the lord John and Gerard of 
 Lor, that they should make an army and 
 to ride into the lands of sir John of Hainault, 
 and to burn and destroy there as much as 
 they might. They obeyed, and gathered 
 together to the number of five hundred 
 spears ; and so in a morning they came 
 before the town of Chimay and gathered 
 together there a great prey ; for they of 
 the country thought that the Frenchmen 
 would not have come so far, nor to have 
 passed the wood of Thierache. So the 
 
 1 Hugh Quieret, Nicholas Behuchet and Pietro 
 Earbavara. 
 
 2 *To the lord of Bosmont and Vervins': his name 
 was Jean de Coucy. 
 
 Frenchmen burnt the suburbs of Chiniay 
 and divers other villages thereabout, nigh 
 all the land of Chimay except the for- 
 tresses : then they went to Aubenton in 
 Thierache and there divided their booty. 
 
 In the same season the soldiers of Cam- 
 bray came to a little strong house without 
 Cambray, called Relenghes, pertaining to 
 sir John of Hainault ; and a bastard son of 
 his kept the house with a fifteen soldiers 
 with him : so they were assailed a whole 
 day together, and the dikes were so frozen, 
 that a man might well come to the walls ; 
 and so they within trussed all that they 
 had and about midnight departed, and set 
 fire themselves on the house. The next 
 day, when they of Cambray came thither 
 again and saw how it was brent, they did 
 beat down all that stood. And the captain 
 of the house and his company went to 
 Valenciennes. 
 
 Ye have well heard before how sir 
 Gaultier of Manny took the castle of Thun 
 and set therein a brother of his called 
 Giles of Manny : he made many skirmishes 
 with them of Cambray, and did them much 
 trouble. And so it happened on a day that 
 he went from his garrison with a sixscore 
 men of arms and came to the barriers of 
 Cambray. And the brunt was so great, that 
 many armed them within the city and came 
 to the gate whereas the skirmish was, 
 whereas sir Giles had put back them of 
 Cambray. Then they issued out, and 
 among the Cambreses there was a young 
 squire, a Gascon, called William Marchand, 
 who went out into the field well horsed, 
 his shield about his neck and his spear in 
 his hand. And when sir Giles of Manny 
 saw him, he rode fiercely to him ; and 
 there sir Giles was stricken through all his 
 harness to the heart, so that the spear went 
 clean through his body, and so he fell to the 
 earth. Then there was a fierce skirmish, 
 and many stricken down on both parts ; 
 but finally they of Cambray obtained the 
 place and drove away their enemies, and 
 took with them sir Giles of Manny, hurt 
 as he was, and so brought him to Cambray 
 with great joy. Then incontinent they dis- 
 armed him and did get surgeons to dress 
 his wound, for they would gladly that he 
 might [have] escaped ; but he died the next 
 day after. Then they determined to send 
 his body to his two brethren John and 
 
THE FRENCH IN HAINAULT 
 
 57 
 
 Thierry, who were in the garrison at Bou- 
 chain in Ostrevant ; for though that the 
 country of Hainault at that time was in no 
 war, yet all the frontiers toward France 
 were ever in good await. So then they 
 ordained a horse litter right honourably 
 and put his body therein, and caused two 
 friars to convey it to his brethren, who 
 received him with great sorrow. And they 
 bare him to the Friars at Valenciennes, and 
 there he was buried ; and after that the two 
 brethren of Manny came to the castle of 
 Thun and made sore war against them of 
 Cambray in counteravenging the death of 
 their brother. 
 
 In this season captain of Tournay and 
 Tournesis was sir Godemar du Fay, and of 
 the fortresses thereabout ; and the lord of 
 Beaujeu was within Mortagne on the river 
 of I'Escault, and the steward of Carcas- 
 sonne was in the town of Saint-Amand, 
 sir Aymar of Poitiers in Douay, the lord 
 Galois de la Baume and the lord of 
 Villars, the marshal of Mirepoix and the 
 lord of Moreuil in the city of Cambray. 
 And these knights, squires and soldiers of 
 France desired none other thing, but that 
 they might enter into Hainault and to roband 
 pill the country. Also the bishop of Cam- 
 bray, who was at Paris with the king, com- 
 plained how the Hainowes had done him 
 damage, brent and overrun his country, 
 more than any other men. And then the 
 king gave licence to the soldiers of Cam- 
 bresis to make a road into Hainault. Then 
 they of the garrisons made a journey and 
 were to the number of six hundred men of 
 arms. And on a Saturday in the morning 
 they departed from Cambray, and also they 
 of la Malmaison rode forth the same day, 
 and met together and went to the town of 
 Haspres, the which was a good town and a 
 great, without walls. The people there 
 were in no doubt, for they knew of no war 
 towards them. So the Frenchmen entered 
 and found men and women in their houses, 
 and took them, and robbed the town at 
 their pleasure, and then set fire in the town 
 and brent it so clean, that nothing re- 
 mained but the walls. Within the town 
 there was a priory of black monks, with 
 great buildings beside the church, which 
 held of Saint- Vaast of Arras.^ The French- 
 
 1 The latest revision has here : ' In the church of 
 Haspres they honour Saint Agaire, who is a very 
 
 men also robbed the place and brent it to 
 the earth, and with all their pillage they 
 returned to Cambray. 
 
 These tidings anon came to the know- 
 ledge of the earl of Hainault, who was 
 abed and asleep in his lodging, called the 
 Salle ; and suddenly he rose and armed 
 him, and called up all such knights as were 
 about him : but they were lodged so abroad 
 that they were not so soon ready as the earl 
 was ; who without tarrying for any person 
 came into the market-place of Valenciennes 
 and caused the bells to be sowned alarum. 
 Then every man arose and armed them, 
 and followed the earl their lord, who was 
 ridden out of the town in great haste and 
 took the way toward Haspres : and by 
 that time he had ridden a league, tidings 
 came to him how the Frenchmen were de- 
 parted. Then he rode to the abbey of 
 Fontenelles, whereas the lady his mother 
 was, and she had much ado to rappease 
 him of his displeasure, for he said plainly 
 that the destruction of Haspres should 
 dearly be revenged in the realm of France. 
 The good lady his mother did as much as 
 she could to assuage his ire, and to excuse 
 the king of that deed. 
 
 So when the earl had been there a certain 
 space, he took leave of her and returned 
 to Valenciennes, and incontinent wrote 
 letters to the prelates and knights of his 
 country to have their advice and counsel in 
 that behalf. And when sir John of 
 Hainault knew hereof, he took his horse 
 and came to the earl his nephew ; and as 
 soon as the earl saw him, he said, ' Ah, 
 fair uncle, your absence hath set the French- 
 men in a pride.' 'Ah, sir,' quoth he, 'with 
 your trouble and annoyance I am sore dis- 
 pleased : howbeit in a manner I am glad 
 thereof. Now ye be well rewarded for the 
 service and love that ye have borne to the 
 Frenchmen. ' Now it behoveth you to make 
 a journey into France against the French- 
 men. 'Ah, uncle,' quoth the earl, 'look 
 into what quarter ye think best and it 
 shall be shortly done. ' So thus the day of 
 parliament assigned at Mons came, and 
 
 cruel saint and much to be feared, and they have 
 the remains of the saint within the church, which is 
 a provostry ruled by the monks of Saint-Vaast of 
 Arras. The provost had taken such care, that the 
 shrine of Saint Agaire and the reliquary and the 
 richest ornaments of the church he had caused to be 
 brought with him to Valenciennes.' 
 
58 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 thither resorted all the counsel of the 
 country, and also of Holland and Zealand. 
 There were divers opinions : some would 
 that certain sufficient persons should be 
 sent to the French king, to know if he 
 were consenting to the hurt done in 
 Hainault, or by what title he should make 
 war into the earl's land without any de- 
 fiance : and some other would that the earl 
 should be revenged in like manner as the 
 Frenchmen had begun. Howbeit finally, 
 all reasons debated, it was thought that the 
 earl could do no otherwise, but to make 
 war into France. And it was ordained 
 that the earl should make his defiance to 
 the French king, and then to enter by 
 force into the realm of France ; and to 
 bear these defiances was ordained the abbot 
 Thibalt of Crespin.^ So then the letters of 
 defiance were written and sealed by the 
 earl and by all the nobles of the country. 
 Then the earl thanked all his lords and 
 other of their good comfort and of their 
 promise to aid to revenge him against the 
 Frenchmen. 
 
 The abbot of Crespin came into France 
 and brought these defiances to king Philip, 
 who made light thereof and said how his 
 nephew was but an outrageous fool, and 
 how that he was a merchant to have his 
 country brent.- The abbot returned to the 
 earl and to his council and shewed how he 
 had sped ; and then the earl prepared for 
 men of war in his country and in Brabant 
 and in Flanders, so that he had a great 
 number together : and so set forward 
 toward the land of Chimay ; for the earl's 
 intent was to go and bren the lands of the 
 lord of Vervins and also Aubenton in 
 Thierache. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV 
 
 How the earl of Hainault took and destroyed 
 Aubenton in Thierache. 
 
 They of Aubenton doubted greatly the 
 earl of Hainault and sir John his uncle ; 
 and so they sent for some aid to the great 
 bailly of Vermandois, and he sent to them 
 
 1 Not 'Saint Crispin' as given by the trans- 
 lator. 
 
 - 'Qu'il marchandoit bien de faire ardoir son 
 pays. 
 
 the vidame of Chalons, the lord Bosmont, 
 the lord de la Bove, the lord of Lor, and 
 divers other to the number of three hun- 
 dred men of arms, and so they repaired the 
 town in certain places, and determined to 
 abide the Hainowes and to defend the 
 town, the which was a great town and full 
 of drapery. ^ The Hainowes came on a 
 Friday, and lodged near to Aubenton, and 
 advised the town to see on what quarter it 
 were most best to be taken ; and in the 
 morning they approached in three wards, 
 their banners before them right ordinately, 
 and also their cross-bows. The earl of 
 Hainault led the first battle, and with him 
 great number of the knights and squires of 
 his country : his uncle sir John of Hai- 
 nault had the second battle, whereas he had 
 plenty of men of war : the third had the 
 lord Fauquemont with a good number of 
 Almains. And so thus every lord was 
 under his own banner, and there began a 
 sore assault, and the bows began to shoot 
 both within and without, whereby divers 
 were sore hurt. The earl and his company 
 came to the gate : there was a great assault 
 and a sore skirmish: there the vidame of 
 Chalons did marvels, and he made at the 
 gate three of his sons knights. But finally 
 the earl and his company conquered the 
 bails, and by force made their enemies to 
 withdraw into the gate. And also at the gate 
 toward Chimay was sir John la Bove and 
 sir John Bosmont : there was also a cruel 
 assault ; they within were fain to withdraw 
 in at their gates and to leave the barrier, 
 and the Hainowes won it and the bridge 
 also. There was a sore assault, for such 
 as were fled and entered within went up 
 on the gate and cast down bars of iron, 
 stones, pots full of quicklime, whereby 
 many were sore hurt. A squire of Hai- 
 nault received such a stroke with a stone on 
 his targe, that it was cloven clean asunder 
 with the stroke and his arm broken, so 
 that it was long after or he was whole. 
 
 The Saturday in the morning there was 
 a great assault, and they within did their 
 devoir to defend themselves ; but finally 
 the town was won by force and their pales 
 and defences broken. And first entered 
 into the town sir John of Hainault with 
 his banner with great crying and shouting; 
 then the vidame of Chalons withdrew him 
 
 1 I.e. a town in which much cloth was made. 
 
U'^/! ON THE FRONTIERS, 1339-40 
 
 59 
 
 and his company into the place before 
 the minster, and there made semblant to 
 defend himself as long as he might endure. 
 But the lord of Vervins departed without 
 order, for he knew well that sir John of 
 Hainault was sore displeased with him, so 
 that he thought, if he had been taken, that 
 no ransom should have saved his life. And 
 when sir John of Hainault knew that he 
 was departed, that had done so much dis- 
 pleasure in his land of Chimay, he pur- 
 sued after him; but the lord of "Vervins 
 fled fast and found the gate of his town 
 open, and so entered in ; and sir John of 
 Hainault pursued him just to the gate with 
 his sword in his hand ; but when he saw 
 that he was escaped, he returned again to 
 Aubenton : and his men met certain of the 
 lord Vervin's men, as they followed their 
 master, and there they were slain without 
 mercy. The earl and his company fought 
 sore with them that were by the minster ; 
 and there the vidame of Chalons did 
 marvels in arms, and so did two of his 
 sons; but finally they were all slain, there 
 escaped none but such as fled with the 
 lord of Vervins, but all were slain or 
 taken, and a two thousand' men of the 
 town, and all the town robbed and pilled, 
 and all the goods sent to Chimay, and the 
 town brent. 
 
 And after the burning of Aubenton the 
 Hainowes went to Maubert-Fontaine, and 
 incontinent they won it, and robbed and 
 brent the town, and also the town of 
 Aubigny, and Signy the great, and Signy 
 the little, ^ and all the hamlets thereabout, 
 the which were more than forty. Then 
 the earl went to Mons, and gave leave to 
 his men of war to depart, and thanked 
 them in such wise, that they were all well 
 content. Then anon after the earl went to 
 make a sure alliance with the king of Eng- 
 land, to be the more stronger in his war 
 against the Frenchmen. But first he made 
 his uncle sir John of Hainault chief master 
 and governour of Holland and Zealand : 
 and sir John lay still at Mons and provided 
 for the country, and sent to Valenciennes, 
 to comfort and aid them, the lord Antoing, 
 the lord of Wargny, the lord of Gom- 
 megnies and sir Henry of Houffalize ; and 
 
 the steward of Hainault with a hundred 
 spears to the town of Landrecies;' and to 
 Bouchain three brethren, Almains, called 
 Conrad ; and to Escaudeuvres sir Gerard 
 Sassegnies ; and into the town of Avesnes 
 the lord of Fauquemont. And thus he 
 did into every fortress on the frontiers of 
 France. 
 
 1 A better reading is ' two hundred.' 
 
 2 Signy-l'Abbaye and Signy-le-Petit. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI 
 
 How they of Tournay made a journey into 
 Flanders. 
 
 When the French king knew how the 
 Hainowes had brent the country of Thie- 
 rache, taken and slain his knights, and 
 destroyed the good town of Aubenton, then 
 he commanded the duke of Normandy his 
 son that he should make a journey into 
 Hainault, and bring the country into that 
 case that it should never be recovered 
 again. Also the king ordained the earl of 
 ITsle, Gascon, who was as then with the 
 king at Paris, that he should make a 
 voyage into Gascony as his lieutenant, and 
 to make war to Bordeaux and to Bordelois, 
 and to all the fortresses that held of the 
 king of England. And also the French 
 king enforced his great navy that he had 
 on the sea, and commanded them to keep 
 the bounds of Flanders and not to suffer 
 the king of England to pass over the sea 
 into Flanders, on pain of their lives. 
 
 And when the French king understood 
 that the Flemings had made homage to 
 the king of England, he sent unto them a 
 prelate under the colour of the pope, shew- 
 ing them that if they would return and 
 knowledge themselves to hold of him and 
 of the crown of France, and to forsake the 
 king of England, who had enchanted them, 
 then he said he would pardon them of all 
 their trespasses, and would quit them of 
 the great sum of money that they were 
 bound unto him by obligation of old time, 
 and also to give them many fair franchises. 
 And the Flemings answered how they 
 thought themselves right well assoiled and 
 quitted in anything that they were bound 
 
 1 The fuller text says that the seneschal of 
 Hainault was sent to Maubeuge, the marshal of 
 Hainault to Quesnoy, and the lord of Potelles to 
 Landrecies. 
 
6o 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROTSSART 
 
 to the king of France. Then the French 
 king complained to pope Clement the 
 sixth,' whereupon the pope did cast such 
 a sentence of cursing, that no priest durst 
 sing or say there any divine service ; 
 whereof the Flemings sent a . great com- 
 plaint unto the king of England, who to 
 appease them sent them word, that when 
 he came over the sea, he would bring 
 priests out of his country to sing masses, 
 whether the pope would or not, for he 
 said he had privilege so to do : and so by 
 that means the Flemings were somewhat 
 appeased. 
 
 And when the French king saw that he 
 could not turn the Flemings from their 
 opinion, then he commanded them of the 
 garrisons of Tournay, Lille, and Douay and 
 other to make war on the Flemings and 
 to overrun the country. And so sir John 
 de Roye and sir Matthew de Trie, marshal 
 of France, and sir Godemar du Fay, and 
 divers other lords made an army of a thou- 
 sand men of arms and three hundred cross- 
 bows, what of Tournay, Lille and Douay. 
 And so in an evening they departed from 
 Tournay, and by that it was day in the 
 morning, they were before Courtray. By 
 that time the sun was up, they had gathered 
 together all the cattle thereabout ; and some 
 of them ran to the gates, and slew and hurt 
 divers that they found without. And then 
 they returned without any damage and 
 drove before them all their preys, so that 
 when they came to Tournay, they had 
 more than ten thousand sheep and as many 
 swine, beeves and kine, whereof the Flem- 
 ings were sore troubled. 
 
 Then Jaques d'Arteveld sware that it 
 should be dearly revenged ; and incontinent 
 he commanded the good towns of Flanders, 
 that their men of war should be with him 
 before Tournay at a day assigned : and he 
 wrote to the earl of Salisbury and to the 
 earl of Suffolk, who were at Ypres, that 
 they should be there at the same. And so 
 against the day limited he went out of 
 Gaunt and came to a place between Oude- 
 narde and Tournay called the Pont de Fer, 
 and there he lodged and tarried for the 
 earls of England and for them of the Franc 
 of Bruges. The said two earls thought for 
 
 1 The pope at this time -was in fact Benedict 
 XII. : Clement VI. became pope in 1342. 
 
 their honour the enterprise should not be 
 delayed by them, and so sent to Jaques 
 d'Arteveld promising him not to fail to be 
 at the day appointed. And so on a day 
 they departed from Ypres with a fifty spears 
 and a forty cross-bows, and went toward 
 the place whereas Jaques d'Arteveld abode 
 for them. And as they passed by the town 
 of Lille, they were perceived ; and they of 
 the town issued out with a fifteen hundred 
 men afoot and a-horseback, and went in 
 three parts, to the intent that the earls 
 should not scape them.' So these two earls 
 rode forth by the guiding of sir Waflard de 
 la Croix, who had kept long war against 
 them of Lille, and he knew all the ways of 
 the country and as then was at Ypres ; and 
 so he came forth with these earls to be 
 their guide and he had well guided them. 
 And they of Lille had newly made a great 
 dike, whereas there was never none before : 
 and when sir Waflard had brought them 
 thither and saw how the way was newly 
 stopped, he said to the earls of England, 
 ' Sirs, I see well we cannot pass without 
 the danger of them of Lille : wherefore 
 I counsel, let us turn again and take 
 some other way.' Then the lords said, 
 ' Nay, sir Waflard, it shall never be said 
 that we will go out of our way for fear of 
 them of Lille; therefore ride on before : we 
 have promised Jaques d'Arteveld to be with 
 him this day.' And so the. Englishmen 
 rode forth without fear. Then sir Waflard 
 said, ' Sirs, ye have taken me in this viage 
 to be your guide, and I have been with 
 you all this winter in Ypres, whereof I am 
 much bound to you. But if they of Lille 
 issue out upon us, have no trust that I will 
 abide them, for I will save myself as soon 
 as I can ; for if I were taken, it should cost 
 me my life, the which I love better than 
 your company.' Then the lords did laugh 
 at him and said, ' Well, an if it be so, we 
 hold you well excused.' And as he im- 
 agined, so it befell ; for or they were ware, 
 they were in danger of the French bush- 
 ment, who cried, ' Stop, sirs, for ye shall 
 not pass this way without our licence,' and 
 
 ' In the original : 'As they rode and were con- 
 strained to pass by the town of Lille, their coming 
 was known m the town. Then they of the town 
 armed themselves secretly and set forth from their 
 town to the number of fifteen hundred afoot and 
 a-horseback, and they set themselves in three bush- 
 ments, so that they might not escape them.' 
 
BATTLE OF SZUVS, 1340 
 
 61 
 
 so began to shoot and to run on the Eng- 
 lishmen. And as soon as sir Waflard saw 
 the manner, he had no list to ride any 
 further, but returned as soon as he might 
 and gat himself out of the press ; and the 
 two earls fell in the hands of their enemies 
 like fishes in a net, for they were closed 
 round about in a narrow strait passage 
 among hedges, bushes and dikes, so that 
 they could scape no manner of way for- 
 ward nor backward. So when they saw 
 that they were so hardly bestad, they 
 alighted afoot and defended themselves as 
 well as they might, and did hurt divers of 
 them of Lille : but finally their defence 
 could not avail them, for ever new fresh 
 men of war came on them. So there they 
 were taken by force, and with them a 
 young squire of Limousin, nephew to pope 
 Clement, called Raymond, who after that he 
 was yielded prisoner was slain for covetise 
 of his fair harness and fresh apparel. 
 
 These two earls were set in prison in the 
 hall of Lille and after sent to the French 
 king, who promised to them of Lille a great 
 reward for the good service that they had 
 done him. And when Jaques d'Arteveld, 
 who was at Pont de Fer, knew those tidings, 
 he was sore displeased, and so ceased his 
 enterprise for that time and returned again 
 to Gaunt. 
 
 CHAPTERS XLVII-XLIX 
 
 SUMMARY.~The duke of Normandy 
 invaded Hainatdt at Easier, 1340. He 
 burnt many villages, but failed to take ayiy 
 fortresses except the castle of Escaudeuvres , 
 which was surrendered to hi?n- with great 
 suspicion of treason. 
 
 The county of Hainault suffered much 
 froTn the garrisons of Lille and Douay. 
 Meanwhile the earl was gone to England and 
 then to the emperor Eouis of Bavaria. Sir 
 John of Hainatdt asked for aid from the earl 
 of Brabant and from Jaques d'Arteveld. 
 
 The duke of Normandy laid siege to 
 Thun-P Evesque. The earl of Hainault 
 came to relieve it, and the duke of 
 Nonnandy sent word to king Philip at 
 Peronne. Philip sent tivelve hundred spears, 
 serving himself with them ^ as a soldier,' 
 that is, taking no command, because he had 
 taken oath not to levy war on the Empire. 
 
 The earl of Hainatdt received an addition 
 of sixty thousand Flemings to his arm-y, and 
 offered battle, which the French reftised. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 Of the battle on the sea before Sluys in 
 Flanders between the king of England 
 and the Frenchmen. 
 
 Now let us leave somewhat to speak of 
 the earl of Hainault and of the duke 
 of Normandy, and speak of the king of 
 England, who was on the sea to the intent 
 to arrive in Flanders, and so into Hainault, 
 to make war against the Frenchmen. This 
 was on Midsummer-even in the year of our 
 Lord MCCCXL., all the English fleet was 
 departed out of the river of Thames and 
 took the way to Sluys. And the same 
 time between Blankenberghe and Sluys on 
 the sea was sir Hugh Quieret, sir Peter 
 Behuchet and Barbevaire, and more than 
 sixscore great vessels, beside other ; and 
 they were of Normans, bidaus, Genoways 
 and Picards about the number of forty 
 thousand : there they were laid by the 
 French king to defend the king of England's 
 passage. The king of England and his 
 came sailing till he came before Sluys : and 
 when he saw so great a number of ships 
 that their masts seemed to be like a great 
 wood, he demanded of the master of his 
 ship what people he thought they were. 
 He answered and said, ' Sir, I think they 
 be Normans laid here by the French king, 
 and hath done great displeasure in England, 
 brent your town of Hampton and taken 
 your great ship the Christofcr.' 'Ah,' 
 quoth the king, ' I have long desired to 
 fight with the Frenchmen, and now shall I 
 fight with some of them by the grace of 
 God and Saint George ; for truly they have 
 done me so many displeasures, that I shall be 
 revenged, an I may.' Then the king set 
 all his ships in order, the greatest before, 
 well furnished with archers, and ever 
 between two ships of archers he had one 
 ship with men of arms ; and then he made 
 another battle to lie aloof, with archers, to 
 comfort ever them that were most weary, if 
 need were. And there were a great number 
 of countesses, ladies, knights' wives and 
 other damosels, that were going to see the 
 
62 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 queen at Gaunt : these ladies the king 
 caused to be well kept with three hundred 
 men of arms and five hundred archers. 
 
 When thekingand his marshalshad ordered 
 his battles, he drew up the sails and came 
 with a quarter wind to have the vantage 
 of the sun, and so at last they turned a little 
 to get the wind at will.' And when the 
 Normans saw them recule back, they had 
 marvel why they did so, and some said, 
 ' They think themselves not meet to meddle 
 with us, wherefore they will go back.' 
 They saw well how the king of England 
 was there personally, by reason of his 
 banners. Then they did apparel their fleet 
 in order, for they were sage and good men 
 of war on the sea, and did set the Christofer, 
 the which they had won the year before, to 
 be foremost, with many trumpets and instru- 
 ments,- and so set on their enemies. 
 
 There began a sore battle on both parts : 
 archers and cross-bows began to shoot, and 
 men of arms approached and fought hand 
 to hand : and the better to come together 
 they had great hooks and grappers of iron, 
 to cast out of one ship into another, and so 
 tied them fast together. There were many 
 deeds of arms done, taking and rescuing 
 again, and at last the great Christofer was 
 first won by the Englishmen, and all that 
 were within it taken or slain. Then there 
 was great noise and cry, and the English- 
 men approached and fortified the Christofer 
 with archers, and made him to pass on 
 before to fight with the Genoways. This 
 battle was right fierce and terrible ; for the 
 battles on the sea are more dangerous and 
 
 } The original text .says : ' They came with the 
 wind on their quarter to have the advantage of the 
 sun, which as they came was in their faces. They 
 bethought them that this might damage them much, 
 and therefore they turned a little out of their course 
 till they had the wind at will.' But thetrue reading is, 
 'till they had it (J.e. the sun)at their will.' It must 
 be supposed that they were coming over before a 
 west wind, for which they would probably have 
 waited. _0n this course they would have the sun 
 directly in their faces at prime, when the battle 
 began ; and perceiving this they avoided the dis- 
 advantage by changing their course, so as to have 
 the wind on their right quarter and so come in from 
 the north-west instead of directly from the west. To 
 do this they would have to sail first some little way to 
 ihe northward, and it was this movement that caused 
 the Normans to think that they were retiring. 
 
 - In the better te.xt the Christofer is said to be 
 filled with cross-bowmen and Genoese, and the 
 'trumpets and instruments' are mentioned only in 
 genera] as sounded upon the advance of the fleet. 
 
 fiercer than the battles by land : for on the 
 sea there is no reculing nor fleeing ; there is 
 no remedy but to fight and to abide fortune, 
 and every man to shew his prowess. Of a 
 truthsir Hugh Quieret, and sir Behuchet and 
 Barbevaire were right good and expert men 
 of war. This battle endured from the morn- 
 ing till it was noon, and the Englishmen 
 endured much pain, for their enemies were 
 four against one, and all good men on the sea. 
 There the king of England was a noble knight 
 of his own hand ; he was in the flower of 
 his yongth : in like wise so was the earl of 
 Derby, Pembroke, Hereford, Huntingdon, 
 Northampton and Gloucester, sir Raynold 
 Cobham, sir Richard Stafford, the lord 
 Percy, sir Walter of Manny, sir Henry of 
 Flanders, sir John Eeauchamp, the lord 
 Felton, the lord Bradestan, sir [John] 
 Chandos, the lord Delaware, the lord of 
 Multon, sir Robert d'Artois called earl 
 of Richmond, and divers other lords and 
 knights, who bare themselves so valiantly 
 with some succours that they had of Bruges 
 and of the country thereabout, that they 
 obtained the victory ; so that the French- 
 men, Normans and other were discomfited, 
 slain and drowned ; there was not one that 
 scaped, but all were slain. 
 
 When this victory was achieved, the king 
 all that night abode in his ship before 
 Sluys, with great noise of trumpets and 
 other instruments. Thither came to see 
 the king divers of Flanders, such as had 
 heard of the king's coming. And then the 
 king demanded of the burgesses of Bruges 
 how Jaques d'Arteveld did : they answered 
 that he was gone to the earl of Hainault 
 against the duke of Normandy with sixty 
 thousand Flemings. And on the next day, 
 the which was Midsummer day, the king 
 and all his took land, and the king on foot 
 went a pilgrimage to our Lady of Ardem- 
 bourg, and there heard mass and dined ; 
 and then took his horse and rode to Gaunt, 
 where the queen received him with great 
 joy ; and all his carriage came after, little 
 little. Then the king wrote to the 
 
 and 
 
 earl of Hainault and to them within the 
 castle of Thun, certifying them of his 
 arrival ; and ■when the earl knew thereof, 
 and that he had discomfited the army on 
 the sea, he dislodged and gave leave to all 
 the soldiers to depart, and took with him 
 to Valenciennes all the great lords, and 
 
COUNCIL OF VILVORDE 
 
 63 
 
 there feasted them honourably, and specially 
 the duke of Brabant and Jaques d'Arteveld. 
 And there Jaques d'Arteveld openly in the 
 market-place, in the presence of all the lords 
 and of all such as would hear him, declared 
 what right the king of England had to the 
 crown of France, and also what puissance 
 the three countries were of, Flanders, Hai- 
 nault and Brabant, surely joined in one 
 alliance. And he did so by his great wisdom 
 and pleasant words, that all people that 
 heard him praised him much, and said how 
 hehad nobly spoken and by great experience. 
 And thus he was greatly praised, and it was 
 said that he was well worthy to govern the 
 county of Flanders. 
 
 Then the lords departed, and promised 
 to meet again within eight days at Gaunt, 
 to see the king of England ; and so they 
 did. And the king feasted them honour- 
 ably, and so did the queen, who was as 
 then newly purified of a son called John, 
 who was after duke of Lancaster by his 
 wife, daughter to duke Henry of Lancaster. 
 Then there was a council set to be at 
 Vilvorde, and a day limited. 
 
 CHAPTER LI 
 
 How king Robert of Sicily did all that he 
 might to pacify the kings of France and 
 England. 
 
 When the French king heard how his 
 army on the sea was discomfited, he dis- 
 lodged and drew to Arras, and gave leave 
 to his men to depart till he heard other tid- 
 ings ; and sent sir Godemar du Fay to 
 Tournay to see that there lacked nothing. 
 He feared more the Flemings than any 
 other, and sent the lord of Beaujeu to Mor- 
 tagne to keep the frontiers against Hainault: 
 and he sent many men of war to Saint- 
 Omer's, to Aire and to Saint-Venant, and 
 purveyed sufficiently for all the fortresses 
 fronting on Flanders. 
 
 In this season there reigned a king in 
 Sicily called Robert, who was reputed to be 
 a great astronomer, and always he warned 
 the French king and his council, that in no 
 wise he should fight against the king of 
 England ; for he said it was given the king 
 of England to be right fortunate in all his 
 deeds. This king Robert would gladly 
 have seen these two kings at a good accord ; 
 
 for he loved so much the crown of France, 
 that he was right sorry to see the desola- 
 tion thereof. This king of Sicily was at 
 Avignon with pope Clement and with the 
 college there, and declared to them the 
 perils that were likely to fall in the realm 
 of France by the war between the said two 
 kings, desiring them that they would help 
 to find some means to appease them : where- 
 unto the pope and the cardinals answered 
 how they would gladly intend thereto, so 
 that the two kings would hear them. 
 
 CHAPTER LII 
 
 Of the council that the king of England and 
 his allies held at Vilvorde. 
 
 At this council holden at Vilvorde were 
 these lords as followeth : the king of Eng- 
 land, the duke of Brabant, the earl of 
 Hainault, sir John his uncle, the duke of 
 Gueldres, the earl of Juliers, the marquis 
 of Brandebourg, the marquis of Meissen, 
 the earl of Mons, sir Robert d'Artois, the 
 lord of Fauquemont, sir William of Duven- 
 voorde, the earl of Namur, Jaques d'Arte- 
 veld, and many other great lords, and of 
 every good town of Flanders a three or 
 four personages in manner of a counsel. 
 There was agreement made between the 
 three countries, Flanders, Brabant and 
 Hainault, that from thenceforth each of 
 them should aid and comfort other in all 
 cases. And there they made assurance 
 each to other, that if any of them had to do 
 with any country, the other two should give 
 aid, and hereafter if any of them should be 
 at discord one with another, the third should 
 set agreement between them : and if he were 
 not able so to do, then the matter should be 
 put unto the king of England, in whose 
 hands this matter was sworn and promised, 
 and he to agree them. And in confirmation 
 of love and amity they ordained a law to 
 run throughout those three countries, the 
 which was called the law of the companions 
 or allies.' And there it was determined 
 
 1 This should be : ' They ordained that coins 
 should be struck to run in all the three countries, 
 which \i^ czW^A companions or allies.' The trans- 
 lator has been misled by the expression ' faire une 
 loys ' (' loys ' meaning ' standard of coinage '). In 
 chap. 29 we are told that Jaques d'Arteveld's attend- 
 ants had each day ' quatre compagnons ou gros de 
 Flandres' for their wages. 
 
64 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 that the king of England should remove 
 about Maudlin-tide after, and lay siege to 
 Tournay ; and there to meet all the said 
 lords and theirs, with the powers of all the 
 good towns : and then every man departed 
 to their own houses, to apparel them in 
 that behalf 
 
 CHAPTER LIII 
 
 How the king of England besieged the city 
 of Tournay with great puissance. 
 
 The French king after the departure of 
 these lords from the council of Vilvorde 
 he knew the most part of their determina- 
 tion. Then he sent to Tournay the chief 
 men of war of all France, as the earl of Eu, 
 constable of France, the young earl of 
 Guines his son, the earl of Foix and his 
 brethren, the earl Aimery of Narbonne, 
 sir Aymar of Poitiers, sir Geoifrey of Charny, 
 sir Gerard of Montfaucon, the two mar- 
 shals, sir Robert Bertrand and sir Matthew 
 de Trie, the lord of Cayeu, the seneschal 
 of Poitou, the lord of Chatillon, and sir 
 John of Landas, and these had with them 
 valiant knights and squires. They came to 
 Tournay and found there sir Godemar du 
 Fay, who was there before. Then they 
 took regard to the provision of the town, 
 as well to the victuals as to the artillery and 
 fortification ; and they caused to be brought 
 out of the country thereabout wheat, oats 
 and other provision. 
 
 Now let us return to the king of England. 
 When the time approached that he and his 
 allies should meet before Tournay, and that 
 the corn began to ripe, he departed from 
 Gaunt with seven earls of his country, eight 
 prelates, twenty-eight bannerets, two hun- 
 dred knights, four thousand men of arms, 
 and nine thousand archers, beside footmen. 
 All his host passed through the town of 
 Oudenarde, and so passed the river of I'Es- 
 cault and lodged before Tournay at the gate 
 called Saint-Martin, the way toward Lille 
 and Douay. Then anon after came the 
 duke of Brabant with more than twenty 
 thousand men, knights, squires and 
 commons ; and he lodged at the bridge of 
 Rieux by the river of I'Escault between 
 the abbey of Saint Nicholas and the gate 
 Valenciennois.^ Next to him came the earl 
 1 That is, the gate leading towards Valenciennes. 
 
 of Hainault with a goodly company of his 
 country, with many of Holland and Zealand ; 
 and he was lodged between the king and 
 the duke of Brabant. Then came Jaques 
 d'Arteveld with more than sixty thousand 
 Flemings, beside them of Ypres, Pope- 
 ringhe, Cassel, Bergues ; and they were set 
 on the other side, as ye shall hear after. 
 Jaques d'Arteveld lodged at the gate Sainte- 
 Fontaine : the duke of Gueldres, the earl 
 of Juliers, the marquis of Brandebourg, the 
 marquis of Meissen, the earl of Mons, the 
 earl of Salm, the lord of Fauquemont, sir 
 Arnold of Baquehem and all the Almains 
 were lodged on the other side, toward Hai- 
 nault. Thus the city of Tournay was en- 
 vironed round about, and every host might 
 resort each to other, so that none could 
 issue out without spying. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV 
 
 SUMMARY. — During the siege of Tour- 
 nay the earl of Hainault rode into France 
 and btirnt some villages. The Flemings 
 tiiade assattlts on Tournay from the river, 
 but won nothing. 
 
 CHAPTER LV 
 
 How the Scots won again great part of Scot- 
 land while the siege was before Tournay. 
 
 Now it is to be remembered how sir William 
 Douglas, son of William Douglas' brother, 
 who died in Spain, and the earl Patrick, 
 the earl of Sutherland, sir Robert of Versy,' 
 sir Simon Eraser and Alexander Ramsay, 
 they were captains in such part of Scot- 
 land as was left unwon by the Englishmen. 
 And they had continued in the forest of 
 Gedeours the space of seven year, winter 
 and summer, and as they might they made 
 war against the Englishmen being there in 
 garrison. Some time they had good ad- 
 venture and some time evil : and while the 
 king of England was at siege before Tour- 
 nay, the French king sent men of war into 
 Scotland, and they arrived at Saint John's 
 
 1 Kervyn de Lettenhove makes it probable that 
 this name, which frequently occurs among those of 
 the leading barons of Scotland, is Froissart's cor- 
 ruption of Erskine. 
 
EDINBURGH CASTLE TAKEN, 
 
 1 341 
 
 65 
 
 town. And they desired the Scots in the 
 French king's name, that they would set on 
 and make such war in the realm of England, 
 that the king might be fain to return home 
 to rescue his own realm, and to leave up 
 the siege at Tournay : and the French king 
 promised them men and money to aid them 
 so to do. And so the Scots departed out 
 of the forest of Gedeours and passed through 
 Scotland, and won again divers fortresses, 
 and so passed the town of Berwick and the 
 river of Tyne, and entered into the country 
 of Northumberland, the which sometime 
 was a realm. There they found great plenty 
 of beasts, and wasted and brent all the 
 country to Durham : then they returned by 
 another way, destroying the country. In 
 this voyage they destroyed more than three 
 days' journey into the realm of England, and 
 then returned into Scotland and conquered 
 again all the fortresses that were holden by 
 the Englishmen, except the city of Berwick 
 and three other castles, the which did them 
 great trouble. They were so strong, that 
 it would have been hard to have found any 
 such in any country ; the one was Stirling, 
 another Roxburgh, and the third the chief 
 of all Scotland, Edinburgh, the which castle 
 standeth on a high rock, that a. man must 
 rest once or twice or he come to the highest 
 of the hill ; and captain there was sir 
 Walter [of Limoges, brother to sir Richard] 
 Limousin, who had before so valiantly kept 
 the castle of Thun against the Frenchmen. 
 So it was that sir William Douglas de- 
 vised a feat, and discovered his intention 
 to his companions, to the earl Patrick, to 
 sir Simon Eraser and to Alexander Ram- 
 say, and all they agreed together. Then 
 they took a two hundred of the wild Scots 
 and entered into the sea, and made pro- 
 vision of oats, meal, coals and wood ; ' and 
 so peaceably they arrived at a port near to 
 the castle of Edinburgh. And in the night 
 they armed them and took a ten or twelve 
 of their company, such as they did trust 
 best, and did disguise them in poor torn 
 coats and hats, like poor men of the 
 country, and charged a twelve small horses 
 with sacks, some with oats, some with 
 wheat-meal and some with coals ; and they 
 did set all their company in a bushment in 
 
 1 'De charbon et de feuvre,' but the true reading 
 is 'de charbon de feuvre,' i.e. charcoal for smiths' 
 forges i^aber). 
 F 
 
 an old destroyed abbey thereby, near to 
 the foot of the hill. And when the day 
 began to appear, covertly armed as they 
 were, they went up the hill with their 
 merchandise. And when they were in the 
 mid way, sir William Douglas and sir 
 Simon P'raser, disguised as they were, went 
 a little before and came to the porter and 
 said : ' Sir, in great fear we have brought 
 hither oats and wheat-meal ; and if ye 
 have any need thereof, we will sell it to you 
 good cheap.' ' Marry,' said the porter, ' and 
 we have need thereof; but it is so early, 
 that I dare not awake the captain nor his 
 steward. But let them come in and I shall 
 open the outer gate.' And so they all en- 
 tered into the gate of the bails : sir William 
 Douglas saw well how the porter had the 
 keys in his hands of the great gate of the 
 castle. Then when the first gate was 
 opened, as ye have heard, their horses with 
 carriages entered in ; and the two that 
 came last, laden with coals, they made 
 them to fall down on the ground-sill of the 
 gate, to the intent that the gate should not 
 be closed again. And then they took the 
 porter and slew him so peaceably, that he 
 never spake word. Then they took the 
 great keys and opened the castle gate : 
 then sir William Douglas blew a horn and 
 did cast away their torn coats and laid all 
 the other sacks overthwart the gate, to the 
 intent that it should not be shut again. 
 And when they of the bushment heard the 
 horn, in all haste they might they mounted 
 the hill. Then the watchman of the castle 
 with noise of the horn awoke, and saw 
 how the people were coming all armed to 
 the castle-ward. Then he blew his horn 
 and cried, ' Treason ! treason ! Sirs, arise 
 and arm you shortly, for yonder be men of 
 arms approaching to your fortress.' Then 
 every man arose and armed them and came 
 to the gate ; but sir William Douglas and 
 his twelve companions defended so the 
 gate, that they could not close it : and so 
 by great valiantness they kept the entry 
 open, till their bushment came. They 
 within defended the castle as well as they 
 might, and hurt divers of them without ; 
 but sir William and the Scots did so much, 
 that they conquered the fortress, and all the 
 Englishmen within slain, except the captain 
 and six other squires. So the Scots tarried 
 there all that day, and made a knight of 
 
66 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the country captain there, called Simon 
 Wisbey, and with him divers other of the 
 country! These tidings came to the king 
 of England before Tournay. 
 
 CHAPTER LVI 
 
 Of the great host that the French king 
 assembled to raise the siege before Tournay. 
 
 Ye have heard before how the king of 
 England had besieged the city of Tournay 
 with more than six score thousand men of 
 arms, with the Flemings. And because 
 the victuals within the city began to minish, 
 the French lords within caused to avoid 
 out of the town all manner of poor people, 
 such as were not furnished to abide the 
 adventure of the siege. They were put 
 out in the open day, and they passed 
 through the duke of Brabant's host, who 
 shewed them grace, for he caused them to 
 be safely brought to the French host at 
 Arras, whereas the king lay. And there 
 he made a great assembly of men of his 
 own country and part out of the Empire. ^ 
 Thither came to him the king of Bohemia, 
 the duke of Lorraine, the earl of Bar, the 
 bishop of Metz and of Verdun, the earl of 
 iVIontbeliard, sir John of Chalons, the earl 
 of Geneva, the earl of Savoy and the lord 
 Louis of Savoy his brother. All these 
 lords came to serve the French king with 
 all their powers. Also thither came the 
 duke of Bretayne, the duke of Burgoyne, 
 the duke of Bourbon, the earl of Alencon, 
 the earl of Flanders, the earl Forez, the 
 earl Arniagnac, the earl of Blois, .sir 
 Charles of Blois, the earl of Harcourt, 
 the earl Dammartin, the lord Coucy, and 
 divers other lords and knights. And after 
 came the king of Navarre with a goodly 
 number of men of war out of the country 
 in France that he held of the Frerich king, 
 and thereby he came to serve him : also 
 there was the king of Scots with a certain 
 number appointed to him. 
 
 CHAPTERS LVH, LVHI 
 
 SUMMARY. — The king of France with 
 his arnty 7noved ttp from Arras towards 
 
 1 The person spoken of is of course king Philip, 
 but the translator has made the passage obscure by 
 omissions. 
 
 Tournay. Two German knights of the 
 garrison of Bouchain riding abroad with 
 "five -and -twenty spears routed and ' dis- 
 ' trussed ' certain French soldiers of Mortagne, 
 who were returning with booty. 
 
 Sir William de Bailleul and sir Wa- 
 flardde la Croix with a body of Hainaulters 
 crossed the Pont-h-Tressin and attacked the 
 French encampment. They were routed, 
 chiefly by sir Robert de Bailleul, brother of 
 sir William ; and sir Waflard de la Croix 
 being taken prisoner was put to death by the 
 men of Lille. 
 
 CHAPTER LIX 
 
 How the earl of Hainault assailed the for- 
 tress of JVIortagne in Picardy by divers 
 manners. 
 
 Of this deed that sir Robert liailleul had 
 done the French king was right joyous. 
 And within a season after the earl of 
 Hainault, sir John his uncle, and the 
 seneschal of Hainault with a six hundred 
 spears, Hainowes and Almains, departed 
 from the siege of Tournay. And the earl 
 sent to them of Valenciennes, that they 
 should come and meet with him before 
 Mortagne, and to come between le Scarpe 
 and I'Escault to assail Mortagne. And 
 they came thither in great array, and 
 brought with them great engines. The 
 lord of Beaujeu, who was captain within 
 Mortagne, greatly doubted assaulting, be- 
 cause the fortress stood near to the river 
 and near to Hainault, as on all parts : 
 therefore he caused twelve hundred piles to 
 be driven in the river, to the intent that 
 no passage should be that way. Howbeit 
 for all that, the earl of Hainault and the 
 Hainowes came thither on the one side, 
 and they of Valenciennes on the other part, 
 and incontinent they made an assault and 
 approached the barriers ; but there were 
 such deep trenches, that they could not 
 come near. Then some advised to pass 
 the river of le Scarpe, and so to come on the 
 side toward Saint- Amand, and to make an 
 assault at the gate toward Maulde ; and as 
 theydevised, a four hundred passed the river. 
 So then Mortagne was closed in three 
 parts ; the weakest side was toward Maulde ; 
 howbeit there was strength enough. To 
 
EVENTS DURING THE SIEGE OF TO UK NAY 
 
 67 
 
 that part came the lord Beaujeu himself to 
 defend it, for he feared none of the other 
 sides. He had in his hand a great glaive, 
 sharp and well steeled, and above the blade 
 there was a sharp hook of steel, that when 
 he gave his stroke, the hook should take 
 hold ; and look, on whom that it fastened, 
 he came to him or else fell in the water : by 
 that means the same day he cast into the 
 water more than twelve, at that gate the 
 assault was fiercest. The earl of Hainault, 
 who was on the other side, knew nothing 
 of that assault : he was arranged along the 
 river side of I'Escault and devised how 
 they might get out of the river the piles by 
 force or by subtilty ; for then they might 
 come just to the walls. They ordained to 
 make a ship and a great engine to draw out 
 the piles, each one after other ; their car- 
 penters were set awork and the engine 
 made in a ship ; and the same day they of 
 Valenciennes raised on their side a great 
 engine and did cast in stones, so that it sore 
 troubled them within. Thus the first day 
 passed and the night in assailing and de- 
 vising how they might grieve them in the 
 fortress ; the next day they went to assault 
 on all parts ; and the third day the ship 
 was ready and the engine to draw out the 
 piles, and then did set awork to draw them 
 out ; but there were so many and such 
 labour in the doing, or they could draw 
 out one, that they were weary of that craft, 
 and the lords would they had never begun 
 it, and so commanded to cease their work. 
 On the other part within IMortagne there 
 was a cunning master in making of engines, 
 who saw well how the engine of Valen- 
 ciennes did greatly grieve them. He raised 
 an engine in the castle, the which was not 
 very great, but he trimmed it to a point ; ' 
 and he cast therewith but three times ; the 
 first stone fell a twelve foot from the 
 engine without, the second fell nearer, and 
 the third stone hit so even that it brake 
 clean asunder the shaft of the engine with- 
 out. Then the soldiers of Mortagne made 
 a great shout. So thus the Hainowes could 
 get nothing there. Then the earl said how 
 he would withdraw and go again to the 
 siege of Tournay : and so they did, and 
 they of Valenciennes returned to their 
 town. 
 
 1 'L'attenipra bien et a point': that is, he ad- 
 justed it to a nicety. 
 
 CHAPTERS LX, LXI 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Hainault ap- 
 pointed the men of Valenciennes to meet hitn 
 before Saint- Amand. When they arrived, 
 they attacked the fortress without success attd 
 were mocked by those within, who said, 
 ' Go away and drink your good ale ! ' ^ 
 They departed and next day the earl came 
 from Tournay and tooTc the town by batter- 
 ing down part of the abbey walls. 
 
 -Another day the earl entered France and 
 burnt the abbey of Marchiennes. 
 
 Meanwhile the siege of Tournay cojitinued, 
 and some said the duke of Brabant allowed 
 victuals to pass ijito the town. 
 
 In an attack on the French camp by 
 certain knights of Ahnaine and Hainault 
 the lord Charles of Montmorency was take7i 
 prisoner. 
 
 CHAPTER LXII 
 
 How the Flemings were before Saint-Omer's 
 during the siege. 
 
 Now let us shew of an adventure that fell 
 to the Flemings, of the which company 
 there were captains sir Robert d'Artois 
 and sir Henry of Flanders. They were in 
 number a forty thousand, what of the towns 
 of Ypres, Poperinghe, Messines, Cassel 
 and of the chatelainy of Bergues ; all these 
 Flemings lay in the vale of Cassel in tents 
 and pavilions, to counter - garrison the 
 French garrisons, that the French king had 
 laid at Saint-Omer's, at Aire, at Saint- 
 Venant and in other towns and fortresses 
 thereabout. And in Saint-Omer's there 
 was the earl Dolphin of Auvergne, the 
 lord of Chalen90n, the lord of Montaigu, 
 the lord of Rochfort, the viscount of 
 Thouars, and divers other knights of 
 Auvergne and Limousin. And in Aire 
 and Saint-Venant there were also many 
 soldiers, and oftentimes they issued out and 
 skirmished with the Flemings. 
 
 On a day four thousand ^ went to the 
 suburbs of Saint-Omer's and brake down 
 
 1 ' Allez boire vostre god-ale, allez ! ' a scoffing 
 allusion to their alliance with the English. 
 
 - That is, of the Flemings ; but the better reading 
 is ' environ troi miUc.' 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 divers houses and robbed them. The fray 
 anon was known in the town, and the lords 
 within armed them and their company and 
 . issued out at another gate. They were a 
 six banners and a two hundred men of arms 
 and a six hundred footmen, and they came 
 by a secret way on the Flemings, who were 
 busy to rob and pill the town of Arques 
 near to Saint -Omer's. There they were 
 spread abroad without captain or good 
 order : then the Frenchmen came on them 
 in good order of battle, their banners dis- 
 played, crying, ' Clermont ! the Dolphin 
 of Auvergne ! ' wherewith the Flemings 
 were abashed and beaten down by heaps ; 
 and the chase of them endured two leagues, 
 and there were slain a four thousand and 
 eight hundred,' and a four hundred taken 
 prisoners and led to Saint -Omer's. And 
 such as fled and scaped returned to the 
 host and shewed their companions their 
 adventure : and at last tidings thereof came 
 to their captains, sir Robert d'Artois and 
 sir Henry of Flanders, who said it was 
 well employed, for they went forth without 
 commandment or captain. 
 
 And the same night, or it was midnight, 
 the Flemings lying iu their tents asleep, 
 suddenly generally among them all there 
 fell such a fear in their hearts, that they 
 rose in great haste and with such pain, that 
 they thought not to be dislodged time 
 enough. They beat down their own tents 
 and pavilions and trussed all their carriages, 
 and so fled away, not abiding one for 
 another, without keeping of any right way. 
 When these tidings came to their two 
 captains, they rose hastily and made great 
 fires, and took torches and mounted on 
 their horses, and so came to these Flemings 
 and said : ' Sirs, what aileth you ? Do you 
 want anything? Why do you thus fly 
 away ? Be you not well assured ? Return 
 in the name of God ! Ye be to blame thus 
 to fly, and no man chase you.' But for all 
 their words every man fled the next way to 
 their own houses. And when these lords 
 saw none other remedy, they trussed all 
 their harness in waggons and returned to 
 the host before Tournay, and there shewed 
 the adventure of the Flemings, whereof 
 every man had marvel : some said they were 
 overcome with fantasies. 
 
 1 The better reading is, ' of the three thousand 
 there were slain eighteen hundred.' 
 
 CHAPTER LXIII 
 
 How the siege before Tournay was broken 
 up by reason of a truce. 
 
 This siege endured a long season, the space 
 of eleven weeks three days less ; and all 
 that season the lady Jane of Valois, sister 
 to the French king and mother to the earl 
 of Hainault, travailed greatly, what on the 
 one part and on the other, to have a respite 
 and a peace between the parties, so that 
 they might depart without battle. And 
 divers times she kneeled at the feet of the 
 French king in that behalf, and also made 
 great labour to the lords of the Empire, and 
 specially to the duke of Brabant and to the 
 duke of Juliers, who had her daughter in 
 marriage, and also to sir John of Hainault. 
 So much the good lady procured with the 
 aid and counsel of Louis d'Agimont, who 
 was well beloved with both parties, that it 
 was granted that each party should send 
 four sufficient persons to treat on some good 
 way to accord the parties, and a truce for 
 three days : these appointers should meet 
 in a little chapel standing in the fields called 
 Esplechin. At the day appointed these 
 persons met, and the good lady with them : 
 of the French party there was Charles king 
 of Bohemia, Charles earl d'Alenfon, brother 
 to the French king, and the bishop of 
 Liege, the earl of Flanders and the earl 
 of Armagnac. Of the English party there 
 was the duke of Brabant, the bishop of 
 Lincoln, the duke of Gueldres, the duke 
 of Juliers and sir John of Hainault. And 
 when they were all met, they made each to 
 other great salutations and good cheer, and 
 then entered into their treaty. And all 
 that day they communed on divers ways of 
 accord, and always the good lady of Valois 
 was among them, desiring affectuously all 
 the parties, that they would do their labour 
 to make a peace. Howbeit the first day 
 passed without anything doing, and so they 
 returned and promised to meet again the 
 next day ; the which day they came together 
 again in the same place and so fell again 
 into their treaty, and so fell unto certain 
 points agreeable ; but it was as then so 
 late, that they could not put it in writing as 
 that day ; and to make an end and to make 
 perfect the matter if they might, the third 
 
THE SIEGE OF TOURNAY RAISED, 1340 
 
 69 
 
 day they met again, and so finally accorded 
 on a truce to endure for a year between all 
 parties and all their men, and also between 
 them that were in Scotland, and all such as 
 made war in Gascoyne, Poitou and in 
 Saintonge ; and this truce to begin the 
 fortieth day next ensuing, and within that 
 space every party to give knowledge to his 
 men without mal-engine ; and if such com- 
 panies will not keep the peace, let them be 
 at their choice : but as for France, Picardy, 
 Burgoyne, Bretayne and Normandy, to be 
 bound to this peace without any exception : 
 and this peace to begin incontinent between 
 the hosts of the two kings. Also it was 
 determined that both parties in each of their 
 names should send four or five personages 
 as their ambassadors and to meet at Arras, 
 and the pope in like wise to send thither 
 four, and there to make a full confirmation 
 without any mean.^ Also by this truce 
 every party to enjoy and possess all and 
 everything that they were as then in posses- 
 sion of. 
 
 This truce incontinent was cried in both 
 hosts, whereof the Brabances were right 
 glad, for they were sore weary with so long 
 lying at the siege : so that the next day, as 
 soon as it was dayh'ght, ye should have seen 
 tents taken down, chariots charged and 
 people remove so thick, that a man would 
 have thought to have seen a new world. 
 Thus the good town of Tournay was safe 
 without any great damage : howbeit they 
 within endured great pain ; their victuals 
 began to fail, for, as it was said, they had 
 as then scant to serve them a three or four 
 days at the most. The Brabances departed 
 quickly, for they had great desire thereto : 
 the king of England departed sore against 
 his mind, if he might have done otherwise ; 
 but in manner he was fain to follow the 
 wills of the other lords and to believe their 
 counsels. And the French king could 
 abide no longer thereas he lay, for the evil 
 air and the weather hot : so the Frenchmen 
 had the honour of that journey,^ because 
 they had rescued Tournay and caused their 
 enemies to depart. The king of England 
 and the lords on his party said how they 
 had the honour, by reason that they had 
 ^ ' And that which these parties should ordain, 
 the two kings should hold and confirm without any 
 exception taken.' 
 
 3 'And so the Frenchmen thought on their part 
 that they had the honour,' etc. 
 
 tarried so long within the realm, and 
 besieged one of the good towns thereof, 
 and also had wasted and burnt in the 
 French country, and that the French king 
 had not rescued it in time and hour, as he 
 ought to have done, by giving of battle, 
 and finally agreed to a truce, their enemies 
 being still at the siege and brenning his 
 country. 
 
 Thus these lords departed from the siege 
 of Tournay, and every man drew to his own. 
 The king of England came to Gaunt to the 
 queen his wife, and shortly after passed the 
 sea, and all his, except such as should be at 
 the parliament at Arras. The earl of Hai- 
 nault returned to his country and held a 
 noble feast at Mons in Hainault, and a 
 great joust, in the which Gerard of 
 Werchin, seneschal of Hainault, did joust, 
 and was so sore hurt, that he died of the 
 stroke : he had a son called John, who was 
 after a good knight and a hardy, but he 
 was but a while in good health. The 
 French king gave leave to every man to 
 depart, and went himself to Lille, and 
 thither came they of Tournay, and the 
 king received them joyously and did shew 
 them great grace : he gave them freely their 
 franchise, the which they had lost long 
 before, wherewith they were joyous ; for 
 sir Godemar du Fayand divers other knights 
 had been long governours there : then they 
 made new provost and jurates according to 
 their ancient usages. Then the king de- 
 parted from Lille to go to Paris. 
 
 Now then came the season that the 
 council should be at Arras : and for pope 
 Clement thither came in legation the 
 cardinal of Naples and the cardinal of 
 Clermont, who came to Paris, whereas the 
 king made them much honour, and so 
 came to Arras : for the French king there 
 was the earl of Alen9on, the duke of 
 Bourbon, the earl of Flanders, the earl 
 of Blois, the archbishop of Sens, the bishop 
 of Beauvais and the bishop of Auxerre : 
 and for the king of England there was the 
 bishop of Lincoln, the bishop of Durham, 
 the earl of Warwick, sir Robert d'Artois, 
 sir John of Hainault and sir Henry of 
 Flanders. At the which treaty there were 
 many matters put forth, and so continued 
 a fifteen days and agreed of no point of 
 effect. For the Englishmen demanded, 
 and the Frenchmen would nothing give. 
 
70 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 hut all only to render the county of Pon- 
 thieu, the which was given with queen 
 Isabel in marriage with the king of 
 England. So this parliament bralvC up 
 and nothing done, but the truce to be 
 relonged two years longer : that was all 
 that the cardinals could get. Then every 
 man departed, and the two cardinals went 
 through Hainault at the desire of the earl, 
 who feasted them nobly. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV 
 
 Now speaketh the history of the wars of 
 Bretayne. and how the duke died without 
 heir, whereby the dissension fell. 
 
 When that this said truce was agreed and 
 sealed before the city of Tournay, every 
 lord and all manner of people dislodged, 
 and every man drew into his own country. 
 The duke of Bretayne, who had been there 
 with the French king, as well furnished as 
 any other prince that was there, departed 
 homeward ; and in his way a sickness took 
 him, so that he died : at which time he had 
 no child, nor had never none, by the 
 duchess, nor had no trust to have. He 
 had a brother by the father's side called 
 earl of Montfort, who was as then living, 
 and he had to his wife [the] sister to the 
 earl Louis of Flanders. This said duke 
 had another brother, both by father and 
 mother, who was as then dead ; and he 
 had a daughter alive, and the duke her 
 uncle had married her to the lord Charles 
 of Blois, eldest son of the earl Guy of 
 Blois, that the same earl had by the sister 
 of king Phihp of France, who as then 
 reigned, and had promised with her in 
 marriage the duchy of Bretayne after his 
 decease. For he doubted that the earl 
 iMontfort would claim the inheritance as 
 next of blood, and yet he was not his 
 proper brother - german, and the duke 
 thought that the daughter of his brother- 
 german ought by reason to be more near 
 to the inheritance after his decease than 
 the earl Montfort his brother. And be- 
 cause he feared that after his decease the 
 earl of Montfort would take away the 
 right from his young niece, therefore he 
 married her with the said sir Charles of 
 Blois, to the intent that king Philip, uncle 
 
 to her hu.sband, should aid to keep her 
 right against the earl Montfort, if he 
 meddle anything in the matter. 
 
 As soon as the earl Montfort knew 
 that the duke his brother was dead, he 
 went incontinent to Nantes, the sovereign 
 city of all Bretayne ; and he did so much 
 to the burgesses and to the people of the 
 country thereabout, that he was received 
 as their chief lord, as most next of blood to 
 his brother deceased, and so did to him 
 homage and fealty. Then he and his wife, 
 who had both the hearts of a lion, deter- 
 mined with their counsel to call a court 
 and to keep a solemn feast at Nantes at a 
 day limited, against the which day they 
 sent for all the nobles and counsels of the 
 good towns of Bretayne, to be there to do 
 their homage and fealty to him as to their 
 sovereign lord. 
 
 In the mean season, or this feast began, 
 the earl Montfort with a great number of 
 men of war departed from Nantes and 
 went to Limoges;' for he was informed 
 that the treasure that his father^ had 
 gathered many a day before was there kept 
 secret. When he came there he entered 
 into the city with great triumph, and did 
 him much honour, and was nobly received 
 of the burgesses, of the clergy and of the 
 commons, and they all did him fealty as to 
 their sovereign lord ; and by such means 
 as he found, that great treasure was 
 delivered to him : and when he had tarried 
 there at his pleasure, he departed with all 
 his treasure and came to Nantes to the 
 countess his wife. And so there they 
 tarried in great joy till the day came of the 
 feast, and made great provisions against the 
 same. And when the day came and no 
 man appeared for no commandment except 
 one knight, called sir Herve de Leon, a noble 
 and a puissant man ; so they kept the feast a 
 three days as well as they might with such 
 as were there. Then it was determined to 
 retain soldiers a-horseback and afoot, and so 
 to dispend his great treasure to attain to his 
 purpose of the duchy and to constrain all 
 rebels to come to mercy. So soldiers were 
 retained on all sides and largely paid, so that 
 they had a great number afoot and a-horse- 
 back, nobles and other of divers countries. 
 
 r The late duke ofRritt.-iny h.nd been viscount of 
 Limoges by right of his first wife. 
 - liie true reading i-S 'frere.' 
 
irj/? IN BRITTANY, 1341 
 
 71 
 
 CHAPTER LXV 
 
 How the earl of Afontfort took the town and 
 casile of Brest. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI 
 
 How the earl of Montfort took the city of 
 Rennes. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVII 
 
 How the earl Montfort took the town and 
 castle of Hennebont. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Montfort re- 
 ceived the surrender of Hennehojit, Van72es, 
 Ajiray aiid otJicr places, several being gained 
 hy the itijluence of IlervJ de Leon. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVni 
 
 How the earl Montfort did homage to the king 
 of England for the duchy of Bretayne. 
 
 S UMMA RY.~ The earl of Montfort passed 
 ovei' to England and came to Windsor, where 
 he was well received by the kijig and 
 queen. He offered to do homage for the 
 duchy of Brittany, fearing that the Fixnch 
 king would stipport Charles of Blots. The 
 king of England thought that he might more 
 profitably enter Erance from Brittany than 
 from Elanders, and accepted the homage^ 
 proDiising to defend him against every man, 
 the French king or other. The earl then 
 returned to Brittaiiy. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX 
 
 How the earl Montfort wns summoned to 
 be at the parliament of Paris at the request 
 of the lord Charles of Blois. 
 
 SUMMARY.— Sir Charles of Blois, con- 
 ceiving himself to be the rightful inheritor 
 of Brittany by reason of his wife, came to 
 Paris and complained to king Philip agai7tst 
 
 the earl of Montfort. Philip szivimoned the 
 earl to Paris, and he came with some four 
 hundred horse. He appeared before the 
 king and the peers of France, and denied 
 having done homage to Edward III. for the 
 duchy of Brittany, but 7naintained his pre- 
 tensions, submitting at the sa?ne tijjte to the 
 judgment of the king. He was ordered 7iot 
 to quit Paris for fftee7i days and p7'07nised 
 to obey, but whe7i he 7'etu7'7?ed to his lodgi7tg 
 he 'sat a7id iyjiagined ma7iy doubts,^ a7id 
 fi7ially left Pai'is sec7'etly a7id returned to 
 B?dtta7iy. 
 
 CHAPTER LXX 
 
 How the duchy of Bretayne was judged to 
 sir Charles of Blois, 
 
 SUMMAR v. — The Fre^ich ki7ig was dis- 
 pleased 7uhen he knew that the earl of 
 Mo7itfort was so departed, IVhen the day 
 ca7ne fo7' judgme7it to be give7i, the pee js and 
 gj'eat barons decided that the duchy of Brit- 
 ta7iy belonged clearly to the zvife of Charles 
 de Blois. Sir Charles of Blois desired his 
 cousi7i the duke of No7'ma7idy, his luicle the 
 earl of Ale7ico7i, with the duke of Bu7'gu7idy^ 
 the duke of Bou7'bo7z a7id other lords pTe}>e7if, 
 to go with Iwn i7ito B7'iita7iy, a7id they 
 departed to i7iake them ready. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXI 
 
 The lords of France that entered into 
 Bretayne with sir Charles of B)ois. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The lo7-ds who have been 
 77ie7ttioned assembled at A7tgers a?id pro- 
 ceeded to A7zcenis., a7td so e7ite7-ed B7-itta7iy 
 and took Cha77iptoceatix. They the7Z we7it 
 towards Na72tes, where the earl of Mo7itfort 
 ivas, and laid siege to it. 
 
 Skirmishes occurred divers ti7?ies at the 
 harriers, a7id 07z 07ze occasio7Z the me7t of the 
 city C07?ima7tded by HervS de IJo7i S7iffered 
 heavy loss. HeT^je de Leo7z 7aas blaT7ied by 
 the ea7'l a7id zuas 7nuch displeased ihe7'eby. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER LXXII 
 
 How the earl Montfort was taken at Nantes, 
 and how he died. 
 
 As I heard reported, there were certain 
 burgesses of the city saw how their goods 
 went to waste both without and within, 
 and had of their children and friends in 
 prison, and doubted that worse should 
 come to them after ; then they advised and 
 spake together secretly, so that finally they 
 concluded to treat with the lords of France, 
 so that they might come to have peace and 
 to have their children and friends clearly 
 delivered out of prison. They made this 
 treaty so secretly, that at last it was agreed 
 that they should have all the prisoners 
 delivered and they to set open one of the 
 gates, that the French lords might enter to 
 lake the earl of Montfort in the castle, 
 without doing of any manner of hurt to the 
 city or to the inhabitants or goods therein. 
 Some said this was purchased by the means 
 and agreement of sir Herve de Leon, who 
 had been before one of the earl's chief 
 counsellors. Thus as it was devised, so it 
 was done : in a morning the French lords 
 entered and went straight to the castle and 
 brake open the gates, and there took the 
 earl of Montfort prisoner and led him clean 
 out of the city into their field, without doing 
 of any more hurt in the city. This was the 
 year of our Lord God MCCCXLI., about the 
 feast of All Saints. 
 
 Then the lords of France entered into 
 the city with great joy ; and all the bur- 
 gesses and other did fealty and homage to 
 the lord Charles of Blois as to their right 
 sovereign lord ; and there they tarried a three 
 days in great feast. Then sir Charles of 
 Blois was counselled to abide there about 
 the city of Nantes till the next summer ; 
 and so he did, and set captains in such 
 garrisons as he had won. Then the other 
 lords went to Paris to the king and de- 
 livered him the earl of Montfort as prisoner. 
 The king set him in the castle of Louvre, 
 whereas he was long, and at last, as I 
 heard reported, there he died. 
 
 Now let us speak of the countess his 
 wife, who had the courage of a man and 
 the heart of a lion. She was in the city of 
 Rennes when her lord was taken, and how- 
 
 beit that she had great sorrow at her heart, 
 yet she valiantly recomforted her friends 
 and soldiers, and shewed them a little son 
 that she had, called John, and said : ' Ah ! 
 sirs, be not too sore abashed of the ear! my 
 lord, whom we have lost : he was but a man. 
 See here my little child, who shall be by the 
 grace of God his restorer, and he shall do 
 for you all ; and I have riches enough ; ye 
 shall not lack ; and I trust I shall purchase 
 for such a captain, that 3'e shall be all re- 
 comforted.' When she had thus comforted 
 her friends and soldiers in Rennes, then 
 she went to all her other fortresses and 
 good towns, and led ever with her John her 
 young son, and did to them as she did at 
 Rennes, and fortified all her garrisons of 
 everything that they wanted, and paid 
 largely and gave freely, whereas she 
 thought it well employed. Then she 
 went to Hennebont, and there she and her 
 son tarried all that winter. Oftentimes 
 she sent to visit her garrisons, and paid every 
 man full well and truly their wages. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXHI 
 
 How the king of England the third time 
 made war on the Scots. 
 
 SUMMAR Y.~The Scots had taken again 
 divers fortresses from the English, and 
 had laid siege to Stirling. So soon as 
 Edward retur?ied, he rode towards Scotla7id 
 and assembled his army at York, The 
 Scots assaulted Stirling ivith more tirgency 
 and C07npelled the garrison to sui-render. 
 Edivard moved on to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
 where he was much in want of provisions, 
 because his ships were scattered by tempest 
 and now winter ivas at hand. The Scots, 
 beirig but few and without a head, sent to 
 make a truce with Edward ; and it was 
 agreed that they shoitld send messengers to 
 kijig David, and if he came not to defend 
 his realm within the month of May follow- 
 ing, they shotdd yield the??i to the king of 
 England. The king of England retu7'ned 
 and disbanded his host. 
 
 Meanwhile, without knowiiig of these 
 messengers, king David set sail from 
 France and landed in Scotland. 
 
IVAJ? WITH THE SCOTS, 1341 
 
 1Z 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIV 
 
 How king David of Scotland came with a 
 great host to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
 
 SUMMARY. — King David was received 
 with great joy and gathered a great host. 
 They marched into England, leaving Rox- 
 burgh and Berrvick aside, and came to 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Here an attack was 
 made upon them from the town ajid the earl 
 of Moray "was taken prisoner. The Scots 
 assaulted the town to no purpose. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXV 
 
 How king David of Scotland destroyed the 
 city of Durham. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The Scots left Newcastle 
 and came to Durham, 7nad at having lost 
 the earl of Moray. Sir John Nevill, cap- 
 tain at Newcastle, rode within five days 
 from thence to Chertsey, where the king lay, 
 and brought a report of the Scots. The 
 king ordered a gene7'al levy to defend the 
 realm, and himself hastened fiorthward. 
 Meanwhile the Scots took Durhajn by 
 assault and destroyed it utterly, with the 
 churches, pnitting to death jnen, womejt and 
 children, and not sparifig monks, prelates or 
 canons. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVI 
 
 How the Scots besieged a castle of the earl 
 of Salisbury's. 
 
 SUMMARY. — King David drew toivard 
 Carlisle and passed by a castle of the 
 earl of Salisbury's,^ whereof sir William 
 Montague, nephew to the earl of Salisbury, 
 was captain. This sir William Moniagtie 
 attacked the rear-guard of the Scots and 
 carried off some of their plunder, wherefore 
 an assault was made on the castle. There 
 was within the noble countess of Salisbury, 
 luko was reputed for the sagest and fairest 
 lady of all England. Her husband, as we 
 have heard, had been taken prisoner before 
 
 1 Probnbly W.-irk castle, but the whole of this 
 narrative is very unhistorical. 
 
 Lille in France. This lady comforted 
 them greatly within, ^ for by the regard of 
 such a lady and by her sweet comforting a 
 man ought to be worth two meii at need.' 
 After the first day it was proposed to send 
 
 for aid to king Edward, who lay at York, 
 and sir William Montague himself offered 
 to ride thither, and passed throitgh the host 
 of the Scots by night. After several days of 
 
 fruitless assaults the king of Scots was ad- 
 vised to depart, for fear lest the king of Eng- 
 land should cojne thither, and the Scots 
 retired to the forest of Jedworth. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVn 
 
 How the king of England was in amours 
 with the countess of Salisbury. 
 
 The .same day that the Scots departed 
 from the said castle, king Edward came 
 thither with all his host about noon, and 
 came to the same ]5lace whereas the Scots 
 had lodged, and was sore displeased that 
 he found not the Scots there, for he came 
 thither in such haste, that his horse and 
 men were sore travailed. Then he com- 
 manded to lodge there that night, and said 
 how he would go see the castle and the 
 noble lady therein, for he had not seen her 
 sith she was married before : then every 
 man took his lodging as he list. And as 
 soon as the king was unarmed, he took a 
 ten or twelve knights with him and went 
 to the castle, to salute the countess of 
 Salisbury and to see the manner of the 
 assaults of the Scots and the defence that 
 was made against them. 
 
 As soon as the lady knew of the 
 king's coining, she set open the gates and 
 came out so richly beseen, that ei^ery man 
 marvelled of her beauty and could not cease 
 to regard her nobleness, with her great 
 beauty and the gracious words and coun- 
 tenance that she made. When she came 
 to the king, she kneeled down to the earth, 
 thanking him of his succours, and so led 
 him into the castle to make him cheer and 
 honour, as she that could right well do it. 
 Every man regarded her marvellously ; the 
 king himself could not withhold his regard- 
 ing of her ; for lie thought that he never 
 saw before so noble nor so fair a lady. 
 He was stricken therewith to the heart 
 
74 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 with a sparkle of fine love that endured 
 long after : he thought no lady in the world 
 so worthy to be beloved as she. Thus they 
 entered into the castle hand in hand : the 
 lady led him first into the hall and after 
 into the chamber, nobly apparelled. The 
 king regarded so the lady, that she was 
 abashed : at last he went to a window to 
 rest him, and so fell in a great study. 
 The lady went about to make cheer to 
 the lords and knights that were there, and 
 commanded to dress the hall for dinner. 
 When she had all devised and commanded, 
 then she came to the king with a merry 
 cheer, who was in a great study, and she 
 said : ' Dear sir, why do ye study so for ? 
 Your grace not displeased, it appertaineth 
 not to you so to do. Rather ye should 
 make good cheer and be joyful, seeing ye 
 have chased away your enemies, who durst 
 not abide you. Let other men study for 
 the remnant. ' Then the king said : ' Ah ! 
 dear lady, know for truth that sith I entered 
 into the castle, there is a study come to 
 my mind, so that I cannot choose but to 
 muse ; nor I cannot tell what shall fall 
 thereof: put it out of my heart I cannot.' 
 ' Ah, sir,' quoth the lady, ' ye ought always 
 to make good cheer to comfort therewith 
 your people. God hath aided you so in 
 your business, and hath given you so great 
 graces, that ye be the most doubted and 
 honoured prince in all Christendom ; and 
 if the king of Scots have done you any 
 despite or damage, ye may well amend it 
 when it shall please you, as ye have done 
 divers times or this. Sir, leave your musing 
 and come into the hall, if it please you : 
 your dinner is all ready.' ' Ah ! fair lady,' 
 quoth the king, * other things lieth at my 
 heart, that ye know not of: but surely the 
 sweet behaving, the perfect wisdom, the 
 good grace, nobleness and excellent beauty, 
 that I see in you, hath so sore surprised 
 my heart, that I cannot but love you, and 
 without your love I am but dead.' Then 
 the lady said : ' Ah, right noble prince, for 
 God's sake mock nor tempt me not. I 
 cannot believe that it is true that ye say, 
 nor that so noble a prince as ye be would 
 think to dishonour me and my lord my 
 husband, who is so valiant a knight and 
 hath done your grace so good service, and 
 as yet lieth in prison for your quarrel. 
 Certainly, sir, ye should in this case have 
 
 but a small praise, and nothing the better 
 thereby. I had never as yet such a 
 thought in my heart, nor I trust in God 
 never shall have, for no man living. If 
 I had any such intention, your grace ought 
 not all only to blame me, but also to punish 
 my body, yea and by true justice to be 
 dismembered.' ^ 
 
 Therewith the lady departed from the 
 king and went into the hall to haste the 
 dinner. Then she returned again to the 
 king and brought some of his knights with 
 her, and said : ' Sir, if it please you to 
 come into the hall, your knights abideth 
 for you to wash : ye have been too long 
 fasting.' Then the king went into the 
 hall and washed, and sat down among 
 his lords, and the lady also. The king 
 ate but little ; he sat still musing, and as 
 he durst he cast his eyen upon the lady. 
 Of his sadness his knights had marvel, for 
 he was not accustomed so to be. Some 
 thought it was because the Scots were 
 scaped from him."^ 
 
 All that day the king tarried there and 
 wist not what to do. Sometime he imagined 
 that honour and truth defended him to set 
 his heart in such a case, to dishonour such 
 a lady and so true a knight as her husband 
 was, who had always well and truly served 
 him. On the other part love so constrained 
 him, that the power thereof surmounted 
 honour and truth. Thus the king debated 
 in himself all that day and all that night. 
 In the morning he arose and dislodged all 
 his host and drew after the Scots, to chase 
 them out of his realm. Then he took 
 leave of the lady, saying, ' My dear lady, 
 to God I commend you till I return again, 
 requiring you to advise you otherwise than 
 you have said tome.' ' Noble prince,' quoth 
 the lady, ' God the Father glorious be 
 your conduct, and put you out of all villain 
 thoughts. Sir, I am and ever shall be 
 ready to do your grace service to your 
 honour and to mine.' Therewith the king 
 departed all abashed ; and so followed the 
 Scots till he came to the city of Berwick, 
 and went and lodged within four leaguer, 
 of the forest tof Gedeours, whereas king 
 
 ^ 'Mon corps punir, jr..sticier et desmembrcr.' 
 2 The celebrated game of chess, in which the 
 king purposely loses a valuable ring to the countess, 
 which she sends back to him on his departure, is 
 only found in the (so-called) first redaction. 
 
IVA/! IN BRITTANY, 1342 
 
 75 
 
 David and all his company were entered, 
 in trust of the great wilderness. The king 
 of England tarried there a three days, to 
 see if the Scots would issue out to fight 
 with him. In these three days there were 
 divers skirmishes on both parties, and 
 divers slain, taken and sore hurt among 
 the Scots. Sir William Douglas was he 
 that did most trouble to the Englishmen : 
 he bare azure, a comble silver, three stars 
 gules. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVIII 
 
 How the earl of Salisbury and the earl 
 Moray were delivered out of prison by 
 exchange. 
 
 In these said three days there were noble- 
 men on both parties that treated for a peace 
 to be had between these two kings ; and 
 their treaty took such effect, that a truce 
 was agreed, to endure two year, so that 
 the French king would thereto agree ; for 
 the king of Scots was so sore allied to the 
 French king, that he might take no peace 
 without his consent. And if so be the 
 French king would not agree to the peace, 
 then the truce to endure to the first day of 
 May following. And it was agreed that 
 the earl of Moray should be quit for his 
 prisonment, if the king of Scots could 
 do so much, to purchase with the French 
 king that the earl of Salisbury might in 
 like manner be quit out of prison ; the 
 which thing should be done before the 
 feast of Saint John Baptist next after. 
 The king of England agreed the sooner 
 to this truce, because he had war in France, 
 in Gascoyne, in Poitou, in Saintonge, in 
 Bretayne ; and in every place he had men 
 of war at his wages. Then the king of 
 Scots sent great messengers to the French 
 king, to agree to this truce. The French 
 king was content, seeing it was the desire 
 of the king of Scots. Then the earl of 
 Salisbury was sent into England, and the 
 king of England sent incontinent the earl 
 Moray into Scotland. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIX 
 
 How sir Charles de Blois with divers lords 
 of France took the city of Rennes in 
 Bretayne. 
 
 SUMMARY.— Sir Charles of Blois re- 
 mained at Nantes for the winter^ and then 
 laid sie^e to Rennes. The countess of Mont- 
 fort, ivho was at Hennebont, sent to get help 
 from the king of England, who sent sir 
 Walter of Manny with a body of men of 
 arms and three thousand archers, but they 
 were detained for sixty days on their passage 
 by contrary winds. Meanzuhile tlie bnrgesses 
 of Rejines yielded up their town in the 
 beginning of May MCCCXLH. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXX 
 
 How sir Charles de Blois besieged the 
 countess of Montfort in Hennebont. 
 
 When the city of Rennes was given up, 
 the burgesses made their homage and fealty 
 to the lord Charles of Blois. Then he was 
 counselled to go and lay siege to Henne- 
 bont, whereas the countess was, saying that 
 the earl being in prison, if they might get 
 the countess and her son, it should make an 
 end of all their war. Then they went all 
 to Hennebont and laid siege thereto, and 
 to the castle also, as far as they might by 
 land. With the countess in Hennebont 
 there was the bishop of Leon in Bretayne, 
 also there was sir Ives of Tresiguidy, the 
 lord of Landernau, sir William of Cadoudal, 
 and the chatelain of Guingamp, the two 
 brethren of Quirich, sir Henry and sir Oliver 
 of Spinefort, and divers other. When the 
 countess and her company understood that 
 the Frenchmen were coming to lay siege to 
 the town of Hennebont, then it was com- 
 manded to sound the watch-bell alarm, and 
 every man to be armed and draw to their 
 defence. 
 
 When sir Charles and the Frenchmen 
 came near to the town, they commanded to 
 lodge there that night. Some of the young 
 lusty companions came skirmishing to the 
 barriers, and some of them within issued out 
 to them, so that there was a great affray ; 
 but the Genoways and Frenchmen lost more 
 
76 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 than they won. When night came on, 
 every man drew to their lodging. The next 
 day the lords took counsel to assail the 
 barriers, to see the manner of them within ; 
 and so the third day they made a great 
 assault to the barriers from morning till it 
 was noon. Then the assailants drew aback 
 sore beaten and divers slain. When the 
 lords of France saw their men draw aback, 
 they were sore displeased, and caused the 
 assault to begin again more fiercer than it 
 was before, and they within defended them- 
 selves valiantly. The countess herself ware 
 harness on her body and rode on a great 
 courser from street to street, desiring her 
 people to make good defence, and she 
 caused damosels and other women to cut 
 short their kirtles and to carry stones^ and 
 pots full of chalk to the walls, to be cast 
 down to their enemies. 
 
 This lady did there an hardy enterprise. 
 She mounted up to the height of a tower, 
 to see how the Frenchmen were ordered 
 without : she saw how that all the lords and 
 all other people of the host were all gone 
 out of their field to the assault : then she 
 took again her courser, armed as she was, 
 and caused three hundred men a-horseback 
 to be ready, and she went with them to 
 another gate, whereas there was none 
 assault. She issued out and her com- 
 pany, and dashed into the French lodgings, 
 and cut down tents and set fire in their 
 lodgings : she found no defence there, but 
 a certain of varlets and boys, who ran away. 
 When the lords of France looked behind 
 them and saw their lodgings afire and heard 
 the cry and noise there, they returned to 
 the field crying, ' Treason ! treason ! ' so 
 that all the assault was left. 
 
 When the countess saw that, she drew 
 together her company, and when she saw 
 she could not enter again into the town 
 without great damage, she took another 
 way and went to the castle of Brest, the 
 which was not far thence. When sir I^ouis 
 of Spain, who was marshal of the host, was 
 
 ^ A curious mistranslation. Froissart says : 'She 
 made the women of the town, ladies and other, 
 take up the pavement of the streets (despecer les 
 chausse'es) and carry stones to the battlements to 
 cast upon their enemies.' The translator has 
 confused ' chausse'es' and ' chausses,' and so got the 
 idea of cutting short the kirdes. In the next clause 
 'chalk ' is his translation of ' chaulx vive,' ' quick- 
 
 come to the field, and saw their lodgings 
 brenning and saw the countess and her 
 company going away, he followed after her 
 with a great number. He chased her sc 
 near, that he slew and hurt divers of them 
 that were behind, evil horsed, but the 
 countess and the most part of her company 
 rode so well that they came to Brest, and 
 there they were received with great joy. 
 
 The next day the lords of France, who 
 had lost their tents and their provisions, then 
 took counsel to lodge in bowers of trees 
 more nearer to the town ; and they had 
 great marvel when they knew that the 
 countess herself had done that enterprise. 
 They of the town wist not where the 
 countess was become, whereof they were in 
 great trouble, for it was five days or they 
 heard any tidings. The countess did so 
 much at Brest that she gat together a five 
 hundred spears, and then about midnight 
 she departed from Brest, and by the sun- 
 rising she came along by the one side of the 
 host, and came to one of the gates of 
 Hennebont, the which was opened for her, 
 and therein she entered and all her company 
 with great noise of trumpets and canayrs ; 
 whereof the French host had great marvel, 
 and armed them and ran to the town to 
 assault it, and they within ready to defend. 
 There began a fierce assault and endured 
 till noon, but the Frenchmen lost more than 
 they within. At noon the assault ceased : 
 then they took counsel that sir Charles de 
 Blois should go from that siege and give 
 assault to the castle of Auray, the which 
 king Arthur made, and with him should go 
 the duke of Bourbon, the earl of Blois, the 
 marshal of France sir Robert Bertrand, and 
 that sir Herve de Leon, and part of the 
 Genoways, and the lord Louis of Spain and 
 the viscount of Rohan, with all the 
 Spaniards, should abide still before Henne- 
 bont : for they saw well they could have no 
 profit to assail Hennebont any more ; but 
 they sent for twelve great engines to Rennes, 
 to the intent to cast into the town and castle 
 day and night. So they divided their host, 
 the one still before Hennebont, the other 
 with sir Charles of Blois before Auray. 
 
 They within Auray were well fortified and 
 were a two hundred companions, able for to 
 maintain the war ; and sir Henry of Spine- 
 fort and sir Oliver his brother were chief 
 captains there. A four leagues from that 
 
IVAJi IN BRITTANY, 1342 
 
 77 
 
 castle was tlie good town of Vannes, 
 pertaining to the countess, and captain 
 there was sir Geoffrey of Malestroit. Not 
 far thence also was the good town of Dinan ; 
 the chatelain of Guingamp was captain 
 there : he was at Hennebont with the 
 countess, and had left in the town of Dinan 
 his wife and his children, and had left there 
 captain in his stead Raynold his son. 
 Between these two towns stood a strong 
 castle pertaining to sir Charles de Blois, and 
 was well kept with soldiers, Burgoynians : 
 captain there was sir Gerard of Malain,' 
 and with him another knight called Pierre 
 Portebceuf. They wasted all the country 
 about them and constrained sore the said two 
 towns, for there could neither merchandise 
 nor provision enter into any of them but in 
 great danger. On a day they would ride 
 toward Vannes, and another day toward 
 Dinan ; and on a day sir Raynold of 
 Guingamp laid a bushment, and the same 
 day sir Gerard of Malain rode forth and 
 had taken a fifteen merchants and all their 
 goods, and was driving of them towards 
 their castle, called Roche-Piriou, and so 
 fell in the bushment. And there sir 
 Raynold of Guingamp took sir Gerard 
 prisoner and a twenty-five of his company, 
 and rescued the merchants and led forth 
 theirprisoners to Dinan, whereof sir Raynold 
 was much praised and well worthy. 
 
 Now let us speak of the countess of 
 Montfort, who was besieged in Hennebont 
 by sir Louis of Spain, who kept the siege 
 there ; and he had so broken and bruised 
 the walls of the town with his engines, so 
 that they within began to be abashed. And 
 on a day the bishop of Leon spake with sir 
 Herve of Leon his nephew, by whom, as it 
 was said, that the earl Montfort was taken. 
 .Solong they spake together, that they agreed 
 that the bishop should do what he could to 
 cause the company within to agree to yield 
 up the town and castle to sir Charles de 
 Blois, and sir Herve de Leon on the other 
 side should purchase peace for them all of 
 sir Charles de Blois, and to lose nothing of 
 their goods. Thus the bishop entered again 
 into the town : the countess incontinent 
 doubted of some evil purcliase. Then she 
 desired the lords and knights that were 
 there, that for the love of God they should 
 be in no doubt ; for she said she was in 
 ^ The author calls him 'uns bons escuiers.' 
 
 surety that they should have succours with- 
 in three days. Howbeit the bishop spake 
 so much and shewed so many reasons to 
 the lords, that they were in a great trouble 
 all that night. The next morning they 
 drew to council again, so that they were 
 near of accord to have given up the town, 
 and sir Herve was come near to the town 
 to have taken possession thereof Then 
 the countess looked down along the sea, 
 out at a window in the castle, and began 
 to smile for great joy that she had to see 
 the succours coming, the which she had so 
 long desired. Then she cried out aloud 
 and said twice : ' I see the succours of 
 England coming.' Then they of the town 
 ran to the walls and saw a great number of 
 ships great and small, freshly decked, ' 
 coming toward Hennebont. They thought 
 well it was the succours of England, who 
 had been on the sea sixty days by reason of 
 contrary winds. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXI 
 
 How sir Walter of Manny brought the 
 Englishmen into Bretayne. 
 
 When the seneschal of Guingamp, sir Ives 
 of Tresiguidy, sir Galeran of Landernau, and 
 the other knights saw these succours coming, 
 then they said to the bishop : ' Sir, ye may 
 well leave your treaty,' for they said they 
 were not content as then to follow his 
 counsel. Then the bishop said : ' Sirs, then 
 our company shall depart, for I will go to 
 him that hath most right, as me seemeth.' 
 Then he departed from Hennebont and de- 
 fied the countess and all her aiders, and so 
 went to sir Herve de Leon and shewed him 
 how the matter went. Then sir Herve was 
 sore displeased, and caused incontinent to 
 rear up the greatest engines that they had 
 near to the castle, and commanded that they 
 should not cease to cast day and night. 
 Then he departed thence and brought the 
 bishop to sir Louis of Spain, who received 
 him with great joy, and so did sir Charles 
 of Blois. 
 
 Then the countess dressed up halls and 
 chambers to lodge the lords of England that 
 were coming, and did send against them 
 
 i ' Bien bastillies,' well provided with battlements 
 or bulwarks. 
 
78 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROTSSART 
 
 right nobly. And when they were aland, 
 she came to them with great reverence 
 and feasted them the best she might, and 
 thanked them right humbly, and caused 
 all the knights and other to lodge at their 
 ease in the castle and in the town, and the 
 next day she made them a great feast at 
 dinner. All night and the next day also 
 the engines never ceased to cast ; and after 
 dinner sir Gaultier of Manny, who was 
 chief of that company, demanded of the 
 state of the town and of the host without, 
 and said : ' I have a great desire to issue 
 out and to break down this great engine 
 that standeth so near us, if any will follow 
 me.' Then sir Ives of Tresiguidy said 
 how he would not fail him at this his first 
 beginning, and so said the lord of Lander- 
 nau. Then they armed them, and so they 
 issued out privily at a certain gate, and 
 with them a three hundred archers, who 
 shot so wholly together that they that kept 
 the engine fled away ; and the men of arms 
 came after the archers and slew divers of 
 them that fled, and beat down the great 
 engine and brake it all to pieces. Then 
 they ran in among the tents and lodgings 
 and set fire in divers places and slew and 
 hurt divers, till the host began to stir : then 
 they withdrew fair and easily, and they of 
 the host ran after them like mad - men. 
 Then sir Gaultier said : ' Let me never be 
 beloved with my lady, without I have a 
 course with one of these followers'; and 
 therewith turned his spear in the rest, and 
 in likewise so did the two brethren of 
 Levedale and the Hase of Brabant, sir 
 Ives of Tresiguidy, sir Galeran of Lander- 
 nau and divers other companions. They 
 ran at the first comers : there might well 
 a been legs seen turned upward. There 
 began a sore meddling, for they of the host 
 always increased, wherefore it behoved the 
 Englishmen to withdraw toward their for- 
 tress. There might well a been seen on 
 both parties many noble deeds, taking and 
 rescuing. The Englishmen drew sagely to 
 the dikes and there made a stall, till all 
 their men were in safeguard ; and all the 
 residue of the town issued out to rescue 
 their company, and caused them of the 
 host to recule back. So when they of the 
 host saw how they could do no good, they 
 drew to their lodgings, and they of the 
 fortress in like wise to their lodgings. 
 
 Then the countess descended down from 
 the castle with a glad cheer and came and 
 kissed sir Gaultier of Manny and his com- 
 panions one after another two or three 
 times, like a valiant lady. 
 
 CHAPTERS LXXXII-LXXXVI 
 
 SUMMARY. — The French abandoned Ihe 
 siei^e of Hennebont and retired to Aiiray. 
 The castle of Conqitest ivas taken by the 
 Fret2ch and retaken the next day by sir 
 Walter de Manny. 
 
 The French took Dinan^ Guerande, 
 Aiiray and Vannes. Sir Walter de 
 Manny defeated sir Loius of Spain at 
 Qitiviperle. Carhaix zuas stirre7idered to 
 sir Charles of Blois, who thsn returned 
 to the siege of Hennebont. There he was 
 joined by sir Tonis of Spain, ivho was 
 imuh angered by the defeat at Quivtperle. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVn 
 
 How sir John Butler and sir Hubert of 
 Frenay were rescued from death before 
 Hennebont. 
 
 On a day sir Louis of Spain came to the 
 tent of sir Charles de Blois and desired of 
 him a gift for all the service that ever he 
 had done, in the presence of divers lords 
 of France. And sir Charles granted him, 
 because he knew himself so much bound 
 to him. ' Sir,' quoth he, ' I require you 
 cause the two knights that be in prison in 
 Faouet to be brought hither, that is to say 
 sir John Butler and sir Hubert Frenay, 
 and to give them to me, to do with them 
 at my pleasure. Sir, this is the gift that I 
 desire of you : they have chased, discomfited 
 and hurt me, and slainmy nephew Alphonso. 
 I cannot tell how otherwise to be revenged 
 of them, but I shall strike off their heads 
 before the town in the sight of their com- 
 panions.' Of these words sir Charles was 
 abashed and said : ' Certainly with right a 
 good will I will give you the prisoners, 
 sith ye have desired them ; but surely it 
 should be a shameful deed to put so to 
 death such two valiant knights as they be, 
 and it shall be an occasion to our enemies 
 to deal in like wise with any of ours, if they 
 
WAJ! IN BRITTANY, 1342 
 
 79 
 
 fall in like case ; and we know not what 
 shall daily fall ; the chances of war be 
 divers : wherefore, dear cousin, I require 
 you to be better advised.' Then sir Louis 
 said : ' Sir, if ye keep not promise with me, 
 know ye for truth that I shall depart out of 
 your company and shall never serve nor love 
 you again, while I live.' 
 
 When sir Charles saw none other boot, 
 he sent to Faouet for the two knights, and 
 in a morning they were brought to sir 
 Charles of Blois' tent : but for all that he 
 could desire, he could not turn sir Louis of 
 Spain from his purpose, but said plainly that 
 they should be beheaded anon after dinner, 
 he was so sore displeased with them. 
 
 All these words that was between sir 
 Charles and sir Louis for the occasion of 
 these two knights, anon was come to the 
 knowledge of sir Walter of Manny by cer- 
 tain spies, that shewed the mischief that 
 these two knights were in. Then he called 
 his company and took counsel what was best 
 to do. Some thought one thing, ' some 
 thought another, but they wist not what 
 remedy to find. Then sir Gaultier of 
 Manny said : ' Sirs, it should be great 
 Iionour for us, if we might deliver out of 
 danger yonder two knights : and if we put 
 it in adventure, though we fail thereof, yet 
 king Edward our master will can us much 
 thank therefor, and so will all other noble 
 men that hereafter shall hear of the case. 
 At least it shall be said how we did our 
 devoir. Sirs, this is mine advice, if ye will 
 follow it, for me thinketh a man should well 
 adventure his body to save the lives of two 
 such valiant knights : mine advice is that 
 we divide ourselves into two parts, the one 
 part incontinent to issue out at this gate and 
 to arrange themselves on the dikes, to stir 
 the host and to skirmish : I think that all 
 the whole host will come running thither. 
 And, sir Aymery, ye shall be captain of that 
 company, and take with you a six thousand 
 good archers and three hundred men of 
 arms. And I shall take with me a hundred 
 men of arms and five hundred archers, and 
 I will issue out at the postern covertly and 
 shall dash into the host among the lodgings 
 behind, the which I think we shall |ind as 
 good as void. I shall have such with me 
 as shall well bring me to the tent of sir 
 Charles de Blois, whereas I think we shall 
 find the two knights prisoners ; and I en- 
 
 sure you we shall do our devoir to deliver 
 them.' This device pleased them all, and 
 incontinent they armed them, and about 
 the hour of dinner sir Aymery of Clisson 
 issued out with his company and set open 
 the chief gate towards the host, and some 
 of them dashed suddenly into the host, 
 and cut down tents, and slew and hurt 
 divers. The host was in a sudden fray, 
 and in haste armed them and drew towards 
 the Englishmen and Bretons, who fair and 
 easily reculed back. There was tt sore 
 skirmish, and many a man overthrown on 
 both parties. Then sir Aymery drew his 
 people along on the dikes within the bar- 
 riers, and the archers ready on both sides 
 the way to receive their enemies : the noise 
 and cry was so great, that all the whole 
 host drew thither, and left their tents void, 
 saving a certain varlets. 
 
 In the mean season sir Gaultier of Manny 
 and his company issued out at a postern 
 privily and came behind the host, and en- 
 tered into the lodgings of the French lords ; 
 for there were none to resist them, all were 
 at the skirmish. Then sir Gaidtier went 
 straight to sir Charles of Blois' tent, and 
 found there the two knights prisoners, sir 
 Hubert of Frenay and sir John Butler, and 
 made them incontinent to leap upon two 
 good horses that they brought thither for 
 the same intent, and returned incontinent 
 and entered again into Hennebont the same 
 way they i.ssued out. The countess re- 
 ceived them with great joy. 
 
 All this season they fought still at the 
 gate. Then tidings came to the lords of 
 France how the two knights prisoners were 
 rescued. When sir Louis of Spain knew 
 thereof, he thought himself deceived, and 
 he demanded which way they were gone 
 that made that rescue ; and it was shewed 
 him how they were entered into Hennebont. 
 Then sir Louis departed from the assault 
 and went to his lodging right sore dis- 
 pleased : then all other left the assault. In 
 the retreat there were two knights that ad- 
 ventured themselves so forward, that they 
 were taken by the Frenchmen, the lord 
 Landernau and the chatelain of Guingamp, 
 whereof sir Charles of Blois had great joy, 
 and they were brought to his tent, and there 
 they were so preached to, that they turned 
 to sir Charles' party and did homage and 
 fealty to him. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSAKT 
 
 The third day after all the lords assembled 
 in the lord Charles' tent to take counsel, 
 for they saw well that Hennebont was so 
 strong and so well fortified with men of war, 
 that they thought they should win but 
 little there ; and also the country was so 
 wasted, that they wist not whither to go 
 to forage ; and also winter was at hand : 
 wherefore they all agreed to depart. Then 
 they counselled sir Charles of Blois that he 
 should send new provisions to all cities, 
 towns and fortresses, such as he had won, 
 and noble captains with good soldiers to 
 defend their places from their enemies ; and 
 also if any man would treat for a truce to 
 Whitsuntide, that it should not be refused. 
 
 CHAPTERS LXXXVIII-XC 
 
 SUMMARY. — The town of Jitgon was 
 betrayed to sir Charles of Blois by a rich 
 burgess. 
 
 A tritce was made, and the coinitess of 
 Monifort passed over into England. 
 
 A feast and jousts were held in London 
 in honour of the countess of Salisbury. 
 
 The king of England sent Robert of 
 Artois with a force of men of arj7is and 
 archers to aid the countess of Montfort. 
 The lord Louis of Spain and the Genoese 
 waited for hi?n on the sea about Guernsey. 
 
 CHAPTER XCI 
 
 Of the battle of Guernsey between sir Robert 
 d' Artois and sir Louis of Spain on the sea. 
 
 Sir Robert d'Artois earl of Richmond, 
 and with him the earl of Pembroke, the earl 
 of Salisbury, the earl of Suffolk, the earl 
 of Oxford, the baron of Stafford, the lord 
 Spenser, the lord Bourchier, and divers 
 other knights of England and their com- 
 panies were with the countess of Montfort 
 on the sea, and at last came before the isle 
 of Guernsey. Then they perceived the 
 great fleet of the Genoways, whereof sir 
 Louis of Spain was chief captain. Then 
 their mariners said : ' Sirs, arm you quickly, 
 for yonder be Genoways and Spaniards that 
 will set on you.' Then the Englishmen 
 sowned their trumpets and reared up their 
 
 banners and standards with their arms and 
 devices, with the banner of Saint George, 
 and set their ships in order with their 
 archers before : and as the wind served 
 them, they sailed forth. They were a 
 forty-six vessels, great and small ; but sir 
 Louis of Spain had nine greater than any 
 of the other and three galleys. And in the 
 three galleys were the three chief captains, 
 as sir Louis of Spain, sir Charles and sir 
 Ayton,^ and when they approached near 
 together, the Genoways began to shoot 
 with their cross-bows, and the archers of 
 England against them : there was sore 
 shooting between them and many hurt on 
 both parties. And when the lords, knights 
 and squires came near together, there was 
 a sore battle : the countess that day was 
 worth a man ; she had the heart of a lion, 
 and had in her hand a sharp glaive, where- 
 with she fought fiercely. 
 
 The Spaniards and Genoways that were 
 in the great vessels they cast down great 
 bars of iron and pieces of timber, the which 
 troubled sore the English archers. This 
 battle began about the time of evensong, 
 and the night departed them, for it was very 
 dark, so that one could scant know another. 
 Then they withdrew each from other and 
 cast anchors and abode still in their harness, 
 for they thought to fight again in the morn- 
 ing. But about midnight there rose such 
 a tempest, so horrible, as though all the 
 world should have ended. There was 
 none so hardy but would gladly have been 
 aland : the ships dashed so together, that 
 they weened all would have riven in pieces. 
 The lords of England demanded counsel of 
 their mariners, what was best to do : they 
 ariswered, to take land as soon as they 
 might ; for the tempest was so great, that 
 if they took the sea, they were in danger of 
 drowning. Then they drew up their 
 anchors, and bare but a quarter sail, and 
 drew from that place. The Genoways on 
 the other side drew up their anchors and 
 took the deep of the sea ; for their vessels 
 were greater than the English ships, they 
 might better abide the brunt of the sea ; for 
 if the great vessels had come near the land, 
 they w^re likely to have been broken. And 
 as theydeparted, they took four Englishships 
 laded with victual and tailed them to their 
 
 „'. ^°"'.s ''"= '=> Cerda, called d'Espagne, Charles 
 Gnmaldi and Ayton (Antonio) Doria. 
 
WAR IN BRITTANY, 1342 
 
 ships. The storm was so hideous, that in 
 less than a day they were driven a hundred 
 leagues from the place where they were 
 before. And the English ships took a 
 little haven not far from the city of Vannes, 
 whereof they were right glad. 
 
 CHAPTERS XCII-XCIV 
 
 SUMMARY.— The English laid siege to 
 Vannes and took it by assault. 
 
 The countess of Montfort went with sir 
 Walter de Manny to Hennebont : the earls 
 of Salisbury and Pembroke laid siege to 
 Rennes ; and sir Robert d'Artois remained 
 at Valines. 
 
 Sir Herve de Leon and the lord Clisson 
 recovered Vannes, and sir Robert d^Artois 
 was wounded in the defence. After staying 
 far a time at Hennebont, he set sail for 
 England and thej'e died. The king of 
 Englajid, to avenge his death, landed with 
 an arviy near Vannes, and laid siege to the 
 town. 
 
 Charles of Blois sent for aid to the French 
 king. The king of England left a force 
 before Vannes and went on to Nantes. 
 There also he left a part of his army and 
 returning laid siege to Diiian. 
 
 CHAPTER XCV 
 
 How sir Herv6 of Leon and the lord Clisson 
 were taken prisoners before Vannes. 
 
 While the king of England was thus in 
 Bretayne, wasting and destroying the 
 country, such as he had lying at siege 
 before Vannes gave divers assaults, and 
 specially at one of the gates. And on a 
 day there was a great assault and many 
 feats of arms done on both parties. They 
 within set open the gate and came to the 
 barriers, because they saw the earl of 
 Warwick's banner and the earl of Arundel's, 
 the lord Stafford's and sir Walter of 
 Manny's, adventuring themselves jeopard- 
 ously, as they thought : wherefore the lord 
 Clisson, sir Herve of Leon and other 
 adventured themselves courageously. There 
 was a sore skirmish : finally the Englishmen 
 were put back : then the knights of Bretayne 
 G 
 
 opened the barriers and adventured them- 
 selves, and left six knights with a. good 
 number to keep the town, and they issued 
 out after the Englishmen- And the Eng- 
 lishmen reculed wisely, and ever fought as 
 they saw their advantage. The Englishmen 
 multiplied in such wise that at last the 
 Frenchmen and Bretons were fain to recule 
 back again to their town, not in so good 
 order as they came forth. Then the 
 Englishmen followed them again, and 
 many were slain and hurt. They of the 
 town saw their men recule again and 
 chased : then they closed their barriers in 
 so evil a time, that the lord Clisson and sir 
 Herve of Leon were closed without, and 
 there they were both taken prisoners. And 
 on the other side the lord Stafford was gone 
 in so far, that he was closed in between the 
 gate and the barriers, and there he was 
 taken prisoner, and divers that were with 
 him taken and slain. Thus the Englishmen 
 drew to their lodgings, and the Bretons into 
 the city of Vannes. 
 
 CHAPTERS XCVI-XCIX 
 
 SUMMARY. — The king of England 
 took Dinan by assault.^ In the meafitiwe 
 sir Loiiis of Spain kept the sea and did mitch 
 damage to the English ships. 
 
 The duke of Normandy, the earl of Alen- 
 fon, the ditke of Bourbon and jnany other 
 lords came to Naiites to help Charles of 
 Blois. The king of Englaiid sent for his 
 force which lay before Nantes to come to 
 Vannes. 
 
 The duke of Normandy came up from 
 Nantes and lay over against the king of 
 E7igland at Valines. The king of England 
 seiit for them that lay at siege before Rsnnes. 
 The two hosts lay one against the other till 
 it was well onward in winter. Theii by 
 means of two cardinals sent by the pope 
 Clement VI. a truce was agreed to for three 
 years. 
 
 The lord Clisson was exchanged for the 
 lord Stafford, hut on suspicion cf treason he 
 was shortly after put to death by the French 
 
 ^ From Froissart's last redaction, with which 
 lord Berners was not acquainted, we know that 
 the captain of the town was made prisoner by the 
 young knight John Bourcbier, ancestor of our 
 translator. 
 
82 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 king, and so also were some other lords of 
 Brittany and A^or77ia7idy, The lord Clisson 
 had a son called Oliver, who wetit to the 
 countess of Montfort a7id her so7t, who was 
 of his age. 
 
 CHAPTER C 
 
 Of the order of Saint George, 
 Edward stablished in the 
 Windsor. 
 
 that king 
 castle of 
 
 In this season the king of England took 
 ])leasure to new re-edify the castle of Wind- 
 sor, the which was begun by king Arthur, 
 and there iirst began the Table Round, 
 whereby sprang the fame of so many noble 
 knights throughout all the world. Then 
 king Edward determined to make an order 
 and a brotherhood of a certain number of 
 
 CHAPTER CI 
 
 How the king of England delivered out of 
 prison sir Hervi^ of Leon. 
 
 While the king made this preparation at 
 Windsor for this said feast, tidings came to 
 hira how the lord Clisson and divers other 
 lords had lost their heads in France, where- 
 with the king was sore displeased, inso- 
 much that he was in purpose to have served 
 sir Herv^ of Leon in like case, whom he 
 had in prison ; but his cousin the earl of 
 Derby shewed to him before his council such 
 reasons to assuage his ire and to refrain 
 his courage, saying, ' Sir, though that king 
 Philip in his haste hath done so foul a deed 
 as to put to death such valiant knights, yet, 
 sir, for all that blemish not your nobleness : 
 and, sir, to say the truth, your prisoner 
 ought to bear no blame for this deed ; but. 
 
 knights, and to be called knights of the Blue sir, put him to a reasonable ransom 
 
 Garter, and a feast to be kept yearly at Wind 
 sor on Saint George's day. And to begin 
 this order the king assembled together earls, 
 lords and knights of his realm, and shewed 
 them his intention : and they all joyously 
 agreed to his pleasure, because they saw it 
 was a thing much honourable and whereby 
 great amity and love should grow and in- 
 crease. Then was there chosen out a certain 
 number of the most valiantest men of the 
 realm, and they sware and sealed to main- 
 tain the ordinances, such as were devised ; 
 and the king made a chapel in the castle of 
 Windsor, of Saint George, and stablished 
 certain canons there to serve God, and 
 endowed them with fair rent. Then the 
 king sent to publish this feast by his heralds 
 into France, Scotland, Burgoyne, liainault, 
 Flanders, Brabant, and into the Empire of 
 Almaine, giving to every knight and squire 
 that would come to the said feast fifteen 
 days of safe-conduct before fhe feast and 
 after : the which feast to begin at Windsor 
 on Saint George day next after in the year 
 of our Lord MCCCXLIV., and the queen to 
 be there accompanied with three hundred 
 ladies and damosels, all of noble lineage 
 and apparelled accordingly. 
 
 Then the king sent for the kijight 
 pri.soner to come to his presence, and then 
 said to him: 'Ah, sir Herve, sir Herve, 
 mine adversary Philip of Valois hath shewed 
 his felony right cruel, to put to death such 
 knights, wherewith I am sore displeased : 
 and it is thought to us ' that he hath done it 
 in despite of us ; and if I would regard his 
 mahce, I should serve you in like manner, 
 for ye have done me more displeasure, and 
 to mine in Bretayne, than any other person. 
 But I will suffer it and let him do his worst, 
 for to my power I will keep mine honour ; 
 and I am content ye shall come to a light 
 ransom, for the love of my cousin of Derby, 
 who hath desired me for you, so that ye 
 will do that I shall shew you.' The 
 knight answered and said : ' Sir, I shall do 
 all that ye shall command me.' Then 
 said the king : • I know well ye be one of 
 the richest knights in Bretayne, and if I 
 would sore press you, ye should pay me 
 thirty or forty thousand scutes. But ye 
 shall go to mine adversary Philip of Valois, 
 and shew him on my behalf that, sith he 
 liath so shamefully put to death so valiant 
 knights in the despite of me, I say and will 
 make it good he hath broken the truce 
 taken between me and him ; wherefore also 
 I renounce it on my part and defy him from 
 this day forward. And so that ye will do 
 
 ^ ' It seems to some ofour party.' 
 
THE EARL OF DERBY IN GASCONY, 1345 
 
 83 
 
 this message, your ransom shall be but ten 
 thousand scutes, the which ye shall pay and 
 send to Bruges within fifteen days after ye 
 be past the sea : and moreover ye shall say 
 to all knights and squires of those parts, 
 that for all this they leave not to come to 
 our feast at Windsor, for we would gladly 
 see them, and they shall have sure and safe 
 conduct to return fifteen days after the 
 feast.' ' Sir,' said the knight, ' to the best 
 of my power I shall accomplish your 
 message, and God reward your grace for 
 the courtesy ye shew me, and also I humbly 
 thank my lord of Derby of his good-will.' 
 
 And so sir Herve of Leon departed from 
 the king and went to Hampton, and there 
 took the sea, to the intent to arrive at 
 Harfleur ; but a storm took him on the sea, 
 which endured fifteen days, and lost his 
 horse, which were cast into the sea, and sir 
 Herve of Leon was so sore troubled that he 
 had never health after. Howbeit at last he 
 took land at Crotoy, and so he and all his 
 company went afoot to Abbeville, and there 
 they got horses : but sir Herve was so sick 
 that he was fain to go in a litter, and so 
 came to Paris to king Philip and did his 
 message from point to point : and he lived 
 not long after, but died as he went into his 
 country in the city of Angers : God assoil 
 his soul. 
 
 CHAPTERS Cn-CVI 
 
 SUMMARY.— On the day of Saint George 
 the king held his feast at Windsor , to which 
 came knights of divers countries^ l)ut ?ione 
 froi7i France. 
 
 The king sent the earl of Derby to go into 
 Gascony^ andivith him the earls of Pembroke 
 and Oxford, sir Walter de Ma^iny and 
 others. The king sent sir Thomas Dag- 
 worth into Brittany and the earl of Salis- 
 bury into Ireland. 
 
 The earl of Derby came to Bordeaux ; 
 and 7}ieanwhile the lord de V Isle gathered 
 the lords of the French party together and 
 they resolved to hold the passage of the river 
 at Berge7'ac. ^ 
 
 The earl of Dej-by rode to Bergerac and 
 took the tow7i, the F7'ench lords departi77g 
 to la Reole. Leaving Berge7-ac the ea7'l of 
 
 1 Froissart calls the river the Garonne, but it is 
 the Dordogne. 
 
 Derby co7iqicered ma7iy fortresses i7i upper 
 Gasco7iy, a7td the7t retur7ud to Bordeaux. 
 
 The earl de risk laid siege to Auberoche, 
 which had bee7t captured by the earl of 
 Derby. The garriso7i e/ideavoured to se7id 
 a messenger to Bordeaux, but he was i7tter- 
 cepted and shot back i7tto the tow7ifrom an 
 engi7ie. 
 
 CHAPTER CVn 
 
 How the earl of Derby took before Auberoche 
 the earl of 1 'Isle and divers other earls and 
 viscounts to the number of nine. 
 
 All the matter of taking of this messenger 
 with the letter and necessity of them within 
 Auberoche was shewed to the earl of Derby 
 by a spy that had been in the French host. 
 Then the earl of Derby sent to the earl of 
 Pembroke, being at Bergerac, to meet with 
 him at a certain place : also he sent for the 
 lord Stafford and to sir Stephen Tombey, 
 being at Libourne, and the earl himself, 
 with sir Gaultier of Manny and his com- 
 pany, rode towards Auberoche, and rode 
 so secretly with such guides as knew the 
 country, that the earl came to Libourne 
 and there tarried a day abiding the earl of 
 Pembroke. And when he saw that he 
 came not, he went forth, for the great 
 desire that he had to aid them in Auberoche. 
 Thus the earl of Derby, the earl of O.xford, 
 sir Gaultier of Manny, sir Richard Hastings, 
 sir Stephen Tombey, the lord Ferrers and 
 the other issued out of Libourne and rode 
 all the night, and in the morning they were 
 within two little leagues of Auberoche. 
 They entered into a wood and lighted from 
 their horses and tied their horses to pasture, 
 abiding for the earl of Pembroke, and there 
 tarried till it was noon. They wist not 
 well then what to do, because they were 
 but three hundred spears and six hundred 
 archers, and the Frenchmen before Aube- 
 roche were a ten or twelve thousand men ; 
 yet they thought it a great shame to lose 
 their companions in Auberoche. Finally 
 sir Gaultier of Manny said : ' Sirs, let us 
 leap on our horses and let us coast under 
 the covert of this wood, till we be on the 
 same side that joineth to their host, and 
 when we be near, put the spurs to the 
 horses and cry our cries. We shall enter 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 while they be at supper and unware of us : 
 ye shall see them be so discomfited, that 
 they shall keep none array.' 
 
 AH the lords and knights agreed to his 
 saying : then every man took his horse and 
 ordained all their pages and baggage to 
 abide still thereas they were. So they rode 
 still along by the wood, and came to a little 
 river in a vale near to the Frencli host. 
 Then they displayed their banners and 
 pennons and dashed their spurs to their 
 horses, and came in a front into the French 
 host among the Gascons, who were nothing 
 ware of that bushment. They were going 
 to supper, and some ready set at their meat : 
 the Englishmen cried, ' A Derby, a Derby I ' ^ 
 and overthrew tents and pavilions, and 
 slew and hurt many. The Frenchmen 
 wist not what to do, they were so hasted : 
 when they came into the field and assembled 
 together, they found the Enghsh archers 
 there ready to receive them, who shot so 
 fiercely, that they slew man and horse and 
 hurt many. The earl of ITsle was taken 
 prisoner in his own tent and sore hurt, and 
 the earl of Perigord and sir Roger his uncle 
 in their tents : and there was slain the lord 
 of Duras [and] sir Aymar of Poitiers, and 
 the earl of Valentinois his brother was 
 taken : every man fled that might best, but 
 the earl of Comminges, the viscount of 
 Caraman and of Villemur and of Bruniquel, 
 and the lord de la Bard and of Terride, and 
 other that were lodged on the other side of 
 the castle, drew back and went into the 
 fields with their banners. The Englishmen, 
 who had overcome all the other, dashed in 
 fiercely among them : there was many a 
 proper feat of arms done, many taken and 
 rescued again. When they within the castle 
 heard that noise without and saw the 
 English banners and pennons, incontinent 
 they armed them and issued out, and rushed 
 into the thickest of the press : they greatly 
 refreshed the Englishmen that had fought 
 there before. Whereto should I make long 
 process ? All those of the earl of ITsIe's 
 party were nigh all taken or slain : if the 
 night had not come on, there had but feu- 
 scaped. There were taken that day, what 
 earls and viscounts to the number of nine, 
 and of lords, knights and squires taken so 
 that there was no English man of arms but 
 that had two or three prisoners. This 
 1 The French is ' Derbi, Derbi, an comte ! ' 
 
 battle was on Saint Lawrence night, the 
 year of our Lord MCCCXLIV.i The English- 
 men dealt like good companions with their 
 prisoners and suffered many to depart on 
 their oath and promise to return again at a 
 certain day to Bergerac or to Bordeaux. 
 
 Then the Englishmen entered into Aube- 
 roche, and there the earl of Derby gave a 
 supper to the most part of the earls and 
 viscounts prisoners, and to many of the 
 knights and squires. The Englishmen gave 
 laud to God, in that that a thousand of 
 them had overcome ten thousand of their 
 enemies and had rescued the town of Aube- 
 roche and saved their companions that were 
 within, who by all likelihood should have 
 been taken within two days after. 
 
 The next day anon upon sun-rising thither 
 came the earl of Pembroke with his com- 
 pany, a three hundred spears and a four 
 thousand archers. Then he said to the earl 
 of Derby : ' Certainly, cousin, ye have done 
 me great uncourtesy to fight with our 
 enemies without me : seeing that ye sent 
 for me, ye might have been sure I would 
 not fail to come.' ' Fair cousin,' quoth the 
 earl of Derby, ' we desired greatly to have 
 had you with us : we tarried all day till it 
 was far past noon, and when we saw that 
 ye came not, we durst not abide no longer ; 
 for if our enemies had known of our coming, 
 they had been in a great advantage over us ; 
 and now we have the advantage of them. 
 I pray you, be content, and help to guide 
 us to Bordeaux.' So they tarried all that 
 day and the next night in Auberoche ; and 
 the next day betimes they departed, and 
 left captain in Auberoche a knight of 
 Gascony called Alexander of Chaumont. 
 Thus they rode to Bordeaux and led with 
 them the most part of their prisoners. 
 
 CHAPTER CVIII 
 
 Of the towns that the earl of Derby won in 
 Gascoyne, going toward the Reole. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Derby -win- 
 tered at Bordeaux aiid in May 1345 -joined 
 1 The 
 
 ,w t. , '^ ■"'■°"S ■ " "*'' '" '345, as also 
 
 this whole campaign, and probably on the 21st of 
 "^,™;'- St. Lawrence is loth August. 
 
 Ihc earl of Derby did not winter at Bordeaux 
 but continued his operations. La Reole was taken 
 towards the end of 1345. 
 
THE EARL OF DERBY IN GASCONY, 1345 
 
 85 
 
 the earl of Petnbroke at Bergerac a?id so on 
 towards la Reole. Sainte-Bazeille submitted 
 and la Roche Aleilhmi was taken by assattlt : 
 Monsdgur was besieged for Jiftee>i days and 
 then a tnice was agreed to with the captain 
 there, to see if the king of F7'ance would 
 send aid withi7i a month. Aiguillon 
 surrendered, for which the captain of it 
 was charged with treason and hanged at 
 Toulouse. Castelsagrat was taken by assault. 
 
 CHAPTER CIX 
 
 How the earl of Derby laid siege to the 
 Reole, and how that the town was yielded 
 to him. 
 
 Thus the earl of Derby came before the 
 Reole and laid siege thereto on all sides, 
 and made bastides in the fields and on the 
 ways, so that no provision could enter into 
 the town, and nigh every day there was 
 assault. The siege endured a long space. 
 And when the month was expired that 
 they of Segur should give up their town, 
 the earl sent thither, and they of the town 
 gave up and became under the obeisance of 
 the king of England : the captain, sir Hugh 
 Badefol, became servant to the earl, with 
 other that were within, upon certain wages 
 that they had. The Englishmen, that had 
 lien long before the Reole, more than nine 
 weeks, had made in the mean space two 
 belfries of great timber with three stages, 
 every belfry on four great wheels, and the 
 sides towards the town were covered with 
 cure boly to defend them from fire and from 
 shot, and into every stage there were 
 pointed an hundred archers. By strength 
 of men these two belfries were brought 
 to the walls of the town, for they had so 
 filled the dikes that they might well be 
 brought just to the walls. The archers in 
 these stages shot so wholly together, that 
 none durst appear at their defence without 
 they were well pavised ; and between these 
 two belfries there were a two hundred men 
 with pick -axes to mine the walls, and so 
 they brake through the walls. Then the 
 burgesses of the town came to one of the 
 gates to speak with some lord of the host. 
 When the earl of Derby knew thereof, he 
 sent to them sir Gaultier of jVIanny and the 
 
 baron of Stafford ; and when they came 
 there, they found that they of the town 
 would yield them, their lives and goods 
 saved. 
 
 [When] sir Agot des Baux, who was 
 captain within, knew that the people of the 
 town would yield up, he went into the 
 castle with his company of soldiers ; and 
 while they of the town were entreating, he 
 conveyed out of the town great quantity of 
 wine and other provision, and then closed 
 the castle gates and said how he would not 
 yield up so soon. The foresaid two lords 
 returned to the earl of Derby shewing him 
 how they of the town would yield them- 
 selves and the town, their lives and goods 
 saved. Then the earl sent to know how 
 the captain would do with the castle, and 
 it was brought word again to him how he 
 would not yield. Then the earl studied a 
 little and said : ' Well, go take them of the 
 town to mercy, for by the town we shall 
 have the castle.' Then these lords went 
 again to them of the town and received 
 them to mercy, so that they should go out 
 into the field and deliver the earl of Derby 
 the keys of the town, saying, ' Sir, from 
 henceforth we knowledge ourselves subjects 
 and obeisant to the king of England ' : and 
 so they did, and svvare that they should 
 give no comfort to them of the castle, but 
 to grieve them to the best of their powers. 
 Then the earl commanded that no man 
 should do any hurt to the town of Reole 
 nor to none of them within. 
 
 Then the earl entered into the town and 
 laid siege round about the castle, as near as 
 he might, and reared up all his engines, the 
 which cast night and day against the walls, 
 but they did little hurt, the walls were so 
 strong of hard stone : it was said that of 
 old time it had been wrought by the hands 
 of the Saracens, who made their works so 
 strongly that there is none such nowadays. 
 When the earl saw that he could do no 
 good with his engines, he caused them to 
 cease : then he called to him his miners, to 
 the intent that they should make a mine 
 under all the walls, the which was not soon 
 made. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER CX 
 
 How sir Walter of Manny found in the town 
 of the Reole the sepulchre of his father. 
 
 While this siege endured and that the 
 miners were a-work, the lord Gaultier of 
 Manny remembered how that his father was 
 slain going a pilgrimage to Saint James, 
 and how he heard in his youth how he 
 should be buried in the Reole or thereabout. 
 Then he made it to be enquired in the town, 
 if there were any man could shew him his 
 father's tomb, he should have a hundred 
 crowns for his labour : and there was an 
 aged man came to sir Gaultier and said : 
 ' Sir, I think I can bring you near to the 
 place where your father was buried. ' Then 
 the lord of Manny said : ' If your words be 
 true, I shall keep covenant and more.' 
 
 Now ye shall hear the manner how the 
 lord Gaultier's father was slain. It was 
 true that sometime there was a bishop in 
 Cambresis, a Gascon born of the house of 
 Mirepoix : and so it fortuned that in his 
 days there was at a time a great tourneying 
 before Cambray, whereas there were five 
 hundred knights on both parties. And 
 there was a knight Gascon tourneyed 
 with the lord of Manny, father to sir 
 Gaultier, and this knight of Gascoyne was 
 so sore hurt and beaten, that he had never 
 health after, but died. This knight was of 
 kin to the said bishop ; wherefore the lord 
 of Manny was in his indignation and of all 
 his lineage. A two or three year after 
 certain good men laboured to make peace 
 between them, and so they did ; and for 
 amends the lord of Manny was bound to 
 go n pilgrimage to Saint James. And so 
 he went thitherward ; and as he came forby 
 the town of Reole, the same season the earl 
 Charles of Valois, brother to king Philip, 
 lay at siege before the Reole, the which as 
 then was English, and divers other towns 
 and cities, then pertaining to the king of 
 England, father to the king that laid siege 
 to Tournay : so that the lord of Manny, 
 after the returning of his pilgrimage, he 
 came to see the earl of Valois, -who was 
 there as king. And as the lord of Manny 
 went at night to his lodging, he was watched 
 by the way by certain of them of the lineage 
 of him that the lord of jNIanny had made 
 his pilgrimage for, and so without the earl's 
 
 lodging he was slain and murdered, and no 
 man knew who did it. Howbeit they of 
 that lineage were held suspect in the matter, 
 but they were so strong and made such 
 excuses, that the matter passed, for there 
 was none that would pursue the lord of 
 Manny's quarrel. Then the earl of Valois 
 caused him to be buried in a little chapel in 
 the field, the which as then was without the 
 town of Reole ; and when the earl of 
 Valois had won the town, then the walls 
 were made more larger, so that the chapel 
 was within the town. 
 
 Thus was sir Gaultier of Manny's father 
 slain ; and this old man remembered all this 
 matter, for he was present when he was 
 buried. Then sir Gaultier of Manny went 
 with this good aged man to the place 
 whereas his father was buried, and there 
 they found a little tomb of marble over him, 
 the which his servants laid on him after he 
 was buried. Then the old man said : ' Sir, 
 surely under this tomb lieth your father.' 
 Then the lord of Manny read the scripture 
 on the tomb, the which was in Latin,' and 
 there he found that the old man had said 
 truth, and gave him his reward. And 
 within two days after he made the tomb to 
 be raised and the bones of his father to be 
 taken up and put in a coffer, and after did 
 send them to Valenciennes in the county of 
 Hainault, and in the Friars there made 
 them to be buried again honourably, and 
 did there his obsequy right goodly, the 
 which is yet kept yearly. 
 
 CHAPTER CXI 
 
 How the earl of Derby won the castle of the 
 Reole. 
 
 Now let us return to the siege about the 
 castle of the Reole, the which had endured 
 eleven weeks. So long wrought the miners 
 that at last they came under the base court, 
 but under the donjon they could not get, for 
 it stood on a hard rock. ^ Then sir Agot 
 
 1 'Then sir Waher of Manny caused the inscrip- 
 tion, which was in Latin, to be read by a cleric of 
 his.- 
 
 - ' So long wrought the miners . . . that they 
 came beneath the castle and so far forth tliat the> 
 cast down a low court (rf<7^ tower) in the outer cir- 
 cuit of the castle, but to the main tower of the 
 donjon they could do no ill, for it was masoned upon 
 rock, of which no bottom could be found.' 
 
CAPTURE OF LA R£0LE, 1345 
 
 87 
 
 des Baux tlieir captain said to his company ; 
 ' Sirs, we be undermined, so that we are in 
 great danger.' Then they were all sore 
 afraid, and said : Sir, ye are in a great 
 danger, and we also, without ye find some 
 remedy : ye are our chief and we will obey 
 you truly. We have kept this house right 
 honourably a long season, and though we 
 now make a composition, we cannot be 
 blamed. Assay if ye can get grant of the 
 earl of Derby to let us depart, our lives and 
 goods saved, and we to deliver to him this 
 castle.' 
 
 Then sir Agot descended down from the 
 high tower and did put out his head at a 
 little window and made a token to speak 
 with some of the host. Then he was de- 
 manded what he would have ; he said he 
 would fain speak with the earl of Derby or 
 with the lord of Manny. When the earl 
 knew thereof, he said to the lord of Manny 
 and the lord Stafford : ' Let us go to the for- 
 tress and know what the captain will say. ' 
 Then they rode together, and when sir Agot 
 saw them, he took off his cap and saluted 
 them, each after other, and said : ' Lords, 
 it is of truth that the French king sent me 
 to this town to defend and to keep it, and 
 the castle, to my power ; and ye know right 
 well how I have acquit myself in that be- 
 half, and yet would if I might : but always 
 a man may not abide in one place. Sir, 
 if it will please you, I and all my com- 
 pany would depart, our lives and goods 
 saved, and we shall yield unto you the 
 fortress. ' 
 
 Then the earl of Derby said : ' Sir Agot, 
 ye shall not go so away ; we know right 
 well we have so sore oppressed you, that we 
 may have you when we list ; for your fortress 
 standeth but upon stays. Yield you simply, 
 and we will receive you.' Sir Agot said : 
 ' Sir, if we did so, I think in you so much 
 honour and gentleness, that ye would deal 
 but courteously with us, as ye would the 
 French king should deal with any of your 
 knights. For God's sake, sir, blemish not 
 your nobleness for a poor sort of soldiers 
 that be here within, who hath won with 
 much pain and peril their poor living, whom 
 I have brought hither out of Provence, of 
 Savoy, and out of Dauphiny. Sir, know for 
 truth that if the least of us should not come 
 to mercy, as well as the best, we will rather 
 sell our lives in such wise that all the world 
 
 should speak of us. Sir, we desire you to 
 bear us some company of arms, and we 
 shall pray for you.' 
 
 Then the earl and the other two lords 
 went apart and spake together. They spake 
 long together of divers things : finally they 
 regarded the truth of sir Agot, and con- 
 sidered how he was a stranger, and also they 
 saw that they could not undermine the 
 donjon, [and so] they agreed to receive them 
 to mercy. Then the earl said to sir Agot : 
 ' Sir, we v/ould gladly to all strangers bear 
 good company of arms. I am content that ye 
 and all your company depart with your lives 
 saved, so that you bear away nothing but 
 your armour.' ' So be it,' quoth sir Agot. 
 Then he went to his company and shewed 
 them how he had sped. Then they did on 
 their harness and took their horses, whereof 
 they had no more but six. Some bought 
 horses of the Englishmen, the which they 
 paid for truly. Thus sir Agot des Baux 
 departed fi'om the Reole and yielded up the 
 castle to the Englishmen, and sir Agot and 
 his company went to Toulouse. 
 
 CHAPTERS CXII, CXIII 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Derby took 
 Monpezat by assault-, and Castebnoron by 
 strategy. Thence he departed and took Ville- 
 f7'anche and other towns a?id castles, arid 
 received tJie subniissioji of Angonlenie.^ 
 Finally he retired to Bordeaux for the 
 winter. 
 
 CHAPTER CXIV 
 
 How sir Godfrey Harcourt was banished out 
 of France. 
 
 In this season sir Godfrey of Harcourt 
 fell in the indignation of the French king, 
 who was a great baron in Normandy and 
 brother to the earl of Harcourt, lord of 
 Saint-Saviour the Viscount and divers other 
 towns in Normandy : and it was said all 
 was but for envy, for a little before he was 
 as great with the king and with the duke 
 of Normandy as he would desire ; but he 
 was as then openly banished the realm of 
 
 r The capture of Angouleme is omitted in Froi.';- 
 sart's last revision, and seems in fact to be imaginary. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROTSSART 
 
 France, and if the king could have got him 
 in his ire, he would have served him as he 
 did sir Oliver of Clisson, who was be- 
 headed the year before at Paris. This sir 
 Godfrey had some friends, who gave him 
 warning secretly how the king was dis- 
 pleased with him. Then he avoided the 
 realm as soon as he might, and went into 
 Brabant to the duke there, who was his 
 cousin, who received him joyfully. And 
 there he tarried a long space and lived of 
 such revenues as he had in Brabant ; for 
 out of France he could get nothing : the 
 king had seized all his lands there of 
 Cotentin, and took the profit thereof him- 
 self. The duke of Brabant could in no wise 
 get again this knight into the king's favour, 
 for nothing that he could do. This displea- 
 sure cost greatly the realm of France after, 
 and specially the country of Normandy ; for 
 the tokens thereof remained a hundred 
 year after, as ye shall hear in this history. 
 
 CHAPTER CXV 
 Of the death of Jaques d'Arteveld of Gaunt. 
 
 In this season reigned in Flanders in great 
 prosperity and puissance Jaques d'Arteveld 
 of Gaunt, who was as great with the king 
 of England as he would desire : and he 
 had promised the king to make him lord 
 and heritor of Flanders, and to endow his 
 son the prince of Wales therewith, and to 
 make the county of Flanders a dukedom. 
 For the which cause about the feast of 
 Saint John Baptist, the year of our Lord 
 God MCCCXLV., the king of England was 
 come to Sluys with many lords and knights, 
 and had brought thither with him the 
 young prince his son, on the trust of the 
 promise of Jaques d'Arteveld. The king 
 with all his navy lay in the haven of Sluys, 
 and there he kept his house, and thither 
 came to visit him his friends of Flanders. 
 There were great councils between the 
 king and Jaques d'Arteveld on the one 
 party and the counsels of the good towns 
 of Flanders on the other party ; so that 
 they of the country were not of the agree- 
 ment with the king nor with Jaques d'Arte- 
 veld, who preached to them that they 
 should disherit the earl Louis their own 
 natural lord, and also his young son Louis, 
 
 and to enherit the son of the king of Eng- 
 land ; the which thing they said surely they 
 would never agree unto. And so the last 
 day of their council, the which was kept in 
 the haven of Sluys in the king's great ship, 
 called the /Catherine, there they gave a 
 final answer by common accord, and said : 
 ' Sir, ye have desired us to a thing that is 
 great and weighty, the which hereafter 
 may sore touch the country of Flanders 
 and our heirs. Truly we know not at this 
 day no person in the world that we love 
 the preferment of so much as we do yours ; 
 but, sir, this thing we cannot do alone, 
 without that all the commonalty of Flanders 
 accord to the same. Sir, we shall go home, 
 and every man speak with his company 
 generally in every town, and as the most 
 part agree, we shall be content : and within 
 a month we shall be here with you again 
 and then give you a full answer, so that 
 ye shall be content.' The king nor Jaques 
 d'Arteveld could as then have none other 
 answer : they would fain have had a short 
 day, but it would not be. So thus departed 
 that council, and every man went home to 
 their own towns. 
 
 Jaques d'Arteveld tarried a little season 
 with the king, and still he promised the 
 king to bring them to his intent ; but he 
 was deceived, for as soon as he came to 
 Gaunt, he went no more out again. For 
 such of Gaunt as had been at Sluys at the 
 council there, when they were returned 
 to Gaunt, or Jaques d'Arteveld was come 
 into the town, great and small they as- 
 sembled in the market-place; and there 
 it was openly shewed what request the 
 king of England had made to them by 
 the setting on of Jaques d'Arteveld. Then 
 every man began to murmur against Jaques, 
 for that request pleased them nothing, and 
 said that by the grace of God there should 
 no such untruth be found in them, as 
 willingly to disherit their natural lord and 
 his issue, to enherit a stranger : and so 
 they all departed from the market-place, 
 not content with Jaques d'Arteveld. 
 
 Now behold and see what fortune fell. 
 If he had been as welcome to Gaunt as he 
 was to Bruges and Ipres, they would [have] 
 agreed to his opinion, as they did ; but he 
 trusted so much in his prosperity and 
 greatness, that he thought soon to reduce 
 them to his pleasure. 
 
DEATH OF JAQUES D'ARTEVELD, 1345 
 
 When he returned, he came inlo Gaunt 
 about noon. They of the town knew of 
 his coming, and many were assembled 
 together in the street whereas he should 
 pass. And when they saw him, they 
 began to murmur, and began to run together 
 three heads in one hood and said : ' Behold 
 yonder great master, who will order all 
 Flanders after his pleasure, the which is 
 not to be suffered.' Also there were words 
 sown through all the town, how Jaques 
 d'Arteveld had nine year assembled all 
 the revenues of Flanders without any count 
 given, and thereby hath kept his estate, 
 and also sent great riches out of the country 
 into England secretly. These words set 
 them of Gaunt on fire, and as he rode 
 through the street, he perceived that there 
 was some new matter against him, for he 
 saw such as were wont to niake reverence 
 to him as he came by, he saw them turn 
 their backs toward him and enter into 
 their houses. Then he began to doubt ; 
 and as soon as he was alighted in his lodg- 
 ing, he closed fast his gates, doors and 
 windows. This was scant done but all 
 the street was full of men, and specially of 
 them of the small crafts : there they assailed 
 his house both behind and before, and the 
 house broken up. He and his within the 
 house defended themselves a long space, 
 and slew and hurt many without ; but 
 finally he could not endure, for three parts 
 of the men of the town were at that assault. 
 When Jaques saw that he was so sore 
 oppressed, he came to a window with great 
 humility bare-headed, and said with fair 
 language : ' Good people, what aileth you ? 
 Why be you so sore troubled against me ? 
 In what manner have I displeased you ? 
 Shew me, and I shall make you amends at 
 your pleasures.' Then such as heard him 
 answered all with one voice : ' We will 
 have account made of the great treasure of 
 Flanders, that ye have sent out of the way 
 without any title of reason.' Then Jaques 
 answered meekly and said : ' Certainly, 
 sirs, of the treasure of Flanders I never 
 took nothing : withdraw yourselves patiently 
 into your houses and come again to-morrow 
 in the morning, and I shall make you so 
 good account, that of reason ye shall be 
 content.' Then all they answered and 
 said : ' Nay, we will have account made 
 incontinent ; ye shall not scape us so : we 
 
 know for truth that ye have sent great 
 riches into England without our knowledge : 
 wherefore ye shall die.' When he heard 
 that word, he joined his hands together, 
 and sore weeping said : ' Sirs, such as I 
 am ye have made me, and ye have sworn 
 to me or this to defend me against all 
 persons, and now ye would slay me without 
 reason. Ye may do it an ye will, for I 
 am but one man among you all. For 
 God's sake take better advice, and remember 
 the time past, and consider the great graces 
 and courtesies that I have done to you : ye 
 would now render to me a small reward 
 for the great goodness that I have done to 
 you and to your town in time past. Ye 
 know right well, merchandise was nigh 
 lost in all this country, and by my means 
 it is recovered : also I have governed you 
 in great peace and rest, for in the time of 
 my governing ye have had all things as ye 
 would wish, corn, riches, and all other 
 merchandise.' Then they all cried with 
 one voice : * Come down to us, and preach 
 not so high, and give us account of the 
 great treasure of Flanders that ye have 
 governed so long without any account 
 making, the which pertaineth not to an 
 ofiicer to do, as to receive the goods of 
 his lord or of a country without account.' 
 
 When Jaques saw that he could not 
 appease them, he drew in his head and 
 closed his window, and so thought to 
 steal out on the back side into a church 
 that joined to his house : but his house 
 was so broken, that four hundred persons 
 were entered into his house ; and finally 
 there he was taken and slain without mercy, 
 and one Thomas Denis gave him his death- 
 stroke. Thus Jaques d'Arteveld ended his 
 days, who had been a great master in 
 Flanders. Poor men first mounteth up 
 and unhappy men slayeth them at the 
 end.' These tidings anon spread abroad 
 the country : some were sorry thereof and 
 some were glad. 
 
 In this season the earl Louis of Flanders 
 was at Termonde, and he was right joyous 
 when he heard of the death of Jaques 
 d'Arteveld his old enemy : howbeit yet 
 he durst not trust them of Flanders, nor 
 go to Gaunt. When the king of England, 
 who lay all this season at Sluys abiding 
 
 1 ' Poor men first raised him up and evil men 
 slew him at the end.' 
 
90 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the answer of the Flemings, heard how 
 they of Gaunt had slain Jaques d'Arteveld 
 his great friend, he was sore displeased. 
 Incontinent he departed from Sluys and 
 entered into the sea, sore threatening the 
 Flemings and the country of Flanders, and 
 said how his death should be well revenged. 
 Then the counsels of the good towns of 
 Flanders imagined well how the king of 
 England would be sore displeased with 
 this deed : then they determined to go and 
 excuse themselves, specially they of Bruges, 
 Ypres, Courtray, Oudenarde and of [the] 
 Franc. They sent into England to the 
 king for a safe -conduct, that they might 
 come to their excuse : the king, who was 
 as then somewhat assuaged of his dis- 
 pleasure, granted their desire. Then there 
 came into England men of estate out of 
 the good towns of Flanders, except of 
 Gaunt. This was about the feast of Saint 
 Michael, and the king being at Westminster 
 beside London. There they so meekly 
 excused them of the death of Jaques 
 d'Arteveld, and sware solemnly that they 
 knew nothing thereof till it was done ; if 
 they had, he was the man they would have 
 defended to the best of their powers ; and 
 said how they were right sorry of his death, 
 for he had governed the country right 
 wisely; and also they said that though they 
 of Gaunt had done that deed, they should 
 make a sufficient amends, also saying to 
 the king and his council that, though he 
 be dead, yet the king was never the farther 
 off from the love and favour of them of 
 Flanders in all things except the inherit- 
 ance of Flanders, the which in no wise 
 they of Flanders will put away from the 
 right heirs ; saying also to the king : ' Sir, 
 ye have fair issue, both sons and daughters. 
 As for the prince of Wales your eldest son, 
 he cannot fail but to be a great prince 
 without the inheritance of Flanders. Sir, 
 ye have a young daughter, and we have a 
 young lord, who is heritor of Flanders ; 
 we have him in our keeping : may it please 
 you to make a marriage between them 
 two, so ever after the county of Flanders 
 shall be in the issue of your child.' These 
 words and such other appeased the king, 
 and finally was content with the Flemings 
 and they with him ; and so little and 
 little the death of Jaques d'Arteveld was 
 forgotten. 
 
 CHAPTER CXVI 
 
 Of the death of William earl of Hainault, 
 who died in Frise, and many with him. 
 
 In the same season the earl William of 
 Hainault, being at siege before the town of 
 Utrecht, and there had lien a long season, 
 he constrained them so sore, what by 
 assaults and otherwise, that finally he had 
 his pleasure of them. And anon after in 
 the same season, about the feast of Saint 
 Uemy, the same earl made a great assembly 
 of men of arms, knights and squires of 
 Hainault, Flanders, Brabant, Holland, 
 Gueldres and Juliers ; the earl and his 
 company departed from Dordrecht in Hol- 
 land with a great navy of ships, and so 
 sailed towards Frise ; for the earl of Hai- 
 nault claimed to be lord there : and if the 
 Prisons had been men to have brought 
 to reason, the earl indeed had there great 
 right ; but there he was slain, and a great 
 number of knights and squires with him.' 
 
 Sir John of Hainault arrived not there 
 with his nephew, for he arrived at another 
 place ; and when he heard of the death of 
 his nephew, like a man out of his mind he 
 would have fought with the Frisons, but 
 his servants, and especially sir Robert of 
 Glennes, who as then was his squire, did 
 put him into his ship again against his will. 
 And so he returned again with a small com- 
 pany and came to Mount Saint Gertrude^ 
 in Holland, where the lady his niece was, 
 wife to the said earl, named Joan, eldest 
 daughter to the duke of Brabant : and then 
 she went to the land of Binche, the which 
 was her endowry. Thus the county of 
 Hainault was void a certain space, and sir 
 John of Hainault did govern it unto the 
 time that Margaret of Hainault, mother to 
 the duke Albert, came thither and took 
 possession of that heritage, and all lords 
 and other did to her fealty and homage. 
 This lady Margaret was married to the lord 
 Louis of Eavier, emperor of Almaine and 
 king of [the] Romans. 
 
 t This defeat was at Staveren in September 
 1345- 
 - Gertruydenberg. 
 
SIEGE OF AIGUILLON, 1346 
 
 CHAPTER CXVII 
 
 How sir John of Hainault became French. 
 
 Anon after, the French king entreated and 
 caused the earl of Blois to entreat this lord 
 John of Hainault to become P'rench, pro- 
 mising to give him more revenues in France 
 than he had in England, to be assigned 
 where he would himself devise. To this 
 request he did not lightly agree, for he had 
 spent all the flower of his youth in the 
 service of the king of England, and was 
 ever well beloved with the king. When 
 the earl Louis of Blois, who had married 
 his daughter and had by her three sons, 
 Louis, John and Guy, saw that he could 
 not win him by that means, he thought 
 he would assay another way, as to win 
 the lord of Fagnolle, who was chief com- 
 panion and greatest of counsel with the lord 
 John of Hainault; and so they between 
 them devised to make him believe that they 
 of England would not pay him his pension, 
 wherewith sir John of Hainault was sore 
 displeased, so that he renounced his service 
 and good-will that he bare to the king of 
 England. And when the French king 
 knew thereof, incontinent he sent sufficient 
 messengers to him, and so retained him of 
 his council with certain wages, and recom- 
 pensed him in France with as much or 
 more than he had in England. 
 
 CHAPTER CXVni 
 
 Of the great host that the duke of Normandy 
 brought into Gascoyne against the earl of 
 Derby. 
 
 SUMMARY. — Near (he end of the year 
 1345 the duke of Normandy gathered a 
 great host at Toulouse, and after Christrnas 
 they rode forth. They took Miremont and 
 Villef-anche, and laid siege to AngoiUeme. 
 
 CHAPTER CXIX 
 
 How John Norwich scaped from Angou- 
 leme, when the town was yielded to the 
 Frenchmen. 
 
 SUMMARY.^ohn of Norwich, who was 
 eaptaiii at Angouleme, seeing that he could 
 
 not hold out, ashed for a truce to last 
 for the day of the Purification, and this 
 being granted he aitd his C07}ipany rode 
 openly away through the French host, and 
 came to Aigidllon. An^oulhjie surren- 
 dered, and the duke of Norm-andy ivent to 
 Aiiiuillo7i. 
 
 CHAPTER CXX 
 
 How the duke of Normandy laid siege to 
 Aiguillon with a hundred thousand men. 
 
 The duke of Normandy and these lords of 
 France did so much that they came to the 
 castle of Aiguillon. There they laid their 
 siege about the fair meadows along by the 
 river able to bear ships, every lord among 
 his own company and every constable by 
 himself, as it was ordained by the marshals. 
 This siege endured till the feast of Saint 
 Remy : there were well a hundred thousand 
 men of war, a-horseback and afoot i-* they 
 made lightly every day two or three assaults, 
 and most commonly from the morning till 
 it was near night without ceasing, for ever 
 there came new assaulters that would not 
 suffer them within to rest. The lords of 
 France saw well they could not well come 
 to the fortress without they passed the 
 river, the which was large and deep. Then 
 the duke commanded that a bridge should 
 be made, whatsoever it cost, to pass the 
 river : there were set awork more than 
 three hundred workmen, who did work 
 day and night. When the knights within 
 saw this bridge more than half made over 
 the river, they decked^ three ships, and 
 entered into them a certain, and so came 
 on the workmen and chased them away 
 with their defenders ; and there they brake 
 all to pieces, that had been long a-making. 
 When the French lords saw that, then they 
 apparelled other ships, to resist against 
 their ships, and then the workmen began 
 again to work on the bridge, on trust of their 
 defenders. And when they had worked 
 half a day and more, sir Gaultier of Manny 
 
 1 The number is reduced to 60,000 in the latest 
 revision of the first book, where the siege of Aiguil- 
 lon is called ' le plus biau sie'ge qui oncques les 
 guerres durant de France et d'Engleterre euist este' 
 fait ne tenu ens ou roiaulme de France.' It lasted 
 in fact only till 20th August. 
 
 - 'Fisent apparillier.* 
 
92 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and his company entered into a ship, and 
 came on the workmen and made them to 
 leave work and to recule back, and brake 
 again all that they had made. This busi- 
 ness was nigh every day; but at last the 
 Frenchmen kept so well their workmen, 
 that the bridge was made perforce : and 
 then the lords and all their army passed 
 over in manner of battle, and they assaulted 
 the castle a whole day together without 
 ceasing, but nothing they won ; and at 
 night they returned to their lodgings : and 
 they within amended all that was broken, 
 for they had with them workmen enough. 
 
 The next day the Frenchmen divided 
 their assaulters into four parts, the first to 
 begin in the morning and to continue till 
 nine, the second till noon, the third to even- 
 song time, and the fourth till night. After 
 that manner they assailed the castle six days 
 together : howbeit they witliin were not so 
 sore travailed, but always they defended 
 themselves so valiantly, that they without 
 won nothing, but only the bridge without 
 the castle. Then the Frenchmen took 
 other counsel: they sent to Toulouse for 
 eight great engines, and they made there 
 four greater, and they made all twelve to 
 cast day and night against the castle ; but 
 they within were so well pavised, that 
 never a stone of their engines did them any 
 hurt : it brake somewhat the covering of 
 some houses. They within had also great 
 engines, the which brake down all the 
 engines without, for in a short space they 
 brake all to pieces six of the greatest of 
 them without. 
 
 During this siege oftentimes sir Walter 
 of Manny issued out with a hundred or six 
 score companions, and went on that side 
 the river a-foraging, and returned again 
 with great preys in the sight of them with- 
 out. On a day the lord Charles of Mont- 
 morency, marshal of the host, rode forth 
 with a five hundred with him, and when 
 he returned, he drave before him a great 
 number of beasts that he had got together 
 in the country to refresh the host with 
 victual : and by adventure he encountered 
 with sir Gaultier of Manny. There was 
 between them a great fight and many over- 
 thrown, hurt and slain : the Frenchmen 
 were five against one. Tidings thereof 
 came unto Aiguillon : then every man that 
 might issued out, the earl of Pembroke first 
 
 of all and his company; and when he 
 came, he found sir Gaultier of Manriy 
 afoot enclosed with his enemies, and did 
 marvels in arms. Incontinent he was 
 rescued and remounted again, and in the 
 mean season some of the Frenchmen 
 chased their beasts quickly into the host, 
 or else they had lost them, for they that 
 issued out of Aiguillon set so fiercely on 
 the Frenchmen, that they put them to the 
 flight and delivered their company that 
 were taken and took many Frenchmen 
 prisoners, and sir Charles of Montmorency 
 had much work to scape. Then the 
 Englishmen returned into Aiguillon. 
 
 Thus every day almost there were such 
 rencounters beside the assaults. On a day 
 all the whole host armed them, and the 
 duke commanded that they of Toulouse, of 
 Carcassonne, of Beaucaire should make 
 assault from the morning till noon, and 
 they of Rouergue, Cahors and Agenois from 
 noon till night ; and the duke promised, 
 whosoever could win the bridge of the gate 
 should have in reward a hundred crowns. 
 Also the duke, the better to maintain this 
 assault, he caused to come on the river 
 divers ships and barges : some entered into 
 them to pass the river, and some went by 
 the bridge : at the last some of them took 
 a little vessel and went under the bridge, 
 and did cast great hooks of iron to the 
 drawbridge, and then drew it to them so 
 sore, that they brake the chains of iron that 
 held the bridge, and so pulled down the 
 bridge perforce. Then the Frenchmen 
 leapt on the bridge so hastily, that one 
 overthrew another, for every man desired 
 to win the hundred crowns. They within 
 cast down bars of iron, pieces of timber, 
 pots of lime, and hot water, so that many 
 were overthrown from the bridge into the 
 water and into the dikes, and many slain 
 and sore hurt. Howbeit the bridge was 
 won perforce, but it cost more than it was 
 worth, for they could not for all that win 
 the gate. Then they drew aback to their 
 lodgings, for it was late : then they within 
 issued out, and new made again their draw- 
 bridge, stronger than ever it was before. 
 
 The next day there came to the duke two 
 cunning men, masters in carpentry, and 
 said : ' Sir, if ye will let us have timber 
 and workmen, we shall make four scaffolds 
 as high or higher than the walls.' The 
 
EXPEDITION OF EDWARD III., 1346 
 
 93 
 
 duke commanded that it should be done, 
 and to get carpenters in the country and 
 to give them good wages : so these four 
 scaffolds were made in four ships, but it 
 was long first, and cost much or they were 
 finished. Then such as should assail the 
 castle in them were appointed and entered ; 
 and when they were passed half the river, 
 they within the castle let go four martinets, 
 that they had newly made to resist against 
 these scaffolds. These four martinets did 
 cast out so great stones, and so often fell on 
 the scaffolds, that in a short space they 
 were all to broken, so that they that were 
 within them could not be pavised by them, 
 so that they were fain to draw back again, 
 and or they were again at land one of the 
 scaffolds drowned in the water, and the most 
 part of them that were within it ; the which 
 was great damage, for therein were good 
 knights, desiring their bodies to advance. 
 
 When the duke saw that he could not 
 come to his intent by that means, he caused 
 the other three scaffolds to rest. Then he 
 could see no way how he might get the 
 castle, and he had promised not to depart 
 thence till he had it at his will, without 
 the king his father did send for him. Then 
 he sent the constable of France and the 
 earl of Tancarville to Paris to the king, 
 and there they shewed him the state of the 
 siege of Aiguillon. The king's mind was 
 that the duke should He there still, till he 
 had won them by famine, sith he could not 
 have them by assault. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXI 
 
 How the king of England came over the sea 
 again, to rescue them in Aiguillon. 
 
 The king of England, who had heard how 
 his men were sore constrained in the castle 
 of Aiguillon, then he thought to go over 
 the sea into Gascoyne with a great army. 
 There he made his provision and sent for 
 men all about his realm and in other places, 
 where he thought to speed for his money. 
 In the same season the lord Godfrey of 
 Harcourt came into England, who was 
 banished out of France : he was well 
 received with the king and retained to be 
 about him, and had fair lands assigned him 
 in England to maintain his degree. Then 
 
 the king caused a great navy of ships to be 
 ready in the haven of Hampton, and caused 
 all manner of men of war to draw thither. 
 About the feast of Saint John Baptist the 
 year of our Lord God mcccxlvi., the king 
 departed from the queen and left her in the 
 guiding of the earl of Kent his cousin ; and 
 he stablished the lord Percy and the lord 
 Nevill to be wardens of his realm with [the 
 archbishop of Canterbury,] the archbishop 
 of York, the bishop of Lincoln and the 
 bishop of Durham ; for he never voided his 
 realm but that he left ever enough at home 
 to keep and defend the realm, if need were. 
 Then the king rode to Hampton and there 
 tarried for wind : then he entered into his 
 ship and the prince of Wales with him, and 
 the lord Godfrey of Harcourt, and all other 
 lords, earls, barons and knights, with all 
 their companies. They were in number a 
 four thousand men of arms and ten thousand 
 archers, beside Irishmen and Welshmen 
 that followed the host afoot. 
 
 Now I shall name you certain of the lords 
 that went over with king Edward in that 
 journey. First, Edward his eldest son, 
 prince of Wales, who as then was of the age 
 of thirteen years or thereabout,^ the earls of 
 Hereford, Northampton, Arundel, Corn- 
 wall, Warwick, Huntingdon, Suffolk, and 
 Oxford ; and of barons the lord Mortimer, 
 who was after earl of March, the lords John, 
 Louis and Roger of Beauchamp, and the 
 lord Raynold Cobham ; of lords the lord of 
 Mowbray, Ros, Lucy, Felton, Bradestan, 
 Multon, Delaware, Manne,^ Basset, Berke- 
 ley, and Willoughby, with divers other 
 lords ; and of bachelors there was John 
 Chandos, Fitz-Warin, Peter and James 
 Audley, Roger of Wetenhale, Bartholomew 
 of Burghersh, and Richard of Pembridge, 
 with divers other that I cannot name. Few 
 there were of strangers : there was the earl 
 Hainault,^ sir Wulfart of Ghistelles, and 
 five or six other knights of Almaine, and 
 many other that I cannot name. 
 
 Thus they sailed forth that dayin the name 
 of God. They were well onward on their 
 way toward Gascoyne, but on the third day 
 there rose a contrary wind and drave them 
 
 1 He was in fact sixteen ; born 15th June 1330. 
 
 2 Probably 'Mohun.- 
 
 3 The usual confusion between ' comte ' and 
 'comte.' It means, 'of the county uf Hainault 
 there was sir Wulfart of Ghistelles,' etc. 
 
94 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 on the marches of Cornwall, and there they 
 lay at anchor six days. In that space the 
 king had other counsel by the means of sir 
 Godfrey Harcourt : he counselled the king 
 not to go into Gascoyne, but rather to set 
 aland in Normandy, and said to the king : 
 ' Sir, the country of Normandy is one of 
 the plenteous countries of the world : sir, 
 on jeopardy of my head, if ye will land 
 there, there is none that shall resist you ; 
 the people of Normandy have not been used 
 to the war, and all the knights and squires 
 of the country are now at the siege before 
 Aiguillon with the duke. And, sir, there 
 ye shall find great towns that be not 
 walled, whereby your men shall have such 
 winning, that they shall be the better 
 thereby twenty year after ; and, sir, ye may 
 follow with your army till ye come to Caen 
 in Normandy : sir, I require you to believe 
 me in this voyage.' 
 
 The king, who was as then but in the 
 flower of his youth, desiring nothing so 
 much as to have deeds of arms, inclined 
 greatly to the saying of the lord Harcourt, 
 whom he called cousin. Then he com- 
 manded the mariners to set their course to 
 Normandy, and he took into his ship the 
 token of the admiral the earl of AVarwick, 
 and said how he would be admiral for that 
 viage, and so sailed on before as governour 
 of that navy, and they had wind at will. 
 Then the king arrived in the isle of Coten- 
 tin, at a port called Hogue Saint-Vaast.^ 
 
 Tidings anon spread abroad how the 
 Englishmen were aland : the towns of 
 Cotentin sent word thereof to Paris to king 
 Philip. He had well heard before how the 
 king of England was on the sea with a 
 great army, but he wist not what way he 
 would draw, other into Normandy, Bretayne 
 or Gascoyne. As soon as he knew that the 
 king of England was aland in Normandy, 
 he sent his constable the earl of Guincs, 
 and the earl of Tancarville, who were but 
 newly come to him from his son from the 
 siege at Aiguillon, to the town of Caen, 
 commanding them to keep that town against 
 the Englishmen. They said they would do 
 their best : they departed from Paris with 
 a good number of men of war, and daily 
 there came more to them by the way, and 
 so came to the town of Caen, where they 
 were received with great joy of men of the 
 1 Saint- Vaast-de la Hogue. 
 
 town and of the country thereabout, that 
 were drawn thither for surety. These lords 
 took heed for the provision of the town, the 
 which as then was not walled. The king 
 thus was arrived at the port Hogue Saint- 
 Vaast near to Saint-Saviour the Viscount ' 
 the right heritage to the lord Godfrey of Har- 
 court, who as then was there with the king 
 of England. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXII 
 
 How the king of England rode in three 
 battles through Normandy. 
 
 When the king of England arrived in 
 the Hogue Saint -Vaast, the king issued 
 out of his ship, and the first foot that he 
 set on the ground, he fell so rudely, that 
 the blood brast out of his nose. The 
 knights that were about him took him up 
 and said : ' Sir, for God's sake enter again 
 into your ship, and come not aland this 
 day, for this is but an evil sign for us.' 
 Then the king answered quickly and said : 
 ' Wherefore ? This is a good token for me, 
 for the land desireth to have me.' Of the 
 which answer all his men were right joyful. 
 So that day and night the king lodged on 
 the sands, and in the meantime discharged 
 the ships of their horses and other baggages : 
 there the king made two marshals of his 
 host, the one the lord Godfrey of Harcourt 
 and the other the earl of Warwick, and the 
 earl of Arundel constable. And he or- 
 dained that the earl of Huntingdon should 
 keep the fleet of ships with a hundred men 
 of arms and four hundred archers : and also 
 he ordained three battles, one to go on his 
 right hand, closing to the sea-side, and the 
 other on his left hand, and the king himself 
 in the midst, and every night to lodge all in 
 one field. 
 
 Thus they set forth as they were ordained, 
 and they that went by the sea took all the 
 ships that they found in their ways : and so 
 long they went forth, what by sea and what 
 by ^and, that they came to a good port and 
 to ."\ good town called Barfleur, the which 
 incontinent was won, for they within gave 
 up for fear of death. Howbeit, for all that, 
 the town was robbed, and much gold and 
 silver there found, and rich jewels : there 
 
 1 Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomtc. 
 
EDWARD in. IN NORMANDY 
 
 95 
 
 was found so much riches, that the boys and 
 villains of the host set nothing by good 
 furred gowns : they made all the men of the 
 town to issue out and to go into the ships, 
 because they would not suffer them to be 
 behind them for fear of rebelling again. 
 After the town of Barfleur was thus taken 
 and robbed without brenning, then they 
 spread abroad in the country and did what 
 they list, for there was not to resist them. 
 At last they came to a great and a rich 
 town called Cherbourg : the town they won 
 and robbed it, and brent part thereof, but 
 into the castle they could not come, it was 
 so strong and well furnished with men of 
 war. Then they passed forth and came to 
 Montebourg, and took it and robbed and 
 brent it clean. In this manner they brent 
 many other towns in that country and won 
 so much riches, that it was marvel to reckon 
 it. Then they came to a great town well 
 closed called Carentan, where there was 
 also a strong castle and many soldiers 
 within to keep it. Then the lords came 
 out of their ships and fiercely made assault : 
 the burgesses of the town were in great fear 
 of their lives, wives and children : they 
 suffered the Englishmen to enter into the 
 town against the will of all the soldiers that 
 were there ; they put all their goods to the 
 Englishmen's pleasures, they thought that 
 most advantage. When the soldiers within 
 saw that, they went into the castle ; the 
 Englishmen went into the town, and two 
 days together they made sore assaults, so 
 that when they within saw no succour, they 
 yielded up, their lives and goods saved, and 
 so departed. The Englishmen had their 
 pleasure of that good town and castle, and 
 when they saw they might not maintain to 
 keep it, they set fire therein and brent it, 
 and made the burgesses of the town to 
 enter into their ships, as they had done with 
 them of Barfleur, Cherbourg and Monte- 
 bourg, and of other towns that they had 
 won on the sea-side. All this was done by 
 the battle that went by the sea-side, and by 
 them on the sea together.^ 
 
 Now let us speak of the king's battle. 
 When he had sent his first battle along by 
 
 1 Froissart is mistaken in supposing that a divi- 
 sion of the land army went to these towns : Barfleur 
 and Cherbourg were visited only by the fleet. Ac- 
 cording to Michael of Northburgh, who accom- 
 panied the expedition, Edward disembarked 12th 
 
 the sea-side, as ye have heard, whereof one 
 of his marshals, the earl of Warwick, was 
 captain, and the lord Cobham with him, 
 then he made his other marshal to lead his 
 host on his left hand, for he knew the issues 
 and entries of Normandy better than any 
 other did there. The lord Godfrey as mar- 
 shal rode forth with five hundred men of 
 arms, and rode off from the king's battle as 
 six or seven leagues, in brenning and exil- 
 ing the country, the which was plentiful of 
 everything — the granges full of corn, the 
 houses full of all riches, rich burgesses, carts 
 and chariots, horse, swine, muttons and 
 other beasts : they took what them list and 
 brought into the king's host ; but the sol- 
 diers made no count to the king nor to none 
 of his officers of the gold and silver that they 
 did get ; they kept that to themselves. 
 Thus sir Godfrey of Harcourt rode every 
 day off from the lying's host, and for 
 most part every night resorted to the king's 
 field. The king took his way to Saint-Lo 
 in Cotentin, but or he came there he lodged 
 by a river, abiding for his men that rode 
 along by the sea-side ; and when they were 
 come, they set forth their carriage, and the 
 earl of Warwick, the earl of Suffolk, sir 
 Thomas Holland and sir Raynold Cobham, 
 and their company rode out on the one side 
 and wasted and exiled the country, as the 
 lord Harcourt had done ; and the king ever 
 rode between these battles, and every night 
 they lodged together. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXIII 
 
 Of the great assembly that the French king 
 made to resist the king of England. 
 
 Thus by the Englishmen was brent, ex- 
 iled, robbed, wasted and pilled the good, 
 plentiful country of Normandy. Then the 
 French king sent for the lord John of Hai- 
 nault, who came to him with a great number : 
 also the king sent for other men of arms, 
 dukes, earls, barons, knights and squires, 
 and assembled together the greatest number 
 of people that had been seen in France a 
 hundred year before. He sent for men 
 into so far countries, that it was long or 
 
 July and remained at Saint-Vaast till the i8th, and 
 meanwhile the fleet went to Barfleur and Cherbourg. 
 The army arrived at Caen on the 26th. 
 
96 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 they came together, wherefore the king of 
 England did what him list in the mean 
 season. The French king heard well what 
 he did, and sware and said how they should 
 never return again unfought withal, and 
 that such hurts and damages as they had 
 done should be dearly revenged ; wherefore 
 he had sent letters to his friends in the 
 Empire, to such as were farthest off, and 
 also to the gentle king of Bohemia and to 
 the lord Charles his son, who from thence- 
 forth was called king of Almaine ; he was 
 made king by the aid of his father and the 
 French king, and had taken on him the 
 arms of the Empire : the French king de- 
 sired them to come to him with all their 
 powers, to the intent to fight with the king 
 of England, who brent and wasted his 
 country. These princes and lords made 
 them ready with great number of men of 
 arms, of Almains, Bohemians and Luxem- 
 burgers, and so came to the French king. 
 Also king Philip sent to the duke of Lor- 
 raine, who came to serve him with three 
 hundred spears : also there came the earl 
 [of] Salm in Saumois, the earl of Sarrebruck, 
 the earl of Flanders, the earl William of 
 Namur, every man with a fair company. 
 
 Ye have heard herebefore of the order of 
 the Englishmen, how they went in three 
 battles, the marshals on the right hand and 
 on the left, the king and the prince of Wales 
 his son in the midst. They rode but small 
 journeys and every day took their lodgings 
 between noon and three of the clock, and 
 found the country so fruitful, that they 
 needed not to make no provision for their 
 host, but all only for wine ; and yet they 
 found reasonably sufficient thereof.' It was 
 no marvel though they of the country were 
 afraid, for before that time they had never 
 seen men of war, nor they wist not what 
 war or battle meant. They fled away as 
 far as they might hear speaking of the Eng- 
 lishmen,- and left their houses well stuffed, 
 and granges full of corn, they wist not how 
 to save and keep it. The king of England 
 and the prince had in their battle a three 
 thousand men of arms and six thousand 
 archers and a ten thousand men afoot, be- 
 side them that rode with the marshals. 
 
 1 Or rather, ' thus they found reasonably suffi- 
 cient provisions.' 
 
 2 That is, they fled as soon as they heard their 
 coming spoken of. 
 
 Thus as ye have heard, the king rode 
 forth, wasting andbrenning the country with- 
 out breaking of his order. Fie left the city 
 of Coutances' and went to agreat town called 
 Saint- Lo, a rich town of drapery and many 
 rich burgesses. In that town there were 
 dwelling an eight or nine score burgesses, 
 crafty men. When the king came there, he 
 took his lodging without, for he would never 
 lodge in the town for fear of fire : but he 
 sent his men before and anon the town was 
 taken and clean robbed. It was hard to 
 think the great riches that there was won, 
 in clothes specially ; cloth would there have 
 been sold good cheap, if there had been 
 any buyers. 
 
 Then the king went toward Caen, the 
 which was a greater town and fiill of drapery 
 and other merchandise, and rich burgesses, 
 noble ladies and damosels, and fair churches, 
 and specially two great and rich abbeys, one 
 of the Trinity, another of Saint Stephen ; 
 and on the one side of the town one of the 
 fairest castles of all Normandy, and captain 
 therein was Robert of Wargny, with three 
 hundred Genoways, and in the town was 
 the earl of Eu and of Guines, constable of 
 France, and the earl of Tancarville, with a 
 good number of men of war. The king of 
 England rode that day in good order and 
 lodged all his battles together that night, a 
 two leagues from Caen, in a town with a 
 little haven called Austrehem, and thither 
 came also all his navy of ships with the earl 
 of Huntingdon, who was governour of them. 
 The constable and other lords of France 
 that night watched well the town of Caen, 
 and in the morning armed them with all 
 them of the town : then the constable 
 ordained that none should issue out, but 
 keep their defences on the walls, gate, 
 bridge and river, and left the suburbs void, 
 because they were not closed ; for they 
 thought they should have enough to do to 
 defend the town, because it was not closed 
 but with the river. They of the town said 
 how they would issue out, for they were 
 1 That is, he did not turn aside lo go to it. 
 Froissart s-iys, ' He did not turn aside to the city 
 of Coutances, hut went on toward the great town 
 of Saint-Lo in Cotentin, which at that time was very 
 rich and of great merchandise and three times as 
 great as the city of Coutances.' Michael of North- 
 burgh says that Barfleur was about equal in import- 
 ance to Sandwich and Carentan to Leicester, Saint- 
 Lo greater than Lincoln, and Caen greater than any 
 city in England except London. 
 
CAPTURE OF CAEN (July 26) 
 
 97 
 
 strong enough to fight with the king of 
 England. When the constable saw their 
 good wills, he said : ' In the name of God 
 be it, ye shall not fight without me.' Then 
 they issued out in good order and made 
 good face to fight and to defend them and 
 to put their lives in adventure. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXIV 
 
 Of the battle of Caen, and how the 
 Englishmen took the town. 
 
 The same day the Englishmen rose early 
 and apparelled them ready to go to Caen.' 
 The king heard mass before the sun-rising 
 and then took his horse, and the prince 
 his son, with sir Godfrey of Harcourt 
 marshal and leader of the host, whose 
 counsel the king much followed. Then 
 they drew toward Caen with their battles in 
 good array, and so approached the good 
 town of Caen. When they of the town, 
 who were ready in the field, saw these three 
 battles coming in good order, with their 
 banners and standards waving in the wind, 
 and the archers, the which they had not 
 been accustomed to see, they were sore 
 afraid and fled away toward the town with- 
 out any order or good array, for all that the 
 constable could do : then the Englishmen 
 pursued them eagerly. When the constable 
 and the earl Tancarville saw that, they took 
 a gate at the entry and saved themselves - 
 and certain with them, for the Englishmen 
 were entered into the town. Some of the 
 knights and squires of France, such as knew 
 the way to the castle, went thither, and the 
 captain there received them all, for the 
 castle was large. The Englishmen in the 
 chase slew many, for they took none to 
 mercy. 
 
 Then the constable and the earl of Tan- 
 carville, being in the little tower at the 
 bridge foot, looked along the street and saw 
 their men slain without mercy : they doubted 
 to fall in their hands. At last they saw an 
 English knight with one eye called sir 
 
 1 This was 26th July. Edward arrived at Poissy 
 on i2th August : Philip of Valois left Paris on the 
 14th : the English crossed the Seine at Poissy on 
 the i6th, and the Somme at Blanche-taque on the 
 24th. 
 
 2 ' Set themselves for safety in a gate at the entry 
 of the bridge.' 
 
 H 
 
 Thomas Holland, and a five or six other 
 knights with him : they knew them, for 
 they had seen them before in Pruce, in 
 Granade, and in other viages. Then they 
 called to sir Thomas and said how they 
 would yield themselves prisoners. Then 
 sir Thomas came thither with his company 
 and mounted up into the gate, and there 
 found the said lords with twenty-five knights 
 with them, who yielded them to sir Thomas, 
 and he took them for his prisoners and left 
 company to keep them, and then mounted 
 again on his horse and rode into the streets, 
 and saved many lives of ladies, damosels, 
 and cloisterers from defoiling, for the 
 soldiers were without mercy. It fell so 
 well the same season for the Englishmen, 
 that the river, which was able to bear ships, 
 at that time was so low, that men went in 
 and out beside the bridge. They of the 
 town were entered into their houses, and 
 cast down into the street stones, timber 
 and iron, and slew and hurt more than five 
 hundred Englishmen, wherewith the king 
 was sore displeased. At night when he 
 heard thereof, he commanded that the next 
 day all should be put to the sword and the 
 town brent ; but then sir Godfrey of Har- 
 court said : 'Dear sir, for God's sake 
 assuage somewhat your courage, and let it 
 suffice you that ye have done. Ye have 
 yet a great voyage to do or ye come before 
 Calais, whither ye purpose to go ; and, sir, 
 in this town there is much people who will 
 defend their houses, and it will cost many 
 of your men their lives, or ye have all at 
 your will ; whereby peradventure ye shall 
 not keep your purpose to Calais, the which 
 should redound to your rack. Sir, save 
 your people, for ye shall have need of them 
 or this month pass ; for I think verily your 
 adversary king Philip will meet withyou to 
 fight, and ye shall find many strait passages 
 and rencounters ; wherefore your men, an 
 ye had more, shall stand you in good stead ; 
 and, sir, without any further slaying ye shall 
 be lord of this town ; men and women will 
 put all that they have to your pleasure.' 
 Then the king said : ' Sir Godfrey, you are 
 our marshal, ordain everything as ye will.' 
 Then sir Godfrey with his banner rode 
 from street to street, and commanded in 
 the king's name none to be so hardy to put 
 fire in any house, to slay any person, nor to 
 violate any woman. When they of the 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 town heard that cry, they received the 
 Englishmen into their houses and made 
 them good cheer, and some opened their 
 coffers and bade them take what them hst, 
 so they might be assured of their lives ; 
 howbeit there were done in the town many 
 evil deeds, murders and robberies Thus 
 the Enghshmen were lords of the town 
 three days and won great riches, the which 
 they sent by barks and barges to Saint- 
 Saviour by the river of Austreherh,^ a two 
 leagues thence, whereas all their navy lay. 
 Then the king sent the earl of Huntingdon 
 with two hundred men of arms and four 
 hundred archers, with his navy and prisoners 
 and riches that they had got, back again 
 into England. And the king bought of sir 
 Thomas Holland the constable of France 
 and the earl of Tancarville, and paid for 
 them twenty thousand nobles. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXV 
 
 How sir Godfrey of Harcourt fought with 
 them of Amiens before Paris. 
 
 Thijs the king of England ordered his 
 business, being in the town of Caen, and 
 sent into England his navy of ships charged 
 with clothes, jewels, vessels of gold and 
 silver, and of other riches, and of prisoners 
 more than sixty knights and three hundred 
 burgesses. Then he departed from the 
 town of Caen and rode in the same order 
 as he did before, brenning and exiling the 
 country, and took the way to Evreux and 
 so passed by it ; and from thence they rode 
 to a great town called Louviers : it was the 
 chief town of all Normandy of drapery, 
 riches, and full of merchandise. The 
 Englishmen soon entered therein, for as 
 then it was not closed ; it was overrun, 
 spoiled and robbed without mercy ; there 
 was won great riches. Then they entered 
 into the country of Evreux and brent and 
 pilled all the country except the good towns 
 closed and castles, to the which the king 
 made none assault, because of the sparing 
 of his people and his artillerj'. 
 
 On the river of Seine near to Rouen there 
 
 1 Froissart says that they sent their booty in 
 barges and boats ' on the river as far as Austrehem, 
 a two leagues from thence, where their great navy 
 Jay-' _He makes no mention of Saint-Sauveur here. 
 The river in question is the Orne, at the mouth of 
 which Austrehem is situated. 
 
 was the earl of Harcourt, brother to sir 
 Godfrey of Harcourt, but he was on the 
 French party, and the earl of Dreux with 
 him, with a good number of men of war : 
 but the Englishmen left Rouen and went 
 to Gisors, where was a strong castle : they 
 brent the town and then they brent Vernon 
 and all the country about Rouen and Pont- 
 de-l'Arche and came to Mantes and to 
 Meulan, and wasted all the country about, 
 and passed by the strong castle of Rolle- 
 boise ; and in every place along the river 
 of Seine they found the bridges broken. 
 At last they came to Poissy, and found the 
 bridge broken, but the arches and joists lay 
 in the river ; the king lay there a five 
 days : in the mean season the bridge was 
 made, to pass the host without peril. The 
 English marshals ran abroad just to Paris, 
 and brent Saint -Germain in Laye and 
 Montjoie, and Saint - Cloud, and petty 
 Boulogne by Paris, and the Queen's Bourg •} 
 they of Paris were not well assured of them- 
 selves, for it was not as then closed. 
 
 Then king Philip removed to Saint-Denis, 
 and or he went caused all the pentices in 
 Paris to be pulled down ; and at Saint- 
 Denis were ready come the king of Bohemia, 
 the lord John of Hainault, the duke of 
 Lorraine, the earl of Flanders, the earl of 
 Blois, and many other great lords and 
 knights, ready to serve the French king. 
 When the people of Paris saw their king 
 depart, they came to him and kneeled down 
 and said : ' Ah, sir and noble king, what 
 will ye do? leave thus this noble city of 
 Paris ? ' The king said : ' My good people, 
 doubt ye not : the Englishmen will approach 
 you no nearer than they be.' 'Why so, 
 sir ? ' quoth they ; ' they be within these two 
 leagues, and as soon as they know of your 
 departing, they will come and assail us ; 
 and we not able to defend them : sir, tarry 
 here still and help to defend your good city 
 of Paris.' ' Speak no more,' quoth the king, 
 ' for I will go to Saint-Denis to my men of 
 war : for I will encounter the Englishmen and 
 fight against them, whatsoever fall thereof.' 
 The king of England was at Poissy, and 
 lay in the nunnery there, and kept there 
 the feast of our Lady in August and sat in 
 his robes of scarlet furred with ermines ; 
 and after that feast he went forth in order 
 as they were before. The lord Godfrey of 
 ^ Bourg-Ia-Reinc. 
 
THE ENGLISH NEAR PARIS, 1346 
 
 99 
 
 Harcoiirt rode out on the one side with five 
 hundred men of arms and thirteen^ hundred 
 archers ; and by adventure he encountered 
 a great number of burgesses of Amiens a- 
 horseback, who were riding by the king's 
 commandment to Paris. They were 
 quickly assailed and they defended them- 
 selves valiantly, for they were a great number 
 and well armed : there were four knights of 
 Amiens their captains. This skirmish 
 dured long : at the first meeting many were 
 overthrown on both parts ; but finally the 
 burgesses were taken and nigh all slain, and 
 the Englishmen took all their carriages and 
 harness. They were well stuffed, for they 
 were going to the French king well ap- 
 pointed, because they had not seen him a 
 great season before. There were slain in 
 the field a twelve hundred. 
 
 Then the king of England entered into 
 the country of Beauvoisis, brenning and exil- 
 ing the plain country, and lodged at a fair 
 abbey and a rich called Saint-Messien ^ near 
 to Beauvais : there the king tarried a night 
 and in the morning departed. And when 
 he was on his way he looked behind him 
 and saw the abbey a-fire : he caused incon- 
 tinent twenty of them to be hanged that 
 set the fire there, for he had commanded 
 before on pain of death none to violate any 
 church nor to bren any abbey. Then the 
 king passed by the city of Beauvais without 
 any assault giving, for because he would 
 not trouble his people nor waste his artil- 
 lery. And so that day he took his lodging 
 betime in a little town called Milly. The 
 two marshals came so near to Beauvais, 
 that they made assault and skirmish at the 
 barriers in three places, the which assault 
 endured a long space ; but the town within 
 was so well defended by the means of the 
 bishop, who was there within, that finally 
 the Englishmen departed, and brent clean 
 hard to the gates all the suburbs, and 
 then at night they came into the king's 
 field. 
 
 The next day the king departed, bren- 
 ning and wasting all before him, and at 
 night lodged in a good village called Grand- 
 villiers. The next day the king passed by 
 Dargies : there was none to defend the 
 
 1 A better reading is ' twelve.' 
 
 2 Commonly called Saint - Lucien, but Saint- 
 Maximianus (Messien) is also associated with the 
 place. 
 
 castle, wherefore it was soon taken and 
 brent. Then they went forth destroying 
 the country all about, and so came to the 
 castle of Poix, where there was a good 
 town and two castles. There was nobody 
 in them but two fair damosels, daughters to 
 the lord of Poix ; they were soon taken, 
 and had been violated, an two English 
 knights had not been, sir John Chandos 
 and sir Basset ; they defended them and 
 brought them to the king, who for his 
 honour made them good cheer and de- 
 manded of them whither they would 
 fainest go. They said, 'To Corbie,' and 
 the king caused them to be brought thither 
 without peril. That night the king lodged 
 in the town of Poix. They of the town 
 and of the castles spake that night with 
 the marshals of the host, to save them and 
 their town from brenning, and they to pay 
 a certain sum of florins the next day as 
 soon as the host was departed. This was 
 granted them, and in the morning the 
 king departed with all his host except a 
 certain that were left there to receive the 
 money that they of the town had promised 
 to pay. When they of the town saw the 
 host depart and but a few left behind, then 
 they said they would pay never a penny, 
 and so ran out and set on the Englishmen, 
 who defended themselves as well as they 
 might and sent after the host for succour. 
 When sir Raynold Cobham and sir Thomas 
 Holland, who had the rule of the rear- 
 guard, heard thereof, they returned and 
 cried, ' Treason, treason ! ' and so came 
 again to Poix-ward and found their com- 
 panions still fighting with them of the town. 
 Then anon they of the town were nigh all 
 slain, and the town brent, and the two 
 castles beaten down. Then they returned 
 to the king's host, who was as then at 
 Airaines and there lodged, and had com- 
 manded all manner of men on pain of 
 death to do no hurt to no town of Arsyn,' 
 for there the king was minded to lie a day 
 or two to take advice how he might pass 
 the river of Somme ; for it was necessary 
 for him to pass the river, as ye shall hear 
 after. 
 
 1 A mistranslation. The original is_ * [il avoit] 
 deffendu sus le hart que nuls ne fourfesist rien ^ le 
 ville d'arsin ne d'autre cose,' * he had commanded 
 all on pain of hanging to do no hurt to the town by 
 burning or otherwise.' The translator has taken 
 ' arsin ' for a proper name. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER CXXVI 
 
 How the French king followed the king of 
 England in Beauvoisinois. 
 
 Now let us speak of king Philip, who was 
 at Saint-Denis and his people about him, 
 and daily increased. Then on a day he 
 departed and rode so long that he came to 
 Coppegueule, a three leagues from Amiens, 
 and there he tarried. The king of England 
 being at Airaines wist not where for to pass 
 the river of Somme, the which was large 
 and deep, and all bridges were broken and 
 the passages well kept. Then at the king's 
 commandment his two marshals with a 
 thousand men of arms and two thousand 
 archers went along the river to find some 
 passage, and passed by Longpre, and came 
 to the bridge of Remy,^ the which was well 
 kept with a great number of knights and 
 squires and men of the country. The Eng- 
 lishmen alighted afoot and assailed the 
 Frenchmen from the morning till it was 
 noon ; but the bridge was so well fortified 
 and defended, that the Englishmen de- 
 parted without winning of anything. Then 
 they went to a great town called Fountains 
 on the river of Somme, the which was clean 
 robbed and brent, for it was not closed. 
 Then they went to another town called 
 Long-en-Ponthieu ; they could not win the 
 bridge, it was so well kept and defended. 
 Then they departed and went to Picquigny, 
 and found the town, the bridge, and the 
 castle so well fortified, that it was not likely 
 to pass there : the French king had so well 
 defended the passages, to the intent that 
 the king of England should not pass the 
 river of Somme, to fight with him at his 
 advantage or else to famish him there. 
 
 When these two marshals had assayed in 
 all places to find passage and could find 
 none, they returned again to the king, and 
 shewed how they could find no passage in 
 no place. The same night the French 
 king came to Amiens with more than a 
 hundred thousand men. The king of Eng- 
 land was right pensive, and the next morn- 
 ing heard mass before the sun-rising and 
 then dislodged ; and every man followed 
 
 ^ Pont-a-Remy, corrupted here into 'bridge of 
 Athyne.' 
 
 the marshals' banners, and so rode in the 
 country of Vimeu approaching to the good 
 town of Abbeville, and found a town there- 
 by, whereunto was come much people of 
 the country in trust of a little defence that 
 was there ; but the Englishmen anon won 
 it, and all they that were within slain, and 
 many taken of the town and of the country. 
 The king took his lodging in a great 
 hospital' that was there. The same day 
 the French king departed from Amiens and 
 came to Airaines about noon ; and the 
 Englishmen were departed thence in the 
 morning. The Frenchmen found there 
 great provision that the Englishmen had 
 left behind them, because they departed in 
 haste. There they found flesh ready on 
 the broaches, bread and pasties in the 
 ovens, wine in tuns and barrels, and the 
 tables ready laid. There the French king 
 lodged and tarried for his lords. 
 
 That night theking of Englandwas lodged 
 at Oisemont. At night when the two mar- 
 shals were returned, who had that day over- 
 run the country to the gates of Abbeville and 
 to Saint-Valery and made a great skirmish 
 there, then the king assembled together his 
 council and made to be brought before him 
 certain prisoners of the country of Ponthieu 
 and of Vimeu. The king right courteously 
 demanded of them, if there were any among 
 them that knew any passage beneath Abbe- 
 ville, that he and his host might pass over 
 the river of Somme : if he would shew him 
 thereof, he should be quit of his ransom, 
 and twenty of his company for his love. 
 There was a varlet called Gobin Agace 
 who stepped forth and said to the king : 
 ' Sir, I promise you on the jeopardy of my 
 head I shall bring you to such a place, 
 whereas ye and all your host shall pass the 
 river of Somme without peril. There be 
 certain places in the passage that ye shall 
 pass twelve men afront two times between 
 day and night : ye shall not go in the water 
 to the knees. But when the flood cometh, 
 the river then waxeth so great, that no man 
 can pass ; but when the flood is gone, the 
 which is two times between day and night, 
 then the river is so low, that it may be 
 passed without danger both a -horseback 
 and afoot. The passage is hard in the 
 bottom with white stones, so that all your 
 carriage may go surely ; therefore the 
 1 That is, a house of the knights of Saint John. 
 
PASSAGE OF THE SOMME (Aug. 24) 
 
 passage is called Blanche-taque. An ye 
 make ready to depart betimes, ye may be 
 there by the sun-rising.' The Icing said: 
 ' If this be true that ye say, I quit thee thy 
 ransom and all thy company, and moreover 
 shall give thee a hundred nobles.' Then 
 the king commanded every man to be ready 
 at the sound of the trumpet to depart. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXVII 
 
 Of the battle of Blanche-taque between the 
 king of England and sir Godemar du Fay. 
 
 The king of England slept not much that 
 night, for at midnight he arose and sowned 
 his trumpet : then incontinent they made 
 ready carriages and all things, and at the 
 breaking of the day they departed from the 
 town of Oisemont and rode after the guiding 
 of Gobin Agace, so that they came by the 
 sun-rising to Blanche-taque; but as then the 
 flood was up, so that they might not pass : 
 so the king tarried there till it was prime ; 
 then the ebb came. 
 
 The French king had his currours in the 
 country, who brought him word of the 
 demeanour of the Englishmen. Then he 
 thought to close the king of England 
 between Abbeville and the river of Somme, 
 and so to fight with him at his pleasure. 
 And when he was at Amiens he had 
 ordained a great baron of Normandy, called 
 sir Godemar du Fay, to go and keep the 
 passage of Blanche-taque, where the English- 
 men must pass or else in none other place. 
 He had with him a thousand men of arms 
 and six thousand afoot, with the Genoways : 
 so they went by Saint-Riquier in Ponthieu 
 and from thence to Crotoy, whereas the 
 passage lay ; and also he had with him a 
 great number of men of the country, and 
 also a great number of them of Montreuil, 
 so that they were a twelve thousand men 
 one and other. 
 
 When the English host was come thither, 
 sir Godemar du Fay arranged all his company 
 to defend the passage. The king of England 
 let not for all that ; but when the fliood was 
 gone, he commanded his marshals to enter 
 into the water in the name of God and Saint 
 George. Then they that were hardy and 
 courageous entered on both parties, and 
 
 many a man reversed. There were some of 
 the Frenchmen of Artois and Picardy that 
 were as glad to joust in the water as on the 
 dry land. 
 
 The Frenchmen defended so well the 
 passage at the issuing out of the water, that 
 they had much to do. The Genoways did 
 them great trouble with their cross-bows : 
 on the other side the archers of England 
 shot so wholly together, that the French- 
 men were fain to give place to the English- 
 men. There was a sore battle, and many 
 a noble feat of arms done on both sides. 
 Finally the Englishmen passed over and 
 assembled together in the field. The king 
 and the prince passed, and all the lords ; 
 then the Frenchmen kept none array, but 
 departed, he that might best. When sir 
 Godemar saw that discomfiture, he fled and 
 saved himself : some fled to Abbeville and 
 some to Saint-Riquiers. They that were 
 there afoot could not flee, so that there were 
 slain a great number of them of Abbeville, 
 Montreuil, Rue and of Saint-Riquiers : the 
 chase endured more than a great league. 
 And as yet all the Englishmen were not 
 passed the river, and certain currours of the 
 king of Bohemia and of sir John of Hainault 
 came on them that were behind and took 
 certain horses and carriages and slew divers, 
 or they could take the passage. 
 
 The French king the same morning was 
 departed from Airaines, trusting to have 
 found the Englishmen between him and 
 the river of Somme ; but when he heard 
 how that sir Godemar du Fay and his 
 company were discomfited, he tarried in 
 the field and demanded of his marshals 
 what was best to do. They said, ' Sir, ye 
 cannot pass the river but at the bridge of 
 Abbeville, for the flood is come in at 
 Blanche-taque ' ; then he returned and 
 lodged at Abbeville. 
 
 The king of England when he was past 
 the river, he thanked God and so rode forth 
 in like manner as he did before. Then he 
 called Gobin Agace and did quit him his 
 ransom and all his company, and gave him 
 a hundred nobles and a good horse. And 
 so the king rode forth fair and easily, and 
 thought to have lodged in a great town 
 called Noyelles ; but when he knew that 
 the toWn pertained to the countess d'Aumale, 
 sister to the lord Robert of Artois,^ the 
 1 She was in fact his daughter. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 king assured the town and country as much 
 as pertained to her, and so went forth ; and 
 his niarshals rode to Crotoy on the sea-side 
 and brent the town, and found in the haven 
 many ships and barks charged with wines 
 of Poitou, pertaining to the merchants of 
 Saintonge and of Rochelle : they brought 
 the best thereof to the king's host. Then 
 one of the marshals rode to the gates of 
 Abbeville and from thence to Saint-Riquiers, 
 and after to the town of Rue-Saint-Esprit. 
 This was on a Friday, and both battles of 
 the marshals returned to the king's host 
 about noon and so lodged all together near 
 to Cressy in Ponthieu. 
 
 The king of England was well informed 
 how the French king followed after him to 
 fight. Then he said to his company ; ' Let 
 us take here some plot of ground, for we 
 win go no farther till we have seen our 
 enemies. I have good cause here to abide 
 them, for I am on tlie right heritage of the 
 queen my mother, the which land was given 
 at her marriage : I will challenge it of mine 
 adversary Philip of Valois.' And because 
 that he had not the eighth part in number of 
 men as the French king had, therefore he 
 commanded his marshals to chose a plot of 
 ground somewhat for his advantage: and so 
 they did, and thither the king and his host 
 went. Then he sent his currours to 
 Abbeville, to see if the French king drew 
 that day into the field or not. They went 
 forth and returned again, and said how they 
 could see none appearance of his coming : 
 then every man took their lodging for that 
 day, and to be ready in the morning at the 
 sound of the trumpet in the same place. 
 This Friday the French king tarried still in 
 Abbeville abiding for his company, and sent 
 his two marshals to ride out to see the 
 dealing of the Englishmen, and at night 
 they returned, and said how the English- 
 men were lodged in the fields. That night 
 the French king made a supper to all the 
 chief lords that were there with him, and 
 after supper the king desired them to be 
 fnends each to other. The king looked for 
 the earl of Savoy, who should come to him 
 with a thousand spears, for he had received 
 wages for a three months of them at Troyes 
 in Champagne. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXVIII 
 
 Of the order of the Englishmen at Cressy, 
 and how they made three battles afoot. 
 
 On the Friday, as I said before, the king of 
 England lay in the fields, for the country 
 was plentiful of wines and other victual, 
 and if need had been, they had provision 
 following in carts and other carriages. 
 That night the king ftiade a supper to all 
 his chief lords of his host and made them 
 good cheer ; and when they were all de- 
 parted to take their rest, then the king 
 entered into his oratory and kneeled down 
 before the altar, praying God devoutly, that 
 if he fought the next day, that he might 
 achieve the journey to his honour : then 
 about midnight he laid him down to rest, 
 and in the morning he rose betimes and 
 heard mass, and the prince his son with 
 him, and the most part of his company were 
 confessed and houselled ; and after the mass 
 said, he commanded every man to be armed 
 and to draw to the field to the same place 
 before appointed. Then the king caused a 
 park to be made by the wood side behind 
 his host, and there was set all carts and 
 carriages, and within the park were all their 
 horses, for every man was afoot ; and into 
 this park there was but one entry. Then 
 he ordained three battles : in the first was 
 the young prince of Wales, with him the 
 earl of Warwick and Oxford, the lord 
 Godfrey of Harcourt, sir Raynold Cobham, 
 sir Thomas Holland, the lord Stafford, the 
 lord of Mohun, the lord Delaware, sir John 
 Chandos, sir Bartholomew de Burghersh, 
 sir Robert Nevill, the lord Thomas Clifford, 
 the lord Bourchier, the lord de Latimer, and 
 divers other knights and squires that I can- 
 not name : they were an eight hundred men 
 of arms and two thousand archers, and a 
 thousand of .other with the Welshmen : 
 every lord drew to the field appointed 
 under his own banner and pennon. In the 
 second battle was the earl of Northampton, 
 the earl of Arundel, the lord Ros, the lord 
 Lucy, the lord Willoughby, the lord Basset, 
 the lord of Saint-Aubin, sir Louis Tufton' 
 the lord of Multon, the lord Lascelles and 
 divers other, about an eight hundred men 
 of arms and twelve hundred archers. The 
 third battle had the king: he had seven 
 
BATTLE OF CRECY {Aug. 26) 
 
 '03 
 
 hundred men of arms and two thousand 
 archers. Then the king leapt on a hobby/ 
 with a white rod in his hand, one of his 
 marshals on the one hand and the other on 
 the other hand : he rode from rank to rank 
 desiring every man to take heed that day 
 to his right and honour. He spake it so 
 sweetly and with so good countenance and 
 merry cheer, that all such as were dis- 
 comfited took courage in the seeing and 
 hearing of him. And when he had thus 
 visited all his battles, it was then nine of 
 the day : then he caused every man to eat 
 and drink a little, and so they did at their 
 leisure. And afterward they ordered again 
 their battles : then every man lay down on 
 the earth and by him his salet and bow, to 
 be the more fresher when their enemies 
 should come. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXIX 
 
 The order of the Frenchmen at Cressy, and 
 how they beheld the demeanour of the 
 Englishmen. 
 
 This Saturday the French king rose be- 
 times and heard mass in Abbeville in his 
 lodging in the abbey of Saint Peter, and 
 he departed after the sun-rising. When he 
 was out of the town two leagues, approach- 
 ing toward his enemies, some of his lords 
 said to him ; ' Sir, it were good that ye 
 ordered your battles, and let all your foot- 
 men pass somewhat on before, that they be 
 not troubled with the horsemen.' Then 
 the king sent four knights, the Moine [ofj 
 Bazeilles, the lord of Noyers, the lord of 
 Beaujeu and the lord d'Aubigny to ride to 
 aview the English host ; and so they rode 
 so near that they might well see part of 
 their dealing. The Englishmen saw them 
 well and knew well how they were come 
 thither to aview them : they let them alone 
 and made no countenance toward them, 
 and let them return as they came. And 
 when the French king saw these four 
 knights return again, he tarried till they 
 came to him and said : * Sirs, what tidings?' 
 These four knights each of them looked on 
 other, for there was none would speak 
 before his companion ; finally the king 
 said to [the] IVIoine, who pertained to the 
 1 ' Un petit palefroi. " 
 
 king of Bohemia and had done in his days 
 so much, that he was reputed for one of 
 the valiantest knights of the world : ' Sir, 
 speak you.' Then he said: 'Sir, I shall 
 speak, sith it pleaseth you, under ihe 
 correction of ray fellows. Sir, we have 
 ridden and seen the behaving of your 
 enemies : l<now ye for truth they are rested 
 in three battles abiding for you. Sir, I 
 will counsel you as for my part, saving 
 your displeasure, that you and all your 
 company rest here and lodge for this night : 
 for or they that be behind of your company 
 be come hither, and or your battles be set 
 in good order, it will be very late, and 
 your people be weary and out of array, 
 and ye shall find your enemies fresh and 
 ready to receive you. Early in the morning 
 ye may order your battles at more leisure 
 and advise your enemies at more delibera- 
 tion, and to regard well what way ye will 
 assail them ; for, sir, surely they will abide 
 you.' 
 
 Then the king commanded that it should 
 be so done. Then his two marshals one 
 rode before, another behind, saying to 
 every banner : ' Tarry and abide here in 
 the name of God and Saint Denis.' They 
 that were foremost tarried, but they that 
 were behind would not tarry, but rode 
 forth, and said how they would in no wise 
 abide till they were as far forward as the 
 foremost : and when they before saw them 
 come on behind, then they rode forward 
 again, so that the king nor his marshals 
 could not rule them. So they rode without 
 order or good array, till they came in sight 
 of their enemies : and as soon as the fore- 
 most saw them, they reculed then aback 
 without good array, whereof they behind 
 had marvel and were abashed, and thought 
 that the foremost company had been fight- 
 ing. Then they might have had leisure 
 and room to have gone forward, if they 
 had list : some went forth and some abode 
 still. The commons, of whom all the ways 
 between Abbeville and Cressy were full, 
 when they saw that they were near to their 
 enemies, they took their swords and cried : 
 'Down with them ! let us slay them all.' 
 There is no man, though he were present 
 at the journey, that could imagine or shew 
 the truth of the evil order that was among 
 the French party, and yet they were a 
 marvellous great number. That I write 
 
104 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 in this book I learned it specially of the 
 Englishmen, who well beheld their dealing ; 
 and also certain knights of sir John of 
 Hainaiilt's, who was always about king 
 Philip, shewed me as they knew. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXX 
 
 Of the battle of Cressy between the king of 
 England and the French king. 
 
 The Englishmen, who were in three battles 
 lying on the ground to rest them, as soon 
 as they saw the Frenchmen approach, they 
 rose upon their feet fair and easily without 
 any haste and arranged their battles. The 
 first, which was the prince's battle, the 
 archers there stood in manner of a herse 
 and the men of arms in the bottom of the 
 battle. The earl of Northampton and the 
 earl of Arundel with the second battle 
 were on a wing in good order, ready to 
 comfort the prince's battle, if need were. 
 
 The lords and knights of France came 
 not to the assembly together in good order, 
 for some came before and some came after 
 in such haste and evil order, that one of 
 them did trouble another. When the 
 French king saw the Englishmen, his blood 
 changed, and said to his marshals : * Make 
 the Genoways go on before and begin the 
 battle in the name of God and Saint Denis.' 
 There were of the Genoways cross-bows 
 about a fifteen thousand,' but they were so 
 weary of going afoot that day a si.x leagues 
 armed with their cross-bows, that they said 
 to their constables : * We be not well 
 ordered to fight this day, for we be not in 
 the case to do any great deed of arms : we 
 have more need of rest. ' These words 
 came to the earl of Alen^on, who said : 
 ' A man is well at ease to be charged with 
 such a sort of rascals, to be faint and fail 
 now at most need.' Also the same season 
 there fell a great rain and a chpse - with a 
 terrible thunder, and before the rain there 
 came flying over both battles a great number 
 of crows for fear of the tempest coming. 
 Then anon the air began to wax clear, and 
 the sun to shine fair and bright, the which 
 
 1 Villani, a very good authority on the subject, 
 says 6000, brought from the ships at Harfleur. 
 
 ^ A mistranslation of ' une escHstre,' 'a flash of 
 lightning.' 
 
 was right in the Frenchmen's eyen and on 
 the Englishmen's backs. When the Geno- 
 ways were assembled together and began 
 to approach, they made a great leap-" and 
 cry to abash the Englishmen, but they 
 stood still and stirred not for all that : then 
 the Genoways again the second time made 
 another leap and a fell cry, and stept for- 
 ward a little, and the Englishmen removed 
 not one foot : thirdly, again they leapt and 
 cried, and went forth till they came within 
 shot ; then they shot fiercely with their 
 cross-bows. Then the English archers 
 stept forth one pace and let fly their arrows 
 so wholly [together] and so thick, that it 
 seemed snow. When the Genoways felt 
 the arrows piercing through heads, arms 
 and breasts, many of them cast down 
 their cross-bows and did cut their strings 
 and returned discomfited. When the 
 French king saw them fly away, he said : 
 ' Slay these rascals, for they shall let and 
 trouble us without reason.' Then ye 
 should have seen the men of arms dash 
 in among them and killed a great number 
 of them : and ever still the Englishmen 
 shot whereas they saw thickest press ; the 
 sharp arrows ran into the men of arms and 
 into their horses, and many fell, horse and 
 men, among the Genoways, and when they 
 were down, they could not relieve^ again, 
 the press was so thick that one overthrew 
 another. And also among the Englishmen 
 there were certain rascals that went afoot 
 with great knives, and they went in among 
 the men of arms, and slew and murdered 
 many as they lay on the ground, both earls, 
 barons, knights and squires, whereof the 
 king of England was after displeased, for 
 he had rather they had been taken prisoners. 
 The valiant king of Bohemia called 
 Charles of Luxembourg, son to the noble 
 emperor Henry of Luxembourg, for all 
 that he was nigh blind, when he understood 
 the order of the battle, he said to them 
 about him : ' Where is the lord Charles 
 
 1 These ' leaps' of the Genoese are invented by 
 the translator, and have passed from him into several 
 respectable English text-books, sometimes in com- 
 pany with the eclipse above mentioned. Frolssart 
 says : ' II commencierent a juper moult epouvant- 
 ablement'; that is, 'to utter cries.' Another text 
 makes mention of the English cannons at this 
 point ; ' The English remained still and let off .some 
 cannons that they had, to frighten tlie Genoese.' 
 
 2 The translator's word 'relieve' (relyuue) repre- 
 sents ' relever,' for ' se relevcr. ' 
 
BATTLE OF CRECY 
 
 105 
 
 my son ? ' His men said : ' Sir, we cannot 
 tell ; we think he be fighting.' Then he 
 said : ' Sirs, ye are my men, my com- 
 panions and friends in this journey : I 
 require you bring me so far forward, that 
 I may strike one stroke with my sword.' 
 They said they would do his commandment, 
 and to the intent that they should not lose 
 him in the press, they tied all their reins 
 of their bridles each to other and set the 
 king before to accomplish his desire, and 
 so they went on their enemies. The lord 
 Charles of Bohemia his son, who wrote 
 himself king of Almaine and bare the arms, 
 he came in good order to the battle ; but 
 when he saw that the matter went awry on 
 their party, he departed, I cannot tell you 
 which way. The king his father was so 
 far forward that he strake a stroke with his 
 sword, yea and more than four, and fought 
 valiantly and so did his company ; and 
 they adventured themselves so forward, 
 that they were there all slain, and the ne.-ct 
 day they were found in the place about 
 the king, and all their horses tied each 
 to other. 
 
 The earl of Alen^on came to the battle 
 right ordinately and fought with the Eng- 
 lishmen, and the earl of Flanders also on his 
 part. These two lords with their companies 
 coasted the English archers and came to the 
 prince's battle, and there fought valiantly 
 long. The French king would fain have 
 come thither, when he saw their banners, 
 but there was a great hedge of archers 
 before him. The same day the French 
 king had given a great black courser to sir 
 John of Hainault, and he made the lord 
 Thierry of Senzeille to ride on him and to 
 bear his banner. The same horse took the 
 bridle in the teeth and brought him through 
 all the currours of the Englishmen, and as 
 he would have returned again, he fell in a 
 great dike and was sore hurt, and had 
 been there dead, an his page had not been, 
 who followed him through all the battles 
 and saw where his master lay in the dike, 
 and had none other let but for his horse, 
 for the Englishmen would not issue out 
 of their battle for taking of any prisoner. 
 Then the page alighted and relieved his 
 master : then he went not back again the 
 same way that they came, there v/as too 
 many in his way. 
 
 This battle between Broye and Cressy 
 
 this Saturday was right cruel and fell, and 
 many a feat of arms done that came not 
 to my knowledge. In the night' divers 
 knights and squires lost their masters, and 
 sometime came on the Englishmen, who 
 received them in such wise that they were 
 ever nigh slain ; for there was none taken 
 to mercy nor to ransom, for so the English- 
 men were determined. 
 
 In the morning- the day of the battle 
 certain Frenchmen and Almains perforce 
 opened the archers of the prince's battle 
 and came and fought with the men of 
 arms hand to hand. Then the second 
 battle of the Englishmen came to succour 
 the prince's battle, the which was time, for 
 they had as then much ado; and they with 
 the prince sent a messenger to the king, 
 who was on a little windmill hill. Then 
 the knight said to the king : ' Sir, the earl 
 of Warwick and the earl of Oxford, sir 
 Raynold Cobham and other, such as be 
 about the prince your son, are fiercely 
 fought withal and are sore handled ; where- 
 fore they desire you that you and your 
 battle will come and aid them ; for if the 
 Frenchmen increase, as they doubt they 
 will, your son and they shall have much 
 ado.' Then the king said : ' Is my son 
 dead or hurt or on the earth felled?' 'No, 
 sir,' quoth the knight, 'but he is hardly 
 matched ; wherefore he hath need of your 
 aid.' 'Well,' said the king, 'return to 
 him and to them that sent you hither, and 
 say to them that they send no more to me 
 for any adventure that falleth, as long as 
 my son is alive ; and also say to them that 
 they suffer him this day to win his spurs;' 
 for if God be pleased, I will this journey 
 be his and the honour thereof, and to them 
 that be about him.' Then the knight re- 
 turned again to them and shewed the 
 king's words, the which greatly encouraged 
 them, and repoined* in that they had sent 
 to the king as they did. 
 
 Sir Godfrey of Harcourt would gladly 
 that the earl of Harcourt his brother might 
 
 1 ' Sus )e nuit,' ' towards nightfall.' 
 
 2 The text has suffered hy omissions. What 
 Froibsart says is that if the battle had begun in the 
 morning, it might have gone better for the French, 
 and then he instances the exploits of those who 
 broke through the archers. The battle did not 
 begin till four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 ? ' Que il laissent a I'enfant gaegnier ses esperons. ' 
 '1 i.e. ' they repoined ' : Fr. 'se reprisent." 
 
io6 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FKOISSART 
 
 have been saved ; for he heard say by 
 them that saw his banner how that he was 
 there in the field on the French party: but 
 sir Godfrey could not come to him be- 
 times, for he was slain or he could come 
 at him, and so was also the earl of Aumale 
 his nephew. In another place the earl of 
 Alen^on and the earl of Flanders fought 
 valiantly, every lord under his own banner; 
 but finally they could not resist against the 
 puissance of the Englishmen, and so there 
 they were also slain, and divers other 
 knights and squires. Also the earl Louis of 
 Blois, nephew to the French king, and the 
 duke of Lorraine fought under their 
 banners, but at last they were closed in 
 among a company of Englishmen and 
 Welshmen, and there were slain for all 
 their prowess. Also there was slain the 
 earl of Auxerre, the earl of Saint-Pol and 
 many other. 
 
 In the evening the French king, who 
 had left about him no more than a three- 
 score persons, one and other, whereof sir 
 John of Hainault was one, who had re- 
 mounted once the king, for his horse was 
 slain with an arrow, then he said to the 
 king : ' Sir, depart hence, for it is time ; 
 lose not yourself wilfully : if ye have loss at 
 this time, ye shall recover it again another 
 season.' And so he took the king's horse 
 by the bridle and led him away in a 
 manner perforce. Then the king rode till 
 he came to the castle of Broye. The gate 
 was closed, because it was by that time 
 dark : then the king called the captain, 
 who came to the walls and said : ' Who 
 is that calleth there this time of night ? ' 
 Then the king said : ' Open your gate 
 quickly, for this is the fortune of France. '^ 
 The captain knew then it was the king, 
 and opened the gate and let down the 
 bridge. Then the king entered, and he 
 had with him but five barons, sir John of 
 Hainault, sir Charles of Montmorency, the 
 lord of Beaujeu, the lord d'Aubigny and 
 the lord of Montsault. The king would not 
 tarry there, but drank and departed thence 
 about midnight, and so rode by such guides 
 as knew the country till he came in the 
 morning to Amiens, and there he rested. 
 
 This Saturday the Englishmen never de- 
 parted from their battles for chasing of any 
 
 1,'C'est la fortune de France': but the better 
 MSS. have ' c'est li mfortun^s rois de France.' 
 
 man, but kept still their field, and ever 
 defended themselves against all such as 
 came to assail them. This battle ended 
 about evensong time. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXI 
 
 How the next day after the battle the English- 
 men discomfited divers Frenchmen. 
 
 On this Saturday, when the night was 
 come and that the Englishmen heard no 
 more noise of the Frenchmen, then they 
 reputed themselves to have the victory, 
 and the Frenchmen to be discomfited, 
 slain and fled away. Then they made 
 great fires and lighted up torches and 
 candles, because it was very dark. Then 
 the king avaled down from the little hill 
 whereas he stood; and of all that day till 
 then his helm came never on his head. 
 Then he went with all his battle to his son 
 the prince and embraced him in his arms 
 and kissed him, and said : ' Fair son, God 
 give you good perseverance ; ye are my 
 good son, thus ye have acquitted you 
 nobly: ye are worthy to keep a realm.' 
 The prince inclined himself to the earth, 
 honouring the king his father. 
 
 This night they thanked God for their 
 good adventure and made no boast thereof, 
 for the king would that no man should 
 be proud or make boast, but every man 
 humbly to thank God. On the Sunday in 
 the morning there was such a mist, that a 
 man might not see the breadth of an acre 
 of land from him. Then there departed 
 from the host by the commandment of the 
 king and marshals five hundred spears and 
 two thousand archers, to see if they might 
 see any Frenchmen gathered again to- 
 gether in any place. The same morning 
 out of Abbeville and Saint -Riquiers in 
 Ponthieu the commons of Rouen and of 
 Beauvais issued out of their towns, not 
 knowing of the discomfiture the day before. 
 They met with the Englishmen weening 
 they had been Frenchmen, and when the 
 Englishmen saw them, they set on them 
 freshly, and there was a sore battle ; but at 
 last the Frenchmen fled and kept none 
 array. There were slain in the ways and 
 in hedges and bushes more than seven 
 thousand, and if the day had been clear 
 
SIEGE OF CALAIS, 1346 {Sept. 3) 
 
 107 
 
 there had never a one scaped. Anon after, 
 another company of Frenchmen were met 
 by the Englishmen, the archbishop of 
 Rouen and the great prior of France, who 
 also knew nothing of the discomfiture the 
 day before ; for they heard that the French 
 king should have fought the same Sunday, 
 and they were going thitherward. When 
 they met with the Englishmen, there was 
 a great battle, for they were a great 
 number, but they could not endure against 
 the Englishmen ; for they were nigh all 
 slain, few scaped; the two lords were slain. 
 This morning the Englishmen met with 
 divers Frenchmen that had lost their way 
 on the Saturday and had Iain all night 
 in the fields, and wist not where the king 
 was nor the captains. They were all 
 slain, as many as were met with ; and it 
 was shewed me that of the commons and 
 men afoot of the cities and good towns of 
 France there was slain four times as many 
 as were slain the Saturday in the great 
 battle. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXII 
 
 How the next day after the battle of Cressy 
 they that were dead were numbered by the 
 Englishmen. 
 
 The same Sunday, as the king of England 
 came from mass, such as had been sent forth 
 returned and shewed the king what they 
 had seen and done, and said : ' Sir, we 
 think surely there is now no more appear- 
 ance of any of our enemies.' Then 
 the king sent to search how many were 
 slain and what they were. Sir Raynold 
 Cobham and sir Richard Stafford with three 
 heralds went to search the field and country : 
 they visited all them that were slain and 
 rode all day in the fields, and returned 
 again to the host as the king was going to 
 supper. They made just report of that 
 they had seen, and said how there were 
 eleven great princes dead, fourscore ban- 
 ners, twelve hundred knights, and more 
 than thirty thousand other. ^ The English- 
 
 r Another text makes the loss of persons below the 
 rank of knight 15,000 or 16,000, including the men 
 of the towns. Both estimates must be greatly ex- 
 aggerated. Michael of Northburgh says that 1542 
 ■were killed in the battle and about 2000 on the next 
 
 men kept still their field all that night : on 
 the Monday in the morning the king pre- 
 pared to depart : the king caused the dead 
 bodies of the great lords to be taken up and 
 conveyed to Montreuil, and there buried in 
 holy ground, and made a cry in the country 
 to grant truce for three days, to the intent 
 that they of the country might search the 
 field of Cressy to bury the dead bodies. 
 
 Then the king went forth and came before 
 the town of Montreuil- by-the-sea, and his 
 marshals ran toward Hesdin and brent 
 Waben and Serain, but they did nothing to 
 the castle, it was so strong and so well kept. 
 They lodged that night on the river of 
 Hesdin towards Blangy. The next day 
 they rode toward Boulogne and came to the 
 town of Wissant ; there the king and the 
 prince lodged, and tarried there a day to 
 refresh his men, and on the "Wednesday the 
 king came before the strong town of Calais. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXIII 
 
 How the king of England laid siege to Calais, 
 and how all the poor people were put out 
 of the town. 
 
 In the town of Calais there was captain a 
 knight of Eurgoyne called sir John de 
 Vienne, and with him was sir Arnold 
 d'Audrehem, sir John de Surie, sir Baldwin 
 de Bellebrune, sir Geoffrey de la Motte, sir 
 Pepin de Wierre and divers other knights 
 and squires. When the king of England 
 was come before Calais, he laid his siege 
 and ordained bastides between the town and 
 the river : he made carpenters to make 
 houses and lodgings of great timber, and set 
 the houses like streets and covered them 
 with reed and broom, so that it was like a 
 little town ; and there was everything to 
 sell, and =1 market-place to be kept every 
 Tuesday and Saturday for flesh and fish, 
 mercery ware, houses for cloth, for bread, 
 wine and all other things necessary, such 
 as came out of England or out of Flanders ; 
 there they might buy what they list. The 
 Englishmen ran oftentimes into the country 
 
 day. The great princes killed were the king of 
 Bohemia, the duke of Lorraine, the earls of Alengon, 
 Flanders, Elois, Auxerre, Harcourt, Saint-Pol, 
 Aumale, the grand prior of France and the arch- 
 bishop of Rouen. 
 
loS 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 of Guines, and into Ternois, and to the 
 gates of Saint -Omer's, and sometime to 
 Boulogne ; they brought into their host 
 great preys. The king would not assail the 
 town of Calais, for he thought it but a lost 
 labour ; he spared his people and his artil- 
 lery, and said how he would famish them in 
 the town with long siege, without the French 
 king come and raise his siege perforce. 
 
 When the captain of Calais saw the man- 
 ner and the order of the Englishmen, then 
 he constrained all poor and mean people to 
 issue out of the town, and on a Wednesday 
 there issued out of men, women and chil- 
 dren more than seventeen hundred ; and as 
 they passed through the host, they were de- 
 manded why they departed, and they an- 
 swered and said, because they had nothing 
 to live on : then the king did them that 
 grace that he suffered them to pass through 
 his host without danger, and gave them 
 meat and drink to dinner, and every person 
 two pence sterling in alms, for the which 
 divers many of them prayed for the king's 
 prosperity. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXIV 
 
 How the duke of Normandy brake up his 
 siege before Aig^iillon. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The French king sent 
 for the duke of Normandy to return and 
 defend France^ so the French departed from 
 that siege. As they departed^ those within 
 made a sally and took several prisoners^ 
 from -whom sir Walter Manny heard of the 
 king of England's campaign in France. 
 
 The king of France was displeased with 
 sir Godemar du Fay, because he had not well 
 kept the passage of Blanche-taque, and he 
 would have lost his life, but sir John of 
 Hamault excused hini. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXV 
 
 How sir Gaultier of Manny rode through all 
 France by safe-conduct to Calais. 
 
 It was not long after, but that sir Gaultier 
 of Manny fell in communication with a 
 knight of Normandy, who was his prisoner, 
 and demanded of him what money he would 
 
 pay for his ransom. The knight answered 
 and said he would gladly pay three thousand 
 crowns. ' Well,' quoth the lord Gaultier, 
 ' I know well ye be kin to the duke of 
 Normandy and well beloved with him, [so] 
 that I am sure, an if I would sore oppress 
 you, I am sure ye would gladly pay ten 
 thousand crowns ; but I shall deal otherwise 
 with you. I will trust you on your faith 
 and promise : ye shall go to the duke 
 your lord, and by your means get a safe- 
 conduct for me and twenty other of my 
 company to ride through France to Calais, 
 paying courteously for all our expenses. 
 And if ye can get this of the duke or of the 
 king, I shall clearly quit you your ransom 
 with much thank, for I greatly desire to see 
 the king my master ; nor I will lie but one 
 night in a place till I come there. And if 
 ye cannot do this, return again hither within 
 a month, and yield yourself still as my 
 prisoner.' The knight was content and so 
 went to Paris to the duke his lord, and he 
 obtained this passport for sir Gaultier of 
 Manny and twenty horse with him all only. 
 This knight returned to Aiguillon and 
 brought it to sir Gaultier, and there he 
 quitted the knight Norman of his ransom. 
 ■Then anon after, sir Gaultier took his way 
 and twenty horse with him, and so rode 
 through Auvergne; and when he tarried in 
 any place, he shewed his letter and so was 
 let pass : but when he came to Orleans, for 
 all his letter he was arrested and brought 
 to Paris and there put in prison in the 
 Chatelet. 
 
 When the duke of Normandy knew 
 thereof, he went to the king his father and 
 shewed him how sir Gaultier of Manny had 
 his safe-conduct, wherefore he required the 
 king as much as he might to deliver him, 
 or else it should be said how he had be- 
 trayed him. The king answered and 
 said how he should be put to death, for he 
 reputed him for his great enemy. Then 
 said the duke : ' Sir, if ye do so, surely I 
 shall never bear armour against the king of 
 England, nor all such as I may let.' And 
 at his departing he said that he would never 
 enter again into the king's host. Thus the 
 matter stood a certain time. 
 
 There was a knight of Hainault called 
 sir Mansart d'Esne : he purchased all that 
 he might to help sir Walter of Manny, and 
 went often in and out to the duke of Nor- 
 
INVASION OF ENGLAND BY THE SCOTS 
 
 109 
 
 niandy. Finally the king was so counselled, 
 that he was delivered out of prison and all 
 his costs paid ; and the king sent for him to 
 his lodging of Nesle in Paris, and there he 
 dined with the king, and the king presented 
 him great gifts and jewels to the value of a 
 thousand florins. Sir Gaultier of Manny 
 received them on a condition, that when he 
 came to Calais, that if the king of England 
 his master were pleased that he should take 
 them, then he was content to keep them, 
 or else to send them again to the French 
 king, who said he spake like a noble man. 
 Then he took his leave and departed, and 
 rode so long by his journeys that he came 
 into Hainault, and tarried at Valenciennes 
 three days ; and so from thence he went to 
 Calais and was welcome to the king. But 
 when the king heard that sir Gaultier of 
 Manny had received gifts of the French 
 king, he said to him : ' Sir Gaultier, ye 
 have hitherto truly served us, and shall do, 
 as we trust. Send again to king Philip the 
 gifts that he gave you ; ye have no cause 
 to keep them. We thank God we have 
 enough for us and for you : we be in good 
 purpose to do much good for you according 
 to the good service that ye have done.' 
 Then sir Gaultier took all those jewels and 
 delivered them to a cousin of his called 
 Mansart,-* and said : ' Ride into France to 
 the king there and recommend me unto him, 
 and say how I thank him a thousand times 
 for the gift that he gave me ; but shew him 
 how it is not the pleasure of the king my 
 master that I should keep them ; therefore 
 I send them again to him.' This knight 
 rode to Paris and shewed all this to the 
 king, who would not receive again the 
 jewels, but did give them to the same 
 knight sir Mansart, who thanked the king 
 and was not in will to say nay. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXVI 
 
 How the earl of Derby the same season took 
 in Poitou divers towns and castles, and 
 also the city of Poitiers. 
 
 1 This is the same sir Mansart d'Esne who has 
 been mentioned above, but the translator, finding 
 the name here written 'Mansac,' introduces him as 
 a new person. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXVH 
 
 How the king of Scots dujing the siege before 
 Calais came into England with a great host. 
 
 It is long now sith we spake of king David 
 of Scotland : howbeit till now there was 
 none occasion why, for the truce that was 
 taken was well and truly kept : so that 
 when the king of England had besieged 
 Calais and lay there, then the Scots deter- 
 mined to make war into England and to be 
 revenged of such hurts as they had taken 
 before. For they said then how that the 
 realm of England was void of men of war ; 
 for they were, as they said, with the king of 
 England before Calais, and some in Bretayne, 
 Poitou and Gascoyne. The French king 
 did what he could to stir the Scots to that 
 war, to the intent that the king of England 
 should break up his siege and return to 
 defend his own realm. 
 
 The king of Scots made his summons to 
 be at Saint-John's town on the river of Tay 
 in Scotland : thither came earls, barons 
 and prelates of Scotland, and there agreed 
 that in all haste possible they should enter 
 into England. To come in that journey 
 was desired John of the out Isles, who 
 governed the wild Scots, for to him they 
 obeyed and to no man else. He came with 
 a three thousand of the most outrageoust 
 people in all the country. When all the 
 Scots were assembled, they were of one and 
 other a fifty thousand fighting men. They 
 could not make their assembly so secret 
 but that the queen of England, who was as 
 then in the marches of the North about 
 York, knew all their dealing. Then she 
 sent all about for men and lay herself at 
 York : then all men of war and archers 
 came to Newcastle with the queen. In the 
 mean season the king of Scots departed 
 from Saint-John's town and went to Dun- 
 fermline the first day. The next day they 
 passed a little arm of the sea and so came 
 to Stirling, and then to Edinburgh. Then 
 they numbered their company, and they 
 were a three thousand men of arms, knights 
 and squires, and a thirty thousand of other 
 on hackneys. Then they came to Roxburgh, 
 the first fortress English on that part : 
 captain there was sir William Montague. 
 The Scots passed by without any assault 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 making, and so went forth brenning and 
 destroying the country of Northumberland; 
 and their currours ran to York and brent as 
 much as was without the walls, and returned 
 again to their host within a day's journey of 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXVIII 
 
 Of the battle of Newcastle - upon - Tyne 
 between the queen of England and the 
 king of Scots. 
 
 The queen of England, who desired to 
 defend her country, came to Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne and there tarried for her men, 
 who came daily from all parts. When the 
 Scots knew that the Englishmen assembled 
 at Newcastle, they drew thitherward and 
 their currours came running before the 
 town ; and at their returning they brent 
 certain small hamlets thereabout, so that 
 the smoke thereof came into the town of 
 Newcastle. Some of the Englishmen would 
 a issued out to have fought with them that 
 made the fires, but the captains would not 
 suffer them to issue out. 
 
 The next day the king of Scots with 
 
 the archbishop of Canterbury and the lord 
 Ros : every battle had like number aftei 
 their quantity. The queen went from 
 battle to battle desiring them to do their 
 devoir to defend the honour of her lord the 
 king of England, and in the name of God 
 every man to be of good heart and courage, 
 promising them that to her power she would 
 remember them as well or better as though 
 her lord the king were there personally. 
 Then the queen departed from them, recom- 
 mending them to God and to Saint George. 
 Then anon after, the battles of the Scots 
 began to set forward, and in like wise so did 
 the Englishmen. Then the archers began 
 to shoot on both parties, but the shot of the 
 Scots endured but a short space, but the 
 archers of England shot so fiercely, so that 
 when the battles approached, there was a 
 hard battle. They began at nine and 
 endured till noon : the Scots had great 
 axes sharp and hard, and gave with them 
 many great strokes. Howbeit finally the 
 Englishmen obtained the place and victory, 
 but they lost many of their men. There 
 were slain of the Scots the earl of Fife, the 
 earl of Buchan, the earl Patrick, the earl 
 of Sutherland, the earl of Strathern, the 
 
 forty thousand men one and other came earl of Mar, the earl John Douglas, and 
 ._,i i.j_.,i ...;.i,;_ .t.____ ,•.., T, ([^g ]qj.j Alexander Ramsay, who bare the 
 
 king's banner, and divers other knights and 
 squires. And there the king was taken, 
 who fought valiantly and was sore liurt. 
 A squire of Northumberland took him, 
 called John Copeland ; and as soon as he 
 had taken the king, he went with him out 
 of the field with eight of his servants with 
 him, and so rode all that day, till he was a 
 fifteen leagues from the place of the battle, 
 and at night he came to a castle called 
 Orguhis ; ' and then he said he would not 
 deliver the king of Scots to no man nor 
 woman living, but all only to the king of 
 England his lord. The same day there was 
 also taken in the field the earl Moray, the 
 earl of March, the lord William Douglas, 
 the lord Robert Versy, the bishop of Aber- 
 deen, the bishop of Saint Andrews, and 
 divers other knights and barons. And 
 there were slain of one and other a fifteen 
 thousand, and the other saved themselves 
 as well as they might. This battle was 
 
 and lodged within three little English mil _ 
 
 of Newcastle in the land of the lord Nevill ; 
 
 and the king sent to them within the town, 
 
 that if they would issue out into the field, 
 
 he would fight with them gladly. The 
 
 lords and prelates of England said they were 
 
 content to adventure their lives with the 
 
 right and heritage of the king of England 
 
 their master. Then they all "issued out of 
 
 the town, and were in number a twelve 
 
 hundred men of arms, three thousand 
 
 archers, and seven thousand of other with 
 
 the Welshmen. Then the Scots came and 
 
 lodged against them near together : then 
 
 every man was set in order of battle : then 
 
 the queen came among her men ^ and there 
 
 was ordained four battles, one to aid 
 
 another. The first had in governance the 
 
 bishop of Durham and the lord Percy ; the 
 
 second the archbishop of York and the lord 
 
 Nevill ; the third the bishop of Lincoln 
 
 and the lord Mowbray ; the fourth the 
 
 lord Edward de Balliol, captain of Berwick, 
 
 1 The queen was not present at Nevill's Cross 
 but had already passed over to the Continent 
 (Kervyn de Lettenhove, v. 487) 
 
 l Froissart s Chateau-Orgueincux is the castle of 
 Ogle in Northumberland (Kervyn de Lettenhove 
 V. 493). 
 
BATTLE OF NEVILVS CROSS, 1346 {Oct. 17) 
 
 beside Newcastle, the year of our Lord 
 MCCCXLVi. , the Saturday next after Saint 
 Michael. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXIX 
 
 How John Copeland had the king of Scots 
 prisoner, and what profit he got thereby. 
 
 When the queen of England being at New- 
 castle understood how the journey was for 
 her and her men, she then rode to the place 
 where the battle had been. Then it was 
 shewed her how the king of Scots was 
 taken by a squire called John Copeland, 
 and he had carried away the king no man 
 knew whither. Then the queen wrote to 
 the squire commanding him to bring his 
 prisoner the king of Scots, and how he had 
 not well done to depart with him without 
 leave. All that day the Englishmen tarried 
 still in the same place and the queen with 
 them, and the next day they returned to 
 Newcastle. When the queen's letter was 
 brought to John Copeland, he answered 
 and said, that as for the king of Scots his 
 prisoner, he would not deliver him to no 
 man nor woman living, but all only to the 
 king of England his sovereign lord : as for 
 the king of Scots, he said he should be safely 
 kept, so that he would give account for him. 
 Then the queen sent letters to the king 
 to Calais, whereby the king was informed 
 of the state of his realm : then the king 
 sent incontinent to John Copeland, 'that he 
 should come over the sea to him to the 
 siege before Calais. Then the same John 
 did put his prisoner in safe keeping in a 
 strong castle, and so rode through England 
 till he came to Dover, and there took the 
 sea and arrived before Calais. When the 
 king of England saw the squire, he took 
 him by the hand and said : ' Ah ! welcome, 
 my squire, that by yo.ur valiantness hath 
 taken mine adversary the king of Scots.' 
 The squire kneeled down and said : ' Sir, 
 if God by his grace have suffered me to 
 take the king of Scots by true conquest of 
 arms, sir, I think no man ought to have any 
 envy thereat ; for as well God may send by 
 his grace such a fortune to fall to a poor 
 squire as to a great lord : and, sir, I require 
 your grace, be not miscontent with me, 
 though I did not deliver the king of Scots 
 at the commandment of the queen. Sir, 
 
 I hold of you, as mine oath is to you, and 
 not to her but in all good manner.' The 
 king said : 'John, the good service that ye 
 have done and your valiantness is so much 
 worth, that it must countervail your trespass 
 and be taken for your excuse, and shame 
 have they that bear you any evil will there- 
 for. Ye shall return again home to your 
 house, and then my pleasure is that ye 
 deliver your prisoner to the queen my wife ; 
 and in a reward I assign you near to your 
 house, whereas ye think best yourself, five 
 hundred pound sterling of yearly rent to you 
 and to your heirs for ever, and here I 
 make you squire for my body. ' Then the 
 third day he departed and returned again 
 into England ; and when he came home to 
 his own house, he assembled together his 
 friends and kin, and so they took the king 
 of Scots and rode with him to the city of 
 York, and there from the king his lord he 
 presented the king of Scots to the queen, 
 and excused him so largely, that the queen 
 and her council were content. 
 
 Then the queen made good provision for 
 the city of York, the castle of Roxburgh, 
 the city of Durham, the town of Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne, and in all other garrisons on the 
 marches of Scotland, and left in those 
 marches the lord Percy and the lord Nevill 
 as governour there : then the queen de- 
 parted from York toward London. Then 
 she set the king of Scots in the strong 
 tower of London, and the earl Moray and 
 all other prisoners, and set good keeping 
 over them. Then she went to Dover and 
 there took the sea, and had so good wind, 
 that in a short .space she arrived before 
 Calais, three days before the feast of All 
 Saints ; for whose coming the king made a 
 great feast and dinner to all the lords and 
 ladies that were there. The queen brought 
 many ladies and damosels with her, as well 
 to accompany her as to see their husbands, 
 fathers, brethren and other friends, that lay 
 at siege there before Calais and had done a 
 long space. 
 
 CHAPTER CXL 
 
 How the young earl of Flanders ensured the 
 king's daughter of England. 
 
 The siege before Calais endured long, and 
 many things fell in the mean season, the 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 which I cannot write the fourth part. The 
 French king had set men of war in every 
 fortress in those marches, in the county of 
 Guines, of Artois, of Boulogne, and about 
 Calais, and had a great number of Geno- 
 ways, Normans and other on the sea, so 
 that when any of the Englishmen would go 
 a-foraging, other afoot or horseback, they 
 found many times hard adventures, and 
 often there was skirmishing about the gates 
 and dikes of the town, and oftentimes 
 some slain and hurt on both parties ; some 
 day the one part lost and some day the 
 other. The king of England caused engines 
 to be made to oppress them within the 
 town, but they within made other again to 
 resist them, so that they took little hurt by 
 them ; but nothing could come into the 
 town but by stealth, and that was by the 
 means of two mariners, one called Marant 
 and the other Meslriel, and they dwelt in 
 Abbeville. By them two they of Calais 
 were oftentimes recomforted and freshed 
 by stealth ; and oftentimes they were in 
 great peril, chased and near taken, but 
 always they scaped, and made many 
 Englishmen to be drowned. 
 
 All that winter the king lay still at the 
 siege, and thought and imagined ever to 
 keep the commonly of Flanders in friend- 
 ship ; for he thought by their means the 
 sooner to come to his intent. He sent 
 oftentimes to them with fair promises, say- 
 ing that if he might get Calais, he would 
 help them to recover Lille and Douay with 
 all their appurtenances ; so by occasion of 
 such promises, while the king was in Nor- 
 mandy towards Cressy and Calais, they 
 went and laid siege to Bethune, and their 
 captain was sir Oudart de Renty, who was 
 banished out of France. They held a 
 great siege before that town and sore con- 
 strained them by assault ; but within were 
 four knights captains set there by the 
 French king to keep the town, that is to 
 say, sir Geoffrey of Charny, sir Eustace of 
 Ribemont, sir Baudwin d'Annequin and 
 sir John of Landas: they defended the 
 town in such wise, that the Flemings won 
 nothing there, but so departed and re- 
 turned again into Flanders. But while 
 the king of England lay at siege before 
 Calais, he sent still messengers to them of 
 Flanders, and made them great promises 
 to keep their amity with him and to oppress 
 
 the drift of the French king, who did all 
 that he could to draw them to his opinion. 
 
 The king of England would gladly that 
 the earl Louis of Flanders, who was as 
 then but fifteen year of age, should have 
 in marriage his daughter Isabel. So much 
 did the king that the Flemings agreed 
 thereto; whereof the king was glad, for he 
 thought by that marriage the Flemings 
 would the gladlier help him ; and the 
 Flemings thought, by having of the king 
 of England on their party, they might well 
 resist the Frenchmen ; they thought it 
 more necessary and profitable for them, 
 the love of the king of England, rather 
 than the French king. But the young earl, 
 who had been ever nourished among the 
 noblemen of France, would not agree, and 
 said plainly, he would not have to his wife 
 the daughter of him that slew his father : 
 also duke John of Brabant purchased 
 greatly that the earl of Flanders should 
 have his daughter in marriage, promising 
 him that if he would take her to his wife, 
 that he would cause him to enjoy the whole 
 earldom of Flanders, other by fair means 
 or otherwise : also the duke said to the 
 French king, ' Sir, if the earl of Flanders 
 will take my daughter, I shall find the 
 means that all the Flemings shall take your 
 part and forsake the king of England ' : by 
 the which promise the French king agreed 
 to that marriage. When the duke of Bra- 
 bant had the king's good-will, then he sent 
 certain messengers into Flanders to the 
 burgesses of the good towns, and shewed 
 them so fair reasons, that the counsels of 
 the good towns sent to the earl their 
 natural lord, certifying him that if he 
 would come into Flanders and use their 
 counsel, they would be to him true and 
 good friends and deliver to him all the 
 rights and jurisdictions of Flanders, as 
 much as ever any earl had. The earl took 
 counsel and went into Flanders, where he 
 was received with great joy and given to 
 him many great presents. 
 
 As soon as the king of England heard 
 of this, he sent into Flanders the earl of 
 Northampton, the earl of Arundel and the 
 lord Cobham. They did so much with the 
 officers and commons of Flanders, that 
 they had rather that their lord the earl 
 should take to his wife the king of Eng- 
 land's daughter than the daughter of the 
 
BETROTHAL OF THE EAKL OF FLANDERS 
 
 "3 
 
 duke of Brabant; and so to do they affectu- 
 ously desired their lord, and shewed him 
 many fair reasons to draw him to that way, 
 so that the burgesses that were on the duke 
 of Brabant's party durst not say the con- 
 traiy. But then the earl in no wise would 
 consent thereto, but ever he said he would 
 not wed her, whose father had slain his, 
 though he might have half of the whole 
 realm of England. When the Flemings 
 saw that, they said how their lord was too 
 much French and evil counselled, and also 
 said how they would do no good to him, 
 sith he would not believe their counsels. 
 Then they took and put him in courteous 
 prison, and said how he should never de- 
 part without he would follow and believe 
 their counsels. Also they said that the 
 earl his father believed and loved too 
 much the Frenchmen ; for if he would a 
 believed them, he should have been the 
 greatest lord in all Christendom, and re- 
 covered again Lille, Douay and Bethune, 
 and yet alive. Thus the matter abode a 
 certain space : the king of England lay still 
 at the siege before Calais and kept a great 
 court that Christmas ; and about the be- 
 ginning of Lent after, came thither out of 
 Gascoyne the earl of Derby, the earl of 
 Pembroke, the earl of Oxford and divers 
 other knights and squires, that had passed 
 the sea with the earl. 
 
 Thus the earl of Flanders was long in 
 danger among the Flemings in courteous 
 prison, and it greatly annoyed him. Then 
 at last he said he would believe their 
 counsel ; for he knew well, he said, that 
 he should have more profit there than in 
 any other country. These words rejoiced 
 greatly the Flemings: then they took him 
 out of prison and suffered him to go a-hawk- 
 ing to the river, the which sport the earl 
 loved well ; but ever there was good watch 
 laid on him, that he should not steal away 
 from them, and they were charged on 
 their lives to take good heed to him, and 
 also they were such as were favourable to 
 the king of England, They watched him 
 so near, that he could do nothing without 
 their knowledge. This endured so long 
 that at last the earl said that he would 
 gladly have to his wife the king of Eng- 
 land's daughter. Then the Flemings sent 
 word thereof to the king and to the queen, 
 and pointed a day that they should come 
 I 
 
 to Bergues, in the abbey, and to bring 
 their daughter with them, and they would 
 bring thither their lord the earl of Flan- 
 ders; and there to conclude up the mar- 
 riage. The king and the queen were glad 
 thereof, and said that the Flemings were 
 good men : so to Bergues between Newport 
 and Gravelines came the most saddest men 
 of the good towns in Flanders, and 
 brought with them the earl their lord in 
 great estate. The king of England and the 
 queen were there ready: the earl courte- 
 ously inclined to the king and to the queen : 
 the king took the earl by the right hand right 
 sweetly, and led him forth, saying: 'As for 
 the death of the earl your father, as God 
 help me, the day of the battle of Cressy 
 nor the next day after I never heard word 
 of him that he should be there.' The 
 young earl by semblant made as though he 
 had been content with the king's excuse. 
 Then they fell in communication of the 
 marriage : there were certain articles agreed 
 unto by the king of England and the 
 earl Louis of Flanders, and great amities 
 there was sworn between them to be 
 holden ; and there the earl fianced Isabel 
 the king of England's daughter, and pro- 
 mised to wed her. So that journey brake 
 off, and a new day to be appointed at more 
 leisure : the Flemings returned into Flanders 
 with their lord, and the king of England 
 with the queen went again to the siege of 
 Calais. 
 
 Thus the matter stood a certain time, 
 and the king and the queen prepared 
 greatly again the marriage for jewels and 
 other things to give away, according to 
 their behaviours. The earl of Flanders 
 daily passed the time at the river, and 
 made semblant that this marriage pleased 
 him greatly ; so the Flemings thought that 
 they were then sure enough of him, so that 
 there was not so great watch made on him 
 as was before. But they knew not well 
 the condition of their lord, for whatsoever 
 countenance he made outward, his inward 
 courage was all French. So on a day he 
 went forth with his hawks, the same week 
 that the marriage should have been 
 finished : his falconer cast off a falcon to 
 an heron and the earl cast off another. So 
 these two falcons chased the heron, and 
 the earl rode after, as to follow his falcon. 
 And when he was a good way off and had 
 
"4 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROTSSART 
 
 the advantage of the fields, he dashed 
 his spurs to his horse and galloped forth 
 in such wise, that his keepers lost him. 
 Still he galloped forthright, till he came 
 into Arlois, and there he was in surety ; 
 and so then he rode into France to king 
 Philip and shewed him all his adventure. 
 The kino- and the Frenchmen said how he 
 had dealt wisely ; the Englishmen on the 
 other side said how he had betrayed and 
 deceived them : but for all that, the king 
 left not to keep the Flemings in amity, for he 
 knew well the earl had done this deed not by 
 their counsel, for they were sore displeased 
 therewith; and the excuse that they made 
 the king soon believed it in that behalf 
 
 CHAPTER CXLI 
 
 How sir Robert of Namur did homage to the 
 kin? of England before Calais. 
 
 CHAPTER.S CXLII, CXLIII 
 
 SUI^IMARY. — The loar began again in 
 Brittany. The English took Rochedarien, 
 and Charles of Blois laid siege to it. An 
 army sent by the countess of Montfort to 
 raise the siege sttrprised the French, luho 
 were defeated, a7zd Charles of Blois was 
 taken prisoner. 
 
 CHAPTERS CXLIV, CXLV 
 
 SUM MA RY. — The French king raised an 
 army to relieve Calais, but the passages 
 were so well kept, that he could 7tot approach. 
 Negotiations for peace ivere without effect. 
 
 CHAPTER CXLVI 
 
 How the town of Calais was given up to the 
 king of England. 
 
 After that the French king was thus de- 
 parted from Sangate, they within Calais saw 
 well how their succour failed them, for the 
 which they were in great sorrow. Then 
 they desired so much their captain, sir John 
 of Vienne, that he went to the walls of the 
 
 town and made a sign to speak with some 
 person of the host. When the king heard 
 thereof, he sent thither sir Gaultier of 
 Manny and sir Basset. Then sir John of 
 Vienne said to them : ' Sirs, ye be right 
 valiant knights in deeds of arms, and ye 
 know well how the king my master hath 
 sent me and other to this town and com- 
 manded us to keep it to his behoof in such 
 wise that we take no blame, nor to him no 
 damage ; and we have done all that lieth 
 in our power. Now our succours hath 
 failed us, and we be so sore strained, that 
 we have not to live withal, but that we 
 must all die or else enrage for famine, 
 without the noble and gentle king of yours 
 will take mercy on us : the which to do 
 we require you to desire him, to have pity 
 on us and to let us go and depart as we 
 be, and let him take the town and castle 
 and all the goods that be therein, the 
 which is great abundance.' Then sir 
 Gaultier of Manny said : ' Sir, we know 
 somewhat of the intention of the king our 
 master, for he hath shewed it unto us : 
 surely know for truth it is not his mind 
 that ye nor they within the town should 
 depart so, for it is his will that ye all 
 should put yourselves into his pure will, to 
 ransom all such as pleaseth him and to 
 put to death such as he list ; for they of 
 Calais hath done him such contraries and 
 despites, and hath caused him to dispend 
 so much good, and lost many of his men, 
 that he is sore grieved against them.' 
 Then the captain said : ' Sir, this is too 
 hard a matter to us. We are here within, 
 a small sort of knights and squires, who 
 hath truly served the king our master as 
 well as ye serve yours in like case. And 
 we have endured much pain and unease ; 
 Ijut we shall yet endure as much pain as 
 ever knights did, rather than to consent that 
 the worst lad in the town should have any 
 more evil than the greatest of us all : 
 therefore, sir, we pray you that of your 
 humility, yet that ye will go and speak to 
 the king of England and desire him tc 
 have pity of us ; for we trust in him so 
 much gentleness, that by the grace of God 
 his purpose shall change.' 
 
 Sir Gaultier of Manny and sir Basset 
 returned to the king and declared to him 
 all that had been said. The king said 
 he would none otherwise but that they 
 
SURRENDER OF CALAIS, 1347 (Aug. 4) 
 
 115 
 
 should yield them up simply to his plea- 
 sure. Then sir Gaultier said : ' Sir, saving 
 your displeasure, in this ye may be in the 
 wrong, for ye shall give by this an evil 
 ensample : if ye send any of us your ser- 
 vants into any fortress, we will not be very 
 glad to go, if ye put any of them in the 
 town to death after they be yielded ; for 
 in like wise they will deal with us, if the 
 case fell like.' The which words divers 
 other lords that were there present sus- 
 tained and maintained. Then the king 
 .said : ' Sirs, I will not be alone against 
 you all; therefore, sir Gaultier of Manny, 
 ye shall go and say to the captain that all 
 the grace that he shall find now in me is 
 that they let si.x of the chief burgesses of 
 the town come out bare-headed, bare- 
 footed, and bare-legged, and in their shirts, 
 \vith halters about their necks, with the keys 
 of the town and castle in their hands, and 
 let them six yield themselves purely to my 
 will, and the residue I will take to mercy. ' 
 Then sir Gaultier returned and found 
 sir John of Vienne still on the wall, abid- 
 ing for an answer. Then sir Gaultier 
 shewed him all the grace that he could get 
 of the king. ' Well,' quoth sir John, ' sir, 
 I require you tarry here a certain space, 
 till I go into the town and shew this 10 
 the commons of the town, who sent me 
 hither. Then sir John went unto the 
 market-place and sowned the common 
 bell : then incontinent men and women 
 assembled there : then the captain made 
 report of all that he had done, and said, 
 ' Sirs, it will be none otherwise ; therefore 
 now take advice and make a short answer.' 
 Then all the people began to weep and 
 to make such sorrow, that there was not 
 so hard a heart, if they had seen them, 
 but that would have had great pity of 
 them : the captain himself wept piteously. 
 At last the most rich burgess of all the 
 town, called Eustace of Saint-Pierre, rose 
 up and said openly : ' Sirs, great and 
 small, great mischief it should be to suffer 
 to die such people as be in this town, 
 other by famine or otherwise, when there 
 is a mean to save them. I think he or 
 they should have great merit of our Lord 
 God that might keep them from such mis- 
 chief As for my part, I have so good 
 trust in our Lord God, that if I die in the 
 quarrel to save the residue, that God would 
 
 pardon me : wherefore to save them I will 
 be the first to put my life in jeopardy.' 
 When he had thus said, every man wor- 
 shipped him and divers kneeled down at 
 his feet with sore weeping and sore sighs. 
 Then another honest burgess rose and 
 said : ' I will keep company with my 
 gossip Eustace.' He was called John 
 d'Aire. Then rose up Jaques of Wissant, 
 who was rich in goods and heritage ; he 
 said also that he would hold company with 
 his two cousins. In like wise so did 
 Peter of Wissant his brother : and then 
 rose two other ;i they said they would do 
 the same. Then they went and apparelled 
 them as the king desired. 
 
 Then the captain went with them to the 
 gate : there was great lamentation made of 
 men, women and children at their depart- 
 ing : then the gate was opened and he 
 issued out with the six burgesses and closed 
 the gate again, so that they were between 
 the gate and the barriers. Then he said 
 to sir Gaultier of Manny : ' Sir, I deliver 
 here to you as captain of Calais by the 
 whole consent of all the people of the town 
 these six burgesses, and I swear to you 
 truly that they be and were to-day most 
 honourable, rich and most notable burgesses 
 of all the town of Calais. Wherefore, 
 gentle knight, I require you pray the king 
 to have mercy on them, that they die not.' 
 Quoth sir Gaultier: 'I cannot say what 
 the king will do, but I shall do for them 
 the best I can.' Then the barriers were 
 opened, the six burgesses went towards 
 the king, and the captain entered again 
 into the town. 
 
 When sir Gaultier presented these 
 burgesses to the king, they kneeled down 
 and held up their hands and said : ' Gentle 
 king, behold here we .six, who were 
 burgesses of Calais and great merchants ; 
 we have brought to you the keys of the 
 town and of the castle and we submit 
 ourselves clearly into your will and pleasure, 
 to save the residue of the people of Calais, 
 who have suffered great pain. Sir, we 
 beseech your grace to have mercy and pity 
 on us through your high nobless. ' Then 
 all the earls and barons and other that 
 were there wept for pity. The king looked 
 felly on them, for greatly he hated the 
 
 ^ In Frois.sart's last revision the names are given, 
 Jean de Fiennes and Andrieu d'Andre. 
 
ii6 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROTSSART 
 
 people of Calais for the great damages 
 and displeasures they had done him on 
 the sea before. Then he commanded their 
 heads to be stricken off: then every man 
 required the king for mercy, but he would 
 hear no man in that behalf: then sir Gaultier 
 of Manny said : ' Ah, noble king, for God's 
 sake refrain your courage : ye have the 
 name of sovereign nobless : therefore now 
 do not a thing that should blemish your 
 renown, nor to give cause to some to speak 
 of you villainy. Every man will say it is a 
 great cruelty to put to death such honest 
 persons, who by their own wills put them- 
 selves intoyour grace to save their company. ' 
 Then the king wryed away from him ' and 
 commanded to send for the hangman, and 
 said : ' They of Calais have caused many 
 of my men to be slain, wherefore these 
 shall die in like wise.' Then the queen, 
 being great with child, kneeled down and 
 sore weeping said: *Ah, gentle sir, sith I 
 passed the sea in great peril, I have desired 
 nothing of you ; therefore now I humbly 
 require you in the honour of the Son of the 
 Virgin Mary and for the love of me that ye 
 will take mercy of these six burgesses.' 
 The king beheld the queen and stood still 
 in a study a space, and then said : ' Ah, 
 dame, I would ye had been as now in 
 some other place ; ye make such request 
 to me that I cannot deny you. Wherefore 
 I give them to you, to do your pleasure 
 with them. ' Then the queen caused them 
 to be brought into her chamber, and made 
 the halters to be taken from their necks, 
 and caused them to be new clothed, and 
 gave them their dinner at their leisure : 
 and then she gave each of them six nobles 
 and made them to be brought out of the 
 host in safe-guard and set at their liberty. 
 
 CHAPTER CXLVII 
 
 How the king of England repeopled the 
 town of Calais with Englishmen. 
 
 Thus the strong town of Calais was given 
 up ^ to king Edward of England the year 
 
 ^ The original is 'sc guigna,' either 'made :i 
 sign' or 'scowled.' The true reading Is perhaps 
 ' se grigna, ' or 'grigna les dens.' 
 
 - The original says : ' Thus was the strong town 
 of Calais besieged by king Edward of England in 
 the year MCCCXLVi. in the month of August ' ; and 
 
 of our Lord God MCCCXLVi. in the month 
 of August. The king of England called 
 to him sir Gaultier of Manny and his two 
 marshals, the earl of Warwick and the earl 
 of Stafford, and said to them : ' Sirs, take 
 here the keys of the town and castle of 
 Calais : go and take possession there and 
 put in prison all the knights that be there ; 
 and all other soldiers that came thither 
 simply to win their living cause them to 
 avoid the town, and also all other men, 
 women and children, for I would repeople 
 again the town with pure Englishmen. So 
 these three lords with a hundred with them 
 went and took possession of Calais, and did 
 put in prison sir John de Vienne, sir John of 
 Surie, sir Baldwin of Bellebrune and other. 
 Then they made all the soldiers to bring 
 all their harness into a place appointed 
 and laid it all on a heap in the hall of 
 Calais.^ Then they made all manner of 
 people to void, and kept there no more 
 persons but a priest and two other ancient 
 personages, such as knew the customs, 
 laws and ordinances of the town, and to 
 sign out the heritages how they were divided. 
 Then they prepared the castle to lodge the 
 king and queen, and prepared other houses' 
 for the king's company. Then the king 
 mounted on his horse and entered into the 
 town with trumpets, labours, nacaires and 
 hormyes, and there the king lay till the 
 queen was brought a-bed of a fair lady 
 named Margaret. 
 
 The king gave to sir Gaultier of Manny 
 divers fair houses within the town, and to 
 the earl Stafford, to the lord of Cobham, 
 to sir Bartholomew of Burghersh and to 
 other lords, to repeople again the town. 
 The king's mind was, when he came into 
 England to send out of London a thirty-six 
 good burgesses to Calais to dwell there, 
 and to do so much that the town might be 
 peopled with pure Englishmen ; the which 
 intent the king fulfilled. Then the new 
 town and bastide that was made without the 
 town was pulled down, and the castle that 
 stood on the haven rashed down, and the 
 great timber and stones brought into the 
 town. Then the king ordained men to 
 keep the gates, walls and barriers, and 
 amended all things within the town ; and 
 
 the fuller te.vt adds, 'and conquered in the year of 
 grace mcccxlvh. in the same month.' 
 1 'A la halle de Calais.' 
 
THE CHAPLET OF PEARLS, i- 
 
 50 
 
 117 
 
 sir John de \'ienne and his company were 
 sent into England and were half a year at 
 London, then they were put to ransom. 
 Methink it was great pity of the burgesses 
 and other men of the town of Calais, and 
 women and children, when they were fain 
 to forsake their houses, heritages and goods, 
 and to bear away nothing, and they had no 
 restorement of the French king, for whose 
 sake they lost all. The most part of them 
 went to Saint-Omer's. 
 
 The cardinal Guy de Boulogne, who was 
 come into France in legation and was with 
 the French king his cousin in the city of 
 Amiens, he purchased so much that a truce 
 was taken between the kings of England 
 and of France, their countries and heritages,' 
 to endure two years. To this truce all 
 parties were agreed, but Bretayne was 
 clearly except, for the two ladies made 
 still war one against the other. Then the 
 king of England and the queen returned 
 into England, and the king made captain 
 of Calais sir Amery of Pavy, a Lombard 
 born, whom the king had greatly advanced. 
 Then the king sent from London thirty-six 
 burgesses to Calais, who were rich and 
 • sage, and their wives and children, and 
 daily increased the number,^ for the king 
 granted there such liberties and franchises, 
 that men were glad to go and dwell there. 
 The same time was brought to London sir 
 Charles de Blois, who called himself duke 
 of Bretayne ; he was put in courteous 
 prison in the Tower of London with the 
 king of Scots and the earl of Moray ; but 
 he had not been there long but at the 
 request of the queen of England sir Charles 
 her cousin -german was received"^ on his 
 faith and troth, and rode all about London 
 at his pleasure, but he might not lie past 
 one night out of London, without it were 
 with the king or with the queen. Also 
 the same time there was prisoner in Eng- 
 land the earl of Eu and Guines, a right 
 gentle knight ; and his dealing was such, 
 that he was welcome wheresoever he came, 
 and with the king and queen, lords, ladies 
 and damosels.'* 
 
 1 'Adherens*; that is, 'follower.s,' or 'allies.' 
 
 2 i.e. ' the number daily increased.' 
 
 3 'At the request of the queen of England, his 
 cousin-german, he was received,' etc. 
 
 4 The events of the years between 1347 and 1355 
 are very summarily related by Froissart, and the 
 text followed by this translator does not include 
 
 CHAPTERS CXLVIII, CXLIX 
 
 SUMAIAPY. — The truce was broken in 
 various parts by brigands, tvJlo won and 
 plundered towns and castles for their own 
 profit ; a?id especially one named Bacon in 
 La.ngiiedoc and aiiother named Croquart 
 in Brittany. 
 
 CHAPTERS CL, CLI 
 
 SUMMAR Y.~The king of England, hav- 
 ing discovered a secret treaty between sir 
 Aviery of Pavia and the French party, 
 whereby Calais shou \l have been given tip 
 to them, passed over privately to Calais, and 
 fighting under sir Walter de Manny^ s 
 banner defeated those who came to receive 
 the surrender. The king hi^nself fought 
 long with sir Eustace de Ribemont and 
 took him prisoner. 
 
 CHAPTER CLII 
 
 Of a chaplet of pearls that the king of 
 England gave to sir Eustace of Ribemont. 
 
 When this battle was done, the king 
 returned again to the castle of Calais and 
 caused all the prisoners to be brought 
 thither. ThentheFrenchmen knewwell'that 
 the king had been there personally himself 
 under the banner of sir Gaultier of Manny. 
 The king said he would give them all that 
 night a supper in the castle of Calais ; the 
 hour of supper came and tables covered, 
 and the king and his knights were there 
 ready, every man in new apparel, and the 
 Frenchmen also were there and made good 
 cheer, though they were prisoners. The 
 king sat down, and the lords and knights 
 about him right honourably : the prince, 
 lords and knights of England served the 
 king at the first mess, and at the second 
 they sat down at another table : they were 
 all well served and at great leisure. Then 
 when supper was done and the tables taken 
 away, the king tarried still in the hall with 
 
 even the short notices which were given in later 
 revisions, of the Black Death, the Flagellants, and 
 the persecution of the Jews, or the narrative of the 
 combat of the thirties. 
 
iiS 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROJSSART 
 
 his knighls and with the Frenchmen, and 
 
 he was bare-headed saving a chaplet of fine 
 
 pearls that he ware on his head. Then 
 
 the king went from one to another of the 
 
 Frenchmen, and when he came to sir 
 
 Geoffrey of Charny, a little he changed 
 
 his countenance and looked on him and 
 
 said : ' Sir Geoffrey, by reason I should 
 
 love you but a little, when ye would steal 
 
 by night from me that thing which I have 
 
 so dearly bought and hath cost me so 
 
 much good. I am right joyous and glad 
 
 that I have taken you with the proof' 
 
 Ye would have a better market than I 
 
 have had, when ye thought to have Calais 
 
 for twenty thousand crowns ; but God hath 
 
 holpen me and ye have failed of your 
 
 purpose.' And therewith the king went 
 
 from him, and he gave never a word to 
 
 answer. Then the king came to sir Eustace 
 
 of Ribemont, and joyously to him he 
 
 said : ' Sir Eustace, ye are the knight in 
 
 the world that I have seen most valiant 
 
 assail his enemies and defend himself; nor 
 
 I never found knight that ever gave me so 
 
 much ado, body to body, as ye have done 
 
 this day : wherefore I give you the prize 
 
 above all the knights of my court by right 
 
 sentence.' Then the king took the chaplet 
 
 that was upon his head, being both fair, 
 
 goodly and rich, and said : ' Sir Eustace, I 
 
 give you this chaplet for the best doer in 
 
 arms in this journey past of either party, 
 
 and I desire you to bear it this year for 
 
 the love of me. I know well ye be fresh 
 
 and amorous, and oftentimes be among 
 
 ladies and damosels. Say wheresoever ye 
 
 come that I did give it you, and I quit you 
 
 your prison and ransom and ye shall depart 
 
 to-morrow, if it please you.'^ 
 
 The same year a thousand three hundred 
 XLIX, king Philip of France wedded his 
 second wife, the Wednesday the twenty- 
 ninth day of Januaiy, dame Blanche, 
 daughter to king Philip of Navarre, who 
 died in Spain : she was of the age of eighteen 
 year or thereabout. Also the nineteenth 
 day of February next after, in the beginning 
 of Lent,^ the duke of Normandy the king's 
 eldest son wedded his second wife at Saint- 
 
 1 'A I'epreuve.' 
 
 - The printed text followed by the translator is 
 here incomplete. The reply of Eustace de Ribe- 
 mont and other matters are omitted. 
 
 ^ 'Qui fut le jour de Karesme prenant," i.e. 
 Ash- Wednesday. 
 
 Genevieve near to Saint-Germain in Laye, 
 Jane countess of Boulogne, sometime wife 
 to the lord Philip, son to the duke Eudes 
 of Burgoyne, the which lord Philip died 
 before Aiguillon a three year before that : 
 she was daughter of the earl William of 
 Boulogne and of the daughter of Louis earl 
 of Evreux. This lady held in her hands 
 the duchy of Burgoyne and the counties of 
 Artois, Boulogne, Auvergne and divers 
 other lands. 
 
 CHAPTER CLIII 
 
 Of the death of king Philip of France, and 
 of the coronation of his son John. 
 
 SUMMARY.—King Philip died 2.2.nd 
 August 1350, a7id his so7iJoh7i was croiuned 
 2.6th September. The ea7'l of Etc and Gtiijzes 
 was beheaded, and Charles of Spain made 
 constable of Era?zce. Jji the next year was 
 fowzded the fraternity of the Star^ and there 
 zvas also a great dearth throughout all 
 France. 
 
 CHAPTER CLIV 
 
 How the king of Navarre made sir Charles of 
 Spain, constable of France, to be slain. 
 
 SUMMARY. —In the year 1352 the duke 
 
 of Lancaster' should have fought with the 
 duke of Brtinswick at Paris on the /\th of 
 Septe?nbe7', but the king of France ??iade peace 
 between the?H in the lists. Pope Cle7nent 
 VI. died 6th December a7id was succeeded 
 by Stephe7t Aztbert, called l7Z7iocent VI. In 
 the year 1353 the king Charles of Navarre, 
 earl of Evreux .^ caused to be slain at Aigle 
 ill Normandy the lord Charles of Spai7z, 
 cozistable of Fra7zce. For this deed he ex- 
 ciised himself to the king of Fra7icCi and at 
 length they were reconciled. 
 
 CHAPTER CLV 
 
 Of an imposition and gabelle ordained in 
 France by the three estates for the feats of 
 the wars. 
 
 SUMMARY. — Itz the year i^SS, the prince 
 of Wales made an expedition to Carcasso7Z7te 
 
EVENTS BEFORE THE BATTLE OF POITIERS 
 
 119 
 
 and A'arbo7inc, none opposing Jiim. The 
 same year the three estates assembled at Paris 
 gave the king thirty thousand men for one 
 year at their charges, and ordered to be levied 
 Sd. on every pcnnd value of estates through- 
 out the realm, and that the gabelle of salt 
 sho-uld run through the realm. Then, this 
 not being sufficient, they ordered a graduated 
 tax upon incomes. 
 
 CHAPTER CLVI 
 
 How ihe French king took the king of 
 Navnrre and beheaded the earl of Harcourt 
 and other at Rouen. 
 
 SUMMARY. — In the year 1^,^,6 the French 
 king came to Rouen and caused to be taken 
 ike king of Aavarre, the earl of Harcourt 
 and others. The earl of Harcourt and 
 others were beheaded, and the king of 
 Navarre put in prison in the louvre. The 
 king of France made war in Noj'mandy to 
 wi7i the castles there belongi7ig to the kiiig of 
 iVavarre, and the dtike of Lancaster came 
 over to help the king of Navarre' s ms7z. 
 
 CHAPTER CLVn 
 
 Of the assembly that the French king made 
 to fight with the prince of Wales, who 
 rode in Berry. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The prince of Wales rode 
 in Auvergne, Berry, Touraine, etc., ijuiili 
 two thousand vten of arms and six thousa7td 
 archers. The king of Fra7ice Tnade a great 
 assembly to fight with lii/n, a7id 7nea7tiultile 
 a body of Frenchmen, who had laid a7i am- 
 bttsh, we7'e defeated by the E7Zglish a7id fled 
 to Roinorantin. 
 
 CHAPTER CLVIII 
 
 How the prince of Wales took the castle of 
 Romorantin. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The town of Romorantin 
 being take7i, the prince came and assailed the 
 castle, which at length was captured by 
 meojis of Greek fire. 
 
 CHAPTER CLIX 
 
 Of the great host that the French king brought 
 to the battle of Poitiers. 
 
 After the taking of the castle of Romo- 
 rantin and of them that were therein, the 
 prince then and his company rode as they 
 did before, destroying the country, ap- 
 proaching to Anjou and to Touraine. The 
 French king, who was at Cliartres, de- 
 parted and came to Blois and there tarried 
 two days, and then to Amboise and the 
 next day to Loches : and then he heard 
 how that the prince was at Touraine^ and 
 how that he was returning by Poitou : ever 
 the Englishmen were coasted by certain 
 expert knights of France, who alway made 
 report to the king what the Englishmen did. 
 Then the king came to the Haye in Touraine 
 and his men had passed the river of Loire, 
 some at the bridge of Orleans and some at 
 Meung, at Saumur, at Blois, and at Tours 
 and whereas they might : they were in 
 number a twenty thousand men of arms 
 beside other ; there were a twenty-six dukes 
 and earls and more than sixscore banners, 
 and the four sons of the king, who were but 
 young, the duke Charles of Normandy, the 
 lord Louis, that was from thenceforth duke 
 of Anjou, and the lord John duke of Berry, 
 and the lord Philip, who was after duke of 
 Burgoyne. The same season, pope Inno- 
 cent thesixthsent thelord Bertrand, cardinal 
 o^ Perigord, and the lord Nicholas, cardinal 
 of Urgel, into France, to treat for a peace 
 between the French king and all his enemies, 
 first between him and the king of Navarre, 
 who was in prison : and these cardinals 
 oftentimes spake to the king for his deliver- 
 ance during the siege at Bretuel, but they 
 could do nothing in that behalf. Then the 
 cardinal of Perigord went to Tours, and 
 there he heard how the French king hasted 
 sore to find the Englishmen : then he rode 
 to Poitiers, for he heard how both the hosts 
 drew thitherward. 
 
 The French king heard how the prince 
 hasted greatly to return, and the king feared 
 that he should scape him and so departed 
 from Haye in Touraine, and all his com- 
 pany, and rode to Chauvigny, where he 
 tarried that Thursday in the town and with- 
 1 ' En Touraine • 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSAKT 
 
 out along by the river of Creuse, and the 
 next day the king passed the river at the 
 bridge there, weening that the Englishmen 
 had been before him, but they were not. 
 Howbeit they pursued after and passed the 
 bridge that day more than threescore 
 thousand horses, and divers other passed 
 at Chatelleraut, and ever as they passed 
 (hey took the way to Poitiers. 
 
 On the other side the prince wist not 
 truly where the Frenchmen were ; but they 
 supposed that they were not far off, for they 
 could not find no more forage, whereby 
 they had great fault in their host of victual, 
 and some of them repented that they had 
 destroyed so much as they had done before 
 when they were in Berry, Anjou and Tou- 
 raine, and in that they had made no better 
 provision. The same Friday three great 
 lords of France, the lord of Craon, the lord 
 Raoul of Coucy and the earl of Joigny, 
 tarried all day in the town of Chauvigny, 
 and part of their companies. The Saturday 
 they passed the bridge and followed the 
 king, who was then a three leagues before, 
 and took the way among bushes without a 
 wood side to go to Poitiers. 
 
 The same Saturday the prince and his 
 company dislodged from a little village 
 thereby, and sent before him certain currours 
 to see if they might find any adventure and 
 to hear where the Frenchmen were. They 
 were in number a threescore men of arms 
 well horsed, and with them was the lord 
 Eustace d'Aubrecicourt and the lord John 
 of Ghistelles, and by adventure the Eng- 
 lishmen and Frenchmen met together by 
 the foresaid wood side. The Frenchmen 
 knew anon how they were their enemies ; 
 then in haste they did on their helmets and 
 displayed their banners and came a great 
 pace towards the Englishmen : they were 
 in number a two hundred men of arms. 
 When the Englishmen saw them, and that 
 they were so great a number, then they de- 
 termined to fly and let the Frenchmen 
 chase them, for they knew well the prince 
 with his host was not far behind. Then 
 they turned their horses and took the corner 
 of the wood, and the Frenchmen after them 
 crying their cries and made great noise. 
 And as they chased, they came on the 
 prince's battle or they were ware thereof 
 themselves ; the prince tarried there to have 
 word again from them that he sent forth. 
 
 The lord Raoul de Coucy with his banner 
 went so far forward that he was under the 
 prince's banner : there was a sore battle 
 and the knight fought vahantly ; howbeit 
 he was there taken, and the earl of Joigny, 
 the viscount of Brosse, the lord of Chau- 
 vigny and all the other taken or slain, but 
 a few that scaped. And by the prisoners 
 the prince knew how the French king fol- 
 lowed him in such wise that he could not 
 eschew the battle :' then he assembled to- 
 gether all his men and commanded that no 
 man should go before the marshals' banners. 
 Thus the prince rode that Saturday from 
 the morning till it was against night, so that 
 he came within two little leagues of Poitiers. 
 Then the captal de Buch, sir Aymenion 
 of Pommiers, the lord Bartholomew of 
 Burghersh and the lord Eustace d'Aubreci- 
 court, all these the prince sent forth to see if 
 they might know what the Frenchmen did. 
 These knights departed with two hundred 
 men of arms well horsed : they rode so far 
 that they saw the great battle of the king's, 
 they saw all the fields covered with men of 
 arms. These Englishmen could not forbear, 
 but set on the tail of the French host and 
 cast down many to the earth and took 
 divers prisoners, so that the host began to 
 stir, and tidings thereof came to the French 
 king as he was entering into the city of 
 Poitiers. Then he returned again and 
 made all his host do the same, so that Satur- 
 day it was very late or he was lodged in the 
 field. The English currours returned again 
 to the prince and shewed him all that they 
 saw and knew, and said how the French 
 host was a great number of people. ' Well,' 
 said the prince, ' in the name of God let us 
 now study how we shall fight with them at 
 our advantage. ' That night the Englishmen 
 lodged in a strong place among hedges, 
 vines and bushes, and their host well 
 watched, and so was the F'rench host. 
 
 CHAPTER CLX 
 
 Of the order of the Frenchmen before the 
 battle of Poitiers. 
 
 On the Sunday in the morning the French 
 king, who had great desire to fight with the 
 
 1 Or rather, ' that the French king had gone in 
 front of them (les avoit advancez) and that he could 
 in no way depart without being fought with.' 
 
ORDER OF THE TUV HOSTS 
 
 Englishmen, heard his mass in his pavilion 
 and was hoiiselled, and his four sons wilh 
 him. Alter mass there came to him the 
 duke of, Orleans, the duke of Bourbon, the 
 earl of Ponthieu, the lord Jaques of Bour- 
 bon,^ the duke of Athens, constable of 
 France, the earl of Tancarville, the earl of 
 Sarrebruck, the earl of Dammartin, the earl 
 of Ventadour, and divers other great barons 
 of France and of other neighbours holding 
 of France, as the lord Clermont, the lord 
 Arnold d'Audrehem, marshal of France, the 
 lord of Saint -Venant, the lord John of 
 Landas, the lord Eustace Ribemont, the 
 lord Fiennes, the lord Geoffrey of Charny, 
 the lord Chatillon, the lord of Sully, the 
 lord of Nesle, sir Robert Duras and divers 
 other ; all these vifith the king went to coun- 
 sel. Then finally it was ordained that all 
 manner of menshould drawinto the field, and 
 every lord to display his banner and to set 
 forth in the name of God and Saint Denis: 
 then trumpets blew up through the host and 
 every man mounted on horseback and went 
 into the field, where they saw the king's 
 banner wave with the wind. There might 
 a been seen great nobless of fair harness 
 and rich armoury of banners and pennons ; 
 for there was all the flower of France, 
 there was none durst abide at home with- 
 out he would be shamed for ever. Then 
 it was ordained by the advice of the con- 
 stable and marshals to be made three battles, 
 and in each ward sixteen thousand men of 
 arms all mustered and passed for men of 
 arms. The first battle the duke of Orleans 
 to govern, with thirty-six banners and twice 
 as many pennons, the second the duke of 
 Normandy and his two brethren the lord 
 Louis and the lord John, the third the king 
 himself: and while that these battles were 
 setting in array, the king called to him the 
 lord Eustace Ribemont, the lord John of 
 Landas and the lord Richard of Beaujeu, 
 and said to them : * Sirs, ride on before to 
 see the dealing of the Englishmen and ad- 
 vise well what number they be and by what 
 means we may fight with them, other afoot 
 or a-horseback.' These three knights rode 
 forth and the king was on a white courser 
 and said a-high to his men : ' Sirs, among 
 you, when ye be at Paris, at Chartres, at 
 Rouen or at Orleans, then ye do threat the 
 
 1 That is, Jaques de Bourbon, earl of la Marche 
 and Ponthieu. 
 
 Englishmen and desire to be in arms out 
 against them. Now ye be come tlierelo ; 
 I shall now shew you them : now shew forth 
 your evil will that ye bear them and revenge 
 )'our displeasures and damages that they 
 have done you, for without doubt we shall 
 fight with them.' Such as heard him said : 
 ' Sir, in God's name so be it ; that would 
 we see' gladly.' 
 
 ■J'herewith the three knights returned 
 again to the king, who demanded of them 
 tidings. Then sir Eustace of Ribemont 
 answered for all and said : ' Sir, we have 
 seen the Englishmen : by estimation they 
 be two thousand men of arms and four 
 thousand archers and a fifteen hundred of 
 other. Howbeit they be in a strong place, 
 and as far as we can imagine they are in one 
 battle ; howbeit they be wisely ordered, and 
 along the way they have fortified strongly the 
 hedges and bushes : one part of their archers 
 are along by the hedge, so that none can 
 go nor ride that way, but must pass by 
 them, and that way must ye go an ye pur- 
 pose to fight with them. In this hedge 
 there is but one entry and one issue by 
 likelihood that four horsemen may ride a- 
 front. At the end of this hedge, whereas 
 no. man can go nor ride, there be men of 
 arms afoot and archers afore them in 
 manner of a herse, so that they will not be 
 lightly discomfited.'^ 'Well,' said the king, 
 ' what will ye then counsel us to do ? ' Sir 
 Eustace said : ' Sir, let us all be afoot, except 
 three hundred men of arms, well horsed, 
 of the best in your host and most hardiest, 
 to the intent they somewhat to break and 
 to open the archers, and then your battles 
 to follow on quickly afoot and so to fight 
 with their men of arms hand to hand. This 
 
 1 'Verrons': but a better reading is 'ferons,' 
 ' that will we do gladly.' 
 
 " The translation of this passage is unsatisfac- 
 tory. It should be : ' Howbeit they have ordered 
 it wisely, and have taken post along the road, 
 which is fortified strongly with hedges and ihicltets, 
 and they have beset this hedge on one side (or 
 according to another text, on one side and on the 
 other) with their archers, so that one cannot enter 
 nor ride along their road except by them, and that 
 way must he go who purposes to fight with them. 
 In this hedge there is but one entry and one issue, 
 where by likelihood four men of arms, as on the road, 
 might ride a-front. At the end of this hedge among 
 vines and thorn-bushes, where no man can go nor 
 ride, are their men of arms all afoot, and they have 
 set in front of them their archers in manner of a 
 harrow, whom it would not be easy to discomfit.' 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 is the best advice that I can give you : if 
 any other think any other way better, let 
 him speak.' 
 
 The king said ; ' Thus shall it be done ' : 
 then the two marshals rode from battle to 
 battle and chose out a three hundred knights 
 and squires of the most expert men of arms 
 of all the host, every man well armed and 
 horsed. Also it was ordained that the 
 battles of Almains should abide still on 
 horseback to comfort the marshals, if need 
 were, whereof the earl of Sarrebruck, the 
 earl of Nidau and the earl of Nassau were 
 captains. King John of France was there 
 armed, and twenty other in his apparel ; 
 and he did put the guiding of his eldest son 
 to the lord of Saint-Venant, the lord of 
 Landas and the lord Thibault of Vaudenay ; 
 and the lord Arnold of Cervolles, called 
 the archpriest,^ was armed in the armour of 
 the young earl of Alencon. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXI 
 
 How the cardinal of Perigord treated to make 
 agreement between the French king and 
 the prince before the battle of Poitiers. 
 
 When the French king's battles was or- 
 dered and every lord under his banner among 
 their own men, then it was commanded 
 that every man should cut their spears to 
 a five foot long and every man to put off 
 their spurs. Thus as they were ready 
 to approach, the cardinal of Perigord^ 
 came in great haste to the king. He came 
 the same morning from Poitiers ; he kneeled 
 down to the king and held up his hands 
 and desired him for God's sake a little to 
 abstain setting forward till he had spoken 
 with him : then he said : ' Sir, ye have here 
 all the flower of your realm against a handful 
 of Englishmen as to regard your company,^ 
 and, sir, if ye may have them accorded to 
 you without battle, it shall be more profitable 
 and honourable to have them by that manner 
 rather than to adventure so noble chivalry 
 as ye have here present. Sir, I require you 
 
 ^ Arnaud de Cervolles, one of the most cele- 
 brated adventurers of the 14th century, called the 
 archpnest because thouKh a layman he possessed 
 the ecclesiastical fief of ViShnes. 
 
 2 Talleyrand de Perigord. 
 
 /> The meaning is, ' Ye have here all the flower 
 of your realm against a handful of people, for so the 
 Englishmen are as compared with your company.' 
 
 in the name of God and humility that I may 
 ride to the prince and shew him what 
 danger ye have him in. ' The king said : 'It 
 pleaseth me well, but return again shortly.' 
 The cardinal departed and diligently he 
 rode to the prince, who was among his men 
 afoot : then the cardinal alighted and came 
 to the prince, who received him courteously. 
 Then the cardinal after his salutation made 
 he said ; ' Certainly, fair son, if you and 
 your council advise justly the puissance of 
 the French king, ye will suffer me to treat 
 to make a peace between you, an I may.' 
 The prince, who was young and lusty, said : 
 ' Sir, the honour of me and of my people 
 saved, I would gladly fall to any reasonable 
 way.' Then the cardinal said : ' Sir, ye say 
 well, and I shall accord you, an I can ; for 
 it should be great pity if so many noble- 
 men and other as be here on both parties 
 should come together by battle.' Then the 
 cardinal rode again to the king and said : 
 ' Sir, ye need not to make any great haste 
 to fight with your enemies, for they cannot 
 fly from you though they would, they be in 
 such a ground: wherefore, sir, I require you 
 forbear for this day till to-morrow the sun- 
 rising. ' The king was loath to agree thereto, 
 for some of his council would not consent to 
 it ; but finally the cardinal shewed such 
 reasons, that the king accorded that respite : 
 and in the same place there was pight up a 
 pavilion of red silk fresh and rich, and gave 
 leave for that day every man to draw to 
 their lodgings except the constable's and 
 marshals' battles. 
 
 That Sunday all the day the cardinal 
 travailed in riding from the one host to the 
 other gladly to agree them : but the French 
 king would not agree without he might 
 have four of the principallest of the English- 
 men at his pleasure, and the prince and all 
 the other to yield themselves simply : how- 
 beit there were many great offers made. 
 The prince ofl'ered to render into the king's 
 hands all that ever he had won in that 
 voyage, towns and castles, and to quit all 
 prisoners that he or any of his men had 
 taken in that season, and also to swear not 
 to be armed against the French king in 
 seven year after ; but the king and his 
 council would none thereof: the uttermost 
 that he would do was, that the prince and 
 a hundred of his knights should yield them- 
 selves into the king's prison ; otherwise he 
 
1\IEDIA TION A TTEl\IPTED 
 
 123 
 
 would not : the which the prince would in 
 no wise agree unto. 
 
 In the mean season that the cardinal rode 
 thus between the hosts in trust to do some 
 good, certain knights of France and of 
 England both rode forth the same Sunday, 
 because it was truce for that day, to coast 
 the hosts and to behold the dealing of their 
 enemies. So it fortuned that the lord John 
 Chandos rode the same day coasting the 
 French host, and in like manner the lord 
 of Clermont, one of the French marshals, 
 had ridden forth and aviewed the state of 
 the English host ; and as these two knights 
 returned towards their hosts, they met 
 together : each of them bare one manner of 
 device, a blue lady embroidered in a sun- 
 beam above on their apparel. Then the 
 lord Clermont said : ' Chandos, how long 
 have ye taken on you to bear my device ? ' 
 ' Nay, ye bear mine, ' said Chandos, ' for it is 
 as well mine as yours.' * I deny that,' said 
 Clermont, ' but an it were not for the truce 
 this day between us, I should make it good 
 on you incontinent that ye have no right to 
 bear my device.' 'Ah, sir,' said Chandos, 
 ' ye shall find me to-morrow ready to defend 
 you and to prove by feat of ariTis that it is 
 as well mine as yours. ' Then Clermont said : 
 ' Chandos, these be well the words of you 
 Englishmen, for ye can devise nothing of 
 new, but all that ye see is good and fair.' 
 So they departed without any more doing, 
 and each of them returned to their host. 
 
 The cardinal of Perigord could in no wise 
 that Sunday make any agreement between 
 the parties, and when it was near night he 
 returned to Poitiers. That night the 
 Frenchmen took their ease ; they had pro- 
 vision enough, and the Englishmen had 
 great default ; they could get no forage, 
 nor they could not depart thence without 
 danger of their enemies. That Sunday the 
 Englishmen made great dikes and hedges 
 about their archers, to be the more stronger ; 
 and on the Monday in the morning the 
 prince and his company were ready ap- 
 parelled as they were before, and about the 
 sun-rising in like manner were the French- 
 men. The same morning betimes the 
 cardinal came again to the French host and 
 thought by his preaching to pacify the 
 parties ; but then the Frenchmen said to 
 him : ' Return whither ye will : bring 
 hither no more words of treaty nor peace : 
 
 an yc love yourself depart shortly.' When 
 the cardinal saw that he travailed in vain, 
 he took leave of the king and then he went 
 to the prince and said : ' Sir, do what ye 
 can : there is no remedy but to abide the 
 battle, for I can find none accord in the 
 French king.' Then the prince said : 'The 
 same is our intent and all our people : God 
 help the right ! ' So the cardinal returned 
 to Poitiers. In his company there were 
 certain knights and squires, men of arms, 
 who were more favourable to the French 
 king than to the prince : and when they 
 saw that the parties should fight, they stale 
 from their masters and went to the French 
 host ; and they made their captain the 
 chatelain of Amposte,-^ who was as then 
 there with the cardinal, who knew nothing 
 thereof till he was come to Poitiers. 
 
 The certainty of the order of the English- 
 men was shewed to the French king, except 
 they had ordained three hundred men a- 
 horseback and as many archers a-horseback 
 to coast under covert of the mountain and 
 to strike into the battle of the duke of 
 Normandy, who was under the mountain 
 afoot. This ordinance they had made of 
 new, that the Frenchmen knew not of. 
 The prince was with his battle down among 
 the vines and had closed in the weakest 
 part with their carriages. 
 
 Now will I name some of the principal 
 lords and knights that were there with the 
 prince : the earl of Warwick, the earl of 
 Suffolk, the earl of Salisbury, the earl of 
 Oxford, the lord Raynold Cobham, the lord 
 Spencer, the lord James Audley, the lord 
 Peter his brother, the lord Berkeley, the lord 
 Basset, the lord Warin, the lord Delaware, 
 the lord Manne, the lord Willoughby, the 
 lord Bartholomew de Burghersh, the lord of 
 Felton, the lord Richard of Pembroke, the 
 lord Stephen of Cosington, the lord Brade- 
 tane and other Englishmen ; and of Gas- 
 con there was the lord of Pommiers, the 
 lord of Languiran, the captal of Buch, the 
 lord John of Caumont, the lord de Lesparre, 
 the lord of Rauzan, the lord of Condon, the 
 lord of Montferrand, the lord of Landiras, 
 the lord soudic of Latrau and other that I 
 cannot name ; and of Hainowes the lord 
 Eustace d'Aubrecicourt, the lord John of 
 Ghistelles, and two other strangers, the 
 lord Daniel Pasele and the lord Denis of 
 t Amposta, a fortress in Catalonia. 
 
124 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Morbeke : all the prince's company passed 
 not an eight thousand men one and other, 
 and the Frenchmen were a sixty thousand 
 fighting men, whereof there were more than 
 three thousand knights. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXII 
 
 Of the battle of Poitiers between the prince of 
 Wales and the French king. 
 
 Whex the prince saw that he should have 
 battle and that the cardinal was gone with- 
 out any peace or truce making, and saw 
 that the French king did set but little store 
 by him, he said then to his men : ' Now, 
 sirs, though we be but a small company as 
 in regard to the puissance of our enemies, 
 let us not be abashed therefor ; for the 
 victory lieth not in the multitude of people, 
 but whereas God will send it. If it fortune 
 that the journey be ours, we shall be the 
 most honoured people of all the world ; and 
 if we die in our right quarrel, I have the 
 king my father and brethren, and also ye 
 have good friends and kinsmen ; these shall 
 revenge us. Therefore, sirs, for God's 
 sake I require you do your devoirs this day ; 
 for if God be pleased and Saint George, 
 this day ye shall see me a good knight.' 
 These words and such other that the prince 
 spake comforted all his people. The lord 
 sir John Chandos that day never went from 
 the prince, nor also the lord James Audley 
 of a great season ; but when he saw that 
 they should needs fight, he said to the 
 prince : ' Sir, I have served always truly my 
 lord your father and you also, and shall do 
 as long as I live. I say this because I made 
 once a vow that the first battle that other 
 the king your father or any of his children 
 should be at, how that I would be one of 
 the first setters on.^ or else to die in the 
 pain : therefore I require your grace, as in 
 reward for any service that ever I did to 
 the king your father or to you, that you will 
 give me licence to depart from you and to 
 set myself thereas I may accomplish my 
 vow.' The prince accorded to his desire 
 and said, ' Sir James, God give you this 
 day that grace to be the best knight of all 
 other, ' and so took him by the hand. Then, 
 the knight departed from the prince and 
 went to the foremost front of all the battles, 
 1 'The first setter-on and the best combatant.' 
 
 all only accompanied with four squires, who 
 promised not to fail him. This lord James 
 was a right sage and a valiant knight, and by 
 him was much of the host ordained and 
 governed the day before. Thus sir Jame.s 
 was in the front of the battle ready to fight 
 with the battle of the marshals of France. 
 In like wise the lord Eustace d'Aubrecicourt 
 did his pain to be one of the foremost to 
 set on. When sir James Audley began to 
 set forward to his enemies, it fortuned to 
 sir Eustace d'Aubrecicourt as ye shall hear 
 after. Ye have heard before how the 
 Almains in the French host were appointed 
 to be still a-horseback. Sir Eustace being 
 a-horseback laid his spear in the rest and 
 ran into the French battle, and then a 
 knight of Almaine, called the lord Louis of 
 Recombes, who bare u shield silver, five 
 roses gules, and sir Eustace bare ermines, 
 two hamedes of gules,' — when this Almain 
 saw the lord Eustace come from his com- 
 pany, he rode against him and they met so 
 rudely, that both knights fell to the earth. 
 The Almain was hurt in the shoulder, 
 therefore he rose not so quickly as did sir 
 Eustace, who when he was up and had 
 taken his breath, he came to the other 
 knight as he lay on the ground ; but then 
 five other knights of Almaine came on him 
 all at once and bare him to the earth, and 
 so perforce there he was taken prisoner and 
 brought to the earl of Nassau, who as then 
 took no heed of him ; and I cannot say 
 whether they sware him prisoner or no, but 
 they tied him to a chare and there let him 
 stand. ^ 
 
 Then the battle began on all parts, and 
 the battles of the marshals of France ap- 
 proached, and they set forth that were 
 appointed to break the array of the archers. 
 They entered a-horseback into the way where 
 the great hedges were on both sides set full of 
 archers. As soon as the men of arms entered, 
 the archers began to shoot on both sides 
 and did slay and hurt horses and knights, 
 so that the horses when they felt the sharp 
 arrows they would in no wise go forward, 
 but drew aback and flang and took on so 
 fiercely, that many of them fell on their 
 masters, so that for press they could not 
 rise again ; insomuch that the marshals' 
 battle could never come at the prince. 
 
 1 That is, two hamedes gules on a iield ermine. 
 
 2 ' They tied him on to a cart with their harness." 
 
BATTLE OF POITIERS, 1356 (Sept. 19) 
 
 125 
 
 Certain knights and squires that were well 
 horsed passed through the archers and 
 thought to approach to the prince, but they 
 could not. The lord James Audley with 
 his four squires was in the front of that 
 battle and there did marvels in arms, and 
 by great prowess he came and fought with 
 sir Arnold d'Audrehem under his own 
 banner, and there they fought long together 
 and sir Arnold was there sore handled. 
 The battle of the marshals began to disorder 
 by reason of the shot of the archers with the 
 aid of the men of arms, who came in among 
 them and slew of them and did what they 
 list, and there was the lord Arnold 
 d'Audrehem taken prisoner by other men 
 than by sir James Audley or by his four 
 squires ; for that day he never took prisoner, 
 but always fought and went on his enemies. 
 
 Also on the French party the lord John 
 Clermont fought under his own banner as 
 long as he could endure : but there he was 
 beaten down and could not be relieved nor 
 ransomed, but was slain without mercy : 
 some said it was because of the words that 
 he had the day before to sir John Chandos. 
 So within a short space the marshals' battles 
 were discomfited, for they fell one upon 
 another and could not go forth ; ^ and the 
 Frenchmen that were behind and could not 
 £Tet forward reculed back and came on the 
 battle of the duke of Normandy, the which 
 was great and thick and were afoot, but 
 anon they began to open behind ; ^ for 
 when they knew that the marshals' battle 
 was discomfited, they took their horses and 
 departed, he that might best. Also they 
 saw a rout of Englishmen coming down a 
 little mountain a-horseback, and many 
 archers with them, who brake in on the 
 side of the duke's battle. True to say, the 
 archers did their company that day great 
 advantage ; for they shot so thick that the 
 Frenchmen wist not on what side to take 
 heed, and little and little the Englishmen 
 won ground on them. 
 
 And when the men of arms of England 
 saw that the marshals' battle was dis- 
 comfited and that the duke's battle began 
 to disorder and open, they leapt then 
 on their horses, the which they had ready 
 by them : then they assembled together 
 
 ^ 'Ne pooient aler avant,' 
 
 2 ' Which was great and tliick in front (par- 
 devant), but anon it became open and thin behind.' 
 
 and cried, ' Saint George ! Guyenne ! ' and 
 the lord Chandos said to the prince : 
 ' Sir, take your horse and ride forth ; this 
 journey is yours : God is this day in your 
 hands : get us to the French king's battle, 
 for their lieth all the sore of the matter. I 
 think verily by his valiantness he will not 
 fly : I trust we shall have him by the grace 
 of God and Saint George, so he be well 
 fought withal : and, sir, I heard you say 
 that this day I should see you a good 
 knight.' The prince said, ' Let us go forth ; 
 ye shall not see me this day return back,' 
 and said, 'Advance, banner, in the name 
 of God and of .Saint George.' The knight 
 that bare it did his commandment : there 
 was then a sore battle and a perilous, and 
 many a man overthrown, and he that was 
 once down could not be relieved again 
 without great succour and aid. As the 
 prince rode and entered in among his 
 enemies, he saw on his right hand in a 
 little bush lying dead the lord Robert of 
 Duras and his banner by him,' and a ten or 
 twelve of his men about him. Then the 
 prince said to two of his squires and to 
 three archers : ' Sirs, take the body of this 
 knight on a targe and bear him to Poitiers, 
 and present him from me to the cardinal of 
 Perigord, and say how I salute him by that 
 token.' And this was done. The prince 
 was informed that the cardinal's men were 
 on the field against him, the which was not 
 pertaining to the right order of arms, for 
 men of the church that cometh and goeth 
 lor treaty of peace ought not by reason to 
 bear harness nor to fight for neither of the 
 parties ; they ought to be indifferent : and 
 because these men had done so, the prince 
 was displeased with the cardinal, and there- 
 fore he sent unto him his nephew the lord 
 Robert of Duras dead : and the chatelain of 
 Amposte was taken, and the prince would 
 have had his head stricken off, because he 
 was pertaining to the cardinal, but then the 
 lord Chandos said : ' Sir, suffer for a season ; 
 intend to a greater matter : and peradventure 
 the cardinal will make such excuse that ye 
 shall be content.' 
 
 Then the prince and his company dressed 
 them on the battle of the duke of Athens, 
 constable of France. There was many a 
 man slain and cast to Ihc earth. As the 
 
 1 Tile original adds, 'qui eatoit de France au 
 sentolr (sautoir) de gueulles.' 
 
126 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROTSSART 
 
 Frenchmen fought in companies, they cried, 
 ' Moimtjoy ! Saint Denis !' and the English- 
 men, ' Saint George ! Guyenne ! ' Anon 
 the prince with his company met with the 
 battle of Almains, whereof the earl of 
 Sarrebruck, the earl Nassau and the earl 
 Nidau were captains, but in a short space 
 they were put to flight : the archers shot so 
 wholly together that none durst come in 
 their dangers ; they slew many a man that 
 could not come to no ransom : these three 
 earls was there slain, and divers other 
 knights and squires of their company, and 
 there was the lord d'Aubrecicourt rescued 
 by his own men and set on horseback, and 
 after he did that day many feats of arms and 
 took good prisoners. When the duke of 
 Normandy's battle saw the prince approach, 
 they thought to save themselves, and so the 
 duke and the king's children, the earl of 
 Poitiers and the earl of Touraine, who 
 were right young, believed their governours 
 and so departed from the field, and with 
 them more than eight hundred spears, that 
 strake no stroke that day. Howbeit the 
 lord Guichard d'Angle and the lord John of 
 Saintre, who were with the earl of Poitiers, 
 would not fly, but entered into tire thickest 
 press of the battle. The king's three sons 
 took the way to Chauvigny, and the lord 
 John of Landas and the lord Thibauld of 
 Vaudenay, who were set to await on the 
 duke of Normandy, when they had brought 
 the duke a long league from the battle, then 
 they took leave of the duke and desired the 
 lord of Saint-Venant that he should not 
 leave the duke, but to bring him in safe- 
 guard, whereby he should win more thank 
 of the king than to abide still in the field. 
 Then they met also the duke of Orleans and 
 a great company with him, who were also 
 departed from the field with clear hands : 
 there were many good knights and squires, 
 though that their masters departed from the 
 field, yet they had rather a died than to 
 have had any reproach. 
 
 Then the king's battle came on the 
 Englishmen : there was a sore fight and 
 many a great stroke given and received. 
 The king and his youngest son met with the 
 battle of the English marshals, the earl of 
 Warwick and the earl of Suffolk, and with 
 them of Gascons the captal of Buch, the 
 lord of Pommiers, the lord Amery of Tastes, 
 the lord of Mussidan, the lord of Languiran 
 
 and the lord de Latrau. To the French 
 party there came time enough the lord John 
 of Landas and the lord of Vaudenay ; they 
 alighted afoot and went into the king's 
 battle, and a little beside fought the duke 
 of Athens, constable of France, and a little 
 above him the duke of Bourbon and many 
 good knights of Bourbonnais and of Picardy 
 with him, and a little on the one side there 
 were the Poitevins, the lord de Pons, the 
 lord of Partenay, the lord of Oanimartin, 
 the lord of Tannay-Bouton, the lord of 
 .Surgieres, the lord John Saintre, the lord 
 Guichard d'Angle, the lord Argenton, the 
 lord of Linieres, the lord of Montendre and 
 divers other, also the viscount of Roche- 
 chouart and the earl of Aunay ; ^ and of Bur- 
 goyne the lord James of Beaujeu, the lord de 
 Chateau-Vilain and other : in another part 
 there was the ear) of Ventadour and of 
 iVfontpensier, the lord James of Bourbon, 
 the lord John d'Artois and also the lord 
 James his brother, the lord Arnold of 
 Cervolles, called the archpriest, armed for 
 the young earl of Alen9on ; and of Auvergne 
 there was the lord of Mercoeur, the lord de 
 la Tour, the lord of Chalencon, the lord of 
 Montaigu, the lord of Rochfort, the lord 
 d'Acier, the lord d'Acon ; and of Limousin 
 there was the lord de Melval, the lord of 
 Mareuil, the lord of Pierrebuffiere ; and of 
 Picardy there was the lord William of 
 Nesle, the lord Arnold of Rayneval, the 
 lord Geoffrey of Saint-Dizier, the lord of 
 Chauny, the lord of Ilelly, the lord of 
 Montsault, the lord of Hangest and divers 
 other : and also in the king's battle there 
 was the earl Douglas of Scotland, who 
 fought a season right valiantly, but when 
 he saw the discomfiture, he departed and 
 saved himself ; for in no wise he would be 
 taken of the Englishmen, he had rather 
 been there slain. On the English part the 
 lord James Audley with the aid of his four 
 squires fought always in the chief of the 
 battle : he was sore hurt in the body and 
 in the visage : as long as his breath served 
 him he fought ; at last at the end of the 
 battle his four squires took and brought 
 him out of the field and laid him under n 
 hedge side for to refresh him ; and they 
 unarmed him and bound up his wounds as 
 well as they could. On the French party 
 king John was that day a full right good 
 1 ' Le conte d'Aulnoy,' but it should be 'visconte. 
 
BATTLE OF TOITIERS 
 
 knight : if the fourth part of his men had 
 clone their devoirs as well as he did, the 
 journey had been his by all likelihood. 
 Howbeit they were all slain and taken that 
 were there, except a few that saved them- 
 selves, that were with the king.' There 
 was slain the duke Peter of Bourbon, the 
 lord Guichard of Beaujeu, the lord of 
 I.^ndas, and the diike of Athens, constable 
 of France, the bishop of Chalons in Cham- 
 pagne, the lord William of Nesle, the lord 
 Eustace of Ribemont, the lord de la Tour, 
 the lord William of Montaigu, sirGrismouton 
 of Chambly, sir Baudrin de la Heuse, and 
 many other, as they fought by companies ; 
 and there were taken prisoners the lord of 
 Vaudenay, the lord of Pompadour, and the 
 archpriest, sore hurt, the earl of Vaudimont, 
 the earl of Mons, the earl of Joinville, the 
 earl of Vendome, sir Louis of Melval, the 
 lord Pierrebuffiere and the lord of Serignac : 
 there were at that brunt slain and taken 
 more than two hundred knights. '•* 
 
 CHAPTER CLXIII 
 
 Of two Frenchmen that fled from the battle of 
 Poitiers, and two Englishmen that followed 
 them. 
 
 Among the battles, recounterings, chases 
 and pursuits that were made that day in 
 the field, it fortuned so to sir Oudart of 
 Renty that when he departed from the field 
 because he saw the field was lost without 
 recovery, he thought not to abide the 
 danger of the Englishmen ; wherefore he 
 fled all alone and was gone out of the field 
 
 1 ' Howbeit they that stayed acquitted them as 
 well as they might, so that they were all slain or 
 taken. Few escaped of those that set themselves 
 with the king': or according: to the fuller te-\t : 
 ' Few escaped of those that alighted down on the 
 sand by the side of the king their lord.' 
 
 2 The translator has chosen to rearrange the 
 above list of killed, wounded or taken, which the 
 French text give.s in order as they fought, saying 
 that in one part there fell the duke of Bourbon, sir 
 Guichard of Beaujeu and sir John of Landas, and 
 there were severely wounded or taken the arch- 
 priest, sir Thibaud of Vodenay and sir Baudouin 
 d'Anneqiiin ; in another there were slain the duke 
 of Athens and the bishop of Chalons, and taken the 
 earl of Vaudemont and Joinville and the earl of 
 Vendome : a little above this there were slain sir 
 William de Nesle, sir Eustace de Ribemont and 
 others, and taken sir Louis de Melval, the lord of 
 Pierrebufifere and the lord of Seregnach. 
 
 a league, and an English Icnight pursued 
 him and ever cried to him and said, 
 ' Return again, sir knight, it is a shame to 
 fly away thus.' Then the knight turned, 
 and the English knight thought to have 
 stricken him with his spear in the targe, 
 but he failed, for sir Oudart swerved aside 
 from the stroke, but he failed not the 
 English knight, for he strake him such a 
 stroke on the helm with his sword, that he 
 was astonied and fell from his horse to the 
 earth and lay still. Then sir Oudart 
 alighted and came to him or he could rise, 
 and said, ' Yield you, rescue or no rescue, 
 or else I shall slay you.' The Englishman 
 yielded and went with him, and afterward 
 was ransomed. Also it fortuned that another 
 squire of Picardy called John de Hellenes was 
 fled from the battle and met with his page, 
 who delivered him a new fresh horse, 
 whereon he rode away alone. The same 
 season there was in the field the lord 
 Berkeley of England, a young lusty knight, 
 who the same day had reared his banner, 
 and he all alone pursued the said John of 
 Hellenes. And when he had followed the 
 space of a league, the said John turned 
 again and laid his sword in the rest instead 
 of a spear, and so came running toward the 
 lord Berkeley, who lift np his sword to have 
 stricken the squire ; but when he saw the 
 stroke come, he turned from it, so that the 
 Englishman lost his stroke and John strake 
 him as he passed on the arm, that the lord 
 Berkeley's sword fell into the field. When 
 he saw his sword down, he lighted suddenly 
 off his horse and came to the place where 
 his sword lay, and as he stooped down to 
 take up his sword, the French squire did 
 pike his sword at him, and by hap strake 
 him through both the thighs, so that the 
 knight fell to the earth and could not help 
 himself. And John alighted off his horse 
 and took the knight's sword that lay on the 
 ground, and came to him and demanded if 
 he would yield him or not. The knight 
 then demanded his name. 'Sir,' said he, 
 'I hight John of Hellenes; but what is 
 your name ? ' ' Certainly,' said the knight, 
 ' my name is Thomas and am lord of 
 Berkeley, a fair castle on the river of Severn 
 in the marches of Wales.' 'Well, sir,' 
 quoth the squire, 'then ye shall be my 
 prisoner, and I shall bring you in safe-guard 
 and I shall see that you shall be healed of 
 
128 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 your hurt.' 'Well,' said the knight, 'I 
 am content to be your prisoner, for ye have 
 by law of arms won me.' There he sware 
 to be his prisoner, rescue or no rescue. 
 Then the squire drew forth the sword out 
 of the knight's thighs and the wound was 
 open : then he wrapped and bound the 
 wound and set him on his horse and so 
 brought him fair and easily to Chatelleraut, 
 and there tarried more than fifteen days for 
 his sake and did get him remedy for his hurt : 
 and when he was somewhat amended, then 
 he gat him a litter and so brought him at 
 his ease to his house in Picardy. There he 
 was more than a year till he was perfectly 
 whole ; and when he departed he paid for 
 his ransom six thousand nobles, and so this 
 squire was made a knight by reason of the 
 profit that he had of the lord Berkeley. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXIV 
 
 How king John was taken prisoner at the 
 battle of Poitiers. 
 
 I Oftentimes the adventures of amours 
 / and of war are more fortunate and marvel- 
 1 lous than any man can think or wish. 
 ; Truly this battle, the which was near to 
 Poitiers in the fields of Beauvoir and 
 Maupertuis, was right great and perilous, 
 and many deeds of arms there was done 
 the which all came not to knowledge. 
 ' The fighters on both sides endured much 
 pain : king John with his own hands did that 
 day marvels in arms : he had an axe in his 
 hands wherewith he defended himself and 
 _J.' fought in the breaking of the press. Near 
 to the king there was taken the earl of 
 Tancarville, sir Jaques of Bourbon earl of 
 Ponthieu, and the lord John of Artois earl 
 of Eu, and a little above that under the 
 banner of the captal of Buch was taken sir 
 Charles of Artois and divers other knights 
 and squires. The chase endured to the 
 gates of Poitiers : there were many slain 
 and beaten down, horse and man, for they 
 of Poitiers dosed their gates and would 
 suffer none to enter ; wherefore in the street 
 before the gate was horrible murder, men 
 hurt and beaten down. The Frenchmen 
 yielded themselves as far off as they might 
 know an Englishman : there were divers 
 
 English archers that had four, five or six 
 prisoners ; the lord of Pons, a great baron 
 of Poitou, was there slain, and many other 
 knights and squires; and there was taken 
 the earl of Rochechouart, the lord of Dam- 
 martin, the lord of Partenay, and of Sain- 
 tonge the lord of Montendre and the lord 
 John of Saintre, but he was so sore hurt 
 that he had never health after : he was 
 reputed for one of the best knights in 
 France. And there v/as left for dead 
 among other dead men the lord Guichard 
 d'Angle, who fought that day by the king 
 right valiantly, and so did the lord of 
 Charny, on whom was great press, because 
 he bare the sovereign banner of the king's : 
 his own banner was also in the field, the 
 which was of gules, three scutcheons silver. 
 So many Englishmen and Gascons came to 
 that part, that perforce they opened the 
 king's battle, so that the Frenchmen were 
 so mingled among their enemies that some- 
 time there was five men upon one gentleman. 
 There was taken the lord of Pompadour 
 and ^ the lord Bartholomew de Burghersh, 
 and there was slain sir Geoffrey of Charny 
 with the king's banner in his hands : also 
 the lord Raynold Cobham slew the earl 
 of Dammartin. Then tJiere was a great 
 press to take the king, and such as knew 
 him cried, * Sir, yield you, or else ye are 
 but dead.' There was a knight of Saint- 
 Omer's, retained in wages with the king ot 
 England, called sir Denis Morbeke, who 
 had served the Englishmen five year before, 
 because in his youth he had forfeited the 
 realm of France for a murder that he did 
 at Saint-Omer's. It happened so well for 
 him, that he was next to the king when 
 they were about to take him : he stept 
 forth into the press, and by strength of 
 his body and arms he came to the French 
 king and said in good French, ' Sir, yield 
 you.' The king beheld the knight and 
 said : ' To whom shall I yield me ? Where 
 is my cousin the prince of Wales? If I might 
 see him, I would speak with him.' Denis 
 answered and said : ' Sir, he is not here ; 
 but yield you to me and I shall bring you 
 to him.' 'Who be you?' quoth the king. 
 'Sir,' quoth he, 'I am Denis of Morbeke, 
 a knight of Artois ; but I serve the king of 
 England because I am banished the realm 
 
 ^ This 'and' should be 'by,' but the French 
 text is responsible for the mistake. 
 
BATTLE OF POITIERS 
 
 129 
 
 of France and I have forfeited all that I 
 had there.' Then the king gave him his 
 right gauntlet, saying, ' I yield me to 
 you.* There was a great press about the 
 king, for every man enforced him to 
 say,' 'I have taken him,' so that the king 
 could not go forward with his young son 
 the lord Philip with him because of the 
 press. 
 
 The prince of Wales, who was courageous 
 and cruel as a lion, took that day great 
 pleasure to fight and to chase his enemies. 
 The lord John Chandos, who was with 
 him, of all that day never left him nor 
 never took heed of taking of any prisoner : 
 then at the end of the battle he said to the 
 prince : ' Sir, it were good that you rested 
 here and set your banner a-high in this 
 bush, that your people may draw hither, 
 for they be sore spread abroad, nor I can 
 see no more banners nor pennons of the 
 French party ; wherefore, sir, rest and 
 refresh you, for ye be sore chafed.' Then 
 the prince's banner was set up a-high on a 
 bush, and trumpets and clarions began to 
 sown. Then the prince did off his bassenet, 
 and the knights for his body and they of his 
 chamber were ready about him, and a red 
 pavilion pight up, and then drink was 
 brought forth to the prince and for such 
 lords as were about him, the which still in- 
 creased as they came from the chase : there 
 they tarried and their prisoners with them. 
 And when the two marshals were come to 
 the prince, he demanded of them if they 
 knew any tidings of the French king. They 
 answered and said : ' Sir, we hear none of 
 certainty, but we think verily he is other 
 dead or taken, for he is not gone out of 
 the battles.' Then the prince said to the 
 earl of Warwick and to sir Raynold Cob- 
 ham : ' Sirs, I require you go forth and see 
 what ye can know, that at your return ye 
 may shew me the truth.' These two lords 
 took their horses and departed from the 
 prince and rode up a little hill to look 
 about them : then they perceived a flock 
 of men of arms coming together right 
 wearily : ^ there was the French king afoot 
 in great peril, for Englishmen and Gascons 
 were his masters ; they had taken him from 
 sir Denis Morbeke perforce, and such as 
 were most of force said, ' I have taken 
 , him ' ; ' Nay,' quoth another, ' I have taken 
 1 'S'efforgoit de dire' 2 ' Lentement.' 
 
 K 
 
 him ' • so they strave which should have 
 him. Then the French king, to eschew 
 that peril, said : ' Sirs, strive not : lead 
 me courteously, and my son, to my cousin 
 the prince, and strive not for my taking, 
 for I am so great a lord to make you all 
 rich.' The king's words somewhat appeased 
 them ; howbeit ever as they went they 
 made riot and brawled for the taking of 
 the king. When the two foresaid lords 
 saw and heard that noise and strife among 
 them, they came to them and said : ' Sirs, 
 what is the matter that ye strive for?' 
 'Sirs,' said one of them, ' it is for the French 
 king, who is here taken prisoner, and 
 there be more than ten knights and squires 
 that challengeth the taking of him and of his 
 son.' Then the two lords entered into the 
 press and caused every man to draw aback, 
 and commanded them in the prince's name 
 on pain of their heads to make no more 
 noise nor to approach the king no nearer, 
 without they were commanded. Then 
 every man gave room to the lords, and 
 they alighted and did their reverence to 
 the king, and so brought him and his son 
 in peace and rest to the prince of Wales. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXV 
 
 Of the gift that the prince gave to the lord 
 Audley after the battle of Poitiers. 
 
 As soon as the earl of Warwick and the 
 lord Cobham were departed from the prince, 
 as ye have heard before, then the prince 
 demanded of the knights that were about 
 him for the lord Audley, if any knew any- 
 thing of him. Some knights that were 
 there answered and said : ' Sir, he is sore 
 hurt and lieth in a litter here beside.' 
 ' By my faith,' said the prince, * of his hurts 
 I am right sorry : go and know if he may 
 be brought hither, or else I will go and see 
 him thereas he is. ' Then two knights came 
 to the lord Audley and said : ' Sir, the 
 prince desireth greatly to see you, other 
 ye must go to him or else he will come to 
 you.' 'Ah, sir,' said the knight, 'I thank 
 the prince when he thinketh on so poor 
 a knight as I am.' Then he called eight 
 of his servants and caused them to bear 
 him in his litter to the place whereas the 
 prince was. Then the prince took him in 
 
'3° 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 his arms and kissed him and made him 
 great cheer and said : ' Sir James, I ought 
 greatly to honour you, for by your valiance 
 ye have this day achieved the grace and 
 renown of us all, and ye are reputed for 
 the most valiant of all other.' 'Ah, sir,' 
 said the knight, 'ye say as it pleaseth 
 you : I would it were so : and if I have 
 this day anything advanced myself to serve 
 you and to accomplish the vow that I 
 made, it ought not to be reputed to me 
 any prowess.' ' Sir James,' said the prince, 
 ' I and all ours take you in this journey for 
 the best doer in arms, and to the intent to 
 furnish you the better to pursue the wars, 
 I retain you for ever to be my knight with 
 five hundred marks of yearly revenues, the 
 which I shall assign you on mine heritage 
 in England.' ' Sir,' said the knight, ' God 
 grant me to deserve the great goodness 
 that ye shew me ' : and so he took his 
 leave of the prince, for he was right feeble, 
 and so his servants brought him to his 
 lodging. And as soon as he was gone, 
 the earl of Warwick and the lord Cobham 
 returned to the prince and presented to 
 him the French king. The prince made 
 lowly reverence to the king and caused 
 wine and spices to be brought forth, and 
 himself served the king in sign of great 
 love. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXVI 
 
 How the Englishmen won greatly at the 
 battle of Poitiers. 
 
 Thus this battle was discomfited, as ye 
 have heard, the which was in the fields of 
 Maupertuis a two leagues from Poitiers the 
 twenty-second day of September the year 
 of our Lord mccclvi. It begun in the 
 morning ^ and ended at noon, but as then 
 all the Englishmen were not returned from 
 the chase ; therefore the prince's banner 
 stood on a bush to draw all his men to- 
 gether, but it was nigh night or all came 
 from the chase. And as it was reported, 
 there was slain all the flower of France, 
 and there was taken with the king and the 
 lord Philip his son a seventeen earls, beside 
 barons, knights and squires, and slain a 
 five or six thousand of one and other. 
 1 ' Environ heure de prime.' 
 
 "When every man was come Irom the chase, 
 they had twice as many prisoners as they 
 were in number in all. Then it was coun- 
 selled among them because of the great 
 charge and doubt to keep so many, that 
 they should put many of them to ransom 
 incontinent in the field, and so they did : 
 and the prisoners found the Englishmen 
 and Gascons right courteous ; there were 
 many that day put to ransom and let go 
 all only on their promise of faith and truth 
 to return again between that and Christmas 
 to Bordeaux with their ransoms. Then 
 that night they lay in the field beside 
 whereas the battle had been : some un- 
 armed them, but not all, and unarmed all 
 their prisoners, and every man made good 
 cheer to his prisoner ; for that day whoso- 
 ever took any prisoner, he was clear his 
 and might quit or ransom him at his 
 pleasure. All such as were there with the 
 prince were all made rich with honour and 
 goods, as well by ransoming of prisoners as 
 by winning of gold, silver, plate, jewels, 
 that was there found : there was no man 
 that did set anything by rich harness, 
 whereof there was great plenty, for the 
 Frenchmen came thither richly beseen, 
 weening to have had the journey for them. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXVII 
 
 How the lord James Audley gave to his four 
 squires the five hundred marks of revenues 
 that the prince had given him. 
 
 When sir James Audley was brought to 
 his lodging, then he sent for sir Peter 
 Audley his brother and for the lord Bar- 
 tholomew of Burghersh, the lord Stephen 
 of Cosington, the lord of Willoughby and 
 the lord Ralph Ferrers, all these were of 
 his lineage, and then he called before him 
 his four squires, that had served him that 
 day well and truly. Then he said to the 
 said lords : ' Sirs, it hath pleased my lord 
 the prince to give me five hundred marks 
 of revenues by year in heritage, for the 
 which gift I have done him but small 
 service with my body. Sirs, behold here 
 these four squires, who hath always served 
 me truly and specially this day : that 
 honour that I have is by their valiantness. 
 Wherefore I will reward them : I give and 
 
BATTLE OF POITIERS 
 
 131 
 
 resign into their hands the gift that my 
 lord the prince hath given me of five 
 hundred marks of yearly revenues, to them 
 and to their heirs for ever, in like manner 
 as it was given me. I clearly disherit me 
 thereof and inherit them without any 
 repeal ^ or condition.' The lords and other 
 that were there, every man beheld other 
 and said among themselves : ' It cometh 
 of a great nobleness to give this gift.' 
 They answered him with one voice : ' Sir, 
 be it as God will ; we shall bear witness in 
 this behalf wheresoever we be come.' Then 
 they departed from him, and some of them 
 went to the prince, who the same night 
 would make a supper to the French king 
 and to the other prisoners, for they had 
 then enough to do withal, of that the 
 Frenchmen brought with them,- for the 
 Englishmen wanted victual before, for some 
 in three days had no bread before. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXVIII 
 
 How the prince made a supper to the French 
 king the same day of the battle. 
 
 The same day of the battle at night the 
 prince made a supper in his lodging to the 
 French king and to the most part of the 
 great lords that were prisoners. The prince 
 made the king and his son, the lord James 
 of Bourbon, the lord John d'Artois, the 
 earl of Tancarville, the earl of Estampes, 
 the earl Dammartin, the earl of Joinville 
 and the lord of Partenay to sit all at one 
 board, and other lords, knights and squires 
 at other tables ; and always the prince 
 served before the king as humbly as he 
 could, and would not sit at the king's board 
 for any desire that the king could make, 
 but he said he was not sufficient to sit at 
 the table with so great a prince as the king 
 was. But then he said to the king : ' Sir, 
 for God's sake make none evil nor heavy 
 cheer, though God this day did not consent 
 to follow your will ; for, sir, surely the king 
 my father shall bear you as much honour 
 and amity as he may do, and shall accord 
 
 ^ 'Rappel,' z>. power of recalling the gift. The 
 word ' repeal ' is a correction of ' rebel).' 
 
 2 ' Who was to give the king of France a supper 
 of his own provisions ; for the French had brought 
 great abundance with them, and provisions had 
 failed among the English, 'etc. 
 
 with you so reasonably that ye shall ever 
 be friends together after. And, sir, methink 
 ye ought to rejoice, though the journey be 
 not as ye would have had it, for this day 
 ye have won the high renown of prowess 
 and have passed this day in valiantness all 
 other of your party. Sir, I say not this to 
 mock you, for all that be on our party, that 
 saw every man's deeds, are plainly accorded 1 
 
 by true sentence to give you the prize 1 
 
 and chaplet.' Therewith the Frenchmen | 
 
 began to murmur and said among them- j 
 
 selves how the prince had spoken nobly, \ 
 
 and that by all estimation he should prove ■ 
 
 a noble man, if God send him life and to 
 persevere in such good fortune. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXIX 
 
 How the prince returned to Bordeaux 
 after the battle of Poitiers. 
 
 When supper was done, every man went 
 to his lodging with their prisoners. The 
 same night they put many to ransom and 
 believed them on their faiths and troths, 
 and ransomed them but easily, for they said 
 they would set no knight's ransom so high, 
 but that he might pay at his ease and main- 
 tain still his degree. The next day, when 
 they had heard mass and taken some repast 
 and that everything was trussed and ready, 
 then they took their horses and rode towards 
 Poitiers. The same night there was come 
 to Poitiers the lord of Roye with a hundred 
 spears : he was not at the battle, but he met 
 the duke of Normandy near to Chauvigny, 
 and the duke sent him to Poitiers to keep 
 the town till they heard other tidings. 
 When the lord of Roye knew that the English- 
 men were so near coming to the city, he 
 caused every man to be armed and every 
 man to go to his defence to the walls, 
 towers and gates ; and the Englishmen 
 passed by without any approaching, for 
 they were so laded with gold, silver and 
 prisoners, that in their returning they 
 assaulted no fortress ; they thought it a 
 great deed if they might bring the French 
 king, with their other prisoners and riches 
 that they had won, in safeguard to Bordeaux. 
 They rode but small journeys because of 
 their prisoners and great carriages that they 
 had : they rode in a day no more but four 
 
'32 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 or five leagues and lodged ever betimes, 
 and rode close together in good array saving 
 the marshals' battles, who rode ever before 
 with five hundred men of arms to open the 
 passages as the prince should pass ; but they 
 found no encounterers, for all the country 
 was so frayed that every man drew to the 
 fortresses. 
 
 As the prince rode, it was shewed him 
 how the lord Audley had given to his four 
 squires the gift of the five hundred marks 
 that he had given unto him : then the 
 prince sent for him and he was brought in 
 his litter to the prince, who received him 
 courteously and said : ' Sir James, we have 
 knowledge that the revenues that we gave 
 you, as soon as ye came to your lodging, 
 you gave the same to four squires : we 
 would know why ye did so, and whether 
 the gift was agreeable to you or not.' ' Sir,' 
 said the knight, * it is of truth I have given 
 it to them, and I shall shew you why I did 
 so. These four squires that be here present 
 have a long season served me well and truly 
 in many great businesses, and, sir, in this 
 last battle they served me in such wise that 
 an they had never done nothing else, I was 
 bound to reward them, and before the same 
 day they had never nothing of me in reward. 
 Sir, I am but a man alone ; but by the aid 
 and comfort of them I took on me to ac- 
 complish my vow long before made. I had 
 been dead in the battle an they had not 
 been : wherefore, sir, when I considered 
 the love that they bare unto me, I had not 
 been courteous if I would not a rewarded 
 them. I thank God I have had and shall 
 have enough as long as I live : I will never 
 be abashed for lack of good. Sir, if I have 
 done this without your pleasure, I require 
 you to pardon me, for, sir, both I and my 
 squires shall serve you as well as ever we 
 did. ' Then the prince said : ' Sir James, 
 for anything that ye have done I cannot 
 blame you, but can you good thank there- 
 for ; and for the valiantness of these 
 squires, whom ye praise so much, I accord 
 to them your gift, and I will render again 
 to you six hundred marks in like manner 
 as ye had the other. ' 
 
 Thus the prince and his company did so 
 much that they passed through Poitou and 
 Saintonge without damage and came to 
 Blaye, and there passed the river of Gironde 
 and arrived in the good city of Bordeaux. 
 
 It cannot be recorded the great feast and 
 cheer that they of the city with the clergy 
 made to the prince, and how honourably 
 they were there received. The prince 
 brought the French king into the abbey of 
 Saint Andrew's, and there they lodged both, 
 the king in one part and the prince in the 
 other. The prince bought of the lords, 
 knights and squires of Gascoyne the most 
 part of the earls of the realm of France, 
 such as were prisoners, and paid ready 
 money for them. There was divers 
 questions and challenges made between the 
 knights and squires of Gascoyne for taking 
 of the French king ; howbeit Denis Mor- 
 beke by right of arms and by true tokens 
 that he shewed challenged him for his 
 prisoner. Another squire of Gascoyne 
 called Bernard of Truttes said how he had 
 right to him : there was much ado and 
 many words before the prince and other 
 lords that were there, and because these 
 two challenged each other to fight in that 
 quarrel, the prince caused the matter to 
 rest till they came in England and that no 
 declaration should be made but afore the 
 king of England his father ; but because 
 the French king himself aided to sustain 
 the challenge of Denis Morbeke, for he 
 inclined more to him than to any other, 
 the prince therefore privily caused to be 
 delivered to the said sir Denis two thousand 
 nobles to maintain withal his estate. 
 
 Anon after the prince came to Bordeaux, the 
 cardinal of Perigord came thither, who was 
 sent from the pope in legation, as it was said. 
 He was there more than fifteen days or the 
 prince would speak with him because of the 
 chatelain of Amposte and his men, who 
 were against him in the battle of Poitiers. 
 The prince believed that the cardinal sent 
 them thither, but thecardinal did so much by 
 the means of the lord of Caumont, the lord of 
 Montferrand and the captal of Buch, who 
 were his cousins, they shewed so good 
 reasons to the prince, that he was content 
 to hear him speak. And when he was - 
 before the prince, he excused himself so 
 sagely that the prince and his council held 
 him excused, and so he fell again into the 
 prince's love and redeemed out his men by 
 reasonable ransoms ; and the chatelain was 
 set to his ransom of ten thousand franks, 
 the which he paid after. Then the cardinal 
 began to treat on the deliverance of the 
 
GOVERNMENT BY THE THREE ESTATES 
 
 133 
 
 French king, but I pass it briefly because 
 nothing was done. Thus the prince, the 
 Gascons and Englishmen tarried still at 
 Bordeaux till it was Lent in great mirth 
 and revel, and spent foolishly the gold and 
 silver that they had won. In England also 
 there was great joy when they heard tidings 
 of the battle of Poitiers, of the discomfiting 
 of the Frenchmen and taking of the king : 
 great solemnities were made in all churches 
 and great fires and wakes throughout all 
 England. The knights and squires, such 
 as were come home from that journey, 
 were much made of and praised more than 
 other. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXX 
 
 How the three estates of France assembled 
 together at Paris after the battle of Poitiers. 
 
 The same season that the battle of Poitiers 
 was, the duke of Lancaster was in the 
 county of Evreux and on the marches of 
 Cotentin, and with him the lord Philip of 
 Navarre and the lord Godfrey of Harcourt. 
 They made war in Normandy and had done 
 all that season in the title of the king of 
 Navarre, whom the French king held in 
 prison. These lords did all that they might 
 to have been at the journey of Poitiers with 
 the prince, but they could not, for all the 
 passages on the river of Loire were so well 
 kept that they might not pass : but when 
 they heard how the prince had taken the 
 French king at the battle of Poitiers, they 
 were glad and brake up their journey, 
 because the duke of Lancaster and sir 
 Philip of Navarre would go into England, 
 and so they did ; and they sent sir Godfrey 
 of Harcourt to Saint-Saviour's-le-Viconte 
 to keep there frontier war. ^ 
 
 Now let us speak of the French king's 
 three sons, Charles, Louis and John, who 
 were returned from the besynes at Poitiers. 
 They were right young of age and of 
 counsel ; in them was but small recovery, 
 nor there was none of them that would take 
 on him the governance of the realm of 
 
 1 'Tenlr frontiere,' The word ' frontiere' means 
 ' line of battle ' or ' fortress ' (in the face of the 
 enemy), and hence the meaning 'boundary.' The 
 expressions ' faire frontiere ' or ' tenir frontiere ' are 
 used of opposing or malcing war against an enemy. 
 
 France. Also the lords, knights and squires, 
 such as fled from the battle, were so hated 
 and blamed of the commons of the realm, 
 that scant they durst abide in any good 
 town. Then all the prelates of holy Church 
 being in France, bishops, abbots, and all 
 other noble lords and knights, and the 
 provost of the merchants, the burgesses of 
 Paris, and the counsels of other good towns, 
 they all assembled at Paris, and there they 
 would ordain how the realm should be 
 governed till the king were delivered out of 
 prison. Also they would know furthermore 
 what was become of the great treasure that 
 had been levied in the realm, by dimes, 
 maltotes, subsidies, forging of moneys, and 
 in all other extortions, whereby the people 
 hath been overlaid and troubled, and the 
 soldiers evil paid, and the realm evil kept 
 and defended : but of all this there were none 
 that could give account. Then they agreed 
 that the prelates should choose out twelve 
 persons among them, who should have 
 power by them and by all the clergy to 
 ordain and to advise all things convenable 
 to be done ; and the lords and knights to 
 choose other twelve among them of their 
 most sagest arid discreet persons, to de- 
 termine all causes ; and the burgesses to 
 choose other twelve for the commons : the 
 which six and thirty persons should often- 
 times meet at Paris and there to commune 
 and ordain for all causes of the realm, and 
 every matter to be brought to them : and 
 to these three estates all other prelates, 
 lords and commons should obey. 
 
 So these persons were chosen out, but 
 in the beginning there were divers in 
 this election that the duke of Normandy 
 was not content withal, nor his council. 
 First these three estates defended evermore 
 forging of money : also they required the 
 duke of Normandy that he would arrest the 
 chancellor of the king his father, the lord 
 Robert of Lorris, and the lord Simon of 
 Bucy, and divers other masters of the counts 
 and other councillors of the king's, to the 
 intent that they might make a true account 
 of that they had taken and levied in the 
 realm and by their counsels. When these 
 masters and councillors heard of this matter, 
 they departed out of the realm into other 
 countries, to abide there till they heard 
 other tidings. 
 
134 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXI, CLXXII 
 
 SUMMARY. — The three estates received 
 all taxes and coined new gold money called 
 ' moutons. ' They desired the duke of A^or- 
 mandy to set free the king of iVavarrc, but 
 he would not. Then, seeing that Godfrey de 
 Harcourt made war in Normaitdy, they se7tt 
 a body of men to CotUances, where he ix.'as 
 defeated and slain. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXIII 
 
 How the prince conveyed the French king 
 from Bordeaux into England. 
 
 After the death of this knight sir Godfrey 
 of Harcourt, the Frenchmen returned to 
 Coutances with their prisoners and pillage, 
 and anon after they went into France to 
 the duke of Normandy, who as then was 
 called regent of France, and to the three 
 estates, who received them right honour- 
 ably. So from thenceforth Saint-Saviour- 
 le-Viconte was English and all the lands 
 pertaining to sir Godfrey of Harcourt, for 
 he had sold it to the king of England after 
 his decease and disherited the lord Louis 
 of Harcourt his nephew, because he would 
 not take his part. As soon as the king of 
 England heard tidings of the death of the 
 lord Godfrey of Harcourt, he was soiTy 
 thereof: then he sent incontinent men of 
 arms, knights, squires and archers more 
 than three hundred by sea to go and take 
 possession for him of Saint -Saviour -le- 
 Viconte, the which was worth thirty 
 thousand franks by year, and made captain 
 of those lands the lord John Lisle. The 
 three estates all that season studied on the 
 ordinance of the realm of France, and it 
 was all governed by them. 
 
 The same winter the prince of Wales 
 and such of England as were with him at 
 Bordeaux ordained for ships to convey the 
 French king and his son and all other 
 prisoners into England. And when the 
 time of his departure approached, then he 
 commanded the lord d'Albret, the lord of 
 Mussidan, the lord de Lesparre, the lord of 
 Pommiers and the lord of Rauzan to keep 
 the country there till his return again. 
 Then he took the sea, and certain lords of 
 
 Gascoyne with him. The French king was 
 in a vessel by himself, to be the more at his 
 ease, accompanied with two hundred men 
 of arms and two thousand archers ; for it 
 was shewed the prince that the three estates 
 by whom the realm of France was governed 
 had laid in Normandy and Crotoy two 
 great armies, to the intent to meet with him 
 and to get the French king out of his hands, 
 if they might ; but there were no such that 
 appeared, and yet they were on the sea 
 eleven days, and on the twelfth day they 
 arrived at Sandwich. Then they issued out 
 of their ship and lay there all that niglit 
 and tarried there two days to refresh them, 
 and on the third day they rode to Canter- 
 bury. \\nTen the king of England knew of 
 their coming, he commanded them of 
 London to prepare them and their city to 
 receive such a man as the French king was. 
 Then they of London arrayed themselves 
 by companies and the chief mesters [with] 
 clothing different [each] from the other. 
 At Saint Thomas of Canterbury the French 
 king and the prince made their offerings 
 and there tarried a day, and then rode to 
 Rochester and tarried there that day, and 
 the next day to Dartford and the fourth 
 day to London, where they were honour- 
 ably received, and so they were in every 
 good town as they passed. The French 
 Icing rode through London on a white 
 courser well apparelled, and the prince on 
 a little black hobby by him. Thus he was 
 conveyed along the city, till he came to the 
 Savoy, the which house pertained to the 
 heritage of the duke of Lancaster. There 
 the French king kept his house a long 
 season, and thither came to see him the 
 king and the queen oftentimes and made 
 him great feast and cheer. Anon after by 
 the commandment of pope Innocent the 
 sixth there came into England the lord 
 Talleyrand, cardinal of Perigord, and the lord 
 Nicholas, cardinal of Urgel: they treated for 
 a peace between the two kings, but they 
 could bring nothing to effect, but at last by 
 good means they procured a truce between 
 the two kings and all their assisters, to 
 endure till the feast of Saint John the 
 Baptist in the year of our Lord God 
 MCCCLix. ; and out of this truce was 
 excepted the lord Philip of Navarre and his 
 allies, the countess of Montfort and the 
 duchy of Bretayne. Anon after the French 
 
DISTURBANCES IN PARIS, 1357 
 
 135 
 
 king was removed from the Savoy to the 
 castle of Windsor, and all his household, 
 and went a-hunting and a-hawking there- 
 about at his pleasure, and the lord Philip 
 his son with him : and all the other prisoners 
 abode still at London and went to see the 
 king at their pleasure and were received all 
 only on their faiths. 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXIV-CLXXVIII 
 
 SUMMARY.— The king of Scotland, who 
 had beeji a prisoner in England more than 
 nine years, txjos delivered by treaty. 
 
 The duke of Lancaster raised an army to 
 aid the countess of Montfort in May 1357, 
 and laid siege to Rennes. During this 
 siege a yoitng bachelor named Bertrand dtt 
 Guesclin fought with sir Nicholas Dag- 
 worth an Ejtglishnian. 
 
 Sir William de Gauville won back the 
 castle of Evreiix for the king of Navarre. 
 
 At this time there luas a coTupany of 
 armed 77ien in Provence led by Arnold de 
 Cervolles, called the archpriest, with who7n 
 the pope and cardinals fell in treaty for 
 fear that Avignon should he plu7idered ; 
 another betzveen the Loire and Seine had 
 one Ruffin ( Grifith) for their captain ; and 
 in Nomia7tdy there was a company of Eng- 
 lish and Navarrois tinder sir Robert 
 Knolles. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXIX 
 
 How the provost of the merchants of Paris 
 slew three knights in the regent's chamber. 
 
 In this season that the three estates thus 
 ruled, there rose in divers countries certain 
 manner of people calling themselves com- 
 panions, and they made war to every man. 
 The noblemen of the realm of France and 
 the prelates of holy Church began to wax 
 weary of the rule and ordinance of the 
 three estates, and so gave up their rule and 
 suffered the provost of the merchants to 
 meddle with some of the burgesses of Paris, 
 because they meddled farther than they 
 were pleased withal.' So on a day the 
 
 ' 'So they suffered the provost of the merchants 
 and some of the burgesses of Paris to deal as they 
 would, because they (the three estates) meddled 
 with affairs farther than they were pleased.' 
 
 regent of France was in the palace of Paris 
 with many noblemen and prelates with 
 him. The provost then assembled a great 
 number of the commons of Paris, such as 
 were of his opinion, and all they ware hats 
 of one colour, to the intent to be known. 
 The provost came to the palace with his 
 men about him and entered into the duke's 
 chamber, and there eagerly he desired him 
 that he would take on him the meddling of 
 the business of the realm of France, that 
 the realm, the which pertained to him by 
 inheritance, might be better kept, and that 
 such companions as goeth about the realm 
 wasting, robbing and pilling the same 
 might be subdued. The duke answered 
 how he would gladly intend thereto, if he 
 had wherewith, and said they that receive 
 the profit and the rights pertaining to the 
 realm ought to do it, if it be done or not I 
 report me.^ So they multiplied such words 
 between them that three of the greatest of 
 the duke's council were there slain so near 
 him, that his clothes were all bloody with 
 their blood and he himself in great peril : 
 but there was set one of their hats on his head 
 and he was fain there to pardon the death 
 of his three knights, two of arms and the 
 third of the law, the one called the lord 
 Robert of Clermont, a right noble man, 
 another the lord of Conflans, and the 
 knight of the law the lord Simon of Bucy. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXX 
 
 How the king of Navarre came out of prison. 
 
 After this foresaid adventure certain 
 knights, as the lord John of Picquigny and 
 other, under the comfort of the provost of 
 Paris and of other councillors of the good 
 towns, came to the strong castle of Arleux 
 in Palluel, in Picardy, where the king of 
 Navarre was in prison under the keeping of 
 
 1 ' Mais celui qui faisoit lever les profits et les 
 droitures appartenans au royaulme le devoit faire, 
 s'il le fist, je ne S9ay pourquoi ne comment ce fut, 
 mais les paroles moultiplyerent tant," etc. The 
 punctuation and reading are doubtful, but probably 
 It should be, 'he that levied the profits and rights 
 belonging to the realm ought to do It ; so let 
 him do it.' The translator's expression, 'If it 
 be done or not, I report me,' is quite unintelligible. 
 We may observe, however, that the same expres- 
 sion occurs again (ii. 91) : ' I report me if I have not 
 good cause to say,' where it is a translation of 
 ' Regardez et imaginez,' etc. 
 
136 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the lord Tristram du Bos. They brought to 
 them that kept the castle such tokens that 
 they had the king of Navarre delivered into 
 their hands, for the captain was not as then 
 there ; and they brought him with great joy 
 into the city of Amiens, where he was well 
 received, and lighted at a canon's house, 
 who loved him entirely, called Guy Quieret : 
 and the king tarried there a fifteen days 
 till he had so provided for himself that he 
 was assured of the duke of Normandy, then 
 regent of France : for the provost of the 
 merchants of Paris had gotten him his 
 peace of the duke and of them of Paris. 
 And then the king of Navarre was brought 
 to Paris by the lord John of Picquigny and 
 by other burgesses of Amiens, whereas 
 every man was glad to see him and the 
 duke made him great feast and cheer ; for 
 it behoved him so to do, for the provost 
 and his sect exhorted him thereto : there- 
 fore the duke dissembled for the pleasure 
 of the provost and other of Paris. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXI 
 
 How the king of Navarre preached solemnly 
 in Paris. 
 
 When the king of Navarre had been a 
 certain time in Paris, on a day he assembled 
 together prelates, knights and clerks of the 
 university and there he shewed openly 
 among them in Latin in the presence of the 
 duke of Normandy his complaint and griefs, 
 and violence done to him wrongfully with- 
 out right or reason, and said how there was 
 none that ought to doubt in him, but that 
 he would live and die in the defence of the 
 realm of France and the crown thereof, as 
 he was bound to do : for he was extraught 
 of father and mother of the right line of 
 France, and said, if he would challenge the 
 realm and crown of France, he could shew 
 by right how he was more nearer thereto 
 than the king of England. His sermon 
 and language was so pleasant that he was 
 greatly praised, and so little and little he 
 entered into the favour of them of Paris, so 
 that he was better beloved there than the 
 regent the duke of Normandy, and also 
 with divers other cities in the realm of 
 France. But whatsoever semblant the 
 provost and they of Paris made to the king 
 
 of Navarre, for all that the lord Philip of 
 Navarre would never trust them, nor would 
 not come to Paris, for he always said that in 
 a commonalty there was never no certainty, 
 but finally shame, rebuke and dishonour. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXn 
 
 Of the beginning of the rising of 
 the commons called Jaquery, in Beauvoisin, 
 
 Anon after the deliverance of the king of 
 Navarre there began a marvellous tribula- 
 tion in the realm of France, as in Beau- 
 voisin, in Brie, on the river of Marne, 
 in Laonnois, and about Soissons. For ~ 
 certain people of the common villages, 
 without any head or ruler, assembled to- 
 gether in iBeauvoisin. In the beginning 
 they passed not a hundred in number : 
 they said how the noblemen of the realm 
 of France, knights and squires, shamed the 
 realm, and that it should be a great wealth 
 to destroy them all ; and each of them said 
 it was true, and said all with one voice : 
 ' Shame have he that doth not his power to 
 destroy all the gentlemen of the realm ! ' 
 
 Thus they gathered together without any 
 other counsel, and without any armour 
 saving with staves and knives, and so went to 
 the house of a knight dwelling thereby, and 
 brake up his house and slew the knight and 
 the lady and all his children great and 
 small and brent his house. And then they 
 went to another castle, and took the knight 
 thereof and bound him fast to a stake, and 
 then violated his wife and his daughter before 
 his face and then slew the lady and his 
 daughter and all his other children, and 
 then slew the knight by great torment and 
 brent and beat down the castle. And so 
 they did to divers other castles and good 
 houses ; and they multiplied so that they 
 were a six thousand, and ever as they went 
 forward they increased, for such like as 
 they were fell ever to them, so that every 
 gentleman fled from them and took their 
 wives and children with them, and fled ten 
 or twenty leagues off to be in surety, and 
 left their houses void and their goods 
 therein. 
 
 These mischievous people thus assembled 
 without captain or armour robbed, brent 
 and slew all gentlemen that they could lay 
 
THE JACQUERIE, 1357 
 
 137 
 
 hands on, and forced and ravished ladies 
 and damosels, and did such shameful deeds 
 that no human creature ought to think on 
 any such, and he that did most mischief 
 was most praised with them and greatest 
 master. I dare not write the horrible 
 deeds that they did to ladies and damosels : 
 among other they slew a knight and after 
 did put him on a broach and roasted him at 
 the fire in the sight of the lady his wife and 
 his children ; and after the lady had been 
 enforced and ravished with a ten or twelve, 
 they made her perforce to eat of her husband 
 and after made her to die an evil death and 
 all her children. They made among them 
 a king, one of Clermont in Beauvoisin : 
 they chose him that was the most un- 
 graciousest of all other and they called him 
 king Jaques Goodman, and so thereby they 
 were called companions of the Jaquery. 
 They destroyed and brent in the country of 
 Beauvoisin about Corbie, Amiens and Mont- 
 didier more than threescore good houses 
 and strong castles. In like manner these 
 unhappy people were in Brie and Artois, 
 so that all the ladies, knights and squires of 
 that country were fain to fly away to Meaux 
 in Brie, as well the duchess of Normandy 
 and the duchess of Orleans as divers other 
 ladies and damosels, or else they had been 
 violated and after murdered. Also there 
 were a certain of the same ungracious people 
 between Paris and Noyon and between Paris 
 and Soissons, and all about in the land of 
 Coucy, in the county of Valois, in the 
 bishopric of Laon,' Noyon and Soissons. 
 There were brent and destroyed more than 
 a hundred castles and good houses of 
 knights and squires in that country. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXIII 
 
 How the provost of the merchants of Paris 
 caused walls to be made about the city of 
 Paris. 
 
 When the gentlemen of Beauvoisin, of 
 Corbiois, of Vermandois and of other lands, 
 whereas these mischievous people were 
 conversant, saw the woodness among them, 
 they sent for succours to their friends into 
 
 1 The translator, partly following a corrupt text, 
 says, ' bytwene Brieche and Loan.' The true 
 reading is *en I'^veschiet de Laon.' 
 
 Flanders, to Brabant, to Hainault and to 
 Hesbaye. ,So there came from all parts ; 
 and so all these gentlemen strangers with 
 them of the country assembled together and 
 did set on these people where they might 
 find them, and slew and hanged them upon 
 trees by heaps. The king of Navarre on a 
 day slew of them more than three thousand 
 beside Clermont in Beauvoisin. It was 
 time to take them up, for an they had been 
 all together assembled, they were more than 
 a hundred thousand ; and when they were 
 demanded why they did so evil deeds, they 
 would answer and say they could not tell, 
 but that they did as they saw other do, 
 thinking thereby to have destroyed all the 
 nobles and gentlemen of the world. 
 
 In the same season the duke of Normandy 
 departed from Paris and was in doubt of the 
 king of Navarre and of the provost of the 
 merchants and of his sect, for they were 
 all of one accord. He rode to the bridge 
 of Charenton on the river of Marne, and 
 there he made a great summons of gentle- 
 men and then defied the provost of the 
 merchants and all his aiders. Then the 
 provost was in doubt of him, that he would 
 in the night-time come and overrun the 
 city of Paris, the which as then was not 
 closed. Then he set workmen a-work as 
 many as he could get, and made great dikes 
 all about Paris and began walls and gates : 
 he had the space of one whole year a three 
 hundred workmen continually working. 
 It was a great deed to furnish an arm and 
 to close with defence such a city as Paris : 
 surely it was the best deed that ever any 
 provost did there, for else it had been after 
 divers times overrun and robbed by divers 
 occasions. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXIV 
 
 Of the battle at Meaux in Brie, where the 
 companions of the Jaquery were discom- 
 fited by the earl of Foix and the captal of 
 Buch, 
 
 In the season while these ungracious people 
 reigned, there came out of Pruce the earl 
 of Foix and the captal of Buch his cousin, 
 and in their way they heard, as they should 
 have entered into France, of the great mis-' 
 chief that fell among the noblemen by these 
 
138 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 unhappy people ; and in the city of Meaiix 
 was the duchess of Normandy and the 
 duchess of Orleans and a three hundred 
 other ladies and damosels and the duke of 
 Orleans also. Then the two said knights 
 agreed to go and see these ladies and to 
 comfort them to their powers : howbeit the 
 captal was English, but as then it was 
 truce between the two kings : they had in 
 their company a threescore spears. And 
 when they were come to Meau.x in Brie, 
 they were welcome to the ladies and 
 damosels there : and when those of the 
 Jaquery understood that there was at 
 Meaux such a number of ladies, young 
 damosels and noble children, then they 
 assembled together and with them they of 
 Valois, and so came to Meau.\. And also 
 certain of Paris that heard thereof went to 
 them, so that they were in all a nine thou- 
 sand and daily more resorted to them : so 
 they came to the gates of the town of 
 Meaux and the people of the town opened 
 the gates and suffered them to enter, so 
 that all the streets were full of them to the 
 market-place, whereas these noble ladies 
 were lodged in a strong place closed about 
 with the river of Marne : there came such 
 a number against them that the ladies were 
 sore affrayed. Then these two knights and 
 their company came to the gate of the 
 market-place and issued out and set on 
 those villains, who were but evil armed, 
 the earl of Foix's banner and the duke of 
 Orleans', and the captal's pennon. And 
 when these villains saw these men of war 
 well apparelled issued out to defend the 
 place, the foremost of them began to recule 
 back, and the gentlemen pursued them 
 with their spears and sv/ords : and when 
 they felt the great strokes, they reculed all 
 at once and fell for haste each on other. 
 Then all the noblemen issued out of the 
 barriers and anon won the place, and 
 entered in among their enemies and beat 
 them down by heaps and slew them like 
 beasts and chased them all out of the town, 
 and slew so many that they were weary, 
 and made many of them by heaps to fly 
 into the river. Briefly, that day they 
 slew of them more than seven thousand, 
 and none had scaped, if they would a 
 followed the chase any farther. And when 
 these men of arms returned again to the 
 town, they set fire thereon and brent it 
 
 clean and all the villains of the town that 
 they could close therein, because they took 
 part with the Jaquery. After this dis- 
 comfiture thus done at Meaux they never 
 assembled again together after ; for the 
 young Enguerrand lord of Coucy had 
 about him certain men of war, and they 
 ever slew them as they might meet with 
 them without any mercy. 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXXV, CLXXXVI 
 
 SUMMARY. — Paris, which held to the 
 party of the king of Navarre, -was besieged 
 by the duke of Norma7idy, ivho made a 
 private treaty with the king of Navarre by 
 which Etienne Marcel, provost of the 
 merchants, and twelve other burgesses should 
 be given up to the duke of Normandy. A 
 body of citizens was surprised and defeated 
 by a cotnpany of English and Navarrois, 
 and the provost and his party were much 
 blamed for it. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXVII 
 
 Of the death of the provost of the merchants 
 of Paris. 
 
 The provost and his sect had among them- 
 selves divers counsels secretly, to know 
 how they should maintain themselves ; for 
 they could find by no means any mercy in 
 the duke of Normandy, for he sent word 
 generally to all the commons of Paris that 
 he would keep with them no longer peace, 
 without he had delivered into his hands 
 twelve of Paris, such as he would choose, 
 to do with them his pleasure : the which 
 thing greatly abashed the provost and his_^ 
 company. Finally, they saw well that it 
 were better for them to save their lives, 
 goods and friends, rather than to be 
 destroyed, and that it were better for them 
 to slay than to be slain. Then secretly 
 they treated with the Englishmen, such a.s 
 made war against Paris ; and they agreed 
 between them that the provost and his sect 
 should be at the gate Saint-Honore and at 
 the gate Saint-Antoine at the hour of mid- 
 night and to let in the Englishmen and 
 Navarrois provided ready to overrun the 
 city and to destroy and rob it clean, except 
 such houses as had certain signs limited 
 
EDWARD'S DESIGNS ON FRANCE, 1337 
 
 of his country to receive the pilgrims of 
 God. The king of Hungary was glad 
 thereof, and said how he was all ready. 
 In like wise the French king sent to the 
 king of Cyprus and also to the king of 
 Sicily and to the Venetians. In like 
 manner they answered that they were 
 ready to obey, and the Genoways and all 
 they on the river of Genes.^ And also the 
 king sent the great prior of France to the 
 isle of Rhodes to prepare all things necessary 
 in those quarters, and they of the Rhodes 
 accorded with the Venetians to provide 
 things necessary in the isle of Crete, the 
 which was under their seignory. Briefly, 
 every country was ready prepared to receive 
 the pilgrims of God. There were more 
 than three hundred thousand persons that 
 took on them the cross to go in this noble 
 voyage over the sea. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 How king Edward was counselled to make 
 war against the French king. 
 
 In this season, when this croisey was in 
 great^ forwardness, for there was no speak- 
 ing but thereof, sir Ro'bert of Artois was 
 as then in England, banished out of 
 France, and was ever about king Edward : 
 and always he counselled him to defy the 
 French king, who kept his heritages from 
 him wrongfully : of the which matter the 
 king oftentimes counselled with them of 
 his secret council, for gladly he would 
 have had his right, an if he wist how ; and 
 also he thought that if he should demand 
 his right and it refused, what he might do 
 then to amend it ; for if he should then sit 
 still and do not his devoir to recover his 
 right, he should be more blamed than 
 before. Yet he thought it "were better to 
 speak not thereof, for he saw well that by 
 the puissance of his realm it would be hard 
 for him to subdue the great realm of 
 France, without help of some other great 
 lords either of the Empire or in other places 
 for his money. 
 
 The king oftentimes desired counsel of 
 his chief and special friends and councillors. 
 Finally, his councillors answered him and 
 
 1 That is, the Riviera of Genoa. 
 
 said, ' Sir, the matter is so weighty and of 
 so high an enterprise, that we dare not 
 speak therein, nor give you any counsel. 
 But, sir, this we would counsel you to do : 
 send sufficient messengers, well informed 
 of your intention, to the earl of Hainault, 
 whose daughter ye have married, and to 
 sir John of Hainault his brother, who hath 
 valiantly served you at all times ; and desire 
 them by way of love that they would coun- 
 sel you in this matter : for they know better 
 what pertaineth to such a matter than we 
 do. And, sir, if they agree to your intent, 
 then will they counsel you what friends ye 
 may best make.' The king was content 
 with this answer, and desired the bishop of 
 Lincoln to take on him this message, and 
 with him two bannerets and two doctors. 
 They made them ready and took shipping 
 and arrived at Dunkirk, and rode through 
 Flanders till they came to Valenciennes, 
 where they found the earl lying in his bed 
 sick of the gout, and with him sir John 
 his brother. They were greatly feasted, 
 and declared the cause of their coming, 
 and shewed all the reasons and doubts that 
 the king their master had made. Then 
 the earl said, ' As help me God, if the 
 king's mind might be brought to pass, I 
 would be right glad thereof : for I had 
 rather the wealth of him that hath married 
 my daughter than of him that never did 
 nothing for me, though I have married his 
 sister ; and also he did let the marriage of 
 the young duke of Brabant, who should 
 have married one of my daughters : where- 
 fore I shall not fail to aid my dear and well- 
 beloved son the king of England. I shall 
 give him counsel and aid to the best of my 
 power, and so shall do John my brother, 
 who hath served him or this. Howbeit he 
 must have more help than ours ; for Hai- 
 nault is but a small country as to the regard 
 of the realm of France, and England is far 
 off to aid us.' Then the bishop said, 'Sir, 
 we thank you in our master's behalf of the 
 comfort that ye give us : sir, we desire you 
 to give our master counsel, what friends he 
 were best to labour unto to aid him.' 
 ' Surely,' said the earl, ' I cannot devise a 
 more puissant prince to aid him than the 
 duke of Brabant, who is his cousin -german, 
 and also the bishop of Liege, the duke of 
 Gueldres, who hath his sister to his wife, 
 the archbishop of Cologne, the marquis 
 
140 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 expired. War was carried 07Z in Cliani- 
 pagne by sir Eustace d' Atcbrecicoztrt for the 
 English, -who was defeated and taken 
 prisoner', 2'^rd June, at Nageni-stir-Sei7ie. 
 He was afterwards rajisomed by the E7iglish 
 garrisons of Cha7?ipagne a>id became their 
 captaiji. 
 
 The brigands that held fortresses in Erajzce 
 began marvellously to decline. 
 
 A treaty of peace ag7'eed to in Lojtdojt by 
 the kings of France and Eyigland was 
 rejected by the diikc of Norma^zdy and the 
 estates. The king of England prepared to 
 invade France. 
 
 Sir Robert Knolles rode through Berry 
 and Auvergne towards Avignon, pursued 
 by the earl of Forez %uith a large force, but 
 he escaped them and went ifito Limousin. 
 
 for7ned C07npa77ies to pht7ider the cou7it7y 
 a7id the lord Jacques of Bourbon was se7it 
 agai7ist the7/i. The co77ipa7iies drew to- 
 gether a7id 77iarcJied towards Lyons. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCV-CCXIV 
 
 SUMMARY. —Certain knights of the 
 E7tipire came to join the ki7ig of E7igland 
 at Calais and rode i77to France -with the 
 duke of Lancaster, who came befo7-e the 
 king. At All Sai7its they returned and 
 met the English host marchi7ig in fi7ie 
 ar7-ay, with the ki7tg and the pri7ice of 
 Wales. The king rode through Artois and 
 Picardy, and so to Rheims, where he laid a 
 siege. The king of Navarre quarrelled 
 with the duke of Norznandy a7id 7nade war 
 upon him. At length the king of E7lgland 
 left the siege of Rheiz/is, and going into 
 Burgundy lay at Guillon till after mid- 
 Lent. He then made a composition with 
 the duke of Burgundy and reti7ed towa7-ds 
 Paris, e7icamping at Bourg-la-Reine. 
 
 The duke of Normandy refused battle, 
 and the king retired towards Chartres. 
 On the way negotiations were carried o7ifor 
 peace, a7id at le7zgth ter7ns were arranged 
 at Bretigny near Chartres.'^ On pay7nent 
 of 600,000 franks a7td delivery of hostages the 
 F7-e7ich ki7tg was released, a7id then went 071 
 foot in pilgrimage fro7n Calais to Bo7ilog7ie 
 in co7npany with the prince of Wales a7td 
 his two brothers, I_io7ul a7id Edmzmd. De- 
 livery was made of the ceded provinces a7td 
 the king of E7tgland o7-dered his garriso7is 
 to leave their holds. These garrisons 
 
 l_The documents connected with the peace of 
 Bretigny are given very incompletely and con- 
 fusedly in the text which the translator followed. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXV 
 
 How the lord James of Bourbon and his 
 company were discomfited by the com- 
 panions, and how the pope made to be 
 cried a croisey, after these companions had 
 taken the Bridge Saint-Esprit, and of the 
 answer that they made. 
 
 The men of war thus assembled with the 
 lord of Bourbon being at Lyons under- 
 stood that the rout of the companions 
 approached fast towards them, and had 
 won the town and castle of Erignais and 
 divers other holds, and how they sore 
 wasted and exiled the country. These 
 tidings greatly displeased the lord of Bour- 
 bon, because he had the governing of the 
 earl of Forez' land and of his son's his 
 nephew's.^ Then they went into the field 
 and saw well how they were a great 
 number of men of arms, knights and 
 squires, and so they sent out their currours 
 to know what their enemies did and where 
 they were and where they should be found. 
 Now shall I shew you the great malice of 
 these companions, who were lodged on a 
 mountain, and there they had such a place 
 that they could not be descried nor 
 aviewed, and specially the chief of them, 
 who were best harnessed, for the residue, 
 who were worst harnessed, arranged along 
 on the hill-side and suffered the French 
 currours to approach near to them and to 
 return again without any damage to the 
 lord James of Bourbon, the earl d'Uzes, 
 sir Raynold of Forez and to the other 
 French company, to whom they reported 
 as they had seen and said : ' Sirs, we have 
 seen yonder company your enemies and to 
 our powers well advised them, and all 
 things seen and considered, to our estima- 
 tion they pass not a five or six thousand 
 persons and marvellously evil harnessed. ' 
 And when the lord of Bourbon heard that 
 report, he said to the archpriest : ' Sir, ye 
 have told me or this that they were to the 
 
 1 Froissart say-S, ' because he had the governance 
 of the county of Forez, his nephews' land.' 
 
BATTLE OF BRIGNAIS, 1361 
 
 141 
 
 number of sixteen thousand fighting men, 
 and now ye hear all contrary.' 'Sir,' 
 quoth he, ' I thought them never under 
 the said sum, and if they be not, God be 
 thanked ; it is the better for us. There- 
 fore now take heed what ye will do.' ' In 
 the name of God,' quoth the lord of Bour- 
 bon, ' we will go and fight with them ' : and 
 there he ordered his battles and set them 
 in good array ready to fight, for he might 
 see his enemies before him ; and there he 
 made certain new knights, first his own 
 eldest son Peter, and he raised his banner, 
 and also his nephew the young earl of 
 Forez, the lord of Tournon, the lord of 
 Montelimar and the lord Groslee of 
 Dauphine ; and there were also the lord 
 Louis [and] sir Robert of Beaujeu, sir 
 Louis of Chalon, sir Hugh of Vienne, the 
 earl d'Uzes and divers other good knights 
 and squires, all desiring to advance their 
 honours and to overthrow these com- 
 panions that thus pilled the country with- 
 out any title of reason : and there it was 
 ordained that the archpriest, sir Arnold of 
 Cervolles, should govern the first battle, for 
 he was a good and expert knight, and he 
 had in that battle sixteen hundred fighting 
 men. These routs of companions that were 
 on the mountain saw right well the order- 
 ing of the Frenchmen, but they could not 
 so well see them nor their guiding, nor 
 approach well to tliem but to their great 
 danger or damage ; for these companions 
 had in this mountain a thousand cartload 
 of great stones, which was greatly to their 
 advantage and profit. These Frenchmen 
 that so sore desired to fight with their 
 enemies, howsoever they did, they could 
 not come to them the next way ; therefore 
 they were driven of necessity to coast 
 about the mountain, where their enemies 
 were : and when they came on that side, 
 then they, who had great provision of stones, 
 began to cast so sore down the hill on them 
 that did approach, that they beat down, 
 hurt and maimed a great number, in such 
 wise that they might nor durst not pass nor 
 approach any nearer to them : and so that 
 first battle was so sore beaten and defoiled, 
 that of all day after they did but little aid. 
 Then to their succour approached the 
 other battles with sir James of Bourbon, 
 his son and his nephews, with their banners 
 and a great number of good men of war, 
 
 and all went to be lost ; the which was 
 great damage and pity, that they had not 
 wrought by better advice and counsel than 
 they did. The archpriest and divers other 
 knights that were there had said before 
 that it had been best to have suffered their 
 enemies to have dislodged out of the hold 
 that they were in, and then to have fought 
 with them at more ease ; but they could 
 not be heard. 
 
 Thus, as the lord James of Bourbon and 
 the other lords with their banners and 
 pennons before them approached and 
 coasted the said mountain, the worst 
 armed of the companions cast still con- 
 tinually stones at them in such wise that 
 the hardiest of them was driven aback ; 
 and thus, as they held them in that estate 
 a great space, the great fresh battle of 
 these companions found a way and came 
 about the mountain well ranged and had 
 cut their spears of six foot of length, and 
 so came crying with one voice and brake 
 in among the Frenchmen. So at the first 
 meeting they overthrew many to the earth : 
 there were sore strokes on both parts, and 
 these companions fought so ardently that 
 it was marvel, and caused the Frenchmen 
 to recule back : and there the archpriest 
 like a good knight fought valiantly, but he 
 was taken prisoner by force of arms and 
 sore hurt, and divers other knights and 
 squires of his company. Whereto should 
 I make longer rehearsal of this matter ? 
 In effect the Frenchmen had the worse ; 
 and the lord James of Bourbon was sore 
 hurt, and sir Peter his son, and there was 
 slain the young earl of Forez, and taken 
 sir Raynold of Forez his uncle, the earl 
 d'Uzes, sir Robert of Beaujeu, sir Louis of 
 Chalon, and more than a hundred knights, 
 and with much pain the lord of Bourbon 
 and his son Peter were borne into the city 
 of Lyons. This battle was about the year 
 of our Lord God a thousand three hundred 
 threescore and one, the Friday after Easter- 
 day. 
 
 Greatly were they of the country 
 abashed, when they heard that their 
 people were discomfited, and there was 
 none so hardy, nor so strong a castle, but 
 trembled for fear ; for the wise and dis- 
 creet men supposed and imagined that 
 great mischief should multiply thereby, 
 without God put to some remedy. And 
 
142 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 they of Lyons were greatly abashed when 
 they knew that the companions had the 
 victory ; howbeit they received sweetly all 
 them that returned and scaped from the 
 battle, and were sore displeased for the 
 hurts of the lord of Bourbon and of sir 
 Peter his son, and they of the town, ladies 
 and damosels, right goodly did visit him ; 
 but this lord James of Bourbon died a 
 three days after the field and sir Peter his 
 son lived not long after, and they were 
 sore bewailed of every creature ; and for 
 the death of this lord of Bourbon the 
 French king was right sore displeased, but 
 he could not amend it, so it behoved him 
 to pass over his sorrow as well as he might. 
 Now let us speak of these companions, 
 who persevered still in their evil deeds as 
 people rejoiced and comforted of their 
 deeds, as well for winning of that journey 
 as for the ransoming of many good 
 prisoners ; so thus these companions led 
 their time at their pleasure in that country, 
 for there were none that came against 
 them ; for incontinent after the discom- 
 fiture of Brignais they entered and spread 
 abroad in the county of Forez and pilled 
 and wasted all the country except the fort- 
 resses, and because they were so great a 
 company, almost nothing held against 
 them : and so they divided them into two 
 parts, and sir Seguin of Badefol had the 
 less part ; howbeit he had in his company 
 a three thousand fighting men, and he 
 went and lay at Anse, a mile from Lyons,' 
 and fortified the place marvellously, and 
 so his company were thereabout in the 
 marches, the which was one of the plentiful 
 countries of the world, the which they 
 overran, and ransomed the people at their 
 pleasure, that is to say, all the countries on 
 this side and beyond the river of Saone, 
 the county of iVTacon, the archbishopric of 
 Lyons and the land of the lord of Beaujeu 
 and all the country to Marcigny-les- 
 Nonnains and to the county of Nevers. 
 The other part of the same company, as 
 Naudan de Bageran, Espiote, Creswey,^ 
 Robert Briquet, Ortingo [and] Bernardet 
 de la Salle, I'Amit, the bourg Camus, the 
 bourg of Breteuil, the bourg of Lesparre, 
 and divers other of one sort and affinity, 
 
 ' ' A une lieiie de Lyon,' but the distance is really 
 about six leagues. 
 2 The Englishman John Creswey (or Creswel!). 
 
 drew them toward Avignon, and said how 
 they would see the pope and cardinals and 
 to have some of their money, or else to 
 harry and to pill the country, and so they 
 tarried here and there abiding for the 
 ransom of such prisoners as they had 
 taken, and also to see if the truce held 
 between France and England ; and as 
 they went toward Avignon, they took by 
 the way towns and fortresses, so that none 
 held against them, for all the country was 
 afraid ; and also in that country they had used 
 no M'ar, so that such as were in these small 
 holds wist not how to defend themselves 
 from such men of war. And these com- 
 panions heard how there was at the Bridge 
 Saint-Esprit,' a seven leagues from Avig- 
 non, great treasure and riches of the 
 country assembled there together on trust 
 of the strong fortress ; and so the com- 
 panions advised among them that if they 
 might win that hold, it should be greatly 
 to their advantage and profit, for then they 
 thought to be masters of Rhone and of 
 them in Avignon. And on this purpose 
 they studied, till at last they had cast their 
 advice, as I have heard reported, in this 
 manner. Guyot du Pin and the little 
 IVleschin rode with their company in one 
 night a fifteen leagues, and in the morning 
 at the breaking of the day they came to 
 the town of the Bridge Saint -Spirit and 
 suddenly took it and all that were within, 
 the which was great pity, for there they 
 slew many an honest person and defoiled 
 many a damosels and won such riches that 
 it could not be numbered and great pur- 
 veyances to live thereby a whole year : and 
 so by that means they might run at their 
 ease without danger, one season into the 
 realm of France and another time into the 
 Empire. So there assembled together all 
 the companions and every day ran to the 
 gates of Avignon, whereby the pope and 
 cardinals were in great affray and dread. 
 And so those companions made there a 
 sovereign captain among them, who was 
 ever most commonly enemy to God and to 
 the world.^ 
 
 Beside these there were in France great 
 
 1 Pont-Saint-Esprit, a town on the right bank of 
 the Rhone. 
 
 2 Froissart says, ' who caused himself to be 
 commonly called : Friend to God and enemy to all 
 the world.' 
 
THE CORIPANIES, 1361, 1362 
 
 '43 
 
 number of pillers and robbers, what of 
 Englishmen, Gascons and Almains, who 
 said they must needs Hve ; and they held 
 still certain garrisons and fortresses, for 
 all that the king of England's deputies had 
 commanded them to avoid and depart ; 
 howbeit they would not all obey, where- 
 with the French king was sore displeased, 
 and all his council. But when these com- 
 panions in divers places heard how these 
 other companions had overthrown the lord 
 of Bourbon and a two thousand knights 
 and squires, and taken many a good 
 prisoner, and also had taken in the town 
 Saint - Esprit so great riches that it was 
 a thing incomparable, and thinking how 
 they were likely to win Avignon or else 
 to put to mercy the pope and cardinals 
 and all the country of Provence, then they 
 thought all to depart and go thither for 
 covetise to win more and to do more evil 
 deeds ; so that was the cause that divers of 
 them left up their fortresses ajid went to their 
 companions, in hope to get more pillage. 
 And when that pope Innocent the sixth 
 and the college of Rome saw how they 
 were vexed by these cursed people, they 
 were greatly abashed and then ordained a 
 croisey against these evil Christian people, 
 who did their pain to destroy Christen- 
 dom, as other bands had done before,' 
 without title of any reason : for they 
 wasted all the country without any cause, 
 and robbed without sparing all that ever 
 they could get, and violated and defoiled 
 women, old and young, without pity, and 
 slew men, women and children without 
 mercy, doing to them no trespass ; ^ and 
 such as did most shamefuUest deeds were 
 reputed with them most valiant. So then 
 the pope and the cardinals preached 
 openly this croisey and assoiled a pena et 
 culpa all those that would take on them 
 this croisey and that would abandon their 
 bodies willingly to destroy these evil 
 people and their companions; and there 
 was chosen among the cardinals sir Peter of 
 Moustier, cardinal of Arras, called Ostia,' 
 to be chief captain of the croisey, and 
 incontinent he departed out of Avignon, 
 and went and tarried at Carpentras, a 
 seven mile from Avignon, and there he 
 retained all manner of soldiers, such as 
 
 1 ' Ensi comme les Wandeles fisent jadis.' 
 
 2 ' Wbp had done them no ill.' 3 ' Dit d'Ostie.' 
 
 would save their souls in attaining to these 
 said pardons, but they should have none 
 other wages ; wherefore that journey brake, 
 for every man departed, some into Lom- 
 bardy, some to their own countries, and 
 some went to the said evil company, so that 
 daily they increased. So thus they har- 
 ried the pope, the cardinals and the mer- 
 chants about Avignon and did much evil, 
 till it was far into the summer season in 
 the year of our Lord God a thousand three 
 hundred threescore and one. 
 
 Then the pope and the cardinals advised 
 them of a noble gentle knight and a good 
 warrior, the marquis of Montferrat, who 
 kept war and had done a long space 
 against the lords of Milan. The pope sent 
 for him, and so he came to Avignon and 
 was honourably received of the pope and 
 cardinals, and so a treaty was made with 
 him by reason of a sum of money that he 
 should have, to the intent that he should 
 get out of that country the said evil com- 
 panions, and to retain them with him in 
 his wars of Lombardy. So then the 
 marquis treated with the captains of the 
 companions, and by reason of threescore 
 thousand florins that they should have 
 among them and great wages that the 
 marquis should give them, they agreed to 
 depart and go with him into Lombardy, 
 so they might be assoiled a pena et czilpa. 
 All this was agreed, accomplished, and the 
 florins paid : and then they rendered up 
 the town Saint-Esprit and left the march 
 of Avignon and passed forth with the 
 marquis, whereof king John of France and 
 all the realm were right joyous, when they 
 saw how they were delivered of these evil 
 people. Howbeit there were many that 
 returned to Burgoyne, and sir Seguin of 
 Badefol departed not out of the garrison 
 of Anse, for he would not leave it for no 
 manner of entreaty nor promise ; but the 
 realm of France was in far better rest and 
 peace than it was before. So when the 
 most part of the companions were thus 
 passed forth with the marquis into the land 
 of Piedmont, there the marquis did well 
 his devoir against the lords of Milan and 
 conquered divers towns, castles, fortresses 
 and countries against them, and had divers 
 encountexings and skirmishes with them 
 to his honour and profit, so that within a 
 year by the help of these companions he 
 
144 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 had the better hand, and in part had all 
 his intent against the two lords of Milan, 
 of sir Galeas and sir Bernabo, who after 
 reigned in great prosperity. 
 
 So it fortuned that sir Seguin of Badefol, 
 who was all that season in the garrison 
 of Anse on the river of Saone, took by 
 scaling a good city in Auvergne called 
 Brioude, and therein he tarried more than 
 a year and fortified it in such wise that 
 he doubted nothing, and overran the 
 country to Clermont, to Chilhac, to Puy, 
 to Chaise-Dieu, to Montferrant, to Riom, 
 to Nonnette, to Issoire, and to Vodables 
 and the land of the count Dolphin,^ the 
 lord whereof was the same time in hostage 
 in England, and in these countries he and 
 his company did much evil ; and when he 
 had sore impoverished the country there- 
 about, then by treaty he departed and 
 took with him great pillage and treasure 
 and so went to Gascoyne, from whence 
 he came first. Of this sir Seguin I can 
 write no more, but that, as I heard re- 
 counted, he died marvellously : God for- 
 give him all his trespasses. Amen. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXVI-CCXIX 
 
 SUMMARY. — Henry duke of Lancaster 
 died, and the lord John, son of the king of 
 Etigland, became duke in right of his wife. 
 The pope Innocent VI. died and was suc- 
 ceeded by Urba7t V. The prince of Wales 
 took the government of Acquitaine. The 
 king of Cyprus iveitt through the Empire 
 and then to England to get help for a crusade 
 against the infidels. He rettcrned through 
 France and so to Acquitaine. 
 
 King John of France came to London, 
 where he fell sick and died. 
 
 The duke of Normaitdy sent the Tnarshal 
 Bouciquaut to join sir Bertrand du Guesclin 
 against the king of Navarre. They took 
 Nantes and Meulan by stratagem. The 
 captal of Buck became commander of the 
 Navarrois. 
 
 ^ The comte dauphin d'Auvergne. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXX 
 
 Here heginneth the feats of war done in the 
 time of kmg Charles the V., whereof the 
 beginning speaketh of the obsequy of king 
 John and how the young king Charles was 
 honourably crowned at Rheims, and of the 
 great expenses that was done there ; and 
 of the beginning of the battle of Cocherel. 
 
 Thus, as ye have heard before, the king of 
 Cypre returned into France and came to 
 Paris to the duke of Normandy, and there 
 was the duke's brethren, the duke of Anjou 
 and the lord Philip, who was after duke of 
 Burgoyne, and all they tarried for the body 
 of the king their father, the which was 
 coming out of England ; and the king of 
 Cypre holp them to complain the death of 
 the king and was marvellously displeased 
 therewith, because of the hindering of his 
 viage of the croisey, and so he clothed him- 
 self with the vesture of dolour. 
 
 So the day came that the body of the 
 French king approached to Paris, the which 
 body was brought thither by the earl of 
 Artois, the earl Dammartin and the great 
 prior of France. The duke of Normandy 
 and his brethren, the king of Cypre, and 
 the most part of all the clergy of Paris went 
 afoot and met with the body beyond Saint- 
 Denis in France, and there he was solemnly 
 buried and the archbishop of Sens sang the 
 mass : and after the service done and the 
 dinner, the which was right noble, the lords 
 and prelates returned to Paris and there 
 they held a parliament and general council 
 to determine how the realm should be 
 ordered, for the realm might not long be 
 without a king : and then it was counselled 
 by the advice of the prelates and nobles of 
 the realm that they should draw to the city 
 of Rheims and there to crown the duke of 
 Normandy, who as yet was called none 
 otherwise ; and he wrote to his uncle 
 Wenceslas duke of Brabant and of 'Luxem- 
 bourg and also to the earl of Flanders, 
 desiring them to be at his coronation on 
 Trinity Sunday next coming. 
 
 In the same season, while the lords made 
 their purveyance for the king's coronation, 
 the Frenchmen and Navarrois approached 
 near together in Normandy ; for into the 
 city of Evreux was come the captal of Buch, 
 
BATTLE OF COCHEREL, 1364 
 
 145 
 
 who made there his assembly of men of 
 war and of companions such as he could 
 get. Now let us speak of him and of sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin' and of a journey of 
 battle between them the Tuesday before 
 Trinity Sunday, that the duke of Normandy 
 should be crowned king, as he was in the 
 cathedral church of Rheims. When the 
 captal of Buch had made his assembly in 
 the city of Evreux of archers and brigands, 
 and left in the city a captain called sir 
 Leger d'Orgessin, and sent to Conches the 
 lord Guy of Gauville to keep frontier war,^ 
 then he departed from Evreux with all his 
 men of arms and archers ; for he heard say 
 how the Frenchmen were abroad, but he 
 wist not where they were. Then he took 
 the fields and had great desire to find them, 
 and numbered his company and found that 
 he was to the sum of seven hundred spears, 
 three hundred archers and five hundred of 
 other men of war, and with him were 
 divers good knights and squires, and 
 specially a banneret of the realm of Navarre 
 called the lord of Sault, an expert man of 
 arms ; but he that held the greatest sum of 
 men of arms and archers in all the company 
 was a knight of England called sir John 
 Jouel : there was also the lord Peter of 
 Saquainville, sir William of Gauville, the 
 lord Bertrand du Franc, the bascle of 
 Mareuil and divers other, all in will to 
 encounter sir Bertram of Guesclin and to 
 fight with him. Then they drew to Passy 
 and to the Bridge of the Arch,' for they 
 thought that the Frenchmen should pass 
 the river of Seine there, if they were not 
 passed already. 
 
 So it happened that the Friday in the 
 Whitsun week the captal and his company 
 rode out of a wood and by aventure they 
 met a herald of arms called king Faucon, 
 and the same morning he was departed from 
 the French host. As soon as the captal 
 saw him, he knew him well and made him 
 great cheer, for he was pertaining to the 
 king of England : then he demanded of 
 
 1 This name, which in the last chapter is written 
 by the translator 'Guesclyn,' appears here and 
 generally elsewhere as ' Clesquy.' The form in the 
 French text is usually Clesquin. Froissart, who 
 -eports a conversation on the form of the name, 
 probably wrote ' Claiequin.' 
 
 2 ' Pour faire frontiere sus le pays,' ' to hold the 
 :onntry against the enemy.' 
 
 3 Pont-de-rArche. 
 
 him from whence he came and if he knew 
 any tidings of the Frenchmen. ' Sir,' quoth 
 he, 'in the name of God I know well where 
 they be : I departed from them to-day : 
 they seek you as well as ye do them.' 
 'Where be they,' quoth the captal, 
 ' beyond the Bridge of the Arch or a this 
 side?' ' Sir,' quoth Faucon, 'they be passed 
 the bridge at Vernon, and, as I believe, 
 they are now about Passy.' ' What number 
 be they,' quoth the capital, ' and what 
 captains have they? I pray you shew me.' 
 ' Sir,' quoth Faucon, ' they are well a fifteen 
 hundred fighting men, and there is sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin, who hath the greatest 
 company of Bretons, also there is the earl 
 of Auxerre, the viscount of Beaumont, the 
 lord Louis of Chalon, the lord of Beaujeu, 
 the master of the cross-bows,^ the archpriest, 
 the lord Oudart of Renty ; and of Gascoyne 
 there is the company of the lord d'Albret, 
 and the lord Aymenion of Pommiers, the 
 lord soudic of Latrau.'^ And when the 
 captal heard those Gascons named, he 
 marvelled greatly and blushed for dis- 
 pleasure, and said ; ' Faucon, is this true ye 
 say, that these lords of Gascoyne are there, 
 and the lord d'Albret's company?' 'Sir,' 
 quoth the herald, ' yea, without fail.' ' And 
 where is the lord d'Albret himself?' quoth 
 the captal. 'Sir,' quoth Faucon, 'he is 
 at Paris with the regent duke of Normandy, 
 who apparelleth himself to go to Rheims, 
 for it is said that on Sunday next com- 
 ing he should be crowned king.' Then 
 the captal laid his hand on his own head 
 and said in great displeasure, ' By Saint 
 Antony's cap,^ Gascon against Gascon.' 
 'Sir,' quoth Faucon, 'hereby tarrieth for 
 me a herald of the archpriest sent to speak 
 with you from him ; and as I understand by 
 the herald, the archpriest would speak with 
 you.' Then the captal said : ' Ah, Faucon, 
 say to the French herald he need not to go 
 any farther : let him shew to the archpriest 
 that I will not speak with him.' Then sir 
 John Jouel stept forth and said : ' Sir, why 
 will ye not speak with him ? Peradventure 
 it is for our profit.' Then the captal said : 
 
 1 The master of the cross-bows was sir Baudouin 
 d'Annequin. 
 
 2 The soudic (or soudan) de Latrau was lord of 
 Prechac and of Didonne. ' Latrau' is a correction 
 of ' Lestrade.' 
 
 3 ' Par le cap saint Antoine,' ' by the head of 
 Saint Antony.' 
 
146 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 ' Nay, I warrant you it is not for our profit, 
 for the archpriest is so great a brawler that 
 if he come to us he will but jangle, and in 
 the mean time imagine our strength and 
 aview our number,' the which peradventure 
 shall turn more to our prejudice than ad- 
 vantage : therefore I have no haste to speak 
 with him.' Then Faucon the herald went 
 to the other herald, whereas he tarried under 
 a hedge, and excused the captal so wisely 
 that he was well content, and then he went 
 to the archpriest and shewed him all, as 
 Faucon had said. 
 
 Thus the Frenchmen and Navarrois had 
 knowledge each of other by the report of 
 the two heralds, and apparelled themselves 
 each to meet other. And when the captal 
 had heard by Faucon what number the 
 Frenchmen were, then incontinent he sent 
 certain messengers to the city of Evreux to 
 the captain there, desiring him to send out 
 of the city all manner of companions and 
 other that were able for the war, and that 
 they should meet with him about Cocherel, 
 for there he thought to find the Frenchmen, 
 for surely, he said, wheresoever they met 
 he would fight with them. And when 
 these tidings came to the captain of Evreux, 
 named sir Leger d'Orgessin, then he com- 
 manded every man that was able to ride a 
 horse should go out of the city and draw to 
 the captal ; and so there departed out of 
 the town more than sixscore, all young 
 men of the nation of the town. So that 
 Wednesday the captal lodged by noon on a 
 mountain and his company about him ; and 
 the Frenchmen rode forward to find them, 
 till they came to a river called in that 
 country Iton, the which ran toward Evreux, 
 and it springeth near to Conches, and there 
 they lodged that Wednesday in a fair 
 meadow along by the river -side; and so 
 the next morning both parties sent out their 
 currours to see if they could hear any tidings 
 each of other, and so each of them made 
 report that they were within two leagues 
 together. Then the Navarrois rode as 
 Faucon led them, the same way he came 
 from them, and so about noon they came 
 
 1 This is a mistranslation. The original is : 
 ' Mais I'archeprestre est si grant barateur, que s'il 
 venoit jusques a nous, [en nousl comptant jangles 
 et hordes iladviseroit,' etc., 'but the archpriest is so 
 great a deceiver, that if he came to us, while telling 
 us jests and pleasantries he would observe our 
 strength,' etc. 
 
 into the way to Cocherel, and there they 
 saw the Frenchmen before them in ordering 
 of their battles ; and there was great num- 
 ber of banners and pennons, so that they 
 seemed to be double the number that they 
 were indeed. Then the Navarrois rested 
 them without a little wood that was there : 
 then the captains drew together and ordered 
 their battles. First they made three battles 
 well and properly all afoot and sent all their 
 carriages and pages into the little wood, 
 and they set sir John Jouel in the first battle 
 with all the men of arms and archers of 
 England; the second battle led the captal of 
 Buch, and in his battle were a four hundred 
 fighting men one and other, and with him 
 was the lord of Sault of Navarre, a young 
 lusty knight, the lord William of GauviUe 
 and sir Peter of SaquainviUe ; the third 
 battle was led by three knights, that is to 
 say, the lord bascle of Mareuil, the lord 
 Bertram of [the] Franc and the lord Sanse 
 Lopins, they were a four hundred : and 
 when they had ordered their battles, then 
 they took the vantage of a little hill there 
 beside on their right hand, between them 
 and the wood, and so on the front of that 
 hill they arranged themselves before their 
 enemies ; and they set the captal's banner 
 on a bush of thorns and set a sixty men of 
 arms about it to defend it from their 
 enemies, and that they did to the intent 
 that, if they were sparkled abroad, they 
 should -draw to the standard, and so deter- 
 mined not to descend down from the moun- 
 tain for no manner of cause, but to let 
 their enemies come to them, if they would 
 fight with them. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXI 
 
 How by the policy and counsel of sir Bertram 
 of Guesclin the Navarrois descended down 
 from the mountain to fight with the French- 
 men, and how the captal was taken. 
 
 Thus, as ye have heard, the Navarrois and 
 Englishmen were arranged on the mountain 
 while the Frenchmen ordered their battles, 
 whereof they made three and a rear-guard. 
 The first had sir Bertram of Guesclin with 
 all his Bretons, and he was ordained to ren- 
 counter the captal's battle : the second had 
 the earl of Auxerre, and with him there 
 
BATTLE OF CO CHE RE I 
 
 147 
 
 was the viscount Beaumont and the lord 
 Baudwyn d'Annequin, master of the cross- 
 bows, and with them were Frenchmen, 
 Picards and Normans, as sir Oudart of 
 Renty, sir Enguerrand of Eudin, sir Louis 
 of Haveskerke and divers other good knights 
 and squires : the third battle had the arch- 
 priest and the Burgoynians, and with him 
 the lord of Chalon, the lord Beaujeu, the 
 lord John of Vienne and divers other, and 
 this battle was assigned to assemble against 
 the bascle of Mareuil and his rout : and the 
 battle which was the rear-guard were all 
 Gascons, whereof sir Aymenion of Pom- 
 miers, the lord soudic of Latrau, the lord 
 Perducas d'Albret and the lord Petiton of 
 Curton were sovereign captains. Then 
 these Gascon knights advised well the be- 
 having of the captal and how his standard 
 was set on a bush and kept with a certain 
 number : then they said that it behoved 
 them, when their battles were assembled 
 together, that they should endeavour them- 
 selves to conquer the captal's standard, 
 saying how if they might get it their enemies 
 should be soon discomfited. ' Also these 
 Gascons avised them on another ordinance, 
 the which was to them that day right pro- 
 fitable. The lords of France were a long 
 space together in council how they should 
 maintain themselves, for they saw well that 
 their enemies had a great advantage : then 
 the Gascons spake a word, the which was 
 well heard ; they said : ' Sirs, we know well 
 that the captal is as worthy a knight as can 
 be found in any land, for as long as he is 
 able to fight, he shall do us great damage. 
 Let us ordain thirty a-horseback of the best 
 men of arms that be in our company, and 
 let the thirty take heed to nothing but to 
 address themselves to the captal, while we 
 intend to conquer his standard, and by the 
 might of their horses let them break the 
 press, so that they may come to the captal, 
 and then take him and carry him out of the 
 field, for without that be done we shall 
 have no end of our battle : ^ for if he may 
 be taken by this means, the journey shall 
 be ours, his people will be so sore abashed 
 of his taking.' Then the knights of France 
 and of Bretayne accorded lightly to that 
 device, and said it was good counsel and so 
 they would do. Then among them they 
 
 1 Or rather, ' carry him out of the field and not 
 wait for the end of the battle.' 
 
 chose out thirty of the best men of arms 
 among them, and mounted on thirty of the 
 best horses in all the company, and they 
 drew them aside in the field well determined 
 of that they should do, and all the residue 
 tarried in the field afoot in good array. 
 
 When they of France had well ordered 
 their battles and that every man knew what 
 he should do, then there was a communing 
 among them what should be their cry that 
 day and to what banner they should draw 
 to ; and so they were determined to cry 
 ' Our Lady of Auxerre ! ' and to make their 
 captain that day the earl of Auxerre. But 
 the earl would in no wise agree thereto, 
 to take that charge on him, but excused 
 himself right graciously, saying, ' Lords, I 
 thank you of the honour that ye would put 
 me to, but surely as for me I will not 
 thereof, for I am over young to have 
 such a charge or honour, for this is the first 
 journey that ever I was at, therefore ye 
 shall take another. Here be many good 
 knights, as sir Bertram of Guesclin, the 
 archpriest, the master of the cross-bows, the 
 lord Louis of Chalon, the lord Aymenion of 
 Pommiers and sir Oudart of Renty ; these 
 have been in many great journeys and they 
 know how to order such a matter better 
 than I can, therefore I pray you hold me 
 excused.' Then the knights regarded each 
 other and said to him : * Ah, noble earl of 
 Auxerre, ye are the greatest among us both 
 of land and lineage, therefore of right ye 
 ought to be our head.' 'Certainly, sirs,' 
 quoth he, 'ye say as it pleaseth you, ^ but 
 this day I shall be as one of your com- 
 panions, and shall live and die and bide 
 mine aventure with you, but as for the 
 sovereignty, surely I will none thereof.' 
 Then they beheld each other and advised 
 whom they might make chief captain. Then 
 they were avised that the best knight in all 
 their company and he that had been best 
 proved was sir Bertram of Guesclin : then 
 it was ordained by tbeir common accord 
 that their cry should be that day, ' Our 
 Lady, Guesclin ! ' and that they should all 
 obey that day to sir Bertram. 
 
 All things ordained and stablished and 
 every lord and knight under his own stan- 
 dard or pennon, then they regarded their 
 enemies, who were a-high on the hill and 
 would not depart from their strength, 
 ^ 'Ye say it of your courtesy. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FR DISS ART 
 
 for they thought it not ; ' the which greatly 
 annoyed the Frenchmen, because it was 
 evil mounting of that hill and also the sun 
 was very hot : the biggest of them were 
 faint, ^ for they were fasting, and they had 
 neither wine nor victual with them that did 
 them any good, without it were certain lords 
 that had little flagons of wine, the which 
 were anon empty ; nor they made that 
 morning no provision for victual, for they 
 had thought to have fought with their 
 enemies the same morning, but they did 
 not ; but they escried as near as they might 
 the Navarrois and Englishmen,^ and so the 
 day was far gone or they could be assembled 
 together. And when the lords of France 
 saw the behaving of the Navarrois, then 
 they drew them together in manner of 
 council, to determine whether they should 
 go and fight with their enemies or not : so 
 they were of divers opinions : some would 
 go fight with them, saying it should be 
 great blame to them to do otherwise, some 
 that were sad and well avised argued to the 
 contrary and said : ' If we go and fight with 
 them whereas they be in the avantage, it shall 
 be to our great peril, for of five of us they 
 will have three.' So finally they would not 
 agree to go to them, for dangers that might 
 fall. And the Navarrois advised well their 
 manner and said among themselves ; ' Be- 
 hold yonder our enemies : they will come 
 anon to fight with us, by seeming they make 
 them ready thereto.' There were certain 
 knights and squires, Normans, prisoners 
 with the Navarrois, and they were let go on 
 their faiths, and they went privily into the 
 French host and said to the lords there : 
 ' Sirs, avise you well, for an ye let this day 
 pass without battle, your enemies will be to- 
 morrow greatly recomforted, for it is said 
 among them that the lord Louis of Navarre 
 should come to them with a four hundred 
 spears.' So thesewords inclined them greatly 
 to fight with their enemies, howsoever they 
 did ; and so made them ready to have set 
 forward : and at that point they were a 
 three or four times, but ever the wise men 
 held them back and said : ' Sirs, let us 
 abide a little space and see what they will 
 
 ^ ' For they had no design or will to do so.' 
 
 " ' Therefore the strongest of them feared it ' 
 
 (le ressongnoient). 
 2 ' For the N. and E. put it off as long as they 
 
 could.' 
 
 do, for their hearts are so great and pre- 
 sumptuous that they would as gladly fight 
 with us as we with them.' There were 
 many overcome with heat of the sun, for it 
 was then about noon and they had fasted all 
 the day and were armed and sore chafed, 
 and said among them, ' If we go up this 
 hill to fight with them, we are all likely to 
 be lost ; therefore let us draw as for this 
 day to our lodging, and to-morrow let us 
 lake other counsel.' Thus they were in 
 divers opinions. 
 
 When the lords and knights of France 
 saw the governing of the Englishmen and 
 of the Navarrois, and how that they would 
 not depart out of the hold that they were in 
 and that it ^\'as high noon of the day, 
 and also had heard the words that the 
 prisoners that came from them had said, 
 and also saw the most part of their people 
 sore travailed with the heat of the sun, the 
 which was to them right displeasant, then 
 by the advice of sir Bertram of Guesclin 
 they took other counsel : for he said : 'Sirs, 
 we see well that our enemies desireth sore 
 to fight with us ; howbeit they will not 
 descend out of their hold, without it be by 
 the means that I shall shew you. Let us 
 make semblant to withdraw back and not to 
 fight as this day, and also our people are 
 sore travailed with heat, and let us send our 
 varlets, our carriage and our spare horses 
 over the bridge and water, and let us with- 
 draw back to our lodging, and in our going 
 back let us be ready to turn again, if need 
 be, and let us see what they will do. If 
 they be willing to fight with us, they will 
 descend down the hill to chase us, and if 
 we see that they do so, then let us be ready 
 to turn again on them, and then we shall 
 deal with them the more easily. ' This coun- 
 sel was accepted of all the company : then 
 every lord drew him under his own standard, 
 and then they caused their trumpets to 
 sound the retreat and commanded all 
 knights, squires and varlets to pass the 
 bridge and to carry over all their carriages.^ 
 So thus they passed over, and some men of 
 arms passed after feintly.^ 
 
 When sir John Jouel, who was an expert 
 knight and had great desire to fight with 
 the Frenchmen, saw the manner of them, 
 how they drew back, then he said to the 
 
 ^ ' Leur harnois.' 
 2 ' Faintement,' 'by way of a feint.' 
 
BATTLE OF COCHEREL 
 
 149 
 
 caplal : ' Sir, let us go quickly after them : 
 see you not how they do fly away ? ' ' Ah,' 
 said the captal, 'trust not thereto : they do 
 it but for an evil intent and to beguile us.' 
 Then sir John Jouel avanced himself, for 
 he had great desire to fight with his enemies, 
 saying to his company, ' Saint George ! 
 whosoever loveth me let them follow, for I 
 will go and fight with our enemies ' : and 
 so took his spear in his hand and went 
 forth before all the battles and descended 
 down the hill, and some of his company, or 
 the captal knew thereof. But when he saw 
 that sir John Jouel was gone to fight without 
 him, he took it of great presumption and 
 said to them about him : ' Sirs, let us go 
 down the hill quickly, for sir John Jouel shall 
 not fight without me.' Then the captal 
 and his company advanced them down the 
 hill, and when the Frenchmen saw them 
 descend from the hill and come into the 
 plain fields, they were right joyous, and 
 said, * Lo, now we may see that we have 
 desired all this day ' ; and so suddenly 
 turned and cried ' Our Lady, Guesclin ! ' and 
 dressed their banners against the Navarrois, 
 and so assembled together all afoot ; and 
 sir John Jouel, who courageously assembled 
 his banners against the battle of the Bretons, 
 of whom sir Bertram was chief captain, did 
 many a feat of arms, for he was a hardy 
 knight. Thus the knights and squires 
 sparkled abroad in the plain and fought 
 together with such weapons as they had, 
 and each of them entered into other's battle 
 and so fought with great courage and will ; 
 the Englishmen and Navarrois cried ' Saint 
 George ! ' and the Frenchmen ' Our Lady, 
 Guesclin ! ' There were many good knights 
 on the French part, as sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin, the young earl of Auxerre, the vis- 
 count Beaumont, sir Baudwyn d'Annequiri, 
 sir Louis of Chalon, the young lord of 
 Beaujeu, sir Antony, who that day reared 
 his banner, sir Louis of Haveskerke, sir 
 Oudart of Renty, sir Enguerrand of Eudin ; 
 and also of Gascons, first sir Aymenion of 
 Pommiers, sir Perducas d'Albret, sir soudic 
 de Latrau, sir Petiton of Curton, and diver? 
 other of that sort : and the Gascons dressed 
 them against the captal and his company, 
 and they against them ; they had great 
 desire to meet each other : there was a sore 
 battle and many a noble feat of arms done 
 and achieved. A man ought not to lie 
 
 willingly : ' it might be demanded where 
 was the archpriest all this season, who was 
 a great captain and had a great company 
 under his rule, because I make no mention 
 of him. I shall shew you the truth. As 
 soon as the archpriest saw the battle begin, 
 he gat himself out of the press, but he said 
 to his company and to him that bare his 
 standard : ' I charge you all, as ye love me 
 or fear my displeasure, that ye abide the 
 end of the battle and do your devoirs as 
 well as ye can ; but as for me, I will depart 
 and not return again, for I may not as this 
 day fight nor be armed against some knight 
 that is in the field against us. And if any 
 demand for me, answer them as I have 
 shewed you before.' So thus he departed, 
 and but one squire all only with him, and 
 so he repassed the river and let the remnant 
 deal ; and so the residue of the field missed 
 him not, for they saw his banner and com- 
 pany to the end of the battle, wherefore 
 they believed surely that he had been there 
 personally. Now shall I shew you of the 
 battle and how it was ended. 
 
 At the beginning of the battle, when sir 
 John Jouel was come down the hill and his 
 company with him, and the captal also and 
 his company, trusting to have had the 
 victory (howbeit the case turned other- 
 wise), and saw that the Frenchmen turned 
 them in good array and order, then they 
 perceived well how they had been too 
 hasty to come from their advantage. How- 
 beit, like valiant knights, they bashed 
 nothing, but thought to win the victory 
 with their hands in plain field. And so a 
 little they reculed back and assembled 
 together all their people, and then they 
 made way for their archers to come 
 forth on before, who as then were behind 
 them. And when the archers were forward, 
 then they shot fiercely together, but the 
 Frenchmen were so well armed and so 
 strongly pavised that they took but little 
 hurt, nor letted not for all that to fight, 
 and so entered in among the Englishmen 
 and Navarrois, and they in like wise among 
 them, so that there was between them a 
 cruel battle : they took by strength of 
 arms and wrestling spears, axes and other 
 
 1 'On ne doit point mentir a son pouvoir.' This 
 refers to what follows, as is clear in the fuller text : 
 ' In matters of arms the truth should be spoken, 
 therefore it must be confessed that,' etc. 
 
150 
 
 l^HE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 weapons, each from other, and took 
 prisoners on both parts. Thus they fought 
 hand to hand so valiantly that it was marvel 
 to behold ; so ye may well believe that in 
 this great press and peril there were many 
 overthrown and slain, for there were none 
 that spared other. I say to you plainly, 
 the Frenchmen had no need as then to 
 sleep, for they had in hand people hardy 
 ■ and full of courage, wherefore it behoved 
 every man to acquit themselves valiantly 
 and to defend their bodies and keep their 
 country and to take their advantage when 
 it came at the point, or else they had been 
 all discomfited : surely the Bretons and 
 Gascons did acquit themselves right well 
 that day and did many a noble feat of arms. 
 Now shall I shew you of the thirty that 
 were appointed to set on the captal, who 
 were right well horsed. They took heed 
 to nothing else but to the executing of their 
 enterprise that they had in charge, so all 
 together came on the captal, whereas he 
 was fighting with a great axe in his hand 
 and gave therewith so great strokes that 
 none durst approach near him, but these 
 thirty by force of their horses brake the 
 press and came on the captal and by clean 
 force they took him. Then began the 
 battles sore in every place, for the captal's 
 men cried to the rescue ; howbeit all their 
 pain availed them nothing, for the captal 
 was carried out of the field ; at which time 
 it was hard to tell who had the better. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXII 
 
 How the Englishmen and Navarrois were 
 discomfited at the battle of Cocherel, and 
 how the young king of France made his 
 brother duke of Burgoyne, and of the castles 
 and fortresses that were after won. 
 
 In this great battle, where that the English- 
 men and Navarrois intended to follow to 
 rescue the captal, whom they saw carried 
 away before them, and of the French part 
 sir Aymenion of Pommiers, sir Petiton of 
 Curton, sir soudic de Latrau and the lord 
 d'Albret's company, they intended with a 
 courageous will to dress them toward the 
 captal's standard that stood on a bush, 
 there was then a sore battle ; for the 
 standard was well defended with good men 
 
 of war, and specially with sir bascle of 
 Mareuil and sir Geoffrey of Roussillon : 
 there was many rescues, and many one 
 hurt and cast to the earth : howbeit the 
 Navarrois that were about the standard 
 were overthrown, and the bascle of Mareuil 
 slain, and sir Geoffrey of Roussillon taken 
 prisoner, and sir Aymenion of Pommiers 
 no man could tell what became of him, 
 whether he were slain or taken. ^ And 
 when the captal's standard was taken and 
 torn all to pieces, in the mean season the 
 Bretons, Frenchmen, Picards, Normans 
 and the Burgoynians fought valiantly, the 
 which stood them well in hand to do, for 
 the Navarrois had caused them somewhat to 
 recule, and there was dead of the French 
 party the viscount Beaumont, the which was 
 great damage, for he was a lusty young 
 knight and was likely to have proved a 
 noble man ; and his company with great 
 pain carried him out of the field, as I heard 
 recounted of them of both parties. It had 
 not been seen afore in such a battle with such 
 a number to be so well fought as this battle 
 was, for they were all afoot hand to hand 
 and were meddled together each party with 
 other and fought with such weapons as they 
 had, and there was many a great stroke 
 given with axes of steel, and there was sore 
 hurt sir Petiton of Curton and sir soudic de 
 Latrau in such wise that they could do no 
 more good that day. Sir John Jouel, by 
 whom the battle began, did that day many 
 a feat of arms and was hurt in divers places 
 of his body, and finally he was taken 
 prisoner by a squire of Bretayne of the 
 company of sir Bertram of Guesclin, and 
 was carried out of the press. But there 
 was slain of the French party the master of 
 the cross-bows, and sir Louis of Haveskerke 
 and divers other, and of the Navarrois the 
 lord of Sault and many of his men, and the 
 same day died prisoner sir John Jouel ; and 
 there was taken sir William of Gauville, 
 sir Peter of Saquainville, sir Geoffrey of 
 Roussillon, sir ISertram of [the] Franc 
 and divers other ; but a few of the Navarrois 
 saved, they were near all taken or slain in 
 
 1 This sKould be ; ' Sir Geoffrey of Roussillon was 
 taken prisoner by sir Aymenion of Pommiers, and 
 all the others who were there either slain or driven 
 on so far that none could tell what became of them.' 
 However, the French text which the translator had 
 before him is made unintelligible by the omission of 
 the words ' et tout li aultre.' 
 
CORONATION OF CHARLES V., 1364 
 
 •51 
 
 the place. This battle was in Normandy 
 near to Cocherel on a Tuesday^ the twenty- 
 fourth day of May- the year of our Lord 
 MCCCLXIV. 
 
 After this discomfiture and that all the 
 dead were despoiled, and every man taking 
 heed to his prisoners and dressing of them 
 that were hurt, and that the most part of 
 the Frenchmen were repassed the bridge 
 and drawing to their lodging right sore 
 travailed and weary, the same season sir 
 Guy of Gauville, son to sir William of 
 Gauville, was departed the same morning 
 from the garrison of Conches with a fifty 
 spears, to the intent to have come to the 
 captal or the battle began, wherefore they 
 made great haste and came to the place 
 whereas the battle had been. Then the 
 Frenchmen that were behind cried to their 
 company saying, ' Turn again, sirs, behold 
 here cometh more of our enemies ' : and sir 
 Aymenion and his company were there 
 ready, and when he saw the Navarrois, he 
 set his standard a-high on a bush to cause 
 the Frenchmen to draw thither. And when 
 sir Guy heard them cry, ' Our Lady, 
 Guesclin ! ' and saw not the captal nor 
 none of his company, but saw much people 
 lie dead on the ground, then he perceived 
 well that the Navarrois had been dis- 
 comfited, and then he returned the same 
 way he came. And that evening the 
 Frenchmen took heed to their prisoners. 
 Then there was much speaking and en- 
 quiring for the archpriest, when it was 
 known that he was not at the battle, and 
 his men excused him as well as they could. 
 And the thirty that took the captal never 
 ceased till they had brought him to the 
 castle of Vernon. And the next day the 
 Frenchmen dislodged and went to Rouen 
 and there left part of their prisoners. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXIII 
 
 Of the coronation of king Charles the fifth. 
 
 On Trinity Sunday the year of our Lord a 
 MCCCLXIV. king Charles, son and heir to 
 king John, was crowned and sacred king 
 
 ^ The ori|:Inal has 'jeudy.' The translator more 
 than once gives us ' Tuesday ' for ' jeudi ' and ' Wed- 
 nesday' for 'mardi,' as in i. 189. 
 
 2 A better text gives xvi. here for xxiiii. 
 
 in the great church of our Lady in Rheims, 
 and also the queen his wife, daughter to 
 duke Peter of Bourbon, by the archbishop 
 of the same place. And there was present 
 king Peter of Cypre, the duke of Anjou, 
 the duke of Burgoyne, sir Wenceslas of 
 Bohemia, duke of Luxembourg and of 
 Brabant, the earls of Eu and of Dammartin, 
 of Tancarville and of Vaudemont, with 
 many prelates and other lords, and in the 
 city was great feasts and solemnities five 
 days : then the king departed and went to 
 Paris. It cannot be recounted in a whole 
 day the solemnities and great feasts that 
 they of Paris made them. The lords re- 
 turned into their own countries, such as 
 had been there at the king's coronation. 
 
 At the king's coming to Paris his youngest 
 brother was put in possession of the duchy 
 of Burgoyne, and so departed from Paris 
 with a great number of men and went and 
 took livery, seisin and homage of the 
 barons, knights, cities, castles and good 
 towns of the duchy of Burgoyne : and 
 when he had visited his country, he re- 
 turned to Paris. And the same season the 
 archpriest appeased the king's displeasure 
 by such excusations as he laid for himself, 
 in that he was not at the journey of 
 Cocherel, shewing how he might not be 
 armed against the captal ; the which 
 captal at the request of the lord d'Albret 
 was let out of prison on his faith and troth, 
 the which captal aided greatly to excuse 
 the archpriest to the king and to other 
 knights of France, such as spake evil of 
 him : also he had as then newly overthrown 
 in Burgoyne beside Dijon a four hundred 
 companions - and pillers of the country, 
 whereof Guyot du Pin, Tallebart, Talle- 
 bardon and John of Chauffour were captains. 
 The same season the king caused to be 
 beheaded sir Peter Saquainville in the city 
 of Rouen, because he was become Navarrois, 
 and sir Gauville had been in the same case, 
 an sir Guy his son had not been, who sent 
 word to the king, that if he put to death 
 his father, he would in like wise serve sir 
 Braimon de Laval, a great lord of Bretayne, 
 whom he had as prisoner ; wherefore his 
 lineage and kindred did so much by their 
 suit to the king, that there was an exchange 
 made between sir Braimon and sir Gauville, 
 and each delivered for other. In this' 
 season sir Bertram of Guesclin gat again' 
 
15^ 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the castle of Rolleboise for six thousand 
 flanks that he paid to the captain thereof, 
 named Wauter, who returned again to 
 Brabant from whence he came. Yet there 
 were divers companions that held still 
 sundry fortresses in Caux, Normandy, 
 Perche, Beauce and in other places, the 
 which did much hurt and trouble in the 
 realm of France, some in the title of the 
 king of Navarre and some in their own 
 quarrel, to rob the country without reason 
 or true title. The French king sent his 
 brother the duke of Burgundy against these 
 pillers, and so the duke made his summons 
 in the city of Chartres. Then he drew 
 into the field, and with him sir Bertram 
 of Guesclin, sir Bouciquaut, the earl of 
 Auxerre, sir Louis of Chalon, the lord of 
 Beaujeu, sir Aymenion of Pommiers, sir 
 Rayneval, the Begue of Villaines, sir 
 Nicholas of Ligne, master of the cross-bows, 
 sir Oudart of Renty, sir Enguerrand of 
 Eudin, and to the number of five thousand 
 fighting men. And when they saw they 
 were so great a number, tbey divided in 
 three parts, whereof sir Bertram of Guesclin 
 with a thousand went toward Cotentin 
 through the marches of Cherbourg to keep 
 the frontiers there, that the Navarrois 
 should do no hurt nor damage to the 
 country of Normandy ; and with him was 
 the lord of Auxerre, the earl of Joigny, sir 
 Arnold d'Audrehem, and many knights 
 and squires of Bretayne and of Normandy. 
 The second battle had the lord de la Riviere, 
 and in his company divers knights and 
 squires of France and of Picardy, and they 
 were sent into the earldom of Evreux ; and 
 the duke himself with the greatest company 
 went and laid siege to Marchelainville, a 
 strong castle Navarrois, and brought thither 
 many engines from the city of Chartres, 
 the which did cast day and night and did 
 them within much trouble. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXIV 
 
 Of the journey that the duke of Burgoyne 
 made against the garrisons Navarrois, 
 and of the succour that the French king 
 sent to sir Charles of Blois. 
 
 ^^ UMMA RY. — The lord Louis of Navarre 
 had overrun the Boiirbonnais and Auvergne 
 
 and take}! La Charite on the Loire. Ths 
 duke of B2irg2indy and those with hivi took 
 ifiany towns and castles in Normandy ^ and 
 at length besieged and took La Charite. 
 
 In the mean time the earl of Montfort lay 
 at siege before Attray in Brittany^ and the 
 king of France sent Bertrand dii Guesclin 
 and others to aid sir Charles of Blois 
 against him. Also to the earl of Montfort 
 came sir John Chandos and other knights 
 and squires of England. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXV 
 
 How sir Charles of Blois came against the 
 earl Montfort in ordinance of battle, and 
 how sir John Chandos came against him, 
 and how many were in each battle. 
 
 SUMMAR Y. —Sir Charles of Blois came 
 to .4urav with sir Bertrand dii Guescli7i 
 ajtd jnany others. Sir John Chandos was 
 commander of the earl of Montfort'' s army., 
 and by his vieans all attempts to make peace 
 were frustrated. The battle was fought in 
 a plain near to Aitray on a Sunday morn- 
 ing (2gth September 1364). 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXVI 
 
 How sir John Chandos discomfited the battle 
 of the earl of Auxerre, and how sir Bertram 
 of Guesclin was discomfited and taken , and 
 the lord Charles of Blois slain in the battle, 
 and of the pitiful complaint that the earl 
 Montfort made for his death. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The battle of Auray was 
 ivon by the party of the earl of Alojitfort 
 iLuder sir John Chandos, and sir Charles 
 of Blois was slain. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXVII 
 
 Of the truce that was given to bury the dead 
 after the battle of Auray, and how divers 
 castles yielded up to the earl Montfort, and 
 how he besieged Quimper-Corentin. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The French party were 
 greatly discouraged by this defeat, and the 
 king of England was rejoiced, and so like- 
 
END OF THE WARS IN BRITTANY, 1364 
 
 153 
 
 wise was the Lml of FlandcrSy who was at 
 that time with him at Dover. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXVIII 
 
 Now let us speak of the carl Montfort, how 
 he did in Bretayne. 
 
 SUMMARY.— The earl of Montfort took 
 A7iray, Jugon and Dijiajit, and laid siege 
 to Qiiivt-per- Corentin. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXIX 
 
 How the peace was made that the earl of 
 Montfort should abide duke of Bretayne, 
 and how the French king rendered to 
 Clisson his land, and of the marriage of 
 the duke of Normandy, and how the 
 captal of Buch became liege man to the 
 French king and afterward renounced 
 him again. 
 
 SUMMARY. — A treaty was made by which 
 the earl of Montfort should re?nain dttke of 
 Brittany, doing hornage for the duchy to the 
 ki7tg of Fj-ance. Also peace was made between 
 the king of France and the king of Navarre, 
 chiefly by the ineans of the captal de Bitch. 
 
 The chapter then continues thus : — 
 
 In this season yet was there still in 
 France great number of the companions, 
 the which as then wist not what to do, 
 seeing the wars of Bretayne were ended. 
 These companions pursued ever after deeds 
 of arms and taking of pillages at their 
 advantages, from the which they could not 
 nor would abstain, and all their chief re- 
 course was in France, for they called the 
 realm of France their chamber. They 
 durst do no hurt in Acquitaine, for the 
 land would not suffer them, and also, to 
 say truth, most part of the captains were 
 Gascons and Englishmen under the obei- 
 sance of the king of England and of the 
 prince ; some there were of Bretayne, but 
 not many : wherefore divers of the realm 
 of France murmured against the king of 
 England and the prince, and said covertly 
 how that they acquitted not themselves 
 well against the French king, seeing they 
 do not their good wills to put out of the 
 
 realm those evil-disposed people. ,So the 
 wise and sage men of France considered 
 that, without they did put some remedy to 
 drive them out of the realm either by battle 
 or by means of some money, else at length 
 they were likely to destroy the noble realm 
 of France and holy Christendom. 
 
 The same season there was in Hungary 
 a king that would gladly have had them 
 with him ; for he had great war against 
 the Turk, who did him great damage. 
 Then he wrote to pope Urban the fifth, 
 who was as then at Avignon, certifying 
 him how he would gladly that the realm of 
 France were delivered of the number of 
 companions and that they were all with 
 him in his wars against the Turk : and in 
 like wise he wrote letters to the French 
 king and to the prince of Wales. And so 
 they entreated the said companions and 
 offered them gold and silver and passage ; 
 but they answered that they would not that 
 way, saying they would not go so far to 
 make war ; for it was shewed among them- 
 selves by some of their own company that 
 had been before in Hungary, how that 
 there were such straits, that if they were 
 fought with there, they could never escape, 
 but to die shamefully ; the which so affrayed 
 them that they had no lust to go thither. 
 And when the pope and the French king 
 saw that they would not agree according 
 to their desires, and also that they would 
 not avoid out of the realm of France, but 
 daily multiplied, then they bethought them 
 of another way and means to cause them 
 to avoid. 
 
 The same season there was a king in 
 Castile called don Peter, ^ who was full of 
 marvellous opinions, and he was rude and 
 rebel against the commandments of holy 
 Church, and in mind to subdue all his 
 Christian neighbours, kings and princes, 
 and specially the king of Aragon called 
 Peter, who was a good true Christian 
 prince, and had as then taken from him 
 part of his realm, thinking to have all the 
 remnant. Also this king don Peter of 
 Castile had three bastard brethren, the 
 which king Alphonso his father had by 
 a lady called the Riche Done : ' the eldest 
 was called Henry, the second don Tello, 
 
 1 ' Dame Pietre,' which is written by the trans- 
 lator either ' Dame Peter' or ' Dampeter.' 
 
 '^ Eleanor de Guzman, called ' la Richa Dona.' 
 
■54 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FKOISSART 
 
 and the third Sancho. This king don 
 Peter hated them so, that he would not 
 sufifer them to come in his sight, and 
 oftentimes, if he might have gotten them, 
 he would have stricken off their heads : 
 howbeit they were well beloved with the 
 king their father, and in his life he gave to 
 Henry the eldest the county of Asturge, 
 but this king don Peter his brother had 
 taken it from him, and therefore they kept 
 daily vvar together. This bastard Henry 
 was a right hardy and a valiant knight, 
 and had been long in France and pursued 
 the war there and served the French king, 
 who loved him right entirely. King don 
 Peter, as the commoti bruit ran, had put 
 to death the mother of the children, where- 
 with they were right sore displeased, and 
 good cause why. Also beside that, he 
 had put to death and e.Kiled divers great 
 lords of the realm of Castile : he was so 
 cruel and so without shame that all his 
 men feared, doubted and hated him as far 
 as tliey durst. Also he caused to die a 
 right good and holy lady, the which he had 
 to wife, called the lady Blanche, daughter 
 to duke Peter of Bourbon, sister-german to 
 the French queen and to the countess of 
 Savoy, whose death was right displeasant 
 to all her lineage, the which was one of the 
 noblest lineages of the world. And beside 
 all this there ran a bruit of him among his 
 own men how that he was amiably allied 
 with the king of Granade and with the king 
 of Bellemarine and the king of Tremesen,^ 
 who were all God's enemies and infidels : 
 wherefore some of his own men feared that 
 he would do some hurt to his own country, 
 as in violating of God's churches, for he 
 began already to take from them their 
 rents and revenues and held some of the 
 prelates in prison and constrained them by 
 tyranny, whereof great complaints came 
 daily to our holy father the pope, requiring 
 him to find some remedy : to whose com- 
 plaints the pope condescended, and sent 
 incontinent messengers into Castile to the 
 king don Peter, commanding him that 
 incontinent without any delay personally 
 to come to the court of Rome, to wash, 
 cleanse and purge him of such villain deeds 
 as he was guilty in. Howbeit this king 
 don Peter, full of pride and presumptuous- 
 ness, would not obey nor come there, but 
 i Tlemcen. 
 
 dealt shamefully with the pope's messengers, 
 whereby he ran greatly in the indignation 
 of the Church and specially of the head of 
 the Church, as of our holy father the pope. 
 Thus this evil king don Peter persevered 
 still in his obstinate sin. 
 
 Then advice and counsel was taken by 
 the pope and by the college, what way they 
 might correct him, and there it was deter- 
 mined that he was not worthy to bear the 
 name of a king, nor to hold any realm, and 
 there in plain consistory in Avignon, in the 
 chamber of excommunication, he was openly 
 declared to be reputed as an infidel. Then 
 it was thought that he should be constrained 
 and corrected by help of the companions 
 that were as then in the realm of France. 
 Then the king of Aragon, who hated the 
 king of Castile, was sent for, and also 
 Henry the bastard of Spain, to come to 
 Avignon to the pope ; and when they were 
 come, the pope made Henry the bastard 
 legitive and lawful to obtain the realm of 
 Castile, and don Peter cursed and con- 
 demned by sentence of the pope, and there 
 the king of Aragon said how he would open 
 the passage through his country and pro- 
 vide victuals and purveyances for all 
 manner of people and men of war that 
 would pursue to go into Castile to confound 
 king don Peter and to put him out of his 
 realm. Of this ordinance was the French 
 king right joyous, and did his pain to help 
 to get out of prison sir Bertram of Guesclin, 
 who was prisoner with sir John Chandos, 
 and paid for his ransom a hundred thousand 
 franks, part thereof paid the French king 
 and the pope, and Henry the bastard paid 
 the residue ; and after his deliverance they 
 fell in treaty with the companions and 
 promised them great profit, if they would 
 go into the realm of Castile ; whereto they 
 lightly agreed for u certain sum of money 
 that they had to depart among them : and 
 so this journey was shewed to the prince of 
 Wales and to the knights and squires about 
 him, and specially to sir John Chandos, 
 who was desired to be one of the chief 
 captains vrith sir Bertram of Guesclin ; 
 howbeit he excused him and said he might 
 not go thither. Yet the journey was not 
 let for all that, and divers knights of 
 the prince's went thither, as sir Eustace 
 d'Aubrecicourt, sir Hugh Calverley, sir 
 Gaultier Hewet, sir IMatthew Gournay, sir 
 
DON PETER OF CASTILE 
 
 155 
 
 Perducas d'Albvet and divers other ; and 
 the chief captain of this enterprise was 
 made the lord John of Bourbon earl of 
 Marche, to countervenge ' the death of his 
 cousin the queen of Spain, and was in all 
 things ruled and counselled by the advice 
 of sir Bertram of Guesclin, for the earl of 
 Marche was as then a jolly young lusty 
 knight ; and also the lord Antony of Beaujeu 
 went forth in that viage, and divers other 
 good knights, as sir Arnold d'Audrehem, 
 marshal of France, the Begue of Villaines, 
 the lord d'Antoing in Hainaiilt, the lord of 
 Briffeuil, sir John Neuville, sir Gauvain of 
 Bailleul, sir John of Berguettes, the AUemant 
 of Saint-Venant and divers other, the which 
 I cannot name. And so all these lords and 
 other advanced forth in the viage and made 
 their assembly in Languedoc and at Mont- 
 pellier and thereabout, and so passed all to 
 Narbonne, to go toward Perpignan and so 
 to enter on that side into the realm of 
 Aragon. These men of war were to the 
 number of thirty thousand, and there were 
 the chief captains of the companions, as sir 
 Robert Briquet, sir John Creswey, Naudan 
 of Bageran, I'Amit, the little Meschin, the 
 bourg Camus, the bourg de Lesparre, 
 Batillier, Espiote, Aymenion d'Artigue, 
 Perrot of Savoy and divers other, all of 
 accord and of one alliance, having great 
 desire to put king don Peter out of the 
 realm of Castile and to make king the earl 
 of Asturge, his brother Henry the bastard. 
 And when these men of arms should 
 enter into the realm of Aragon, to do their 
 enterprise the more privily they sent to 
 king don Peter to blind him by their 
 message ; but he was already w^ell informed 
 of their intents and how they were coming 
 on him into the realm of Castile ; but he 
 set nothing thereby, but assembled his 
 people to resist against them and to fight 
 with them at the entry of his realm. Their 
 message was desiring him to open the straits 
 of his country and to give free passage to 
 the pilgrims of God, who had enterprised 
 by great devotion to go into the realm of 
 Granade, to revenge the death and passion 
 of our Lord Jesu Christ and to destroy the 
 infidels and to exalt the Christian faith. 
 The king don Peter at these tidings did 
 nothing but laugh, and said he would do 
 nothing at their desire, nor obey in any 
 ^ A correction of * counterwyne.' 
 
 point to such a rascal company. And 
 when these knights and other men of arms 
 knew the will and answer of king don Peter, 
 whereby they reputed him right orgulous 
 and presumptuous, and made all the haste 
 they might to advance, to do him all the 
 hurt they could. So they all passed through 
 the realm of Aragon, where they found the 
 passages ready open for them, and victual 
 and everything ready apparelled and at a 
 meetly price ; for the king of Aragon had 
 great joy of their coming, trusting then by 
 their means to conquer again from the king 
 of Castile all his lands, that king don Peter 
 had before taken from him by force ; and 
 then these men of war passed the great 
 river that departeth Castile and Aragon, 
 and so they entered into the realm of 
 Spain : and when they had conquered 
 towns, cities and castles, straits, ports and 
 passages, the which the king don Peter had 
 taken from the king of Aragon, then sir 
 Bertram and his company delivered them to 
 the king of Aragon on the condition that 
 always from thenceforth he should aid and 
 comfort Henry the bastard against don 
 Peter. 
 
 Tidings came to the king of Castile how 
 that the Frenchmen, Bretons, Englishmen, 
 Normans, Picards and Burgoynians were 
 entered into his realm and were as then 
 passed the great river departing Castile and 
 Aragon, and how they had won again all 
 on that side the river, the which cost him 
 much pain and trouble or he won it first. 
 Then he was right sore displeased and 
 said : ' Well, all shall not go so as they 
 ween it shall.' Then he made a special 
 commandment throughout all his realm, in 
 giving knowledge to them that his letters 
 and messengers were sent unto, that they 
 should without delay come to him, to the 
 intent to fight with the men of war that 
 were entered into his realm of Castile. 
 There were but a few that obeyed his 
 commandment, and when he had thought 
 to have had a great assembly of men of 
 war, he was deceived, for few or none came 
 to him ; for his lords and knights of Spain 
 forsook and refused him and turned to his 
 brother the bastard : wherefore he was fain 
 to fly, or else he had been taken, he was so 
 sore behated with his enemies and also with 
 his own men, so that none abode about 
 him except one true knight called Ferrant 
 
156 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 of Castro ; ' he would never forsake him 
 for none adventure. And so then don 
 Peter went to Seville, the best city of 
 Spain, and when he was come thither, he 
 was in no great surety ; wherefore he 
 trussed and put into coffers his treasure, and 
 took a ship with his wife and children, and 
 so departed from Seville, and Ferrant of 
 Castro his knight with him, and he arrived 
 like a knight discomfited in Galice [at a 
 port] called the Corogne,^ where there was 
 a strong castle, and therein he, his wife 
 and children entered, that is to say, two 
 young daughters, Constance and Isabel, 
 and of all his men and council he had none 
 but Ferrant of Castro. 
 
 CHAPTER CCKXX. 
 
 Now let us shew of Henry the bastard, how 
 he persevered in his enterprise. 
 
 Thus, as I have shewed before, this king 
 don Peter was sore behated with his own 
 men throughout all the realm of Castile 
 because of tlie marvellous cruel justice that 
 he had done and by the occasion of the 
 destruction of the noblemen of his realm, 
 the which he had put to death and slain 
 with his hands. Wherefore as soon as they 
 saw his bastard brother enter into the realm 
 with so great puissance, then they drew all 
 to him and received him to their lord, and 
 so rode forth with him ; and they caused 
 cities, towns, boroughs and castles to be 
 opened to him and every man to do him 
 homage : and so the Spaniards all with one 
 voice cried, ' Live Henry, and die don 
 Peter, who hath been to us so cruel and so 
 evil.' Thus the lords led forth Henry 
 throughout all the realm of Castile, as the 
 lord Gomez Carillo, the great master of 
 Calatrava,^ and the master of Saint James. 
 So thus all manner of people obeyed to him 
 and crowned him king in the city of 
 Asturge ; and all prelates, earls, barons and 
 knights made him reverence as to their 
 king, and sware always to maintain him as 
 their king, or else, if need required, to die 
 in the quarrel. So thus this king rode 
 from city to city and iirom town to town, 
 
 J Fernando Perez de Castro. 2 Coninna. 
 
 3 ' The grand master of the order of Calatrava.' 
 
 and .always and in every place he had 
 reverence done to him like a king : and 
 then he gave to the knights strangers, such 
 as came with him into the realm of Castile, 
 great gifts and rich jewels so largely, that 
 every man reputed him for a liberal and 
 an honourable lord. And commonly the 
 Normans, Frenchmen and Bretons said that 
 in him was all liberality, and how he was 
 well worthy to live and to reign over a 
 great realm ; and so he did a season right 
 puissantly and in great prosperity. Thus 
 the bastard of Spain came to the seignory of 
 the realm of Castile, and he made his two 
 brethren, don Tello and Sancho, each of 
 them an earl with great revenues and profit. 
 Thus this Henry was king of Castile, of 
 Galice, of Seville, of Toledo and of Lisbon, 
 unto such season as the puissance of Wales 
 and Acquitaine put him out thereof and set 
 again king don Peter into the possession 
 and seignory of the foresaid realms, as ye 
 shall hear after in this history. 
 
 When that this king Henry saw himself 
 in this estate and that every man obeyed 
 him and reputed him for their king and 
 lord, and saw nothing likely to the contrary 
 of his desire, then he imagined and cast his 
 advice to exalt his name and to employ the 
 number of such companions as were come 
 to serve him out of the realm of France, to 
 make a voyage on the king of Granade ; 
 whereof he spake to divers knights, who 
 were well agreed thereto. And always this 
 king Henry held still about him the prince's 
 knights, as sir Eustace d'Aubrecicourt, sir 
 Hugh Calverley and other, and shewed 
 them great token and sign of love in trust 
 that they should aid and serve him in his 
 voyage to Granade, whither he hoped to go. 
 And anon after his coronation there de- 
 parted from him the most part of the 
 knights of France, and he gave them great 
 gifts at their departing ; and so then re- 
 turned the earl of Marche, sir Arnold 
 d'Audrehem, the lord Beaujeu and divers 
 other, but sir Bertram of Guesclin tarried 
 still in Castile with the king, and sir Oliver 
 of JManny and the Bretons with certain 
 number of the companions : and so then 
 sir Bertram of Guesclin was made constable 
 of all the realm of Castile by the accord of 
 king Henry and all the lords of the country. 
 Now let us speak of king don Peter, how 
 he maintained himself. 
 
FLIGHT OF DON PETER, i -,65 
 
 157 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXI 
 
 How king don Peter required the prince of 
 Wales to aid him against his brother. 
 
 Ye have well heard how king don Peter 
 was driven into the castle of Corogne on 
 the sea, and with him his wife, his two 
 daughters, and don Ferrant of Castro with 
 him all only, so that in the mean season 
 that his brother the bastard, by puissance 
 of the men of war that he had got out of 
 France, conquered Castile, and that all the 
 country yielded them to him, as ye have 
 heard before. He was right sore afraid, 
 and not well assured in the castle of Corogne, 
 for he doubted greatly his brother the 
 bastard, for he knew well that if he had 
 knowledge of his being there, he would 
 come with puissance and besiege him. 
 Wherefore he thought he would not abide 
 that peril ; therefore he departed in a night 
 and took a ship, and his wife, his two 
 daughters and don Ferrant of Castro, and 
 all the gold, silver, and jewels that they 
 had : but the wind was to him so contrary 
 that he could not draw from the coast, and 
 so was fain again to enter into the fortress 
 of Corogne. Then the king don Peter de- 
 manded of don Ferrant his knight how he 
 should maintain himself, complaining of 
 fortune, that was to him so contrary. ' Sir,' 
 quoth the knight, ' or ye depart from hence, 
 it were good that ye did send to your cousin 
 the prince of Wales, to know if he would 
 receive you or not, and for pity somewhat 
 to tender your need and necessity ; for 
 divers ways he is bound thereto by reason 
 of the great alliances that the king his father 
 and yours had together. The prince of 
 Wales is so noble and so gentle of blood 
 and of courage, that when he knoweth your 
 tribulation, I think verily he will take 
 thereof great compassion. And if he will 
 aid to set you again in your realm, there is 
 none that can do it so well in all the world, 
 he is so feared, redoubted and beloved with 
 all men of war. And, sir, ye are here in a 
 good strong fortress, to keep a season till 
 ye hearother tidings out of Acquitaine. ' To 
 this counsel accorded lightly the king don 
 Peter. Then he wrote letters right piteous 
 and amiable, and a knight with two squires 
 were desired to do this message ; and so 
 
 they took on them that journey and entered 
 into the sea, and sailed so long that they 
 arrived at Bayonne, the which city held of 
 the king of England. Then they demanded 
 tidings of the prince, and it was shewed 
 them how that he was at Bordeaux. Then 
 they took their horses and rode so long that 
 they came to Bordeaux, and there took 
 their lodging, and anon after they went to 
 the abbey of Saint Andrew's, where the 
 prince was. And there these messengers 
 shewed how they were come out of Castile 
 and were Spaniards and messengers from 
 king don Peter of Castile : and when the 
 prince knew thereof, he said he would see 
 them and know what they would have. 
 And so they came and kneeled down and 
 saluted him according to their usage, and 
 recommended the king their master to him 
 and delivered their letters. The prince took 
 up the messengers and received their letters, 
 and opened and read them at good leisure, 
 wherein he found how piteously king don 
 Peter wrote, signifying to him all his poverty 
 and mischief, and how that his brother the 
 bastard, by puissance and by the great 
 amities that he had purchased, first of the 
 pope, of the French king and of the king 
 of Aragon, and by the help of the com- 
 panions, had put him out from the heritage 
 of the realm of Castile : wherefore he de- 
 sired the prince for God's sake and by the 
 way of pity that he would intend to provide 
 for him some counsel and remedy, wherein 
 he should achieve grace of God and of all 
 the world ; for it is not the right way of a 
 true Christian king to disinherit a rightful 
 heir and to enherit by puissance of tyranny 
 a bastard. And the prince, who was a 
 valiant knight and a sage, closed the letters 
 in his hands and said to the messengers : 
 ' Sirs, ye be right welcome to me from my 
 cousin the king of Castile : ye shall tarry a 
 space here with us, and ere ye depart, ye 
 shall have an answer.' 
 
 Then the prince's knights, who knew 
 right well what they had to do, led to their 
 lodgings the Spanish knight and the two 
 squires ; and the prince, who tarried still in 
 his chamber, mused greatly on those tidings, 
 and then sent for sir John Chandos and for 
 sir Thomas Felton, two of the chief of his 
 council, for the one was the seneschal of 
 Acquitaine and the other constable. And 
 when they were come to him, then he said 
 
I5S 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 to them all smiling : ' Sirs, ye shall hear 
 new tidings out of Spain. The king don 
 Peter our cousin complaineth him greatly of 
 the bastard Henry his brother, who hath 
 taken from him his inheritance and hath put 
 him out of his realm, as ye have heard re- 
 ported by them that hath come from thence ; 
 and he requireth us instantly of our comfort 
 and aid, as it appeareth here by his letters. ' 
 And so then the prince read the letters 
 word by word a two times, and these two 
 knights heard well all the matter. And 
 when he had read the letters, then he said 
 to them : * Sirs, ye two, sir John and sir 
 Thomas, ye are the most special of my 
 council, and in whom I have most trust and 
 affiance. Wherefore I desire you counsel 
 me what ye think were best to do. ' Then 
 these two knights beheld each other without 
 any word speaking. Then the prince again 
 said, ' Sirs, speak hardily what ye think in 
 this matter ' : and there the prince was 
 counselled by those two knights, as I was 
 informed, that he should send to the king 
 don Peter men of war to Corogne, where 
 he was according to the tenour of the letters 
 and also by the report of the naessengers, 
 and that the men of war should bring him 
 to the city of Bordeaux, and there more 
 plainly to know what he would say, and 
 then, according as they should hear his 
 words, to take advice and to give him such 
 counsel as of reason should suffice him. 
 
 This answer pleased right well the prince. 
 Then he desired to go to Corogne in that 
 viage, to bring in safe -guard to him the 
 king don Peter, first sir Thomas Felton as 
 sovereign and chief of that army, sir Richard 
 of Pontchardon, sir Niel Loring, sir Simon 
 de Burley, sir William Trussell ; and in 
 that army there should be twelve ships fur- 
 nished with archers and men of war. So 
 these knights made their provision to go 
 into Galice ; and then the messengers de- 
 parted from Bordeaux and rode with them 
 to Bayonne and there tarried a three or 
 four days, abiding for wind and weather. 
 And the fifth day, as they were departing, 
 the king don Peter of Castile arrived at 
 Bayonne himself, for he was departed from 
 Corogne in great haste and doubt, for he 
 durst not abide there any longer, and 
 brought but a few of his men with him and 
 such treasure as he had. So the tidings of 
 his coming was great joy to the Englishmen. 
 
 Then sir Thomas Felton and his company 
 came to him and received him right sweetly, 
 and shewed him how they were there ready 
 by the commandment of the prince their 
 lord to have come to him to Corogne and 
 to any other place, to have brought him to 
 the prince ; of the which tidings the king 
 don Peter was right joyous, and thanked 
 greatly the prince and the knights that were 
 there. 
 
 The coming of the king don Peter thus 
 to Bayonne sir Thomas Felton and the 
 other knights certified the prince thereof, of 
 the which he was right joyous : and within 
 a short space after these knights brought 
 the king don Peter to that city of Bordeaux. 
 And the prince, who greatly desired to see 
 his cousin the king don Peter and to do him 
 the more honour and feast, issued out of 
 Bordeaux accompanied witli divers knights 
 and squires, and went and met the king 
 and did to him great reverence both in word 
 and deed ; the which he could do right well, 
 for there was no prince in his time that 
 could shew more honour than he. And 
 when the prince had well feasted him, then 
 they rode to Bordeaux, and the prince took 
 the king above him, in no wise he would do 
 otherwise : and as they rode together the 
 king don Peter shewed to the prince how 
 his bastard brother had chased him out of 
 his realm of Castile, and also he piteously 
 complained him of the untruth of his men, 
 shewing how they had all forsaken him ex- 
 cept one knight, the which was there with 
 him, called don Ferrant of Castro. The 
 prince right courteously and sagely recom- 
 forted him, desiring him not to be abashed 
 nor discomforted, for though he had as then 
 lost all, he trusted it should be in the puis- 
 sance of God to restore him again all his 
 loss, and moreover to take vengeance of all 
 his enemies. Thus as they talked together, 
 they rode so long that they came to Bor- 
 deaux, and alighted at the abbey of Saint 
 Andrew's, whereas the prince and princess 
 kept their house ; and then the king was 
 brought to a fair chamber ready apparelled 
 for him, and when he was changed, he 
 went to the princess and to the ladies, who 
 received him right courteously, as they 
 could right well do. I might over long 
 make report to you of this matter, what of 
 their cheer, feasts and sports ; wherefore I 
 pass it over briefly and shall shew you how 
 
DON PETER OF CASTILE AT BORDEAUX 
 
 159 
 
 king don Peter sped with the prince his 
 cousin, whom he found right amiable and 
 courteous, and well condescended to his de- 
 sires : howbeit, there were some of his 
 council said unto him as ye shall hear after. 
 Or that don Peter came to Bordeaux, 
 some wise and sage imaginative lords, as 
 well of Gascoyne as of England, who were 
 of the prince's council and had ever truly 
 served him and given him good counsel and 
 so thought ever to do, they said to the 
 prince : ' Sir, ye have heard say divers 
 times, he that too much embraceth holdeth 
 the weaklier. It is for ,<. truth that ye are 
 one of the princes of the world most praised, 
 honoured and redoubted, and holdeth on 
 this side the sea great lands and seignories, 
 thanked be God, in good rest and peace. 
 There is no king, near nor far off, as at this 
 present time, that dare displease you, ye 
 are so renowned of good chivalry, grace and 
 good fortune : ye ought therefore by reason 
 to be content with that ye have and seek 
 not to get you any enemies. Sir, we say 
 not this for none evil ; we know well the 
 king don Peter of Castile, who is now driven 
 out of his realm, is a man of high mind, 
 right cruel and full of evil conditions ; for 
 by him hath been done many evil deeds in 
 the realm of Castile, and hath caused many 
 a valiant man to lose his head and brought 
 craelly to an end without any manner of 
 reason ; and so by his villain deeds and 
 consent he is now deceived ^ and put out of 
 his realm, and also beside all this he is 
 enemy to the Church and cursed by our 
 holy father the pope. He is reputed, and 
 hath been a great season, like a tyrant, and 
 without title of reason hath always grieved 
 and made war with his neighbours, the 
 king of Aragon and the king of Navarre, 
 and would have disherited them by puis- 
 sance ; and also, as the bruit runneth 
 throughout his realm and by his own men, 
 how he caused to die his wife your cousin, 
 daughter to the duke of Bourbon. Where- 
 fore, sir, ye ought to think and consider 
 that all this that he now suffereth are rods 
 and strokes of God sent to chastise him and 
 to give ensample to all other Christian kings 
 and princes to beware that they do not as 
 he hath done.' With such words or 
 
 1 The French is ' deceu ' (for ' decheu '), ' fallen,' 
 which the translator has confused with * deceii ' from 
 'decevoir.' 
 
 semblable the prince was counselled, or 
 king don Peter arrived at Bayonne ; but 
 to these words the prince answered thus, 
 saying : ' Lords, I think and believe 
 certainly that ye counsel me truly to the 
 best of your powers. I know well and am 
 well informed of the life and state of this 
 king don Peter, and know well that without 
 number he hath done many evil deeds, 
 whereby now he is deceived.' But the 
 cause present that moveth and giveth us 
 courage to be willing to aid him, is as I 
 shall shew you. It is not convenable that 
 a bastard should hold a realm in heritage, 
 and put out of his own realm his brother, 
 rightful inheritor to the land ; the which 
 thing all kings and kings' sons should in no 
 wise suffer nor consent to, for it is a great 
 prejudice against the state royal : and also 
 beside that, the king my father and this king 
 don Peter hath a great season been allied 
 together by great confederations, wherefore 
 we are bound to aid him in cause that he 
 require and desire us so to do.' Thus the 
 prince was moved in his courage to aid and 
 comfort this king don Peter in his trouble 
 and besynes. Thus he answered to his 
 council, and they could not remove him 
 out of that purpose, for his mind was ever 
 more and more firmly set on that matter. 
 
 And when king don Peter of Castile was 
 come to the prince, to the city of Bordeaux, 
 he humbled himself right sweetly to the 
 prince, and offered to him great gifts and 
 profit, in saying that he would make 
 Edward his eldest son king of Galice, and 
 that he would depart to him and to his men 
 great good and riches, the which he had 
 left behind him in the realm of Castile, 
 because he durst not bring it with him ; but 
 this riches was in so sure keeping that none 
 knew where it was but himself: to the 
 which words the knights gave good intent, 
 for Englishmen and Gascons naturally are 
 covetous. Then the prince was counselled 
 to assemble all the barons of the duchy of 
 Acquitaine, and his special council : and 
 so there was at Bordeaux a great council, 
 and there the king don Peter shewed openly 
 how he would maintain himself and how he 
 would satisfy every man, if the prince would 
 take on him to bring him again into his 
 country. Then there were letters written 
 and messengers sent forth, and lords and 
 knights sent for all about, as the earl 
 
i6o 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 of Armagnac, the earl of Comminges, the 
 lord d'Albret, the earl of Caraman/ the 
 captal of Buch, the lord of Terride, the 
 viscount of Castelbon, the lord of Lescun, 
 the lord of Rauzan, the lord of Lesparre, 
 the lord of Caiimont, the lord of Mussidan, 
 the lord of Curton, the lord of Puycornet 
 and all the other barons and knights of 
 Gascoyne and of Beam ; and also the earl 
 of Foix was desired to come thither, but he 
 would not, but excused himself because he 
 had a disease in his leg and might not ride, 
 but he sent thither his counsel. 
 
 To this parliament thus holden in the 
 city of Bordeaux came all the earls, vis- 
 counts, barons and wise men of Acquitaine, 
 of Saintonge, Poitou, Quercy, Limousin 
 and of Gascoyne : and when they were all 
 come, they went to council three days on 
 the state and ordinance for this king don 
 Peter of Spain, who was always there 
 present in the council with the prince his 
 cousin, reasoning always to fortify his 
 quarrel and business. Finally the prince 
 was counselled that he should send sufficient 
 messengers to the king his father into Eng- 
 land, to know his counsel what he should 
 do in that case ; and his pleasure and 
 answer once known, then all the lords said 
 they would take counsel together, and so 
 make the prince such an answer that of 
 reason he should be well content. Then 
 there were chosen and named four knights 
 of the prince's, that should go into England 
 to the king, that is to say, sir Delaware, 
 sir Niel Loring, sir John and sir Elie of 
 Pommiers. 
 
 Thus then departed and brake up this 
 council, and every man went home to their 
 own houses ; and king don Peter tarried 
 still at Bordeaux with the prince and 
 princess, who did him much honour and 
 made him great feast and cheer. And then 
 the foresaid four knights departed, who 
 were appointed to go into England, and 
 they took shipping and sped so well in 
 their journey by the help of God and the 
 wind, that they arrived at Hampton, and 
 there rested one day to refresh them and to 
 unship their horses and carriages, and the 
 second day took their horses and rode so 
 long that they came to the city of London. 
 And there they demanded where the king 
 
 I This the viscount of Caraman, and so he is called 
 in chap. 234. 
 
 was, and it was shewed them how he was 
 at Windsor : and thither they went, and 
 were right welcome and well received both 
 with the king and with the queen, as well 
 because they were pertaining to the prince 
 their son, as also because they were lords 
 and knights of great recommendation. 
 Then they delivered their letters to the 
 king, and the king opened and read them ; 
 and when he had a little studied, then he 
 said : ' Sirs, ye shall go to your lodgings, 
 and I shall send to you certain lords and 
 wise men of my council, and they shall 
 answer you with short expedition.' This 
 answer pleased well these knights, and the 
 next day they returned to London, and 
 within a short space after the king came to 
 Westminster, and with him the most greatest 
 of his council, as his son the duke of 
 Lancaster, the earl of Arundel, the earl of 
 Salisbury, the earl of Manny,^ sir Raynold 
 Cobham, the earl Percy, the lord Nevill 
 and divers other ; and prelates there were 
 the bishop of Winchester, of Lincoln and 
 of London. And so they kept a great 
 council and a long upon the prince's letters, 
 and on his request that he had made to the 
 king his father. Finally it seemed to the 
 king and his council a thing due and 
 reasonable for the prince to take on him, to 
 bring again the king of Spain into his own 
 heritage, and to this they all openly agreed. 
 And thereupon they wrote notable letters 
 directed from the king and from the council 
 of England to the prince and to all the 
 barons of Acquitaine, and so with these 
 letters the said messengers departed again 
 to the city of Bordeaux, whereas they found 
 the prince and the king don Peter, to whom 
 they delivered letters from the king of 
 England. 
 
 Then was there a new day of council set 
 to be had in the city of Bordeaux, and 
 thither came all such as were sent for. 
 Then there was read openly in the council 
 the king of England's letters, the which 
 devised plainly how he would that the 
 prince his son in the name of God and 
 Saint George should take on him to set 
 again king don Peter into his heritage, 
 the which his bastard brother wrongfully 
 had taken from him without reason, and 
 falsely, as it appeareth, hath put him 
 out thereof. Also the king's letters made 
 1 * Le sire de Mauny.' 
 
COUNCIL AT BAYONNE, 1366 
 
 161 
 
 mention how he was much bound thereto 
 because of certain alliances of old time 
 made between him and the king of Castile 
 his cousin, as to aid him, if case required, 
 if he were thereto desired. Wherefore 
 he desired by his letters all his friends 
 and subjects that the prince his son might 
 be aided and counselled by them as well 
 as though l)e were there present himself. 
 And when the barons of Acquitaine heard 
 read these letters and commandments of 
 the king, and perceived the king's plea- 
 sure and the prince's their lord, then they 
 joyously answered and said : ' Sir, we shall 
 gladly obey the king our sovereign lord's 
 commandment : it is reason that we obey 
 you and him, and so we will do and serve 
 you in this viage, and king don Peter 
 in like wise. But, sir, we would know 
 who should pay us our wages, for it will 
 be hard to get out men of war into a 
 strange country ?'' Then the prince be- 
 held king don Peter and said : ' Sir king, 
 ye hear what our people say : answer you 
 them, for it behoveth you to answer, seeing 
 the matters be yours.' Then the king 
 don Peter answered the prince and said : 
 'Right dear cousin, as lar as the gold, 
 silver and treasure that I have brought 
 hither, which is not the thirtieth part so 
 much as I have left behind me, as long as 
 that will endure, I shall give and part 
 therewith to your people. ' Then the prince 
 said : ' Sir, ye say well ; and as for the 
 renmant, I shall become debtor to them 
 and pay them as the case requireth, the 
 which I shall lend you, and all that we 
 need till we come into Castile.' 'Sir,' 
 quoth the king don Peter, ' ye do me great 
 courtesy and grace. ' 
 
 And in this council there were divers 
 sage men, as the earl of Armagnac, the 
 lord of Pommiers, sir John Chandos, the 
 captal of Buch and divers other, who con- 
 sidered that the prince could not well 
 make this viage without the accord and 
 consent of the king of Navarre : for they 
 could not enter into Spain but through his 
 country and through the straits of Ronces- 
 vaulx, the which passage they were not in 
 
 ^ The original gives it thus, but the sense is 
 spoilt by the omission of the words 'sans estre 
 payez,' which are found in the true text: 'for it will 
 be hard to take men of war into a strange country 
 without they be paid.' 
 M 
 
 surety to have, because the king of 
 Navarre and Henry the bastard had newly 
 made alliance together. So thus there was 
 much communing how they might do to 
 achieve their purpose : then was it deter- 
 mined that there should be another day 
 assigned of a council to be kept at the city 
 of Bayonne, and that the prince should send 
 sufficient ambassadors to the king of Na- 
 varre, desiring him to be at that council in 
 Bayonne. And so on this determination 
 every man departed, fully concluded to be 
 at Bayonne the day limited and prefixed. 
 In the mean season the prince sent sir 
 John Chandos and sir Thomas Felton to 
 the king of Navarre, who was as then in 
 the city of Pampelone. These two sage 
 and well-languaged knights did so much 
 that they came to the king of Navarre, 
 who made faithful covenant by word and 
 by writing sealed to be at the said parlia- 
 ment at Bayonne, and thereon the messen- 
 gers returned again to the prince and 
 shewed him these tidings. 
 
 The day assigned of this parhament there 
 came to the city of Bayonne the king of 
 .Spain don Peter, the prince, the earl of 
 Armagnac, the lord d'Albret, and all the 
 barons of Gascoyne, Poifou, Quercy, Rouer- 
 gue, Saintongeand Limousin. And thither 
 came personally the king of Navarre, 
 and the prince and king don Peter did 
 him great honour, because they thought 
 the better to speed with him. So thus in 
 the city of Bayonne there was a great 
 council, the which endured five days, and 
 the prince and his council had much to do 
 or they could bring the king of Navarre to 
 their desire ; for he was a man not easy to 
 be won, if he saw that men had any need 
 of him. Howbeit, the great power of the 
 prince brought him into that case, that 
 finally he sware, promised and sealed to 
 Iding don Peter peace, love and firm alli- 
 ance and confederation. And in like 
 manner king don Peter did to him upon 
 certain compositions that were there or- 
 dained ; of the which the prince of Wales 
 was a mean between them and chief de- 
 viser thereof: the which was, that the king 
 don Peter, as king of all Castile, gave, 
 sealed and accorded to the king of Navarre 
 and to his heirs for ever all the land of 
 Logrono, as it lieth on both sides the 
 river, and also all the land and country of 
 
l62 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Sauveteire,' with the town, castle and all 
 the appurtenances, also the town of Saint 
 John de Pied -de -Port and the marches 
 thereabout, the which lands, towns, castles 
 and seignories he had taken from him by 
 force ; and also that the king of Navarre 
 should have twenty thousand franks for the 
 opening of his country, and to suffer pass 
 peaceably all manner of men of war, and 
 to minister to them victuals and purvey- 
 ances for their money, of the which sum of 
 florins the king don Peter became debtor 
 to the king of Navarre. And when the 
 barons of Acquitaine knew that this treaty 
 was made and confirmed, then they de- 
 sired to know who should pay them their 
 wages ; and the prince, who had great affec- 
 tion toward this viage, became debtor 
 to them for their wages, and the king 
 don Peter became debtor to the prince. 
 And when all these things were ordained 
 and fully confirmed, and that every man 
 knew what he ought to do and what he 
 should have, and that they had sojourned 
 there the space of twelve days, then the 
 king of Navarre departed home into his 
 own country, and all other lords departed 
 every man to his own, and the prince went 
 to Bordeaux and the king don Peter tarried 
 still at Bayonne. 
 
 Then the prince sent his heralds into 
 Spain to certain knights and captains. 
 Englishmen and Gascons, favourable and 
 obeisant to him, signifying them how that 
 it was his pleasure that they should take 
 their leaves of Henry the bastard and come 
 to him, saying how he had need of them 
 and was of the intent to employ and occupy 
 them otherwise. And when these heralds 
 had brought these letters into Castile to 
 these knights from the prince, and that 
 they perceived the prince's pleasure, then 
 they took their leave of king Henry as 
 soon as they could in courteous manner 
 without discovering of the prince's inten- 
 tion. Then this bastard king Henry, who 
 was right liberal, courteous and honour- 
 able, gave them licence with many great 
 gifts, and thanked them greatly of their 
 service. So then departed from Spain sir 
 Eustace d'Aubrecicourt, sir Hugh Cal- 
 verley, sir Walter Hewet, sir Matthew 
 Gournay, sir John Devereux and their com- 
 pany, and divers other knights and squires, 
 1 Salvatierra. 
 
 the which I cannot all name, of the prince's 
 house, and they departed as shortly as they 
 might. The same season the companions 
 were spread abroad in the country and 
 knew nothing what these said knights did : 
 howbeit, when they knew it, they gathered 
 together, as sir Robert Briquet, John 
 Creswey, sir Robert Cheyne, sir Perducas 
 d'Albret, sir Garsis du Chastel, Naudan of 
 Bageran, the bourg of Lesparre, the bourg 
 Camus and the bourg Breteuil. And this 
 bastard king Henry knew not that the 
 prince was in a mind to bring again his 
 brother don Peter into Castile, so soon as 
 these knights did : for if he had known it, 
 they should not have departed so soon as 
 they did ; for he might well have letted 
 them, if be had known it. So these 
 knights departed, and as soon as king 
 Henry knew thereof, he made no great 
 semblant of it, but said to sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin, who was still about him : ' Sir 
 Bertram, behold the prince of Wales ; it is 
 shewed us that he will make us war and 
 bring again that Jew who calleth himself 
 king of Spain by force into this our realm. 
 Sir, what say you thereto?' Sir Bertram 
 answered and said ; * Sir, he is so valiant 
 a knight, that if he fake on him the enter- 
 prise, he will do his power to achieve it, if 
 he may. Therefore, sir, I say to you, 
 cause your passages and straits on all sides 
 to be well kept, so that none may pass nor 
 enter into your realm but by your licence : 
 and, sir, keep your people in love : I know 
 certainly ye shall have in France many 
 knights and great aid, the which gladly will 
 serve you. Sir, by your licence I will return 
 thither ; and in the mean time keep your 
 people in love, and I know well I shall 
 find in France many friends, and, sir, I 
 shall get you as many as I can.' ' By my 
 faith,' quoth king Henry, 'ye say well, 
 and I shall order all the remnant according 
 to your will.' And so within a little space 
 after sir Bertram departed and went into 
 Aragon, where the king received him joy- 
 ously ; and there he tarried a fifteen days 
 and then departed and went to Mont- 
 pellier, and there found the duke of Anjou, 
 who also received him joyously, as he 
 whom he loved right entirely: and when 
 he had been there a season, he departed 
 and went into France to the king, who 
 received him with great joy. 
 
THE COMPANIES QUIT SPAIN 
 
 163 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXII 
 
 How that king Henry allied him to the king 
 of Aragon, and of the men that the prince 
 sent for, and how the prince was coun- 
 selled to pursue his war, and of the lord 
 d'Albret, who discomfited the seneschal of 
 Toulouse. 
 
 SOAIMARV. — The men of the covtpanies, 
 who loisJied to leave Castile and come i7zto 
 Acquitaine^ were barred from the passes by 
 the king of Aragon. Finally sir Joh7t 
 Chandos obtained them a passage from the 
 earl of Foix. The prince of Wales collected 
 great sums of money from England and 
 elsemhere to maintain 7nen of war^ and the 
 lord d'Albret promised to serve him with a 
 thoicsand spears. Meajvwliile one division 
 of the companies passed by Toulouse to 
 Montatiban, and the seneschal of Toulouse 
 "with the earl of Narbonne endeavoztred to 
 stop them. A battle was fought at Mont- 
 auban^ in which finally the French were 
 defeated., and the series chal of Totilouse, the 
 earl of Narbonne, the seneschal of Carcas- 
 so7ine and jnany other Jaiights were taken 
 prisoners. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXin 
 
 How these companions let their prisoners 
 depart on their faiths, but the pope de- 
 fended them to pay any ransom ; and of 
 the words that the king of Mallorca had 
 to the prince, and of the departing of the 
 prince to go into Spain. 
 
 After the discomfiture and taking of 
 the said prisoners, the said sir Perducas 
 d'Albret, sir Robert Cheyne, sir John Trivet, 
 the bourg of Breteuil, Naudan of Bageran 
 and their company parted their booty and 
 all their winning, whereof they had great 
 plenty, and all such as had any prisoners 
 kept them still to their own profit, other to 
 ransom or to quit them at their pleasure. 
 And they ransomed their prisoners right 
 courteously, every man after his degree, 
 the more courteously because this adven- 
 ture came to them so fortunately by valiant- 
 ness of deeds of arms ; and such as were 
 let go on their faith and promise had days 
 
 limited to them to bring their ransoms to 
 Bordeaux or to other places, whereas they 
 were appointed. So the prisoners departed 
 and went home into their own countries, 
 and these companions went to the prince, 
 who received them right joyously and sent 
 them to lodge and to abide in the marches 
 of Basque among the mountains. 
 
 I shall shew you what befell of this 
 matter and of the earl of Narbonne, the 
 seneschal of Toulouse and other, who were 
 put to ransom and had promised on their 
 faiths to pay it. In the same season there 
 was at Rome pope Urban the fifth, who 
 entirely hated these manner of people 0/ 
 companions and had long time before 
 cursed them because of the villain deeds 
 that they had done. So that when he was 
 informed of this said journey, and how the 
 earl of Narbonne and other were over- 
 thrown, he was sore displeased therewith, 
 and suffered till he heard how they were 
 put to their ransom and come home into 
 their own countries and out of their 
 enemies' hands. Then he sent to each of 
 them and by express words defended them 
 in any wise to pay any ransom, and assoiled 
 them of their promise. Thus these knights 
 and lords were quitted of their ransom, 
 such as had been taken at Montauban, for 
 they durst not trespass the pope's com- 
 mandment : the which happed well for these 
 lords, knights and squires, but it fortuned 
 evil for the companions, who abode and 
 looked ever for their money, trusting to 
 have had it to [have] arrayed and ap- 
 parelled them like men of war, and so they 
 made great preparation on trust thereof, 
 whereof they were deceived. So this 
 ordinance of the pope was right contagious 
 to them, and they complained oftentimes 
 thereof to sir John Chandos, who was con- 
 stable of Acquitaine and had the oversight 
 by right of arms in such matters : howbeit, 
 he dissimuled with them as well as he 
 might, because he knew well the pope 
 had cursed them and how that all their 
 deeds turned to pilling and robbery ; and 
 as far as ever I could hear, they had never 
 other remedy in that matter. 
 
 Now let us speak of the prince of Wales 
 and approach to his viage and shew how he 
 persevered. First, as it hath been shewed 
 here before, he did so much that he had 
 all the companions of his accord, who were 
 
164 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 to the number of twelve thousand fighting 
 men, and greatl)' it was to his cost to 
 retain them. And after he had them, he 
 sustained and bare their charges, or they 
 departed out of the principality, from the 
 l)ec^inning of August to the beginning of 
 February ; and beside that the prince re- 
 ceived and retained all manner of men of 
 war, wheresoever he could get them. And 
 also the foresaid king Henry retained men 
 of war in every part out of the realm of 
 France and other places, and they came to 
 .serve him because of the alliances that 
 were between the French king and him ; 
 and also he had with him retained some 
 of the companions Bretons, such as were 
 favourable to sir Bertram of GuescUn, as 
 sir Silvester Bude, Alain of Saint-Pol, Wil- 
 liam of Breuil, and Alain of Laconet, all 
 these were captains of those companions. 
 And the prince might have had also with him 
 many strangers men of war, as Flemings, 
 Almains and Brabances, if he had list ; 
 but he sent home again many of them, 
 for he had rather have had of his own 
 subjects of the principality than strangers. 
 Also there came to him a great aid out of 
 England ; for when the king of England 
 his father knew that this viage went for- 
 ward, then he gave licence to one of his 
 sons, duke John of Lancaster, to go to the 
 prince of Wales his brother with a great 
 number of men of war, as four hundred 
 men of arms and four hundred archers. 
 And when the prince knew of his brother's 
 coming, he was thereof right joyous. 
 
 In the same season came to the prince to 
 Bordeaux James king of Mallorca, so he 
 called himself, but he had in possession 
 nothing of the realm, for the king of Aragon 
 kept it from him by force and had slain in 
 prison the king of Mallorca in a city called 
 Barcelone. Therefore this young king 
 James, to revenge the death of his father 
 and to recover his heritage, was fled out of 
 his own realm to the prince ; and he had 
 married the queen of Naples. The prince 
 made him great cheer and greatly comforted 
 him ; and when the king had shewed the 
 prince all the reasons and occasions of his 
 coming, and perceived the wrong that the 
 king of Aragon had done to him, as in 
 keeping from him his inheritance, and also 
 slain his father, then the prince said : ' Sir 
 king, I promise you faithfully that after my 
 
 return out of Spain I shall intend to set 
 you again into your heritage other by 
 treaty or by force.' This promise pleased 
 greatly the king, and so he tarried still with 
 the prince in Bordeaux abiding his depart- 
 ing as other did. And the prince, to do 
 him more honour, caused to be delivered to 
 him all that was for him necessary, because 
 he was a stranger and of a far country, and 
 had not there of his own after his appetite. 
 And daily there came great complaints to 
 the prince of the companions, how they 
 did nnich hurt to men and women of the 
 country where they lay, so that the people 
 of that marches would gladly that the prince 
 should advance forth in his viage, to the 
 which the prince was right desirous. How- 
 beit, he was counselled that he should suffer 
 the feast of Christmas first to pass, to the 
 intent that they might have winter at their 
 backs ; to the which counsel the prince 
 inclined, and somewhat because the princess 
 his wife was great with child, who took much 
 thought for his departing ; wherefore the 
 prince would gladly see her delivered or he 
 departed, and she on her part was gladder 
 to have him abide. 
 
 All this mean season there was great 
 provision made for this viage, because they 
 should enter into a realm where they should 
 find but small provision ; and while they 
 thus sojourned at Bordeaux, and that all the 
 country was full of men of war, the prince 
 kept oftentimes great council ; and among 
 other things, as I was informed, the lord 
 d'Albret was countermanded with his thou- 
 sand spears, and a letter was sent to him 
 from the prince containing thus : ' Sir 
 d'Albret, sith it is so that we have taken 
 on us by our voluntary will this viage, the 
 which we intend shortly to proceed, con- 
 sidering our great business, charges and 
 diseases that we have, as well by strangers, 
 such as entered into our service, as by great 
 number of the companions, the which 
 number is so great that we will not leave 
 them behind us for perils that may ensue, 
 and also to see how the land may be kept 
 in mine absence, for all may not go nor yet 
 all abide behind ; therefore it is ordained 
 by us and by our council that in this viage 
 ye shall serve us but with two hundred 
 spears, and discharge you of the residue 
 and let them do what them list : and thus 
 God keep you. From Bordeaux the seventh 
 
PRErARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION 
 
 165 
 
 day of Decemhei.' These letters, sealed 
 with the prince's great seal, were sent to 
 the lord d'Albret, who was in his own 
 country right busy to prepare him toward 
 this viage, for it was said that the prince 
 should depart shortly. When he saw the 
 prince's letters, he opened them and read 
 them two times over, the better to under- 
 stand them, for he had great marvel of that 
 he had found written in them, and was in 
 his mind marvellously displeased, and said : 
 ' How is it that my lord the prince japeth 
 and mockeththus with me,sith he would that 
 I should give leave to depart eight hundred 
 spears, knights and squires, whom by his 
 commandment I have retained and have let 
 them of their profit divers other ways.' 
 And incontinent in that displeasure he 
 called for his clerk and caused him to write 
 a letter to the prince in this manner : 'Dear 
 sir, I am greatly marvelled of the letters ye 
 have sent me ; and, sir, I cannot well find 
 nor take counsel how I ought or can answer 
 you in that behalf, for it turneth to my great 
 prejudice and blame, and to all my company, 
 whom I have by your own ordinance and 
 commandment retained, and they are all 
 ready apparelled to do you service, and I 
 have letted them of taking their profit 
 in other places, whereas they might have 
 had it ; for some of them were determined 
 to have gone over the sea into Pruce, to 
 Constantine, and to Jerusalem, as all knights 
 and squires doth, to advance themselves. 
 Sir, they have great marvel and are sore 
 displeased that they should thus be put out, 
 and in like wise "I have great marvel thereof 
 and in what manner I have deserved it. 
 Dear sir, please it you to know, I cannot 
 assure you of any of them divided from 
 their company. I am the least and worst 
 of them all : if any depart, I am in surety 
 they will all depart. God keep you in his 
 safe-guard. Written, 'etc. When the prince 
 heard this answer, he took it of great 
 presumption, and so did divers knights of 
 England that were there of his council. 
 Then the prince shook his head and said 
 in English, as I was informed, for I was 
 then in Bordeaux: 'Ah,' said the prince, 
 ' the lord d'Albret is a great master in my 
 country, when he will break the ordinance 
 that is devised by my council. By God it 
 shall not go as he weeneth. Let him abide, 
 an he will, for without his thousand spears 
 
 I trust to God I shall furnish my viage. " 
 Then certain knights of England that were 
 there said : ' Sir, ye know full little the 
 minds of these Gascons, nor how proud 
 they be, nor they love us but little nor never 
 did. Sir, remember ye not how highly and 
 greatly they bare themselves against you in 
 the city of Bordeaux, when that king John 
 of France was first brought thither? They 
 said then and maintained plainly that by 
 them all only ye attained to achieve that 
 viage in taking of the king. And that 
 right well appeared ; for ye were in great 
 treaty with them the space of four months, 
 or they would consent that the French king 
 should be carried into England. First it 
 behoved you to satisfy their minds, to keep 
 them in love. ' And at those words the 
 prince held his peace, howbeit his thought 
 was never the less. This was the first 
 occasion of the hatred that was after be- 
 tween the prince and the lord d'Albret. 
 Thus the lord d'Albret was in great peril ; 
 for the prince was high and of great courage 
 and cruel in his heart, for he would other 
 by right or wrong that every lord under his 
 commandment should hold of him. But 
 the earl of Armagnac, uncle to the said lord 
 d'Albret, when he heard of this displeasure 
 between the prince and the lord d'Albret 
 his nephew, then he came to Bordeaux to 
 the prince, and sir John Chandos and sir 
 Thomas Felton with him, by whose counsel 
 the prince was much ordered : and so by 
 their good means the prince's displeasure 
 was appeased, so that the lord d'Albret 
 should bring no more but two hundred 
 spears ; with the which he was nothing 
 joyous, nor yet his people, nor never after 
 he loved so entirely the prince as he did 
 before. Howbeit there was no remedy but 
 to bear and pass over his trouble as well as 
 he might. 
 
 Thus, while the prince was making of his 
 provision and abiding the coming of his 
 brother the duke of Lancaster, the princess 
 travailed, and through the grace of God she 
 was delivered of a fair son on the day of 
 the three kings of Cologne, the which was, 
 as that year went, on a Wednesday, at the 
 hour of three or thereabout. Whereof the 
 prince and all his people were right joyous ; 
 and the Friday after he was christened at 
 noon in the church of Saint Andrew in the 
 city of Bordeaux. The archbishop of the 
 
1 66 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 same place christened him, and the bishop 
 of Agen ill Agenois and the king of 
 Mallorca were his godfathers. And this 
 child had to name Richard, who was after- 
 ward king of England, as ye shall hear in 
 this history. 
 
 The Sunday after, the hour of prime, 
 departed from Bordeaux the prince with 
 great triumph, and all other men of war. 
 Howbeit the most part of his host were 
 passed on before and lay about the city of 
 Ast in Gascoyne, and the prince the same 
 Sunday at night came to the same city and 
 there tarried a three days ; for then it was 
 shewed him that the duke of Lancaster his 
 brother was coming and had passed the sea 
 a five days before and was arrived in 
 Bretayne at Saint Matthew's of Fine-Pos- 
 terne,^ and so was come to Nantes, where 
 the duke of Bretayne greatly feasted him. 
 Then the duke of Lancaster passed through 
 Poitou and Saintonge and came to Blaye, 
 and there passed the river of Gironde and 
 so came to Bordeaux and went to the abbey 
 of Saint Andrew, where the princess lay, 
 who joyously received him, and so did all 
 other ladies and damosels that were there. 
 Then the duke thought to tarry there no 
 longer, but took his leave of his sister the 
 princess and departed with all his company, 
 and rode so long that he came to the city 
 of Ast, where he found the prince his 
 brother. They made great joy each of 
 other, for they loved together entirely : 
 there was great tokens of love shewed 
 between them and their company. And 
 anon after the duke of Lancaster's coming 
 thither came the earl of Foix and made 
 great reverence and cheer to the prince and 
 to his brother, and offered himself in all 
 points to be at their commandment. The 
 prince, who could well honour all lords 
 according to their estates, honoured him 
 greatly and thanked him of his coming 
 thither ; and after the prince gave him the 
 charge of his country in his absence, de- 
 siring him to keep it well till his return. 
 The earl joyously accorded to his desire, 
 and then took leave and departed home into 
 his country ; and the prince and the duke 
 
 1 Saint-Matthieu-de-Fine-terre, a Benedictine 
 abbey at the extremity of Brittany. From the 
 Latin name, Sanctus MaithcFus de Fi?ie posiremo, 
 Froissart has made ' Saint-Mathieu-de-Fine-Pos- 
 terne.' 
 
 of Lancaster his brother sported them in the 
 city of Ast, and all their people spread 
 abroad in the country about the entry of 
 the passages of Navarre ; for as then they 
 were not in certain if they should pass that 
 way or not, yet the king of Navarre had 
 promised to open his passages : for words 
 ran through the host that newly he was 
 agreed with the king Henry, whereof the 
 prince and his council had great marvel and 
 the king don Peter was right sore displeased. 
 And in this mean season, while these 
 words thus ran, sir Hugh Calverley and his 
 people approached to Navarre and took the 
 city of Miranda and the town of the Queen's 
 Bridge,^ whereof all the country was sore 
 affrayed, the which tidings came to the king 
 of Navarre. And when he perceived that 
 these companions would enter into his land 
 by force, he was sore displeased and wrote 
 word thereof to the prince : and the prince 
 let the matter pass briefly, because the king 
 of Navarre, as he thought, kept not true 
 promise with king don Peter. Then the 
 piince wrote to him that he should excuse 
 himself of the words that was laid on him ; 
 for it was there openly said that he was 
 clean turned to king Henry. And when 
 the king of Navarre understood that treason 
 was laid on him, then he was more angrj 
 than he was before. Then he sent a knight 
 to the prince, called sir Martin Carra ; he 
 came to the city of Ast to excuse the king 
 of Navarre, and he demeaned himself so 
 wisely that the prince was appeased of his 
 displeasure, so that the same knight should 
 return into Navarre to the king his master, 
 causing him to come to Saint -John's de 
 Pied-de-Port,^ and the prince to take coun- 
 sel if he should go and speak with him, or 
 else to send sufficient messengers to him. 
 Thus this sir Martin Carra departed from 
 the prince and returned into Navarre to the 
 king, and shewed him how he had sped 
 and in what condition he had found the 
 prince and his council, and also on what 
 condition he was departed from them. 
 This knight did so much that he brought 
 the king of Navarre to Saint-John's, and 
 then he went to the city of Ast to the 
 prince. And when the prince knew that 
 the king of Navarre was at Saint-John's de 
 Pied-de-Port, then he determined to send 
 
 1 Puente-!a-reyna. 
 2 Saint-Tean-Pied-dc-Port. 
 
THE PASSAGE OF THE MOUNTAINS, [367 
 
 167 
 
 to him the duke of Lancaster his brother 
 and sir John Chandos ; and so these two 
 lords with a small company rode to the town 
 of Saint-John's with this said knight, and 
 there the king of Navarre received them 
 right joyously, and there had long counsel 
 together. Finally it was accorded that the 
 king of Navarre should approach nearer to 
 the prince to a certain place called Peyre- 
 horade, and thither the prince and king don 
 Peter should come to speak with him and 
 there to renew all their covenants and there 
 each of them to know what they should 
 have. All that the king of Navarre did 
 before was to the intent to be the better 
 assured of their promises than he thought 
 himself he was : for he doubted that if the 
 companions were entered into his country, 
 and this treaty and accord between them 
 not sealed, then he feared he should not 
 have that he desired, when he would. 
 
 On this treaty returned the duke of 
 Lancaster and sir John Chandos, and re- 
 counted to the prince and to king don 
 Peter how they had sped ; the which pleased 
 them right well, and so kept their day and 
 came to the place assigned, and also the 
 Icing of Navarre and the most special of his 
 council. And there were these three lords, 
 the king don Peter, the prince of Wales and 
 the duke of Lancaster on the one party, and 
 the king of Navarre on the other party, 
 long communing together ; and there it was 
 devised and accorded what every man should 
 have, and there was renewed the treaty among 
 them. And there the king of Navarre 
 knew the certainty what he should have of 
 the realm of Castile, and king don Peter 
 and he sware> good love, peace and con- 
 federation between them and departed 
 amiably asunder ; and then their host 
 might pass when it pleased them, for the 
 passages and straits were opened and 
 victuals apparelled through all the realm of 
 Navarre for their money. 
 
 Then the king of Navarre went to the 
 city of Pampelone, and the prince and his 
 brother and king don Peter went to the city 
 of Ast. And as then there were divers 
 knights and lords of Poitou, of Bretayne 
 and of Gascoyne not come to the prince's 
 host, but tarried behind ; for as it hath been 
 said before it was not fully known whether 
 the prince should have passage or not, till 
 the end of this treaty was concluded ; and 
 
 specially in France it was supposed that he 
 .should not pass that way, but rather that 
 the king of Navarre should have broken 
 his viage, the which fell contrary. And 
 when these knights and squires knew the 
 certainty thereof and perceived that the 
 passages were opened, then they advanced 
 themselves as fast as they might, for they 
 knew well that the prince would pass shortly 
 and not return again without battle. 
 Thither came the lord Clisson with a fair 
 company of men of arms, and at last came 
 with an evil will the lord d'Albret with two 
 hundred spear.s, and all that viage he kept 
 company with the captal of Buch. And all 
 this matter and confederations knowledge 
 thereof was had in France, for always there 
 were messengers coming and going, report- 
 ing alway that they knew or heard. And 
 when sir Bertram of Guesclin, who was 
 with the duke of Anjou, knew how the 
 prince was passed and how the passages of 
 Navarre were opened to them, then he en- 
 forced his summons and thought surely the 
 matter should not be ended without battle. 
 Then he took his way toward Aragon to 
 come to king Henry as fast as he might, 
 and all manner of people followed him, 
 such as were commanded, and divers other 
 of the realm of France and other places, 
 such as thought to advance themselves to 
 get honour. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXIV 
 
 Of the passage of the prince, and how he 
 passed, and all his company. 
 
 Between Saint-John's de Pied-de-Port and 
 the city of Pampelone under the mountains 
 there are straits and perilous passages, for 
 there is a hundred places on the same pas- 
 sages that a hundred men may keep a 
 passage against all the world. Also it was 
 at the same season very cold, for it was 
 about the month of February when they 
 passed. But or they passed, they took 
 wise counsel how and by what means they 
 should pass ; for it was shewed them plainly 
 that they could not pass all at once, and 
 therefore they ordained that they should 
 pass in three battles three sundry days, as 
 the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday ; the 
 Monday the vaward, whereof was captain 
 the duke of Lancaster, and in his company 
 
1 68 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the constable of Acquitaine sir John Chan- 
 dos, who had twelve hundred pennons of 
 his arms, the field silver, a sharp pile gules, 
 and with him was the two marshals of 
 Acquitaine, as sir Guichard d'Angle and sir 
 Stephen Cosington, and with them was the 
 pennon of Saint George. There was also sir 
 William Beauchamp, son to the earl of 
 Warwick, sir Hugh Hastings, and the lord 
 Nevill, who served sir John Chandos with 
 thirty spears in that viage at his own charge 
 because of the taking of the battle of 
 Auray ; ^ and also there was the lord 
 d'Aubeterre, sir Garsis of the Castle, sir 
 Richard of Tanton, sir Robert Cheyne, sir 
 Robert Briquet, John Creswey, Aniery of 
 the Rochechouart, Gaillard of la Motte, 
 William oi Clifton, Willekos the Butler and 
 Penneriel. All these were there with their 
 pennons under sir John Chandos' rule : 
 they were to the number of ten thousand 
 horses, and all these passed the Monday, 
 as is before said. 
 
 The Tuesday passed the prince of Wales 
 and king don Peter, and also the king of 
 Navarre, who was come again to the prince 
 to bear him company and to ensign him the 
 ready passage. And with the prince there 
 was sir Louis of Harcourt, the viscount of 
 Chatelleraut, the viscount of Rochechouart, 
 the lord of Partenay, the lord of Poyane, 
 the lord of Tannay - Bouton, and all the 
 Poitevins, sir Thomas Felton, great seneschal 
 of Acquitaine, sir William his brother, sir 
 Eustace d'Aubrecicourt, the seneschal of 
 Saintonge, the seneschal of Rochelle, the 
 seneschal of Quercy, the seneschal of 
 Limousin, the seneschal of Agenois, the 
 seneschal of Bigorre, sir Richard of Pont- 
 chardon, sir Niel Loring, sir d'Aghorisses, 
 sir Thomas Banaster, sir Louis of Melval, 
 sir Raymond of Mareuil, the lord of Pierre- 
 buffiere, and to the number of four thousand 
 men of arms, and they were a ten thousand 
 horses. The same Tuesday they had evil 
 passage because of wind and snow : how- 
 beit they passed forth and lodged in the 
 county of Pampelone, and the king of 
 Navarre brought the prince and the king 
 don Peter into the city of Pampelone to 
 supper and made them great cheer. 
 
 1 That Ls, in quittance of his ran.'^om, beciiise 
 made prisoner at Auray ; but it was not the lord de 
 NeuTville of whom this should be said, but the lord 
 de Retz, whose name has dropped out. 
 
 The ^^'edllesday passed the king James 
 of IMallorca and the earl of Armagnac, the 
 carl d'Albret his nephew, sir Bernard 
 d'Albret, lord of Geronde, the earl of 
 Perigord, the viscount of Caraman, the 
 earl of Comniinges, the captal of Buch, the 
 lord of Clisson, the three brethren of 
 Pommiers, sir John, sir Elie and sir 
 Aymenion, the lord of Caumont, the lord 
 of JMussidan, sir Robert KnoUes, the lord 
 Lesparre, the lord of Condom, the lord of 
 Rauzan, sir Petiton of Curton, sir Aymery 
 of Tastes, the lord de la Barthe, sir Bertram 
 of Tastes, the lord of Puycornet, sir Thomas 
 of Winstanley, sir Perducas d'Albret, the 
 bourg of Breteuil, Naudan of Bageran, 
 Bernard de la Salle, Ortingo, I'Amit and 
 all the other of the companions, and they 
 were a ten thousand horse. They had more 
 easy passage than those that passed the 
 day before ; and so all the whole host 
 lodged in the county of Pampelone, abiding 
 each other, refreshing them and their 
 horses. 
 
 They lay still thus about Pampelone the 
 space of three days, because they found the 
 country plentiful both in flesh, bread, wine 
 and all other purveyances for them and for 
 their horses. Howbeit these companions 
 paid not for everything, as was demanded 
 of them, nor they could not abstain from 
 robbing and pilling that they could get; so 
 that about Pampelone and in the way they 
 did much trouble and hurt, wherewith the 
 king of Navarre was right sore displeased, 
 but he could not as then amend it : but he 
 repented him oftentimes that he had opened 
 liis passages to the prince and to his com- 
 jsany, for he perceived well how he had 
 thereby more hurt than profit. Howbeit the 
 season was not then for him to say all that 
 he thought, for he saw well and considered 
 that he was not as then master of his own 
 country. So he had daily great complaints 
 made to him of one and other of his country, 
 wherewith his heart was sore constrained 
 for displeasure, but he could not remedy 
 it. Howbeit he caused .some of his council, 
 such as knew well these companions and 
 had been in their company in France, in 
 Normandy and in divers other places, to 
 desire them to abstain them.selves from 
 robbing and pilling the country as they did ; 
 to whom they promised so to do. 
 
PREPARATIONS OF KING PIENRY 
 
 1 60 
 
 CirAPTER CCXXXV 
 
 Of the great summons that king Henry 
 made, and how he sent to the prince to 
 summon him to fight, and how sir OUver 
 of Manny took the king of Navarre 
 prisoner. 
 
 King Henry of Spain was well informed 
 of the prince's passage, for he had his 
 messengers and spies daily coming and 
 going : therefore he provided for men of 
 arms and commons of the realm of Castile 
 to the intent to resist the prince and his 
 brother don Peter, and daily he tarried for 
 the coming of sir Bertram of Giiesclin with 
 great succours out of France. And he had 
 sent a special commandment throughout 
 all his realm to all his subjects on pain of 
 their lives, goods and lands, that every 
 man according to his estate other afoot or 
 a-horseback to come to him to aid and 
 defend his realm ; and this king Henry 
 was well beloved, and also they of Castile 
 had before much pain and trouble to aid 
 to make him king, therefore they obeyed 
 to him the rather ; and so daily they resorted 
 to him to Saint Dominic^ to the number of 
 threescore thousand men afoot and a-horse- 
 back, all ready to do his commandment 
 and pleasure, and to live and die with him, 
 if need require. 
 
 And when this king Henry heard certain 
 word how the prince with all his host was 
 in the realm of Navarre and had passed 
 the straits of Roncesvaulx, then he knew 
 well there was remedy but to fight with 
 the prince, of the which he made semblant 
 to be right joyous, and said openly on high : 
 'Ah, the prince of Wales is a valiant knight, 
 and because he shall know that this is my 
 right and that I abide and look to fight 
 with him, I will write to him part of mine 
 intent.' Then he sent for a clerk and he 
 wrote a letter thus : ' To the right puissant 
 and honourable lord prince of Wales and 
 Acquitaine. It is given us to knowledge 
 that you and your people are passed the 
 ports and are drawing hitherward, and how 
 that ye have made accord and alliance 
 with our enemy, and that your intent is to 
 make war against us. We have thereof 
 great marvel, for we never forfeited to you, 
 ^ San Domingo de la Calzuda. 
 
 nor would not do. ^^'hcrefore then are ye 
 come with such a gre:it army thus on us, 
 to take from us so little an heritage as God 
 hath given us ? Ye have the grace and 
 fortune in arms more than any prince 
 now living ; wherefore we think ye glorify 
 yourself in your puissance : and because 
 we knew the certainty that ye seek to give 
 us battle, we will that ye know that where- 
 soever ye enter into Castile ye shall find us 
 before you to keep and defend this our 
 seignory. Written,' etc. And when this 
 letter was sealed, he called to him an herald 
 and said : ' Go thy way as fast as thou 
 mayst to the prince of Wales, and bear 
 him this letter from me.' So the herald 
 departed and took the way through Navarre 
 till he found the prince. Then he kneeled 
 down and delivered him the letter from 
 king Henry. The prince read the letter 
 a two times, the better to understand it, 
 and then he sent for certain of his council 
 and made the herald to depart a little 
 aside. Then the prince read the letter to 
 his council, demanding them advice in that 
 matter ; and in the mean season the prince 
 said to his council: 'Ah, I see well this 
 bastard is a stout knight and full of great 
 prowess, and sheweth great hardiness thus 
 to write to us.' Thus the prince and his 
 council were long together ; howbeit finally 
 they agreed not to write again by the herald. 
 Then it was shewed to him how he must 
 abide a season, for the prince at his pleasure 
 would write again by him and by none 
 other : therefore he was commanded to 
 tarry till he had his answer. Thus the 
 herald tarried there still at his ease and 
 pleasure. 
 
 The same day that the herald brought 
 these letters, sir Thomas Felton advanced 
 himself forth and demanded of the prince a 
 gift. Then the prince enquired of him 
 what it was that he would desire. ' Sir,' 
 quoth he, ' I require you to give me licence 
 to depart out of your host and to ride on 
 before. There be divers knights and squires 
 of my company desiring to advance them- 
 selves ; and, sir, I promise you we shall 
 ride so forward, that we shall know the 
 behaving of our enemies and what way 
 they draw and where they lodge.' The 
 prince granted him with right a good will 
 his request, whereof he thanked the prince 
 and so departed out of the host as chief 
 
170 
 
 THE CHROXICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 captain of that enterprise ; and in his com- 
 pany was sir William Felton his brother, 
 sir Thomas du Fort, sir Robert KnoUes, 
 sir Gaillard Vigier, sir Ralph Hastings, sir 
 d'Aghorisses and divers other knights and 
 squires ; and they were a seven score, and 
 three hundred archers, all well horsed and 
 good men of arms. And also there was sir 
 l-Iu»Th Stafford, sir Richard Tanton and sir 
 Simon Burley, who ought not to be for- 
 gotten. These men of arms rode through 
 Navarre by such guides as they had and 
 came to the river of Ebro, the which is 
 rude and deep ; and so they passed and 
 lodged in a village called Navaret : there 
 they held themselves, the better to know 
 and hear where king Henry was. 
 
 In the mean season, while these knights 
 thus lodged at Navaret and the prince in 
 the marches of Pampelone, the same time 
 the king of Navarre was taken prisoner, as 
 he rode from one town to another, by 
 the French party by sir Oliver of Mauny, 
 whereof the prince and all his part had 
 great marvel. And some in the prince's 
 host supposed it was done by a cautel by 
 his own means, because he would convey 
 the prince no further nor go in his company, 
 because he knew not how the matter should 
 go between king Henry and king don 
 Peter. Plowbeit, the queen his wife was 
 thereof sore dismayed and discomforted, 
 and came and kneeled on her knees before 
 the prince and said : ' Dear sir, for God's 
 sake have mercy and intend on the deliver- 
 ance of the king my husband, who is taken 
 fraudulently and as yet cannot be known 
 how. Therefore, sir, we desire you for 
 the love of God that we may have him 
 again. ' Then the prince answered : * Cer- 
 tainly, fair lady and cousin, his taking to 
 us is right displeasant, and we trust to 
 provide remedy for him shortly. Where- 
 fore we desire you to comfort yourself ; for 
 this our viage once achieved, we shall 
 intend to no other thing but for his deliver- 
 ance.' Then the queen of Navarre re- 
 turned. And there was a noble knight, 
 sir Martin Carra, who undertook to guide 
 the prince through the realm of Navarre, 
 and did get him guides for his people : for 
 otherwise they coidd not have kept the 
 right way through the straits and perilous 
 passage. So thus the prince departed from 
 thence, thereas he was lodged, and he and 
 
 his company passed through a place named 
 Sarris,^ the which was right perilous to 
 pass, for it was narrow and an evil way. 
 There were many sore troubled for lack of 
 victual, for they found but little in that 
 passage till they came to Sauveterre. 
 
 Sauveterre is a good town and is in a 
 good country and a plentiful, as to the 
 marches thereabout." This town is at the 
 utter bounds of Navarre and on the entering 
 into Spain. This town held with king 
 Henry. So then the prince's host spread 
 abroad that country, and the companions 
 advanced themselves to assail the town of 
 .Sauveterre and to take it by force and to 
 rob and pill it, whereunto they had great 
 desire because of the great riches that they 
 knew was within the town, the which they 
 of the country had brought thither on trust 
 of the strength of the town. But they of 
 the town thought not to abide that peril, 
 for they knew well they could not long 
 endure nor resist against so great an host. 
 Therefore they came out and rendered 
 themselves to king don Peter, and cried 
 him mercy and presented to him the keys 
 of the town. The king don Peter by 
 counsel of the prince took them to mercy ; 
 or else he would not have done it, for by 
 his will he would have destroyed them all : 
 howbeit, they were all received to mercy, 
 and the prince, king don Peter and the 
 king of Mallorca with the duke of Lan- 
 caster entered into the town, and the earl of 
 Armagnac and all other lodged thereabout 
 in villages. Now let us leave the prince 
 there, and somewhat speak of his men that 
 were at the town of Navaret. 
 
 The foresaid knights that were there 
 greatly desired to advance their bodies ; 
 for they were a five days' journey from 
 their own host, whereas they departed 
 from them first. And oftentimes they 
 issued out of Navaret and rode to the 
 marches of their enemies, to learn what 
 their enemies intended. And this king 
 Henry was lodged in the field, and all 
 his host, desiring greatly to hear tidings 
 of the prince, marvelling greatly that his 
 herald returned not. And oftentimes his 
 men rode near to Navaret to learn and to 
 hear some tidings of the Englishmen, and 
 
 1 Ecliarri. 
 
 - ' Selonch les marces voLsines,' 'in comparison 
 with the neighbouring regions.' 
 
THE PRINCE OF WALES AT NAVARETTA 
 
 171 
 
 the earl don Telle brother to the Uing don 
 Henry was certainly informed that there 
 were men of war in garrison in the town 
 of Navaret, wherefore he thought to go 
 and see them more nearer. But first on 
 a day the knights of England rode out of 
 Navaret in an evening so far forth, that 
 they came to king Henry's lodging and 
 made there a great skirmish and marvel- 
 lously awoke the host and slew and took 
 divers, and specially the knight that kept 
 the watch was taken without recovery, and 
 so returned again to Navaret without any 
 damage. And the next day they sent to 
 the prince an herald, who was as then at 
 Sauveterre, signifying him what they had 
 done and seen, and what puissance his 
 enemies were of, and where they were 
 lodged ; for they knew all this well by the 
 information of such prisoners as they had 
 taken. Of these tidings the prince was 
 right joyous, in that his knights had so 
 well borne themselves on the frontier of 
 his enemies. 
 
 King Henry, who was right sore dis- 
 pleased that the Englishmen that lay at 
 Navaret had thus escried his host, said 
 how he would approach nearer to his 
 enemies, and so advanced forward. And 
 when sir Thomas Felton and his company 
 at Navaret knew that king Henry was 
 passed the water and drew forward to find 
 the prince, then they determined to depart 
 from Navaret and to take the fields and to 
 know more certainty of the Spaniards. 
 And so they did, and sent word to the 
 prince how that king Henry approached 
 fast, and by seeming desiring greatly to 
 find him and his men. And the prince, who 
 was as then at Sauveterre, when he under- 
 stood that king Henry was passed the 
 water and took his way to come to fight 
 with him, he was right joyous, and said 
 a-high that every man heard him : ' By 
 my faith this bastard Henry is a valiant 
 knight and a hardy, for it is sign of great 
 prowess that he seeketh thus for us ; 
 and sith he doth so and we in like wise 
 him, by all reason we ought to meet and 
 fight together. Therefore it were good 
 that we departed from hence, and go for- 
 ward, and to get Vittoria, or our enemies 
 come there.' And so the next morning 
 they departed from Sauveterre, first the 
 Diince and all his battle, and he did so 
 
 much that he came before Vittoria, and 
 there he found sir Thomas Felton and the 
 foresaid knights, to whom he made great 
 cheer and demanded them of divers things. 
 And as they were devising together, their 
 currours came and reported that they had 
 seen the currours of their enemies, wherefore 
 they knew for certain that king Henry and 
 his host was not far off by reason of the 
 demeaning that they had seen among the 
 Spaniards. When the prince understood 
 these tidings, he caused his trumpets to 
 sown and cried alarum throughout all the 
 host. And when every man heard that, 
 then they drew to their order and array 
 and ranged them in battle ready to fight ; 
 for every man knew, or he departed from 
 Sauveterre, what he should do and what 
 order to take, the which they did incon- 
 tinent. 
 
 There might have been seen great noble- 
 ness, and banners and pennons beaten with 
 arms waving in the wind. What should 
 I say more? It was great nobleness to 
 behold. The vaward was so well ranged 
 that it was marvel to behold, whereof the 
 duke of Lancaster was chief and with him 
 sir John Chandos constable of Acquitaine 
 with a great company, and in those battles 
 there were made divers new knights. The 
 duke of Lancaster in the vaward made 
 new knights, as sir Kalph Camoys, sir 
 Walter Urswick, sir Thomas Dammery, 
 sir John Grandison and other to the 
 number of twelve ; and sir John Chandos 
 made divers English squires knights, as 
 Corton, Clinton, Prior, William of Faring- 
 don, Amery of Rochechouart, Gaillard de 
 la Motte and Robert Briquet. The prince 
 made first knight don Peter king of Spain, 
 sir Thomas Holland, son to his wife the 
 princess, sir Hugh, sir Philip and sir Peter 
 Courtenay, sir John Trivet and Nicholas 
 Bond and divers other : and in like wise 
 so did divers other lords in their battles. 
 There were made that day three hundred 
 new knights or more, and all that day they 
 were still ready ranged in the battle to 
 abide for their enemies, but they came no 
 farther forward that day but thereas the 
 currours had seen them ; for king Henry 
 tarried for succours that should come to 
 him out of Aragon, and specially for sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin, who was coming to 
 him with a four thousand fighting men, for 
 
172 
 
 THE CHJiOiVICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 without them he thought he wuuld not 
 fight ; whereof the prince was right joyous, 
 for his arearguard, wherein were six thousand 
 men, was behind him a seven leagues of 
 that country, whereof the prince was sore 
 displeased in his heart that they tarried so 
 long. Howbeit, if his enemies had come 
 on forward the same day, he was fully 
 determined to have received and fought 
 with them. 
 
 And in the same evening the two 
 marshals, sir d'Angle and sir Stephen 
 Cosington, commanded every man to draw 
 to their lodging, and in the next morning 
 to be ready at sowning of the trumpets, 
 every man in the same order as they had 
 been all that day : and so every man obeyed 
 saving sir Thomas Felton and such com- 
 pany as he had before. The same evening 
 they departed from the prince and rode 
 forward a two leagues nearer to their 
 enemies, to know what they did. And 
 that evening the earl don Tello, brother to 
 king Henry, was with him in his lodging 
 and talked together of divers deeds of arms 
 and adventures ; and at last he said to his 
 brother ; ' Sir, ye know well our enemies 
 are lodged not far from us, and yet there 
 is none that hath aviewed them. Sir, I 
 require you give me leave that in the 
 morning I may ride toward them with a 
 certain number, such as hath great desire 
 so to do ; and, sir, I promise you I shall 
 ride so near them that we will bring you 
 certain knowledge what they do.' And 
 this king Henry, when he saw the desire 
 of his brother, agreed thereto lightly. The 
 same proper hour sir Bertram of Guesclin 
 came to their host with a three thousand 
 fighting men of France and of Aragon ; 
 whereof the king and all his company were 
 right joyous, and honourably received him 
 and his company. The earl don Tello 
 forgat not his purpose, but desired such to 
 go as pleased him, and would gladly have 
 desired sir Bertram of Guesclin and sir 
 Arnold d'Audrehem, the Begue of Villaines 
 and the viscount of Roqxiebertin of Aragon, 
 but because they were so lately come to 
 the host, he let them alone, and also the 
 king Henry charged him in no wise to 
 speak thereof So the earl don Tello let 
 it pass and took with him other of France 
 and of Aragon, so that he was to the 
 number of six thousand horses well appar- 
 
 elled, and with him his brother .Sancho in 
 his company. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXVI 
 
 How certain of the company of the duke of 
 Lancaster's were discomfited, and of the 
 counsel that king Henry would not believe ; 
 and of the letters that the prince wrote to 
 king Henry, and of the counsel that sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin gave to the answer of 
 the same letters. 
 
 SUMMARY. — Til the encotmters of ad- 
 vanced paj'tias king Henry had the better 
 and SIT Thomas Felton ayid his company 
 were all slain or taken. The English host set 
 themselves in array on n. certain hill. Sir 
 A mold d' Audrehem counselled king Henry 
 to stop the passes ajid starve his enemies, 
 bid he would not take that coztnsel, being 
 desirous to fight. 
 
 The chapter thtis contiyiiies : — 
 
 The prince of Wales and the duke of 
 Lancaster were all the said day on the 
 mountain, and at night they were informed 
 of their men that were thus taken and 
 slain, wherewith they were sore displeased, 
 but they could not amend it. Then they 
 drew to their lodging, and the next morning 
 the prince took counsel and determined to 
 depart from thence, and so he did and 
 went and lodged before Vittoria, and there 
 stood in battle ready to fight, for it was 
 informed the prince how that king Henry 
 and his brother and their company were 
 not far thence ; but they came not forward. 
 The prince and his company had great lack 
 of victuals and provision for themselves and 
 for their horses, for they were lodged but 
 in an evil country and a hard, and king 
 Henry and his company lay in a good 
 fruitful country. In the prince's host a loaf 
 of bread was sold for a florin, every man 
 glad so to give, and more an they could 
 have got it ; also the time was foul and 
 troublous of wind, rain and snow ; and in 
 this danger and disease they were six days. 
 And when the prince saw that the Spaniards 
 came not forward to fight, and that they 
 were there in great distress, then they 
 determined to go and seek for passage at 
 some other place. Then they dislodged 
 
LETTER OF THE PRINCE OF WALES 
 
 173 
 
 and took the way to Navaret, and passed 
 through a country called the country of the 
 Gard,' and when they were passed, then 
 they came to a town called Viane. There 
 the prince and the duke of Lancaster re- 
 freshed them, and the earl of Armagnac 
 and the other lords, a two days. Then they 
 went and passed the river that departeth 
 Castile and Navarre at the bridge of Log- 
 rono among the gardens under the olives, 
 and there they found a better country than 
 they were in before ; howbeit, they had 
 great default of victual. And when that 
 king Henry knew that the prince and his 
 people were passed the river at Logrono, 
 then he departed from Saint-Vincent, where 
 he had long lain, and went and lodged 
 before Nazres ^ on the same river. When 
 the prince heard that king Henry was 
 approached, he was right joyous and said 
 openly : * By Saint George this bastard 
 seemeth to be a valiant knight, sith he 
 desireth so sore to find us. I trust we shall 
 find each other shortly.' Then the prince 
 called to him the duke of Lancaster his 
 brother and divers other of his council, and 
 then he wrote an answer to king Henry of 
 the letter that he had sent him before, the 
 tenour whereof followeth : ' Edward, by the 
 grace of God prince of Wales and Acqui- 
 taine, to the right honourable and renowned 
 Henry earl of Trastemar, who at this 
 present time calleth himself king of Castile. 
 Sith it is so that ye have sent to us your 
 letters by your herald, wherein were con- 
 tained divers articles, making mention how 
 ye would gladly know why we take to our 
 friend and lover your enemy our cousin the 
 king don Peter, and by what title we make 
 you war and are entered with an army royal 
 into Castile, we answer thereto : know ye 
 for truth it is to sustain the right and to 
 maintain reason, as it appertaineth to all 
 kings and princes so to do, and also to 
 entertain the great alliances that the king 
 of England my dear father and king don 
 
 1 La Guardia. 
 
 ~ Najara. The French text followed by the 
 translator gives 'Navaret' indiscriminately for 
 Navaretta and Najara, which last is in the better 
 MSS. given as Nazres. This causes great confusion 
 in the narrative, for which of course the translator 
 is not responsible. Where a distinction of some 
 kind is necessary, as in the passage which says 
 that the battle was fought between Najara and 
 Navaretta, the text says ' between Navafre and 
 Navaret.' 
 
 Peter have had long together. And be- 
 cause ye are renowned a right valiant 
 knight, we would gladly, an we could, 
 accord you and him together ; and we 
 shall do so much to our cousin don Peter 
 that ye shall have a great part of the realm 
 of Castile, but as for the crown and heritage, 
 ye must renounce. Sir, take counsel in 
 this case ; and as for our entering into 
 Castile we will enter thereas we think best 
 at our own pleasure. Written at Logrono 
 the thirtieth day of March.' 
 
 When this letter was written, it was 
 closed and sealed, and delivered to the 
 same herald that brought the other and had 
 tarried for an answer more than three 
 weeks. Then he departed from the 
 presence of the prince, and rode so long 
 that he came to Nazres, among the bushes ^ 
 where king Henry was lodged, and drew to 
 the king's lodging. And the most part of 
 the great lords of the host came thither to 
 hear what tidings their herald had brought. 
 Then the herald kneeled down and delivered 
 the king the letter from the prince. The 
 king took and opened it and called to him 
 sir Bertram of Guesclin and divers other 
 knights of his council. There the letter 
 was read and well considered. Then sir 
 Bertram said to the king, ' Sir, know for 
 truth ye shall have battle shortly ; I know 
 so well the prince. Therefore, sir, look 
 well on the matter : it is necessary that ye 
 take good heed to all your business, and 
 order your people and your battles.' 'Sir 
 Bertram,' quoth the king, 'be it in the 
 name of God. The puissance of the prince 
 I doubt nothing, for I have three thousand 
 barded horses, the which shall be two 
 wings to our battle, and I have also seven 
 thousand genetours, and well twenty 
 thousand men of arms of the best that can 
 be found in all Castile, Galice, Portugal, 
 Cordowan and Seville, and ten thousand 
 good cross-bows, and threescore thousand of 
 other men afoot with darts, spears, lances 
 and other habiliments for the war : and all 
 these have sworn not to fail me to die in 
 the pain. Therefore, sir Bertram, I trust 
 to have victory by the grace of God, on 
 whom is my trust, and my right that I have 
 in the quarrel. Therefore, lords, I desire 
 you all to be of good courage.' 
 i Or, * upon the heath ' 
 
1 7a 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXVII 
 
 How the prince commanded his people to be 
 ready to fight, and how king Henry 
 ordained his battles ; and how they fought 
 fiercely together, and of the comfort that 
 king Henry did to his people. 
 
 Thus, as ye have heard, king Henry and 
 sir Bertram of Guesclin devised together of 
 divers matters and left talking of the prince's 
 letter : for it was king Henry's intention to 
 have battle, and so intended to order his 
 field and people. The earl don Telle and 
 his brother sir Sancho were greatly re- 
 nowned in their host for the journey that 
 they had made before, as ye have heard. 
 The prince the Friday the second day of 
 April dislodged from Logrono and ad- 
 vanced forward arranged in battle ready to 
 fight, for he knew well that king Henry 
 was not far thence. And so that day he 
 advanced two leagues, and at three of the 
 day he came before Navaret and there took 
 his lodging. Then the prince sent forth 
 his currours to aview his enemies and to 
 know where they were lodged, and then 
 they departed from the host and rode so 
 forward that they saw all their enemies' 
 host, who were lodged before Nazres.' So 
 they brought report thereof to the prince, 
 and in the evening the prince caused secretly 
 to be shewed through all the host that at 
 the first sowning of the trumpets every man 
 to apparel himself, and at the second to be 
 armed, and at the third to leap a-horseback 
 and to follow the marshals' banners with 
 the pennon of Saint George, and that none 
 on pain of death advance before them with- 
 out he be commanded so to do. 
 
 In like manner as the prince had done 
 the same Friday in sending out his currours, 
 so did king Henry on his part, to know 
 where the prince was lodged. And when 
 he had true report thereof, then the king 
 called sir Bertram of Guesclin and took 
 counsel and advice how to persevere. Then 
 they caused their people to sup and after to 
 go to rest, to be the more fresher, and at 
 the hour of midnight to be ready apparelled 
 and to draw to the field and to ordain their 
 
 ^ The translator says, ' who were aLso lodged 
 before Navaret,' but this is part of the same con- 
 fusion as was noted before. 
 
 battles, for he knew well the ne.xt day he 
 should have battle. So that night the 
 Spaniards took their ease and rest, for they 
 had well wherewith so to do, as plenty of 
 victuals and other things ; and the English- 
 men had great default, therefore they had 
 great desire to fight, other to win or to 
 lose all. 
 
 After midnight the trumpets sounded in 
 king Henry's host. Then every man made 
 him ready. At the second blast they drew 
 out of their lodgings and ordered three 
 battles. The first had sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin, lord Robert of Roquebertin and 
 the earl Dune of Aragon ; and there were 
 all the strangers, as well of France as of 
 other countries, and there were two barons 
 of Hainault, the lord d'Antoing and sir 
 Alard lord of Briffeuil : there was also the 
 Begue of Villaines, the Begue of Villiers, 
 sir John of Berguettes, sir Gawain of Bail- 
 leul, the Alemant of Saint-Venant, who 
 was there made knight, and divers other of 
 France, Aragon and Provence and of the 
 marches thereabout. There was well in 
 that battle four thousand knights and 
 squires well armed and dressed after the 
 usage of France. The second battle had 
 the earl don Tello and his brother the earl 
 Sancho, and in that battle with the gene- 
 tours there were fifteen thousand afoot and 
 a-horseback, and they drew them a little 
 aback on the left hand of the first battle. 
 The third battle and the greatest of all 
 governed king Henry himself ; and in his 
 company there were u seven thousand 
 horsemen and threescore thousand afoot, 
 with the cross-bows ; so in all three battles 
 he was a fourscore and six thousand a-horse- 
 back and afoot. Then king Henry leapt 
 on a strong mule after the usage of the 
 country and rode from battle to battle, 
 right sweetly praying every man that day 
 to employ himself to defend and keep their 
 honour, and so he shewed himself so cheer- 
 fully that every man was joyful to behold 
 him. Then he went again to his own 
 battle, and by that time it was daylight, 
 and then about the sun -rising he ad- 
 vanced forth toward Navaret to find his 
 enemies, in good order of battle ready to 
 fight. 
 
 The prince of Wales at the breaking of 
 the day was ready in the field arranged in 
 battle, and advanced forward in good order, 
 
BATTLE OF NAJARA, 1367 (April i) 
 
 175 
 
 for he Unew well he should encounter his 
 enemies. .So there were none that went 
 before the marshals' battles but such 
 currours as were appointed : so thus the 
 lords of both hosts knew by the report of 
 their currours that they should shortly meet. 
 So they went forward an hosting pace each 
 toward other, and when the sun was rising 
 up, it was a great beauty to behold the 
 battles and the armours shiniiig against the 
 sun. So thus they went forward till they 
 approached near together : then the prince 
 and his company went over a little hill, and 
 in the descending thereof they perceived 
 clearly their enemies coming toward them. 
 And when they were all descended down 
 this mountain, then every man drew to 
 their battles and kept them still and so 
 rested them, and every man dressed and 
 apparelled himself ready to fight. Then 
 sir John Chandos brought his banner rolled 
 up together to the prince, and said : * Sir, 
 behold here is my banner : I require you 
 display it abroad and give me leave this 
 day to raise it ; for, sir, I thank God and 
 you, I have land and heritage sufficient to 
 maintain it withal.' Then the prince and 
 king don Peter took the banner between 
 their hands and spread it abroad, the which 
 was of silver, a sharp pile gules, and de- 
 livered it to him and said : ' Sir John, 
 behold here your banner. God send you 
 joy and honour thereof.' Then sir John 
 Chandos bare his banner to his own com- 
 pany and said : ' Sirs, behold here my 
 banner and yours : .keep it as your own.' 
 And they took it and were right joyful 
 thereof, and said that by the pleasure of 
 God and Saint George they would keep 
 and defend it to the best of their powers ; 
 and so the banner abode in the hands of a 
 good English squire called William Alery, 
 who bare it that day and acquitted himself 
 right nobly. Then anon after, the English- 
 men and Gascons alighted off their horses 
 and every man drew under their own 
 banner and standard in array of battle 
 ready to fight. It was great joy to see and 
 consider the banners and pennons and the 
 noble armoury ' that was there. 
 
 Then the battles began a little to 
 advance, and then the prince of Wales 
 opened his eyen and regarded toward 
 heaven, and joined his hands together and 
 
 i- i.e. Display of arms on banners and pennons. 
 
 said: 'Very God, Jesu Christ,' who hath 
 formed and created me, consent by your 
 benign grace that I may have this day 
 victory of mine enemies, as that I do is in 
 a rightful quarrel, to sustain and to aid this 
 king chased out of his own heritage, the 
 which giveth me courage to advance my- 
 self to re-establish him again into his realm. ' 
 And then he laid his right hand on king 
 don Peter, who was by him, and said : 
 ' Sir king, ye shall know this day if ever 
 ye shall have any part of the realm of 
 Ca.stile or not. Therefore advance banners, 
 in the name of God and Saint George.' 
 With those words the duke of Lancaster 
 and sir John Chandos approached, and the 
 duke said to sir William Beauchamp : ' Sir 
 William, behold yonder our enemies. This 
 day ye shall see me a good knight, or else 
 to die in the quarrel.' And therewith they 
 approached their enemies. 
 
 And first the duke of Lancaster and sir 
 John Chandos' battle assembled with the 
 battle of sir Bertram of Guesclin and of the 
 marshal sir Arnold d'Audrehem, who were 
 a four thousand men of arms. So at the 
 first brunt there was a sore encounter with 
 spears and shields, and they were a certain 
 space or any of them could get within 
 other. There was many a deed of arms 
 done and many a man reversed and cast to 
 the earth, that never after was relieved. 
 And when these two first battles were thus 
 assembled, the other battles would not 
 long tarry behind, but approached and 
 assembled together quickly. And so the 
 prince and his battle came on the earl 
 Sancho's battle, and with the prince was 
 king don Peter of Castile and sir Martin 
 de la Carra, who represented the king of 
 Navarre. And at the first meeting that 
 the prince met with the earl Sancho's 
 battle, the earl and his brother fled away 
 without order or good array, and wist not 
 why, and a two thousand spears with him. 
 So this second battle was opened and anon 
 discomfited, for the captal of Buch and the 
 lord Clisson and their company came on 
 them afoot and slew and hurt many of 
 them. Then the prince's battle with king 
 don Peter came and joined with the battle 
 of king Henry, whereas there were three- 
 score thousand men afoot and a-horseback. 
 
 1 ' Vray dieu, pere Jesu Christ,' 'Very God, 
 father of Jesu Christ.' 
 
■ 76 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 There the batlle began to be fierce and 
 cruel on all parts, for the Spaniards and 
 Castilians had slings, wherewith they cast 
 stones in such wise, that therewith they 
 clave and brake maiiy a bassenet and helm 
 and hurt many a man and overthrew them 
 to the earth ; and the archers of England 
 shot fiercely and hurt [the] Spaniards 
 grievously and brought them to great mis- 
 chief The one part cried, ' Castile for 
 king Henry ! ' and the other part, ' Saint 
 George, Guyenne ! ' And the first battle, 
 as the duke of Lancaster and sir John 
 Chandos and the two marshals sir Guichard 
 d'Angle and sir Stephen Cosington, fought 
 with sir Bertram of Guesclin and with the 
 other knights of France and of Aragon. 
 There was done many a deed of arms, so 
 it was hard for any of them to open other's 
 battle. Divers of them held their spears 
 in both their hands, foining and pressing 
 each at other, and some fought with short 
 swords and daggers. Thus at the begin- 
 ning the Frenchmen and they of Aragon 
 fought valiantly, so that the good knights 
 of England endured much pain. That day 
 sir John Chandos was a good knight and 
 did under his banner many a noble feat of 
 arms. He adventured himself so far, that 
 he was closed in among his enemies and so 
 sore overpressed that he was felled down 
 to the earth ; and on him there fell a great 
 and big man of Castile called Martin Fer- 
 rant, who was greatly renowned of hardi- 
 ness among the Spaniards, and he did his 
 intent to have slain sir John Chandos, who 
 lay under him in great danger. Then sir 
 John Chandos remembered of a knife that 
 he had in his bosom and drew it out and 
 strake this Martin so in the back and in 
 the sides that he wounded him to death, 
 as he lay on him. Then sir John Chandos 
 turned him over and rose quickly on his 
 feet, and his men were there about him, 
 who had with much pain broken the press 
 to come to him, whereas they saw him 
 felled. 
 
 The Saturday in the morning between 
 Nazres and Navaret was the battle right 
 fell and cruel, and many a man brought to 
 great mischief. There was done many a 
 noble deed of arms by the prince and by 
 the duke of Lancaster his brother and by 
 sir John Chandos, sir Guichard d'Angle, the 
 captal of Buch, the lord of Clisson, the 
 
 lord of Retz, sir Hugh Calverley, sir 
 Alatthew Gournay, sir Louis Harcourt, the 
 lord of Pons, the^lord of Partenay ; and of 
 Gascons fought valiantly the earl of Armag- 
 nac, the lord d'Albret, the lord of Pommiers 
 and his brethren, the lord of Mussidan, the 
 lord of Rauzan, the earl of Perigqrd, the 
 earl of Comminges, the earl of Caraman, 
 the lord of Condom, the lord Lesparre, the 
 lord of Caumont, sir Bertram of Terride, 
 the lord of Puycornet, sir Bernard d'Albret, 
 the lord of Geronde, sir Aymery of Tastes, 
 the soudic of Latrau, sir Petiton of Curton, 
 and divers other knights and squires ac- 
 quitted themselves right nobly in arms to 
 their powers : and under the pennon of 
 Saint George and the banner of sir John 
 Chandos were all the companions, to the 
 number of twelve hundred pensels,' and 
 they were right hardy and valiant knights, 
 as sir Robert Cheyne, sir Perducas d'Albret, 
 Robert Briquet, sir Garsis of the Castle, sir 
 Gaillard Vigier, sir John Creswey, Naudan 
 of Bageran, Aymenion d'Artigue, Perrot of 
 .Savoy, the bourg Camus, the bourg Les- 
 jjarre, the bourg Breteuil, Espiote and 
 divers other. On the J'rench party sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin, sir Arnold d'Audre- 
 hem, Sancho, sir Gomez Carillo and other 
 knights of France and of Aragon fought 
 right nobly to their powers. Howbeit 
 they had none advantage, for these com- 
 panions were hardy and strong knights and 
 well used and expert in arms, and also 
 there were great plenty of knights and 
 squires of England under the banner of the 
 duke of Lancaster and of sir John Chandos. 
 There was the lord William Beauchamp, 
 son to the earl of Warwick, sir Ralph 
 Camoys, sir Walter Urswick, sir Thomas 
 Dammery, sir John Grandison, sir John 
 d'Ypres,^ sir Amery of Rochechouart, sir 
 Gaillard de la Motte, and more than two 
 hundred knights, the which I cannot name. 
 And to speak truly, the said sir Bertram 
 du Guesclin and the marshal d'Audrehem, 
 the Begue of Villaines, the lord d'Antoing, 
 the lord of Briffeuil, sir Gawain of Bailleul, 
 sir John of Berguettes, the Begue of Villiers, 
 the Alemant of Saint-Venant, and the good 
 knights and squires of France that were 
 
 ^ Pennoncbiaus. 
 
 2 The translator, following his text, says, 'sirjohn 
 Dyper, .sir Johan du Pre,' but this is two attempts 
 at the same name, 'messire Jehans d'Yppre.' 
 
BATTLE OF N AJAR A, 1367 
 
 177 
 
 there acquitted themselves nobly : for of 
 truth, if the Spaniards had done their part 
 as well as the Frenchmen did, the English- 
 men and Gascons should have had much 
 more to do and have suffered more pain 
 than they did. The fault was not in king 
 Henry that they did no better, for he had 
 well admonished and desired them to have 
 done their devoir valiantly, and so they had 
 promised him to have done. The king bare 
 himself right valiantly, and did marvels in 
 arms, and with good courage comforted his 
 people, as, when they were flying and 
 opening, he came in among them and said : 
 ' Lords, I am your king : ye have made 
 me king of Castile, and have sworn and 
 promised that to die ye will not fail me. 
 For God's sake keep your promise that ye 
 have sworn, and acquit you against me, 
 and I shall acquit me against you ; for I 
 shall not fly one foot as long as I may see 
 you do your devoir.' By these words and 
 such other full of comfort king Henry 
 brought his men together again three times 
 the same day, and with his ov/n hands he 
 fought valiantly, so that he ought greatly 
 to be honoured and renowned. 
 
 This was a marvellous dangerous battle, 
 and many a man slain and sore hurt. The 
 commons of Spain according to the usage 
 of their country with their slings they did 
 cast stones with great violence and did 
 much hurt, the which at the beginning 
 troubled greatly the Englishmen : but 
 when their cast was past and that they felt 
 the sharp arrows light among them, they 
 could no longer keep their array. With 
 king Henry in his battle were many noble 
 men of arms, as well of Spain as of Lisbon, 
 of Aragon and of Portugal, who acquitted 
 them right nobly and gave it not up so 
 lightly, for valiantly they fought with 
 spears, javelins, archegayes and swords ; 
 and on the wing of king Henry's battle 
 there were certain well mounted, who 
 always kept the battle in good order, for if 
 the battle opened or brake array in any 
 side, then they were ever ready to help to 
 bring them again into good order. So 
 these Englishmen and Gascons, or they 
 had the advantage, they bought it dearly, 
 and won it by noble chivalry and great 
 prowess of arms : and for to say truth, 
 the prince himself was the chief flower of 
 chivalry of all the world, and had with him 
 N 
 
 as then right noble and valiant knights 
 and squires : and a httle beside the 
 prince's battle was the king of Mallorca 
 and his company, fighting and acquitting 
 themselves right valiantly, and also there 
 was the lord Martin de la Carra represent- 
 ing the king of Navarre, who did right 
 well his devoir. I cannot speak of all 
 them that did that day right nobly; but 
 about the prince in his battle there were 
 divers good knights, as well of England as 
 of Gascoyne, as sir Richard Pontchardon, 
 sir Thomas Spenser, sir Thomas Holland, 
 sir Niel Loring, sir Hugh and sir Philip 
 Courtenay, sir John Trivet, sir Nicholas 
 Bond, sir Thomas Trivet, and divers other, 
 as the seneschal of Saintonge, sir Baldwin 
 of Freville, the seneschal of Bordeaux, of 
 Rochelle, of Poitou, of Angouleme, of 
 Rouergue, of Limousin and of Perigord, 
 and sir Louis Melval, sir Raimond Mareuil 
 and divers other. There was none that 
 fained to fight valiantly, and also they had 
 good cause why ; for there were of Spaniards 
 and of Castile more than a hundred thou- 
 sand men in harness, so that by reason of 
 their great number it was long or they could 
 be overcome. King don Peter was greatly 
 chafed, and much desired to meet with the 
 bastard his brother, and said : ' Where is 
 that whoreson that calleth himself king of 
 Castile ? ' And the same king Henry 
 fought right valiantly whereas he was, and 
 held his people together right marvellously, 
 and said : * Ah ! ye good people, ye have 
 crowned me king, therefore help and aid 
 me to keep the heritage that you have 
 given me.' So that by these words and 
 such other as he spake that day he caused 
 many to be right hardy and valiant, where- 
 by they abode on the field, so that because 
 of their honour they would not fly from the 
 place. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXVni 
 
 How sir Bertram of Guesclin was discomfited, 
 he taken and king Henry saved himself, 
 and of the Spaniards that fled, and of the 
 number of the dead, and of the cities that 
 yielded them up to king don Peter, and of 
 the answer that he made to the prince. 
 
 The battle that was best fought and 
 longest held together was the company of 
 sir Bertram of Guesclin, for there were 
 
I7S 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 many noble men of arms » ho fought and 
 held together to their powers, and there 
 was done many a noljle feat of arms. 
 And on the English part specially there 
 was sir John Chandos, who that day did 
 like a noble knight and governed and 
 counselled that day the duke of Lancaster 
 in like manner as he did before the prince 
 at the battle of Poitiers, wherein he was 
 greatly renowned and praised, the which 
 was good reason ; for a valiant man and a 
 good knight, acquitting himself nobly among 
 lords and princes, ought greatly to be re- 
 commended : for that day he took no heed 
 for taking of any prisoner with his own 
 hands, but always fought and went forward ; 
 but there was taken by his company under 
 his banner divers good knights and squires 
 of Aragon and of France, and specially sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin, sir Arnold d'Audre- 
 hem, sir Begue of Villaines and more 
 than threescore prisoners. So thus finally 
 t)ie battle of sir Bertram of Guesclin was 
 discomfited, and all that were therein taken 
 and slain, as well they of France as of 
 Aragon. There was slain the Begue of 
 Villiers, and taken the lord Antoing of 
 Ilainault, the lord Briffeui), sir Gawain of 
 Bailleul, sir John of Berguettes, sir Ale- 
 mant of Saint -Venant and divers other. 
 Then drew together these banners, the 
 banner of the duke q^ Lancaster, of sir 
 John Chandos and of the two marshals, 
 and the pennon of Saint George, and went 
 all together on the battle of king Henry 
 and cried with a high voice, ' St. George, 
 Guyenne ! ' Then the Spaniards and their 
 company were sore put aback. The captal 
 of Buch and the lord Clisson fought vali- 
 antly, and also sir Eustace d'Aubrecicourt, 
 sir Hugh Calverley, sir soudic, sir John 
 Devereux and other acquitted themselves 
 that day right nobly. The prince shewed 
 himself like a noble knight and fought 
 valiantly with his enemies. On the other 
 side king Henry acquitted himself right 
 valiantly, and recovered and turned again 
 his people that day three times. For after 
 that the earl don Tello and a three thou- 
 sand horsemen with him were departed 
 from the field, the other began then greatly 
 to be discomfited and were ever ready to 
 fly after their company ; but then ever 
 king Henry was before them and said, 
 'Fair lords, what do you? Wherefore will 
 
 ye thus forsake and betray me ? Sith ye 
 have made me king and set the crown on 
 my head and put the heritage of Castile 
 into my hands, return and help to keep 
 and defend me, and abide with me ; for by 
 the grace of God, or it be night, all shall 
 be ours ' ; so that these words or such-like 
 encouraged his people in such wise, that it 
 made them to abide longer in the field, for 
 they durst not fly for shame when they saw 
 their king and their lord so valiantly fight 
 and speak so amiably : so that there died 
 more than a thousand and five hundred 
 persons, that might well have saved them- 
 selves and have taken the time to their 
 advantage, an the love that they had to 
 their lord and king had not been. 
 
 "When the battle of the marshals were 
 passed through their enemies and had dis- 
 comfited the greatest number of them,^ so 
 that the Spaniards could not sustain nor 
 defend them any longer, but began to fly 
 away in great fear without any good array 
 or order toward the city of Nazres, and so 
 passed by the great river,^ so that for any 
 words that king Henry could say they 
 would not return, and when the king saw 
 the mischief and discomfiture of his people 
 and that he saw no recovery, then he 
 called for his horse and mounted thereon 
 and put himself among them that fled ; but 
 he took not the way to Nazres, for fear 
 of enclosing, but then took another way 
 eschewing all perils, for he knew well that 
 if he were taken, he should die without 
 mercy. Then the Englishmen and Gas- 
 cons leapt a-horseback and began to chase 
 the Spaniards, who fled away sore discom- 
 fited to the great river. And at the entry 
 of the bridge of Nazres there was a hideous 
 shedding of blood, and many a man slain 
 and drowned ; for divers leapt into the 
 water, the which was deep and hideous ; 
 they thought they had as lief to be drowned 
 as slain. And in this chase among other 
 there were two valiant knights of Spain 
 bearing on them the habit of religion, the 
 1 The original is : 'AVhen the battle of the mar- 
 shals was brought to extremity (oultriie) and dis- 
 comfited, and all the great battles had been joined 
 together, the Spaniards could not,' etc. The pas- 
 sage is made obscure by omissions : according to 
 the full text it is: 'When the battle of the marshals 
 of France was brought to extremity, etc., and the 
 three great battles of the English had been joined 
 together, the Spaniards could not,' etc. 
 ^ The ' grosse riviere ' in qtiestion is the Najarilla. 
 
BATTLE OF NAJJRA, 1367 
 
 179 
 
 one called the great prior of Saint James 
 and the other the great master of Cala- 
 trava ; they and their company to save 
 themselves entered into Nazres, and they 
 were so near chased at their back by Eng- 
 lishmen and Gascons, that they ' won the 
 bridge, so that there was a great slaughter; 
 and the Englishmen entered into the city 
 after their enemies, who were entered into 
 a strong house of stone. Howbeit, incon- 
 tinent it was won by force, and the knights 
 taken and many of their men slain and all 
 the city overrun and pilled, the which was 
 greatly to the Englishmen's profit. Also 
 they won king Henry's lodging, wherein 
 they found great riches of vessel and jewels 
 of gold and silver ; for the king was come 
 thither with great nobleness, so that when 
 they were discomfited, they had no leisure 
 for to return thither again to save that 
 they had left there. So this was a hideous 
 and a terrible discomfiture, and specially 
 on the river side there was many a man 
 slain ; and it was said, as I heard after re- 
 ported of some of them that were there 
 present, that one might have seen the 
 water that ran by Nazres to be of the 
 colour of red with the blood of men and 
 horse that were there slain. This battle 
 was between Nazres and Navaret in Spain 
 the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 
 Jesu Christ a thousand three hundred 
 threescore and six, the third day of April, 
 the which was on a Saturday. 
 
 After the discomfiture of the battle of 
 Nazres, which was done by noon, the 
 prince caused his banner to be raised up a- 
 high upon a bush on a little hill, to the 
 intent to draw his people thither. And so 
 thither drew all those that came from the 
 chase ; thither came the duke of Lan- 
 caster, sir John Chandos, the lord Clisson, 
 the captal of Buch, the earl of Armagnac, 
 the lord d'Albret and divers other barons, 
 and had raised up on high their banners to 
 draw their people thither ; and ever as 
 they came, they ranged them in the field. 
 Also there was James king of Mallorca, 
 his banner before him, whereunto his com- 
 pany drew ; and a little there beside was 
 sir Martin de la Carra with the banner of 
 his lord the king of Navarre, with divers 
 other earls and barons ; the which was a 
 goodly thing to regard and behold. Then 
 1 That is, the Englishmen and Gascons. 
 
 came thither king don Peter right sore 
 chafed, coming from the chase on a great 
 black courser, his banner beaten with the 
 arms of Castile before him ; and as soon as 
 he saw the prince's banner, he alighted and 
 went thither, and when the prince saw him 
 coming, he went and met him and did 
 him great honour. There the king don 
 Peter would have kneeled down to have 
 thanked the prince, but the prince made 
 great haste to take him by the hand, and 
 would not suffer him to kneel. Then the 
 king said : ' Dear and fair cousin, I ought 
 to give you many thanks and praises for 
 this fair journey that I have attained this 
 day by your means.' Then the prince 
 said : ' Sir, yield thanks to God and give 
 him all the praise, for the victory hath 
 come by him all only and not by me.' 
 Then the lords of the prince's council drew 
 together and communed of divers matters, 
 and so long the prince was still there, till 
 all his people were returned from the 
 chase. Then he ordained four knights and 
 four heralds to go search the fields to know 
 what people were taken and the number 
 of them that were slain, and also to know 
 the truth of king Henry, whom they called 
 bastard, whether he were alive or dead. 
 And then the prince and his lords went to 
 the lodging of king plenry and of the 
 .Spaniards, where they were well and 
 easily lodged, for it was great and large 
 and well replenished of all things neces- 
 sary. So then they supped that night 
 in great joy, and after supper the knights 
 and heralds that went to visit the field re- 
 turned, and there they reported that there 
 were slain of their enemies, of men of arms 
 a five hundred and threescore, and of com- 
 mons about a seven thousand and five 
 hundred, beside them that were drowned, 
 whereof the number was unknown ; and of 
 their own company there was no more 
 slain but four knights, whereof two were 
 Gascons, the third an Almain and the 
 fourth an Englishman, and of other com- 
 mons not past a forty : but they shewed how 
 they could not find king Henry, whereof king 
 don Peter was right sorry. So this Satur- 
 day at night they rested themselves and made 
 good cheer, for they had well wherewith ; 
 for there they found plenty of wine and 
 other victuals, and so refreshed them there 
 all the Sunday, the which was Palm Sunday. 
 
i8o 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 The Sunday in the morning, when the 
 prince was up and ready apparelled, then 
 he issued out of his pavilion and then came 
 to him the duke of Lancaster his brother, 
 the earl of Armagnac, the lord d'Albret, sir 
 John Chandos, the captal of Buch, the lord 
 of Pommiers, sir Guichard d'Angle, the 
 king of Mallorca and a great number of other 
 knights and squires ; and then anon after 
 came to the prince the king don Peter, to 
 whom the prince made great honour and 
 reverence. Then the king don Peter said : 
 ' Dear and fair cousin, I pray and require 
 you that ye will deliver to me the false 
 traitors of this country, as my bastard brother 
 Sancho and such other, and I shall cause 
 them to lose their heads, for they have well 
 deserved it.' 
 
 Then the prince advised him well and 
 said : ' Sir king, I require you in the name 
 of love and lineage that ye will grant me a 
 gift and a request.' The king, who in no 
 wise would deny his request, said : ' Good 
 cousin, all that I have is yours ; therefore 
 I am content, whatsoever ye desire, to 
 grant it.' Then the prince said: 'Sir, I 
 require you to give pardon to all your 
 people in your realm, such as hath rebelled 
 against you, by the which courtesy ye shall 
 abide in the better rest and peace in your 
 realm, except Gomez Carillo, for of him I 
 am content ye take your pleasure.' The 
 king don Peter accorded to his desire, 
 though it were against his will ; but he 
 durst not deny the prince, he was so much 
 bounden to him, and said : * Fair cousin, I 
 grant your request with a good heart.' 
 Then the prisoners were sent for and the 
 prince accorded them with the king their 
 lord and caused him to forgive all his evil 
 will to his brother the earl Sancho and to 
 all other, so that they should make covenant 
 and swear fealty, homage and service, to 
 hold of him truly for ever and to become 
 his m.en and to knowledge him for their 
 lord and king for ever. This courtesy with 
 divers other did the prince to the king, the 
 which after was but smally rewarded, as ye 
 shall hear after in this history. And also 
 the prince shewed great courtesy to the 
 barons of Spain, such as were prisoners ; for 
 if king don Peter had taken them in his dis- 
 pleasure, they had all died without mercy. 
 And then sir Gomez Carillo was delivered to 
 the king, whom he hated so sore, that he 
 
 would take no ransom for him but made his 
 head to be stricken off before his lodging. 
 
 Then king don Peter mounted on his 
 horse, and the earl Sancho his brother 
 and all those that were become his men, 
 and his marshals sir Guichard d'Angle 
 and sir Stephen Cosington and a five 
 hundred men of arms, and they departed 
 from the prince's host and rode to Burgos 
 and so came thither the Monday in 
 the morning. And they of Burgos, who 
 were well informed how the journey of 
 Nazres was achieved and how that king 
 Henry was discomfited, they thought not 
 to keep the town against don Peter, but 
 divers of the richest of the town and of the 
 most notablest issued out of the town and 
 presented the keys of the city to him and 
 received him to their lord, and so brought 
 him and all his men into the city of Burgos 
 with great joy and solemnity. And all the 
 Sunday the prince abode still in the lodgings 
 that they had won, and on the Monday 
 after evensong he dislodged and went and 
 lodged at Barbesque,^ and there tarried till 
 it was Wednesday, and then they went all 
 to the city of Burgos. And there the prince 
 entered into the town with great reverence, 
 and with him the duke of Lancaster, the 
 earl of Armagnac and divers other great 
 lords, and their people made their lodgings 
 without the town, for they could not all 
 have been lodged within at their ease. 
 And when the prince was at his lodging 
 there, he gave and rendered judgments of 
 arms and of all things thereto appertaining, 
 and there kept field and wage of battle : 
 wherefore it might well be said that all 
 Spain was come that day in his hands and 
 under his obeisance. 
 
 The prince of Wales and king don Peter 
 held their Easter in the town of Burgos and 
 there tarried a three weeks and more : and 
 on Easter-day they of Asturge, of Toledo, 
 of Lisbon, of Cordowan, of Galice, of 
 Seville and of all the other marches and 
 limitations of the realm of Castile came 
 thither and made homage to king don Peter, 
 and were glad to see the prince and don 
 Ferrant of Castro, and so there was great 
 cheer made between them. And when 
 king don Peter had tarried there the term 
 that I have shewed you and more, and 
 saw that there were no more that rebelled 
 1 Bribiesca. 
 
AFTER THE BATTLE OF NAJARA 
 
 agaiiist him, but every man to him obeisEint, 
 then the prince said to him : ' Sir king, ye 
 are now, tlianked be God, peaceably king of 
 this your own realm without any rebellion 
 or let : and, sir, I and my company tarry 
 here at a great charge and expense. There- 
 fore we require you to provide for money to 
 pay the wages to them that hath holpen to 
 bring you again into your realm and in ful- 
 filling of your promise, whereunto ye have 
 sworn and sealed. And, sir, the shortlier 
 that ye do it, the greater thank we shall 
 give you and the more shall be your profit ; 
 for ye know well men of war must be paid 
 to live withal, or else they will take it 
 whereas they may get it.' Then the king 
 answered and said : ' Cousin, we will hold, 
 keep and accomplish to our power that we 
 have sworn and sealed unto. But, sir, as 
 for this present time we have no money ; 
 wherefore we will draw us to the marches 
 of Seville, and there we will so procure for 
 money that we will satisfy every party. 
 And, sir, ye shall abide still here in the 
 Vale of Olives,-' the which is a plentiful 
 country ; and, sir, we shall return again to 
 you in as short time as we conveniently can 
 or may, and at the farthest by Whitsuntide. ' 
 This answer was right pleasant to the 
 prince and to his council ; and shortly after 
 the king don Peter departed from the prince 
 and rode toward Seville to the intent to 
 get money to pay his men of war, as he had 
 promised. And the prince went and lodged 
 in the Vale of Olives, and all his lords and 
 people spread abroad in the country, to get 
 victuals more plentiful for them and for their 
 horses. There thus they sojourned to a small 
 profit to the country, for the companions 
 could not abstain themselves from robbing 
 and pilling of the country. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXIX 
 
 Of the honour that was given to the prince 
 for the victory of Spain, and how king 
 Henry came into France to make war on 
 the prince's land, and of the answer that 
 king don Peter sent to the prince, and how 
 the prince departed out of Spain and came 
 into France. 
 
 Tidings spread abroad through France, 
 
 England, Almaine and other countries how 
 
 1 Valladolid, which Froissart calls Val-d'Olif. 
 
 the prince of Wales and his puissance had 
 in battle discomfited king Henry, and taken, 
 slain and drowned of his men the day of the 
 battle more than a hundred thousand men, 
 whereby the prince was greatly renowned 
 and his chivalry and high enterprise much 
 praised in all places that heard thereof, and 
 specially in the Empire of Almaine and in 
 the realm of England ; for the Almains, 
 Flemings and Englishmen said that the 
 prince of Wales was chief flower of all 
 chivalry, and how that such a prince was 
 well worthy to govern all the world, sith by 
 his prowess he had achieved such three high 
 enterprises as he had done ; first, the battle 
 of Crecy in Ponthieu, the second ten year 
 after at Poitiers, and the third now in Spain 
 before Nazres : so in England in the city of 
 London the burgesses there made great 
 solemnity and triumph for that victory, as 
 they anciently were wont to do for kings, 
 when they had overcome their enemies. 
 And in the realm of France there were 
 made lamentable sorrows for the loss of the 
 good knights of the realm of France, the 
 which were slain at thatjourney, andspecially 
 there was made sorrow for sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin and for sir Arnold d'Audrehem, 
 who were taken prisoners, and divers other, 
 who were kept right courteously, and some 
 of them put to finance and ransom, but not 
 sir Bertram of Guesclin so soon ; for sir 
 John Chandos, who had the rule of him, 
 would not deliver him, and also sir Bertram 
 made no great suit therefor. 
 
 Now let us somewhat speak of king 
 Henry, what he did when he departed from 
 the battle ; and then Jet us return again 
 to the prince and to king don Peter of 
 Castile. 
 
 King Henry, as it is said hereafter, saved 
 himself as well as he might and withdrew 
 from his enemies, and led his wife and his 
 children as soon as he might into the city 
 of Valence in Aragon, whereas the king of 
 Aragon was, who was his godfather and 
 friend, and to him recounted all his adven- 
 ture. And anon after, the said king Henry 
 was counselled to pass further and to go to 
 the duke of Anjou, who as then was at 
 Montpellier, and to shew unto him all his 
 adventure. This advice was pleasant to 
 the king of Aragon, and consented well 
 that he should go thither, because he was 
 enemy to the prince, who was his near 
 
lS2 
 
 THE CHROmCLES OF FROISSART 
 
 neighbour. So thus king Henry departed 
 from the king of Aragon, and left in the 
 city of Valence his wife and his children, 
 and rode so long that he passed Xarbonne, 
 the which was the first city of the realm of 
 France on that side, and after that Beziers 
 and all that country, and so came to Mont- 
 pellier and there found the duke of Anjou, 
 who loved him entirely and greatly hated 
 the Englishmen, though he made them as 
 then no war. And the duke, when he was 
 well informed of king Henry's business, 
 received him right joyously and recomforted 
 him as well as he might. And so the king 
 tarried there with him a certain space, and 
 then went to Avignon to see pope Urban, 
 who was as then departing to go to Rome. 
 And then king Henry returned again to 
 Montpellier to the duke of Anjou, and had 
 long treaty together. And it was shewed 
 me by them that thought themselves to 
 know many things, and after it was right 
 well seen apparent, how that this king 
 Henry did get of the duke of Anjou a castle 
 near to Toulouse on the marches of the 
 principality, called Roquemaure, and there 
 he assembled together companions and men 
 of war, as Bretons and such other as were 
 not passed over into Spain with the prince, 
 so that in the beginning there was a three 
 hundred men of war. These tidings were 
 anon brought to my lady princess, who as 
 then was at Bordeaux, how that king Henry 
 purchased him aid and succour on all sides 
 to the intent to make war to the principality 
 and to the duchy of Guyenne, wherewith she 
 was greatly abashed. And because that he 
 held himself in the realm of France, she 
 wrote letters and sent messengers to the 
 French king desiring him not to consent 
 that the bastard of Spain should make her 
 any manner of war, saying that her resort 
 was to the court of France, certifying him 
 that much evil might ensue and many 
 inconvenients fall thereby. Then the king 
 condescended lightly to the princess' request 
 and hastily sent messengers to the bastard 
 Henry, who was in the castle of Roque- 
 maure on the frontiers of Montauban and 
 was beginning to make war to the country 
 of Acquitaine and to the prince's land, 
 commanding him incontinent to avoid out 
 of his realm and to make no war in the 
 land of his dear nephew the prince of Wales 
 and of Acquitaine : and by cause to give 
 
 ensample to his subjects that they should 
 not be so hardy to talce any part with the 
 bastard Henry, he caused the young earl of 
 Auxerre to be put in prison in the castle of 
 Louvre in Paris, because he was too great 
 and conversant with this king Henry the 
 bastard, and, as it was said, he had pro- 
 mised him to aid him with a great number 
 of men of arms : but thus the French king 
 caused him to break his voyage and purpose. 
 So thus at the commandment of the French 
 king king Henry obeyed, the which was 
 good reason, but for all that yet he left not his 
 enterprise, but so he departed from Roque- 
 niaure with a four hundred Bretons. And 
 to him was allied such Breton knights and 
 squires as followeth : first, sir Arnold of 
 Limousin, sir Geoffrey Richon, sir Yon of 
 Laconet, Silvester Bude, Alyot de Tallay, 
 Alain de Saint-Pol : and these men of arms 
 and Bretons rode over the mountains and 
 entered into Bigorre in the principality 
 and there took by scaling a town called 
 Bagneres, and then they fortified and re- 
 paired it well and strongly, and then over- 
 rode the prince's land and did great hurt 
 and damage therein. Then the princess 
 did send for sir James Audley, who was 
 abiding behind the prince in Acquitaine 
 as chief sovereign governour to keep the 
 country. Howbeit, this said king Henry 
 the bastard and the Bretons did great hurt 
 and damage in the country, for daily their 
 power increased more and more. 
 
 Now let us return to the prince of Wales 
 and to his company who was in the Vale of 
 Olives thereabout abiding the coming of 
 king don Peter of Castile. 
 
 Thus when the prince had sojourned in the 
 Vale of the Olives until the feast of Saint 
 John the Baptist in suinmer, abiding for 
 the coming of king don Peter, who came 
 not, nor could not hear no certain tidings 
 of him, wherewith the prince was right 
 sore troubled and called all his council 
 together to know what was best to do in 
 that behalf ; then the prince was counselled 
 to send two or three knights to the king, 
 to demand of him why he kept not his 
 day, as he had assigned. And on this 
 message was sent sir Niel Loring, sir 
 Richard of Pontchardon and sir Thomas 
 Banaster ; and they rode so long by their 
 journeys that they came to the city of 
 Seville, whereas they found king don Peter, 
 
RETURN OF THE PRINCE FRORf SPAIN, 1367 
 
 ■83 
 
 and by semblant he right joyously received 
 them. These knights did their message as 
 they had in charge by their lord the prince. 
 Theri the king answered them in excusing 
 of himself and said : ' Sirs, certainly it 
 greatly displeaseth us that we cannot keep 
 the promise that we have made with our 
 cousin the prince, the which we have often- 
 times shewed unto our people here in these 
 parts ; but our people excuseth themselves 
 and saith how they can make no sum of 
 money as long as the companions be in the 
 country, for they have three or four times 
 robbed our treasurers, who were coming to 
 our cousin the prince with our money. 
 Therefore we require you to shew our cousin 
 from us, that we require him that he will 
 withdraw and put out of this our realm 
 these evil people of the companions, and 
 that he do leave there some of his own 
 knights, to whom in the name of him we 
 will pay and deliver such sums of money 
 as he desireth of us and as we are bound 
 to pay him.' 
 
 This was all the answer that these knights 
 could have of him at that time, and so they 
 departed and went again to the prince their 
 lord, and then recounted to him and to his 
 council all that they had heard and seen ; 
 with the which answer the prince was 
 much more displeased than he was before, 
 for he saw well how that king don Peter 
 failed of his promise and varied from reason. 
 The same season that the prince thus 
 abode in the Vale of Olives, whereas he 
 had been more than the space of four 
 months, nigh all the summer, the king of 
 Mallorca fell sick sore diseased and lay sick 
 in his bed. Then there was put to ransom 
 sir Arnold d'Audrehem, the Begue of 
 Villaines, and divers other knights and 
 squires of France and of Bretayne, who 
 were taken at Nazres and exchanged for 
 sir Thomas Felton and for sir Richard 
 Tanton and for sir Hugh Hastings and 
 divers other. But sir Bertram of Guesclin 
 abode still as prisoner with the prince, for 
 the Englishmen counselled the prince and 
 said that if he delivered sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin, he would make him greater war 
 than ever he had done before with the 
 helping of the bastard Henry, who as 
 then was in Bigorre and had taken the 
 town of Bagneres, and made great war 
 in that quarter. Therefore sir Bertram 
 
 of Guesclin was not delivered at that 
 time. 
 
 When that the prince of Wales heard 
 the excusations of king don Peter, then he 
 was much more displeased than he was 
 before, and demanded counsel in that behalf 
 of his people, who desired to return home, 
 for they bare with full great trouble the 
 heat and the infective air of the country of 
 Spain, and also the prince himself was not 
 very well at ease, and therefore his people 
 counselled him to return again, saying how 
 king don Peter had greatly failed him to 
 his blame and great dishonour. Then it 
 was shewed openly that every man should 
 return. And when the prince should re- 
 move, he sent to the king of Mallorca sir 
 Hugh Courtenay and sir John Chandos, 
 shewing him how the prince would depart 
 out of Spain, desiring him to take advice 
 if he would depart or not, for the prince 
 would be loath to leave him behind. Then 
 the king of Mallorca said : ' Sirs, I thank 
 greatly the prince, but at this present time 
 I cannot ride nor remove till it please God.' 
 Then the knights said : ' Sir, will you that 
 my lord the prince shall leave with you a 
 certain number of men, to wait and con- 
 duct you when ye be able to ride ? ' ' Nay 
 surely, sir,' quoth the king, 'it shall not 
 need, for I know not how long it will be 
 or I be able to ride.' And so they departed 
 and returned to the prince, shewing him 
 what they had done. 'Well,' said the 
 prince, ' as it please God and him, so be it.' 
 Then the prince departed and all his 
 company, and went to a city called Madri- 
 gal, and there he rested in the vale called 
 Soria between Aragon and Spain. And 
 there he tarried a month, for there were 
 certain passages closed against him in the 
 marches of Aragon. And it was said in 
 the host that the king of Navarre, who was 
 newly returned out of prison, was agreed 
 with the bastard of Spain and with the 
 king of Aragon to let the prince's passage ; 
 but yet he did nothing, as it appeared 
 after. Howbeit the prince was in doubt 
 of him, because he was in his own country 
 and came not to him. In this mean season 
 there were sent to a certain place between 
 Aragon and Spain certain persons of both 
 parties and so had great communing to- 
 gether divers days. Finally they so agreed, 
 that the king of Aragon should open his 
 
iS4 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 country and suffer the prince's people to 
 return and pass peaceably without any let 
 of any of the country, paying courteously 
 for that they took. 
 
 Then came to the prince the king of 
 Navarre and sir Martin de la Carra, when 
 they saw the matter go in such wise be- 
 tween the king of Aragon and the prince ; 
 and they made to the prince all the honour 
 that they could devise and offered passage 
 for him and for his dear brother the duke 
 of Lancaster and for divers other knights 
 of England and of Gascoyne ; but in any 
 wise he would that the companions should 
 take their way by some other passage and 
 not through Navarre. Then the prince 
 and his lords, when they saw that the way 
 through Navarre was more meet and neces- 
 sary for them than through Aragon, thought 
 not to refuse the king of Navarre's offer, 
 but so thanked him greatly. Thus the 
 prince passed through the realm of Navarre, 
 and the king and sir Martin de la Carra 
 conveyed him till they came to the passage 
 of Roncesvaulx, and so from thence they 
 passed by their journeys till they came to 
 the city of Bayonne, where he was received 
 with great joy. And there the prince 
 refreshed him four days, and then departed 
 and rode to Bordeaux, where he was also 
 received with great solemnity ; and my 
 lady the princess met him with her young 
 son Edward, who as then was of the age of 
 three years. Then departed the lords and 
 men of war one from another, and the lords 
 of Gascoyne went home to their own houses, 
 and the companions came also into the 
 principality, abiding for their wages. The 
 prince was much bound to them and pro- 
 mised to pay them to his power, as soon as 
 he had money : though king don Peter 
 kept not his promise with him, yet he said 
 they should not bear the loss thereof, sith 
 they had so well served him. And king 
 Henry the bastard, who was in the garrison 
 of Bagneres in Bigorre, then he departed 
 thence with such men of war as he had and 
 went into Aragon to the king there, who 
 loved him entirely and joyously received 
 him, and there tarried all the winter and 
 there made a new alliance between him 
 and the king of Aragon and promised to 
 make war against king don Peter. And 
 the Bretons that were in their company, as 
 sir Arnold Limousin, sir Geoffrey Richon 
 
 and sir Yon de Laconet, rode to the passages 
 of Spain and made war for king Henry. 
 
 Now let us speak of the deliverance of 
 sir Bertram of GuescHn. 
 
 After that the prince of Wales was re- 
 turned into Acquitaine and his brother the 
 duke of Lancaster into England and every 
 lord into his own, sir Bertram of Guesclin 
 was still prisoner with the prince and with 
 sir John Chandos and could not come to 
 his ransom nor finance, the which was sore 
 displeasant to king Henry, if he might 
 have mended it : and so it fortuned after, 
 as I was informed, that on a day the prince 
 called to him sir Bertram of Guesclin and 
 demanded of him how he did. He answered 
 and said : ' Sir, it was never better with me. 
 It is reason that it should so be, for I am 
 in prison with the most renowned knight 
 of the world.' * With whom is that ? ' said 
 the prince. ' Sir,' quoth he, 'that is with 
 sir John Chandos ; and, sir, it is said in 
 the realm of France and in other places 
 that ye fear me so much, that ye dare not 
 let me out of prison ; the which to me is 
 full great honour.' The prince, who under- 
 stood well the words of sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin and perceived well how his own 
 council would in no wise that he should 
 deliver him unto the time that king don 
 Peter had paid him all such sums as he 
 was bound to do, then he said to sir 
 Bertram : ' Sir, then ye think that we keep 
 you for fear of your chivalry. Nay, think 
 it not, for I swear by Saint George it is 
 not so. Therefore pay for your ransom a 
 hundred thousand franks and ye shall be 
 delivered.' Sir Bertram, who desired 
 greatly to be delivered and heard on what 
 point he might depart, took the prince 
 with that word and said : ' Sir, in the 
 name of God so be it : I will pay no less.' 
 And when the prince heard him say so, he 
 would then gladly have repented himself, 
 and also some of his council came to him 
 and said, ' Sir, ye have not done well, so 
 lightly to put him to his ransom ' : and so 
 they would gladly have caused the prince 
 to have revoked that covenant. But the 
 prince, who was a true and a noble knight, 
 said : ' Sith that we have agreed thereto, 
 we will not break our promise. It should 
 be to us a great rebuke, shame and re- 
 proach, if we should not put him to ransom, 
 seeing that he is content to pay such a great 
 
DISCONTENT IN G A SCO NY, 1368 
 
 iSs 
 
 sum as a hundred thousand fianks.' So 
 after this accord sir Bertram of Guesclin 
 was right busy, and studied daily how to 
 get this sum for his ransom ; and did so 
 much with the aid of the French king and 
 of his friends and of the duke of Anjou, 
 who loved him entirely, that he paid in 
 less than a month a hundred thousand 
 franks. And so he departed and went to 
 serve the duke of Anjou with two thousand 
 fighting men in Provence, whereas the duke 
 lay at siege before the town of Tarascon, 
 the which held of the king of Naples. 
 
 In the same season there was a marriage 
 concluded between the lord Lyon duke of 
 Clarence and earl of Ulster, son to the 
 king of England, and the daughter to the 
 lord Galeas lord of Milan, the which young 
 lady was niece to the earl of Savoy and 
 daughter to the lady Blanche his sister. 
 And thus the duke of Clarence accompanied 
 with noble knights and squires of England 
 came into France, whereas the king, the 
 duke of Burgoyne, the duke of Bourbon 
 and the lord of Coucy received him with 
 great joy in Paris. And so he passed 
 through the realm of France and came 
 into Savoy, whereas the gentle earl received 
 him right honourably at Chambery, and 
 there he was three days, greatly feasted 
 with ladies and damosels : and then he 
 departed, and the earl of Savoy brought 
 him to Milan. And there the duke wedded 
 his niece, daughter to the lord of Milan, 
 the Monday next after the feast of the Holy 
 Trinity, the year of our Lord a thousand 
 CCCLXVIII. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXL 
 
 Now let us return to the business of France. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The companies being dis- 
 missed from Acqititaine went into France, 
 and did much cml. A marriage tvas made 
 between the lady Isabel of Bourlioit and the 
 lord dAlbret, which greatly displeased the 
 prirue of Wales. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXLI 
 
 How the barons of Gascoyne complained to 
 the French king of the prince of Wales ; 
 and how king Henry returned into Spain, 
 
 and of the alliances that king don Peter 
 made, and of the counsel that sir Bi^rtrani 
 of Guesclin gave to king Henry, and hov/ 
 king don Peter was discomfited. 
 
 In the same season that these companions 
 tormented thus the realm of France, the 
 prince was counselled by some of his 
 council to raise a fouage throughout all 
 Acquitaine, and specially the bishop of 
 Bade ; for the state of the prince and 
 princess was so great, that in all Christen- 
 dom was none like. So to this council 
 for raising of this fouage were called all 
 the noble barons of Gascoyne, of Poitou, 
 of Saintonge and of divers other cities and 
 good towns in Acquitaine ; and at Niort, 
 where this parliament was holden, there it 
 was shewed specially and generally by the 
 bishop of Bade, chancellor of Acquitaine, 
 in the presence of the prince, how and in 
 what manner this fouage should be raised, 
 declaring how the prince was not in mind 
 that it should endure any longer than five 
 years, to run throughout his country, and 
 that the raising thereof was for the intent 
 to pay such money as he ought by reason 
 of his journey into Spain. To the which 
 ordinance were welt agreed the Poitous and 
 they of Saintonge, Limousin, Rouergue and 
 of Rochelle, on the condition that the 
 prince would keep the course of his coin 
 stable seven year ; but divers of other 
 marches of Gascoyne refused this purpose, 
 as the earl of Armagnac, the lord d'Albret 
 his nephew, the earl of Comminges, the 
 viscount of Caraman, the lord de la Barthe, 
 the lord of Terride, the lord of Puycornet 
 and divers other great barons, saying how 
 that in time past, when they obeyed to the 
 French king, they were not then grieved 
 nor oppressed with any subsidies or im- 
 positions, and no more they said they 
 would as then, as long as they could 
 defend it, saying how their lands and 
 seignories were free and except from all 
 debts, and that the prince had sworn so to 
 keep and maintain them. Howbeit, to 
 depart peaceably from this parliament, they 
 answered that they would take better advice 
 and so return again, both prelates, bishops, 
 abbots, barons and knights : and the prince 
 nor his council could have as then none 
 other answer. Thus they departed from 
 the town of Niort, but it was commanded 
 
iS6 
 
 THE CHROmCLES OE EROISSART 
 
 them by the prince that they should return 
 again thither at a day assigned. 
 
 Thus the barons and lords of Gascoyne 
 returned into their countries and agreed 
 firmly together that they would not return 
 ao-ain to the prince, nor suffer the fouage 
 to run in the lands : then they made war 
 against the prince therefor. Thus the 
 country be^an to rebel against the prince, 
 and the lord of Armagnac, the lord d'Albret, 
 the lord of Comminges, the earl of Puy- 
 cornet, and divers other prelates, barons, 
 knight:; and squires of Gascoyne went into 
 France and made great complaints in the 
 French king's chamber, the king and his 
 peers being present, of the griefs that the 
 prince of Wales would do to them, saying 
 how their resort ought to be to the French 
 king and to draw to him as to their sove- 
 reign lord. And the king, who would not 
 break the peace between him and the king 
 of England, began to dissemble and said ; 
 * Sirs, surely the jurisdiction of our heritage 
 and of the crown of France we will always 
 Iceep and augment ; but we have sworn to 
 divers articles in the peace, of the which I 
 remember not all. Therefore we shall 
 visit and behold the tcnour of the letters, 
 and inasmuch as we- may do we shall aid 
 you, and shall be glad to agree you with 
 the prince our dear nephew : for perad- 
 venture he is not well counselled to put you 
 or your subjects from their freedoms and 
 franchises.' So with the answer that the 
 king made them at that time they were 
 content, and so abode still at Paris with 
 the king, in purpose not to return again 
 into their own countries, with the which 
 the prince was nothing well content, but 
 always he still persevered in the purpose of 
 raising of this fouage. Sir John Chandos, 
 who was one of the greatest of his council, 
 was contrary to this opinion and would 
 gladly that the prince would have left it : 
 but when he saw that the prince would not 
 leave his purpose, to the intent that he 
 would bear no blame nor reproach in the 
 matter, he took his leave of the prince and 
 made his excuse to go into Normandy to 
 visit the land of Saint-Saviour the Viscount, 
 whereof he was lord, for he had not been 
 there in three years before. The prince 
 gave him leave, and so he departed out of 
 Poitou and went to Cotentin, and tarried in 
 the town of Saint - Saviour more than half 
 
 a year. And always the prince proceeded 
 on the raising of this fouage, the which if 
 he had brought about should have been well 
 worth every year a twelve hundred thou- 
 sand franks, every fire to have paid yearly a 
 frank, the rich to have borne out the poor. 
 
 Now let us return to king Henry, who 
 was all this season in the realm of Aragon, 
 and let us shew how he persevered after. 
 
 The most part of the state of the prince 
 and of his business was well known with 
 the kings thereabout, as with king Peter of 
 Aragon and with king Henry, for they laid 
 great wait to know it. They understood well 
 how the barons of Gascoyne were gone to 
 Paris to the French king and in a manner 
 began to rebel against the prince, with the 
 which they were nothing displeased, and 
 specially king Henry, for then he thought 
 to attain again to conquer the realm of 
 Castile, the which he had lost by the means 
 of the prince. And so then king Henry 
 took leave of the king of Aragon and de- 
 parted from the town of Valence the great ; 
 and out of Aragon with him there went the 
 viscount of Roquebertin and the viscount of 
 Roda, and they were three thousand horse- 
 men and six thousand afoot, with a certain 
 Genoways that they had in wages. And 
 so they rode toward Spain till they came 
 to the city of Burgos, the which incontinent 
 was opened and rendered up to king 
 Henry, and they received him as their 
 lord ; and from thence he went to the Vale 
 Olive, for king Henry understood that the 
 king of Mallorca was still there. And 
 when they of the town of Vale Olive under- 
 stood that they of Burgos had yielded up 
 their town to king Plenry, then they 
 thought not to keep their town against 
 him, and so yielded them to him and re- 
 ceived him as their lord. As soon as the 
 king was entered into the town, he de- 
 manded where the king of Mallorca was, 
 the which was shewed him. Then the 
 king entered into the chamber where he 
 lay, not fully whole of his disease. Then 
 the king went to him and said : ' Sir king 
 of Mallorca, ye have been our enemy, and 
 with a great army ye have invaded this our 
 realm of Castile. "Wherefore we set our 
 hands on you ; therefore yield yourself as 
 our prisoner, or else ye are but dead.' 
 And when the king of Mallorca saw him- 
 self in that case and that no defence 
 
n\.lA' RENEWED IN SPAIN 
 
 187 
 
 would help him, he said : ' Sir king, 
 truly I am bul dead, if that it please you ; 
 and, sir, gladly I yield me unto you, but to 
 none other. Therefore, sir, if your mind 
 be to put me into any other man's hands, 
 shew it me ; for I had rather die than to 
 be put into the hands of my bitter enemy 
 the king of Aragon.' ' Sir,' said the king, 
 ' fear you not I will do )0U but right. If 
 I did otherwise, I were to blame. Ye 
 shall be my prisoner, other to acquit you 
 or to ransom you at my pleasure.' Thus 
 was the king of Mallorca taken by king 
 Henry, and caused him to be well kept 
 there ; and then he rode further to the city 
 of Leon in Spain, the which incontinent 
 was opened against him. 
 
 When the town and city of Leon in 
 Spain was thus rendered to king Henry, all 
 the country and marches of Galice turned 
 and yielded them to king Henry, and to him 
 came many great lords and barons, who 
 before had done homage to king don Peter ; 
 for whatsoever semblant they had made to 
 him before the prince, yet they loved him 
 not, because of old time he had been to 
 them so cruel and they were ever in fear 
 that he would turn to his cruelty again, and 
 king Henry was ever amiable and meek to 
 them, promising to do much for them, 
 therefore they all drew to him. Sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin was not as then in his 
 company, but he was coming with a two 
 thousand fighting men, and was departed 
 from the duke of Anjou, who had achieved 
 his war in Provence and broken up his 
 siege before Tarascon by composition, I 
 cannot shew how. And with sir Bertram 
 of Guesclin there were divers knights and 
 squires of France, desiring to exercise the 
 feat of arms ; and so they came towards 
 king Henry, who as then had laid siege 
 before Toledo. 
 
 Tidings came to king don Peter how the 
 country turned to his bastard brother, 
 thereas he lay in the marches of Seville 
 and Portugal, where he was but smally 
 beloved. And when he heard thereof, he 
 was sore displeased against his brother and 
 against them of Castile, because they for- 
 sook him, and sware a great oath that he 
 would take on them so cruel a vengeance, 
 that it should be ensample to all other. 
 Then he sent out his commandment to such 
 as he trusted would aid and serve him, but 
 
 he sent to some .such as came not to him, 
 but turned to king Henry and sent their 
 homages to him. And when this king don 
 Peter saw that his men began to fail him, 
 then he began to doubt, and took counsel 
 of don Ferrant of Castro, who never failed 
 him ; and he gave him counsel that he 
 should get as much people together as he 
 might, as well out of Granade as out of 
 other places, and so in all haste to ride 
 against his brother the bastard, or he did 
 conquer any further in the country. Then 
 king don Peter sent incontinent to the king 
 of Portugal, who was his cousin-german : 
 also he sent to the king of Granade and of 
 Bellemarine and to the king of Tremesen 
 and made alliances with them three, and 
 they sent him more than twenty thousand 
 Saracens to. help him in his war. So thus 
 king don Peter did so much that, what of 
 christen men and of Saracens, he had to 
 the number of forty thousand men in the 
 marches of Seville. And in the mean 
 season, while that king Henry lay at siege, 
 sir Bertram of Guesclin came to him with 
 two thousand fighting men and he was 
 received with great joy, for all the host was 
 greatly rejoiced of his coming. 
 
 King don Peter, who had made his 
 assembly in the marches of Seville and 
 thereabout, desiring greatly to fight with the 
 bastard his brother, departed from Seville 
 and took his journey towards Toledo to 
 raise the siege there, the which was from 
 him a seven days' journey. Tidings came 
 to king Henry how that his brother don 
 Peter approached, and in his company 
 more than forty thousand men of one and 
 other. And thereupon he took counsel, to 
 the which council was called the knights of 
 France and of Aragon, and specially sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin, by whom the king 
 was most ruled ; and his counsel was tliat 
 king Henry should advance forth to en- 
 counter his brother don Peter, and in what 
 condition soever that he found him in, in- 
 continent to set on and fight with him, 
 saying to the king : ' Sir, I hear say he 
 Cometh with a great puissance, and, sir, if 
 he have great leisure in his coming, it may 
 turn you and us all to great displeasure ; 
 and therefore, sir, if we go hastily on him, 
 or he be ware, peradventure we shall find 
 him and his company in that case and so 
 dispurveyed, that we shall have him at 
 
iSS 
 
 THE CHKONICLES OF FRO ISS ART 
 
 ricKantage, and so we shall discomfit him, 
 I doubt'not. ' The counsel of sir Bertram 
 of Guesclin was well heard and taken, and 
 so king Henry in an evening departed from 
 the host with a certain of the best knights 
 and fighting men that he could choose out 
 in all his host, and left the residue of his 
 company in the keeping and governing of 
 his brother the earl don Tello, and so rode 
 forth. And he had seven spies ever coming 
 and going, who ever brought him word 
 what his brother don Peter did and all his 
 host. And king don Peter knew nothing 
 how his brother came so hastily toward him, 
 wherefore he and his company rode the 
 more at large without any good order ; and 
 so in a morning king Henry and his people 
 met and encountered his brother king don 
 Peter, who had lien that night in a castle 
 thereby called Montiel, and was there well 
 received and had good cheer, and was 
 departed thence the same morning, weening 
 full little to have been fought withal as that 
 day. And so suddenly on him with banners 
 displayed there came his brother king Plenry 
 and his brother .Sancho and sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin, by whom the king and all his 
 host was greatly ruled. And also with 
 them there was the Begue of Villaines, the 
 lord of Roquebertin, the viscount of Roda 
 and their companies. They were a six 
 thousand fighting men and they rode all 
 close together and so ran and encountered 
 their enemies crying, * Castile for king 
 Henry ! ' and ' Our Lady of Guesclin ! ' and 
 so they discomfited and put aback the first 
 brunt. There were many slain and cast to 
 the earth, there were none taken to ransom, 
 the whicli was appointed so to be by sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin because of the great 
 number of Saracens that was there. ' And 
 when king don Peter, who was in the midst 
 of the press among his own people, heard 
 how his men were assailed and put aback 
 by his brother the bastard Henry and by 
 the Frenchmen, he had great marvel there- 
 of and saw well how he was betrayed and 
 deceived, and in adventure to lose all, for 
 his men were sore sparkled abroad. How- 
 beit, like a good hardy knight and of good 
 comfort, rested on the field and caused his 
 banner to be unrolled to draw together his 
 people, and sent word to them that were 
 behind to haste them forward, because he 
 was fighting with his enemies ; whereby 
 
 every man advanced forward to the banner. 
 So there was a marvellous great and a fierce 
 battle, and many a man slain of king don 
 Peter's part ; for king Henry and sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin sought their enemies 
 with so courageous and fierce will, that 
 none could endure against them. Howbeit, 
 that was not lightly done, for king don 
 Peter and his company were six against 
 one, but they were taken so suddenly, that 
 they were discomfited in such wise that it 
 was marvel to behold. 
 
 This battle of the Spaniards one against 
 another, and of these two kings and their 
 allies,wasnear to iVfontiel, the which was that 
 day right fierce and cruel. There were many 
 good knights of king Henry's part, as sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin, sir Geoffrey Richon, 
 sir Arnold Limousin, sir Gawain of Bailleul, 
 the Begue of Villaines, Alain of Saint-Pol, 
 Alyot of Tallay and divers other ; and 
 also of the realm of Aragon there was the 
 viscount of Roquebertin, the viscount of 
 Roda, and divers other good knights and 
 squires, whom I cannot all name. And 
 there they did many noble deeds of arms, 
 the which was needful to them so to do, 
 for they found fierce and strong people 
 against them, as Saracens, Jews and 
 Portugals. The Jews fled and turned their 
 backs and fought no stroke, but they of 
 Granade and of Bellemarine fought fiercely 
 with their bows and archegays and did that 
 day many a noble deed of arms. And king 
 don Peter was a hardy knight and fought 
 valiantly with a great axe and gave there- 
 with many a great stroke, so that none 
 durst approach near to him ; and the 
 banner of king Henry his brother met and 
 rencountered against his, each of them crying 
 their cries. Then the battle of king don 
 Peter began to open : then don Ferrant of 
 Castro, who was chief counsellor about 
 king don Peter, saw and perceived well 
 how his people began to lose and to be 
 discomfited, said to the king : ' Sir, save 
 yourself and withdraw you into the castle of 
 Montiel. Sir, if ye be there, ye be in safe- 
 guard ; for if ye be taken with your 
 enemies, ye are but dead without mercy.' 
 The king don Peter believed his counsel 
 and departed as soon as he might and went 
 toward Montiel, and so came thither in 
 such time that he found the gates open, and 
 so he entered all only with twelve persons ; 
 
CAPTURE OF DON PETER, 1369 
 
 and in the mean season the other of his 
 company fought still in the fields, as they 
 were sparkled abroad here and there. The 
 Saracens defended themselves as well as 
 they might, for they knew not the country, 
 therefore to fly they thought was for them 
 none avail. Then tidings came to king 
 Henry and to sir Bertram of Guesclin how 
 that king don Peter was fled and withdrawn 
 into the castle of Montiel, and how that 
 the Begue of Villaines had pursued him 
 thither ; and into this castle there was but 
 one passage, before which passage the 
 Begue of Villaines had pight his standard. 
 Of the which tidings king Henry and sir 
 Bertram of Guesclin was right joyous, and 
 so drew to that part in slaying and beating 
 down their enemies like beasts, so that they 
 were weary of killing. This chase endured 
 more than three hours, so that day there 
 was more than fourteen thousand slain and 
 sore hurt : there were but few that were 
 saved, except such as knew the passages of 
 the country. This battle was beside 
 Montiel in Spain the thirteenth day of the 
 month of August the year of our Lord God 
 a thousand three hundred threescore and 
 eight. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXLII 
 
 How king don Peter was taken and put to 
 death, and so king Henry was again king 
 of Castile : and of the tenour of certain 
 letters touching the French king and the 
 king of England, and of the counsel that 
 was given to king Charles of France to 
 make war to the king of England. 
 
 After this discomfiture and that king 
 Henry had obtained the victory, then they 
 laid siege round about the castle of Montiel, 
 wherein was king don Peter. Then king 
 Henry sent for the residue of his company 
 to Toledo, whereas they lay at siege, of the 
 which tidings the earl don Tello and the 
 earl Sancho were right joyful. This castle 
 of Montiel was right strong and able to 
 have held against them all a long space, if 
 it had been purveyed of victual and other 
 things necessary ; but there was not in the 
 castle scant to serve four days, whereof 
 king don Peter and his company were sore 
 abashed, for they were so straitly watched 
 day and night, that a bird could not come 
 
 out of the castle without spying. Then 
 king don Peter, seeing himself thus beset 
 round about with his enemies, and knew 
 no way of peace or concord, was in great 
 imagination. So all perils considered and 
 for default of victual, he was counselled to 
 depart privily at the hour of midnight and 
 twelve persons with him, and so to ad- 
 venture on the grace of God, and guides 
 were appointed to bring him in safe-guard. 
 And so about the time of midnight next 
 after the king don Peter and don Ferrant of 
 Castro and twelve other persons with them 
 departed out of the castle. The night was 
 very dark and the Begue of Villaines kept 
 watch without the same night, and a three 
 hundred with him. And as king don Peter 
 and his company issued out of the castle, 
 and went down a high way as privily as they 
 could devise, the Begue of Villaines, who 
 was ever in doubt lest they should scape, the 
 which caused him to make the surer watch, 
 he thought he heard men pass down the 
 high way, and said to them that were about 
 him : ' Sirs, keep you still all privy, for 
 methink I hear folks come in the way. We 
 will go know what they be, and what they 
 seek here at this time of night : peradventure 
 there be some that are coming to revictual 
 the castle.' Then the Begue slept forth 
 with his dagger in his hand and came to a 
 man that was near to king don Peter and 
 said, ' What art thou ? ' and he rushed Jorth 
 with his horse from him and passed by 
 them. The Begue stept to king don Peter, 
 who was next, and said, ' What art thou ? 
 Shew me thy name, or thou art but dead ' ; 
 and took him by the bridle, for he thought 
 he should not pass from him as the other 
 did. And when king don Peter saw such 
 a rout of men of war before him and that 
 he could not scape, said : ' Sir Begue of 
 Villaines, I am king don Peter of Castile. 
 I yield me to you as a prisoner and put me 
 and my company, the which are but twelve 
 persons, irito your hands and pleasure : 
 and, sir, I require you by the way of 
 gentleness to bring me into some safe-guard, 
 and I shall pay to you such ransom as ye 
 will desire, for I thank God I have enough 
 wherewith, so that I may scape from the 
 hands of the bastard my brother.' Then 
 the Begue, as I was informed, answered 
 and said : ' Sir, I shall bring you and your 
 company into safe-guard, and your brother 
 
I go 
 
 THE CffROiXICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 shall know nothing of you by me.' So thus 
 king don Peter was brought to the Begue's 
 lodging, into the proper lodging of sir Yon 
 of Laconet ; and he had not been there 
 the space of an hour, when that king Henry 
 and the earl of Roquebertin and a certain 
 with them came to the same lodging. And 
 as soon as king Henry was entered into the 
 chamber, he said : ^ Where is that whoreson 
 and Jew that calleth himself king of Castile?' 
 Then king don Peter, who was a right 
 hardy and a cruel knight, advanced himself 
 and said : ' Nay, thou art a whoreson and 
 I am son to king Alphonso. ' And there- 
 with he took king Henry hib brother in his 
 arms and wrestled so with him that he 
 overthrew him on a bench, and set his 
 hand on his knife and had slain him with- 
 out remedy, an the viscount of Roquebertin 
 had not been. He took king don Peter by 
 the leg and turned him up-se-down, so that 
 king Henry was then above, who drew out 
 a long knife and strake king don Peter into 
 the body. Therewith his men came in to 
 help him, and there was slain also by him a 
 knight of England called sir Ralph Helme, 
 who was sometime called the green squire, 
 and another squire called James Rolland, 
 because they made defence ; but as for don 
 Ferrant of Castro and the other, had none 
 evil, but remained prisoners to the Begue 
 of Villaines and to sir Yon of Laconet. 
 
 Thus ended king don Peter of Castile, 
 who sometime reigned in great prosperity. 
 And after he was slain, he was left three 
 days above the earth, ^ the which methink 
 was great pity. Then the next day the 
 lord of Montiel yielded him to king Plenry, 
 and he took him to mercy and all those that 
 would turn to him. Then tidings ran over 
 all Castile how king don Peter was slain, 
 whereof his friends were sorry and his 
 enemies joyful. But when the king of 
 Portugal heard how his cousin king don 
 Peter was dead, he was right sorrowful, 
 and sware and said that his death should 
 be revenged. And so he sent incontinent 
 his defiance to king Henry and made him 
 war and kept the marches of Seville against 
 him a certain season ; but for all that king 
 Henry left not his purpose in pursuing of 
 his enterprise, but returned to Toledo, the 
 which yielded up straight to him and all 
 the country thereabout. And at last the 
 1 That ip, 'on the ground ' where he was slain. 
 
 king of Portugal thought not to keep any 
 longer war against king Plenry, so there 
 was a peace made between them by the 
 means of the prelates and lords of Spain. 
 Thus king Plenry abode in peace king of 
 Castile, and with him sir Bertram of 
 Guesclin, sir Oliver of Mauny and other 
 knights and squires of France and of 
 Bretayne. And king Plenry did much for 
 them, as he was bound to do, for without 
 their help he had not obtained his purpose : 
 and so he made sir Bertram constable of 
 Spain and gave him the land of .Soria, the 
 which was yearly worth twenty thousand 
 franks, and to sir Oliver his nephew he 
 gave the land of Ecrette,' the which was 
 yearly worth ten thousand franks, and also 
 he gave fair lands to divers other knights 
 and squires. Then the king went and lay 
 at Burgos with his wife and children. Of 
 his prosperity and good adventure greatly 
 rejoiced the French king, the duke of 
 Anjou, and also the king of Aragon. 
 
 About the same time died sir Lyon of 
 England duke of Clarence, who had passed 
 the sea, as ye have heard before, and had 
 married the daughter of Galeas lord of 
 Milan. But because he died strangely, the 
 lord Edward .Spenser his companion kept 
 war against him a certain space, but finally 
 he was informed of the truth. Now let us 
 return to the adventures of the duchy of 
 Acquitaine. 
 
 SUMMARY.~The lords of Gascon}' per- 
 severed in their appeal to the FrencJi kingy 
 althotcgh it was shewn them that they had 
 no right of appeal but to the king of Eng- 
 land, The French king was ttmvillijig to 
 make war with the English^ but on examina- 
 tion of the treaty of Britigny he ivas 
 counselled that he had Just cause. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXLIH 
 
 How the French king sent to summon the 
 prince of Wales by appeal to appear 
 personally in the chamber of the peers of 
 France at Paris, to answer there against 
 the barons of Gascoyne. 
 
 So much the French king was exhorted by 
 
 them of his council, and so oft required by 
 
 them of Gascoyne, that there was appeal 
 
 ^ Agrcda. 
 
THE PRINCE OF WALES SUMMONED TO PARIS 
 
 191 
 
 made and formed to be sent into Acquitaine 
 to appeal the prince of Wales to the parlia- 
 ment of Paris, and it was devised by the 
 earl of Armagnac, the lord d'Albrct, the 
 carl of Perigoid, the earl of Comminges, 
 the viscount of Caraman, the lord de la 
 Barthe, the lord of Puycornet and divers 
 other, who were chief causers of this matter. 
 And this appeal contained how for the great 
 griefs that these Gascons complained that 
 the prince of Wales and Acquitaine would 
 do to them and to their people, therefore 
 they made their resort to the French king, 
 requiring that the prince might be appealed 
 sith they had made the French king their 
 judge. And when this appeal was made 
 and duly corrected by all the wise council 
 of France, then it was concluded by the 
 said council that it should be signified to 
 the prince and that he should be appealed, 
 to appear in proper person at Paris in the 
 chamber of the peers of France, to answer 
 to the complaints made there against him. 
 And to bear this appeal was commanded a 
 cjerk well languaged to do such a business, 
 and a knight with him called Chaponnet of 
 f I Chaponval ; and so they and their company 
 : departed from Paris and took their way 
 ' toward Poitou, and so passed through 
 • Berry, Tourairie, Poitou and Saintonge and 
 came to Blaye, and there passed the river 
 and so came to Bordeaux, whereas the 
 I prince and princess was : and always in 
 every place they said how they were mes- 
 ; sengers from the French king, wherefore 
 they were the better welcome into every 
 place. Then they took up their lodging 
 and tarried there all that night, and in the 
 next morning at a convenient hour they 
 went to the abbey of Saint Andrew's where 
 , the prince was lodged, and there they were 
 ', well received. And when the prince knew 
 of their coming, he caused them to come 
 before him ; and when they came into his 
 presence, they kneeled down and made 
 their reverence and delivered the prince 
 letters of credence. The prince took and 
 read them and said : ' Sirs, ye be welcome : 
 declare your message that ye have in 
 ' charge to shew us.' Then the clerk said : 
 ! ' Right dear sir, here is a letter that was 
 I delivered to us at Paris by our lord the 
 ' French king, the which letter^we promised 
 by our faiths to publish openly in your 
 presence; for, sir, they touch you.' The 
 
 prince then began to change colour and 
 had great marvel what it might be, and so 
 had other knights that were about him ; 
 howbeit, he refrained himself and said : 
 'Say on, sirs, what ye will: good tidings 
 we will be glad to hear.' Then the clerk 
 took the writing and read it word by 
 word, the tenour of the which hereafter 
 followeth : — 
 
 ' Charles, by the grace of God French 
 king, to our nephew the prince of Wales 
 and Acquitaine send greeting. So it is 
 that divers prelates, barons, knights, uni- 
 versities, commonalties and colleges of the 
 marches and limitations of the country of 
 Gascoyne, and the dwellers and habitants 
 in the bounds of our realm,' beside divers 
 other of the duchy of Acquitaine, are 
 drawn and are come to our court to have 
 right of certain griefs and troubles un- 
 lawful, that you by feeble counsel and 
 simple information have been in purpose 
 to do to them, of the which we have 
 marvel. Therefore to withstand and to 
 remedy the same matters we are so con- 
 joined to them, that by our royal majesty 
 and seignory we command you to come 
 into our city of Paris in proper person, 
 and there you to shew and present [your- 
 self] before us in our chamber of our peers 
 and there to do right on the foresaid com- 
 plaints and griefs, moved by you to do on 
 your people, who claimeth to have their 
 resort into our court, and that this be not 
 failed in as hasty wise as ye can after the 
 sight or hearing of these letters. In 
 witness whereof to these presents we have 
 set our seal. Given at Paris the twenty- 
 fifth ^ day of January. ' 
 
 When the prince of Wales had read this 
 letter, he had great marvel and shook his 
 head and beheld fiercely the Frenchmen. 
 And when he had a little studied, he 
 answered in this manner : ' Sirs, we will 
 gladly go to Paris to our uncle, sith he hath 
 sent thus for us : but I assure you that 
 shall be with bassenet on our head and 
 sixty thousand men in our company.' 
 Then the two Frenchmen kneeled down 
 and said : 'Dear sir, for God's sake take 
 patience, and take not this appeal in so 
 great despite nor be not displeased with us. 
 
 ' 'Dwelling and inliabiting within the bounds of 
 our realm.' 
 
 - The better readinp is xv. 
 
192 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Sir, we be messengers sent by our lord the 
 French king, to whom we must needs 
 obey, as your subjects ought to obey you : 
 wherefore, sir, it behoveth us to do his 
 commandment ; and, sir, whatsoever ye 
 will give us in charge to say, we shall shew 
 it to the king our prince and lord.' ' Nay,' 
 quoth the prince, ' sirs, I am not displeased 
 with you, but with them that sent you 
 hither ; and the king your master is not 
 well counselled to compoin himself with 
 our subjects, or to ma]<e himself judge 
 where he hath nothing to do nor no manner 
 of right. For it shall be well shewed that 
 at the rendering and putting in possession 
 of the king my father into the duchy of 
 Acquitaine, he quitted all manner of resorts : 
 for all they that hath caused this appeal to 
 be had against me hath none other resort of 
 right but into the court of England, before 
 the king my dear father ; and or it shall 
 be otherwise, I ensure you it shall cost a 
 hundred thousand men's lives.' 
 
 And therewith the prince departed and 
 went to another chamber and left them 
 still there. Then knights of England came 
 to them and said : ' .Sirs, ye may depart 
 when ye list to your lodging ; ye have right 
 well accomplished your message, but look 
 for none other answer than ye have had.' 
 Then the knight and the clerk departed 
 and went to their lodging and so dined ; 
 and after dinner they trussed and mounted 
 a-horseback and departed from Bordeaux 
 and took the way to Toulouse-ward, to the 
 intent to shew the duke of Anjou how they 
 had sped. The prince was sore displeased 
 with this appeal and so were all the knights 
 about him, and they counselled the prince 
 that the two French messengers should have 
 been slain for their labour ; but the prince 
 charged them the contrary : howbeit, he had 
 against them many a sore imagination, and 
 when it was shewed him how they were de- 
 parted without any other licence and that 
 they were ridden toward Toulouse, then he 
 called to him sir Thomas Felton and the 
 seneschal of Rouergue, sir Richard of 
 Pontchardon, sir Thomas Percy and his 
 chancellor the bishop of Bade : then the 
 prince demanded of them if the French 
 messengers had any safe-conduct of him or 
 not, and they answered they knew of none 
 that they had. ' No,' said the prince and 
 shook his head and said, ' It is not con- 
 
 venient that they should thus lightly depart 
 
 out of our country and to make their 
 
 janglings to the duke of Anjou, who loveth 
 
 us but a little. He will be glad that they 
 
 have thus summoned us in our own house. 
 
 I trow, all things considered, they be rather 
 
 messengers of mine own subjects, as the 
 
 earl of Armagnac, the lord d'Albret, the 
 
 earl of Perigord and the carls of Comminges 
 
 and Caraman, than of the French king's. 
 
 Therefore because of the great despite that 
 
 they have done to us, we would they were 
 
 overtaken and put in prison. ' Of the which 
 
 all the prince's council was right joyous and 
 
 said : ' Sir, we fear ye have tarried too 
 
 long from this purpose.' Incontinent the 
 
 seneschal of Agenois was commanded to 
 
 take with him sir William the monk,' a 
 
 right good knight of England, and that they 
 
 should ride after to stop the messengers. 
 
 And so they departed, and followed so long 
 
 after them, that at last they overtook them in 
 
 the land of Agenois, and they arrested them 
 
 and made another occasion than the prince's 
 
 commandment ; for in their arresting they 
 
 spake no word of the prince, but said how 
 
 their host, whereas they lay last, complained 
 
 on them for a horse that he said they had 
 
 changed. The knight and the clerk had 
 
 great marvel of that tidings and excused 
 
 themselves, but their excuse could not avail, 
 
 but so they were brought into the city of 
 
 Agen and put in prison. And they let some 
 
 of their pages depart, and they went by the 
 
 city of Toulouse and recorded to the duke 
 
 of Anjou all the whole matter, whereof he 
 
 was nothing displeased, for he thought well 
 
 that thereby should begin war and hatred, 
 
 and so he prepared covertly therefor. These 
 
 tidings came to the French king, for the 
 
 pages went and recounted all the whole 
 
 matter to him, as they had heard and seen ; 
 
 of the which the king was sore displeased 
 
 and took it in great despite and took counsel 
 
 and advice thereon, and specially of the 
 
 words it was shewed him that the prince 
 
 should say, when he said that he would come 
 
 personally to his uncle to answer to the 
 
 appeal made against him, with his bassenet 
 
 on his head and sixty thousand men of war 
 
 in his company. Against the which the 
 
 French king made provision right subtly 
 
 and wisely ; for he thought well it was a 
 
 \ 'The seneschal of Agenois, who was named sir 
 William le Moine, was charged with the business.' 
 
RENEWAL OE WAR, 1369 
 
 193 
 
 weighty mntter to make war against the 
 king of England and his puissance, seeing 
 how they had put his predecessors in lime 
 past to so much labour and travail : where- 
 fore he thought it a hard matter to begin 
 war, but he was so sore required of the great 
 lords of Gascoyne and Guyenne, and also it 
 was shewed him what great extortions and 
 damages the Englishmen did daily and 
 were likely to do in time to come : he 
 granted to the war with an evil will, con- 
 sidering the destruction of the poor people 
 that he thought should ensue thereby. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXUV-CCXLVII 
 
 SUMMARY.— Several of the Eretich host- 
 ages in E7tgla7td procured their liberation^ 
 and among others the diike of Berry and the 
 duke of Bourbon. This last obtained his 
 acquittmjce by procuring the bishopric of 
 Winchester for Willia?n of Wickham^ the 
 kijig's chaplain. 
 
 The prince of Wales had takeji a sickness 
 in Spain^ of which daily he grew tvoi'se. 
 The earl of Pirigord and others attacked 
 and routed Thomas Walkefare, seneschal of 
 Rotiergue^ in 7'evenge for the capture of 
 the envoys. The prince of Wales sent for 
 sir John Chandos. 
 
 The French ki7tg sent envoys to Engla7zd, 
 and TJieanwhile made secret p7'eparatio7is for 
 seizing Abbeville and the county of Po7ithieu. 
 When all was ready, the envoys retuy-ned, 
 and letters of defiaiice were sent to the king 
 of England by a Breton varlet. The king 
 was indignant at receiving them froTn such 
 a perso7i, ayid at once prepayxd to defend 
 Ponthieu ; but before his force could arrive^ 
 it was lost. 
 
 Sir Guichard d'' Angle, returning f7'077i 
 Rome, passed th7-ough France and 
 the pri7zce of Wales. 
 
 Wales, and they passed by Brittany to A7t- 
 gouleme^ where the prince was. 
 
 War was ca7'ried on ivitk various success 
 Z7i Perigord, Qztercy aiid La9ignedoc. 
 
 Seve7'al tow7zs, i7tcludi7ig Cahors, turned 
 French. 
 
 The dukes of Gueldres and Juliers sefit 
 defia7ue to the Fre7ich ki7ig. 
 
 The duke of Burgii7tdy was viarried to 
 the daughter of the earl of Fla7tders. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXLVni-CCLIII 
 
 SUMMARY. — The king of England sent 
 men of war to the fro77 tiers of Scotland^ and 
 also prepared to defend the coast of England. 
 The dukes of Anjou a7id Ber7y made their 
 suviTnons to go against the prince of Wales. 
 The king of England sent the ea^ls of 
 Cat7ibridge and Pembroke to the prince of 
 O 
 
 CHAPTERS CCLIV-CCLXV 
 
 SUMMARY. — War continued in Quercy, 
 Poitou and elsewhere, and sir Robert 
 K7iolles, who ca?Jie f7'07n Britta7ty, was 
 sent i7ito the Agenozs and then laid siege 
 to Duravel, whither also ca?}ie sir John 
 Cha7idos, the captal de Bzich and others, but 
 they could not take either that tow7i or 
 Do7ni)ie. They took Graifiat, Rocamadour 
 and Villef-anche and so retur7ted. 
 
 Mea7iwhile the earls of Ca?nbridge and 
 Pe7}ihroke took Bourdeilles t7t Perigoi'd. A7i 
 E7iglish co7Jipa7iy took Belleperche z'?z Bour- 
 bormais^ and iji it the mother of the duke of 
 Bourbo7i a7id of the queen of Fra72ce. 
 
 The E77glish captured la Roche-sur- Yon; 
 and sir John Cha7idos laid waste the lands 
 of Anjou, and the7t retu7'ned to Poitiers. 
 
 At this ti77ie the duke of La7tcaster had 
 been sent to Calais, and the duke of Bur- 
 gu7tdy lay opposite to hi77i at To7'77ehem. 
 
 The earl of Pe7nb7'oke, who had disdained 
 to go uuith sir Joh7t Cha7tdos, 7'ode into 
 Anjou. When returning he was stiiprised 
 at the village of Purnon by sir Louis de 
 Saficerre, and bei7ig besieged there in a 
 building belo7iging to the Templa7's, he sent 
 for help to sir John Chandos. 
 
 CHAPTER CCLXVI 
 
 How sir John Chandos came to the succour 
 of the earl of Pembroke. 
 
 Between the morning and nine of the day, 
 when the assault was most fiercest and that 
 the Frenchmen were sore displeased that 
 the Englishmen endured so long, wherefore 
 they sent to he villages thereabout for 
 pikes and mattocks to break down and 
 undermine the wall, which thing the 
 
194 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Englishmen doubted most, then the earl of 
 Pembroke called a squire to him and said : 
 ' Friend, take my courser and issue out at 
 the back postern and we shall make you way, 
 and ride straight to Poitiers and shew sir 
 John Chandos the state and danger that we 
 be in, and recommend me to him by this 
 token,' and took a ring from his finger and 
 delivered to him and said, ' Take sir John 
 Chandos this ring ; he knoweth it right well. ' 
 The squire who took that enterprise thought 
 it should be a great honour to him, if he 
 might achieve to scape and speak with him ; 
 took the ring, and mounted incontinent on 
 his courser and departed by a privy way, 
 while the assault endured, and took the 
 way to Poitiers. In the mean season the 
 assault was terrible and fierce by the French- 
 men, and the Englishmen defended them- 
 selves right valiantly with good courage, as 
 it stood them well in hand so to do. 
 
 Now let us speak of the first squire, that 
 departed from Puirenon at the hour of 
 midnight and all the night he rode out of 
 his way, and when it was morning and fair 
 day, then he knew his way and so rode 
 toward Poitiers, and by that time his horse 
 was weary. Howbeit, he came thither by 
 nine of the clock and there alighted before 
 sir John Chandos' lodging and entered and 
 found him at mass, and so came and kneeled 
 down before him and did his message as he 
 was commanded. And sir John Chandos, 
 who was not content for the other day 
 before, in that the earl of Pembroke would 
 not ride with him, as ye have heard before, 
 wherefore he was not lightly inclined to 
 make any great haste, but said ; 'It will be 
 hard for us to come thither time enough and 
 to hear out this mass.' And anon after 
 mass the tables were covered ready to 
 dinner, and the servants demanded of him if 
 he would go to dinner, and he said, ' Yes, 
 sith it is ready.' Then he went into his 
 hall, and knights and squires brought him 
 water, and as he was a washing, there came 
 into the hall the second squire from the 
 earl of Pembroke and kneeled down and 
 took the ring out of his purse and said : 
 ' Right dear sir, the earl of Pembroke re- 
 commendeth him to you by this token and 
 desireth you heartily to come and comfort 
 him and bring him out of t'ne danger that 
 he and his be in at Puirenon.' Then sir 
 John Chandos took the ring and knew it 
 
 well and said : ' To come thither betimes 
 it were hard, if they be in that case as ye 
 shew me. Let us go to dinner ' : and so 
 sat down, and all his company, and ate the 
 first course. And as he was served of the 
 second course and was eating thereof, 
 suddenly sir John Chandos, who greatly had 
 imagined of that matter, and at last cast up 
 his head and said to his company : ' Sirs, 
 the earl of Pembroke is a noble man and of 
 great lineage : he is son to my natural lord 
 the king of England, for he hath wedded his 
 daughter, and in everything he is companion 
 to the earl of Cambridge. He hath required 
 me to come to him in his business, and I 
 ought to consent to his desire and to succour 
 and comfort him, if we may come betimes.' 
 Therewith he put the table from him and 
 said : ' Sirs, I will ride toward Puirenon ' • 
 whereof his people had great joy and in- 
 continent apparelled, and the trumpets 
 sowned and every man mounted on their 
 horses they that best might, as soon as they 
 heard that sir John Chandos would ride to 
 Puirenon to comfort the earl of Pembroke 
 and his company, who were besieged there. 
 Then every knight, squire and man of arms 
 went out into the field, so they were more 
 than two hundred spears and alway they in- 
 creased. Thus as they rode forth together, 
 tidings came to the Frenchmen, who had 
 continually assaulted the fortress from the 
 morning till it was high noon, by their 
 spies, who said to them : ' Sirs, advise you 
 well, for sir John Chandos is departed from 
 Poitiers with more than two hundred spears 
 and is coming hitherward in great haste, and 
 hath great desire to find you here.' And 
 when sir Louis of Sancerre and sir John of 
 Vienne, sir John of Bueil and the other 
 captains heard those tidings, the wisest 
 among them said : ' Sirs, our people are 
 sore weary and travailed with assaulting of 
 the Englishmen both yesterday and this 
 day : therefore I think it were better that 
 fair and easily we returned in safeguard with 
 such winnings and prisoners as we have got, 
 rather than to abide the adventure of the 
 coming of sir John Chandos and his com- 
 pany, who are all fresh and lusty, for I 
 fear we may lose more than we shall win.' 
 The which counsel was well believed, for 
 it behoved not them long to tarry. Then 
 their trumpets sowned the retreat : then all 
 their company drew from the assault and 
 
S/Ji JOHN CHANDOS AND THE EAKL OF PEMBROKE 195 
 
 assembled together and trussed up their har- 
 ness and carriage, and so returned and took 
 the way to Posay.' The earl of Pcmbrol<e 
 and his company knew anon thereby how 
 the Frenchmen had knowledge of the 
 coming of sir John Chandos. Then the 
 earl said : ' Sirs, let us all issue out and ride 
 toward Poitiers to meet with my dear friend 
 sir John Chandos. ' Then they leapt a-horse- 
 back, such as had any horses, and some 
 afoot and two and two on a horse, and so 
 they issued out of the castle and rode 
 toward Poitiers. And they had not ridden 
 a league, but that they encountered sir John 
 Chandos and his company, and there was 
 a joyful meeting ; and sir John Chandos 
 said that he was sore displeased that he 
 came not or the Frenchmen were departed : 
 and so they rode together talking the space 
 of three leagues, and then they took leave 
 each of other. Sir John Chandos returned 
 to Poitiers and the earl of Pembroke to 
 Mortagne, from whence he first departed. 
 And the marshals of France and their com- 
 pany returned to Posay and there departed 
 their booty ; and then every man went to 
 their own garrison and led with them their 
 prisoners, and ransomed them courteously 
 in like manner as was accustomed between 
 the Englishmen and Frenchmen. 
 
 Now let us return to the assembly before 
 Tornehem, and speak of the death of the 
 most gentle queen, most liberal and most 
 courteous that ever was queen in her days, 
 the which was the fair lady Philippa of 
 Hainault, queen of England and Ireland. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCLXVII-CCLXIX 
 
 SUMMAR Y.— Queen Philij) fa of England 
 died, \ii,th August 1369. 
 
 The duke of Burgundy departed fj'om the 
 duke of Lancaster without battle, and the 
 duke of Lancaster returned to Calais. 
 
 The earl of Pejnbroke rode again into 
 Anjou. The abbey of Saint -Savin in 
 Poitou was delivered up to the French, 
 who put a garrison there. 
 
 The duke of Lancaster rode through 
 Picardy and Normandy as far as ILarfieur 
 and then reticrned. Sir Hugh de Chatillon, 
 captain of Abbeville, was taken prisoner by 
 the English. 
 
 1 La Roche-Posay. 
 
 CHAPTER CCLXX ■ 
 
 How sir John Chandos was slain hi a battle, 
 and how finally the Frenchmen were dis- 
 comfited and taken in the same battle. 
 
 Greatly it grieved sir John Chandos the 
 taking of Saint - Salvin, because it was 
 under his rule, for he was seneschal of 
 Poitou. He set all his mind how he might 
 recover it again, other by force or by 
 stealth he cared not, so he might have it, 
 and for that intent divers nights he made 
 sundry bushments, but it availed not ; for 
 sir Louis, who kept it, took ever so good 
 heed thereto, that he defended it from all 
 dangers, for he knew well the taking thereof 
 grieved sore sir John Chandos at the heart. 
 So it fell that the night before the first day 
 of January sir John Chandos being in 
 Poitiers sent to assemble together divers 
 barons, knights and squires of Poitou, 
 desiring them to come to him as privily as 
 they could, for he certained them how he 
 would ride forth : and they refused not his 
 desire, for they loved him entirely, but 
 shortly assembled together in the city of 
 Poitiers. 
 
 Thither came sir Guichard d'Angle, sir 
 Louis Harcourt, the lord of Pons, the lord 
 of Partenay, the lord of Poyanne, the lord 
 Tannay-Bouton, sir Geoffrey d'Argenton, 
 sir Mauburny of Linieres, sir Thomas Percy, 
 sir Baudwin of Freville, sir Richard of 
 Fontchardon and divers other. And when 
 they were all together assembled, they were 
 three hundred spears, and departed by 
 night from Poitiers. None knew whither 
 they should go except certain of the lords, 
 and they had ready with them scaling 
 ladders and so came to Saint -Salvin and 
 there alighted and delivered their horses to 
 their varlets, which Avas about midnight, 
 and so entered into the dike. Yet they 
 had not their intent so shortly ; for suddenly 
 they heard the watch-horn blow : I shall 
 tell you wherefore it blew. The same 
 night Charuel ' was departed from the 
 Roche of Posay with a forty spears with 
 him and was come the same time to Saint- 
 Salvin to speak with the captain, sir Louis 
 of Saint-Julian, to the intent to have ridden 
 
 1 Jean Charuel, a Breton captain in garrison at 
 la Roche-Posay. 
 
igS 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 together to Poitou, to see if they could get 
 any prey : and so he called up the watch- 
 man, the which made him to sound his 
 horn. And so the Englishmen, who were 
 on the other side of the fortress, hearing 
 the watch blow and great noise in the 
 place, feared lest they had been spied by 
 some spies, for they knew nothing that the 
 said Frenchmen were on the other side to 
 have entered into the place. Therefore 
 they withdrew back again out of the dikes 
 and said : ' l^et us go hence for this night, 
 for we have failed of our purpose. ' And 
 so they remounted on their horses and 
 returned whole together to Chauvigny on 
 the river of Creuse, a two leagues thence. 
 Then the Poitevins demanded of sir John 
 Chandos if he would command them any 
 further service. He answered and said : 
 ' Sirs, return home again when it please 
 you in the name of God, and as for this 
 day I will abide still here in this town.' 
 So there departed the knights of Poitou 
 and some of England to the number of two 
 hundred spears. 
 
 Then sir John Chandos went into a 
 house and caused to be made a good fire : 
 and there was still with him sir Thomas 
 Percy and his company, seneschal of 
 Rochelle, who said to sir John Chandos ; 
 ' Sir, is it your intent to tarry here all this 
 day?' 'Yea truly, sir,' quoth he; 'why 
 demand you ? ' ' Sir, the cause I desire you 
 is, sith ye will not stir this day, to give'me 
 leave and I will ride some way with my 
 company, to see if I can find any adventure.' 
 'Go your way, sir, in the name of God,' 
 quoth sir John Chandos. And so departed 
 sir Thomas Percy with a thirty spears in 
 his company, and so passed the bridge at 
 Chauvigny and took the long way that 
 led to Poitiers : and sir John Chandos 
 abode still behind, full of displeasure in 
 that he had failed of his purpose ; and so 
 stood in a kitchen warming him by the fire, 
 and his servants jangled with him to the 
 intent to bring him out of his melancholy. 
 His servants had prepared for him a place to 
 rest him : then he demanded if it were near 
 day, and therewith there came a man into 
 the house and came before him and said : 
 ' Sir, I have brought you tidings.' ' What 
 be they ? tell me.' ' Sir, surely the French- 
 men be riding abroad.' 'How knowest 
 thou that?' 'Sir,' said he, 'I departed 
 
 from Saint - Salvin with them.' 'What 
 way be they ridden ? ' ' Sir, I cannot tell 
 you the certainty, but surely they took the 
 highway to Poitiers.' 'What Frenchmen 
 be they, canst thou tell me?' 'Sir, it is 
 sir Louis of Saint-Julian and Charuel the 
 Breton.' 'Well,' quoth sir John Chandos, 
 ' I care not. I have no list this night to 
 ride forth. They may hap to be encoun- 
 tered, though I be not there.' And so he 
 tarried there still a certain space in a great 
 study ; and at last, when he had well 
 advised himself, he said : ' Whatsoever I 
 have said herebefore, I trow it be good 
 that I ride forth. I must return to Poitiers, 
 and anon it will be day.' 'That is true, 
 sir,' quoth the knights about him. Then 
 he said : ' Make ready, for I will ride 
 forth ' : and so they did, and mounted on 
 their horses and departed and took the 
 right way to Poitiers coasting the river, 
 and the Frenchmen the same time were 
 not past a league before him in the same 
 way, thinking to pass the river at the 
 bridge of Lussac. There the Englishmen 
 had knowledge how they were in the track 
 of the Frenchmen, for the Frenchmen's 
 horses cried and brayed because of the 
 English horses that were before them with 
 sir Thomas Percy. ^ And anon it was fair " 
 light day, for in the beginning of January 
 the mornings be soon light, and when the 
 Frenchmen and Bretons were within a 
 league of the bridge, they perceived on the 
 other side of the bridge sir Thomas Percy 
 and his company, and he likewise per- 
 ceived the Frenchmen and rode as fast as 
 he might to get the advantage of the bridge, 
 and said : ' Behold yonder Frenchmen be 
 a great number against us : therefore let us 
 take the advantage of the bridge.' And 
 when sir Louis and Charuel saw the Eng- 
 lishmen make such haste to get the bridge, 
 they did in like wise ; howbeit, the Eng- 
 1 This is quite wrong, but the French text is 
 largely responsible for the errors. According to 
 the true reading it should be : 'And the English- 
 men had knowledge of it by their horses, which 
 followed the course of the Frenchmen's horses and 
 entered into the track of the Frenchmen's horses : 
 so they said; "Either sir Thomas Percy or the 
 Frenchmen are riding before us." ' The trans- 
 lator's te.Kt had ' fray ' for ' froais ' (track), which he 
 did not understand, and was quite corrupt in the 
 latter part, omitting 'si disent ' and giving, 'ou 
 messire Thomas de Persy chevauchoit devant eulx.' 
 He found it unintelligible and altered it to make 
 some sense. 
 
DEATH OF SIR JOHN CHAN DOS, 1369 
 
 197 
 
 lishmen gat it first, and liglited all afoot 
 and so ranged themselves in good order to 
 defend the bridge. The Frenchmen hke- 
 wise lighted afoot and delivered their horses 
 to their pages, commanding them to draw 
 aback, and so did put themselves in good 
 order to go and assail the Englishmen, 
 who kept themselves close together and 
 were'nothing affrayed, though they were but 
 a handful of men as to the regard of the 
 Frenchmen. And thus, as the Frenchmen 
 and Bretons studied and imagined how and 
 by what means to their advantage they 
 might assail the Englishmen, therewith 
 there came behind them sir John Chandos, 
 his banner displayed, bearing therein silver, 
 a sharp pile gules, and Jakes of Alery, a 
 valiant man of arms, did bear it, and he 
 had with him a forty spears. He approached 
 fiercely the Frenchmen, and when he was 
 a three furlongs from the bridge, the French 
 pages who saw them coming were affrayed, 
 and so ran away with the horses and left 
 their masters there afoot. And when sir 
 John Chandos was come near to them, he 
 said : ' Hark ye. Frenchmen, ye are but 
 evil men of war : ye ride at your pleasure 
 and ease day and night : ye take and win 
 towns and fortresses in Poitou, whereof I 
 am seneschal : ye ransom poor folk without 
 my leave : ye ride all about clean armed. 
 It should seem the country is all yours, but 
 I ensure you it is not so. Ye, sir Louis 
 and Charuel, ye are too great masters. It 
 is more than a year and a half that I have 
 set all mine intent to find or encounter 
 with you, and now, I thank God, I see 
 you and speak to you. Now shall it be 
 seen who is stronger, other you or I. 
 It hath been shewed me oftentimes that ye 
 have greatly desired to find me : now ye 
 may see me here : I am John Chandos, 
 advise me well. Your great feats of arms 
 wherewith ye be renowned, by God's leave 
 now shall we prove it.' While such lan- 
 guage was spoken, sir John Chandos' com- 
 pany drew together, and sir Louis and 
 Charuel kept themselves close together, 
 making semblant to be glad to be fought 
 withal ; and of all this matter sir Thomas 
 Percy, who was on the other side of the 
 bridge, knew nothing, for the bridge was 
 high in the midst, so that none could see 
 other. 
 
 While sir John Chandos reasoned thus 
 
 with the Fjenchmen, there was a Breton 
 took his glaive and could forbear no longer, 
 but came to an English squire called Sim- 
 kin Dodale, and strake him so in the breast, 
 that he cast him down from his horse. Sir 
 John Chandos, when he heard that noise 
 beside him, he turned that way and saw 
 his squire lie on the earth and the French- 
 men laying on him.^ Then he was more 
 chafed than he was before, and said to his 
 company : ' Sirs, how suffer you this squire 
 thus to be slain ? Afoot, afoot ! ' and so 
 he leapt afoot and all his company, and so 
 Simkin was rescued and the battle begun. 
 
 Sir John Chandos, who was a right hardy 
 and a courageous knight, with his banner 
 before him and his company about him, 
 with his coat of arms on him great and 
 large, beaten with his arms of white sarcenet 
 with two piles gules one before and another 
 behind, so that he seemed to be a sufficient 
 knight to do a great feat of arms, and as 
 one of the foremost with his glaive in his 
 hand marched to his enemies. The same 
 morning there had fallen a great dew, so 
 that the ground was somewhat moist, and 
 so in his going forward he slode and fell 
 down at the joining with his enemies ; and 
 as he was arising there lit a stroke on him 
 given by a squire called Jaques of Saint- 
 Martin with his glaive, the which stroke 
 entered into the flesh under his eye between 
 the nose and the forehead. Sir John 
 Chandos saw not the stroke coming on 
 that side, for he was blind on the one eye. 
 He lost the sight thereof a five year before, 
 as he hunted after an hart in the launds of 
 Bordeaux, and also he had on no visor. 
 The stroke was rude and entered into 
 his brain, the which stroke grieved him so 
 sore, that he overthrew to the earth and 
 turned for pain two times up-se-down, as 
 he that was wounded to death ; for after 
 the stroke he never spake word. And 
 when his men saw that misfortune, they 
 were right dolorous : then his uncle Edward 
 Clifford stept and bestrode him, for the 
 Frenchmen would fain have had him, and 
 defended him so valiantly and gave round 
 about him such strokes, that none durst 
 approach near to him : also sir John Clan- 
 vowe and sir Bertram of Casselis seemed 
 like men out of their minds, when they saw 
 their master lie on the earth. The Bretons 
 1 i.e. 'striking him. ' 
 
igS 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and Frenchmen were greatly comforted, 
 when they saw the captain of their enemies 
 on the earth, thinking verily that he had 
 his death's wound. Then they advanced 
 themselves and said : ' Ye Englishmen, 
 yield you, for ye are all ours, ye cannot 
 scape us.' There the Englishmen did 
 marvels in arms, as well to defend them- 
 selves as to revenge their master sir John 
 Chandos, whom they saw lie in a hard case. 
 And a squire of sir John Chandos spied 
 Jaques of Saint-Martin, who had given his 
 master his mortal stroke, and ran to him 
 fiercely and struck him with such violence, 
 that his glaive pierced through both his 
 thighs. Howbeit, for all that stroke, he 
 left not still to fight. 
 
 If sir Thomas Percy and his company 
 had known of this adventure, who were on 
 the other side of the bridge, they should 
 well have succoured him ; but because they 
 knew nothing thereof, nor heard no more 
 of the Frenchmen, weening to them they 
 had been gone back, therefore he and his 
 company departed and toolc the way to 
 Poitiers, as they that knew nothing of that 
 business. Thus the Englishmen fought still 
 before the bridge of Lussac, and there was 
 done many a feat of arms. Briefly, the 
 Englishmen could endure no longer against 
 the Frenchmen, so that the most part of 
 them were discomfited and taken, but 
 always Edward Clifford would not depart 
 from his nephew, thereas he lay. So thus, 
 if the Frenchmen had been so happy as to 
 have had their horses there ready, as they 
 had not, for their pages were run away from 
 them before, or else they might have de- 
 parted with much honour and profit with 
 many a good prisoner, and for lack of them 
 they lost all : wherefore they were sore dis- 
 pleased and said among themselves : ' Ah, 
 this is an evil order ; for the journey is ours, 
 and yet through fault of our pages we can- 
 not depart, seeing we be heavy armed and 
 sore travailed, so that we cannot go afoot 
 through this country, the which is full of 
 our enemies and contrary to us, and we are 
 a six leagues from the next fortress that we 
 have, and also divers of our company be 
 sore hurt and we may not leave them be- 
 hind us.' Thus as they were in this case 
 and wist not what to do, and had sent two 
 Bretons unarmed into the fields to see if 
 they might find any of their pages with their 
 
 liorses, there came on them sir Guichard 
 d'Angle, sir Louis Ilarcourt, the lord 
 Partenay, the lord Tanna3'-Bouton, the 
 lord d'Argenton, the lord of Poyanne, sir 
 Jaques of Surgeres, and divers other 
 Englishmen to the number of two hundred 
 spears, who rode about to seek for the 
 Frenchmen, for it was shewed them how 
 they were abroad : and so they fell in the 
 track of the horses and came in great haste 
 with banners and pennons waving in the 
 wind. And as soon as the Bretons and 
 Frenchmen saw them coming, they knew 
 well they were their enemies : then they 
 said to the Englishmen whom they had 
 taken as prisoners before : ' Sirs, behold 
 yonder cometh a band of your company 
 to succour you, and we perceive well that 
 we cannot endure against them, and ye be 
 our prisoners. We will quit you, so that 
 ye will keep us, and will become your 
 prisoners ; for we had rather yield us to 
 you than to them that cometh yonder.' 
 And they answered : ' As ye will, so are 
 we content.' Thus the Englishmen were 
 loosed out of their prisons. Then the 
 Poitevins, Gascons and Englishmen came 
 on them, their spears in their rests, crying 
 their cries. Then the Frenchmen and 
 Bretons drew aside and said to them : 'Sirs, 
 leave : do us no hurt : we be all prisoners 
 already.'^ The Englishmen affirmed the 
 same and said : ' They be our prisoners. ' 
 Charuel was prisoner with sir Bertram of 
 Casselis and sir Louis of Saint-Julian with 
 sir John Clanvowe, so that there was none 
 but that he had a master. 
 
 The barons and knights of Poitou were 
 sore discomforted, when they saw their 
 seneschal sir John Chandos lie on the earth 
 and could not speak. Then they lament- 
 ably complained and said, ' Ah, sir John 
 Chandos, the flower of all chivalry, un- 
 happily was that glaive forged that thus 
 hath wounded you and brought you in 
 peril of death. ' They wept piteously that 
 were about him, and he heard and under- 
 stood them well, but he could speak no 
 word. They wrung their hands and tare 
 their hairs and made many a pitiful com- 
 plaint, and specially such as were of his 
 own house. Then his servants unarmed 
 him and laid him on pavises and so bare 
 
 1 ' Ho, seigneurs, cessez, cessez : nous sommes 
 prisonniers.' 
 
LIMOGES WON BY THE FRENCH, 1370 
 
 199 
 
 him softly to Mortimer, the next fortress to 
 them. And the other barons and knights 
 returned to Poitiers and led with them 
 their prisoners : and as I understood, the 
 same Jaques Martin that thus hurt sir John 
 Chandos was so little taken heed to of his 
 hurts, that he died at Poitiers. And this 
 noble knight sir John Chandos lived not 
 after his hurt past a day and a night, but 
 so died. God have mercy on his soul : for 
 in a hundred year after there was not ^ a 
 more courteous nor more fuller of noble 
 virtues and good conditions among the 
 Englishmen than he was. And when the 
 prince and princess, the earl of Cambridge, 
 the earl of Pembroke and other barons 
 and knights of England, such as were in 
 Guyenne, heard of his death, they were all 
 discomforted, and said they had lost all 
 on that side of the sea. For his death his 
 friends and also some of his enemies were 
 right sorrowful. The Englishmen loved him, 
 because all nobleness was found in him : 
 the Frenchmen hated him because they 
 doubted him : yet I heard his death greatly 
 complained among right noble and valiant 
 knights of France, saying that it was a 
 great damage of his death, for they said : 
 ' Better it had been that he had been taken 
 alive ; for if he had been taken alive,' they 
 said, ' he was so sage and so imaginative, 
 that he would have found some manner of 
 good means whereby the peace might have 
 ensued between the realms of England and 
 France : for he was so well beloved with 
 the king of England, that the king would 
 believe him rather than any other in the 
 world.' Thus both French and English 
 spake of his death, and specially the Eng- 
 lishmen, for by him Guyenne was kept and 
 recovered. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCLXXI-CCLXXIX 
 
 SUMMARY. — The lord of Coucy, being 
 son-in-law to the king of England, would 
 take no fart in the war and went into 
 Loinbardy. 
 
 The king of England sent letters into 
 Acquitaine giving up the fouage, but this 
 had little effect. 
 
 The duke of Bourbon laid siege to Belle- 
 
 1 'Oncques depuis cent ans ne fut,' etc. ; that is, 
 ' for a hundred year past there had not been,' etc. 
 
 ft'rche, but the earls of Cambridge and 
 I'cvibroke marched Ihilher with a large 
 force and removed thence the lady of Bmir- 
 bon and the garrison. 
 
 It was purposed that in the following 
 summer the duke of Anjou should enter 
 Acquitaiiu by Bergcrac a7id the duke of 
 Berry by Limoges and Quercy, and so meet 
 before Angoitleme. It was resolved also to 
 send for Bertrand dtt Guesclinfrom Spam. 
 The Fi-ench king made u. treaty with the 
 ki7ig of Navarre. 
 
 Bertrand dit Gitescliii came to the duke 
 of Anjou at Toulouse. 
 
 The duke of Anjou took Moisac and 
 Montpezat, while the duke of Berry lay at 
 siege before Limoges. The prince of Wales 
 suvnno7ted his host to meet at Cognac. 
 
 Peace was made between England and 
 Scotland for nine years and sir Robei't 
 Knolles came over to Calais with a hundred 
 spears of Scotland in his company. With 
 fifteen hu7idred spears and four thousand 
 archers he laid waste the lands of Picardy 
 and Ve7'mandois. 
 
 The duke of Anjou disfuissed his army 
 and we7it to Cahors. 
 
 Bertrand dti. Guescli?i came to the siege of 
 Limoges, which zvas on the poijit of sur- 
 renderin^. 
 
 CHAPTER CCLXXX 
 
 How they of Limoges yielded them to the 
 duke of Berry, and how the same duke 
 brake up his army. 
 
 When sir Bertram was come again to the 
 siege,' the Frenchmen were greatly rejoiced 
 of his coming. Then anon they pursued 
 the treaty that was begun between the 
 bishop of Limoges and them of the city 
 and the duke of Berry. And so finally the 
 bishop and they of the city turned them 
 and became French, and the duke of Berry 
 and the duke of Bourbon entered into the 
 city, and sir Guy of Blois and other lords 
 of France, with great joy, and took faith 
 and homage of them of the city, and so 
 refreshed and rested them there a three 
 days : and so determined there in council 
 
 1 The translator by misunderstanding of a former 
 passage has been led to suppose that du GuescHn 
 had been at the siege of Limoges once before this, 
 and therefore he inserts the word 'again.' 
 
THE CHRONICLES OE EROISSART 
 
 to break up their army for that time, as the 
 duke of Anjou had done, and to return into 
 their own countries to keep and defend 
 their towns and fortresses because of sir 
 Robert Knolles, who was still abroad in the 
 field in France ; also they said how they 
 had right well sped in winning of such 
 a city as Limoges. So this counsel and 
 advice was not broken, but thus these lords 
 departed each from other, and sir Bertram 
 abode still in the parts of Limousin with 
 two hundred spears and kept the castles of 
 the lord of Melval, the which were turned 
 French. When the duke of Berry departed 
 from Limoges, he ordained and set in the 
 same city at the request of the bishop sir 
 John of Villemur, sir Hugh de la Roche 
 and Roger Beaufort, with a hundred men 
 of arms, and then he went into Berry and 
 the duke of Bourbon into Bourbonnois, and 
 other lords of farther marches went home 
 into their own countries. Now let us 
 speak of the prince, how he sped. 
 
 When tidings was come to the prince 
 that the city of Limoges was turned French, 
 and how that the bishop, who was his 
 gossip and in whom he had before great 
 trust and confidence, was chief aider to 
 yield up the city and to become French, 
 with the which the prince was sore dis- 
 pleased and set less force in ^ the men of 
 the Church, in whom before he had great 
 trust. Then he sware by his father's soul, 
 whereby he was riever forsworn, that he 
 would get it again and that he would make 
 the traitors dearly abye their falseness. 
 When the most part of his people were 
 come, they were numbered to twelve hun- 
 dred spears, knights and squires, a thou- 
 sand archers and a thousand ^ men afoot ; 
 and so he departed from the town of 
 Cognac, and with him his two brethren, the 
 duke of Lancaster and the earl of Cam- 
 bridge. Sir Thomas Felton and the captal 
 of Buch abode still at Bergerac, to keep the 
 frontier against the Frenchmen and com- 
 panions that were in the country. And 
 with the prince also was sir Guichard 
 d'Angle, sir Louis Harcourt, the lord of 
 Pons, the lord of Partenay, the lord of 
 Poyanne, the lord of Tannay-Bouton, sir 
 Perceval of Couloyne, sir Godfrey d'Argen- 
 ton, Poitevins ; and Gascons, the lord of 
 
 ^ ' Esteemed less.' 
 2 'Three thousand,' according to the true text. 
 
 Montferrant, the lord of Caumont, the lord 
 Langoiran, sir Aymery of Tastes, the lord 
 of Pommicrs, the lord of Mussidan, the lord 
 of Lesparre, the lord of Geronde and 
 divers other ; Englishmen, as sir Thomas 
 Percy, the lord Ros, the lord William 
 Beauchamp, sir Michael de la Pole, the 
 lord Stephen Cosington, sir Richard of 
 Pontchardon, sir Baudwin of Freville, sir 
 Simon Burley, sir d'Aghorisses, sir John 
 Devereux, sir William of Nevill and divers 
 other, the which I cannot all name ; and of 
 Hainowes there was sir Eustace d'Aubreci- 
 court ; and of the companions sir Perducas 
 d'Albret, Naudan of Bageran, and thither 
 came le bourg de Lesparre, le bourg de 
 Breteuil, Espiote, Bernard de Wist and 
 divers other. So all these men of war 
 went forth in good ordinance and took the 
 fields, and all the country trembled before 
 them. The prince was so diseased that 
 he could not ride, but so was carried in 
 a horse litter ; and he took the way of 
 Limousin to the intent to come to Limoges, 
 and at last thither they came, and so lodged 
 round about the city ; and there the prince 
 sware that he would never depart thence 
 till he had the city at his pleasure. 
 
 The bishop within and the burgesses 
 considered well how they had greatly tres- 
 passed the prince, whereof then they repented 
 them, but then they could not remedy it, 
 for they were not as then lords nor masters 
 of their own city. Sir John Villemur, sir 
 Hugh de la Roche and Roger Beaufort, 
 who were captains within the city, com- 
 forted greatly their people and said : ' Sirs, 
 be not afraid, we are strong enough to 
 resist against the prince's power ; for by 
 assault he cannot hurt nor grieve us, we 
 are all well fiirnished with artillery.' 
 When the prince and his marshals had 
 well imagined and considered the puissance 
 and strength of the city and had knowledge 
 of the number of men of war within, then 
 they said how by assault they could never 
 win it. Then the prince thought to assay 
 another way. He had always in his com- 
 pany a great number of miners, and so he 
 set them a -work to undermine. The 
 knights within perceived well how they 
 were undermined and began to make dikes 
 and to countermine, to the intent to break 
 their mine. 
 
SACK OF LIMOGES, 1370 {Sepi. 19) 
 
 CHAPTERS CCLXXXI, CCLXXXII 
 
 SU.VA/ARY.Sir Robert Knolles devas- 
 tated France as far as the gates of Fan's. 
 
 Bertrand dit Gtiescliii made war in 
 Limousin and took Saint- Yricix. 
 
 CHAPTER CCLXXXIII 
 
 How the prince took the city of Limoges, 
 and how four companions did marvels in 
 arms. 
 
 About the space of a month or more was 
 the prince of Wales before the city of 
 Limoges, and there was neither assault nor 
 scrimmishjbut daily they mined. And they 
 within knew well ho^v they were mined, 
 and made a countermine thereagainst to 
 have destroyed the English miners ; but 
 they failed of iheir mine. And when the 
 prince's miners saw how the countermine 
 against them failed, they said to the prince ; 
 ' Sir, whensoever it shall please you we 
 shall cause a part of the wall to fall into 
 the dikes, whereby ye shall enter into the 
 city at your ease without any danger.' 
 Which words pleased greatly the prince, 
 and said : ' I will that to-morrow betimes 
 ye shew forth and execute your work.' 
 Then the miners set hre into their mine, 
 and so the next morning, as the prince had 
 ordained, there fell down a great pane of 
 the wall and filled the dikes, whereof the 
 Englishmen were glad and were ready 
 armed in the field to enter into the town. 
 The foot-men might well enter at their 
 ease, and so they did and ran to the gate 
 and beat down the fortifying and barriers, 
 for there was no defence against them : it 
 was done so suddenly that they of the town 
 were not ware thereof. 
 
 Then the prince, the duke of Lancaster, 
 the earl of Cambridge, the earl of Pem- 
 broke, sir Guichard d'Angle and all the 
 other with their companies entered into the 
 city, and all other foot -men, ready ap- 
 parelled to do evil, and to pill and rob the 
 city, and to slay men, women and children, 
 for so it was commanded them to do. It 
 was great pity to see the men, women and 
 children that kneeled down on their knees 
 
 before the prince for mercy ; but he was so 
 inflamed with ire, that he took no heed to 
 them, so that none was heard, but all put to 
 death, as they were met withal, and such 
 as were nothing culpable. There was no 
 pity taken of the poor people, who wrought 
 never no manner of treason, yet they 
 bought it dearer than the great personages, 
 such as had done the evil and trespass. 
 There was not so hard a heart within the 
 city of Limoges, an if he had any remem- 
 brance of God, but that wept piteously for 
 the great mischief that they saw before 
 their eyen : for more than three thousand 
 men, women and children were slain and 
 beheaded that day. God have mercy on 
 their souls, for I trow they were martyrs. 
 And thus entering into the city a certain 
 company of Englishmen entered into the 
 bishop's palace and there they found the 
 bishop : and so they brought him to the 
 prince's presence, who beheld him right 
 fiercely and felly, and the best word that 
 he could have of him was, how he would 
 have his head stricken off, and so he was 
 had out of his sight. 
 
 Now let us speak of the knights that 
 were within the city, as sir John of Ville- 
 mur, sir Hugh de la Roche, Roger Beau- 
 fort, son to the earl of Beaufort, captains 
 of the city. When they saw the tribula- 
 tion and pestilence that ran over them and 
 their company, they said one to another : 
 ' We are all dead, without we defend our- 
 selves : therefore let us sell our lives dearly, 
 as good knights ought to do.' Then sir 
 John of "Villemur said to Roger Beaufort : 
 ' Roger, it behoveth that ye be made a 
 knight.' Then Roger answered and said : 
 * Sir, I am not as yet worthy to be a knight : 
 I thank you, sir, of your good-will.' So 
 there was no more said : they had not the 
 leisure to speak long together. Howbeit, 
 they assembled them together in a place 
 against an old wall and there displayed 
 their banners. So they were to the number 
 of eighty persons. Thither came the duke 
 of Lancaster, the earl of Cambridge and 
 their companies and so lighted afoot, so 
 that the Frenchmen could not long endure 
 against the Englishmen, for anon they were 
 slain and taken. Howbeit, the duke of 
 Lancaster himself fought longhand to hand 
 against sir John Villemur, who was a strong 
 knight and a hardy, and the earl of Cam- 
 
THE CBRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 bridge fought against sir Hugh de la Roche, 
 and the earl of Pembroke against Roger 
 Beaufort, who was as then but a squire. 
 These three Frenchmen did many feats of 
 arms : their men were occupied otherwise. 
 The prince in his chariot came by them 
 and beheld them gladly and appeased him- 
 self in beholding of them. So long they 
 fought together that the three Frenchmen, 
 by one accord beholding' their swords, 
 said : ' Sirs, we be yours, ye have con- 
 quered us : do with us according to right 
 of arms.' 'Sir,' quoth the duke of Lan- 
 caster, * we look for nothing else : therefore 
 we receive you as our prisoners.' And thus 
 the foresaid three Frenchmen were taken, 
 as it was informed me. 
 
 CHAPTER CCLXXXIV 
 
 How the city of Limoges was brent and 
 destroyed, and the bishop delivered from 
 death ; and how sir Bertram of Guesclin 
 was chosen constable. 
 
 Thus the city of Limoges was pilled, 
 robbed and clean brent and brought to 
 destruction. Then the Englishmen de- 
 parted with their conquest and prisoners 
 and drew to Cognac, where my lady the 
 princess was. Then the prince gave leave 
 to all his men of war to depart and did no 
 more that season ; for he felt himself not 
 well at ease, for always his sickness in- 
 creased, whereof his brethren and people 
 were sore dismayed. 
 
 Now shall I shew you of the bishop of 
 Limoges, who was in great peril of losing 
 of his head. The duke of Lancaster desired 
 of the prince to give him the bishop, to do 
 with him at his pleasure. The prince was 
 content and caused him to be delivered to 
 the duke. The bishop had friends, and 
 they had newly informed the pope, who 
 was as then at Avignon, of the bishop's tak- 
 ing, the which fortuned well for the bishop, 
 for else he had been dead. Then the pope 
 by sweet words entreated the duke of Lan- 
 caster to deliver to him the said bishop. The 
 duke ^ould not deny the pope, but granted 
 
 1 'En_ regardant' in the French text, but the true 
 reading is ' en rendant," ' rendering.' The mistake 
 arose by a repetition of ' regardant ' just above. 
 
 him and sent him to Avignon, whereof the 
 pope was right glad. 
 
 Now let us speak of the adventures ol 
 France. 
 
 The French king was informed of the 
 destruction and conquest of the city of 
 Limoges, and how it was left clean void as 
 a town of desert, wherewith he was sore 
 displeased and took it in great passion, the 
 damage and annoy of the inhabitants of the 
 same. Then was it advised in France by 
 counsel of the nobles, prelates and commons 
 of all the realm, that it was of necessity 
 that the Frenchmen should have a chief 
 and a governour called the constable ; for 
 sir Moreau of Fiennes would leave and 
 give up his office, who was a right valiant 
 man of his hands and a great enterpriser of 
 deeds of arms. So that, all things con- 
 sidered and imagined, by a common accord 
 they chose sir Bertram of Guesclin, so that 
 he would take it on him, as the most 
 valiant knight, most virtuous and most able 
 to execute that office and most fortunate 
 that they knew as then, that bare arms for 
 the crown of France. Then the king wrote 
 and sent certain messengers to him, that he 
 should come and speak with him at Paris. 
 The messengers found him in the county of 
 Limoges, whereas he took fortresses and 
 castles and made them to yield to the lady 
 of Bretayne, wife to sir Charles of Blois, 
 and as then he had newly taken a town 
 called Brantome and was riding towards 
 another. And when the king's messengers 
 were come to him, he received them joy- 
 ously and right sagely, as he that could do 
 it right well. Then the messengers de- 
 livered to him the king's letter and did his 
 message, and when sir Bertram saw the 
 commandment of the king, he would make 
 none excuse, but concluded to go and know 
 the king's pleasure ; and so departed, as 
 soon as he might, and sent the most part of 
 his men into garrisons such as he had con- 
 quered, and he made sovereign and keeper 
 of them sir Oliver of Mauny his nephew. 
 Then he rode forth so long by his journeys 
 that he came to Paris, where he found the 
 king and great number of lords of his coun- 
 cil, who received him right joyously and 
 did him great reverence ; and there the 
 king shewed him how he and his council 
 had chosen him to be constable of France. 
 Then he excused himself right sagely and 
 
BERTRAND DU GUESCLIN CONSTABLE 
 
 203 
 
 said : ' Sir, I am not worthy ; I am but 
 a poor Iviiight as in regard of your other 
 great lords and valiant men in France, 
 though it be so that fortune hath a little 
 advanced me. ' Then the king said : 'Sir, 
 it is for noticing that ye excuse you : it 
 behoveth you to take it ; for it is so or- 
 dained and determined by all the council 
 of France, the which in no wise I will 
 break.' Then sir Bertram excused himself 
 again by another way and said : * Right 
 dear sir and noble king, I may not nor 
 dare not withsay your noble pleasure : how- 
 beit, sir, it is of truth that I am but a poor 
 man and too low of blood to come to the 
 office of constable of France, the which is 
 so great and so noble an office. For it is 
 convenient that he that will exercise and 
 acquit himself well in that office must com- 
 mand as well and rather the great men 
 than the small personages. And, sir, be- 
 hold here my lords your brethren, your 
 nephews and your cousins, who hath charge 
 of many men of war in your host and jour- 
 neys. Sir, how durst I then be so bold as 
 to command them ? Certainly, sir, envy 
 is so great that I ought to fear it. There- 
 fore, sir, I require your grace, pardon me, 
 and give this office to some other that 
 would gladlier have it than I, and that may 
 better execute the office.' Then the king 
 answered and said : ' Sir Bertram, excuse 
 you not by that way, for I have neither 
 brother, cousin nor nephew, earl nor baron 
 in my realm, but that shall obey you. 
 And if any do the contrary, I shall so anger 
 him that he shall perceive well my displea- 
 sure. Therefore, sir, take joyously the 
 office I require you.' Sir Bertram saw 
 well that any excusations that he could 
 make should not avail : then finally he 
 accorded to the opinion of the king right 
 sore against his will. So then with great 
 joy sir Bertram of Guesclin was made con- 
 stable of France, and farther to his advance- 
 ment the king caused him to sit at his table 
 and shewed all the tokens of love that he 
 could devise, and gave him with the office 
 divers gifts and great lands and heritage to 
 him and to his heirs for ever. To this 
 promotion did help greatly the duke of 
 Anjou. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCLXXXV-CCXCIII 
 
 SUMMARV.—Bertrand du Guesclin de- 
 feated sonie of sir Robert Knolles' company 
 at Pont- Vallain and sir Robert Knotles 
 withdrew to Brittany. 
 
 Urban V. died, and Gregory XI. became 
 pope. 
 
 The eldest son of the prince of Wales died, 
 a-nd the prince himself by the advice of his 
 physicians returned into England. He left 
 the ditke of Lancaster to govern the duchy 
 of Acqtiitaine. 
 
 I'lie duke of Lancaster took ALont-Paon. 
 
 Bert rand dit Guesclin took several places 
 in Rouergue and elsewhere. 
 
 The earl of Hereford defeated the Fle^n- 
 ings by sea at la Bale in Brittany, and 
 iJie kiiig of England made war by sea oji 
 the Flemings ; but they of Bruges, Ypres 
 and Gaunt sent into Engla7id to treat for a 
 peace, which was jnade on certaiti co?i- 
 ditions. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXCIV-CCCI 
 
 SUHPMARy. — The king of Mallorca was 
 set free and 7nade war on the king of 
 Aragon. 
 
 The duke of Lancaster married the eldest 
 daughter of the king don Pedro of Castile, 
 and king Henry of Castile made alliance 
 with the king of France. 
 
 The duke of Lancaster returned to Eng- 
 land, leaving govemotirs i7i Acquitai7ie. 
 After the winter the king of England sent 
 the earl of Pejnbroke into Poitou. The 
 king of Fra7ice ordained a fleet of Spaniards 
 to lie i7i wait for him at La Rochelle. The 
 English were totally defeated in a sea fight 
 {June 23, 1372) and the earl of Pembroke and 
 sir Guichard d' Angle were made prisoners. 
 
 In the same season Owen of Wales landed 
 in Guernsey and defeated the English there. 
 
 The earl of Pembroke and the other 
 prisoners were brought to king Henry in 
 Spain. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCII-CCCVI 
 
 SUMMARY. — Bertranddu Guesclin took 
 Montcontour and Sainte - Severe : Poitiers 
 
204 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and La Rochclle turned French, and the 
 whole of Potion, Saintonge and Rocliclle 
 was congneredfroni the English. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCVII-CCCXIII 
 
 SUMPJARY. — War was carried on against 
 the Eitglish 171 Brittajiy, and siege 'was laid 
 to Becherel. 
 
 King David of Scotland died a7td was 
 succeeded by Robert Stuart his nephew. 
 
 The constable da Guesclin came to Brit- 
 tany, and the duke of Brittany retired to 
 E7igland. Nearly all B^'iltany was con- 
 quered by the French in spile of the efforts 
 of the E^iglish to strengthen their forces. 
 
 The duke of Anjou conquered towns in 
 upper Gascony. 
 
 Negotiations for a peace were carried on 
 at Bruges^ and a truce was made, to last for 
 one year. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXIV 
 
 Of the journey that the lord of Coucy made 
 in Austrich, and of the death of the prince 
 of Wales, and how there could be found 
 no manner of treaty of peace between the 
 two kings ; and also of the death of the 
 king of England, Edward the third. 
 
 The same season there was come into 
 France the lord of Coucy, who had been 
 long in Lombardy with the earl of Vertus, 
 son to sir Galeas, making war against sir 
 Bernabo and his allies, because of pope 
 Gregory the eleventh, and for the holy 
 college of Rome. The lord of Coucy by 
 succession of his mother, who was sister to 
 the duke of Austrich last deceased, where- 
 by he ought to be inheritor to the duchy, 
 for the duke was dead without issue by way 
 of marriage : and they of Austrich had 
 given the duchy and lands to another 
 farther off by hneage than the lord Coucy, 
 whereof the lord Coucy had oftentimes 
 complained to the emperor, the lord Charles 
 of Bohemia. The emperor knew well that 
 the lord Coucy had right thereto : howbeit, 
 he might not %vith his ease constrain them 
 of Austrich, for they were strong in his 
 country and many good men of war. The 
 lord of Coucy had made war there before by 
 
 the comfort of his aunt, sister to the duke, 
 but little it availed him. And when he 
 was thus come into France, the king made 
 him great cheer. Then he advised and saw 
 well how there was in France as then many 
 men of war sat as idle : wherefore he 
 thought they could not be better occupied 
 than to help him to his right during the 
 truce between France and England. Then 
 the lord of Coucy desired the king to let 
 him have of the Bretons such as overran the 
 realm, to make war with him in Austrich. 
 The king, who would gladly that the com- 
 panions were out of his realm, accorded to 
 his desire : so the king lent or gave him, I 
 cannot tell whether, tx sixty thousand franks 
 to depart among the said companions. So 
 they rode forth toward Austrich about the 
 feast of Saint Michael : they did much evil 
 all the ways as they went : also there were 
 divers barons, knights and squires of France, 
 of Artois, of Vermandois, of Hainault and 
 of Picardy, as the viscounts of Meaux and 
 d'Aunay, sir Ralph of Coucy, the baron of 
 Roye, Peter of Bar and divers other, desir- 
 ing to advance their bodies to get them 
 honour. 
 
 When the feast of All Saints began to 
 approach, then there came again to Bruges 
 to entreat for peace from the French king, 
 the duke of Burgoyne, the earl of Sarre- 
 bruck, the bishop of Amiens and the duke 
 of Anjou, but he lay still at Saint-Omer's ; 
 and from the king of England thither came 
 the duke of Lancaster, the duke of Bre- 
 tayne, the earl of Salisbury, the bishop of 
 London. The town of Bruges was well 
 garnished with divers estates, and specially 
 the duke of Burgoyne kept there a noble 
 estate ; and with the duke of Lancaster 
 there was sir Robert of Namur and kept 
 him good company as long as the duke 
 was in Flanders ; and there were the am- 
 bassadors, the archbishop of Rouen and 
 the bishop of Carpentras, who went still 
 and laboured between both parties and laid 
 forth many good reasons, but none came to 
 any effect. These lords were far asunder 
 in their treaties ; for the French king de- 
 manded to have again fourteen hundred 
 thousand franks, the which were paid for 
 the redemption of king John, and to have 
 Calais rased and beaten down, to the which 
 the king of England would never consent : 
 so the truce was continued to the feast of 
 
DEATH OF TBE PRINCE OF WALES, 1376 
 
 205 
 
 Saint John Baptist next after, the year 
 of our Lord a thousand three luindred and 
 seventy -six. And so these lords tarried 
 still at Bruges all that winter, and in sum- 
 mer they returned every part to their own 
 countries, except the duke of Bretayne, 
 who_ tarried still in Flanders with the earl 
 Louis his cousin, who made him good 
 cheer. 
 
 The same season on Trinity Sunday 
 there passed out of this world the flower of 
 chivalry of England, Edward prince of 
 Wales and of Acquitaine, at the king's 
 palace of Westminster beside London. 
 And so he was embalmed and put in- lead 
 and kept till the feast of Saint Michael next 
 after, to be interred with the greater 
 solemnity when the parliament should be 
 there. King Charles of France because of 
 lineage did his obsequy reverently in the 
 Holy Chapel of the palace in Paris, and 
 there were many of the prelates and nobles 
 of the realm of France : and so then the 
 truce was prolonged to the first day of 
 April next after. 
 
 Now let us somewhat speak of- the lord 
 Coucy and of the Almains. When they of 
 Austrich and the Almains understood that 
 the lord of Coucy was come with such a 
 strength to make war, they caused tobebrent 
 and destroyed three days' journey into the 
 countryalongby the river, and then they went 
 into the mountains and places inhabitable. 
 And so when the lord of Coucy had weened 
 to have found victual for his host, he could 
 get none ; whereby he suffered that winter 
 much trouble and disease, for they wist 
 not whither to go to forage nor to get 
 victual for them nor their horses, so that 
 some died for hunger, cold and sickness : 
 and therefore when the springing time 
 began, they returned again into France, 
 and went into divers places to refresh them- 
 selves. And the French king sent the 
 most part of the companions into Bretayne 
 and into base Normandy to abide and rest 
 there, for he thought well he should have 
 somewhat to do in short time after. And 
 at the returning of the lord Coucy into 
 France, he began to be good French, be- 
 cause he found the king so amiable to con- 
 descend to his desire, and also his council 
 said he need not to avoid out of his heritage 
 under the shadow of the king of England's 
 war, for they said he was French of name. 
 
 ot blood, of arms and extraction. He sent 
 his wife into England and kept still with 
 him his eldest daughter, and left the 
 younger still in England, whereas she had 
 been brought up and nourished. Then the 
 French king sent the lord Coucy to Bruges 
 to them that were there to entreat for the 
 peace. Howbeit, as then the great lords 
 were not there, but all only the duke of 
 Bretayne, who was still with his cousin the 
 earl of Flanders ; but he busied himself 
 but little in the treaty for the peace. 
 
 And after the feast of Saint Michael, 
 when the obsequy of the prince was done 
 and finished, then the king of England 
 made to be known to his sons, the duke of 
 Lancaster, the earl of Cambridge, and to 
 the lord Thomas the youngest, and to all 
 the barons, earls, prelates and knights of 
 England, how that the young Richard 
 should be king after his decease, and so 
 caused them all to swear solemnly to main- 
 tain him. And on Christmas day the king 
 made him to sit at his table above all his 
 own children in great estate, representing 
 that he should be king after his decease. 
 And there was sent to Bruges for the king 
 of England's part John lord Cobham, the 
 bishop of Hereford and the dean of London; 
 and for the French part thither came the 
 earl of Sarrebruck, the lord of Chatillon 
 and master Philbert I'Espinasse ; and the 
 two bishops ambassadors always went be- 
 tween the parties treating for peace and 
 spake of a marriage to be had between the 
 young prince of England and my lady Mary, 
 daughter to the French king. And so they 
 departed, as well they of France as of Eng- 
 land, and so made report to both kings. 
 And then about Lent there was a secret 
 treaty devised to be between the two kings 
 at Montreuil-by-the-sea, and so were sent 
 by the king of England to Calais sir 
 Guichard d'Angle, Richard Stury, Geoffrey 
 Chaucer, and from the French king was 
 sent the lord of Coucy and of Riviere, sir 
 Nicholas Braque and Nicholas Mercier. 
 And they a long season treated on the said 
 marriage, and the Frenchmen offered, as I 
 was informed, divers things, and they 
 would have again other things such as 
 they named, or else nothing. Then these 
 entreators went and made report to their 
 lords, and so the truce was again relonged 
 to the first day of May. And so came 
 
206 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 again to Calais the earl of Salisbury, the 
 bishop of Saint David's, chancellor of Eng- 
 land, and the bishop of Hereford : and for 
 the French king at Montreuil there was the 
 lord of Coucy, sir Willam of Dormans, 
 chancellor of France. But they durst 
 never trust to meet together in any place 
 between Montreuil and Calais, nor be- 
 tween iWontreuil and Boulogne, nor in the 
 frontiers, for anything that the two bishops 
 ambassadors could do or shew. Thus these 
 entreators abode in this estate, till the truce 
 was expired. 
 
 And when the war was open, then sir 
 Hugh Calverley was sent to be keeper of 
 Calais. When pope Gregory being at 
 Avignon understood that no peace could be 
 had between France and England, he was 
 right sorrowful and ordered his business 
 shortly and went to Rome. And when the 
 duke of Bretayne, who had been more than 
 a year with the earl of Flanders his cousin, 
 saw that the war was open, he took leave 
 of the earl and went to Gravelines, and 
 thither he came to the earl of Salisbury and 
 sir Guichard d' Angle, and so went with 
 them to Calais and there tarried the space 
 of a month, and so went into England and 
 came to Sheen, a four leagues from London 
 along by the Thames side, where the king 
 of England lay sore sick and passed out of 
 this world the vigil of Saint John Baptist 
 the year of our Lord a thousand three 
 hundred and seventy-seven. 
 
 Then was there great sorrow made in 
 England, and incontinent all the passages 
 of the realm were stopped, that none should 
 issue out of the realm ; for they would not 
 that the death of the king should be so 
 soon known in France, till they had set the 
 realm in some order. The same time there 
 came into England the earl of Salisbury 
 and sir Guichard d'Angle. So the body 
 of king Edward the third with great pro- 
 cessions, weepings and lamentations, his 
 sons behind him with all the nobles and 
 prelates of England, was brought along the 
 city of London with open visage to West- 
 minster, and there he was buried beside the 
 queen his wife. And anon after, the young 
 king Richard was crowned at the palace of 
 Westminster with great solenmity, and by 
 him stood the dukes of Lancaster and of 
 Bretayne, the eleventh year of his age, in 
 the month of July : the which day there 
 
 was made four earls and nine knights ; first 
 the lord Thomas his uncle was made earl 
 of Buckingham, the lord Percy earl of 
 Northumberland, sir Guichard d'Angle 
 earl of Huntingdon, the lord Mowbray 
 earl of Nottingham : and the young king 
 was put unto the rule of the gentle knight 
 sir Guichard d'Angle by the accord of all 
 the land, to be instructed in noble virtues, 
 and the realm of England to be governed 
 by the duke of Lancaster. And as soon 
 as the French king knew of the death of 
 king Edward, he said how right nobly and 
 valiantly he had reigned, and well he ought 
 to be put newly in remembrance among 
 the number of the worthies. Then he 
 assembled a great number of the nobles 
 and prelates of his realm and did his ob- 
 sequy in the Holy Chapel in his palace at 
 Paris. And anon after died the eldest 
 daughter of the French king, who was en- 
 sured to have been married to William of 
 Hainault, eldest son of duke Aubert. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCXV-CCCXVII 
 
 SUMMARY. — The French king sent a 
 great navy to sea and ravaged the coasts of 
 England. 
 
 The capiat de Buch^ after being a prisoner 
 in Fra7ice for five years ^ died iii the Temple 
 at Paris. 
 
 The dtche of Burgundy took Ardres and 
 other fortresses near Calais. 
 
 War was renewed between the French 
 ki7tg and the king of Navarre, and the 
 king of Navarre lost the county of Ev7'eux, 
 except Cherbourg, -which was fruitlessly be- 
 sieged by the French. 
 
 The French gained Auray and other 
 towns in Britia^iy, and laid a gari-ison 
 against Cherbourg under sir William des 
 Bordes, who was defeated and made prisoner 
 by the English oti Saint Martin's day in 
 July 1379.1 
 
 1 Here ends the first book of the Chronicles, 
 which coincides with the first volume of the trans- 
 lator's French text. Some of the events which 
 have been shortly mentioned befi^re this are related 
 with more detail in the second book. Each book 
 was originally a separate work, and that edition 
 of the first book which was dedicated to Robert 
 of Namur contained a summary of the events 
 down to 1379, a part of which the author omitted 
 afterwards when putting together the first and 
 second books. The copyists, however, usually com- 
 bined the second redaction of the first book with 
 
AFFAIRS OF THE CHURCH, 1377 
 
 207 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCXVIII-CCCXXV 
 
 SUMMARW^The dtike of Anjou and 
 the constable of France ?nade a great 
 assembly and laid siege to Bcrgerac, A 
 body of E7iglish were surprised ajtd defeated 
 at Eymet : sir Tho7nas Feltojz, seneschal of 
 Bordeaux, aiid several Gascon lords were 
 taken prisoners. Bergerac was surrendered 
 to the French, and the duke of Anjoit took 
 other tow7is and castles in Gascony, 
 
 The Scots by stealth took the castle of 
 Berwick, which was won again by the earl 
 of Northu7nberland, who then invaded 
 Scotland. Sir Thomas Musg7-ave was de- 
 feated by the Scots iit the field of Saint Giles 
 and the English retired fro??i Scotlaitd. 
 
 The author thus continues : — 
 
 Now let us leave to speak of Scotland for 
 this present time and let us speak of other 
 incidents that fell in France. 
 
 Thesanie time, in the month of February, 
 the French queen died, and, as the physi- 
 cians said, through her own fault. For she 
 lay in childbed of a fair lady named 
 Katherine, who was after duchess of Berry : 
 the queen being in childbed was not well at 
 ease, and her physicians had defended her 
 in any wise that she should not enter into 
 no bain ; for they said it was contrary to her 
 disease and right perilous for her. All that 
 notwithstanding, she would needs be bained, 
 and so she was, and so fell sicker and died : 
 and so king Charles of France was a 
 widower, for he never married after. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXXVI 
 
 How the war began again between the 
 Navarrois and the Frenchmen ; and of the 
 beginning of the schism of holy Church. 
 
 After the death of the French queen died 
 also the queen of Navarre, sister-german 
 
 the first of the second book. It is important to 
 notice that the text of each separate bookis an in- 
 dependent one, and that what has been said in the 
 introduction about abridgment and omission in lhe_ 
 French text hardly applies except to that of the first 
 book, in which also the variations of the different 
 redactions are far more important than in the other 
 books : indeed a large part of the first book was 
 completely rewritten twice after its first production. 
 
 to the French king, and after the death of 
 this queen of Navarre great murmuring 
 rose between the sage men and customiers 
 of the county of Evreux, which is in 
 Normandy, the which by right succession 
 of their mother should fall to the king of 
 Navarre's children, who were as then with- 
 in age and under the rule and keeping of 
 their uncle king Charles of France. And 
 king Charles of Navarre was had in such 
 suspect beforetime, in that he had made 
 and consented and raised so many evils and 
 inconveniences in the realm of France, that 
 he was not worthy to hold any heritage in 
 the realm of France under the shadow of 
 his children. The same season there came 
 out of Acquitaine the constable of France, 
 who had been all that season with the duke 
 of Anjou, and brought with him in his 
 company the lord Mussidan of Gascoyne 
 to see the king and to be acquainted with 
 him, and so he did. Between the king 
 and the constable there was many secret 
 counsels of the state of the realm of 
 France and of Navarre, which was not 
 suddenly known. We shall shortly speak 
 of that matter : but justly to chronicle all 
 matters that fell in the same season in 
 the world, I shall shew you of the be- 
 ginning of the pestilence and inconvenience 
 that began in the Church of God, whereby 
 all Christendom was in great trouble and 
 variance, and thereby many great mischiefs 
 grew and followed. 
 
 Ye have heard herebefore how pope 
 Gregory, the eleventh of that name, was in 
 the city of Avignon. And when he saw 
 that he could find no manner of peace to 
 be had between the kings of England and 
 France, wherewith he was in great dis- 
 pleasure, for he had greatly travailed there- 
 about and had made his cardinals to do the 
 same, then he advised himself and had a 
 devotion to go and revisit Rome and the' 
 see apostolic, the which Saint Peter and 
 Saint Paul had edified. He had made 
 before promise that, if ever he came to the 
 degree to be pope, he would never keep 
 his see but thereas Saint Peter kept his and 
 ordained it. This pope was a man of 
 feeble complexion and sickly, and endured 
 much pain more than any other. And he 
 thus being in Avignon was so sore let with 
 the businesses of France and so sore tra- 
 vailed with the king and his brethren, that 
 
208 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 with much pain he had any leisure to tal<e 
 heed anything to himself or to his Church. 
 Then he said to himself he would go farther 
 off from them to be more at rest ; and so he 
 caused provision to be made on the river of 
 Genes ^ and all the ways as he should pass, 
 as it appertained to such an high estate as he 
 was ; and then he said to his cardinals : 
 ' Sirs, make you ready, for I will to Rome. ' 
 Of that motion his cardinals were sore 
 abashed and displeased, for they loved not 
 the Romans, and so they would fain have 
 turned his purpose, but they could not. 
 And when the French king knew thereof, 
 he was sore displeased, for he thought he 
 had the pope nearer at hand there than in 
 any other place. Then the king wrote 
 incontinent to his brother the duke of 
 Anjou, who was at Toulouse, signifying 
 him that after the sight of his letters he 
 should go to Avignon to the pope and 
 break hisvoyage to Rome, if it were possible. 
 The duke did as the king commanded him, 
 and so came to Avignon, where the 
 cardinals received him with great joy, and 
 so was lodged in the pope's palace, the 
 ofter thereby to speak with the pope. Ye 
 may well know he spake with the pope 
 and shewed him divers reasons to have 
 broken his purpose : but the pope would 
 in no wise consent thereto nor take any heetl 
 of any businesses on this side the moun- 
 tains ; but the pope gave the duke full 
 puissance to do what he might, reserving 
 certain cases papal, the which he might not 
 give to no man, nor put them out of his 
 own hands. When the duke saw he could 
 not come to his intent for no reason nor 
 fair words that he could shew, he took 
 leave of the pope and said at his departing : 
 * Holy father, ye go into a good country 
 among such people whereas ye be but little 
 beloved, and ye will leave the fountain of 
 faith and the realm whereas holy Church 
 hath most faith and excellence of all the 
 world. And, sir, by your deed the Church 
 may fall in great tribulation ; for if ye die 
 there, the which is right likely, and so say 
 the physicians, then the Romans, who be 
 malicious and traitors, shall be lords and 
 masters of all the cardinals and shall make 
 a pope at their own will.' Howbeit, for 
 all these words and many other, the pope 
 never rested till he was on his way, and so 
 1 That is, the Riviera of Genoa. 
 
 came to Marseille, whereas the galleys of 
 Genes were ready to receive him, and the 
 duke returned again to Toulouse. Pope 
 Gregory entered into the sea at Marseille 
 with a great company, and had good wind 
 and so took land at Genes, and there new 
 refreshed his galleys and so took the sea 
 again and sailed till he came to Rome, 
 The Romans were right joyful of his 
 coming, and all the chief of Rome mounted 
 on their horses and so brought him into 
 Rome with great triumph, and lodged in 
 Saint Peter's palace. And oftentimes he 
 visited a church called our Lady the 
 Great' within Rome, wherein he had 
 great pleasure and did make therein many 
 costly works. And within a while after 
 his coming to Rome he died, and was 
 buried in the said church, and there 
 his obsequy was made, as to a pope 
 appertained. 
 
 Anon after the death of the pope Gregory, 
 the cardinals drew them into the conclave 
 in the palace of Saint Peter. Anon after, 
 as they were entered to choose a pope, 
 according to their usage, such one as should 
 be good and profitable for holy Church, 
 the Romans assembled them together in a 
 great number and came into the bourage of 
 Saint Peter.* They were to the number of 
 thirty thousand, what one and other, in the 
 intent to do evil, if the matter "went not 
 according to their appetites. And they 
 came oftentimes before the conclave and 
 said : * Hark ye, sir cardinals, deliver you 
 at once and make a pope : ye tarry too 
 long. If ye make a Roman, we will not 
 change him ; but if ye make any other, the 
 Roman people and counsels will not take 
 him for pope, and ye put yourselves all in 
 adventure to be slain.' The cardinals, who 
 were as then in the danger of the Romans 
 and heard well those words, they were not at 
 their ease nor assured of their lives, and so 
 appeased them of their ire as well as they 
 might with fair words ; but so much rose 
 the felony of the Romans, that such as were 
 next to the conclave, to the intent to make 
 the cardinals afraid and to cause them to 
 condescend the rather to their opinions, 
 brake up the door of the conclave, whereas 
 the cardinals were. Then the cardinals 
 
 1 Sta. Maria Maggiore, on the Esquiline. 
 
 2 That is, the bourg of Saint Peter, the Leonine, 
 city. 
 
ELECTION OF URBAN VI., 1378 
 
 209 
 
 weened surely to have been slain and so 
 fled away to save their lives, some one way 
 and some another : but the Romans were 
 not so content, but took them and put them 
 together again, whether they would or not. 
 The cardinals then, seeing themselves in the 
 danger of the Romans and in great peril of 
 their lives, agreed among tliemselves, more 
 for to please the people than for any devo- 
 tion : howbeit, by good election they chose 
 an holy man, a cardinal of the Roman 
 nation, whom pope Urban the fifth had 
 made cardinal, and he was called before 
 the cardinal of Saint Peter. ^ This election 
 pleased greatly the Romans, and so this 
 good man had all the rights that belonged 
 to the papality ; howbeit, he lived not 
 but three days after, and I shall shew 
 you why. The Romans, who desired to 
 have a pope of their own nation, were so 
 joyful of this new pope, that they took 
 him, who was a hundred year of age, 
 and set him on a white mule, and so led 
 him up and down through the city of 
 Rome, exalting him and shewing how they 
 had vanquished the cardinals, seeing they 
 had a pope Roman according to their 
 own intents, insomuch that the good holy 
 man was so sore travailed that he fell 
 sick, and so died the third day, and was 
 buried in the church of Saint Peter, and 
 there he lieth. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXXVII 
 
 Of the orgulous words that the Romans said 
 at the election of the new pope again : 
 and how the war renewed between the 
 French king and the king of Navarre. 
 
 Of the death of this pope the cardinals 
 were right sorrowful, for they saw well 
 how the matter should not go well to pass. 
 For they had thought, if that pope had 
 lived, to have dissimuled among the Romans 
 for two or three years and at the last to have 
 brought the see apostolic into some other 
 place than at Rome, at Naples or at Genes, 
 out of the danger of the Romans; but the 
 death of the pope brake their purpose. 
 
 1 The cardinal de Saint-Pierre was not actuallj' 
 elected, but it was thought for a time that he was 
 so (Kervyn de Lettenhove, ix. 501). 
 P 
 
 Then the cardinals went again into the 
 conclave in greater danger than they were 
 in before, for the Romans assembled them 
 together again before the conclave and 
 made semblant to break it up and to slay 
 them all, if they did not choose a pope 
 according to their minds, and cried to the 
 cardinals and said : ' Sirs, advise you well. 
 If ye deliver us a pope Roman, we be con- 
 tent ; or else we will make your heads 
 redder than your hats be.' Such words 
 and menaces abashed greatly the cardinals, 
 for they had rather a died confessors 
 than martyrs. Then to bring themselves 
 out of that danger and peril, they made a 
 pope ; but he was none of the college of 
 cardinals, he was archbishop of Bari, a 
 great clerk who greatly had travailed for 
 the wealth of holy Church. With his pro- 
 motion of papality the Romans were ap- 
 peased, for the cardinal of Genes put out his 
 head out at a window of the conclave and 
 said on high to the people of Rome : ' Sirs, 
 appease you, for you have a pope Roman, 
 and that is Bartholomew des Aigles, arch- 
 bishop of Bari.' The people answered all 
 with one voice: *Then we be content.' 
 The same archbishop was not as then at 
 Rome ; I think he was in Naples. Then 
 he was incontinent sent for, of the which 
 tidings he was right glad, and so came to 
 Rome, and at his coming there was great 
 feast made to him, and so he had all the 
 rights that pertained to the papality and 
 was called Urban, the sixth of that name. 
 The Romans had great joy : his creation 
 was signified to all the churches of Chris- 
 tenty and also to emperors, kings, dukes 
 and earls, and the cardinals sent word to 
 all their friends that he was chosen by 
 good and true election : howbeit, some of 
 them repented them after, that they had 
 spoken so largely in the matter. This 
 pope renounced all graces given before, 
 and so divers departed from their coun- 
 tries and places and went to Rome to have 
 grace. 
 
 Now let us leave somewhat to speak 
 of this matter, and let us return to our 
 principal history of the businesses of 
 France. 
 
 Ye have heard right well herebefore how 
 the king of Navarre, who had to his wife 
 the French king's sister, for the love of the 
 one and of the other it was said and pur- 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 posed ' that the heritage of the children of 
 the king of Navarre, the which was fallen 
 to them by the right of their mother, that 
 the French king their uncle by the succes- 
 sion of his sister ought to have power thereof 
 in name of the children, seeing the children 
 were in his keeping ; whereby all the land 
 that the king of Navarre held in Normandy 
 should be in the French king's hand, as 
 long as his nephews were within age. Of 
 all these matters the king of Navarre 
 doubted greatly, for he knew well the usage 
 and custom of France. Then he advised 
 him of two things : the one was to send the 
 bishop of Pampelone and sir Martin Carra 
 into France to the king, desiring him 
 heartily that for good love and favour to 
 send him his two sons Charles and Peter, 
 and if it pleased him not to send him both 
 two, then at least to send him his son 
 Charles, because he was towards a treaty for 
 a marriage for him with the daughter of the 
 king of Castile. The second thing was, 
 notwithstanding that he sent thus into 
 France, yet secretly he sent also into Nor- 
 mandy, to visit and to refresh the castles 
 there pertaining to him, to the intent that 
 the Frenchmen should not take them into 
 their hands : for he feared, if they had 
 them once in their possessions, he should 
 not have them again when he would. And 
 so he sent two valiant men of arms Navar- 
 rois, in whom he had great trust, the one 
 called Peter Basele and the other Ferrando, 
 into Normandy for the said intent. The 
 first messengers went into 'France, as the 
 bishop of Pampelone and sir Martin Carra, 
 who spake with the king at great leisure, 
 right humbly recommending the king of 
 Navarre to him, desiring in his name that 
 he would send to him his two sons. The 
 king answered and said, he would take 
 advice and counsel in the matter : and so 
 after they were answered in the king's 
 name, the king being present and the two 
 children also his nephews, how that the 
 
 1 The true text runs thus : ' Ye have heard 
 right well before how the king of Navarre was left 
 a widower, who had had to wife the sister of the 
 king of France, and how the wise men of the 
 realm of France, taking advice one with another, 
 said and proposed,' etc. The translator gives us a 
 pretty literal rendering of his text, which was hope- 
 less. The words ' was left a widower ' and 'realm 
 of France' were there omitted, and 'par I'avis I'un 
 de I'autre ' was corrupted into*' par I'amour I'un de 
 I'autre.' 
 
 king loved them right entirely, wherefore 
 they could not be better in no place, and 
 that the king of Navarre ought to be con- 
 tent rather to suffer them to be in France 
 with the king their uncle than in any other 
 place ; and also the king will in no wise 
 depart from them, but keep them about 
 him in their estate as the children of a 
 king and like his nephews. Other answer 
 the messengers could not have. And in 
 the mean season that these messengers were 
 in France, Peter of Basele and Ferrando 
 arrived at Cherbourg with great provision, 
 the which they put in divers places, in 
 towns and castles of the king of Navarre's 
 in Normandy, and so they visited in the 
 king of Navarre's name all the county of 
 Evreu,\, and made new officers and set in 
 people at their pleasures. And so returned 
 again into Navarre the bishop of Pampelone 
 and sir Martin Carra and shewed the king 
 how they had sped in France. The king 
 of Navarre was not very glad of that 
 tidings, when he could not have his own 
 sons, and so began a great hatred in his 
 heart toward the French king, the which 
 he would gladly have shewed, if he had 
 might, but the puissance of himself was not 
 so great to grieve the realm of France with- 
 out help and aid of some other realm : so 
 he suffered all these matters, till he had 
 better cause to speak and more displeasure 
 done to him than he had as then. 
 
 The French king and his council were 
 \i'ell informed that the king of Navarre had 
 new revictualled his castles and towns in 
 Normandy, but they knew not for what 
 intent. The same season the Englishmen 
 made a secret army on the sea of two 
 thousand men of arms, but they had no 
 horse with them, of the which army the 
 duke of Lancaster and the earl of Cam- 
 bridge were chief captains. This the Nor- 
 mans reported surely to the French king ; 
 and this army came on the coasts of Nor- 
 mandy, but they could not tell to what 
 part they would draw unto. Some in 
 France thought that the king of Navarre 
 had caused them to come into Normandy, 
 to deliver to them such castles as he had 
 there : wherefore it was said to the king : 
 ' Sir, go hastily and be lord of those castles 
 before, for ye may hap to tarry too long : 
 for if the Englishmen have them, they may 
 do much hurt to the realm of France, for 
 
/rWA' WITH THE KING OF NAJ'.U^JiE 
 
 it shall be one of the best entries that they 
 can have, if they were lords in Norniand)', 
 of the cities, towns and castles belonging 
 to the king of Navarre.' The same season 
 there was taken in Prance two secretaries 
 of the king of Navarre, a clerk and a 
 squire ; the clerk was called Peter of Tertre 
 and the squire James of Rue, and they were 
 brought to Paris to be examined ; and so 
 much it was known by them of the secrets 
 of the realm of Navarre, how they were 
 determined to have done damage to the 
 king, or else to have poisoned him : so 
 they were condemned to die, and execution 
 was done at Paris, beheaded and quartered. 
 These tidings multiplied so on the king of 
 Navarre, that the French king sware that 
 he would never attend to none other thing, 
 till he had rid Normandy, and taken into 
 his possession for the behoof of his nephews 
 all the towns and castles that the king of 
 Navarre held there. So daily there came 
 sore informations to the French king 
 against the king of Navarre : also it was 
 said openly that the duke of Lancaster 
 should give his daughter Katherine to the 
 king of Navarre, and so by that means the 
 king should give to the duke of Lancaster 
 all the whole county of Evreux, These 
 words were lightly believed in France, for 
 the king of Navarre was but little trusted 
 among them. So then the same time the 
 French king came to Rouen, and there 
 assembled a great army of men of war, 
 whereof the lord Coucy and the lord de la 
 Riviere were chief captains, and they all 
 met together before a town called Evreux, 
 a city in Normandy pertaining to the king 
 of Navarre. And these two lords had the 
 two sons of the king of Navarre, Charles 
 and Peter, to shew to them of the country 
 that the war that they made was in the 
 name of the two children for their heritage, 
 that was fallen to them by the right of their 
 mother, and how that the king of Navarre 
 had no right to keep them. But the most 
 part of the men of arms were so joined in 
 love with the king of Navarre, that they 
 could not depart out of his service, and 
 also the Navarrois that were there as- 
 sembled, such as the king of Navarre had 
 sent thither, caused his war to be the more 
 easier and fair. 
 
 CHAPS. CCCXXVIII-CCCXXXVH 
 
 SUMJlfARY. — The French kin,!; seized 
 the county of Montpellier, which belonged 
 to the king of Navarre, and the lords de 
 Coucy and de la Kiviere laid siege to 
 Fvreiix. 
 
 The king of Navarre sent for help to 
 England and then went thither Imnself to 
 make an alliance. It was agreed that the 
 English shoidd set garrisons in the king of 
 A^avarre's to-ivns and castles in Normandy 
 and send a force to help him against the 
 king of Castile. The French took Caren- 
 tan, Monliiuatix, Conches and Pacy, so 
 that the king of Navarre held nothing in 
 Normandy but Evreux and Cherboztrg. 
 Meanwhile the Eiiglish with the duke of 
 Lancaster laid siege to Saint-Malo. 
 
 Evan of Wales was killed by his own 
 squire before IHortagne. 
 
 Evreux su7-rendered to the F7-ench. 
 
 The English sent a large fleet to Bor- 
 deaux to help the king of Navarre, and the 
 siege of Mortagne was raised. The Eng- 
 lish recovered some castles about Bordeaux. 
 
 The English failed in their assaults on 
 Saint-Malo and so returned to England : 
 at Cherbourg sir Oliver du Gziesclin was 
 made prisoner. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCXXXVin-CCCXLH 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — The king of Navarre 
 asked for help from the English at Bor- 
 deazix, who entered Navarre, compelling 
 the Spaniards to raise the siege of Pam- 
 plona, and invaded Castile. Peace was 
 made between the kings of Navarre and of 
 Castile. King Henry died and was suc- 
 ceeded by John his son. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXLHI 
 
 How the French king's messenger was let of 
 his viage into Scotland, and of the debate 
 that began between the French king and 
 the earl of Flanders. 
 
 In the same season returned into England 
 sir Thomas Trivet and sir WiUiam Helman, 
 with divers other knights and squires, such 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROJSSART 
 
 as had been in Spain to aid the king of 
 Navarre's war : and so they came to the 
 king of England, who as then was at 
 Chertsey with his two uncles the duke of 
 Lancaster and the earl of Cambridge with 
 him ; and these knights were joyfully re- 
 ceived of the king and these lords, and 
 there they were desired to shew some tid- 
 ings from those parts. And so they shewed 
 all that they knew both of Spain and of 
 Navarre and of the peace made between 
 the two kings of Spain and Navarre, and 
 how the king of Navarre had married 
 Charles his eldest son to king Henry's 
 daughter, and so from point to point as the 
 treaty was between them. The duke of 
 Lancaster and the earl of Cambridge were 
 right pensive of these words, for they 
 thought and named themselves to be heirs 
 of -Spain by right of their wives. Then 
 they demanded how long it was sith king 
 Henry the bastard died, and whether the 
 Spaniards had crowned John his son or no. 
 The knights answered and said : ' Sirs, at 
 the death of king Henry nor at the corona- 
 tion of John his son we were not present, 
 for by that time we were come back into 
 Navarre. But, sir, here is an herald was 
 there present : ye may know everything by 
 him, an it please you.' 
 
 Then the.herald was called forth and de- 
 manded by the duke of Lancaster how the 
 matter was. He answered and said : ' Sir, 
 at your request I shall shew you. In the 
 mean season, while these noblemen were at 
 Pampelone, abiding the accomplishment of 
 the treaty, the which was made by their 
 good wills and leaves, I tarried behind still 
 with the king of Navarre, whereas I had 
 good cheer both of him and of his men : 
 and so I went with him from Pampelone 
 to Saint Dominic's, against whose coming 
 king Henry issued out of the town with a 
 goodly company and met us with great sign 
 of love and peace. And there the king of 
 Navarre was greatly honoured by him and 
 all his, and gave him the same night an 
 honest supper. And after supper tidings 
 was brought to them how that a great wild 
 boar was lodged in the launds thereby, and 
 so it was ordained that the next morning 
 they should go and hunt the same boar : 
 and so they did, at which hunting there was 
 both kings and a great company, and the 
 boar taken, and against night they returned 
 
 again with great love to Saint Dominic's. 
 And the ne.xt day king Henry departed and 
 went to Belorade for a day that he had 
 there against his men, and there he fell 
 sick and so died. And the king of Navarre 
 was coming toward him to see him there, 
 and by the way he heard word of his death, 
 whereof he was right sorry, and so returned 
 again ; and then I took leave of him and 
 went into Castile to know some tidings 
 there. This king Henry died on Whitsun- 
 day, and anon after, the twenty-fifth day of 
 July, the day of Saint James and Saint 
 Christopher, John of Castile his eldest son 
 was crowned king in the cathedral church 
 in the city of Burgos, at the which corona- 
 tion were all the barons and prelates of 
 .Spain, of Galice, of Cordowan and of 
 Seville, and all they sware there on the 
 holy Evangelists to take and maintain him 
 for their king, and there was made the 
 same day two hundred and ten new knights 
 and many a great gift given. The next 
 morning with a great company of noble- 
 men he went to an abbey of ladies without 
 Burgos called Horghes,^ and there he heard 
 mass and dined. And after dinner there 
 was great jousting, and the viscount of 
 Roquebertin of Aragon had the prize ; and 
 then he returned again to Burgos : and this 
 feast endured fifteen days.' 
 
 Then the duke of Lancaster enquired if 
 the king of Portugal was desired to be there 
 or not. 'Sir,' quoth the herald, ' he was 
 desired ; but for all that he was not there, 
 nor would not come thither. And, as it 
 was said, he answered the messenger that 
 came to him, how he would not go to the 
 coronation of the son of a bastard.' * By 
 my faith,' quoth the duke of Lancaster, 'he 
 was right well counselled to saythese words : 
 I can him great thank therefor. I trust 
 the matter shall not long abide in that case, 
 for my brother and I will demand that 
 heritage, whereof he calleth himself king as 
 now.' And so they left talking and called 
 for drink. 
 
 Now let us leave to speak of this matter 
 and return to the business of France. 
 
 King Charles of France, who as then 
 reigned, was right sage and subtle, and that 
 was well shewed as long as he lived. For 
 though that he kept himself privy in his 
 chamber taking his pleasure and sport, yet 
 1 Huelgas. 
 
PETER DE BOURNAZEL AT SLUYS 
 
 213 
 
 he conquered again that his predecessors liad 
 lost in the field armed with their swords in 
 their hands ; wherefore he was greatly to be 
 commended. And because he knew well 
 that king Robert of Scotland and all the 
 realm there had made war and had mortal 
 hate to the Englishmen, for those two 
 realms could never love together, therefore 
 to the i^itent to nourish more love between 
 France and Scotland, the French king 
 thought to send a knight and a secretary of 
 his council to king Robert of Scotland and 
 to the Scots, to speak with them and to 
 advise the country and to know if he might 
 make any good war to England by Scot- 
 land. For Evan of Wales in his lifetime 
 had informed him that Scotland was the 
 place in the world whereby England might 
 be most annoyed. And of this purpose the 
 French king had many imaginations, so 
 that at last he ordained a knight, a sage 
 man called sir Peter lord of Bournazel, and 
 said to him : ' Sir, ye shall go and do this 
 message into Scotland and recommend me 
 to the king there and to his barons, and 
 shew him how that we and our realm are 
 ready to do them pleasure and to have a 
 treaty with them as our friends, so that 
 thereby in the season to come we may send 
 people thither, whereby we may have entry 
 into England that way in like manner as 
 our predecessors have had in time past ; 
 and in your going thither and coming home- 
 ward I will ye keep such estate as a mes- 
 senger and commissary of a king should 
 do, on our cost and charge.' 'Sir,' quoth 
 the knight, 'all shall be as it pleaseth you.' 
 And so he tarried not long after, but 
 when he was ready, departed from Paris 
 and did so much by his journeys that he 
 came to Sluys in Flanders, and there tar- 
 ried and abode for wind and passage a 
 fifteen days, for the wind was contrary for 
 him. And in the mean season he held a 
 great estate, and well stuffed with vessel of 
 gold and silver throughout his hall as 
 largely as though he had been a little duke 
 or better. His minstrels played before his 
 service daily, and bare a sword ' garnished 
 with gold and silver, and his men paid well 
 for everything. Of the great estate that 
 this knight kept in his house and in the 
 streets divers of the town had great marvel. 
 The baily of the town beheld it well, who 
 1 ' [II] faisoit porter devant luy une esp^e,' etc. 
 
 was officer there under the earl of Flanders, 
 and could ]<cep it no longer secret, \\'herein 
 he did evil ; for he sent word thereof to 
 the earl, who lay at Bruges, and the duke 
 of Bretayne his cousin with him. And 
 when the earl of Flanders had studied a 
 little on the matter and by the help of the 
 duke of Bretayne, ordained that the knight 
 should be brought to him. The baily re- 
 turned again to Sluys and came uncour- 
 teously to the French knight, for he set his 
 hand on him and rested him in the earl of 
 Flanders' name, whereof the knight had 
 great marvel and said to the baily : ' What 
 meaneth this ? I am a messenger and com- 
 missary of the French king.' 'Sir,' quoth 
 the baily, ' I believe well. Howbeit ye 
 must needs go and speak with the earl of 
 Flanders, for he hath commanded me to 
 bring you to him.' So the knight could 
 make no scuse, but that he and his com- 
 pany were brought to Bruges to the earl. 
 And when he was in the earl's chamber, 
 the earl and the duke stood together lean- 
 ing out of a window into the garden-ward. 
 Then the knight kneeled down and said : 
 'Sir, behold here is your prisoner' • of the 
 which word the earl was sore displeased, 
 and said in despite and ire : ' What sayest 
 thou, ribbald ? that thou art my prisoner, 
 because I have sent to speak with thee ? 
 Thy master's servants may right well come 
 and speak with me : but thou hast not well 
 acquitted thyself, sith thou hast been so 
 long at Sluys and knowing me here so 
 near to thee, and yet not come once to see 
 or to speak with me. Thou haddest dis- 
 dain so to do.' 'Sir, 'quoth the knight, 
 ' saving your displeasure ' — then the duke 
 of Bretayne took the words and said : 
 ' Among you bourders and janglers in the 
 palace of Paris and in the king's chamber 
 ye set by the realm as ye list and play with 
 the king at your pleasure, and do well or 
 evil as ye will yourselves ; for there is no 
 prince of the blood royal, if ye among you 
 have once brought him into any hate or 
 displeasure with the king, that can be heard 
 after. But once I trust there will be so 
 many of such people taken, that the gibbets 
 will be full of them.' 
 
 The knight, who sat still on his knees, 
 was right sore abashed of those words, for 
 the hearing of such words was right hard 
 to him. Howbeit, he saw well it was 
 
2 14 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 better for him to keep his tongue than to 
 spealc, and so gave no answer to those 
 words : and when he saw his time, he 
 took his leave of the earl and of the lords 
 and departed out of their presence, and 
 some noblemen that were about the earl 
 made hitn way and made him to drink, and 
 then he returned again to Sluys to his 
 lodging. And I shall shew you what fell 
 after. Though all his purveyance were 
 ready apparelled and that he had wind at 
 will to have sailed into Scotland, yet he 
 durst not put himself into the dangers of 
 the sea : for it was shewed him how he was 
 spied by the Englishmen that he lay at 
 Sluys, and how that if he kept on his 
 voyage he was likely to be taken and 
 carried into England ; and because of those 
 doubts he brake his viage and returned to 
 Paris to the king. 
 
 Ye may well know that the lord of 
 Bournazel told no less to the French king 
 than was done to him by the earl of 
 Flanders, and also it was needful for him 
 to tell all for his excuse, for the king had 
 marvel of his returning. The same season 
 there were divers knights in the king's 
 chamber, and specially sir John of Ghis- 
 telles of Hainault, cousin to the earl of 
 Flanders, who had great displeasure at the 
 words of this knight that he had of the earl 
 of Flanders, so that finally he could keep 
 his tongue no longer, but said : * I cannot 
 suffer these words thus to be spoken of my 
 dear lord ; and, sir knight, if ye will say 
 that he did as ye say, to let you of your 
 viage, in that quarrel I appeal you to the 
 field and here is my gage. ' The lord of 
 Bournazel was nothing abashed to answer, 
 but said : ' Sir John, I say thus, how I was 
 thus taken by the baily of Sluys and 
 brought before the earl of Flanders, and as 
 ye have heard, he said to me, and in like 
 wise so did the duke of Eretayne ; and if ye 
 will say contrary to this, I will receive your 
 gage.' ' I will say so,' quoth the lord of 
 Ghistelles. With those words the king 
 was not content, and said, ' Let us go 
 hence : I will hear no more of these words ' : 
 and so departed and went into his chamber, 
 all only with his chamberlains, right glad 
 that the lord of Bournazel had so well and 
 freely spoken against the words of sir John 
 of Ghistelles, and said all smiling : ' Fie 
 hath holden foot well with him : I would 
 
 not for twenty thousand franks but that he 
 had done so.' And after it fortuned so 
 that this sir John of Ghistelles, who was 
 chamberlain with the king, was so evil be- 
 loved in the court, that he was weary there- 
 of and thought not to abide the dangers. 
 So he took leave of the king and departed 
 from the court and went into Brabant, to 
 the duke Wenceslas of Brabant, who re- 
 ceived him joyfully. The French king was 
 sore displeased with the earl of Flanders, 
 because it was thought by divers of the 
 realm that he had letted the lord of Bour- 
 nazel of his viage into Scotland, and also 
 in that he held still about him the duke of 
 Bretayne his cousin, who was greatly in the 
 king's displeasure. And so they that were 
 about the king perceived well how the earl 
 of Flanders was nothing in the king's grace. 
 
 Anon after, the king wrote sharp letters 
 to his cousin the earl of Flanders, threaten- 
 ing him, because he sustained with him the 
 duke of Bretayne, whom he reputed to be 
 his enemy. "The earl wrote again to the 
 king excusing himself as well as he might, 
 but it availed nothing ; for the king sent 
 him again more sharper letters, shewing him 
 plainly that, without he would put the duke 
 of Bretayne out of his company, he would 
 surely displease him. Wlien the earl of 
 Flanders saw that the king pursued his 
 cause with such effect, then he took advice 
 in himself and thought he would shew 
 these menaces and threatenings to his good 
 towns, and specially to Gaunt, to know 
 what they would say to the matter. And 
 so he sent to Bruges, to Ypres and Court- 
 ray, and after departed, and the duke of 
 Bretayne in his company, and so went to 
 Gaunt and lodged at the Postern,^ where 
 he was joyfully received of the burgesses, 
 for they loved well to have him among 
 them. 
 
 And when the people of the good towns, 
 such as were sent for, were come, the earl 
 assembled them together in a place, and 
 there he made be shewed to them by John 
 de la Faucille his intention, and the letters 
 read that the French king had sent him two 
 months before. And when these letters 
 were read, then the earl spake and said : 
 ' All ye sirs of my good towns of Flanders, 
 through the help of God I have been your 
 
 ^ 'La Poterne ' the name of a house belonging to 
 the earl of Flanders at Ghent. 
 
THE EARL OF FLANDERS AT GHENT, 1379 
 
 215 
 
 lord a long season and I have kepi and 
 governed you in good peace to my power, 
 nor ye have not seen in me the conliaiy 
 but that I have entertained you in great 
 prosperity, in like manner as a lord ought 
 to keep his men and subjects. But it is to 
 my great displeasure, and it ought to be to 
 you that are my men, that the French king 
 thus hateth me and will hate, because I 
 sustain about me and in my company the 
 duke of Bretayne my cousin-german, who 
 as now is not well beloved in France, nor 
 he dare not well trust his men in his own 
 country because of five or six barons that 
 loveth him not. Wherefore the king would 
 that I should drive him out of my country, 
 the which should be a strange thing to him. 
 I say not nay, but if I did comfort my 
 cousin either with towns or castles against 
 the realm of France, then the king might 
 have good cause to complain him of me : 
 but I do not so, nor am not in will so to 
 do, and therefore I have here assembled 
 you together, shewing you the perils that 
 may hap to fall. Therefore I would know 
 your minds, whether he shall abide still 
 with me or not.' They answered all with 
 one voice : ' Sir, let him abide still : why 
 should he not ? And, sir, if there be any 
 man living that will make you war, ye 
 shall find ready in your land of Flanders 
 two hundred thousand men of war to serve 
 you.' Those words greatly rejoiced the 
 earl, and said : ' Sirs, I thank you.' 
 
 And so ended that parliament, and the 
 earl was well content with his men and 
 gave every man leave to depart in peace. 
 Then when the earl saw his time, he re- 
 turned to Bruges, and the duke of Bretayne 
 with him. Thus these matters hanged in 
 a trance : the earl was in great grace with 
 his people and the country in peace and 
 prosperity ; the which abode not so long 
 after, for it was in great tribulation, as ye 
 shall hear after in this history. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXLIV 
 
 How the duke of Bretayne departed out of 
 Flanders, and how the earl of Saint-Pol 
 was taken prisoner, and how he was 
 married in England, and of the wars that 
 fell then in Bretayne. 
 
 Ye may well know how the French king 
 had knowledge of all this matter and how 
 
 the earl had answered. He loved him not 
 one whit the better : howbeit, he must let 
 it pass, for more he could not have as at 
 that time, and said how the earl of Flanders 
 was the most proudest prince that he knew: 
 and a man might have seen well by the 
 manner of the king that the earl was the 
 lord that the king would most gladly have 
 brought somewhat to reason, when he saw 
 that he withsaid him and that he was no 
 more displeased than he was. The earl of 
 Flanders for all the king's writing and that 
 he was in his great displeasure because of 
 keeping about him the duke of Bretayne, 
 yet, that notwithstanding, he kept him still 
 as long as it pleased him to tarry and made 
 him keep a goodly estate. Finally the duke 
 of Bretayne had counsel to draw into Eng- 
 land, and so he took leave of the earl his 
 cousin and went to Gravelines, and thither 
 came to him the earl of Salisbury with five 
 hundred spears and a thousand archers, for 
 doubt of the French garrisons, and so 
 brought him to Calais, whereof sir Hugh 
 Calverley was captain, who received him 
 right joyously ; and when the duke had 
 tarried there a five days, he had wind at 
 will and so took the sea and the earl of 
 Salisbury in his company, and so arrived at 
 Dover and came to the young king Richard, 
 who received him with great joy, and so 
 did also the duke of Lancaster and the 
 earls of Cambridge and of Buckingham 
 and the great lords of England. 
 
 Ye have heard before how sir Valeran of 
 Luxembourg, young earl of Saint-Pol, was 
 taken prisoner between Ardres and Calais 
 and was in England at the king's pleasure : 
 for king Edward in his lifetime bought 
 him of the lord of Comminges, for he was 
 first his prisoner, because he made the 
 journey, when he was taken of a squire, a 
 man of arms of the country of Gueldres : so 
 this young earl of Saint- Pol abode long 
 prisoner in England, or he was delivered. 
 It was of truth the king offered him oft- 
 times in exchange for the captal of Buch, 
 while he lived ; but the French king nor 
 the council of France would in no wise 
 hear thereof, whereof the king of England 
 had great disdain. Thus the matter con- 
 tinued a long space, and the young earl 
 still prisoner in England in the fair castle of 
 Windsor, and he had so courteous a keeper 
 that he might go and sport him a-hawking 
 
2l6 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSAKT 
 
 between Windsor and Westminter : he was 
 believed on his faith. The same season 
 the princess, mother to king Richard, lay at 
 Windsor, and her daughter with her, my 
 lady Maude, the fairest lady in all Eng- 
 land. The earl of Saint-Pol and this young 
 lady were in true amours together each of 
 other, and sometime they met together at 
 dancing and carolling, till at last it was 
 spied ; and then the lady discovered to her 
 mother how she loved faithfully the young 
 earl of Saint - Pol. Then there was a 
 marriage spoken of between the earl of 
 Saint-Pol and the lady Maude of Holland, 
 and so the earl was set to his ransom to 
 pay sixscore thousand franks, so that when 
 he had married the lady Maude then to be 
 rebated threescore thousand, and the other 
 threescore thousand to pay. And when 
 this covenant of marriage was made be- 
 tween the earl and the lady, the king of 
 England suffered the earl to repass the sea 
 to fetch his ransom, on his only promise to 
 return again within o year after. So the 
 earl came into France to see his friends, 
 the king, the earl of Flanders, the duke of 
 Brabant and his cousins in France. 
 
 In the same year there was made an hard 
 information against the earl of Saint-Pol ; 
 for it was laid to his charge that he should 
 deliver to the Englishmen the strong castle 
 of Bohain, and so the French Icing caused 
 him to be-rested and kept in surety. And 
 so the king shewed how the earl of Saint- 
 Pol would have made an evil treaty for him 
 and for the realm, and the earl in no wise 
 could be excused. And also for the same 
 cause theie was kept in prison in the castle 
 of Mons in Hainault the lord canon of 
 Robersart,' the lord of Vertaing, sir James 
 du Sart and Gerard d'Obies ; but at length 
 all that matter came' to none effect, for 
 there could nothing be proved against 
 them, and so they were delivered. Then 
 the young eail returned again into Eng- 
 land to acquit him of his promise, and so 
 wedded the lady and did so much that he 
 paid his threescore thousand franks, and so 
 passed again the sea. But he entered not 
 
 ^ Thierry, called le Chanoine de Robersart. It 
 is doubtful what is the origin of this by-name, but 
 he was certainly not an ecclesiastic. One of his 
 sons (Louis) was made a knight of the Garter by 
 Henry V., and married Elizabeth Bourchier, be- 
 longing to the same family as the present translator 
 of the Chronicles (Lettenbove, xxiii. 28). 
 
 into France because the king loved him 
 not ; and so he and the countess his wife 
 went and lay at the castle of Ham on the 
 river of Heure, the which castle the lord of 
 Moriaume, who had wedded his sister, 
 lent him to lie in. And there he lay as 
 long as king Charles of France lived, for 
 the earl could never get his love. 
 
 Now let us leave to speak of this matter 
 and return to the business of France. 
 
 The same season all Bretayne was kept 
 close, what against the French king and 
 against the duke. Howbeit, some of the 
 good towns of Bretayne held themselves 
 close in the duke's name, and many had 
 great marvel that they took him for their 
 lord. And also divers knights and squires 
 of Bretayne were of the same accord, and 
 also there was allied to them the countess 
 of Penthievre, mother to the children of 
 Bretayne. But sir Bertram of Guesclin, 
 constable of France, the lord Clisson, the 
 lord de Laval, the viscount of Rohan and 
 the lord of Rochefort, they held the country 
 in war with the puissance that came daily 
 to them out of France ; for at Pontorson, 
 at Saint-Malo-the-Isle' and thereabout lay 
 a great number of men of arms of France, 
 of Normandy, of Auvergne and of Bur- 
 goyne, who did much hurt in the country. 
 The duke of Bretayne, who was in Eng- 
 land, had knowledge of everything and 
 how the duke of Anjou was at Angers and 
 daily destroyed his country. Also he had 
 knowledge how the good towns kept them- 
 selves close in his name, and certain knights 
 and squires of the same part, whereof he 
 could them good thank. Yet that not- 
 withstanding, he durst not well trust in 
 them to jeopard to return into Bretayne on 
 the trust of his men, for always he doubted 
 of treason. Also the king of England nor 
 the duke of Lancaster would not counsel 
 him to return. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXLV 
 
 SUMMARY. — William des Bordes was 
 taken prisoner by the garrison of Cherbourg. 
 Geoffrey Tke->wire and Ainierigot Marcel 
 conqttered castles in Auvergne, Limousin 
 and other parts. 
 
 i Saint-MaIo-de-1'IsIc. 
 
ELECTION OF CLEMENT VII., 1378 
 
 217 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXLVT 
 
 Of the schism that was made in the Church 
 and the manner how, and of the Bretons 
 who made war to Rome : and of the queen 
 of Naples, who put all her lands into the 
 pope's hands. 
 
 It hath been long sith I spake of holy 
 Church : now I will return thereto ; the 
 matter requireth it. Ye have well heard 
 herebefore, how by the exhortation of the 
 Romans the cardinals who as then reigned, 
 to appease the people of Rome, who were 
 greatly moved against them, made a pope 
 of the archbishopric of Bari, called before 
 Bartholomew des Aigles. He received the 
 papality and was called Urban the sixth, 
 and so opened grace, as the usage was. 
 The intention of divers of the cardinals was, 
 that when they might see a better hour and 
 time, they would again return to their elec- 
 tion, because this pope was not profitable 
 for them, nor also to the Church, as they 
 said, for he was a furnish man and melan- 
 cholious, so that when he saw himself in 
 prosperity and in puissance of the papality, 
 and that divers kings ohristened were 
 joined to him and wrote to him and did 
 put them under his obeisance, whereof he 
 waxed proud and worked all on head,' 
 and would have taken from the cardinals 
 divers of their rights and old customs, the 
 which greatly displeased them. And so 
 they spake together and imagined how he 
 was not well worthy to govern the world ; 
 wherefore they purposed to choose another 
 pope, sage and discreet, by whom the 
 Church should be well governed. 
 
 To this purpose the cardinals put to all 
 their pain, and specially he that was after 
 chosen to be pope. Thus all a summer they 
 were in this purpose, for they that intended 
 to make a new pope durst not show their 
 minds generally because of the Romans ; 
 so that in the time of the vacation in the 
 court divers cardinals departed from Rome 
 and went about Rome ^ to sport them in 
 divers places at their pleasure. And pope 
 Urban went to another city called Tyeulle,^ 
 and there he lay a long season in this vaca- 
 tion time, which might not long endure, 
 
 1 That is, acted in a headstrong manner. 
 
 2 ' Environ Rome.' 3 Tivoli. 
 
 for at Rome there were many clerks of 
 sundry places of the world abiding for 
 graces, the which was promised to divers 
 of them. Then the cardinals all of one 
 accord assembled together, and their voices 
 rested on sir Robert of Geneva, sometime 
 son to the earl of Geneva. His first pro- 
 motion was he was bishop of Terouanne, 
 and after bishop of Cambray, and he was 
 called cardinal of Geneva. At this election 
 were the most part of the cardinals, and he 
 was called Clement. 
 
 The same season there was in the 
 marches of Rome a right valiant knight of 
 Bretayne called Silvester Bude, and he had 
 under him a two thousand Bretons : and 
 in the year before he had right well borne 
 himself against the Florentines under pope 
 Gregory, who had cursed them because of 
 the rebellion, and by the means of this 
 Silvester Bude they were come to mercy. 
 Then pope Clement and the cardinals of 
 his part secretly sent for him and his com- 
 pany, and so he came and entered into the 
 castle Angelo, the better to constrain the 
 Romans. So pope Urban durst not depart 
 from TyeuUe, nor such cardinals as were 
 of his accord, for doubt of the Bretons, 
 they were so great a number and all chosen 
 men of war. And when the Romans saw 
 themselves in that danger, they sent for 
 other soldiers, Almains and Lombards, 
 and so daily they scrimmished with the 
 Bretons. Clement opened his graces to 
 all clerks, such as would have it, and so 
 he signified his name over all the world. 
 And when the French king who as then 
 reigned was certified thereof, he had great 
 marvel and sent for his brother and for 
 all the nobles and prelates of his realm 
 and for the rector and master doctors of 
 the university of Paris, to know of them 
 to which election, other the first or the 
 second, that he should hold unto. This 
 matter was not shortly determined, for 
 divers clerks varied, but finally all the 
 prelates of France inclined to Clement, 
 and so did the king's brethren and the 
 most part of the university of Paris : and so 
 the king was informed by all the great 
 clerks of his realm, that he obeyed the 
 pope Clement and held him for the true 
 pope, and made a special commandment 
 throughout his realm that every man should 
 take and repute Clement for pope and that 
 
2l8 
 
 THE CHROmCLES OE EROISSART 
 
 every man should obey him as God on 
 earth. The king of Spain was of the same 
 opinion, and so was the earl of Savoy, the 
 duke of Milan and the queen of Naples. 
 
 The believing thus of the French king 
 upon Clement coloured greatly his deeds,' 
 for the realm of France was reputed to be 
 the chief fountain of belief of the Christian 
 faith, because of the noble churches and 
 prelacies that be therein. As then lived 
 Charles of Bohemia, king of Almaine and 
 emperor of Rome, who was at Prague in 
 Boliemia and was advertised of all these 
 matters, whereof he had great marvel ; 
 and though that his empire of Almaine, 
 except the bishopric of Treves, believed in 
 faith, courage and intention in pope Urban 
 and would not hear speaking of any other, 
 yet he feigned and dissimuled all his life- 
 time, and would answer when he was 
 spoken to of that matter so courteously, 
 that all his barons and prelates of his realm 
 were content. Howbeit, the churches of 
 the Empire obeyed pope Urban, but Scot- 
 land held of Clement. The earl Louis of 
 Flanders was greatly against Clement 
 in the parts of Brabant, Hainault and in 
 Liege, for he would ever abide to be 
 Urbanist, saying how they did the same 
 pope great wrong ; and this earl was so 
 believed and renowned in those parts where 
 he was conversant, that the churches and 
 lords held of the same opinion. But they 
 of Hainault and the churches there, and 
 the lord, called Albert, abode as neuter and 
 obeyed no more to one than to the other ; 
 wherefore the bishop of Cambray that 
 reigned at that time, called John, lost in 
 Hainault all the revenues of his temporali- 
 ties. 
 
 And in the same season there was sent 
 into France, into Hainault, into Flanders 
 and into Brabant from pope Clement, the 
 cardinal of Poitiers, a right wise, valiant 
 and a sage clerk, to ensign and to preach to 
 the people, for he was at the first election ; 
 and there he shewed how by constraint 
 they chose first the archbishop of Bari to 
 be pope. The French king and his 
 brethren and the prelates of France meekly 
 received him and gladly intended to his 
 business and words, for it seemed to them 
 that he spake all truth, and so gave faith 
 
 ^ 'Coulouragrandementsonfait'; that is, ' greatly 
 strengthened his position." 
 
 to him. And when he had been a season 
 in France, then he went into Hainault, 
 where he was also joyously received : in 
 like wise so he was in Brabant both of the 
 duke and of the duchess, but he did there 
 nothing else. He thought in his returning 
 to have gone into Liege, but he took other 
 counsel and went not thither, but returned 
 to Tournay, and thought to have gone into 
 Flanders to have spoken with the earl ; 
 but it was shewed him that he had nothing 
 to do there, because the earl held and 
 would hold of Urban and so to live and 
 die. Then the cardinal departed from 
 Tournay and went to Valenciennes, and so 
 to Cambray, and there he lay a long space 
 in hope always to hear some good tidings. 
 
 Thus the Christian realms were in varia- 
 tion and the churches in great difference 
 because of the popes. Urban had the 
 greater part, but to speak of the most 
 profitable revenues and plain obesiance, 
 Clement had it ; and so Clement by con- 
 sent of the cardinals sent to Avignon to 
 make ready the palace there for him, for 
 his intent was to go thither as soon as he 
 might, and so he went to the city of 
 Fondes' and there opened his graces. 
 Thither drew all manner of clerks, such as 
 would take grace ; and he kept about in 
 villages many soldiers, who made great war 
 to Rome and to the bourage of Saint 
 Peter,^ and travailed them day and night 
 with divers assaults and scrimmishes. And 
 also they that were in the castle Angelo 
 without Rome did much trouble to the 
 Romans ; but they of Rome enforced them- 
 selves so with soldiers Almains and with 
 the puissance of Rome, so that they 
 assembled together on a day and conquered 
 the bourage of Saint Peter. Then the 
 Bretons drew them into the castle of 
 Angelo : howbeit, they were so handled 
 by force of arms, that they gave it up, 
 their lives saved. Then the Bretons de- 
 parted and drew to Fondes and thereabout 
 in the country, and the Romans beat down 
 the castle Angelo and brent the bourage 
 of Saint Peter. 
 
 1 Fondi. 
 
 2 ' And also they that were in the bourg of Saint 
 Peter travailed them greatly,' etc. These are the 
 partisans of Clement, Bretons and others, who 
 had occupied the castle of Saint Angelo and the 
 strongholds of the borgo and were driven out by 
 the Romans as mentioned below. 
 
THE QUEEA' OF NAPLES AND POPE CLEMENT 
 
 219 
 
 When sir Silvester Budc, who was in 
 the country, heard how Iiib men had lost 
 the bourage of Saint Peter and the castle 
 Angelo, he was right sore displeased and 
 studied how to be revenged of the Romans. 
 It was shewed him by his spies how on a day 
 the Romans and the noblest men of the city 
 of Rome should assemble together in council 
 in the Capitol. As soon as he knew that, 
 he assernbled together a certain number 
 and rode forth by covert \vays secretly, 
 and so came to Rome in the evening and 
 entered in at the gate of Naples. When 
 these Bretons were within, they took the 
 straight way to the Capitol, and came 
 thither as the council of Rome were issued 
 out of the chamber. Then the Bretons 
 couched their spears and ran in among 
 them, and slew and beat down a great 
 number of the most notablest of the city. 
 There was slain a six bannerets and a two 
 hundred of other rich persons, and a great 
 number hurt. And when these Bretons 
 had done their enterprise, they withdrew 
 them against night, and then it began to 
 be' late, so that they were not pursued, 
 what for the night and for the sudden fray 
 that they were in, for they wist not what to 
 do but to take heed of their friends that 
 were sore hurt. So they passed that night 
 in great distress and sorrow of heart, and 
 so buried the dead and dressed the hurt. 
 And in the morning the Romans advised 
 themselves of a great cruelty, for the poor 
 clerks that were in Rome and were in no 
 fault, they slew and hurt of them more 
 than three hundred, and specially Bretons 
 that fell in their hands there was no mercy. 
 Thus went the matters in Rome by reason 
 of the state of the popes, and daily they 
 bought it dear, such as were without fault. 
 In the mean season that Clement and his 
 cardinals lay thus at Fondes, the queen of 
 Naples came thither to see him, for she 
 did put herself under the obeisance of pope 
 Clement. This queen had been long in 
 purpose to put the realm of Sicily, whereof 
 she was lady, and the county of Provence, 
 which dependeth of the same realm, into 
 the hands of the pope, to do with them at 
 his pleasure and to give them to some high 
 prince of the realm of France, being of 
 such puissance to keep them against such 
 as she hated deadly, who were descended 
 out of the realm of Plungary. And when 
 
 the queen of Naples was come to Fondes, 
 she humbled herself lowly to pope Clement 
 and was confessed of him and discovered to 
 him all the secrets of her heart, and said : 
 ' Holy father, I hold divers noble heritages, 
 as the realm of Naples, the realm of Sicily, 
 Puylle,' Calabre, and the county of Pro- 
 vence ; and it is of truth that king Louis of 
 Sicily, duke of Puylle and Calabre, my 
 father, while he lived knowledged all these 
 lands to hold of the Church, and on his 
 death -bed he took me by the hand and 
 said : "Ah, fair daughter, ye are inheritor 
 of many a rich country, and I am sure 
 many great lords will seek to have you in 
 marriage because of the fair heritage that 
 ye have. Therefore, daughter, I would ye 
 should use you after my counsel, as to 
 marry yourself to so high a prince that may 
 be puissant to keep and maintain you and 
 your heritage in rest and peace. And if it 
 so fortune that ye have none heirs, then 
 deliver all your lands into the hands of the 
 pope then being alive ; for king Robert my 
 father at the hour of his death gave me in 
 like charge. Therefore, fair daughter, I 
 charge you and discharge me." And then 
 I promised him on my faith in the presence 
 of all them that were in his chamber that I 
 should accomplish his last desire. And, 
 holy father, so it was that after his decease 
 by the consent of all the nobles of Sicily 
 and Naples I was married to Andrew of 
 Hungary, brother to king Louis of Hun- 
 gary, by whom I had no issue, for he died 
 young at Aix in Provence : and after his 
 decease I was married again to the prince 
 of Tarent, who was called Charles, and by 
 him I had a daughter. Then the king of 
 Hungary for the displeasure that he had 
 for Andrew his brother,^ my first husband, 
 went and made war against my husband 
 Charles of Tarent and took from him 
 Puylle and Calabre, and took him in battle 
 and led him to prison into Hungary, and 
 there he died. And yet after again by the 
 accord of the nobles of Sicily I married 
 again king James of Mallorca, and sent into 
 France for sir Louis of Navarre to have 
 married my daughter, but he died by the 
 
 1 Apulia. 
 
 2 That is, ' for the death of Andrew his brother, 
 whom Joanna was accused of havin^^ murdered. 
 The word ' for ' in the text is a correction of ' to.' 
 The French is ' du roy Andry.' 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 way. Then it fell so that the king my 
 husband went to conquer his heritage of 
 Mallorca, the which the king of Aragon 
 had taken from him by force, and had dis- 
 herited him and caused his father to die in 
 prison. And or he departed from me, I 
 said to him : "Sir, I am a lady, and have 
 puissance and riches sufficient to maintain 
 your estate according to your desire." 
 Howbeit, he preached so much to me and 
 shewed me so many fair reasons, desiring to 
 recover his heritage, so that I was fain to 
 consent to him to take his pleasure. But 
 at his departing I desired him to have gone 
 to king Charles of France and to have 
 shewed him his business and to have 
 ordered himself by his counsel. Howbeit, 
 he did not so, the which was his hurt ; for 
 he went to the prince of Wales, who pro- 
 mised to have aided him. So he had 
 greater trust in the prince of Wales than in 
 the French king, to whom I was near of 
 hneage. And in the mean season, while 
 he was in his viage, I wrote to the French 
 king and sent great messengers to him, 
 desiring him to send me a nobleman of his 
 blood to marry my daughter, to the intent 
 that mine heritage should not be without 
 an heir. The king sent his cousin sir 
 Robert of Artois, who wedded my daughter. 
 And in the viage that the king my husband 
 made he died ; and after again I married 
 sir Otho of Brunswick : and because sir 
 Charles de la Paix ^ saw that sir Otho 
 should have mine heritage as long as I 
 lived, he made us war and took us in the 
 castle of rCEuf,'^ when the sea was so high 
 that we feared it would have overflowen us, 
 at which time we were so affrayed, that we 
 yielded us all four to sir Charles de la Paix, 
 our lives saved : and so he held us in prison, 
 my husband and I, my daughter and her 
 husband, and so it happed that my son 
 and daughter died there ; and after by 
 treaty I and my husband were delivered, 
 so that Puylle and Calabre might come to 
 him ; and also he intendeth to come to the 
 heritage of Naples, of Sicily and of Pro- 
 vence, for he seeketh all about for alliance, 
 and so will take away the right of the 
 Church as soon as I am dead, if he may. 
 Therefore, holy father, I will acquit me 
 
 1 Charles of Sicily, called de la Paix, son of Louis 
 of Durazzo. 
 - The Castel dell' Ovo at Naples. 
 
 against God and you, and acquit the souls 
 o'i my predecessors, and put into your hands 
 all the heritages that I ought to have, of 
 Sicily, of Naples, Puylle, Calabre and Pro- 
 vence, I give them to you to do with them 
 your pleasure, to give them to whomsoever 
 it pleaseth you, such as may obtain them 
 against our adversary sir Charles de la 
 Paix.' 
 
 Pope Clement received joyfully her words 
 and took her gift in great reverence, and 
 said : 'Ah, my fair daughter of Naples, we 
 shall so ordain that your heritage shall have 
 such an heritor of your own blood, noble 
 and puissant to resist against them that will 
 do or offer you or them any wrong.' Of 
 all these words and gifts there were public 
 instruments and authentic made, to the in- 
 tent that the matter should abide firm and 
 stable in time to come, and to be of more 
 plain knowledge to all them that should 
 hear thereof after. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXLVn 
 
 How pope Clement came to Avignon, and of 
 the gifts that he gave to the duke of Anjou, 
 and how sir Silvester Bude and his com- 
 pany were beheaded : and of the country 
 of Flanders and of their adversity. 
 
 When the queen of Naples and sir Otho of 
 Brunswick had done all things, wherefore 
 they were come to Fondes to the pope, 
 then they took their leave and departed and 
 went to Naples. Then it was not long 
 after but that pope Clement imagined in 
 himself, that to abide long about the parts 
 of Rome was nothing profitable for him, 
 and saw well how the Romans and pope 
 Urban travailed greatly to get the love of 
 the NeapoUtans and of sir Charles de la 
 Paix : therefore he doubted lest the pas- 
 sages and ways should be closed against 
 him, so that he should not get to Avignon 
 when he would. And the principal and 
 special cause that inclined him to go to 
 Avignon, was to the intent to give to the 
 duke of Anjou the rights that the queen of 
 Naples had given unto him of all the fore- 
 said seignories, whereof he had instruments 
 passed and sealed. So he ordained secretly 
 and sagely his business and took the sea, 
 and his cardinals with him, in galleys and 
 
S/Ji JOHN HA WKWOOD 
 
 vessels that were come out of Aragon. 
 They had wind and weather at will, and 
 arrived without damage at iMarseille, 
 whereof all the country was right glad : 
 and from thence he went to Avignon and 
 sent word of his coming to the French king 
 and to his brethren, who were right glad 
 of his coming. And the duke of Anjou, 
 who lay at the city of Toulouse, went to 
 see the pope, and at his coming the pope 
 gave him all the gifts that the queen of 
 Naples had given him. The duke of 
 Anjou, who always desired high seignories 
 and great honours, received the gifts in 
 great magnificence, and so had them to 
 him and to his heirs for ever, and said to 
 the pope that in as short time as he might, 
 he would go so strong into those marches, 
 that he would be able to resist them that 
 would do any wrong to the queen of Naples. 
 The duke tarried with the pope a fifteen 
 days, and therk returned to Toulouse to the 
 duchess his wife ; and pope Clement de- 
 livered his men of war to sir Bernard de la 
 Salle and to Florimont ' to make war 
 against his enemies. 
 
 The same season there was in the 
 marches of Tuscany in Italy a valiant 
 knight English called sir John Hacoude,^ 
 who did and had done many a noble feat 
 of arms. He issued out of the realm of 
 France, when the peace was made between 
 the two kings at Bretigny beside Chartres, 
 and in that time he was but a poor knight, 
 and then he thought, to return again into 
 England into his own country he thought 
 he could win nothing there ; ^ and when he 
 saw that all men of war should avoid the 
 realm of France by the ordinance and 
 treaty of peace, he made himself captain of 
 a certain number of companions called the 
 Late-comers '' and so went into Burgoyne, 
 and there he assembled a great number of 
 such rutters, English, Gascons, Bretons, 
 Almains and companions of divers nations. 
 And this Hacoude was oiie of the chief 
 with Briquet and Creswey by whom the 
 
 i Froissart says, ' and Clement remained at Avig- 
 non and left his men of arms, sir Silvester Bude, 
 sir Bernard de la Salle and Florimont, to make war 
 upon the Romans.' The translator gives what he 
 found in his text. 
 
 ^ Hawkwood. 
 
 3 * He thought that by returning again into bis 
 own country he could win nothing.' 
 
 4 ' Les Tart- Venus.' 
 
 battle of Brignais was made, and helped 
 to get the Pont le Spirit with Bernard of 
 Sorges : and when they had warred and 
 harried the country against the pope and 
 the cardinals, then they were entreated and 
 went to the marquis of Montferrat, who as 
 then kept war with the lords of Milan. 
 And so this marquis brought them all 
 beyond the mountains, after he had deliv- 
 ered to them sixty thousand franks, whereof 
 Hacoude had for his part ten thousand for 
 him and his company. And when they had 
 achieved the war with the marquis, divers 
 then returned into France, for sir Bertram 
 of Guesclin, the lord de la Marche, and the 
 lord Beaujeu, the marshal of France, and 
 sir Arnold d'Audrehem ^ brought them into 
 Spain against king don Peter on king 
 Henry's part ; and sir John Hacoude and 
 his company abode still in Italy. And 
 pope Urban the fifth, as long as he lived, 
 had him in his wars of Milan, and in like 
 wise so had pope Gregory, who reigned after 
 him. And this same sir John Hacoude 
 had for the lord Coucy a fair journey against 
 the earl of Vertus ; for it was said for truth 
 that the lord Coucy had been overthrown 
 by the earl of Vertus and the Lombards, if 
 this Hacoude had not been ; for he came 
 to his aid with five hundred, because the 
 lord Coucy had wedded the king of Eng- 
 land's daughter and for none other cause. 
 
 This sir John Hacoude was a knight 
 right hardy and of great experience, and 
 well renowned in the marches of Italy, and 
 did there many great feats of arms. 'Then 
 the Romans and Urban, who called himself 
 pope, advised in themselves, when Clement 
 was departed from the marches of Rome, 
 to send for him and to make him master 
 and governour of all their war. So they 
 sent for him and retained him and all his 
 company : and he acquitted himself right 
 valiantly ; for on a day with the help of the 
 Romans he discomfited Silvester Bude and 
 a great company of Bretons, so that they 
 were all slain or taken, and Silvester Bude 
 brought prisoner to Rome and was in great 
 danger to lose his head. And to say the 
 truth, it had been better for him to have 
 been lieheaded the same day he was brought 
 to Rome, than otherwise, for the honour of 
 him and of his friends ; for afterward pope 
 
 1 The true reading is, 'and the marshal of France, 
 sir Arnold d'Audrehem.' 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Clement caused him to lose his head in the 
 city of IVIacon, and another squire of Bre- 
 tayne with him called William Boilewe, 
 for they were had in suspect of treason, 
 because they were issued out of the Romans' 
 prison and could not be known by what 
 treaty or means, and so they came to 
 Avignon and there were taken. Of their 
 taking was culpable the cardinal of Amiens, 
 for he hated them sith they made war in 
 Rome for the pope, because in the fields 
 on a day they and their companies took the 
 said cardinal's somers, wherein they had 
 a great quantity of vessel and plate of gold 
 and silver, and departed it among their 
 companies, who could not be paid of their 
 wages. Wherefore the same cardinal took 
 the same deed in great displeasure, and so 
 covertly accused them of treason ; so that 
 when they were come to Avignon, treason 
 was laid to them, how they had falsely be- 
 trayed the pope, and thereupon sent to 
 Macon and there beheaded both. Thus 
 the matters went at that time in those coun- 
 tries ; and sir Bertram of Guesclin was sore 
 displeased for the death of Silvester Bude 
 his cousin with pope Clement and with the 
 cardinals, so that if he had lived long after, 
 they should well have known that his death 
 had been right sore displeasant to him. 
 
 Now let us leave to speak of these 
 matters, and let us enter to speak of the 
 wars of Flanders, the which began in the 
 same season, which were hard and cruel, 
 whereby much people were slain and exiled 
 and the country turned into such a case, 
 that it was said that in a hundred year after 
 it should not be recovered again : and I 
 shall shew you by what mean and occasions 
 the unhappy wars began. 
 
 When the tribulations began first in 
 Flanders, the country was so wealthy and 
 so rich that it was marvel to hear ; and the 
 men of the good towns kept such estate that 
 it was wonder to hear tell thereof. But 
 these wars began first by pride and envy 
 that the good towns in Flanders had one 
 against another, as they of Gaunt against 
 them of Bruges, and they of Bruges against 
 them of Gaunt, and other towns one against 
 another. But there was such resort, that 
 no war could rise among them, without the 
 earl of Flanders their lord did consent 
 thereto, for he was so feared and beloved 
 that none durst displease him. Also the 
 
 earl, who was right sage and subtle, kept 
 under the war and evil will of his people ; 
 for he would in no wise suffer no war to 
 rise among them and him, for well he 
 thought in his imaginations that when any 
 difference should rise between him and his 
 people, he should be the feebler and the 
 less set by of his neighbours. Also he kept 
 under the war for another cause, howbeit at 
 the end he was driven to use it, and that 
 was, he considered the great destruction 
 that should fall thereby both of bodies and 
 goods : for always he had lived in great 
 prosperity and peace and had as much his 
 pleasure as any other Christian prince had ; 
 but this war began for so light a cause and 
 incident, that justly to consider and speak, 
 if good wit and sage advice had been in 
 the lord, he needed not to have had any 
 manner of war. What shall they say that 
 readeth this or heareth it read, but that it 
 was the work of the devil : for ye know, or 
 else ye have heard say of the wise sages, 
 how the devil subtly ticeth ^ night and day 
 to make war, whereas he seeth peace, and 
 seeketh little and little how he may come 
 to his ungracious intent : and so it fortuned 
 in those days in Flanders, as ye may clearly 
 know and see by the treaty of the order of 
 the matter that foUoweth. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXLVIII 
 
 Of the principal root and cause of the war 
 between the earl of Flanders and the 
 Flemings, and how the white hats were 
 set up by John Lyon. 
 
 The same season, while the duke ^ Louis 
 of Flanders was in his greatest prosperity, 
 there was in Gaunt a burgess called John 
 Lyon,^ a sage man, cruel, hardy, subtle 
 and a great enterpriser, and cold and patient 
 enough in all his works. This John Lyon 
 was great with the earl, as it appeared, for 
 the earl enticed him to slay a man in Gaunt 
 with whom he was displeased ; and at the 
 earl's commandment covertly this John 
 Lyon made a matter to him and so fell out 
 with him and slew him, the which burgess 
 was sore complained ; and therefore John 
 
 1 ' Subtille et atise,' ' deviseth and endeavoureth. 
 - 'Earl.' 3 His true name was Yoens. 
 
JOHN LYON AND GILBERT IMAHEW 
 
 223 
 
 Lyon went and dwelt at Douay and was 
 there a three year and held a great estate 
 and port, and all of the earl's cost. Anil 
 for this slaughter on a day John Lyon lost 
 all that ever he had in Gaunt and was 
 banished the town four year ; but after, the 
 earl of Flanders did so much for him that 
 he made his peace, and so to return again 
 to the town of Gaunt and to have again as 
 great franchise as ever he had : whereof 
 divers in Gaunt and in Flanders had great 
 marvel and were therewith right sore 
 abashed. But for all that, so it was doiie ; 
 and beside that, to the intent that he 
 should recover again his loss and to main- 
 tain his estate, the earl made him chief 
 ruler of all the ships, mariners and navy.' 
 This office was well worth by year a thou- 
 sand franks, and yet to deal but truly. 
 Thus this John Lyon was so great with the 
 earl that there was none like him. 
 
 In the same season there was another 
 lineage in Gaunt called the Mahews. 
 There were of them seven brethren, they 
 were the chief of all the mariners ; and 
 among these seven brethren there was one 
 of them called Gilbert Mahew, a right sage 
 man, much more subtle than any of his 
 brethren. This Gilbert Mahew had great 
 envy covertly at this John Lyon, because 
 he saw him so great with the earl, and 
 studied night and day how he might put 
 him out of favour with the earl. Divers 
 times he was in mind to have slain him by 
 his brethren, but he durst not for fear of 
 the earl. So long he studied and imagined 
 on this matter that at last he found the 
 way. 
 
 The chief cause that he hated him for 
 was as I shall shew you, the better to come 
 to the foundation of this matter. Anciently 
 there was in the town of Damme a great 
 mortal war between two mariners and their 
 lineages, the one called Peter Guillon and 
 the other John Bard. Gilbert Mahew and 
 his brethren were come of the one lineage, 
 and this John Lyon of the other. So this 
 covert hate was long nourished between 
 these two parties ; howbeit, they spake and 
 ate and drank together : and the lineage of 
 Gilbert Mahew made more ado of the 
 matter than John Lyon did, insomuch that 
 Gilbert Mahew without any stroke given 
 advised a subtle deed. The earl of Flanders 
 1 ' Doyen des navieurs.' 
 
 would sometime lie at Gaunt : then this 
 Gilbert Mahew came and acquainted him- 
 self with one of them that was near about 
 the earl, and on a day said to him : ' Sir, 
 if my lord the earl would, he might have 
 every year a great profit of the ships and 
 navy, whereof he hath now nothing : which 
 profit the strangers and the mariners should 
 pay, so that John Lyon, who is chief ruler 
 there, will truly acquit himself.' This 
 gentleman said he would shew (his to the 
 earl, and so he did. The earl then, in like 
 wise as divers lords are lightly inclined 
 naturally to hearken to their profit, and not 
 regarding the end, what may fall thereby, 
 so they may have riches, for covetousness 
 deceiveth them, he answered and said : 
 ' Let Gilbert Mahew come to me and we 
 will hear what he will say.' Then came 
 Gilbert and spake with the earl, shewing 
 him divers reasons, reasonable as the earl 
 thought, and so answered and said : ' I 
 think it were well done that it should be 
 thus.' Then John Lyon was sent for, who 
 knew nothing of this matter, and there in 
 the presence of Gilbert Mahew the earl 
 shewed him all the matter and said : ' John, 
 if ye will, we n]ay have great profit in this 
 matter.' John Lyon, who was a true man, 
 saw well it was not a thing reasonable to 
 be done. Howbeit, he durst not say the con- 
 trary, but said : ' Sir, that thing that ye de- 
 mand and that Gilbert Mahew hath brought 
 forth, I cannot do it alone, for it will be a 
 hard matter to all the mariners. ' 'John,' 
 quoth the earl, ' if ye will acquit you truly 
 in this matter, it will be done.' 'Sir,' 
 quoth he, ' I shall do therein the best of 
 my power ' ; and so they departed. 
 
 Gilbert Mahew, who intended to bring 
 out of favour this John Lyon with the earl, 
 intended to none other thing but to make 
 him lose his office. Then he came to his 
 six brethren and said : ' Sirs, it is time now 
 that ye succour and aid me, and to main- 
 tain this matter, as good friends and 
 brethren should help each other. It is 
 for you that I have driven about this 
 matter. I shall discomfit John Lyon with- 
 out any stroke striking and shall bring him 
 in as great displeasure with the earl as he 
 is now great and in favour. Whatsoever I 
 say in the next parliament, keep your own 
 opinions ; for if the earl require you to do 
 such a thing, debate you well the matter : 
 
224 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSAKT 
 
 but I will say still and maintain, that if 
 John Lyon will truly acquit himself, this 
 ordinance may be done. And I know so 
 much that my lord the earl, if the matter 
 come not to his intent, John Lyon shall 
 lose his favour and office, and give the office 
 to me. And when I once have it, then ye 
 shall agree thereto : we are puissant enough 
 in this town to rule all the residue; there is 
 none will say against us : and then I shall 
 do so that John Lyon shall be overthrown. 
 Thus we shall be revenged on him without 
 any stroke giving.' 
 
 All his brethren accorded to him ; so the 
 parliament came and all the mariners were 
 ready. There John Lyon and Gilbert 
 Mahew shewed them the earl's pleasure on 
 the new statute that he would raise on the 
 navy of Lys and I'Escault, the which thing 
 seemed to them all right hard and contrary 
 to their old custom ; and the chief that 
 spake thereagainst were Gilbert Mahew's 
 brethren more than any other. Then John 
 Lyon, who was chief ruler of them all, was 
 right joyous, for he would to his true power 
 maintain them in their old ancient fran- 
 chises and liberties, and he weened that all 
 that they said had been for him : but it 
 was contrary, for it was for an evil intent 
 towards him. John Lyon reported to the 
 earl the answer of the mariners, and said ; 
 ' Sir, it is a thing cannot be well done, for 
 great hurt may come thereby. Sir, an it 
 please you, let the matter rest in the old 
 ancient estate and make no new thing 
 among them.' 
 
 This answer pleased nothing the earl, for 
 he saw that if the matter might be brought 
 up and raised, it should be well worth to 
 him yearly a seven thousand florins. So 
 he held his peace as at that time, but he 
 thought the more ; and so pursued by fair 
 words and treaties these mariners, but 
 always John Lyon found them right obsti- 
 nate in the case. Then Gilbert IVIahew 
 came to the earl and to his council, and said 
 how that John Lyon acquitted him but 
 slackly in the matter ; but an the earl would 
 give him the office that John Lyon hath, 
 he would so handle the mariners, that the 
 earl of Flanders should heritably have the 
 said profit. The earl saw not clear, for 
 covetousness of the good ' blinded him, 
 and by his own counsel he put John Lyon 
 ^ ' Covetousness of gain.' 
 
 out of the office and gave it to Gilbert 
 Mahew. When Gilbert Mahew saw how 
 he had the office, within a little space he 
 turned all his si.x brethren to his purpose 
 and so made the earl to have his intent and 
 profit ; wherefore he was never the better 
 beloved of the most part of the mariners. 
 Hovvbeit, it behoved them to suffer, for the 
 seven brethren were great and puissant 
 with the aid of the earl. Thus by this 
 subtle means Gilbert Mahew gat himself in 
 favour with the earl, and he gave many 
 gifts and jewels to them that were near about 
 the earl, whereby he had their loves, and 
 also he gave many great presents to the 
 earl, the which blinded him, and so by that 
 means he gat his love : and all these gifts 
 and presents this Gilbert Mahew raised of 
 the mariners, whereof there were many that 
 were not well content ; hovvbeit, they durst 
 speak no word to the contrary. 
 
 John Lyon by this means and by the 
 purchase of Gilbert Mahew was out of the 
 earl's favour and love, and so kept his house 
 and lived of his own, and endured and 
 suffered patiently all that ever was done to 
 him. For this Gilbert Mahew, who as then 
 was chief ruler of all the ships, covertly 
 ever hated this John Lyon, and took away 
 the third or fourth part of the profit that he 
 should have had of his ships. All this 
 John Lyon suffered and spake no word, 
 but sagely dissimuled and took in gree all 
 that ever was done to him, and said : 
 ' There is time to be still and time to 
 speak.' This Gilbert Mahew had one 
 brother called Stenuart, a subtle man, who 
 advised well the manner of John Lyon, and 
 said to his brethren in prophesying as it 
 came to pass : ' Sirs, this John Lyon suf- 
 fereth now and hangeth down his head : 
 he doth it all for policy ; but I fear me he 
 will at length make us lower than we be 
 now high : but I counsel one thing, that 
 while we be thus in the earl's favour, let us 
 slay him. I shall soon slay him, if I take 
 the charge to do it, and so we shall be out 
 of all perils.' His other brethren would in 
 no wise consent thereto, and said to him 
 that in no wise he should do him any hurt, 
 saying to him how a man ought not to be 
 slain without the sentence of a judge. 
 
 Thus the matter continued a certain 
 space, till the devil, who never sleepeth, 
 awaked them of Bruges to dig about the 
 
THE WHITE HOODS AT GHENT, 1379 
 
 river of Lys, to have the easement of the 
 course of the water. And the earl was 
 well accorded to them and sent great 
 number of pioneers and men of arms to 
 assist them. Before that in time past they 
 would have done the same, but they of 
 Gaunt by puissance brake their purpose. 
 These tidings came to Gaunt, how they of 
 Bruges were digging to turn the course of 
 the river of Lys, the which should greatly 
 be to the prejudice of Gaunt. Many folks 
 in the town began to murmur, and specially 
 the mariners, for it touched them near ; 
 wherefore they said they of Bruges should 
 not be suffered so to dig, to have the course 
 of the river to them, whereby their town 
 should be destroyed. And some said 
 privily : ' Ah, God help now John Lyon, 
 for if he had been still our governour, it 
 should not have been thus : they of Bruges 
 would not have been so hardy to attempt 
 30 far against us. ' 
 
 John Lyon was well advertised of all 
 these matters : then he began a little to 
 wake, and said to himself: ' I have slept a 
 season, but it shall appear that for a small 
 occasion I shall wake and shall set such a 
 ;remble between this town and the earl, 
 hat it shall cost peradventure a hundred 
 housand men's lives.' The tidings of these 
 liggers increased : so it was, there was a 
 voman that came from her pilgrimage from 
 )ur Lady of Boulogne, who was weary and 
 at down in the marlcet- place, whereas 
 here were divers men, and some of them 
 iemanded of her from whence she came. 
 )he answered, * From Boulogne, and I 
 lave seen by the way the greatest mischief 
 hat ever came to this town of Gaunt : for 
 here be more than five hundred pioneers, 
 hat night and day worketh before the river 
 f Lys ; and if they be not let, they will 
 hortly turn the course of the water.' This 
 raman's words was well heard and under- 
 landed in divers places of the town. Then 
 ley of the town began to moan and said : 
 This deed ought not to be suffered nor 
 onsented unto.' Then divers went to John 
 .yon and demanded counsel of him, how 
 ley should use themselves in this matter, 
 md when John Lyon saw himself sought 
 n by them, whom he desired to have their 
 ood wills and love, he was greatly rejoiced, 
 [owbeit, he made no semblant of joy, for 
 2 thought it was not as then yet time, till 
 Q 
 
 the matter were better ascertained. And 
 so he was sore desired, or he would speak 
 or declare his thought, and when he spake, 
 he said : ' Sirs, if ye will adventure to 
 remedy this matter, it behoveth that in this 
 town of Gaunt ye renew an old ancient 
 custom, that sometime was used in this 
 town : and that is, that ye bring up again 
 the white hats,^ and that they may have a 
 chief ruler to whom they may draw and by 
 him be ruled.' These words were gladly 
 heard, and then they said all with one voice : 
 ' We will have it so : let us raise up these 
 white hats.' 
 
 Then there were made white hats, and 
 given and delivered to such as loved better 
 to have war than peace, for they had no- 
 thing to lose ; and there they chose John 
 Lyon to be chief governour of all the white 
 hats, the which office he took on him right 
 gladly, to the intent to be revenged on his 
 enemies and to bring discord between the 
 towns of Bruges and Gaunt and the earl 
 their lord : and so it was ordained that 
 they should go out against the diggers of 
 Bruges with John Lyon their sovereign 
 captain, and with him two hundred with 
 their companies, of such as had rather have 
 had war than peace. And when Gilbert 
 Mahew and his brethren saw the manner 
 of these white hats, they were not very 
 joyful thereof Then Stenuart said to his 
 brethren : * I said to you before how this 
 John Lyon should discomfit us at length. 
 It had been better that ye had believed 
 me before and to have let me have slain 
 him rather than he should be in this estate 
 that he is now in and is hkely to be in ; 
 and all is by the white hats that he hath 
 brought up.' 'Nay, nay,' quoth Gilbert, 
 ' when I have once spoken with my lord 
 the earl, I warrant you they shall be laid 
 down again. Let them alone to do their 
 enterprise against the pioneers of Bruges 
 for the profit of this our town ; for else, to 
 say the truth, the town were but lost.' 
 
 John Lyon and his company with the 
 white hats departed from Gaunt in will to 
 slay all the pioneers and such other as 
 kept them. These tidings came to the 
 pioneers how the Gauntois came on them 
 with a great puissance, wherefore they 
 doubted to lose all and so left their work 
 and went back again to Bruges, and were 
 1 * Les blans chaperons,' ' the white hoods.' 
 
226 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 never after so hardy to dig there again. 
 When lohn Lyon and his company saw 
 nothing to do, they returned again to 
 Gaunt ; but for all that John Lyon left not 
 his otifice, but that the white hats went 
 daily up and down the town and John Lyon 
 kept them still in that estate ; and to some 
 he would say secretly : ' Hold you well con- 
 tent : eat and drink and make merry, and 
 be not afraid of anything that ye dispend. 
 Such shall pay in time to come for your 
 scot, that will not give you now one penny.' 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXLIX 
 
 How by the exhortation of John Lyon the 
 Gauntois sent certain notable burgesses of 
 the town of Gaunt to the earl of Flanders 
 for the conservation of their privileges and 
 old franchises, and of the desire the earl 
 made to lay down the white hats. 
 
 Tn the same week that John Lyon had 
 been thus at Deynse, to have met with the 
 pioneers of Bruges, there came divers out 
 of the franchise of Gaunt to complain to 
 them that had as then the rule of the 
 law, and said : ' Sirs, at Eccloo beside 
 us, the which is within the franchise of 
 Gaunt, there is one of our burgesses in 
 the earl's prison, and we have desired the 
 earl's baily there to deliver him, but he 
 hath plainly answered that he will not 
 deliver him, the which is plainly against the 
 privilege of this town of Gaunt. And so 
 thereby little and little your privileges 
 shall be broken, the which in time past 
 have been so nolDle and so highly praised, 
 and beside that so well kept and maintained, 
 that none durst break them, and that the 
 most noblest knight of Flanders held him- 
 self well reputed to be a burgess of Gaunt.' 
 Then they of the law answered and said 
 how they would write to the baily desiring 
 him that the burgess may be delivered, 'for 
 truly his office extend eth not so far as to 
 keep our burgess in the earl's prison . ' And 
 so they wrote to the baily for the deliver- 
 ance of the burgess, being in prison in 
 Eccloo. The baily answered and said : 
 ' What needeth all these words for a mar- 
 iner? Say,' quoth the baily, who had to 
 name Roger d'Auterive, ' to them of Gaunt, 
 that though he were a richer man ten times 
 
 than he is, he shall never go out of prison 
 without my lord the earl command it. I 
 have puissance to arrest, but I have no 
 power to deliver.' The words of this Roger 
 d'Auterive were reported to them of Gaunt, 
 wherewith they were sore displeased and 
 said how he had answered right proudly. 
 By these answers and incidents, as well [as] 
 for the pioneers of Bruges, who would have 
 digged against the heritage and profit of 
 Gaunt, and for such other semblable 
 deeds, whereby the franchises of Gaunt 
 should have been hurt, there began to run 
 through the town and abroad in the country 
 these unhappy ribalds called the white hats, 
 to the intent to be the more feared and re- 
 nowned : ' for it behoveth in a lineage that 
 there be some foolish and outrageous, to 
 maintain and sustain the peaceable. 
 
 The tidings of this mariner burgess of 
 Gaunt being in the earl's prison at Eccloo, 
 whom the baily would not deliver, spread 
 abroad in the town of Gaunt, and divers 
 folks began to murmur and to say how it 
 was not to be suffered ; for in sitting still 
 and being too soft in maintaining of their 
 franchise they might lose all, the which 
 hath been so noble. John Lyon, who in- 
 tended always but to one thing, and that 
 was to set in trouble the town of Gaunt 
 against the earl their lord, in such wise that 
 he should not appease it again but with 
 much sorrow and great damage, wherefore 
 he was nothing displeased of these adven- 
 tures, but he would always that for one 
 of them there had fallen thirty. He put 
 forth his words and covertly did sow them 
 through the town, saying how that when- 
 soever offices be bought in a town, the 
 jurisdictions and privileges cannot be well 
 kept : ' for the earl receiveth now yearly 
 three or four thousand franks beyond the 
 old usage or customs, whereby the mer- 
 chants and mariners greatly complaineth 
 them and leaveth to resort to the town of 
 Gaunt, both they of Valenciennes, of Douay, 
 of^ Lille, of Bethune and of Tournay : and 
 this may be a thing whereby the town may 
 1 Froissart wrote as follows : ' The rich and pru- 
 dent men of Gaunt began to suffer those ribalds 
 called the white hoods to run through the town and 
 abroad in the country, to the intent that they (the 
 rich men) might be the more feared and renowned.' 
 In what follows he seems to mean that but for the 
 'foolish and outrageous' persons in the community 
 the prudent and peaceable would be oppressed : a 
 very large concession to revolutionary principles. 
 
THE WHITE HOODS AT GHENT 
 
 227 
 
 be lost ; for little and little daily the fran- 
 chises be taken away and ancient privileges, 
 and yet there is no man darespeak against it. ' 
 Gilbert Mahew and the ruler of the mean 
 crafts,' who was of Gilbert's party, heard 
 with their own ears daily such words and 
 knew well how they did rise by John Lyon ; 
 but they durst not remedy it, for John Lyon 
 had sowed throughout the town the white 
 hats, and given them to such companions 
 hardy and outrageous, in such wise that 
 none durst assail them : and also John 
 Lyon went never alone ; for whensoever 
 that he went out of his house, he had ever 
 with him a two or three hundred white 
 hats about him : nor he never went abroad 
 in the town without it had been for a great 
 cause, for he was greatly desired to have 
 his counsel on the incidents that fell within 
 Gaunt and without concerning the franchise 
 of the town and liberties thereof. And 
 when he was in council, then he would 
 shew a general word to the people : he 
 spake in so fair rhetoric and by so great 
 craft, that such as heard him were greatly 
 rejoiced of his language and would say 
 all with one voice that all was true that 
 he said. By great prudence John Lyon 
 said to the people : ' Sirs, I say not that 
 we should hurt or minish any part of my 
 lord the earl's inheritance ; for though we 
 would, we cannot, for reason and justice 
 would not suffer us : nor that we should 
 seek any craft or incident whereby we should 
 be in his displeasure or indignation ; for we 
 ought always to be in love and favour 
 with our prince and lord : and my lord 
 the earl of Flanders is our good lord and 
 a right high prince, feared and renowned, 
 and always hath kept us in peace and pros- 
 perity; the which things we ought to 
 know, and to suffer the more largely : more 
 bound we are thereto than if he had travailed 
 us or displeased us or made war or hated 
 us and to have put to his pain to have our 
 goods. But howsoever it be, at this present 
 time he is evil counselled or informed 
 against us and against the franchises of the 
 good town of Gaunt, in that they of Bruges 
 be more in his favour than we. It appeareth 
 well by the pioneers of Bruges, that, he 
 being there, they came to take away our 
 heritage and to take away the river, where- 
 by our town of Gaunt should be destroyed. 
 ^ ' Le doyen des menus mestjers.' 
 
 And also he would have made a castle at 
 Deynse against us, to bring us in danger 
 and to make us weaker ; and I know well 
 how they in Bruges had promised him in 
 time past ten or twelve thousand franks 
 yearly, to have to them the easement of the 
 river of Lys. Therefore I counsel, let this 
 good town of Gaunt send to the earl some 
 sad and discreet personages to shew him 
 boldly all these matters, as well touching 
 the burgess of Gaunt in prison in Eccloo, 
 the which his baily will not deliver, as all 
 other matters, wherewith the good town of 
 Gaunt is not content. And also, these 
 matters heard, then let it be shewed him 
 also that he nor his council think that we 
 be so dull or dead, but that, if need be, we 
 may (if we list) make resistance thereagainst: 
 and so, his answer once heard, then the good 
 town of Gaunt may take advice to punish 
 the trespass on them that shall be found 
 culpable against them.' 
 
 And when John Lyon had shewed all 
 these words to the people in the market- 
 place, every man said, 'He saith well,' 
 and then went home to their own houses. 
 At these words thus spoken by John Lyon 
 Gilbert Mahew was not present, for he 
 doubted the white hats, but his brother 
 Stenuart was there always. He prophesied 
 of time to come, and when he was returned 
 to his brother, he said : * I have always 
 said, and say yet again, how that John Lyon 
 shall destroy us all. Cursed be the hour 
 that ye had not let me alone ; for an I had 
 slain him, he should never have overcome 
 us nor come so lightly up : and now it is 
 not in our puissance, nor we dare not annoy 
 nor grieve him : he is as now more greater 
 in the town than the earl.' Gilbert an- 
 swered and said ; ' Hold thy peace, fool ; 
 for when I will, with the earl's puissance 
 all the white hats shall be cast down ; and 
 such there be that beareth them now, that 
 hereafter shall have no need of any hat.' 
 
 So then there were charged certain bur- 
 gesses to go ambassade to the earl, of the sad- 
 destmen of the town, and Gilbert Mahew was 
 one of them that was chosen to go ; and that 
 caused John Lyon, to the intent that if they 
 spake anything contrary to the earl's dis- 
 pleasure, that the earl should be displeased 
 with him as well as with any other. So they 
 departed and found the earl at Male, and did 
 so much that finally they accorded so well, 
 
228 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 that the earl granted them all their requests 
 as touching their prisoner at Eccloo, and 
 promising to keep and maintain the fran- 
 chises of Gaunt without breaking of any of 
 them, and defended them of Bruges that 
 they should not be so, hardy to dig on the 
 heritage of them of Gaunt : and the better to 
 please them of Gaunt, he commanded them of 
 Bruges to fill again the dikes that they had 
 made. And so they amiably departed from 
 the earl and returned to Gaunt, and re- 
 corded all that they had done with the earl 
 their lord, and how he will maintain them 
 in their franchises without breaking of any of 
 them : howbeit, he desired them by fairness 
 to lay down the white hats. And with 
 those words the earl's servants brought 
 again the prisoner from Eceloo, and so 
 yielded him again, as by the way of re- 
 establishing, whereof they had great joy. 
 
 At this answer making was John Lyon 
 and a ten or twelve of the most notable of 
 his company ; and when they heard that 
 the earl required that the white hats should 
 be laid down, every man held bis peace : 
 then John Lyon spake and said : ' All ye 
 good people that be here present, ye know 
 and have seen but late how the white hats 
 hath better kept your franchises than either 
 red or black hats have done, or of any other 
 colour. Be ye sure, and say that I said it, 
 as soon as the white hats be laid down by 
 the ordinance that the earl would have it 
 so, I will not give for all your franchises 
 after not three pence.' The which words 
 blinded so the people, that every man de- 
 parted thence, and the most part went 
 home to their houses and said : ' Let him 
 alone : John Lyon saith truth : we have 
 not seen in him but good and profitable 
 for our town. ' 
 
 So the matter stood still in the same 
 case ; and John Lyon was then in more 
 fear of his life than he was hefore, and 
 imagined anon as it fell after ; for he 
 thought that Gilbert Mahew had wrought 
 some matter against him and his company 
 in his last voyage with the earl, because the 
 earl made so amiable an answer. Then he 
 thought to find some remedy, and ordained 
 and made secretly captains of the white 
 hats, as centeniers and cinquanteniers/ 
 
 \' Heads of hundreds and heads of fifties,' to 
 ■which is added in the full text ' diseniers,' '"heads 
 of tens.' 
 
 and to them said : ' Sirs, say unto your 
 company that they be day and night pur- 
 veyed ready, and as soon as they know or 
 hear any moving, let them come to me ; 
 for it were better we slew than to be slain, 
 sith we have begun so far.' And as he 
 ordained, so it was done, every man ready. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCL 
 
 How the white hats slew the baily in the 
 market-place, and of the goods and houses 
 of mariners that were destroyed, and of 
 the great brulling that was then in Gaunt. 
 
 It was not long after but that the baily of 
 Gaunt, Roger d'Auterive, came to Gaunt 
 with a two hundred horse and ordained to 
 do as the earl and Gilbert Mahew and his 
 brethren had devised. The baily, with two 
 hundred men that he brought with him, came 
 down along the streets with the earl's banner 
 in his hand ; and when he came into the 
 market-place, he rested and set the banner 
 before him : then anon drew to him Gilbert 
 Mahew and his brethren and the ruler of the 
 mean crafts. It was ordained that his men 
 of arms should go to John Lyon's house, 
 and to take him, as chief ruler of the white 
 hats, and a five or six other of his company 
 of them that were most culpable, and they 
 to have been brought to the castle of Gavre 
 and there to have had their heads stricken 
 off John Lyon, who thought no less and 
 was well advised of this deed, for he had 
 spies and watches in every corner of the 
 town, he knew well of the coming of the 
 baily, and knew for certain, and so did all 
 the white hats, that the same journey was 
 set for them. They all drew together be- 
 times and came to John Lyon's house, who 
 was ready in the street abiding for them. 
 So there came ten, then twenty, and ever as 
 they came they fell in array in the street ; 
 and when they were assembled to the 
 number of four hundred, then John Lyon 
 departed as fierce as a lion and said : ' Let 
 us go on these traitors that will betray the 
 good town of Gaunt. I thought well that 
 all the sweet words that Gilbert Mahew 
 brought us the last day from the earl was 
 but deceit and destruction for us ; but I 
 shall make them repent it.' 
 
 Then he and his company went a great 
 
THE WHITE HOODS AT GHENT 
 
 229 
 
 pace, and always his number increased ; for 
 there were divers that fell to his company 
 that had no white hats, but they cried, 
 ' Treason, treason ! ' and came about by a 
 strait lane into the market-place, whereas 
 the baily was, representing the earl's person. 
 And as soon as Gilbert Mahew and his 
 brethren saw John Lyon come into the 
 place, they fled away as fast as they might, 
 and so did all other except such as the 
 baily brought with him. As soon as John 
 Lyon was come into the place, the captain 
 of the white hats with a great company with 
 him came to the baily, and without any 
 word speaking they took and cast him to 
 the earth and slew him there, and then the 
 earl's banner was cast down to the ground 
 and torn all to pieces ; and they touched no 
 man there but the baily, and then they came 
 all about John Lyon. And when the earl's 
 men saw the baily dead and the earl's 
 banner all to- torn, they were greatly abashed 
 and so took their horses and voided out of 
 the town. 
 
 Ye may well know that Gilbert Mahew 
 and his brethren, who were enemies to 
 John Lyon, were not well assured of them- 
 selves in their own houses : wherefore they 
 departed as fast as they might and voided 
 the town one after another, and left behind 
 them wives, children and heritages, and 
 went as soon as they might to the earl and 
 shewed him how his baily was slain ; of 
 the which tidings the earl was sore dis- 
 pleased, and good cause why, for they had 
 done him great despite, and said and sware 
 how it should be greatly recompensed, or 
 ever that he returned again into Gaunt, 
 and that they should never have peace with 
 him, in ensample to all other towns. So 
 Gilbert Mahew and his brethren abode 
 still with the earl, and John Lyon and the 
 white hats persevered still in their outrage. 
 
 When Roger d'Auterive was thus slain 
 and all other departed, and that none 
 appeared before the white hats to be 
 revenged, then John Lyon, who intended 
 to overrun the mariners,' because he loved 
 them not, said : ' Sirs, on afore to these 
 false traitors the Mahews, that would this 
 day destroy the franchise of the town of 
 Gaunt ' ; and so they ran along the streets 
 to their houses, but they found nobody 
 there, for they were departed : then they 
 1 Or according to another reading, 'the Mahews.' 
 
 were sought for in lodgings, street by 
 street and chamber by chamber. And 
 when John Lyon heard how none of them 
 could be found, he was sore displeased : 
 then he gave all their goods to his com- 
 pany, and so all their houses were pilled 
 and robbed, so that nothing was left, as 
 though they had been false traitors to the 
 town ; and when they had done, they 
 returned into their own houses. And after 
 that there was no officer of the earl's, 
 neither within the town nor without, that 
 once said to them they had done evil, 
 and as at that time they durst not, for the 
 white hats were so multiplied that none 
 durst displease them : they went in the 
 streets by great companies, but there were 
 none that would meet with them. It was 
 said in divers places in the town, and with- 
 out also, how they had some supportation 
 of some officers and rich men in Gaunt ; 
 the which was likely to be so, for who 
 durst begin such a riot as to enterprise to 
 slay the earl's baily holding the earl's 
 banner in his hands, doing his office, with- 
 out some bolsterer or comforter in their 
 deed ? And after that they multiplied and 
 were so strong in the town, that they cared 
 for no manner of aid but of themselves ; 
 there were none that durst displease them 
 or withsay anything that they would do. 
 This baily Roger d'Auterive was taken by 
 the friars and so buried in their church. 
 
 "When this thing was thus fortuned, 
 divers good men, sage and rich, of the 
 town of Gaunt were right sorry, and began 
 to speak and murmur, and said each to 
 other how they had done a great outrage 
 in slaying thus the earl's baily in doing of 
 his office, and how of right their lord the 
 earl must need be displeased with them, 
 and by all likelihood never to have rest nor 
 peace with him, and how that these un- 
 gracious people had brought all the town 
 in peril to be destroyed, without God find 
 some remedy. Howbeit, for all these words, 
 there were none that durst find the means 
 to correct or to amend them that had done 
 this outrage. John de la Faucille, who as 
 then was in Gaunt, a man right sage and 
 greatly renowned, saw how the matter was 
 gone so far and saw how outrageously they 
 had slain the baily, he thought the matter 
 should be evil at length : and for the intent 
 he should not be suspect with the earl nor 
 
230 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 with the town, he departed from the town 
 as privily as he might and went to a fair 
 house that he had without Gaunt, and there 
 abode and feigned himself sick, so that 
 none spake with him but his own men : 
 and daily he heard tidings out of Gaunt, 
 for he had left behind him the most part of 
 his goods and his wife and his children 
 still in the town. Thus he dissimuled for 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLI 
 
 How twelve burgesses of Gaunt were sent to 
 the earl of Flanders, and how in the same 
 season the white hats pilled and brent the 
 fair castle of Andrehen.^ 
 
 The good men in Gaunt, and rich and 
 notable merchants, who had within the 
 town their wives, children and merchandise 
 and their heritages, both within the town 
 and without, and had to live by right 
 honourably without danger, they were not 
 well at their ease in their hearts to see the 
 business in Gaunt. They knew well they 
 had sore forfeited against the earl their 
 lord, and thought well how he would pro- 
 vide therein some remedy and that they 
 should be fain to make amends of their 
 trespasses now or else another time, and 
 they to put themselves in the earl's mercy ; 
 wherefore they thought it better to do it 
 betimes rather than too late. Then they 
 took counsel together to see how they 
 might use themselves to the profit and 
 honour both of them and of the town. To 
 this council was called John Lyon and the 
 captains of the white hats, or else they 
 durst not have done it. There were many 
 words, and divers purposes devised : finally 
 they were all of one accord that they of 
 the council should chose twelve notable 
 persons and send them to the earl, requir- 
 ing him of mercy for the death of his 
 baily, whom they had slain, and so by that 
 means if they might have peace, they 
 would be glad, so that all might be com- 
 prised in the peace and nothing else de- 
 manded of the earl's part. Then these 
 burgesses were chosen that should go on 
 this viage, and always John Lyon said : 
 ' It is good to be in favour with our lord 
 
 1 Wondelghem, about three miles to the north 
 of Ghent. 
 
 and prince.' Howbeit, he would the con- 
 trary, and thought and said to himself that 
 the matter was not yet thereas he would 
 bring it unto. So these burgesses departed 
 and went to Male beside Bruges to the 
 earl, who at their first coming made a 
 cruel and a fell, countenance against them 
 of Gaunt. These twelve burgesses made 
 a pitiful complaint before the earl and 
 required him, holding up of all their hands, 
 that he would have mercy on them, and 
 excused themselves of the death of the 
 baily, both them of the law and the notable 
 persons of the town, and said : ' Right 
 dear sir, accord so to us that we may bring 
 peace with us to the town of Gaunt, the 
 which loveth you so well : and, sir, we 
 promise you that in time to come this 
 outrage shall be so greatly recompensed on 
 them that hath done it and caused it to be 
 done, so that ye shall be content and that 
 it shall be to all other towns ensample.' 
 These twelve burgesses made so humble 
 requests, that the earl somewhat refrained 
 his ire, and by means of other that was 
 made to him that he accorded and ordained 
 articles of the peace. And the earl par- 
 doned all his evil will that he had against 
 them of Gaunt by the amends that should be 
 made. But then there came to them other 
 new tidings, as I shall shew you hereafter. 
 John Lyon, who was at Gaunt, thought 
 all contrary to that he had said in the 
 council, how that it was good to be in 
 favour with their lord. He knew in cer- 
 tainty that he had so much trespassed 
 against the earl, that his peace should 
 never be made with him, and if he had any 
 peace granted him he thought it should be 
 but dissimulation and that it should cost him 
 his life at last. So therefore he thought 
 he had rather be shamed than to be in 
 peril and in adventure of his life every day. 
 I shall shew you what he did. While the 
 counsels of the town were with the earl for 
 peace, he assembled together all the white 
 hats and of all the crafts in Gaunt such as 
 were of his accord, and so came to his 
 purpose by a subtle means, and then said 
 to them all : * Sirs, ye know well how we 
 have displeased our lord the earl of 
 Flanders and how we have sent unto him. 
 We know not as yet what report they will 
 bring, whether peace or war ; for the earl 
 is not easy to be appeased, for he hath 
 
BURNING OF THE CASTLE OF WONDELGHEM 
 
 231 
 
 about him such as will rather stir him to 
 displeasure than to quietness, as Gilbert 
 Mahew and his brethren. There is a. 
 hundred hinderers of the peace rather than 
 one furtherer : therefore it were good that 
 we took good heed to ourselves, if we have 
 war, to know who shall aid us and how we 
 shall get us love among you rulers of such 
 a craft and such a craft. Cause to-morrow 
 to come into the fields as many men as ye 
 can get, and there we shall see how able 
 every man is and how they be furnished. 
 It is better to be advised betime than too 
 late : this shall cost us nothing, and yet we 
 shall be the more feared and drad.' They 
 all answered and said : ' It is well devised : 
 so let it be done. ' 
 
 The next day they went out all at Bruges 
 gate and so went into the fields in a fair 
 plain without Gaunt called Andrehen. 
 Then John Lyon beheld them gladly, for 
 they were a ten thousand and all well 
 armed : then he said : ' Behold, here is a 
 goodly company ' : and when he had been 
 there a certain space and had gone all 
 about them, then he said : ' Sirs, I counsel, 
 let us go to the earl's place hereby, sith we 
 be so near it, for it is shewed me how he 
 maketh there great provision : it may 
 fortune to be great prejudice to our town 
 of Gaunt.' They all agreed thereto, and 
 so came to Andrehen, the which was as 
 then without any great keeping or defence. 
 So they entered and sought all about the 
 house, and anon' this ungracious company 
 pilled and robbed it of all that ever they 
 found there : there was within it much 
 riches, for the earl had made there his 
 wardrobe. John Lyon made semblant as 
 though he had been sore displeased : how- 
 beit, that was not so, as it appeared ; for 
 when they were departed from the castle 
 and come again into the field, they looked 
 behind them and saw all the place afire, 
 and that the fire was more than in twenty 
 places in the castle, so that it was not in 
 the people's puissance to quench it, nor 
 also they had no great will to do it. Then 
 John Lyon, as though he had great marvel, 
 said : ' How cometh yonder fire in my 
 lord's house?' And some answered and 
 said : 'We cannot tell, but by adventure.' 
 ' Well,' quoth he, ' we cannot then amend 
 it : it is better that it be brent by adventure 
 rather than by us ; and also, all things con- 
 
 sidered, it was a perilous neighbour to us, 
 for my lord might there a set such a 
 garrison, that might have done us great 
 damage, if we should have war with him.' 
 They all answered and said : ' Ye say 
 truth ' ; and so returned into the town of 
 Gaunt and did no more that day, for they 
 had done evil enough and too much ; for 
 it cost after more than two hundred thou- 
 sand men's lives, and it was one of the 
 principal things wherewith the ear) was 
 most displeased : and therefore John Lyon 
 did it, because he would have no peace ; 
 for he knew well, whatsoever treaty were 
 made, he was likely to lose his life. This 
 castle of Andrehen had cost the earl of 
 Flanders the building thereof two hundred 
 thousand franks, and he loved it best of all 
 the houses he had. The good men of 
 Gaunt who desired to have had peace was 
 of this adventure right sorrowful. How- 
 beit, they could not amend it, nor they 
 durst make no words thereof, for the white 
 hats said how the castle was brent by 
 unhap and none otherwise. 
 
 These tidings came to the earl of Flanders, 
 who was at Male, and he that brought him 
 word said ; ' Sir, know for truth your fair 
 house of Andrehen, the which hath cost 
 you so much and that ye so well loved, is 
 brent.' 'Brent!' quoth the earl. 'Yea 
 surely, sir, ' quoth he. ' And how so ? ' 
 quotii the earl. ' Sir, by unhap, as it is ■ 
 said.' 'Ah,' quoth the earl, 'that deed 
 shall never have peace in Flanders as long 
 as John Lyon liveth. He hath covertly 
 made it to be set afire, but it shall be 
 dearly bought.' Then he made the bur- 
 gesses of Gaunt to come before him and 
 said to them : ' Ah, ye evil and unhappy 
 people, ye pray me with sword in the hand. 
 I have granted to you all your requests as 
 ye will yourselves, and now your folks have 
 brent my house, the which I loved among 
 all other. Think they not that they have 
 done me despite enough in slaying my baily 
 for doing his office, and to tear there my 
 banner and to tread it under their feet ? 
 Know for truth, saving mine honour and 
 that I have given you safe-conduct, I should 
 cause all your heads to be stricken off. 
 Depart out of my presence and say to 
 yonder unhappy people of Gaunt that they 
 shall never have peace nor treaty with me, 
 till I have of them whom I will, to strike 
 
232 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 off their heads, and none shall have mercy.' 
 The burgesses, who were full sorry of these 
 tidings, because they were not culpable of 
 that deed, they began to excuse them ; but 
 there was none excuse would serve, for the 
 earl was so sore displeased, that he would 
 not hear them speak, and so made them to 
 avoid his presence : and they took their 
 horses to return to Gaunt, and shewed how 
 well they had sped and had great peace 
 and appointment,^ an this castle had not 
 been brent ; and also they shewed how the 
 earl greatly menaced them and sent them 
 word how they should never have peace 
 with him, till he had as many of the town 
 at his pleasure as he list to have. The 
 good people of the town saw well how the 
 matter went but evil for them and how the 
 white hats had caused all ; but there was 
 none so hardy that durst speak it. 
 
 The earl of Flanders went from Male to 
 Lille, and all his household ; and then 
 he sent for all his lords and knights of 
 Flanders, such as held of him, to have their 
 counsel how he might do in all his busi- 
 nesses and how to be revenged of them of 
 Gaunt, who had done him so many de- 
 spites. All the gentlemen of Flanders 
 sware to him to be good and true, as they 
 ought to be to their lord, without any 
 mean ; ^ wherefore the earl was greatly 
 rejoiced. Then he sent men to all his 
 castles, to Termonde, Rupelmonde, Alost, 
 Gavre, Oudenarde, and all about he made 
 great provision. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLII 
 
 Of the death of John Lyon, and of other 
 captains that the Gauntois made ; and of 
 the good towns in Flanders, that allied 
 themselves to Gaunt. ^ 
 
 John Lyon was greatly rejoiced, when he 
 saw that the earl of Flanders would take no 
 peace with them of Gaunt, seeing he could 
 come to no peace, and he had then put 
 the town of Gaunt so forward in war, that 
 they must needs then, whether they would 
 or not, continue the war. Then he said 
 openly : ' Sirs, ye may see and understand 
 
 1 ' Had come to peace and accommodation.' 
 
 2 ' Sans nul moyen' ; that is, without reserve. 
 
 3 The events that follow are given very much 
 out of chronological order. 
 
 how our lord the earl of Flanders provideth 
 himself against us and will have no peace 
 with us. Therefore I counsel you for the 
 best that, or we be more grieved or op- 
 pressed, let us know what towns in Flanders 
 will take our part. I dare answer for them 
 of the town of Grammont, that they will 
 not be against us, but take our part, and in 
 like wise so will they of Courtray, for they 
 be within our franchise and Courtray is our 
 chamber ; but behold here them of Bruges, 
 who be great and proud, for by them all 
 this matter was first moved. It is good 
 that we go to them so strong, that other 
 by fairness or by rigour we may bring them 
 to our accord.' They all said; 'It were 
 good it were so.' Then by process of time 
 all such as should go in this journey were 
 made ready, and so departed from Gaunt 
 about a nine or ten thousand men, and had 
 with them great carriages, and so lay the 
 first night at Deynse and the next morning 
 they approached Bruges, and so came within 
 a little league thereof. Then they arranged 
 themselves in the fields and set themselves 
 in order of battle, and their carriages be- 
 hind them. Then John Lyon ordained 
 that a certain of the rulers of divers crafts 
 should go to Bruges and to know their in- 
 tents. And so they went to Bruges and 
 found the gates fast shut and well kept, and 
 there they shewed the intent wherefore 
 they were come thither. The keepers said 
 they would go gladly and shew their minds 
 to the borough-masters and chief rulers ^ of 
 Iheir town, and so they did. Then the 
 rulers answered : ' Go and shew them how 
 we will go to council and take advice in 
 this matter.' So they returned and shewed 
 their answer ; and when John Lyon heard 
 that answer, he said : ' Advance forward 
 to Bruges. If we abide till they take 
 counsel, we shall not enter but with much 
 pain. It is better that we assail them or 
 they take counsel, whereby they shall be 
 suddenly taken.' 
 
 This purpose was kept, and so the 
 Gauntois came to the barriers and dikes 
 of Bruges, John Lyon with the foremost 
 mounted on a black courser, and incon- 
 tinent he alighted "and took an axe in his 
 hand. And when they that kept the 
 
 1 ' Les bourgmalstres et eschevins,' but the better 
 text gives ' bourgmaistre ' (in the singular) through- 
 out. There was of course only one burgomaster. 
 
DEATH OF JOHN LYON 
 
 233 
 
 barriers, who were not strong enough to 
 make defence, saw the Gaunlois approach 
 ready to give assault, they went into the 
 streets of the town and into the marl<et- 
 place and cried ever as they went ; 'Behold 
 here the Gauntois ready at the gate : go to 
 your defence, for they are ready to the 
 assault.' Then they of the town, who were 
 assembled together to have gone to council, 
 were right sore abashed and had no leisure 
 to speak together to ordain for their busi- 
 ness, and the most part of the commonalty 
 would that the gates should have been 
 opened, and it behoved so to be, or else it 
 had been evil with the rich men. Then 
 the borough-masters and rulers of the town 
 with other went to the gate, whereas the 
 Gauntois were ready apparelled to make 
 assault. The borough -masters and rulers 
 of Bruges, who had the governing of the 
 town for that day, opened the wicket to 
 speak with John Lyon, and so opened the 
 barriers and the gate to treat ; and so long 
 they spake together, that they were good 
 friends and so entered in all together. And 
 John Lyon rode by the borough - master, 
 the which became him well ; he was hardy 
 and courageous, and all his men clean 
 armed followed him. It was a fair sight to 
 see them enter in good order, and so came 
 to the market-place, and there he arranged 
 his men in the streets. And John Lyon 
 held in his hand a white warderer. 
 
 So between them of Gaunt and of Bruges 
 there was made an alliance and sworn 
 always to be good friends together, and 
 that they of Gaunt might sumimon them 
 and lead them whithersoever they would. 
 And anon, after that the Gauntois were 
 arranged about the market-place, John 
 Lyon and certain captains with him went 
 up into the hall and there made a cry for 
 the good town of Gaunt, commanding that 
 every man should draw to his lodging fair 
 and easily and unarm them without noise 
 or moving, on pain of their heads, and that 
 no man dislodge other nor make no noise 
 in their lodging, whereby any strife should 
 rise, on the same pain ; and also that no 
 man take anything from another, without 
 he pay therefor incontinent, on the said 
 pain. This cry once made, then there was 
 another cry made for the town of Bruges, 
 that every man should meekly and agree- 
 ably receive the Gauntois into their houses 
 
 and to minister to them victuals according 
 to the common price of the town, and that 
 the price should not be raised in no manner 
 of thing, nor no noise to be made or debate 
 moved ; and all these things to be kept on 
 pain of their heads. Then every man went 
 to their houses ; and so thus right amiably 
 they of Gaunt were with them of Bruges 
 two days, and there they allied and bound 
 themselves each to other surely. 
 
 These obligationswere written and sealed, 
 and on the third day they of Gaunt de- 
 parted and went to the town of Damme, 
 where the gates were set open against their 
 coming, and there they were courteously 
 received and tarried there two days. Then 
 suddenly a sickness took John Lyon, where- 
 with he swelled ; and the same night that 
 the sickness took him he supped with great 
 revel with the damosels of the town, where- 
 fore some said he was there poisoned, whereof 
 I know nothing, nor I will not speak too 
 far therein. But I know well, the next 
 day that he fell sick, at night he was laid 
 in a litter and carried to Ardenburg : he 
 could go no farther, but there died, whereof 
 they of Gaunt were right sorry and sore 
 dismayed. 
 
 Of the death of John Lyon all his enemies 
 were right glad and his friends sorry, and 
 so he was brought to Gaunt, and because 
 of his death all the host returned. When 
 the tidings of his death came to Gaunt, all 
 the people were right sorry, for he was well 
 beloved, except of such as were of the earl's 
 part. All the clergy came against him, and 
 so brought him into the town with great 
 solemnity, as though it had been the earl 
 of Flanders : and so he was buried right 
 honourably in the church of Saint Nicholas, 
 and there his obsequy was done. Yet for 
 all the death of this John Lyon, the alli- 
 ances and promises made between them of 
 Gaunt and of Bruges brake not ; for there 
 were good hostages in the town, wherefore 
 it held. 
 
 Of the death of this John Lyon the earl 
 was right glad, and so was Gilbert Mahew 
 and his brethren and the ruler of the 
 mean crafts in Gaunt and all such as were 
 of the earl's part. Then the earl made 
 sorer provision than he did before in all his 
 castles and towns, and he sent to the town 
 of Ypres a great number of knights and 
 squires out of the liberties of Lille and 
 
234 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Douay, and said how he would have reason 
 of Gaunt. And anon after the death of 
 John Lyon all they of Gaunt advised how 
 they could not be long without captains. 
 Then they ordained of the aldermen of the 
 crafts and of the cinquanteniers of the ports ^ 
 four of them according to their advice, most 
 hardy and cruel persons of all other. First 
 they chose John Pruniaux, John Boele, 
 Ralph de Herselle and Peter du Bois,^ 
 and all the other people sware to maintain 
 and obey them as their captains, on pain of 
 their heads that did the contrary, and the 
 captains sware again to keep and maintain 
 the honour and franchises of the town. 
 
 These four captains stirred them of 
 Gaunt to go to Ypres and to [the] Franc, 
 to have obeisance of them or else to slay 
 them all. So these captains and their 
 people departed from Gaunt in good array : 
 they were a twelve thousand clean armed, 
 and so came to Courtray. They of Court- 
 ray suffered them to enter into their town 
 without danger, for it pertained to the 
 franchise of Gaunt, and there took their 
 ease two days and the third day departed 
 and went to Ypres, and took with them two 
 hundred^ men of arms with the cross-bows 
 of Courtray, and so took the way to 
 Thourout. And when they came there, 
 they rested and took counsel, and advised 
 to send thither a three or four thousand of 
 their men and the captain of the white hats 
 with them, to treat with them of Ypres, 
 and the great battle to follow after to com- 
 fort them, if need required. As it was 
 ordained, so it was done, and so came to 
 Ypres : and when they of Ypres, and 
 especially they of the mean crafts, knew 
 the coming of them of Gaunt, they armed 
 them and took the market-place, and they 
 were a five thousand : so there the rich 
 men of the town had no puissance. The 
 knights that were there in garrison, set by 
 the earl, went ordinately to the gate of 
 Thourout, whereas the Gauntois were 
 without, desiring to have free entry : the 
 knights and squires were ready ranged 
 before the gate and shewed good defence, 
 nor indeed the Gauntois had never entered 
 without great damage, but that the ancient 
 crafts of the town against the knights' 
 
 -^ The better reading is ' paroches,' ' parishes.' 
 
 2 The true name is Van den Bossche. 
 
 3 A better reading is * twelve hundred.' 
 
 will would that the Gauntois should 
 enter. ^ The men of the town went out of 
 the market-place and so came to the gate, 
 the which the knights kept, and said : 
 ' Sirs, open the gate : let our friends and 
 neighbours of Gaunt enter : we will they 
 shall enter into our town.' The knights 
 answered that they should not enter, and 
 said how they were stablished there by the 
 earl of Flanders to keep the town, the 
 which they would do to the best of their 
 powers, saying how it lay not in the 
 puissance of Gaunt to enter there. Inso- 
 much that words multiplied in such wise 
 between the gentlemen and them of the 
 town, that at last they cried : ' Slay and 
 beat down them : they shall not be masters 
 of our town.' There was a sore scrimmish 
 and long endured in the streets. The 
 knights were not of sufficient force to resist 
 against them of the town, so that there 
 were five knights slain, whereof two 
 were sir Roubaix and sir Hovard de la 
 Hovarderie, the which was great damage, 
 and there was in great danger sir Henry 
 d'Antoing. With much pain some of the 
 rich men of the town saved him and divers 
 other : but the gate was set open and the 
 Gauntois entered and were lords and 
 masters of the town without damage of any 
 hurt.^ And when they had been there two 
 days and taken surety of them of the town, 
 who sware in like manner and form as they 
 of Bruges, of Courtray, of Grammont and 
 of Damme had done, and delivered hostages 
 for the same intent, then they departed 
 right courteously and so went again to 
 Gaunt. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCLIII-CCCLV 
 
 SUMMARY. — The men of Ghent with 
 those of Bruges, Ypres and other towns be- 
 sieged Oudenarde in great force, and also 
 sent a body of men to Termonde, where the 
 earl was, and attacked it both by land and 
 water. Being unable to take it, these re- 
 tired to Oudenarde, where the siege con- 
 tinued long and the earl feared that his 
 garrison might be reduced by famine. The 
 
 1 By the better text, 'but that the small crafts 
 of the town, whether the greater would or not, 
 went out of the market-place,' etc. 
 
 2 'Without doing any damage in it.' 
 
WRECK OF SIR JOHN ARUNDEVS SHIPS 
 
 235 
 
 countess of Artois, mother of the earl of 
 Flanders, took pains to end the tvar, and 
 desired the duke of Burgundy, who by his 
 wife was next heir to the earldom of 
 Flanders, to find some remedy. By his 
 means peace-was arranged, on condition that 
 the earl should pardon all and should come 
 to dwell in Ghent, and they of Ghent should 
 rebuild the castle of Wondelghem. The 
 earl cavie first to Bruges and there stayed 
 some time. 
 
 The duke of Brittany at the desire of his 
 people returned from England with sir 
 Robert Knolles and a small force of English- 
 men, and was received in Brittany -with joy 
 by most. 
 
 The emperor Charles of Bohemia died, 
 having first secured the election of his son. 
 
 A m-arriage was proposed between the 
 young king of England and the daughter of 
 the emperor Charles. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLVI 
 
 How the Englishmen that were sent into 
 Bretayne were tormented on the sea, and 
 how the Gauntois desired to have the earl 
 of Flanders their lord to come dwell in 
 their town of Gaunt. 
 
 The same season it was ordained in 
 England by the lung and his council that 
 two hundred men of arms and four hundred 
 archers should go into Bretayne, and the 
 chief captain of that journey should be sir 
 John Arundel, and with him should go sir 
 Hugh Calverley, sir Thomas Banaster, 
 sir Thomas Trivet, sir Walter Paveley, sir 
 John Bourchier, the lord Ferrers and the 
 lord Basset All these knights drew to 
 Hampton ; and when they had wind, they 
 entered into their ships and departed. The 
 first day the wind was reasonable good for 
 them, but against night the wind turned 
 contrary to them, and whether they would 
 or not, they were driven on the coast of 
 Cornwall. The wind was so sore and 
 strainable, that they could cast none 
 anchor, nor also they durst not. In the 
 morning the wind brought them into the 
 Irish sea, and by the rage of the tempest 
 three of their ships brast and went to 
 wrack, wherein was sir John Arundel, sir 
 Thomas Banaster and sir Hugh Calverley, 
 and a hundred men of arms, of the which 
 
 hundred fourscore were drowned, and sir 
 John Arundel their captain was there 
 perished, which was great damage : and 
 sir Hugh Calverley was never in his life 
 before so nigh his death, for all that ever 
 was in his ship, except himself and seven 
 mariners, were all drowned. For he and 
 the seven mariners that were saved took 
 hold of tables ^ and masts, and the strength 
 of the wind brought them to the sands : 
 howbeit, they had drunk water enough, 
 whereof they were right sick and evil at 
 ease. Out of this danger escaped sir 
 Thomas Trivet and sir John Bourchier, 
 the lord Ferrers, the lord Basset and divers 
 other, but they were sore tormented and 
 in great peril ; and after that this tempest 
 was ceased, they returned again to Hamp- 
 ton, and went back again to the king and 
 his uncles and recounted all their adven- 
 tures, weening to them that sir Hugh 
 Calverley had been drowned with the 
 other. Howbeit, that was not so, for he 
 was gone sick to London. Thus brake up 
 that journey, whereby the duke of Bretayne 
 could have no comfort of the Englishmen, 
 which was right contrarious to him ; for 
 all that season and the winter following 
 the Frenchmen made him right sore war, 
 and the Bretons, as sir Oliver Clisson and 
 his company, took the town of Dinan in 
 Bretayne byreasonof vesselsand barges; and 
 so the town was pilled and robbed and was 
 kept against the duke a long season after. 
 
 Now let us return to the business of 
 Flanders. 
 
 When the peace was agreed between the 
 earl of Flanders and them of Gaunt by the 
 means of the duke of Burgoyne, whereby 
 he gat himself much thank in the country, 
 the intent and pleasure of them of Gaunt 
 was to have their lord the earl of Flanders 
 to dwell with them in Gaunt, and there to 
 keep his household. The earl also was 
 counselled by the provost of Harlebecque 
 and of them that were next about him, to 
 do so, whereby he should nourish great 
 love between him and them of Gaunt. 
 The earl lay still at Bruges and came not 
 to Gaunt, whereof they had great marvel, 
 and specially the good and rich men of 
 Gaunt and such as were sage and wise, for 
 they desired nothing but peace ; but the 
 paliards ^ and white hats and such as 
 
 1 A better reading is 'cables.' 2 ' Paillars. ' 
 
236 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 desired rather strife and debate, they cared 
 nothing for the earl's coming, for they 
 knew well that if he came, they should 
 privily be corrected at last for the evil 
 deeds that they had done. Notwithstand- 
 ing that they were in this doubt, yet they 
 that had tlae governing of the law, the 
 councillors and good men of the town, 
 would for anything that he should come 
 thither and that they should go and require 
 him so to do, for they thought they had no 
 firm peace without the earl came thither. 
 And so there was ordained twenty-four 
 men to go to Bruges to shew to the earl 
 the great affection that they had to have 
 him : and so they departed honourably, as 
 it appertained for them that should go for 
 their lord ; and it was said to them by 
 them of the town : ' Sirs, return never 
 again to Gaunt, without ye bring the earl 
 with you ; for if ye do, ye shall find the 
 gates closed against you. ' 
 
 Thus these burgesses of Gaunt rode 
 forth toward Bruges, and between Bruges 
 and Deynse they heard say how the earl 
 was coming to Gaunt-ward, whereof they 
 were right joyous : and they had not ridden 
 past a league farther, but that they met the 
 earl in the fields. Then the burgesses 
 stood still on both sides of the way, and so 
 the earl and all his company passed through 
 them. As he passed by, the burgesses in- 
 clined themselves right low and humbly and 
 made great reverence to the earl. The 
 earl rode through them without any great 
 regarding of them, but a little put his hand 
 to his hat, nor all the way he made to them 
 no semblant. So the earl rode on the one 
 side and the Gauntois on the other, till they 
 came to Deynse ; and there they rested, for 
 the earl did dine there, and the Gauntois 
 went to other lodgings and dined also. 
 
 And after dinner the Gauntois in good 
 array came to the earl and kneeled all 
 down before him, for the earl sat, and there 
 they presented right humbly the affection 
 and service of them of the town of Gaunt, 
 and shewed him how by great love they 
 of Gaunt, who desired so much to have 
 him with them, hath sent them to him : 
 ' And, sir, at our departing they said to 
 us that it were but a folly for us to return 
 again to Gaunt, without that we brought 
 you thither with us.' The earl, who right 
 well heard these words, held his peace a 
 
 certain space, and at last, when he spake, 
 he said fair and softly : ' Sirs, I believe well 
 it be as ye say, and that divers of Gaunt 
 desireth to have me among them : but I 
 have marvel of that they remember not, nor 
 will not remember, of time past, what they 
 have shewed me ; and I have been to them 
 so courteous, meek and gentle in all their 
 requests, and I have suftered to be put out 
 of my country my gentlemen, when they 
 have complained of them, to acquit their 
 law and justice. I have also opened divers 
 times my prisons to deliver out their bur- 
 gesses, when they have desired it. I have 
 loved and honoured them more than any 
 other of my country, and they have done to 
 me clean contrary. They have slain my 
 baily and destroyed the houses of my men, 
 banished and chased away mine officers 
 and brent the house in the world that I 
 loved best, enforced my towns and brought 
 them to their intents and slain my knights 
 in the town of Ypres, and have done so 
 many trespasses against me and myseignory, 
 that it is noyful to me to record it, and I 
 would I could never think on it ; but I do 
 and shall do, whether I will or not.' ' Ah, 
 right dear lord,' said they of Gaunt, 'for 
 God's sake never regard it ; ye have all 
 things pardoned.' ' It is truth,' quoth the 
 earl : ' for all my words, in time to come I 
 will ye shall be never the worse : but I 
 shew it unto you, sirs, for the great cruelties 
 and felonies that I have found in them of 
 Gaunt.' Then the earl appeased himself, 
 and rose up on his feet and caused them to 
 rise, and said to the lord of Ramseflies,' 
 who was by him, ' Go, get some wine.' So 
 they of Gaunt drank and departed to their 
 lodgings, and tarried there all that night, 
 for so did the earl ; and the next day all 
 together they rode towards Gaunt. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLVII 
 
 How the earl of Flanders entered into the 
 town of Gaunt, and of his departing thence 
 without knowledge of any of the town, and 
 how the walls of Oudenarde were beaten 
 down by the white hats and their fellows. 
 
 When they of Gaunt understood that the 
 
 earl was coming, they were right joyful and 
 
 came to meet him, some afoot and some a- 
 
 1 i.e. Reighersfliet. 
 
THE EARL OF FLANDERS AT GHENT 
 
 237 
 
 horseback ; and they meekly incUned them- 
 selves low and did him reverence, and he 
 passed forth without any word speaking to 
 any of them and but a little inclined his 
 head, and so came to his lodging called the 
 Postern, and there dined and had many 
 presents given him by them of the town. 
 And there came to see him they of the law 
 of the town' and humbly inclined them- 
 selves to him, as reason required ; and the 
 earl said : ' Sirs, good peace requireth 
 nothing but peace ; wherefore I would that 
 these white hats were laid down and 
 amends to be made for the death of my 
 baily, for I am sore required therein of all 
 his lineage.' 'Sir,' quoth the men of law, 
 ' it is right well our intent that it should so 
 be ; and, sir, we require your grace with all 
 humility that it may please you to-morrow 
 next to come into an open place, and there 
 to shew your intent to the people : and 
 when they see you, they will be so rejoiced 
 that they will do everything that ye shall 
 desire them.' Then the earl accorded to 
 their request. 
 
 The same evening many folks knew in 
 the town how the earl should be the next 
 morning by eight of the clock in the 
 market-place and there preach to the people. 
 The good men were right joyful thereof, 
 but the fools and outrageous people gave 
 no fear thereof, and said how they were 
 preached enough, and how they knew well 
 what they had to do. John Pruniaux, 
 Ralph de Herselle, Peter du Bois and 
 John Boele, captains of the white hats, 
 doubted lest all that matter should be 
 laid on their charge : and then they spake 
 together and sent for such of their company 
 as were most outrageous and worst of all 
 other, and said to them : 'Sirs, take heed this 
 night and to-morrow and let your armour 
 be ready, and whatsoever be said to you, put 
 not off your white hats, and be all in the 
 market-place to-morrow by eight of the bell ; 
 but make no stirring nor strife, without it 
 be begun on you, and shew all this to your 
 companies or else send them word thereof 
 
 They said it should be done and so it 
 was. In the morning at eight of the clock 
 they came into the market-place, not all 
 together but in divers plumps. The earl 
 came to the market-place a-horseback, ac- 
 companied with his knights and squires and 
 
 1 ' I^s jurez de la ville,' i.e. the magistrates. 
 
 them of the law of the town, and by him 
 was John Faucille and a forty of the most 
 richest of the town. The earl, as he came 
 along the market-place, he cast his eyes on 
 the white hats and was in his mind right 
 sore displeased with them, and so alighted, 
 and all other. Then he mounted up into 
 a window and leaned out thereat, and a red 
 cloth before him, and there he began to 
 speak right sagely, shewing them from point 
 to point the love and affection that he hath 
 had to them, or they displeased him. There 
 he shewed how a prince and lord ought to 
 be beloved, feared, served and honoured 
 of his men, and how they had done the 
 contrary. Also he shewed how he hath 
 kept and defended them against all men, 
 and how he had kept them in peace, profit 
 and prosperity in the passages of the sea, 
 the which was closed from them at his first 
 entering into his land. He shewed them 
 divers reasonable points, which the wise 
 men understood and conceived it clearly, 
 how all that ever he said was truth. Divers 
 gave good ear to him, and some never s 
 whit, such as had rather have war than 
 peace. And when he had been there the 
 space of one hour and had shewed them all 
 this and more, then finally he said how he 
 would be their good lord in like manner as 
 he had been in time past, and pardoned 
 them of all the injuries, hates and evil wills 
 that he had against them and all that they 
 had done, he would hear no more thereof, 
 and to keep them in their rights and 
 seignories as in time past had been used ; 
 howbeit, he desired them that they should 
 begin no new thing nor custom, and that 
 the white hats should be laid down. 
 
 At all these words that he spake before, 
 every man held their peace ; but when he 
 spake of the white hats, there was such a 
 murmuring and whispering, that it might 
 well be perceived that it was for that cause. 
 Then the earl desired them sweetly every 
 man to draw to their own houses, and so 
 every man departed out of the place, but 
 the white hats were the first that came 
 thither and the last that tarried ; and when 
 the earl passed by them, they smiled and 
 foolishly beheld him,' and they made no 
 
 1 The text is corrupt and has ' ilz soubrirent et 
 moult folement le regard&rent,' instead of ' ils s'ouv- 
 rirent, mais fellement le regarderent,' ' they opened 
 to give him passage, but looked at him angrily.' 
 
238 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 reverence to him, whereof the earl was sore 
 displeased in his inind and said to his 
 knights, when he came to his lodging : ' I 
 trow I shall never come easily to mine in- 
 tent against these white hats : they are un- 
 happy people : my heart giveth me that 
 the matter will not rest long in the case 
 that it is now in ; for as far as I can per- 
 ceive, they are likely to do many evil deeds ; 
 for though I should lose all, I cannot suffer 
 them in their pride and evil doings.' 
 
 Thus the earl of Flanders was there a 
 four or five days, and then departed, so that 
 he returned no more thither again, and so 
 went to Lille and there ordained to lie all 
 the winter. At his departing from Gaunt 
 he took leave of no man, but departed in 
 displeasure, wherewith divers of the town 
 were right evil content, and said how they 
 should never have any good of him, nor he 
 would never love them nor they him, and 
 how he was departed from them at that 
 time as he had done in time past, and that 
 Gilbert Mahew and his brethren had coun- 
 selled him so to do. Seeing he was de- 
 parted so suddenly from Gaunt, John 
 Pruniaux, Ralph Herselle, Peter du Bois, 
 John Boele and the evil captains were right 
 joyous of his departing and sowed lewd 
 words about in the town, saying how that, 
 or summer come, the earl and his men will 
 break the peace ; wherefore, they said, it 
 were good that every man took heed to 
 himself, and that they provide for the town 
 corn and other victuals, as flesh and salt 
 and such other things, saying how they 
 could see no surety in the earl. So they of 
 Gaunt made provision of divers things that 
 was necessary for them and for the town, 
 whereof the earl was informed, and had 
 great marvel wherefore they doubted them- 
 selves in such wise. To say truth, all things 
 considered in that I say or have said before, 
 it may be marvelled how they of Gaunt 
 dissimuled themselves so at the beginning as 
 they did. The rich, sage and notable 
 persons of the town cannot excuse them- 
 selves of these deeds at the beginning ; for 
 when John Lyon began to bring up first 
 the white hats, they might well have caused 
 them to have been laid down,^ if they had 
 list, and have sent other manner of persons 
 against the pioneers of Bruges than they : 
 
 1 This should be, ' they might well have over- 
 thrown him.' 
 
 but they suffered it, because they would not 
 meddle, nor be in no business nor press. 
 AH this they did and consented to be done, 
 the which after they dearly bought, and 
 specially such as were rich and wise : for 
 afterward they were no more lords of 
 themselves^ nor they durst not speak nor 
 do nothing but as they of Gaunt would. For 
 they said ' that neither for John Lyon, nor 
 for Gilbert Mahew, nor for their wars or 
 envies, they would never depart asunder ; ^ 
 for whatsoever war there were between one 
 or other, they would be ever all one and ever 
 ready to defend the franchises of their town : 
 the which was well seen after, for they 
 made war which endured seven year, in the 
 which time there was never strife among 
 them in the town : and that was the thing 
 that sustained and kept them most of any- 
 thing both within and without ; they were 
 in such unity that there was no distance 
 among them, as ye shall hear after in this 
 history. 
 
 It was not long after that the earl of 
 Flanders was departed from Gaunt and 
 returned to Lille, but that sir Oliver d'Aute- 
 rive, cousin -german to Roger d'Auterive 
 slain before in Gaunt, sent his defiance to 
 the town of Gaunt for the death of his 
 cousin, and in like wise so did sir Philip of 
 Masmines and divers other : and after their 
 defiances made they found a forty ships and 
 the mariners to them pertaining, of the 
 burgesses of Gaunt, who were coming on 
 the river of I'Escault charged with corn ; 
 and there they revenged them of the death 
 of their cousin on these ships and mariners, 
 for they all to-hewed the mariners and did 
 put out their eyen, and so sent them to 
 Gaunt maimed as they were, which despite 
 they of Gaunt took for a great injury. "The 
 learned men of Gaunt, to whom the com- 
 plaints came, were right sore displeased and 
 wist not well what to say. Great murmur- 
 ing was in the town, and the most part of 
 the people of Gaunt said how the earl of 
 Flanders had caused all, so that there durst 
 no man excuse him. And as soon as John 
 
 1 Or accordingto a better text : 'The reason which 
 they of Gaunt give for it is this : they say,' etc. 
 
 2 Ot, by a better text, ' that neither for John 
 Lyon or for Gilbert Mahew nor for their families, 
 nor for their wars or envies would they ever have 
 troubled themselves nor thrust themselves so far 
 forward in the war, but only to guard their fran- 
 chises.' 
 
SURPRISE OF OUDENARDE 
 
 239 
 
 Pruniaux heard these tidings, who was as 
 then captain of the white hats, without any 
 word speaking to them of the law,^ I can- 
 not say whether he spake with the captains 
 of other companions or not, I think rather 
 yea than nay, so he took the most part of 
 the white hats and divers other followers 
 ready enough to do evil, and so departed 
 from Gaunt and came suddenly to Oude- 
 narde. When he entered first there was no 
 watch nor keepers, for they feared no man, 
 and so he and his company entered in at 
 the gate to the number of five thousand and 
 more ; and the next morning he set work- 
 men a-work, carpenters and masons, such 
 as were there ready with him to do his 
 commandment, and so he ceased not till 
 he had beaten down two of the gates and 
 the walls and towers between them and laid 
 them up - se - down in the dikes toward 
 Gaunt. 
 
 How may they of Gaunt excuse them- 
 selves, that thus consented to this deed ? 
 For they were at Oudenarde beating down 
 these walls and gates more than a month. 
 If they had sent for these men to have come 
 back again, when they heard of it first, 
 then they might well have been excused : 
 but they did not so ; they winked rather 
 with their eyen and suffered it ; till tidings 
 came to the earl, who lay at Lille, how 
 John Pruniaux had by stealth come into 
 Oudenarde and beaten down two of the 
 gates with the walls and towers. Of which 
 tidings the earl was sore displeased, and 
 also he had good cause so to be, and said : 
 'Ah, these unhappy cursed people, the 
 devil I trow is with them. I shall never 
 be in joy as long as they of Gaunt have any 
 puissance.' 
 
 Then he sent to Gaunt some of his coun- 
 cil, shewing them the great outrage that 
 they had done, and how they were no 
 people to be believed in making any peace, 
 seeing that the peace which the duke of 
 Burgoyne had made to his great labour and 
 pain was now thus broken by them. The 
 mayor and learned men^ of Gaunt excused 
 themselves and said that, saving the earl's 
 displeasure, they never thought to break 
 the peace, nor never had will thereto ; for 
 though John Pruniaux had done that out- 
 rage of himself, the town of Gaunt will in 
 jio wise avow, suffer nor sustain it ; and so 
 1 'Lesjure^,' equivalent to 'eschevins.' 
 
 plainly and truly excused themselves, and 
 said moreover how the earl had consented 
 thereto, ' for they be issued out of his house 
 such as have done this great outrage, slain 
 and maimed our burgesses, the which is a 
 great inconvenience to the whole body of 
 the town. How say ye, sirs, to this ? ' 
 quoth they. Then the earl's commissaries 
 replied and said : ' Sirs, then I see well ye 
 be revenged.' 'Nay, not so, ' quoth they 
 of the town, 'for though that John Pruniaux 
 have done thus at Oudenarde, that it is 
 done for any revenging we say not so ; for 
 by the treaty of the peace we may prove 
 and shew, if we list, and that we take 
 record of the duke of Burgoyne, that we 
 might have done with Oudenarde and have 
 brought it into the same point that it is 
 now at ; but at the desire of the duke of 
 Burgoyne we forbare and suffered it undone 
 as at that time.' Then the earl's commis- 
 saries said : ' It appeareth well by your 
 words that ye have caused it to be done 
 and that ye cannot excuse yourselves there- 
 in. Sith that ye knew that John Pruniaux 
 was gone to Oudenarde with an army of 
 men of war, and by stealth under the 
 shadow of peace hath beaten down the 
 gates and walls thereof, ye should have 
 gone before them and have defended them 
 from doing of any such outrage, till ye had 
 shewed your complaints to the earl. And 
 of the hurting and maiming of your bur- 
 gesses of Gaunt ye should therein have 
 gone to the duke of Burgoyne, who made 
 the peace, and have shewed him all your 
 complaint : so then ye had amended your 
 matter ; but ye have not done thus. Now 
 sith ye have my lord the earl of Flanders 
 thus displeased, ye send to excuse your- 
 selves. Ye desire peace with your swords 
 in your hands, but I ensure you one day he 
 will take so cruel vengeance on you, that all 
 the world shall speak thereof.' So the 
 earl's commissaries departed from them of 
 Gaunt and went by Courtray to Lille, and 
 shewed to the earl what they had done and 
 the excusations that they of Gaunt made 
 for themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCI-VIII 
 
 How the Gauntois rendered Oudenarde, and 
 of the houses of the noblemen of Flanders 
 
240 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 that they beat down, and how the war 
 began between them and the Gauntois 
 right cruel and without pity. 
 
 The hearing speaking of the treating of 
 this process may well be marvelled, for the 
 marvellous matter therein. Some giveth 
 the right of the war, the which was at that 
 time great and cruel in Flanders, to them 
 of Gaunt, saying how they had a good and 
 a just cause to make war : but I cannot see 
 that as yet, for I could never see nor under- 
 stand but that the earl loved ever peace 
 rather than war, reserving always his high- 
 ness and honour. Did he not at their 
 desire deliver their burgess out of his prison 
 of Eccloo ? and yet for all that, they slew 
 his baily. And then he again pardoned 
 them that great outrage to the intent to 
 have kept them in peace ; and over that 
 again on a day they moved all the country 
 of Flanders against him and slew in the 
 town ofYpres five of his knights, and went 
 and assailed and beseiged Oudenarde and 
 did their pain to have destroyed it, and yet 
 again they had of the earl peace. But for 
 all that, they would make none amends for 
 the death of Roger d'Auterive, the which 
 his lineage oftentimes desired ; wherefore 
 they somewhat revenged the death of their 
 cousin on a certain mariners, by whom all 
 this war and mischief was begun. Was 
 this yet any reasonable cause why they 
 should beat down the walls of Oudenarde ? 
 I think, and so did many other, that it was 
 none occasion so to do. They said the earl 
 was rather in their debt than they in his, 
 and that he should make them amends for 
 that that had been done to their mariners, 
 or ever they would deliver again Oudenarde. 
 The earl, who was at Lille, and his 
 council with him, was right sore displeased 
 in that they kept Oudenarde, and wist not 
 well how to get it again, and so repented 
 him of the peace that he had given to the 
 Gauntois; and he wrote oftentimes to them 
 commanding them to deliver up Oudenarde, 
 or else he would make them so cruel war, 
 that it should be ever had in remembrance. 
 They of Gaunt would in no wise avow the 
 deed ; for if they had, they had broken the 
 peace. Finally certain good people of 
 Gaunt and rich men, who would have 
 nothing by their wills but peace, went so 
 between in this matter, as John Faucille, 
 
 Gilbert Grutere, sir Simon Bette and divers 
 other, that the twelfth day [of March] they 
 of Gaunt being in the town of Oudenarde 
 returned again to Gaunt and delivered the 
 town to the earl's servants ; and to appease 
 the earl's displeasure John Pruniaux was 
 banished Gaunt and all Flanders, because 
 by his advice the commons had taken 
 Oudenarde, without knowledge of the sub- 
 stance of the town of Gaunt. And on the 
 other part the earl banished out of all 
 Flanders sir Philip of Masmines, sir Oliver 
 d'Auterive, the Gallois of Masmines, the 
 bastard of Windingues and all those that 
 were cause of the maiming of the mariners 
 burgesses of Gaunt, without knowledge of the 
 earl ; and so by the reason of these banish- 
 ings both parties were appeased. So John 
 Pruniaux forsook the country of Flanders 
 and when to Ath in Brabant and there 
 dwelled ; and sir Philip of Masmines went 
 to Valenciennes in the county of Ilainault, 
 but when they of Gaunt knew thereof, they 
 did so much to the provost of Valenciennes, 
 called John Partit, who in fair manner 
 caused the said knight to depart thence ; 
 and so he departed with his good-will and 
 went to Wariaing beside Douay and there 
 tarried till he heard other tidings ; and the 
 other knights and squires voided Flanders 
 and went into Brabant. 
 
 And as soon as the earl had again pos- 
 session of Oudenarde, he set workmen a- 
 work and new repaired the town better 
 than ever it was before, both walls, gates 
 and dikes. The Gauntois knew well how 
 the earl new fortified Oudenarde, but they 
 made no semblance thereof, because they 
 would no fault should be found in them, as 
 in breaking of the peace ; but the fools and 
 outrageous people said among themselves : 
 ' Let the earl alone in his work, for though 
 he make Oudenarde of steel, yet it cannot 
 endure against us if we list.' For all this 
 peace thus in Flanders, they of Gaunt were 
 ever in suspect with the earl and the earl 
 with them, for daily there was brought to 
 the earl hard tidings of them of Gaunt, 
 and in like wise to them of Gaunt of the 
 earl. John de Faucille went and dwelt at 
 Nazareth, in a fair house that he had a 
 league from Gaunt, and so he lay there 
 still dissimuling as much as he might, and 
 would not be in counsel with them of 
 Gaunt, because he would not be noted by 
 
IVAJi RENEWED IN FLANDERS, 1380 
 
 241 
 
 the earl, and also he kept him from the 
 earl as much as he might, to keep him still 
 in love with them of Gaunt. Thus he 
 swam between two waves, making himself 
 neuter, as near as could. 
 
 In the mean time, while the earl repaired 
 the town of Oudenarde, he procured so 
 much by his letters to his cousin the duke 
 of Burgundy to send him John Pruniaux, 
 being at Ath, that so he did and sent him 
 to the earl. And so he was sent to Lille, 
 and there beheaded, and then set on a 
 wheel like a traitor. Thus died John 
 Pruniaux. Then the earl went to Ypres 
 and did there great justice and beheaded 
 many evil-ruled people, such as had before 
 been at the death of his five knights there 
 slain and had opened the gates to them of 
 Gaunt ; and this he did to the intent that 
 other should take ensample by them. 
 
 Of all these matters the Gauntois were 
 well informed, wherefore they doubted 
 more than they did before, and specially 
 the captains, such as had been forth in their 
 journeys and before Oudenarde, and they 
 said among themselves : * Certainly if the 
 earl may, he will destroy us all. He loveth 
 us well, for he will have nothing but our 
 lives. Hath he not put to death John 
 Pruniaux ? To say truth we did John 
 Pruniaux great wrong, when we banished 
 him from us : we are therefore culpable of 
 his death ; and to the same end we shall all 
 come, if he may get us at his will. There- 
 fore let us take good heed of ourselves.' 
 Then Peter du Bois said : ' Sirs, if ye will 
 beheve me, there shall not a house stand 
 upright of never a gentleman in the country 
 about Gaunt ; for by reason of the gentle- 
 men's houses that be now standing, we 
 may be all destroyed, if we take not heed 
 thereto betimes and provide for some 
 remedy.' 'That is truth,' quoth all the 
 other, ' let us go forth and beat them all 
 down.' Then the captains, Peter du Bois, 
 John Boele, Ralph de Herselle, John de 
 Launoit and divers other with their com- 
 panies departed on a day from Gaunt and 
 brent and beat down all the gentlemen's 
 houses thereabout, and took all that ever 
 was in them and departed it among them- 
 selves : and when they had done, they re- 
 turned again to Gaunt : they found never a 
 manthatwould say, 'Sirs, ye have done evil.' 
 
 When the gentlemen, knights and squires, 
 R 
 
 being at Lille with the earl and thereabout, 
 heard tidings how their houses were brent 
 and beaten down, and their goods taken 
 away, they were right sore displeased, and 
 not without a good cause. 'They said to 
 the earl : ' Sir, this despite must be amended 
 and the pride of them of Gaunt beaten 
 down.' Then the earl gave leave and 
 abandoned to the knights and squires to 
 make war against the Gauntois and to 
 countervenge them of their damages. Then 
 divers knights and squires of Flanders allied 
 themselves together and desired their friends 
 of Hainault to aid to revenge them of the 
 Gauntois ; and they made their captain the 
 Hase of Flanders, the youngest son bastard 
 of the earl's,^ a right valiant knight. This 
 knight with his company sometime lay at 
 Oudenarde, another time at Gavre, and 
 sometime at Alost and at Termonde, and 
 scrimmished with the Gauntois daily, and 
 sometime ran to the barriers of the town of 
 Gaunt, and beat down the windmills about 
 the town and did great despite to them of 
 Gaunt. And with them there was a knight 
 of Hainault called sir James of Werchin, 
 seneschal of Hainault, he did many feats 
 of arms in that season about Gaunt and ad- 
 ventured himself oftentimes right jeopard- 
 ously : he fought two or three times at the 
 barriers, and won bassenets and cross-bows 
 and other habiliments of war. This knight 
 loved well the noble feats of arms, and had 
 been a valiant knight, if he had lived long ; 
 but he died young in his bed in the castle 
 of Le Biez beside Mortagne, which was 
 great damage. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCLIX-CCCLXXIV 
 
 SUMMARY. — The war became cruel be- 
 tween the earl and gentlemen of Fla-nders 
 and them- of Ghent, who sent to the Fre?ich 
 king to ask him not to give aid to the earl of 
 Flanders. The king and also the pope 
 Clement rather inclined to them than to the 
 earl. 
 
 Sir Bertrand du Guesclin fell ill and 
 died, while at siege before a castle in Auvergne, 
 and the lord de Coucy excused himself from 
 being constable. 
 
 1 Louis, called the Hase of Flanders : he bore a 
 hare's head as his crest. The translator has written 
 ' youngest ' by mistake for ' eldest.' 
 
242 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 The earl of Buckingka7?i passed over with 
 an ariny from England to help the duke of 
 Brittany^ who was ha7'd pressed. He arrived 
 at Calais zji/uly 1380, and passed through 
 France. At Bethune they met the duke of 
 Saxony on his way to Englartd on the 
 matter of the proposed marriage of the king 
 of England. The English army was pur- 
 sued by the lord de Coucy and others, but 
 continued their march by Peronne, Laonand 
 Rheims to Troyes, in which city was the 
 duke of Burgztndy. After some fighting at 
 the barriers they passed on towards Sens, 
 making war always in the name of the duke 
 of Brittany and not of the ki^tg of England. 
 The king of Fra7tce wrote to them of Nantes^ 
 reminding them, of their treaties with him, 
 and asking thejn not to receive the E7tglish. 
 They replied that they would not aid any of 
 the ki7igs e7temies, a?td desired the ki^ig to 
 send aid to N'a7ttes. Of this the duke of 
 Brilta7iy, whozvas at Va7ines, knew nothing. 
 
 The English arjny passed through Beauce 
 and took the way to Veiido7ne. 
 
 The king of France fell sick and se7it for 
 the dukes of Berry ^ Bu7gzi7tdy atid Bourbon, 
 to whotn he delivered his dyi7tg charge, but 
 did not send for the duke of A7ijou, because 
 he mistrusted hi7n. Nevertheless when he 
 died, the duke ofAnjou took on him the order- 
 ing of the real?7i above all other. 
 
 The duke of Britta7iy sent to ?jieet the earl 
 of Buckingha7n andthe E7iglish ar7?iy a7zd j'e- 
 quested the7n to come to Renncs, as the people 
 of Nantes were rebellious. They met, and 
 ag7-eed to go a7id lay siege to Na7ites, which 
 accordingly the English did. 
 
 Ki7ig Charles the sixth was crow7ted on 
 All Saints^ day with great solem7iity, a7id so 
 came to Paris. 
 
 The E7tglish at Nantes waited Z7i vai7t 
 for the duke of Brittany, who could 7iot per- 
 suade his people to go with Mtu. The gar^-i- 
 son of Nantes m.ade many attacks 07t the 
 besiegers, whose p7-ovisions began to fail, 
 while they of the town had plenty by the 
 7'iver. At le7tgth the earl of Buckingha7?i 
 raised the siege and went to Va7ines, where 
 the duke of Brittany met him and excused 
 himself fairly. So the E7iglish lay that 
 wi7tter at Va7i7ies aTui about He7tnebo7zt, 
 Qui77iperle and other places. Afea7iwhile 
 the duke of Brittany sent secretly to make his 
 peace with the Fre7tch ki7ig. 
 
 Certain deeds of ar7ns were done before the 
 
 earl of Buckingha7n between French and 
 E7iglish knights and squires. 
 
 The duke of Britta7iy jnade his peace with 
 the French king by means of the duke of 
 Anjou, and the English returned to their 
 0W7Z country. 
 
 Now let us return to the business of 
 Flanders. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXV 
 
 How the war began again between the earl of 
 Flanders and the Flemings, and how they 
 of Ypres were discomfited by a bushment. 
 
 It is of truth that the earl of Flanders at 
 this beginning feared little the Flemings 
 nor the Gauntois, for he thought well to 
 bring them under by wisdom and by arms 
 little and little, and specially sith that John 
 Lyon and John Pruniaux were dead. But 
 the Gauntois had as then other great cap- 
 tains, in whom they had great affiance and 
 did all by their counsel, and Ralph de 
 Herselle was captain of the chatelainy of 
 Gaunt, and John of Launoit captain of 
 Courtray, and there were other captains, 
 as John Boele, Peter du Bois, Arnold de 
 Clerck and Peter of Wintere. The same 
 season there was a strife between the great 
 men and the commons within the town of 
 Bruges : for the mean crafts would have 
 had everything at their pleasure and the 
 great men would not suffer it, and so they 
 rebelled : and a certain weavers and fullers 
 were slain and the other appeased. Then 
 the great men of Bruges sent to the earl to 
 Lille, desiring him for God's sake to come 
 to them as their chief lord and to help to 
 subdue the commons. The earl was glad 
 to hear that tidings and so departed Lille, 
 and sir William of Namur in his company 
 and a great number of knights and squires 
 of Flanders, and so came to Bruges, where 
 he was received with great joy. And at 
 the earl's coming there were taken all the 
 principals of them that had their hearts 
 Gauntois and such as were suspect, .and so 
 were put in prison more than five hundred, 
 and little and little their heads were stricken 
 off. And when they of [the] Franc ^ under- 
 
 1 That is, the Franc of Bruges. The translator 
 generally takes it for the name of a town and there- 
 fore omits here the words ' de Bruges,' and below 
 translates 'le Franc de Bruges," Frankeand Bruges.' 
 
DEFEAT OF THE GAUNTOIS 
 
 243 
 
 stood that the earl was peaceably in Bruges, 
 they feared, and so put themselves into the 
 earl's mercy, and he received them and had 
 great joy, for daily his power increased ; 
 and also they of [the] Franc always have 
 taken more the earl's part than all the 
 residue of Flanders. The earl, seeing that 
 he had brought under his subjection them 
 of Bruges and of [the] Franc, and that he 
 had under him knights and squires of the 
 country of Hainault and of Artois, he 
 thought then little and little to conquer 
 again his country and to punish his rebels : 
 and first he ordained and said he would go 
 and see them of Ypres, for he hated them 
 greatly, because they opened their gates so 
 lightly to them of Gaunt, and said how that 
 they that had made that treaty and to let 
 in his enemies to slay his knights should 
 repent it, if he might get the overhand of 
 them. Then he made his summons 
 through [the] Franc of Bruges, saying how 
 he would go to Ypres. Tidings came to 
 Ypres that the earl their lord ordained him- 
 self to come and assail them : then they 
 took counsel and determined to send word 
 thereof to them of Gaunt, to the intent 
 that they should send them some men to 
 assist the town of Ypres ; for they were not 
 big enough of themselves to keep it with- 
 out aid of the Gauntois, who had promised 
 and sworn to aid them, whensoever they 
 had any need. So they sent covertly letters 
 to Gaunt and to the captains, and signified 
 to them the state of the earl and how he 
 threatened to come and assail them. Then 
 they of Gaunt remembered well how they 
 were bound by their faith and promise to 
 aid and comfort them : then they set forth 
 two captains, John Boele and Arnold 
 Clerck, and they said to them : ' Sirs, ye 
 shall take with you three thousand of our 
 men and go hastily to Ypres to comfort 
 them as our good friends. ' Incontinent they 
 departed from Gaunt, and so these three 
 thousand men came to Ypres, whereof they 
 of the town had great joy. Then the earl 
 of Flanders issued out of Bruges with a 
 great number of men, and so came to 
 Thourout and the next day to Poperinghe, 
 and there tarried three days till all his men 
 were come, and then he was about a twenty 
 thousand men of war. 
 
 They of Gaunt, who knew right well all 
 this matter and how that the earl would go 
 
 puissantly to Ypres, they determined to as- 
 semble their puissance and to go by Court- 
 ray to Ypres, and so all together to fight 
 vvith the earl, saying that if they might one 
 time overcome him, he should never be 
 relieved after. Then all the captains 
 departed from Gaunt, Ralph de Herselle, 
 Peter du Bois and Peter de Wintere, John 
 de Launoit, and divers other as centeniers 
 and cinquanteniers, and when they were in 
 the field, they were a nine thousand. And 
 so long they rejourned ^ that they came to 
 Courtray, whereas they were received with 
 great joy, for John de Launoit was captain 
 there. The earl of Flanders, being at 
 Poperinghe and thereabout, understood that 
 they of Gaunt were coming to Ypres and 
 that they were at Courtray on their way. 
 Then the earl took advice and held all his 
 company together. They of Gaunt de- 
 parted from Courtray and went to Roulers, 
 and there rested and sent word to them of 
 Ypres how they were come thither, shew- 
 ing them how that if they would issue out 
 of their town with their power and such as 
 were sent to them before, how they should 
 be all together men enow to fight with the 
 earl ; of the which tidings they of Ypres 
 were right joyful, and so the next day 
 they issued out more than eight thousand, 
 and John Boele and Arnold Clerck were 
 their governours. 
 
 The earl of Flanders and his power, who 
 was in those marches, knew how they of 
 Ypres were issued out of their town to meet 
 with them of Gaunt {I cannot tell how nor 
 by what means), insomuch that the earl 
 ordained at a passage, by the which they 
 of Ypres must pass, two great bushments, 
 with his son the Plase, bastard of Flanders, 
 and the lord d'Enghien with divers other 
 knights and squires of Flanders and of 
 Hainault, with them of Bruges and them 
 of [the] Franc, and in every company there 
 were ten thousand men. Then when they 
 of Ypres and the Gauntois that were with 
 them with John Boele were in the fields 
 and had not journeyed past one mile, they 
 found two ways, the one went to Roulers 
 and the other to Thourout. Then they 
 rested and took advice which way they 
 should take : then Arnold de Clerck said : 
 ' I counsel let us go and see our fellows at 
 Roulers.' 'By my faith,' quoth John 
 1 ' Cheminerent.' 
 
244 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Boele, ' and I think it were better that we 
 were lodged on the Mount d'Or ; for be you 
 sure I know so well Peter du Bois and 
 Ralph de Herselle, sith that they have sent 
 for us, surely they will fight with the earl : 
 wherefore I am sure they will approach as 
 near to him as they can ; therefore I counsel 
 let us go that way.' So they determined 
 to take that way ; and when they had 
 gone a two miles, they were weary of going 
 afoot, and or they were ware, they were 
 between the two bushments ; and when they 
 saw that, they cried all, 'We be betrayed.' 
 There were never men that made less 
 defence than they did as then, for every 
 man did what he could to save himself: 
 some returned to Ypres, and some took the 
 fields and fled, he that best might, without 
 array or order, and the earl's men took and 
 slew them without mercy : howbeit, John 
 Boele and Arnold Clerck saved themselves. 
 They that fled towards Courtray met with 
 the Gauntois, who were departed from 
 Roulers and were in the way to Rosebeque. 
 When Peter du Bois and the other saw 
 them that fled, they demanded of them 
 what they ailed. They answered and said 
 they could not tell, for they said they had 
 not the leisure to know the matter, but they 
 said they fled like men betrayed. Then 
 Peter du Bois had divers imaginations, 
 other to go forward and to return again 
 the flyers and to fight with their enemies 
 who chased them, or else to draw to Court- 
 ray. All things considered, they deter- 
 mined to draw back for that time, the 
 which they thought was for them as then 
 most profitable. So they drew aback in a 
 battle ranged in good order, and the same 
 day returned to Courtray ; and thither also 
 drew many of them that fled : so they 
 lodged all within Courtray, and made the 
 gates to be well kept, to the intent that 
 they should not be suddenly taken. And 
 when John Boele and Arnold Clerck were 
 returned and had reckoned all their people, 
 then they knew well that of them of Gaunt, 
 such as had been sent to Ypres before, they 
 had lost in number a twelve hundred, and 
 as many of them of Ypres ; and if they of 
 the bushment had chased them that fled to 
 Ypres and to Courtray, there had but a few 
 scaped, but all had been dead or taken ; 
 but they chased not far, they took heed to 
 nothing but to slay them that were within 
 
 their bushment, the which saved all the 
 residue. They of Ypres were sore abashed 
 when they saw their people return beaten 
 and discomfited the same day that they 
 were issued out, and demanded how it 
 might be, and divers answered and said 
 how John Boele had betrayed them and had 
 brought them to be shamefully slain. 
 
 Ye have heard oftentimes recorded how 
 it is a hard work to appease a commonty 
 when they be stirred. I say this because 
 of them of Gaunt. When they were the 
 same day drawn back to Courtray, they 
 that were discomfited knew well that John 
 Boele was in the town. Then more than 
 a thousand drew together and said : ' Let 
 us go on the false traitor John Boele, who 
 hath betrayed us ; for by him and by none 
 other we took that way that brought us 
 into the bushment of our enemies : for if 
 we had believed Arnold de Clerck, we had 
 been in surety, for he would have brought 
 us to our own company, an John Boele 
 had not been, who hath sold and betrayed 
 us and brought us whereas we were betrayed 
 and discomfited.' Lo, ye may see how 
 these commons accused him of treason, 
 and yet I think verily they had no cause so 
 to do ; for if it had been as they said, and 
 that he had sold and betrayed them to the 
 earl, he would never have returned again 
 to them, but rather have bidden still with 
 the earl. Howbeit, I cannot excuse him 
 so, but that it cost him his life, and I shall 
 tell you how. The Gauntois went and took 
 him in his lodging and so brought him into 
 the street, and there he was stricken all to 
 pieces, so that every man bare away a piece 
 of him. Thus ended John Boele. The 
 next day the Gauntois departed from Court- 
 ray and returned to Gaunt, and did send 
 John de Launoit to the castle of Gavre, 
 a castle of the earl's standing by the river 
 of I'Escault, and there this John made a 
 garrison. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXVI 
 
 How they of Ypres and Courtray turned to 
 the earl of Flanders' part, and how the 
 town of Gaunt was besieged. 
 
 Now let us speak of the earl of Flanders 
 and of his company. When they had thus 
 
SIEGE OF GHENT, 1380 
 
 24s 
 
 by their bushment overthrown the Gauntois 
 and slain a three thousand of them or there- 
 about, what of them of Gaunt and of 
 Ypres, then the earl determined to draw 
 toward the town of Ypres and to lay siege 
 thereto. And as he was counselled, so it 
 was done, and he drew thither with all 
 his people, a great number of knights and 
 squires of Flanders, of Hainault and of 
 Artois, who were come thither to serve the 
 earl. And when they of Ypres understood 
 that the earl came on them so strongly, 
 they were all sore afraid, and the rich men 
 of the town took counsel and said among 
 themselves how they would open their 
 gates and go and meet the earl and put 
 themselves under his obeisance and cry him 
 mercy, and to shew him how they were 
 Gauntois by force, by reason of the com- 
 monty, as fullers, weavers and such other 
 unhappy people in the town, and they 
 thought that the earl was so pitiful, that he 
 would have mercy on them. And as they 
 ordained, so they did ; and so more than 
 three hundred in a company came out of 
 the town of Ypres and had the keys of the 
 gates with them, and so they fell down on 
 their knees before the earl crying for mercy, 
 and did put themselves and their town at 
 his pleasure. The earl had pity on them 
 and took them to mercy, and so entered 
 with all his puissance into the town of 
 Ypres, and there tarried a three weeks and 
 sent home again them of [the] Franc and of 
 Bruges. And while the earl lay in Ypres, 
 he caused to be beheaded more than seven 
 hundred of fullers and weavers and of such 
 manner of people as had brought first into 
 that town John Lyon and the Gauntois, 
 and slain such valiant men as the earl had 
 set there ; for the which cause the earl was 
 sore displeased, and to the intent that they 
 should no more rebel, he sent a three hun- 
 dred of the most notablest of them into 
 prison in Bruges, and so then took his way 
 to Courtray, to bring that town to his 
 obeisance. 
 
 When they of Courtray understood that 
 the earl their lord came to them so strongly, 
 and how that Ypres was under his obei- 
 sance, then they greatly doubted, for they 
 saw no comfort apparent from them of 
 Gaunt ; wherefore they were advised lightly 
 to yield them to their lord, thinking it was 
 better for them to hold with the earl, to 
 
 whom they ought to owe their faith and 
 homage, rather than to the Gauntois. Then 
 they ordained a three hundred of the best 
 of the town afoot to go into the fields to 
 the earl, and the keys of the town with 
 them ; and when the earl came by, they all 
 kneeled down and cried for mercy. The 
 earl had pity of them and received them to 
 mercy and entered into the town joyously, 
 and they all made to him reverence and 
 honour. Then he took a two hundred of 
 the best of the town of Courtray and sent 
 them to Lille and to Douay in hostagej to 
 the intent that that town should no more 
 rebel. And when the earl had been there a 
 six days, then he went to Bruges, and there 
 refreshed him a fifteen days ; then he made 
 a great summons to the intent to lay siege 
 to Gaunt, for all the residue of Flanders 
 was as then at his commandment. Then 
 the earl departed from Bruges and so came 
 and laid siege before Gaunt, and lodged at 
 a place called the Biete.^ Thither came to 
 the earl sir Robert of Namur to serve the 
 earl with a certain number of men of war 
 according as the earl had written unto him ; 
 but sir William of Namur was not there ; 
 he was in France with the king and with 
 the duke of Burgoyne. 
 
 This siege began about the feast of the 
 decollation of Saint John Baptist,^ and 
 sir Walter d'Enghien was marshal of all the 
 host of Flanders : he was young and hardy 
 and feared no pain nor peril, whatsoever 
 fell. For all that the earl lay thus before 
 the town of Gaunt, yet he could not so 
 constrain them of the town, but that they 
 kept still open three or four of their gates, 
 so that victuals might come in to them 
 without any danger, for they of Brussels 
 and of Brabant were right favourable to 
 them ; and also they of Liege, to comfort 
 them in their opinion, sent to them a 
 message saying thus : ' Ye good people of 
 Gaunt, we of Liege know well how ye be 
 sore travailed and have much ado with the 
 earl your lord, whereof we are sore dis- 
 pleased : but, sirs, know for truth if we 
 did march near you, as within four or five 
 leagues, we should give you such comfort 
 as men ought to do to their good neigh- 
 bours and friends ; but ye be far off from 
 us, and also the country of Brabant is 
 
 1 Ter Boote, close to Wondelghem. 
 2 2gch August. 
 
246 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 bet^^een you and us, wherefore we must 
 forbear : but though it be so, that ye be as 
 now besieged, yet be not discomforted, for 
 God knoweth and so doth all other good 
 towns, that ye be in the right of this war, 
 wherefore all your business shall achieve 
 the better.' Thus they of Liege sent to 
 them of Gaunt to comfort them. 
 
 The earl of Flanders, who had thus be- 
 sieged the town of Gaunt on the side to- 
 wards Bruges and toward Courtray, but as 
 toward Brussels the earl could not come 
 nor lay his siege because of the great rivers, 
 that is to say the river of Lys and the river 
 of I'Escault : and I say unto you, all things 
 considered, Gaunt is one of the most 
 strongest towns of the world, for it be- 
 hoveth more than two hundred thousand 
 men to besiege it round and to stop from 
 it all the rivers and passages, and also that 
 the hosts lie near together, for else they 
 could not comfort one another because of 
 the rivers, and also there is much people 
 in the town of Gaunt ; they were in those 
 days men of defence a fourscore thousand 
 men able to bear harness between sixty 
 year and fifteen. 
 
 And when the earl had lain at this siege 
 the space of a month, and that his men 
 and the Hase his son and his marshal had 
 made many a scrimmish with them of 
 Gaunt, and some day won and some day 
 lost, as the adventures of war falleth, then 
 the earl was counselled on a day to send 
 them of Bruges, of Ypres and of Poperinghe 
 to scrimmish with the Gauntois at a place 
 called the long bridge ; for it was thought 
 that if they might win that place, it should 
 be a great advantage and profit for them, 
 for then they should enter into the Four 
 Crafts' and thereby approach near to 
 Gaunt. And so there was ordained sir 
 Josse Halewyn to be chief captain of that 
 enterprise ; and so when they were come 
 to this passage, they found it not dis- 
 garnished, but well provided for with a 
 great number of men of Gaunt ; there was 
 Peter du Bois, Peter de Wintere and Ralph 
 de Herselle. There began a sore scrim- 
 mish : there was shooting of guns and cross- 
 bows on both parties, whereby divers were 
 
 } This is the district called 'les Quatre-M^tiers ' 
 lying on the north side of Ghent and including the 
 townships of Assenede, Bouchaute, Hulst and 
 Axel. 
 
 slain and wounded ; and right well the 
 Gauntois did acquit themselves, for they 
 reculed their enemies and won by force the 
 goldsmiths' banner of Bruges, and there it 
 was cast down into the water ; and there 
 were of the goldsmiths and other a great 
 number slain and hurt, and specially sir 
 Josse Halewyn was there slain, which was 
 great damage ; and so the other returned 
 again without doing any more : so the 
 Gauntois bare themselves valiantly. 
 
 CHAPS. CCCLXXVII, CCCLXXVIII 
 
 SUMMARY.^The men of Ghent took 
 Alost, Ternionde and Grammont duri7tg 
 the siege, and at length the earl of Flanders 
 raised the siege and retired to Bruges, In 
 April of the next year he assembled his 
 host to the Clumber of about 20,000 men, a7id 
 shortly after they met a body of 6000 
 Gauntois under Ralph de Herselle in the 
 fields near Nivele. A battle ensued, in 
 which the Gaitntois fought well, but were 
 oittmtm-bered and compelled to retreat to 
 Nivek. Many took refuge in the minster, 
 where Ralph de Herselle was slain, and by 
 order of the earl of Flanders the piinster 
 was set on fire and ma^iy of those withiit 
 were burnt. Peter du Bois, who had an- 
 other army in the neighbourhood, was un- 
 able to come to the rescue and retired to 
 Ghent, for which he was much blamed, but 
 excused himself. The earl of Flanders 
 retired to Bruges and sent his people home, 
 a-nd those of Ghent issued forth to Courtray 
 and returned. Arnold de Clerck with twelve 
 hundred of the white hoods was sent to 
 Gavre to annoy the garrison of Oudenarde. 
 Some of these he slew by an ambush and 
 others at the abbey of Eham, where they had 
 taken refuge. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXIX 
 
 How the white hoods and their captain 
 were slain, and how Philip dArteveld was 
 chosen captain of Gaunt. 
 
 When the knights and squires that were 
 within Gudenarde understood that Arnold 
 Clerck and the white hoods to the number 
 
DEFEAT OF ARNOLD DE CLERCK 
 
 247 
 
 of twelve hundred were at the abbey of 
 Eham and had taken there divers of their 
 companions, they were right sore displeased, 
 and so determined to send the same night 
 their spies, to see where they might find 
 their enemies in the next morning : and as 
 they ordained, so they did. And in the 
 morning the spies brought report how the 
 white hoods were determined to abide there 
 all that day, wherewith these lords and 
 knights were right joyful. Then they 
 armed them, as the lord d'Enghien, the 
 lord of Montigny, the lord of Briffeuil, sir 
 Michael de la Hameide, and more than 
 six hundred knights and squires of Hai- 
 nault and as many of Flanders, and out of 
 Oudenarde a three hundred spears and 
 more than a thousand cross-bows and other 
 varlets. jVnd when they approached near 
 to them, they sent before sir Oliver of Eham 
 and a hundred spears with him to begin 
 the assault, to the intent to draw out of 
 the abbey Arnold Clerck and to occupy 
 the time while their foot-men and cross- 
 bows were come to them. Then sir Daniel 
 and sir Peter of Dixmude and the Hase of 
 Flanders came before the abbey of Eham 
 and cried, ' Flanders vrith the lion of the 
 bastard. ' ^ The Gauntois, who were not 
 ware of the bushment, because it was so 
 early, nor they were not fully ready ; and 
 ere Arnold Clerck could bring his men 
 together in good array, the lord d'Enghien, 
 the lord of Lens, the lord of Briffeuil, the 
 lord of Escornay, the lord of Montigny and 
 their battles entered behind into the town 
 in crying ' d'Enghien ! ' and set on the 
 Gauntois and white hoods so valiantly, 
 that they could not endure, but brake their 
 order ; so that there was slain of them, 
 what in the abbey and in the fields, eleven 
 hundred, and they were but twelve hundred 
 in all. And there was Arnold Clerck slain 
 with two pikes as he was flying, and so he 
 was laid up leaning against a hedge. And 
 after this discomfiture the lord d'Enghien 
 and the other knights returned to Oude- 
 narde, and so this deed was reputed a great 
 prowess. And when the earl of Flanders 
 knew these tidings, he was greatly rejoiced 
 and said to the lord d'Enghien how he was 
 his fair godson and should prove a noble 
 valiant man. To say the truth of the lord 
 
 1 * Flandres au lion au bastard ! ' The Hase bore 
 the Hon of Flanders quartered upon his shield. 
 
 d'Enghien, in him was all the honour of 
 the county of Flanders, and so while the 
 earl lay at Bruges, he called him not only 
 his cousin but also his fair son. 
 
 When it was known at Gaunt that 
 Arnold Clerck was dead and his men dis- 
 comfited, there were many then that were 
 sore abashed and said among themselves : 
 ' Our business proveth but evil : little and 
 little our captains and men are slain : we 
 think we have done evil to move this war thus 
 against our own lord, for he doth minish us 
 thus little and little ; the evil will and hatred 
 that was between Gilbert Mahew and John 
 Lyon turneth to our great damage : I trow 
 we have too long sustained the opinions of 
 John Lyon and Peter du Bois, they have 
 brought us so deep into this war and into 
 the hatred of the earl our lord, that now 
 we cannot nor know not how to find any 
 remedy to have mercy and peace ; yet it 
 were better that twenty or thirty did repent 
 it than all the whole town.' Thus there 
 were divers that said each to other privily ; 
 they durst not speak it generally for doubt 
 of them that were evil ; for they were all of 
 one sect and daily increased in puissance, 
 and in the beginning they were but poor 
 companions without any substance, but 
 then they had gold and silver enough ; for 
 when they needed and complained to their 
 captains, they were well heard and com- 
 forted, for then anon some of the rich men 
 of the town should be sent for to them, 
 and when they were come (for fear they 
 durst not refuse so to do), then the captains 
 would say to them : ' Sirs, it behoveth that 
 the good town of Gaunt make some shift 
 to pay our soldiers, who aideth and helpeth 
 to defend and to keep our jurisdictions and 
 franchise, and it behoveth that our com- 
 panions must live.' And so they would 
 ask of every man as they list themselves, 
 and none durst say nay, for an they had, 
 incontinent they should have been slain, 
 and borne in hand how they had been 
 traitors to the good town of Gaunt and 
 loved not the wealth, honour nor profit 
 thereof. Thus the knaves and evil -dis- 
 posed people were masters in the good 
 town of Gaunt and so continued as long as 
 the war was between them and the earl of 
 Flanders their lord. And to say the very 
 truth, though the rich and noble men 
 of the good town of Gaunt were thus 
 
248 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 beaten with such rods, there ought none to 
 be sorry thereof, nor they could not excuse 
 themselves but that by their own faults 
 they were cause of their own trouble. 
 Reason proveth how : for when the earl of 
 Flanders sent to them his baily to have 
 done justice on certain rebels and evil-dis- 
 posed people, they might, if they had list, 
 have bidden by him and have given him 
 comfort in doing of justice, the which they 
 did not, but it seemed that they had liefer 
 the matter had gone evil, as it did, rather 
 than well, and had rather to have war with 
 their own lord than peace ; for well they 
 might know that if they had war, that the 
 evil people should be lords of the town 
 and should be their masters, and not to be 
 put down again when they would. This 
 proved well by John Faucille, who to the 
 intent to dissimule the matter departed out 
 of the town of Gaunt and went and dwelt 
 in Hainault, whereby he thought to be 
 purged out of blame for the war between 
 the earl and the town, thinking to bear no 
 blame of neither party. Howbeit, the 
 matter was so laid to his charge, that he 
 died thereby ; which was great damage, 
 for this John Faucille was in his time a 
 right sage and a noble wise man ; but it is 
 hard halting before lords and their counsels, 
 for they see clearly. ' This man could well 
 aid and counsel other, but as touching him- 
 self he could not take the best way. I 
 cannot say whether he were culpable or 
 not of the articles that he was examined of 
 at Lille by sir Simon Rin, but the knights 
 and evil fortune turned all against him, so 
 that he died. And in like wise so is fallen 
 of all the captains of Gaunt that sustained 
 the rebellion against their lord. Also it 
 hath cost sith many n man's life in Gaunt, 
 and peradventure many a one that were in 
 no default. 
 
 When Peter du Bois saw that the town 
 of Gaunt daily impaired and feebled, as well 
 in their captains as in their men, and saw 
 well how the rich men began to wax weary 
 and were in mind to leave the war ; where- 
 fore he doubted greatly, and imagined and 
 saw well that by no means of the world 
 
 1 ' But one could not in those days halt before 
 lordsand their councillors, for they saw too clearly ' ; 
 that is, it was not possible to take a middle course 
 such as John de la Faucille had done. A better 
 reading is, ' but one cannot in these days (a present) 
 halt before, etc., for they see too clearly.' 
 
 there could any peace be made with the 
 earl, so that he should be sure of his life. 
 Then he remembered himself of John Lyon, 
 who was his master, and studied by what 
 means he wrought, and he saw well that 
 he could not do all thing alone, nor that 
 he had not the wit and understanding to 
 govern the whole town of Gaunt ; where- 
 fore he thought he would not have the 
 principal charge, but in all foolish enter- 
 prises he thought covertly to have the study^ 
 of them. Then he remembered himself of 
 a man, the which was not greatly taken 
 heed of in the town of Gaunt. He was a 
 wise man, but his wisdom was not known, 
 nor he was not taken heed of till the same 
 day. He was called Philip d'Arteveld, 
 son to Jaques d'Arteveld, who in his time 
 seven year together had the governance of 
 all the county of Flanders ; and he heard 
 Peter du Bois and John Lyon his master'' 
 and divers other ancient men of Gaunt 
 oftentimes say that the country of Flanders 
 was never more loved, honoured and feared 
 than it was in the time of Jaques d'Arte- 
 veld, the which endured the space of seven 
 year ; and as then he heard daily the 
 Gauntois say how that when Jaques 
 d'Arteveld lived, their business was in 
 good estate, for then, they said, they 
 might have peace at their wills and the 
 earl was glad when he might pardon us 
 all. Peter du Bois remembered well these 
 words in himself, and saw how Jaques 
 d'Arteveld had a son called Philip, a right 
 convenable and gracious man, and the 
 queen of England, while she lay at Gaunt 
 during the siege before Tournay, was his 
 godmother, and so for the love of her he 
 was named Philip. Then Peter du Bois 
 in an evening came to this Philip, who was 
 abiding in his mother's house and lived 
 honestly on their rents, and Peter du Bois 
 began to reason with him and began to open 
 the matter wherefore he was come to him, 
 and said thus : ' Philip, if ye will take good 
 heed to my words and believe my counsel, 
 I will make you the greatest man in all 
 the county of Flanders. ' ' How can that 
 be, sir ? ' said Philip. ' I shall shew you,' 
 said Peter ; ' ye shall have the governing 
 and ministration of all them in the town of 
 
 1 ' Le soing,' ' the charge.' 
 
 2 Mistranslated. It should be : ' And this Peter 
 I du Bois had heard John Lyon his master,' etc. 
 
PHILIP D'ARTEVELD CAPTAIN, 1381 
 
 249 
 
 Gaunt, for we be now in great necessity to 
 have a sovereign captain of good name and 
 of good renown, and so by this means your 
 father Jaques d'Arteveld shall rise again 
 in this town by the remembrance of you ; 
 for every man saith that sith his days 
 the country of Flanders hath not been so 
 loved, honoured nor feared as it was while 
 he lived ; and I shall lightly set you in his 
 stead, if ye list yourself : and when ye be in 
 that authority, then ye shall govern your- 
 self by my counsel, till ye have full under- 
 standing of every case, the M'hich ye shall 
 soon learn.' Then this Philip, who was 
 at man's state and naturally desired to be 
 advanced, honoured and to have more than 
 he had, answered and said : ' Peter du 
 Bois, ye offer me a great thing and I believe 
 you : and if I were in the state that ye 
 speak of, I swear to you by my faith that 
 I should do nothing without your counsel.' 
 Then Peter answered and said : ' How say 
 you ? Can ye bear yourself high and be 
 cruel among the commons, and specially 
 in such things as we shall have to do ? A 
 man is nothing worth without he be feared, 
 doubted and sometime renowned with 
 cruelty : thus must the Flemings be gov- 
 erned. A man must set no more by the 
 life of men, nor have no more pity thereof, 
 than of the lives of swallows or larks, the 
 which be taken in season to eat. ' 'By my 
 faith,' said Philip, ' all this can I do right 
 well.' 'That is well said,' quoth Peter, 
 ' and I shall make you so, that ye shall be 
 sovereign above all other.' And so there- 
 with he took leave of him and departed. 
 
 The night passed ; the next day came : 
 then Peter du ' Bois came into a place, 
 whereas there were assembled more than 
 .four thousand of his sect and other, to hear 
 some tidings and to know how they should 
 be ordered and who should be chief captain 
 of Gaunt ; and there was present the lord 
 of Herselle, after whom much of the busi- 
 ness within Gaunt was ordered, but of 
 going outward he would not meddle. And 
 so there among them there was named 
 divers persons of the town of Gaunt, and 
 Peter du Bois stood still and heard them 
 well ; and then he spake openly and said : 
 ' Sirs, I believe well all this that ye say : 
 ye speak of good affection and by great 
 deliberation of courage, that ye have to the 
 keeping of the honour and profit of this 
 
 town ; and also such persons as ye have 
 named be right able and have well deserved 
 to have part of the governing of the town 
 of Gaunt. But, sirs, I know one that, if 
 he will meddle therewith, I think there 
 should not be a meeter man therefor, nor 
 of a better name.' Then Peter was desired 
 to shew his name, and so he named him 
 and said : ' Sirs, it is Philip d'Arteveld, 
 who was christened at Saint Peter's in this 
 town of Gaunt by the noble queen of Eng- 
 land called Philippa, the same season that 
 Jaques d'Arteveld was before Tournay with 
 the king of England and the duke of Bra- 
 bant, the duke of Gueldres and the earl of 
 Hainault, the which Jaques d'Arteveld 
 this Philip's father governed the town of 
 Gaunt and the country of Flanders so well, 
 that it was never so well ruled sith,' as I 
 have heard say and do hear daily of the 
 ancient men who had knowledge thereof, 
 who say the town was never so well kept 
 sith, as it was in his time : for Flanders 
 was in a great jeopardy to be lost, and by 
 his wisdom he recovered it. Sirs, know 
 for truth, we ought better to love the 
 branches and members that Cometh from 
 so high a valiant man as he was, than of 
 any other.' And as soon as Peter du Bois' 
 had said those words, Philip d'Arteveld 
 entered so into every man's courage, that 
 they said all with one voice : ' Let us have 
 him ; we will have none other : go send 
 for him.' ' Nay, not so,' quoth Peter du 
 Bois, ' let him not be sent for : it were 
 better we went to him. We know not as 
 yet how he will maintain himself: let him 
 first be examined.' ^ 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXX 
 
 Of the ordinance of Gaunt. And of the war 
 of Spain and of Portugal. 
 
 And so with Peter du Bois' words all they 
 that were there and divers other that 
 followed them came to the house whereas 
 Philip d'Arteveld was, who knew right well 
 before their coming the matter. There was 
 the lord of Herselle, Peter du Bois, Peter 
 
 1 The meaning is just the reverse : ' we must not 
 examine him,' or 'we must not trouble him.'_ The 
 translator's text had 'exonnier,' a combination of 
 the two readings 'ensonnier' and 'examiner.' 
 
250 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 de Wintere and a ten or twelve of the chief 
 aldermen of the crafts ; ^ and there they 
 shewed to Philip d'Arteveld how the good 
 town of Gaunt was in great danger, without 
 they might have a captain and a sovereign, 
 who both without and within might order 
 all manner of people abiding in Gaunt. 
 Wherefore they said they gave all their 
 voices to him and did choose him to be 
 their sovereign captain : for the good re- 
 nown of his name and for the love of his 
 good father they were better content with 
 him than with any other. Wherefore they 
 desired him affectuously that he would take 
 on him the charge, and they sware unto 
 him faith and truth as to their lord, pro- 
 mising how everybody within the town 
 should be under his obeisance. Philip 
 understood well all their words and re- 
 quests, and then right sagely he answered 
 and said : ' Sirs, ye require me of a great 
 thing, and I think ye remember not well 
 how the case standeth, when ye would 
 that I should have the governing of the 
 town of Gaunt. Ye say how the love that 
 your predecessors had to my father draweth 
 you to this purpose : but for all the service 
 that my father did, yet at the last he was 
 slain among you ; and so if I should take 
 on me the governing, as ye speak of, and 
 then at last to be slain, then I should have 
 but a small reward. ' ' Philip, ' quoth Peter 
 du Bois, ' that is past cannot be recovered. 
 Work by counsel, and ye shall always be 
 so well counselled, that every man shall 
 praise you.' Then said Philip : 'I would 
 be loath to do otherwise. ' There he was 
 taken up among them and brought into 
 the market-place, and there they made to 
 him assurance, both mayors, aldermen and 
 masters of every craft in Gaunt. Thus 
 Philip was made chief captain in all Gaunt, 
 and thus at the beginning he was in great 
 grace ; for he spake sweetly to every man 
 that had anything to do with him, and 
 dealt so wisely, that every man loved him : 
 for part of the revenues that pertained to 
 the earl of Flanders in Gaunt as his heri- 
 tage he caused them to be distributed to 
 the lord of Herselle, because of gentle- 
 ness and the more honestly to maintain his 
 estate ; for all that ever he had in Flanders 
 without the town of Gaunt he had lost it 
 clearly. 
 
 ^ ' Des doyens des mestiers. 
 
 Now let us leave a little to speak of the 
 business of Flanders, and let us somewhat 
 speak of England and of Portugal. 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — The king of Portugal made 
 war on the newly-crowned king of Castile 
 on behalf of Constance and Isabel, daughters 
 of don Peter, and sent to England for help. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXXI 
 
 How the earl of Cambridge departed out of 
 England to go into Portugal ; and how the 
 commons of England rebelled against the 
 noblemen. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Cambridge went 
 to Portugal, while the duke of Lancaster 
 went to treat with the Scots. 
 
 The chapter then coniinzies thus : — 
 
 In the mean season while this treaty was, 
 there fell in England great mischief and 
 rebellion of moving of the common people, 
 by which deed England was at a point to 
 have been lost without recovery. There 
 was never realm nor country in so great 
 adventure as it was in that time, and all 
 because of the ease and riches that the 
 common people were of, which moved them 
 to this rebellion, as sometime they did in 
 France, the which did much hurt, for by 
 such incidents the realm of France hath 
 been greatly grieved. 
 
 It was a marvellous thing and of poor 
 foundation that this mischief began in 
 England, and to give ensample to all 
 manner of people I will speak thereof as 
 it was done, as I was informed, and of the 
 incidents thereof. There was an usage in 
 England, and yet is in divers countries, 
 that the noblemen hath great franchise 
 over the commons and keepeth them in 
 servage, that is to say, their tenants ought 
 by custom to labour the lords' lands, to 
 gather and bring home their corns, and 
 some to thresh and to fan, and by servage 
 to make their hay and to hew their wood 
 and bring it home. All these things they 
 ought to do by servage, and there be more 
 of these people in England than in any 
 other realm. Thus the noblemen and pre- 
 lates are served by them, and specially in 
 the county of Kent, Essex, Sussex and 
 Bedford. These unhappy people of these 
 
WAT TYLER'S INSURRECTION, 1381 
 
 251 
 
 said countries began to stir, because they 
 said they were kept in great servage, and 
 in the beginning of the world, they said, 
 there were no bondmen, wherefore they 
 maintained that none ought to be bond, 
 without he did treason to his lord, as Luci- 
 fer did to God ; but they said they could 
 have no such battle,^ for they were neither 
 angels nor spirits, but men formed to the 
 similitude of their lords, saying why should 
 they then be kept so under like beasts ; 
 the which they said they would no longer 
 suffer, for they would be all one, and if 
 they laboured or did anything for their 
 lords, they would have wages therefor as 
 well as other. And of this imagination 
 was a foolish priest in the country of Kent 
 called John Ball, for the which foolish 
 words he had been three times in the 
 bishop of Canterbury's prison : for this 
 priest used oftentimes on the Sundays after 
 mass, when the people were going out of 
 the minster, to go into the cloister and 
 preach, and made the people to assemble 
 about him, and would say thus : ' Ah, ye 
 good people, the matters goeth not well 
 to pass in England, nor shall not do till 
 everything be common, and that there be 
 no villains nor gentlemen, but that we may 
 be all unied together, and that the lords be 
 no greater masters than we be. What 
 have we deserved, or why should we be 
 kept thus in servage? We be all come 
 from one father and one mother, Adam and 
 Eve : whereby can they say or shew that 
 they be greater lords than we be, saving 
 by that they cause us to win and labour for 
 that they dispend? They are clothed in 
 velvet and camlet furred with grise, and we 
 be vestured with poor cloth : they have 
 their wines, spices and good bread, and we 
 have the drawing out of the chaif^ and 
 drink water : they dwell in fair houses, and 
 we have the pain and travail, rain and wind 
 in the fields ; and by that that cometh of 
 our labours they keep and maintain their 
 estates : we be called their bondmen, and 
 without we do readily them service, we be 
 beaten ; and we have no sovereign to whom 
 we may complain, nor that will hear us nor 
 
 1 The true text is, 'Mais ils n'avoient pas cette 
 taille,' 'but they were not of that nature.' The 
 translator found the corruption ' bataille " for ' taille.' 
 
 2 Froissart says ' le seigle, le retrait et la paille,' 
 ' the rye, the bran and the straw.' The translator's 
 French text had 'le seigle, le retraict de la paille.' 
 
 do US right. Let us go to the king, he is 
 young, and shew him what servage we be 
 in, and shew him how we will have it 
 otherwise, or else we will provide us of 
 some remedy ; and if we go together, all 
 manner of people that be now in any bond- 
 age will follow us to the intent to be made 
 free ; and when the king seeth us, we shall 
 have some remedy, either by fairness or 
 otherwise.' Thus John Ball said on Sun- 
 days, when the people issued out of the 
 churches in the villages ; wherefore many 
 of the mean people loved him, and such as 
 intended to no goodness said how he said 
 truth ; and so they would murmur one with 
 another in the fields and in the ways as 
 they went together, affirming how John 
 Ball said truth. 
 
 The archbishop of Canterbury, who was 
 informed of the saying of this John Ball, 
 caused him to be taken and put in prison a 
 two or three months to chastise him : how- 
 beit, it had been much better at the be- 
 ginning that he had been condemned to 
 perpetual prison or else to have died, rather 
 than to have suffered him to have been 
 again delivered out of prison ; but the 
 bishop had conscience to let him die. And 
 when this John Ball was out of prison, he 
 returned again to his error, as he did before. 
 
 Of his words and deeds there were much 
 people in London informed, such as had 
 great envy at them that were rich and such 
 as were noble ; and then they began to 
 speak among them and said how the realm 
 of England was right evil governed, and 
 how that gold and silver was taken from 
 them by them that were named noblemen : 
 so thus these unhappy men of London be- 
 gan to rebel and assembled them together, 
 and sent word to the foresaid countries that 
 they should come to London and bring 
 their people with them, promising them 
 how they should find London open to 
 receive them and the commons of the city 
 to be of the same accord, saying how they 
 would do so much to the king that there 
 should not be one bondman in all England. 
 
 This promise moved so them of Kent, of 
 Essex, of Sussex, of Bedford and of the 
 countries about, that they rose and came 
 towards London to the number of sixty 
 thousand. And they had a captain called 
 Water Tyler, and with him in company was 
 Jack Straw and John Ball : these three were 
 
252 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 chief sovereign captains, but the head of 
 ail was Water Tyler, and he was indeed a 
 tiler of houses, an ungracious patron. When 
 these unhappy men began thus to stir, they 
 of London, except such as were of their 
 band, were greatly affrayed. Then the 
 mayor of London and the rich men of the 
 city took counsel together, and when they 
 saw the people thus coming on every side, 
 they caused the gates of the city to be closed 
 and would suffer no man to enter into the 
 city. But when they had well imagined, 
 they advised not so to do, for they thought 
 they should thereby put their suburbs in 
 great peril to be brent ; and so they opened 
 again the city, and there entered in at the 
 gates in some place a hundred, two hundred, 
 by twenty and by thirty, and so when they 
 came to London, they entered and lodged ; 
 and yet of truth the third part ^ of these 
 people could not tell what to ask or de- 
 mand, but followed each other like beasts, 
 as the shepherds^ did of old time, saying 
 how they would go conquer the Holy Land, 
 and at last all came to nothing. In like 
 wise these villains and poor people came to 
 London, a hundred mile off, sixty mile, 
 fifty mile, forty mile and twenty mile off, 
 and from all countries about London, but 
 the most part came from the countries be- 
 fore named, and as they came they de- 
 manded ever for the king. The gentlemen 
 of the countries, knights and squires, began 
 to doubt, when they saw the people began 
 to rebel ; and though they were in doubt, 
 it was good reason ; for a less occasion they 
 might have been affrayed. So the gentle- 
 men drew together as well as they might. 
 
 The same day that these unhappy people 
 of Kent were coming to London, there re- 
 turned from Canterbury the king's mother, 
 princess of Wales, coming from her pil- 
 grimage. She was in great jeopardy to 
 have been lost, for these people came to 
 her chare and dealt rudely with her, where- 
 of the good lady was in great doubt lest 
 they would have done some villany to her 
 or to her damosels. Howbeit, God kept 
 her, and she came in one day from Canter- 
 bury to London, for she never durst tarry 
 
 1 ' Bien les trois pars,' i.e. 'three-fourths.' 
 
 2 'Les pastoureaulx." The reference no doubt is 
 to the Pastoureaux of 1320, who were destroyed at 
 Aigues-Mortes when attempting to obtain a passage 
 to the Holy Land. 
 
 by the way. The same time king Richard 
 her son was at the Tower of London : there 
 his mother found him, and with him there 
 was the earl of Salisbury, the archbishop of 
 Canterbury, sir Robert of Namur, the lord 
 of Gommegnies and divers other, who were 
 in doubt of these people that thus gathered 
 together, and wist not what they demanded. 
 This rebellion was well known in the king's 
 court, or any of these people began to stir 
 out of their houses ; but the king nor his 
 council did provide no remedy therefor, 
 which was great marvel. And to the in- 
 tent that all lords and good people and 
 such as would nothing but good should 
 take ensample to correct them that be evil 
 and rebellious, I shall shew you plainly all 
 the matter, as it was. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXXII 
 
 The evil deeds that these commons of Eng- 
 land did to the king's officers, and how 
 they sent a knight to speak with the king. 
 
 The Monday before the feast of Corpus 
 Christi the year of our Lord God a thousand 
 three hundred and eighty-one these people 
 issued out of their houses to come to Lon- 
 don to speak with the Icing to be made free, 
 for they would have had no bondman in 
 England. And so first they came to Saint 
 Thomas of Canterbury, and there John 
 Ball had thought to have found the bishop 
 of Canterbury, but he was at London with 
 the king. When Wat Tyler and Jack 
 Straw entered into Canterbury, all the 
 com.mon people made great feast, for all 
 the town was of their assent ; and there 
 they took counsel to go to London to the 
 king, and to send some of their company 
 over the river of Thames into Essex, into 
 Sussex and into the counties of Stafford and 
 Bedford, to speak to the people that they 
 should all come to the farther side of Lon- 
 don and thereby to close London round 
 about, so that the king should not stop 
 their passages, and that they should all meet 
 together on Corpus Christi day. They that 
 were at Canterbury entered into Saint 
 Thomas' church and did there much hurt, 
 and robbed and brake up the bishop's 
 chamber, and in robbing and bearing out 
 their pillage they said : ' Ah, this chancellor 
 
THE COMMONS AT BLACICHEATH 
 
 253 
 
 of England hath had a good market to get 
 together all this riches : he shall give us 
 now account of the revenues of England 
 and of the great profits that he hath 
 gathered sith the king's coronation.' When 
 they had this Monday thus broken the 
 abbey of Saint Vincent, they departed in 
 the morning and all the people of Canter- 
 bury with them, and so took the way to 
 Rochester and sent their people to the 
 villages about. And in their going they 
 beat down and robbed houses of advocates 
 and procurers of the king's court and of the 
 archbishop, and had mercy of none. And 
 when they were come to Rochester, they 
 had there good cheer ; for the people of 
 that town tarried for them, for they were 
 of the same sect, and then they went to the 
 castle there and took the knight that had 
 the rule thereof, he was called sir John 
 Newton, and they said to him : ' Sir, it 
 behoveth you to go with us and you shall 
 be our sovereign captain and to do that we 
 will have you.' The knight excused him- 
 self honestly and shewed them divers con- 
 siderations and excuses, but all availed him 
 nothing, for they said unto him : ' Sir John, 
 if ye do not as we will have you, ye are but 
 dead.' The knight, seeing these people in 
 that fury and ready to slay him, he then 
 doubted death and agreed to them, and so 
 they took him with them against his inward 
 will ; and in like wise did they of other 
 countries in England, as Essex, Sussex, 
 Stafford, Bedford and Warwick, even to 
 Lincoln ; for they brought the knights and 
 gentlemen into such obeisance, that they 
 caused them to go with them, whether they 
 would or not, as the lord Moylays, a great 
 baron, sir Stephen of Hales and sir Thomas 
 of Cosington and other. 
 
 Now behold the great fortune. If they 
 might have come to their intents, they 
 would have destroyed all the noblemen of 
 England, and thereafter all other nations 
 would have followed the same and have 
 taken foot and ensample by them and by 
 them of Gaunt and Flanders, who rebelled 
 against their lord. The same year the 
 Parisians rebelled in like wise and found 
 out the mallets of iron, of whom there were 
 more than twenty thousand, as ye shall 
 hear after in this history ; but first we will 
 speak of them of England. 
 
 When these people thus lodged at 
 
 Rochester departed, and passed the river 
 and came to Brentford, alway keeping still 
 their opinions, beating down before them 
 and all about the places and houses of ad- 
 vocates and procurers, and striking off the 
 heads of divers persons. And so long they 
 went forward till they came within a four 
 mile of London, and there lodged on a hill 
 called Blackheath ; and as they went, they 
 said ever they were the king's men and the 
 noble commons of England : ^ and when 
 they of London knew that they were come 
 so near to them, the mayor, as ye have 
 heard before, closed the gates and kept 
 straitly all the passages. This order caused 
 the mayor, who was called Nicholas Wal- 
 worth,^ and divers other rich burgesses of 
 the city, who were not of their sect ; but 
 there were in London of their unhappy 
 opinions more than thirty thousand. 
 
 Then these people thus being lodged on 
 Blackheath determined to send their knight 
 to speak with the king and to shew him 
 how all that they have done or will do is 
 for him and his honour, and how the realm 
 of England hath not been well governed 
 a great space for the honour of the realm 
 nor for the common profit by his uncles 
 and by the clergy, and specially by the 
 archbishop of Canterbury his chancellor ; 
 whereof they would have account. This 
 knight durst do none otherwise, but so 
 came by the river of Thames to the Tower. 
 The king and they that were with him in 
 the Tower, desiring to hear tidings, seeing 
 this knight coming made him way, and was 
 brought before the king into a chamber ; 
 and with the king was the princess his 
 mother and his two brethren, the earl of 
 Kent and the lord John Holland, the earl of 
 Salisbury, the earl of Warwick, the earl of 
 Oxford, the archbishop of Canterbury, the 
 lord of Saint John's,' sir Robert of Namur, 
 the lord of Vertaing, the lord of Gom- 
 megnies, sir Henry of Senzeille, the mayor 
 of London and divers other notable bur- 
 gesses. This knight sir John Newton, 
 who was well known among them, for he 
 was one of the king's officers, he kneeled 
 down before the king and said : ' My right 
 
 1 'That they were for the king and the noble 
 commons (or commonwealth) of England.' 
 
 2 Froissart calls him John : his name was really 
 William. 
 
 3 That is, the grand prior of the Hospital. 
 
254 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 redoubted lord, let it not displease your 
 grace the message that I must needs shew 
 you, for, dear sir, it is by force and against 
 my will.' ' Sir John,' said the king, 'say 
 what ye will : I hold you excused. ' ' Sir, 
 the commons of this your realm hath sent 
 me to you to desire you to come and speak 
 with them on Blackheath ; for they desire to 
 have none but you : and, sir, ye need not 
 to have any doubt of your person, for they 
 will do you no hurt ; for they hold and will 
 hold you for their king. But, sir, they say 
 they will shew you divers things, the which 
 shall be right necessary for you to take 
 heed of, when they speak with you ; of the 
 which things, sir, I have no charge to shew 
 you : but, sir, an it may please you to 
 give me an answer such as may appease 
 them and that they may know for truth that 
 I have spoken with you ; for they have my 
 children in hostage till I return again to 
 them, and without I return again, they will 
 slay my children incontinent. ' 
 
 Then the king made him an answer and 
 said : ' Sir, ye shall have an answer shortly. ' 
 Then the king took counsel what was best 
 for him to do, and it was anon determined 
 that the next morning the king should go 
 down the river by water and without fail to 
 speak with them. And when sir John 
 Newton heard that answer, he desired 
 nothing else and so took his leave of the 
 king' and of the lords and returned again 
 into his vessel, and passed the Thames and 
 went to Blackheath, where he had left 
 more than threescore thousand men. And 
 there he answered them that the next 
 morning they should send some of their 
 council to the Thames, and there the king 
 would come and speak with them. This 
 answer greatly pleased them, and so passed 
 that night as well as they might, and the 
 fourth part of them^ fasted for lack of 
 victual, for they had none, wherewith they 
 were sore displeased, which was good reason. 
 All this season the earl of Buckingham 
 was in Wales, for there he had fair heritages 
 by reason of his wife, who was daughter to 
 the earl of Northumberland and Hereford; 
 but the voice was all through London how 
 he was among these people. And some 
 said certainly how they had seen him there 
 among them ; and all was because there 
 was one Thomas in their company, a man 
 1 ' Les quatre pars d'eux,' ' four-fifths of them.' 
 
 of the county of Cambridge, that was very 
 like the earl. Also the lords that lay at 
 Plymouth to go into Portugal were well 
 informed of this rebellion and of the people 
 that thus began to rise ; wherefore they 
 doubted lest their viage should have been 
 broken, or else they feared lest the commons 
 about Hampton, Winchester and Arundel 
 would have come on them : wherefore they 
 weighed up their anchors and issued out of 
 the haven with great pain, for the wind was 
 sore against them, and so took the sea and 
 there cast anchor abiding for the wind. 
 And the duke of Lancaster, who was in the 
 marches of Scotland between Moorlane 
 and Roxburgh entreating with the Scots, 
 where it was shewed him of the rebellion, 
 whereof he was in doubt, for he knew well 
 he was but little beloved with the commons 
 of England ; howbeit, for all those tidings, 
 yet he did sagely demean himself as touch- 
 ing the treaty with the Scots. The earl 
 Douglas, the earl of Moray, the earl of 
 Sutherland and the earl Thomas Versy, and 
 the Scots that were there for the treaty 
 knew right well the rebellion in England, 
 how the common people in every part began 
 to rebel against the noblemen ; wherefore 
 the Scots thought that England was in great 
 danger to be lost, and therefore in their 
 treaties they were the more stiffer again 
 the duke of Lancaster and his council. 
 
 Now let us speak of the commons of 
 England and how they persevered. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXXIII 
 
 How the commons of England entered into 
 London, and of the great evil that they 
 did, and of the death of the bishop of 
 Canterbury and divers other. 
 
 In the morning on Corpus Christi day 
 king Richard heard mass in the Tower of 
 London, and all his lords, and then he took 
 his barge with the earl of Salisbury, the 
 earl of Warwick, the earl of Oxford and 
 certain knights, and so rowed down along 
 the Thames to Rotherhithe, whereas was 
 descended down the hill a ten thousand 
 men to see the king and to speak with him. 
 And when they saw the king's barge com- 
 ing, they began to shout, and made such a 
 cry, as though all the devils of hell had 
 been among them. And they had brought 
 
THE COMMONS IN LONDON 
 
 255 
 
 with them sir John Newton to the intent 
 that, if the king had not come, they would 
 have stricken him all to pieces, and so they 
 had promised him. And when the king and 
 his lords saw the demeanour of the people, 
 the best assured of them were in dread ; and 
 so the king was counselled by his barons not 
 to take any landing there, but so rowed up 
 and down the river. And the king de- 
 manded of them what they would, and said 
 how he was come thither to speak with 
 them, and they said all with one voice : 
 ' We would that ye should come aland, and 
 then we shall shew you what we lack.' 
 Then the earl of Salisbury answered for the 
 king and said : ' Sirs, ye be not in such 
 order nor array that the king ought to 
 speak with you. ' And so with those words 
 no more said : and then the king was 
 counselled to return again to the Tower of 
 London, and so he did. 
 
 And when these people saw that, they 
 were inflamed with ire and returned to the 
 hill where the great band was, and there 
 shewed them what answer they had and 
 how the king was returned to the Tower of 
 London. Then they cried all with one 
 voice, ' Let us go to London,' and so they 
 took their way thither ; and in their going 
 they beat down abbeys and houses of advo- 
 cates and of men of the court, and so came 
 into the suburbs of London, which were 
 great and fair, and there beat down divers 
 fair houses, and specially they brake up 
 the king's prisons, as the Marshalsea and 
 other, and delivered out all the prisoners 
 that were within : and there they did much 
 hurt, and at the bridge foot they threat 
 them of London because the gates of the 
 bridge were closed, saying how they would 
 bren all the suburbs and so conquer London 
 by force, and to slay and bren all the 
 commons of the city. There were many 
 within the city of their accord, and so 
 they drew together and said : ' Why do we 
 not let these good people enter into the 
 city? they are our fellows, and that that 
 they do is for us.' So therewith the gates 
 were opened, and then these people en- 
 tered into the city and went into houses 
 and sat down to eat and drink. They 
 desired nothing but it was incontinent 
 brought to them, for every man was ready 
 to make them good cheer and to give them 
 meat and drink to appease them. 
 
 Then the captains, as John Ball, Jack 
 Straw and Wat Tyler, went throughout 
 London and a twenty thousand with them, 
 and so came to the Savoy in the way to 
 Westminster, which was a goodly house 
 and it pertained to the duke of Lancaster. 
 And when they entered, they slew the 
 keepers thereof and robbed and pilled the 
 house, and when they had so done, then 
 they set fire on it and clean destroyed and 
 brent it. And when they had done that 
 outrage, they left not therewith, but went 
 straight to the fair hospital of the Rhodes 
 called Saint John's,^ and there they brent 
 house, hospital, minster and all. Then they 
 went from street to street and slew all the 
 Flemings that they could find in church or 
 in any other place, there was none respited 
 from death. And they brake up divers 
 houses of the Lombards and robbed them 
 and took their goods at their pleasure, for 
 there was none that durst say them nay. 
 And they slew in the city a rich merchant 
 called Richard Lyon, to whom before that 
 time Wat Tyler had done service in France ; 
 and on a time this Richard Lyon had 
 beaten him, while he was his varlet, the 
 which Wat Tyler then remembered, and so 
 came to his house and strake oft' his head 
 and caused it to be borne on a spear-point 
 before him all about the city. Thus these 
 ungracious people demeaned themselves 
 like people enraged and wood, and so that 
 day they did much sorrow in London. 
 
 And so against night they went to lodge 
 at Saint Katherine's before the Tower of 
 London, saying how they would never de- 
 part thence till they had the king at their 
 pleasure and till he had accorded to them 
 all [they would ask, and] that they would 
 ask accounts of the chancellor of England, 
 to know where all the good was become 
 that he had levied through the realm, and 
 without he made a good account to them 
 thereof, it should not be for his profit. And 
 so when they had done all these evils to the 
 strangers all the day, at night they lodged 
 before the Tower. 
 
 Ye may well know and believe that it 
 was great pity for the danger that the king 
 
 r This is called afterwards 'I'Ospital de Saint 
 Jehan du Temple,' and therefore would probably 
 be the Temple, to which the Hospitallers had 
 succeeded. They had, however, another house at 
 Clerkenweli, which also had been once the property 
 of the Templars. 
 
256 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROJSSART 
 
 and such as were with him were in. For 
 some time these unhappy people shouted 
 and cried so loud, as though all the devils of 
 hell had been among them. In this evening 
 the king was counselled by his brethren 
 and lords and by sir Nicholas Walworth, 
 mayor of London, and divers other notable 
 and rich burgesses, that in the night time 
 they should issue out of the Tower and 
 enter into the city, and so to slay all these 
 unhappy people, while they were at their 
 rest and asleep ; for it was thought that 
 many of them were drunken, whereby they 
 should be slain like flies ; also of twenty of 
 them there was scant one in harness. And 
 surely the good men of London might well 
 have done' this at their ease, for they had 
 in their houses secretly their friends and 
 servants ready in harness, and also sir 
 Robert KnoUes was in his lodging keeping 
 his treasure with a sixscore ready at his 
 commandment ; in like wise was sir Perducas 
 d'Albret, who was as then in London, in- 
 somuch that there might well [have] as- 
 sembled together an eight thousand men 
 ready in harness. Howbeit, there was 
 nothing done, for the residue of the com- 
 mons of the city were sore doubted, lest 
 they should rise also, and the commons 
 before were a threescore thousand or more. 
 Then the earl of Salisbury and the wise 
 men about the king said : ' Sir, if ye can 
 appease them with fairness, it were best 
 and most profitable, and to .grant them 
 everything that they desire, for if we should 
 begin a thing the which we could not 
 achieve, we should never recover it again, 
 but we and our heirs ever to be disherited.' 
 So this counsel was taken and the mayor 
 countermanded, and so commanded that 
 he should not stir ; and he did as he was 
 commanded, as reason was. And in the 
 city with the mayor there were twelve alder- 
 men, whereof nine of them held with the 
 king and the other three took part with 
 these ungracious people, as it was after well 
 known, the which they full dearly bought. 
 And on the Friday in the morning the 
 people, being at Saint Katherine's near to 
 the Tower, began to apparel themselves 
 and to cry and shout, and said, without the 
 king would come out and speak with them, 
 they would assail the Tower and take it by 
 force, and slay all them that were within. 
 Then the king doubted these words and so 
 
 was counselled that he should issue out to 
 speak with them : and then the king sent 
 to them that they should all draw to a fair 
 plain place called Mile-end, whereas the 
 people of the city did sport them in the 
 summer season, and there the king to grant 
 them that they desired ; and there it was 
 cried in the king's name, that whosoever 
 would speak with the king let him go to 
 the said place, and there he should not fail 
 to find the king. Then the people began 
 to depart, specially the commons of the 
 villages, and went to the same place : but 
 all went not thither, for they were not all 
 of one condition ; for there were some that 
 desired nothing but riches and the utter 
 destruction of the noblemen and to have 
 London robbed and pilled ; that was the 
 principal matter of their beginning, the 
 which they well shewed ; for as soon as the 
 Tower gate opened and that the king was 
 issued out with his two brethren and the 
 earl of Salisbury, the earl of Warwick, the 
 earl of Oxford, sir Robert of Namur, the 
 lord of Vertaing, the lord Gommegnies and 
 divers other, then Wat Tyler, Jack Straw 
 and John Ball and more than four hundred 
 entered into the Tower and brake up 
 chamber after chamber, and at last found 
 the archbishop of Canterbury, called Simon, 
 a valiant man and a wise, and chief chan- 
 cellor of England, and a little before he 
 had said mass before the king. These 
 gluttons took him and strake off his head, 
 and also they beheaded the lord of Saint 
 John's and a friar minor, master in medicine, 
 pertaining to the duke of Lancaster, they 
 slew him in despite of his master, and a 
 sergeant at arms called John Leg ; and 
 these four heads were set on four long 
 spears and they made them to be borne 
 before them through the streets of London 
 and at last set them a -high on London 
 bridge, as though they had been traitors to 
 the king and to the realm. Also these glut- 
 tons entered into the princess' chamber and 
 brake her bed, whereby she was so sore 
 afifrayed that she swooned ; and there she 
 was taken up and borne to the water side 
 and put into a barge and covered, and so 
 conveyed to a place called the Queen's 
 Wardrobe;-^ and there she was all that 
 
 1 The Queen's Wardrobe was in the ' Royal ' 
 (called by Froissart or his copyist ' la R^ole '), a 
 palace near Blackfriars. 
 
THE COMMONS IN LONDON 
 
 257 
 
 day and night like a woman half dead, till 
 she was comforted with the king her son, 
 as ye shall hear after. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXXIV 
 
 How the nobles of England were in great 
 peril to have been destroyed, and how 
 these rebels were punished and sent home 
 to their own houses. 
 
 When the king came to the said place of 
 Mile-end without London, he put out of 
 his company his two brethren, the earl of 
 Kent and sir John Holland, and the lord 
 of Gommegnies, for they durst not appear 
 before the people : and when the king and 
 his other lords were there, he found there 
 a threescore thousand men of divers villages 
 and of sundry countries in England ; so the 
 king entered in among them and said to 
 them sweetly : ' Ah, ye good people, I am 
 your king : what lack ye ? what will ye 
 say ? ' Then such as understood him said ; 
 ' We will that ye make us free for ever, 
 ourselves, our heirs and our lands, and 
 that we be called no more bond nor so 
 reputed.' 'Sirs,' said the king, ' I am well 
 agreed thereto. Withdraw you home into 
 your own houses and into such villages as 
 ye came from, and leave behind you of 
 every village two or three, and I shall 
 cause writings to be made and seal them 
 with my seal, the which they shall have 
 with them, containing everything that ye 
 demand ; and to the intent that ye shall be 
 the better assured, I shall cause my banners 
 to be delivered into every bailiwick, shire 
 and countries. ' 
 
 These words appeased well the common 
 people, such as were simple and good plain 
 men, that were come thither and wist not 
 why. They said, ' It was well said, we desire 
 no better. ' Thus these people began to be 
 appeased and began to withdraw them into 
 the city of London. And the king also 
 said a word, the which greatly contented 
 them. He said : ' Sirs, among you good 
 men of Kent ye shall have one of my ban- 
 ners with you, and ye of Essex another, and 
 ye of Sussex, of Bedford, of Cambridge, of 
 Yarmouth, of Stafford and of Lynn, each 
 of you one ; and also I pardon everything 
 that ye have done hitherto, so that ye 
 follow my banners and return home to 
 S 
 
 your houses.' They all answered how they 
 would so do : thus these people departed 
 and went into London. Then the king 
 ordained more than thirty clerks the same 
 Friday, to write with all diligence letter 
 .patents and sealed with the king's seal, and 
 delivered them to these people ; and when 
 they had received the writing, they departed 
 and returned into their own countries : but 
 the great venom remained still behind, for 
 Wat Tyler, Jack Straw and John Ball 
 said, for all that these people were thus 
 appeased, yet they would not depart so, 
 and they had of their accord more than 
 thirty thousand. So they abode still and 
 made no press to have the king's writing 
 nor seal, for all their intents was to put the 
 city to trouble in such wise as to slay all 
 the rich and honest persons and to rob and 
 pill their houses. They of London were 
 in great fear of this, wherefore they kept 
 their houses privily with their friends and 
 such servants as they had, every man ac- 
 cording to his puissance. And when these 
 said people were this Friday thus somewhat 
 appeased, and that they should depart as 
 soon as they had their writings, every man 
 home into his own country, then king 
 Richard came into the Royal, where the 
 queen his mother was, right sore affrayed : 
 so he comforted her as well as he could and 
 tarried there with her all that night. 
 
 Yet I shall shew you of an adventure 
 that fell by these ungracious people before 
 the city of Norwich, by a captain among 
 them called Guilliam Lister of Stafford. 
 The same day of Corpus Christi that these 
 people entered into London and brent the 
 duke of Lancaster's house, called the Savoy, 
 and the hospital of Saint John's and brake 
 up the king's prisons and did all this hurt, 
 as ye have heard before, the same time 
 there assembled together they of Stafford, 
 of Lynn, of Cambridge, of Bedford and of 
 Yarmouth ; and as they were coming to- 
 wards London, they had a captain among 
 them called Lister. And as they came, 
 they rested them before Norwich, and in 
 their coming they caused every man to rise 
 with them, so that they left no villains 
 behind them. The cause why they rested 
 before Norwich I shall shew you. There 
 was a knight, captain of the town, called sir 
 Robert Sale. He was no gentleman born, 
 but he had the grace to be reputed sage and 
 
258 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 valiant in arms, and for his valiantness king 
 Edward made him knight. He was of his 
 body one of the biggest knights in all 
 England. Lister and his company thought 
 to have had this knight with them and to 
 make him their chief captain, to the intent 
 to be the more feared and beloved : so 
 they sent to him that he should come and 
 speak with them in the field, or else they 
 would bren the town. The knight con- 
 sidered that it was better for him to go and 
 speak with them rather than they should 
 do that outrage to the town : then he 
 mounted on his horse and issued out of the 
 town all alone, and so came to speak with 
 them. And when they saw him, they made 
 him great cheer and honoured him much, 
 desiring him to alight off his horse and to 
 speak with them, and so he did : wherein 
 he did great folly ; for when he was alighted, 
 they came round about him and began to 
 speak fair to him and said : ' Sir Robert, 
 ye are a knight and a man greatly beloved 
 in this country and renowned a valiant 
 man ; and though ye be thus, yet we know 
 you well, ye be no gentleman born, but 
 son to a villain such as we be. Therefore 
 come you with us and be our master, and 
 we shall make you so great a lord, that one 
 quarter of England shall be under your 
 obeisance.' When the knight heard them 
 speak thus, it was greatly contrarious to his 
 mind, for he thought never to make any 
 such bargain, and answered them with a 
 felonous regard : ' Fly away, ye ungracious 
 people, false and evil traitors that ye be : 
 would you that I should forsake my natural 
 lord for such a company of knaves as ye be, 
 to my dishonour for ever ? I had rather 
 ye were all hanged, as ye shall be ; for 
 that shall be your end.' And with those 
 words he had thought to have leapt again 
 upon his horse, but he failed of the stirrup 
 and the horse started away. Then they 
 cried all at him and said : ' Slay him with- 
 out mercy.' When he heard those words, 
 he let his horse go and drew out a good 
 sword and began to scrimmish with them, 
 and made a great place about him, that- it 
 was pleasure to behold him. There was 
 none that durst approach near him : there 
 were some that approached near him, but 
 at every stroke that he gave he cut off 
 other leg, head or arm : there was none 
 so hardy but that they feared him : he did 
 
 there such deeds of arms that it was marvel 
 to regard. But there were more than forty 
 thousand of these unhappy people : they 
 shot and cast at him, and he was unarmed : 
 to say truth, if he had been of iron or steel, 
 yet he must needs have been slain ; but 
 yet, or he died, he slew twelve out of hand, 
 beside them that he hurt. Finally he was 
 stricken to the earth, and they cut off his 
 arms and legs and then strake his body all 
 to pieces. This was the end of sir Robert 
 Sale, which was great damage ; for which 
 deed afterward all the knights and squires 
 of England were angry and sore displeased 
 when they heard thereof. 
 
 Now let us return to the king. The 
 Saturday the king departed from the Ward- 
 robe in the Royal and went to Westminster 
 and heard mass in the church there, and 
 all his lords with him. And beside the 
 church there was a little chapel with an 
 image of our Lady, which did great miracles 
 and in whom the kings of England had 
 ever great trust and confidence. The king 
 made his orisons before this image and did 
 there his offering ; and then he leapt on his 
 horse, and all his lords, and so the king 
 rode toward London ; and when he had 
 ridden a little way, on the left hand there 
 was a way to pass without London.-^ 
 
 The same proper morning Wat Tyler, 
 Jack Straw and John Ball had assembled 
 their company to common together in a 
 place called Smithfield, whereas every 
 Friday there is a market of horses ; and 
 there were together all of affinity more than 
 twenty thousand, and yet there were many 
 still in the town, drinking and making 
 merry in the taverns and paid nothing, for 
 they were happy that made them best cheer. 
 And these people in Smithfield had with 
 them the king's banners, the which were 
 delivered them the day before, and all 
 these gluttons were in mind to overrun and 
 to rob London the same day ; for their 
 captains said how they had done nothing as 
 yet. ' These liberties that the king hath 
 given us is to us but a small profit : there- 
 fore let us be all of one accord and let us 
 overrun this rich and puissant city, or they 
 of Essex, of Sussex, of Cambridge, of Bed- 
 ford, of Arundel, of Warwick, of Reading, 
 of Oxford, of Guildford, of Lynn, of Staf- 
 
 1 Or rather, ' he found a place on the left hand 
 to pass without London.' 
 
DEATH OF WAT TYLER (June 15) 
 
 259 
 
 ford, of Yarmouth, of Lincoln, of York 
 and of Durham do come hither. For all 
 these will come hither ; Baker and Lister 
 will bring them hither ; and if we be first 
 lords of London and have the possession of 
 the riches that is therein, we shall not 
 repent us ; for if we leave it, they that 
 come after will have it from us.' 
 
 To this counsel they all agreed ; and 
 therewith the king came the same way 
 unware of them, for he had thought to 
 have passed that way without London, and 
 with him a forty horse. And when he 
 came before the abbey of Saint Bartholo- 
 mew and beheld all these people, then the 
 king rested and said how he would go no 
 farther till he knew what these people 
 ailed, saying, if they were in any trouble, 
 how he would rappease them again. The 
 lords that were with him tarried also, as 
 reason was when they saw the king tarry. 
 And when Wat Tyler saw the king tarry, 
 he said to his people : ' Sirs, yonder is tlie 
 king : I will go and speak with him. Stir 
 not from hence, without I make you a sign ; 
 and when I make you that sign, come on 
 and slay all them except the king ; but do 
 the king no hurt, he is young, we shall do 
 with him as we list and shall lead him with 
 us all about England, and so shall we be 
 lords of all the realm without doubt.' And 
 there was a doublet -maker of London 
 called John Tycle, and he had brought to 
 these gluttons a sixty doublets, the which 
 they ware : then he demanded of these 
 captains who should pay him for his 
 doublets ; he demanded thirty mark. Wat 
 Tyler answered him and said : ' Friend, 
 appease yourself, thou shalt be well paid 
 or this day be ended. Keep thee near me ; 
 I shall be thy creditor. ' And therewith he 
 spurred his horse and departed from his 
 company and came to the king, so near 
 him that his horse head touched the croup 
 of the king's horse, and the first word that 
 he said was this : ' Sir king, seest thou all 
 yonder people?' 'Yea truly,' said the 
 king, 'wherefore sayest thou ?' 'Because,' 
 said he, ' they be all at my commandment 
 and have sworn to me faith and truth, to 
 do all that I will have them.' ' In a good 
 time,' said the king, ' I will well it be so.' 
 Then Wat Tyler said, as he that nothing 
 demanded but riot : 'What believest thou, 
 king, that these people and as many more 
 
 as be in London at my commandment, 
 that they will depart from thee thus with- 
 out having thy letters? ' 'No,' said the 
 king, 'ye shall have them: they be or- 
 dained for you and shall be delivered every 
 one each after other. Wherefore, good 
 fellows, withdraw fair and easily to your 
 people and cause them to depart out of 
 London ; for it is our intent that each of 
 you by villages and townships shall have 
 letters patents, as I have promised you.' 
 
 With those words Wat Tyler cast his 
 eyen on a squire that was there with the 
 king bearing the king's sword, and Wat 
 Tyler hated greatly the same squire, for 
 the same squire had displeased him before 
 for words between them. ' What,' said 
 Tyler, 'art thou there? Give me thy 
 dagger.' 'Nay,' said the squire, 'that 
 will I not do : wherefore should I give it 
 thee ? ' The king beheld the squire and 
 said : ' Give it him ; let him have it.' And 
 so the squire took it him sore against his 
 will. And when this Wat Tyler had it, he 
 began to play therewith and turned it in 
 his hand, and said again to the squire : 
 'Give me also that sword.' ' Nay,' said 
 the squire, ' it is the king's sword : thou 
 art not worthy to have it, for thou art but 
 a knave ; and if there were no more here 
 but thou and I, thou durst not speak those 
 words for as much gold in quantity as all 
 yonder abbey.' ^ ' By my faith,' said Wat 
 Tyler, ' I shall never eat meat till I have 
 thy head ' : and with those words the 
 mayor of London came to the king with a 
 twelve horses well armed under their coats, 
 and so he brake the press and saw and 
 heard how Wat Tyler demeaned himself, 
 and said to him : ' Ha, thou knave, how 
 art thou so hardy in the king's presence to 
 speak such words? It is too much for 
 thee so to do.' Then the king began to 
 chafe and said to the mayor : ' Set hands 
 on him.' And while the king said so, 
 Tyler said to the mayor ; ' A God's name 
 what have I said to displease thee ? ' ' Yes 
 truly,' quoth the mayor, 'thou false stinking 
 knave, shalt thou speak thus in the pres- 
 ence of the king my natural lord ? I com- 
 mit never to live, without thou shalt dearly 
 abye it.'^ And with those words the 
 
 r The full text has, ' for as much gold as that 
 minster of Saint Paul is great.' 
 
 ^ 'Jamais je veux vivre, si tu ne le compares.' 
 
26o 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 mayor drew out his sword and strake Tyler 
 so great a stroke on the head, that he fell 
 down at the feet of his horse, and as soon 
 as he was fallen, they environed him all 
 about, whereby he was not seen of his 
 company. Then a squire of the king's 
 alighted, called John Standish, and he drew 
 out his sword and put it into Wat Tyler's 
 belly, and so he died. 
 
 Then the ungracious people there as- 
 sembled, perceiving their captain slain, 
 began to murmur among themselves and 
 said : ' Ah, our captain is slain, let us go 
 and slay them all ' • and therewith they 
 arranged themselves on the place in 
 manner of battle, and their bows before 
 them. Thus the king began a great out- 
 rage ; ^ howbeit, all turned to the best : for 
 as soon as Tyler was on the earth, the 
 king departed from all his company and all 
 alone he rode to these people, and said to 
 his own men : ' Sirs, none of you follow 
 me ; let me alone.' And so when he came 
 before these ungracious people, who put 
 themselves in ordinance to revenge their 
 captain, then the king said to them : ' Sirs, 
 what aileth you ? Ye shall have no captain 
 but me : I am your king : be all in rest 
 and peace. ' And so the most part of the 
 people that heard the king speak and saw 
 him among them, were shamefast and began 
 to wax peaceable and to depart ; but some, 
 such as were malicious and evil, would not 
 depart, but made semblant as though they 
 would do somewhat. 
 
 Then the king returned to his own com- 
 pany and demanded of them what was best 
 to be done. Then he was counselled to draw 
 into the field, for to fly away was no boot. 
 Then said the mayor : ' It is good that we 
 do so, for I think surely we shall have shortly 
 some comfort of them of London and of such 
 good men as be of our part, who are pur- 
 veyed and have their friends and men 
 ready armed in their houses.' And in the 
 mean time voice and bruit ran through 
 London how these unhappy people were 
 likely to slay the king' and the mayor in 
 .Smithfield ; through the which noise all 
 manner of good men of the king's party 
 issued out of their houses and lodgings 
 well armed, and so came all to Smithfield 
 
 ^ 'Outrage' here means 'act of boldness,' as 
 elsewhere, e.g. 'si fist une grant apertise d'armes 
 ?t un grant outrage.' 
 
 and to the field where the king was, and 
 they were anon to the number of seven or 
 eight thousand men well armed. And 
 first thither came sir Robert Knolles and 
 sir Perducas d'Albret, well accompanied, 
 and divers of the aldermen of London, and 
 with them a six hundred men in harness, 
 and a puissant man of the city, who was 
 the king's draper,' called Nicholas Bramber, 
 and he brought with him a great company ; 
 and ever as they came, they ranged them 
 afoot in order of battle : and on the 
 other part these unhappy people were 
 ready ranged, making semblance to give 
 battle, and they had with them divers of 
 the king's banners. There the king made 
 three knights, the one the mayor of Lon- 
 don sir Nicholas Walworth, sir John 
 Standish and sir Nicholas Bramber. Then 
 the lords said among themselves : ' What 
 shall we do ? We see here our enemies, 
 who would gladly slay us, if they might 
 have the better hand of us.' Sir Robert 
 Knolles <:ounselled to go and fight with 
 them and slay them all ; yet the king 
 would not consent thereto, but said : ' Nay, 
 I will not so : I will send to them com- 
 manding them to send me again my 
 banners, and thereby we shall see what 
 they will do. Howbeit, other by fairness 
 or otherwise, I will have them.' 'That is 
 well said, sir,' quoth the earl of Salisbury. 
 Then these new knights were sent to them, 
 and these knights made token to them not 
 to shoot at them, and when they came so 
 near them that their speech might be heard, 
 they said : ' Sirs, the king commandeth 
 you to send to him again his banners, and 
 we think he will have mercy of you. ' And 
 incontinent they delivered again the 
 banners and sent them to the king. Also 
 they were commanded on pain of their 
 heads, that all such as had letters of the 
 king to bring them forth and to send them 
 again to the king ; and so many of them 
 delivered their letters, but not all. Then 
 the king made them to be all to-torn in 
 their presence ; and as soon as the king's 
 banners were delivered again, these un- 
 happy people kept none array, but the 
 most part of them did cast down their bows, 
 and so brake their array and returned into 
 
 r 'Qui estoit des draps du roy.* He owned 
 large estates in Essex and also shops in London. 
 He became one of the councillors of Richard II, 
 
PUNISHMENT OF THE REBELS 
 
 261 
 
 London. Sir Robert KnoUes was sore 
 displeased in that he might not go to slay 
 them all : but the king would not consent 
 thereto, but said he would be revenged of 
 them well enough ; and so he was after. 
 
 Thus these foolish people departed, some 
 one way and some another ; and the king 
 and his lords and all his company right 
 ordinately entered into London with great 
 joy. And the first journey that the king 
 made he went to the lady princess his 
 mother, who was in a castle in the Royal 
 called the Queen's Wardrobe, and there 
 she had tarried two days and two nights 
 right sore abashed, as she had good reason ; 
 and when she saw the king her son, she 
 was greatly rejoiced and said ; ' Ah, fair 
 son, what pain and great sorrow that I 
 have suffered for you this day ! ' Then the 
 king answered and said ; ' Certainly, 
 madam, I know it well : but now rejoice 
 yourself and thank God, for now it is time. 
 I have this day recovered mine heritage 
 and the realm of England, the which I had 
 near lost.' Thus the king tarried that day 
 with his mother, and every lord went peace- 
 ably to their own lodgings. Then there 
 was a cry made in every street in the king's 
 name, that all manner of men, not being of 
 the city of London and have not dwelt 
 there the space of one year, to depart ; and 
 if any such be found there the Sunday by 
 the sun-rising, that they should be taken as 
 traitors to the king and to lose their heads. 
 This cry thus made, there was none that 
 durst brake it, and so all manner of people 
 departed and sparkled abroad every man 
 to their own places. John Ball and Jack 
 Straw were found in an old house hidden, 
 thinking to have stolen away, but they 
 could not, for they were accused by their 
 own men. Of the taking of them the king 
 and his lords were glad, and then strake off 
 their heads and Wat Tyler's also, and they 
 were set on London bridge, and the 
 valiant men's heads taken down that they 
 had set on the Thursday before. These 
 tidings anon spread abroad^ so that the 
 people of the strange countries, which were 
 coming towards London, returned back 
 again to their own houses and durst come 
 no farther. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXXV 
 
 Hosv the duke of Lancaster kept himself still 
 in Scotland for fear of this rebellion, and 
 how the king punished of these traitors the 
 chief masters. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The dule of Lancaster 
 concluded the treaty with the Scots and re- 
 turned. On his way he was refused ad- 
 viittance to the town of Berwick^ and 
 hearing had news of the rebellion^ returned 
 into Scotland to wait till better tidings came. 
 He was singularly hated by the rebels^ who 
 spread abroad that he was a traitor to the 
 reahn. 
 
 The chapter co7itinues thus : — 
 
 Now I shall shew you the vengeance that 
 the king of England took of these un- 
 gracious people in the mean season, while 
 the duke of Lancaster was in Scotland. 
 
 When these people were rappeased and 
 that Baker was executed to death, and 
 Lister of Stafford,^ Wat Tyler, Jack Straw, 
 John Ball and divers other at London, then 
 the king was counselled to go visit his 
 realm, through every shire, bailiwick and 
 village, to purge and punish all the said 
 evil-doers, and to get again all such letters 
 as by force he had given them in divers 
 places, and so to bring again his realm in 
 good order. Then the king sent secretly 
 for a. certain number of men of arms to 
 come to him at a day appointed, and so 
 they did to the number of a five hundred 
 spears and as many archers ; and when they 
 were all come as the king had devised, the 
 king departed from London with his house- 
 hold-men all only and took the way into 
 Kent, whereas first these ungracious people 
 began to stir : and these foresaid men of war 
 followed after the king and coasted him, but 
 they rode not in his company. The king 
 entered into Kent and came to a village 
 called Ospringe, and called the mayor and 
 all the men of the town before him. And 
 when they were all come into a fair place, 
 the king made to be shewed them by one 
 of his council how they had erred against 
 the king, and how they had near turned all 
 England to tribulation and to loss. And 
 because that the king knew well that this 
 1 The true reading is ' at Stafford.' 
 
262 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 business was l^egun by some of them 
 and not by all, wherefore it were better 
 that some did bear the blame than all, 
 therefore he commanded them that they 
 should shew what they were that were 
 culpable, on pain to be for ever in the 
 king's indignation and to be reputed as 
 traitors against him. And when they that 
 were there assembled heard that request and 
 saw well that such as were culpable should 
 excuse all the other, then they beheld each 
 other and at last said : ' Sir, behold him 
 here by whom this town was first moved.' 
 Incontinent he was taken and hanged, and 
 so there were hanged to the number of 
 seven ; and the letters that the king had 
 given them were demanded again, and so 
 they were delivered again, and torn and 
 broken before all the people. And it was 
 said to them all : ' Sirs, ye that be here 
 assembled, we command you in the king's 
 name on pain of death every man to go 
 home to his own house peaceably, and 
 never to grudge nor rise against the king 
 nor none of his officers ; and this trespass 
 that ye have done the king doth pardon 
 you thereof Then they cried all with one 
 voice : ' God thank the king's grace and 
 all his council ! ' 
 
 In like manner as the king did at Os- 
 pringe, he did at Canterbury, at Sandwich, 
 at Yarmouth, at Orwell and in other places 
 in Kent : ' in like wise he did in all other 
 places of his realm, whereas any rebellion 
 had been ; and there were hanged and 
 beheaded more than fifteen hundred. Then 
 the king was counselled to send for his 
 uncle the duke of Lancaster out of Scot- 
 land : so the king sent for him by a knight 
 of his house called sir Nicholas Carnefell. 
 The knight rode so long that he came to 
 Edinbro', and there he found the duke and 
 his company and delivered his letters of 
 credence from the king. The duke obeyed, 
 as it was reason, and also gladly he would 
 return into England to his own heritage, and 
 so took his way to come to Roxburgh ; and 
 at his departing he thanked the lords of 
 Scotland of the comfort that they had done to 
 him, as in sustaining him in their realm as 
 
 1 'In Kent' is added by the translator, who 
 knows even less about the geography than Froissart. 
 This is due partly to the corruption of the names, 
 for he writes 'Germeney' and ' ConeuUe ' for 
 Yarmouth and Orwell. 
 
 long as it pleased him. The earl Douglas, 
 the earl Moray and other of Scotland 
 brought him to the abbey of Melrose. 
 Thus the duke came to Roxburgh and to 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and so to Durham 
 and to York, and in every place he found 
 cities and towns ready apparelled, as it was 
 reason. 
 
 And the same season there died in London 
 a knight called sir Guichard d'Angle, earl 
 of Huntingdon and master to the king. He 
 was reverentlyburied in the Friars preachers 
 in London. And on the day of his obsequy 
 there was the king, his two brethren, the 
 princess his mother and a great number of 
 prelates, barons and ladies of England, and 
 there did him great honour. And truly 
 this gentle knight was well worthy to have 
 honour ; for in his time he had all noble 
 virtues that a knight ought to have. He 
 was merry, true, amorous, sage, secret, 
 large, prevve, hardy, adventurous and chiv- 
 alrous. Thus ended this gentle knight sir 
 Guichard d'Angle. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXXVI 
 
 The evil will that the duke of Lancaster con- 
 ceived in his courage for the refuse that 
 was made him at Berwick : and how the 
 earl of Cambridge arrived in Portugal. 
 
 SUMMAR v.— The duke of Lancaster had 
 words with the earl of Northumberland , 
 because he was refused admission to Berivick, 
 but the kijig and other lords made peace 
 between thejn. 
 
 The earl of Cambridge with his fleet ar- 
 rived at Lisbon after suffering great peril 
 on the sea. 
 
 Philip d Arteveldviade himself feared and 
 beloved in Ghent, The earl of Fla^iders laid 
 siege to Ghejtt, brit f7zally, the young lord 
 d^Enghien being slain by an ainbnsh,, he 
 raised the siege and returned to Bruges, 
 A coicncil was held at Harlebecque, to 
 which twelve notables of Ghent were sent^ 
 to make peace with the earl, and certain 
 terms were privately agreed to. 
 
DEATH OF GRUTERE AND BETTE, 1382 
 
 263 
 
 CHAPTER CCCLXXXVII 
 
 How two valiant men of Gaunt were slain 
 by Peter du Bois and by Philip d'Arteveld. 
 And of the rebellion at Paris against the 
 French king. 
 
 It is said most commonly, ' If it be as he 
 doth, it is as he saith." Peter du Bois, who 
 thought himself not well assured of his life 
 and had his spies about to hear every new 
 tidings ; and such as had been at this said 
 treaty had reported in the town how that 
 this treaty was brought about by Gilbert 
 Grutere and Simon Bette. And when 
 Peter du Bois understood it, he was mad 
 in his mind therefor, and took the matter to 
 himself and said : ' If any be corrected for 
 this war, yet I shall not be the first, for 
 the matter shall not go all as they ween. 
 Shall they that have been at this treaty rule 
 everything as they list ? Mayhap nay ; I 
 purpose not yet to die : I think the war 
 hath not endured so long as it shall do : as 
 yet such as were my good masters, John 
 Lyon and William Craffort, their deaths is 
 not yet well revenged. If the matters be 
 now in trouble, yet I will bring them into 
 more trouble.' And so he did : I shall shew 
 you how. 
 
 The same proper evening that the coun- 
 cil should have been the next day in the 
 council-hall, there to hear reported the 
 treaty that was taken at Harlebecque, Peter 
 du Bois came the same evening to Philip 
 d'Arteveld's house and found him in his 
 chamber, lying in a window musing and 
 studying. And the first word he spake he 
 said : ' Philip d'Arteveld, hear you any 
 tidings ? ' ' Nay truly,' quoth he, ' but that 
 I hear say our men are returned from the 
 council at Harlebecque, and to-morrow we 
 shall hear in the hall what tidings they have 
 brought.' ' That is true,' quoth Peter, 'but 
 I know already what ways they have taken 
 and purpose to take ; for such as have been 
 there hath shewed it to some of my friends. 
 Certainly, Philip, the treaty that they have 
 made and would make lieth on the jeopardy 
 of our heads ; for if there be peace taken 
 between the earl and this town, know for 
 truth that you and I and the lord of 
 
 ^ The original is, ' S'il est qui fait, il est qui dit,' 
 ' Where there is one to do, there is one to tell.' 
 
 Herselle and all such captains as have 
 aided us in this war shall be the first that 
 shall die, and the rich men shall go quit : 
 they will bring us into danger and go them- 
 selves free, and this was ever the opinion 
 of John Lyon my master. Always the earl 
 hath these marmosets about him, as Gilbert 
 Mahew and his brethren and the provost of 
 Harlebecque, who is of the lineage of the 
 alderman of the mean crafts,' who Hed away 
 with them. We ought wisely to look on 
 this matter and to see what were best to 
 do.' Philip answered and said : ' Peter, I 
 shall shew you my mind. Let us give 
 knowledge of this to all our aldermen and 
 captains, that they be to-morrow all ready 
 apparelled in the market-place, and then 
 let us two enter into the hall with a hun- 
 dred with us, to hear the content of the 
 treaty ; and then let me alone, so ye will 
 avow my deed and abide puissantly by me : 
 for without we be feared among the com- 
 mons, it is nothing.' And so they agreed. 
 Then Peter du Bois departed and sent to 
 all rulers and captains under him, com- 
 manding them and all their men to be 
 ready in the morning in the market-place 
 to hear tidings. They all obeyed, they 
 durst do none otherwise, and also they were 
 ever ready to do evil. 
 
 The next morning about the hour of nine 
 the mayor and aldermen and rich men of 
 the town came into the market-place and 
 entered into the hall, and thither came 
 they that had been at the treaty at Harle- 
 becque. Then thither came Peter du Bois 
 and Philip d'Arteveld and such of their sect, 
 well accompanied. And when they were 
 all assembled and set, such as would sit, 
 then the lord of Herselle was missed, for 
 he was not there ; and so he was sent for, 
 but he excused himself, because he was 
 sick and not well at ease. ' Say what ye 
 will,' quoth Peter du Bois, ' for I am here in 
 his stead : here be enow ; let us hear what 
 they will say that hath been at Harlebecque. ' 
 Then there rose up two of the notablest men 
 of the company, Gilbert Grutere and Simon 
 Bette, and one of them said : ' Lords of 
 Gaunt, we have been at the parliament at 
 Harlebecque and have had much pain 
 and travail, and also so had the good men 
 of Brabant, of Liege and of Hainault, to 
 
 t 'And the provost of Harlebecque, who is of 
 their lineage, and the dean of the small crafts.* 
 
264 
 
 TEE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 make accord and agreement between our 
 lord the earl of Flanders and us of Gaunt. 
 Finally at their requests and by the help 
 of my lady of Brabant, who sent thither 
 her council and the duke Aubert his, 
 so that by their means the good town of 
 Gaunt is come to a peace and to agreement 
 witli our lord the earl in this manner, that 
 two hundred men of ours, such as he shall 
 send ys their names in writing within 
 fifteen days, we must send them into the 
 earl's prison at Lille, to put them clearly 
 to his mercy and pleasure. He is so free 
 and so noble, that it is no doubt but that 
 he will have mercy on them. ' With those 
 words Peter du Bois stept forth and said : 
 ' Gilbert Grutere, how durst you be so bold 
 to make such agreement as to send two 
 hundred of our men of Gaunt into the town 
 of our enemy in great rebuke and shame to 
 all the town of Gaunt? It were better 
 Gaunt were turned up-se-down, than they of 
 Gaunt should have such reproach as to make 
 war and end it so shamefully. We that 
 have heard you may well know that ye shall 
 be none of the two hundred prisoners, nor 
 also Simon Bette. Ye have chosen for 
 yourself; now then we will choose for our- 
 self On forth, Philip d'Arteveld, set 
 hands on these false traitors, that would 
 betray and dishonour the town of Gaunt.' 
 Therewith Peter du Bois drew out his 
 dagger and came to Gilbert Grutere and 
 strake him into the belly, and so he fell 
 down dead. And Philip d'Arteveld drew 
 out his dagger and he strake Simon Bette 
 and slew him in like wise, and then they 
 cried, ' Treason, treason ! ' And they that 
 were slain had of their men above and 
 beneath, for they were men of great lineage 
 and the richest men of the town ; but they 
 gat themselves out of the town to save 
 themselves, so that there was no more done 
 but they two slain : but to appease the 
 people and to bring them to their belief they 
 sent out of their men crying and saying : 
 ' These false traitors, Gilbert Grutere and 
 Simon Bette, would have betrayed the 
 town of Gaunt.' Thus the matter passed ; 
 these two notable men were slain and no 
 man to revenge them. 
 
 And when the earl of Flanders, being at 
 Bruges, heard of these tidings, he was sore 
 displeased and said : ' At the desire of my 
 cousins of Brabant I lightly agreed to have 
 
 peace with them of Gaunt, and now and 
 before this time they have wrought falsely ; 
 but I will they know that they shall never 
 have peace again with me, but I will have 
 them at my pleasure. ' 
 
 Thus there was slain in the town of 
 Gaunt these two valiant men, rich and 
 sage : they might each of them spend of 
 their own patrimony two thousand franks 
 yearly. They were sore bemoaned privily, 
 but none durst speak of them openly. 
 Thus the war was more fiercer than 
 it was before ; for they of the garrisons 
 about Gaunt were night and day busy 
 to stop all provision coming to Gaunt, so 
 that they of Brabant nor of Hainault durst 
 not adventure to bring anything to Gaunt ; 
 for if the earl's men met any victuallers, 
 they would slay their horses and bring 
 them prisoners into Oudenarde or Ter- 
 monde, so that all victuallers feared the 
 peril thereof 
 
 SUMMARY.— The commons of Paris 
 fiiade rebellion., breaking up prisons and 
 robbing houses. The king and his imcles 
 sent the lord of Coiicy to appease them. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCLXXXVni-CCCXCV 
 
 SUMMARY. — The lord of Cotccy made a 
 treaty with the Parisians, that instead of the 
 taxes of which they complained they should 
 pay \0,OOQ franks weekly to a receiver, to 
 be spent on paying ?nen of war j and the 
 commons of Rotten, luho also rose, came to a 
 like treaty. 
 
 The king of England ivas married to the 
 lady Anne of Bohemia. 
 
 The duke of Anjou passed into Italy with 
 thii'iy thousand men and entered into Puglia 
 and Calabria. 
 
 In the mean time the English and Gas- 
 cons continued to fight and plunder in Spain, 
 tmtil peace was made against their will, and 
 the king of Castile was married to the 
 daughter of the king of Portugal. 
 
FAMINE AT GHENT, 1382 
 
 26s 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXCVI 
 
 Of the great necessity of victuals that they 
 of Gaunt endured, and how they were 
 succoured by them of Liege. 
 
 All the season after the destruction and 
 brenning of the town of Grammont and of 
 the raising of the siege of Gaunt because 
 of the displeasure that the earl of Flanders 
 had for the death of his cousin the young 
 lordd'Enghien, slain by the ambushment of 
 the Gauntois, as ye have heard herebefore, 
 the knights and squires nor good towns 
 made no war to them of Gaunt but by garri- 
 sons ; so that all the country held with the 
 earl against Gaunt except the Four Mestiers, 
 and so by them some victual came into 
 Gaunt, and some victual came into Gaunt 
 out of the county of Alost ; but the earl of 
 Flanders, as soon as he knew that, he found 
 remedy ; for incontinent he sent to the 
 garrison of Termonde commanding them 
 to overrun and to bren all the plain country 
 of the county of Alost, which was done at 
 his commandment, so that the poor folks 
 with their beasts were fain to fly away into 
 Brabant and into Hainault, and the most 
 part to go a-begging. Yet there was a 
 country pertaining to the Four Mestiers,^ 
 from whom there came ever some aid or 
 victual into Gaunt. Thus all this winter 
 the earl and they of Flanders constrained 
 so sore them of Gauut, that they could 
 have nothing come to them nother by land 
 nor by water. The earl had so won his 
 cousins, the duke of Brabant and duke 
 Aubert, that their countries were kept close 
 against them of Gaunt, so that nothing 
 came to them from thence, without it were 
 by stealth and by great adventure and peril 
 for them that did it. The sage men said 
 how it could not long endure, but that they 
 must die for famine ; for all their garners 
 were void and the people could get no 
 bread for no money, and when any bread 
 was baken in the town, they were fain to 
 keep it by strong hand, or else the common 
 people that died for hunger would have 
 taken it by force. It was great pity to see 
 and to hear the poor people, both men, 
 women and children, yea, such as were 
 right notable fell in this danger, and every 
 
 1 ' Yet there remained one country, that which is 
 called the Quatre-Mdtiers.' 
 
 day increased the complaints, weepings and 
 cries made to Philip d'Arteveld their sove- 
 reign captain, who had of them great pity 
 and compassion and made many good 
 orders, whereof he was greatly praised : 
 for he caused the garners of the abbeys to 
 be opened, and of rich men, and set a rea- 
 sonable price of the corn, whereby the 
 town was greatly comforted. And some 
 corn there came to them by stealth out 
 of Holland and Zealand, and tuns full of 
 flour and biscuit bread, the which greatly 
 comforted them ; for they had been long 
 discomfited before, if they had not been 
 comforted by these said countries. It was 
 defended in all Brabant by the duke that 
 on pain of death they should carry anything 
 to Gaunt, but if they of Gaunt would jeopard 
 to fetch any, then they might give them or 
 sell to them at their pleasure. 
 
 And when the time of Lent came, then 
 were they in great distress, for they had no 
 lenten stuff. Then there departed out of 
 the town a twelve thousand of soldiers and 
 such as had nothing to live by but were 
 overcome with famine, and so they came 
 to the town of Brussels. The town closed 
 their gates against them, for they feared 
 them, they knew not their thoughts. 
 When they were near to Brussels, they sent 
 a certain of their company unarmed to the 
 gate of the town, and there they desired 
 them of the town for God's sake to have 
 pity of them, as to suffer them to have 
 victual for their money, saying how they 
 died for hunger, and sware how they 
 thought none evil to them nor to the country 
 about. The good men of Brussels had pity 
 on them and brought them victual for their 
 money, and so they passed their time about 
 in the country the space of three weeks, 
 but they could enter into no good town ; 
 and so they came to Louvain, who had pity 
 on them and did them much good and re- 
 freshing : their captain and leader was 
 Francis Ackerman, he made the treaties for 
 them with the good towns. 
 
 And in this season, while they of Gaunt 
 lay in the marches of Louvain, their captain 
 spake with the masters of the city of Liege, 
 and they had compassion on them and so 
 had the bishop of Liege, sir Arnold d'Arcle,^ 
 
 1 John d'Arckel bishop of Liege died in 1378, 
 and was succeeded by Arnold de Homes, who was 
 bishop at this time. 
 
266 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and promised them to send to the earl of 
 Flanders and to do so much as to make 
 their peace, saying unto them : ' Ah, ye 
 good men of Gaunt, if the country of Liege 
 were as near to you as Brabant is, or Hai- 
 nault, ye should be otherwise comforted by 
 us than ye be by them, to maintain your 
 franchise. Howbeit, we shall aid you as 
 much as we may : we will that ye that be 
 merchants and use merchandise may go and 
 come through the country, as it is reason, 
 to the sum of five or six hundred carts laded 
 with corn, so that the owners of the corn 
 may be truly paid therefor. They will 
 suffer our merchandise to pass through 
 Brabant, they and we are at a peace, and 
 though it be so that Brussels be closed, we 
 know it well it is more for fear than for any 
 evil will, for they have of you great com- 
 passion ; but the duke of Brabant and the 
 duchess at the desire of their cousin the 
 earl of Flanders inclineth rather to his part 
 than to yours, as it is reason, for always 
 great lords will hold each with other.' Of 
 these offers and love that the Liegeois 
 offered to the Gauntois they were thereof 
 greatly rejoiced and thanked them heartily, 
 and said how of such people and friends 
 the Gauntois had great need. 
 
 Francis Ackerman and the burgesses of 
 Gaunt that were in the city of Liege took 
 leave of the masters of Liege, who ordained 
 certain men to go with them into the 
 country to get them chares ; and so in two 
 days they had a six hundred charged with 
 corn, whereof they had most need. And 
 so they went forth with their carriage and 
 passed between Louvain and Brussels ; and 
 when Francis Ackerman came to his com- 
 pany, he shewed them the love and courtesy 
 that they of Liege had offered them and 
 offereth yet to do, and moreover he said 
 how he would go to Brussels to speak with 
 the duchess of Brabant and to desire her to 
 find some means how the good town of 
 Gaunt might have peace with the earl of 
 Flanders. And so he sent unto her to 
 know her pleasure, and she was content 
 that he should come and speak with her, 
 and so he went to Brussels. 
 
 The same time the duke of Brabant was 
 
 at Luxembourg, and so this Francis and 
 
 three with him ^ entered into Brussels, and 
 
 so came to the duchess to her lodging at 
 
 ^ ' Lui troisieme,' ' and two with him.' 
 
 Codeberg. The duchess had /part of her 
 council about her ; then Francis Acker- 
 man kneeled down before her and said : 
 ' Right honourable and dear lady, through 
 your benign grace may it please you to have 
 pity and compassion of them of Gaunt, 
 who can come to no mercy with the earl of 
 Flanders by no means. Right dear lady, 
 if by your means ye could cause my lord 
 the earl to descend to some reason and to 
 have pity of these poor men of Gaunt, ye 
 should do herein a great alms-deed, and, 
 madam, they of Liege would gladly help 
 thereto to the best of their powers.' Then 
 the lady answered right humbly and said 
 how that the dissension between her cousin 
 the earl and them of Gaunt displeased her 
 right greatly, and how that long or that 
 time she would gladly there had been a 
 peace between them, if she could have 
 found any means how : but also she said : 
 ' Ah, ye sirs of Gaunt, ye have so ofttimes 
 displeased him and have holden so marvel- 
 lous opinions against him, which hath caused 
 him to sustain still his displeasure against 
 you. Howbeit, for God's sake and for 
 pity I shall employ me herein to do the 
 best I can. I shall send to him desiring 
 that he will come to Tournay, and there 
 shall be my council, and do you so much 
 that ye may have there the council of Hai- 
 nault and of Liege, as ye say they wiU. ' 
 'Yea truly, madam,' quoth he, 'so they 
 have promised us.' 'Well,' quoth the 
 duchess, ' and ye shall see that I shall do 
 the best I can.' 'Madam,' quoth they, 
 ' God reward you both bodily and ghostly.' 
 And so took their leave and departed from 
 Brussels, and so came to their company and 
 chariots, who tarried for them, and then 
 they did so much that they came to their 
 town of Gaunt. 
 
 When the tidings came to Gaunt that 
 their men were returned and had brought 
 with them more than six hundred chares 
 with victual, they were right joyful. How- 
 beit, all that they brought would not suffice 
 the town of Gaunt the space of fifteen days, 
 yet to them that were discomforted it was 
 a great comfort. And so there went against 
 this carriage much people in manner of 
 procession, and kneeled and held up their 
 hands to the merchants that brought it, 
 saying : ' Ah, ye good people, ye have done 
 great alms thus to comfort the mean people 
 
CONFERENCE AT TOUR NAY 
 
 267 
 
 of Gaunt, who had nothing to live by, if ye 
 had not come. First laud and praise be to 
 God, and then to you.' And so these chares 
 were conveyed into the market-place and 
 there discharged ; and so this corn was 
 divided and delivered by weight to them 
 that had most need, and so five thousand 
 of them of Gaunt conveyed again these 
 chares into Brabant out of danger. 
 
 All this knew well the earl of Flanders, 
 being at Bruges, and knew well they of 
 Gaunt were so sore constrained, that they 
 could not long endure. He was nothing 
 sorry of their poverty, no more were his 
 council, who would gladly have seen the 
 destruction of the town, as Gilbert Mahew 
 and his brethren with other. All this fell 
 in the Lent in the month of March and 
 April the year of our Lord God a thousand 
 three hundred fourscore and one. ^ The 
 earl of Flanders was in purpose to come 
 more puissantly than ever he did to lay 
 siege before Gaunt, and was determined to 
 enter on the Four Mestiers and to bren all 
 before him, because they had aided Gaunt 
 with victual. The earl sent his mind and 
 intent to all the good towns of Flanders, 
 commanding thein to be ready, for the pro- 
 cession day once past at Bruges, he said he 
 would depart to go and lay siege before 
 Gaunt, and also he wrote to all knights 
 and squires that held of him in Hainault, 
 that they should be with him at Bruges 
 within eight days after. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXCVn 
 The hard answer that the earl of Flanders 
 made to them of Gaunt. And of the 
 number of men of arms that were then at 
 Paris in France. 
 
 For all the summons that the earl of 
 Flanders made, yet the duchess of Brabant 
 and the duke Aubert and the bishop of 
 Liege travailed so much with the earl, that 
 a day was set that their council should meet 
 to treat for a peace in the city of Tournay. 
 Though the earl were loath thereto, yet at 
 the desire of these lords he agreed to have 
 a council for that matter in the city of 
 Tournay the week after Easter the year of 
 our Lord a thousand three hundred four- 
 score and two, and to be there himself. 
 1 The year is reckoned, as usual by Froissart, to 
 begin at Easter, which fell on 6th Aprlh 
 
 At this day assigned, thither came the 
 bishop of Liege, and of the good towns to 
 the number of twelve, and sir Lambert of 
 Oupcy, a right sage knight. Also the 
 duchess of Brabant sent thither the most 
 notablest persons of her council and cer- 
 tain of every good town. Also duke Aubert 
 sent thither out of the county of liainault 
 his council, as sir Simon de Lalain his 
 bailiff and divers other. All these came to 
 Tournay in Easter week : and they of 
 Gaunt sent thither twelve notable persons, 
 whereof Philip d'Arteveld was chief; and 
 all they of Gaunt were agreed, whatsoever 
 end these twelve made, so that none of 
 them should suffer death, if it pleased the 
 earl they were content to be banished 
 Gaunt and the county of Flanders for ever, 
 and so hereupon they were concluded. 
 And Philip d'Arteveld had so much pity 
 of the common people, that for all the dis- 
 pleasure that he had done to the earl, yet 
 he was content to put himself into the 
 earl's mercy. And so when he departed 
 from Gaunt to go to Tournay, men, women 
 and children fell down on their knees before 
 him holding up their hands, desiring him, 
 whatsoever mischief they endured, that he 
 would bring them peace ; of the which cry 
 he had such pity, that he was determined 
 to do as it is shewed before. 
 
 When they of Liege, of Hainault and of 
 Brabant had been in Tournay the space of 
 three days after the day appointed was 
 past, and saw that the earl came not nor 
 was not coming, they had great marvel and 
 then took counsel together and determined 
 to send to Bruges to him, and so they 
 did. And they sent to him sir Lambert of 
 Oupey, and of Brabant the lord of Crupe- 
 lant, and of Hainault sir William of 
 Herimez, and six burgesses of the three 
 countries. And when the earl saw these 
 three knights, he made them great cheer, 
 as it was reason, and when he knew their 
 message, he answered Ihem how it was not 
 his ease to come to Tournay as at that 
 time ; howbeit, he said, because they were 
 come and travailed to have him to Tour- 
 nay, and for the honour of such as were 
 come thither, and at the instance of my lady 
 of Brabant his sister and of duke Aubert 
 his cousin and the bishop of Liege, he said 
 he was content to send hastily to Tournay 
 a final answer by some of his council. 
 
268 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 These three knights could have none other 
 answer of him as at that time, and so they 
 returned again to Tournay and shewed how 
 the earl answered them. And a six days 
 after there came to Tournay from the earl 
 the lord of Ramseflies and the lord of Grut- 
 huse and sir John Vilain and the provost of 
 Harlebecque, and they excused the earl 
 because he came not ; and then they de- 
 clared the earl's ftiU intent as touching the 
 peace, saying how they of Gaunt can have 
 no peace with the earl without that they 
 will generally, all manner of men in Gaunt 
 of the ages between fifteen and sixty, come 
 out of the town of Gaunt in their shirts, 
 bare-headed, with halters about their necks, 
 and so meet the earl between Bruges and 
 Gaunt, and the earl to do with them his 
 pleasure, other to let them live or to put 
 them all to death at his pleasure. 
 
 When this answer was made and the re- 
 lation thereof declared to them of Gaunt 
 by the councils of these three countries, 
 then they were more abashed than ever 
 they were belore. Then the bailiff of Hai- 
 nault said to them : ' Sirs, ye be in great 
 peril : every man take heed to himself. I 
 think, if ye take this way and put your- 
 selves at his will, he will not put all to 
 death that he seeth in his presence ; per- 
 adventure some he will, as such as hath dis- 
 pleased him more than other. I think he 
 shall have such means of pity, that per- 
 adventure such as weeneth himself to be 
 most in peril may hap to come to pardon 
 and mercy. Therefore, sirs, I would coun- 
 sel you to take this offer and refuse it not ; 
 for if ye do, I think it will be long or ye 
 recover again such another offer.' 'Sir,' 
 quoth Philip d'Arteveld, ' we have no such 
 charge to go so far as to bring the good 
 people of Gaunt into that point ; for I 
 ensure you they will not so do. For, sir, 
 when we be come again to Gaunt and have 
 shewed them the earl's pleasure, know for 
 truth they will not do it : if they will, I 
 ensure you they shall not be let for us. 
 Sir, we thank you for the travail and good 
 diligence that ye have had in this matter. ' 
 And so then they of Gaunt took their leave 
 of the councils of these three countries and 
 made well semblant that they would in no 
 wise agree to this purpose, and so departed 
 and returned to Gaunt through Brabant. 
 
 So thus brake up this council at Tournay 
 
 and every man went home. Then the earl 
 of Flanders demanded what answer they of 
 Gaunt made, and it was shewed him. The 
 earl as then set little price by them, for he 
 knew well they had endured and suffered 
 so much that they could never suffer no 
 longer : wherefore he thought he should 
 have shortly an honourable end of the war, 
 and to bring Gaunt into that point that all 
 other towns should take ensample by it. 
 
 The same season the commons of Paris 
 began again to murmur because the king 
 came not thither, and they feared lest the 
 king would have come suddenly on them 
 with a certain men of war and overrun the 
 city, and to have put to death whom he had 
 list : and for doubt of that peril they made 
 great watch every night in the streets and 
 market-places and raised up their chains, 
 that no man should ride nor enter in among 
 them, and if any person were found abroad 
 after nine of the clock, without he were well 
 known among them, he was but dead. So 
 they were in Paris rich men and other men 
 of arms to the number of thirty thousand, 
 as well harnessed at all pieces as any knight 
 ought to be ; and also they had servants 
 right well harnessed, bearing great mallets 
 of iron and steel to confound helms, and 
 when they were numbered and viewed, 
 they thought themselves able to fight with 
 the greatest prince in all the world. These 
 people were called the routs and mallets ^ 
 of Paris. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXCVIII 
 
 How that a five thousand Gauntois issued 
 out of Gaunt to fight with the earl and 
 with them of Bruges after the answer that 
 Philip dArteveld had shewed them. 
 
 When Philip d'Arteveld and his company 
 entered again into Gaunt, a great number 
 of the common people desiring nothing but 
 peace were right joyful of their coming, 
 trusting to hear some good tidings. They 
 came against him and could not restrain, 
 but demanded tidings, saying : ' Ah, dear 
 sir Philip d'Arteveld, rejoice us with some 
 good word, let us know how ye have sped' : 
 to which demands Philip gave none answer, 
 
 ^ ' Les routes ci mailletz,' 'the companies wilh 
 the mallets,' etc. 
 
SPEECH OF PHILIP D'ARTEVELD {April 30) 
 
 269 
 
 but passed by holding down his head. The 
 more he held his peace, the more the people 
 followed him, pressing to hear some tidings, 
 and once or twice as he rode to his lodging- 
 ward, he said to them that followed him : 
 ' Sirs, return to your houses : for this day 
 God aid you, and to-morrow at nine of the 
 clock come into the market-place, and 
 then ye shall hear the tidings that I can 
 shew you.' Other answer could they have 
 none of him, whereof every man was greatly 
 abashed. 
 
 And when Philip d'Arteveld was alighted 
 at his lodging, and such as had been at 
 Tournay with him, and every man gone to 
 their own lodgings, then Peter du Bois, 
 who desired to hear some tidings, came in 
 the evening to Philip's house, and so then 
 they two went together into a chamber. 
 Then Peter demanded of him how he had 
 sped, and Philip, who would hide nothing 
 from him, said : ' By my faith, Peter, by 
 that the earl of Flanders hath answered by 
 his council sent to Tournay, he will take 
 no manner of person within the town of 
 Gaunt to mercy, no more one than another.' 
 ' By my faith,' quoth Peter, ' to say the 
 truth, he doth but right to do so ; he is 
 well counselled to be of that opinion, for 
 they be all part -takers, as well one as 
 another. Now the matter is come even 
 after mine intent, and also it was the intent 
 of my good master John Lyon that is dead ; 
 for now the town will be so troubled, that 
 it will be hard ever to appease it again. 
 Now it is time to take bridle in the teeth : 
 now it shall be seen who is sage and who is 
 hardy in the town of Gaunt : other shortly 
 the town of Gaunt shall be the most hon- 
 oured town in Christendom, or else the 
 most desolate : at the least if we die in this 
 quarrel, we shall not die all alone. There- 
 fore, Philip, remember yourself well this 
 night, how ye may make relation to-morrow 
 to the people of the determination of your 
 council holden now at Tournay, and that 
 ye may shew it in such manner, that the 
 people may be content with you : for ye 
 have already the grace of the people for 
 two causes : one is because of your name, 
 for sometime Jaques d'Arteveld your father 
 was marvellously well beloved ; the other 
 cause is, ye entreat the people meekly and 
 sagely, as the common saying is throughout 
 the town, wherefore the people will believe 
 
 you, to live or die : and at the end shew 
 them your counsel and say how ye will do 
 thus and thus, and they will all say the 
 same. Therefore it behoveth you to take 
 good advice in shewing words, whereon 
 lieth your honour.' 'Truly,' quoth Philip, 
 ' ye say truth : and I trust so to speak and 
 shew the besynes of Gaunt, that we who are 
 now governours and captains shall other 
 live or die with honour.' So thus they 
 departed for that night each from other : 
 Peter du Bois went home to his house, and 
 Philip d'Arteveld abode still in his. 
 
 Ye may well know and believe that when 
 the day desired was come, that Philip 
 d'Arteveld should generally report the 
 effect of the council holden at Tournay, all 
 the people of the town of Gaunt drew them 
 to the market-place, on a Wednesday in 
 the morning ; and about nine of the bell 
 Philip d'Arteveld, Peter du Bois, Peter de 
 Wintere, Francis Ackerman and the other 
 captains came thither and entered up into 
 the common hall. Then Philip leaned 
 out at a window and began to speak, and 
 said : ' O all ye good people, it is of truth 
 that at the desire of the right honourable 
 lady my lady of Brabant and the right 
 noble duke Aubert, bailiff^ of Hainault, 
 Holland and Zealand, and of my lord the 
 bishop of Liege, there was a council agreed 
 and accorded to be at Tournay, and thereat 
 to be personally the earl of Flanders, and 
 so he certified to these said lords, who 
 have nobly acquitted themselves, for they 
 sent thither right notable councillors and 
 knights and burgesses of good towns. And 
 so they and we of this good town of Gaunt 
 were there at the day assigned looking and 
 abiding for the earl of Flanders, who came 
 not nor would not come : and when they 
 saw that he came not nor was not coming, 
 then they sent to him to Bruges three knights 
 for the three countries and burgesses for 
 the good towns, and they travailed so much 
 for our sakesthat they went to him to Bruges, 
 and there they found him, who made them 
 great cheer, as they said, and heard well 
 their message ; but he answered them and 
 said that for the honour of their lords and 
 for the love of his sister the lady of Brabant, 
 he said, he would send his council to 
 Tournay within five or six days after, so 
 well instructed by him that they should 
 1 That Ls, 'ruler.' 
 
2^o 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF EliOISSART 
 
 plainly shew the full of his intention and 
 mind. Other answer could they none 
 have, and so they returned again to us to 
 Tournay. And then the day assigned by 
 the earl there came from him to Tournay 
 the lord of Ramseflies, the lord of Gruthuse, 
 sir John Vilain and the provost of Harle- 
 becque ; and there they shewed graciously 
 their lord's will and certain arrest of this 
 war, how the peace might be had between 
 the earl and the town of Gaunt. First, 
 determinately they said, the earl will that 
 every man in the town of Gaunt except 
 prelates of churches and religious, all that 
 be above the age of fifteen year and under 
 the age of sixty, that they all in their shirts, 
 bare-headed and bare-footed, with halters 
 about their necks, avoid the town of Gaunt 
 and so go a twelve mile thence into the 
 plain of Buscampfeld, and there they shall 
 meet the earl of Flanders accompanied with 
 such as it shall please him : and so when 
 he seeth us in that case, holding up our 
 hands and crying for mercy, then he shall 
 have pity and compassion on us, if it please 
 him : but, sirs, I cannot know by the re- 
 lation of any of his council but that by 
 shameful punition of justice there shall 
 suffer death the most part of the people 
 that shall appear there that day. Now, 
 sirs, consider well if ye will come to peace 
 by this means or not.' 
 
 When Philip d'Arteveld had spoken 
 these words, it was great pity to see men, 
 women and children weep and wring their 
 hands for love of their fathers, brethren, 
 husbands and neighbours. And after this 
 torment and noise Philip d'Arteveld began 
 again to speak and said : ' Peace, sirs, 
 peace ! ' and incontinent every man was 
 still. Then he began to speak and said ; 
 * Ah, ye good people of Gaunt, ye be here 
 now assembled the most part, and ye have 
 heard what I have said. Sirs, I see none 
 other remedy but short counsel, for ye 
 know well what necessity we be in for lack 
 of victual : I am sure there be thirty 
 thousand in this town that did eat no bread 
 this fifteen days past. Sirs, of three things 
 we must of necessity do the one. The first 
 is, if ye will let us enclose ourselves in this 
 town and mure up all our gates, and then 
 confess us clean to God and let us enter 
 into the churches and minsters, and so let 
 us die for famine repentant of our sins, like 
 
 martyrs and such people as no man will 
 have mercy of : yet in this estate God shall 
 have mercy of our souls, and it shall be 
 said in every place where it shall be heard, 
 that we be dead valiantly and like true 
 people. Or else secondly let us all, men, 
 women and children, go with halters about 
 our necks, in our shirts, and cry mercy to 
 my lord the earl of Flanders : I think his 
 heart will not be so indurate, as when he 
 seeth us in that estate, but that his heart 
 will mollify and take mercy of his people ; 
 and as for myself I will be the first of all to 
 appease his displeasure, I shall present my 
 head and be content to die for them of 
 Gaunt. Or else thirdly let us choose out 
 in this town five or six thousand men of the 
 most able and best appointed, and let us 
 go hastily and assail the earl at Bruges and 
 fight with him ; and if we die in this voyage, 
 at the least it shall be honourable and God 
 shall have pity of us and all the world shall 
 say that valiantly and truly we have kept and 
 maintained our quarrel. And in this battle, 
 if God will have pity of us, as anciently he 
 put his puissance into the hands of [Judith, 
 as our fathers tell us, who slew Holofernes 
 that was under] ^ Nabugodonosor, duke 
 and master of his chivalry, by whom the 
 Assyrians were discomfited, then shall we 
 be reputed the most honourable people that 
 hath reigned sith the days of the Romans. 
 Now, sirs, take good heed which of these 
 three ways ye will take, for one of them 
 must ye needs take.' 
 
 Then such as were next him and had 
 heard him best said : ' Ah, sir, all we have 
 our trust in you to counsel us, and, sir, look, 
 as ye counsel us, so shall we follow.' ' By 
 my faith,' quoth Philip, ' then I counsel 
 you, let us go with an army of men against 
 the earl : we shall find him at Bruges, and 
 as soon as he shall know of our coming, he 
 will issue out to fight with us by the pride 
 of them of Bruges and of such as be about 
 him, who night and day informeth and 
 stirreth him to fight with us. And if God 
 will by his grace that we have the victory 
 and discomfit our enemies, then shall we 
 be recovered for ever and the most honoured 
 people of the world ; and if we be discom- 
 fited, we shall die honourably and God 
 shall have pity of us and thereby all the 
 
 ^ The words in brackets were omitted in the 
 translator's French text. 
 
MARCH TOWARDS BRUGES 
 
 271 
 
 other people in Gaunt shall escape and the 
 earl will have mercy on them.' And there- 
 with they all answered with one voice : 
 ' We will do thus, we will do thus, we will 
 make none other end.' Then Philip an- 
 swered and said : ' Sirs, if it be your wills 
 to do thus, then return home to your houses 
 and make ready your harness, for to-morrow 
 some time of the day I will that we depart 
 out of Gaunt and go toward Bruges, for the 
 abiding here is nothing for us profitable ; 
 and within five days we shall know if we 
 shall die or live with honour : and I shall 
 send the constables of every parish from 
 house to house to choose out the most able 
 and best appointed men.' 
 
 In this estate every man departed out of 
 the market - place and made them ready ; 
 and this Wednesday they kept the town so 
 close, that nother man nor woman entered 
 nor issued out of the town till the Thursday 
 in the morning, that every man was ready, 
 such as should depart ; and they were to 
 the number of five thousand men and not 
 past, and they had with them two hundred 
 chares of ordnance and artillery, and but 
 seven carts of victual, five of biscuit bread 
 and two tun of wine, for in all they had but 
 two tun and left no more behind them in 
 the town. This was a hard departing, 
 and they that were left behind were hardly 
 bestead. It was pity to behold them that 
 went forth, and they that abode behind 
 said to them : ' Sirs, now at your departure 
 ye know what ye leave behind you, but 
 never think to come hither again without 
 ye come with honour ; for if it be other- 
 wise, ye shall find here nothing, for as soon 
 as we hear tidings that ye be other slain or 
 discomfited, we shall set the town afire and 
 destroy ourselves like people despaired.' 
 Then they that went forth said to comfort 
 them : ' Sirs, pray to God for us, for we 
 trust he shall help us and you also, or we 
 return again.' Thus these five thousand 
 departed from Gaunt with their small pro- 
 vision, and that Thursday they went and 
 lay a mile ^ without Gaunt, and brake not up 
 their provision but passed that night with 
 such things as they found abroad in the 
 country ; and the Friday they went forth, 
 not touching as yet their victual, for the 
 foragers found somewhat in the country, 
 
 1 ' A league ' : but the best reading is ' une heure 
 et demie.' 
 
 wherewith they passed that day, and so 
 lodged a seven mile' from Bruges, and 
 there rested and took a place of ground 
 at their device, abiding their enemies ; and 
 before them there was a great plash of 
 standing water, wherewith they fortified 
 themselves on the one part, and on the 
 other part with their carriages. And so 
 they passed that night. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCXCIX 
 
 Of the order of the battle of the Gauntois, 
 and how they discomfited the earl and 
 them of Bruges, and by what means. 
 
 And when it came to the Saturday in the 
 morning, the weather was fair and clear 
 and a holiday called in Bruges, for that 
 day of custom they made processions.^ 
 Then tidings came to them how the 
 Gauntois were come thither. And then ye 
 should have seen great murmurings in 
 Bruges, so that at last word thereof came 
 to the earl and to his company, whereof 
 the earl had great marvel and said : ' Be- 
 hold yonder ungracious people of Gaunt ; 
 I trow the devil hath brought them to their 
 destruction : now is the time come to have 
 an end of this war.' And so then his 
 knights and squires came to him, and he 
 received them graciously and said to them : 
 ' We shall go fight with yonder unhappy 
 people of Gaunt: yet,' quoth the earl, 
 ' they had rather die by the sword than by 
 famine.' Then the earl was counselled to 
 send three men of arms into the field to see 
 the demeanour of his enemies. And so 
 then the marshal of Flanders appointed 
 out three squires, valiant men of arms, to 
 go and see the behaving of the Gauntois, 
 as Lambert of Lamhres, Damas of Bussy 
 and John of Bourc, and so they three de- 
 parted from Bruges and rode toward their 
 enemies. And in the mean time, while 
 these three went forth, they of Bruges made 
 them ready to issue out to go and fight 
 with the Gauntois. Of whom I shall shew 
 somewhat of their order. 
 
 This Saturday in the morning Philip 
 d'Arteveld ordained and commanded that 
 
 1 ' A une grande lieue.' 
 
 2 The day was 3d May, Invention of the Cross, 
 ' le jour Saint;Helaine,' as Froissart calls it. 
 
272 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 every man should make him ready to God, 
 and caused masses to be sung in divers 
 places by certain friars that were with him, 
 and so every man confessed him and prayed 
 to God for grace and mercy. And there 
 were certain sermons made enduring an 
 hour and a half, and there it was shewed 
 to people by these friars and clerks, figur- 
 ing them to the people of Israel, whom 
 king Pharaon kept long in servitude, and 
 how after by the grace of God they were 
 delivered and led into the land of behest 
 by INIoses and Aaron, and king Pharaon 
 and the Egyptians slain and taken. ' In 
 like wise,' quoth these friars, 'ye good 
 people, ye be kept in servitude by your 
 lord the earl of Flanders and by your neigh- 
 bours of Bruges, before whom now ye be 
 come and shall be fought with by all likeli- 
 hood, for your enemies have great will to 
 fight with you, for they fear little your puis- 
 sance. But, sirs, take no heed to that, for 
 God, who knoweth and seeth all thing, shall 
 have mercy on you ; nor think nothing of 
 that ye have left behind you, for ye may 
 well know it is without recoverance, if ye 
 be discomfited : therefore sell your lives 
 valiantly and die, if there be none other 
 remedy honourably. And be not dismayed, 
 though great puissance of people issue out 
 of Bruges against you, for victory lieth not 
 in puissance of people, but it is all only in 
 God, and by his grace it hath been often- 
 times seen, as well by the Maccabees as by 
 the Romans, that a small people of good 
 will trusting in the grace of God hath dis- 
 comfited a great number of people. And, 
 sirs, in this quarrel ye have good right and 
 a just cause, and therefore by many reasons 
 ye ought to be hardy and of good comfort.' 
 Thus with such words and other these 
 friars preached to the people that morning, 
 wherewith they were well content. And 
 three parts of the host were houselled, shew- 
 ing themselves to have great trust in God. 
 
 And after these masses sung, then they 
 assembled together on a little hill, and 
 there Philip d'Arteveld by great sentence ' 
 shewed them from point to point the right 
 that they thought they had in their quarrel, 
 and how that oftentimes the town of Gaunt 
 had required their lord the earl to have 
 
 ^ ' Parla de grand sentement,' 'spoke with great 
 earnestness ' : ' sentement ' usually means ' know- 
 ledge' or 'conviction,' 
 
 mercy on them, but they could never come 
 to no point with him, but to the great con- 
 fusion and damage of the town of Gaunt 
 and to the inhabitants thereof : also saying 
 how they were then come so far forth, that 
 to recule again they could not, and also 
 then to return, all things considered, they 
 could win nothing thereby, for they had 
 left nothing behind them but poverty and 
 heaviness ; and moreover he said : ' Sirs, 
 think nother of your wives nor children, 
 but think of your honour.' Thus such fair 
 words Philip d'Arteveld shewed among 
 them, for he was well languaged and could 
 speak right well, and well it became him ; 
 and finally he said : ' Now, fair lords, let 
 us truly and equally depart our victual each 
 to other like brethren, without any manner 
 of outrage ; for when this is spent, it must 
 behove us to seek for new, if we think to 
 live.' And so then right humbly the chares 
 were discharged and the bread was divided 
 by the constables, and the two tuns of 
 wine the bottoms were set upward, and so 
 there they dined with the bread and with 
 the wine, and were content with their small 
 repast for that time, and felt themselves 
 better disposed both in courage and in their 
 members than an they had eaten more 
 meat. And when this dinner was past, 
 then they set themselves in order and drew 
 themselves within their ribaudeux, the 
 which were high stakes bound with iron 
 and sharp pointed, which they used ever to 
 bear with them in their war, and so they 
 set them before their battle and closed 
 themselves within them, and in this estate 
 the three squires that were sent from the 
 earl to see their demeaning found them ; for 
 they approached so near that they might well 
 aview them, for they came just to their stakes : 
 but the Gauntois never stirred for all them, 
 but let them alone and made semblant that 
 they were right joyful of their coming. 
 
 Then these currours rode to Bruges to 
 the earl, and found him in his lodging with 
 a great number of knights and squires with 
 him : so they came through the press to the 
 earl, and they spake out aloud, because the 
 earl would they should be heard ; and so 
 there they shewed how they had ridden so 
 near to the Gauntois, that they might have 
 shot at them if they had list, but they 
 suffered them to pass peaceably, and also 
 they shewed how they had seen their 
 
VICTORY OF THE GAUNTOIS (May z) 
 
 273 
 
 banners. Then the earl demanded what 
 number of people they were by estimation : 
 they answered that surely, as far as they 
 could descry, they passed not a five or six 
 thousand. Then the earl said : ' Well, let 
 every man apparel himself; I will go fight 
 with them : they shall not depart without 
 battle." And therewith the trumpets did 
 sown through Bruges, and then every man 
 armed him and assembled in the market- 
 place, and set themselves in order with their 
 banners, as was the usage. And before the 
 earl's lodging assembled lords, knights and 
 squires. 
 
 When everything was ready, then the 
 earl went to the market-place and saw 
 there great number of people well ordered 
 and arranged, whereof he rejoiced ; and so 
 at his commandment every man drew in 
 bone order into the fields. It was great 
 pleasure to behold them ; they were a forty 
 thousand armed men, and so, what a-horse- 
 back and afoot, they came near to the 
 place where the Gauntois were, and there 
 they rested ; and by that time that the earl 
 was come thither, it was past noon and the 
 sun began to decline. Then some said to 
 the earl : ' Sir, ye see yonder your enemies : 
 they be but a handful of men, as to the 
 regard of your company, and, sir, they 
 cannot fly away. We would counsel you 
 not to fight with them this night ; let them 
 alone till to-morrow ; and, sir, thereby ye 
 shall see what they will do ; they shall be 
 feebler than they be now, for they have 
 nothing to eat.' The earl accorded well to 
 that counsel, and would that it should so 
 have been done ; but they of Bruges were 
 so hot and hasty to fight, that they would 
 not abide, but said, ' Set on them, they 
 shall not long endure ' ; and so then they 
 of Bruges began to shoot guns at them : 
 and then they of Gaunt discharged at once 
 three hundred guns at one shot, and so 
 turned about the plash of water and caused 
 the sun to be in the eyen of them of Bruges, 
 the which grieved them sore, and so entered 
 in among them and cried ' Gaunt ! ' And 
 as soon as they of Bruges heard them cry 
 ' Gaunt ! ' and heard so many guns come 
 in among them, and saw how they set full 
 front on them, like false-hearted people and 
 of evil courage they gave way to the 
 Gauntois to enter in among them ; and so 
 without any defence they cast down their 
 T 
 
 weapons and turned their backs. Then 
 the Gauntois, seeing well how their enemies 
 were discomfited, kept themselves still 
 close together and beat down on both sides 
 and before them, and ever went forth crying 
 ' Gaunt ! ' saying also, ' Follow, follow, our 
 enemies are discomfited, and let us enter 
 into Bruges with them : God hath regarded 
 us this evening by his pity. ' And as they 
 said, so they did ; for they pursued them of 
 Bruges sharply, and as they overtook them 
 they slew them, and tarried not but kept 
 on still their way, and ever they of Bruges 
 fled on before. There were many slain 
 and beaten down, for among them of 
 Bruges there was no defence. I trow there 
 was never so unhappy people nor more re- 
 creantly maintained themselves, for all the 
 great pride and bobance that they were of 
 before. Some would think and suppose by 
 imagination that there had been some 
 treason, the which was not so : it was 
 none other but their simple defence and 
 evil fortune that fell on them. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCC 
 
 How the town of Bruges was taken by the 
 Gauntois, and how the earl of Flanders 
 saved himself in a poor woman's house in 
 the town of Bruges. 
 
 When the earl of Flanders and the com- 
 pany that was about him saw the evil order 
 and rule of them of Bruges, and saw how 
 they were discomfited by their own folly, 
 and could see no recoverance, for they 
 fled away before the Gauntois, the earl then 
 was abashed and all they that were about 
 him, and so discomfited that they fled away 
 every man to save himself. Of a truth, if 
 they of Bruges would have returned again 
 and assailed the Gauntois with their help, 
 they had been likely to have recovered all 
 again ; but they saw no remedy, for they 
 fled toward Bruges as fast as they might, 
 the father tarried not for the son nor the 
 son for the father. So then the men of 
 arms and all brake their array, but they 
 had no list to take the way to Bruges : 
 the press was so great in the way toward 
 Bruges, that it was marvel to see, and 
 to hear the clamour and cry of them that 
 were slain and hurt, and the Gauntois 
 
274 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 following them of Bruges crying, ' Gaunt, 
 Gaunt ! ' still going forward and beating 
 down of people. The most part of the 
 men of arms would not put themselves in 
 that peril : howbeit, the earl was counselled 
 to draw to Bruges and to be one of the 
 first that should enter, and then to close 
 the "ates, to the intent that the Gauntois 
 should not be lords of Bruges. The earl 
 seeing none other remedy, nor no recover- 
 ance by abiding in the field, for he saw^ 
 well every man fled and also it was dark 
 night, wherefore he believed the counsel 
 that was given him and so took the way 
 toward Bruges with his banner before him, 
 and so came to the gate and entered with 
 the first, and a forty with him : then he set 
 men to keep the gate, and to close it if the 
 Gauntois did follow. Then the earl rode 
 to his own lodging and sent all about the 
 town commanding every man on pain of 
 death to draw to the market-place. The 
 intention of the carl was to recover the 
 town by that means ; but he did not, as ye 
 shall hear after. 
 
 In the mean time that the earl was at his 
 lodging and sent forth the clerks of every 
 ward from street to street, to have every 
 man to draw to the market-place to recover 
 the town, the Gauntois pursued so fiercely 
 their enemies, that they entered into the 
 town with them of Bruges ; and as soon as 
 they were within the town, the first thing 
 they did they went straight to the market- 
 place and there set themselves in array. 
 The earl as then had sent a knight of his 
 called sir Robert Marescal to the gate, to 
 see what the Gauntois did, and when he 
 came to the gate, he found the gate beaten 
 down and the Gauntois masters thereof ; 
 and some of them of Bruges met with him 
 and said : * Sir Robert, return and save 
 yourself if ye can, for the town is won by 
 them of Gaunt.' Then the knight returned 
 to the earl as fast as he might, who was 
 coming out of his lodging a-horseback with 
 a great number of cressets and lights with 
 him, and was going to the market-place. 
 Then the knight shewed the earl all that 
 he knew : howbeit, the earl, willing to re- 
 cover the town, drew to the market-place ; 
 and as he was entering, such as were before 
 him, seeing the place all ranged with the 
 Gauntois, said to the earl: 'Sir, return 
 again : if ye go any farther, ye are but 
 
 dead or taken with your enemies, for they 
 are ranged on the market-place and do 
 abide for you.' They shewed him truth; 
 and when the Gauntois saw the clearness 
 of the lights coming down the street, they 
 said : ' Yonder cometh the earl : he shall 
 come into our hands.' And Philip d'Arte- 
 veld had commanded from street to street 
 as lie went,' that if the earl came among 
 them, that no man should do to him any 
 bodily harm, but take him alive and then 
 to have him to Gaunt, and so to make their 
 peace as they list. The earl, who trusted 
 to have recovered all, came right near to 
 the place whereas the Gauntois were. Then 
 divers of his men said : ' Sir, go no farther, 
 for the Gauntois are lords of the market- 
 place and of the town : if ye enter into the 
 market-place, ye are in danger to be slain 
 or taken : a great number of the Gauntois 
 are going from street to street seeking for 
 their enemies : they have certain of them 
 of the town with them to bring them from 
 house to house, whereas they would be. 
 And, sir, out at any of the gates ye cannot 
 issue, for the Gauntois are lords thereof; 
 nor to your own lodging ye cannot return, 
 for a great number of the Gauntois are 
 going thither.' 
 
 And when the earl heard those tidings, 
 which were right hard to him, as it was 
 reason, he was greatly then abashed and 
 imagined what peril he was in. Then he 
 believed the counsel and would go no 
 farther, but to save himself if he might, and 
 so took his own counsel. He commanded 
 to put out all the lights, and said to them 
 that were about him ; ' I see well there is no 
 recovery : let every man depart and save 
 himself as well as he may ' ; and as he com- 
 manded it was done ; the lights were 
 quenched and cast into the streets, and so 
 every man departed. The earl then went 
 into a back lane and made a varlet of his 
 to unarm him, and did cast away his 
 armour and put on an old cloak of his 
 varlet's, and then said to him : ' Go thy 
 way from me and save thyself if thou canst ; 
 and have a good tongue, an thou fall in the 
 hands of thine enemies, and if they ask thee 
 anything of me, be not beknown that I am 
 in the town.' He answered and said : 
 ' Sir, to die therefor I will speak no word 
 
 1 The better reading is ' from rank to rank ' of 
 his men. 
 
BRUGES TAKEN 
 
 275 
 
 of you.' Thus abode there the earl of 
 Flanders all alone : he might then well say 
 that he was in great danger and hard ad- 
 venture, for at that time, if he had fallen in 
 the hands of his enemies, he had been in 
 danger of death ; for the Gauntois went 
 from house to house searching for the earl's 
 friends, and ever as they found any they 
 brought them into the market-place, and 
 there without remedy before Philip d'Arte- 
 veld and the captains they were put to 
 death. So God was friend to the earl, to 
 save him out of that peril : he was never in 
 such danger before in his life, nor never 
 after, as ye shall hear after in this history. 
 
 Thus about the hour of midnight the earl 
 went from street to street and by back 
 lanes, so that at last he was fain to take a 
 house, or else he had been found by them 
 of Gaunt ; and so, as he went about the 
 town, he entered into a poor woman's 
 house, the which was not meet for such a 
 lord : there was nother hall, palace nor 
 chamber, it was but a poor smoky house, 
 there was nothing but a poor hall, black 
 with smoke, and above a small plancher and 
 a ladder of seven steps to mount upon, and 
 on the plancher there was a poor couch, 
 whereas the poor woman's children lay. 
 Then the earl, sore abashed and trembling, 
 at his entering said : * O good woman, save 
 me : I am thy lord the earl of Flanders ; 
 but now I must hide me, for mine enemies 
 chase me, and if ye do me good now, I shall 
 reward you hereafter therefor.' The poor 
 woman knew him well, for she had been 
 oftentimes at his gate to fetch alms, and had 
 often seen him as he went in and out 
 a-sporting ; and so incontinent, as hap was, 
 she answered, for if she had made any de- 
 lay, he had been taken talking with her by 
 the fire. Then she said : ' Sir, mount up 
 this ladder and lay yourself under the bed 
 that ye find, thereas my children sleep': 
 and so in the mean time the woman sate 
 down by the fire with another child that 
 she had in her arms. So the earl mounted 
 up the plancher as well as he might, and 
 crept in between the couch and the straw 
 and lay as flat as he could : and even there- 
 with some of the rutters of Gaunt entered 
 into the same house, for some of them said 
 how they had seen a man enter into the 
 house before them ; and so they found the 
 woman sitting by the fire with her child. 
 
 Then they said : ' Good woman, where is 
 the man that we saw enter before us into 
 this house, and did shut the door after 
 him ? ' ' Sirs, ' quoth she, ' I saw no man 
 enter into this house this night. I went 
 out right now and cast out a little water 
 and did close my door again. If any were 
 here, I could not tell how to hide him : ye 
 see all the easement that I have in this 
 house : here ye may see my bed, and here 
 above this plancher lieth my poor children.' 
 Then one of them tookacandle and mounted 
 up the ladder and put up his head above 
 the plancher, and saw there none other thing 
 but the poor couch, where her children lay 
 and slept, and so he looked all about and 
 then said to his company : ' Go we hence ; 
 we lose the more for the less : the poor 
 woman saith truth ; here is no creature but 
 she and her children': and then they de- 
 parted out of the house. After that there 
 was none entered to do any hurt. All 
 these words the earl heard right well, 
 whereas he lay under the poor couch : ye 
 may well imagine then that he was in great 
 fear of his life : he might well say, 'I am 
 as now one of the poorest princes of the 
 world,' and might well say that the fortunes 
 of the world are nothing stable.-' Yet it 
 was a good hap that he scaped with his 
 life : howbeit, this hard and perilous ad- 
 venture might well be to him a spectacle 
 all his life after and an ensample to all 
 other. 
 
 Now let us leave the earl of Flanders in 
 this hard estate and speak of them of 
 Bruges, and how the Gauntois persevered. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCI 
 
 How they of Gaunt spared the merchants 
 strangers ; and how the earl parted from 
 Bruges and went to Lille, and how he was 
 received there joyously. 
 
 Francis Ackerman was one of the chief 
 captains of these rutters : he was sent by 
 Philip d'Arteveld and by Peter du Bois to 
 seek about Bruges for their enemies and to 
 
 1 The French text was corrupt, hut it required 
 no Eentley to amend it. ' In the morning he might 
 well say, I am one of the greatest {text poorest) 
 princes in the Christian world, and on the night 
 following he found himself in this case : thus he 
 might well say that the fortunes,' etc. 
 
276 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 keep the market-place all night till the 
 next day, that they might see that they 
 were lords of all the town : and they were 
 straitly commanded that they should do no 
 hurt to any merchant stranger being then in 
 Bruges, saying how it were no reason that 
 they should take hurt for their war. This 
 commandment was well kept. The chief 
 occasion fell on the four mestiers,-* for they 
 had always been favourable to the earl be- 
 fore Oudenarde and in other places. The 
 Gauntois went all about searching for them, 
 and as they were found they were slain 
 without mercy. The same night there 
 were slain more than twelve hundred, what 
 of one and other, with many other robberies 
 and evil deeds, the which came not all to 
 knowledge, as divers houses robbed and 
 pilled, women defoiled and destroyed, and 
 coffers broken up, so that the most poorest 
 of Gaunt were then become rich. 
 
 The Sunday in the morning the joyful 
 tidings came to the town of Gaunt, how that 
 their company had discomfited the earl and 
 all his chivalry and were lords and masters 
 of Bruges. Ye may well believe and know 
 that this tidings greatly rejoiced the people, 
 being before in tribulation, and so for joy 
 they made divers processions lauding God 
 in that he had so regarded them with his 
 eye of pity, and so comforted them as to 
 give them victory of their enemies, and so 
 always there came fresh tidings to them of 
 their victory, whereby they were so rejoiced, 
 that they wist not what to do. The lord 
 of Herselle, who was as then abiding in 
 Gaunt, if he had taken the same Sunday 
 or the Monday after a three or four thou- 
 sand men in harness and gone to Oude- 
 narde, he had taken the town at his 
 pleasure ; for they of the town were so 
 abashed when they heard the tidings, that 
 nigh for fear they had fled out of the town 
 into HainauU or into other places to have 
 saved themselves. Thereto they were ready 
 apparelled, but when they saw that they of 
 Gaunt came not to them-ward, then courage 
 came to them, and also such knights as 
 came thither did comfort them, as sir John 
 Baronaige, sir Thierry d'Anvaing and sir 
 1 ' The pursuit of the Gauntois was directed upon 
 the four crafts of Bruges, brokers, glass-makers, 
 butchers and fishmongers, to slay all without delay, 
 as many as might be found.' But for ' verriers ' 
 we ought to read ' vieswariers,' a word of uncer- 
 tam meaning. 
 
 Florent of Heule, these three knights com- 
 forted them of Oudenarde unto such time 
 as sir Daniel of Halewyn come thither from 
 the earl, as ye shall hear after. 
 
 There were never people that did with 
 their enemies as they of Gaunt did with 
 them of Bruges : they did hurt no man oi 
 any of the small crafts of the town, without 
 he were sore accused. When Philip d'Arte- 
 veld and the captains of Gaunt saw how 
 they were lords of Bruges, and all at their 
 commandment and under their obeisance, 
 then they made a cry that every man on 
 pain of death should draw to their lodgings 
 and not to rob nor pill nor to make no de- 
 bate, without they were commanded. Then 
 it was enquired if any man knew where the 
 earl was become : some said how he was 
 fled the Saturday, and some other said how 
 he was still in the town hid, and could not 
 be found. The captains of Gaunt took httle 
 heed thereof, for they were so rejoiced with 
 their victory that they cared for nothing, 
 nother for earl, baron, knight nor other in 
 all Flanders : they reputed themselves so 
 great that they thought to have all under 
 their obeisance. Then Philip d'Arteveld 
 and Peter du Bois remembered that when 
 they departed from Gaunt they left no 
 victual nor other purveyance in the town : 
 therefore they sent straight a certain num- 
 ber of men to Damme and to Sluys, to the 
 intent to be lords thereof and of the victual 
 in them ; and when such as were sent came 
 to Damme, they opened the gates to them, 
 and all that was in the town was put into 
 their hands, and everything at their com- 
 mandment. Then there was taken out of 
 the fair cellars the good wines of Poitou, 
 of Gascony and of Rochelle and of other 
 far countries, a five or six thousand tuns, 
 and it was laid into ships and into carts 
 and conveyed to Gaunt, what by land and 
 by water : and then they went farther and 
 came to Sluys, which town incontinent was 
 opened to them and put under their obei- 
 sance ; and there they found great quantity 
 of corn and meal in ships and cellars of 
 merchants strangers ; so all was bought 
 and paid for and sent to Gaunt by water 
 and by land. Thus the town of Gaunt was 
 refreshed and delivered from misery by the 
 grace of God ; otherwise it could not have 
 been done. The Gauntois then ought well 
 to remember that God plainly had holpen 
 
ESCAPE OF THE EARL OF FLANDERS 
 
 277 
 
 them, seeing that five thousand men near 
 famished discomfited forty thousand men 
 at home at their own doors. The captains 
 nor they had no cause to be proud thereof ; 
 but they were so proud thereof, that God 
 was displeased with them, and that was 
 well seen or the year passed, as ye shall 
 hear after in the story, to give ensample to 
 all people. 
 
 I was informed, and I believe it well, 
 that the Sunday at night the earl of Flanders 
 issued out of the town of Bruges, by what 
 means I cannot say. If any did help him 
 to make his way I cannot tell, but I believe, 
 yes. He issued out afoot all alone in an 
 old simple cloak ; and when he was in the 
 fields, he was joyful, for then he might well 
 say how he had escaped a dangerous pas- 
 sage ; and so went forth at adventure and 
 went to a thick bush-^ to see what way he 
 might take, for he knew not well the ways, 
 nor he was not wont to go afoot. And as 
 he stood under a thick bush in the night, 
 he heard by adventure a man speak as he 
 came by, and it was a knight of his, who 
 had married his bastard daughter, and he 
 was called sir Robert Marescal. The earl 
 knew him well by his words, and as he 
 passed by, he said : ' Robert, are ye there?' 
 The knight, who knew the earl well by his 
 speech, said : * Ah, sir, ye have made me 
 this day to seek in many places for you 
 about Bruges. How are ye got out ? ' 
 ' Let us go our way,' quoth the earl, ' it is 
 no time to tell our adventures. I pray you 
 let us do so much that I may have a horse, 
 for I am sore weary with going afoot, and 
 I pray you let us take the way to Lille, an 
 ye know it.' ' Yes, sir,' quoth the knight, 
 ' I know it well': and so they went forth 
 all that night, till it was the next morning, 
 or they could get a horse ; and yet they 
 could get none, but the first that they found 
 was 1. mare, the which they took from a 
 poor man in a village. So the earl leapt 
 on her without saddle or panel and at 
 night came to Lille, where the most part of 
 his knights that fled out of the field were 
 come thither, some afoot, some a-horse- 
 back, and some were gone into Holland 
 and into Zealand, as sir Guy of Ghistelles ; 
 he arrived at a good port, for he found in 
 Zealand in a town there the earl Guy of 
 Blois, who made him good cheer and de- 
 1 ' Into a thicket.' 
 
 parted largely with him ^ and willed him to 
 tarry there with him as long as it should 
 please him. Thus they that were desolate 
 were recomforted by the lords that they 
 resorted unto, who had pity on them, as it 
 was reason, for nobleness and gentleness 
 ought to be aided by nobles and gentles. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCn 
 
 Of the great riches that the Gauntois found 
 in Bruges, and how all the towns of 
 Flanders yielded them to Gaunt, except 
 Oudenarde. 
 
 The tidings spread abroad into divers 
 countries of the discomfiture of them of 
 Bruges and of the earl their lord, done by 
 the Gauntois, wherewith there were divers 
 people rejoiced and specially commonalties. 
 All the good towns about Gaunt and in the 
 bishopric of Liege were as joyful as though 
 the matter had been their own : in like wise 
 so were they of Rouen and Paris in France, 
 if they durst have spoken it. And when 
 pope Clement heard thereof, he bethought 
 him a little, and said surely this discom- 
 fiture was a stroke of God to give ensample 
 to the earl, and that God had sent him 
 that tribulation because he was rebel against 
 his opinions. Also other great lords in 
 France and in other places said how the 
 earl's adversity was not greatly to be com- 
 plained, for he had well deserved to bear 
 it, for he had been so presumptuous that he 
 loved no lord neighbour, French king nor 
 other, wherefore they complained less his 
 persecutions : howbeit, it is an old saying, 
 ' He that hath any evil fortune, men will 
 speak the worst thereof.'^ And specially 
 they of the town of Louvain were greatly 
 rejoiced with the victory of the Gauntois 
 and of the earl's trouble ; for they were but 
 in hard case with the duke of Brabant their 
 lord, who was in purpose to make them war 
 and to beat down their gates, to keep them 
 thereby the rather under. Also it was said 
 in the town of Louvain, that if Gaunt had 
 been as near them as Brussels was, they 
 would have joined together and have been 
 all one. Of all their words and devices 
 the duke and duchess of Brabant were in- 
 
 1 ' Imparted to him largely of his goods.' 
 2 ' Men will speak ill of him.' 
 
278 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 formed ; but it behoved them as at that 
 time to close their eyen and to hold down 
 their heads, for it was no time for them 
 then to speak. 
 
 Thus they of Gaunt, being in Bruges, 
 devised many new things, and among other 
 they devised to beat down two gates that 
 were toward Gaunt and to fill the dikes, to 
 the intent that they of Bruges should never 
 rebel after against Gaunt ; and when they 
 should depart, to take with them a five 
 hundred men of them of Bruges, to the in- 
 tent to keep them in the more fear and 
 subjection. Thus in the mean season, while 
 these captains were at Bruges beating down 
 gates and walls and filling of dikes, they 
 sent to Ypres, to Courtray, to Bergues, to 
 Cassel, to Poperinghe, to Bourbourg and to 
 all the towns and castles of Flanders on the 
 sea coast, that they should be all under the 
 obeisance of them, and to send them the 
 keys of their towns and castles, submitting 
 themselves to their obeisance and service : 
 and so they all obeyed, none durst say 
 against it, but came all to Bruges putting 
 themselves under the obeisance of Philip 
 d'Arteveld and Peter du Bois ; for these 
 two named and wrote themselves sovereign 
 captains of all other, and specially Philip 
 d'Axteveld was he that most busied himself 
 with the charge of all Flanders : and as 
 long a5 he abode in Bruges, he kept the 
 estate of a prince, for every day he had 
 playing at his lodging door minstrels dinner 
 and supper, and was served in vessel of 
 silver, as though he had been the earl of 
 Flanders ; and well he might keep then 
 that estate, for he had all the earl's vessel, 
 gold and silver, and all his jewels found 
 in his house at Bruges, there was nothing 
 saved. Also there was sent a certain num- 
 ber of Gauntois to Male, a fair house of the 
 earl's standing half a mile' from Bruges. 
 They that went thither did much hurt, for 
 they brake down all the house and brake 
 down the font wherein the earl was christ- 
 ened, and laid in chariots all the gold and 
 silver jewels and other things that they 
 found there, and sent it to Gaunt. The 
 term of fifteen days there was going and 
 coming with carriages from Bruges to Gaunt 
 with= their pillage that they had got that 
 journey : it was hard to esteem the profit 
 that they gat there. 
 
 1 ' Half a league-' 
 
 And when they of Gaunt had done all 
 their will and pleasure in the town of 
 Bruges, they sent a five hundred of the 
 notablest burgesses of the town to Gaunt, 
 to lie there in hostage ; and Francis Acker- 
 man and Peter de Wintere and a thousand 
 of their men conveyed them thither, and 
 Peter du Bois abode as captain of Bruges, 
 till the gates and walls were beaten down 
 and the dikes filled. And Philip d'Arte- 
 veld departed with four thousand men and 
 went to Ypres, and there all manner of 
 people came out against him and received 
 him as honourably as though he had been 
 their own natural lord that had come first 
 to his land : and there they all did put 
 themselves under his obeisance, and there 
 he made new mayors and aldermen and 
 made new laws ; and to him came thither 
 they of Cassel, of Bergues, of Bourbourg 
 and of Poperinghe, they all submitted 
 themselves under his obeisance and sware 
 to him faith and troth, and to hold of him 
 as to their lord the earl of Flanders. And 
 when he had thus done and taken the 
 assurance of them and had tarried at Ypres 
 the space of eight days, then he departed 
 and came to Courtray, whereas he was also 
 received with great joy, and there he tarried 
 three days ; and ttien he sent messengers 
 and letters to Oudenarde, commanding 
 them to come to him and to be under his 
 obeisance, seeing how all the country was 
 turned to them of Gaunt, and how they 
 were behind and did not as other did ; 
 wherefore he sent them word surely that 
 the Gauntois should lay siege to them and 
 not to depart till they had the town and 
 slain all them within. When these tidings 
 and message came to Oudenarde sent from 
 Philip d'Arteveld, then the three knights 
 answered hotly and said how they set but 
 little by the menacing of a son of a brewer 
 of honey, nor that the heritage of the earl 
 their lord should be so soon given to him 
 nor to none such, saying how they would 
 defend it to die in the quarrel. Thus the 
 messengers returned again to Courtray. 
 
SIEGE OF OUDENARDE 
 
 279 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCIII 
 
 How the earl of Flanders was at Lille, and 
 how Oudenarde was besieged by the 
 Gauntois and Flemings. 
 
 When Philip d'Arteveld heard his messen- 
 ger speak and report how they of the garri- 
 son of Oudenarde set nothing by him, then 
 he sware that, whatsoever it cost him or the 
 country of Flanders, he would nothing in- 
 tend till he had taken that town and cast it 
 down to the earth, he was so sore dis- 
 pleased. He thought this to do had been 
 well in his puissance, seeing that all Flanders 
 was inclined to him. When he had so- 
 journed a six days at Courtray and had 
 renewed their law and had taken fealty and 
 homage of them, as though he had been 
 earl of Flanders, then he returned to Gaunt, 
 and there he was met with procession with 
 so great joy that the earl their natural lord 
 was never so honourably received. The 
 people worshipped him like their god, 
 because he gave the counsel whereby their 
 town recovered their estate and puissance ; 
 for it could not be esteemed the great riches 
 and wealth that came daily to them by 
 water and by land from Bruges, from 
 Damme and from Sluys, and the loaf of 
 bread that in three weeks together was 
 worth an old groat was then worth but four 
 mites, and the wine that was worth twenty- 
 four groats was then valued but at two 
 groats. As then everything in Gaunt was 
 better cheap than at Tournay or at Valen- 
 ciennes. Philip d'Arteveld then kept a 
 great stable of good horses like a great 
 prince, and he was as well stuffed in all 
 thing in his house as though he had been 
 earl of Flanders, and better than the earl 
 was appointed at Lille : and also he had 
 through all Flanders his officers, bailiffs, 
 constables, receivers and other, who daily 
 brought him substance, whereby he main- 
 tained his estate ; and he ware scarlet 
 gowns furred with miniver, like as the duke 
 of Brabant or earl of Hainault did : also he 
 had his chamber of account to pay and 
 to reckon for everything, as the earl had. 
 And he gave divers suppers and banquets 
 to ladies and damosels in like manner as 
 the earl had done before, and spared nother 
 gold nor silver for his pleasure. And he 
 
 wrote and called himself ' Philip d'Arteveld, 
 the Regard and overlooker of Flanders. ' ' 
 
 The earl of Flanders being at Lille had 
 much to think on when he saw his country 
 so sore rebelled against him, and could not 
 see that he was of puissance as of himself 
 ever to recover it again : for all the towns 
 were in unity and of one accord against 
 him, the which he could never fordo but by 
 great force and puissance ; for all the 
 country spake no more of him nor did him 
 no more honour nor would not know him 
 for their lord, no more than he had never 
 been so. Then the alliance that he had 
 with the duke of Burgoyne, who had married 
 his daughter the lady Margaret, by whom 
 the duke had two fair sons, this alliance 
 stood the earl as then in good stead : it was 
 happy also then for him that king Charles 
 was dead and that the young king as then 
 was under the governing of his uncle the 
 duke of Burgoyne, who might lead the king 
 at his pleasure ; and also the king was young 
 and had good will to the war, wherefore it 
 was the less mastery to stir him thereto, 
 and the earl hoped that the duke of Bur- 
 goyne would soon set him thereon, if he 
 would shew him how he is bound to aid 
 his men, when their men will rebel against 
 them. But some thought that if king 
 Charles had lived still till that time, that he 
 would have done nothing ; and if he had, 
 men supposed that he would thereby [have] 
 annexed the county of Flanders to the 
 crown of France ; for the earl of Flanders 
 was not so well in his grace that he would 
 have done anything for him, without he 
 had known well why. 
 
 Now let us leave to speak of these devices, 
 till time be that we return thereto again ; 
 but let us shew how the earl of Flanders, 
 being at Lille after the great loss that he 
 had at Bruges, he understood how sir 
 Thierry d'Anvaing and sir Florent de 
 Heule kept still the town of Oudenarde 
 and had kept it ever sith the besynes before 
 Bruges, and knew well that these knights 
 were not able to resist against the puissance 
 of Flanders, if they came to lay siege 
 thereto, as it was thought that they would 
 do shortly. Then to refresh the town the 
 
 1 ' Regart de Flandres,' ' rulerof Flanders.' The 
 words ' and overlooker ' are added by the trans- 
 lator as an explanation of 'regard.' The word is 
 the same as the Flemish ' rewaert.' 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 earl called to him sir Daniel of Halewyn 
 and said ; 'Sir, I will ye go to Oudenarde 
 and be sovereign captain there, and take 
 with you a hundred and fifty spears, a 
 hundred cross-bows, and two hundred other 
 varlets with spears and pavises ; and take 
 ye heed to that garrison, I give you the 
 charge thereof, and new victual it with 
 corn, wheat and oats and salt flesh and 
 with wine out from our friends and neigh- 
 bours of Tournay : they will not fail us at 
 this need.' 'Sir,' quoth the knight, 'all 
 this shall be done ; and, sir, I shall take as 
 good heed to the town as I can, sith it 
 please you that I shall do "so ; there shall 
 none evil come thereto by my fault,' 
 ' Daniel,' quoth the earl, ' of that I am 
 sure.' And so the knight took leave of 
 the earl and went to Oudenarde, and there 
 refreshed the town with new men of war, 
 victual and other things necessary. 
 
 When Philip d'Arteveld being in Gaunt 
 understood the tidings how they of Oude- 
 narde were refreshed with new men, then 
 he said he would provide for remedy, 
 saying how it was not to be suffered, for it 
 was greatly to the prejudice and dishonour 
 of the country of Flanders that this town 
 held so against them : wherefore he said 
 he would go and lay siege thereto, and not 
 to depart thence till he had beaten it down 
 and put to death all those that were within, 
 knights and other. Then he sent his com- 
 mandment through the country of Flanders 
 that every man should be ready the ninth 
 day of June to be with him before Oude- 
 narde. There was none that durst disobey 
 his commandment, so the men of all the 
 good towns in Flanders and they of the 
 Franc of Bruges made them ready and 
 came and laid siege before Oudenarde, and 
 lay abroad in the fields in meadows and in 
 marshes and thereabout. And there was 
 Philip d'Arteveld their captain, by whom 
 they were all ordered, who held a great 
 estate before Oudenarde. Then he reared 
 a taillage in Flanders, every fire every week 
 to pay four groats, the rich to bear out the 
 feeble, whereby he gat together much 
 money, for there was none excused, but 
 all paid. For he had servants for the 
 nonce through all the country, who made 
 every man to pay, poor and rich, whether 
 they would or not. It was said he had at 
 the siege more than a hundred thousand 
 
 men, and the Flemings had piled in the 
 river of I'Escault great piles of great timber, 
 so that no ship could come from Tournay 
 to Oudenarde ; and they had in their host 
 all things plentiful, market with cloth, furs 
 and other mercery ; and every Saturday 
 they had a market, and all the villages 
 thereabout brought thither fruits, butter, 
 milk, cheese, pullen and other things ; and 
 they had taverns as plenteous with wine as 
 though they had been in Brussels, both 
 Rhenish wine, wine of Poitou and of 
 France, malvoisies and other wines of 
 strange countries, and good cheap. Every 
 man might go and come, pass and repass, 
 without any peril, they of Hainault, of 
 Brabant, of Almaine and of Liege, but 
 none out of France. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCIV 
 
 How the Gauntois assailed the town of 
 Oudenarde divers times, and how they 
 ran before Lille and in the country about 
 on the realm of France. 
 
 SUMMARY.— The siege of Oudenarde 
 Toas carried on all the summer^ and the 
 Gaimtois used great engines and guns but 
 could iu)t take the toiim. A body of Gaun- 
 tois overran all the country destroying 
 gentlemen s houses^ and bui-nt also some 
 villages in Trance, tipoii which the duke of 
 Burgundy wrote to the king and the dtike 
 of Berry to find some remedy. The earl of 
 Flanders visited the duke of Burgundy at 
 Bafaume and obtai-]ied a promise of aid. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCV 
 
 Of the request that the duke of Burgoyne 
 made to the French king, and why the 
 king took on him to bear the flying 
 hart. 
 
 The duke of Burgoyne forgat not the 
 covenant he made with his father - in - 
 law the earl of P'landers, and so he de- 
 parted from the town of Bapaume and 
 with him sir Guy of Tremouille and sir 
 John of Vienne, who was admiral of 
 France, who did all his pain to comfort 
 the earl, and they two were chief of council 
 
FRENCH INTERVENTION 
 
 with the duke ; and so the duke and his 
 company came to SenUs, whereas the king 
 was, and his two uncles with him, the 
 dukes of Berry and of Bourbon, and so 
 there the duke of Burgoyne was received 
 with great joy and he was demanded 
 tidings of Flanders and of the siege of 
 Oudenarde, and the duke answered them 
 right sagely and shewed ail the matter. 
 And when he saw his time, he took apart 
 the duke of Berry and shewed him how the 
 Gauntois full of pride had done their devoir 
 and pain to destroy all nobleness, and also 
 he shewed how they had brent and pilled 
 on the realm of France, the which was a 
 thing prejudicial and to the confusion and 
 shame of the realm of France, saying how 
 it ought not so to be suffered. ' Fair 
 brother,' quoth the duke of Berry, 'we 
 will speak with the king in this matter : 
 we two are chief of his council, so that if 
 we inform the king thereof, there is none 
 shall say against our intents. Howbeit, to 
 move war between France and Flanders, 
 the which hath been long in peace, it 
 behoveth that we have some lawful title 
 and that the other barons and lords of 
 France be joined and agreed thereto, or 
 else peradventure we might be blamed and 
 bear all the fault, if it fortuned not well. 
 For the king is young and every man 
 knoweth that he will soon agree to that we 
 counsel him : if the matter do well, then 
 well shall come thereof, and if any evil 
 come thereby, we shall then bear the charge 
 and be more blamed than any other, and 
 good cause why ; for every man shall say : 
 ' ' Behold yonder the king's uncles, the duke 
 of Berry and of Burgoyne, how evil they 
 have counselled the king : they have 
 brought the realm of France into war, 
 whereas it needed not." Wherefore, dear 
 brother, I say, let us call together the most 
 part of the prelates and nobles of the realm 
 of France, and then let us shew them all 
 the matter in the presence of the king, to 
 whom the matter personally toucheth-' be- 
 cause of the heritage of Flanders, and so 
 thereby we shall hear generally every man's 
 will and opinion. ' 'Ye say right well, ' 
 quoth the duke of Burgoyne, 'and as ye 
 have devised, so shall it be done. ' 
 
 And with those same words the king 
 
 1 'You personally laying it before them, since the 
 matter toucheth you.' 
 
 entered into the same chamber with .^n 
 hawk on his hand, and so he spake merrily 
 to his uncles and said : ' Ah, my fair uncles, 
 what matter is that ye speak of in so great 
 counsel? I would gladly know it, if I 
 might.' ' Sir,' quoth the duke of Berry, 
 'ye may know it right well, for it per- 
 taineth greatly to you. Sir, behold here 
 your uncle the duke of Burgoyne, who com- 
 plaineth greatly of them of Flanders ; for 
 the false villains of Flanders hath put out of 
 his heritage the earl their natural lord and 
 all noblemen, and as now they lie at siege 
 before Oudenarde with more than a hundred 
 thousand Flemings, wherein they have 
 besieged a great number of gentlemen. 
 And these Flemings have a captain called 
 Phihp d'Arteveld, pure English in his 
 courage,-' and he hath sworn never to de- 
 part thence till he have his will of the town 
 and of them that be within it, without so 
 be that your power of France raise him 
 from the siege, the which he hath reserved 
 in his oath. Therefore, sir, how say you ? 
 Will ye aid your cousin of Flanders and 
 conquer again his heritage, the which these 
 proud villains hath taken from him ? ' * By 
 my faith,' quoth the king, 'fair uncles, I 
 have great will thereto, and for God's sake 
 let us do it. I desire none other thing 
 but to be armed, for as yet I never bare 
 armour : it behoveth me, if I think to reign 
 in puissance and honour, to learn the feats 
 of arms. ' These two dukes each of them 
 regarded other and had great pleasure of 
 the king's words. Then the duke of Berry 
 spake again and said : ' Sir, ye haVe said 
 passingly well, and thus to do, sir, ye are 
 bound for divers reasons. Sir, the county 
 of Flanders is of the demain of France, and 
 ye have sworn, and we for you, to keep and 
 maintain in their right all your liege men : 
 and also, sir, the earl of Flanders is your 
 cousin, wherefore ye ought to love him. 
 And therefore, sir, sith ye be in this good 
 mind, keep you so still, and answer there- 
 after to every person that speaketh to you 
 thereof: and, sir, we shall assemble hastily 
 the prelates and barons of your realm and 
 shall shew them all the matter in your pre- 
 sence ; and, sir, then if ye will speak as 
 
 1 'Pure English at heart' ; that Is, desiring an 
 alliance with England : so also in the next chapter : 
 'This Philip d'Arteveld had ever his courage more 
 English than French.' 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSAET 
 
 heartily as ye do now to us, then every man 
 will say, we have a king of high enter- 
 prise and of noble will and courage. ' ' By 
 my faith,' quoth the king, 'fair uncles, I 
 would we should be ready to-morrow next 
 to go to that journey ; for from henceforth 
 the greatest pleasure that I desire is to go 
 into Flanders to abate the pride of the 
 Flemings.' Of the which words the two 
 dukes had great joy. Then came to them 
 the duke of Bourbon, and they shewed him 
 all the matter, as ye have heard before, and 
 of the great desire that the king had to go 
 into Flanders, whereof the duke of Bourbon 
 had great joy. 
 
 Thus the matter hanged in this estate ; 
 and the king and his uncles wrote letters to 
 the lords of the council of France, desiring 
 them to come at a day assigned to Com- 
 piegne, to a parliament that should be there 
 holden for certain business of the realm of 
 France ; and so every man obeyed, as it 
 was reason, and the king was right glad of 
 that tidings. His mind was so sore there- 
 of, that no man could set him therefrom, 
 and the king said ofttimes that there was 
 too great delays made in the matter : for 
 he said that he thought, if one should enter- 
 prise a great matter, it should not be long 
 delayed, for in the delay the enemies take 
 advice to their advantage : and also when 
 the perils of war was laid to him, then 
 would he answer and say : ' Yea, he that 
 never enterpriseth, little or nothing 
 achieveth.' Thus the young king oft- 
 times devised ^ with the knights and squires 
 of his chamber. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCVI 
 
 Now shall I shew you a dream that for- 
 tuned to the king in the same season, 
 while he lay at Senlis, by occasion of 
 which dream he ordained the device of the 
 flying hart, as I was then informed. 
 
 It fortuned while the king lay at Senlis, on 
 a night, as he lay in his bed asleep, he had 
 a vision. It seemed to him properly that 
 he was in the city of Arras, whereas he had 
 never been before, and with him all the 
 chivalry of the realm of France ; and he 
 
 ^ ' Se devisoit,' ' conversed ' : so often elsewhere 
 in this translation. 
 
 thought that thither came to him the earl 
 of Flanders and did set on his fist a fair 
 falcon pelerin, saying to him thus : ' Sir, I 
 give you this falcon for the best that ever 
 I saw, the best ilying and beater down of 
 fowls. ' Of which present the king thought 
 he had great joy and said : ' Fair cousin, I 
 thank you.' And therewith he thought he 
 regarded the constable of France, sir Oliver 
 Clisson, and said unto him ; ' Sir Oliver, 
 let us two go into the fields to prove this 
 gentle falcon that my cousin of Flanders 
 hath given me. ' And then he thought the 
 constable answered him and said : ' Sir, 
 let us go when it pleaseth you ' : and so 
 then he thought that they took their horses, 
 they two alone, and went into the fields 
 and found plenty of herons to fly at. Then 
 the king said : ' Constable, let the falcon 
 fly, and we shall see how she will chase 
 her game.' Then the constable cast off 
 the falcon, and she mounted so high into 
 the air that they could scant see her, and 
 the king thought she took her way straight 
 into Flanders. Then the king said : ' Let 
 us ride after my bird ; I would not lose 
 her ' : and so he thought they rode after, 
 till they came to a great marish and to a 
 thick wood. Then the king said : ' Let us 
 light afoot, for we cannot pass this wood 
 a-horseback ' : and so they ahghted, and 
 then he thought that varlets came to them 
 and took their horses. And so the king 
 and the constable entered in the wood with 
 great pain, and travelled so long that they 
 came to a fair great laund, and there the 
 king thought he saw his falcon chasing 
 herons and fighting with them and they 
 with him : and it seemed to the king that 
 his falcon chased so the herons that at last 
 he lost the sight of her, wherewith he 
 thought he was sore displeased, seeing that 
 he could not follow his hawk ; and thought 
 he said to the constable : 'Ah, I fear me I 
 shall lose my falcon, whereof I am sorry, 
 and I have no lure nor nothing else, where- 
 with to call her again.' And at this point 
 the king thought that there appeared sud- 
 denly before him a great hart with wings 
 and inclined himself before him, whereof 
 he had great joy and thought how he said 
 to the constable : ' Sir, abide you here, and 
 I will mount on this hart and so follow 
 my falcon. ' And so the king thought he 
 mounted on this flying hart, and how the 
 
THE FLYING HART 
 
 283 
 
 hart according at the king's desire did bear 
 him over all the great woods and trees, and 
 there he saw how his falcon beat down 
 great plenty of fowls, so that it was marvel 
 to behold ; and then it seemed to the king, 
 when his falcon had long flown and beaten 
 down many herons, then he thought he 
 called to her, and incontinent the falcon 
 came and sat her down on his fist : and 
 then the hart flew again over the woods 
 and brought the king to the same laund, 
 whereas the constable tarried for him, who 
 had great joy of his coming. And as soon 
 as he was alighted, he thought the hart de- 
 parted, and then never saw him after : and 
 so there the king thought how he shewed 
 to the constable how that the hart had 
 borne him easily, he never' rode so easily 
 before, and also he thought he shewed him 
 of the bounty of his falcon. And therewith 
 it seemed to him that his varlets came to 
 them and brought them their horses, and so 
 they mounted and took the high way, and 
 so came again to Arras. And therewith 
 the king awoke and had great marvel of 
 that vision, and he remembered everything 
 thereof right well and shewed it to them of 
 his chamber that were about him ; and the 
 figure of this hart pleased him so much, 
 that all his imagination was set thereon. 
 And this was one of the first incidents that 
 when he went into Flanders to fight with 
 the Flemings, he took to his device to bear 
 the flying hart. 
 
 Philip d'Arteveld, for all his good adven- 
 ture at the beginning of his battle against 
 them of Bruges, and for all the good fortune 
 that he had in the discomfiture of the earl 
 and of them of Bruges, yet for all that he 
 was no subtle man of war, nother in as- 
 saulting nor laying of siege ; for he had not 
 been brought up therein in his youth ; he 
 had been more used to fish with an angle 
 rod in the river of I'Escault : the which well 
 appeared while he lay at siege before 
 Oudenarde, for he could not get the town. 
 He thought by presumption that the sight 
 of him should have made them of Oude- 
 narde to have yielded them to him ; but 
 they were nothing so disposed, for they 
 bare themselves like valiant men and made 
 oftentimes scrimmishes at the barriers and 
 slew and hurt divers of the Flemings, and 
 drew again into their town without any 
 damage. And of such issues Lambert of 
 
 Lambres and Tristram his brother and the 
 lord of Levreghien bare the greatest re- 
 nown. The Flemings saw well how the 
 dikes of the town were large and full of 
 water, so that they could not approach to 
 assail it but with much pain and danger. 
 Then they determined among themselves 
 to get faggots and straw and so to fill the 
 dikes, to come to the walls to fight hand to 
 hand ; and as they ordained, so it was 
 done. Howbeit, they within made no 
 count of them, and said that, if there were 
 no treason among themselves nor in the 
 town, they would set nothing by the siege 
 that they saw laid to them. And so there- 
 fore sir Daniel of Halewyn, who was cap- 
 tain there, to bring everything out of doubt 
 kept himself day and night ever above them 
 of the town, and he so ordained that there 
 was none of them of the town should come 
 on the walls of the town without company 
 of some of the men of war : if they did, 
 they lost their heads for their labours. 
 Thus lay still this siege : the Flemings had 
 great plenty of victuals coming to them by 
 land and by water, for they were lords of 
 all the country of Flanders ; for always 
 for winning of money the countries of 
 Flanders, Holland, Zealand and Brabant, 
 and also part of Hainault by stealth, 
 brought ever victuals to their host. This 
 Philip d'Arteveld had ever his courage 
 more English than French, and would 
 gladly that he had been aUied with the 
 king of England, whereby he thought that 
 if the French king or duke of Burgoyne 
 came on him with an army, that he should 
 be aided by the Englishmen. He had al- 
 ready in his host a two hundred archers of 
 England, the which were stolen out of the 
 garrison of Calais, and so took wages there 
 of him and were weekly paid. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCCVn-CCCCX 
 
 SUMMARY.— Philip d' Artemld wrote to 
 the kin^ of France asking hi7n to mediate 
 between the Flemings and their lord, but his 
 letters were laughed at and his messenger 
 kept in prison. The7i he sent to ask for the 
 alliance of England, but also demanded re- 
 payTnent of a debt ??iade in the timeoffaqnes 
 d Arteveld. 
 
 The French king sent commissaries to 
 
284 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Tou7'7iay to treat with the Flemings^ who 
 wrote to the principal toTvus of Flanders 
 asking for safe -conduct^ to which Philip 
 replied in date October 20ih, refusing 
 to treat unless the fortresses of Flanders 
 were ope?ted to him. This letter was con- 
 veyed to the king of France and his cou7zcil, 
 who were ?nuch offended thereby^ and forth- 
 with issued summons to all the reabn to 
 asseijible at Arras. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCCXI-CCCCXVIII 
 
 SUMMAR y.~Philip d'Arteveldleft Oude- 
 narde and cam,e to Bruges, to take order for 
 closing the passages into Flanders. Peter 
 du Bois zuas appointed to keep the passage of 
 the river Lys at Commines and Peter de 
 Wijitere at Warneton, and all the other 
 bridges were broken. 
 
 The French after inuch debate decided to 
 attempt the passage at Commi^ies, biit the 
 seasoJt and the rains made their advance 
 diffcult. At ComnitJies they found the 
 bridge broken and a large force 07t the other 
 side. '14'hile the co?istable and marshals 
 were in doubt what to do, certain knights 
 crossed the river in boats beloiv Commines^ 
 and before jiightfall about four hundred men 
 of arms had passed without being perceived 
 by the Flemings. They then approached 
 Commines, but the Fle^nings did ?iot leave 
 their positions to fight with them. The 
 constable was greatly dismayed fo7' the safety 
 of his me7i on the other side, a7id renewed 
 the attempts to pass by the bi'idge. The 
 F7-enchfnen 07z the other side passed the 
 night in the marshes with 7fiuch discomfort^ 
 and in the 7/ior7ii7ig the Flemings co7'ni7ig to 
 fi^ht with them were defeated a7id forsook 
 the towfi. So the bridge was repaij'ed a7id 
 the French7}ien passed over. 
 
 Philip d'Arteveld, informed of this ^we^tt 
 to Ghe7it to assetfible Tnore ?nen^ expecting 
 always to receive aid from E7igla7id. He 
 7net a herald who a7Z7tounced to hi7n that 
 the allia7tce 7vas conse7ited to. 
 
 The Fre7tch ki7tg crossed the river Lys 
 and lodged with his ar?7iy on the motnit of 
 Ypres. The town of Ypres submitted to 
 hi77i, a7id so did Cassel, Bergues a7td other 
 tow7is of wester7t Fla7tde7-s. The king of 
 Frajzce heard of the rebellio7i of the co7n7no7zs 
 at Paris a7td z>z other tow7is. 
 
 The Fre7ich king came to Yp7'es, and 
 Philip d'Arteveld 7narched to Court7'ay 
 with fifty thozisand 7iie7z. The Fre7ich 
 art/iy suffered 7?iuch f'om the bad weathe7', 
 a7td it would have been better for the Flem- 
 Z7tgs if they had 7zot come to fight vuith them, 
 but had re77iai7zed a7id fortified theznselves 
 before Oztdenarde. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXIX 
 
 Of the marvels that came to the Flemings in 
 the night, and how they ordained their 
 battle all in one company. 
 
 The Wednesday at night that the battle 
 was the next day, Philip d'Arteveld with all 
 his puissance came and lodged in a- fair 
 ground right strong between a dike and a 
 little grove of wood with a strong hedge, 
 so that lightly no man could come well at 
 them, and this was between the hill ^ and 
 Rosebeque, whereas the king lay. The 
 same night Philip d'Arteveld made a 
 supper in his lodging to all his captains 
 right plenteous, for they had provision 
 enough following them, and after supper 
 he said to them : * Fair sirs, ye see well we 
 be here in arms : I hope well to-morrow 
 we shall have some business, for the king, 
 who hath great desire to find us to fight, is 
 lodged at Rosebeque. Now I require 
 you all, keep faith and troth, and be not 
 abashed of anything that ye see or hear, 
 for this that we do is in the upholding of 
 our right ; and let us freely fight to main- 
 lain the jurisdictions of Flanders. Ad- 
 monish your people to do well their devoir, 
 and order them so well and wisely, that by 
 our good order and array we may have the 
 victory of the journey to-morrow. By the 
 grace of God we shall find no lord that 
 dare fight against us in the field, and it 
 shall be more honour for us than though 
 we had comfort of the Englishmen, for if 
 they were in our company, they should 
 have the renown and not we. Also say to 
 your company that they save no person 
 alive, and so thereby we shall live in rest ; 
 for here is with the king all the flower of 
 France, there is none left behind : where- 
 fore I command on pain of death that no 
 man take any prisoner, without it be the 
 1 ' Le Mont d'Or.' 
 
BEFORE THE BATTLE OF ROSEBEQUE 
 
 28? 
 
 king himself ; for I would he were saved, 
 for he is but a child, he ought to be par- 
 doned ; he knoweth not yet what he doth, 
 but as he is led ; we shall bring him to 
 Gaunt to learn to speak Flemish. But as 
 for dukes, earls and other persons, slay 
 them all : the commons in France will not 
 be displeased therewith, for I am in surety 
 they would that none of them should re- 
 turn again into France, and no more, I 
 trust, they shall. ' All such as were with 
 Philip at this supper accorded to his 
 opinion, and so answered with one voice 
 and said : * Sir, ye say well, and thus it 
 shall be done.' Then they took their leave 
 of him and returned to their lodgings to 
 their companies, to shew them as ye have 
 heard before. Thus passed the night in the 
 host with Philip d'Arteveld ; but about 
 midnight, as I was informed, there fell in 
 their host a marvellous thing, I never heard 
 of none like it in any manner. 
 
 Thus when the Flemings were at rest in 
 their lodgings, howbeit they knew well 
 their enemies were on the hill not past a 
 league from them, as I was informed, 
 Philip d'Arteveld had brought a damosel 
 with him out of Gaunt, and as Philip lay 
 and slept on a couch beside a little fire of 
 coals in a pavilion, this said damosel about 
 the hour of midnight issued out of the 
 pavilion to look out on the air and to see 
 what time of the night it was by likelihood, 
 for she could not sleep. She looked toward 
 Rosebeque and she saw in the sky divers 
 fumes and fire flying : it was of the fires 
 that the Frenchmen made under hedges 
 and bushes. This damosel hearkened ; 
 and, as she thought, she heard great bruit 
 between their host and the French host : 
 she thought she heard the French cries, 
 crying, ' Montjoy, Saint Denis ! ' and 
 other cries, and this she thought was on 
 Mount d'Or between them and Rosebeque. 
 Of this thing she was sore affrayed, and so 
 entered into the pavilion and suddenly 
 awaked Philip and said : ' Sir, rise up 
 shortly and arm you, for I have heard a 
 great noise on the Mount d'Or : I believe 
 it be the Frenchmen that are coming to 
 assail you.' 
 
 With those words he rose and cast on a 
 gown and took his axe in his hand and 
 issued out of the pavilion to see what it 
 was ; and as the damosel had shewed him, 
 
 he heard the same himself, and it seemed to 
 him that there was a great tournament on 
 the said hill. Then incontinent he entered 
 into his pavilion and caused his trumpet to 
 be blown. As soon as the trumpet had 
 blown, every man arose and armed them. 
 They of the watch sent incontinent to Philip 
 d'Arteveld to know for what cause he stirred 
 up the host, seeing there was no cause why, 
 shewing him how they had sent to their 
 enemies' host and there was no stirring. 
 'Why,' quoth Philip, 'whereof rose that 
 noise on the Mount d'Or?' 'Sir,' quoth 
 they, 'we heard the same noise and sent 
 thither to know what it was, and they that 
 went hath made report that when they came 
 there they heard nor saw nothing : and, 
 sir, because we found nothing, we made no 
 noise thereof for stirring up of your host : 
 if we should have stirred them without a 
 cause, we ought to have been blamed for 
 our labour.' And when they of the watch 
 had shewed Philip these words, he ap- 
 peased himself and all the host : howbeit, 
 he had marvel in his mind what it might 
 be. Some said it was fiends of hell that 
 played and tourneyed, thereas the battle 
 should be the next day, for joy of the great 
 prey that they were likely to have there. 
 
 Ever after this sudden affray Philip 
 d'Arteveld and the Flemings were in doubt 
 of betraying : and so at good leisure they 
 armed them and made great fires and ate 
 meat and drank, whereof they had sufficient. 
 And an hour before day Philip said : ' Sirs, 
 it were good we drew into the field and 
 order our people, to the intent that, though 
 the Frenchmen come on us at the breaking 
 of the day, that we may be ready to receive 
 them. They all accorded to his saying, 
 and so issued out of their lodgings and came 
 into a heath without the wood. And be- 
 fore them there was ^ great large dike 
 newly made, and behind them full of 
 bushes of genepar ^ and other small bushes : 
 there they ordered their battle all in one 
 company, and by the report of their con- 
 stables they were to the number of fifty 
 thousand*'chosen men, who did set but 
 little by their lives ; also there were a three- 
 score archers. Englishmen, stolen away 
 from Calais, thinking to have more profit 
 by Philip d'Arteveld. So thus everything 
 
 1 The French word is ' genestres,' not juniper 
 but broom. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 was ordered, their carriage, women and 
 varlets ; and Philip d'Arteveld had his 
 page by him on a good courser, worth to a 
 great lord five hundred florins. He had 
 him not by him to the intent to fly away or 
 to steal from his company, but it was the 
 greater thereby to shew his estate,' and to 
 mount on him, if need were, to follow the 
 chase of -the Frenchmen. He had of the 
 town of Gaunt about a nine thousand men 
 well armed, whom he kept ever about his 
 own person ; for he had more trust in them 
 than in any other. And he and they with 
 their banners were in the foremost front, 
 and they of Alost and Grammont next 
 them, and then they of Courtray, of Bruges, 
 of Damme, of Sluys and of [the] Franc, 
 who were armed the most part with malles 
 and chapeaus of steel and hocquetons and 
 gauntlets of steel and baleine, each of them 
 bearing a stake tipped with iron. These 
 towns had difference in arms and liveries, 
 to know one company from another : some 
 had coats of yellow and blue, some with 
 black bands on red coats, some bordered 
 with white on blue coats, some planted 
 with green and blue, some lozenged with 
 white and black, some quartered white and 
 red, some all blue and one quarter red, 
 some red cut upon white," and their banners 
 according to their crafts with great holmesses 
 hanging at their girdles. So thus they 
 tarried for the daylight, which was near 
 approaching. Now I shall shew you the 
 order of the Frenchmen. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXX 
 
 How the constable and admiral of France 
 and the bastard of Langres went to see the 
 Flemings, and how they fortified themselves. 
 
 The French king and the lords about him 
 knew right well how the Flemings ap- 
 
 r *But for state and for grandeur.' 
 
 2 The heraldic terms are loosely rendered by the 
 translator. It should be : ' Some had coats of 
 yellow and of blue, some had a black band (bende) 
 on a red coat, some chevrons of whSe on blue 
 coats, some had green and blue in pales (plantez), 
 some a fess lozenged with white and black, some 
 had coats quartered of white and red, some all blue 
 with one quarter red, some cut with red above and 
 white below.' The better text has 'palettes' for 
 'plantes,' and after it this: 'some had coats 
 lozenged of blue and red, some a fess chequered 
 white and black.' 
 
 proached near to them, and saw well there 
 was no remedy but battle, for there was no 
 motion made of treaty of peace. The 
 Wednesday there was a cry made in the 
 town of Ypres, that all manner of people as 
 men of war should draw to the field to the 
 king and to do as they ought to do. Every 
 man obeyed the king's commandment, as 
 reason was, and drew to the field, except 
 such varlets as were commanded to keep 
 their masters' horses : howbeit, in the 
 vaward they had many horses for the 
 adventurers and to discover the fields. 
 Thus this Wednesday the Frenchmen kept 
 the fields near unto Rosebeque, and at 
 night the king made a supper to his three 
 uncles and to the constable of France and 
 to the lord of Coucy and to other great 
 lords strangers of Brabant, of Hainault, of 
 Holland, of Zealand, of Almaine, of Lor- 
 raine and of Savoy, who were come thither 
 to serve the king, whereof he thankened 
 them greatly. The same night the earl of 
 Flanders kept the watch, and with him a 
 six hundred spears and twelve hundred 
 men of other persons of war. 
 
 And after supjDer, when these lords were 
 departed, the constable abode still to speak 
 with the king and his uncles. It was 
 ordained by the king's council that the 
 constable of France, sir Oliver of Clisson, 
 should leave his office for the next day, 
 because it was thought that they should 
 have battle, and that the lord of Coucy 
 should occupy the office for that time, and 
 sir Oliver to be about the king's person : 
 and so, when he would have taken leave 
 of the king, the king said to him right 
 sweetly and amiably : ' Sir constable, we 
 would that ye render up your office into 
 our hands for this night and to-morrow all 
 day : we have ordained another to occupy 
 the room, and we will that ye abide about 
 our person.' Of these words the constable 
 had great marvel, and answered and said : 
 ' Right dear sir, I know well I cannot have 
 so great honour as to aid to keep your 
 person ; but, sir, this should be right dis- 
 pleasant to all ray company and to all them 
 of the vaward. If they have not me in 
 their company, peradventure they may lose 
 more thereby than win. Sir, I say it not 
 because I should think myself so valiant, 
 that for lack of me they should not do well ; 
 but, sir, saving the correction of your 
 
BEFORE THE BATTLE OF ROSEBEQUE 
 
 287 
 
 council, I say tliat all these fifteen days 
 past I have done none other thing but 
 pursued mine office to the honour of you 
 and of your people ; and, sir, I have shewed 
 every man what they should do ; and, sir, 
 if they fight to-morrow and see not me 
 among them, they will be abashed, whereby 
 I shall receive blame, and some will say 
 that I have devised many things and fly 
 away from the first strokes. Sir, I require 
 your grace, break rot that hath been first 
 ordained. I ensure you ye shall have 
 profit thereby.' So the king and such as 
 were about him wist not what to say ; at 
 last the king right sagely said : ' Constable, 
 I know well ye have in all causes right well 
 acquitted yourself and shall do : the king 
 my father, that dead is, loved and trusted 
 you above all other, and for the great trust 
 and affiance that he had in you, therefore 
 I would have you about me in this business. ' 
 'Right dear sir,' quoth the constable, 'ye 
 are so well accompanied and with so valiant 
 and so noble men, and are so ordered by 
 deliberation of wise counsel, that there is 
 nothing can be amended : wherefore, sir, 
 ye and your council ought to be content ; 
 and I therefore require you in God's behalf 
 to suffer me alone in mine office, and I 
 trust to-morrow ye shall have so good 
 fortune in your journey, that your friends 
 shall be glad and your enemies displeased.' 
 To the which words the king gave none 
 answer of a great space, but at last said : 
 ' Constable, in the name of God and Saint 
 Denis exercise your ofBce at your pleasure ; 
 I will speak no more thereof, for ye see 
 farther in this matter than I do, or such as 
 moved first the matter : be to-morrow with 
 me at my mass. ' ' Sir, ' quoth the constable, 
 ' with right a good will ' : and so took leave 
 of the king and returned to his lodging. 
 
 And on the Thursday in the morning 
 every man apparelled themselves ready 
 armed save their heads, for they knew well 
 by all likelihood that they should have 
 battle the same day. The French king 
 heard mass betimes in the morning, and all 
 the great lords, vrith great devotion praying 
 to God to send them honour that day. 
 The same morning there arose a great mist, 
 so that one could not see an acre of breadth 
 before him, whereof the lords were right 
 sore displeased, but they could not amend 
 it. And after mass the king and the con- 
 
 stable and other great lords went lo council, 
 to determine what they should do ; and 
 there it was ordained that sir Oliver of 
 Clisson, constable of France, sir John de 
 Vienne, admiral of France, and sir William 
 of Poitiers, bastard of Langres, these three 
 should go and visit the demeanour of the 
 Flemings as near as they might, and to 
 come again and make report to the king 
 and to his uncles of the truth of everything, 
 and in the mean time the lord d'Albret and 
 sir Hugh of Chatillon should order the 
 battles. So thus these three departed from 
 the king mounted on good horses, and rode 
 straight whereas they thought to find their 
 enemies. 
 
 The same morning in the great mist the 
 Flemings rose and drew together in the 
 same strong place that they had fortified, 
 and so stood together all in one battle till 
 it was eight of the clock, and could hear 
 nothing of the Frenchmen ; and then by 
 great pride the captains said each to 
 other : ' What do we here thus standing 
 still on our feet and take cold ? Why do 
 we not go forth with great courage, sith we 
 have so great will to fight with our enemies? 
 We tarry here for nothing ; the Frenchmen 
 will never seek us here : let us go at the 
 least to the Mount d'Or and take the ad- 
 vantage of the hill.' These words so mul- 
 tiplied that they all agreed to advance 
 forth to take the hill that was between them 
 and the Frenchmen ; and so then to escape 
 from the dike that was before them, they 
 went about the little wood that was behind 
 them and took the plain fields. And as 
 they came about this wood, the foresaid 
 three knights advised them by great leisure, 
 and so rode in coasting their battle within 
 a bow-shot of them : and when they were 
 passed on the left side, then they rode again 
 on their right side, so that they well advised 
 their whole battle : the Flemings saw them 
 right well, but they brake none array for 
 all them. 
 
 Then Philip d'Arteveld said softly to 
 his captains : * Let us dress us and make 
 us ready to the battle, for our enemies 
 are near us. I see right well the three 
 knights that have passed and repassed by 
 us have well aviewed our battle.' Then 
 they drew all into one battle, as they went 
 to the hill. Then Philip said aloud : ' Sirs, 
 when we come to the battle, let us think 
 
288 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 on our enemies, how they were discomfited 
 at the battle of Bruges by reason that we 
 held ourselves close together. Let us be- 
 ware that we open not : every man bear 
 his weapon right before him and interlace 
 your staves over your arms, one within 
 another, whereby they shall not enter upon 
 us : ' and let us go a good pace by leisure, 
 and nother turn on the left hand nor on 
 the right, and shoot our guns all at once 
 and shoot with our cross-bows, and thus we 
 shall abash our enemies.' 
 
 When Philip d'Arteveld had thus ordered 
 his men and set his battle in array and 
 shewed them what they should do, then he 
 made out a wing of part of his men, such 
 as he best trusted,- and by him Avas his page 
 with his courser, to whom he said : ' Go 
 thy way with my horse behind yonder bush, 
 and when thou seest the Frenchmen fly, 
 then bring me my horse and cry my cry ; 
 then men will give thee room, to the in- 
 tent that I may follow in the chase with 
 the foremost.' The page did as he was 
 commanded. Then he set beside him on 
 a wing forty archers Englishmen, whom he 
 had in wages. 
 
 Now behold if Philip ordered him.self 
 well or not. I think, and so did many 
 such as were expert in battles, that he did 
 not well nor wisely in one thing, and that 
 was when he departed in the morning out 
 of the strong place that he was in ; for it is 
 to be thought that the Frenchmen would 
 never have sought them there to have fought 
 with them, for they could not have done it 
 without great damage : but like fools they 
 thought to shew themselves valiant and 
 little fearing their enemies, and so they 
 were served thereafter. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXI 
 
 The manner of the battle of Rosebeque, and 
 how the Flemings were discomfited by the 
 counsel of the three foresaid knights, who 
 had aviewed all their behaving. 
 
 So these three foresaid knights returned to 
 the king and to the battles, the which were 
 
 ^ ' Let each bear his staff straight before him, 
 and interlace your arms, so that none may enter in 
 among you.' 
 
 - ' He set himself on a wing formed of those of 
 his men in whom he had most trust.' 
 
 ready in good array as they ought to be ; 
 for there were many noble and wise men 
 and well expert in arms both in the vaward 
 and in the rearguard and in the king's 
 battle, and they knew right well what ought 
 to be done, for there was the flower of 
 all the good chivalry of the world. So 
 thus every man gave these three knights 
 way to come to the king : the lord Clisson 
 spake first, inclining his body to the 
 king, doing off his hat, and said : ' Sir, be 
 merry : yonder people be all yours ; our 
 varlets shall beat them. ' ' Constable, ' quoth 
 the king, ' God grant it : let us go forward 
 then in the name of God and Saint Denis.' 
 Then such knights as were appointed to 
 attend on the king's body were set in good 
 order ; and there the king made many new 
 knights, and so did every lord in his own 
 battle, and divers banners were new raised 
 up. Then it was ordained, that when they 
 should join to fight, that the king's battle 
 with the Oriflamme of France should be 
 in the forefront, and the vaward should 
 pass by aside on a wing on the one side of 
 the king, and the rearward to pass by a 
 little on the other side of the king, so that 
 all three battles might at once close about 
 the Flemings' battle, who came close to- 
 gether all in one battle. So the arearward 
 were shewed of this appointment, the earl 
 of Eu, the earl of Blois, the earl of Saint 
 Pol, the earl of Harcourt, the lord of 
 Chatillon and the lord Fere were chief of 
 that ward, and before the earl of Blois 
 there was made banneret the young lord of 
 Havreth : ^ sir Thomas Diest and sir James 
 Havreth, bastard, were made knights : there 
 were made the same day by the report of 
 the heralds four hundred threescore and 
 seven knights. 
 
 And so then the three knights departed 
 from the king and went into the vaward, 
 whereas their rooms were. Then incon- 
 tinent the Oriflamme was displayed, that 
 sir Peter of Villiers did bear, and some say, 
 as they have found written, that it was 
 never before seen displayed against Chris- 
 tian men. But then in that voyage there 
 was great question made whether it should 
 be displayed or not ; howbeit, divers reasons 
 considered, finally it was determined to be 
 displayed as then, because the Flemings 
 
 1 ' And there on that day before the earl of Blois 
 the young lord of Havreth raised his bannef.' 
 
BATTLE OF HOSEBEQUE, 1382 {Nm. 27) 
 
 held the opinion contrary to pope Clement, 
 and therefore the Frenchmen called them 
 Urbanists ; wherefore they said they were 
 heretics and out of the true belief: that 
 was the chief cause that it was borne and 
 displayed in Flanders. This Orifiamme is 
 a precious banner and was sent first from 
 heaven for a great mystery, the which was 
 ever a great comfort to them that saw it.^ 
 And the same day it shewed some of his 
 virtue, for all the morning there was a great 
 thick mist, that one could scant see another, 
 but as soon as it was displayed and lift up 
 on high, the mist brake away and the sky 
 was as clear as any time in the year before. 
 The lords of France were greatly rejoiced 
 when they saw the sun shine so clear that 
 they might see all about them : this greatly 
 did recomfort them. It was great beauty 
 then to regard the banners and streamers 
 wave with the wind, and [all were silent 
 nor none uttered a word, but] beheld well 
 the great battle of the Flemings, who ever 
 still approached fast joined together with 
 their staves upright, that it seemed ^ a little 
 grove of wood, there were so many of them. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXII 
 
 How the Flemings were discomfited at the 
 battle of Rosebeque. 
 
 I WAS as then informed of the lord of 
 Sconnevorst, who shewed me how that he 
 was there and saw it, and so did divers 
 other, that when the Orifiamme was dis- 
 played and the mist gone away, there came 
 a dove and made divers flights over the 
 king's battle ; and a little before they fought, 
 she sat down on one of the king's banners, 
 the which every man took for a good token. 
 So thus approached the Flemings and began 
 to shoot guns and arrows feathered with 
 steel. Thus the battle began, the which 
 was right sharp and fierce at the first en- 
 countering ; for the Flemings set on proudly, 
 thrusting with their spears and shoulders 
 like wild boars, and they held themselves 
 so close together that they could not be 
 
 1 * Was formerly sent from heaven by a great 
 mystery, and is a great comfort for the day to them 
 that see it.' 
 
 2 'And they came on at a good pace all close 
 together, their staves all held straight up on high 
 (contremont), and the lances seemed like,' etc. 
 
 U 
 
 opened. There was with the shot of the 
 guns at the first thrust slain of the French 
 part the lord de Wavrin, banneret, Morelet 
 of Halewyn and James d'Ere, and so there- 
 with the king's battle was reculed ; but the 
 vaward and the arearward passed on forth 
 and enclosed about the Flemings and held 
 them strait, I shall shew you how. On 
 these two wings the men of arms fiercely 
 assaulted, with their strong spears well 
 headed with heads of fine steel, wherewith 
 they pierced the Flemings' coats of mail 
 into the hard bones, so that the Flemings 
 were glad to eschew the strokes. So thus 
 these men of arms kept the Flemings so 
 short, that they could not well help them- 
 selves, nor put down their arms to give 
 any strokes ; so there were many that lost 
 their strength and breath and fell one upon 
 another, and so died for lack of breath 
 without striking of any stroke. And there 
 was Philip d'Arteveld wounded and beaten 
 down among his men of Gaunt, and when 
 his page with his horse saw the discomfiture 
 of his master, he departed and left his 
 master, for he could not help him, and so 
 rode to Courtray towards Gaunt. 
 
 Thus these battles assembled together. 
 So the Flemings' battle was enclosed on 
 both sides, so that they could pass no way : 
 then the king's battle came forth again, the 
 which was before -^ little drawn aback. 
 The men of arms beat down the Flemings 
 on every side; some had good axes of steel, 
 wherewith they brake asunder bassenets, 
 and some had malles of lead, wherewith 
 they gave such strokes that they beat all 
 down to the earth before them : and as the 
 Flemings were beaten down, there were 
 pages ready to cut their throats with great 
 knives, and so slew them without pity, as 
 though they had been but dogs. 'The 
 strokes on the bassenets were so great that 
 no man could hear other speak for noise : 
 I heard reported that though all the ar- 
 mourers of Paris and Brussels had been 
 working together, could not have made so 
 great a noise. 'There were some that ad- 
 vanced so sore into the press, that they 
 were slain and overcome for lack of breath, 
 as sir Louis of Cousan, a gentle knight of 
 Berry, and sir Floton of Revel and divers 
 other, which was great damage : but so 
 great a battle as the Flemings were could 
 not be overcome without great loss ; for 
 
290 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 young knights and squires will lightly ad- 
 vance thenaselves to get honour, and the 
 press was so great and the business so 
 perilous, that when they were in the thick 
 of the press, they could not relieve them- 
 selves, but were trodden under foot to 
 death ; and so by that means there were 
 divers of the Frenchmen slain, but to no 
 great number. The Flemings were slain 
 by heaps, one upon another ; and when 
 they that were behind saw the discomfiture 
 of their company, they were abashed, and 
 cast down their pavises and armours and 
 turned and fled away toward Courtray and 
 other places, and had mind of nothing but 
 to save themselves ; and the Bretons and 
 Frenchmen chased them through dikes, 
 groves and bushes, and ever fought and 
 slew them , downright : there were many 
 fled between Courtray and the battle, to go 
 to Gaunt. ^ This battle was on the Mount 
 d'Or between Courtray and Rosebeque in 
 the year of our Lord God a thousand three 
 hundred fourscore and two, the Thursday 
 nextbeforeAdventjinNovemberthe twenty- 
 seventh day, the French king Charles then 
 being of fourteen year of age. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXIII 
 
 How the body of Philip d'Arteveld was 
 brought to the king and so hanged up, 
 and how the town of Courtray was brent. 
 
 Thus, as ye have heard, the Flemings 
 were discomfited on the Mount d'Or, their 
 pride abated and Philip d'Arteveld slain ; 
 and of them of Gaunt and of their partners 
 slain with him in the field to the number 
 of nine thousand, according to the report 
 of the heralds, and in the chase twenty-five 
 thousand slain ; and the battle endured not 
 past half an hour, or it was discomfited. 
 And after this discomfiture, the which ^ was 
 right honourable for all Christendom and 
 for all nobleness, for if these said villains 
 had achieved their intents, there had never 
 so great cruelty have been seen before in 
 all the world, for the commonties in divers 
 
 ^ ' Whither they retreated to go to Gaunt ' : but 
 another reading is 'whither they retreated for 
 safety ' (a sauf garant). 
 
 2 The words ' And after ' and ' the which ' spoil 
 the structure of the sentence and are not found in 
 the best text. 
 
 countries had rebelled, to have destroyed 
 all nobleness. What think you that they 
 of Paris would say when they knew of this 
 discomfiture? I think they were nothing 
 joyful thereof. 
 
 Thus when this battle was achieved, at 
 last they left the chase and trumpets sowned 
 the retreat : and so every man drew to his 
 lodging, and the vaward lodged forward, 
 thereas the Flemings had lien the night 
 before, and there took their ease and were 
 well refreshed, for new purveyance came 
 to them from Ypres ; and so that night 
 they made great fires with such pavises and 
 staves as the Flemings had brought to the 
 field. And when the king was in his 
 lodging, there was pight up a pavilion of 
 crimson sendal, right noble and rich, and 
 there the king's uncles unarmed him, and 
 divers other lords of France came thither 
 to see him, as reason required. Then the 
 king said to them that were about him : 
 ' Sirs, if Philip d'Arteveld be alive or dead, 
 I would fain see him.' They answered how 
 they would do their pain that he should see 
 him. And then there was madea cry through 
 the host, that whosoever could find Philip 
 d'Arteveld should have a hundred franks 
 for his labour. Then there were many 
 that went among the dead bodies, who 
 were nigh despoiled of all their clothes : at 
 last there was such search made that he 
 was found and known by a varlet that had 
 served him long time before, and he knew 
 him very well by divers tokens. So he 
 was drawn and brought before the king's 
 pavilion, and the king beheld him a long 
 space and so did all the other lords, and he 
 was turned and returned to see what hurts 
 or wounds he had, but they could see no 
 wound whereby he should die ; but it was 
 judged that he fell in a little dike and a 
 great many of the Gauntois on him, where- 
 by he was pressed to death. And so when 
 they had well regarded him, then at last 
 he was taken from thence and hanged 
 upon a tree. This was the end of Philip 
 d'Arteveld. 
 
 Sir Daniel of Halewyn, who was within 
 Oudenarde with other knights and squires, 
 the which had kept the garrison right 
 honourably, the Wednesday before the 
 battle, because he knew well that the king 
 was in Flanders and should have battle 
 with the Flemings, late in the night he 
 
AFTER THE BATTLE OF ROSEBEQUE 
 
 29: 
 
 caused four faggots to be set afire and cast 
 a-high out of the town, in tokening to them 
 that lay at the siege how their siege should 
 be raised. The Thursday tidings came to 
 the lord of Herselle how that their com- 
 pany were discomfited and Philip d'Arteveld 
 slain ; and as soon as these tidings were 
 known, they dislodged and took their way 
 to Gaunt and left behind them the most 
 part of their provision ; but they within 
 Oudenarde knew nothing thereof till the 
 next morning ; and when they knew there- 
 of, they issued out and brought in great 
 pillage that they found hidden thereabout. ^ 
 The same Thursday at night tidings came 
 to Bruges of the discomfiture of the battle, 
 whereof they were greatly abashed and 
 said : ' Lo, we may now see our own 
 destruction. If the Bretons come hither 
 and enter into our town, we shall all be 
 piUed and slain, for they will have of us no 
 mercy.' Then the burgesses and their 
 vrives took all their best jewels and riches 
 and put it into ships to save it, to send it 
 by water into Holland and into Zealand : 
 in this case they were four days, so that 
 they left no dish nor cup of silver in all 
 Bruges, but all was put into ships for doubt 
 of the Bretons. When Peter du Bois, who 
 lay there sore wounded with the hurts that 
 he took at the passage of Commines, under- 
 stood the discomfiture of his company and 
 how that Philip d'Arteveld was dead and 
 slain, and how the people of Bruges were 
 so abashed, then he was in no surety of 
 himself, and so determined to depart and 
 to go to Gaunt, for he thought that they of 
 Gaunt would also be sore abashed, and so 
 made a litter to be dressed for him, for he 
 could not ride. Ye may know well, when 
 these tidings came to Gaunt of the loss 
 of their men and of the death of Philip 
 d'Arteveld, they were so sore discomfited, 
 that if the Frenchmen had come thither 
 the day of the battle or the next day after 
 or the Saturday after, or ever that Peter 
 du Bois came thither, they would have 
 suffered them to have entered into the 
 town without any resistance, to have done 
 what they had list. But the Frenchmen 
 
 1 ' Great pillage of knives and baggage-carts and 
 provisions, concealed (mucez) thus roimd about 
 there.' These last words, in which there is prob- 
 ably some corruption, are not found in the best 
 text, where we also read ' tents ' for ' knives.' 
 
 took no heed thereto : they thought right 
 well to be lords thereof at their pleasure, 
 seeing that Philip d'Arteveld was dead ; 
 they thought surely that the people of 
 Gaunt would have yielded them to the 
 king's mercy : howbeit, they did not so, 
 for they alone made greater war than ever 
 they did before, as ye shall hear after in 
 this history. 
 
 On the Friday the king dislodged from 
 Rosebeque because of the air of the dead 
 bodies, and he was counselled to go to 
 Courtray to refresh him there. The Hase 
 and divers other knights and squires, such 
 as knew the country, leapt on their horses 
 and galloped straight to Courtray and 
 entered into the town, for there was made 
 no defence against them. The burgesses 
 and their wives and all other men, women 
 and children entered into cellars and into 
 the churches to fly from the death, so that 
 it was pity to see it. Such as entered first 
 into Courtray had great profit by pillage, 
 and so then after there entered the French- 
 men and Bretons, and every man took up 
 their lodging as they came ; and the king 
 entered the first day of December. Then 
 there was a new persecution made in the 
 town on the Flemings, such as were hidden 
 about ; for as they were found out they were 
 slain, for there was no man taken to mercy. 
 The Frenchmen and they of that town 
 hated each other mortally because of a 
 battle that was once fought before Court- 
 ray, whereas sir Robert Artois and a great 
 part of the flower of France were slain. 
 It was shewed the king how that there 
 was in Courtray in the church of our Lady 
 a chapel, wherein were five hundred gilt 
 spurs pertaining of old time to the lords 
 and knights of France, such as had been 
 slain at the said battle of Courtray, the 
 which was in the year of our Lord God 
 a thousand three hundred and two, and 
 they of Courtray once a year made thereof 
 a great triumph and solemnity. Wherefore 
 the king said it should be dearly bought ; 
 and so it was after, for at his departing he 
 set the town afire, to the intent that it 
 should be known ever after how that the 
 French king had been there. And anon 
 after that the king [was] thus come to 
 Courtray, there came thither a fifty spears 
 from the garrison of Oudenarde with sir 
 Daniel of Halewyn to see the king, who 
 
292 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 made them right good cheer and so did all 
 the lords ; and when they had been there 
 a day, then they returned to Oudenarde to 
 their company. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCCXXIV, CCCCXXV 
 
 SUMMARY. — The toitm of Bruges -was 
 spared from plunder, paying sixscore thou- 
 sand franks. The country of HainauU, 
 which was threatened by the Bretons because 
 the earl had not taken part in the war 
 against the Flemings, was saved by the earl 
 of Blois and others. 
 
 Peter du Bois persuaded the Gauntois to 
 shut their gates and defend themselves. 
 
 On hearing of the defeat of Rosebeque the 
 English broke off their treaty with the 
 Flemings. 
 
 The French king returned to Tournay, 
 the season being too late to lay siege to Ghent, 
 and many of the strajige lords departed to 
 their homes. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXVI 
 
 How the French king came to Paris, and 
 how he caused to be put down the chains 
 and harness in the town, and how the 
 Parisians were ransomed at his pleasure. 
 
 SUMMARY. —They of Ghent sent an 
 em.bassy to the king at Tournay, offering to 
 put themselves U7ider his lordship, but not 
 willing to accept again the earl of Flanders 
 for their lord. After Christmas the king 
 went to Arras, leaving captains in the town 
 of Flanders and appointing the lord of 
 Ghistelles to be Regard of Flanders. 
 
 The text contimies thits : — 
 
 The king tarried at Arras, and the city was 
 in a great adventure to have been overrun 
 and robbed with the Bretons, for there was 
 great wages owing to them ; also they had 
 endured great travail in that voyage and 
 they were not well content with the king, 
 it was great pain to refrain them from doing 
 evil. The constable and marshals of France 
 appeased them, promising how they should 
 be clearly paid of their wages, when they 
 came to Paris. So thus the king departed 
 and went to Peronne : the earl of Flanders 
 
 took leave of the king and went to Lille. 
 So long the king journeyed that he passed 
 Peronne, Noyon and Compiegne, and so 
 came to Senlis and there rested ; and all his 
 men of war were lodged in the villages 
 between Senlis and Meaux in Brie and on 
 the river of Marne and about Saint-Denis, 
 so that all the country was full of men of 
 war. And so then the king departed 
 from Senlis and went toward Paris ; and 
 he sent before his officers to prepare for 
 him his lodging at the castle of Louvre, 
 and also his three uncles sent of their ser- 
 vants to prepare their lodgings, and in like 
 wise so did other lords : and all this was done 
 for a cautel and wile, for the king nor his 
 lords were not determined to enter so 
 suddenly into Paris, for they doubted them 
 of Paris ; but they did this to prove what 
 countenance and order they of Paris would 
 make at the king's entry ; they thought 
 they would make this assay before. The 
 servants that went before were commanded 
 to say, if any man demanded of them if 
 the king were coming, that they would be 
 there incontinent : by the which the 
 Parisians advised among themselves to be 
 armed and to shew the king at his entry 
 what puissance they were of and what men 
 of war they were able to make to serve the 
 king, when it pleased him : but they had 
 been better to have sitten still in their 
 houses, for the shew that they made was 
 converted to their great servitude, as ye 
 shall hear after. They said they did it for 
 good, but it was taken to evil. And 
 whereas the king should have lodged at 
 Louvre, he made his lodging to be prepared 
 at Bourget : and then voice ran through 
 Paris how the king was near at hand to 
 enter into Paris. Then more than twenty 
 thousand Parisians armed them and issued 
 out into the fields and ordered themselves 
 in a fair battle between Saint-Lazare and 
 Paris toward Montmartre, and they had 
 with them cross-bows, pavises and malles 
 ready apparelled, as though they should 
 have fought incontinent in battle. 
 
 The king was as then at Bourget, and all 
 the lords, and thither to them was brought 
 all the tidings of all the demeanour of them 
 of Paris. Then the lords said : ' Ah, ye 
 may see the pride of these ribalds : where- 
 fore do they now shew their estate? If 
 they would have served the king in the 
 
THE KING'S RETURN TO PARIS 
 
 293 
 
 same point as they be in now, when the 
 king went into Flanders, then had they 
 done well ; but they had no mind so to do, 
 they rather prayed to God that we should 
 never return again.' The which words 
 divers that were there helped well forward 
 to the intent to grieve the Parisians, saying : 
 ' If the king be well counselled, he shall 
 not adventure himself to come among such 
 people as cometh against him with an army 
 arranged in battle. They should rather 
 have come humbly with procession and 
 have rung all the bells in Paris in thanking 
 God of the victory that the king had in 
 Flanders.' Thus the lords were abashed 
 how they should maintain themselves. 
 
 Finally it was appointed that the con- 
 stable of France, the lord d'Albret, the lord 
 of Coucy, sir Guy of Tremouille and sir John 
 of Vienne should go and speak with them 
 and demand of them the cause why they be 
 issued out of Paris in so great a number 
 armed in order of battle against the king ; 
 the which thing was never seen before in 
 France : and upon their answer the lords 
 said the king should take advice : ^ they 
 were wise enough to order as great a matter 
 as that was and greater. So these said 
 lords departed from the king without har- 
 ness, and for the more surety of their 
 business they took with them three or four 
 heralds and sent them somewhat before to 
 the Parisians, and said : ' Sirs, go ye on 
 before to yonder people of Paris, and 
 demand of them a safe-conduct for us to go 
 and come, till we have spoken with them 
 from the king.' 
 
 These heralds departed and rode a great 
 pace and came to these people ; and when 
 the Parisians saw tliem coming, they thought 
 full little they had come to have spoken 
 %vith them, they thought they had but 
 ridden to Paris as other did. The heralds 
 had on their coat armours, and when they 
 approached near to the Parisians, they said 
 on high : ' Where be the masters ? Where 
 be the rulers ? Which of you be captains ? 
 We be come to you sent from the lords.' 
 Then some of them of Paris perceived well 
 by these words that they had not done 
 well : they cast down their heads and said : 
 ' Here be no masters : we are all of one 
 accord and at the king's commandment and 
 the lords'. Therefore, sirs, say in God's 
 1 ' These lords were counselled to reply and speak.' 
 
 name what ye will to us.' 'Sirs,' quoth 
 the heralds, ' the lords that sent us hither,' 
 and named them, ' they know not what ye 
 think or intend : they require you that they 
 may peaceably without peril come and 
 speak with you, and return again to the 
 king and shew him the answer that ye 
 make to them : otherwise they dare not 
 come to you.' ' By our faiths, sirs,' quoth 
 they, ' they ought to say no such words to 
 us but of their gentleness : ^ we think ye 
 do but mock us.' ' Surely, sirs,' quoth the 
 heralds, * we speak it in good certainty. ' 
 'Then,' quoth the Parisians, 'go your way 
 and say to them that they may come at 
 their pleasure to us without danger or peril ; 
 for they shall have no hurt for none of 
 us, for we are all ready to fulfil their 
 commandments. ' 
 
 Then the heralds returned to the lords 
 and shewed them as ye have heard. Then 
 the four lords rode forth and their company, 
 and came to the Parisians, whom they 
 found in good array and order of battle, 
 and there were more than twenty thousand 
 malles. And as the lords passed by them 
 and behicld them well, within themselves 
 they praised much their manner ; and also 
 as they passed by, ever the Parisians in- 
 clined themselves to them. And when 
 these lords were as in the midst among 
 them, then they rested and stood still, and 
 the constable spake a-high and said : ' Ye 
 people of Paris, what hath moved you to 
 issue out of the city in this order of battle? 
 It seemeth ye will fight against the king 
 our sovereign lord, whose subjects ye be or 
 should be.' 'Sir,' quoth they, 'save your 
 grace, we were never of will to do anything 
 against the king ; but, sir, we be issued out 
 for none other cause but to shew the king 
 what puissance the Parisians be of. The 
 king is but young, he never as yet saw it ; 
 and without he see it he cannot know it, 
 nor how he may be served, if need be.' 
 ' Sirs,' quoth the constable, 'ye speak well : 
 but we say unto you from the king that as 
 at this time he will not see you in this 
 manner, for this that ye have done sufficeth.- 
 Therefore we counsel you to return again 
 
 1 ' Ye ought not to say that to us, except it were 
 of their nobleness ' ; that is, unless the lords who 
 sent you said it. 
 
 2 ' That at this time he doth not desire to see it, 
 and that which ye have done sufficelh him.' 
 
294 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 peaceably to Paris, every man to his own 
 lodging, and do off your harness, if ye 
 intend that the king shall come hither.' 
 'Sir,' quoth they, 'we shall with right a 
 good will fulfil your commandment ' : and 
 so therewith they all returned into Paris, 
 every man to his own house to unarm him. 
 And the said four lords returned to the 
 king and shewed unto him all the words 
 that ye have heard before. 
 
 Then it was determined that the king, his 
 uncles and lords, and certain men of arms 
 with them, should enter into Paris, and the 
 great band to bide without the city round 
 about, to give the more fear to the Parisians. 
 And the lord of Coucy and the marshal of 
 Sancerre were ordained, that as soon as the 
 king were entered into Paris, that they 
 should take down the leaves of the gates of 
 the four principals of the city, toward 
 Saint-Denis and Saint-Maur, so that the 
 gates might stand open day and night, for 
 all manner of men of war to enter in and 
 out at their pleasure, to the intent to master 
 them of Paris, if need were ; and also they 
 to take down all the chains in every street, 
 to ride in and out at their pleasure : and as 
 it was ordained, so it was done. 
 
 And so the king entered into Paris and 
 lodged at Louvre, and his uncles by him, 
 and the other lords in divers lodgings. 
 So thus the gates were taken out of the 
 gonds ^ and laid down on the ground, and 
 the chains of every street taken down and 
 brought into the palace. Then the Parisians 
 were in great doubt and feared that they 
 should be overrun, so that none of them 
 durst look out into the street, nor open 
 door nor window : and thus they were a 
 three days in great peril and fear to receive 
 greater damage ; as they did, for it cost 
 many of them great finance and ransom ; 
 for they were called into the chamber of 
 council one after another, such as the lords 
 would have, and so there they were ran- 
 somed, some at six thousand franks, some 
 at three and some at one ; so that there was 
 levied in Paris to the king's profit, to his 
 uncles' and to his ministers', the sum of four 
 hundred thousand franks : there was nothing 
 demanded of the poor people, but of the 
 great masters and such as might bear it : 
 they were right happy that might escape 
 
 ^ 'Hors des gontz.' The word 'gouges' in the 
 tmnslation is assumed to be a misprint for ' gondes.' 
 
 with paying of ransom. And every man 
 by himself was fain to bring their harness in 
 sacks to the castle of Beaute, otherwise 
 called the castle of Vincennes, and there it 
 was closed in a great tower, and their 
 malles also. Thus the Parisians were dealt 
 withal, to give ensample to all other good 
 towns of France, and there were raised up 
 subsidies, gabelles, aids, fouages, douzimes, 
 treizimes and all other such things, and also 
 all the plain country about clean rifled. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXVII 
 
 SUMMARY.— Jean des Mares and many 
 others ivere executed at Paris ; and also in 
 other towns, as Roueji, Rkeims, Orleans, 
 many were either put to death or ranso?ned. 
 Francis Ackervian ajid the Gauntois took 
 and plundered Ardetibourg. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXVIII 
 
 Of the alliance that was purchased between 
 the Englishmen and the Flemings, and of 
 the bulls that pope Urban sent into 
 England to destroy the Clementines. 
 
 The earl of Flanders, who lay at Lille, 
 understood how the Gauntois advanced 
 themselves to ride and to overrun the country 
 and to destroy that they might. He was 
 right sore displeased : he thought they had 
 not had the wit nor puissance so to do, 
 sith that Philip d'Arteveld was dead. 
 Ilowbeit, his council said to him : ' Sir, ye 
 know well and ye have always heard say 
 how the Gauntois are right subtle people, 
 the which they have well shewed and will 
 shew ; and also again they have been in 
 England and are returned again ; and 
 specially Francis Ackerman, who was com- 
 panion to Philip d'Arteveld in all his feats, 
 as long as he liveth, ye shall have war with 
 them. Also, sir, we know well he hath 
 made great alliance with the king of 
 England for the town of Gaunt and hath a 
 certain pension out of England secretly by 
 John Salemon, who is pure English and 
 dwelleth under you in the town of Bruges, 
 and hath done the space of this twenty-four 
 year. And to verify that this is true, Rasse 
 of Vorde, Louis de Vos and John Scotelare 
 
ENGLISH SYMPATHY WITH THE FLEMINGS 
 
 295 
 
 of Gaunt, and the clerk that procureth to 
 be bishop of Gaunt, all these are still 
 behind in England to perform this alliance : 
 and, sir, ye shall hear more truer tidings 
 than we can tell you, or the mid of May 
 be past.' 
 
 The earl of Flanders believed well all 
 these sayings to be true, and so they were 
 indeed. Then he began to imagine against 
 this John Salenion and on the Englishmen 
 dweUing in Bruges. Then he caused them 
 to be summoned to be at a certain day 
 assigned before the earl at Lille ; and so 
 the earl's servants came and summoned 
 John Salemon and divers other rich Eng- 
 lishmen, or they were ware thereof, com- 
 manding them the fifteenth day after to be 
 with the earl at his castle of Lille. When 
 the Englishmen heard thereof, they were 
 sore abashed and took counsel together, 
 having great marvel why the earl should 
 send for them. All things considered, they 
 doubted greatly, for they kneV well the earl 
 was fierce and fell in his haste. Then they 
 said among themselves : ' He that keepeth 
 not his body, keepeth nothing : we doubt 
 lest the earl be informed sore against us ; 
 for with Francis Ackerman, who hath a 
 pension of the king of England, when he 
 was in England there was with him two 
 burgesses of this town of Bruges, and per- 
 adventure they have made some informa- 
 tion against us to the earl, for as now they 
 be on his part.' So on this purpose rested 
 the Englishmen, that they durst not abide 
 the earl's judgment nor to go to Lille at the 
 day before limited : so they departed from 
 Bruges and went to Sluys and did so much 
 that they found a ship ready apparelled, and 
 so they bought it with their money and so 
 departed and sailed till they arrived at 
 London. And when the earl of Flanders 
 was informed of this matter and saw that 
 the Englishmen appeared not at their day, 
 he was sore displeased and sent incontinent 
 to Bruges and caused to be seized all that 
 ever could be found pertaining to the Eng- 
 lishmen, and all their heritages given and 
 sold, and John Salemon clean banished out 
 of Flanders for a hundred year and one day, 
 and his companions ; and such as were 
 taken were put in prison, whereas some 
 died and some recovered again all that ever 
 they had lost. 
 
 There is a common proverb, the which 
 
 is true, and that is how envy never dieth. 
 I say it because Englishmen are right 
 envious of the wealth of other, and always 
 hath been. It was so that the king of 
 England and his uncles and the nobles of 
 England were right sore displeased of the 
 wealth and honour that was fallen to the 
 French king and to the nobles of France 
 at the battle of Rosebeque. And the 
 knights of England spake and said to each 
 other : ' Ah, Saint Mary, how the French- 
 men are now mounted in pride by the over- 
 throwing of a sort of rude villains. Would 
 to God Philip d'Arteveld had had of our 
 men a two thousand spears and six thou- 
 sand archers : there had not then scaped 
 one Frenchman, but other slain or taken : 
 but an God will, this glory shall not long 
 endure them. Now we have a fair advan- 
 tage to enter into Flanders, for the country 
 is now conquered for the French king, and 
 we trust to conquer it again for the king of 
 England. It sheweth well at this time 
 that the earl of Flanders is greatly subject 
 to the French king and that he will please 
 him in all points, when our merchants 
 dwelling in Bruges, and have dwelt there 
 beyond this thirty year, be now banished 
 and chased out of Flanders. The time 
 hath been seen they durst not have done it ; 
 but now they dare do none otherwise for 
 fear of the Frenchmen : we trust it shall 
 not abide long in this point.' This was 
 the language among the Englishmen 
 through the realm of England ; therefore 
 it was to be supposed that this was done 
 but by envy. 
 
 In this season he that wrote himself pope 
 Urban the sixth came by the sea from 
 Rome to Genes, whereas he was well re- 
 ceived and reverently of the Genoways, and 
 there he kept his residence. Ye know well 
 how all England was obeisant to him, as 
 well the Church as the people, because the 
 French king was Clementine, and all 
 France. This Urban, on whom the Eng- 
 lishmen and divers other countries believed, 
 he being at Genes advised how he might 
 annoy the French king, and so he thought 
 to send into England for succour ; I shall 
 shew you by what manner. He sent his 
 bulls to the archbishops and bishops of 
 England, making mention how he assoiled 
 from pain and from sin all such as would 
 aid to destroy the Clementines ; for he 
 
296 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 knew well how Clement his adversary had 
 done in like wise in the realm of France, 
 and doth daily, and they called the Urban- 
 ists in their faith and belief to be but dogs. 
 So this Urban saw well that the Clement- 
 ines would condemn and destroy him if 
 they might, and he saw well he could not 
 more grieve the Frenchmen than by the 
 Englishmen : but first he saw well he must 
 find the means to gather together great 
 riches ; for he knew well the nobles of 
 England, for all his absolutions, would not 
 ride forth in war without money, for men 
 of war live not by pardons, nor they set not 
 much thereby but in the article of death. 
 Then he determined beside these bulls to 
 send into England to the prelates, that they 
 should ordain a full dime on the churches, 
 the noblemen and men of war thereof to be 
 paid their wages without grieving of any 
 part of the king's treasure or of the com- 
 monty of the realm : the which thing the 
 pope thought the barons and knights of 
 England gladly would hearken unto. Then 
 he caused to be written and engrossed bulls, 
 as well to the king and his uncles as to the 
 prelates of England, of plain absolution 
 from pain and sin ; and beside that, he 
 granted to the king and to his uncles a 
 plain dime to be taken and levied through- 
 out all England, so that sir Henry Spenser, 
 bishop of Norwich, should be chief captain 
 of all the men of war ; because the goods 
 came from the Church, therefore the pope 
 would that one of the Church should be 
 chief governour, and to the intent that the 
 churches and commons of the realm should 
 the better believe the matter. And beside 
 that, because he knew the realm of Spain 
 contrary to his opinion and somewhat allied 
 with the French king, he advised ^ that 
 with part of the same gold and silver that 
 should be gathered in the realm of England, 
 that the duke of Lancaster, who reputed 
 himself king of Castile by the right of his 
 wife, that he in like wise should make 
 another army into Castile ; and also if the 
 duke of Lancaster take on him the said 
 viage, then the pope said he would grant 
 to the king of Portugal, who made new 
 war with king John of Castile, for king 
 Francis was dead, a plain dime throughout 
 all Portugal. Thus pope Urban ordained 
 all his business, and sent a thirty bulls into 
 1 ' II s'avisa,' 'he planned.' 
 
 England, the which were received with 
 great joy. 
 
 Then the prelates in their jurisdictions 
 began to preach this voyage in manner of a 
 croisey, whereby the people of England, 
 who lightly believed, gave thereto great 
 faith, and believed verily that they could 
 not go to Paradise ^ if they died that year 
 without they gave somewhat in pure alms. 
 Toward this war at London and in the dio- 
 cese there was gathered a tun-full of gold and 
 silver, and according to the pope's bulls he 
 that most gave most pardon obtained ; and 
 whosoever died in that season and gave his 
 goods to these pardons, was clean assoiled 
 from pain and from sin ; and according to 
 the tenour of the bulls happy was he that 
 died in that season, for to have so noble 
 absolution. Thus they gathered money all 
 the winter and Lent season, what by the 
 pardons and by the dimes, that as it was 
 said it drew to the sum of twenty -five 
 hundred thousand franks. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXIX 
 
 How the bishop of Norwich and the English- 
 men issued out of England to run and to 
 make war against all those that held with 
 pope Clement. 
 
 When the king of England, his uncles 
 and council understood what money was 
 gathered, they were right joyous and said 
 how they had money enough to make war 
 against two realms, that was to say, against 
 France and Spain. To go into Spain in 
 the name of the pope and of the prelates of 
 England with the duke of Lancaster was 
 ordained the bishop of London called 
 Thomas, brother to the earl of Devonshire, 
 to be chief captain, and with him two thou- 
 sand spears and four thousand archers, and 
 they to have half of the money thus gathered. 
 But it was ordained that they should not so 
 soon depart out of England as the bishop of 
 Norwich, because that army should arrive 
 at Calais and so to enter into France ; and 
 they wist not what should fall thereby, 
 nor whether the French king would raise 
 
 I 'Thought that they could not issue from the 
 year with honour nor ever enter paradise,' etc. The 
 words ' in pure alms ' belong properly to the next 
 sentence. 
 
CRUSADE OF THE BISHOP OF NORWICH, 1383 
 
 297 
 
 any puissance to fight with them or not. 
 Also there was another point contrary to 
 the duke of Lancaster, yet he had great joy 
 of that viage, for generally all the commonty 
 of England more inclined to be with the 
 bishop of Norwich than to go with the duke 
 of Lancaster : for ^ long season the duke 
 was not in the grace of the people ; and 
 also they thought the realm of France 
 to be [a] nearer journey than into Spain ; 
 and also some said that the duke of Lan- 
 caster for covetousness of the silver and 
 gold that was gathered of the Church and 
 of the pardons, whereof he should have his 
 part, that he did incline rather thereto for 
 the profit than for any devotion. But they 
 said how the bishop of Norwich represented 
 the pope and was by him instituted, whereby 
 the greatest part of England gave to him 
 great faith, and the king also. 
 
 And so there was ordained at the wages 
 of the Church to go with this bishop 
 Henry Spenser, divers good knights and 
 squires of England and of Gascoyne, as the 
 lord Beaumont, sir Hugh Calverley, sir 
 Thomas Trivet, sir William Helmon, sir 
 John Ferrers, sir Hugh Spenser, cousin to 
 the bishop, son to his brother, sir William 
 Faringdon, sir Matthew Redman, captain 
 of Berwick ; all these were of England : and 
 of Gascons there was the lord of Chateau- 
 neuf and sir John his brother, Raymond 
 Marsan, Guillonet de Pans, Garriot Vigier, 
 John de Cauchitan and divers other, and 
 all counted they were a five hundred spears 
 and fifteen hundred of other men, and a 
 great number of priests, because the matter 
 touched the Church and moved by the 
 pope. 
 
 These men of war provided themselves 
 for the matter, and passage was delivered 
 them at Dover and at Sandwich, and this 
 was about Easter ; and so they passed over 
 little and little, as they list : this voyage 
 was in the manner of a croisey. Thus they 
 passed the sea, or the bishop and other 
 captains were fully ready ; for the bishop 
 and sir Hugh Calverley, sir Thomas Trivet 
 and sir William Helmon were with the 
 king and his council, and there they sware 
 solemnly in the king's presence to bring 
 truly to an end their voyage, nor to fight 
 against no man nor country that held with 
 pope Urban, but to fight and make war 
 against them that were of the opinion of 
 
 Clement. Thus they sware, and then the 
 king by the advice of his council said to 
 them : ' Sir bishop and all ye, when ye 
 come to Calais, I will ye sojourn there in 
 that frontier the space of a month, and in 
 that term I shall refresh you with new men 
 of war, of arms and archers, and I shall 
 send you a good marshal, a valiant man, 
 sir William Beauchamp ; for I have sent 
 for him, he is in the march of Scotland, 
 whereas he keepeth frontier against the 
 Scots, for the truce between the Scots and 
 us falleth now at Saint John's tide : and 
 after his return ye shall have him in your 
 company without any fail. Therefore I 
 would ye should tarry for him, for he shall 
 be to you right necessary both for his 
 wisdom and good counsel.' The bishojo 
 and his company promised the king so to 
 do, and thus they departed from the king 
 and took the sea at Dover and arrived at 
 Calais the twenty-third day of April, the 
 year of our Lord God a thousand three 
 hundred fourscore and three. 
 
 The same season there was captain at 
 Calais sir John Devereux, who received the 
 bishop and his company with great joy ; 
 and so they landed little and little, and all 
 their horses and baggage, and so lodged 
 in Calais and thereabout in bastides that 
 they made daily : and so there they tarried 
 till the fourth day of May, abiding for their 
 marshal sir William Beauchamp, who came 
 not of all that time. When the bishop of 
 Norwich, who was young and courageous 
 and desirous to be in arms, for he never 
 bare armour before but in Lombardy with 
 his brother, thus as he was at Calais and 
 saw how he was captain of so many men of 
 arms, he said one day to his company : 
 * Sirs, why do we sojourn here so long and 
 tarry for sir William Beauchamp, who 
 Cometh not? The king nor his uncles, I 
 trow, think little of us : let us do some 
 deeds of arms, sith we be ordained so to do : 
 let us employ the money of the Church 
 truly while that we live : let us conquer 
 somewhat of our enemies.' ' That is well 
 said, sir,' quoth all those that heard him 
 speak : ' let us warn all our company that 
 we will ride forth within this three days, 
 and let us take advice which way we 
 shall draw. We cannot issue out of the 
 gates but we enter into the lands of our 
 enemies, for it is French all about on every 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 part. We were as good to go towards 
 Flanders as to Boulogne, for Flanders is a 
 land of conquest, conquered by the puis- 
 sance of the French king : we cannot be- 
 stow our time more honourably, all things 
 considered, than to conquer it again ; and 
 also the earl of Flanders hath done of late 
 a great despite to men of our country, for 
 without any title of reason he hath banished 
 and chased them out of Bruges and out of 
 all Flanders : it passeth not two year sith 
 that he would have been loath to have done 
 so, but as now he is fain to obey to the 
 pleasure of the French king.' ' Wherefore, ' 
 quoth the bishop, ' if I may be believed, 
 the first journey that we shall make shall 
 be into Flanders.' ' Sir,' quoth sir Thomas 
 Trivet and sir William Helmon, ' ye shall 
 be well believed : let us ride into that part 
 within this three days, for it is of the land 
 of our enemies.' To this counsel they all 
 agreed, and gave warning each to other. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXX 
 
 How the Englishmen took the town and 
 minster of Gravelines, and how the earl of 
 Flanders sent to speak with them. 
 
 At all this agreement was not sir Hugh 
 Calverley, for he was gone to see a cousin 
 of his, the captain of Guines, called sir John 
 Drayton, and so he was there all day and 
 returned again the next day. Then the 
 bishop sent for him to the castle, for the 
 knights had said to the bishop how they 
 would have the advice of sir Hugh Calver- 
 ley, or they did anything, because he had 
 most seen and used the war. Then the 
 bishop said to him as ye have heard before, 
 and commanded him to say his advice. 
 Then sir Hugh answered him and said : 
 ' Sir, ye know well on what condition we 
 be departed out of England : our enterprise 
 toucheth nothing the war between the 
 kings, but all only against the Clementines ; 
 for we be soldiers of pope Urban, who hath 
 clean assoiled us from all sin and pain, if 
 we do our power to destroy the Clementines. 
 If we go into Flanders, though the country 
 hath been conquered by the French king 
 and the duke of Burgoyne, yet for all that 
 we should do amiss ; for as I understand, 
 the earl of Flanders and all the Flemings 
 be as good Urbanists as we be. Also, sir. 
 
 we have not men enow to enter into 
 Flanders ; for they are all ready and used 
 in the war, and they are a great number 
 of people : they have done nothing else but 
 lived in war this three or four year, and 
 also it is a strong country to enter into : 
 also the Flemings have done us no trespass. 
 But, sir, if we shall ride, let us ride into 
 France : there be our enemies in two man- 
 ners. The king our lord's war is now 
 open, and also the Frenchmen are good 
 Clementines, contrary to our belief and 
 against our pope. Also, sir, we should 
 abide for our marshal sir William Beau- 
 champ, who should hastily come to us with 
 a good number of men, and the last word 
 that our king said was that he would send 
 him to us. But, sir, my counsel is, if we 
 shall needs ride, let us draw towards Aire 
 or iVIontreuil : there is none, I think, as 
 yet, that will come against us, and always 
 men will come to us out of Flanders, who 
 hath lost all that they have : they will be 
 glad to go with us in hope to win somewhat 
 again : they bear evil will in their hearts to 
 the Frenchmen, who hath slain in the wars 
 their fathers, brethren, kinsmen and friends.' 
 Sir Hugh could scant speak these words 
 but that the bishop took the matter hot and 
 hasty and said : ' Ah, sir Hugh, ye have 
 so well learned to ride in France, that 
 ye cannot ride into none other place. We 
 cannot better ride to our profit than to 
 enter into the frontier of Flanders by the 
 sea coast, as to the town of Bourbourg, of 
 Dunkirk, of Newport, of Bergues, of Cassel, 
 of Ypres and of Poperinghe : in these said 
 countries, as I am informed by the burgesses 
 of Gaunt, they had never war that grieved 
 them. Let us go thither and refresh us, 
 and abide there for our marshal, if he will 
 come ; howbeit, we see not yet but little 
 appearance of his coming.' When sir 
 Hugh Calverley saw that the bishop did 
 take him up so shortly, and he considered 
 well how he was their chief captain and 
 that he was a great man and of great 
 lineage, he held his peace ; for he saw well 
 also how that his opinion should not be 
 sustained neither by sir Thomas Trivet nor 
 by sir William Helmon. Then he departed 
 and said : ' Sir, if ye ride forth, sir Hugh 
 Calverley shall ride with you, nor ye shall 
 not go that way but that he dare well go 
 the same.' 'I believe well,' quoth the 
 
THE BISHOP OF NORWICH IN FLANDERS 
 
 299 
 
 bishop, ' ye have good will to ride forth : 
 therefore make you ready, for we will ride 
 to-morrow.' 
 
 On this purpose they were all agreed, and 
 their ridmg forth was published throughout 
 the town. And in the morning the trum- 
 pets sowned and every man departed into 
 the fields and took the way to Gravelines ; 
 and they were in number about a three 
 thousand men armed, and so they came to 
 the port of Gravelines. The sea was as 
 then but low, and so they passed forth and 
 assailed the minster, the which they of the 
 town had fortified. The town was closed 
 but with pales, the which could not long 
 endure, nor also the men of the town were 
 but seamen ; if there had been gentlemen, it 
 would have held longer than it did : nor also 
 the country was not ware thereof, for they 
 feared nothing the Englishmen. Thus the 
 Englishmen conquered the town of Grave- 
 lines and entered into it, and then drew to 
 the minster, whereunto the people of the 
 town were drawn and put therein all their 
 goods, on trust of the strength of the place, 
 and their wives and children, and made 
 round about it great dikes, so that the Eng- 
 lishmen could not have it at their ease ; for 
 they were there two days or they won it, 
 yet finally they won it and slew all them 
 that kept it with defence, and with the 
 residue they did what they list. Thus they 
 were lords and masters of Gravelines and 
 lodged together in the town and found 
 there plenty of provision. Then all the 
 country began to be afraid, and did put 
 their goods into the fortresses and send their 
 vrives and children to Bergues, to Bour- 
 bourg and to Saint-Omer's. 
 
 The earl of Flanders, who lay at Lille, 
 when he understood these tidings, how that 
 the Englishmen made him war and had 
 taken Gravelines, then he began to doubt 
 of them of [the] Franc of Bruges, and called 
 his council to him and said : ' I have great 
 marvel of the Enghshmen, that they run 
 thus on my land : they demanded never 
 nothing of me, and thus without any de- 
 fiance to enter into my land.' Some of his 
 council answered him and said : ' Sir, it is 
 a thing well to marvel of; but it is to be 
 supposed that they repute you, the earl of 
 Flanders, to be French, because the French 
 king hath so ridden in this country that all 
 is yielded to him.' ' Why,' quoth the earl, 
 
 'what is best then to be done?' 'Sir,' 
 quoth they, ' it were good that ye send sir 
 John Villain and sir John Moulin, who be 
 here present, and also they have a pension 
 of the king of England, into England to 
 speak with the king there from you, and to 
 shew him sagely all this business, and to 
 demand of him why he doth make you war. 
 We think, when he heareth your messengers 
 speak, he will not be content with them that 
 thus warreth against your country, but call 
 them back to their great blame.' 'Yea,' 
 quoth the earl, ' but in the mean time, while 
 they go into England, they that be now at 
 Gravelines will go farther and do great 
 damage to them of [the] Franc' 'Sir,' 
 quoth they, ' then let them first go to them 
 at Gravelines and desire of them a safe- 
 conduct to go to Calais and so into Eng- 
 land, and to know of them what it is that 
 they demand of you. We think these two 
 knights are so well advised and will handle 
 them so wisely, that they shall set the 
 country in rest and peace. ' ' I am content 
 it be thus,' quoth the earl. Then these two 
 knights were informed by the earl and his 
 council what they should say to the bishop 
 of Norwich, and to shew him what charge 
 they have to go into England to shew the 
 matter to the king there and to his uncles. 
 In the mean season that these knights 
 prepared to go to Gravelines to speak with 
 the bishop of Norwich, all the country arose 
 about Bourbourg, Bergues, Cassel, Pope- 
 ringhe, Furnes, Newport and other towns, 
 and they came to Dunkirk and there abode 
 in the town, saying how they would shortly 
 issue out and defend their frontiers and 
 fight with the Englishmen. And these 
 men of Flanders had a captain called sir 
 John Sporkin, governour of all the lands of 
 the lady of Bar, the which land lieth in the 
 marches about Ypres : and this sir John 
 Sporkin knew nothing that the earl of 
 Flanders would send into England, for the 
 Hase of Flanders was newly come to him 
 with thirty spears and shewed him how that 
 the earl was at Lille about a marriage to 
 be had between his sister and the lord de 
 Wavrin. So these two knights did as much 
 as they could to stir the country to rise, so that 
 they were to the number of twelve thousand 
 pikes with pavises and coats of steel, 
 hocquetons, chapeaus, and bassenets, and 
 in a manner they were all of the land of the 
 
300 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 lady of Bar between Gravelines and Dun- 
 kirk, as I was informed. And a three 
 leagues in the way there stood the town of 
 Mardyck, a great village on the sea side 
 unclosed, and thither came some of the 
 Englishmen and scrimmished. And so 
 thus came to Gravelines sir John Villain 
 and sir John du Moulin for the earl of 
 Flanders by a safe -conduct that he had 
 attained from the bishop, or he came from 
 Bourbourg. Then they came to the bishop 
 of Norwich, who made to them by semblant 
 right good cheer. He had with him at 
 dinner the same day all the lords of the 
 host ; for he knew well the earl's knights 
 should come to him the same time, and his 
 mind was how he would that they should 
 find them all together. Then these two 
 knights began to speak and said : ' Sir, we 
 be sent hither to you from the earl of 
 Flanders our lord. ' ' What lord ? ' quoth the 
 bishop. They answered again and said : 
 ' From the earl : there is none other lord 
 of Flanders.' ' By the good Lord,' quoth 
 the bishop, ' we take for the lord of Flanders 
 the French king or else the duke of Bur- 
 goyne, our enemies, for by puissance but 
 late they have conquered all the country. ' 
 ' Sir, ' quoth the knights, ' saving your dis- 
 pleasure, the land was at Tournay clearly 
 rendered again and put into the hands and 
 governing of the earl of Flanders, who hath 
 sent us to you, desiring you that we two, 
 who have pension of the king of England, 
 may have a safe-conduct to go into England 
 to speak with the king, to know the cause 
 why without any defiance he maketh war 
 against the earl and his country of Flanders.' 
 'Sirs,' quoth the bishop, 'we shall take 
 advice and answer you to-morrow.' So 
 thus they went to their lodging and left the 
 Englishmen in council ; and so all that day 
 they took counsel together, and concluded 
 as ye shall hear. 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCXXXI 
 
 The answer that the bishop of Norwich 
 made to the knights of Flanders ; and of 
 the assembly that they of Cassel and of 
 the country about made against the 
 Enghshmen. 
 
 All things considered and regarded, they 
 said they would grant no safe - conduct to 
 
 them to go into England, for it was too far 
 off; for or they could return again, the 
 country would he sore stirred and greatly 
 fortified, and also the earl should by that 
 time send word thereof to the French king 
 and to the duke of Burgoyne, whereby 
 they might come with such number of 
 people against them that they should not 
 be able to resist them nor to fight with 
 them. So on this determination they 
 rested. Then it was demanded among 
 them what answer they should make to the 
 knights of Flanders the next day. Then 
 sir Hugh Calverley was commanded to 
 speak and to give his advice. Then he 
 said thus to the bishop : ' Sir, ye are our 
 chief captain : sir, ye may say to them how 
 ye be in the land of the duchess of Bar, 
 who is Clementine, and how for Urban ye 
 make war and for nobody else ; and offer 
 them that if this land with the churches and 
 abbeys will become good Urbanists, and to 
 ride with you and to bring you through 
 the country, ye will then cause all your 
 company to pass through the country peace- 
 ably and to pay for all that they shall take : 
 but as touching to give them safe-conduct 
 to go into England, ye will not grant 
 thereto in no wise ; for ye may say that 
 your war toucheth nothing the war of Eng- 
 land nor of France, but that we be soldiers 
 of pope Urban. Sir, as I think, this answer 
 should suffice.' Every man agreed well to 
 this, and especially the bishop, who had 
 mind of nothing that was said but to fight 
 and to war on the country. 
 
 Thus the matter abode all night, and in 
 the morning after mass tlie two said knights 
 of the earl's, desiring to have an answer, 
 came to the bishop's lodging and abode 
 there till he came out to go to mass. And 
 so then they stepped forth before him, and 
 there he made them good cheer by semblant, 
 and devised with them a little of other 
 matters, to delay the time till his knights 
 were come about him : and when they were 
 all assembled together, then the bishop 
 said to them : ' Sirs, ye tarry for an answer 
 and ye shall have it on the request that ye 
 make for the earl of Flanders. I say unto 
 you, ye may return again when ye list to 
 the earl your master, or else to go to Calais 
 on your jeopardy, or into England : but as 
 for safe-conduct, ye get none of me, for I 
 am not the king of England, nor I have 
 
THE BISHOP OF NORWICH IN FLANDERS 
 
 301 
 
 not so far authority so to do. I and all my 
 company are but soldiers of pope Urban 
 and of wages of him, and take his money 
 to serve him truly : and now we be in the 
 land of the duchess of Bar, who is a 
 Clementine, and if the people be of that 
 opinion, we will make them war ; and if 
 they will go with us and take our part, they 
 shall have part of our pardons and absolu- 
 tions : for Urban our pope, for whom we 
 are in voyage, hath assoiled us clean from 
 pain and from sin, and all those that will 
 aid to destroy the Clementines.' 
 
 When the knights heard these words, sir 
 John Villain said : ' Sir, in that as touching 
 the pope, I think ye have not heard the 
 contrary but that my lord the earl of 
 Flanders hath been always good Urbanist ; 
 wherefore, sir, ye do evil to make war to 
 him or to his country, nor I think the king 
 of England, your lord, hath not charged you 
 so to do, for he is so noble, that if he would 
 havemade him war, first he wouldhavedefied 
 him. ' With those words the bishop began 
 to wax angry and said : ' Well, sirs, go to 
 your earl, and say unto him that he getteth 
 nothing else of us : and if ye will send into 
 England to know the king's pleasure, do as 
 ye hst ; but as for this way nor by Calais 
 they shall not pass.' And when these 
 knights saw they could not attain to their 
 purpose none otherwise, they departed and 
 returned to their lodging and dined, and 
 after dinner departed and went the same 
 night to Saint-Omer's. 
 
 The same day that the knights departed, 
 there came tidings to the bishop that there 
 was at Dunkirk and thereabout a twelve 
 thousand men in harness, and the bastard 
 of Flanders in their company as their chief 
 captain, and divers other knights and 
 squires with them ; insomuch it was 
 shewed him that on the Thursday before 
 they had scrimmished with his company 
 and slain a hundred of them. ' Lo,' quoth 
 the bishop, ' ye may see whether the earl 
 do meddle in this matter or not : it is he 
 that doth all ; he entreateth for peace with 
 the sword in his hand. Let us ride forth 
 to-morrow and go to Dunkirk and see what 
 people they be that be there gathered.' 
 Every man agreed thereto, and the same 
 day there came to the bishop two knights, 
 the one firom Calais, the other from 
 Guines, and with them a thirty spears and 
 
 threescore archers. The knights were 
 called sir Nicholas Clifton and sir John 
 Drayton, captain of Guines. In the next 
 morning they made them ready to ride 
 forth and so drew into the field : they were 
 more than six hundred spears and sixteen 
 hundred archers, and so they rode toward 
 Mardyck and Dunkirk. The bishop made 
 to be borne before him the arms of the 
 Church, the banner of Saint Peter, field 
 gules, two keys silver, like soldiers of pope 
 Urban, and in his pennon he bare his own 
 arms, silver and azure quarterly, a fret gold 
 on the azure, a bend of gules on the silver, 
 and because he was the youngest of the 
 Spensers, he bare a border of gules for a 
 difference. There was also sir Hugh 
 Spenser his nephew with his pennon ; and 
 with banner and pennon there was the lord 
 Beaumont, sir Hugh Calverley, sir Thomas 
 Trivet and sir William Helmon ; and with 
 pennon without banner there was sir 
 William Drayton, sir John his brother, sir 
 Matthew Redman, sir John Ferrers, sir 
 William Faringdon, and sir John of Chateau- 
 neuf, Gascon. Thus these men of arms 
 rode towards Mardyck and there refreshed 
 them and drank, and so passed forth and 
 took the way to Dunkirk. 
 
 And the Flemings that were there as- 
 sembled were advertised that the English- 
 men would come that way ready apparelled 
 to fight with them ; so they determined 
 among themselves to draw into the field 
 and to be ready in good array to fight, if 
 need required, for they thought, to abide in 
 the town and to be closed therein should 
 be nothing to them profitable. And as 
 they ordained, so it was done : every man 
 armed himself in the town and issued out 
 into the field : then they set themselves in 
 good array on a little hill without the town ; 
 and they were in number a twelve thousand 
 or more. 
 
 And so therewith there came the Eng- 
 lishmen approaching to Dunkirk, and they 
 beheld the mountain on their right side 
 toward Bourbourg toward the sea side, and 
 there they saw the Flemings in a great 
 battle well ordered : then they tarried, for 
 it seemed to them that the Flemings would 
 give them battle. Then the lords drew 
 together to council, and there were divers 
 opinions ; and specially the bishop of Nor- 
 wich would that they should incontinent go 
 
302 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and fight with them, and other, as the lord 
 Beaumont and sir Hugh Calverley, said to 
 the contrary, laying divers reasons and 
 saying : ' Sir, ye know well the Flemings 
 that be yonder have done us no forfeit ; 
 and to say the truth, we have sent to the 
 earl of Flanders no defiance, and yet we be 
 here in his country. This is no courteous 
 war that we make ; we do nothing but 
 catch it an we may, without any reasonable 
 war. And also all this country that we be 
 in be as Urbanists as well as we be, and 
 holdeth the same opinion that we do. Be- 
 hold now therefore and see what just cause 
 we have to run thus on them.' Then the 
 bishop said : ' How know we that they be 
 Urbanists or not?' ' In the name of God,' 
 quoth sir Hugh Calverley, ' methink it 
 were good that we send to them an herald, 
 to know what thing they demand, thus to 
 be ranged in battle against us ; and let it be 
 demanded of what pope they hold of, and 
 if they answer and say how they be good 
 Urbanists, then require them, by the virtue 
 of the pope's bull that we have, that they 
 will go with us to Saint-Omer's, Aire or 
 Arras, or thither-as we will bring them ; 
 and when they be thus required, then 
 thereby we shall know their intention and 
 thereupon we may take advice and counsel.' 
 This purpose was holden, and an herald 
 called Montfort, pertaining to the duke of 
 Bretayne, was commanded by all the lords 
 to go to the Flemings and to shew them as 
 ye have heard before. The herald obeyed 
 their commandment, as it was reason, and 
 so went to speak with them. 
 
 CHAPS. CCCCXXXII-CCCCXLIII 
 
 SUMMARY. — The herald behig slain by 
 the Flemings, u. battle begaft, in zuhich the 
 Flemings were defeated, ajid the English 
 took Dunkirk, Bourbourg, Cassel and other 
 towns, and laid siege to Ypres, aided by the 
 Gauntois. At length the French king 
 assembled a host and forced thein to raise the 
 siege and abandon all their conqztests. 
 
 In the mean time Francis Ackerman took 
 
 Oudenarde by a surprise, as in the same 
 season the castle of Mercceur in Auvergne 
 was taken by Amei'igot Marcel. Negotia- 
 tions were long carHed on for a peace be- 
 tween France and England, but it could 
 7tot be coiicluded. Finally a truce was m.ade 
 to last till Michaelmas day of the year 1384, 
 and to include Spain and Scotland on the 
 French side and Ghent on the English. 
 
 The earl of Flanders died, and was buried 
 with great pomp at Lille. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCCCXLIV-CCCCLI 
 
 SUMMARY.— Before the truce was pub- 
 lished in Eiigland and Scotland, hostilities 
 took plcue between those countries, so that 
 when the truce was published the Scots at 
 first refused to accept it and made raids into 
 England against the will of the king of 
 Scots. At length the t?'uce was accepted. 
 
 The lord of Escornay took Oudeiiarde by 
 surprise from the Gauntois, fwiwithstanding 
 the truce. 
 
 The Gauntois requested the king of Eng- 
 land to appoint one of his blood to be gover- 
 nour of Ghent. He appointed sir John 
 Bourchier. 
 
 The duke of Anjott died near Naples. 
 
 The truce betweeii England and France 
 was prolo7iged till the May following, and 
 the French made preparations to invade 
 Engla7id f'otn Scotland in the ensuing 
 summer. 
 
 A double marriage was arranged by the 
 duchess of Brabant between the son and 
 daughter of the duke of Burgundy and the 
 son and daughter of the duke Aubert of 
 Hainault, notwithstanding that the duke of 
 Lancaster had intejtded a marriage between 
 William of Haijzazilt and his daughter 
 Philippa. This double marriage was cele- 
 brated at Cambray after Easter in the 
 year 1385. 
 
 Louis of Blois was betrothed to the lady 
 Mary, daughter of the duke of Berry. 
 
 Meanwhile the truce expired and the 
 French prepared, so?neto enter Limousin and 
 ' others to pass the sea into Scotland. 
 
Cijugf tntiett) t^e fir^t tiolume of 0ir 3o!)an ifrois(0art, of t^z 
 ctonpcle^ of CnglaOE, fraunw, feipajne, ^ortpngale, fe)tot= 
 lantij, Bwtapne, iFlauDcrsi, ano ottier plate0 aiJio^njng: tran^-- 
 lated out of freitclje into our maternall englpss^tie toitg;e, bp 
 91o^an iBourc^ier, fenis^t, lorDe Bernec0, at t^j com aunti erne nt 
 of our moo0t !)iffl)e reOouted ^ouerapgne lorOe fepng: l^cnr? 
 ti)e titii* fejnge of (Englantie anD of jfraunce, ania i)jg5 &£= 
 fett&er of t^z c{)ri0ten faittie, etc, 31ntpi^int£ti at iLontion, in 
 jFletegftcete, bj IRicftarae Ppn^on, printer to ti)t fepnijes noble 
 grate, anU enueti tl)e ;c^tiuutiaj of 31anuarp,t!)e pere of our 
 
 lorae si^m^mw.- 
 
 Cum prtuileffiD a rege mtiultOt 
 
THE SECOND VOLUME 
 
anD fourttie boke of 0jc gjo^n jFroi00art of tlje cronj= 
 
 clesx of CtxfflanDe, fraunce, ^papgne, ^outgnffale, 
 
 »>cotlant)0, Bwtajne, EaunDer^, anti otljer places 
 
 a&iopnpnff, trangflatrt out of ftem\)z into £ng:lps(0lje 
 
 b? loljan Bourctiier, fenjg:l)t, lorDt iBcrner^, ti£= 
 
 puti'e generall of tlje Bpnge^ totone of Ca= 
 
 lai'gi anil mardje00e of t|e 0amg : at tlje com-- 
 
 mauntijment of our mo0t ijijlje wDouteO 
 
 0otiecapn£ lortie fejnge i^enrpc t!)e 
 
 £?g!)t, fepnge of (Englant) anli of 
 
 jfraunce and \)i^\)erietzntizv 
 
 of t|)e Cfirpgitcn 
 
 fait!)f, etc. 
 
 il'o^^. — The division of volumes made by the translator does not really correspond 
 to any division of the French text. His second volume begins before the end of the 
 second book of the Chronicles. 
 
THE PREFACE OF SIR JOHN BOURCHIER, KNIGHT, 
 LORD BERNERS 
 
 Sith history (as I have in my preface upon the first volume of this chronicle 
 declared) is the witness of times, the light of truth, the life of remembrance, 
 the mistress of the life, the messenger of old season, whereof innumerable 
 commodities growen, I ne think the labours mispent that I, at the high com- 
 mandment of our most redoubted sovereign lord Henry the eight, king of 
 England and of France, high defender of the Christian faith, etc., have em- 
 ployed about the translation of now the four volumes of sir John Froissart out 
 of French into our English tongue. Certainly not the bounty of the same 
 chronicles, in whom are contained the wars of these parties, which wars (de- 
 scrived in French by sir John Froissart right ordinately),^ as many that have 
 great understanding in divers tongues in whom wars are written plainly say, 
 for knightly feats, manhood and humanity pass right much the wars of far 
 countries, nor the great pleasure that my noble countrymen of England take 
 in reading the worthy and knightly deeds of their valiant ancestors, encour- 
 ageth me half so much as the princely exhort, which of all earthly kings the very 
 worship and honour, our foresaid gracious sovereign, gave me. He who, for 
 the manifold royal virtues in his highness found, not of two or three small 
 realms, but is worthy to reign and be king over the universal world, delighteth 
 in nothing more than to have, as I said, the most famous deeds of his pre- 
 decessors and subjects set out with all diligence, so that it might appear to 
 every man's sight over what and how worthy people his ancestors have done, 
 and now his majesty with all kingly prudence reigneth ; and herein his high- 
 ness taketh singular pleasure to behold how his worthy subjects, seeing in 
 history the very famous deeds, as it were images, represent their valiant 
 ancestors, contend by vigorous virtue and manhood to follow, yea to pass 
 them, if they may. Truly the images, as they used in old time to erect in 
 worship and remembrance of them that were descended of noble blood, ne bear 
 half the witness that the noble deeds set out in history done : which well ap- 
 peareth by the words of the prudent king Agesilaus, who dying commanded that 
 neither image nor picture to his resemblance should be made ; for if I have, said 
 he, any noble thing famously done, it shall bear witness enough of me ; if I have 
 nought done, certainly all the images little availen : as who saith, such things 
 might be made in mind of them that were but dastards and never did worthy 
 deed in all their life. Wherefore for the love and honour that I bear to our 
 most puissant sovereign, and to do pleasure to his subjects both nobles and 
 commons, I have endeavoured me to translate out of French, as said is, into 
 English the four volumes of sir John Froissart, and reduced them into twain : 
 wherein if I have erred, I pray them that shall default find to consider the 
 greatness of the history and my good will, that ask nothing else of them for 
 my great labour, but of their courtesy to amend where need shall be ; and yet 
 for their so doing I shall pray to God finally to send them the bliss of heaven. 
 — Amen. 
 
 IF 'Ei)U0 Etxtietl) t!)e preface of 0iv 31o!)an Boucc^ier, fenig^t, 
 lorti 3tvmt0, Ueputi'e of Calat0, tran?(latour of tljis! present 
 cronpcle: anti fiereafter folotoetl) t^e table, toitf) tlje t'^apters 
 as t^ej 0tantie in t!)e bofee b? orDer, etc» 
 
 1 A correction for ' ornately.' 
 
CHAPTERS I-XX 
 
 SUMMARY. — When the truce ended, war 
 was renewed everywhere, in Flanders, in 
 Spain and Portugal, in Lunotisin and 
 Poitou, and also between Rngland and 
 Scotland, whither sir John de Vienne had 
 gone with a large number of French knights, 
 who were uncourteously received ajzd found 
 themselves very ill at ease. 
 
 A marriage was made by procuration 
 between Louis of Valois and the queen of 
 Hungary, but she was afterwards forced to 
 7narry the marquis of Brandenburg, who 
 becaTne thereby king of Huiigary. 
 
 The dtichess of Brabant brought about a 
 7}iarriage between the French king and her 
 niece Isabel, daughter of the duke of 
 Bavaria. 
 
 Francis Ackerman took the town of 
 Da?nme, and the French king laid siege to 
 it and finally took it again. 
 
 The French and Scots entered Northum.- 
 berland, but were compelled to retreat before 
 the Fnglish host, which invaded Scotland. 
 The Frenchmen, being cojivinced that they 
 were not strong enough to fight with the 
 English army, entered Cumberland by the 
 ?nountains a7td attacked Carlisle, while, the 
 English advanced and took Edinburgh. At 
 length both returned — the English to England 
 and the French to Scotland, where they 
 found the country destroyed. 
 
 There was much evil will between the 
 Frenchmen and the Scots, and sir John de 
 Vienne was obliged to stay in Scotland till 
 large damages had been paid to the Scots for 
 that which his men had done in the coujttry. 
 
 Some citizens of Ghent treated privately 
 with the duke of Burgundy ^ who was lord 
 of Flanders, and got the craft's on their side. 
 Sir John Bourchier ivas allowed to depart, 
 and a treaty was made confrming franchises 
 and stipulating for pardon of all parties on 
 both sides. This peace was dated iSth 
 December 1385. Peter du Bois thought it 
 
 prudent to leave Ghent with the English 
 men, but Francis Ackerman remained.^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 How sir John Froissart, author of this 
 chronicle, departed out of France and went 
 to the earl of Foix, and the manner of his 
 voyage. 
 
 It is long nowsith I made anymentionof the 
 businesses of far countries, for the businesses 
 nearer home hath been so fresh that I left 
 all other matters to write thereof. How- 
 beit, all this season valiant men desiring 
 to advance themselves in the realm of 
 Castile and Portugal, in Gascoyne, in 
 Rouergue, in Quercy, in Limousin and in 
 Bigorre, every day they imagined by what 
 subtlety they could get one of another, by 
 deeds of arms or by stealing of towns, castles 
 and fortresses. And therefore I, John 
 Froissart, who have taken on me to 
 chronicle this present history at the request 
 of the high renowned prince sir Guy of 
 Chatillon, earl of Blois, lord of Avesnes, 
 Beaumont, Schoonhove, and of la Goude, 
 my sovereign master and good lord, con- 
 sidering in myself how there was no great 
 deeds of arms likely toward in the parts of 
 Picardy or Flanders, seeing the peace was 
 made between the duke and them of Gaunt, 
 and it greatly annoyed me to be idle, for I 
 knew well that after my death this noble 
 and high history should have his course,^ 
 wherein divers noble men should have great 
 pleasure and delight, and as yet, I thank 
 God, I have understanding and remembrance 
 of ail things past, and my wit quick and 
 sharp enough to conceive all things shewed 
 unto me touching my principal matter, and 
 
 1 Here ends the second book of the Chronicles, 
 which, however, does not coincide with the second 
 volume of the edition followed by the translator. 
 The second volume of that edition ends with vol. ii. 
 chap. 61 (59) of the translation. 
 
 2 ' Sera en grand cours.' 
 
3IO 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 my body as yet able to endure and to 
 suffer pain; all things considered, I thought 
 I would not let to pursue my said first 
 purpose : and to the intent to know the 
 truth of deeds done in far countries, I 
 found occasion to go to the high and mighty 
 prince Gaston earl of Foix and of Beam : 
 for I knew well that if I might have that 
 grace to come into his house and to be 
 there at leisure, I could not be so well 
 informed to my puq^ose in none other place 
 of the world ; for thither resorted all manner 
 of knights and strange squires, for the great 
 nobleness of the said earl. And as I 
 imagined, so I did, and shewed to my re- 
 doubted lord the earl of Blois mine intent, 
 and he gave me letters of recommendations 
 to the earl of Foix. And so long I rode 
 without peril or damage, that I came to his 
 house called Orthez in the country of Beam 
 on Saint Katherine's day the year of grace 
 one thousand three hundred fourscore and 
 eight. And the said earl, as soon as he 
 saw me, he made me good cheer and 
 smiling said how he knew me, and yet he 
 never saw me before, but he had often 
 heard speaking of me ; and so he retained 
 me in his house to my great ease with the 
 help of the letters of credence that I brought 
 unto him, so that I might tarry there at my 
 pleasure ; and there I was informed of the 
 business of the realms of Castile, Portugal, 
 Navarre and Aragon, yea, and of the realm 
 of England and country of Bourbonnois 
 and Gascoyne : and the earl himself, if I 
 did demand anything of him, he did shew 
 me all that he knew, saying to me how the 
 history that I had begun should hereafter 
 be more praised than any other ; and the 
 reason, he said, why, was this, how that 
 fifty year past there had been done more 
 marvellous deeds of arms in the world 
 than in three hundred year before that. 
 Thus was I in the court of the earl of Foix 
 well cherished and at my pleasure : it was 
 the thing that I most desired to know news 
 as touching my matter, and I had at my 
 will lords, knights and squires ever to 
 inform me, and also the gentle earl himself. 
 I shall now declare in fair language all 
 that I was informed of, to increase thereby 
 my matter and to give ensample to them 
 that list to advance themselves. Here- 
 before I have recounted great deeds of 
 arms, taking and assaulting towns and 
 
 castles, and battles and hard encounterings, 
 and yet hereafter ye shall hear of many 
 more, [of] the which by the grace of God I 
 shall make just narration. 
 
 SUMMAR Y.— The earl of Cambridge had 
 returned, as related before, from Portugal, 
 and reported the events there to the duke 
 of Lancaster, who was displeased both by 
 them and by the way things went in Eng- 
 land. Soon after this the king of Portugal 
 died and the king of Castile laid claim to the 
 real?n. The conimojzs of Portugal, however, 
 chose for their king fohn, grand master of 
 Avis, bastard brother of the late king, and 
 the king of Castile cucordingly made war 
 ttpo7i them and besieged Lisbon. The king 
 of Portugal sent into Englaridfor help, and 
 the king of Castile into France, and es- 
 pecially to Beam and Foix. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 How the prince of Wales and the princess 
 came to Tarbes, and of the request that 
 the countess ' of Armagnac made to the 
 prince and princess ; and how the country 
 of Gascoyne was newly again in war. 
 
 Between the county of Foix and the 
 country of Beam lieth the county of Bigorre, 
 which county pertained to France and 
 marched on the country of Toulousain on the 
 one part and on the coimty of Comminges 
 and of Beam on the other part, and in the 
 county of Bigorre lieth the strong castle of 
 Lourdes, which was English ever sith that 
 the county of Bigorre was yielded to the 
 king of England and to the prince for the 
 redemption of king John of France by the 
 treaty and peace made at Bretigny before 
 Chartres and after confirmed at Calais, as it 
 hath been shewed before in the other history. 
 When the prince of Wales was come out 
 of England and that the king his father had 
 given him in heritage all the land and 
 duchy of Acquitaine, wherein there were 
 two archbishops and twenty -two other 
 bishops, and that he was come to Bordeaux 
 on the river of Gironde and had taken the 
 possessions of all these lands and lien there 
 a year, then he and the princess were 
 desired by the earl John of Armagnac that 
 1 So in the French. 
 
THE PRINCE OF WALES IN B IGOR RE, 1363 
 
 3" 
 
 they would come into the country of Bigoire 
 into the city of Tarbes to see that country, 
 which as then he had not seen before ; and 
 the earl of Armagnac thought that, if the 
 prince and princess were in Bigorre, that 
 the earl of Foix would come and see them, 
 and whereas he did owe him for his ransom 
 two hundred and fifty thousand franks, he 
 thought he would desire the prince and 
 princess to require the earl of Foix to for- 
 give him the same sum or part thereof. 
 So much did the earl of Armagnac, that at 
 his instance the prince and princess came 
 to the city of Tarbes. This town is fair 
 and standeth in a plain country among the 
 fair vines, and it is a town, city and castle, 
 closed with gates and walls and separated 
 each from other. From the mountains of 
 Beam and Cataloyne cometh the fair river 
 of Lisse,^ which runneth through Tarbes 
 and is as clear as a fountain, and a five 
 leagues thence is the town of Morlaas per- 
 taining to the earl of Foix at the entry of 
 the county of Beam ; and under the moun- 
 tain a six leagues from Tarbes is the town of 
 Pau, which also pertaineth to the said earl. 
 The same time that the prince and 
 princess was at Tarbes, the earl of Foix was 
 at Pau. He was there building of a fair castle 
 joining to the town without on the river 
 of Gave. As soon as he knew the coming 
 of the prince and princess being at Tarbes, he 
 ordained to go and see them in great estate 
 with more than six hundred horses and 
 threescore knights in his company : and of 
 his coming to Tarbes was the prince and 
 princess right joyous and made him good 
 cheer. And there was the earl of Armagnac 
 and the lord d'Albret, and they desired the 
 prince to require the earl of Foix to forgive 
 the earl of Armagnac all or else part of the 
 sum of florins that he ought to have: and 
 the prince, who was wise and sage, con- 
 sidering all things, thought that he might 
 not do so, and said : 'Sir earl of Armagnac, 
 ye were taken by arms in the journey of 
 battle and ye did put my cousin the earl of 
 Foix in adventure against you ; and though 
 fortune were favourable to him and against 
 you, his valour ought not then to be made 
 less.^ By like deeds my lord my father 
 
 1 This is the Adour. 
 
 2 ' II n'en doit pas pis valoir,' 'his worth should 
 not be accounted less ' because fortune was on 
 his side. 
 
 nor I would not be content that we should 
 be desired to leave that we have won by 
 good adventure at the battle of Poitiers, 
 whereof we thank God.' When the earl of 
 Armagnac heard that, he was abashed, for he 
 failed of his intent : howbeit, yet he left not 
 off so, but then he required the princess, 
 who with a good heart desired the earl of 
 Foix to give her a gift. ' Madam,' quoth 
 the earl, ' I am but a mean man, therefore 
 I can give no great gifts : but, madam, 
 if the thing that ye desire pass not the 
 value of threescore thousand franks, I will 
 give it you with a glad cheer.' Yet the 
 princess assayed again if she could cause' 
 him to grant her full desire ; but the earl 
 was sage and subtle and thought verily that 
 her desire was to have him to forgive clearly 
 the earl of Armagnac all his debt, and then 
 he said again : ' Madam, for a poor knight 
 as I am, who buildeth towns and castles, 
 the gift that I have granted you ought to 
 suffice.' The princess could bring him no 
 farther, and when she saw that, she said : 
 'Gentle earl of Foix, the request that I 
 desire of you is to forgive clearly the earl of 
 Armagnac' ' Madam,' quoth the earl, 
 ' to your request I ought well to condescend : 
 I have said to you that if your desire pass 
 not the value of threescore thousand franks, 
 that I would grant it you ; but, madam, the 
 earl of Armagnac oweth me two hundred 
 and fifty thousand franks, and at your 
 request I forgive him thereof threescore 
 thousand franks.' Thus the matter stood 
 in that case, and the earl of Armagnac at the 
 request of the princess won the forgiving of 
 threescore thousand franks. And anon 
 after the earl of Foix returned to his own 
 country. 
 
 I, sir John Froissart, make narration of 
 this business, because when I was in the 
 county of Foix and of Beam I passed by 
 the county of Bigorre, and I demanded 
 and enquired of the news of that country, 
 such as I knew not before ; and it was 
 shewed me how the prince of Wales and of 
 Acquitaine, while he was at Tarbes, he 
 had great will to go see the castle of 
 Lourdes, which was a three leagues off, 
 near to the entry of the mountain ; and 
 when he was there and had well advised 
 the town, the castle and the country, he 
 praised it greatly, as well for the strength 
 of the castle as because it stood on the 
 
312 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 frontier of divers countries ; for the garrison 
 there might run well into the reahn of 
 Aragon, into Cataloyne and to Barcelona. 
 Then the prince called to him a knight of 
 his household, in whom he had great trust 
 and loved him entirely and he had served 
 him truly, and was called sir Pier Ernault 
 of the country of Beam, an expert man of 
 arms and cousin to the earl of Foix. Then 
 the prince said to him : ' Sir Ernault, I 
 institute and make you chatelain and cap- 
 tainof Lourdes and governour of the country 
 of Bigorre. Look that ye keep this castle, 
 see well that ye make a good account 
 thereof to the king my father and to me.' 
 ' Sir,' quoth the knight, ' I thank you, and 
 I shall observe your commandment.' There 
 he did homage to the prince, and the prince 
 put him in possession. 
 
 It is to be known that when the war 
 began to renew between England and 
 France, as it hath been shewed before, the 
 earl Guy of Saint -Pol and sir Hugh of 
 Chatillon, master of the cross-bows in 
 France in that time, besieged the town of 
 Abbeville and won it, with all the country 
 of Ponthieu. The same time two great 
 barons of Bigorre, the one called sir 
 Monaut Barbazan, and the lord d'Anchin,' 
 turned French and took the town, city and 
 castle of Tarbes, which was but easily kept 
 for the king of England ; but still the castle 
 of Lourdes was in the hands of sir Pier 
 Ernault of Beam, who would in no wise 
 yield up the castle, but made ever great 
 war against the realm of France and sent 
 for great company of adventurers into Beam 
 and Gascoyne to help and to aid him to 
 make war, so that he had together many 
 good men of arms. And he had with him 
 six captains and every man fifty spears 
 under him : the first was his brother John 
 of Beam, a right expert squire, and Pier 
 d'Anchin of Bigorre, brother-german to the 
 lord d'Anchin, he would never turn French, 
 Emaulton of Sainte-Colomme, Ernaulton 
 of [Rostem], the Mongat of Sainte-Bazeille 
 and the bourg of Cardeillac. These captains 
 made divers journeys into Bigorre, into 
 Toulousain, into Carcassonne and into Alhi- 
 geois, for ever as soon as they were out of 
 Lourdes, they were in the land of their 
 enemies : and sometime they would adven- 
 ture thirty leagues off from their hold, and 
 1 d'Antin. 
 
 in their going they would take nothing, but 
 in their return there was nothing could 
 scape them ; sometime they brought home 
 so great plenty of beasts and prisoners, that 
 they wist not how to keep them. Thus 
 they ransomed all the country except the 
 earl of Foix's lands, for in his lands they 
 durst not take a chicken, without they paid 
 truly therefor ; for if they had displeased 
 the earl, they could not long have endured. 
 These companions of Lourdes ran over all 
 the country at their pleasure, and I rode 
 not far from them.' Thus the city of Tarbes 
 was in great doubt, so that they were fain 
 to make covenant with them : and between 
 Tarbes and Lourdes there was a great 
 village and a good abbey called Guiors,^ 
 who in like wise were fain to agree with 
 them. Also on the other part on the river 
 of Lisse there was a great town called Bag- 
 neres : they of that town had a hard season, 
 for they were so harried by the garrison of 
 iVtalvoisin, standing on a hill and the river 
 of Lisse running underneath into a walled 
 town called Tournay, into the which town 
 they of Lourdes and of Malvoisin had ever 
 their recourse, to the which town they did 
 no hurt, because they had their resort 
 thither, and they of the town had ever a 
 good market of their pillage and so dis- 
 simuled ever with them, which they were 
 fain to do or else they could not have lived, 
 for they had no aid nor succour of any 
 person. The captain of Malvoisin was a 
 Gascon and his name was Raymonnet de 
 Lespes, an expert man of arms. He and 
 his company and they of Lourdes ransomed 
 as well the merchants of Aragon and Cata- 
 loyne as of France, without they agreed 
 with them. 
 
 In the season that I enterprised to go 
 see the earl of Foix and to see the diver- 
 sities of the countries whereas I had never 
 been before, when I departed from Carcas- 
 sonne I left the way to Toulouse and went 
 to Montroyal and so to Fanjeaux, then to 
 Bellepuis and then to the first town of the 
 earl of Foix,' and then to Mazeres and so 
 
 1 The French text is corrupt. The real meaning 
 Is, _' Not far from thence lies the city of Tarbes, 
 which,' etc. 
 
 2 Saint-Pe-de-Gueyres. 
 
 3 The French text has * puis a Belle : puis \ la 
 premiere viUe,' etc., which is a corruption of 'puis 
 a Bellepuis, qui est la premiere ville,' 'then to 
 Bellepujs, the first town of the county (conte not 
 conte) of Foix.' 
 
FHOISSAKT'S JOURNEY, 13 
 
 313 
 
 to the castle of Saverdun, and then I came 
 to the good city of Pamiers, pertaining to 
 the earl of Foix ; and there I tarried abid- 
 ing for some company going into the 
 country of Beam, where the earl was. 
 And when I had tarried there a three days 
 in great pleasure, for the city was delect- 
 able, standing among the fair vines and 
 environed with a fair river, large and clear, 
 called Liege ; ^ and on a day it so fortuned 
 that thither came a knight of the earl of 
 Foix from Avignon-ward, called sir Espang 
 de Lyon, a valiant and an expert man of 
 arms about the age of fifty years. And so 
 I gat me into his company, and he was 
 greatly desirous to hear of the matters of 
 France ; and so we were a six days in our 
 journey or we came to Orthez, and this 
 knight every day after he had said his 
 prayers, most part all the day after he took 
 his pastime^ with me in demanding of tid- 
 ings, and also when I demanded anything 
 of him, he would answer me to my 
 purpose. 
 
 And when we departed from Pamiers, 
 we passed by the mount of Cosse, which 
 was an evil passage, and so we came to the 
 town and castle of Artigat, which was 
 French, but we passed by it and so came 
 to dinner to a castle of the earl of Foix 
 half a league thence called Carlat, standing 
 high on a mountain : and after dinner the 
 knight said to me : ' Sir, let us ride together 
 fair and easily, we have but two leagues to 
 ride to our lodging ' ; and so I was content 
 to do. Then the knight said : ' We have 
 this day passed by the castle of Artigat, 
 which doth much damage in this country. 
 Peter d'Anchin keepeth it and hath taken 
 and stolen out of the realm of France more 
 than threescore thousand franks. ' ^ Then 
 I demanded how that might be. ' I shall 
 shew you,' quoth the knight. ' On our 
 Lady day in August there is ever a great 
 fair, and all the country resorteth thither, 
 for there is much merchandise. That day 
 Pier d'Anchin and his companions of 
 Lourdes had taken their advice and were 
 determined to get this town and castle ; 
 and so they sent two simple varlets (by 
 
 1 That is, Ari^ge. 
 
 2 Or rather, ' conversed.' 
 
 3 ' For he stole it and did damage to the realm of 
 France of sixty thousand franks' : or (following a 
 better text) ' he took it by scaling very subtly and 
 gained there more than sixty thousand franks.' 
 
 seeming) to the said town in the month of 
 May, to get themselves some service in the 
 town ; and so they did and were retained 
 with two masters, and they did right diligent 
 service to their masters and so went in and 
 out on their masters' business without any 
 suspiciousness of them. And so on our 
 Lady day in August there were many 
 merchants strangers of Foix, of Beam and 
 of France ; and as ye know well, when 
 merchants do meet, that saw not together 
 long before, they will make good cheer 
 together : and so in the same houses where- 
 as these two varlets were in service, were 
 many merchants drinking and making good 
 cheer, and their hosts with them. And by 
 appointment about midnight Pier d'Anchin 
 and his company came to Artigat and am- 
 bushed themselves in a wood, which [we] 
 passed through ; and so they sent six varlets 
 to the town with two ladders, and they 
 passed the dikes and came to the walls and 
 reared up their ladders, and the other two 
 varlets that were in service in the town did 
 aid them, while their masters sat making 
 good cheer. So these said varlets did put 
 themselves in adventure, and one of the 
 said two varlets brought the other six to 
 the gate within, where there was two men 
 keeping the keys. Then this varlet said to 
 the other six : " Sirs, keep yourselves here 
 privy and close and stir not till ye hear me 
 whistle. I trust to make the porters to 
 open the gates of their ward ; they have 
 the keys of the great gate, and therefore as 
 soon as they have opened their ward, I will 
 whistle. Then step forth and slay the 
 porters : I know well enough the keys of 
 the gate, for I have ofttimes helped to keep 
 the gate with my master." And as they 
 devised, so they did ; and so the varlet 
 went to the gate and saw and heard how 
 the porters were drinking within their ward. 
 Then he called them by their names and 
 said: "Sirs, open your door: I have 
 brought you of the best wine that ever you 
 drank, which my master hath sent you, to 
 the intent you should keep your watch the 
 better." And they, who knew right well 
 the varlet, believed that he had said truth 
 and opened the door ; and then he whistled 
 and the other six stepped forth and entered 
 in at the door, and there they slew the 
 porters so privily that none knew thereof 
 Then they took the keys and went and 
 
314 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 opened the gate and let down the bridge 
 easily that none knew thereof : then they 
 blew a blast in a horn, so that they that 
 were ambushed mounted on their horses 
 and came on the spurs and entered on the 
 bridge and came into the town, and so 
 took all the men of the town sitting drink- 
 ing, or else in their beds. Thus was Artigat 
 taken by Pier d'Anchin of Bigorre and by 
 his companions of Lourdes.' 
 
 Then I demanded of the knight how they 
 gat the castle. ' I shall shew you,' quoth 
 he. ' The same time that Artigat was thus 
 taken, the captain of the castle by his evil 
 adventure was in the town and supped with 
 certain merchants of Carcassonne, and was 
 there taken among other. And in the next 
 morning Pier d'Anchin brought hira before 
 the castle, whereas his wife and children 
 were, and made them believe that he would 
 strike off his head, without his wife would 
 deliver up the castle ; and if she would so 
 do, he promised to dehver her husband 
 quit, and to suffer him and all his to depart 
 with bag and baggage without any hurt. 
 And the lady, who saw herself in a hard 
 case and saw she was not able to make war 
 herself, and for saving of her husband's 
 life, she yielded up the castle. And so her 
 husband and she and all theirs departed and 
 went to Pamiers. Thus had Pier d'Anchin 
 the town and castle of Artigat ; and the 
 same time that they entered, he and his 
 company won above thirty thousand franks, 
 what in merchandise and prisoners of 
 France ; but all such as were of the county 
 of Foix or of Beam were clean delivered 
 without any damage. And this Pier 
 d'Anchin kept Artigat after the space of 
 five year, and he and his company ofttimes 
 would run to the gates of Carcassonne, 
 which was a six leagues thence, and did 
 great damage to the country, as well by 
 ransoming of the towns as by pillage over 
 all the country. 
 
 ' In the mean season that Pier d'Anchin 
 was in the garrison of Artigat, on a night 
 certain of his company went out and came 
 to a castle called Pailhes, a good league 
 thence, whereof a French knight called 
 Raymond de Pailhes was owner. They 
 had been there often before and failed of 
 their purpose, but as then their hap was 
 such, that they scaled the castle and took 
 it, and the knight and the lady in their 
 
 beds, and let the lady and her children go 
 free, but they kept still the knight in his 
 own castle the space of four months, and 
 at last he paid a thousand franks for his 
 ransom. And finally, when they had sore 
 overridden the country, they sold these 
 two castles, Artigat and Pailhes to them of 
 the country for eight thousand franks, and 
 then they went to Lourdes their principal 
 garrison. So thus in this adventure knights 
 did put themselves daily. 
 
 ' Also the same time there was an expert 
 man of arms in the castle of Lourdes, a 
 Gascon born, he was called the Mongat of 
 Sainte-Bazeille. On a time he and thirty 
 with him departed from Lourdes and rode 
 at all adventures into Toulousain, and had 
 thought to have got the castle of Penne in 
 Albigeois, but he missed of his intent ; and 
 when he saw that he failed of his purpose, 
 he came to the gate and made a great 
 scrimmish. And the same proper hour the 
 seneschal of Toulouse rode forth, and with 
 him sir Hugh de Froideville and a sixty 
 spears, and came by adventure to Penne, 
 while the said scrimmish was in doing. 
 Then incontinent they set foot to the earth 
 and came to the barriers ; and so then the 
 Mongat was overmatched, but there he 
 fought valiantly hand to hand and wounded 
 the other knight in two or three places. 
 Howbeit, finally he was taken by force and 
 his men other taken or slain, there were but 
 a few that scaped. .So this Mongat was led 
 to Toulouse, and then the commons of the 
 town would have slain him between the 
 hands of the seneschal, he had much pain 
 to save his life, and so brought him into 
 the castle, for he was right evil beloved in 
 Toulouse. Yet after it happed so well for 
 him, that the duke of Berry came thither, 
 and this knight had such friends that he was 
 delivered, and the seneschal had a thousand 
 franks for his ransom ; and when he was 
 delivered he returned to Lourdes and began 
 again to make new enterprises. And so 
 on a time he departed from Lourdes and 
 five with him-* without any armour, and he 
 did on the habit of a monk and like other 
 three monks with him ; - and they had all 
 shaven crowns, so that every man that saw 
 them weened surely that they had been 
 monks, the habit and gesture became them 
 
 1 ' Lui cinquiesme,' ' with four others.' 
 
 2 'And took three monks with him.' 
 
FROISSART'S JOURNEY 
 
 315 
 
 so vvell.i And in this manner he came to 
 Montpellier, and took up his lodging at the 
 sign of the Eagle 2 and said how he was an 
 abbot of high Gascoyne and was going to 
 Paris on certain business pertaining to his 
 house ; and so he gat familiar acquaintance 
 with a rich man of the town called Berenger 
 [Ote], who had also to do at Paris for certain 
 business. Then this abbot said how he 
 would pay for his costs if he list to go in 
 his conipany, whereof the good man was 
 right joyous in that he should have his 
 charges borne ; and so he and one varlet 
 with him went forth with this monk. And 
 when they had ridden a three leagues, this 
 counterfeit monk sir Mongat took him 
 prisoner and led him secret ways to his 
 garrison of Lourdes, and after did ransom 
 him at five thousand franks.' Then I said : 
 'Ah Saint Mary ! was this Mongat such an 
 expert man of arms ? ' ' Yea truly, sir, ' 
 quoth he, ' and in war he died, in a place 
 whereas we shall pass within this three 
 days in a country called the Laire in Bigorre 
 by a town called La Cieutat.' 'Well sir,' 
 quoth I, ' and I shall remember you there- 
 of when we come there. ' 
 
 And so we rode till we came to Montes- 
 quieu, a good town closed pertaining to the 
 earl of Foix, which the Armagnacs and the 
 d'Albrets took by stealth on a season, but 
 they kept it not but three days. And in the 
 morning we departed from Montesquieu 
 and rode to the town of Palaminich, a good 
 town closed on the river of Garonne, per- 
 taining to the earl of Foix : and when we 
 were almost there, we had thought to have 
 passed the bridge of Garonne, to have 
 entered into the town, but we could not ; 
 for the day before it had so sore rained 
 from the mountains of Cataloyne and 
 Aragon, whereby another river was so in- 
 creased, which was called Salat, and ran so 
 fast, that it raised up the river of Garonne 
 in such wise, that it break one of the arches 
 of the bridge, which was of timber. Where- 
 fore we returned again to Montesquieu and 
 tarried there all the day. Then the next 
 day the knight had counsel to pass the 
 river by boats by the town of Casseres : so 
 we rode thither, and did so much that we 
 passed the river of Garonne with great 
 
 1 ' For very well had they the habit and counte- 
 nance of monks.' 
 '^ 'A I'ostel de I'Ange,' 'at the Angel inn.' 
 
 pain and peril ; for the boat that we were in 
 was not very great, it could not take at one 
 time but two horses and their keepers and 
 they that ruled the boat. And so when we 
 were over, we rode to Casseres and abode 
 there all that day : and in the mean time 
 that our supper was a dressing, this knight 
 said to me : ' Sir John, let us go and see 
 the town ' : and so we passed along through 
 the town and came to the gate toward 
 Palaminich and went out thereat and came 
 to the dikes. Then the knight shewed me 
 a pane of the wall and said : ' Sir, see you 
 yonder part of the wall which is newer than 
 all the remnant ? ' ' Yea, sir,' quoth I. 
 'Well,' quoth he, ' I shall shew you why 
 it is so : it is a ten year past sith it for- 
 tuned. Ye have heard or this of the war 
 that was between the earl of Armagnac 
 and the earl of P'oix ; howbeit, now they 
 are at peace : but the Armagnacs and 
 d'Albrets won but little by that war, for on 
 a Saint Nicholas even the year of our Lord 
 a thousand three hundred threescore and 
 two the earl of P'oix took in battle the earl 
 of Armagnac and the lord d'Albret his 
 nephew and all the noblemen that were 
 with them, and so led them as prisoners to 
 Orthez, whereby the earl of Foix hath re- 
 ceived ten times a hundred thousand franks. 
 And it fortuned after that the father of the 
 earl of Armagnac now living, called sir 
 John of Armagnac, made a journey and 
 took this town of Casseres, and they had 
 with them a two hundred men of arms and 
 so thought to keep the town by strength. 
 These tidings when they came to the know- 
 ledge of the earl of Foix, being as then at 
 Penne, he like a sage and valiant knight 
 called to him two bastard brethren of his 
 called sir Arnold Guillaume and sir Pier de 
 Beam, and said to them : " Sirs, I will ye 
 ride incontinent to Casseres : I shall send 
 you men on every side and within three 
 days I shall be with you myself; and let 
 none come out of the town, but that ye 
 fight with them, for ye shall be strong 
 enough. And when ye come there, cause 
 the men of the country to bring thither 
 great plenty of wood, bushes and faggots, 
 and choke the gates therewith, and then 
 without that make strong barriers : for I 
 will that they that be within be so enclosed 
 that they issue not out of the gates ; I shall 
 cause them to take another way. " 
 
3i6 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 ' These two knights did his command- 
 ment and so went to Palaminich, and all 
 men of war of Beam followed them, and 
 so they came before this town of Casseres. 
 They that were within set little by them, 
 but they were not ware how they were en- 
 closed within the town, so that they could 
 not issue out at any gate ; and the third 
 day the earl of Foix came thither with five 
 hundred men of arms, and as soon as he 
 came, he caused barriers to be made round 
 about the town and also barriers round 
 about bis host, because they should not be 
 troubled in the night time. So in this case 
 they lay long without any assault, insomuch 
 that victual began to fail them within, for 
 though they had wine great plenty, they had 
 nothing to eat, nor they could not fly away 
 by the river, for it was as then too deep. 
 Then they thought it were better to yield 
 themselves as prisoners than to die so 
 shamefully for famine, and so fell in treaty. 
 The earl of Foix agreed to their treaty, so 
 that they should not issue out at no gate, 
 but to make a hole in the wall and go 
 out thereat, to come one by one without 
 armour, and so to yield them as prisoners. 
 It behoved them to take this way, and so 
 made a hole in the wall and issued out one 
 by one, and there was the earl ready and 
 all his people in order of battle to receive 
 them as prisoners ; and ever as they came 
 out, the earl sent them to divers castles as 
 prisoners, and his cousin sir John of Armag- 
 nac, sir Bernard d'Albret, and sir Monaut 
 of Barbazan, sir Raymond de Benac, sir 
 Benedict de la Cornille and a twenty of the 
 best personages he led with him to Orthez, 
 and or they departed he had of them two 
 hundred thousand franks; and thus wae this 
 hole in the wall made.' 
 
 And then we went to our supper, and 
 the next day we rode along by the river of 
 Garonne and passed by Palaminich, and 
 then we entered into the land of the earl 
 of Comminges and Armagnac, and on the 
 other side was the river of Garonne and 
 the land of the earl of Foix. And as we 
 rode, this knight shewed me a strong town 
 called Materas the Toussac ^ pertaining to 
 the earl of Comminges, and on the other 
 side of the river on the mountain he shewed 
 me^ two castles pertaining to the earl of 
 Foix, the one called Montmirail and the 
 1 Martre.s-le-Toussac. 
 
 other Montclare ; and as we rode between 
 these towns and castles along by the river 
 of Garonne in a fair meadow, this knight 
 said to me : ' Sir John, I have seen here 
 many fair scrimmishes and encounterings 
 between the Foixois and Armagnacs, for as 
 then there was no town nor castle but that 
 was well furnished with men of war, and 
 so they warred each upon other. The 
 Armagnacs against yonder two castles made 
 a bastide and kept it with men of war and 
 did much hurt in the earl of Foix's land ; 
 but I shall shew you how it fortuned. The 
 earl of Foix on a night sent his brother 
 Peter de Beam with two hundred spears, 
 and with them a four hundred villains of the 
 country charged with faggots, much wood 
 and bushes, and brought it to the bastide 
 and then set fire thereon, and so brent the 
 bastide and all them thatwere within without 
 mercy, and sith it was never made again.' 
 
 So in such devices we rode all that day 
 along by the river of Garonne, and what 
 on the one side and on the other we saw 
 many fair castles and fortresses. All that 
 were on our left hand pertained to the earl 
 of Foix, and the other side pertained to the 
 earl of Armagnac. And so thus we passed 
 by Montpezac, a fair castle and a strong, 
 standing on an high rock, and underneath 
 was the town and the highway, and with- 
 out the town a little there was a place 
 called la Garde and a tower ^ between the 
 rock and the river, which tower had a gate 
 and a portcullis of iron. Six men might 
 well keep this passage against all the world, 
 for there could no man pass but two on a 
 front, what for the tower on the one side 
 and the river on the other side. Then I 
 said to the knight : ' Sir, here is a strong 
 passage and a mighty country. ' ^ ' It is 
 true,' quoth the knight, 'and though the 
 entry be strong, yet the earl of Foix 
 did conquer it once, and he and all his 
 passed the same way with the help of the 
 archers of England that he had as then in 
 his company and the great desire that they 
 had to pass into the country. Come ride 
 near me, sir,' quoth he, 'and I shall shew 
 you how it was.' And so I rode just by 
 
 1 ' A pass called the pas a la Garde with a tower 
 on the road between,' etc. 
 
 2 ' Une forte contree de pays,' which is a corrup- 
 tion of 'une forte entree de pays,' 'a strong entry 
 to the country.' 
 
jF£0/SSA7!T''S journey 
 
 317 
 
 him, and then he said : ' Sir, on a time the 
 earl of Armagnac and the lord d'Albret 
 with a five hundred men of war came into 
 the country of Foix and to the marches of 
 Pamiers, and this was in the beginning of 
 August, when men did gather in their 
 corns and the grapes were ripe, at which 
 time there was great abundance in the 
 country. Then sir John of Armagnac and 
 his company lodged before the town Saver- 
 dun, a little league from the city of Pamiers, 
 and he sent to them of Pamiers that with- 
 out they would buy their corns and wines 
 and pay for them, they said else they would 
 bren and destroy all together. Then they 
 of Pamiers were in great fear, for the earl 
 their lord was far off from them, for he was 
 as then in Beam, and so they were fain to 
 buy their own corns and paid for them five 
 thousand franks, but they desired fifteen 
 days of respite, which was granted them. 
 Then the earl of Foix was informed of all 
 this business, and he hasted him as much 
 as he might and assembled together his 
 men and came suddenly into the city of 
 Pamiers ^ with twelve hundred spears, and 
 so had fought with sir John of Armagnac, 
 if he had tarried ; but he departed and 
 went into the county of Comminges. So 
 he had no money of them of Pamiers, for 
 they had no leisure to tarry therefor ; but 
 then the earl of Foix claimed the same sum, 
 for he said he was come and saved their 
 money and corn and had put away all their 
 enemies, and so he had it to pay his men of 
 war therewith ; and there he tarried till 
 they had inned all their corn and vintage. ' 
 And so we passed then forby a castle 
 called Bretice and also by another castle 
 called Bacelles, all pertaining to the earl of 
 Comminges. And as we rode along by the 
 river, I saw a fair castle and a great town, 
 and I demanded of the knight what the 
 castle was called, and he said it was named 
 Montespan, pertaining to a cousin of the 
 earl of Foix called sir Roger d'Espagne, a 
 great baron in the country and in Tou- 
 lousain, and as then was seneschal of Car- 
 cassonnais. Then I demanded of this knight 
 
 1 The full text says : ' Then he inarched hastily 
 towards the city of Pamiers and passed by the pas 
 de la Garde by this portcullis of iron and conquered 
 it, and came suddenly into the city of Pamiers,' etc. 
 To omit all mention of the pas de la Garde here is 
 to lose the point of the story, but the translator's 
 French text is responsible for it. 
 
 if he were akin to sir Charles of Spain, who 
 was constable of France ; and he answered 
 and said : ' No, he is not of that blood : 
 for sir Louis of Spain and this sir Charles 
 that ye speak of came both out of the realm 
 of Spain, and were lineally extraught of 
 Spain and of France by their mother's side, 
 and were cousin-germans to king Alphonso 
 of Spain ; and I served in my youth sir 
 Louis of Spain in the wars of Bretayne, for 
 he was always on the party of sir Charles 
 of Blois against the earl Montfort.' And so 
 we left speaking of that matter and rode to 
 Saint-Goussens, a good town of the earl of 
 Foix. And the next day we dined at Mont- 
 royal, a good strong town of the French 
 king's, and sir Roger d'Espagne kept it. 
 And after dinner we rode the way towards 
 Lourdes, and so rode through a great laund 
 enduring a fifteen leagues, called the launds 
 Lande-de-Bouc, wherein were many danger- 
 ous passages for thieves and evil-doers : and 
 in this laund stood the castle of Lamesen, 
 pertaining to the earl of Foix, a good league 
 from the town of Tournay [below Mal- 
 voisin], the which castle the knight shewed 
 me and said : ' Sir, behold yonder is Mal- 
 voisin. But, sir, have ye heard herebefore 
 how the duke of Anjou, when he was in this 
 country and went to Lourdes, what he did 
 in this country and how he laid siege to 
 Lourdes and won it, and also the castle of 
 Trigalet on the river side that ye see yonder 
 before us, [which] pertaineth to the lord de 
 la Barthe ? ' Then I remembered myself and 
 said : ' Sir, I trow I never heard thereof as 
 yet : therefore I pray you shew me the 
 matter. But, sir, I pray you shew me 
 where is the river of Garonne become, for 
 I can see it no more.' 'Ye say truth,' 
 quoth the knight : ' it departeth here in 
 the entering of these mountains, and it 
 groweth and cometh out of a fountain a 
 three leagues hence, the way to Cataloyne, 
 by a castle called Saint-Beat, the firontier 
 of the realm of France toward Aragon ; and 
 there is as now a squire called Ernaulton, 
 otherwise called bourg d'Espagne, he is 
 lord thereof and chatelain of all the country, 
 and he is cousin -german to sir Roger 
 d'Espagne. If we see him, I shall shew 
 you him ; he is a goodly person and a 
 good man of arms and he hath done more 
 damage to them of Lourdes than any other 
 knight or squire of all the country, and the 
 
3i8 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 earl of Foix loveth him right well, for he is 
 his companion in arms. I will leave to speak 
 of him, for I think at this feast of Christmas 
 ye shall see him in the earl of Foix's house ; 
 but now I shall shew you of the duke of 
 Anjou, how he came into this country and 
 what he did.' Then we rode forth fair and 
 easily and he began to say as foUoweth. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 Of the wars that the duke of Anjou made 
 against the Englishmen, and how he re- 
 covered the castle of Malvoisin in Bigorre, 
 which was afterward given to the earl of 
 Foix. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 How the garrison and castle ^ of Lourdes 
 was cast down and discomfited by the 
 great diligence that the earl of Foix made. 
 
 'Thus,' quoth the knight, 'the duke of 
 Anjou gat the castle of Malvoisin, whereof 
 he [had] great joy and made it to be kept 
 by a knight of Bigorre called sir Ciquart of 
 la Perriere ; and after he gave it to the earl 
 of Foix, who keepeth it yet and will do as 
 long as he liveth, and he hath made captain 
 there a knight of Bigorre, one of his own 
 lineage, called sir Raymond de Lane. 
 And when the duke of Anjou had the pos- 
 session of Malvoisin and had delivered his 
 country from the Englishmen and from the 
 pillers of the country, then he went and 
 laid siege before the castle of Lourdes. 
 Then the earl of Foix doubted greatly the 
 duke of Anjou, because he came so near 
 him, and wist not what he intended. 
 Then the earl of Foix assembled together 
 knights and squires and sent them about to 
 divers garrisons, and set his brother sir 
 Arnold Guillaume in the town of Morlaas 
 with two hundred spears [and his other 
 brother sir Peter of Beam with two hun- 
 dred spears] in the town of Pau, and sir 
 Peter of Gabaston into the city of Lescar 
 with other two hundred spears, and sir 
 Monaut de Navailles went into the town of 
 Arthez with a hundred spears, and Arnold 
 Barberiel into the town of Montgerbiel 
 with a hundred spears, sir Fouquart 
 d'Orcery into the town of Sauveterre with 
 a hundred spears, and I, Espang of Lyon, 
 was sent to the Mount Marsan with two 
 1 Or rather, ' of the castle.' 
 
 hundred spears. There was no castle 
 in all Beam but that was well provided 
 with men of war, and the earl himself lay 
 still at his castle of Orthez by his florins. ' 
 'Why, sir,' quoth I, 'hath he so great 
 plenty of florins?' 'Sir,' quoth he, 'at 
 this hour I think he hath well to the 
 number of thirty times a hundred thou- 
 sand : there is no lord living as now that is 
 so large and liberal in giving of gifts as he 
 is.' Then I demanded of him to what 
 manner of people he was so liberal : he 
 answered and said : ' To strangers, to 
 knights and squires coming through his 
 country, and to heralds and minstrels, and 
 to every man that speaketh with him ; 
 there is none departeth from him without 
 some reward, for if any refuse his gift, he 
 is not content.' 'Ah Saint Mary, sir,' 
 quoth I, ' to what intent keepeth he so 
 much money, and where doth he get it ? 
 Is his revenues so great, to gather together 
 such treasure? Sir, I would gladly know 
 this, if it pleased you.' 'Well, sir,' quoth 
 the knight, ' ye shall know it. But ye 
 have demanded of me two things : first ye 
 have demanded of me to what intent he 
 keepeth such treasure : I shall shew you. 
 The earl of Foix alway doubteth of the war 
 that he had with the earl of Arraagnac, 
 and also for the business of his neighbours, 
 the French king and the king of England, 
 whom he would not willingly displease. 
 For he hath always dissimuled between 
 them during all the war season unto this 
 present time ; for he never armed himself 
 for any of their parties, he hath always 
 been ever in good case with both parties. 
 I say to you, and so ye shall say yourself, 
 when ye have once knowledge of him and 
 heard him speak, and once know the order 
 and state of his house, ye shall see that he 
 is at this day the most sage prince in the 
 world ; and there is none so great a lord, 
 nother the French king nor the king of 
 England, that will willingly have his evil 
 will. As for his other neighbours, as the 
 king of Aragon or the king of Navarre, he 
 esteemeth them but little, for he will find 
 more men of arms, by reason of such 
 friends as he hath got with his gifts, and 
 money ^ that he hath in treasure, than both 
 those kings can do. For I have heard 
 
 1 'So many friends hath he got with his gifts and 
 so many may he have for his money.' 
 
FROISSAST'S JOURNEY 
 
 319 
 
 him say that when the king of Cyprus was 
 in his country of Beam and moved him to 
 have gone to the voyage of the Holy 
 Sepulchre, he had thought the same time 
 to have made such a journey, that if the 
 French king or the king of England had 
 taken that enterprise, how there should 
 have been no lord^ should have brought 
 such a company as he would have done ; 
 and as yet he is of the same mind : " and 
 in part that is one of the causes that he 
 gathereth such treasure. The prince of 
 Wales, the season that he reigned in the 
 country of Acquitaine, being at Bordeaux 
 on the river of Gironde, thought to have 
 made him war. The prince menaced him 
 for the country of Beam and would have 
 had him to have held his country of him : 
 and the earl said he would not, and said 
 how his country of Beam was so free a 
 land, that it ought to do homage to no man 
 of the world. And the prince, who at 
 that time was great and sore feared, said 
 how he would compel him perforce ; for 
 the earl of Armagnac and the lord d'Albret, 
 who loved not the earl of Foix because of 
 such victories as he had won on them 
 before, they tittled the prince ever in his 
 ear and enticed him to have made war 
 against the earl of Foix. But the voyage 
 that the prince made into Spain brake his 
 purpose : also sir John Chandos, who was 
 chief of counsel with the prince, was 
 against it that the prince should make any 
 war to the earl. The earl of Foix loved 
 right well sir John Chandos and he him ; 
 but the earl doubted the prince, because 
 he was fierce and courageous, and therefore 
 he gathered together as much treasure as 
 he could get, to the intent therewith to 
 defend him, if need were : and so he set 
 great tallies and taxes in all his country 
 and in every town, which as yet endureth 
 and shall do as long as he liveth : he had 
 of every fire every year two firanks, and 
 the rich to bear out the poor : thereby he 
 gathered, and yet doth, great riches, and 
 the people payeth it with a marvellous 
 good will, for by reason thereof there is 
 nother English nor French nor robbers nor 
 
 1 ' That after the king of France and the king of 
 England, if they had gone on that enterprise, there 
 would have heen no lord,' etc. 
 
 2 That is ' he has not given up the design ' of a 
 crusade. 
 
 reivers that doth them any hurt to the 
 value of one penny ; and so his country is 
 in safe-guard, and justice truly kept, for in 
 doing of justice he is right cruel, he is the 
 most rightful lord that is now living.' 
 
 And so with these words we came to 
 the town of Tournay, whereas we should 
 rest all night. So then the knight ceased 
 of his talking, and I remembered well 
 where we left against the next day ; and 
 we were lodged at the sign of the Star and 
 took our ease. And at supper time the 
 captain of Malvoisin, called sir Raymond 
 of Lane, came to see us and supped with 
 us, and brought with him four flagons of 
 the best wine that I drank of in all my 
 journey. Those two knights talked long 
 together, and when it was late the knight 
 departed and returned to the castle of 
 Malvoisin. And the next morning we 
 mounted on our horses and departed firom 
 Tournay and passed by a guide the river of 
 Lesse,' and rode toward the city of Tarbes 
 and entered into Bigorre ; and we left the 
 way to Lourdes, to Bagneres and to the 
 castle of Montgaillard on the left hand, 
 and we rode toward a village called La 
 Cieutat and did coast it and came to a wood 
 in the land of the lord of Barbazan ; and we 
 came near to a castle called Mascaras at the 
 entry of the country of Laire.^ Then the 
 knight said to me : ' Sir John, behold here 
 the place of Laire.' And I beheld it well 
 and advised the country, which seemed to 
 me right strange : I thought myself but as 
 lost there, if I had not been in the company 
 with that knight. Then I remembered 
 the words that this knight had shewed me 
 two or three days before of that country of 
 Laire and of the Mongat of Lourdes. Then 
 I said to him : ' Sir, ye shewed me the 
 last day that when we should be in the 
 country of Laire that ye would shew me 
 the manner of the Mongat of Lourdes and 
 how he died.' 'It is true, sir,' quoth the 
 knight ; ' come on and ride by me and I 
 shall shew you. ' Then I rode near him to 
 hear his words, and then he said : ' Sir, in 
 the season that Peter d'Anchin held the 
 castle and garrison of Artigat, as I have 
 
 1 'We passed by fording (k g^€) the river of 
 Lesse,' that is, the Arros. 
 
 2 The French text here gives 'pays au Laire ' 
 for ' pas au Laire,' but in the passage below, where 
 the French has ' pas au Laire ' or ' pas du Laire,' 
 the translator renders ' pas ' by ' place ' or ' country. ' 
 
320 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 shewed you before this time, they of the 
 garrison of Lourdes sometime rode forth 
 at adventure far from their garrison. How- 
 beit, they had not always the advantage, 
 for ye may behold here the castle of Bar- 
 bazan and the castle of Mascaras, wherein 
 there was always many men of war there, 
 and in other garrisons, as Bagneres, Tour- 
 nay, Montgaillard, Salles, Benac, Guiors, 
 and Tarbes, all French towns and garrisons : 
 and when these garrisons knew that they 
 of Lourdes rode other towards Toulouse or 
 Carcassonne, then they would lay bush- 
 ments for them, and sometime take from 
 them of Lourdes their prey and pillage 
 and sometime they scaped without any 
 rencounter. And on a time it fortuned 
 that Ernaulton of Sainte-Colomme and the 
 Mongat of Saint - Cornille and to the 
 number of sixscore spears of good men 
 of war departed from Lourdes about the 
 mountains between these two rivers Lisse 
 and Lesse, and so rode near to Toulouse ; 
 and at their returning they found in the 
 meadows a great number of beasts, oxen 
 and kine, hogs, muttons and lambs, and 
 also they took divers of the good men of 
 the country prisoners, and so drove all 
 their prey before them. Then it was 
 shewed to the captain of Tarbes, a squire 
 of Gascoyne called Ernaulton Bisette, an 
 expert man of arms, how they of the gar- 
 rison of Lourdes were abroad and were 
 coming homeward with a great prey. 
 Then he sent to the lord of Benac and to 
 Anguerrot, eldest son to sir Raymond,^ and 
 also to the lord of Barbazan, certifying 
 them how he would ride out against them 
 of Lourdes. The knights and squires of 
 the country of Bigorre agreed to ride forth 
 and assembled together at Tournay, and 
 with them there was the bourg of Spain, 
 who came from his garrison of Saint-Beat ; 
 so they were to the number of two hundred 
 spears, and they had their spies abroad in 
 the country to know what they of Lourdes 
 did. On the other side they of Lourdes 
 had abroad their spies, to know if any men 
 of war were abroad to let them of their 
 enterprise ; and so much did these that 
 either party knew what other did. When 
 they of Lourdes knew how they of the 
 French garrisons were abroad and tarried 
 for them at Tournay, then they were in 
 ^ That is, sir Raymond de Lane. 
 
 doubt and took counsel what they might 
 best do to save their prey. Then they 
 determined to depart their company in two, 
 the one company to drive before them their 
 prey with all their varlets, and to go covertly 
 by the Lande-de-Bouc, and so to pass the 
 way by the bridge of Tournay and to pass 
 the river of Lesse between Tournay and 
 Malvoisin, and the other company to ride 
 in battle by the mountains and to make 
 shew to go again into the country of Laire^ 
 by Mascaras, and so to fall in between Bar- 
 bazan and Montgaillard ; and said that if 
 they met together about Montgaillard, then 
 they should be in safe-guard, "for then 
 we shall be soon at Lourdes." Thus as 
 they ordained, so they did ; and the bastard 
 of Cardeillac, Guillonet of Harnes and 
 Perrot Boursier, John Callemin of Bassele, 
 the Red Squire, and forty spears with all 
 their varlets, with all their prey, took the 
 way by the Lande-de-Bouc and so to pass 
 the river at the bridge between Tournay 
 and Malvoisin, thinking to meet all together 
 between Cieutat and Montgaillard : and so 
 they departed, and the other company, as 
 Ernaulton of Rostem, Ernaulton of Sainte- 
 Colomme and the Mongat of Saint-Cornille 
 with fourscore men of arms, there was not 
 ten varlets among them ; so they made 
 themselves ready and rode close together 
 ever looking for their enemies, for they 
 knew well they were abroad to watch for 
 them. In like manner as they of Lourdes 
 had taken their advice and counsel how to 
 return, in like wise the Frenchmen took 
 counsel how they might encounter their 
 enemies ; and sir Monaut of Barbazan and 
 Ernaulton Bisette said to their company : 
 "Sirs, we know well how they of Lourdes 
 are abroad in the fields and driveth before 
 them great prey and many prisoners. It 
 should be a great displeasure to us if they 
 should scape ; therefore let us put ourselves 
 into two bushments, we are company 
 enough so to do." Then it was ordained 
 that Ernaulton and the bourg of Spain, sir 
 Raymond of Benac and Anguerrot of 
 Lane with a hundred spears should keep 
 the passage at Tournay ; for they knew 
 well that they of Lourdes with their prey 
 must needs pass the river of Lesse : and it 
 was ordained that the lord of Barbazan and 
 Ernaulton Bisette with a hundred spears 
 1 Pas-de-Laire. 
 
FROISSART'S JOURNEY 
 
 321 
 
 should ride at adventures. So thus they 
 departed, and the lord of Benac and the 
 bourg of Spain put themselves in a bush- 
 ment between Malvoisin and Tournay, and 
 the other company rode and took the same 
 way that we be now in, which is called the 
 Laire. And here they met with them of 
 Lourdes ; and when each of them saw 
 other, they alighted and made them ready 
 to fight, and so came each against other cry- 
 ing their cries, " Saint George, Lourdes ! " 
 and the other " Our Lady of Bigorre ! " 
 And so there each came to other with hand 
 strokes, foining with their spears each at 
 other a great space, and as I heard reported 
 of them that were there, at the first brunt 
 there was none overthrown : and so when 
 each of them had a great space foined 
 each at other, they cast down their spears 
 and took their axes, and gave therewith 
 each to other great and horrible strokes, 
 every man with his match, and in that 
 manner they fought together more than 
 two hours. And when any of them had 
 fought so long that they lacked breath, 
 then they woukl fair and easily depart, 
 and go sit down by a dike side that was 
 full of water and put off their bassenets and 
 refresh themselves ; and when they were 
 well refreshed, they put on their bassenets 
 and returned again to tight. I believe 
 there was not such a business, nor a battle 
 so well fought sith the battle that was in 
 Bretayne of thirty against as many, as this 
 was here at Mascaras in Bigorre. Thus 
 they fought hand to hand, and Ernaulton 
 of Sainte-Colomme was at the point to have 
 been discomfited by a squire of the country 
 called Guillonet of Salenges. This Ernaul- 
 ton of Sainte-Colomme had ". varlet, who 
 stood by and saw the battle and fought not, 
 for there was none that said anything to 
 him ; and when he saw his master almost at 
 utterance, he was sorry, and so came to his 
 master and took his axe out of his hands 
 and said: "Ernaulton, go your way and 
 rest you, ye can no longer fight " : and 
 then he with the axe went to the squire 
 md gave him such a stroke on the head, 
 :hat he was astonied and had near hand 
 fallen to the earth. When Guillonet felt 
 limself stricken, he was sore displeased 
 md came against the varlet to have stricken 
 lim, but the varlet slept under the stroke 
 ind embraced the squire, who was sore 
 Y 
 
 travailed with so long fighting, and so the 
 varlet overthrew him wrestling under him. 
 Then the varlet said : " I shall slay thee, 
 without thou wilt yield thyself to my 
 master. " ' ' Who is thy master ? " quoth the 
 squire. " Ernaulton of Sainte-Colomme," 
 quoth the varlet, "with whom thou hast 
 fought all this season." The squire saw 
 that he had not the vantage, but that he 
 was under the varlet, who had a dagger 
 ready to strike him ; so he yielded him 
 to render his body prisoner at Lourdes 
 within fifteen days after, rescues or no 
 rescues. This service did this varlet to his 
 master ; and, sir John, I assure you there 
 were many feats of arms done and many 
 overthrown and taken prisoners, some to 
 yield themselves in a certain space at 
 Tarbes and some to come to Lourdes. They 
 fought this day hand to hand, Ernaulton 
 Bisette with the Mongat of Saint-Bazeille : 
 they did many a feat of arms between them, 
 and they fought so long, till they were so 
 weary that they could aid themselves no 
 longer ; and there was slain on the place 
 two captains, the Mongat of Lourdes and 
 on the other part Ernaulton Bisette. Then 
 ceased the battle by agreement of both 
 parties, for they were so weary that they 
 could scant hold their axes in their hands : 
 some unarmed them to refresh themselves 
 and left their armour in the place. They of 
 Lourdes bare away with them the Mongat 
 slain, and the Frenchmen bare Ernaulton 
 Bisette to Tarbes ; and to the intent that 
 this battle should be had in remembrance, 
 whereas the two squires fought there was 
 set a cross of stone. Behold yonder is the 
 cross.' And with those words we came to 
 the cross, and there we said for their souls 
 a Pater nosier and an Ave Maria. 
 
 ' By my faith, sir,' quoth I, ' I am glad I 
 have heard this, for this was a sharp busi- 
 ness of so little people. But, sir, what 
 became of them that went with the prey ? ' 
 ' I shall shew you,' quoth he. ' They came 
 to the part of Tournay beside Malvoisin, to 
 have passed there, as they had ordained ; 
 and there they found the bushment of the 
 bourg of Spain, who brake out of their 
 bushment, and they of Lourdes could not 
 recule back ; they had no remedy but to 
 adventure theirselves. And I tell you truth, 
 there was as sore a fight and as long endured 
 or longer than that at Mascaras ; and there 
 
322 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Ernaulton of Spain did marvellous in arms. 
 He had an axe in his hand ; whosoever he 
 strake therewith went to the earth, for he 
 was big and well made and not overcharged 
 with much flesh. He took there with his 
 own hands the two captains, the bourg of 
 Cardeillac and Perrot Palatin of Beam, and 
 there was slain a squire of Navarre called 
 Ferrando of Miranda, who was an expert 
 man of arms : some that were at the busi- 
 ness said that the bourg of Spain slew him, 
 and some said he was overcome for heat in 
 his harness. Finally the prey was rescued 
 and all taken or slain that went therewith ; 
 there were but three saved themselves, and 
 they were varlets, who departed and went 
 over the river of Lesse. Thus became of 
 this adventure : they of Lourdes never lost 
 before so much as they did then : they were 
 courteously ransomed, and divers delivered 
 by exchange one for another, for divers of 
 them that fought here at the place of Laire' 
 were taken by them of Lourdes : therefore 
 every part were courteous one to another 
 in ransoming of their companions.' 'Ah 
 Saint Mary ! sir,' quoth I, ' is the bourg of 
 Spain so big a man as ye speak of ? ' ' Yea, 
 sir, truly,' quoth he, 'for in all Gascoyne 
 there is none like him in strength of body : 
 therefore the earl of Foix hath him ever in 
 his company. It passed not a three year 
 that he did in a sport a great deed, as I 
 shall shew you. So it was, on a Christmas 
 day the earl of Foix held a great feast and 
 a plentiful of knights and squires, as it is 
 his usage : and it was a cold day, and the 
 earl dined in the hall, and with him great 
 company of lords ; and after dinner he de- 
 parted out of the hall and went up into a 
 gallery of twenty-four stairs of height, in 
 which gallery there was a great chimney, 
 wherein they made fire when the earl was 
 there ; and at that time there was but a 
 small fire, for the earl loved no great fire ; 
 howbeit, he had wood enough there about 
 and in Beam is wood enough. The same 
 day it was a great frost and very cold ; and 
 when the earl was in the gallery and saw 
 the fire so little, he said to the knights and 
 squires about him: "Sirs, this is but a 
 small fire and the day so cold." Then 
 Ernaulton of Spain went down the stairs, 
 and beneath in the court he saw a great 
 many of asses, laden with wood to serve 
 1 Pa3-de-Laire. 
 
 the house. Then he went and took one of 
 the greatest asses with all the wood, and 
 laid him on his back, and went up all the 
 stairs into the gallery and did cast down the 
 ass with all the wood into the chimney and 
 the ass's feet upwards : whereof the earl of 
 Foix had great joy, and so had all they that 
 were there, and had marvel of his strength, 
 how he alone came up all the stairs with the 
 ass and the wood in his neck. ' 
 
 I took great pleasure in this tale and in 
 other tliat this knight sir Espang de Lyon 
 shewed me, whereby I thought my journey 
 much the shorter : and in shewing of these 
 matters we passed the pass of Laire and the 
 castle of Mascaras, whereas the battle was, 
 and so we rode near to the castle of Bar- 
 bazan, which is strong and fair and is with- 
 in a league of Tarbes, which we saw before 
 us, and a fair way coasting the river of 
 Lisse coming from the mountains. Then 
 we rode fair and easily at our leisure to 
 refresh our horses, and there he shewed me 
 the river,' the castle and the town of Mont- 
 gaillard and the way that lay to Lourdes. 
 Then it came to my remembrance to de- 
 mand the knight how the duke of Anjou, 
 when he was in the country and that the 
 castle of Malvoisin was yielded to him, 
 came before Lourdes and what he did 
 there ; and with right a good will he shewed 
 me and said : ' "When the duke of Anjou 
 departed from Malvoisin with all his host, 
 he passed over the river of Lesse at the 
 bridge of Tournay and went and lodged at 
 Bagneres, whereas is a good river going to 
 Tarbes ; for this river of Tournay cometh 
 not thither, but falleth into the river of 
 Garonne beside Mont-au-Lion ; ^ and so 
 the duke went and laid siege to Lourdes, 
 sir Peter Ernaulton of Beam and John his 
 brother, Peter d'Anchin, Ernaulton of 
 Rostem, Ernaulton of Sainte-Colomme,and 
 the Mongat, who as then was living, and 
 Ferando of Miranda, with Barbe-Noire, the 
 bourg of Cardeillac and the bourg Camus 
 and certain other companions being within 
 Lourdes. When they were well informed 
 of the duke's coming thither, they fortified 
 
 1 'Pardelalariviere,"onthe othersideof theriver.' 
 
 2 This river of Tournay is that which Froissart 
 calls the Lesse {i.e. the Arros), but he is mistaken 
 in supposing that it falls into the Garonne. He 
 confuses it, no doubt, with the Baise, which rises not 
 far from Tournay and falls into the Garonne near 
 Monluc (Mont-au-Lion). (Lettenhove, xxv. 13.) 
 
THE DUKE OF ANJOU IN B IGOR RE, 1373 
 
 323 
 
 them and their garrison against him and 
 held the town of Lourdes for all the assaults 
 that the duke made, which fifteen days con- 
 tinually endured and there were many feats 
 of arms done. The duke ordained many 
 instruments of war for the assault, so that 
 finally the town was won ; but they lost 
 neither man, woman nor good, for they 
 were all withdrawn into the castle, for they 
 knew well at length the town would not 
 hold, for it was closed but with dikes and 
 pales. When the town of Lourdes was 
 won, the Frenchmen had great joy and so 
 lodged in the town round about the castle, 
 which was not pregnable without it were 
 with long siege. There the duke tarried 
 more than six weeks and lost more than he 
 won ; for they without could do no hurt to 
 them within, for the castle standeth on a 
 round rock, made in such manner that no 
 man could approach it by scaling nor 
 otherwise, but by one entry ; and there at 
 the barriers were many scrimmishes and 
 many feats of arms done, and divers knights 
 and squires of France were hurt, such as 
 would press too near. When the duke saw 
 how he could not have his intent to get the 
 castle of Lourdes, then he fell in treaty with 
 the captain within and offered him much 
 money to give up the garrison. The knight, 
 who was of great valiantness, excused him- 
 self and said how the garrison was not his, 
 but it pertained to the heritage of the king 
 of England, and said how he could not sell 
 it nor give it nor put it away, without he 
 should be a traitor, which in no wise he 
 would be, but true to his natural lord during 
 his life ; and moreover said that when the 
 castle was delivered him, it was on a con- 
 dition, which he swore solemnly by his 
 faith in the prince of Wales' hand, that he 
 should keep the castle of Lourdes against 
 all men during his life, except it were 
 against the king of England. The duke 
 could never have other answer of him, for 
 gift nor promise that he could make. And 
 when the duke of Anjou and his council 
 saw how they could have nothing else, and 
 saw that they lost their pain, they dislodged, 
 and at their departing they clean brent the 
 town. Then the duke of Anjou drew back 
 in coasting Beam and rode toward the 
 Mount Marsan, and had knowledge how 
 the earl of Foix had fortified all his garri- 
 sons with men of war ; whereof he was 
 
 nothing discontent, but he was displeased 
 in that the knights and squires of Beam held 
 Lourdes against him. The earl of Foix, as 
 I have shewed you herebefore, doubted 
 greatly the duke of Anjou, though the 
 duke did him no hurt ; but the ear) of 
 Armagnac and the lord d'Albret would 
 have had the duke to have made him war, 
 but the duke had no will thereto. But 
 while he lodged between Mount Marsan 
 and the Boce d'Albret, he sent to the earl 
 of Orthez sir Peter of Bueil, whom the earl 
 received honourably, and lodged him in the 
 castle of Orthez and made him as good 
 cheer as he could and gave him mulcts and 
 coursers, and to his men great gifts, and he 
 sent by him to the duke of Anjou four 
 coursers and two alans of Spain, fair and 
 good, and there were secret treaties between 
 the earl and this sir Peter of Bueil, of which 
 treaties no man knew the intent thereof of 
 a good space after ; but after, by such 
 evident tokens as appeared, we supposed 
 somewhat, and the matter I shall shew you, 
 and by that time we shall come to Tarbes. 
 ' Anon after that the duke of Anjou had 
 made his voyage and that he was at 
 Toulouse, then the earl of Foix sent by his 
 letters [and by] certain messengers to 
 Lourdes to his cousin sir Peter Ernaulton 
 of Beam, desiring him to come and speak 
 with him at Orthez. And when the knight 
 had read the earl's letters, and saw his 
 notable message, he had divers imaginations 
 and wist not whether he might go or abide. 
 All things considered, he said he would go, 
 because in no wise he would displease the 
 earl. And when he departed from Lourdes, 
 he said to John of Bearn his brother in the 
 presence of all the companions of the 
 garrison : " Brother John, the earl of 
 Foix hath sent for me, I cannot tell you 
 why ; but sith it is his pleasure to speak 
 with me, I will go to him. I fear me 
 greatly that I shall be required to give up 
 this fortress of Lourdes ; for the duke of 
 Anjou, when he was in the country, he 
 coasted Bearn and entered not therein, and 
 the earl of Foix hath long intended to have 
 the castle of Malvoisin, to the intent to be 
 lord of the Lande-de-Bouc and of the fron- 
 tiers of Comminges and of Bigorre. I 
 know not what treaty there is made between 
 him and the duke of Anjou, but one 
 thing I say plainly, — as long as I live, I 
 
324 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 shall never yield up the garrison but to 
 mine own natural lord the king of England. 
 Wherefore, brother John, in case that I 
 stablish you in mine absence to be captain 
 here, that ye shall swear to me by the faith 
 of your gentleness that ye shall keep this 
 castle in like manner and form as I do, and 
 that for life or death ye fail not." And 
 John of Beam sware to fulfil his desire. 
 Then sir Peter Ernaulton went to Orthez 
 and alighted at the sign of the Moon ; and 
 when he thought it was time, he went to 
 the castle of Orthez to the earl, who with 
 great joy received him and made him sit at 
 his board, and shewed him as great sem- 
 blant of love as he could ; and after dinner 
 he said ; "Cousin Peter, I have to speak 
 with you of divers things, wherefore I will 
 that ye depart not without my leave." 
 The knight answered and said: "Sir, I 
 shall not depart till it be your pleasure." 
 Then the third day after, the earl of Foix 
 said unto him in the presence of the viscount 
 of Gousserant his brother and before the 
 lord d'Anchin of Bigorre and divers other 
 knights and squires, the earl said aloud that 
 every man might hear him ; " Peter, I sent 
 for you and ye be come. I will ye know, 
 the duke of Anjou would me much evil 
 because of the garrison of Lourdes, which 
 ye keep, for the which cause my land was 
 near hand overrun, an good friends had not 
 been ; and it is his opinion and divers other 
 of his company, that he hateth me, because, 
 as they say, how I maintain ^ and sustain 
 you, because ye be of Beam : and it is not 
 meet for me to have the evil will of so great 
 a prince as the duke of Anjou is. Where- 
 fore I command you, as ye will eschew my 
 displeasure and by the faith and lineage 
 that ye owe to me, that ye yield up the 
 garrison of Lourdes into my hands." When 
 the knight heard these words, he was sore 
 abashed and studied a little, remembering 
 what answer he might make, for he saw 
 well the earl spake in good faith : ^ how- 
 beit, all things considered, he said : " Sir, 
 true it is I owe to you faith and homage, 
 for I am a poor knight of your blood and 
 of your country : but as for the castle of 
 
 ^ By the true text, ' And it is his saying and the 
 opinion of divers other of his company who hate 
 me, that 1 maintain,' etc., but the translator's text 
 had ' qu'ilz me haient.' 
 
 3 'Seriously.' 
 
 Lourdes, I will not deliver it to you. Ye 
 have sent for me to do with me as ye list.' 
 I hold it of the king of England ; he set me 
 there, and to none other living will I deliver 
 it." When the earl of Foix heard that answer, 
 his blood chafed for ire, and said drawing 
 out his dagger: "Ah, traitor, sayest thou 
 nay ? By my head, thou hast not said that 
 for nought " : and so therewith strake the 
 knight, that he wounded him in five places, 
 and there was no knight nor baron that 
 durst step between them. Then the knight 
 said : ' Ah, sir, ye do me no gentleness, to 
 send for me and slay me." And yet for 
 all the strokes that he had with the dagger, 
 the earl commanded to cast him in prison 
 down into a deep dike, and so he was and 
 there died, for his wounds were but evil 
 looked unto.' 'Ah, Saint Mary,' quoth I 
 to the knight, 'was not this a great cruelty?' 
 ' Whatsoever it was,' quoth the knight, 
 ' thus it was. Let one advise him well or 
 he displease him, for an he be angry, there 
 is no pardon : he held once his cousin- 
 german the viscount of Castelbon, who is 
 his heritor, eight months in the tower of 
 Orthez in prison, and after ransomed him 
 at forty thousand franks.' 'Why, sir,' quoth 
 I, ' hath the earl of Foix no children ? ' 
 ' No truly, sir,' quoth he, ' by any wife ; but 
 he hath two young knights that be his 
 bastards, whom ye shall see, and he loveth 
 them as well as himself: they be called sir 
 Yvain and sir Gracien ? ' Then I demanded 
 if ever he were married. 'Yea truly,' 
 quoth he, ' and is yet ; but his wife is not 
 with him.' 'Why, sir, where is she?' 
 'Sir,' quoth he, 'she is in Navarre, for the 
 king; there is her cousin ; she was daughter 
 to king Louis of Navarre.' Yet then I de- 
 manded if ever the earl had any children. 
 'Yes, sir,' quoth he, 'he had a fair son, 
 who had the father's heart and all the 
 country loved him, for by him all the 
 country of Beam was in rest and peace, 
 whereas it hath been sith in debate and 
 strife ; for he had married the sister of the 
 earl of Armagnac' ' Sir,' quoth I, 'what 
 became of that son, an it may be known ?' 
 ' Sir,' quoth he, ' I shall shew you, but not 
 as now, for the matter is over long and we 
 are near the town, as ye see.' Therewith 
 
 1 ' Ye have sent for me ; therefore ye can do with 
 me as ye list.' The full text has, ' Ye have sent for 
 me, I have obeyed ; therefore,' etc. 
 
FROISSART'S JOURNEY 
 
 325 
 
 I left the knight in peace, and so we came 
 to Tarbes and took our lodging at the Star 
 and there tarried all that day ; for it was a 
 town of great easement both for man and 
 horse with good hay and oats and a fair 
 river. 
 
 The next day after mass we mounted a- 
 horseback and departed from Tarbes and 
 came to a town called Guiors/ which vali- 
 antly always held against them of Lourdes : 
 and so we passed by the town without and 
 then entered into the country of Beam. 
 Then the knight stood still and said : ' Sir, 
 behold here is Beam ' : and we stood in a 
 cross way. The knight advised him which 
 way to ■ take, other to Morlaas or to Pau : 
 at last we took the way to Morlaas, riding 
 over the launds of Beam, which were right 
 plain. Then I demanded of him if the 
 town of Pau were near us, and he said, 
 ' Yes ' ; and so he shewed me the steeple : 
 howbeit, the distance was farther off than 
 it seemed, for it was an evil way to ride 
 because of the mires, to them that knew not 
 the country ; and not far thence was the 
 castle of Lourdes.- And I demanded who 
 was as then captain there. He said that 
 as then the seneschal of Bigorre was captain 
 there, admitted by the king of England, 
 brother to sir Peter of Beam, as ye have 
 heard before. ' That is true, sir,' quoth I, 
 ' but did he never after go to see the earl of 
 Foix ? ' He answered and said : ' Sith the 
 death of his brother he never came there, 
 but other of his company hath been often 
 with the earl, as Peter d'Anchin, Ernaulton 
 of Rostem, Ernaulton of Sainte-Colomme, 
 and other.' 'Sir,' quoth I, 'hath the earl 
 of Foix made any amends for the death of 
 that knight, or sorry for his death ? ' 'Yes 
 truly, sir,' quoth he, 'he was right sorry for 
 his death ; but as for amends, I know of 
 none, without it be by secret penance, 
 masses or prayers. He hath with him the 
 same knight's son, called John of Beam, a 
 gracious squire, and the earl loveth him 
 right well.' ' Ah, sir,' quoth I, ' the duke 
 
 1 Saint-Pe-de-Gueyres. 
 
 2 He said, ' Yes, I will .shew you the steeple of 
 it, but it is further off than it seems, for it is an evil 
 way to ride because of the mires for one that knows 
 not the road well, and it would be folly to attempt 
 it. And below lies the town and castle of Lourdes." 
 Froissart nowhere says that his companion did 
 actually shew him the steeple, and in fact it is 
 probable that they did not come in sight of it. 
 
 of Anjou, who that would so fain have the 
 castle of Lourdes, ought to be well content 
 with the earl of Foix, when he slew such a 
 knight his own cousin, for to accomplish 
 his desire.' 'By my faith, sir,' quoth he, 
 ' so he was : for anon after that the duke 
 came to the French king, the king sent ^ 
 into this country sir Roger of Spain and a 
 president of the parliament chamber of 
 Paris, and letters sealed making mention 
 how the king did give to the earl of Foix 
 the county of Bigorre during his life, to hold 
 the same of the crown of France. The 
 earl thanked greatly the king for the great 
 love that he shewed him and for that great 
 gift without any request making, but for all 
 that the said sir Roger of Spain could do, 
 say or shew, the earl in no wise would take 
 the gift ; but he took the castle of Malvoisin, 
 because it was a free land, for that castle 
 and the purtenance holdeth of no man but 
 of God, and also anciently it pertaineth to 
 his inheritance. The French king by the 
 means of the duke of Anjou did give it him, 
 and the earl sware and promised to take it 
 on a condition that he should never set 
 man there that should do any evil to the 
 realm of France : and so he did, for such 
 as were there feared as much the English- 
 men as any other French garrisons in 
 Gascoyne, but the Bearnois durst not run 
 into the country of Foix. ' ^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 How the peace was made between the duke 
 of Berry and the earl of Foix, and of the 
 beginning of the war that was between the 
 earl of Foix and the earl of Armagnac. 
 
 Al.L these matters that sir Espang de Lyon 
 shewed me right well contented me; and 
 every night as soon as we were at our lodg- 
 ings,^ I wrote ever all that I heard in the 
 day, the better thereby to have them in re- 
 membrance, for writing is the best remem- 
 
 1 Or by a better text, 'Anon after the event 
 (I'advenue) the king of France sent,' etc. 
 
 2 ' But the Bearnois (or according to nnoiker 
 reading, the English) would not dare to displease 
 (courroucier) the count of Foix.' There has been 
 a confusion of ' courroucier ' with ' courir,' and of 
 'conte' with 'cont(5.' 
 
 3 The French says, 'As soon as we descended 
 at our lodging, whether it were in the evening or in 
 the morning.' 
 
326 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 brance that may be. And so we rode the 
 next morning to Morlaas ; but ere we came 
 there, I said : ' Sir, I have forgot to de- 
 mand of you when ye shewed me the ad- 
 ventures of Foix [and of Armagnac how 
 the earl of Foix] did dissimule with the duke 
 of Berry, who had to wives the daughter 
 and sister of the earl of Armagnac, and 
 whether that the duke of Berry made him 
 any war and how he did.' ' How he did,' 
 quoth the knight, ' I shall shew you. In 
 time past the duke of Berry would him as 
 much evil as he could imagine ; but as now, 
 by means which ye shall hear of when ye 
 come to Orthez, they be accorded. ' ' Why, 
 sir,' quoth I, ' was there any cause why the 
 duke should be displeased with him ? ' 
 'As help me God,' quoth the knight, 
 * none ; but I shall shew you the cause. 
 When Charles the French king, father to 
 king Charles that now is, was deceased, 
 the realm of France was divided into two 
 parts, as in the governing thereof; for the 
 duke of Anjou who intended to go into 
 Italy, as he did, he gave up the rule, and 
 then his two brethren the duke of Beriy 
 and the duke of Burgoyne had the rule. 
 The duke of Berry had the governing of 
 Languedoc and the duke of Burgoyne ruled 
 Languedoil and Picardy. When they of 
 Languedoc understood that the duke of 
 Berry had the governing over them, they 
 were sore abashed, and specially they of 
 Toulouse, for they knew well that the duke 
 was a sore taker of gold and silver and a 
 sore oppressor of the people. Also there 
 was in Carcassonne and in Rouergue 
 Bretons and Toulousains,^ which the duke 
 of Anjou had left in the country, and they 
 robbed and pilled, and the bruit ran that 
 the duke of Berry maintained them to the 
 intent to overmaster the good towns : but 
 in this season that I speak of the duke of 
 Berry was not in the country there ; he was 
 with the king in Flanders. They of Tou- 
 louse, who be great and puissant, perceived 
 how the French king was young and was 
 greatly busied in Flanders for the aid of his 
 uncle the duke of Burgoyne, and they saw 
 well how they were daily robbed and pilled 
 by the Bretons and other, so that they wist 
 not what to do. Then they sent and 
 treated with the earl of Foix, desiring him 
 
 1 By a better text, ' There were Bretons in 
 Toulousain, in Carcassonnais and in Rouergue.' 
 
 for a certain sum of money that they offered 
 him every month to be paid, that he would 
 take on him the governing of Toulouse and 
 of the country of Toulousain, and also he 
 was desired of other towns in like wise. 
 They desired him because they knew him 
 for a just man and a rightwise in justice, 
 redoubted of his enemies and fortunate in 
 all his business ; and also they of Toulouse 
 loved him, for he had been ever to them a 
 good neighbour. Thus he took on him the 
 charge and the governing, and sware to 
 maintain and keep the country in their 
 right against all men that would do any 
 wrong thereto, reserving all only the French 
 king's person. Then he set men of war to 
 watch the ways and passages, whereas 
 these robbers and pillers used to pass, 
 and on a day he took, slew and drowned of 
 them at Rabasten in Toulousain more than 
 four hundred, whereby he gat great grace 
 and honour of them of Toulouse and of 
 Carcassonne, of Beziers and Montpellier 
 and of other good towns there about, so 
 that the renown ran in France how they of 
 Languedoc were turned and had taken to 
 their lord the earl of Foix ; and the duke 
 of Berry, who was sovereign there, took 
 thereat great displeasure and had the earl 
 of Foix in great hate, because he meddled 
 so far in the business of France, and where- 
 by he maintained them of Toulouse still in 
 their rebellion against him. Then he sent 
 men of war into the country, but they were 
 fiercely driven back again by the earl's 
 men, so that, whether they would or no, 
 they were fain to draw back, or else they 
 had lost more than they should have won. 
 With this the duke of Berry was sore dis- 
 pleased with the earl of Foix, and he said 
 how the earl of Foix was the most pre- 
 sumptuous and proudest knight of all the 
 world. The duke as then could suffer no 
 good to be spoken of him ; howbeit, he 
 made hiin no war, for the earl of Foix had 
 always his towns and castles so well pro- 
 vided for, that none durst enter into his 
 land. But when the duke of Berry came 
 into Languedoc, then he left his rule, for 
 he would then no longer exercise against 
 the duke, but the displeasure rested still 
 after a certain space : but now shall I shew 
 you by what means the peace was nourished 
 between them. 
 
 ' It was a ten year past that the lady 
 
FOIX AND ARMAGNAC 
 
 327 
 
 Eleanor of Comminges, as now countess of 
 Boulogne, and near cousin to the earl of 
 Foix and right inheritor to the county of 
 Comminges, though that the earl of Ar- 
 magnac had it in possession, she came to 
 Orthez to the earl of Foix and brought with 
 her a young daughter of three year of age. 
 The earl her cousin made her good cheer 
 and he demanded her of her business and 
 whither she was going. " Sir," quoth she, 
 "I am going into Aragon to mine uncle 
 and aunt the earl of Urgel, and there I 
 purpose to abide ; for I have great dis- 
 pleasure to abide with my husband sir John 
 of Boulogne, for I thought he would have 
 recovered mine inheritance of Comminges 
 from the earl of Armagnac, who keepeth it 
 from me and he hath my sister in prison, 
 and he will do nothing in the matter : he 
 is so soft a knight, that he will do nothing 
 but take his ease and eat and drink and to 
 spend that he hath foolishly ; and I think, 
 when he is earl, he will take his pleasure 
 more, therefore I will no longer abide with 
 him and I have brought with me my daugh- 
 ter, whom I will deliver into your hands, 
 praying you to keep and to nourish her up, 
 for I trust by reason of her lineage ye will 
 not fail thus to do, for I have hope in you 
 that ye will keep her. I had much pain to 
 get her away out of the country and out of 
 the hands of my husband her father, but 
 because I take them of Armagnac, mine 
 adversaries and yours, who would gladly 
 steal my daughter away,^ because she is 
 inheritor of Comminges, therefore I have 
 brought her unto you. Wherefore, sir, I 
 require you, fail me not at this business, 
 and I am sure her father my husband, when 
 he knoweth that I have left her with you, 
 he will be right joyful, for he hath said 
 oftentimes to me that this his daughter 
 should put him to great doubt." And 
 when the earl had well heard the words of 
 the lady Eleanor his cousin, he was right 
 joyful, and imagined in himself how that 
 child after should do him some pleasure, 
 as by the means of her mother to have a 
 firm peace with his enemies, or else to 
 marry her in so high a place that his enemies 
 should doubt him thereby. Then he an- 
 swered the lady and said : " Madam and 
 
 1 ' Because I perceive that they of .\rmagnac, 
 my adversaries and yours, are greatly desirous to 
 steal away my daughter.' 
 
 cousin, all that ye desire I shall do it with 
 right a good will, for I am bound thereto 
 by lineage ; and as for your daughter my 
 cousin, I shall keep her as well as though 
 she were mine own proper child." " Sir," 
 quoth she, "I thank you." Thus the 
 young daughter of Boulogne abode with 
 the earl of Foix at Orthez and she never 
 departed thence sith, and the lady her 
 mother went to Aragon. She hath been 
 sith once or twice to see her daughter, but 
 she never desired to have her again, for the 
 earl kept her as well as if she were his own 
 child. And to the purpose as to the mean 
 of the peace that I shewed you, the earl 
 imagined to get by her the love again of 
 the duke of Berry ; and as now at this 
 present time the duke of Berry hath great 
 desire to be married, and I think by that I 
 heard at Avignon by the pope, who is 
 cousin - german to the lady's father, he 
 shewed me how the duke of Berry desireth 
 to have her in marriage.' 'Ah, Saint 
 Mary, sir,' quoth I, ' how your words be to 
 me right agreeable ; for it hath done me 
 great pleasure all that ever ye have shewed 
 me, which shall not be lost, for it shall be 
 put in remembrance and chronicled, if God 
 will send me the grace to return to the 
 town of Valenciennes, whereas I was born. 
 But, sir, I am sore displeased of one thing.' 
 ' What is that ? ' quoth he. ' I shall shew 
 you by my faith : that so high and valiant 
 a prince as the earl of Foix is, should be 
 without lawful issue.' 'Sir,' quoth the 
 knight, ' if he had one, as once he had, he 
 should be the most joyous prince of the 
 world, and so would be all the country.' 
 ' Why, sir, ' then quoth I, ' is his land then 
 without an heir ? ' ' Nay, sir,' quoth he, 
 ' the viscount of Castelbon, his cousin- 
 german, is his heir.' ' Is he a valiant man 
 in arms ? ' quoth I. ' Nay by my faith, sir,' 
 quoth he, ' and therefore the earl loveth 
 him not and thinketh to make his two 
 bastard sons, who be right valiant, his heirs, 
 and thinketh to marry them in an high 
 lineage, for he hath gold and silver enough, 
 whereby he thinketh to get them wives 
 such as shall aid and comfort them.' 'Sir,' 
 quoth I, ' it may well be : howbeit, the 
 thing is not reasonable that bastards should 
 be made heritors of lands.' 'Wherefore 
 not, sir,' quoth he, ' if there lack good 
 heirs? See you not how the Spaniards 
 
328 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 have crowned Henry a bastard to be king, 
 and also they of Portugal crowned a bastard 
 to their king. It hath been seen in the 
 world in divers realms that bastards by 
 force hath reigned. Was not William 
 Conqueror bastard son to a duke of Nor- 
 mandy, who conquered all England and 
 was king there, so that all the kings sith 
 are descended from him ? ' ' Sir,' quoth I, 
 ' all this might well be : there is nothing 
 but that may fall : but they of Armagnac are 
 right strong, and so thereby this country 
 shall be ever in war and strife. But, sir, I 
 pray you shew me the just cause why the 
 war first moved between them of Foix and 
 Armagnac' *I will shew you,' quoth the 
 knight : ' I ensure you it is a marvellous 
 war, for as they say, each of them have 
 cause. 
 
 ' Sir, anciently, about a hundred year past, 
 there was a lord in Beam called Gaston, 
 a right valiant man in arms and is buried 
 in the Friars right solemnly at Orthez, and 
 there ye may see what person he was of 
 stature and of body, for in his life-time his 
 picture was made in latten, the which is 
 yet there. This Gaston lord of Beam had 
 two daughters ; the eldest was married to 
 the earl of Armagnac that was then, and 
 the youngest to the earl of Foix, who as 
 then was nephew to the king of Aragon, 
 and as yet the earl of Foix beareth his 
 arms, for he descended out of Aragon ; his 
 arms are pale gold and gules. ^ And so it 
 fortuned, that this lord of Beam had a great 
 war against the king of Spain that was then, 
 who came through all Biscay with a great 
 number of men of war to enter into Beam. 
 The lord Gaston of Beam, when he was 
 informed of his coming, he assembled 
 people on all sides, where he might get 
 men of war, and wrote letters to his two 
 sons-in-law, the earl of Armagnac and the 
 earl of Foix, that they should come to serve 
 and aid him to defend his heritage. These 
 letters seen, the earl of Foix, as soon as he 
 might, assembled his people and prayed all 
 his friends so much, that he had a five 
 hundred knights and squires armed and 
 two thousand varlets with spears, darts 
 and pavises all a-foot, and so he came into 
 the country of Beam to serve his father, 
 who had of him great joy ; and so all they 
 passed the bridge at Orthez over the river 
 ^ That is, gold and gules in pales. 
 
 and lodged between Sauveterre and the 
 Hospital:^ and the king of Spain, who 
 had twenty thousand men, was lodged not 
 far thence. And there the lord Gaston of 
 Beam and the earl of Foix- tarried for the 
 earl of Armagnac and thought ever that he 
 would come, and so tarried for him three 
 days, and on the fourth day the earl of 
 Armagnac sent his letters by an herald to 
 the lord Gaston of Beam and sent him 
 word how he might not come, nor how he 
 had nothing to do to bear arms for the 
 country of Beam. When the lord Gaston 
 heard those tidings of excusations and saw 
 how he should have none aid nor comfort 
 of the earl of Armagnac, he was sore 
 abashed and demanded counsel of the earl 
 of Foix and of the other barons of Beam, 
 how they should maintain themselves. 
 " Sir," quoth the earl of Foix, " sith we be 
 here assembled, let us go and fight with 
 our enemies." This counsel was taken: 
 then they ordained their people ; they were 
 a twelve hundred men of arms and six 
 thousand men a-foot. The earl of Foix 
 took the first battle, and so came on the 
 king of Spain and set on his lodgings ; and 
 there was a great battle and a fierce, and 
 slain more than ten thousand Spaniards, 
 and there the earl of Foix took prisoners 
 the king of Spain's son and his brother and 
 sent them to his father-in-law the lord 
 Gaston of Beam, who was in the arear- 
 guard : and there the Spaniards were so 
 discomfited, that the earl of Foix chased 
 them to the port Saint-Andrew ^ in Biscay, 
 and the king of Spain took the abbey and 
 did on the vesture of a monk, or else he 
 had been taken. Then the earl of Foix 
 returned to the lord Gaston of Beam, who 
 made him good cheer, as it was reason, for 
 he had saved his honour and kept his 
 country of Beam, the which else was likely 
 to have been lost. 
 
 'Because of this battle and discomfiture 
 that the earl of Foix made on the Spaniards 
 and for the taking of the king's son and 
 brother, the lord of Beam had peace with 
 the Spaniards at his own will. And when 
 the lord Gaston was returned to Orthez, 
 there before all the barons of Foix and 
 Beam that were there present, he said to his 
 son of Foix : "Fair son, ye are my true and 
 faithful son ; ye have saved mine honour 
 1 Hopital-d'Orion. 2 Santander. 
 
GASTON DE FOIX 
 
 329 
 
 and my country. The earl of Armagnac, 
 who hath married mine eldest daughter, 
 hath excused himself from this business 
 and would not come to defend mine heri- 
 tage, wherein he should have part. Where- 
 fore I say, that such part as he should have 
 by reason of my daughter, he hath forfeit 
 and lost it, and here clearly I inherit you, 
 my son of Foix, after my decease of all the 
 whole land, and to your heirs for ever ; 
 and I desire, will and command all my 
 subjects to seal, accord and agree to the 
 same." And all answered how they were 
 well content so to do. Thus by this means, 
 as I have shewed you, anciently the earls 
 of Foix were lords of the country of Beam 
 and bear the cry, arms and name and had 
 the profit thereof: howbeit, for all this 
 they of Armagnac had not their claim quit. 
 This is the cause of the war between Foix 
 and Armagnac' 
 
 'By my faith, sir,' then quoth I, 'ye 
 have well declared the matter. I never 
 heard it before, and now that I know it I 
 shall put it in perpetual memory, if God 
 give me grace to return into my country. 
 But, sir, if I durst, I would fain demand of 
 you one thing : by what incident the earl 
 of Foix' son died.' Then the knight 
 studied a little and said : ' Sir, the manner 
 of his death is right piteous : I will not 
 speak thereof. When ye come to Orthez, 
 ye shall find them that will shew you, if ye 
 demand it.' And then I held my peace, 
 and we rode till we came to Morlaas. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 Of the great virtuousness and largess that 
 was in the earl of Foix, and the manner 
 of the piteous death of Gaston the earl's 
 
 The next day we departed and rode to 
 dinner to Montgarbel,' and so to Ertiel,^ 
 and there we drank and by sun -setting we 
 came to Orthez. The knight alighted at 
 his own lodging and I alighted at the 
 Moon, where dwelt a squire of the earl's, 
 Ernaulton du Puy, who well received me, 
 because I was of France. Sir Espang of 
 Lyon went to the castle to the earl and 
 
 ^ Bougarber. 
 
 found him in his gallery, for he had Init 
 dined a little before ; for the earl's usage 
 was always that it was high noon or he 
 arose out of his bed, and supped ever at 
 midnight. The knight shewed him how I 
 was come thither, and incontinent I was 
 sent for to my lodging, for he was the lord 
 of all the world that most desired to speak 
 with strangers, to hear tidings. When the 
 earl saw me, he made me good cheer and 
 retained me as of his house, where I was 
 more than twelve weeks, and my horse, 
 well entreated. The acquaintance of him 
 and of me was because I had brought with 
 me a book, which I made at the contem- 
 plation of^ Wenceslas of Boeme, duke 
 of Luxembourg and of Brabant, which book 
 was called the Meliador, containing all 
 the songs, ballads, rondeaux and virelays, 
 which the gentle duke had made in his 
 time, which by imagination I had gathered 
 together ; ^ which book the earl of Foix 
 was glad to see, and every night after 
 supper I read thereon to him, and while I 
 read, there was none durst speak any word, 
 because he would I should be well under- 
 standed, wherein he took great solace, and 
 when it came to any matters of question, 
 then he would speak to me, not in Gascon 
 but in good and fair French. And of his 
 estate and house I shall somewhat record, 
 for I tarried there so long that I might 
 well perceive and know much. 
 
 This earl Gaston of Foix, with whom I 
 was, at that time he was of a fifty year of 
 age and nine ; and I say I have in my time 
 seen many knights, kings, princes and 
 other, but I never saw none like him of 
 personage, nor of so fair form nor so well 
 made. His visage fair, sanguine and smil- 
 ing, his eyen gray and amorous, whereas 
 he list to set his regard. In every thing 
 he was so perfect that he cannot be praised 
 too much : he loved that ought to be be- 
 loved, and hated that ought to be hated. 
 He was a wise knight of high enterprise and 
 of good counsel : he never had miscreant 
 with him : he said many orisons every 
 day, a nocturn of the psalter, matins of 
 our Lady, of the Holy Ghost and of the 
 cross, and dirige.^ Every day he gave five 
 
 1 i.e. 'Out of regard for.' 
 
 2 ' Which I had had the design (imagination) of 
 gathering together.' 
 
 3 'Vigiles.' Probably ' dirige' is a misprint. 
 
330 
 
 TH£ CHJiOmCLES OF PROISSART 
 
 florins in small money at his gate to poor 
 folks for the love of God. He was large 
 and courteous in gifts : he could right well 
 take where it pertained to him and to de- 
 liver again whereas he ought. He loved 
 hounds of all beasts ; winter and summer 
 he loved hunting. He never loved folly 
 outrage nor folly largess ; every month he 
 would know what he spended : he took in 
 his country, to receive his revenues and to 
 serve him, notable persons, that is to say 
 twelve receivers, and ever from two months 
 to two months two of them should serve 
 for his receipt ; for at the two months' end 
 he would change and put other two into 
 that office, and one that he trusted best 
 should be his controller, and to him all 
 other should account, and the controller 
 should account to him by rolls and books 
 written, and the accounts to remain still 
 with the earl. He had certain coffers in 
 his chamber, out of the which ofttimes he 
 would take money to give to lords, knights 
 and squires, such as came to him, for none 
 should depart from him without some gift ; 
 and yet daily multiplied his treasure to re- 
 sist the adventures and fortunes that he 
 doubted. He was of good and easy ac- 
 quaintance with every man and amorously 
 would speak to them. He was short in 
 counsel and answers. He had four secre- 
 taries, and at his rising they must ever be 
 ready at his hand without any calling, and 
 when any letter were delivered him and 
 that he had read it, then he would call 
 them to write again, or else for some other 
 thing. 
 
 In this estate the earl of Foix lived ; and 
 at midnight when he came out of his cham- 
 ber into the hall to supper, he had ever 
 before him twelve torches brenning, borne 
 by twelve varlets standing before his table 
 all supper. They gave a great light, and 
 the hall ever full of knights and squires, 
 and many other tables dressed to sup who 
 would. There was none should speak to 
 him at his table, but if he were called. 
 His meat was lightly wild fowl,' the legs 
 and wings all only, and in the day he did 
 but little eat and drink. He had great 
 pleasure in harmony of instruments : he 
 could do it right well himself: he would 
 have songs sung before him. He would 
 
 1 'Volaille.' The word ' lightly ' is a translation 
 of ' par coustume.' 
 
 gladly see conceits and fantasies ' at his 
 table, and when he had seen it, then he 
 would send it to the other tables. 
 
 Briefly all this I considered and advised ; 
 and or I came to his court, I had been in 
 many courts of kings, dukes, princes, earls 
 and great ladies, but I was never in none 
 that so well liked me, nor there was none 
 more rejoiced [in] deeds of arms than the 
 earl did : there was seen in his hall, cham- 
 ber and court, knights and squires of honour 
 going up and down and talking of arms 
 and of amours : all honour there was 
 found, all manner of tidings of every realm 
 and country there might be heard, for out 
 of every country there was resort for the 
 valiantness of this earl. There I was in- 
 formed of the most part of the deeds of 
 arms that was done m Spain, in Portugal, 
 in Aragon, in Navarre, in England and in 
 Scotland and in the frontiers and limita- 
 tions of Languedoc ; for I saw come thither 
 to the earl while I was there knights and 
 squires of alt nations, and so I was in- 
 formed by them and by the earl himself of 
 all things that I demanded. 
 
 There I enquired how Gaston the earl's 
 son died, for sir Espang de Lyon would not 
 shew me anything thereof; and so much I 
 enquired that an ancient squire and a not- 
 able man shewed the matter to me and 
 began thus: 'True it is,' quoth he, 'that the 
 earl of Foix and my lady of Foix his wife 
 agreeth not well together, nor have not done 
 of a long season, and the discord between 
 them first moved by the king of Navarre, 
 who was brother to the lady. For the 
 king of Navarre pledged himself for the 
 lord d'Albret, whom the earl of Foix had 
 in prison, for the sum of fifty thousand 
 franks ; and the earl of Foix, who knew 
 that the king of Navarre was crafty and 
 malicious, in the beginning would not trust 
 him, wherewith the countess of Foix had 
 great displeasure and indignation against 
 the earl her husband, and said to him : 
 " Sir, ye repute but small honour in the 
 king of Navarre my brother, when ye will 
 not trust him for fifty thousand franks. 
 Though ye have no more of the Armagnacs 
 nor of the d'Albrets than ye have, it ought 
 to suffice. And also, sir, ye know well 
 ye should assign out my dower, which 
 
 1 That is, ' strange kinds of dishes ' (estranges 
 entremets). 
 
HIS SON'S DEATH 
 
 331 
 
 mounteth to fifty thousand franks, which 
 ye should put into the hands of my brother 
 the king of Navarre ; wherefore, sir, ye 
 cannot be evil paid." " Dame," quoth he, 
 "ye say truth; but if I thought that the king 
 of Navarre would stop the payment for that 
 cause, the lord d'Albret should never have 
 gone out of Orthez, and so I should have 
 been paid ' to the last penny ; and sith ye 
 desire it, I will do it, not for the love of you 
 but for the love of my son." So by these 
 words and by the king of Navarre's obUga- 
 tion, who became debtor to the earl of Foix, 
 the lord d'Albret was delivered quit, and 
 became French and was married in France 
 to the sister of the duke of Bourbon, and 
 paid at his ease to the king of Navarre the 
 sum of fifty thousand franks for his ransom, 
 for the which sum the king was bound to 
 the earl of Foix, but he would not send it 
 to the earl. Then the earl of Foix said 
 to his wife: "Dame, ye must go into 
 Navarre to the king your brother and shew 
 him how I am not well content with him, 
 that he will not send me that he hath 
 received of mine. " The lady answered how 
 she was ready to go at his commandment ; 
 and so she departed and rode to Pampelone 
 to the king her brother, who received her 
 with much joy. The lady did her mes- 
 sage firom point to point. Then the king 
 answered : "Fair sister, the sum of money 
 is yours ; the earl should give it for your 
 dower : it shall never go out of the realm 
 of Navarre, sith I have it in possession." 
 ' ' Ah, sir, " quoth the lady, ' ' by this ye shall 
 set great hate between the earl my husband 
 and you, and if ye hold your purpose, I 
 dare not return again into the county of 
 Foix, for my husband will slay me, he will 
 say I have deceived him." " I cannot tell," 
 quoth the king, " what ye will do, other 
 tarry or depart ; but as for the money, I 
 will not depart from it : it pertaineth to 
 me to keep it for you, but it shall never go 
 out of Navarre." The countess could have 
 none other answer of the king her brother, 
 and so she tarried still in Navarre and durst 
 not return again. The earl of Foix, when 
 he saw the dealing of the king of Navarre, 
 he began to hate his wife and was evil con- 
 tent with her : howbeit, she was in no 
 fault, but that she returned not again when 
 
 1 ' Should never go out of Orthez, and so I 
 should be paid.' 
 
 she had done her message ; but she durst 
 not, for she knew well the earl her husband 
 was cruel where he took displeasure : thus 
 the matter standeth. 
 
 ' The earl's son called Gaston grew and 
 waxed goodly and was married to the 
 daughter of the earl of Armagnac, a fair 
 lady sister to the earl that now is, the lord 
 Bertrand of Armagnac, and by the con- 
 junction of that marriage there should have 
 been peace between Foix and Armagnac : 
 the child was a fifteen or sixteen year of 
 age and resembled right well to his father. 
 On a time he desired to go into Navarre to 
 see his mother and his uncle the king of 
 Navarre, which was in an evil hour for him 
 and for all this country. When he was 
 come into Navarre, he had there good 
 cheer and tarried with his mother a certain 
 space and then took his leave ; but for all 
 that he could do, he could not get his 
 mother out of Navarre, to have gone with 
 him into Foix, for she demanded if the earl 
 had commanded him so to do or no, and 
 he answered that when he departed, the 
 earl spake nothing thereof; therefore the 
 lady durst not go thither, but so tarried 
 still. Then the child went to Pampelone 
 to take his leave of the king his uncle : the 
 king made him great cheer and tarried him 
 there a ten days and gave to him great 
 gifts and to his men : also the last gift that 
 the king gave him was his death ; I shall 
 shew you how. 
 
 ' When this gentleman should depart, the 
 king drew him apart into his chamber and 
 gave him a little purse full of powder, 
 ■which powder was such that if any creature 
 living did eat thereof, he should incontinent 
 die without remedy. Then the king said : 
 "Gaston, fair nephew, ye shall do as I 
 shall shew to you. Ye see how the earl 
 of Foix your father wrongfully hath your 
 mother my sister in great hate, whereof I 
 am sore displeased and so ought ye to be. 
 Howbeit, to perform all the matter and 
 that your father should love again your 
 mother, to that intent ye shall take a little 
 of this powder and put it on some meat, 
 that your father may eat it, but beware 
 that no man see you. And as soon as he 
 hath eaten it, he shall intend to nothing 
 but to have again his wife and so to love 
 her ever after, which ye ought greatly to 
 desire : and of this that I shew you let no 
 
332 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 man know, l)ut keep it secret, or else ye 
 lose all the deed." The child, who thought 
 all that the king said to him had been true, 
 said : " Sir, it shall be done as ye have de- 
 vised " : and so departed from Pampelone 
 and returned to Orthez. The earl his 
 father made him good cheer and demanded 
 tidings of the king of Navarre and what 
 gifts he had given him, and the child 
 shewed him how he had given him divers, 
 and shewed him all except the purse with 
 the powder. Ofttimes this young Gaston 
 and Yvain his bastard brother lay together, 
 for they loved together like brethren and 
 were like arrayed and apparelled, for they 
 were near of a greatness and of one age. 
 And it happened on a time, as their clothes 
 lay together on their beds, Yvain saw a 
 purse at Gaston's coat and said : '* What 
 thing is this that ye bear ever about you?" 
 whereof Gaston had no joy and said : 
 "Yvain, give me my coat, ye have nothing 
 to do therewith " : and all that day after 
 Gaston was pensive. And it fortuned a 
 three days after, as God would that the 
 earl should be saved, Gaston and liis brother 
 Yvain fell out together playing at tennis, 
 and Gaston gave him a blow ; and the child 
 went into his father's chamber and wept, 
 and the earl as then had heard mass. And 
 when the earl saw him weep, he said : 
 "Son Yvain, what ailest thou?" "Sir," 
 quoth he, "Gaston hath beaten me, but he 
 were more worthy to be beaten than I." 
 "Why so?" quoth the earl, and inconti- 
 nent suspected something. ' ' By my faith, 
 sir," quoth he, " sith he returned out of 
 Navarre, he beareth privily at his breast a 
 purse full of powder, I wot not what it is 
 nor what he will do therewith, but he hath 
 said to me once or twice that my lady his 
 mother should shortly be again in your 
 grace and better beloved than ever she 
 was." "Peace," quoth the earl, "and 
 speak no more, and shew this to no man 
 living." "Sir," quoth he, "no more I 
 shall." 
 
 ' Then the earl entered into imagination, 
 and so came to the hour of his dinner and 
 washed and sat down at his table in the 
 hall. Gaston his son was used to set down 
 all his service and to give the says ;^ and 
 when he had set down the first course, the 
 
 1 ' Faisoit essay de toutes ses viandes,' 'made 
 assay of all his meats.' 
 
 earl cast his eyen on him and saw the strings 
 of the purse hanging at his bosom. Then his 
 blood changed, and said : "Gaston, come 
 hither, I will speak with thee in thine ear." 
 The child came to him and the ear! took 
 him by the bosom and found out the purse 
 and with his knife cut it from his bosom. 
 The child was abashed and stood still and 
 spake no word and looked as pale as ashes 
 for fear and began to tremble. The earl 
 of Foix opened the purse and took of the 
 powder and laid it on a trencher of bread 
 and called to him a dog and gave it him 
 to eat ; and as soon as the dog had eaten 
 the first morsel, he turned his eyen in his 
 head and died incontinent. And when the 
 earl saw that, he was sore displeased, and 
 also he had good cause, and so rose from 
 the table and took his knife and would have 
 stricken his son : then the knights and 
 squires ran between them and said : " Sir, 
 for God's sake have mercy and be not so 
 hasty : be well informed first of the matter, 
 or ye do any evil to your child." And the 
 first word that the earl said was: "Ah, 
 Gaston, traitor, for to increase thine heritage 
 that should come to thee I have had war 
 and hatred of the French king, of the king 
 of England, of the king of Spain, of the 
 king of Navarre and of the king of Aragon, 
 and as yet I have borne all their malices, 
 and now thou wouldest murder me. It 
 moveth of an evil nature, but first thou shalt 
 die with this stroke." And so slept forth 
 with his knife and would have slain him, 
 but then all the knights and squires kneeled 
 down before him weeping and said : " Ah, 
 sir, have mercy for God's sake, slay not 
 Gaston your son ; remember ye have no 
 more children. Sir, cause him to be kept 
 and take good information of the matter : 
 peradventure he knew not what he bare 
 and peradventure is nothing guilty of the 
 deed." "Well,"quoththeearl, "incontinent 
 put him in prison, and let him be so kept 
 that I may have a reckoning of him." 
 
 ' Then the child was put into the tower, 
 and the earl took a great many of them that 
 served his son, and some of them departed; 
 and as yet the bishop of Lescar is at Pau 
 out of the country,^ for he was had in 
 suspect and so were divers other. The 
 earl caused to be put to death a fifteen right 
 
 1 ' And the bishop of Lescar near Pau is still out 
 of the country." 
 
HIS SON'S DEATH 
 
 333 
 
 horribly, and the cause that the earl laid to 
 them was, he said it could be none other- 
 wise but that they knew of the child's 
 secrets ; wherefore they ought to have 
 shewed it to him and to have said : " Sir, 
 Gaston^ your son beareth a purse at his 
 bosom." Because they did not thus, they 
 died horribly, whereof it was great pity, for 
 sonie of them were as fresh and as jolly 
 squires as were any in all the country, for 
 ever the earl was served with good men. 
 
 ' This thing touched the earl near to the 
 heart, and that he well shewed. For on a 
 day he assembled at Orthez all the nobles 
 and prelates of Foix and of Beam and all 
 the notable persons of his country ; and 
 when they were all assembled, he shewed 
 them wherefore he sent for them, as how he 
 had found his son in this default, for the 
 which he said his intent was to put him to 
 death, as he had well deserved. Then all 
 the people answered to that case with one 
 voice and said : ' ' Sir, saving your grace, 
 we will not that Gaston should die : he is 
 your heir and ye have no more." And 
 when the earl heard the people how they 
 desired for his son, he somewhat refrained 
 his ire. Then he thought to chastise him 
 in prison a month or two and then to send 
 him on some voyage for two or three year, 
 till he might somewhat forget his evil will 
 and that the child might be of greater age 
 and of more knowledge. Then he gave 
 leave to all the people to depart ; but they 
 of Foix would not depart from Orthez till 
 the earl should assure them that Gaston 
 should not die, they loved the child so well. 
 Then the earl promised them, but he said 
 he would keep him in prison a certain space 
 to chastise him : and so upon this promise 
 every man departed, and Gaston abode 
 still in prison. These tidings spread abroad 
 into divers places, and at that time pope 
 Gregory the eleventh was at Avignon. 
 Then he sent the cardinal of Amiens in 
 legation into Beam, to have come to the 
 earl of Foix for that business, and by that 
 time he came to Beziers, he heard such 
 tidings that he needed not to go any further 
 for that matter, for there he heard how 
 Gaston son to the earl of Foix was dead. 
 Sith I have shewed you so much, now shall 
 I shew you how he died. 
 
 ' The earl of Foix caused his son to be kept 
 in a dark chamber in the tower of Orthez 
 
 a ten days. Little did he eat or drink, yet 
 he had enough brought him every day ; but 
 when he saw it, he would go therefrom and 
 set httle thereby, and some said that all the 
 meat that had been brought him stood 
 whole and entire the day of his death, 
 wherefore it was great marvel that he lived 
 so long. For divers reasons the earl caused 
 him to be kept in the chamber alone with- 
 out any company, other to counsel or com- 
 fort him, and all that season the child lay 
 in his clothes, as he came in, and he argued 
 in himself and was full of melancholy and 
 cursed the time that ever he was born and 
 engendered, to come to such an end. The 
 same day that he died, they that served him 
 of meat and drink, when they came to him 
 they said : " Gaston, here is meat for you." 
 He made no care thereof, and said : " Set it 
 down there." He that served him regarded 
 and saw in the prison all the meat stand 
 whole, as it had been brought him before, 
 and so departed and closed the chamber 
 door and went to the earl and said : " Sir, 
 for God's sake have mercy on your son 
 Gaston, for he is near famished in prison. 
 There he Heth : I think he never did eat 
 anything sith he came into prison, for I 
 have seen there this day all that ever I 
 brought him before lying together in a 
 corner. Of those words the earl was sore 
 displeased, and without any word speaking 
 went out of his ch^:nber and came to the 
 prison where his son was ; and in an evil 
 hour he had the same time a little knife in 
 his hand to pare withal his nails. He 
 opened the prison door and came to his 
 son and had the little knife in his hand not 
 an inch out of his hand, and in great dis- 
 pleasure he thrust his hand to his son's 
 throat, and the point of the knife a little 
 entered into his throat into a certain vein; 
 and said : " Ah, traitor, why dost thou not 
 eat thy meat ? " and therewith the earl de- 
 parted without any more doing or saying 
 and went into his own chamber. The 
 child was abashed and afraid of the coming 
 of his father and also was feeble of fasting, 
 and the point of the knife a little entered 
 into a vein of his throat, and so fell down 
 suddenly and died. The earl was scant in 
 his chamber, but the keeper of the child 
 came to him and said : " Sir, Gaston your 
 son is dead." "Dead!" quoth the earl, 
 ' ' Yea truly, sir," quoth he. The earl would 
 
334 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 not believe it, but sent thither a squire that 
 was by him, and he went and came again 
 and said : " Sir, surely he is dead." Then 
 the earl was sore displeased and made great 
 complaint for his son and said : " Ah, 
 Gaston, what a pooradventure is this for thee 
 and for me. In an evil hour thou wentest 
 to Navarre to see thy mother. I shall 
 never have the joy that I had before." 
 Then the earl caused his barber to shave 
 him, and clothed himself in black, and all 
 his house, and with much sore weeping the 
 child was borne to the Friars in Orthez and 
 there buried. Thus as I have shewed you the 
 earl of Foix slew Gaston his son, but the 
 king of Navarre gave the occasion of his 
 death.' 
 
 CHAPTER XXVn 
 
 How sir Peter of Beam had a strange disease, 
 and of the countess of Biscay his wife. 
 
 When I had heard this tale of the death of 
 Gaston son to the earl of Foi,x, I had great 
 pity thereof for the love of the earl his 
 father, wliom I found a lord of high recom- 
 mendation, noble, liberal and courteous, 
 and also for love of the country, that should 
 be in great strife for lack of an heir. Then 
 I thanked the squire and departed from 
 him ; but after I saw him divers times in 
 the earl's house and talked oftentimes with 
 him. And on a time I demanded of him 
 of Sir Peter of Beam, bastard brother to 
 the earl of Foix, because he seemed to me 
 a knight of great valour, whether he were 
 rich, and married or no. The squire an- 
 swered and said: 'Truly he is married, 
 but his wife and children be not in his 
 company. ' ' And why, sir ? ' quoth I. 'I 
 shall shew you,' quoth the squire. 
 
 ' This sir Peter of Beam hath an usage, 
 that in the night time while he sleepeth, he 
 will rise and arm himself and draw out his 
 sword and fight all about the house and 
 cannot tell with whom, and then goeth to 
 bed again ; and when he is waking, his 
 servants do shew him how he did, and he 
 would say he knew nothing thereof and 
 how they lied. Sometime his servants 
 would leave none armour nor sword in his 
 chamber, and when he would thus rise and 
 find none armour, he would make such 
 
 a noise and rumour as though all the devils 
 of hell had been in his chamber. ' Then I 
 demanded if he had great lands by his wife. 
 ' Yes truly, sir,' quoth he, ' but the lady by 
 whom Cometh the land joyeth of the 
 profits thereof ; this sir Peter of Beam hath 
 but the fourth part. ' ' Sir, ' quoth I, ' where 
 is his wife?' 'Sir,' quoth he, 'she is in 
 Castile with the king her cousin. Her 
 father was earl of Biscay and was cousin- 
 german to king don Peter, who slew him, 
 and also he would have had the lady to 
 have put her in prison, and he took the 
 possession of all the land, and as long as he 
 lived the lady had nothing there. And it 
 was said to this lady, who was countess of 
 Biscay after the decease of her father : 
 " Madam, save yourself, for king don Peter, 
 if he may get you, will cause you to die or 
 else put you in prison, he is so sore displeased 
 with you, because he saith ye should report 
 and bear witness that he caused the queen 
 his wife to die in her bed, who was sister to 
 the duke of Bourbon and sister to the 
 French queen, and your words, he saith, 
 are believed rather than another, because ye 
 were privy of her chamber." And for this 
 cause the lady Florence countess of Biscay 
 departed out of her country with a small 
 company, as the common usage is to fly 
 from death as near as men can ; so she 
 went into the country of Basques and 
 passed through it, and so came hither to 
 Orthez to the earl and shewed him all her 
 adventure. The earl, who had ever pity of 
 ladies and damosels, retained her, and so 
 she abode with the lady of Corasse, a great 
 lady in his country. As then this sir Peter 
 of Beam his brother was but a young knight 
 and had not then this usage to rise a nights, 
 as he doth now. The earl loved him well, 
 and married him to this lady and recovered 
 her lands, and so this sir Peter had by this 
 lady a son and a daughter, but they be with 
 their mother in Castile, who be as yet but 
 young, therefore the lady would not leave 
 them with their father.' 'Ah, Saint Mary,' 
 quoth I, 'how did sir Peter of Beam take 
 this fantasy first, that he dare not sleep 
 alone in his chamber, and that, when he is 
 asleep, riseth thus and maketh all that 
 business ? They are things to be marvelled 
 at' ' By my faith,' quoth the squire, 'he 
 hath been often demanded thereof, but he 
 saith he cannot tell whereof it cometh. 
 
PETER OF BEAR AT 
 
 335 
 
 The first time that ever he did so was the 
 night after that he had been on a day a 
 hunting in the woods of Biscay, and chased 
 a marvellous great bear, and the bear had 
 slain four of his hounds and hurt divers, 
 so that none durst come near him. Then 
 this sir Peter took a sword of Bordeaux and 
 carrte in great ire for because of his hounds, 
 and assailed the bear and fought long with 
 him, and was in great peril and took great 
 pain or he could overcome him. Finally 
 he slew the bear and then returned to his 
 lodging, to the castle of Lenguidendon in 
 Biscay, and made the bear to be brought 
 with him. . Every man had marvel of the 
 greatness of the beast and of the hardness 
 of the knight, how he durst assail the bear. 
 And when the countess of Biscay his wife 
 saw the bear, she fell in a swoon and had 
 great dolour, and so she was borne into her 
 chamber, and so all that day, the night 
 after and the next day she was sore discom- 
 forted and would not shew what she ailed. 
 On the third day she said to her husband : 
 " Sir, I shall not be whole till I have been 
 a pilgrimage at Saint James. Sir, I pray 
 you give me leave to go thither and to 
 have with me my son and Adrienne my 
 daughter." Her husband agreed thereto: 
 she took all her gold, jewels and treasure 
 with her, for she thought never to return 
 again, whereof her husband took no heed. 
 So the lady did her pilgrimage and made 
 an errand to go and see the king of Castile, 
 her cousin, and the queen. They made her 
 good cheer, and there she is yet and will not 
 return again nor send her children. And 
 so thus the next night that this sir Peter 
 had thus chased the bear and slain him, 
 while he slept in his bed, this fantasy took 
 him ; and it was said that the countess his 
 vrife knew well, as soon as she saw the 
 bear, that it was the same that her father 
 did once chase, and in his chasing he heard 
 a voice, and saw nothing, that said to him : 
 "Thou chasest me, and I would thee no 
 hurt : therefore thou shalt die an evil death." 
 Of this the lady had remembrance, when 
 she saw the bear, by that she had heard her 
 father say before, and she remembered 
 well how king don Peter strake off her 
 father's head without any cause, and in like 
 wise she feared her husband ; ' and yet she 
 
 ^ ' And therefore she swooned in presence of her 
 husband.' 
 
 saith and maintaineth that he shall die of 
 an evil death, and that he doth nothing as 
 yet to that he shall do hereafter. Now, 
 sir, I have shewed you of sir Peter of 
 Beam, as ye have demanded of me ; and 
 this is a true tale, for thus it is and 
 thus it befel. How think you,' quoth he, 
 ' thereby ? ' 
 
 And I, who mused on the great marvel, 
 said : ' Sir, I believe it well, that it is as ye 
 have said. Sir, we find in old writing that 
 anciently such as were called gods and 
 goddesses ' at their pleasure would change 
 and transform men into beasts and into 
 fowls, and in like wise women. And it 
 might be so, that this bear was before some 
 knight chasing in the forest of Biscay, and 
 peradventure displeased in that time some 
 god or goddess, whereby he was trans- 
 formed unto a bear, to do there his penance, 
 as anciently Acteon was changed unto an 
 hart.' 'Acteon!' quoth the squire, 'I 
 pray you shew me that story ; I would fain 
 hear it.' ' Sir,' quoth I, ' according to the 
 ancient writings we find how Acteon was a 
 jolly and an expert knight, and loved the 
 sport of hunting above all games. And on 
 a day he chased in the woods, and an hart 
 arose before him marvellous great and fair. 
 He hunted him all the day and lost all his 
 company, servants and hounds, and he was 
 right desirous to follow his prey and fol- 
 lowed the fewe of the hart till he came into 
 a little meadow, closed round about with 
 woods and high trees ; and in the meadow 
 there was a fair fountain, in the which 
 Diana goddess of chastity was baining her- 
 self, and her damosels about her. The 
 knight came suddenly on them, or he was 
 ware, and he was so far forward that he 
 could not go back ; and the damosels were 
 abashed to see a stranger and ran to their 
 lady and shewed her,^ who was ashamed, 
 because she was naked. And when she 
 saw the knight, she said: "Acteon, they 
 that sent thee hither loved thee but little : 
 I will not that when thou art gone hence 
 in other places, that thou shouldest report 
 that thou hast seen me naked and my 
 damosels ; and for the outrage that thou 
 
 ^ 'Les dieux et les dresses': the qualification 
 * such as were called ' is due to the translator. 
 
 2 ' The damosels were ashamed and confused 
 (estranges) at his coming and forthwith covered 
 (couvrirent erramment) their lady.' 
 
336 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 hast done thou roust have penance. There- 
 fore I will that thou be transformed in the 
 likeness of the same hart that thou hast 
 chased all this day." And incontinent 
 Acteon was turned unto a hart, who 
 naturally loveth the water. ^ In like wise 
 it might be of the bear of Biscay, and how 
 that the lady knew peradventure more than 
 she would speak of at that time. There- 
 fore she ought the better to be excused.' 
 The squire answered and said.: ' Sir, it 
 may well be.' Then we left our talking 
 for that time. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 Of the great solemnity that the earl of Foix 
 made at the feast of Saint Nicholas, and 
 the tale that the bascot of Mauleon shewed 
 to sir John Froissart. 
 
 Among other solemnities that the earl of 
 Foix kept on the high feasts of the year, he 
 kept the feast of Saint Nicholas in great 
 solemnity, he and all his land, as great as 
 at the feast of Easter. And this was 
 shewed me by a squire of his house the 
 third day that I came hither, and I saw it 
 myself right well apparent, for I was there 
 on the same day. First all the clergy of 
 the town of Orthez and all the people, men, 
 women and children, with procession came 
 to the castle to fetch the earl, who all afoot 
 departed from his castle and went with the 
 clergy a procession to the church of Saint 
 Nicholas, and there the clergy sang a 
 psalm of the psalter : Benedictus dominus 
 dais metis, qiiidocet manus nieas adproelium 
 et digitos meos ad helium, etc. And when 
 this psalm was sung, then they began to 
 sing as they did on Christmas day or Easter 
 day in the pope's chapel or the French 
 king's, for he had with him many singers : 
 the bishop of Pamiers sang the mass, and 
 there I heard as good playing at organs 
 as ever I heard in any place. To speak 
 briefly and according to reason, the earl of 
 Foix then was right perfect in all things, and 
 as sage and as perceiving as any high prince 
 in his days : there was none could compare 
 with him in wit, honour nor in largess. At 
 the feasts of Christmas, which he kept ever 
 
 1 'Ayme !es eaues' ; but this is apparently a 
 corruption of ' ayme les chiens,' the idea being that 
 the hart enjoys the sport of being hunted. 
 
 right solemn, came to his house many 
 knights and squires of Gascoyne, and to 
 every man he made good cheer. There I 
 saw the bourg of Spain, who laid the wood 
 and the ass on the fire together, of whom 
 sir Espang de Lyon shev/ed of his force, 
 and I was glad to see him, and the earl of 
 Foix made him good semblant. There I 
 saw also knights of Aragon and of England 
 of the duke of Lancaster's house, who as 
 then lay at Bordeaux. The earl made 
 them good cheer and gave them great gifts. 
 I acquainted myself with those knights, and 
 by them I was informed of many things 
 that fell in Castile, in Navarre and in 
 Portugal, of the which I shall speak of 
 when time requireth hereafter. 
 
 And on a day I saw a squire of Gascoyne 
 called the bascot of Mauleon, a. man of a 
 fifty year of age, an expert man of arms 
 and a hardy by seeming. He alighted at 
 my lodging in Orthez at the sign of the 
 Moon, at Ernaulton du Puy's. He brought 
 with him his somers and carriages, as 
 though he had been a great baron, and was 
 served, both he and his servants, in silver 
 vessel. And when I heard his name and 
 saw the earl of Foix and every man do him 
 so much honour, then I demanded of sir 
 Espang de Lyon and said : ' Sir, is not this 
 the squire that departed from the castle of 
 Trigalet when the duke of Anjou lay at siege 
 before Malvoisin?' *Yes truly,' quoth he, 'it 
 is the same, and he is a good man of arms 
 and a good captain.' And so then I fell in 
 acquaintance with him, for he was lodged 
 thereas I was, and a cousin of his called 
 Ernaulton, captain of Carlat in Auvergne, 
 with whom I was well acquainted, helped 
 me to be acquainted with him, and in like 
 wise so did the bourg of Campagne. And 
 at a time, as we were taking and devising of 
 arms, sitting by the fire abiding for mid- 
 night, that the earl should go to supper, 
 then this squire's cousin began to reckon 
 up his life ^ and of the deeds of arms that 
 he had been at, saying how he had endured 
 as much loss as profit. Then he demanded 
 of me and said : ' Sir John, have ye in 
 your history anything of this matters that 
 I speak of?' And I answered and said : 
 ' I could not tell till I hear them : shew 
 forth your matter, and I vrill gladly hear you, 
 
 1 ' His cousin put him in the way of speaking 
 and telling of his life.' 
 
THE B ASCOT OF MAULEON 
 
 337 
 
 for peradventure I have heard somewhat but 
 not all.' ' That is true,' quoth the squire. 
 
 Then he began to say thus : ' The first 
 time that I bare armour was under the 
 captal of Buch at the battle of Poitiers, 
 and as it was my hap, I had that day three 
 prisoners, a knight and two squires, of 
 whom I had one with another four hundred 
 thousand franks. The next year after, I was 
 in Pruce with the earl of Foix and the captal 
 his cousin, under whom I was ; and at 
 our return at Meaux in Brie we found the 
 duchess of Normandy that was then, and 
 the duchess of Orleans and a great number 
 of ladies and damosels, who were closed in 
 and besieged by them of the Jaquerie ; and 
 if God had not helped them they had been 
 enforced and defoiled, for they were of 
 great puissance and in number more than 
 ten thousand, and the ladies were alone. 
 And so we in the aid of those ladies did 
 set on them, and there were slain of the 
 Jaquerie more than six thousand, and they 
 rebelled never sith. 
 
 ' At that time it was truce between France 
 and England, but the king of Navarre 
 made war in his own quarrel against the 
 French king and regent. The earl of Foix 
 returned into his own country ; but my 
 master the captal, and I and other abode 
 still with the king of Navarre for his 
 wages ; and then we and other that aided 
 us made great war in France and specially 
 in Picardy, and took many towns and 
 castles in the bishoprics of Beauvais and 
 Amiens, and as then we were lords of 
 the fields and rivers and conquered great 
 finance. And when the truce failed be- 
 tween England and France, then the king 
 of Navarre ceased his war and took a peace 
 between the regent and him. Then the 
 king of England with a great puissance 
 passed the sea and came and laid siege to 
 the town of Rheims. Then the king of 
 England sent for my master, who was at 
 Clermont in Beauvoisin, and there made 
 war for the king against all the country : 
 then we came to the king of England and 
 to his children. And then,' quoth the 
 squire to me, ' Sir John, I think ye know 
 already all that matter, and how the king 
 of England wedded his wife,' and how he 
 came before Chartres, and how the peace 
 
 ■^ ' Espousa sa femme ' ; but this is nonsense : the 
 true reading seems to be 'passa.' 
 Z 
 
 was made there between these two kings.' 
 ' That is true, sir,' quoth I, ' in writing I 
 have it and the continue of all the treaties. ' 
 Then the bascot of Mauleon spake again 
 and said : ' When this peace was thus made 
 between these two kings, it was ordained 
 that all men of war and companions should 
 avoid and leave their fortresses and castles 
 that they held. Then all manner of men 
 of war and poor companions drew together, 
 and the captains took counsel what they 
 should do : and then they said : "Though 
 these two kings have taken peace together, 
 yet we must five." Then they went into 
 Burgoyne, and there were captains of all 
 nations, English, Gascons, Spaniards, 
 Navarrois, Almains, Scots and of all 
 manner of nations, and there I was as a 
 captain ; and there we found in Burgoyne 
 and about the river of Loire of our company 
 a twelve thousand of one and other, and in 
 the same company there were a three or 
 four thousand of good and chosen men of 
 war, and as subtle in all deeds of arms as 
 might be and apt to advise a battle and to 
 take their advantage, and as hardy to scale 
 and assail town or castle ; and that was 
 well seen at the battle of Brignais, whereas 
 we overthrew the constable of France and 
 the earl of Forez and two thousand spears, 
 knights and squires. This battle did great 
 profit to the companions, for before they 
 were but poor, and then they were all rich 
 by reason of good prisoners, towns and 
 castles, that they won in the bishopric of 
 Lyon and on the river of Rhone. And 
 when they had the Pont-Saint-Esprit, they 
 departed their war and made war to the 
 pope and to the cardinals, who could not 
 be quit of them, nor had not been, till they 
 found another remedy. The pope sent 
 into Lombardy for the marquis of Mont- 
 ferrat, a right valiant knight, who had war 
 with the lord of Milan. When he was 
 come to Avignon, the pope and the cardinals 
 spake to him in such wise, that he entreated 
 with the captains, English, Gascons and 
 Almains, for threescore thousand franks, 
 that the pope and cardinals should pay to 
 certain of these captains and to their com- 
 panies, as sir John Hacoude, a valiant 
 English knight, sir Robert Briquet, Cres- 
 wey, Naudan de Bageran, the bourg Camus, 
 and divers other, and so then went into 
 Lombardy and gave up the Pont- Saint- 
 
338 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FKOISSART 
 
 Esprit, and of all their routs they took but 
 the sixth part : ^ but we tarried behind, sir 
 Seguin of Badefol, sir John Jouel, sir James 
 Planchin, sir John Aymery, the bourg of 
 Perigord, Espiote, Louis Robaut, Limousin, 
 Jacques Tiquerel, I, and divers other. 
 And we kept still and lay at Saint-Clement, 
 at Arbresle, at Tarare, at Brignais, at the 
 Pont - Saint - Denis, at the Hospital of 
 Rochefort, for we had more than forty ^ 
 fortresses and houses in the countries of 
 Forez, Velay, base Burgoyne' and on the 
 river of Loire, and we ransomed all the 
 country ; they could not be quit of us 
 nother for paying well nor otherwise. 
 And in a night we took the fortress of 
 Charite," and there we abode a year and a 
 half, and all was ours from Charity to Puy 
 in Auvergne. Sir Seguin of Badefol had 
 left his garrison of Anse and held Brioude 
 in Auvergne, whereby he had great profit, 
 what there and in the country, to the value 
 of a hundred thousand franks, and on the 
 river of Loire to Orleans and the river of 
 Allier was all ours. And the archpriest, 
 who was captain of Nevers and was good 
 French, could not remedy the country, but 
 in that he knew many of the companions, 
 and so by his desire sometime the less hurt 
 was done. And the archpriest did the 
 same time much good in Nivernois, for he 
 caused the city of Nevers to be closed, else 
 it had been overrun and robbed divers times; 
 for we had in those marches towns and 
 castles more than twenty-six. There was 
 neither knight nor squire nor rich man, 
 without he were agreed with us, that durst 
 look out of his house, and this war we made 
 in the title of the king of Navarre.' 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 SUMMARY. — The hascot de MauUoii 
 told how after the battle of Cocherel the 
 companions under sir John Aymery were 
 defeated at Sancerre, a7id how he was at the 
 battle of Auray and then in Spaiji tinder 
 
 1 'Bien les six pars,' 'fully six parts out of 
 seven,' a manner of expression which the trans- 
 lator always misunderstands. 
 
 2 ' Sixty.' 
 
 3 ' Easse-Bourgoingne.' 
 ^ La Charit^-siir.Loire. 
 
 sir Hugh Calverley, first on one side ajid 
 then on the other. Aftenuards he held the 
 castle of Trigalet and lost it to the duke of 
 Afijou. The?z he resolved to get^ if he could^ 
 the town and castle of Terry in Albigeois. 
 The tale continues thus : — 
 
 ' Without the town there is a fair foun- 
 tain, and of usage every morning the women 
 of the town would come thither with pots 
 and other vessels on their heads, to fetch of 
 the clear water there. Then I took fifty 
 companions of the garrison of Culier, and 
 we rode all a day through woods and 
 bushes, and the next night about midnight 
 I set a bushment near to Terry, and I and 
 a six other all only did on us women's 
 array and with pots in our hands, and so 
 we came to a meadow right near to the 
 town and hid ourselves behind great cocks 
 of hay that were there standing, for it was 
 about the feast of Saint John, when they 
 make hay. And when the hour came that 
 the gate was opened to let the women go 
 out for water, we seven took our pots and 
 filled them at the fountain and went toward 
 the town, our faces wrapped in kerchers so 
 that we could not be known. The women 
 that we met going for water said to us : 
 " Ah, Saint Mary, gossips, ye were up be- 
 times." We answered in their language 
 with a faint -^ voice, "That is true"; and 
 so passed by them and came to the gate, 
 and we found nobody there but a sowter 
 dressing forth of his baggage. Then one 
 of us blew a horn to draw thither our com- 
 pany out of the bushment. The sowter 
 took no heed, but when he heard the horn 
 blow, he demanded of them : " What is 
 this ? Who was that blew the horn ? " One 
 answered and said : " It was a priest went 
 into the fields." " Ah, that is true," quoth 
 the sowter, "it was sir Francis our priest : 
 gladly he goeth a mornings to seek for an 
 hare." Then our company came and we 
 entered into the town, where we found no 
 man to draw his sword to make any de- 
 fence. Thus I took the town and castle of 
 Terry, whereby I have had great profit 
 yearly, more than the castle of Trigalet 
 with the appurtenance is worth. But as 
 now I wot not what to do, for I am in a 
 treaty with the earl of Armagnac and with 
 the Dolphin of Auvergne, who hath ex- 
 
 1 ' Fainte,' i.e. feigned. 
 
HOUSEHOLD OF GASTON DE FOIX 
 
 339 
 
 press authority by the French king to buy 
 all towns and fortresses of the companions, 
 such as they hold in their hands, whereso- 
 ever they be, other in Auvergne, Rouergue, 
 Limousin, Quercy, Perigord, Albigeois, 
 Agen, and of all such as hath or doth 
 make any war in the king of Eng- 
 land's title. And many are departed and 
 have rendered their fortresses ; I cannot 
 tell if I will render mine or not.' With 
 that word said the bourg of Campagne : 
 ' Cousin, it is true, for of Carlat, which I 
 hold in Auvergne, I am come hither to 
 hear some tidings, for sir Louis of Sancerre, 
 marshal of France, will be here shortly : 
 he is as now at Tarbes, as I have heard of 
 such as come thence.' With these words 
 they called for wine and drank. Then the 
 bascot said to me : ' Sir John, are ye well 
 informed of my life ? Yet I have had other 
 adventures, which I have not shewed, nor 
 will not speak of all.' 'Sir, 'quoth I, 'I 
 have well heard you. ' ■■ 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 How a squire called Limousin turned French, 
 and how he caused Louis Robaut his 
 companion in arms, to be taken. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 Of the state or ordinance of the earl of Foix : 
 and how the town of Santarem rebelled 
 for the great travail, damage and outrage 
 that was done thereto. 
 
 Of the estate and order of the earl of Foix 
 cannot be too much spoken nor praised ; for 
 the season that I was at Orthez I found 
 him such and much more than I can speak 
 of : but while I was there, I saw and heard 
 many things that turned me to great plea- 
 sure. I saw on a Christmas day sitting at 
 his board four bishops of his country, two 
 Clementines and two Urbanists, the bishop 
 of Pamiers and the bishop of Lescar, Cle- 
 mentines, they sat highest, then the bishop 
 of Aire and the bishop of Roy, on the 
 frontiers of Bourdelois and Bayonne, Ur- 
 banists : then sat the earl of Foix, and 
 then the viscount of Roquebertin of Gas- 
 coyne and the viscount of Bruniquel, the 
 
 1 'By my faith, sir, yes.' The translator has 
 taken ' oui ' for ' heard.' 
 
 viscount of Gousserant and a knight of 
 England of the duke of Lancaster's, who 
 as then lay at Lisbon ; the duke had sent 
 him thither, the knight was called sir Wil- 
 liam Willoughby. And at another table 
 sat five abbots and two knights of Aragon 
 called fir Raymond de Montflorentin and 
 sir Martin de Roanes. And at another 
 table sat knights and squires of Gascoyne 
 and of Bigorre, first the lord d'Anchin, then 
 sir Gaillart de la Motte, sir Raymond of 
 Castelnau, the lord of Caumont, Gascon, 
 the lord of Caupene, the lord de la Lane, 
 the lord of Montferrand, sir William de 
 Benac, sir Peter of Curton, the lord of 
 Valencin, and sir Auger named the Bascle ;^ 
 and at other tables knights of Beam a 
 great number ; and the chief stewards of the 
 hall were sir Espang of Lyon, sir Chiquart 
 de Bois-Verdun, sir Monaut de Navailles 
 and sir Peter of Baulx of Beam, and the 
 earl's two bastard brethren served at the 
 table, sir Ernaulton Guillaume and sir 
 Peter of Beam, and the earl's two sons sir. 
 Yvain of I'Echellewas sewer and sir Gracien 
 bare his cup. And there were many min- 
 strels as well of his own as of strangers, and 
 each of them did their devoir in their 
 faculties. The same day the earl of Foix 
 gave to heralds and minstrels the sum of 
 five hundred franks, and gave to the duke 
 of Touraine's minstrels gowns of cloth of 
 gold furred with ermines, valued at two 
 hundred franks. This dinner endured four 
 hours. Thus I am glad to speak of the 
 earl of Foix, for I was there in his house a 
 twelve weeks, and well entreated in all 
 things ; and while I was there, I might 
 learn and hear tidings of all countries, and 
 also the gentle knight sir Espang of Lyon, 
 in whose company I entered into the country, 
 he caused me to be acquainted with knights 
 and squires such as could declare to me 
 anything that I could demand ; for I was in- 
 formed of the business of Portugal and of 
 Castile and what manner of war they had 
 made, and of the battles and rencounters 
 between those two kings and their assisters, 
 of which businesses I shall make just report. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The author relates again 
 how ambassadors went from Portugal to 
 England, and how siege was laid to Lisbon 
 
 ^ Or by a better text, 'sir Auger his brother, and 
 the Moine de Baseie.' 
 
34° 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 by king John of Castile, helped by many of 
 the knights of Beam, who went into Spain 
 co7itrary to the counsel of the earl of Foix, 
 The town of Santaretn rebelled a<^ainst the 
 king of Castile because of the Bretons who 
 were lodged there. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 How the king" of Castile left the siege of 
 Lisbon, and how they of Santarem excused 
 themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 Of the marvellous battle that was at Juberoth ^ 
 between the king of Castile and king 
 John of Portugal. 
 
 While the king of Castile was at Santarem, 
 there came to him the Gascons of Beam 
 with a fair company. Sir Raynold Limousin 
 rode to receive them and welcomed them 
 right sweetly, as he that could right well 
 do it, and brought them to the king, who 
 had great joy of their coming and com- 
 manded sir Raynold Limousin to see them 
 well lodged at their ease : and he did so 
 that they were contented. Thus these 
 businesses rested, and the king lay still at 
 Santarem, and his people thereabout. The 
 king of Castile had as then abroad lodged 
 in the fields and thereabout a four thousand 
 men of arms and thirty thousand of other : 
 jand on a day he called the barons of France 
 to council, to know their minds how he 
 should maintain forth his war ; for he had 
 layen at great cost before Lisbon and had 
 done nothing, and surely if the Gascons 
 had not come and encouraged the king, he 
 had departed from Santarem and gone 
 other to Burgos or into Galice, for his 
 people were sore annoyed to lie so long in 
 the fields. When the knights of France 
 and of Beam were come before the king, 
 he said : ' Fair sirs, ye be all good men of 
 war : wherefore I would have your counsel 
 how I may maintain my war against the 
 Lisbonois and Portugalois, that have kept 
 me here in the field a year and yet I have 
 done nothing to them. I had thought to 
 have got them out of Lisbon, to have fought 
 with them, but they would in no wise issue 
 out ; wherefore my people give me counsel 
 1 Aljubarrota^ 
 
 to give every man leave to depart to their 
 own houses : wherefore I pray you give me 
 your advice. ' 
 
 The knights of France and of Beam 
 who were but newly come and desired arms 
 and as then had nothing done, thinking to 
 deserve their wages that they had received, 
 answered and said : ' Sir, ye be a puissant 
 man of lands, and little costeth you the 
 pain and travail of your people, and 
 specially sith they be in their own country : 
 we would not say so much if they were in 
 a strange country clean without provision, 
 but as now we say they ought not to give 
 you any such counsel, for they be here in 
 as great ease as we see, as though they 
 were at home. Sir, we say to you not in 
 manner of a determinate counsel, for ye 
 are wise enough, but we think by your 
 high prudence the best were to choose as 
 yet to keep the field. Ye may well keep 
 it till the feast of Saint Michael and perad- 
 venture by that time your enemies will 
 assemble together and draw out into the 
 field, when ye take least heed thereto, and 
 so then without fail they shall be fought 
 withal. Sir, we have great desire to win 
 somewhat, for this journey hath cost us 
 much and great pain and travail both to 
 ourselves and to our horses, or we came 
 into this country. Therefore, sir, it shall 
 not be the opinion of our company thus to 
 depart again.' 'By my faith,' quoth the 
 king. ' ye speak well and truly. In this 
 war and other I shall use from henceforth 
 after your counsel ; for the king my father 
 and I also have found always in your coun- 
 tries great truth and faithfulness, and God 
 have mercy of sir Bertram of Guesclin's 
 soul, for he was a true knight, by whom in 
 his time we had many recoverances and 
 good journeys.' 
 
 The words and counsels that the king 
 had of them of France and of Beam were 
 anon known among the lords and knights 
 of Spain ; wherewith they were sore dis- 
 pleased for two causes : one because it 
 seemed to them that their king had more 
 trust and confidence in strangers than in 
 them, who were his liege men and had 
 crowned him king ; the second was in that 
 they of France counselled the king to keep 
 still his war, and they feeling themselves 
 so weary of the war : and so spake among 
 themselves in divers manners not openly 
 
WAJ? m PORTUGAL, 1385 
 
 341 
 
 but privily. They would say- the king 
 could make no war but by the Frenchmen, 
 and in likewise no more could his father : 
 so they had great envy at the Frenchmen, 
 which well appeared ; for when the French 
 varlets went out a-foraging, if the Spanish 
 forengers were stronger, then they would 
 take their forage from them and beat them 
 and maim them, so that complaints came 
 thereof to the king, and he blamed there- 
 for his marshal sir Raynold Limousin and 
 said : ' Why have ye not provided for this 
 matter?' The marshal excused him and 
 said, as God might help him, he kntw 
 nothing thereof, and that he would provide 
 a remedy from thenceforth. Incontinent 
 he stablished men of arms to keep the 
 fields, that the French forengers rode at 
 their surety, and also he made a cry and a 
 commandment that every man that had any 
 victual or provision to sell, that they should 
 bring it to the field before Santarem, and 
 that they should have a price reasonable 
 for everything. So then the strangers had 
 largely their part, for the king ordained 
 that they should be served before all other, 
 whereof the Spaniards had great despite. 
 
 So it was, the same week that the king 
 of Castile departed from the siege of Lisbon 
 three great ships of men of war and English 
 archers arrived at Lisbon. They were to 
 the number of five hundred, one and other, 
 and the third part of them were of the com- 
 panions adventurers, having no wages of no 
 man ; some were of Calais, of Cherbourg, 
 of Brest in Bretayne, of Mortagne in 
 Poitou ; they had heard of the war between 
 Castile and Portugal, and they came to 
 Bordeaux and there assembled and said : 
 ' Let us go at adventure into Portugal ; we 
 shall find them there that will receive us 
 and set us a- work.' Sir John Harpeden, 
 who as then was seneschal of Bordeaux, 
 counselled them greatly thereto, for he 
 would not they should abide in Bordelois, 
 for they might there have done more hurt 
 than good, because they were companions 
 adventurers and had nothing to lose. Of 
 them that arrived at Lisbon I cannot name 
 all : there were three squires English that 
 were their captains, one was called North- 
 bery, and another Marthebery and the 
 third Huguelin of Hardeshull, and there 
 were none of them past the age of fifty 
 year, and good men of arms and well used 
 
 in the feats of war. Of the coming of these 
 Englishmen they of Lisbon were right glad, 
 and so was the king of Portugal, who would 
 see them ; and so they went to the palace 
 where the king was, who made them great 
 cheer and demanded of them if the duke of 
 Lancaster had sent them thither. ' Sir,' 
 quoth Northbery, ' it is a long season sith 
 he had any knowledge of us or we of him. 
 Sir, we be men of divers sorts seeking for 
 adventures : here be some are come to 
 serve you firom the town of Calais.' ' By 
 my faith,' quoth the king, 'you and they 
 both are right heartily welcome ; your 
 coming doth me great good and joy, and 
 shortly I shall set you a-work. We have 
 been here enclosed a great season, so that 
 we be weary thereof, but now we will be 
 at large in the field, as well as our enemies 
 hath been.' 'Sir,' quoth they, 'we desire 
 nothing else, and sir, we desire you that 
 shortly we may see your enemies.' The 
 king made them a dinner in his palace at 
 Lisbon, and commanded that they should 
 all be lodged in the city at their ease and 
 to be paid for their wages for three months. 
 Then the king set his clerks a-work and 
 made letters and sent them all over his 
 realm, commanding every man able to bear 
 harness to draw to Lisbon. 
 
 All such as these letters came unto 
 
 obeyed not, for many abode still in their 
 
 houses ; for three parts of the realm dis- 
 
 simuled with the king and with them of 
 
 Lisbon, because they had crowned king a 
 
 bastard, and spake great words thereagainst 
 
 privily. And because of the great trouble 
 
 and difference that the king of Castile and 
 
 his council saw in the realm of Portugal, 
 
 made him to advance himself to the intent 
 
 to have conquered the country, saying how 
 
 all should be won with one day's journey 
 
 of battle, and that if they of Lisbon might 
 
 be overthrown, the residue of the country 
 
 would not be sorry of it, but put out of the 
 
 realm that Master d'Avis' or else slay him, 
 
 and then it should be a land of conquest 
 
 for him, for his wife was right inheritor. 
 
 Yet with a good will king John of Castile 
 
 would have left the war, but his people 
 
 1 Some MSS. of Froissart have 'maistre Denis' 
 
 regularly instead of 'maistre d'Avis' (or 'maistre 
 
 de Vis '), and so it is in the eady printed text ; so 
 
 that the translator has ' mayster Danyce ' here and 
 
 elsewhere. The king had been grand master of the 
 
 order of Avis. 
 
342 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 would not suffer him, for they ever gave 
 him courage, saying how his quarrel and 
 cause was just. And when the king of 
 Portugal saw that his commandment was not 
 observed, and that much of his people dis- 
 obeyed to serve him, hewas right pensive and 
 melancholious. He called to him such as 
 he trusted best of Lisbon and of the knights 
 of his house, who did their pain to crown 
 him and also they had served king Ferrant, 
 as sir John Radigo and sir John Teste 
 d'Or, the lord of Figiere ^ and sir Gomez 
 of Cabescon, Ambrose Coudrich, and Peter 
 his brother, sir Ouges of Navaret, a knight 
 of Castile who was turned Portugalois, for 
 king John had chased him out of his realm 
 and the king of Portugal had retained him 
 and made him a chief captain. At this 
 council the king shewed many things and 
 said : ' Sirs, ye that be here, I know well 
 ye be my friends, for ye have made me 
 king. Behold now how divers folks of 
 my realm excuseth themselves, so that I 
 cannot get them to the field ; for if they 
 had as good will to fight with our enemies 
 as I have, I would be right glad thereof; 
 but they be not so disposed. I see how 
 they refrain and dissimule the matter ; 
 wherefore I have need of counsel on this 
 matter, how I may order myself, and there- 
 fore I pray you let me have your advice. ' 
 Then sir Gomez of Cabescon, a knight of 
 Portugal, said ; ' Sir, I counsel you for your 
 honour that, as soon as ye may, draw your- 
 self and all your people into the field and 
 adventure you and we also, and we shall 
 aid you to die in the quarrel, for ye be our 
 king ; and if there be any in Portugal 
 rebels and disdainful to serve you, I say, 
 and so saith divers of this town, that it is 
 because ye have not issued out to shew 
 your face against your enemies. Ye have 
 the grace as yet to be reputed a valiant 
 man in arms, and they say that now at 
 need your valiantness faileth you. This it 
 is that hath set your enemies in pride and 
 hath cooled your subjects ; for if they saw 
 in you deeds of valour and of prowess, they 
 would obey and doubt you, and so would 
 do your enemies.' 'By my head,' quoth 
 the king, 'ye say well, and so it is. 
 Wherefore, sir, I will incontinent that 
 every man make him ready ; for we will 
 ride out shortly and look on our enemies ; 
 ^ Higuera. 
 
 either we will win all at this time or lose 
 all.' ' Sir,' quoth the knight, 'it shall be 
 done ; for if the journey be yours and God 
 send you good fortune, ye shall be king of 
 Portugal for ever and ye shall be praised in 
 all strange realms, whereas the knowledge 
 thereof shall come. And to the perfect 
 heritage of Portugal ye cannot attain but 
 by battle : ye may take ensample of king 
 don Henry your cousin, father to king John 
 that now is king of Castile, of Spain, of 
 Toledo, of Galice, of Cordowan and of 
 Seville ; he came to all these heritages by 
 battle, otherwise he had never had them. 
 For ye know how the puissance of the 
 prince of Wales and of Acquitaine put king 
 don Peter your cousin into possession of all 
 these heritages and lands closed within 
 Spain, and afterward by a journey of battle 
 that don Henry had at Montiel against don 
 Peter, who there lost all again and don 
 Henry put in possession as he was before ; 
 at which journey he adventured himself and 
 his, or else he had not been king there. 
 In like wise, sir, ye must adventure, if ye 
 think to live with honour.' ' Sir,' quoth 
 the king, ' ye say true : I will have none 
 other counsel but this, for this is profitable 
 for us.' 
 
 Thus departed that council : and then it 
 was ordained that within three days every 
 man should draw into the fields and there 
 to take some ground to abide their enemies. 
 Those three days they kept the gates so 
 close of Lisbon, that nother man nor 
 woman could issue out ; for they would 
 not that their enemies should be privy of 
 their intention. And when the EngUsh- 
 men that were there understood that they 
 should issue out and draw towards Santarem 
 to look on their enemies, they were joyful. 
 Then every man made him ready, and the 
 archers dressed ready their bows and arrows 
 and all other in everything that they 
 needed. And on a Thursday they departed 
 out of Lisbon, and that day they lodged 
 by a little river side a two leagues from 
 Lisbon with their faces toward Santarem, 
 and every man said with good heart and will 
 that they would never return to Lisbon till 
 they had seen their enemies, saying how it 
 was better for them that they should go 
 and require battle of their enemies, rather 
 than they should come on them ; for they 
 said they had seen and heard divers en- 
 
IVAJ! IN PORTUGAL, 1385 
 
 343 
 
 samples of requirers and not requirers, and 
 ever of five four hath obtained/ and in a 
 manner all the victories that the English- 
 men have had in France, they were ever 
 the requirers ; for naturally the seekers for 
 battle are more stronger and courageous in 
 assailing than the defenders be. Of this 
 opinion they were near all ; and some of 
 the burgesses of Lisbon said : ' We were at 
 Bruges in Flanders when the Gauntois 
 came before the town and required battle 
 against the earl of Flanders and all his 
 puissance, and we know well that Philip 
 d'Arteveld, Peter du Bois, John Clicquetiel,^ 
 Francis Ackerman and Peter de Wintere, 
 who as then were captains of the Gauntois, 
 they brought out of Gaunt no more but 
 seven thousand men, and yet they required 
 battle of their enemies and overcame and 
 discomfited a forty thousand. This is true, 
 and this was without any treason but by 
 clean fortune of battle. This was done on 
 a Saturday a league from Bruges, as we 
 heard reported the next day, when they 
 had won the town of Bruges. So thus 
 they did put in adventure other to win or 
 to lose ; and thus must we do, if we think 
 to have any good speed.' Thus these 
 Lisbonois that Thursday spake one to 
 another : and when the king was informed 
 of their words and of their great comfort, 
 he had great joy. 
 
 And on the Friday in the morning they 
 sowned their trumpets and made them 
 ready, and took the way on the right hand 
 following the river and the plain country 
 for their carriage that followed them, and 
 so rode that day four leagues. That day 
 tidings came to the king of Castile, where 
 he lay at Santarem, that the Portugalois and 
 the Lisbonois were coming towards him. 
 These tidings anon were spread abroad in 
 the host, whereof the Spaniards, French- 
 men and Gascons had great joy and said : 
 ' Behold yonder Lisbonois be valiant men, 
 sith they come to seek for battle. Shortly 
 let us go into the fields and let us close 
 
 ■^ ' Et que contre cinq les quatre avoient obtenu 
 la place ' (in the full text * les quatre requerans '). 
 which perhaps means that in four cases out of five 
 those who offered battle had gained the victory ; 
 but Johnes translates ' that inferior numbers had 
 often gained the day ' : that is, that when the pro- 
 portion was four against five, the four by offering 
 battle had gained the day. 
 
 2 Criekenstein. 
 
 them among us, an we may, to the intent 
 that they return not again.' Then it was 
 ordained and published in the host that 
 every man the Saturday in the morning 
 afoot and a-horseback should issue out of 
 Santarem and draw towards their enemies 
 to fight with them. Every man made him 
 ready and werejoyful of that journey. And 
 on the Saturday in the morning they sowned 
 their trumpets and the king heard mass in 
 the castle and drank, and then leapt on his 
 horse and every man with him, and so 
 drew into the field in good array of battle, 
 sir Raynold Limousin, marshal of the host, 
 foremost. And he sent forth scurrers to 
 advise the dealing of their enemies and 
 to see where they were and what number 
 they were of. And the Frenchmen sent 
 forth two squires, one a Burgoynian and 
 the other a Gascon, the Burgoynian was 
 called William of Mondigy and he was 
 there with sir John of Rye, and they of 
 Gascoyne and Beam sent forth Bertrand of 
 Bareges, and they were both the same day 
 made knights : and with them rode forth a 
 chatelain of Castile, a good man of arms, 
 called Peter Ferrant of Medine, he was on 
 a marvellous light jennet. And while these 
 three rode forth to advise their enemies, 
 the residue of the host rode a soft pace, 
 and they were in number two thousand 
 spears, knights and squires, Gascons, 
 Burgoynians, Frenchmen, Picards and 
 Bretons, as well appointed and armed as 
 any men might be, and a twenty thousand 
 Spaniards all a-horseback: and they had 
 not ridden forth a bow-shot but they stood 
 still. 
 
 On the other side the king of Portugal 
 in like wise had sent forth three scurrers to 
 aview justly the demeaning of the Spaniards ; 
 whereof two of them were English squires, 
 expert men of arms, one called Janequin 
 d'Artebery and the other Philip Barkeston, 
 and with them Ferrant de la Gresse of 
 Portugal. They were all well horsed and 
 rode forth till they came to a little hill, and 
 there they might see the behaving of the 
 Spaniards. Then they returned to the 
 king of Portugal and to his council and 
 there made relation of that they had done, 
 and said : ' Sir, we have been so far for- 
 ward that we have seen your enemies. Sir, 
 surely they be a great number, they are 
 well a thirty thousand horse : therefore, 
 
344 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 sir, take your advice. ' Then the king de- 
 manded if they rode all in one battle or 
 not. ' Sir,' quoth they, ' surely they be in 
 two battles.' Then the king turned him 
 toward his people and said aloud : ' Sirs, 
 now advise you well ; for there needeth 
 now no cowardness, for we shall fight 
 shortly ; for our enemies be coming and 
 hath great desire to find us, and so they 
 shall, for we cannot fly nor return. We 
 are issued out of Lisbon a great number of 
 people : think, sirs, to do well and let us 
 sell our lives dear. Ye have made me 
 king : this day shall I see if the crown of 
 Portugal will abide with me peaceably or 
 not. And, sirs, of one thing be sure : I 
 shall not fly, but abide the adventure with 
 you.' Then they all answered with a good 
 will : ' So be it, and we shall all abide 
 with you.' 
 
 Then the English captains were called 
 forth, as Northbery and HardeshuU and 
 other of them that were most expert in 
 arms. The king demanded of them what 
 counsel they would give him how to abide 
 the adventure of the battle, for he said he 
 knew well they must needs fight, for his 
 enemies approached fast, 'and they be in 
 number four against one of us.' Then the 
 Englishmen said : ' Sir, sith we shall have 
 battle and that they be greater in number 
 than we be, wherefore it is a hard party. 
 We cannot conquer without we take some 
 advantage of some hedges or bushes : let 
 us take such a ground as we may fortify, 
 and that they shall not enter upon us so 
 lightly as they should do on the plain field.' 
 'Sirs,' quoth the king, 'ye speak wisely, 
 and it shall be as ye have devised.' 
 
 On this counsel of the Englishmen the 
 king rested, and there took advice what 
 ground they might take. And not far 
 off from them was the town of Juberoth, 
 a great village : thither the Lisbonois had 
 sent all their provision, somers and car- 
 riages, for it was their intention that night 
 to lodge there, whether they had battle 
 or no, if they might scape with honour. 
 And without the town a quarter of a league 
 or thereabout there was a great abbey of 
 monks, whither they of Juberoth and of 
 other villages were wont to come to hear 
 mass ; and the church standeth a little 
 out of the way in a moat environed about 
 with great trees, hedges and bushes : it 
 
 was a strong place with a little help. 
 Then the Englishmen were called to 
 counsel to the king, for though they were 
 but few, yet the king would follow much 
 their advice. Then they said : ' Sir, we 
 know hereby a place, the minster without 
 Juberoth among the trees ; it standeth in a 
 strong place with a little amendment and 
 help.' And such as knew the country 
 said : ' Sir, it is true. ' Then the king 
 said : ' Let us draw thither, and let us 
 order there ourselves as men of war ought 
 to do ; so that when our enemies come, 
 let them not find us unprovided.' ^ 
 
 Incontinent it was done, and so they 
 came whereas the church was. Then when 
 the Englishmen and sir Ouges of Navaret 
 and divers other valiant men of Portugal 
 and of Lisbon had well advised the place 
 round about, they said : ' This place is 
 strong enough with a little help, so that 
 we may here abide the adventure.' Then 
 on the side next the fields they cut down 
 the trees and laid them one over another, 
 to the intent that horsemen should not 
 come with full course on them. They left 
 one way open, not very large, and such 
 archers and cross-bows as they had they set 
 them on every side of the way, and their 
 men of arms all afoot in a plain within the 
 way and the church on their one side : and 
 there was the king's banners pight up. 
 And when they had thus ordered every- 
 thing, they were in great joy and said that 
 if it pleased God, they were well and in 
 such a place to keep long and to make a 
 good journey. Then the king said : 'Fair 
 sirs, this day every man do his part and 
 think not to fly, for that cannot avail us. 
 We are far off from Lisbon and also in the 
 chase there is no recovering ; for three will 
 slay and beat down twelve that be flying. 
 Therefore shew this day that ye be men of 
 prowess and sell dearly your lives, and 
 
 1 In the recital of these events by Laurence 
 Fougase (Fogatja) to the duke of Lancaster (chap, 
 xlv.) it is said that the king of Portugal chose this 
 place because of a great victory gained there 
 formerly by Charlemagne over seven kings of the 
 infidels, in memory of which he had founded an 
 abbey of black monks ; and also afterwards a 
 victory had been gained there by the earl of 
 Portugal over the king of Castile, which led to the 
 founding of the kingdom of Portugal. No refer- 
 ence is there made to the advice given by the 
 Englishmen, who in fact are not mentioned at all 
 in that narrative. 
 
BATTLE OF ALJUBARROTA, Atig. 14, 1385 
 
 345 
 
 imagine in yourselves how the journey shall 
 be ours, as it shall be if God be pleased, 
 and then shall we be much honoured and 
 spoken of in strange countries, whereas the 
 tidings shall come ; for always the victors 
 be exalted and they that be discomfited 
 dispraised. And, sirs, think how ye have 
 made me king, wherefore ye ought to be 
 the more hardy and courageous ; and of 
 one thing be ye sure, that as long as this 
 axe endureth in my hands, I shall fight, 
 and if it fail or break, I shall get another, 
 and shew myself that I will maintain and 
 defend the crown of Portugal for myself 
 and for the right that I have by succession 
 of my brother, the which I take on my 
 soul that mine enemies travaileth me ^ 
 wrongfully and that the quarrel is mine.' 
 
 Then all such as heard the king said : 
 ' Sir, of your grace and mercy ye admonish 
 us wisely, and, sir, we shall help to aid and 
 maintain that we have given you, which is 
 your own. Sir, we shall all abide with 
 you here in this same place, and shall not 
 depart without God depart us. Sir, make 
 a cry to all your people, for every man 
 hath not heard you speak, commanding on 
 pain of death no man to fly : and, sir, if 
 there be any that are faint-hearted to abide 
 the battle, let them come forth, and give 
 them leave to depart from the other, for 
 one faint heart may discourage two dozen 
 of good men ; or else strike off their heads 
 in your presence to give ensample to other. ' 
 The king answered : ' I will it be so. ' 
 Then there were two knights ordained to 
 go and search every company and to de- 
 mand if any were abashed to abide the 
 battle. The messengers reported to the 
 king when they returned that they could 
 find no man but that was ready to abide 
 the adventure of battle. 'It is so much 
 the better,' quoth the king. Then the 
 king caused all that would be made knights 
 to come before him, and he would give 
 them the order of knighthood in the 
 name of God and of Saint George. And 
 as I understand there were made a three- 
 score new knights, whereof the king had 
 great joy and did set them in the front of 
 the battle and said to them : ' Sirs, the 
 
 1 'Laquelle je dis (et prens sur I'ame de moy) 
 que I'on me traveille i tort.' Another reading is 
 ' chalenge ' for ' traveille.' The meaning is, ' which 
 I declare on my soul is wrongfully disputed. ' 
 
 order of knighthood is as noble and high as 
 any heart can think, and there is no knight 
 that ought to be a coward nor shameful, but 
 ought to be fierce and hardy as a lion when 
 his helm is on his head and seeth his 
 enemies. And because I would ye should 
 this day shew prowess where it ought to be 
 shewed, therefore I ordain you in the first 
 front of the battle : and, sirs, do so that we 
 may have honour and you also ; otherwise 
 your spurs are but evil set on. ' And every 
 knight answered as his turn fell, as he 
 passed by the king : ' Sir, with the pleasure 
 of God we shall so do to have your grace 
 and love.' Thus the Portugalois ordered 
 themselves and fortified them beside the 
 church of Juberoth in Portugal. That day 
 there was no Englishman that would be 
 made knight, yet they were desired of the 
 king and other, but they excused themselves 
 for that day. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 Of the Spaniards, how they ordered them- 
 selves and their battle. 
 
 Now let us return to the king don John of 
 Castile and the knights and squires of 
 France and of Gascoyne who were there with 
 him ; and such as they had sent to advise 
 their enemies returned again and said : 
 • Sir king and ye lords and knights here 
 present, we have rided so forward that we 
 have seen our enemies, and according as 
 we can judge they be not past ten thousand 
 men in all, one and other, and 'they be 
 about the minster of Juberoth, and there 
 they be rested and set in order of battle, 
 and there they shall be found whosoever 
 will seek for them.' Then the king called 
 to him his council and specially the barons 
 and knights of France, and demanded of 
 them what was best to do. They answered 
 and said : ' Sir, we think it were best let 
 them be fought withal incontinent. We 
 see nothing else, for by that is reported, 
 they be afraid and in great doubt, because 
 they be so far off from any fortress. Lisbon 
 is far off a six leagues ; they cannot run 
 thither with their ease, but they shall be 
 overtaken by the way, without they take 
 the advantage of the night. Therefore, 
 sir, we counsel, sith ye know where they 
 
346 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 be, order your battles and go and fight with 
 them, while your people be of good will to 
 do well.' Then the king demanded of 
 them of his own country their opinions, as 
 of sir Diego Gomez Manrique, sir Diego 
 Pier Sarmiento, Pier Gonzalez of Mendoza, 
 and Pier Ferrant of Velasco, and of the 
 great master of Calatrava. They answered 
 the king and said : * Sir, we have well 
 heard the jcnights of France, how they 
 would have you hotly to set on your 
 enemies. Sir, we will that ye know and 
 they also, that ere we can come to them it 
 will be night, for ye see the sun draweth 
 downward and as yet ye have not ordered 
 your battles. Sir, therefore we think it 
 were good ye tarried till the morning, and 
 let us draw so near them and lay so good 
 spial in divers places, that if they would 
 dislodge about midnight and depart, then 
 let us also dislodge, for they cannot fly nor 
 scape us, the country is so plain and there 
 is no place to hide them by Lisbon, which 
 we cannot get with our ease.^ Sir, this 
 counsel we give you.' 
 
 Then the king stood still a little and cast 
 down his look to the earth, and after he 
 turned his regard on the strangers. Then 
 the marshal sir Raynold Limousin said, 
 to please the Frenchmen, in the language 
 of Spain to the intent he might the better 
 be understanded of every man, and so 
 turned him to the Spaniards, such as had 
 given the king that counsel, saying and 
 calling every man by his name : ' Sirs, how 
 can ye be more sage in battle or more 
 used in arms than these valiant knights be 
 that be here present ? How can ye devise 
 anything beyond them, that should be of 
 any valure ? For they have done nothing 
 else all their life days but travel from realm 
 to realm to find and to do deeds of arms. 
 How can you or durst you devise anything 
 against theur words, which are so noble 
 and so high for to keep the honour of the 
 king and of his realm, wherein ye have 
 greater part than they ? For ye have there 
 your heritages and your bodies, and they 
 have nothing there but now all only their 
 bodies, which they will first and foremost 
 
 1 ' And there is no strong place except Lisbon, 
 wherewe cannot have them at our pleasure ' ; or 
 following the better text, ' there is no place on this 
 .side Lisbon, except the place in which thev are, 
 where,' etc. 
 
 put in adventure, and so they have desired 
 of the king to have the first battle and the 
 king hath granted them. Then regard 
 their great and noble courage, when they 
 will first of all adventure themselves for 
 you. It should seem that ye have envy at 
 them and that ye would that profit nor 
 honour should come to them ; which ye 
 ought not to do, but to be all of one accord 
 and will. And also by you and by your 
 counsel the king hath been here in the 
 fields long at great cost and charge for him 
 and for all his, and Iain at siege before 
 Lisbon and could never have the adventure 
 of battle till now with him that writeth 
 himself king of Portugal, wherein he hath 
 no right, for he is a bastard and not dis- 
 pensed withal. And now he is in the field 
 with such friends as he hath, which is no 
 great number ; and if now by craft he 
 should again withdraw himself and not 
 fought withal, ye put yourselves then in 
 adventure that all the whole host should 
 rise on you and slay you, or else that the 
 king should repute you for traitors and 
 strike off your heads and confisc all your 
 lands. Therefore I see no better way for 
 you than to be still and let them alone that 
 hath seen more than you in such businesses, 
 for ye never saw that they have done, nor 
 never shall.' And then the king looked 
 up and by seeming was glad with those 
 words, and the Spaniards were abashed 
 and feared they had done greater trespass 
 than they did ; for though the marshal re- 
 proved them and spake against them, yet 
 they had well spoken and truly counselled 
 the king : but what for valiantness and to 
 please the strangers, who desired battle, 
 the marshal spake as he did. 
 
 Then every man was still, and the king 
 said : ' I will in the name of God and 
 Saint James that our enemies be fought 
 withal, and all such as will be made knights 
 to come forth before me, for I will give them 
 the order of knighthood in the honour of God 
 and Saint George.' Then there came forth 
 many squires of France and of Beam and 
 there they were made knights of the king's 
 hand, as sir Roger of Spain, eldest son to 
 sir Roger of the county of Foix, sir Bertrand 
 of Bareges, sir Peter of Salebiere, sir Peter 
 of Valencin, sir William of Quer, sir Augiers 
 of Solenaire, sir Peter of Vaude, sir William 
 of Mondigy, and of one and another to the 
 
BATTLE OF ALJUBARROTA 
 
 347 
 
 number of a. hundred and forty, and there 
 were certain barons of Beam that raised up 
 there first their banners, and also divers of 
 Castile and also sir John of Rye. There 
 might have been seen among these new 
 knights great nobleness, and they main- 
 tained themselves so goodly that it was 
 pleasure to behold them, for they were a 
 fair battle. Then the lord of Lignac came 
 before the king, and all other that were 
 strangers ; whatsoever nation they were of, 
 so they were no Spaniards, they were all 
 named in the name of strangers.' Then 
 they said to the king : ' Sir, we be come 
 from far parts to serve you. Sir, we require 
 you do us that grace to let us have the first 
 battle.' 'I am content,' quoth the king, 
 ' in the name of God and Saint James, and 
 Saint George be in your aid.'' Then the 
 Spaniards said one to another softly : ' Be- 
 hold, for God's sake behold, how our king 
 putteth all his trust in these Frenchmen : 
 he hath no perfect trust in none other : 
 they shall have the first battle ; they praise 
 us not so much that they will take us with 
 them, they will do their deed by themselves 
 and then let us do ours by ourselves. Let 
 us let them alone with their enterprise : 
 they have made their avaunt how they be 
 strong enough to discomfit the Portugalois : 
 let it be so, we are content ; but it were 
 good we demanded of the king whether he 
 will abide with us or else go with the 
 Frenchmen.' So thereupon they were 
 long in murmuring, whether they should 
 demand it or else be still ; for they doubted 
 greatly the words of sir Raynold Limousin. 
 Howbeit, all things considered, they 
 thought it none evil to demand him the 
 question. Then six of the most notablest 
 of them went to the king and inclined 
 themselves and said : ' Right noble king, 
 we see and understand well by apparent 
 signs that this day ye^ shall have battle 
 with your enemies : God send grace it be 
 to your honour and victory, as we greatly 
 desire. Sir, we would know whether your 
 pleasure lieth to be among the Frenchmen 
 or else with us.' 'Fair sirs,' quoth the 
 king, ' though I have granted the first 
 battle to these knights and squires strangers, 
 who are come far off to serve me and are 
 
 1 The true reading is ' on les nommoit tous Fran- 
 cois,' 'they were all called Frenchmen.' 
 
 2 'We.' 
 
 valiant and expert men in wars, yet for all 
 that I renounce you not, for I will be and_ 
 abide among you : therefore, sirs, help to 
 defend me.' Of this answer the Si:)aniards 
 had great joy and were well contented, and 
 said : ' Sir, so shall we do, and not to fail 
 to die in the quarrel ; for, sir, we are sworn 
 to you and so have promised by the faith 
 of our bodies when ye were crowned : for, 
 sir, we loved so well the king your father 
 that we cannot fail you in any wise. ' ' That 
 is our trust,' quoth the king. So thus the 
 king of Spain abode among his own men, 
 who were well a twenty thousand horsemen 
 all covered in steel. Sir Raynold Limousin 
 was in the first battle, for it was his right 
 so to be, because he was marshal. 
 
 The same Saturday was a fair day, and 
 the sun was turned toward evensong. 
 Then the first battle came before Juberoth, 
 where the king of Portugal and his men 
 were ready to receive them. Of these 
 French knights there were a two thousand 
 spears, as fresh and as well ordered men as 
 could be devised ; and as soon as they saw 
 their enemies, they joined together like men 
 of war and approached in good order till 
 they came within a bow-shot. And at their 
 first coming there was a hard rencounter ; 
 for such as desired to assail, to win grace 
 and praise entered into the strait way, 
 where the Englishmen by their policy had 
 fortified them : and because the entry was 
 so narrow, there was great press and great 
 mischief to the assailants, for such English 
 archers as were there shot so wholly together 
 that their arrows pierced men and horse, 
 and when the horses were firll of arrows, 
 they fell one upon another. Then the 
 Englishmen of arms, the Portugalois and 
 Lisbonois came on them crying their cries, 
 ' Our Lady of Portugal ! ' with good spears 
 and sharp heads, wherewith they strake 
 and hurt many knights and squires. There 
 was the lord of Lignac of Beam beaten 
 down and his banner won and he taken 
 prisoner, and many of his men taken and 
 slain ; also sir John of Rye, sir Geoffrey 
 Richon, sir Geoffrey of Partenay and all 
 their companies that were entered within 
 the strait : their horses were so hurt with 
 the archers that they fell on their masters 
 and one upon another. There these 
 Frenchmen were in great danger, for they 
 could not help one another, for they had 
 
348 
 
 TBE CHROmCLES OF FROISSART 
 
 no room to enlarge themselves nor to fight 
 at their will. And when the Portugalois 
 saw that mischief fall on the first assailers, 
 they were glad and as fresh and courageous 
 to fight as any men might be. There was 
 the king of Portugal with his banners before 
 him, mounted on a good horse trapped with 
 the arms of Portugal, and he had great joy 
 to see the mischief fall on his enemies ; and 
 to comfort his people he laughed and said 
 a-high : ' On forth, good men, defend you 
 and fight with good will ; for if there be 
 no more but these, we need not to fear, 
 and if I knew ever anything in battle, all 
 these be ours.' 
 
 Thus the king of Portugal recomforted 
 his people, who fought valiantly and had 
 enclosed in the strait all the first assailers, 
 of whom there were many slain. True it 
 was that this first battle, which these 
 knights of France and of Beam led, had 
 thought to have been quicklier aided of the 
 Spaniards than they were : for if the king 
 of Castile and his company, who were a 
 twenty thousand men, had come by another 
 part and assailed the Portugalois, it had 
 been likely the journey to have been theirs ; 
 but they did nothing, wherefore they were 
 to blame and received damage. Also 
 indeed the Frenchmen set on too soon ; 
 but they did it to the intent to have won 
 honour and to maintain the words they had 
 spoken before the king : and also, as I was 
 informed, the Spaniards would not set on 
 so soon, for they loved not the Frenchmen ; 
 for they had said before : ' Let them alone, 
 they shall find right well to whom to speak. 
 These Frenchmen are great vaunters and 
 high-minded, and also our king hath no 
 perfect trust but in them ; and sith the king 
 would they should have the honour of the 
 journey, let us suffer them to take it, or else 
 we shall have all at our intents.' ■'■ Thus 
 by these means the Spaniards stood still in 
 a great battle and would not go forward ; 
 which was right displeasant to the king, 
 but he could not amend it. But the 
 Spaniards said, because there was none 
 returned from the battle : ' Sir, surely 
 these knights of France have discomfited 
 
 1 ' Ou nous I'aurons du tout k nostre intention, 
 which seems to mean, ' or else we will have it alto- 
 gether according to our opinions.' If they are not 
 to have things ordered in their way, they will not 
 take any part at all. 
 
 your enemies, the honour of this journey is 
 theirs.' ' God give grace,' quoth the king, 
 ' that it be so : let us ride then somewhat 
 forward.' Then they rode a cross-bow shot 
 forward and then again rested : it was a 
 great beauty to see them, they were so 
 well mounted and armed. Axid in the 
 mean season the Frenchmen fought, and 
 such as had leisure to alight fought valiantly. 
 Divers knights aiid squires of either party 
 did many feats of arms one upon another, 
 and when their spears failed, they took 
 axes and gave many great strokes on the 
 helms, slaying and maiming each other. 
 
 Whosoever were in such case of arms as 
 the Frenchmen and Portugalois were at 
 Juberoth, must abide the adventure, as they 
 did, without they would fly away ; and in 
 flying there is more peril than to abide the 
 battle, for in flying lightly are most slain, 
 and in battle, when one seeth he is over- 
 matched, he yieldeth himself prisoner. It 
 cannot be said but that the knights of 
 France, of Bretayne, of Burgoyne and of 
 Beam, but that right valiantly fought ; but 
 at their first encounter they were hardly 
 handled, and all that was by the counsel of 
 the Englishmen to fortify their place. So 
 at this first battle the Portugalois were 
 stronger than their enemies, so they were 
 all taken or slain but few that were saved ; 
 so that there were at that first brunt a 
 thousand knights and squires taken prison- 
 ers, whereof the Portugalois were joyful 
 and thought as that day to have no more 
 battle, and so made good cheer to their 
 prisoners, and every man said to their 
 prisoners : ' Sirs, be not abashed, for ye 
 are won by clean feat of arms : we shall 
 keep you good company, as we would ye 
 should do if ye had us in like case ; ye 
 shall come to Lisbon and refresh you there 
 and shall be at your ease.' And they 
 thanked them, when they saw none other 
 boot. And so there some were put to their 
 finance incontinent, and some would abide 
 their adventure ; for they imagined that 
 the king of Spain with his great army 
 would shortly come and deliver them. 
 
BATTLE OF ALJUBARROTA 
 
 349 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 How the French knights and Gascons, such 
 as were taken prisoners at Juberoth by the 
 Portugalois, were slain of their masters 
 and none escaped. 
 
 Tidings came into the field to the king of 
 Castile and to his company, who were 
 approaching to Juberoth, by them that fled, 
 who came crying with great fear and said : 
 ' Sir king, advance yourself, for all they of 
 the vaward are other taken or slain : there 
 is no remedy of their deliverance without it 
 be by your puissance.' And when the 
 king of Castile heard those tidings, he was 
 sore displeased, for he had good cause, for 
 it touched him near. Then he commanded 
 to ride on and said : ' Advance forth, 
 banners, in the name of God and Saint 
 George : let us ride to the rescue, sith 
 our men have need thereof.' Then the 
 Spaniards began to ride a better pace 
 close together in good order, and by that 
 time the sun was near down. Then some 
 said it were best to abide till the morning, 
 because it was so near night, they said they 
 could make but an easy journey.^ The 
 king would they should set on incontinent, 
 and laid his reasons and said : ' What, 
 shall we leave our enemies in rest now they 
 be weary, to give them leisure to refresh 
 themselves ? Whosoever do give that 
 counsel, loveth not mine honour.' Then 
 they rode forth, making great noise and 
 bruit with sowning of trumpets and tabors 
 to abash therewith their enemies. Now 
 shall I shew you what the king of Portugal 
 did and his company. 
 
 As soon as they had discomfited the 
 vaward and had taken their prisoners, and 
 that they saw none other battle coming 
 within their sight, yet for all that they 
 would put no trust in their first victory : 
 therefore they sent six notable persons to 
 go and aview the country, to see if they 
 should have any more to do. They that 
 rode forth came and saw the king of 
 Castile's great battle coming to themward 
 fast approaching to Juberoth, more than 
 twenty thousand horsemen. Then they 
 returned as fast as they might and said all 
 on high to the people : ' Sirs, advise you 
 1 i.e. that they could do no great exploit. 
 
 well, for as yet we have done nothing : 
 behold yonder cometh the king of Castile 
 with his great battle with more than twenty 
 thousand men, there is none tarried behind.' 
 When they heard those tidings, they took 
 short counsel, which was of necessity : 
 then incontinent they ordained a piteous 
 deed, for every man was commanded on 
 pain of death to slay their prisoners without 
 mercy, noble, gentle, rich nor other, none 
 except. Then the lords, knights and 
 squires that were prisoners were in a hard 
 case, for there was no prayer that availed 
 them from the death ; and so they were 
 slain, some in one place and some in 
 another, as they were spread abroad un- 
 armed weening to have been saved, but 
 they were not. To say truth it was great 
 pity, for every man slew his prisoner, and 
 he that did not, other men slew them in 
 their hands ; and the Portugalois and the 
 Englishmen who had given that counsel 
 said it was better to slay than to be slain : 
 ' For if we kill them not, while we be a 
 fighting they will escape and slay us, for 
 there is no trust in a man's enemy.' Thus 
 was slain by great mischief the lord of 
 Lignac, sir Peter of Quer, the lord of 
 I'Espres, the lord of Bernecque, the lord of 
 Bordes, sir Bertrand of Bareges, the lord of 
 Morianne, sir Raymond d'Arzac, sir John 
 of Assolegie, sir Monaut of Saramen, 
 sir Peter of Salebiere, sir Stephen Valencin, 
 sir Stephen Corasse, sir Peter Havefane, 
 and to the number of three hundred squires 
 of Beam ; and of France sir John of Rye, 
 sir Geoffrey Richon, sir Geoffrey Partenay 
 and divers other. Lo, behold the great 
 evil adventure that fell that Saturday, for 
 they slew as many good prisoners as would 
 well have been worth, one with another, 
 four hundred thousand franks. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 How the king of Castile and all his great battle 
 were discomfited by the king of Portugal 
 before a village called Juberoth. 
 
 When the Lisbonois, English and Portu- 
 galois had delivered the place and slain all 
 their prisoners (never a one scaped without 
 he were before conveyed to the village of 
 Juberoth, whereas all their carriages were). 
 
35° 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 then they drew all together with a fierce 
 will on the same place whereas they were 
 first assailed, and as then the sun was 
 going down. Then the king of Castile in 
 a puissant array, with his banners and 
 pennons displayed and mounted on their 
 horses well covered, came on crying, 
 ' Castile \ ' and began to enter into the 
 place that was fortified ; and there they 
 were received with spears and axes, and at 
 the first coming the shot of arrows grieved 
 sore their horses, so that many thereby 
 were slain and overthrown. And all that 
 season the king of Castile nor his men 
 knew not of the mischief that was fallen 
 to the vaward, not how they were all 
 slain, but he believed they had been still 
 prisoners, thinking to recover them again, 
 as ye have heard. There was a hard 
 battle and a fierce, and many a man cast to 
 the earth : the Portugalois had no such 
 advantage but, an they had not fought 
 valiantly, they had been lost and discom- 
 fited : that saved them was, their enemies 
 could not come on them but by one narrow 
 way. There the king of Portugal lighted 
 afoot and took an axe in his hand and did 
 marvellous in arms, and beat down a three 
 or four with his own hands ; so that he was 
 feared, that none durst approach near him, 
 I shall shew some part of the conditions 
 of the Spaniards. True it is at their first 
 setting on they are fierce and courageous 
 and of great courage and high-minded, if 
 they have advantage. They fight well 
 a-horseback ; but as soon as they have 
 cast two or three darts and given a stroke 
 with their sword, and see that their enemies 
 be not discomfited therewith, then they 
 fear and turn their horses and fly away to 
 save themselves that best may. And at 
 this battle of Juberoth they used the same 
 play ; for they found their enemies hard 
 and strong and as fresh in the battle as 
 though they had done nothing of all the 
 day before, whereof they had marvel and 
 also that they heard no tidings of the 
 vaward nor where they were become. 
 There the Spaniards that evening were in 
 the hard fortune of battle and perilous for 
 them ; for as many as entered into their 
 strength ^ were by valiantness and feats of 
 arms all slain, they took no man to ransom, 
 
 1 ' Au fort des Lisbonnoib ' ; that is, into their 
 stronghold. 
 
 whatsoever he were, noble or other ; so the 
 Lisbonois had ordained, for they would 
 not be charged with prisoners. There 
 were slain of them of Castile such as 
 foUoweth : sir Diego Gomez Manrique, sir 
 Diego Pier Sarmiento, sir don Peter Ruy 
 Sarmiento, sir Manrique of Averso, the 
 great master of Calatrava and his brother, 
 who was that day made knight, called sir 
 Diego Moniz, sir Peter Gonzalez of Men- 
 doza, don Peter Gonzalez of Seville, don 
 John Radigo of Roselle and a threescore 
 barons and knights of Spain. At the 
 battle of Nazres, where the prince of Wales 
 discomfited king don Henry of Castile, 
 there were not slain so many noblemen of 
 Castile as there was at this battle of Jube- 
 roth, which was the year of grace a thousand 
 three hundred fourscore and five, on a 
 Saturday on our Lady day in August. 
 
 When the king of Castile understood and 
 saw how his men were thus discomfited 
 and how that his vaward was clean dis- 
 comfited without recovery, and that sir 
 Raynold Limousin was dead, who was his 
 marshal, and saw how all his noble chivalry 
 were lost, as well of his own realm as of 
 France and elsewhere, such as were come 
 thither to serve him with their good wills, 
 he was then sore displeased and wist not 
 what counsel to take, for he saw his men 
 began to fly on every side, and he heard 
 how some said to him : ' Sir, depart hence, 
 it is time ; the matter is in a hard case ; ye 
 cannot alone discomfit your enemies nor 
 recover your damages ; your people flieth 
 all about, every man intendeth to save 
 himself. Sir, save yourself, an ye do wisely : 
 if fortune be this day against you, another 
 time it shall be better.' The king of Castile 
 believed counsel and then changed his 
 horse and mounted on a fresh courser, 
 strong and light, whereon no man had 
 ridden before of all day. Then the king 
 strake the horse with his spurs and turned 
 his back toward his enemies and took the 
 way toward Santarem, whither all such as 
 would save themselves fled. The same 
 time the king of Castile had a knight of his 
 house who bare his bassenet, whereupon 
 there was a circle of gold and stones valued 
 to twenty thousand franks. It was ordained, 
 or they went out of Santarem, that this 
 knight should bear it till they came to the 
 business and then to deliver it to the king 
 
BATTLE OF ALJUBARROTA 
 
 351 
 
 to wear on his head : but this knight did 
 not so, for when they came to the joining 
 of the battle, the press was so great that 
 this knight could not come to the king, nor 
 also he was not called for, wherefore he 
 approached not to the king. And when he 
 saw how his company were discomfited, and 
 that the Portugalois obtained the victory, 
 and saw how every man fled on every side, 
 he feared then the losing of such a rich 
 jewel and set then the bassenet on his own 
 head and so fled, but he took not the way 
 to Santarem, but he took another way to 
 the town of Arpent.^ Thus some fled this 
 way and some that way like people sore 
 discomfited and abashed, but the most part 
 fled to Santarem, and that evening thither 
 came the king sore abashed. 
 
 At this discomfiture of the Spaniards at 
 Juberoth, where the Portugalois and Lis- 
 bonois obtained the place, there was a 
 great slaughter of men, and it had been 
 greater if they had followed in the chase. 
 But the Englishmen, when they saw the 
 Spaniards turn their backs, they said to the 
 king of Portugal and to his men : ' Sirs, 
 demand for your horses and follow the 
 chase, and all they that be fled shall be 
 other taken or slain.' 'Nay, not so,' 
 quoth the king, ' it sufficeth that we have 
 done : our men be weary and sore travailed, 
 and it is near hand night, we shall not 
 know whither to go ; and though they fly, 
 yet they be a great number, and perad- 
 venture they do it to draw us out of our 
 strength and so to have us at their ease. 
 Let us this day keep them that be dead 
 and to-morrow take other counsel.' 'By 
 my faith, sir,' quoth Hardeshull, an Eng- 
 lishman, ' the dead bodies are easy to be 
 kept ; they shall never do us any hurt, nor 
 we shall have of them no profit. We have 
 slain many good prisoners, and we be 
 strangers and are come far off to serve 
 you ; therefore we would fain win some- 
 what of these calves that fly without wings ^ 
 with their banners waving with the wind.' 
 ' Fair brother,' quoth the king, 'they that 
 all coveteth all loseth : it is better we be 
 sure, sifh the honour of the victory is ours 
 
 1 *Ville-Arpent' ; that is, apparently, Villalpando. 
 
 - The translator's French text absurdly gives 
 'veaulx' instead of ' beaulx oise.tulx. ' We ought 
 to read, ' these fine birds that fly without wings 
 and make their banners fly.' 
 
 and that God hath sent it us, rather than 
 to put ourselves in peril when it needeth 
 not. We thank God we have enow to 
 make you all rich.' Thus in this case the 
 business rested. 
 
 Thus as I have shewed you fell of the 
 business at Juberoth, whereas the king of 
 Portugal obtained the victory and there 
 were slain a five hundred knights and as 
 many squires, which was great pity and 
 damage, and about six or seven thousand 
 of other men ; God have mercy on their 
 souls. And all that night till on the Sunday 
 to the hour of prime the king of Portugal 
 and his men removed not from the place 
 that they were in, nor never unarmed them, 
 but ate a little and drank every man as 
 they stood, which was brought them from 
 the village of Juberoth. And on the Sunday 
 in the morning after the sunrising the king 
 caused twelve knights to moun,t on their 
 horses and to ride forth to search the fields, 
 to see if there were any new assembly ; 
 and when they had ridden here and there, 
 they returned and shewed how they found 
 nobody but dead men. 'Well,' quoth the 
 king, 'of them we need not to doubt.' 
 Then it was published to depart thence and 
 to go to the village of Juberoth, there to 
 abide all that day and night till Monday 
 in the morning. So thus they departed 
 and left the church of Juberoth and went to 
 the village and there lodged, and tarried 
 out all that Sunday and the next night ; 
 and on the Monday in the morning they 
 counselled to draw toward Lisbon. Then 
 they sowned trumpets to dislodge, and so in 
 good order they departed and rode toward 
 Lisbon. And the Tuesday the king entered 
 into the town with much people, glory and 
 triumph, and was received with procession 
 and so brought to his palace. And in 
 riding through the streets the people and 
 children made feast and reverence and cried 
 with high voice : ' Live the noble king of 
 Portugal, to whom God hath given that 
 grace to have victory of the puissant king of 
 Castile, and hath discomfited his enemies.' 
 
 By this journey that the king of Portugal 
 had of the king of Castile he fell into such 
 grace and love of his country and realm of 
 Portugal, so that all such as before the 
 battle did dissimule with him then came all 
 to him to Lisbon to do to him their homage, 
 saying how he was well worthy to live, and 
 
352 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 how that God loved him, in that he had 
 discomfited a more puissant king than he 
 was himself: wherefore he was worthy to 
 bear a crown. Thus the king gat the grace 
 of his people, and specially of all the com- 
 mons of the realm. 
 
 Now let us a little speak of the king of 
 Castile, who after he was thus discomfited, 
 went to Santarem, weeping and lamenting 
 for his people and cursing his hard fortune 
 that so many noblemen of his own country 
 and France were slain in the field. The 
 same time that he entered into Santarem 
 yet he knew not the damage that he had ; 
 but on the Sunday he knew it, for he had 
 sent his heralds to search out the dead 
 bodies. And he thought before that the 
 most part of all such as the heralds found 
 dead had been but prisoners and saved 
 alive ; but they were not, as it appeared. 
 Then he \5'as so sore displeased and sorry 
 that no man could comfort him. When he 
 heard the report of the heralds and knew 
 the certainty of them that were dead, then 
 he said and sware that he should never 
 have joy, sith so many noble men were 
 dead in his quarrel. And after the third day 
 that the king had tarried at Santarem there 
 came to him his knight with his bassenet, 
 who was called sir Martin Haren, and de- 
 livered the bassenet to the king, which was 
 valued as ye have heard before. And be- 
 fore there had been hard words spoken of 
 him : some said that falsely he was run 
 away from the king and would never return 
 again. Then the knight kneeled down 
 before the king and excused himself so 
 largely, that the king and his council were 
 well content with him. Then a fifteen 
 days after the king of Castile returned to 
 Burgos in Spain and gave every man leave 
 to depart. Then after there was means 
 and treaties made between the king of 
 Castile and the king of Portugal : then a 
 truce was taken from the feast of Saint 
 Michael to the first day of May, both by land 
 and by sea, and the dead bodies slain at 
 Juberoth were buried in the church of 
 Juberoth and in other churches thereabout, 
 and the bones of divers carried by their 
 servants into their own countries. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 How a spirit called Orthon served the lord 
 of Corasse a long time and brought him 
 ever tidings from all parts of the world. 
 
 It is great marvel to consider one thing, 
 the which was shewed me in the earl of 
 Foix's house at Orthez of him that informed 
 me of the business at Juberoth. He shewed 
 me one thing that I have oftentimes thought 
 on sith, and shall do as long as I live. As 
 this squire told me, that of truth the next 
 day after the battle was thus fought at 
 Juberoth the earl of Foix knew it, whereof 
 I had great marvel. For the said Sunday, 
 Monday and Tuesday the earl was very 
 pensive and so sad of cheer that no man 
 could hear a word of him, and all the same 
 three days he would not issue out of his 
 chamber nor speak to any man, though 
 they were never so near about him ; and 
 on the Tuesday at night he called to him 
 his brother Arnold Guillaume and said to 
 him with a soft voice : ' Our men hath had 
 to do, whereof I am soriy, for it is come of 
 them by their voyage as I said or they de- 
 parted.' Arnold Guillaume, who was a 
 sage knight and knew right well his 
 brother's conditions, stood still and gave 
 none answer, and then the earl, who 
 thought to declare his mind more plainly, 
 for long he had borne the trouble thereof 
 in his heart, spake again more higher than 
 he did before and said : ' By God, sir 
 Arnold, it is as I say, and shortly ye shall 
 hear tidings thereof; but the country of 
 Beam this hundred year never lost such a 
 loss at no journey as they have done now 
 in Portugal.' Divers knights and squires 
 that were there present and heard him say 
 so, stood still and durst not speak, but 
 remembered his words ; and within a ten 
 days after they knew the truth thereof by 
 such as had been at the business, and there 
 they shewed everything as it was fortuned 
 at Juberoth. Then the earl renewed again 
 his dolour, and all the country were in 
 sorrow, for they had lost their parents, 
 brethren, children and friends. 
 
 'Saint Mary,' quoth I to the squire that 
 shewed me this tale, 'how is it that the 
 earl of Foix could know on one day what 
 was done within a day or two before, 
 
STOJiV OF THE LORD OF CORASSE 
 
 353 
 
 being so far off?' 'By my faith, sir,' 
 quoth he, 'as it appeared well, he knew 
 it.' 'Then he is a diviner,' quoth I, 'or 
 else he hath messengers that flieth with 
 the wind, or he must needs have some 
 craft.' The squire began to laugh and 
 said : ' Surely he must know it by some 
 art of necromancy or otherwise. To say 
 the truth, we cannot tell how it is but 
 by our imaginations.' ' Sir,' quoth I, 'such 
 imagination as ye have therein, if it please 
 you to shew me, I would be glad thereof. 
 And if it be such a thing as ought to be 
 secret, I shall not publish it, nor as long as 
 I am in this country I shall never speak 
 word thereof.' ' I pray you thereof,' quoth 
 the squire, ' for I would not it should be 
 known that I should speak thereof : but I 
 shall shew you as divers men speaketh 
 secretly, when they be together as friends. ' 
 Then he drew me apart into a corner of 
 the chapel at Orthez, and then began his 
 tale and said ; 
 
 ' It is well a twenty years past that there 
 was in this countiy a baron called Raymond 
 lord of Corasse, which is a seven leagues 
 from this town of Orthez. This lord of 
 Corasse had the same time a plea at Avig- 
 non before the pope for the dimes of his 
 church against a clerk curate there, the 
 which priest was of Cataloyne. He was a 
 great clerk and claimed to have right of 
 the dimes in the town of Corasse, which 
 was valued to a hundred florins by the 
 year ; and the right that he had he shewed 
 and proved it, and by sentence definitive 
 pope Urban the fifth in consistory general 
 condemned the knight and gave judgment 
 with the priest ; and of this last judgment 
 he had letters of the pope for his posses- 
 sion, and so rode till he came into Beam, 
 and there shewed his letters and bulls of 
 the pope's for his possession of his dimes. 
 
 ' The lord of Corasse had great indigna- 
 tion at this priest, and came to him and 
 said: "Master Peter," or "Master Martin," 
 as his name was, "think est thou that by 
 reason of thy letters that I will lose mine 
 heritage? Not so hardy that thou take 
 anything that is mine : if thou do, it shall 
 cost thee thy life. Go thy way into some 
 other place to get thee a benefice, for of 
 mine heritage thou gettest no part, and 
 once for always I defend thee." The clerk 
 doubted the knight, for he was a cruel man, 
 
 2 A 
 
 therefore he durst not persevere. Theh he 
 thought to return to Avignon, as he did : 
 but when he departed, he came to the 
 knight the lord of Corasse and said : " Sir, 
 by force and not by right ye take away 
 from me the right of my church, wherein 
 ye greatly hurt your conscience. I am not 
 so strong in this country as ye be ; but, sir, 
 know for truth that, as soon as I may, I 
 shall send to you such a champion, whom 
 ye shall doubt more than me." The 
 knight, who doubted nothing his threaten- 
 ings, said; "God be with thee: do what 
 thou mayst, I doubt no more death than 
 life : ^ for all thy words I will not lose mine 
 heritage." Thus the clerk departed firom 
 the lord of Corasse and went I cannot tell 
 whither, to Avignon or into Cataloyne, and 
 forgat not the promise that he had made to 
 the lord of Corasse or he departed : for 
 afterward, when the knight thought least 
 on him, about a three months after, as the 
 knight lay on a night abed in his castle of 
 Corasse with the lady his wife, there came 
 to him messengers invisible and made a 
 marvellous tempest and noise in the castle, 
 that it seemed as though the castle should 
 have fallen down, and strake great strokes 
 at his chamber door, that the good lady his 
 wife was sore afraid. The knight heard all 
 but he spake no word thereof, because he 
 would shew no abashed courage, for he 
 was hardy to abide all adventures. This 
 noise and tempest was in sundry places of 
 the castle and dured a long space, and at 
 last ceased for that night. Then the next 
 morning all the servants of the house came 
 to the lord when he was risen, and said : 
 " Sir, have you not heard this night that 
 we have done ? " The lord dissimuled and 
 said: "No, I heard nothing: what have 
 you heard ? " Then they shewed him what 
 noise they had heard and how all the vessel 
 in the kitchen was overturned. Then the 
 lord began to laugh and said : " Yea, sirs, 
 ye dreamed : it was nothing but the wind." 
 " In the name of God," quoth the lady, 
 "I heard it well." 
 
 ' The next night there was as great noise 
 and greater, and such strokes given at his 
 chamber door and windows as all should 
 have been broken in pieces. The knight 
 started up out of his bed and would not let 
 
 1 ' Je te doubte plus mort que vif,' which nutans 
 apparently, ' I fear you not at all.' 
 
354 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 to demand who was at his chamber door 
 that time of the night, and anon he was 
 answered by a voice that said : "I am 
 here." Quoth the knight: "Who sent 
 thee hither?" "The clerk of Cataloyne 
 sent me hither, "quoth the voice, " to whom 
 thou dost great wrong, for thou hast taken 
 from him the rights of his benefice. I will 
 not leave thee in rest till thou hast made 
 him a good account, so that he be pleased." 
 Quoth the knight, " What is thy name, 
 that art so good a messenger ? " Quoth 
 he, "I am called Orthon." "Orthon," 
 quoth the knight, "the service of a clerk 
 is little profit for thee ; he will put thee to 
 much pain if thou believe him. I pray thee 
 leave him and come and serve me, and I shall 
 give thee good thank." Orthon was ready 
 to answer, for he was in amours with the 
 knight, and said : " Wouldst thou fain have 
 my service?" "Yea truly," quoth the 
 knight, " so thou do no hurt to any person 
 in this house." "No more I will do," 
 quoth Orthon, " for I have no power to do 
 any other evil but to awake thee out of thy 
 sleep or some other." " Well," quoth the 
 knight, "do as I tell thee and we shall 
 soon agree, and leave the evil clerk, for 
 there is no good thing in him but to put 
 thee to pain : therefore come and serve 
 me." " Well," quoth Orthon, "and sith 
 thou wilt have me, we are agreed. " 
 
 * So this spirit Orthon loved so the knight, 
 that oftentimes he would come and visit 
 him while he lay in his bed asleep, and 
 other pull him by the ear or else strike at 
 his chamber door or window to awake 
 him ; and when the knight awoke, then 
 he would say: "Orthon, let me sleep." 
 "Nay," quoth Orthon, "that will I not 
 do, till I have shewed thee such tidings as 
 are fallen a-late." The lady the knight's 
 wife would be sore affrayed, that her hair 
 would stand up, and hide herself under the 
 clothes. Then the knight would say ; 
 " Why, what tidings hast thou brought 
 me?" Quoth Orthon: "lam come out 
 of England, or out of Hungary or some 
 other place, and yesterday I came thence, 
 and such things are fallen, or such other." 
 So thus the lord of Corasse knew by 
 Orthon everything that was done in any 
 part of the world, and in this case he 
 continued a five year, and could not keep 
 his own counsel, but at last discovered 
 
 it to the earl of Foix : I shall shew you 
 how. 
 
 * The first year the lord of Corasse came 
 on a day to Orthez to the earl of Foix and 
 said to him: "Sir, such things are done 
 in England or in Scotland or in Almaine 
 or in any other country." And ever the 
 earl of Foix found his saying true, and had 
 great marvel how he should know such 
 things so shortly. And on a time the earl 
 of Foix examined him so straitly that the 
 lord of Corasse shewed him altogether how 
 he knew it, and how he came to him first. 
 When the earl of Foix heard that, he was 
 joyful and said : " Sir of Corasse, keep 
 him well in your love : I would I had such 
 a messenger ; he costeth you nothing and 
 ye know by him everything that is done in 
 the world." The knight answered and 
 said : " Sir, that is true." Thus the lord 
 of Corasse was served with Orthon a long 
 season. I cannot say if this Orthon had 
 any more masters or not, but every week 
 twice or thrice he would come and visit the 
 lord of Corasse and would shew him such 
 tidings of anything that was fallen from 
 whence he came ; and ever the lord of 
 Corasse, when he knew anything, he wrote 
 thereof ever to the earl of Foix, who had 
 great joy thereof, for he was the lord of 
 the world that most desired to hear news 
 out of strange places. 
 
 ' And on a time the lord of Corasse was 
 with the earl of Foix, and the earl demanded 
 of him and said: "Sir of Corasse, did ye 
 ever as yet see your messenger?" "Nay 
 surely, sir," quoth the knight, "nor I 
 never desired it." "That is marvel," 
 quoth the earl: " if I were as well ac- 
 quainted with him as ye be, I would have 
 desired to have seen him. Wherefore I 
 pray you desire it of him, and then to tell 
 me what form and fashion he is of. I have 
 heard you say how he speaketh as good 
 Gascon as other you or I." "Truly, sir," 
 quoth the knight, "so it is. He speaketh 
 as well and as fair as any of us both do : 
 and surely, sir, sith ye counsel me, I shall do 
 my pain to see him an I can." And so on 
 a night as he lay in his bed with the lady 
 his wife, who was so inured to hear Orthon 
 that she was no more afraid of him, then 
 came Orthon and pulled the lord by the 
 ear, who was fast asleep ; and therewith he 
 awoke and asked who was there. " I am 
 
STORY OF THE LORD OF CORASSE 
 
 355 
 
 here," quoth Orthon. Then he demanded : 
 "From whence comest thou now ? " "I 
 come," quoth Orthon, "from Prague in 
 Boeme. " " How far is that hence ? " quoth 
 the knight. ' ' A threescore days' j ourney, " 
 quoth Orthon. " And art thou come thence 
 so soon ? " quoth the knight. "Yea truly," 
 quoth Orthon, " I came as fast as the wind 
 or faster." "Hast thou then wings?" 
 quoth the knight. " Nay truly," quoth he. 
 " How canst thou then fly so fast ? " quoth 
 the knight. " Ye have nothing to do to 
 know that," quoth Orthon. " No ? " quoth 
 the knight, "I would gladly see thee, to 
 know what form thou art of." "Well," 
 quoth Orthon, "ye have nothing to do to 
 know : it sufficeth you to hear me and I to 
 shew you tidings." " In faith," quoth the 
 knight, " I would love thee much better an 
 I might see thee once." "Well," quoth 
 Orthon, " sir, sith ye have so great desire to 
 see me, the first thing that ye see to-morrow 
 when ye rise out of your bed, the same shall 
 be I." "That is sufficient," quoth the lord ; 
 "go thy way, I give thee leave to depart 
 for this night. " 
 
 And the next morning the lord rose ; 
 and the lady his wife was so atfrayed that 
 she durst not rise, but feigned herself sick 
 and said she would not rise. Her husband 
 would have had her to have risen. " Sir," 
 quoth she, "then I shall see Orthon, and I 
 would not see him by my good will." 
 " Well," quoth the knight, " I would 
 gladly see him " ; and so he arose fair and 
 easily out of his bed and sat down on his 
 bed side, weening to have seen Orthon in 
 his own proper form ; but he saw nothing 
 whereby he might say : ' ' Lo, yonder is 
 Orthon." So that day passed and the 
 next night came, and when the knight 
 was in his bed, Orthon came and began 
 to speak, as he was accustomed. " Go 
 thy way," quoth the knight, " thou art 
 but a liar : thou promisedst that I should 
 have seen thee and it was not so." 
 "No? "quoth he, "and I shewed myself 
 to thee." "That is not so," quoth the 
 lord. "Why," quoth Orthon, "when ye 
 rose out of your bed, saw you nothing?" 
 Then the lord studied a little and advised 
 himself well. " Yes, truly," quoth the 
 knight, "now I remember me, as I sat on 
 my bed's side thinking on thee, I saw two 
 straws on the pavement tumbling one upon 
 
 another." "That same was I," quoth 
 Orthon : "into that form I did put myself 
 as then.'' "That is not enough to me," 
 quoth the lord: "I pray thee put thyself 
 into some other form, that I may better 
 see and know thee." "Well," quoth 
 Orthon, "ye will do so much that ye will 
 lose me and I go from you, for ye desire 
 too much of me." "Nay," quoth the 
 knight, "thou shalt not go from me. Let 
 me see thee once and I will desire no 
 more." "Well," quoth Orthon, "ye 
 shall see me to-morrow. Take heed ; the 
 first thing that ye see after ye be out of 
 your chamber, it shall be I." "Well," 
 quoth the knight, " I am then content : go 
 thy way, let me sleep." And so Orthon 
 departed, and the next morning the lord 
 arose and issued out of his chamber and 
 went to a window and looked down into 
 the court of the castle and cast about his 
 eyen, and the first thing he saw was a sow, 
 the greatest that ever he saw, and she 
 seemed to be so lean and evil favoured 
 that there was nothing on her but the skin 
 and the bones, with long ears and a long 
 lean snout. The lord of Corasse had 
 marvel of that lean sow and was weary of 
 the sight of her, and commanded his men 
 to fetch his hounds, and said : " Let the 
 dogs hunt her to death and devour her." 
 His servants opened the kennels and let 
 out his hounds and did set them on this 
 sow ; and at the last the sow made a great 
 cry and looked up to the lord of Corasse, 
 as he looked out at a window, and so 
 suddenly vanished away, no man wist how. 
 Then the lord of Corasse entered into his 
 chamber right pensive, and then he re- 
 membered him of Orthon his messenger, 
 and said : "I repent me that I set my 
 hounds on him : it is an adventure an 
 ever 1 hear any more of him, for he said to 
 me oftentimes that if I displeased him I 
 should lose him." The lord said truth, 
 for never after he came into the castle of 
 Corasse, and also the knight died the same 
 year next following. Lo, sir,' quoth the 
 squire, ' thus I have shewed you the life 
 of Orthon and how a season he served the 
 lord of Corasse with new tidings. ' 
 
 'It is true, sir,' quoth I, 'but now as to 
 your first purpose : is the earl of Foix 
 served with such a messenger ? ' ' Surely,' 
 quoth the squire, ' it is the imagination of 
 
356 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 many that he hath such messengers ; for 
 there is nothing done in any place, but an 
 he set his mind thereto, he will know it, 
 and when men think least thereof; and 
 so did he when the good knights and 
 squires of this country were slain in 
 Portugal at Juberoth. Some saith the 
 knowledge of such things hath done him 
 much profit, for an there be but the value 
 of a spoon lost in his house, anon he will 
 know where it is.' So thus then I took 
 leave of the squire and went to other 
 company, but I bare well away his tale. 
 
 Now I will leave to speak of the business 
 of Portugal and of Spain, and speak of the 
 business in Languedoc and in France. 
 
 CHAPTERS XXXVIII, XXXIX 
 
 SUM-MARY. — Siege was laid to the castle 
 of Brest, held by the English. Ma?zy castles 
 in the viarches of Toulouse, Rouergne and 
 thereabozU, held by the captains of com- 
 panies, were taken by the French. 
 
 CHAPTERS XL, XLI 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — The kitig of Armenia came 
 ifito France to get help against the Turks, 
 •who had driven him cmt of his doTninions. 
 He gave much information about the state of 
 affairs in the East. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 
 How pope Urban and pope Clement were at 
 great discord together, and how the 
 Christian kings were in variance for their 
 elections, and of the wars between them. 
 
 The same season there came to Avignon to 
 see the pope Clement sir Otho of Bruns- 
 wick, to have money for the war he had 
 made for him against the Romans and 
 Bartholomew of Aigles, who wrote himself 
 pope Urban the sixth, as it is contained in 
 his history herebefore. And there sir 
 Otho shewed divers things to the pope and 
 to the cardinals, wherein he was well 
 believed and heard ; but as for money, he 
 could get none, for the pope's chamber 
 was so clean voided from gold and silver 
 
 that the cardinals could not have the 
 money that pertained to their hats : so this 
 sir Otho of Brunswick departed from them 
 not well content : at Avignon there was 
 delivered him a thousand franks and he 
 set little thereby : whereby pope Clement's 
 war was sore weakened, for sir Otho would 
 in no wise meddle any more in the pope's 
 wars. 
 
 Then Margaret of Duras,^ who was at 
 Gaieta and was adversary against the 
 queen of Naples, wife sometime to king 
 Louis duke of Anjou, she sent for this sir 
 Otho to aid her in the war that she made 
 against the Neapolitans ; and this sir Otho 
 a certain space excused himself and dis- 
 simuled and foded forth the time, as he 
 that wist not what to do. Then some of 
 his council did put him in mind to go to 
 this Margaret of Duras, who was inheritor 
 to Naples and to Sicily, and to help to aid 
 and defend her heritage, and to lake her to 
 his wife, for she was content to marry him, 
 because he was of a noble blood and of high 
 extraction, and was lord and king of the 
 country called Daure.^ And some other 
 of his council counselled him contrary, 
 saying how he might thereby come to an 
 evil end, for the children of king Louis 
 of Naples, who was crowned king in the 
 city of Bari, though they were but young, 
 yet they had great friends and kinsmen, 
 and specially the French king their cousin- 
 german, who will aid them and their 
 mother Joan, duchess of Anjou and of 
 Maine. All these doubts some of his 
 council shewed him, wherefore sir Otho 
 forbare a long season and dissimuled the 
 matter and took none of both parties. 
 
 The same season the soldiers of pope 
 Clement enclosed in the city of Perugia 
 pope Urban, and was besieged by the lord 
 of Montcroix, a valiant knight of the 
 county of Geneva and of Savoy, sir Taille- 
 bart, a knight of the Rhodes, and sir Bernard 
 de la Salle ; and there pope Urban was 
 sore constrained and on the point to have 
 been taken, for as I was then informed, 
 for the sum of twenty thousand franks a 
 captain Almain, who had a great company 
 
 1 The paragraph should begin with the sentence 
 before : ' By this pope Clement's war was weakened, 
 etc. Also Margaret of Duras,' etc. 
 
 2 A curious mistranslation. It should be: 'and 
 so he became lord and king of the country of which 
 she called herself lady ' (dame). 
 
AFFAIRS OF THE CHURCH 
 
 357 
 
 with him, called the earl Conrad, would 
 have delivered pope Urban into the hands 
 of pope Clement ; whereupon sir Bernard 
 de la Salle was sent to Avignon to pope 
 Clement for the said sum of money ; but 
 the pope nor the cardinals there could not 
 make the money, for that pope's court 
 was so poor that they had no money ; and 
 so sir Bernard de la Salle returned evil 
 content to the siege of Perugia, and so then 
 they dissimuled the matter, and the Peru- 
 gians in like wise, and also this earl Conrad ; 
 and so pope Urban issued out of Perugia 
 and out of peril and went to Rome and 
 abode there. 
 
 I know right well that in time to come 
 there will be had much [marvel] of these 
 things, how the Church should fall in such 
 trouble and endure so long, but it was a 
 plague sent from God for the clergy to 
 advise and to consider well their great 
 estate and superfluity that they were in ; 
 but many did set little thereby, for they 
 were so blinded with pride that each one 
 thought to be as good as another : where- 
 fore it went evil, and if our faith had not 
 been confirmed in the hands and grace of 
 the Holy Ghost, who illumined the heart 
 of them that were gone out of the right 
 way and held them firm in unity, else our 
 faith had been greatly deformed : but the 
 great lords of the earth at the beginning 
 did nothing but laugh at the Church, till I 
 chronicled these chronicles in the year of 
 our Lord Jesu Christ MCCCLXXX. and X. 
 Much of the common people marvelled 
 how the great lords, as the French king, 
 the king of Almaine and other kings and 
 princes of Christendom, did provide no 
 remedy in that case. 
 
 There was one thing reasonable to 
 appease the common people and to excuse 
 the high princes and kings, dukes and earls 
 and other lords ; as by ensample, the yolk 
 of the egg cannot be without the white nor 
 the white without the yolk, no more may 
 the clergy and the lords be one without 
 another ; for the lords are governed by the 
 clergy, or they could not live but as beasts 
 an the clergy were not, and the clergy 
 counselleth and exhorteth the lords to do 
 as they do. And I say surely I have been 
 in my time in divers parts of the world, 
 what for to accomplish my pleasure and to 
 see novelties in the world, and to have 
 
 knowledge of the conquests and adventures 
 written in this book ; and truly tiic season 
 that I went thus about in the world, I 
 could lightly see no great lord but that he 
 had a marmoset, or of the clergy or a boy 
 of simple lineage mounted up to honour by 
 reason of their jangling and railing,' except 
 the earl of Foix, for he had never none such, 
 for he was naturally sage, for his wisdom 
 was better than any that could be given 
 him. Yet I say not that such lords as are 
 ruled by such marmosets be fools, but 
 rather more than fools, for they be sore 
 blinded and yet they have two eyen. 
 
 When the knowledge came first to the 
 French king Charles of the difference 
 between these two popes, he did J3ut the 
 matter on the clergy, which way he should 
 take them. They of the clergy of France 
 determined and took pope Clement for the 
 most surest part, and to the French opinion 
 accorded the king of Castile and the king 
 of Scots, because all the season that the 
 schism was thus in the Church, France, 
 Castile and Scotland were joined together 
 by alliance ; and the king of England and 
 the king of Portugal were of the contrary 
 opinion against their enemies. The earl 
 of Flanders never inclined in his courage 
 to pope Clement, that he should be right 
 pope, because Urban was first chosen at 
 Rome, who was archbishop of Bari.^ This 
 Clement, being cardinal of Geneva, wrote 
 letters unto the noble earl of Flanders how 
 there was a pope chosen by due election at 
 Rome and named Urban ; wherefore he 
 would not believe after on that Clement, 
 and as long as he lived he was of that 
 opinion, so was the king of Almaine and all 
 the Empire and also the king of Hungary. 
 Thus then I put in writing the state and 
 differences that I had seen in my days in 
 the world and in the Church : it was no 
 marvel though the lords of the world 
 suffered and dissimuled the matter. This 
 brought to my remembrance how ^ that, 
 when I was but young and pope Innocent 
 
 1 ' Par leurs jangles et bourdes,' ' by their raillery 
 and jesting.' 
 
 2 ' Because Clement was present at the first 
 election at Rome of the archbishop of Bari.' 
 
 3 'Thus then in writing of these estates and 
 differences that I saw in my time in the world 
 and in the Church, which was thus shaken, and 
 of the lords of land who suffered the matter and 
 dissembled, it came often to my remembrance how,' 
 etc. 
 
358 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 reigned in Avignon, he held in prison a 
 friar minor called friar John l-voche-Taillade. 
 This clerk, as it was said, and I have 
 heard it privily in divers places, he shewed 
 and alleged divers authorities of the in- 
 cidents and fortunes that fell after in his 
 days in the realm of France, and also he 
 spake of the taking of king John, and 
 shewed certain things reasonable how the 
 Church should suffer much for the great 
 superfluities that he saw in them, and 
 while he was in prison, it was shewed me 
 what he said to the cardinal of Ostia 
 called d'Arras, and to the cardinal of 
 Auxerre, who went to visit him and to 
 argue with him ; then he laid to them an 
 ensaraple, as hereafter ye shall hear. 
 
 'Lords,' said this friar, 'there was once 
 a fowl appeared in this world without any 
 feathers ; and when all other fowls knew 
 that he was born, they came to see him, 
 because he was so fair and pleasant to be- 
 hold. Then they imagined among them 
 what they might do for this bird, for with- 
 out feathers they knew well he could not 
 live : and they said they would he should 
 live, because he was so fair. Then every 
 fowl there gave him of their feathers, and 
 the fairer bird the more feathers he gave 
 him, so that then he was a fair bird and a 
 well feathered and began to fly. And the 
 birds that had given him of their feathers, 
 when they saw him fly, they took great 
 pleasure : and when this bird saw himself 
 so well feathered and that all other fowls 
 honoured him, he began to wax proud and 
 took no regard of them that had made him, 
 but picked and spurred at them and was 
 contrary to them. Then the other birds 
 drew together and demanded each other 
 what was best to be done with this bird, 
 that they had made up of nought and now 
 so disdaineth them. Then the peacock 
 said : " He is greatly beautied by reason of 
 my feathers : I will take them again from 
 him." "In the name of God," said the 
 falcon, "so will I have mine": and so 
 said all the other birds, and then they be- 
 gan to take again from him all the feathers 
 they had given him. And when this bird 
 saw that, he humbled himself and know- 
 ledged of the wealth and honour that he 
 had not of himself but of them : for he 
 knew that he came into the world naked 
 and bare, and the feathers that he had, they 
 
 might well take from him again when they 
 list : then he cried them mercy and said 
 that he would amend himself and no more 
 be proud. And so then again these gentle 
 birds had pity on him and feathered him 
 again, and said to him : ' ' We would gladly 
 see thee fly among us, so thou wilt be 
 humble as thou oughtest to be : but know 
 surely, if thou be any more proud and dis- 
 dainous, we will take from thee all thy 
 feathers and set thee as we found thee 
 first."' 
 
 Thus said the friar John to the cardinals 
 that were in his presence : ' Sirs, thus shall 
 it fall on you of the Church, for the emperor 
 of Rome and of Almaine, and the other 
 kings christened and high princes of the 
 world have given you the goods and posses- 
 sions and riches, to the intent to serve 
 God, and ye spend it in pride and super- 
 fluity. Ye read not the life of Saint 
 Silvester, pope of Rome after Saint Peter. 
 Imagine and consider how the emperor 
 Constantine gave him first the dimes of the 
 Church, and on what condition. Saint 
 Silvester rode nother with two hundred 
 nor three hundred horse abroad in the 
 world, but he held himself simply closed in 
 Rome and lived soberly with them of the 
 Church, when the angel of God shewed 
 him how the emperor Constantine, who 
 was as then but an infidel, should send for 
 him. In like wise the emperor had it by 
 revelation of an angel that Silvester should 
 shew him the way of health, for he was 
 sick of the leprosy, so that his flesh fell in 
 pieces. And when Silvester came before 
 him, he shewed him the way of baptism 
 and so christened him, and incontinent he 
 was whole. For the which the emperor 
 Constantine believed in God, and all his 
 Empire, and gave to Silvester and to the 
 Church all the dimes, for before the 
 emperor of Rome held them ; and beside 
 that gave him many fair gifts and great 
 seignories, augmenting our faith and the 
 Church : but it was his intention that the 
 goods and seignories that he had given 
 him, that he should govern it humbly and 
 truly, and not to spend it in pomp and 
 pride. But nowadays they of the Church 
 do the contrary, wherewith God is dis- 
 pleased, and hereafter will be more dis- 
 pleased, so that the great lords of the earth 
 will wax cold in their devotions and not be 
 
AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL, 1385, ETC. 
 
 359 
 
 so liberal in giving anything to the Church, 
 but rather to be ready to take from it that 
 was given before. And I think it will not 
 be long or this be seen.' 
 
 Thus this friar John of Roche-Taillade, 
 whom the cardinals held in prison in Avig- 
 non, shewed to them these words and 
 divers other, whereof the cardinals were 
 abashed and would gladly have put him 
 to death, if they might have found any just 
 cause against him ; but they could find 
 none, and so suffered him to live ; but they 
 durst not let him out of prison, for he 
 shewed his matters so perfect, and laid for 
 them high scriptures, that peradventure he 
 might have made many in the world to have 
 erred. Howbeit, such as took more heed 
 to his saying than I did, saw many things 
 fall after according as he said and wrote 
 in prison ; and all that he said he would 
 prove by the Apocalypse. The true proofs 
 wherewith he armed himself saved him 
 from brenning, and also some of the car- 
 dinals had pity on him and would not do 
 their uttermost to him. 
 
 S^The author sets forth the question of the 
 crown of Portugal, and then proceeds as 
 follows'] : — 
 
 Now let us return to the besynes of 
 Portugal, for they be not to be left for the 
 great adventures that there hath fallen, and 
 to chronicle all things as they have fallen, to 
 the intent that in time to come they should 
 be found written and registered. If ad- 
 ventures were not known, it were great 
 damage, and by clerks that anciently have 
 written and registered the histories and 
 books, thereby the histories are known. 
 There is not so perpetual a memory as is 
 writing, and truly I say to you and will, 
 that they that come after me should know 
 that for to know the truth of this history I 
 have taken therein great pain in my days 
 and have searched many realms and 
 countries to know the truth, and have had 
 acquaintance of many valiant men, and 
 have seen divers, both of France, of Eng- 
 land, of Scotland, Castile, Portugal and of 
 other lands, duchies and counties, such as 
 they and their lands hath been conjoined 
 in these wars, and with them I have spoken 
 and been instructed and informed, and I 
 would not that any inquest should pass un- 
 known, sith I knew it to be true and not- 
 
 able.' And while I was in Beam with the 
 earl Gaston of Foix, I was there informed 
 of divers businesses such as fell between 
 Castile and Portugal, and when I was 
 returned again into my country in the 
 county of Hainault and in the town of 
 Valenciennes, and that I had refreshed me 
 there a season, then I determined me to 
 follow the history that I had begun. Then 
 I advised in mine imagination how I could 
 not sufficiently be instructed by the hearing 
 of them that sustained the opinion of the 
 king of Castile, but that in like wise I 
 ought to hear the Portugals, as well as the 
 Gascons and Spaniards that I heard in the 
 house of the earl of Foix. And in the way 
 going thither and returning I took no regard 
 to the pain or travail of my body, but so I 
 went to Bruges in Flanders to find there 
 some of the realm of Portugal and of Lisbon, 
 for there were ever some of that country. 
 
 Behold if my adventure were good or no. 
 If I had sought a season seven year, I could 
 not have come to a better point than I did 
 then. For then it was shewed me that if 
 I would go to Middleburg in Zealand, I 
 should find there a knight of Portugal, a 
 valiant man and a sage, and of the king of 
 Portugal's council, who was newly come 
 thither and was going thence by sea into 
 Pruce, and how he could justly and plainly 
 shew me of the besynes and adventures of 
 Portugal, for he knew and had been over 
 all the country. These tidings rejoiced 
 me, and so I went from Bruges with one of 
 Portugal in my company, who knew right 
 well this knight, and so we came to Sluys 
 and there took the sea and did so much by 
 the grace of God that we came to Middle- 
 burg, and the Portugals that were in my 
 company acquainted me with this knight, 
 and I found him right gracious, sage, 
 honourable, courteous, amiable and ac- 
 quaintable, and so I was with him six days 
 or thereabout, and this knight informed me 
 of all the besynes between the realm of 
 Castile and Portugal sith the death of king 
 Ferrant till the departing of that knight 
 out of that country. Pie shewed me every- 
 thing so plainly and so graciously, that I 
 took great pleasure to hear him and to 
 
 1 ' Nor would I have admitted any information 
 about any country, without I had well ascertained 
 after the information obtained that it were true and 
 notable.' 
 
360 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 write it ; and when I was informed by him 
 of all that I desired to know, I took leave 
 of him, and he conveyed me to my ship, and 
 so did divers other rich merchants of his 
 country, who were come from Bruges and 
 from other places to see him. And in his 
 company there was the son of the count 
 of Novarre in Portugal and divers other 
 knights and squires of that realm ; but he 
 had the chief honour among them, and 
 certainly by that I could see and imagine 
 of him and -of his estate, he was worthy to 
 have honour, for he was of noble port and 
 goodly stature and likely to be a valiant 
 man ; and when I return again from Rome 
 into mine own country, I shall busy me to 
 make relation of the words of this gentle 
 knight called sir John Ferrant Pacheco, 
 and shall chronicle all that hath fallen in 
 Portugal and in Castile' unto the year of 
 our Lord mccclxxx. and x. 
 
 CHAPTERS XLIII-XLVI 
 
 SUMMARY.— After the battle of Alju- 
 barrota avibassadors were sent by the king 
 of Portugal to get the aid of the duke of 
 Lancaster. One of these, tiamed Lawrence 
 Fougasse (Fogafa), gave an account of the 
 events in Spain and Portugal and of the 
 battle of Alfubarrota. The duke of Lan- 
 caster sailed from Bristol in the month of 
 May with tioo hundred ships a?id went first 
 to Brest. 
 
 CHAPTERS XLVH, XLVHI 
 
 SUMMARY. — After raising the siege of 
 Brest the duke of Lancaster sailed on and 
 landed at Corogna in Galicia, whence he re- 
 ?noved after about a month to Compostella. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — Great preparations were 
 made by the F7'ench king and his council to 
 pass ccver into E7igland, and a fleet assembled 
 
 1 This is nonsense ; but for the reading ' Rome ' 
 instead of ' Bruges ' the French text is responsible. 
 It should be : 'Then I returned to Bruges and to 
 my own country, and I worked upon the words 
 and relations made by the gentle knight sir John 
 Ferrant Pacheco and chronicled all that which be- 
 fell in regard to Portugal and Castile,' etc. Also 
 note that it was Froissart who went on board the 
 knight's ship, and not vice versa. 
 
 at Sluys of more than twelve hu7idred ships. 
 The English prepared for defence. 
 
 CHAPTERS L-LHI [L, LI, LHI, LH]' 
 
 SUMMARY. — The English took Roales 
 and Villalopos in Galicia, and the duke of 
 Lancaster sefit an e?nbassy to the kijig of 
 Portugal, who cavie to vieet him. The 
 English took Pontevedra, Vigo and Bayona, 
 and besieged Ribadavia, while the king of 
 Castile hoped for the ijivasion of England 
 by the French king. 
 
 CHAPS. LIV-LXn [LHI-LV, LV-LX] 
 
 SUI\/MARY. — The French fleet was as- 
 sembled at Sluys, and the French king with 
 the dui:esqf Burgundy and Bourbon arrived 
 there, and waited for the dttke of Berry. 
 Meanwhile the king of Armenia passed over 
 into England and returned. Finally the 
 duke of Berry arrived, but owing to the 
 lateness of the season and the contrary winds 
 the voyage was deferred till the spring, and 
 the king and lords returned from Sluys. 
 
 CHAPS. LXni-LXVHI [LXI, LXI, 
 LXH, LXXH, LXXH, LXXHI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — Them was much talk of 
 the duel at Paris between Jean de Carrouge 
 and Jacques Legris, in which the latter was 
 defeated. ICing Peter of Aragon died, and 
 the young king had difficulties with the 
 English and with them of Barcelona. 
 
 John of Brittany, sou of Charles of Blois, 
 7uas delivered out of prison in England by 
 the means of Oliver de Clisson. 
 
 An expedition was sent from France to 
 help the king of Castile ; and meanwhile 
 the Flejnish fleet was defeated by the Eng- 
 lish, who landed in Flanders and plundered 
 the cotintiy. 
 
 CHAPTERS LXIX-LXXVI [XLIV, 
 LXXIV-LXXX] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The English in Galicia 
 took Ribadavia and Orrl^s. Tlie king of 
 
 1 The mistaken numbering of the chapters from 
 this point to the end of the volume has been 
 corrected, but for convenience of reference the 
 numbers as printed in the text of Lord Berners' 
 translation are given throughout in brackets. 
 
CAPTURE OF THE CONSTABLE DE CLISSON, 1387 
 
 361 
 
 Portugal was married io Philippa of Lan- 
 caster. Besanccs ( Braganza ) siirrcndiTid 
 to the duke of Lamaster. 
 
 Gauthier de Passac and other Fre?ich cap- 
 tains arrived in Castile. They advised the 
 king of Castile not to give battle until the 
 duke of Bourbon ca??ie. Meanwhile the 
 duke of Lancaster resided at Besances, atzd 
 thither came the king of Portiigal, who 
 arranged with the duke of Lancaster to 
 advance into Castile. 
 
 CHAPTERS LXXVII-LXXIX 
 [LXXXI-LXXXIII] 
 
 SUMMAP Y, — There was great disconte^tt 
 m Eiigland, especially hecaicse of the injluence 
 of the duke of Ireland -with the king. 
 
 The dnke of Brittany, being fallen out of 
 favour with the English, thought to please 
 them by taking prisoner the constable de 
 Clisson, who was preparing an expeditio7t 
 to England. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXX [LXXXIII] 
 
 How the duke of Bretayne sent for all his 
 lords and knights to come to council unto 
 Vannes, and after council he desired the 
 constable to go and see his castle of Er- 
 mine, and how he took him there prisoner 
 and the lord of Beaumanoir with him. 
 
 On this foresaid imagination the duke of 
 Bretayne rested, and to come to his intent 
 he summoned his council to come to Vannes, 
 and desired all the lords and knights of 
 Bretayne affectuously for to come thither, 
 and he did send out his letters unto them, 
 and specially he required sir Oliver of 
 Clisson, constable of France, that he should 
 not fail but for to be there, saying how he 
 would gladlier see him than any other. 
 The constable would not excuse himself, 
 because the duke of Bretayne was his 
 natural lord, and was glad to have his good 
 will, and so he came to Vannes and so did 
 a great number of other lords of Bretayne. 
 This council was long, and many matters 
 debated therein touching the duke and his 
 country, without any word speaking of the 
 voyage that they were in purpose to make 
 into England : the duke dissimuled the 
 matter. • This council was in the city of 
 
 Vannes in a castle called the Motte. The 
 duke made all the lords a great dinner and 
 fed them with fair loving words till it was 
 near night, and then they returned to their 
 lodgings into the suburbs without the city. 
 And the constable of France, to please the 
 knights and squires of Bretayne, he desired 
 them all the next day to dine with him. 
 .Some did so and some departed to their 
 own houses to take leave of their wives and 
 parents, for the constable was purposed, as 
 soon as he departed thence, straight to go 
 unto his navy at Lautreguier. The duke 
 of Bretayne knew it right well, but spake 
 no word thereof making semblant as 
 though he knew nothing. So this dinner 
 ended, whereas were the most part of the 
 barons of Bretayne, and suddenly unto 
 them came the duke of Bretayne right 
 amorously by seeming, but he thought 
 otherwise in his heart : none knew thereof 
 but such as he had discovered his mind 
 unto. As soon as he entered into the con- 
 stable's lodging, some said : ' Behold here 
 Cometh the duke.' Then every man rose, 
 as reason was, and sweetly received him, 
 as they ought for to do their lord, and he 
 dealt right gently and he sat down among 
 them and ate and drank and kept good 
 company, and shewed them more tokens 
 of love than ever he did before. And he 
 said unto them : ' Fair lords, my lovers 
 and friends, God send you well to go and 
 well to come again, and send you joy and 
 that you may do such deeds of arms as 
 may please you and that it may be honour- 
 able unto you all.' And when they heard 
 these sweet words of the duke, they all 
 answered and said : ' Sir, we thank you, 
 and God reward you of your great kind- 
 ness, that it pleaseth you to come and see 
 us at our departing.' 
 
 This same season the duke of Bretayne 
 was making of a castle near to Vannes, 
 called the castle of Ermine, the which as 
 then was near furnished, and to the intent 
 to attrap the constable there, he said unto 
 him and unto the lord de Laval and to the 
 lord of Beaumanoir and to other lords that 
 were there : ' Sirs, I require you, or ye de- 
 'part, to come and see my new castle of 
 Ermine : ye shall see how I have devised 
 it and also how I purpose for to do.' 
 
 They all agreed unto him, because they 
 saw him come so lovingly among them, for 
 
362 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 they thought none evil. And so the most 
 part of them moanted on their horses and 
 rode forth with the duke to the castle of 
 Ermine. Then the duke, the constable, the 
 lord de Laval and the lord of Beaumanoir 
 and divers other lords and knights alighted 
 off their horses and entered into the castle, 
 and the duke led the constable by the hand 
 from chamber to chamber and into every 
 house of ofSce, and made them drink in the 
 cellar. Then the duke brought them to the 
 chief tower, and at the door thereof he said 
 to the constable ; ' Sir Oliver, I know no 
 man on this side the sea that knoweth more 
 in building than ye do. Wherefore I pray 
 you mount up the stairs and behold the 
 building of the tower. If it be well, I am 
 content ; and if anything be amiss, it shall 
 be reformed after your device. ' The con- 
 stable thinking none evil, said : ' Sir, with 
 right a good will : please it you to go be- 
 fore and I shall follow you.' 'Nay, sir,' 
 said the duke, 'go your way up alone, and 
 in the mean time I will talk with the lord de 
 Laval.' The constable went up the stairs, 
 and when he was above and past the first 
 stage, there were men in a chamber laid in 
 a bushment, and they opened the door, 
 and some went down and did shut the door 
 beneath and the other went up all armed 
 to the constable. There they took and led 
 him into a chamber and fettered him with 
 three bolts of iron, and said to him : 'Sir, 
 pardon us, for we must needs do that we 
 do : we be thus commanded by our lord 
 the duke of Eretayne.' 
 
 If the constable were abashed at that 
 time, it was no marvel. The constable 
 ought not to have great marvel of that 
 chance ; for after that the displeasure fell 
 between the duke and him, for any letters 
 that the duke could write to him, or for 
 any device or safe-conduct to come and go 
 safely, yet for all that the constable would 
 never come in the duke's presence, for he 
 durst not trust him, and now he is come to 
 his misfortune, for he found the duke in 
 great displeasure with him, and that was 
 well shewed. 
 
 And when the lord de Laval, being be- 
 neath at the stair foot, saw the door closed,* 
 his blood began to tremble and had great 
 fear of his brother ; ^ and beheld the duke, 
 
 1 ' For his brother-in-l:iw.' Oliver de Clisson 
 had married Catherine de Laval. 
 
 who waxed pale and green as a leaf. Then 
 he knew that the matter went amiss and 
 said : 'Ah, sir, for God's sake have mercy. 
 What will you do ? Take none evil will 
 against the constable.' 'Sir,' said the 
 duke, ' take ye your horse and depart ; ye 
 may go when ye will : I know well enough 
 what I have to do.' ' Sir,' said the lord 
 de Laval, ' I will not depart hence without 
 I have my brother the constable with me. ' 
 With these words there came unto them 
 the lord of Beaumanoir, whom the duke 
 also hated, and he in like wise demanded 
 to have the constable. Then the duke 
 drew his dagger and came unto him and 
 said : ' Beaumanoir, wilt thou be in the 
 same point as thy master is in?' 'Sir,' 
 said he, ' I trust my master is in good 
 case.' 'Well,' said the duke, 'I demand 
 of thee if thou wilt be in like case.' ' Yea, 
 sir,' said he. Then the duke took his 
 dagger by the point and said : ' If thou 
 wilt be in like case, it behoveth thee to 
 put out one of thine eyen.' The lord of 
 Beaumanoir saw well the matter went not 
 well, and saw the duke wax pale for 
 anger : then he kneeled down on his knee 
 and said : ' Sir, I repute so great nobleness 
 in you, that I trust in God and you that ye 
 will do us right. We be at your mercy, 
 and we are come hither at your request : 
 we trust ye will not dishonour yourself to 
 accomplish any evil will that ye have to 
 us: it should be a strange novelty.'^ 
 ' Well,' said the duke, ' come on thy way, 
 for thou shalt have no more nor no less 
 than he shall have.' So he was led into 
 another chamber and fettered also with 
 three pair of irons. If he were abashed 
 he had a great cause, for he perceived 
 well the duke loved him but little nor the 
 constable also, but then he had no remedy. 
 Anon tidings spread over the castle and 
 also the town, how that the constable of 
 France and the lord of Beaumanoir and 
 also the lord de Laval were taken prisoners, 
 and how the lord de Laval might depart 
 when he would, for the duke demanded 
 nothing of him ; whereof the people had 
 great marvel, and also great cause why ; 
 
 ^ ' ]1 en seroit trop grant nouvelle,' ' there would 
 be much question {or talk) of it ' : as in speaking of 
 the deposition of Richard II., 'Car trop grans 
 nouvelles seroient en tous royaulmes crestlens desa 
 prinse.' 
 
CAPTURE OF THE CONSTABLE DE CLISSON 
 
 363 
 
 for every man said how the duke would 
 put them both to death, he hated them so 
 mortally. The duke was greatly blamed 
 of all knights and squires that heard there- 
 of, and they said there was never a greater 
 defamation on any prince than was on the 
 duke of Bretayne, seeing that he had de- 
 sired the constable to dine with him and to 
 see his house and to make him good cheer, 
 and so to take him prisoner. They said 
 they never heard of case like ; wherefore 
 he was infamed and never man more dis- 
 honoured, nor thereby no man should trust 
 in any prince, sith the duke had deceived 
 these noblemen. ' What will the French 
 king say when he knoweth this? for by 
 this his voyage into England is broken. 
 There was never so great a shame imagined. 
 But now the duke sheweth what lay in his 
 heart. We trow there was never seen in 
 Bretayne case like, nor in none other place. 
 If a poor knight had done such a deed, 
 he were dishonoured for ever. In whom 
 should a man trust but in his lord ? and 
 that lord should maintain him in his right 
 and do him justice. Who shall make 
 correction of this deed ? None, but the 
 French king. Now the duke sheweth 
 plainly how he is on the English part and 
 will sustain and hold with the opinion of the 
 king of England, sith he hath thus broken 
 the voyage by the sea, that should have 
 gone into England. What shall become 
 now of the knights and squires of Bretayne, 
 when they shall hear these tidings? Nothing, 
 but incontinent come from their houses and 
 lay siege to the castle of Ermine and close 
 the duke within, and there tarry till they 
 have taken him other dead or quick, and 
 lead him like a false prince to the French 
 king.' 
 
 Thus the knights and squires about the 
 marches of Vannes spake and communed 
 together, and such as were come thither 
 to that council with the said lords ; and 
 they were in great doubt that the duke 
 would put them to death. Then some 
 other said : ' As for the lord de Laval is in 
 no jeopardy : ^ he is so wise that he will 
 temper the duke in all his business.' And 
 truly so he did, for an he had not been, the 
 
 1 ' The lord de Lava] hath remained with him ; 
 he would not sufTer it ; he is so wi.se,' etc. The 
 translator seems to have taken ' il ne le souffriroit 
 nullement ' to mean ' he will not suffer any harm. ' 
 
 constable had been dead the first night, if 
 he had had a thousand lives. 
 
 It ought to be believed that sir Oliver of 
 Clisson was not at his ease when he saw 
 himself so taken and attrapped and fettered 
 and kept with thirty persons, and had no 
 comfort by them, for they knew not the 
 will of their lord, so that he reckoned him- 
 self but as a dead man, and also he had no 
 hope to live till the next day ; and surely 
 he was in great danger, for three times he 
 was unfettered and brought to have been 
 beheaded or else drowned, and surely so 
 he had been, if the lord de Laval had not 
 been. But when this lord de Laval heard 
 the duke's strait commandment to put him 
 to death, he kneeled down before him lift- 
 ing up his hands sore weeping and said : 
 ' Sir, for God's sake take mercy : advise 
 you, shew not your cruelty against the con- 
 stable, he hath deserved no death. Sir, of 
 your grace that it may please you to shew 
 me the cause of your displeasure against 
 him, and, sir, I swear unto you, any trespass 
 that he hath done he shall make you such 
 amends with his body and goods, or else I 
 for him, as ye yourself shall demand or 
 judge. Sir, remember you how in your 
 yongth ye two were companions together 
 and brought up both in one house with the 
 duke of Lancaster, who was so gentle a 
 prince that there was none like him. Also, 
 sir, remember how before his peace was 
 made with the French king, always he 
 truly served you : he aided you to recover 
 your heritage ; ye have always found in 
 him good comfort and counsel : if ye be 
 now moved or informed against him other- 
 wise than reason should require, yet he 
 hath not deserved death.' ' Sir de Laval,' 
 said the duke, ' let me have my will ; for 
 Oliver of Clisson hath so oftentimes dis- 
 pleased me, and now is the hour come that 
 I may shew him my displeasure. Where- 
 fore depart you hence and let me shew my 
 cruelty, for I will he shall die.' 'Ah, sir,> 
 said the lord de Laval, ' refrain your evil 
 will and moderate your courage and regard 
 to reason ; for if ye put him to death, there 
 was never prince so dishonoured as ye shall 
 be. There shall not be in Bretayne knight 
 nor squire, city nor castle nor good town nor 
 no man, but he shall hate you to the death 
 and do that they can to disinherit you, nor 
 the king of England nor his council shall 
 
364 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 give you no thank tTierefor. Sir, will you 
 lose yourself for the death of one man ? 
 Sir, turn your imagination; for this thought 
 is nothing worth, but dishonourable, that 
 ye should cause such an honourable knight 
 as sir Oliver of Clisson is, to die, coming 
 unto you at your own desire. Surely, sir, 
 this deed should be treason and great re- 
 proach both before God and the world, to 
 desire him thus to dinner, and he coming 
 to you, and after that ye went to him into 
 the town desiring him to see your new 
 buildings, and he obeyed in everything to 
 you and drank of your wine ; and is this the 
 great love that ye shewed him, to put him 
 to death ? There was never so great blame 
 laid to any lord as shall be laid to you. 
 All the world shall reproach you and hate 
 you mortally and be glad to make you war. 
 But, sir, I shall shew you what ye shall do, 
 sith ye so sore hate him. Put him to ran- 
 som to a great sum of florins ; this ye may 
 well do : and if he hold other town or 
 castle that should be yours, demand them 
 again and ye shall have them : and look, 
 what covenant ye make with him, I shall 
 become pledge therefor.' And when the 
 duke heard the lord de Laval speak so 
 reasonably and pressed so sore on him as 
 in a manner all that night he would not 
 depart from him, then the duke studied a 
 little and somewhat refrained his evil will, 
 and at last spake and said : ' Sir de Laval, 
 ye be a good mean for him ; howbeit, I 
 will ye know sir Oliver of Clisson is the 
 man in the world that I most hate : for an 
 ye were not, he should not scape without 
 death this same night. Your words hath 
 saved him : go to him and demand if he 
 will pay me a hundred thousand franks 
 incontinent, for I will nother have him nor 
 you to pledge, nor nothing else but the 
 ready money, and beside that to yield to 
 me three castles and a town, such as I 
 shall name, the castle of Bourg, the castle 
 of Josselin, the castle of Blain, and the 
 town of Jugon, and put me in po.ssession of 
 them, or my deputies : this done, I shall 
 deliver him to you.' 'This shall be done,' 
 said the lord de Laval, 'and, sir, I thank 
 you that ye will thus do at my desire, and, 
 sir, be you sure all that ye have demanded 
 shall be done, these castles and town de- 
 livered and these hundred thousand franks 
 paid, or he depart.' 
 
 Then the lord de Laval was greatly 
 rejoiced, when he saw the constable out of 
 peril of death. Then the tower door was 
 opened and the lord de Laval mounted up, 
 and came thereas the constable was sitting 
 sore abashed, for he looked for nothing but 
 death. And when he saw the lord de 
 Laval, his heart revived, and thought there 
 was some treaty in hand. Then the lord 
 de Laval said to them that were thereby : 
 ' Sirs, take off his irons, that I may speak 
 with him from the duke ' : and said to him : 
 ' Sir, how say you ? will you do that I shall 
 shew you ? ' ' Yea truly, sir,' said the 
 constable. Then his irons were taken off, 
 and the lord de Laval drew him apart and 
 said : ' Fair brother, with great pain and 
 much business I have saved your life and 
 made your end ; ^ but ye must pay, or 
 ye depart hence, in ready money a hundred 
 thousand franks, and moreover to yield up 
 to the duke three castles and the town of 
 Jugon, otherwise ye can have no deliver- 
 ance.' Then the constable said: 'I will 
 not refuse that bargain ; but who shall go to 
 Clisson to fetch this money ? Fair brother,' 
 said the constable, ' I think ye must be 
 fain to go therefor.' 'Nay, sir, not so,' 
 said the lord de Laval, ' for I have pro- 
 mised never to depart out of this castle till 
 I have you with me ; for I know well the 
 duke is right cruel, and peradventure in 
 mine absence will repent him by some light 
 information, and so then all were lost.' 
 'Why, who shall go then?' said the con- 
 stable. ' Sir,' said he, 'the lord of Beau- 
 manoir shall go. He is here in prison as 
 well as ye be ; he shall make all this pro- 
 vision.' ' That is well said,' said the con- 
 stable ; ' go your way down and ordain 
 everything as ye list. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXI [LXXXV] 
 
 How the constable of France was delivered 
 at the request of the lord de Laval, pay- 
 ing certain ransom, and how the constable 
 delivered to the duke three castles and a 
 town and paid CM. franks. 
 
 Thus the lord de Laval went down out of 
 the tower to the duke, who was going to 
 
 I ' J'ai fait vostre fin,' 'I have made your terms." 
 The expression ' fair brother ' in the passage repre- 
 sents 'beau-frere.' 
 
CAPTURE OF THE CONSTABLE DE CLISSON 
 
 36s 
 
 bed, for of all that night he had not slept. 
 Then the lord de Laval kneeled down and 
 said : ' Sir, ye shall have all your demand, 
 but, sir, ye must deliver the lord of Beau- 
 manoir, that he may speak with the con- 
 stable, for he must go and fetch this 
 ransom and put your men in possession 
 of the castles that ye desire to have.' 
 'Well,' said the dukc^, 'deliver them out 
 of prison and put them into a chamber 
 and be you the mean of their treaty, for I 
 will not see them ; and return again to me 
 when I have slept, and I will speak with 
 you.' Then the lord de Laval issued out 
 of the chamber and went with two knights 
 thither, whereas the lord of Beaumanoir 
 was in prison, who was greatly abashed 
 and doubted sore the death. He feared, 
 when he heard the door open, that they 
 were come to have put him to death ; but 
 when he saw the lord de Laval enter, his 
 heart revived, and more when he heard 
 him speak, saying : ' Sir of Beaumanoir, 
 your deliverance is made, wherefore ye 
 may be glad.' Then his fetters were taken 
 off, and so he went into another chamber, 
 and then the constable was also brought 
 thither, and meat and wine was brought to 
 them, for all the servants of the house were 
 glad of their deliverance, for they were 
 sorry of that case : howbeit, they might 
 find no remedy, it behoved them to obey 
 their master's commandment in right or in 
 wrong ; and as soon as the castle gate was 
 shut and the bridge drawn, there entered 
 nor issued nother man nor woman, for the 
 keys were in the duke's chamber and he 
 slept till it was three of the clock. And 
 the knights and squires that were without 
 abiding for their masters were sore abashed, 
 and said : ' Now our season and voyage by 
 the sea is lost and broken. Ah, constable, 
 what mishap is fallen to you ? what counsel 
 hath deceived you ? The council that was 
 made and assembled at Vannes was made 
 for none other intent but to attrap you. 
 Ye were wont to be of the opinion that if 
 the duke had sent for you and had made 
 you a thousand assurances, yet ye would 
 not have gone nor come at his command- 
 ment, ye doubted him so sore ; and now 
 ye went simply at his desire.' Everyman 
 through the duchy of Bretayne complained 
 for the constable and wist not what to do 
 nor say, and all knights and squires said : 
 
 ' What do we here ? Why do we not go 
 and enclose the duke in his castle of 
 Ermine ? And if he have slain the con- 
 stable, serve him in like manner ; and if he 
 keep him in prison, let us do so that we 
 may have him again. There fell never 
 such a mischief in Bretayne.' Thus one 
 and other said, but there were none that 
 stirred forward, but tarried to hear other 
 news. 
 
 Thus tidings spread abroad, so that 
 within two days it was at Paris, wherewith 
 the king and his uncles, the duke of Berry 
 and the duke of Burgoyne, had great 
 marvel. As then the duke of Bourbon 
 was gone to Avignon to go into Castile, 
 and had seen the pope Clement on his way. 
 These tidings came to him as he was at 
 Lyon -sur-le- Rhone, and with him the 
 earl of Savoy. And the earl of Saint-Pol, 
 the lord of Coucy and [the] admiral of 
 France, being at Harfleur ready to have 
 entered into the sea toward their voyage, 
 when they heard how the duke of Bretayne 
 had taken the constable of France prisoner 
 in his castle of Ermine, and the lord de 
 Laval and the lord of Beaumanoir with 
 him, and they that brought those tidings 
 said how the bruit ran in Bretayne how the 
 duke of Bretayne had put to death the 
 constable of France and the lord of Beau- 
 manoir ; these were hard tidings to these 
 lords and they said : ' Now our voyage is 
 broken : let us give leave to all our men of 
 war to depart, and let us go to Paris to the 
 king and see what he will do.' Then the 
 admiral said : ' It is good we do so, but let 
 not our men depart : peradventure the king 
 will send them to some other part, may 
 happen into Castile, for the duke of 
 Bourbon is going thither, or else peradven- 
 ture he will send them into Bretayne to 
 make war against the duke. Think you 
 that the French king will suffer that matter 
 thus to overpass ? Nay surely, for the king 
 shall receive by this bargain damage to the 
 sum of two hundred thousand florins, beside 
 the loss and hurt that is done to his constable, 
 if he scape the life. Was there ever case 
 like, thus the king to break his voyage, 
 who was in good mind to have done 
 damage to his enemies ? Let us tarry here 
 still a two or three days and peradventure 
 we shall hear some other tidings out of 
 France or out of Bretayne.' 
 
366 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXII [LXXXVI] 
 
 How writings were made at the duke of 
 Bretayne's device for the constable to 
 render his town and castles to the duke 
 and to his heirs for ever, and how they 
 were delivered to the duke. 
 
 Now let us speak a little of the duke of 
 BretaynCj who when he had slept, rose and 
 made him ready, and then he sent for the 
 lord de Laval, who came to him, and there 
 they were together a long space. Finally 
 letters were written according to the duke's 
 will making mention that the constable sir 
 Oliver of Clisson renounced clean his title 
 for ever of the said town and castles and 
 yielded them purely to the duke of Bretayne 
 and to his heirs for ever, and that these 
 writings should be permanent without any 
 repeal. And then the lord of Beaumanoir 
 was ordained by the constable to go to 
 these castles and to cause them that had 
 the rule of them to depart thence, and 
 to put in possession the duke's men, and 
 beside that to levy in ready money a hun- 
 dred thousand franks to pay to the duke. 
 When all this was concluded, the gates 
 of the castle was opened and the lord of 
 Beaumanoir issued out charged and or- 
 dained by the constable to accomplish all 
 these ordinances, and he was desired to 
 make all the diligence that might be : and 
 with him went servants of the duke's, and 
 noised as they went how the constable was 
 sure of his life and was put to ransom. 
 All such as loved him, knights and squires, 
 were glad thereof and so thereby sat still ; 
 for they were determined to have gone and 
 laid siege to the castle of Ermine and have 
 closed the duke therein : they never did 
 thing that they would have been gladder 
 of. So these tidings ran abroad with the 
 wind, so that the lords and knights being 
 at Harfleur heard thereof and had certain 
 knowledge that the constable had been 
 dead, an the lord de Laval had not been : 
 and they said : ' As for the deliverance of 
 his town and castles, he shall recover them 
 again, or else other, at time and leisure : the 
 French king hath enow for him if he need. 
 Now we may depart from hence ; our 
 voyage is broken : let us give our men 
 leave to depart and let us go to Paris and 
 
 learn tidings there ; for we hear say that 
 all such as were at Lautreguier are counter- 
 manded, the which is a sign that we shall 
 go nowhere at this season.' Thus they 
 gave licence to all their men of war to 
 depart and themselves departed toward 
 Paris, where the king was. 
 
 The lord of Beaumanoir did so much, 
 that within four days he had set the duke 
 of Bretayne's servants in possession of the 
 foresaid castles and town of Jugon, and 
 after he paid the hundred thousand franks 
 for the constable's ransom, thereas the 
 duke commanded. When all was done, 
 the lord de Laval said to the duke : ' Sir, 
 ye have now that you demanded, the hun- 
 dred thousand franks, the town of Jugon, 
 the castle of Bourg, and the white castle of 
 Josselin ; ^ therefore, sir, now deliver me 
 the constable.' 'I am content,' said the 
 duke : ' let him go when he will : I give 
 him leave.' Thus the constable was de- 
 livered, and he and the lord de Laval 
 departed from the castle of Ermine. 
 When they were abroad in the fields, 
 the constable made no long tarrying in 
 Bretayne, but mounted on a good horse, 
 and his page on another, and so rode 
 that within two days he came to Paris and 
 alighted at his own house, and then went 
 to the castle of Louvre, to the king and 
 his uncles, the duke of Berry and of Bur- 
 goyne. His men followed after him at 
 their leisure. 
 
 The king knew of his deliverance, but 
 he knew not that he was so near, and was 
 glad when he heard thereof, and caused the 
 chamber doors to be set open against hiin, 
 and so he came into the king's presence 
 and kneeled down before him and said : 
 ' Right redoubted lord, your father, whom 
 God pardon, made me constable of France, 
 which office to my power I have well and 
 truly exercised, and if there be any except 
 your grace and my lords your uncles that 
 will say that I have not acquitted myself 
 truly, or done anything contrary to the 
 crown of France, I am here ready to cast 
 my gage in that quarrel.' The king nor 
 none other made none answer to those 
 words. Then he said further : ' Right dear 
 sir and noble king, it fortuned in Bretayne 
 in doing of mine office the duke of Bretayne 
 
 1 'Cha.stel -Josselin ct le Blain,' 'the castle of 
 Josselin and Blain.' 
 
CAPTURE OF THE CONSTABLE DE CLISSON 
 
 367 
 
 took me and held me in his castle of 
 Ermine and would have put me to death 
 without reason by reason of his fierce 
 courage, an God had not been and the 
 lord de Laval. So that I was constrained, 
 if I would be delivered out of his hands, to 
 deliver to him a town of mine in Bretayne 
 and three castles and the sum of a hundred 
 thousand franks. Wherefore, right dear 
 sir and noble king, the blame and damage 
 that the duke of Bretayne hath done, greatly 
 regardeth your majesty royal ; for the 
 voyage that I and my company should 
 have made by the sea is broken. Where- 
 fore, sir, I yield up the office of the con- 
 stableship : sir, provide for another, such 
 as shall please you, for I will no more bear 
 the charge thereof, I should have none 
 honour to do it.' 'Constable,' said the 
 king, ' we know well that we have hurt 
 and damage, and is a thing greatly to the 
 prejudice of our realm. We will incon- 
 tinent send for the peers of France to see 
 what shall be best to be done in this case : 
 therefore take ye no thought, for ye shall 
 have right and reason.' 
 
 Then the king took the constable by the 
 hand and raised him up, and said : ' Con- 
 stable, we will not that ye depart from your 
 office in this manner, but we will that ye 
 use it till we take other counsel.' Then 
 the constable kneeled down again and said : 
 ' Sir, this matter toucheth me so near, that 
 I cannot use it. The office is great, for I 
 must speak and answer every man ; and 
 I am so troubled that I can answer no 
 man. Wherefore, sir, I require your grace 
 to provide for another for a season, and I 
 shall always be ready at your command- 
 ment.' 'Sir,' said the duke of Burgoyne, 
 ' he offereth enough : ye shall take advice.' 
 ' It is true,' said the king. Then the con- 
 stable arose and went to the duke of Berry 
 and to the duke of Burgoyne and advised 
 to shew them his business and to inform 
 them justly all the matter, seeing the case 
 touched them greatly, in that they had 
 the governing of the realm : but in speak- 
 ing with them and hearing the whole matter 
 he perceived the matter touched not them 
 so sore as he made of,^ so that finally they 
 blamed him for going to Vannes, saying to 
 him, ' Sith your navy was ready and that 
 knights and squires tarried for you at Lau- 
 1 'As the king's ans^yer made it appear.' 
 
 treguier.^ And also when ye were at 
 Vannes and had dined with the duke and 
 returned again to your castle of Bourke,^ 
 what had you then anything to do to tarry 
 there any longer nor to go again to the duke 
 to the castle of Ermine.?' ' Sir,' said the 
 constable, ' he shewed me so fair semblanl 
 that I durst not refuse it.' ' Constable,' said 
 the duke of Burgoyne, 'in fair semblants 
 are great deceptions. I reputed you more 
 subtle than I take you now. Go your way, 
 the matter shall do well enough, we shall 
 regard it at leisure.' 
 
 Then the constable perceived well that 
 these lords were harder and ruder to him 
 than the king was : so he departed and 
 went to his own lodging, and thither came 
 to him certain of the lords of the parlia- 
 ment to see him, and said to him that the 
 matter should do right well ; and also 
 there came to him to counsel him the earl 
 of Saint-Pol, the lord of Coucy and the 
 admiral of France, and they said to him : 
 ' Constable, make no doubt, for ye shall 
 have reason of the duke of Bretayne ; for he 
 hath done against the crown of France 
 great displeasure and worthy to be shamed 
 and put out of his country. Go your ways 
 and pass the time at Montlhery, there ye 
 shall be on your own, and let us alone with 
 the matter ; for the peers of France will 
 not suffer the matter to rest thus.' The 
 constable believed these lords and so de- 
 parted from Paris and rode to JVIontlhery. 
 So the office of constableship was void for 
 a season, as it was said that sir Guy of 
 Tremouille should be constable : but it was 
 not so ; he was so well advised that he 
 would not take it out of the hands of sir 
 Ohver of Clisson. 
 
 CHAPTERS LXXXIII-LXXXVII 
 [LXXXVII^XCI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The duke of Gueldres sent 
 his defia7ice to the French king^ which 
 t7-oubled the court of F7-a7tce^ already em- 
 barrassed by the affairs in Brittany. 
 
 Meaniuhile the dtike of Lancaster took 
 
 1 Tlie translator has cut down this passage so as 
 to make it unintefllgible ; it should be : ' He 
 answered, that he was not able to excuse himself. 
 "Yes," said the duke of Burgoyne, "ye might well, 
 sith your navy was ready," ' etc. 
 
 ~ ' Au bourg,' 'in the town.' 
 
368 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Orense, letting the garrison of Bretons go 
 with their plunder. The king of Portugal 
 first attempted the castle of Sajitarem, and 
 then returning to Galicia took Ferrol for 
 the duke of Lancaster. Finally the king of 
 Portugal and the duke of Lancaster drew 
 together, thinking to have battle with the 
 king of Castile. 
 
 The bishop of Langres and three others 
 were sent to the duke of B7-ittany to summon 
 hi?n to Paris. 
 
 The author then says (chap. Ixxxvi. [xc] ) : — 
 It might be demanded of me how I 
 knew all these matters, to speak so pro- 
 perly of them. I answer to all such that I 
 have made great diligence in my days to 
 know it, and have searched many realms 
 and countries, to come to the true know- 
 ledge of all the matters contained in this 
 history written and to be written, for God 
 gave me the grace to have the leisure to 
 see in my days and to have the acquaint- 
 ance of all the high and mighty princes 
 and lords, as well in France as in England ; 
 for in the year of our Lord God a thousand 
 three hundred fourscore and ten I had 
 laboured thirty-seven years, and as then I 
 was of the age of fifty-seven years ; and in 
 thirty-seven years a man being in strength 
 and well retained in every coast as I was 
 (for after my young days I was in the king 
 of England's court five years with the queen, 
 and also I was welcome to king John of 
 France and to king Charles his son) might 
 well learn many things : and surely it was 
 always my chief imagination and pleasure 
 to enquire and to retain it by writing. And 
 how I was informed of the taking of the 
 constable of France I shall shew you. 
 
 A year after this matter fell I rode from 
 the city of Angers to Tours in Touraine, 
 and I lay on a night at Beaufort-in-the-Vale, 
 and the next day I met with a knight of 
 Bretayne called William d'Ancenis. He 
 was riding to see my lady of Maille in 
 Touraine, his cousin, and her children : she 
 was newly a widow. And I fell in acquaint- 
 ance with this knight and found him right 
 courteous and sweet of words. Then I 
 demanded of him some tidings, and speci- 
 ally of the taking of the constable, which 
 matter I was glad to hear and to know the 
 truth thereof: and he shewed me, and said 
 how he had been at the parliament at 
 
 Vannes with the lord of Ancenis his cousin, 
 a great baron of Bretayne ; and in like 
 manner as sir Espang de Lyon informed me 
 of all things that had fallen in Foix, in 
 Beam and in Gascoyne, and also as sir 
 John Ferrant Pacheco shewed me of all 
 the matters of Portugal and of Castile, in 
 like manner this knight shewed me many 
 things, and more would have done, if I 
 had ridden longer in his company. Thus 
 between Monliherne and Prilly was four 
 great leagues, and we rode but softly, and 
 in this way he shewed me many things, 
 the which I bare well in my remembrance 
 and specially of the adventures of Bretayne: 
 and thus as we rode and that we came 
 near to Prilly, we entered into a meadow. 
 There this knight rested and said : ' Ah, 
 God have mercy of the soul of the good 
 constable of France. He did here once a 
 good journey and profitable for the realm 
 under the banner of sir John de Bueil, for 
 he was not as then constable, but newly 
 come out of Spain.' And I demanded of 
 him how it was. ' I shall shew you,' said 
 he, ' when I am on horseback ' : and so we 
 mounted. Then we rode forth fair and 
 easily, and as we rode he said : 
 
 SUMMARY. —Sir Williain d' Ance7iis re- 
 lated hoiu Bertrand du Guesclin defeated 
 the Etiglishmen, Gascons, Bj-etons and 
 others who plundered the land, and after- 
 wards he told the legend of Bertrand du 
 Guesclin^ s family, to shew that he ought to 
 be called rather dii Glay-Aquin, 
 
 The author then continues thus (chap. 
 Ixxxvii. [xci. ] ) : — 
 
 If I had been as long in company with 
 this knight sir William of Ancenis as I was 
 with sir Espang de Lyon, when I rode 
 with him from the city of Pamiers to Orlhez 
 in Beam, or else as long as I had been 
 with sir John Ferrant Pacheco of Portugal, 
 he would have shewed me many things. 
 But it was not so ; for after dinner, when 
 we had ridden a two leagues, we came to a 
 forked way : the one way was right to 
 Tours in Touraine, whither-as I purposed 
 to ride, and the other way was to Maille, 
 whither the knight was determined to ride. 
 So at this way we brake company, taking 
 leave each at other, but between Prilly and 
 our departing he shewed me many things, 
 
EVENTS OF THE YEARS 1386- 1388 
 
 369 
 
 and specially of the business in Bretayne, 
 and how the bishop of Langres was sent in 
 the stead of the bishop of Beauvais, who 
 died by the way, and how the bishop of 
 Langres with sir John de Bueil and other 
 came to the duke of Bretayne, and of the 
 answer that they had. And on the informa- 
 tion of this knight I took my foundation 
 and have written as foUoweth. 
 
 SCJIMARY. — The a7ubassadors came to 
 Vannes a72d siwirnonedthe duke of B)'itta7iy 
 to PariSj Init he justified his action and de- 
 clined to cof?ie, -with which anszuer the king 
 and his council were ill content. 
 
 CHAPS. LXXXVIII-XCVII [XCII-CI] 
 
 SUMMARY,~Jn England the duke of 
 Gloucester headed the 77iovenie7it of discoit 
 tent loith the gover7ii7ie7it of the dzike of 
 h'eland. By his advice the Lo7zdo7te7's and 
 ??ien of other tOTU7is 7nade C077iplai77ts to the 
 king, and a parlia77ie7it inas asse7Jibled to 
 exa77iine the accoufits. Seei?zg that thi7tgs 
 ive7it badly ^ the king a7td the duke of Ire- 
 land departed for B7'istol : sir Si7non Burley 
 •was condemned mid executed. 
 
 The dzike of Ireland had com7nissio7i f'oin 
 the king to raise a7i ariny, and sir Rohe7-t 
 Trevelya7i ivas se7it as a spy to Lojidon^ but 
 captured and executed. 
 
 The duke of Ireland was defeated on the 
 Thames below Oxford and fled to Flayiders. 
 
 The ki7ig was brought to Lo7idon aitd a 
 parlia77ie7it met at West7ninster, at ivhich 
 the oaths of ho7nage we7'e 7'enewed?- 
 
 CHAPTERS XCVni-CVI [CII-CX] 
 
 SUMMARY — The king of Portugal a7id 
 the duke of La7zc aster , havi7ig joitied forces, 
 passed the Dotiro and entered Castile; but 
 they fou7id the country all laid waste, and 
 the English suffered ?nuch fro77i the cli77iate. 
 The ki7ig of Castile decli7ied battle. Finally 
 the sickjzess inc7'eased so 77nich, that the duke 
 of Lajicaster dis77tissed his ar7?iy, obtai7ting 
 safe-c07iduct for his men to pass through Cas- 
 tile. The duke of Bourbo7t came to Burgos 
 
 1 It IS hardly necessary to remark upon the ex- 
 treme inexactitude of Froissart's account of these 
 events in England, especially as regards the 
 chronological order. 
 2 B 
 
 a7id returned straight to F7'ancey visiting 
 the earl of Foix on his way : also the French 
 co77ipa7zzes left Spain, and the duke of Lati- 
 caster, who was sick, went by sea to Bayonne. 
 In the 77iean ti}7ie the earl of Ar77iagnac 
 treated with the captai7is of co77ipa7iies i7i 
 Fraiice and caused 7na72y to leave the reahn. 
 
 CHAPTERS CVn-CXI [CXI-CXV] 
 
 SUi\IMARY. — 171 the quarrel between the 
 duke ofjuliers a7id the duke of Brabant the 
 duke of^ Brabant was take^t prisoner and the 
 duke of Gueldres, brother of the duke of 
 Juliers, was killed 272 the year 1371. The 
 duke of Braba7it was released by co7n77iand 
 of the emperor. Willia7)i, so7i of the duke of 
 Jtiliers, succeeded to the duchy of Gueldres, 
 The dispute was co7iti7iued between 
 Gueldres and Brabajit, and the duke of 
 Gueldres agai7tst the advice of his father 
 77iade allia7ice with the ki7ig of England and 
 se7it his defia7ice to the king of Fraiice, while 
 the duchess of Braba7it sent to the king of 
 Fra7ice for aid. 
 
 CHAPS. CXH-CXVin [CXVI-CXXU] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The king of Navar7'e died 
 by a st7'ange accident. 
 
 Treaties we7it foi-ward to rid France of 
 the compa7iies, a7id the duke of Berry be- 
 sieged Gcoff7'ey Tete-Noire in the castle of 
 Ventadour. 
 
 The duke of Burgundy sent help to the 
 duchess of Braba7it, 
 
 Perrot of Bea7'n zvith his co77ipany took 
 Montferrand in Ative7g7ie, whereat the king 
 and his uncles were ?7iuch displeased. 
 
 CHAPTERS CXIX-CXXV 
 [CXXIH-CXXIXJ 
 
 SUMMARY— The daughter of the duke 
 of Berry was 7na7'ried to Lottis of Blois. 
 
 The co7nte d'Etampes was sent to bring 
 the duke of Brittany to reaso7i by fair 77ieans, 
 but could effect 7tothing. 
 
 The E7tglish co7iquests 171 Galicia were 
 recovered by the king of Castile within 
 fiftec7i days. 
 
 The duke of Briita7iy allied himself with 
 the E^iglish a7id with the king of Navarre. 
 
370 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 The Brabanfois laid siege to Grave. 
 
 The duke of Laitcaster entertained pi-o- 
 posals for a marriage of his daughter 
 Katherine with the duke of Berry. 
 
 The lord of Coucy was sent to the dtike of 
 Brittany^ who before he came restored the 
 castles which he had taken froJn Oliver de 
 Clisson. 
 
 In the meati time the duke of Lancaster 
 went on with his treaty of marriage zuith 
 the duke of Berry, while really intending to 
 marry his daughter to the son of the king of 
 Castile. 
 
 CHAPTERS CXXVI-CXXXV 
 [CXXX-CXXXIX] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The duke of Brittany was 
 persuaded to go to Paris to see the king, and 
 about the same time the king of Sicily and 
 his mother came thither. 
 
 The E^iglish coming to aid the duke of 
 Brittany were long on the sea, and at length 
 disembarked near Rochelle. 
 
 The siege of Grave was continued by them 
 of Brabant^ luho were defeated by the duke 
 of Gueldres betweeti Ravestein and Grave. 
 The French king, havi?zg heard of this, de- 
 sired yet more to go into Gueldres, and his 
 uncles were compelled to allo-w him to go. 
 The French arjny advanced through the 
 Arden7ies, to avoid passing through Brabant. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXVI [CXL] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The Scots determined to 
 invade England. .4}l E?iglish squire, sent 
 to find out their intent, was discovered and 
 captured. The main army of the Scots went 
 towards Carlisle, -while the earl Douglas with 
 a smaller body entered IVort hu mberland. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXVII [CXLI] 
 
 How the earl Douglas won the pennon of 
 sir Henry Percy at the barriers before 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and bow the Scots 
 brent the castle of Pontland, and how sir 
 Henry Percy and sir Ralph his brother took 
 advice to follow the Scots to conquer again 
 the pennon that was lost at the scrimmish. 
 
 When the English lords saw that their 
 squire returned not again at the time 
 
 appointed, and could know nothing what 
 the Scots did, nor what they were purposed 
 to do, then they thought well that their 
 squire was taken. The lords sent each to 
 other, to be ready whensoever they should 
 hear that the Scots were abroad : as for 
 their messenger, they thought him but lost. 
 
 Now let us speak of the earl Douglas 
 and other, for they had more to do than 
 they that went by Carlisle. When the 
 earls of Douglas, of Moray, of March and 
 Dunbar ^ departed from the great host, 
 they took their way thinking to pass the 
 water and to enter into the bishopric of 
 Durham, and to ride to the town and then 
 to return, brenning and exiling the country, 
 and so to come to Newcastle and to lodge 
 there in the town in the despite of all the 
 Englishmen. And as they determined, so 
 they did assay to put it in use, for they rode 
 a great pace under covert without doing of 
 any pillage by the way or assaulting of any 
 castle, tower or house, but so came into 
 the lord Percy's land and passed the river 
 of Tyne without any let a three leagues 
 above Newcastle not far from BranceiDeth, 
 and at last entered into the bishopric of 
 Durham, where they found a good country. 
 Then they began to make war, to slay 
 people and to bren villages and to do many 
 sore displeasures. 
 
 As at that time the earl of Northumber- 
 land and the other lords and knights of 
 that country knew nothing of their coming. 
 When tidings came to Newcastle and to 
 Durham that the Scots were abroad, and 
 that they might well see by the fires and 
 smoke abroad in the country, the earl sent 
 to Newcastle his two sons and sent com- 
 mandment to every man to draw to New- 
 castle, saying to his sons : ' Ye shall go to 
 Newcastle and all the country shall assemble 
 there, and I shall tarry at Alnwick, which 
 is a passage that they must pass by. If we 
 may enclose them, we shall speed well.' Sir 
 H[enry Percy and sir Ralph his brother 
 obeyed their father's commandment and 
 came thither with them of the country. 
 The Scots rode burning and exiling the 
 country, that the smoke thereof came to 
 Newcastle. The Scots came to the gates 
 of Durham and scrimmished there; but 
 
 1 George, earl of March and Dunbar : the text 
 gives Mare, but there was at this time no earl of 
 Mar. 
 
THE SCOTS IiVVADE ENGLAND, 138 
 
 371 
 
 they tarried not long but returned, as they 
 had ordained before to do, and that they 
 found by the way took and destroyed it. 
 Between Durham and Newcastle is but 
 twelve leagues English and a good country : 
 there was no town, without it were closed, 
 but it was brent, and they repassed the 
 river of Tyne where they had passed be- 
 fore, and then came before Newcastle and 
 there rested. All the English knights and 
 squires of the country of York and bishopric 
 of Durham were assembled at Newcastle, 
 and thither came the seneschal of York, 
 sir Ralph Lumley, sir Matthew Redman, 
 captain of Berwick, sir Robert Ogle, sir 
 Thomas Grey, sir Thomas Holton, sir 
 John Felton, sir John Lilleburn, sir Thomas 
 Abingdon, the baron of Hilton, sir John 
 Coppledike and divers other, so that the 
 town was so full of people that they wist 
 not where to lodge. 
 
 When these three Scottish earls who 
 were chief captains had made their enter- 
 prise in the bishopric of Durham and had 
 sore overrun the country, then they re- 
 turned to Newcastle and there rested and 
 tarried two days, and every day they scrim- 
 mished. The earl of Northumberland's 
 two sons were two young lusty knights and 
 were ever foremost at the barriers to scrim- 
 mish. There were many proper feats of 
 arms done and achieved : there was fight- 
 ing hand to hand : among orjher there 
 fought hand to hand the earl Douglas and 
 sir Henry Percy, and by force of arms the 
 earl Douglas won the pennon of sir Henry 
 Percy's, wherewith he was sore displeased 
 and so were all the Englishmen. And the 
 earl Douglas said to sir Henry Percy: 
 'Sir, I shall bear this token of your 
 prowess into Scotland and shall set it on 
 high on my castle of Dalkeith, that it may 
 be seen far off.' 'Sir,' quoth sir Henry, 
 'ye may be sure ye shall not pass the 
 bounds of this country till ye be met withal 
 in such wise that ye shall make none 
 avaunt thereof.' ' Well, sir,' quoth the earl 
 Douglas, 'come this night to my lodging 
 and seek for your pennon : I shall set it 
 before my lodging and see if ye will come 
 to take it away.' So then it was late, 
 and the Scots withdrew to their lodgings 
 and refreshed them with such as they had. 
 They had flesh enough : they m.ade that 
 night good watch, for they thought surely 
 
 to be awaked for the words they had 
 spoken, but they were not, for sir Henry 
 Percy was counselled not so to do. 
 
 The next day the Scots dislodged and 
 returned towards their own country, and so 
 came to a castle and a town called Pont- 
 land, whereof sir Edmund of Alphel was 
 lord, who was a right good knight. There 
 the Scots rested, for they came thither be- 
 times, and understood that the knight was 
 in his castle. Then they ordained to assail 
 the castle, and gave a great assault, so that 
 by force of arms they won it and the knight 
 within it. Then the town and castle was 
 brent ; and from thence the Scots went to 
 the town and castle of Otterburn, an eight 
 English mile from Newcastle' and there 
 lodged. That day they made none assault, 
 but the next morning they blew their horns 
 and made ready to assail the castle, which 
 was strong, for it stood in the marish. 
 That day they assaulted till they were 
 weary, and did nothing. Then they 
 sowned the retreat and returned to their 
 lodgings. Then the lords drew to council 
 to determine what they should do. The 
 most part were of the accord that the next 
 day they should dislodge without giving of 
 any assault and to draw fair and easily 
 towards Carlisle. But the earl Douglas 
 brake that counsel and said : ' In despite 
 of sir Henry Percy, who said he would 
 come and win again his pennon, let us not 
 depart hence for two or three days. Let 
 us assail this castle : it is pregnable : we 
 shall have double honour. And then let 
 us see if he will come and fetch his pennon : 
 he shall be well defended.'^ Everyman 
 accorded to his saying, what for their 
 honour and for the love of him. Also they 
 lodged there at their ease, for there was 
 none that troubled them : they made many 
 
 1 Froissart says 'eight English leagues.' In the 
 next chapter the distance becomes ' seven little 
 leagues,' and later on, 'a six English miles," where 
 the original is Mieues. ' The actual distance is 
 about thirty miles. The translator gives the form 
 'Combur' here, but 'Ottenburge' in the next 
 chapter, as the name of the place. It is remarkable 
 indeed how little trouble he seems to have taken 
 q;enera!Iy to give English names correctly. In 
 this chapter we have ' Nymyche ' for ' Alnwick ' 
 and ' Pouclan ' for 'Pontland,' forms rather less 
 like the real names than those which he found in 
 the French text, viz. Nynich and Ponclau. 
 
 2 Froissart says, * if he comes, it shall be de- 
 fended.' The translator perhaps means 'he shall 
 be prevented.' 
 
372 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 lodgings of boughs and great herbs and 
 fortified their camp sagely with the marish 
 that was thereby, and their carriages were 
 set at the entry into the marishes and had 
 all their beasts within the marish. Then 
 they apparelled for to assault the next day : 
 this was their intention. 
 
 Now let us speak of sir Henry Percy and 
 of sir Ralph his brother and shew somewhat 
 what they did. They were sore displeased 
 that the earl Douglas had won the pennon 
 of their arms : also it touched greatly their 
 honours, if they did not as sir Henry Percy 
 said he would ; for he had said to the earl 
 Douglas that he should not carry his 
 pennon out of England, and also he had 
 openly spoken it before all the knights 
 and squires that were at Newcastle. The 
 Englishmen there thought surely that the 
 earl Douglas' band was but the Scots' van- 
 guard and that their host was left behind. 
 The knights of the country, such as were 
 well expert in arms, spake against sir Henry 
 Percy's opinion and said to him ; ' Sir, 
 there fortuneth in war oftentimes many 
 losses. If the earl Douglas have won your 
 ])ennon, he bought it dear, for he came to 
 the gate to seek it and was well beaten : ^ 
 another day ye shall win as much of him 
 or more. Sir, we say this because we 
 know well all the power of Scotland is 
 abroad in the fields, and if we issue out 
 and be not men enow to fight with them, 
 and peradventure they have made this 
 scrimmish with us to the intent to draw 
 us out of the town, and the number that 
 they be of, as it is said, above forty thou- 
 sand men, they may soon enclose us and 
 do with us what they will. Yet it were 
 better to lose a pennon than two or three 
 hundred knights and squires and put all our 
 country in adventure.' These words re- 
 frained sir Henry and his brother, for they 
 would do nothing against counsel. Then 
 tidings came to them by such as had seen 
 the Scots and seen all their demeanour and 
 what way they took and where they rested. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXVIII [CXLII] 
 
 How sir Henry Percy and his brother with a 
 good number of men of arms and archers 
 went after the Scots, to win again his 
 ^ i,e. 'well fought with.' 
 
 pennon that the earl Douglas had won 
 before Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and how 
 they assailed the Scots before Otterburn in 
 their lodgings. 
 
 It was shewed to sir Henry Percy and to 
 his brother and to the other knights and 
 squires that were there, by such as had 
 followed the Scots from Newcastle and had 
 well advised their doing, who said to sir 
 Henry and to sir Ralph : ' Sirs, we have 
 followed the Scots privily and have dis- 
 covered all the country. The Scots be 
 at Pontland and have taken sir Edmund 
 Alphel in his own castle, and from thence 
 they be gone to Otterburn and there they 
 lay this night. AVhat they will do to- 
 morrow we know not : they are ordained 
 to abide there : and, sirs, surely their great 
 host is not with them, for in all they pass 
 not there a three thousand men.' When 
 sir Henry heard that, he was joyful and 
 said : ' Sirs, let us leap on our horses, for 
 by the faith I owe to God and to my lord 
 my father I will go seek for my pennon and 
 dislodge them this same night.' Knights 
 and squires that heard him agreed thereto 
 and were joyous, and every man made him 
 ready. 
 
 Tfie same evening the bishop of Durham 
 came thither with a good company, for he 
 heard at Durham how the Scots were 
 before Newcastle and how that the lord 
 Percy's sons with other lords and knights 
 should fight with the Scots : therefore the 
 bishop of Durham to come to the rescue 
 had assembled up all the country and so 
 was coming to Newcastle. But sir Henry 
 Percy would not abide his coming, for he 
 had with him six hundred spears, knights 
 and squires, and an eight thousand foot- 
 men. They thought that sufficient number 
 to fight with the Scots, if they were not 
 but three hundred spears and three thou- 
 sand of other. Thus they departed from 
 Newcastle after dinner and set forth in 
 good order, and took the same way as the 
 Scots had gone and rode to Otterburn, a 
 seven little leagues from thence and fair 
 way, but they could not ride fast because 
 of their foot-men. And when the Scots 
 had supped and some laid down to their 
 rest, and were weary of travailing and 
 assaulting of the castle all that day, and 
 thought to rise early in the morning in 
 
BATTLE OF OTTERBURN, 13S8 (Aug. 5) 
 
 373 
 
 cool of the day to give a new assault, 
 therewith suddenly the Englishmen came 
 on them and entered into the lodgings, 
 weening it had been the masters' lodgings, 
 and therein were but varlets and servants. 
 Then the Englishmen cried, ' Percy, 
 Percy ! ' and entered into the lodgings, 
 and ye know well where such affray is 
 noise is soon raised -. and it fortuned well 
 for the Scots, for when they saw the 
 Englishmen came to wake them, then the 
 lords sent a certain of their servants of 
 foot-men to scrimmish with the English- 
 men at the entry of the lodgings, and in 
 the mean time they armed and apparelled 
 them, every man under his banner and 
 under his captain's pennon. The night 
 was far on, but the moon shone so bright 
 as an it had been in a manner day. It 
 was in the month of August and the 
 weather fair and temperate. 
 
 Thus the Scots were drawn together and 
 without any noise departed from their 
 lodgings and went about a little mountain, 
 which was greatly for their advantage. 
 For all the day before they had well advised 
 the place and said among themselves : ' If 
 the Englishmen come on us suddenly, then 
 we will do thus and thus, for it is a 
 jeopardous thing in the night if men of war 
 enter into our lodgings. If they do, then 
 we will draw to such a place, and thereby 
 other we shall win or lose.' When the 
 Englishmen entered into the field, at the 
 first they soon overcame the varlets, and 
 as they entered further in, always they 
 found new men to busy them and to scrim- 
 mish with them. Then suddenly came 
 the Scots from about the mountain and set 
 on the Englishmen or they were ware, and 
 cried their cries ; whereof the Englishmen 
 were sore astonied. Then they cried 'Percy!' 
 and the other party cried ' Douglas ! ' 
 
 There began a cruel battle and at the 
 first encounter many were overthrown of 
 both parties ; and because the Englishmen 
 were a great number and greatly desired to 
 vanquish their enemies, and rested at their 
 pace ' and greatly did put aback the Scots, 
 so that the Scots were near discomfited. 
 Then the earl James Douglas, who was 
 young and strong and of great desire to get 
 praise and grace, and was willing to deserve 
 to have it, and cared for no pain nor travail, 
 
 1 In French, 'ilz se arresterent,' without 'and.' 
 
 came forth with his banner and cried, 
 ' Douglas, Douglas ! ' and sir Henry Percy 
 and sir Ralph his brother, who had great 
 indignation against the earl Douglas be- 
 cause he had won the pennon of their arms 
 at the barriers before Newcastle, came to 
 that part and cried, ' Percy ! ' Their two 
 banners met and their men : there was a 
 sore fight : the Englishmen were so strong 
 and fought so valiantly that they reculed 
 the Scots back. There were two valiant 
 knights of Scots under the banner of the 
 earl Douglas, called sir Patrick of Hepbourn 
 and sir Patrick his son. They acquitted 
 themselves that day vaHantly : the earl's 
 banner had been won, an they had not 
 been : they defended it so valiantly and in 
 the rescuing thereof did such feats of arms, 
 that it was greatly to their recommendation 
 and to their heirs' for ever after. 
 
 It was shewed me by such as had been 
 at the same battle, as well by knights and 
 squires of England as of Scotland, at the 
 house of the earl of Foix, — for anon after 
 this battle was done I met at Orthez two 
 squires of England called John of Chateau- 
 neuf and John of Cantiron ; also when I 
 returned to Avignon I found also there a 
 knight and a squire of Scotland ; I knew 
 them and they knew me by such tokens 
 as I shewed them of their country, for I, 
 author of this book, in my youth had 
 ridden nigh over all the realm of Scotland, 
 and I was as then a fifteen days in the 
 house of earl William Douglas, father to 
 the same earl James, of whom I spake of 
 now, in a castle a five leagues from Edin- 
 burgh in the country of Dalkeith ; ^ the 
 same time I saw there this earl James, a 
 fair young child, and a sister of his called 
 the lady Blanche, — and I was informed by 
 both these parties ^ how this battle was as 
 sore a battle fought as lightly hath been 
 heard of before of such a number ; and I 
 believe it well, for Englishmen on the one 
 party and Scots on the other party are 
 good men of war, for when they meet there 
 is a hard fight without sparing, there is no 
 ho between them as long as spears, swords, 
 axes or daggers will endure, but lay on 
 
 1 'Which is called in the country Dalkeith. | 
 The French has ' que on nomme au pays Dacquest,' 
 of which the translator makes * in the countrey of 
 Alquest.' 
 
 2 * By both sides,' i.e. Scotch and English. 
 
374 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 each upon other, and when they be well 
 beaten ' and that the one party hath 
 obtained the victory, they then glorify so 
 in their deeds of arms and are so joyful, 
 that such as be taken they shall be ran- 
 somed or they go out of the field, so that 
 shortly each of them is so content with 
 other that at their departing courteously 
 they will say, ' God thank you ' ■ but in 
 fighting one with another there is no play 
 nor sparing, and this is true, and that shall 
 well appear by this said rencounter, for it 
 was as valiantly foughten as could be 
 devised, as ye shall hear. 
 
 CHAPTER CXXXIX [CXLIII] 
 
 How the earl James Douglas by his valiant- 
 ness encouraged his men, who were re- 
 culed and in a manner discomfited, and in 
 his so doing he was wounded to death. 
 
 Knights and squires were of good courage 
 on both parties to fight valiantly : cowards 
 there had no place, but hardiness reigned 
 with goodly feats of arms, for knights and 
 squires were so joined together at hand 
 strokes, that archers had no place of 
 nother party. There the Scots shewed 
 great hardiness and fought merrily with 
 great desire of honour : the Englishmen 
 were three to one : howbeit, I say not but 
 Englishmen did nobly acquit themselves, 
 for ever the Englishmen had rather been 
 slain or taken in the place than to fly. 
 Thus, as I have said, the banners of Douglas 
 and Percy and their men were met each 
 against other, envious who should win the 
 honour of that journey. At the beginning 
 the Englishmen were so strong that they 
 reculed back their enemies : then the earl 
 Douglas, who was of great heart and high 
 of enterprise, seeing his men recule back, 
 then to recover the place and to shew 
 knightly valour he took his axe in both his 
 hands, and entered so into the press that 
 he made himself way in such wise, that 
 none durst approach near him, and he was 
 so well armed that he bare well off such 
 strokes as he received.^ Thus he went 
 ever forward like a hardy Hector, willing 
 
 1 ' When they have well fought.' 
 
 2 ' No man was so well armed that he did not 
 fear the great strokes which he gave.' 
 
 alone to conquer the field and to discom- 
 fit his enemies : but at last he was en- 
 countered with three spears all at once, 
 the one strake him on the shoulder, the 
 other on the breast and the stroke glinted 
 down to his belly, and the third strake him 
 in the thigh, and sore hurt with all three 
 strokes, so that he was borne perforce to the 
 earth and after that he could not be again 
 relieved. Some of his knights and squires 
 followed him, but not all, for it was night, 
 and no light but by the shining of the 
 moon. The Englishmen knew well they 
 had borne one down to the earth, but they 
 wist not who it was ; for if they had known 
 that it had been the earl Douglas, they had 
 been thereof so joyful and so proud that 
 the victory had been theirs. Nor also the 
 Scots knew not of that adventure till the 
 end of the battle ; for if they had known it, 
 they should have been so sore despaired 
 and discouraged that they would have fled 
 away. Thus as the earl Douglas was felled 
 to the earth, he was stricken into the head 
 with an axe, and another stroke through 
 the thigh : the Englishmen passed forth 
 and took no heed of him : they thought 
 none otherwise but that they had slain a 
 man of arms. On the other part the earl 
 George de la ilarch and of Dunbar fought 
 right valiantly and gave the Englishmen 
 much ado, and cried, 'Follow Douglas,' 
 and set on the sons of Percy ; also earl 
 John of Moray with his banner and men 
 fought valiantly and set fiercely on the 
 Englishmen, and gave them so much to do 
 that they wist not to whom to attend. 
 
 CHAPTER CXL [CXLIV] 
 
 How in this battle sir Ralph Percy was sore 
 hurt and taken prisoner by a Scottish 
 knight. 
 
 Of all the battles and encounterings that I 
 have made mention of herebefore in all 
 this history, great or small, this battle that 
 I treat of now was one of the sorest and 
 best foughten without cowardice or faint 
 hearts. For there was nother knight nor 
 squire but that did his devoir and fought 
 hand to hand : this battle was like the 
 battle of Becherel,^ the which was valiantly 
 1 Or, according to another reading, ' Cocherel.' 
 
BATTLE OF OTTERBVRN 
 
 375 
 
 fought and endured. The earl of Northum- 
 berland's sons, sir Henry and sir Ralph 
 Percy, who were chief sovereign captains, 
 acquitted themselves nobly, and sir Ralph 
 Percy entered in so far among his enemies 
 that he was closed in and hurt, and so sore 
 handled that his breath was so short, that 
 he was taken prisoner by a knight of the 
 earl of Moray's called sir John Maxwell. 
 In the taking the Scottish knight demanded 
 what he was, for it was in the night, so 
 that he knew him not, and sir Ralph was 
 so sore overcome and bled fast, .that at last 
 he said : 'I am Ralph Percy.' Then the 
 Scot said : ' Sir Ralph, rescue or no rescue 
 I take you for my prisoner : I am Maxwell' 
 'Well,' quoth sir Ralph, 'I am content; 
 but then take heed to me, for I am sore 
 hurt, my hosen and my greaves are full of 
 blood.' Then the knight saw by him the 
 earl Moray and said : ' Sir, here I deliver 
 to you sir Ralph Percy as prisoner ; but, 
 sir, let good heed be taken to him, for he 
 is sore hurt.' The earl was joyful of these 
 words and said : ' Maxwell, thou hast well 
 won thy spurs.' Then he delivered sir 
 Ralph Percy to certain of his men, and 
 they stopped and wrapped his wounds ; 
 and still the battle endured, not knowing 
 who had as then the better, for there were 
 many taken and rescued again that came 
 to no knowledge. 
 
 Now let us speak of the young James 
 earl of Douglas, who did marvels in arms 
 or he was beaten down. When he was 
 overthrown, the press was great about him, 
 so that he could not relieve, for with an axe 
 he had his death's wound. His men 
 followed him as near as they could, and 
 there came to him sir James Lindsay his 
 cousin and sir John and sir Walter Sinclair 
 and other knights and squires. And by 
 him was a gentle knight of his, who 
 followed him all the day, and a chaplain 
 of his, not like a priest but like a valiant 
 man of arms, for all that night he followed 
 the earl with a good axe in his hands and 
 still scrimmished about the earl thereas he 
 lay, and reculed back some of the English- 
 men with great strokes that he gave. Thus 
 he was found fighting near to his master, 
 whereby he had great praise, and thereby 
 the same year he was made archdeacon of 
 Aberdeen. This priest was called sir 
 William of North Berwick : he was a tall 
 
 man and a hardy and was sore hurt. 
 When these knights came to the earl, they 
 found him in an evil case and a knight of 
 his lying by him called sir Robert Hart : 
 he had a fifteen wounds in one place and 
 other. Then sir John Sinclair demanded 
 of the earl how he did. ' Right evil, 
 cousin,' quoth the earl, 'but thanked be 
 God there hath been but a few of mine 
 ancestors that hath died in their beds : but, 
 cousin, I require you think to revenge me, 
 for I reckon myself but dead, for my heart 
 fainteth oftentimes. My cousin W'alter and 
 you, I pray you raise up again my banner 
 which lieth on the ground, and my squire 
 Davie CoUemine slain : but, sirs, shew 
 nother to friend nor foe in what case ye see 
 me in ; for if mine enemies knew it, they 
 would rejoice, and our friends discom- 
 forted.' The two brethren of Sinclair and 
 sir James Lindsay did as the earl had 
 desired them and raised up again his 
 banner and cried ' Douglas ! ' Such as 
 were behind and heard that cry drew 
 together and set on their enemies valiantly 
 and reculed back the Englishmen and 
 many overthrown, and so drave the Eng- 
 lishmen back beyond the place whereas 
 the earl lay, who was by that time dead, 
 and so came to the earl's banner, the which 
 sir John Sinclair held in his hands, and 
 many good knights and squires of Scotland 
 about him, and still company drew to the 
 cry of ' Douglas.' Thither came the earl 
 Moray with his banner well accompanied, 
 and also the earl de la March and of Dunbar, 
 and when they saw the Englishmen recule 
 and their company assembled together, 
 they renewed again the battle and gave 
 many hard and sad strokes. 
 
 CHAPTER CXLI [CXLV] 
 
 How the Scots won the battle against the 
 Englishmen beside Otterburn, and there 
 was taken prisoners sir Henry and sir 
 Ralph Percy, and how an English squire 
 would not yield him, no more would a 
 Scottish squire, and so died both ; and 
 how the bishop of Durham and his com- 
 pany were discomfited among themselves. 
 
 To say truth, the Englishmen were sorer 
 travailed than the Scots, for they came the 
 same day from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a 
 
376 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 six English miles, and went a great pace to 
 the intent to find the Scots, which they did : 
 so that by their fast going they were near 
 out of breath, and the Scots were fresh and 
 well rested, which greatly availed them 
 when time was of their business : for in the 
 last scrimmish they reculed back the Eng- 
 lishmen in such wise, that after that they 
 could no more assemble together, for the 
 Scots passed through their battles. And 
 it fortuned that sir Henry Percy and the 
 lord of Montgomery, a valiant knight of 
 Scotland, fought together hand to hand 
 right valiantly without letting of any other, 
 for every man had enough to do. So long 
 they two fought that per force of arms sir 
 Henry Percy was taken prisoner by the 
 said lord of Montgomery. 
 
 The knights and squires of Scotland, as 
 sir Marc Adreman,' sir Thomas Erskine, 
 sir William, sir James and sir Alexander 
 Lindsay, the lord of Fenton, sir John of 
 Saint-Moreaulx,^ sir Patrick of Dunbar, 
 sir John and sir Walter Sinclair, sir John 
 Maxwell, sir Guy Stuart, sir John Hali- 
 burton, sir Alexander Ramsay, Robert 
 Collemine' and his two sons John and 
 Robert, who were there made knights, 
 and a hundred knights and squires that I 
 cannot name, all these right valiantly did 
 acquit themselves. And on the English 
 party, before that the lord Percy was taken 
 and after, there fought valiantly sir Ralph 
 Lumley, sir Matthew Redman, sir Thomas 
 Ogle, sir Thomas Gray, sir Thomas Hel- 
 ton, sir Thomas Abingdon, sir John Lille- 
 burn, sir William Walsingham, the baron 
 of Helton, sir John of Colpedich,'' the 
 seneschal of York and divers other foot- 
 men. Whereto should I write long pro- 
 cess? This was a sore battle and well 
 foughten ; and as fortune is always change- 
 able, though the Englishmen were more 
 in number than the Scots and were right 
 valiant men of war and well expert, and 
 that at the first front they reculed back the 
 Scots, yet finally the Scots obtained the 
 place and victory, and all the foresaid 
 Englishmen taken, and a hundred more, 
 saving sir Matthew Redman, captain of 
 Berwick, who when he knew no remedy 
 
 1 Perhaps ' Malcolm Dnimmond.' 
 
 - The true reading seems to be ' Sandilands.' 
 
 >* Perhaps * Coningham.' 
 
 "* Either ' Copeland ' or ' Copcldike.' 
 
 nor recoverance, and saw his company fly 
 from the Scots and yielded them on every 
 side, then he took his horse and departed 
 to save himself. 
 
 The same season about the end of this 
 discomfiture there was an English squire 
 called Thomas Waltham, a goodly and a 
 valiant man, and that was well seen, for of 
 all that night he would nother fly nor yet 
 yield him. It was said he had made a vow 
 at a feast in England, that the first time 
 that ever he saw Englishmen and Scots in 
 battle, he would so do his devoir to his 
 power, in such wise that either he would 
 be reputed for the best doer on both sides, 
 or else to die in the pain. He was called 
 a valiant and a hardy man and did so much 
 by his prowess, that under the banner of 
 the earl of Moray he did such valiantness 
 in arms, that the Scots had marvel thereof, 
 and so was slain in fighting : the Scots 
 would gladly have taken him alive, but he 
 would never yield, he hoped ever to have 
 been rescued. And with him there was a 
 Scottish squire slain, cousin to the king of 
 Scots, called Simon Glendowyn ; his death 
 was greatly complained of the Scots. 
 
 This battle was fierce and cruel till it 
 came to the end of the discomfiture ; but 
 when the Scots saw the Englishmen recule 
 and yield themselves, then the Scots were 
 courteous and set them to their ransom, 
 and every man said to his prisoner : ' Sirs, 
 go and unarm you and take your ease ; 
 I am your master ' ; and so made their 
 prisoners as good cheer as though they had 
 been brethren, without doing to them any 
 damage. The chase endured a five Eng- 
 lish miles, and if the Scots had been men 
 enow, there had none scaped, but other 
 they had been taken or slain. And if 
 Archambault Douglas and the earl of 
 Fife, the earl Sutherland and other of the 
 great company who were gone towards 
 Carlisle had been there, by all hkelihood 
 they had taken the bishop of Durham and 
 the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I shall 
 shew you how. The same evening that the 
 Percies departed from Newcastle, as ye have 
 heard before, the bishop of Durham with 
 the rearband came to Newcastle andsupped : 
 and as he sat at the table, he had imagination 
 in himself how he did not acquit himself 
 well to see the Englishmen in the field and 
 he to be within the town. Incontinent he 
 
BATTLE OF OTTERBURN 
 
 377 
 
 caused the table to be taken away and 
 commanded to saddle his horses and to 
 sown the trumpets, and called up men in 
 the town to arm themselves and to mount 
 on their horses, and foot-men to order 
 themselves to depart. And thus every man 
 departed out of the town to the number of 
 seven thousand, two thousand on horse- 
 back and five thousand afoot ; they took 
 their way toward Otterburn, whereas the 
 battle had been. And by that time they 
 had gone two mile' from Newcastle tid- 
 ings came to them how their men were 
 fighting with the Scots. Therewith the 
 bishop rested there, and incontinent came 
 more flying fast, that they were out of 
 breath. Then they were demanded how 
 the matter went. They answered and said : 
 ' Right evil ; we be all discomfited : here 
 coiiieth the Scots chasing of us.' These 
 tidings troubled the Englishmen, and began 
 to doubt. And again the third time men 
 came flying as fast as they might. When 
 the men of the bishopric of Durham heard 
 of these evil tidings, they were abashed in 
 such wise that they brake their array, so 
 that the bishop could not hold together the 
 number of five hundred. It was thought 
 that if the Scots had followed them in any 
 number, seeing that it was night, that in 
 the entering into the town, and the English- 
 men so abashed, the town had been won. 
 
 The bishop of Durham, being in the 
 field, had good will to have succoured the 
 Englishmen and recomforted his men as 
 much as he could ; but he saw his own 
 men fly as well as other. Then he de- 
 manded counsel of sir William Lucy and 
 of sir Thomas Clifford and of other knights, 
 what was best to do. These knights for 
 their honour would give him no counsel ; 
 for they thought to return again and do 
 nothing should sown greatly to their blame, 
 and to go forth might be to their great 
 damage ; and so stood still and would give 
 none answer, and the longer they stood, 
 the fewer they were, for some still stale 
 away. Then the bishop said : ' Sirs, all 
 things considered, it is none honour to put 
 all in peril, nor to make of one evil damage 
 twain. We hear how our company be dis- 
 comfited, and we cannot remedy it : for to 
 go to recover them, we know not with 
 
 1 The word ' lieue ' is translated ' mile ' through- 
 out. 
 
 whom nor with what number we shall meet. 
 Let us return fair and easily for this night 
 to Newcastle, and to-morrow let us draw 
 together and go look on our enemies.' 
 Every man answered : ' As God will, so 
 be it.' Therewith they returned to New- 
 castle. Thus a man may consider the 
 great default that is in men that be abashed 
 and discomfited : for if they had kept them 
 together and have turned again such as 
 fled, they had discomfited the Scots. This 
 was the opinion of divers ; and because 
 they did not thus, the Scots had the victory. 
 
 CHAPTER CXLII [CXLVI] 
 
 How sir Matthew Redman departed from 
 the battle to save himself; and how sir 
 James Lindsay was taken prisoner by the 
 bishop of Durham ; and how after the 
 battle scurrers were sent forth to discover 
 the country. 
 
 I SHALL shew you of sir Matthew Redman, 
 who was on horseback to save himself, for 
 he alone could not remedy the matter. At 
 his departing sir James Lindsay was near 
 to him and saw how sir Matthew departed, 
 and this sir James, to win honour, followed 
 in chase sir Matthew Redman, and came 
 so near him that he might have stricken 
 him with his spear, if he had list. Then 
 he said: 'Ah, sir knight, turn; it is a 
 shame thus to fly ; I am James of Lindsay : 
 if ye will not turn, I shall strike you on the 
 back with my spear.' Sir Matthew spake 
 no word, but strake his horse with the 
 spurs sorer than he did before. In this 
 manner he chased him more than three 
 miles, and at last sir Matthew Redman's 
 horse foundered and fell under him. Then 
 he stept forth on the earth and drew out 
 his sword, and took courage to defend him- 
 self ; and the Scot thought to have stricken 
 him on the breast, but sir Matthew Red- 
 man swerved from the stroke, and the 
 spear-point entered into the earth. Then 
 sir Matthew strake asunder the spear with 
 his sword ; and when sir James Lindsay 
 saw how he had lost his spear, he cast 
 away the truncheon and lighted afoot, and 
 took a little battle-axe that he carried at 
 his back and handled it with his one hand 
 quickly and deliverly, in the which feat 
 
378 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Scots be well expert, and then he set at 
 sir Matthew and he defended himself pro- 
 perly. Thus they tourneyed together, one 
 with an axe and the other mth a sword, 
 a long season, and no man to let them. 
 Finally sir James Lindsay gave the knight 
 such strokes and held him so short, that 
 he was put out of breath in such wise that 
 he yielded himself and said : ' Sir James 
 Lindsay, I yield me to you.' 'Well,' 
 quoth he, * and I receive you, rescue or no 
 rescue.' 'I am content,' quoth Redman, 
 * so ye deal with me like a good com- 
 panion. ' ' I shall not fail that,' quoth 
 Lindsay, and so put up his sword. ' Well, 
 sir,' quoth Redman, 'what will you now 
 that I shall do? I am your prisoner, ye 
 have conquered me. I would gladly go 
 again to Newcastle, and within fifteen days 
 I shall come to you into Scotland, whereas 
 ye shall assign me.' ' I am content,' quoth 
 Lindsay : ' ye shall promise by your faith 
 to present yourself within this three weeks 
 at Edinboro, and wheresoever ye go, to 
 repute yourself my prisoner.' All this sir 
 Matthew sware and promised to fulfil. 
 Then each of them took their horses and 
 took leave each of other. Sir James re- 
 turned, and his intent was to go to his own 
 company the same way that he came, and 
 sir Matthew Redman to Newcastle. 
 
 Sir James Lindsay could not keep the 
 right way as he came ; it was dark and a 
 mist, and he had not ridden half a mile, 
 but he met face to face with the bishop 
 of Durham and more than five hundred 
 Englishmen with him. He might well 
 escaped if he had would, but he supposed 
 it had been his own company, that had 
 pursued the Englishmen. When he was 
 among them, one demanded of him what 
 he was. 'I am,' quoth he, 'sir James 
 Lindsay.' The bishop heard those words 
 and stept to him and said : ' Lindsay, ye 
 are taken : yield ye to me. ' ' Who be 
 you ? ' quoth Lindsay. ' I am,' quoth he, 
 'the bishop of Durham.' 'And from 
 whence come you, sir ? ' quoth Lindsay. 
 ' I come from the battle,' quoth the bishop, 
 ' but I struck never a stroke there : I go 
 back to Newcastle for this night, and ye 
 shall go with me.' 'I may not choose,' 
 quoth Lindsay, ' sith ye will have it so. I 
 have taken and I am taken ; such is the 
 adventures of arms.' 'Whom have ye 
 
 taken?' quoth the bishop. 'Sir,' quoth 
 he, ' I took in the chase sir Matthew Red- 
 man.' 'And where is he?' quoth the 
 bishop. ' By my faith, sir, he is returned 
 to Newcastle : he desired me to trust him 
 on his faith for three weeks, and so have I 
 done.' 'Well,' quoth the bishop, 'let us 
 go to Newcastle, and there ye shall speak 
 with him. ' Thus they rode to Newcastle 
 together, and sir James Lindsay was prisoner 
 to the bishop of Durham. 
 
 Under the banner of the earl de la 
 March and of Dunbar was taken a squire 
 of Gascoyne, called John of Chateauneuf, 
 and under the banner of the earl of 
 Moray was taken his companion John de 
 Cantiron. Thus the field was clean avoided, 
 or the day appeared. The Scots drew 
 together and took guides and sent out 
 scurrers to see if any men were in the way 
 from Newcastle, to the intent that they 
 would not be troubled in their lodgings ; 
 wherein they did wisely, for when the 
 bishop of Durham was come again to New- 
 castle and in his lodging, he was sore 
 pensive and wist not what to say nor do ; 
 for he heard say how his cousins the 
 Percies were slain or taken, and all the 
 knights that were with them. Then he 
 sent for all the knights and squires that 
 were in the town ; and when they were 
 come, he demanded of them if they should 
 leave the matter in that case, and said : 
 ' Sirs, we shall bear great blame if we thus 
 return without looking on our enemies.' 
 Then they concluded by the sun - rising 
 every man to be armed, and on horseback 
 and afoot to depart out of the town and to 
 go to Otterburn to fight with the Scots. 
 This was warned through the town by a 
 trumpet, and every man armed them and 
 assembled before the bridge, and by the 
 sun -rising they departed by the gate to- 
 wards Berwick and took the way towards 
 Otterburn to the number of ten thousand, 
 what afoot and a-horseback. They were 
 not gone past two mile from Newcastle, 
 when the Scots were signified that the 
 bishop of Durham was coming to them- 
 ward to fight : this they knew by their 
 spies, such as they had set in the fields. 
 
 After that sir Matthew Redman was re- 
 turned to Newcastle and had shewed to 
 divers how he had been taken prisoner by 
 sir James Lindsay, then it was shewed him 
 
AFTER THE BATTLE OF OTTERBURN 
 
 Z19 
 
 how the bishop of Durham had taken the 
 said sir James Lindsay and how that he was 
 there in the town as his prisoner. As soon 
 as the bishop was departed, sir Matthew 
 Redman went to the bishop's lodging to see 
 his master, and there he found him in a 
 study, lying in a window,^ and said : 
 ' What, sir James Lindsay, what make you 
 here ? ' Then sir James came forth of the 
 study to him and gave him good morrow, 
 and said ; ' By my faith, sir Matthew, for- 
 tune hath brought me hither ; for as soon 
 as I was departed from you, I met by 
 chance the bishop of Durham, to whom I 
 am prisoner, as ye be to me. I believe ye 
 shall not need to come to Edinboro to me 
 to make your finance : I think rather we 
 shall make an exchange one for another, 
 if the bishop be so content.' ' Well, sir,' 
 quoth Redman, ' we shall accord right well 
 together, ye shall dine this day with me : 
 the bishop and our men be gone forth to 
 fight with your men, I cannot tell what 
 shall fall, we shall know at their return.' 
 'I am content to dine with you,' quoth 
 Lindsay. Thus these two knights dined 
 together in Newcastle. 
 
 When the knights of Scotland were in- 
 formed how the bishop of Durham came 
 on them with ten thousand men, they drew 
 to council to see what was best for them to 
 do, other to depart or else to abide the 
 adventure. All things considered, they 
 concluded to abide, for they said they 
 could not be in a better nor a stronger 
 place than they were in already : they had 
 many prisoners and they could not carry 
 them away, if they should have departed ; 
 and also they had many of their men hurt 
 and also some of their prisoners, whom 
 they thought they would not leave behind 
 them. Thus they drew together and 
 ordered so their field, that there was no 
 entry but one way, and they set all their 
 prisoners together and made them to promise 
 how that, rescue or no rescue, they should 
 be their prisoners. After that they made 
 all their minstrels to blow up all at once 
 and made the greatest revel of the world. 
 Lightly it is the usage of Scots, that when 
 they be thus assembled together in arms, 
 
 ^ Or rather, ' very pensive leaning against a 
 window,' and afterwards the expression ' came 
 forth of the study to him' should be 'broke off 
 his thought and came towards him.' 
 
 the foot -men beareth about their necks 
 horns in manner like hunters, some great, 
 some small, and of all sorts, so that when 
 they blow all at once, they make such a 
 noise, that it may be heard nigh four miles 
 off: thus they do to abash their enemies 
 and to rejoice themselves. When the 
 bishop of Durham with his banner and ten 
 thousand men with him were approached 
 within a league, then the Scots blew their 
 horns in such wise, that it seemed that all 
 the devils in hell had been among them, 
 so that such as heard them and knew not 
 of their usage were sore abashed. This 
 blowing and noise endured a long space 
 and then ceased . and by that time the 
 Englishmen were within less than a mile. 
 Then the Scots began to blow again and 
 made a great noise, and as long endured 
 as it did before. Then the bishop ap- 
 proached with his battle well ranged in 
 good order and came within the sight of 
 the Scots, as within two bow-shot or less : 
 then the Scots blew again their horns a 
 long space. The bishop stood still to see 
 what the Scots would do and aviewed them 
 well and saw how they were in a strong 
 ground greatly to their advantage. Then 
 the bishop took counsel what was best for 
 him to do ; but all things well advised, 
 they were not in purpose to enter in among 
 the Scots to assail them, but returned with- 
 out doing of anything, for they saw well 
 they might rather lose than win. 
 
 When the Scots saw the Englishmen 
 recule and that they should have no battle, 
 they went to their lodgings and made merry, 
 and then ordained to depart from thence. 
 And because that sir Ralph Percy was sore 
 hurt, he desired of his master that he might 
 return to Newcastle or into some place, 
 whereas it pleased him, unto such time as 
 he were whole of his hurts, promising, as 
 soon as he were able to ride, to return into 
 Scotland, other to Edinboro or into any 
 other place appointed. The earl of March, 
 under whom he was taken, agreed thereto 
 and delivered him a horse litter and sent 
 him away ; and by like covenant divers 
 other knights and squires were suffered to 
 return and took term other to return or 
 else to pay their finance, such as they were 
 appointed unto. It was shewed me by the 
 information of the Scots, such as had been 
 at this said battle that was between New- 
 
3 So 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 castle and Otterburn in the year of our 
 Lord God a thousand three hundred four- 
 score and eight, the nineteenth day of 
 August, how that there were ta.ken pri- 
 soners of the English party a thousand and 
 forty men, one and other, and slain in the 
 field and in the chase eighteen hundred 
 and forty, and sore hurt more than a thou- 
 sand : and of the Scots there were a hun- 
 dred slain, and taken in the chase more 
 than two hundred ; for as the Englishmen 
 fled, when they saw any advantage they 
 returned again and fought : by that means 
 the Scots were taken and none otherwise. 
 Every man may well consider that it was a 
 well fought field, when there were so many 
 slain and taken on both parties. 
 
 CHAPTER CXLIII [CXLVII] 
 
 How the Scots departed and carried with 
 them the earl Douglas dead, and buried 
 him in the abbey of Melrose ; and how sir 
 Archambault Douglas and his company 
 departed from before Carlisle and returned 
 into Scotland. 
 
 After this battle thus finished, every man 
 returned,' and the earl Douglas' dead body 
 chested and laid in a chare, and with him 
 sir Robert Hart and Simon Glendowyn, 
 then they prepared to depart : so they 
 departed and led with them sir Henry Percy 
 and more than forty knights of England, 
 and took the way to the abbey of Melrose. 
 At their departing they set fire in their 
 lodgings, and rode all the day, and yet lay 
 that night in the English ground : none 
 denied them. The next day they dislodged 
 early in the morning and so came that day 
 to Melrose. It is an abbey of black monks 
 on the border between both realms. There 
 they rested and buried the earl James 
 Douglas. The second day after his 
 obsequy was done reverently, and on his 
 body laid a tomb of stone and his banner 
 hanging over him. Whether there were 
 as then any more earls of Douglas, to 
 whom the land returned, or not, I cannot 
 tell ; for I, sir John Froissart, author of 
 this book, was in Scotland in the earl's 
 castle of Dalkeith, living earl William, at 
 
 ' That is, ' After the battle was over and every 
 man had returned,' but it should be, 'After all this 
 was done and everything was gathered together.' 
 
 which time he had two children, a son and 
 a daughter ; but after there were many of 
 the Douglases, for I have seen a five 
 brethren, all squires, bearing the name of 
 Douglas, in the king of Scotland's house, 
 David ; they were sons to a knight in Scot- 
 land called sir James Douglas, and they 
 bare in their arms gold, three oreilles gules, 
 but as for the heritage, I know not who 
 had it : as for sir Archambault Douglas, of 
 whom I have spoken before in this history 
 in divers places, who was a valiant knight, 
 and greatly redoubted of the Englishmen, 
 he was but a bastard. 
 
 ■\Vhen these Scots had been at Melrose 
 abbey and done there all that they came 
 thither for, then they departed each from 
 other and went into their own countries, 
 and such as had prisoners, some led them 
 away with them and some were ransomed 
 and suffered to return. Thus the English- 
 men found the Scots right courteous and 
 gentle in their deliverance and ransom, so 
 that they were well content. This was 
 shewed me in the country of Beam in the 
 earl of Foix's house by a knight named John 
 of Chateauneuf, who was taken prisoner at 
 the same journey under the banner of the 
 earl of March and Dunbar : and he greatly 
 praised the said earl, for he suffered him to 
 pass in manner as he desired himself. 
 
 Thus these men of war of Scotland de- 
 parted, and ransomed their prisoners as 
 soon as they might right courteously, and 
 so returned little and little into their own 
 countries. And it was shewed me and I 
 beheve it well, that the Scots had by reason 
 of that journey two hundred thousand 
 franks for ransoming of prisoners : for sith 
 the battle that was before Stirling in Scot- 
 land, whereas sir Robert of Bruce, sir 
 William Douglas, sir Robert Versy, sir 
 Simon Eraser and other Scots chased the 
 Englishmen three days, they never had 
 journey so profitable nor so honourable for 
 them, as this was. When tidings came to 
 the other company of the Scots that were 
 beside Carlisle, how their company had dis- 
 tressed the Englishmen beside Otterburn, 
 they were greatly rejoiced, and displeased 
 in their minds that they had not been there. 
 Then they determined to dislodge and to 
 draw into their own countries, seeing their 
 other company were withdrawn. Thus 
 they dislodged and entered into Scotland. 
 
AFFAIRS OF JULIERS AND GUELDRES 
 
 381 
 
 Now let us leave to speak of the Scots 
 and of the Englishmen for this time, and 
 let us return to the young Charles of France, 
 who with a great people went into Almaine, 
 to bring the duke of Gueldres to reason. 
 
 When the French king and all his army 
 were past the river of Meuse at the bridge 
 of Morsay, they took the way of Ardennes 
 and of Luxembourg, and always the 
 pioneers were before, beating woods and 
 bushes and making the ways plain. The 
 duke of Juliers and his country greatly 
 doubted the coming of the French king, 
 for they knew well they should have the 
 first assault and bear the first burden : and 
 the land of Juliers is a plain country ; in 
 one day the men of war should do much 
 damage there, and destroy and waste all, 
 except the castles and good towns. Thus 
 the French king entered into the country 
 of Luxembourg and came to an abbey, 
 whereas Wenceslas sometime duke of 
 Brabant was buried. There the king 
 tarried two days : then he departed and 
 took the way through Bastogne, and lodged 
 within a league whereas the duchess of 
 Brabant lay. She sent word of her being 
 there to the duke of Burgoyne, and he 
 brought her into the field to speak with 
 the king, who received her right honour- 
 ably, and there communed together. Then 
 the duchess returned to Bastogne, and 
 thither she was conveyed with sir John of 
 Vienne and sir Guy of Tremouille ; and 
 the next day the king went forward, ap- 
 proaching to the land of his enemies, and 
 came to the entering into Almaine, on the 
 frontiers of the duchy of Juliers. But or 
 he came so far forward, Arnold bishop of 
 Liege had been with the king and had 
 greatly entreated for the duke of Juliers, 
 that the king should not be miscontent with 
 him, though he were father to the duke of 
 Gueldres ; for he excused him of the 
 defiance that his son had made, affirming 
 how it was not by his knowledge nor con- 
 sent, wherefore, he said, it were pity that 
 the father should bear the default of the 
 son. This excuse was not sufficient to the 
 king nor to his uncles : for the intent of the 
 king and his council was, without the 
 duke of Juliers would come and make other 
 manner of excuse, and to yield himself to 
 the king's pleasure, his country should be 
 the first that should bear the burden. Then 
 
 the bishop of Liege and the lords of Iles- 
 baing and the councils of the good towns 
 offered to the king and his council wholly 
 the bishopric of Liege for his army to pass 
 and repass paying for their expenses, and 
 to rest and refresh them there as long as it 
 pleased them. The king thanked them, 
 and so did his uncles, and would not refuse 
 their offer, for he knew not what need he 
 should have after. 
 
 CFIAPTERS CXLIV, CXLV 
 [CXLVIIL CXLIX] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The dzike of ftdiers, 
 alarmed by the advance of the king of 
 France, came and excused himself, as not 
 apfrovijig the conduct of his son the duke 
 of Gueldres, and by his ?neans the duke of 
 Gueldres was persuaded to disavow his 
 letter of defiance : and so the king of France 
 7'et2irned. 
 
 CHAPTER CXLVI [CL] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Artmdel with 
 the English fieet had come to land near 
 Rochelle : then hearing that sir Lottis of 
 Sancerre was coming thither to fight with 
 him, he flit to sea and came to Bordeaux. 
 
 The duke of Lancaster contracted his 
 daughter to the son of the king of Castile. 
 
 The French king took upon himself the 
 gove?'n?nent, being 7nore than twenty years 
 of age, and kept the feast of All Saints at 
 Rheinis. 
 
 Sir John de Vien7ie weiit as ambassador 
 to the king of Castile to warn him agaitist 
 an Eiiglish alliayice. 
 
 CHAPTERS CXLVII, CXLVHI 
 [CLI, CLH] 
 
 SUMMARY.— The duke of Berry proposed 
 a marriage first for his soil and then for him- 
 self -with the young lady Jane of Boulogne, 
 who had been brought up by the earl of Foix. 
 
 Geoffrey THe- Noire, besieged z?z Venta- 
 dour, made his will and died, appointing a 
 captain in his stead. 
 
 The duke of Gtteldres was taken p7'isoner 
 i77 Prussia, a77d bei7ig delivered by the grand 
 7]iaster of Prussia, returned to keep faith 
 with his captors. 
 
382 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 CHAPS. CXLIX-CLI [CLIII-CLV] 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — Sir John de Vienne received 
 his answer from the king of Castile, that 
 the intended marriage would not prejudice 
 the alliance with France. 
 
 The earl of Arundel with the Ejiglish 
 fleet returned home. 
 
 The duchess of Lancaster wejit with her 
 daughter into Spain. 
 
 The marriage took place of the duke of 
 Berry with the youitg lady of Boulogne, at 
 which the author was present. 
 
 CHAPTER CLII [CLVI] 
 
 SURIMARY. — A peace was agreed to for 
 three years between England and France, to 
 include allies on both sides. 
 
 The author thus cojitinues : — • 
 
 In this time great bruit was in France 
 and in other places of a great feast and 
 jousts that the young king Charles would 
 make at Paris at the first entering of Isabel 
 the French queen, against which feast 
 Icnights, squires, ladies and damosels ap- 
 parelled them to be at that triumph. Of the 
 which feast I shall speak more hereafter, 
 and of the charter of the peace that was 
 engrossed and sealed between the parties.^ 
 Ye shall know that when I, sir John 
 Froissart, author of this history, was de- 
 parted from Orthez from the earl of Foi.x, 
 as ye have heard herebefore, and went in 
 company with the lord de la Riviere and 
 the lord Guilliam of Tremouille, who 
 brought the young duchess of Berry, 
 daughter to the earl of Boulogne, to the 
 duke of Berry, who wedded her in the 
 town of Riom in Auvergne, as it is con- 
 tained herebefore in this history ; for at all 
 these matters I was present, wherefore I 
 may well speak thereof. And when I 
 came to Paris, I found there the gentle 
 lord of Coucy, a good lord of mine, who 
 had newly married a young lady, daughter 
 to the duke of Lorraine ; which lord made 
 
 1 Here ends the third book of the Chronicles, and 
 after this in the fuller text there comes the prologue 
 to the fourth book, which in the text followed by 
 the translator is placed (in a shortened form) con- 
 siderably later, to suit the division into volumes ; 
 see chap. 187 [191] of the translation, where the 
 fourth volume of the early printed editions begins. 
 
 me good cheer and demanded of me news 
 of the country of Foix and Beam, and of 
 pope Clement, being at Avignon, and of the 
 marriage between Berry and Boulogne, 
 and of another great friend of mine and 
 good lord and master, the earl Berault, 
 Dolphin of Auvergne ; and to all his de- 
 mands I answered all that I knew, so that 
 he was content. Then he desired me to 
 go with him into Cambresis, to a castle 
 that the king had given him called Creve- 
 coeur, a two leagues from Cambray and 
 nine leagues from Valenciennes. And so 
 I rode in his company. And as we rode 
 by the way, he shewed me how the bishop 
 of Bayeux and the earl of Saint-Pol and 
 other were at Boulogne, sent thither by 
 the French king to conclude the truce, and 
 how that for king Richard king of England 
 there were at Calais the bishop of Durham 
 and the earl of Salisbury with other, and 
 how they had been there the space [of] more 
 than a month abiding for the ambassadors 
 of Scotland, who were as then newly come 
 thither. He said how his cousin the earl 
 of Saint-Pol had written to him thereof, 
 and how the French king had sent to the 
 king of Scots and to his council that he 
 should agree to the truce, for the English- 
 men would consent to no peace without 
 the Scots were comprised in the same. 
 Thus we rode till we came to Crevecosur, 
 and there I was with him three days. 
 Then I took leave of him and went to 
 Valenciennes, and there I tarried fifteen 
 days. Then I went into Holland, to see 
 a gentle lord and good master of mine, 
 the earl of Blois, and found him at Schoon- 
 hove. He made me good cheer and de- 
 manded of me some tidings, and I shewed 
 him such as I knew. I tarried with him a 
 month there and at Goude. Then I re- 
 turned into France to know the truth of 
 the conclusion that was taken between 
 England and France at Lelinghen. Also 
 I purposed to be at the feast that should be 
 at Paris at the entry of the French queen, 
 to know the truth of all these matters. I 
 returned through Brabant, and so came to 
 Paris eight days before the feast began. 
 Then I fell in company with the lords of 
 France and of Scotland, such as had been 
 at the making of the truce between Eng- 
 land and France, and I fell in acquaintance 
 with sir Guilliam of Melun, who shewed me 
 
ENTRY OF THE QUEEN INTO PARIS, 13S9 
 
 383 
 
 all the whole matter and how the earl of 
 Saint-Pol was passed into England to see 
 king Richard and to confirm the truce that 
 was granted for three years, and that he 
 should return again to be at the said great 
 feast. Then I demanded of the said sir 
 Guilliam what lords of Scotland had been 
 at the said treaty. I demanded it because 
 in my youth I had been in Scotland and 
 searched all the realm to the wild Scots : and 
 while I was there, I tarried a space in the 
 court of king David of Scotland, and there 
 I had acquaintance of the most part of the 
 lords and knights of Scotland. Therefore 
 I demanded who had been there ; and this 
 sir Melun answered me and said how there 
 had been the bishop of Aberdeen and sir 
 James and sir David Lindsay and sir Walter 
 of Sinclair. I bare his saying away, and 
 did put in writing all that I had seen and 
 heard, and shall shew the truth what I 
 saw and knew of this feast and of the 
 first entering of queen Isabel into Paris. 
 
 CHAPTER CLIII [CLVII] 
 
 Of the ordinance of the entry of queen Isabel 
 into the town of Paris. 
 
 The Sunday the twentieth day of June in 
 the year of our Lord God a thousand three 
 hundred fourscore and nine there was people 
 in Paris and without such number that it 
 was marvel to behold ; and the same Sun- 
 day in the morning there was assembly 
 made in the church of Saint Denis of noble 
 ladies of France, such as should accompany 
 the queen, and of such lords as should 
 assist the queen's litters and other ladies' ; 
 and there was of the burgesses of Paris 
 twelve hundred an-horseback ranged in the 
 fields on both sides of the way, apparelled 
 in gowns of one suit of cloth of baudkin, 
 green and crimson. And the old queen 
 Jane and her daughter, duchess of Orleans, 
 entered first into Paris one hour before 
 noon in a litter covered, well accompanied 
 with lords, and passed through the high 
 street of Saint Denis and so rode to the 
 palace and there tarried for the king : that 
 day these two ladies went no further. 
 
 Then the French queen and the other 
 ladies set forward, as the duchess of Berry, 
 the duchess of Burgoyne, the duchess of 
 Touraine, the duchess of Bar, the countess 
 
 of Nevers, the lady of Coucy, and other 
 ladies and damosels all in good order ; all 
 their litters were apparelled as richly as 
 might be ; but the duchess of Touraine 
 had no litter, she rode alone upon a fair 
 palfrey richly apparelled, and she rode on 
 the one side by the queen's litter, and it 
 was assisted with the duke of Touraine and 
 the duke of Bourbon at the fore head on 
 both sides, and in the midst on both sides 
 the litter were the duke of Berry and the 
 duke of Burgoyne, and at the feet was the 
 lord Peter of Navarre and the earl of 
 Ostrenavant : the queen's litter was richly 
 apparelled and discovered. Then next 
 followed on a rich apparelled palfrey the 
 duchess of Berry, and she was assisted with 
 the earl de la Marche and with the earl of 
 Nevers, and she riding a soft pace between 
 them both. Then followed the Utter all 
 discovered and open of the duchess of 
 Burgoyne and Margaret of Hainault her 
 daughter, countess of Nevers. That htter 
 was assisted with the lord Henry of Bar 
 and the young earl of Namur called sir 
 Guilliam. And then the lady of Orleans 
 on a palfrey richly apparelled, and the lord 
 James of Bourbon and the lord Philip 
 d'Artois assisted the lady of Orleans. Then 
 another litter with the duchess of Bar and 
 tlie daughter of the lord of Coucy. ^ Of 
 other ladies and damosels that came after 
 in chariots and palfreys, and knights that 
 followed, there was no mention made. And 
 as for sergeants and officers of arms, had 
 business enough to do to make way and 
 to break the press. There was such people 
 in the streets that it seemed that all the 
 world had been there. 
 
 At the first gate of Saint Denis entering 
 into Paris there was a heaven made full of 
 stars, and within it young children ap- 
 parelled like angels sweetly singing, and 
 among them an image of our Lady holding 
 in figure a little child ^ playing by himself 
 with a little mill made of a great nut : this 
 
 1 Marie, daughter of the sire de Coucy, was 
 daughter-in-law of the duchess of Ear, therefore the 
 reading, 'et sa fiUe, fille au sire de Coucy,' which 
 is condemned hy Lettenhove (xx. 250) on the 
 ground that the daughter of the sire de Coucy 
 could not be also the daughter of the duchess of 
 Bar, is probably correct. 
 
 2 ' Holding in figure her little child ' ; that is, 
 holding a child set there to represent the infant 
 Christ (and kept quiet apparently by having the 
 little windmill to play with). 
 
384 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 heaven was high and richly apparelled to his twelve '■ companions : then they all 
 with the arms of France, with a banner of set them in order and incontinent went and 
 
 the sun shining of gold, casting his rays ; 
 this was devised by the king ^ for the feast 
 of the jousts. The queen and the other 
 ladies, as they passed under in at the gate, 
 they had great pleasure to behold it, and 
 so had all other that passed by. Then 
 when the queen and the ladies were passed 
 by, then they came a soft pace before the 
 fountain in the street of Saint Denis, which 
 conduit was covered over with a cloth of 
 fine azure painted full of ilower-de-luces of 
 gold, and the pillars were set full of the 
 arms of divers noble lords of France ; and 
 out of this fountain there issued in great 
 streams piment and claret, and about this 
 fountain there were young maidens richly 
 apparelled, with rich chaplets on their 
 heads, singing melodiously, great pleasure 
 it was to hear them, and they held in their 
 hands cups and goblets of gold, offering 
 and giving to drink all such as passed by ; 
 and the queen rested there and regarded 
 them and had great pleasure of that device, 
 and so did all other ladies and damosels 
 that saw it, 
 
 Then after, under the minster of the 
 Trinity in the street there was a stage and 
 thereupon a castle, and along on the stage 
 there was ordained the pass of king Saladin^ 
 and all their deeds in personages,^ the 
 Christen-men on the one part and the 
 Saracens on the other part, and there was 
 in personages all the lords of name that of 
 old time had been armed and had done 
 any feats of arms at the pass of Saladin, 
 and were armed with such armour'' as they 
 then used. And then a little above them 
 there was in personages the French king 
 and the twelve peers of France armed with 
 the blason of their arms. And when the 
 French queen's litter was come before this 
 stage, she rested there a season. Then the 
 personage on the stage of king Richard = 
 departed from his company and went to the 
 French king and demanded licence to go 
 and assail the Saracens ; and the king gave 
 him leave. Then king Richard returned 
 
 i^ ' Which was the device of the king.' 
 
 - ' Le Pas du roy Salhadin,' i.e. the fight with 
 
 Saladin. 
 ^ By ]-epresentation of actors. 
 ^ Or rather, ' wearing such coats of arms.' 
 ■> The person who represented king Richard on 
 
 the stage.' 
 
 assailed the king Saladin and the Saracens. 
 There in sport there seemed a great battle 
 and it endured a good space : this pageant 
 was well regarded. 
 
 Then the queen passed forth and came 
 to the second gate of Saint Denis, and 
 there was a castle ordained as was at the 
 first gate and a heaven clouded and full of 
 stars richly devised, and therein the figure 
 of God sitting in majesty, the Father, the 
 Son and the Holy Ghost, and within the 
 heaven children in figure of angels sweetly 
 singing, which pageant was greatly praised. 
 And as the queen's litter passed under the 
 gate of Paradise, there were two angels 
 came out and came down holding in their 
 hands a rich crown of gold garnished with 
 precious stones, and they set fair and easily 
 the crown on the queen's head, singing right 
 sweetly this verse : ' Dame, as ye be en- 
 closed between the flower-de-luces, so ye 
 be queen of the realm of France,' and so 
 drew again into Paradise.- Then they 
 passed forth and came before the chapel of 
 Saint James, and there was a scaffold richly 
 devised on the right hand as the queen rode, 
 covered over with rich arras and drawn 
 about with curtains in manner of a cham- 
 ber, and within there were men playing 
 upon organs right sweetly. And all the 
 street of Saint Denis was covered over 
 with cloths of silk and camlet, such plenty 
 as though such cloths should cost nothing. 
 And I, sir John Froissart, author of this 
 history, was present and saw all this and 
 had great marvel where such number of 
 cloths of silk were gotten ; there was as 
 great plenty as though they had been in 
 Alisandre or Damas : and all the houses on 
 both sides of the gieat street of Saint Denis 
 unto the bridge of Paris were hanged with 
 cloths of Arras of divers histories, the which 
 was pleasure to behold. 
 
 Thus they passed forth a soft pace and 
 
 i The word ' twelve ' is due to the translator. 
 - The lines were these : 
 
 'Dame enclose entre fleurs de lis, 
 Royne estes-vous de Paris, 
 De France et de tout le pays. 
 Nous en ralons en paradis.' 
 The last line is mistranslated : it should be given as 
 part of the angels' song, 'We return to Paradise.' 
 The second line was partly omitted by the trans- 
 lator, probably because he found the reading 
 ' paradis' for ' Paris,' and was puzzled by it. 
 
ENTRY OF THE QUEEN INTO PARIS 
 
 38s 
 
 so came to the gate of the Chatelet of 
 Paris, and there the queen rested to see 
 the other goodly devices that were there 
 ordained. At the gate of the Chatelet 
 of Paris there was a castle made of wood 
 and timber, as strongly made as it should 
 have endured forty years, the which castle 
 was embattled and at every loop there was 
 a man of arms armed' at all pieces ; and in 
 the same castle there was a bed made, richly 
 encurtained and apparelled, as it had been 
 to have stood in the king's chamljer, and 
 this bed was called the bed of Justice, and 
 in this bed there lay by figure Saint Anne. 
 In this castle there was a plain, for the 
 castle contained a great space, and this 
 plain was full of trees and full of hares, 
 conies and birds, that flew in and out, for 
 when they were abroad they flew thither 
 again for fear of the people. And out of 
 these trees there issued a white hart and 
 went to the bed of Justice, and out of the 
 other part of the wood there issued out a 
 lion and an eagle properly, and freshly 
 approached ^ the hart and the bed of Justice. 
 Then came there out of the trees a twelve 
 young maidens richly apparelled with 
 chaplets of gold on their heads, holding 
 naked swords in their hands, and they 
 went between the hart, the lion and the 
 eagle, and there they shewed themselves 
 ready to defend the hart and the bed of 
 Justice. This device the queen and all 
 other had great pleasure to regard. 
 
 Then they passed forth and came to the 
 bridge of Paris, which was covered and 
 richly beseen, the covering of green and 
 crimson full of stars and the streets hanged, 
 to Our Lady's church. And by that time 
 that the queen and the ladies were past the 
 bridge and approached to the church of 
 Our Lady, it was late, for all the way as 
 they went they rode but a soft pace ; and 
 or the queen and the ladies entered into 
 the church of Our Lady, they found by 
 their way other plays and pastimes greatly 
 to their pleasure. Among all other there 
 was a master came out of Genes : he had 
 tied a cord on the highest house on the 
 bridge of Saint Michael over all the houses, 
 and the other end was tied on the highest 
 tower in Our Lady's church ; and as the 
 queen passed by, and was in the great 
 street called Our Lady's street, because it 
 
 1 ' Very properly made, and approached,' etc. 
 2C 
 
 was late this said master with two brenning 
 candles in his hands issued out of a little 
 stage that he had made on the height of 
 Our Lady's tower, and singing he went 
 upon the cord all along the great street, so 
 that all that saw him had marvel how it 
 might be, and he bare still in his hands 
 two brenning candles, so that it might well 
 be seen over all Paris and two mile with- 
 out Paris : he was such a tumbler that his 
 lightness was greatly praised. 
 
 And before the church of Our Lady the 
 bishop of Paris was, revested with the arms 
 of our lord Jesu Christ, with all the college 
 and great number of other of the clergy. 
 There the queen alighted out of her litter 
 and was taken down by the four dukes, that 
 is to say, the duke of Berry, the duke of 
 Burgoyne, the duke of Touraine and the 
 duke of Bourbon, and all other ladies in 
 like wise taken down by them that were 
 their assisters, both out of their htters and 
 from their horses and in good order. So 
 they entered into the church, the bishop 
 and the clergy before them, singing in the 
 honour of God and of our blessed Lady. 
 The queen was led and assisted and brought 
 up to the high altar, and there she kneeled 
 down and said her prayers, such as pleased 
 her, and offered to the treasury of our Lady 
 four cloths of cloth of gold and the goodly 
 crown that the angels did set on her head ; 
 and then incontinent sir John de la Riviere ^ 
 and sir John le Mercier delivered the bishop 
 of Paris a more richer crown, and the bishop 
 and the four dukes did set it on the queen's 
 head. Then they returned again through 
 the church, and the queen and the ladies 
 set again in their litters, as they were be- 
 fore : there were more than five hundred 
 torches brenning, for it was late. Thus 
 they were brought to the palace of Paris, 
 where the king, the old queen and the 
 duchess of Orleans her daughter were. 
 There the queen and her ladies lighted 
 from their litters, and each of them brought 
 into several chambers ; and the lords went 
 to their lodgings after the dancing was past. 
 
 The next day, Monday, the king made 
 them all a dinner at his palace, and at the 
 hour of the high mass the queen was 
 led with the foresaid four dukes into the 
 Holy Chapel, and there in the mass season 
 the queen was sacred and anointed, as a 
 
 1 His true name was Bureau de la Riviere, 
 
386 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 queen ought to be, and the archbishop of 
 Rouen did the observance, who was called 
 sir William of Vienne. After the mass 
 sung solemnly the king and the queen re- 
 turned into their chambers, and all other 
 ladies such as had chambers in the palace. 
 Then anon after the king and the queen 
 returned into the hall, and all other ladies. 
 The great table of marble that always 
 standeth still in the hall was made longer 
 with a great plank board of oak of four 
 inches thick, which board was richly 
 covered. And above the great table 
 against one of the pillars was the king's 
 dressing-board standing full of vessel of 
 gold and silver, which was greatly coveted 
 of many that saw it. Before the table 
 along descending down there were barriers 
 made of wood with three alleys, and there 
 were sergeants and ushers a great number 
 keeping the entries, to the intent that none 
 should enter but such as were servitors of 
 the table ; for the hall was so full of people 
 that a man could not turn him but with 
 much pain. Minstrels a great number 
 pleasantly played, every man after his 
 faculty. Then the king and the prelates 
 and the queen and the ladies washed and 
 sat down at the tables. At the king's table 
 sat down as chief the bishop of Noyon, 
 then the bishop of Langres, then the king, 
 and by the king the archbishop of Rouen. 
 The king sat in a surcoat of scarlet furred 
 with ermines and a rich crown of gold on 
 his head : then the queen, and by her the 
 king of Armenia, then the duchess of 
 Berry, then tije duchess of Burgoyne and 
 the duchess of Touraine, then the lady of 
 Nevers and the good damosel of Bar,^ then 
 the lady of Coucy and Mary of Harcourt : 
 no other sat at the high table, saving be- 
 neath all sat the lady of Sully, wife to 
 sir Guy of Tremouille. And at two other 
 tables along down the hall sat more than 
 five hundred ladies and damosels. The 
 press was so great that it was great pain to 
 serve them with their messes, which were 
 great and notable. I have not to do to 
 make great process thereof: I shall some- 
 what speak of the pastimes that were made 
 between the messes, the which had been a 
 great pleasure for the king to have seen, 
 if he had tarried out the whole dinner. 
 
 ^ The French text has * ma damoiselle Bonne de 
 Bar,' but the better reading is ' madame de Bar.' 
 
 First, in the midst of the palace there 
 was a castle made of timber forty foot long 
 and twenty foot broad, with four towers, in 
 every quarter one, and one in the midst 
 higher than the other. This castle was 
 figured for the city of Troy and the tower 
 in the midst for the palace of llion, and 
 there were pennons with the arms of the 
 Troyans, as of king Priamus, Hector his son 
 and his other children, and also the arms 
 of such other kings and princes as were 
 enclosed in Troy with king Priam : this 
 castle went upon wheels, the which might 
 be turned every way properly. This castle 
 came to assail another sort ^ that was there- 
 by in a pavilion, which also went upon 
 wheels so softly and covertly that the 
 moving thereof could not be perceived, 
 and there was the arms of the kings of 
 Greece and of other such as were at the 
 siege. Also there was a ship properly 
 devised, wherein might well be a hundred 
 men of arms, and all moved by the craft of 
 wheels, both the castle, pavilion and ship. 
 They of the pavilion and of the ship 
 assailed ever the castle and they within 
 the castle made great defence ; but this 
 sport endured not long, for the press of 
 the people was so sore about them that no 
 man could stir. The people were sore 
 chafed with the heat and put to much 
 pain. And there was a table by the parlia- 
 ment chamber door, whereat sat many 
 ladies and damosels : it was by reason of 
 the press overthrown to the earth and the 
 ladies caused suddenly to rise without 
 order, and sore chafed with the press and 
 heat that was in the palace. The queen 
 herself was at the point to have been sore 
 displeased:^ perforce a back door' was 
 broken up to get fresh air. The lady of 
 Coucy was sore dis-eased. When the king 
 saw this matter, he commanded to cease 
 and the tables in great haste to be taken up 
 to let the ladies and damosels at large: they 
 left taking of** wine and spices and went to 
 their chambers. Then some of the ladies 
 tarried still in the palace and some went 
 into the town to their lodgings, to be the 
 more at their ease, for with press and with 
 
 ^ '.^utres gens.' 2 ' Mesais^e.' 
 
 3 ' Une barriere,' but the better reading is ' une 
 
 verriere,' ' a glass window.' 
 ■1 'On se diSlivra de donner,' ' they made haste 
 
 to serve-' 
 
ENTRY OF THE QUEEN INTO PARIS 
 
 387 
 
 heat they had been sore grieved. The 
 lady Coucy went to her lodging and held 
 her there till it was late. 
 
 Then about five of the clock the French 
 queen, accompanied with the foresaid 
 duchesses, departed from the palace of 
 Paris and took their litters all open and 
 so went through the streets to the king's 
 lodging, called Saint-Pol on the river of 
 Seine.' With the queen there were more 
 than a thousand horses, and the king went 
 from the palace to the river of Seine and 
 took there a barge and went by water to 
 his house of Saint-Pol. And for all that 
 the house was great and large and well 
 amended, yet the king had caused in the 
 great court near to the gate from the river 
 to be made a great hall, which was covered 
 over with cloths of the arms of Normandy, 
 and the walls were hanged with cloths of 
 Arras of sundiry histories. In this hall the 
 king gave the ladies a supper ; but the 
 queen kept her chamber, she was no more 
 seen that night. The other ladies and the 
 king and the lords danced and revelled all 
 that night, near hand till it was day in the 
 morning : then every j^erson departed and 
 went to their lodgings to sleep, for it was 
 good time. 
 
 Now I shall shew you what gifts and 
 presents they of Paris gave on the Tuesday 
 before noon to the queen and to the 
 duchess of Touraine, who was but newly 
 come into France out of Lombardy ; for 
 she was daughter to the duke of Milan and 
 she had the same year wedded Louis duke 
 of Touraine ; she was named Valentine ; 
 she had never before been at Paris, there- 
 fore the burgesses of Paris gave her her 
 welcome. On this Tuesday about twelve 
 of the clock about a forty burgesses of 
 Paris of the most notablest persons of the 
 city, all in one suit of clothing, came to the 
 king's house of Saint -Pol and brought a 
 present for the queen through the streets 
 of Paris. The present was in a litter richly 
 wrought and borne between two strong 
 men properly apparelled like two ancient 
 sage persons.^ The litter had a celler of 
 a thin fine cloth of silk, so that the jewels 
 that were in the litter might well be seen 
 through. When they came to Saint-Pol, 
 
 ^ Saint-PoI-sur-Seine. 
 - ' Hommes saiges,' but this is 
 ' hommes sauvages,' 'wild men.' 
 
 corruption of 
 
 first they came into the king's chamber, 
 which was ready apparelled to receive 
 them, for always such as bringeth anything 
 are welcome. Then these burgesses set 
 down the litter on two tressels in the midst 
 of the chamber. Then they kneeled down 
 before the king and said : ' Right dear lord 
 and noble king, your burgesses of Paris 
 presenteth your grace these jewels here in 
 this litter in the welcoming of your grace 
 into the governance of your realm of 
 France. ' Then the king said : ' Good 
 men, I thank you : they are right goodly 
 and rich.' Then the burgesses rose and 
 drew back and therewith took their leave. 
 When they were gone, the king said to sir 
 W^illiam of Bordes and to Montague, who 
 were by him : ' Sirs, let us go near to this 
 litter and see these presents more nearer.' 
 Then the king well regarded them. First 
 there were four pots of gold, six lavers of 
 gold and six plates of gold ; ' all this 
 vessel weighed a hundred and fifty mark 
 of gold. In like manner another sort of 
 burgesses richly apparelled all in one livery 
 came to the queen and presented her 
 another litter, which was borne into her 
 chamber, shewing how the good men of 
 Paris did recommend them to her grace 
 and sent her that present : which present 
 was a ship of gold, two great flagons of 
 gold, two dredge-boxes ^ of gold, two salts 
 of gold, six pots gold, six lavers of gold, 
 twelve lamps of silver, two basons of 
 silver ; the sum was three hundred mark, 
 what gold, what silver. This present was 
 brought in a litter between two men, one 
 in semblance of a bear and the other in 
 semblance of an unicorn. The third 
 present in like wise was brought into the 
 duchess of Touraine's chamber by two men 
 figured in the form of two black Moors 
 richly apparelled, with white towels about 
 their heads like Saracens. The litter was 
 fair and rich, covered with a fine cloth of silk 
 and brought by twelve burgesses all in one 
 apparel, who gave this present to the said 
 duchess, in the which present there was a 
 ship of gold, a great pot of gold, two ewers 
 gold, two great plates gold, two salts gold, 
 six pots silver, two dozen saucers silver, 
 two dozen bowls silver ; sum, gold and 
 
 1 The full text has also, 'four salt-holders of 
 gold, twelve cups of gold, twelve basons of gold.' 
 
 2 'Drageoirs,' ' comfit-boxes.' 
 
388 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 silver, two hundred marks. This present 
 greatly rejoiced the duchess of Touraine, 
 as it was reason, for it was goodly and 
 rich ; and courteously she thanked them of 
 their' gift. Thus this Tuesday these pre- 
 sents were given to the king, the queen 
 and to the duchess of Touraine. It was 
 greatly to be considered the value of these 
 presents and also the puissance of the 
 Parisians ; for it was shewed me by one 
 who saw all these presents that they cost 
 the Parisians more than threescore thou- 
 sand crowns of gold. After these presents 
 thus delivered it was time to go to dinner ; 
 but that day the king and the queen and 
 other ladies dined in their chambers, the 
 sooner to have done, for at three of the 
 clock at after dinner they should draw into 
 the field of Saint Katherine, whereas there 
 was ordained stages and scaffolds a great 
 number for the king and the queen and 
 other to behold the jousts. 
 
 SUMMARY. — The jousts were held on 
 this Tuesday a?id on the followi7jg day, and 
 prizes awarded. On Friday the king gaiie 
 a great di7tner to the ladies and there was 
 joiisting after it. Then lords and ladies 
 took leave of the king and qtteen and 7-etttrned 
 home. 
 
 CHAPS. CLIV, CLV [CLVIII, CLIX] 
 
 SUM.VAR v. — The truce between England 
 and France for tlwee years was confirnied. 
 The young son of the duke of Anjou, styled 
 king of Sicily , was married to the dazighter 
 of the king of Aragon. 
 
 CHAPTER CLVI [CLX] 
 
 How the French king had desire to go 
 and visit the far parts of his realm, and 
 how he went first into Burgoyne and to 
 Avignon, to see pope Clement. 
 
 After this great feast was accomplished 
 and that every lord and lady were gone 
 home to their o^vn houses, as ye have heard 
 herebefore, and that the French king saw 
 that he had truce with England for three 
 year, he had then imagination to go and 
 visit his realm, specially the utward 
 marches of Languedoc : for the lord de la 
 Riviere and sir John Mercier, who were 
 as then chief of his privy council, they ex- 
 
 horted him to go to Avignon to see pope 
 Clement and the cardinals, who desired to 
 see him, and also to go to Toulouse ; for 
 they said to the king : ' Sir, a king in his 
 youth ought to visit his realm and to know 
 his people and to learn how they be 
 governed, the which should be greatly to 
 his profit and the better to be beloved 
 with his subjects.' The king lightly in- 
 clined to their counsel, for he had desire to 
 travel and see new things ; and the lord de 
 la Riviere, who was but newly come out 
 of those marches, heard great complaints 
 of the people of Toulouse, of Carcassonne 
 and of Beaucaire, and they desired greatly 
 to see the king ; for they had been sore 
 charged with tallies and aids by the duke 
 of Berry by the information of a servant of 
 his called IJetisac, who had pity of no man, 
 he so pilled the people that nothing was 
 left : therefore he counselled the king to 
 go thither to provide some remedy, and 
 also that the king should send for the earl 
 of Foix to come to him to Toulouse. The 
 king made him ready to go thither and sent 
 afore all the way that provision should be 
 made for his coming, and sent word thereof 
 to his uncle the duke of Burgoyne and to 
 his aunt the duchess, how he would come 
 along through their country and would see 
 his cousins their children, and to bring in 
 his company his brother the duke of 
 Touraine and his uncle of Bourbon ; which 
 pleased greatly the duke and the duchess, 
 and the duke caused to be proclaimed a 
 feast and a jousts to be holden at Dijon, 
 and knights and squires of Burgoyne, of 
 Savoy and of other marches adjoining 
 were required to be at this feast ; and so 
 every man ordered themselves accordingly. 
 Thus whiles the king's provision was a 
 making to go to Avignon and to Langue- 
 doc, the duke of Burgoyne on his part made 
 great provision to receive the king, and so 
 did every man in their marches that pur- 
 posed to be at the feast at Dijon. The 
 same season other matters fell in France. 
 Ye have heard how the duke of Ireland, 
 who was called earl of Oxford, was 
 banished out of England by the uncles 
 of king Richard, and specially the duke 
 of Gloucester had greatest displeasure to 
 him, so that to save himself he was fled 
 into Holland, and tarried there but a small 
 season in the town of Dordrecht, for he 
 
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1389 
 
 389 
 
 was fain to depart thence, for duke Aubert, 
 who was lord of that town and of Holland, 
 denied him the tarrying in his country ; for 
 he would not keep him against the will of 
 his cousins-germans of England: for all 
 that the king of England had written for 
 him, yet he was fain to depart and to go to 
 Utrecht, a frank town for all manner of 
 people paying for that they take ; and the 
 duke of Ireland had enough to pay, for 
 beside that he brought with him he had 
 threescore thousand franks out of France 
 from the constable for the redemption of 
 John of Bretayne. And he was come to 
 the French king under safe - conduct and 
 was there with him more than a year. 
 The king made him good cheer, because 
 he was a stranger ; howbeit, true it was, 
 though this duke was with the king, yet 
 the lord of Coucy hated him in his heart, 
 for he had good cause ; for though the 
 duke in all affairs was provided of wit, 
 honour, eloquence and of great largess, 
 yet he had greatly trespassed against the 
 lord of Coucy's daughter, who was his wife 
 lawfully spoused, and forsook her without 
 any title of reason, but by false and evil 
 temptation and deceit was deceived and 
 took another wife, a damosel of the queen 
 of England's of the country of Boeme, and 
 the king and the queen of England sin- 
 fully consented thereto and he was dis- 
 pensed by pope Urban of Rome at the 
 instant desire of the king and queen of 
 England. This sin grieved greatly the 
 conscience of the duke of Ireland, and 
 because the lord of Coucy,-' who was of the 
 council of France and well worthy so to 
 be, for he had done good service and was 
 well able to do, he procured so much by 
 means of his friends, as sir Oliver of 
 Clisson and the lord de la Riviere, sir 
 John Mercier and other, that it was said 
 to the duke of Ireland that he should 
 depart out of France and to go and choose 
 himself another place to abide in, where 
 he list, so that it be not in the realm of 
 France, and thither he should surely be 
 conveyed. The duke of Ireland saw well 
 how he was daily in peril by means of the 
 lord of Coucy and his lineage ; wherefore 
 he thought it should be best for him to go 
 
 1 'This sin weighed heavily on the duke of 
 Ireland both in conscience and in all other matters, 
 and for this reason the lord of Coucy,' etc. | 
 
 far off rather than to abide near. Then he 
 advised him to draw into Brabant, and 
 desired the king to write to the duchess of 
 Brabant, that it would please her to suffer 
 him peaceably to abide in her country. 
 The king wrote to his aunt the duchess of 
 Brabant, and she condescended to the king's 
 desire. The duke of Ireland was conducted 
 by men of the king's to Louvain and there 
 he tarried, and sometime he went to a 
 castle not far off from the town of Louvain, 
 the which he had borrowed of a knight of 
 Brabant. With the duke of Ireland was 
 the archbishop of York, who in like wise 
 was banished out of England, all for one 
 cause : this bishop was one of the Nevilles 
 of England, who in the country of Northum- 
 berland were puissant men Ijoth of lands 
 and lineage. There tarried these two lords 
 at Louvain or thereabout, as I heard say, 
 as long as they lived, for they could never 
 come to mercy nor peace with the king of 
 England's uncles : I can no further speak 
 of them. 
 
 About the feast of Saint Michael the 
 French king departed from his house of 
 Beaute beside Paris and left there the queen, 
 and took the way by Troyes in Champagne 
 to go into Burgoyne, and his uncle the 
 duke of Bourbon and duke Louis of Tou- 
 raine and the lord of Coucy and many other 
 lords and knights in his company. The 
 king rode so long that he came to Dijon : 
 the duke of Burgoyne and the earl of 
 Nevers his son were come before to the 
 Chatillon on the river of Seine. When 
 the king was come to Dijon, the duchess 
 of Burgoyne and the countess of Nevers 
 her daughter received the king joyfully, 
 and all other lords for love of the king ; and 
 to his welcoming to Dijon many ladies and 
 damosels were come thither to see him. 
 There was the lady of Sully, the lady of 
 Vergy, the lady of Pagny and divers other 
 fair ladies and fresh and well apparelled. 
 Then began feasting, dancing and carolling. 
 These ladies enforced themselves to dance 
 and to sing and to make joy for love of the 
 king and the duke of Touraine, the duke 
 of Bourbon and of the lord of Coucy. 
 Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, all 
 three days, there was goodly jousts and 
 prizes given to the best doers. The king 
 was eight days in the town of Dijon in 
 great triumph and sport : the tenth day he 
 
390 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 took leave of his uncle the duke of Bur- 
 goyne and of the duchess and their children. 
 The intent of the duke of Burgoyne was 
 shortly after to follow the king his nephew 
 and to go with him that journey. The 
 king departed from Dijon, when he had 
 taken leave of all ladies and damosels, and 
 rode so long by his journeys that he came 
 to Villeneuve beside Avignon. There his 
 house royal was apparelled for him and 
 there was the cardinals of Amiens, of Aigre- 
 feuille, of Saint-Marcel, of Chateau-neuf 
 and more than thirteen other came and met 
 the king in the field, and all were glad of 
 the king's coming. 
 
 The duke of Berry was come to Avignon 
 and lodged in the pope's palace, but he 
 came to Villeneuve to the king and lay in 
 the livery of Arras called a Montais,' in 
 the way to Montpellier. The duke of 
 Burgoyne arrived there the next day that 
 the king came thither, by the water of 
 Rhone, for the duke took a barge at Lyon- 
 sur-le-Rhone. Thus the king and these 
 four dukes were together ■ then they 
 determined to pass the bridge of Avignon 
 and to go and see the pope ; and about 
 nine of the clock in the morning the king 
 passed the bridge accompanied with his 
 brother and his three uncles and twelve 
 cardinals, and so went to the pope's palace, 
 and pope Clement was ready in his chamber 
 of consistory sitting in his chair of papality. 
 
 When the French king came into the 
 chamber and saw the pope, he inclined 
 himself, and when he came near, the pope 
 rose and the king kissed his hand and his 
 mouth. Then the pope sat down and 
 caused the king to sit down by him on a 
 place purposely prepared for him : then 
 the dukes kissed the pope's hand and sat 
 down among the cardinals. Anon it was 
 time of dinner : then they drew into the 
 pope's great chamber, where the tables 
 were ready covered. The pope washed 
 and sat down at a table alone and kept 
 his estate : the French king sat down at 
 another table alone, and the cardinals and | 
 dukes sat down in order. The dinner 
 was plentiful, and after dinner they had 
 
 1 'Enlalivr^e d'Arras que on dist a Montals.' 
 It may be supposed that this was an inn at 
 Monteaux near Villeneuve, but Lettenhove con- 
 fesses that he does not understand this use of the 
 word 'livri^e.' 
 
 wine and spices. Then the king and the 
 four dukes went into their chambers : each 
 of them had a chamber apparelled in the 
 palace, and there they tarried a certain days. 
 
 The fifth day after that the king came 
 thither, the young earl of Savoy, cousin to 
 the king and nephew to the duke of 
 Bourbon, came thither ; the king was 
 right joyful of his coming. The French 
 king, the duke of Touraine his brother, 
 and the earl of Savoy, who were light of 
 courage and of spirit, though they were 
 lodged in the pope's palace near to the 
 pope and to the cardinals, yet for all that 
 they would not abstain to dance and to 
 carol and to make sport among the ladies 
 and damosels of Avignon, and the earl 
 of Geneva, brother to the pope, brought 
 them in acquaintance with the ladies and 
 damosels of the town. The king gave 
 great gifts to the ladies and damosels, 
 whereby he had great laud and praise. 
 
 The pope and the cardinals were right 
 joyful of the king's being there, as it was 
 reason that they should so be, for without 
 the love of the French king their port 
 should have been but small ; for they con- 
 sidered, or ought to have considered, that 
 there was no king christened that were 
 obedient to them, except it were for love 
 and favour and alliance of the French 
 king. The king of Spain and the king of 
 Scots obeyed this pope Clement, and the 
 king of Aragon was but newly so deter- 
 mined ; and that made the queen Yolande 
 of Bar, who was cousin-german to the 
 French king, else he had not done so, for 
 before the king of Aragon, and his father 
 before him, was as neuter. Therefore this 
 pope and cardinals ought well to feast the 
 French king, seeing their puissance and 
 profit that they lived by to keep their 
 estate came by means of the French king. 
 Thus the king tarried there a certain season 
 in great joy and sport : and for love of the 
 king's coming thither, the pope opened his 
 graces to all clerks being in the court 
 for the space of a month, and gave the 
 nominations to the king of all colleges and 
 cathedrals, and to every college two 
 prebends, and revoked all other graces 
 before given, and would that the king's 
 graces should proceed before, as they did, 
 whereby many of the king's clerks were 
 promoted. Also the pope gave graces to 
 
THE KING OF FRANCE AT AVIGNON, 1389 
 
 391 
 
 the duke of Touraine, the duke of Berry, the 
 duke of Burgoyne and to the lord Coucy : 
 all other were stopped that had been granted 
 before. The pope was so courteous and 
 hberal, that for love of the king's coming 
 he granted everything that was asked. 
 
 When the king had been there a certain 
 space, the pope shewed him his complaint, 
 how that the other pope of Rome greatly 
 hindered his right and made much trouble 
 and difference in the Church. The king 
 heard him well, and promised this pope 
 Clement, that after his return again into 
 France he would intend to none other 
 thing but to bring the Church in one 
 accord. With those words the pope was 
 greatly comforted. The king took his 
 leave and returned to Villeneuve and so 
 did his brother and uncles of Berry and 
 Burgoyne : and there on a day the king 
 made a dinner to all the cardinals and to 
 the earl of Geneva, brother to the pope. 
 After dinner they took their leaves, for the 
 Idng said that the next day he would ride 
 toward Montpellier, and he thanked them 
 of the reverence that they had done to 
 him. The cardinals returned to Avignon. 
 Then it was ordained that the king should 
 depart the next day, his brother and the 
 duke of Bourbon in his company ; and so 
 he did, and took leave of his uncles of 
 Berry and of Burgoyne, and said how they 
 should return into their own countries, for 
 they should go no further with him at that 
 time ; for he said he would go to Toulouse 
 and send for the earl of Foix to come 
 thither. His uncles were content there- 
 with, for as then the king had such counsel 
 about him, that the duke of Berry and the 
 duke of Burgoyne's voices were not heard, 
 without it were in small matters. The 
 governing of Languedoc was taken away 
 from the duke of Berry and divided into 
 seneschausses to the king's profit, whereof 
 the countries and marches of Carcassonne, 
 of Beziers, of Narbonne, of Fanjeaux, of 
 Bigorre and of Toulouse were greatly 
 rejoiced ; for before that season they had 
 been sore oppressed with failles that the 
 duke of Berry had raised on them, as ye 
 shall hear after when the matter requireth it. 
 When the duke of Berry and the duke 
 of Burgoyne saw that the king would go 
 to Montpellier and visit Languedoc and 
 would not suffer them to go in his com- 
 
 pany, they were sore displeased therewith. 
 Howbeit, sagely they dissimuled the matter 
 and said each to other : ' The king goeth 
 into Languedoc to make inquisition on 
 them that governed there and to make a 
 treaty with the earl of Foix, who is the 
 most proudest earl now living : he never 
 loved nor praised any neighbour that ever 
 he had, nother French king, England, 
 Spain, Aragon nor Navarre. The king 
 taketh with him of his council no more but 
 Riviere and Mercier, Montague and the 
 Begue of Villaines. How say you to this, 
 brother,' quoth the duke of Berry. The 
 duke of Burgoyne answered and said ; 
 ' The king our nephew is young and he 
 believeth young counsel. They shall de- 
 ceive him, for surely the conclusion shall 
 not be good, and that ye shall see. It 
 must behove us to suffer for this present 
 time, but the time shall come that such as 
 counselleth him shall repent, and the king 
 also. Let him go in God's name whither 
 it shall please him, and let us return into 
 our own countries. As long as we hold 
 together, there is none shall do us any 
 wrong : we are two of the chief members 
 of France.' Thus these two dukes devised 
 together, and the French king departed the 
 next day and took the way to Nimes and 
 rode thither to dinner. The said two 
 dukes tarried still with the pope three days, 
 and the lord of Coucy in like wise : the 
 fourth day they departed and rode into 
 their own countries ; and the king went 
 from Nimes and lay all night at Lunel. 
 
 When the king departed from Lunel, he 
 went to dinner to Montpelher, it was but 
 three little miles.-' There he was received 
 of the burgesses, ladies and damosels of the 
 town, for they greatly desired to see the 
 king, and many rich presents were given to 
 him, for Montpellier is a puissant town, 
 rich and full of merchandise. The king 
 praised the town much and well considered 
 their puissance ; and it was shewed the king 
 that the town had been nmch richer before 
 than it was at that present time, for the duke 
 of Anjou and the duke of Berry, each of 
 them in their turn, had greatly pilled them. 
 The king was sorry that the good people 
 had endured so much damage, and said 
 how he would reform the country into a 
 better state. Then it was shewed the 
 ^ ' Lieues' : the distance is about twelve miles. 
 
^9^ 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 king that the poverty of that town was 
 nothing to that he should find forward ; 
 for that town of itself hath good means of 
 recoverance by reason of the merchandise 
 that is there used both by land and by sea ; 
 but in the marches of Carcassonne and 
 Toulouse and thereabout, whereas the said 
 two dukes had the governance, look, on 
 what thing they had puissance to lay on 
 their hands there was nothing left, but all 
 taken away : ' for ye shall find the people 
 there so poor, that such as were wont to 
 be rich and puissant, now they are scant 
 able to labour their vines nor lands : it is 
 a gieat pity to see them, their wives and 
 children, for they have had every year five 
 or six tallies laid on their shoulders and are 
 ransomed to the third or fourth part of their 
 substance, and sometime to all together : 
 one taille could not be paid, but that another 
 was ready on the neck thereof. For, sir, 
 as it is well known, these two dukes your 
 uncles, while they ruled in Languedoc, 
 they have levied in the country from Ville- 
 neuve into Toulousain, round about to the 
 river of Garonne and returning to the river 
 of Dordogne, the sum of thirty hundred 
 thousand franks : and specially sith the 
 duke of Anjou departed, the duke of Berry 
 hath done the more damage ; for he found 
 the plain country and commonty in good 
 case, for the duke of Anjou took but of the 
 rich men, who had wherewith to pay, but 
 the duke of Berry spared nother poor nor 
 rich, for he gathered all before him, speci- 
 ally by one of his council, his treasurer 
 named Betisac, who is of the nation of the 
 city of Beziers, as ye shall hear by the com- 
 plaints of the people that will cry out on 
 him.' To these words the king said : 'As 
 God have my soul, I shall provide for this 
 matter, or I return, and I shall punish the 
 trespassers ; for I shall make an inquisition 
 of the servants and officers of mine uncles, 
 such as had ruled herebefore in the par.ts 
 of Languedoc, and such as have deserved 
 shall be corrected.' 
 
 The king tarried at Montpellier the space 
 of twelve days, for the order of the town 
 and the pastime of ladies and damosels, 
 such as he found there, pleased him greatly. 
 To say truth, the king as at that time was 
 in his lusty youth and light and quick of 
 spirit : he danced and carolled among the 
 frisk ladies and damosels of the town some- 
 
 time all night, and gave and made banquets 
 and suppers largely, and would give to the 
 ladies and damosels rings of gold and chains 
 to them that he reputed worthy. The king 
 did so much that he had great laud and 
 praise, and some of them would that he 
 had tarried there longer than he did, for he 
 kept revel, dancing and solace, and every 
 day it was new to begin. 
 
 SUMMARY. — Three knights of the kin^s 
 following were moved by the company of the 
 ladies of Montpellier to undertake deeds of 
 arms., taking oceasio?i fro7n the incident of 
 sir Peter Coitrtenef s conii7ig into Eratice in 
 the days of king Charles V. 
 
 CHAPTERS CLVII, CLVIII 
 [CLXI, CLXII] 
 
 SUMMAR v. — The author relates the iiui- 
 dent of sir Peter Coitrteney and the sire de 
 Clary. 
 
 This matter, told at Montpellier^ moved 
 the three knights aforesaid to give a challenge 
 for the ensiling sujnvier, offering to joust 
 with all comers at Saint-Inglevert in the 
 marches of Calais. 
 
 The king left Montpellier and came by 
 Lezignan and Saint- Thibhy to Beziers, 
 Betisac being always in his company. 
 
 CHAPTER CLIX [CLXHI] 
 
 Of the complaints made to the king by the 
 people of Languedoc in the town of 
 Beziers against Betisac, treasurer to the 
 duke of Berry, of the great e.\tortions that 
 he had made ; and of the confession that 
 he made and of the cruel death that he 
 had in the said town. 
 
 Three days the king was at Beziers in 
 great joy and revel among ladies and 
 damosels, and all that time Betisac was 
 nothing spoken unto : but the inquisitors 
 who were ordained by the king did secretly 
 enquire of his deeds, and they found by 
 inquest divers cases horrible, not to be 
 pardoned. The fourth day that the king 
 had been there this Betisac was called 
 before the king's council in a chamber and 
 there straitly examined ; and it was said to 
 him ; * Betisac, answer wisely to these 
 
THE KING IN LANGUEDOC, 1389 
 
 393 
 
 writings that ye see here.' There was 
 shewed him a great number of bills of 
 complaints that were put up to the king 
 against him, making mention of the extor- 
 tions that he had done to the people : all 
 these bills of complaints were read before 
 him one after another. To some he 
 answered wisely making his excuse, and to 
 some he plainly denied them and said : 
 ' I know nothing of those matters : lay 
 them to the seneschals of Beaucaire and 
 of Carcassonne and to the chancellor of 
 Berry : it pertaineth to them to answer to 
 those matters.' Howbeit, finally it was 
 shewed him that he must keep prison for a 
 time, till the matter were better examined. 
 He obeyed, because he might not choose. 
 As soon as he was in prison, the inquisitors 
 went to his lodging and took into their 
 hands all such writings and accounts as 
 they found there, which pertained to such 
 matters as he had intermeddled withal 
 before, and they aviewed them at leisure 
 and found in them the reckonings of great 
 sums of money, such as had been raised 
 and levied of the people. Then he was 
 demanded where all that money was be- 
 come, and whether the sums were true or 
 not. He answered and said : ' As for the 
 sums, are true,^ and the money delivered to 
 the duke of Berry and so passed through 
 his hands and his treasurers', whereof I 
 have good quittances in my lodging in 
 such a place.' The which quittances were 
 sent for before the council and there they 
 were read, and they agreed with the sums of 
 his receipt. Then the council and the inqui- 
 sitors were appeased and Betisac sent again 
 to a courteous prison. Then the council com- 
 muned together on that matter and said: ' It 
 seemeth that Betisac is clear of such causes 
 as are laid to his charge, for the money 
 that hath been raised the duke of Berry 
 hath had it, howsoever it hath been spent.' 
 All things considered, Betisac's excusa- 
 tions were lawful, for the duke of Berry 
 was the most covetous man in all the 
 world : so he might get good, he cared not 
 where nor how he had it; and when he had 
 
 ^ i.e. 'they are true.' It is a characteristic of 
 the translator's style to omit the pronoun subject in 
 such clauses; e.^. chap. 167 [171I : *as for the 
 Genoways, are our neighbours ' ; and chap. 184 
 [187] : ' as to the covenants of marriage between 
 our children, by the grace of God shall not be 
 broken on my part.' 
 
 it, he would bestow it but simply, as many 
 lords do and have done in times past. 
 Thus the king's council saw no fault in 
 Betisac, whereby he should lose his life : 
 some were of that opinion and some con- 
 trary, and said : ' Betisac hath done so 
 many cruel deeds and hath so sore im- 
 poverished the people for to accomplish 
 the desire of his lord the duke of Berry, 
 that the blood of the poor people crieth 
 out and saith how he hath deserved death : 
 for he that is a man born in these parts, 
 and councillor with his master, and seeing 
 the poverty of the people, he ought in good 
 manner to have shewed the truth to the 
 duke his master ; and if the duke would 
 not have heard him, then he should have 
 come to the king and to his council and 
 have shewed them the poverty of the 
 people, and how the duke of Berry had ' 
 dealt with them : then he had been well 
 excused.' So Betisac was sent for again to 
 the council and straitly examined where 
 the money that had been gathered was be- 
 come, for they found the sum of thirty 
 hundred thousand franks received. He 
 answered thereto and said : ' My lords, it 
 were hard for me to tell where my lord the 
 duke of Berry hath bestowed it : much he 
 hath laid out on buildings and reparations 
 of castles and houses ; also he hath bought 
 certain lands in the county of Boulogne 
 and in the county of Estampes ; also he 
 hath spent much in buying of precious 
 stones and jewels, the which ye know well 
 he hath always been desirous to buy ; also 
 he is well stuffed to maintain the estate that 
 he hath always kept ; also he hath given 
 such gifts and rewards to Thibault and 
 Morinot and to his servants about him, in 
 such wise that they be rich men.' ' Well, 
 Betisac,' quoth they of the council, 'and 
 ye have had for your part to your singular 
 profit a hundred thousand franks. ' ' My 
 lords,' quoth he, ' that I have had was by 
 the consent of my lord the duke of Berry, 
 for he would that his servants should be- 
 come rich.' Then the council said all 
 with one voice : ' Ah, Betisac, that word 
 is foolishly spoken : that riches is not good 
 nor reasonable that is evil gotten. Ye 
 shall return again into prison, and we shall 
 take further advice on that ye have said 
 and spoken. Ye must abide the pleasure 
 of the king, to whom we shall shew all 
 
394 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 your excusations.' ' My lords,' quoth he, 
 'all shay be as God will.' Then he was 
 again set in prison and there remained four 
 days, or he was sent for again. 
 
 When these tidings were spread abroad 
 in the country, that Betisac was in prison, 
 and that enquiry was made of his deeds, 
 and that it was pubhshed that whosoever 
 had any matter to him should come forth, 
 thereby much people came to Beziers and 
 put up supplications to the king of the cruel 
 deeds of Betisac. Some complained of 
 him that he had disherited them without 
 cause or reason, and other complained of 
 him that he had by force taken their wives 
 and daughters. When the king's council 
 saw so many great causes laid to Betisac, 
 they were weary thereof, and beside all 
 these complaints he was sore behated with 
 the people, and all this came to him by 
 reason to fill the duke of Berry's purse : he 
 did ever what he would have him to do. 
 The king's council wist not what to do, for 
 then there was come thither two knights 
 from the duke of Berry, the lord of Nan- 
 touillet and sir Peter Mespin, who had 
 brought letters to the king from the duke, 
 and they in the duke's behalf avowed all 
 that ever Betisac had done before, and the 
 duke required the king and his council to 
 have again his man and treasurer. The 
 king had great hatred to Betisac because of 
 the evil name and fame that ran upon him : 
 the king and the duke of Touraine his 
 brother inclined greatly to have had him 
 hanged, saying how he had well deserved 
 it ; but the king's council durst not judge 
 him for doubt of the duke of Berry. They 
 said to the king : ' Sir, if the duke of Berty 
 avow all his deeds, whatsoever they be, we 
 cannot see by no way of reason that he 
 hath deserved death ; for the season that 
 he meddled in these countries by cessing 
 of tailles, subsidies and aids and receiving of 
 them, he did it at the instance of the duke 
 of Berry, who had at that time there puis- 
 sance royal, as well as ye have now. But, 
 sir, according to the deserts of his deeds ye 
 may seize into your hands all his moveables 
 and heritages and leave him in the same 
 case as the duke of Berry found him first, 
 and with his goods make restitution to such 
 poor men as be undone by him.' What 
 should I make long process ? Betisac was 
 at the point of his deliverance with the loss 
 
 of his goods, till at the last other tidings 
 came in place : I shall shew you what. 
 
 I knew not nor I could not know ' but by 
 knowledging of himself, if he were indeed 
 so evil as he judged himself : he said he 
 was an heretic and had done many horrible 
 deeds. As it was shewed me, there came 
 some to him on a night, being in prison, to 
 put him in fear ; whether they were his 
 friends or foes I know not. They said ; 
 ' Betisac, thou art in a hard case : the 
 French king, his brother and the duke of 
 Bourbon doth hate you mortally : there be 
 so many complaints put up against you 
 from divers places of such oppressions as 
 ye have done when ye had rule in Langue- 
 doc, so that they all judge you to be 
 hanged : for ye cannot scape with the loss 
 of your goods, the which hath been offered 
 to the king ; but the king, who hateth you 
 mortally, hath answered how that all your 
 goods are his and your body also, the which, 
 he saith, he will not keep long. I shew 
 you this for good will, for to-morrow it is 
 thought ye shall be delivered to be judged 
 to die.' Those words greatly affrayed 
 Betisac, and said to them : ' Ah, Saint 
 Mary, is there no remedy ? ' ' Yes,' quoth 
 they, ' to-morrow say how ye would speak 
 with the king's council, and then other 
 they will come to you or send for you to 
 them ; and when ye be in their presence, 
 then say thus : " My lords, I knowledge 
 myself I have greatly displeased God, and 
 for the displeasure he hath to me this false 
 slander is raised on me. " Then they will 
 demand of you wherein. Then ye shall 
 answer how ye have a long season erred in 
 your faith, and that ye be an heretic and 
 keep still that opinion. When the bishop 
 of ]3eziers shall hear that, he will then 
 challenge to have you in his keeping. 
 Then ye shall be delivered to him, for such 
 causes ought to be declared by the law of 
 the Church. Then ye shall be sent to 
 Avignon : there will be none against the 
 duke of Berry, the pope will not displease 
 him, and by this means ye may be de- 
 livered and nother lose body nor goods : but 
 if ye bide still in the case that ye be in, ye 
 shall not scape past to-morrow, but that ye 
 shall be hanged ; for the king hateth you 
 because of the slander of the people.' 
 Betisac, who trusted on that false informa- 
 1 ' I know not, nor can I know.' 
 
THE KING JN LANGUEDOC 
 
 395 
 
 tion, for he that is in peril of death knoweth 
 not well what to do, wherefore he answered 
 and said : ' Ye be my friend and counsel me 
 truly, whereof God thank you, and I trust 
 the time shall come that I shall thank you.' 
 
 The next morning he called the gaoler 
 and said : ' Friend, I require you cause 
 such men and such to come to speak with 
 me,' and named such as were the inquisitors 
 over him. The gaoler shewed them how 
 Betisac would speak with them. They 
 came to him and demanded what he would. 
 He answered and said : ' Sirs, I have 
 searched my conscience : I knowledge my- 
 self I have highly displeased God, for long 
 time I have erred against the faith. I 
 never believed of the Trinity, nor that the 
 Son of God would come so low as to come 
 from heaven to come into this world to 
 take human kind of a woman ; for ' I be- 
 lieve and say that when we die there is 
 nothing of the soul.' 'Ah, Saint Mary,' 
 quoth they, ' Betisac, ye are greatly against 
 Holy Church : your words demandeth for 
 a fire ; advise you better.' ' I cannot tell,' 
 quoth Betisac, ' whether my words de- 
 mandeth fire or water, but I have holden 
 this opinion sith I have had knowledge, 
 and shall hold it till I die.' The inquisitors 
 would hear no more of him at that time, 
 and were glad to find such a matter against 
 him, thereby to put him to death. Then 
 they commanded the gaoler to keep him 
 straitly and to suffer no man to speak with 
 him, to the intent that he should not be 
 turned from that opinion. Then they went 
 to the king's council and shewed them all 
 the matter : then they went to the king 
 and shewed him all the manner of Betisac, 
 as ye have heard, whereof the king had 
 great marvel and said : ' We will that he 
 be put to death : it is an evil man, he is a 
 false heretic and a thief: we will he be 
 brent and hanged, then he shall have as 
 he hath deserved. He shall not be excused 
 for all mine uncle of Berry.' 
 
 Anon these tidings were spread abroad 
 in the city of Beziers, how Betisac had of 
 his own voluntary will without any con- 
 straint confessed how he was an heretic 
 and had used long the sin of bulgary,- and 
 
 1 'And.' 
 
 2 ' Tenoit et avoit tenu longtemps I'opinion des 
 bougres.' The ' opinion of the Bulgarians ' means 
 heresy, and 'bougre' in old French means 'heretic' 
 
 how the king had said how he should be 
 brent and hanged, whereof much people 
 were right joyous, for he was sore hated. 
 The two knights that were come thither 
 from the duke of Berry were greatly 
 abashed and wist not what to suppose. 
 Then sir Peter Mespin said to the lord of 
 Nantouillet : ' Sir, I fear me Betisac is 
 betrayed : peradventure some person hath 
 been with him secretly in the prison and 
 hath borne him in hand that if he hold 
 that horrible error, that the Church then 
 shall challenge him, and so be sent to 
 Avignon to the pope and thereby be de- 
 livered. Ah, fool that he is, he is deceived, 
 for the king saith he will have him both 
 brent and hanged. Let us go to the prison 
 to him and reform him and bring him to 
 another state ; for he is far out of the way 
 and evil counselled.' They went straight 
 to the prison and desired the gaoler that 
 they might speak with Betisac. The gaoler 
 excused himself and said ; ' Sirs, ye must 
 pardon me, for I am straitly charged to 
 suffer no man to speak with him, and also 
 here be four sergeants of arms sent by the 
 king to keep him, and we dare not break 
 the king's commandment.' Then the two 
 knights saw well how they laboured in vain, 
 and how there was no remedy by all likeli- 
 hood, but that Betisac should die. Then 
 they returned to their lodging and reckoned 
 and paid, and took their horses and returned 
 to their lord the duke of Berry and shewed 
 him all the case. 
 
 The conclusion of Betisac was such, that 
 the next day about ten of the clock he was 
 taken out of prison and brought to the 
 bishop's palace, and there were ready the 
 judges and officers spiritual : and the baily 
 of Beziers brought forth the prisoner and 
 said ; ' Behold, sirs, here is Betisac, whom 
 I deliver to you for an heretic and a sinner 
 in bulgary, and if he had not been a clerk, 
 he had been judged or this according to 
 his deserts.' Then the official demanded 
 of Betisac if it were with him according as 
 he was accused, and to confess the truth 
 there openly before all the people. And 
 Betisac, who thought to have said well 
 and to have scaped by reason of his con- 
 fession, he answered and said that all 
 was true. He was demanded this three 
 times, and at every time he confessed it to 
 be true before all the people. Thus ye 
 
396 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 may know whether he was deceived or 
 not, for if he had made no such confession, 
 he had been delivered ; for the duke of 
 Berry had fully avowed all his deeds, the 
 which he had done at his commandment 
 in the country of Languedoc : but it was to 
 be supposed that fortune played her turn 
 with him, for when he thought to have been 
 most assuredest on the height of fortune's 
 wheel, he was turned up-se-down from her 
 wheel, as she hath done a hundred thousand 
 more sith the world began. Then Betisac 
 was delivered again by the spiritual judge 
 to the baily of Beziers, who under the king 
 ruled the temporally ; the which Betisac 
 without delay was brought to a place before 
 the palace, he was so hasted forward that 
 he had no leisure to answer nor to say nay, 
 for when he saw a fire ready prepared in 
 the place and saw that he was in the hands 
 of the hangman, he was sore abashed, and 
 saw well then that he was deceived and 
 betrayed. Then he cried out aloud re- 
 quiring to be heard, but then was no heed 
 taken to his saying, but the hangman said : 
 ' It is ordained that ye shall die, for your 
 evil works hath brought you to an evil 
 end. ' He was hasted forward to his death 
 and the fire made ready : there was also 
 raised a pair of gallows and thereto tied a 
 chain of iron, and at the end thereof a 
 collar of iron, the which was put about his 
 neck, and then the chain drawn up a-high 
 and tied round about the gallows. Then 
 he cried and said : ' Duke of Berry, they 
 cause me to die without reason, they do me 
 wrong.' As soon as he was tied to the 
 gallows, there was set round about dry 
 sedge, reed and faggots, and fire put 
 thereto, and incontinent the faggots were 
 afire. Thus Betisac was hanged and brent, 
 and the French king out of his chamber 
 might well see him, if he would. To this 
 poor end came Betisac, and so the people 
 were revenged of him ; and for to say the 
 truth, he had done many e.xtortions and 
 damages to the people while he had the 
 governing of the country of Languedoc. 
 
 CHAPTER CLX [CLXIV] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Foix came to 
 To-iilanse to see the king, and did liomage 
 for the county of Foix. 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER CLXI [CLXV] 
 
 Of the feat and covenant that was done be- 
 tween the king and the duke of Touraine 
 his brother, which of them should soonest 
 come to Paris from Montpellier, which is 
 a hundred and fifty leagues asunder, each 
 of them but with one knight. 
 
 The French king being at Toulouse, he 
 ordered all his business and removed and 
 renewed seneschals and officers, and re- 
 formed the country into good estate, so 
 that every man was well contented ; and on 
 a day the king, present his brother, his 
 uncle of Bourbon and the lords of France 
 and Gascoyne to the intent to have a per- 
 petual memory, gave to his cousin-german, 
 sir Charles d'Albret, for the augmentation 
 of his honour, two quarters of arms of 
 France with flower-de-luces ; for afore the 
 lords d'Albret bare always in their arms a 
 field of gules plain without any other thing : 
 now they be quartered with the arms of 
 France : which thing the lord d'Albret took 
 for a great gift. Which lord made the same 
 day a great dinner, which cost him more 
 than a thousand franks, and he gave to 
 heralds and minstrels two hundred franks. 
 
 Anon after it was ordained that the king 
 should depart from Toulouse to return into 
 France : every man made him ready and 
 took leave of the king, the bishop of Tou- 
 louse, the seneschal and the burgesses and 
 lords and damosels of the town. The king 
 departed and rode that night to Castel- 
 naudary and so forward every day, so that 
 he came to Montpellier, where he was 
 joyfully received, and there tarried three 
 days, for the ladies and damosels there 
 pleased him much. Then he had great 
 desire to return to Paris to see the queen : 
 on a day, as he communed in sport 
 with his brother of Touraine, he said : 
 ' Fair brother, I would that you and I 
 were at Paris and all our estate here still 
 as it is, for I have great desire to see the 
 queen and your fair sister^ of Touraine.' 
 ■Then the duke said : ' Sir, we cannot be 
 there with wishing : it is a far journey 
 hence.' 'That is true,' quoth the king, 
 
 1 ' Et vous belle sceur de Thouraine,' ' and you 
 (have^ great desire to see) my fair sister of Tou- 
 raine ' : but the better reading is ' et ma belle scEur 
 de Thouraine.' 
 
AFFAIRS OF THE CHURCH, 1389 
 
 397 
 
 ' yet I think I might be soon there, an I 
 would.' 'Yea,' quoth the duke, 'with 
 help of good horses ; for so could I be, but 
 my horse must bear me.' 'Well,' quoth 
 the king, ' lay a wager you and I, who 
 shall be there soonest. ' ' I am content,' 
 quoth the duke : for he was ever ready to 
 win money of the king. The wager was 
 laid between the king and the duke, that 
 whosoever of them twain came soonest to 
 Paris should win five thousand franks of 
 the other, and to depart the next day all 
 at one hour, and each of them to take but 
 one knight or servant with them : there was 
 no man that durst break their wager. The 
 next day they departed as it was ordained : 
 the lord of Garencieres rode with the king, 
 and the lord of Viefville was with the duke 
 of Touraine. Thus these four rode night 
 and day like young lusty gallants ; they 
 changed many horses ; thus they rode in 
 post. The duke of Bourbon returned by 
 Puy in Auvergne and rode to see his grand- 
 father ^ by the way, the earl Dolphin of 
 Auvergne, and the countess and their chil- 
 dren, of whom there were to the number 
 of eight, what sons what daughters, all 
 brethren and sisters to the duchess of Bour- 
 bon, his wife, but that was by reason of 
 two marriages. 
 
 Thus the French king and his brother 
 the duke of Touraine rode in great haste 
 each of them to win the wager. Consider 
 well the great pain of these two great and 
 rich lords : youth and liberty of courage 
 made them to do that enterprise ; their 
 estates abode behind. The French king 
 made it four days and a half or he came 
 to Paris, and the duke of Touraine no more 
 but four days and a quarter of a day, they 
 followed each other so near. The duke 
 won the wager by reason that the French 
 king rested himself about eight of the clock 
 at Troyes in Champagne, and the duke 
 took a barge in the river of Seine and went 
 along the river to Melun,^ and there took 
 horse and rode so till he came to Paris, 
 and so went to Saint-Pol to the queen and 
 
 1 A better reading is 'father-in-]aw.' 
 
 2 The duke of Toviraine rested for the night on 
 a barge going down the river, while the king re- 
 mained at Troyes ; thus the duke gained some 
 hours' advantage. The distance from Montpellier 
 to Paris cannot be much less than 400 English 
 miles, but there is good evidence that the match did 
 not take place quite as Froissart reports it. 
 
 to his wife and demanded tidings of the 
 king, for he wist not whether he were come 
 or not. And when he knew that the king 
 was not come, he was joyful and said to the 
 queen : ' Madam, ye shall shortly hear tid- 
 ings of the king.' He said truth, for the 
 king came soon after. When the duke of 
 Touraine heard that the king was come, he 
 went and met him and said : ' Sir, I have 
 won my wager, let me be paid.' 'It is 
 reason,' quoth the king, ' and so ye shall.' 
 There they shewed before the ladies all 
 their journey, and how that in four days 
 and a half they were come from Mont- 
 pellier to Paris, which was a hundred and 
 fifty leagues asunder. The ladies turned 
 all the matter to sport and laughing, but 
 they well judged that they had endured 
 much pain, and judged that youth and 
 courage of heart caused them to do it. 
 And the duke of Touraine was truly paid 
 for his wager. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXH [CLXVI] 
 
 Of the death of pope Urban of Rome, called 
 the antipope, and how pope Clement 
 wrote to the French king and to his uncles 
 and to the university, and of the election 
 of pope Boniface by the cardinals of Rome. 
 
 About the said season died at Rome pope 
 Urban the sixth. The Romans were sore 
 displeased with his death, for he was well 
 beloved. He was buried in the church of 
 Saint Peter, and after his obsequy done 
 well and reverently, then the cardinals 
 went into the conclave to choose a new 
 pope ; and so they did, or that pope 
 Clement knew thereof in Avignon, for it 
 was ten days past or they knew it. And 
 as soon as pope Clement and his cardinals 
 knew thereof, they assembled together at 
 the pope's palace and had great communi- 
 cation together, and were in great hope 
 that the business of the Church should leave 
 and be concluded and to come to a full 
 union, for the error had long endured. 
 They thought that the cardinals at Rome 
 should not agree so soon to enter into con- 
 clave, but rather to submit themselves to 
 pope Clement at Avignon. They sent also 
 word to the French king of the death of 
 Urban, called the antipope, and desired 
 
39S 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 him (the sooner to come to their purpose) 
 that he would write to his cousins the king 
 of Almaine and the king of Hungary, to the 
 earl of Vertus and to the duke of Austria, 
 who had ever holden with pope Urban, 
 that they should now cease, and help to 
 make rest and peace in the Church, and to 
 shew them by his letters that in our faith 
 there ought to be no variation, for as there 
 is but one God in heaven, so there ought 
 to be but one God ill earth. The same 
 season the duke of Burgoyne'was with the 
 king at Paris, to whom pope Clement and 
 the cardinals wrote in like manner : then 
 the king shewed his uncle these news and 
 was right joyful and said : ' Fair uncle, «'e 
 have had great desire to go with great 
 puissance to Rome to destroy the infidels ; 
 but as now our journey is well shorted, for 
 Urban the antipope is dead, as Clement 
 hath written to us ; and he thinketh that 
 the cardinals will not enter into conclave 
 to choose any new pope, but rather to come 
 to Avignon and to submit themselves under 
 pope Clement : and we are desired by him 
 and by the cardinals at Avignon, for the 
 more surety, to write pleasant letters to our 
 cousins the king of Almaine and to his 
 brother the king of Hungary and to the 
 earl of Vertus and to the duke of Austria. 
 What counsel will ye give me to do ? ' The 
 duke of Eurgoyne said : ' Sir, true it is 
 pope Urban is dead, but as yet we know 
 nothing of the state of the cardinals at 
 Rome, nor of the Romans, nor whether 
 they will keep their old opinion or not. I 
 fear it will be hard for them to leave it, for 
 the Romans are masters over the cardinals : 
 by force they made them to choose the 
 archbishop of Bari and made him pope, 
 and so maintained him to the end ; and so 
 if now by perforce they cause the cardinals 
 to enter into conclave and to choose a pope 
 at their pleasure. Wherefore, sir, ye .shall 
 not need to enter so far into the matter, as 
 to desire them that will do but little for 
 you, as they have shewed yet hitherunto. 
 Suffer, sir, till ye hear other news ; and 
 peradventure it may so be that the cardinals 
 at Rome shall not be all of one accord, 
 and peradventure will dissimule with the 
 Romans and choose none other pope but 
 Clement, and to appease their furour to 
 promise them to cause Clement to come to 
 Rome, which he will do right gladly on 
 
 that condition. And if the matter go so, 
 then shall it be time for you to write to all 
 the princes christened that are of the opinion 
 contrary to you, in the best manner ye can 
 to avoid the schism' and to bring the Church 
 to an union and peace, as by reason every 
 man ought to do. But as yet ye be not 
 sure how the matter goeth : it is best ye 
 abide the adventure thereof; it shall not 
 be long or we hear other tidings.' When 
 the duke of Burgoyne had said these words 
 to the king and to his council, there was 
 none that spake contrary thereto. The 
 king thought his words were reasonable 
 and said : ' Fair uncle, we believe it is 
 good reason that ye say : ye see more 
 clearer in the matter than we do : and 
 as for the business of the Church, we will 
 do nothing therein but by your counsel 
 and advice.' Thus they ceased of that 
 communication. 
 
 Great murmuration there was among the 
 clerks of the university of those tidings, 
 whereby they ceased to read or to study 
 and intended to nothing but to hearken 
 and to know how the cardinals of Rome 
 maintained themselves, whether they would 
 elect a new pope or else to return to the 
 pope at Avignon. They did cast many 
 doubts and argued one with another : they 
 knew well how Clement had written to the 
 king and to the duke of Touraine and to 
 the duke of Burgoyne and to the king's 
 council : in like wise letters were written 
 generally to the university, that they should 
 conclude to an universal peace in the 
 Church. Thus the clerks devised among 
 themselves, and such as would the advance- 
 ment of Clement said: 'Now it is time 
 that the king and the lords of France write 
 to the great princes of Christendom, as to 
 the king of Almaine, the king of Hungary, 
 the lord of Milan, and to the duke of 
 Austria, and to such other as are of our 
 opinion,^ to the intent that they should 
 return to the same state : such writing may 
 much avail.' In three days three times the 
 notable clerks of the university of Paris as- 
 sembled together, and at last came to Saint- 
 Pol to speak with the king and his council, 
 to desire him to set to his hand to oppress 
 
 1 'As to the best manner that can be devised for 
 removing the schism.' 
 
 - ' And to those that hold the opinion contrary 
 to us,' 'qui tiennent nostre opinion contraire.' 
 
EXPEDITION TO AFRICA, 1390 
 
 399 
 
 the schism of the Church and to intend to 
 the ordinance of pope Clement, who had 
 humbly written to him. But when they 
 came to Saint-Pol, they were not answered ; 
 the king dissimuled the matter with them, 
 so that they were evil content. Finally 
 the king contented them, saying how 
 shortly they should hear other news : and 
 so they did ; for the cardinals of Rome 
 entered into the conclave and made a new 
 pope, the cardinal of Naples, a noble 
 and valiant clerk : he was called Boniface. 
 When the French king and his council 
 heard thereof, they were pensive, for then 
 they well imagined how that the schism 
 was likely to endure long. Then the duke 
 of Burgoyne said to the king : ' Sir, now 
 regard whether your writings had not been 
 lost or no: it is now fallen as I said.' 
 'Fair uncle,' quoth the king, 'ye say 
 truth.' 
 
 Then graces were opened to all clerks 
 at Rome by Boniface, and all provinces 
 certified thereof, such as were under his 
 obeisance ; and such as would receive such 
 graces went towards Rome. And when 
 they approached the marches of Ancona, 
 they rode in great peril, for sir Bernard de 
 la Salle, who kept the frontiers there, and 
 made war to the Romans in the quarrel of 
 pope Clement, took such clerks as passed 
 by and did them much trouble, and many 
 slain and lost. 
 
 Now let us leave speaking of these popes 
 and turn to other matters. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXni [CLXVII] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The castle of Ventadour 
 was at length taken, and the captains of it 
 put to death for their attempted treachery. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXIV [CLXVHI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The jousts were held at 
 Saint - Inglevert thirty days against all 
 
 CHAPTER CLXV [CLXIX] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The Genoese, who suffered 
 much both in their islands and on their 
 coast from pirates, who had their base in 
 
 the strong town of Afrique^ fitted otit an 
 expedition against this town and i^tvited 
 French knights to join them, and desired one 
 of the French king's uncles or the duke of 
 Toicraine to be their commander. The 
 duke of Bourbon accepted, and there went 
 also the lord of Coucy and many other lords 
 of France and of other countries. 
 
 The fleet sailed frovi Genoa about mid- 
 summer in the year 1390, and arrived at 
 the island of Com-minieres, about thirty 
 7niles from the town of Afrique. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXVI [CLXX] 
 
 SUMMARY. — Aymerigot Marcel, after 
 having sold the fortress of Alleuse to the 
 earl of Arjnagncu, established himself in la 
 Roche -Veyideix and pillaged the country. 
 The Fre?tch king sent the viscount of Meaux 
 to be his lieutenant in Auvergne, who be- 
 sieged and captured la Roche - Vendeix. 
 Aymerigot Marcel was taken and executed 
 at Paris. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXVn [CLXXI] 
 
 How the Christian lords and the Genoways 
 being in the isle of Comminieres at anchor 
 departed thence to go and lay siege to the 
 strong city of Afrique in Barbary, and how 
 they maintained the siege. 
 
 Whereas I have spoken at length of the 
 life of Aymerigot iVIarcel, it was to furnish 
 this history ; for the conditions both of evil 
 and good ought to be always treated in a 
 history, and specially when it toucheth any 
 great feat, for ensample of other and to 
 give matter and occasion to do well ; for if 
 Aymerigot had led his life in good virtues, 
 he had been a man of great valour, and 
 because he did the contrary, he came to an 
 evil end. 
 
 Now let us leave speaking of him, and 
 let us return to the high enterprise that the 
 Christian knights of France and other 
 nations did in that season in the realm 
 of Afrique, and I will begin thereas I left. 
 The said lords assembled in the isle of 
 Comminieres after they had passed the 
 1 The town which Froissart calls 'Afrique' is 
 Mchadia. 
 
40O 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FR DISS ART 
 
 tempests and perils in the gulf of Lyon. 
 There they tarried each for other, for there 
 were in the city of Afrique a thirty thou- 
 sand. In this isle of Comminieres they 
 were a nine days and refreshed them : and 
 there the patrons of the galleys said to the 
 lords : ' Sirs, we be in the land next ap- 
 proaching to the marches of Afrique, 
 whither by the grace of God ye are pur- 
 posed to go and lay siege ; wherefore it is 
 behoveable to take counsel each of other, 
 how we may enter into the haven and to 
 take land. To save ourselves^ it is best 
 we send foremost our little ships called 
 brigandines, and let us tarry in the mouth of 
 the haven the first day that we approach and 
 all the night after, and the next morning 
 to take land by the grace of God at our 
 leisure, and then lodge ourselves as near 
 the city as we may, without the shot of their 
 artillery, and let us set our cross-bow Geno- 
 ways in order, who shall be ready to defend 
 all scrimmishes ; and we suppose well that 
 when we shall take landing we have here 
 in your companies many young squires, 
 who to enhance their honours will require 
 to have the order of knighthood. Instruct 
 them wisely and sweetly how they shall 
 maintain themselves, and, my lords, know 
 for truth that all we seamen shall acquit us 
 unto you well and truly and always shew 
 you by what manner of order we shall 
 most grieve our enemies, and we shall take 
 pain and study how the city of Afrique 
 may be won, for ofttimes they have done 
 us great damage ; for on that coast it is 
 the chief key of Barbary and of the realms 
 that followeth, first the realm of Afrique, 
 of Marocco and of Buggia, and if God 
 of his grace will consent that we may 
 win this city of Afrique, all the Saracens 
 will tremble to the realm of Libya and 
 Syria, so that all the world shall speak 
 thereof, and by the aid of other Christian 
 realms and isles marching near to Afrique 
 we shall always be refreshed with victuals 
 and new men ; for this is a common voyage, 
 for every man will desire daily to do deeds 
 of arms and specially on God's enemies. '^ 
 
 1 'Pour nous saulver,' but a better reading is 
 'pour eulx saluer, ' 'to greet them,' that is the 
 enemy. 
 
 - ' \Ve sh.all always be able to hold and refresh it 
 with victuals and new men : for this shall be a 
 common voyage, and let it be accomplished and 
 directed so as to make war every day on the 
 
 And thus in the conclusion of their process 
 the patrons said : ' Lords, we say not this 
 by no presumption, nor by manner as to 
 teach you what ye should do, but this that 
 we have said is all only for love and by 
 humility, for ye be all noblemen, sage and 
 valiant, and can better order everything 
 than we can devise and speak.' Then the 
 lord of Coucy said : ' Sirs, your good coun- 
 sel and advice ought greatly to contept us, 
 for we see nothing therein but good ; and, 
 sirs, be ye sure that "we shall do nothing 
 without your counsel, for ye have brought 
 us hither to do deeds of arms.' 
 
 Thus in the presence of the duke of 
 Bourbon the lords and other counselled 
 together in the isle of Comminieres, how 
 they might approach the strong town of 
 Afrique. When everything was well ad- 
 vised and set in good order by the admiral 
 and patrons of the galleys, and that wind 
 and weather served them, every lord 
 entered into his galley among their own 
 men, having great desire to encounter with 
 their enemies, the Saracens. Then the 
 trumpets blew up at their departing : it 
 was great pleasure to behold their oars, 
 how they rowed abroad in the sea, which 
 was peaceable, calm and fair., so that in 
 manner the sea shewed herself that she 
 had great desire that the Christian men 
 should come before the strong town of 
 Afrique. The Christian navy was goodly 
 to regard and well ordered, and it was 
 great beauty to see the banners and pennons 
 of silk with the arms and badges of the 
 lords and other waving with the wind and 
 shining against the sun, and within an 
 hour of noon the Christian men perceived 
 the high towers of the town of Afrique, 
 and the farther they sailed, the nearer it 
 shewed to their sights ; wherefore every 
 man rejoiced and good cause why, seeing 
 all they desired to come thither : they 
 thought then in a manner their pains re- 
 leased and their voyage accomplished. 
 Thus as they approached to the entry of 
 the realm of Afrique, they communed and 
 devised among themselves ; and in like 
 manner the Saracens that were within the 
 town of Afrique spake and devised and 
 were sore abashed, when they saw their 
 
 enemies of God, and always to win land.' By 'a 
 common voyage ' they mean one in which they 
 share equally with their allies. 
 
EXPEDITION TO AFRICA 
 
 401 
 
 enemies approach with such a number of 
 sails, and said that surely they were likely to 
 be besieged. Howbeit, they thought their 
 town so strong with towers and walls and 
 with artillery, that therewith they recom- 
 forted and took courage ; and to give 
 warning to the country, as soon as they 
 saw their enemies on the sea on the high 
 towers, they sowned timbres and tabors ac- 
 cording to their usage in such wise that the 
 men abroad in the country drew together. 
 Such men of Barbary as had been sent 
 thither by the king of Afrique and by the 
 king of Tunis and Buggia, when they 
 knew of the Christian men's coming by 
 reason of the noise of the timbres and 
 tabors, to the intent that they should not 
 enter too far into their countries, every 
 man took heed to his charge ; and sent 
 certain of their captains to the sea side to 
 see the approaching of the Christian men 
 and to behold their dealing that night. 
 Also they provided to defend the towers 
 and gates about the haven of Afrique, to 
 the intent that by their negligence the 
 town of Afrique should take no damage, 
 which town was so strong that it was not 
 likely to take great hurt without long 
 siege. 
 
 And I, John Froissart, author of this 
 chronicle, because I was never in Afrique 
 and because I might truly write the manner 
 and fashion of this enterprise, always I 
 desired such knights and squires as had 
 been at the same voyage to inform me of 
 everything : and because I had been often- 
 times in my days at Calais, I demanded 
 also of such there as had been at the said 
 voyage,^ and it was shewed me of a surety 
 that the Saracens among themselves said 
 how the Christian men that vifere there 
 were expert and subtle men of arms : 
 whereupon an ancient Saracen said to all 
 his company : ' Sirs, all things considered, 
 it is best that the Christian men at the 
 beginning see not our strength and puis- 
 sance, nor also we have not men sufficient 
 to fight with them, but daily men will come 
 to us : wherefore I think it best to suffer 
 them to take land. They have no horses 
 
 1 Here there is omitted in the text followed by the 
 translator a long passage which contains a com- 
 parison between the city of Afrique and the town 
 of Calais, and a debate of the Saracens as to what 
 they should do, 
 2 D 
 
 to overrun the country : they will not 
 spread abroad, but keep together for fear 
 of us : the town is strong enough and well 
 provided, we need not fear any assaults : 
 the air is hot and will be hotter ; they are 
 lodged in the sun, and we in the shadow : 
 and they shall daily waste their victuals 
 and shall be without hope to recover any 
 new, an they lie here any long season ; 
 and we shall have plenty, for we be in 
 our own country : and they shall oftentimes 
 be awaked and Scrimmished withal, to 
 their damage and to our advantage. Let 
 us not fight with them, for otherwise they 
 cannot discomfit us : they have not been 
 used with the air of this country, which is 
 contrary to their nature : I think this the 
 best way.' 
 
 To the saying of this ancient knight 
 Saracen all other agreed : then it was com- 
 manded on pain of death that no man 
 should go to the sea side to scrimmish 
 with the Christian men, without they were 
 commanded, but to keep themselves close 
 in their lodgings and suffer the Christian 
 men to take land. This determination 
 was upholden, none durst break it, and 
 they sent a certain of their archers into 
 the town of Afrique, to aid to defend it. 
 The Saracens shewed themselves nothing, 
 as though there had been no men in the 
 country. The Christian men lodged all 
 that night in the mouth of the haven of 
 Afrique, and the next morning the weather 
 was fair and clear and the air in good 
 temper, and the sun rose that it was 
 pleasure to behold. Then the Christian 
 men began to stir and made them ready, 
 having great desire to approach the town 
 of Afrique and to take land. Then 
 trumpets and clarions began to sown in 
 the galleys and vessels and made great 
 noise, and about nine of the clock, when 
 the Christian men had taken .i little 
 refreshing with drink, then were they 
 rejoiced and lighted ; and according as 
 they had appointed before, they sent in 
 first their light vessels called brigandines, 
 well furnished with artillery : they entered 
 into the haven, and after them came the 
 armed galleys and the other ships of the 
 fleet in good order, and turning towards the 
 land by the sea side there was a strong 
 castle with high towers, and specially one 
 tower, which defended the sea side and the 
 
402 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 land also ; and in this tower was a bricole 
 or an engine, which was not idle but still 
 did cast great stones among the Christian 
 men's ships. In like wise in every tower 
 of the town against the sea side there were 
 engines to cast stones : the Saracens had 
 well provided for their town, for they 
 looked ever long before when they should 
 be besieged. 
 
 When the Christian men entered into 
 the haven of Afrique to take land, it was 
 a pleasant sight to behold their order and 
 to hear the clarions and trumpets sound so 
 high and clear. Divers knights and valiant 
 men of the realm of France spread abroad 
 that day their banners, with divers other 
 new-made knights. The lord John of Ligne 
 was there first made knight, he was of the 
 country of Hainault ; he was made by the 
 hands of a cousin of his named sir Henry 
 d'Antoing, and there he spread abroad 
 first his banner, the field gold, a bend of 
 gules, and in his company was his cousin- 
 german the lord of Havreth in Hainault. 
 Thus the lords, knights and squires with 
 great desire advanced them and took land 
 and lodged on the land of their enemies in 
 the sight of the false Saracens on a Wednes- 
 day in the evening of Mary Magdalen in 
 the year of our Lord God a thousand three 
 hundred and fourscore [and ten], and as 
 they took land they were lodged by their 
 marshals. The Saracens that were within 
 the town praised much the Christian men's 
 order, and because that the great galleys 
 could not approach near to the land, the 
 men issued out in boats and took land and 
 followed the banner of our Lady. 
 
 The Saracens that were within the town 
 and such as were abroad in the country 
 suffered the Christian men peaceably to 
 take land, for they saw well it should not 
 be for their advantage to have fought witli 
 them at their landing. The duke oi 
 Bourbon, who was as chief of the Christian 
 army there, was lodged in the midst of his 
 company right honourably, his banner dis- 
 played, powdered full of flower-de-luces 
 with an image of our Lady in the midst 
 and a scutcheon with the arms of Bourbon 
 under the feet of the image. 
 
 SUifAIARY. — Here follows the order in 
 which the lards and knights were lodged in 
 the cajnp. The Saracens had an army of 
 
 forty thousand or inore encajnped against 
 them outside the toiun, with a -wood behind 
 them, and they every day attacked the out- 
 posts of the Christian camp, 7iever coming 
 to close qttarters : and this -weitt on for nine 
 weeks. 
 
 The author thus contimies : — 
 
 The Saracens within the town of Afrique 
 had great marvel by what title or in- 
 stance that the Christian men came thither 
 so strongly to make them war. It was 
 shewed me how they took advice among 
 them how to know the truth thereof and 
 determined to send to the Christian men 
 to know their minds, and so took a truche- 
 man that could speak Italian and com- 
 manded him to go to the Christian host 
 and to demand of them in what title and 
 instance they are come to make us war, 
 and why they be come so strongly into the 
 empire of Barbary and into the land of 
 Afrique : ' and say how we have in 
 nothing trespassed them. Of a truth 
 afore this time there hath been war 
 between us and the Genoways, but as 
 for that war by reason ought not to touch 
 the Christian men of far countries off. 
 As for the Genoways, are our neighbours, 
 they take of us and we of them, we have 
 been ancient enemies and shall be, except 
 when truce is between us.' With this 
 message the trucheman departed and rode 
 to the Christian army and met first with a 
 Genoway, and shewed him how he was a 
 messenger sent from the Saracens to speak 
 with some lord of France. The Genoway 
 had to name Antony Marchi ; he was a 
 centurion of the cross-bows : he brought 
 this messenger to the duke of Bourbon and 
 to the lord of Coucy, who gladly heard 
 him speak ; and the words that he spake in 
 his own language ^ the centurion Genoway 
 expouned them in French. When this 
 messenger had declared his message, he 
 desired to have an answer. The lords of 
 France said he should have, but first they 
 would take advice in the matter. Then a 
 twelve of the greatest lords drew together 
 to council in the duke of Bourbon's tent 
 and concluded, and so sent for the 
 messenger ; and the Genoway made him 
 his answer in all their names, saying how 
 
 1 'The words that the lords could not under- 
 stand ' ; the dragoman spoke Italian. 
 
EXPEDITrOISr TO AFRICA 
 
 403 
 
 the title and quarrel that they made war 
 in was because the Son of God, called Jesu 
 Christ, and true prophet, by their line and 
 generation was put to death and crucified ; 
 and because they had judged their God to 
 death without title or reason, therefore 
 they would have amends and punish that 
 trespass and false judgment that they of 
 their law had made ; and also because they 
 believed not in the holy baptism and are 
 ever contrary to their faith and law ; nor 
 also because they believed not in the Virgin 
 Mary, mother to Jesu Christ. For these 
 causes and other, they said, they took the 
 Saracens and all their sect for their 
 enemies, and said how they would revenge 
 the despites that they had done and daily 
 do to thejr God and Christian faith. With 
 this answer the trucheman returned with- 
 out peril or damage and shewed to his 
 masters all as ye have heard. At this 
 answer the Saracens did nothing but laugh, 
 and said how that answer was nothing 
 reasonable, for it was the Jews that put 
 Christ to death and not they. Thus the 
 siege still endured, every party making 
 good watch. 
 
 Anon after, the Saracens took counsel 
 together and determined that a seven or 
 eight days together they should suffer the 
 Christian men in rest, and not to make 
 any manner of scrimmish with them, and 
 then suddenly on a night about the hour 
 of midnight to set on the host, trusting 
 thereby to do a great feat. As they or- 
 dained so they did, and an eight days 
 together they made no scrimmish, and on 
 the ninth day about midnight they secretly 
 armed them with such armour as they were 
 accustomed to, and so came close together 
 without any noise near to the lodgings of 
 the Christian men, and had enterprised to 
 have done a great feat and to have entered 
 not on that side that their watch was on, 
 but on the other part of the field, where 
 there was no watch kept. They had come 
 to their intents, an God properly had not 
 been against them in shewing of apparent 
 miracles : I shall shew you how. 
 
 As the Saracens approached, they saw 
 suddenly before them a great company of 
 ladies and damosels, all in white colour, 
 and one in especial, who in beauty with- 
 out comparison exceeded all the other, and 
 there was borne before her a banner all of 
 
 white, and red within. With this sight 
 the Saracens were so abashed, that they 
 lacked spirit and force to go any further, 
 and so stood still, and the ladies before 
 them. Also it was shewed me that the 
 Genoways had a great dog in their com- 
 pany, that they brought with them, but they 
 knew not from whence he came, there was 
 none that challenged the dog to be his ; 
 which dog did them great service, for the 
 Saracens could never come so privily to 
 scrimmish, but the dog would bay and 
 make such bruit, that he would not rest 
 till such as were asleep were awaked. 
 Every man knew, when they heard the dog 
 bay, that the Saracens were coming to 
 scrimmish with them, whereby ever they 
 apparelled themselves to resist them. The 
 Genoways called the dog our Lady's dog. 
 The same season that the Saracens stood 
 still in a trance and the ladies before them, 
 this dog was not idle, but he made great 
 bruit and ran baying first to the stand 
 watch : the lord of Coucy and sir Henry 
 d'Antoing kept the watch that night. 
 When every man heard this dog make such 
 bruit, they rose and armed them ready, for 
 they knew well that the Saracens did ap- 
 proach to awake them : and true it was 
 that the Virgin Mary and her company 
 was before them, to defend the Christian 
 men from all perils, so that they took that 
 night no manner of damage, for the Sara- 
 cens durst not approach, but returned to 
 their lodgings ; and after that the Christian 
 men took better heed to their watch. 
 
 The Saracens, knights and squires, such 
 as were in the town of Afrique, and speci- 
 ally such as had seen these ladies, were so 
 abashed that they wist not what to think ; 
 and the Christian knights and squires that 
 lay at the siege studied day and night how 
 they might win the town, and they within 
 studied again how to defend their town. 
 The season was hot and dry, for the sun 
 was in his most strength, as in the month 
 of August, and the marches of Afrique are 
 right hot by reason of the sand, and also 
 they be nearer to the sun than we be. And 
 the wines that the Christian men had came 
 from Puylle and Calabre, and they be hot 
 and dry, far from the nature of the French 
 wines, whereby many fell into hot fevers. 
 And to consider according to reason, I 
 cannot tell how the Frenchmen and other 
 
404 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 of low countries could endure the pain of 
 the hot and gross air that they found there, 
 without refreshing of good, sweet and fresh 
 water, which they lacked there : yet they 
 made fountains and wells in the sand, 
 which did them great pleasure, for there 
 they found fresh water ; howbeit oftentimes 
 the water was sore chafed by reason of the 
 heat, and also oftentimes they had great 
 default of victuals, and some season they 
 had enough coming from Sicily and from 
 other isles adjoining. Such as were whole 
 comforted them that were diseased, and 
 such as had victuals departed with them 
 that lacked, otherwise they could not have 
 endured : they dealt each with other like 
 brethren and friends. The lord of Coucy 
 specially had the chief resort of gentlemen ; 
 he could behave himself sweetly among 
 them, much better than the duke of Bour- 
 bon ; for the duke was somewhat of an 
 high courage, proud and presumptuous, 
 nor spake not so sweetly nor so humbly to 
 knights, squires and strangers as the lord 
 of Coucy did. Most commonly the duke 
 of Bourbon would sit all day without his 
 tent with his legs across, and whosoever 
 would speak with him it behoved him to 
 have a procurer and to make great rever- 
 ence. He considered not the state of poor 
 men so well as the lord Coucy did ; where- 
 fore he was more in the grace and love of 
 the people than the duke of Bourbon was ; 
 and as it was shewed me by divers knights 
 and squires strangers, that in their opinions, 
 if the lord Coucy had been sovereign cap- 
 tain alone, they had sped otherwise than 
 they did ; for by reason of the pride of the 
 duke of Bourbon many feats and enter- 
 prises were left undone : it was the opinion 
 of many that he kept himself sure enough 
 from taking.^ 
 
 SUMMARY.— -A combat -was arranged 
 ■without hunukdge of the duke of Bourbon 
 between ten Christians and ten Saracens, but 
 at the appointed time the Saracens did 7iot 
 appear. The host were kept zitider arms all 
 that day, the hottest they had seen, and in the 
 evening when exhausted went to assault the 
 town^ in which assajilt they lost no less than 
 sixty knights and squires. 
 
 1 ' It was the opinion of many that he kept the 
 town from being taken.' 
 
 CHAPTER CLXVIII [CLXXII] 
 
 SUMMAR V. — T/ie Saracens -were not 
 aware of the extejit of this loss, and failed 
 to take advajttage of it. The siege con- 
 ti7iued, but the Ge7zoese, it was said, would 
 gladly have made a ti-eaty with the Saracens 
 and left the rest in the hn'ch. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXIX [CLXXIII] 
 
 SUMMAR y. —Jousts were held in Londoiz 
 after the feast of Saint Michael in this yea?', 
 and sixty knights challenged all co7?iers. 
 William of Ost7-evant was disti7tgicished in 
 this tourfiey, and accepted the 07'der of the 
 Garter, by which he gave offence to the 
 Fre7tch king. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXX [CLXXIV] 
 
 SUMMARY.~The siege of Afrique was 
 raised, pa7'tly because of the app7-oach of 
 winter and pa7'tly because it was thought 
 that the Ge7ioese could 7iot be trusted. The 
 Sarace7is after this were ?7iuch 7?iore proud, 
 a7zd kept the sea attd especially the straits of 
 Alarocco, so that ships cozdd 7iot pass to 
 E7iglaitd or Fla7iders 'without payi7ig 
 tribute. The king of F7-a7tce, wlio was 
 disposed to make a new jour7iey against the 
 Sarace7ts, was advised that he ought frst 
 to go to Ro7ne and remove the ajttipope 
 Bo7iiface. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXI [CLXXV] 
 
 SUMMARY. — English a77ihassadors ar- 
 rived at Paris to propose a 77ieeti7ig between 
 the ki7igs of Fra7ice and Engla7zd with a 
 view to peace. 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXH, CLXXHI 
 [CLXXVI, CLXXVII] 
 
 SUMMAR Y.—Ki7ig John of Castile died, 
 ajzd Henry his so7t, ijiarried to the duke of 
 Lancaster s daughter, was crow7ied kinF. 
 
FETE a DE CRAON 
 
 40s 
 
 The young earl of Armagitac zucnt into 
 Lonibardy to help his brother - in - law 
 Baniaho Visconti against Galeazzo Visconti, 
 duke of Milan. He laid siege to Alessan- 
 dria, where he -was taken prisoner and died 
 by misadventure. So his companies re- 
 turned in great distress. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXIV [CLXXVIII] 
 
 How sir Peter of Craon fell in the French 
 king's displeasure and in the duke of 
 Touraine's, and after he was received by 
 the duke of Bretayne. 
 
 In this said season there was a. knight of 
 France of the country of Anjou, a gentle 
 knight and of noble extraction, called sir 
 Pier of Craon, marvellously well beloved, 
 and specially with the duke of Touraine, 
 for about the duke nothing was done but 
 by him. Also this knight held a great 
 estate about the duke of Anjou, who was 
 called king of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem, 
 and also he was rich. A slander was 
 brought upon him through the realm of 
 France, how he had robbed the young 
 king of Sicily, duke of Anjou ; for the 
 which bruit the said sir Peter absented 
 himself from the young king and from his 
 mother, who had been wife to the old 
 duke of Anjou. Howbeit, he dealt so that 
 he was well beloved with the French king 
 and with his brother the duke of Touraine ; 
 also the same season sir Oliver of Clisson, 
 as then constable of France, was greatly in 
 favour with the king and with the duke of 
 Touraine, which favour he had got by 
 reason of the good service that he had 
 done in arms, as well in France as else- 
 where, in the king's days and in his father's 
 days, king Charles ; and sir Oliver of 
 Clisson's daughter had wedded John of 
 Bretayne, brother-german to the queen of 
 Jerusalem. And this sir Oliver Clisson, 
 by reason of the alliance that he had by 
 the marriage of John of Bretayne, was 
 jreatly in the duke of Bretayne's indigna- 
 :ion, insomuch that the duke held him for 
 lis mortal enemy and John of Bretayne in 
 ike wise, and the duke of Bretayne re- 
 lented him that he had not slain sir Oliver 
 jf Clisson when he had him in prison in 
 lis castle of Ermine. This sir Peter of 
 
 Craon was in such favour with the duke of 
 Bretayne, that he might do with him what 
 he list ; he was his cousin ; and while he 
 was in favour with the French king and 
 with the duke of Touraine, he would gladly 
 have brought out of the king's favour sir 
 Oliver of Clisson the constable, if he could 
 have brought it about. Thus the envious, 
 which covertly always hath reigned in 
 France, dissimuling their matters till they 
 come to an evil conclusion.' 
 
 The constable of France had always 
 been so true in all his deeds to the crown 
 of France, that every man loved him ex- 
 cept the duke of Burgoyne, who loved him 
 nothing. The hatred came by the duchess 
 of Burgoyne, who was a lady of high 
 courage ; for she could not love the con- 
 stable, for the duke of Bretayne was near 
 of blood to her, and all that her father the 
 earl of Flanders loved, she loved, and such 
 as he hated, she did the same ; she was of 
 that condition. This sir Peter of Craon, 
 while he was in the French court and 
 great with the duke of Touraine, he wrote 
 oftentimes to the duke of Bretayne secretly 
 everything that he knew, and the duke 
 wrote again to him. The effect of their 
 writings I could not know : howbeit, I, 
 John Froissart, author of this history, on a 
 time when I was at Paris, on a night when 
 a great mischief was likely to have fallen 
 upon sir Oliver Clisson, constable of 
 France, by a marvellous enterprise of sir 
 Peter of Craon, as I shall hereafter more 
 plainly declare, when time shalh require ; 
 and because I saw the matter dark and 
 obscure and likely to be great trouble and 
 danger, I did all the pain I could to know 
 the ground and occasion of the matter, 
 why sir Peter of Craon was so suddenly 
 banished from the French king's love and 
 the duke of Touraine's. Such search I 
 made and such enquiry of them that knew 
 the matter, that some of them informed me 
 of the truth, as the fame and renown ran. 
 First the duke of Touraine was displeased 
 with this sir Peter of Craon through his 
 own fault, for he disclosed the secretness 
 that was between the duke of Touraine 
 and another lady. If he did so, he did 
 evil. 
 
 ' 'Thus the envies, which always covertly have 
 reigned in France, were covered and dissembled, 
 till they came at last to an evil conclusion.' 
 
406 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OE FROISSART 
 
 The duke of Touraine as then had such 
 favour to sir Peter of Craon, that he took 
 him as his companion and ware ever like 
 apparel and had him always with him, 
 wheresoever he went, and shewed him all 
 his secrets. This duke of Touraine as 
 then was young and amorous and gladly 
 would company with ladies and damosels 
 and sport him among them ; and specially, 
 as it was shewed me, he loved entirely a 
 fair lady of Paris, young and fresh. His 
 love and secrets were known in such wise 
 that it turned to great displeasure to the 
 duke, and he wist not whom to blame but 
 sir Peter of Craon, for the duke had shewed 
 him all his secrets in that matter and had 
 taken him in his company when he would 
 secretly speak with the said young lady. 
 The duke on a time promised the said lady 
 a thousand crowns of gold, so that he 
 might have his pleasure of her, but the lady 
 as then refused it and said how she loved 
 him not for his gold nor silver, but pure 
 love inclined her to bear him her good 
 will ; but as for gold or silver, she would 
 not sell her honour. All these words and 
 promises were known by the duchess of 
 Touraine, who incontinent sent for the 
 said young lady into her chamber. Then 
 she called her by her name and in great 
 displeasure said : ' Wilt thou do me wrong 
 with my lord my husband?' The young 
 lady was abashed, and all weeping said : 
 ' Nay, madam, by the grace of God I never 
 did think it, nor never will.' Then the 
 duchess said : ' Thus it is : I am informed 
 that my lord my husband loveth you and 
 you him, and the matter so far gone 
 between you, that in such a place and at 
 such a time he promised you a thousand 
 crowns of gold to have his pleasure of you : 
 howbeit, ye did refuse it as then, wherein 
 ye did wisely, and therefore as at this time 
 I pardon you ; but I charge you as dearly 
 as ye love your life, that ye commune nor 
 talk no more with him, but suffer him to 
 pass and hearken not to his communing.' 
 Then when the young lady saw herself 
 accused of truth, she answered and said : 
 ' Madam, I shall deliver me from him as 
 soon as I can, and shall so deal that ye 
 shall have no cause of displeasure in this 
 matter.' Therewith the duchess gave her 
 leave to depart, and so she returned to her 
 lodging. 
 
 The duke of Touraine, who knew no- 
 thing of this matter, and as he that entirely 
 loved this young lady, fortuned on a day to 
 come whereas she was. When she saw 
 him, she eschewed his company and made 
 him no manner of semblant of love, but 
 did clean contrary to that she had used 
 before ; for she durst not, and also she 
 had sworn and promised to the duchess. 
 When the duke saw her countenance, he 
 was pensive and thought he would know 
 why she dealt so strangely, and demanded 
 of her the cause of her strangeness. The 
 young lady all weeping said : ' Sir, ye 
 have bewrayed your love and the secret 
 promise and offer that ye made me, to my 
 lady your wife or else some other. Re- 
 member you well to whom ye have shewed 
 your secretness, for, sir, I was in great 
 danger by my lady your wife and by none 
 other, and I have sworn and promised her 
 that after this time I will never company 
 nor talk with you, whereby she should 
 have any jealousy. ' When the duke heard 
 that, they were sore words to him and 
 greatly to his displeasure, and said : ' Ah, 
 my fair lady, I swear to you by my faith 
 that rather than this matter should have 
 been shewed to my wife, [I would] that I 
 had lost a hundred thousand franks. Sith 
 ye have sworn, keep your promise, for 
 whatsoever it cost me, I will know the 
 truth, who hath bewrayed our secrets.' 
 
 Thus the duke departed from the young 
 lady and made no semblant as then, but 
 patiently suffered. Howbeit, he thought 
 the more, and at night came to his wife to 
 supper and shewed her more token of love 
 than ever he did before ; and he did so 
 much with fair words that the duchess 
 shewed him all the matter and how that 
 she knew it by sir Peter of Craon. Then 
 the duke spake no more at that time. 
 That night passed, and the next day about 
 nine of the clock he took his horse and 
 rode from the house of Saint -Pol to the 
 castle of Louvre, where he found the king 
 his brother hearing of mass. The king 
 sweetly received him, for he loved him 
 entirely, and the king saw well by the 
 duke's manner that he had some dis- 
 pleasure in his mind and said : ' Ah, fair 
 brother, what is the matter ? It seemeth 
 ye be troubled.' 'Sir,' quoth he, 'good 
 cause why.' * Wherefore?' quoth the 
 
PETER DE CRAON 
 
 407 
 
 king: 'I pray you shew me.' The duke, 
 who would hide nothing from the king, 
 shewed hini all the whole matter, and com- 
 plained greatly against sir Peter of Craon 
 and said : ' Sir, by the faith that I owe to 
 God and to you, if it were not for your 
 honour, I would slay him.' ' We shall do 
 well enou<;h,' quoth the king: 'he shall 
 be warned by our council to avoid our 
 house and service, and in like wise cause 
 him to avoid your house and company. ' ' I 
 am well content with this,' quoth the duke. 
 The same day the lord de la Riviere and 
 sir John Mercier said unto sir Peter of 
 Craon on the king's behalf that he should 
 avoid the king's court and service and go 
 where he list. In like wise sir John of 
 Bueil and the lord of Herbault, seneschal 
 of Touraine, gave him like commandment 
 on the duke of Touraine 's behalf When 
 sir Peter of Craon saw this, he was abashed 
 and took it in great despite, and could not 
 imagine why it should be ; and true it was, 
 he desired to come into the king's presence 
 and the duke's, to know the cause of their 
 displeasure ; but he was answered that 
 nother the king nor the duke would not 
 hear him speak. When he saw none other 
 remedy, he apparelled himself and departed 
 out of Paris in great displeasure in his 
 heart, and so rode into Anjou to a castle 
 of his own called Sable, and tarried there a 
 season sore troubled in his mind : he saw 
 well he was chased out of the French court 
 and out of the house of Touraine and also 
 out of the house of the queen of Naples 
 and Jerusalem. Then when he perceived 
 these three houses closed from him, he 
 thought to go to the duke of Bretayne his 
 cousin and to shew him all his adventures : 
 so he did, and rode into Bretayne and 
 found the duke at Vannes, who made him 
 good cheer and knew somewhat before of 
 his trouble, and then this sir Peter shewed 
 him all the case. When the duke of 
 Bretayne had well heard all the matter, he 
 said : ' Fair cousin, recomfort yourself: all 
 this is surely brought about by sir Oliver 
 of Clisson. ' 
 
 This root and foundation of hatred multi- 
 plied greatly after, as ye shall hear in this 
 history. Sir Peter of Craon tarried so long 
 with the duke of Bretayne, that he forgat 
 France,^ for the constable, sir Oliver of 
 1 ' He was forgotten in France.* 
 
 Clisson, and the king's council were against 
 him : and also they were not content with 
 the duke of Bretayne in that he kept sir 
 Peter Craon in his house. As for the duke 
 of Bretayne, he cared not greatly neither 
 for the good will nor evil will of the 
 French king : he provided sufficiently for 
 his cities, towns and castles in such wise 
 that he loved as well war as peace, and all 
 that ever he did was well known in France 
 and with the king's council. And such as 
 were next about the king reputed the duke 
 of Bretayne proud and presumptuous, and 
 threatened him greatly, but the duke did 
 set little thereby, and said that he would 
 make war against the earl of Penlhievre in 
 a just quarrel ; ' for the earl of Penthievre 
 our cousin writeth and nameth himself 
 John of Bretayne, as though he were 
 heritor of this country : I will he be called 
 John, for that is his name, and earl of 
 Penthievre, and I will he put out of his 
 arms the ermines and write himself John 
 of Blois or of Chatillon, and none other ; 
 and if he will not do this, I shall cause 
 him to do it and take from him his land, 
 for he holdeth it by faith and homage of 
 us : as for the heritage of Bretayne, he 
 hath nothing to do therewith, so that it 
 should return to him, for I have both sons 
 and daughters, that shall be mine heirs. 
 Let him purchase him lands in some other 
 place, for as of this he hath failed.' Thus 
 oftentimes the duke of Bretayne would 
 devise with sir Peter of Craon, who would 
 not reply against his pleasure, but rather 
 did further it, and all for the evil will 
 that he bare to the constable, sir Oliver of 
 Clisson, and to the council of France. 
 
 Now let us leave speaking of this matter 
 and treat a little of another piteous matter 
 concerning the earl Guy of Blois, of whom 
 mention is made herebefore in this 
 history. 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXV-CLXXIX 
 [CLXXIX-CLXXXIII] 
 
 SUMMARY.— Louis of Chatillon, son to 
 the earl of Blois and son-in-law to the duke 
 of Berry, died of a fever. 
 
 In the sajne season also died the earl of 
 Foix, and the county of Foix was claimed 
 by the French king, who however resigjied 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 his claim and allowed the viscount of Castel- 
 bon to inherit both Beam and Foix. 
 
 A treaty was made between the king of 
 France and the duke of Brittany, with 
 marriages agreed to of the son and daughter 
 of the duke of Brittany to the daughter of 
 the king of France and the son of John of 
 Brittany. 
 
 The earl of Blots and his wife sold the 
 county of Blois to the duke of Touraine, 
 much to their discredit. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXX [CLXXXIV] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The dukes of Lancaster, 
 York and Gloucester came witho2tt the king 
 of England to meet the French king at 
 Amiens. The treaty failed, because the 
 Englishmen dared not consent to give up 
 Calais, for fear of the commons of Engla^id, 
 and an embassy sent to England to see the 
 king and his couiicil was also withotit 
 effect. 
 
 The French king was sick of a fever and 
 remained at Beauvais till Asce?zsion-tide. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXI [CLXXXV] 
 
 How sir Peter of Craon through evil will 
 by subtle craft beat down sir Oliver of 
 Clisson, wherewith the king and his coun- 
 cil were sore displeased. 
 
 Ve have well heard herebefore how sir 
 Peter of Craon, who was a knight of great 
 lineage, but he was far out of the French 
 king's grace and the duke of Touraine's : 
 if he did so much to cause them to be dis- 
 pleased with him, he did evil.' Ye have 
 heard also how he was gone into Eretayne 
 to the duke, who shewed him that the evil 
 will that the king bare him was by the 
 means of sir Oliver of Clisson. It may 
 well be that he was so informed, in that he 
 had so great hate to the constable, sir 
 Oliver of Clisson, for he studied ever after 
 how to destroy him. Thus while sir Peter 
 of Craon was with the duke of Bretayne, 
 they would oftentimes commune together 
 
 1 The translator is responsible for the form of 
 this sentence. Froissart says : ' Ye have heard 
 before this hew sir Peter of Craon . . . fell out of 
 favour with the king,' etc. 
 
 and devise how they might bring sir Oliver 
 of Clisson to death, for they said that an 
 he were once dead, there was none that 
 would greatly revenge his death. The 
 duke repented him that he had not slain 
 him when he had him in prison, and would 
 as then that it had cost him a hundred 
 thousand franks that he had him again at 
 his will. When sir Peter of Craon saw 
 that the duke had such hatred to sir Oliver 
 of Clisson, he purposed a marvellous im- 
 agination in himself; for by appearance 
 men should give judgment. This knight 
 thought, howsoever it were, that he would 
 slay the constable, and thought to intend 
 to nothing else till he had slain him with 
 his own hands or caused him to be slain, 
 and afterward entreat for peace. He 
 doubted nothing John of Blois nor the 
 son of the viscount of Rohan, who had 
 wedded two of the constable's daughters ; 
 he thought to do well enough with them, 
 as long as the duke was on his part ; for 
 he saw well the strength and puissance of 
 Blois was greatly feeblished, for the earl 
 Guy of Blois had sold the heritage of Blois 
 to the duke of Touraine, which should have 
 run by succession to the earl of Penthievre, 
 John of Blois, whereby he thought that the 
 duke of Touraine shewed him but small 
 love nor alliance of lineage, to buy away 
 his inheritance : wherefore this sir Peter 
 thought, if sir Oliver of Clisson were dead, 
 soon to appease the king's evil will and the 
 duke of Touraine's, and thereby soon to 
 overcome the lord de la Riviere and sir 
 John Mercier, Montague and the Begue of 
 Villaines and sir John of Bueil and other of 
 the king's chamber, such as sustained the 
 constable, for he knew well that the duke 
 of Berry and the duke of Burgoyne loved 
 them nothing inwardly, whatsoever they 
 shewed outwardly. Thus sir Peter of Craon 
 persevered still in his opinion and devised 
 in his imagination by the enticing of the 
 devil, who never sleepeth, but waketh and 
 embraseth their hearts to do evil that in- 
 clineth to his exhortation. Thus the devil 
 daily laid the matter before this knight's 
 even, or he put the matter to execution ; 
 but if he had justly imagined the doubts 
 and perils and mischievousness that might 
 fall by his evil deed, reason and wise 
 attemperance should have caused him to 
 have done otherwise. But it is oftentimes 
 
ATTACK OM THE CONSTABLE, 1392 (Jmte it,) 
 
 409 
 
 said that the great desire that a man hath 
 to have the execution of that thing or it be 
 fallen,' oftentimes quencheth reason and 
 wisdom : therefore oftentimes vices are 
 masters, and virtues violate and corrupted. 
 And for because that specially this sir 
 Peter of Craon had so great affection to 
 the destruction of the conbtable, therefore 
 he lightly inclined to the temptation to do 
 outrage and folly, and thought that if he 
 might slay the constable and return again 
 safely into Bretayne, that no man would 
 seek him there : if they did, he trusted that 
 the duke would excuse him, and that if 
 the worst fell, that the French king came 
 thither with a great puissance, then in a 
 night to enter into a ship and so to go to 
 Bordeaux, to Bayonne or into England, 
 and there he thought well he should not 
 be pursued : for he knew well that the 
 Englishmen hated the constable because 
 of the cruelties that he had done and 
 consented to be done sith he was turned 
 French ; howbeit, before that he had done 
 many notable services to the Englishmen, 
 as it hath been rehearsed herebefore in this 
 history. 
 
 Sir Peter of Craon, for to accomplish 
 his desire had long studied in his mind 
 how to bring his purpose to pass, and kept 
 his purpose close and secret. I know not 
 if he shewed it to the duke of Bretayne or 
 not : some thought yes, because after the 
 deed done by him and his company he 
 took the next way he could into Bretayne, 
 and took for his safe-guard the duke of 
 Bretayne, and also before the deed done 
 he sold his castles and heritage that he 
 had in Anjou to the duke of Bretayne and 
 renied his homage to the French king, and 
 said how he would go over the sea. Of 
 all these matters I pass briefly, but I shall 
 declare the deed ; for I, sir John Froissart, 
 author of this history, when this unhappy 
 deed was done by sir Peter of Craon against 
 sir Oliver of Clisson, I was the same time 
 at Paris, wherefore I ought to be well 
 informed of the matter according to the 
 enquiry that I made therein to know the 
 truth. The same time this sir Peter had 
 in the town of Paris a fair house standing 
 in the churchyard of Saint John's, as divers 
 other lords had in the city for their plea- 
 
 1 *The great desire that ^ man hath to things 
 before they come to pass.' 
 
 sure. In this house there was a keeper. 
 Sir Peter of Craon had sent of his serv.Tnts 
 to Paris, and they provided largely in the 
 house with wine, corn, flesh, salt and other 
 provisions : also he had written to the 
 keeper that he should buy certain armour, 
 as coats of steel, gauntlets, stoles and other 
 harness for forty men, and that done to 
 send him word thereof to the intent that 
 he would send for them, and secretly all 
 this to be done. The keeper, who thought 
 none evil, and to obey his master's com- 
 mandment, bought all this merchandise ; 
 and all this season he was in a castle of 
 his own in Anjou, called Sable, and he sent 
 one week three or four servants to his 
 house in Paris, and so weekly, till he had 
 there a forty, and shewed them nothing 
 for what cause he sent them thither, but 
 he charged them to keep themselves close 
 in his house in any wise, and whatsoever 
 they lacked, the keeper of his house should 
 provide for it ; ' and on a day I shall shew 
 you the cause why I send you thither be- 
 fore, and ye shall have good wages.' They 
 did as he commanded them, and came 
 privily to Paris and entered into the house 
 by night and in the mornings, for as then 
 the gates of Paris night and day stood 
 open. There assembled in that house so 
 many together, that they were a forty com- 
 panions, hardy men and outrageous ; how- 
 beit, there were some that if they had 
 known wherefore they came thither, they 
 would not have come there ; yet they kept 
 themselves secret.' 
 
 Then at the feast of Pentecost sir Peter 
 of Craon came to Paris secretly and entered 
 into his house disguised hke a servant ; 
 then he called for the porter that kept the 
 gate and said : ' I command thee on pain 
 of thy life let no man, woman nor child 
 enter into this house, nor none to go out 
 without my commandment.' The porter 
 obeyed, as it was reason, and so did the 
 keeper, and he commanded the keeper's 
 wife and her children to keep her chamber 
 and not to issue out thereof; wherein he 
 did wisely, for if the woman and children 
 had gone abroad in the streets, the coming 
 thither of sir Peter Craon had been known, 
 for children and women naturally are hard 
 to keep counsel of that thing a man would 
 1 ' But he took good care not to disclose his 
 secret." 
 
410 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 have kept secret. Thus sir Peter and his 
 company were secretly in his house till the 
 day of the Holy Sacrament,' and every day 
 sir Peter had abroad his spies that brought 
 him word of the state of sir Oliver Clisson ; 
 and till that day he could find no time to 
 execute his enterprise, wherewith he was 
 sore displeased in himself The said day 
 the French king kept a feast with open 
 court with all the lords that were there ; 
 also the queen and the duchess of Touraine 
 were there in great joy and solace. The 
 same day after dinner the young lusty 
 knights were armed and jousted valiantly 
 in the presence of the king and of the 
 queen and other ladies and damosels, and 
 continued till it was near night ; and by 
 the judgment of the ladies and heralds the 
 prize was given to sir Guilliam of Flanders, 
 earl of Namur. And the king made all 
 the lords and ladies a great supper, and 
 after supper danced till it was one of the 
 clock after midnight : then every man de- 
 parted to their lodgings, some to one place 
 and some to another without fear or doubt 
 of anything. Sir Oliver of Clisson, who as 
 then was constable of France, departed 
 from the king's palace last of all other, 
 and had taken his leave of the king and 
 then went through the duke of Touraine's 
 chamber and said to him : ' Sir, will ye 
 tarry here all night, or else go to your 
 lodging of Poulain ? ' ^ This Poulain was 
 the duke's treasurer and dwelt a little 
 beside the sign of the Lion of Silver.^ 
 Then the duke said : ' Constable, I cannot 
 tell as yet whether I do tarry here or else go 
 thither. Go ye your way to your lodging, 
 for it is time.' Then sir Oliver took 
 his leave of the duke and said : * Sir, God 
 send you good night ' ; and so departed, 
 and in the street he found his servants 
 and his horse, an eight persons and two 
 torches : then he rode forth to enter into 
 the high street of Saint Katherine's. 
 
 Sir Peter of Craon had the same night 
 laid good spial on sir Oliver of Clisson, and 
 knew well that he was bidden behind his 
 company with the king and that his horse 
 tarried at the king's gate for him. Then 
 
 1 That is, Corpus Christi, which in that year fell 
 on i^jth June. 2 ' Chez Poullain.' 
 
 3 The French text adds, 'in the Croix-du-TIroir,' 
 but the translator probably was not acquainted with 
 that celebrated carrefour, situated at the crossing of 
 the rue Saint-Honore and the rue de I'Arbre-Sec. I 
 
 he mounted on his horse, and all his com- 
 pany well armed covertly, and there passed 
 not six of his company that knew his in- 
 tent. And when he came into Saint 
 Katherine's street, there he tarried and 
 abode privily for the constable's coming ; 
 and as soon as the constable was issued 
 out of the street of Saint-Pol and came into 
 the high street, and his torches beside him, 
 and came riding, talking with a squire of 
 his, saying : ' To-niorrovv I must Jhave at 
 dinner with me the duke of Touraine, the 
 lord Coucy, sir John of Vienne, sir Charles 
 d'Angers, the baron of Ivry and divers 
 other, wherefore speak to my steward that 
 they lack nothing': and saying of those 
 words, sir Peter Craon and his company 
 came on him, and at the first they strake 
 out the torches. And when the constable 
 heard the rushing of the horses behind 
 him, he thought it had been the duke of 
 Touraine, that had followed and sported 
 with him, and said : ' Ah, sir, it is evil 
 done : but I pardon you ; ye are young 
 and full of play and sport.' With those 
 words sir Peter of Craon drew out his 
 sword and said : ' Slay the constable, slay 
 him, for he shall die.' 'What art thou,' 
 quoth Clisson, ' that speakest those words?' 
 ' I am Peter of Craon, thine enemy : thou 
 hast so oftentimes displeased me, that now 
 thou shalt make amends ' • and therewith 
 strake at the constable, and sir Peter's 
 men drew out their swords and strake at 
 the constable, who had no weapon but 
 a short knife of two foot of length and 
 defended himself as well as he might, and 
 his men were without armour and soon put 
 abroad from their master. Then sir Peter's 
 mensaid: 'Shall we slay them all?' 'Yea,' 
 quoth sir Peter, ' all such as make any de- 
 fence.' Their defence was but small,for they 
 were but eight persons and without armour. 
 Sir Peter demanded nothing but the death 
 of the constable. Some that were there, 
 when they knew it was the constable, 
 they gave him but faint strokes, for a thing 
 done by treason is done cowardly without 
 an}' hardiness. The constable defended 
 himself valiantly with that weapon that he 
 had : howbeit, his defence had vailed him 
 but little, an the great grace of God had 
 not been. Still he sat on his horse till he 
 had a full stroke on the head, with which 
 stroke he fell from his horse right against a 
 
ATTACK ON THE CONSTABLE 
 
 411 
 
 baker's door, who was up and busy to bake 
 bread, and had left his door half open, 
 which was happy for the constable ; for as 
 he fell from his horse, he fell against the 
 door, and the door opened and he fell in at 
 the door, and they that were a-horseback 
 could not enter after him, the door was too 
 low and too little. God shewed great grace 
 to the constable ; for if he had fallen in 
 the street, as he did in at the door, or if 
 the door had been shut, he had been 
 slain without remedy. But they that were 
 a-horseback durst not alight, and also they 
 thought, and so did sir Peter, that on the 
 stroke that he had on the head, that at 
 last ' it should be his death's wound. Then 
 sir Peter said : ' Go we hence ; we have 
 done enough : for if he be not dead, he 
 will die on the stroke that he hath on the 
 head, for it was a great stroke.' There- 
 with they departed and rode away a good 
 pace to the gate of Saint Antony and rode 
 out thereat ; for as then the gate was open 
 and had been ten year, sith the French 
 king returned from the battle of Rose- 
 beque, and that the said constable put 
 down the malles of Paris and punished 
 them for their rebellions. 
 
 Thus sir Oliver de Clisson was left in 
 this case, as a man half dead and more, in 
 the baker's house, who was sore abashed 
 when he knew it was the constable : as for 
 his men, had little hurt, for sir Peter and 
 his men looked for nothing but to have 
 slain the constable. Then sir Oliver's men 
 assembled together and entered into the 
 baker's house and there found their master 
 sore hurt on the head and the blood running 
 down by his visage, wherewith they were 
 sore abashed, and good cause why : there 
 they made great complaints ; first they 
 feared he had been dead. 
 
 Anon tidings hereof came to the king's 
 lodging and it was said to the king as he 
 was going to his bed : ' Ah, sir, we cannot 
 hide from you the great mischief that is 
 now suddenly fallen in Paris.' 'What 
 mischief is that ? ' quoth the king. ' Sir,' 
 quoth they, 'your constable, sir Oliver of 
 Clisson, is slain.' ' Slain,' quoth the king, 
 'and how so, and who hath done that 
 deed?' 'Sir,' quoth they, 'we cannot 
 tell ; but this mischief is fallen on him 
 
 1 Perhaps a misprint for ' at least ' : the French 
 has ' du moins.' 
 
 hereby in the street of Saint Katherine.' 
 ' Well,' quoth the king, ' light up your 
 torches ; I will go and see him.' Torches 
 anon were lighted up. The king put on 
 a cloak and his slippers on his feet : then 
 such as kept watch the same night went 
 forth with the king, and such as were abed 
 and heard of these tidings rose up in haste 
 and followed the king, who was gone forth 
 with a small company ; for the king tarried 
 for no man, but went forth with them of 
 his chamber with torches before him and 
 behind him, and had no more chamber- 
 lains with him but sir William Martel 
 and sir Helion of Neilhac. Thus the king 
 came to the baker's house and entered, and 
 certain torches tarried without. Then the 
 king found his constable near dead, as it 
 was shewed him, but not fully dead, and 
 his men had taken off all his gear to see 
 his wounds, how he was hurt ; and the 
 first word that the king said was : ' Con- 
 stable, how is it with you ? ' ' Dear sir,' 
 quoth he, 'right feebly.' 'Who hath 
 brought you in this case?' quoth the 
 king. ' Sir,' quoth he, ' Peter of Craon 
 and his company traitorously and without 
 defence.'' 'Constable,' quoth the king, 
 ' there was never deed so dearly bought 
 as this shall be.' Then physicians and 
 surgeons were sent for on all parts, and 
 when they came, the king said to his own 
 surgeons : ' Sirs, look what case my con- 
 stable is in and shew me the truth, for I 
 am sorry of his hurt.' Then they searched 
 his wounds in every part. Then the king 
 demanded of them and said : ' Sirs, how 
 say you? Is he in any peril of death?' 
 They all answered and said : ' Sir, surely 
 there is no jeopardy of death in him, but 
 that within these fifteen days he shall be 
 able to ride.' With that answer the king 
 was right joyous and said : ' Thanked be 
 God : these be good tidings ' : and then 
 said : ' Constable, be of good cheer and 
 care nothing, for there was never trespass 
 sorer punished than this shall be upon the 
 traitors that have done this deed ; for I 
 take this matter as mine own.' The con- 
 stable with a feeble voice answered : ' Sir, 
 God reward your grace for your noble 
 visitation.' Then the king took his leave 
 and departed and returned to his lodging 
 and incontinent sent for the provost of 
 1 A better reading is 'without defiance.' 
 
412 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Paris, and by that time that he came it 
 was clear daylight. Then the king com- 
 manded him and said : ' Provost, get you 
 men together well horsed and pursue that 
 traitor sir Peter of Craon, who thus traitor- 
 ously hath hurt nigh to the death our 
 constable. Ye cannot do to iis a more 
 acceptable service than to pursue and take 
 him and bring him to us.' Then the pro- 
 vost answered and said : ' Sir, I shall do 
 all that lieth in my puissance to do. Sir, 
 can your grace know which way he is 
 gone?' 'Enquire,' quoth the king, 'and 
 do your diligence.' 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXXII, CLXXXIII 
 [CLXXXVI, CLXXXVII] 
 
 SUM^rARY.—S^r Peter of Crao7t was 
 purs-ited^ hut eseaped to Sable and then to 
 Brittajty, where he was reproached by the 
 duke for not having killed the C07istable. 
 
 The French king sent to the duke of 
 Brittany to demand that Peter de Craon 
 sho2tld be given up, and he denied all know- 
 ledge of hii?i. 
 
 The French king therefore prepared an 
 army to go into Brittany. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXIV [CLXXXVII] 
 
 How the duke of Touraine, brother to the 
 king, resigned the duchy of Touraine into 
 the king's hands, and how by exchange 
 the king gave him the duchy of Orleans, 
 and so ever after he was called duke of 
 Orleans.^ 
 
 In the same season that the king was thus 
 nigh ready to depart out of Paris to shew 
 that he took that business as to himself, 
 there was an exchange made of lands, 
 greatly to the profit of the duke of Tou- 
 raine : for he resigned into the king's hands 
 the duchy of Touraine, and the king gave 
 him the duchy of Orleans, in like manner as 
 anciently duke Philip of Orleans held it, 
 which was four times better in value than 
 the other was. So thus from henceforth in 
 this history I shall name him that was duke 
 of Touraine duke of Orleans. 
 
 When sir Oliver of Clisson was all whole 
 
 1 The title has reference only to the first few 
 lines of the chapter. 
 
 and that he might ride, the French king 
 was right joyful and said how he would 
 tarry no longer, and so on an evening he 
 took leave of the queen Isabel his wife 
 and of the new duchess of Orleans and of 
 all other ladies and damosels, and so did 
 the duke of Orleans in like wise. Then 
 they departed and rode to supper to Mon- 
 tague,^ and the duke of Bourbon, the earl 
 of Namur and the lord of Coucy with him. 
 There the king lay and dined there, and 
 after dinner they departed and lay all night 
 at Saint-Germain's, and there lay a seven 
 days. And as then the king was somewhat 
 diseased, and his physicians would have 
 had him to have rested himself; but the 
 king was so willing in his journey, that he 
 said how he was much better at his ease 
 than he was indeed, which he did to give 
 courage to his men to set forward, for as 
 then his two uncles the dukes of Berry and 
 Burgoyne were behind and shewed well by 
 their manner that the same journey grieved 
 them, nor they would not have gone by 
 their good wills. Howbeit, they had made 
 their assembly and to save their honour 
 they obeyed and followed. 
 
 When the French king had rested him 
 a fifteen days at Saint-Germain's, and that 
 his army was assembled, then he departed 
 and passed the river of Seine and took his 
 way to Chartres and so to Auneau, a good 
 town and a castle pertaining to the lord de 
 la Riviere as heritage of his wife's. With 
 the king was his brother the duke of 
 Orleans and the duke of Bourbon. The 
 lord de la Riviere received the king honour- 
 ably, and there tarried three days and 
 then rode to Chartres, whereas Montague 
 was bishop. The king was lodged in the 
 bishop's palace, and the two dukes, and 
 the second day after thither came the duke 
 of Berry and the earl of March in his com- 
 pany, and the fourth day ihither came the 
 duke of Burgoyne, whereof the king was 
 right joyful. And people came daily, and 
 the king said he would not return to Paris 
 till he had brought the duke of Bretayne 
 to reason, who so oftentimes had put him 
 to pain and trouble. The king's council 
 had so set him on that war, that the dukes 
 of Berry and of Burgoyne would gladly 
 have modered the matter, but they could 
 
 1 ' Chez Montagu.' This is Jean Montaigu, 
 councillor of Charles VI. 
 
FRENCH EXPEDITION TO BRITTANY 
 
 413 
 
 not be heard ; wherewith they were sore 
 displeased, and so were such as were of 
 their councils, and they said each to other 
 that surely the matter could not long endure 
 in that state, for it is full likely that the 
 king and the realm shall have some busi- 
 ness to do, sith the king refuseth the 
 counsel of his uncles and leaneth to other 
 at his pleasure, who be nothing like to 
 them. 
 
 When the king had tarried at Chartres a 
 seven days, then he departed and took the 
 way to Mans, and his men followed, some 
 from far parts, as out of Artois, Beauvais, 
 Vermandois and Picardy ; and some said 
 one to another : ' Ah, this duke of Bre- 
 tayne maketh us to have much to do and 
 putteth us to great pain and travail. He 
 hath been always hard and high-hearted 
 against the crown of France, nor he never 
 loved nor honoured it : an his cousin the 
 earl of Flanders, and the duchess of Bur- 
 goyne, who have always borne him and as 
 yet do, had not been, he had been destroyed 
 long ago ; for ever sith the lord Clisson 
 turned French, he never loved him. Surely 
 by all likelihood he is culpable of this deed, 
 for he hath always sustained sir Peter of 
 Craon against the king and against the 
 constable. ' Then other said : * Let the 
 king alone ; for as at this time he hath the 
 matter so at his heart, that he will bring 
 the duke to reason, or he return.' 'That 
 is true,' quoth other, 'if there be no 
 treason : but we fear that all such as go 
 with the king be not enemies to the duke, 
 as it may be well seen, if we durst speak it, 
 by some tokens ; for there be some that 
 night and day do what they can to counsel 
 the king to break his voyage ; which so 
 troubleth the king, that he can scant get 
 himself any health or recovery of his last 
 sickness.' Thus knights and squires de- 
 vised among themselves, as they rode in 
 their countries.-^ 
 
 Still the king approached to the city of 
 Mans ; and there the king lodged in the 
 castle and his lords in the city and his men 
 of war abroad in the country. There the 
 king tarried a three weeks, for he was sore 
 vexed with the fever, and his physicians said 
 to his brother and to his uncles : ' My lords, 
 we ensure you ye do evil to travail the king, 
 for he is in no good state to ride. Rest 
 
 1 ' Conversed as they rode over The country.' 
 
 were far better for him, for sith he came from 
 the city of Amiens, he hath not been in so 
 good health as he was before. ' They shewed 
 this to the king, but he had so great affec- 
 tion to go in this journey, that he would 
 nother believe them nor yet his physicians, 
 but said how he found more ease in travel- 
 ling than in resting : ' therefore whosoever 
 counsel me to the contrary shall not please 
 me, nor he loveth me not.' Other answer 
 they could not have of the king. Every 
 day the king would sit in the midst of his 
 council till it was noon, to the intent that 
 none should lay any let of his journey. 
 
 Thus the king being at Mans, and some- 
 what to accomphsh the desires of his uncles, 
 he sent four notable knights to the duke of 
 Bretayne, as sir Raynold de Roye, the lord 
 of Garencieres, the lord of Chateaumorand 
 and sir Taupin of Chantemerle, chatelain of 
 Gisors ; and they were charged to shew the 
 duke how the king and his council reputed 
 that he did great offence to sustain the 
 king's enemy and the realm's, and to make 
 amends that he should send sir Peter of 
 Craon to Mans to the king, whereby means 
 should be found that he should take no 
 damage nor his country, for all the king's 
 voyage. Thus they departed from Mans 
 with a forty spears and passed through the 
 city of Angers and at last came before the 
 city of Nantes, and entered and there found 
 the duke, who made them good cheer and 
 on a day made them a dinner and then 
 they did their message and declared the 
 king's intent and his council's. Where- 
 unto the duke answered wisely and sagely, 
 and said how it should be hard for him to 
 deliver sir Peter of Craon, and said, as 
 God might help him in all his business, he 
 knew not where he was. Wherefore he 
 desired them in that case to hold him ex- 
 cused ; but he said he had well heard of 
 him a year past, that he loved not sir Oliver 
 of Clisson, but would make him mortal war 
 to his power, whatsoever end came thereof 
 'And at that time I demanded of him if 
 he had given sir Oliver knowledge thereof, 
 and he said he had utterly defied, and 
 would slay him if he could either by day or 
 by night, wheresoever he could find him. 
 Of his deeds I know no further ; wherefore 
 I have marvel that the king will make war 
 against me for his cause ; for as to the 
 covenants of marriage between our children, 
 
414 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FRO I SS ART 
 
 by the grace of God shall not be broken on 
 my part : wherefore I have done nothing 
 to him nor to his council, that he should 
 make war against me. ' 
 
 This was the answer that the duke made 
 to the French king's messengers ; and so 
 when they had tarried a day at Nantes, 
 then they took their leave and departed 
 and returned to Mans to the king, who 
 thought long till he heard their answer ; 
 and as ye have heard before, they declared 
 it to the king and his council. The dukes 
 of Berry and of Burgoyne were well con- 
 tent with the answer and said it was reason- 
 able ; but the king, by reason of such 
 information as he had, said the contrary, 
 and said, sith he was so forward in his 
 journey, he would not return again into 
 France nor to Paris, till he had brought 
 the duke of Bretaync to reason. Gladly 
 the two dukes of Berry and of Burgoyne 
 would have modered that voyage ; but 
 they might not be heard, for the king had 
 taken such displeasure with the duke of 
 Bretayne, because he sustained sir Peter of 
 Craon, that no excusation could be taken. 
 The same time a bruit ran in France 
 that the queen of Aragon, my lady Yolande 
 of Bar, cousin-german to the French king, 
 had in prison in the city of Barcelona a 
 knight that no man knew his name : men 
 supposed it had been sir Peter of Craon. 
 This queen had written right amiably to 
 the king, signifying him that the fifth day 
 of the month of July a knight in good estate 
 and array came to Barcelona to have passed 
 the sea, and had hired for his money a 
 ship, as he said to have sailed into Naples ; 
 ' and because we keep our passages that no 
 stranger shall pass, without he be known 
 what he is, and this knight will not shew 
 his name, therefore we keep him in prison ; 
 and by the abashment we see in him we 
 think surely it be the same person ye would 
 so fain have. Therefore we write to you 
 thereof, that ye should send some person 
 hither, such as knoweth sir Peter of Craon, 
 to see if it be he or not ; for whatsoever he 
 be, he shall not be delivered till we have 
 answer from you. And I would that these 
 tidings might be agreeable to you and to 
 your council, as knoweth the Holy Ghost, 
 who preserve you. Written at Perpignan 
 the ninth day of July by Yolande of Bar, 
 queen of Aragon and of iWallorca and lady 
 
 of Sardinia.' And on the superscription, 
 ' To the redoubted king of France. ' 
 
 These tidings somewhat modered divers 
 men's hearts, so that they were near at the 
 point to have broken their voyage : how- 
 beit, such as were sir Oliver of Clisson's 
 friends said that those tidings were but 
 feigned tales, made and devised to break 
 the king's voyage, saying that sir Peter of 
 Craon was in none other prison but with 
 the duke of Bretayne, who hath sustained 
 him and doth. Of the queen of Aragon's 
 letter the king made but light, saying it 
 was but treason and fables. Then the duke 
 of Burgoyne said : ' Sir, yet at least to 
 appease my niece the queen of Aragon, 
 and for the deliverance of the knight that 
 is there in prison, who peradventure is 
 nothing guilty of this trespass, send unto 
 her, that she may be content with you and 
 with us.' 'I am content therewith,' quoth 
 the king, ' to please you ; but I believe 
 surely the traitor sir Peter of Craon is in 
 none other Barcelona nor prison, but about 
 the duke of Bretayne, and by my faith that 
 I owe to Saint Denis he shall once make 
 account thereof.' There could no man turn 
 the king from the opinion but that sir Peter 
 of Craon was with the duke of Bretayne. 
 
 The duke of Bretayne, who was well in- 
 formed of all this business, thought himself 
 not well assured ; for he saw well the 
 dukes of Berry and Burgoyne could not 
 bring their purpose about, for sir Oliver 
 of Clisson's friends led the king as they 
 list. Then the duke provided for to keep 
 his towns and garrisons : howbeit, he durst 
 keep no town except Vannes, Quimperle, 
 Dol, Quimper - Corentin, I'Ermine and 
 Sucinis ; and he wrote to such knights and 
 squires as he thought should aid him, but 
 they all dissimuled with him, because they 
 knew that the French king was so sore 
 displeased with him, and also they thought 
 it was not a thing convenable for the duke 
 to sustain sir Peter of Craon against the 
 constable of France, as he did. The duke 
 in a manner repented him that he had 
 done so much : howbeit, his courage and 
 heart was so high, that he disdained to 
 speak it, but said, if the king came into 
 Bretayne, as it seemed he would do, at the 
 beginning he would let him aione, 'and 
 then shall I see who be my friends or foes. 
 I will not be too hasty to make him war ; 
 
MADN-ESS OF THE KING OF FRANCE, 1392 
 
 t'5 
 
 and when he weeneth to be at most rest, 
 then will I awake him, if -I cannot be 
 agreed with him by love.' Thus the duke 
 devised sometime with his council, and 
 thought surely he should have war. How- 
 beit, he had not ; for the matters turned 
 otherwise to his great advantage : there- 
 fore it is an old proverb : ' He is not poor 
 that is happy.' This duke was fortunate 
 by reason of a piteous incident that fell 
 suddenly on the French king ; for other- 
 wise the duke was not likely to have scaped 
 all dangers and to have lived in peace, as 
 he did. 
 
 When the French king had tarried the 
 space of three weeks in the city of Mans, 
 and the knights returned that he had sent 
 into Bretayne, then he said, sith he had 
 heard the duke's answer, he would no 
 longer tarry there, for he said the tarrying 
 there greatly displeased him, and would 
 pass forth into Bretayne to see his enemies, 
 that was the duke of Bretayne, who sus- 
 tained the traitor sir Peter of Craon. The 
 intention of the king was, that if any 
 knights and squires came against him, or 
 that he found any towns closed, he would 
 put down the duke for ever and set a 
 governour in the country till the duke's 
 children were of lawful age, and then 
 render to them the heritage, and the 
 duke never to have any part thereof. This 
 opinion the king held still and no man 
 could put him therefrom, and thus on a 
 fair day about ten of the clock the king 
 departed from the city of Mans and had 
 commanded his marshals the night before 
 to cause all his army both before and 
 behind to dislodge and to draw to Angers, 
 and said that he would not return till he 
 had been in Bretayne and destroyed the 
 traitors that had put him to so much pain 
 and trouble. The marshals did the king's 
 commandment. 
 
 The day that the king departed was 
 marvellous hot, for the sun as then natur- 
 ally was in his chief force, and to the intent 
 to declare the truth of everything, the same 
 season that the king lay at Mans he was 
 sore travailed with daily sitting in council, 
 and also he was not perfectly whole, nor 
 had not been all that season ; he was 
 feeble in his brain and head and did eat or 
 drink but little, and nigh daily was in a 
 hot fever, so that he was greatly annoyed 
 
 and pained, and also for the displeasure 
 that he had for the constable's hurt he 
 was full of melancholy and his spirits 
 sore troubled and travailed ; and that his 
 physicians spied well and so did his uncles, 
 but they could not remedy it, for no man 
 durst counsel him to break his voyage into 
 Bretayne. And as it was informed me, as 
 he rode forward in the forest of Mans, a 
 great signification fell to him, by the which, 
 if he had done well, he should have called 
 his council about him and well advised 
 himself, or he had gone any further. 
 Suddenly there came to the king a poor 
 man, bare-headed, bare-legged and bare- 
 footed, and on his body a poor white coat. 
 He seemed rather to be a fool than wise, 
 and boldly suddenly he took the bridle of 
 the king's horse in his hands and stopped 
 the horse and said : ' Sir king, ride no 
 further forward, for thou art betrayed.' 
 Those words entered into the king's head, 
 whereby he was worse disposed in his 
 health than he was before, so that his heart 
 and his blood was moved. Then the 
 king's servants strake so the poor man. 
 that he let the king's horse go, and made 
 no more of his words than of a fool's speak- 
 ing ; which was folly, as divers men said : 
 for at the least they should have better 
 examined the man and to have seen if he 
 had been a natural fool or no, and to have 
 known from whence he came ; but they 
 did not so, but left him behind, and he 
 was never seen after to any man's know- 
 ledge ; but such as were near to the king 
 heard him speak these words. 
 
 The king passed forth, and about twelve 
 of the clock the king passed out of the 
 forest and came into a great plain all 
 sandy. The sun also was in his height and 
 shone bright, whose rays were marvellously 
 hot, whereby the horses were sore chafed 
 and all such persons as were armed were 
 sore oppressed with heat. The knights 
 rode together by companies, some here and 
 some there, and the king rode somewhat 
 apart because of the dust : and the duke of 
 Berry and the duke of Burgoyne rode on 
 his left hand talking together, an acre 
 breadth of land off from the king. Other 
 lords, as the earl of March, sir Jaques of 
 Bourbon, sir Charles d'Albret, sir Philip 
 d'Artois, sir Henry and sir Philip of Bar, 
 sir Peter of Navarre and other knights rode 
 
4i6 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 by companies : the duke of Bourbon, the 
 lord Coucy, sir Charles de Hangest, the 
 baron d'lvry and divers other rode on be- 
 fore the king and not in his company, and 
 they devised and talked together and took 
 no heed of that fell suddenly on the chief 
 personage of the company, which was on 
 the king's own person. Therefore the 
 works of God are marvellous and his 
 scourges are cruel and are to be doubted 
 of all creatures. There hath been seen in 
 the Old Testament and also in the New 
 many figures and examples thereof: we 
 read how Nabugodonosor, king of Assyrians, 
 who reigned a season in such triumphant 
 glory that there was none like him, and 
 suddenly in his greatest force and glory the 
 sovereign King our Lord God, King of 
 heaven and of earth. Former and Ordainer 
 of all things, apparelled this said king in 
 such wise that he lost his wit and reign, and 
 was seven year in that estate, and lived by 
 acorns and mast that fell from the oaks and 
 other wild apples and fruits, and had taste 
 but as a boar or a swine ; and after he 
 had endured this penance, God restored 
 him again to his memory and wit, and 
 then he said to Daniel the prophet that 
 there was none other God but the God of 
 Israel. Now the Father, the Son and the 
 Holy Ghost, three persons in one God, 
 hath been, is and ever shall be as puissant 
 to shew his works as ever he was ; where- 
 fore no man should marvel of anything that 
 he doth. 
 
 Now to the purpose why I speak all 
 these words. A great influence from 
 heaven fell the said day upon the French 
 king, and as divers said, it was his own 
 fault, for according to the disposition of 
 his body and the state that he was in and 
 the warning that his physicians did give 
 him, he should not have ridden in such a 
 hot day at that hour, but rather in the 
 morning and in the evening in the fresh 
 air : wherefore it was a shame to them that 
 were near about him to suffer or to counsel 
 him to do as he did. Thus as the French 
 king rode upon a fair plain in the heat of 
 the sun, which was as then of a marvellous 
 height, and the king had on a jack covered 
 ^vith black velvet, which sore chafed him, 
 and on his head a single bonnet ' of scarlet 
 
 1 ' Ajacketof blackvelvet, which sore heated him, 
 and on his head a simple bonnet,' etc. 
 
 and a chaplet of great pearls, which the 
 queen had given him at his departure, and 
 he had a page that rode behind him bearing 
 on his head a chapew of Montauban, bright 
 and clear shining against the sun, and 
 behind that page rode another bearing 
 the king's spear, painted red and fringed 
 with silk, with a sharp head of steel : 
 the lord de la Riviere had brought a dozen 
 of them with him from Toulouse, and that 
 was one of them : he had given the whole 
 dozen to the king, and the king had given 
 three of them to his brother the duke of 
 Orleans and three to the duke of Bourbon. 
 And as they rode thus forth, the page that 
 bare the spear, whether it were by negli- 
 gence or that he fell asleep, he let the 
 spear fall on the other page's head that 
 rode before him, and the head of the spear 
 made a great clash on the bright chapew 
 of steel. The king, who rode but afore 
 them, with the noise suddenly started, 
 and his heart trembled and into his im- 
 agination ran the impression of the words of 
 the man that stopped his horse in the forest 
 of Mans, and it ran into his thought that 
 his enemies ran after him to slay and 
 destroy him ; and with that abusion he fell 
 out of his wit by feebleness of his head, 
 and dashed his spurs to his horse and drew 
 out the sword and turned to his pages, 
 having no knowledge of any man, weening 
 in himself to be in a battle enclosed with 
 his enemies, and lift up his sword to strike, 
 he cared not where, and cried and said : 
 ' On, on, upon these traitors ! ' When 
 the pages saw the king so inflamed with 
 ire, they took good heed to themselves, as 
 it was time ; they thought the king had 
 been displeased because the spear fell down: 
 then they stepped away from the king. ^ 
 
 The duke of Orleans was not as then far 
 off from the king. The king came to him 
 with his naked sword in his hand : the 
 king was as then in such a frenzy and his 
 heart so feeble, that he nother knew 
 brother nor uncle. When the duke of 
 Orleans saw the king coming on him with 
 his sword naked in his hand, he was 
 abashed and would not abide him : he 
 wist not what he meant : he dashed his 
 spurs to his horse and rode away, and the 
 king after him. The duke of Burgoyne, 
 
 1 ' They set spurs to their horses, one this way 
 and another that ' : ' stepte ' is probably a misprint. 
 
MADNESS OF THE KING OF FRANCE 
 
 417 
 
 who rode a little way off from the king, 
 when he heard the rushing of the horses 
 and heard the pages cry, he regarded that 
 way and saw how the king with his naked 
 sword chased his brother the duke of 
 Orleans. He was sore abashed and said : 
 'Out, harrow! what mischief is this ? The 
 king is not in his right mind, God help 
 him : fly away, nephew, fly away, for the 
 king would slay you.' The duke of 
 Orleans was not well assured of himself 
 and fled away as fast as his horse might 
 bear him, and knights and squires followed 
 after, every man began to draw thither. 
 Such as were far off thought they had 
 chased an hare or a wolf, till at last they 
 heard that the king was not well in his 
 mind. The duke of Orleans saved him- 
 self. Then men of arms came all about 
 the king and suffered him to weary him- 
 self, and the more that he travailed the 
 feebler he was, and when he strake at any 
 man, they would fall down before the 
 stroke : at this matter there was no hiirt, 
 but many overthrown, for there was none 
 that made any defence. Finally, when the 
 king was well wearied and his horse sore 
 chafed with sweat and great heat, a knight 
 of Normandy, one of the king's chamber- 
 lains, whom the king loved very well, 
 called Guilliam Martel, he came behind the 
 king suddenly and took him in his arms 
 and held him still. Then all other ap- 
 proached and took the sword out of his 
 hands and took him down from his horse 
 and did off his jack to refresh him : then 
 came his brother and his three uncles, 
 but he had clean lost the knowledge of 
 them and rolled his eyen in his head 
 marvellously and spake to no man. The 
 lords of his blood were sore abashed and 
 wist not what to say or do. Then the 
 dukes of Berry and of Burgoyne said : ' It 
 behoveth us to return to Mans : this 
 voyage is done for this time. ' They said 
 not as much as they thought, but they 
 shewed it right well after, when they came 
 to Paris, to such as they loved not, as ye 
 shall hear after. 
 
 Reasonably to consider all things accord- 
 ing to the truth, it was great pity that the 
 French king, who as at that time was re- 
 puted for the most noble and puissant king 
 in all Christendom, fell so suddenly out of 
 his mind without remedy but as God 
 2 E 
 
 would. Then the king was laid in a 
 horse-litter and so brought back again to 
 the city of Mans. Then the marshals 
 gave knowledge to all the army that they 
 should return and how that the voyage 
 was broken as at that time : some had 
 knowledge why, and some not. The 
 night that the king came to Mans, the 
 physicians had much ado with him, and the 
 lords of the blood royal had great trouble. 
 Every man spake then in divers manners : 
 some said that such as had the rule about 
 the king had poisoned him, to bring the 
 realm of France into shame and trouble. 
 These words multiplied in such wise, that 
 the duke of Orleans and his uncles and 
 other lords of the blood royal noted them, 
 and spake together and said : ' How say 
 you, sirs ? have ye not heard these words 
 and how men do murmur in divers places 
 upon them that hath had the governance 
 of the king? Some saith he should be 
 poisoned. Let us search how this may be 
 known.' Then some of them said how it 
 should be best known by the physicians : 
 * they ought to know it, for they are ac- 
 quainted with his complexion.' The 
 physicians were sent for and examined. 
 They answered how the king of long time 
 had engendered the same malady ; * for 
 we knew well the weakness of his brain 
 would sore trouble him and at last shew 
 itself ; we have said as much before this 
 time.' Then the duke of Burgoyne said : 
 ' Sirs, it is true, and therein ye did well 
 acquit yourselves ; but he would neither 
 believe you nor us, his affection was so 
 sore set upon this voyage. It was devised 
 in an evil time : this voyage hath dis- 
 honoured us all ; it had been better that 
 Clisson and all those of his affinity had 
 been dead many a day agone, rather than 
 the king to have taken this malady. These 
 tidings shall spread abroad in many places, 
 and seeing that he is but a young man, the 
 blame shall be laid in us that be his uncles 
 and of his blood. Men will say that we 
 should otherwise have counselled him : 
 thus we shall be laid in the fault with- 
 out cause. But, sirs,' quoth the duke, 
 'yesterday^ when he went to dinner, were 
 ye with hira ? ' The physicians answered 
 and said, 'Yes.' 'Did he eat his meat 
 well ? ' quoth the duke. ' No, certainly,' 
 1 *Huy matin,' 'this morning.' 
 
4i8 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 quoth they, 'he did eat and drink but 
 little, but sat and mused.' 'And who 
 gave him drink last ? ' quoth the duke. 
 'Sir,' quoth they, 'we cannot tell you 
 that, for as soon as the table was taken 
 up, we departed and made us ready to 
 ride, but his chamberlains or butlers can 
 tell that best.' Then Robert de Tanques, 
 a squire of Picardy, was sent for and 
 demanded who gave the king drink last. 
 'Sirs,' quoth he, 'sir Helion of Neilhac' 
 Then he was sent for. Then he was en- 
 quired where he had the wine that the 
 king drank last of in his chamber when he 
 went to his horse. 'Sir,' quoth he, 'here 
 is Robert of Tanques and I, we took the 
 say in the presence of the king.' ' That is 
 true,' quoth Robert of Tanques ; 'ye need 
 not doubt therein nor have any suspicious- 
 ness, for as yet there is of the same wine 
 in the flagons, whereof we will drink and 
 assay before you.' Then the duke of 
 Berry said : ' This need not, for surely the 
 king is not poisoned. His malady pro- 
 ceedeth of evil counsel : it is no time to 
 speak of this matter now ; let all alone till 
 another season.' 
 
 Thus after this manner these lords de- 
 parted each from other that night and 
 went to their lodging. Then the king's 
 uncles had ordained four knights of honour 
 to wait about the king, as sir Raynold of 
 Roye, sir Raynold of Trie, the lord of 
 Garancieres and sir Guilliam of Martel, and 
 the king's uncles sent commandment to the 
 lord de la Riviere and to sir John Mercier, 
 to Montague, to the Begue of Villaines, 
 to sir William of Bordes and to sir Helion 
 of Neilhac, that they should in no wise 
 come about the king, till he were in better 
 estate. The next day the king's uncles 
 came to see the king and found him right 
 feeble. Then they demanded what rest 
 he had taken that night : they were an- 
 swered, 'But small rest.' 'That is poor 
 news,' quoth the duke of Burgoyne. And 
 then to them came the duke of Orleans, 
 and so went all together to the king and 
 demanded of him how he did. He gave 
 none answer and looked strangely on them 
 and had lost clean the knowledge of them. 
 These lords were sore abashed and com- 
 muned together and said : ' We have no 
 more here to do. The king is in an hard 
 case : we do him more trouble than aid or 
 
 good ; let us recommend him to his 
 chamberlains and physicians ; they can 
 best take heed to him : let us go study 
 how the realm may be governed, or else 
 things will go amiss. Then the duke of 
 Burgoyne said to the duke of Berry : ' Fair 
 brother, it is best we draw to Paris and 
 ordain to have the king easily brought 
 thither, for better we shall take heed on 
 him there than here in these parts : and 
 when we be there, let us assemble all the 
 council of France and ordain who shall 
 have the governance of the realm, the 
 duke of Orleans or we.' ' That is well 
 said,' quoth the duke of Berry; 'it were 
 good we studied where were best to have 
 the king to lie, that he might the sooner 
 recover his health.' Then it was devised 
 that he should be brought to the castle of 
 Creil, where is good air and a fair country 
 on the river of Oise. 
 
 When this was ordained, then all the 
 men of war had leave to depart and were 
 commanded by the marshals every man to 
 return peaceably into his own country 
 without doing of any violence or damage 
 to the countries as they should pass through, 
 and if any did, their lords and captains to 
 make amends. And the king's two uncles 
 and the chancellor of France sent anon 
 sundry messengers to the good cities and 
 towns of France, that they should take 
 good heed to keep well their towns, con- 
 sidering that the king was not well dis- 
 posed in his health. Their commandments 
 were fulfilled. The people of the realm of 
 France were sore abashed when they knew 
 how the king was fallen sick and in a 
 frenzy, and men spake largely against 
 them that counselled the king to go into 
 Bretayne ; and some other said how the 
 king was betrayed by them that bare the 
 duke of Bretayne and sir Peter Craon 
 against the king. Men could not be let, 
 but that they would speak : the matter was 
 so high that words ran thereof diversely. 
 
 Thus finally the king was brought to 
 Creil and there left in the keeping of his 
 physicians and of the said four knights : 
 then every man departed. And it was 
 commanded to hide and to keep secret the 
 king's malady from the knowledge of the 
 queen for a season, for as then she was 
 great with child, and all her court were 
 commanded to keep it secret on pain of 
 
DANCE OF SAVAGES, 1393 
 
 419 
 
 great punishment. Thus the king was at 
 Creil in the marches of SenUs and of Com- 
 piegne on the river of Oise, and kept by 
 the said knights and physicians, who gave 
 him medicines, but for all that he recovered 
 but little health. 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXXV, CLXXXVI 
 [CLXXXIX, CXC] 
 
 SUMMARY, — A zvise physician, jnaster 
 William of Harcigny, was entrusted mith the 
 aire of the king^ which he at le7igth effected. 
 In the tneaiz time the dukes of Biirgoyne 
 and Beriy took the govem7nent of the realm 
 and resolved to proceed against the king^s 
 late counsellors. Oliver de Clisson and Mon- 
 tague made their escape, but Le Mercier and 
 the lord de la Riviere were arrested and 
 would have been executed but for the iji- 
 fue^ice of the yoiazg duchess of Berry with 
 her kusbatzd in favour of the lord de la 
 Riviere. Oliver de Clisson was co^tdemited 
 i7t his absence to be deprived of his office and 
 banished the realm of France. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXVII [CXCI] 
 
 How the truce which was accorded between 
 England and France for three years was 
 renewed. 
 
 As ye have heard heretofore in the books 
 of this high and excellent history, at the 
 request of the right high and mighty prince 
 my dear lord and master Guy of Chatillon, 
 earl of Blois, lord of Avesnes, of Chimay, 
 of Beaumont, of Sconnehove and of the 
 Goude, I, John Froissart, priest and 
 chaplain to my said lord, and at that time 
 treasurer and canon of Chimay and of 
 Lille in Flanders, have en terprised this 
 noble matter,^ treating of the adventures 
 and wars of France and England and other 
 countries conjoined and aUied to them, as 
 it may appear clearly by the treaties thereof 
 made unto the date of this present day ; 
 the which excellent matter, as long as I 
 live, by the help of God I shall continue ; 
 
 1 'Me mets en la forge pour ouvrer a forger en 
 la haute et noble matiere,' 'enter into my smithy 
 to work at the forging of this high and noble 
 matter.' This is the preface to the fourth book of 
 the Chronicles. 
 
 for the more I follow and labour it, the 
 more it pleaseth me. As the noble knight 
 or squire loving the feats of arms do per- 
 severe in the same and be thereby expert 
 and made perfect, so in labouring of this 
 noble matter I delight and take pleasure. 
 
 SUM MARY. — The question of peace be- 
 tween Fraitce a7id England was considej'ed 
 in the parliament held in England at 
 Michaelmas, the duke of Lancaster being 
 much in favour of peace, and a truce was 
 taken till the 7iext szi??imer. 
 
 Sir Yvain of Foix was retained at the 
 French king's court as a knight of his 
 chamber. 
 
 CHAPTER CLXXXVIH [CXCII] 
 
 Of the adventure of a dance that was made 
 at Fans in likeness of wodehouses, wherein 
 the French king was in peril of death. 
 
 It fortuned that soon after the retaining of 
 this foresaid knight a marriage was made 
 in the king's house between a young knight 
 of Vermandois and one of the queen's 
 gentlewomen ; and because they were both 
 of the king's house, the king's uncles and 
 other lords, ladies and damosels made 
 great triumph. There was the dukes of 
 Orleans, Berry and Burgoyne and their 
 wives, dancing and making great joy. 
 The king made a great supper to the lords 
 and ladies, and the queen kept her estate, 
 desiring every man to be' merry. And 
 there was a squire of Normandy called 
 Hugonin of Guisay, he advised to make 
 some pastime. The day of the marriage, 
 which was on a Tuesday before Candlemas, 
 he provided for a mummery against night : 
 he devised six coats made of linen cloth 
 covered with pitch and thereon flax like 
 hair, and had them ready in a chamber : 
 the king put on one of them, and the earl 
 of Joigny, a young lusty knight, another, 
 and sir Charles of Poitiers the third, who 
 was son to the earl of Valentinois, and to 
 sir Yvain of Foix another, and the son of 
 the lord Nantouillet had on the fifth, and 
 the squire himself had on the sixth : and 
 when they were thus arrayed in these 
 said coats and sewed fast in them, they 
 seemed hke wild wodehouses full of hair 
 from the top of the head to the sole of 
 
420 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the foot. This devise pleased well the 
 French king, and was well content with 
 the squire for it. They were apparelled in 
 these coats secretly in a chamber, that no 
 man knew thereof but such as holp them. 
 When sir Yvain of Foix had well advised 
 these coats, he said to the king : ' Sir, com- 
 mand straitly that no man approach near 
 us with any torches or fire ; for if the fire 
 fasten in any of these coats, we shall all be 
 brent without remedy.' The king answered 
 and said : ' Yvain, ye speak well and 
 wisely : it shall be done as ye have 
 devised ' : and incontinent sent for an 
 usher of his chamber, commanding him 
 to go into the chamber where the ladies 
 danced and to command all the varlets 
 holding torches to stand up by the walls, 
 and none of them to approach near to the 
 Wodehouses that should come thither to 
 dance. The usher did the king's com- 
 mandment, which was fulfilled. Soon 
 after the duke of Orleans entered into the 
 hall, accompanied with four knights and 
 six torches, and knew nothing of the king's 
 commandment for the torches nor of the 
 mummery that was coming thither, but 
 thought to behold the dancing and began 
 himself to dance. Therewith the king 
 with -the five other came in : they were 
 so disguised in flax, that no man knew 
 them ; five of them were fastened one to 
 another ; the king was loose and went 
 before and led the device. 
 
 When they entered into the hall, every 
 man took so great heed to them that they 
 forgat the torches. The king departed 
 from his company and went to the ladies 
 to sport with them, as youth required, and 
 so passed by the queen and came to the 
 duchess of Berry, who took and held him 
 by the arm to know what he was, but the 
 king would not shew his name. Then the 
 duchess said : ' Ye shall not escape me till 
 I know your name.' In this mean season 
 great mischief fell on the other, and by 
 reason of the duke of Orleans ; howbeit, it 
 was by ignorance and against his will, for 
 if he had considered before the mischief 
 that fell, he would not have done as he did 
 for all the good in the world : but he was 
 so desirous to know what personages the 
 five were that danced, he put one of the 
 torches that his servants held so near, that 
 the heat of the fire entered into the flax 
 
 (wherein if fire take there is no remedy) 
 and suddenly was on a bright flame, and 
 so each of them set fire on other. The 
 pitch was so fastened to the linen cloth, 
 and their shirts so dry and fine and so 
 joining to their flesh, that they began to 
 bren and to cry for help. None durst come 
 near them ; they that did, brent their hands 
 by reason of the heat of the pitch. One of 
 them, called Nantouillet, advised him how 
 the buttery was thereby : he fled thither 
 and cast himself into a vessel full of water, 
 wherein they rinsed pots, which saved him, 
 or else he had been dead as the other were, 
 yet he was sore hurt with the fire. 
 
 When the queen heard the cry that they 
 made, she doubted her of the king, for she 
 knew well that he should be one of the 
 six, wherewith she fell in it swoon, and 
 knights and ladies came and comforted her. 
 A piteous noise there was in the hall. The 
 duchess of Berry delivered the king from 
 that peril, for she did cast over him the 
 train of her gown and covered him from 
 the fire. The king would have gone from 
 her. ' Whither will ye go ? ' quoth she. 
 ' Ye see well how your company brens. 
 What are ye?' 'I am the king,' quoth 
 he. 'Haste you,' quoth she, 'and get you 
 into other apparel, that the queen may see 
 you, for she is in great fear of you.' There- 
 with the king departed out of the hall and 
 in all haste changed his apparel and came 
 to the queen ; and the duchess of Berry 
 had somewhat comforted her and had 
 shewed her how she should see the king 
 shortly : therewith the king came to the 
 queen, and as soon as she saw him, for joy 
 she embraced him and fell in a swoon : 
 then she was borne into her chamber and 
 the king went with her. And the bastard 
 of Foix, who was all on a fire, cried ever 
 with a loud voice : ' Save the king, save 
 the king ! ' Thus was the king saved : it 
 was happy for him that he went from his 
 company, for else he had been dead with- 
 out remedy. 
 
 This great mischief fell thus about mid- 
 night in the hall of Saint -Pol in Paris, 
 where there was two brent to death in the 
 place, and other two, the bastard of Foix and 
 the earl of Joigny, borne to their lodgings 
 and died within two days after in great 
 misery and pain. Thus the feast of this 
 marriage brake up in heaviness ; howbeit, 
 
DANCE OF SAVAGES 
 
 421 
 
 there was no remedy : the fault was only 
 in the duke of Orleans, and yet he thought 
 none evil when he put down the torch. 
 Then the duke said : ' Sirs, let every man 
 know there is no man to blame for this cause, 
 but all only myself: I am sorry thereof: if 
 I had thought as much before, it should 
 not have happened.' Then the duke of 
 Orleans went to the king to excuse him, 
 and the king took his excuse. This case 
 fell in the year of our Lord God a thousand 
 three hundred fourscore and twelve, the 
 Tuesday before the feast of Candlemas ; of 
 which fortune great bruit spread abroad in 
 the realm of France and in other countries. 
 The dukes of Burgoyne and of Berry were 
 not there present at that season : they had 
 taken their leave before of the king and 
 were gone to their lodgings. 
 
 The next day these news spread abroad 
 in the city, and every man had marvel 
 thereof ; and some said how God had sent 
 that token for an ensample, and that it was 
 wisdom for the king to regard it and to 
 withdraw himself from such young idle 
 wantonness, which he had used overmuch, 
 being a king. The commons of the city of 
 Paris murmured and said : ' Behold the 
 great mishap and mischief that was likely 
 to have fallen on the king : he might as 
 well have been brent, as other were. 
 What should have fallen then of the king's 
 uncles and of his brother? They might 
 have been sure none of them should have 
 scaped the death ; yea, and all the knights 
 that might have been found in Paris. ' 
 
 As soon as the dukes of Berry and of 
 Burgoyne heard of that adventure, they 
 were abashed and marvelled greatly. 
 They leapt on their horses and rode to the 
 king and comforted and counselled him ; 
 which was necessary, for he was sore 
 troubled, and the peril that he was in was 
 still in his imagination. He shewed his 
 uncles how his aunt of Berry had saved 
 him ; but he said he was very sorry for the 
 death of the earl of Joigny, of sir Yvam of 
 Foix and of sir Charles of Poitiers. His 
 uncles recomforted him and said : ' Sir, 
 that is lost cannot be recovered : ye must 
 forget the death of them and thank God of 
 the fair adventure that is fallen to your 
 own person ; for all the realm of France 
 by this incident might have been in great 
 danger of losing : for ye may think well 
 
 that these people of Paris will never be 
 still ; for God knoweth, if the misfortune 
 had fallen on you, they would have slain 
 us all. Therefore, sir, apparel you in 
 estate royal and leap on your horse and 
 ride to Our Lady ^ in pilgrimage, and we 
 shall accompany you, and shew yourself to 
 the people, for they desire sore to see you.' 
 The king said he would do so. Then the 
 king's uncles took apart the duke of Orleans 
 and in courteous manner somewhat blamed 
 him of his young deed that he had done. 
 He answered and said how he thought to 
 have done none evil. Then anon after the 
 king and his company leapt on their horses 
 and rode through the city to appease the 
 people, and came to Our Lady church and 
 there heard mass and offered, and then re- 
 turned again to the house of Saint-Pol ; 
 and little by little this matter was forgotten, 
 and the obsequies done for the dead bodies. 
 Ah, earl Gaston of Foix, if this had 
 fortuned in thy life days, thou shouldest 
 have had great displeasure and it had been 
 hard to have peased thee, for thou lovedst 
 him entirely. All lords and ladies through 
 the realm of France and elsewhere, that 
 heard of this chance, had great marvel 
 thereof. 
 
 CHAPTERS CLXXXIX, CXC 
 [CXCin, CXCIV] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The pope at Rome said 
 that this adventure was a warning sent to 
 the king because he supported the pope at 
 Avignon, and despatched a friar as legate to 
 the king. 
 
 The dukes of Berry and Burgtindy con- 
 timied to proceed against the former coun- 
 sellors of the king, and appointed Philip 
 d'Artois, earl of Eu, to be constable of 
 France, who also married the lady Mary, 
 datighter of the duke of Berry. 
 
 In the mean time Oliver de Clisson 
 carried on war with the duke of Brittany. 
 
 CHAPTER CXCI [CXCV] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The dukes of Be7-ry and 
 
 Burgundy met the dukes of Lancaster and 
 
 1 That is, to the church of Notre-Dame. 
 
422 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Gloucester, and at length peace was made 
 between France and England. 
 
 The king fell ill again of his for^iier 
 malady. 
 
 CHAPTER CXCII [CXCVI] 
 
 Of the death of pope Clement at Avignon, 
 and of the election of pope Benedict. 
 
 In- that time in the month of September 
 passed out of the world at Avignon Robert 
 of Geneva, named pope Clement ; and it 
 came by him as he had always said before, 
 when any man spake of the peace and 
 union of the Church, he would say always 
 how he would die pope ; and so he did, 
 in manner as ye have heard herebefore, 
 wrongfully or rightfully I will not deter- 
 mine. Then the cardinals there were sore 
 abashed, and studied whom they might 
 choose to be pope. The same time the 
 French king returned again to his health, 
 whereof all such as loved him had great 
 joy, and specially the good queen, v;'ho had 
 given much alms and done many pilgrim- 
 ages for the king and caused general pro- 
 cessions to be made in Paris. As I was 
 informed, the cardinals at Avignon did 
 elect and choose to be pope the cardinal 
 de Luna. To speak truly, this cardinal 
 was an holy man and of good life. This 
 election was made conditionally that if the 
 French king and his council were content 
 therewith, or else not. Now regard and 
 consider the great subjection that the 
 Church was in, in that where the Church 
 should be free, they submitted them to be 
 under such as should have been ordered by 
 them. Thus this cardinal de Luna was 
 chosen pope and named Benedict : he 
 gave general graces to all clerks that would 
 come to Avignon, and by the counsel of 
 his brethren the cardinals he wrote of the 
 creation of his papality to the French king : 
 but, as I was informed, the king took httle 
 regard thereto ; for as then he was not 
 determined whether he should take him 
 for very pope or not, and thereupon the 
 king sent for the greatest clerks of the 
 university of Paris, to have their advice 
 and counsel. Then master John of Quig- 
 nicourt and master Pier Plaoul, who 
 were in prudence and learning the greatest 
 
 clerks in Paris, said to the king in the 
 name of the whole university, how that 
 the schism of the Church corrupted the 
 Christian faith, and how that it might not 
 long endure in that estate, without all 
 Christendom should repent it and run in 
 great danger, and specially the prelates 
 and priests of the Church. They of the 
 university were determined to send no rolls 
 to Avignon, for any clerks to have any 
 graces of this pope Benedict. The French 
 king saw well their opinions were reason- 
 able and would have none of his clerks 
 enrolled to seek for the pope's graces, till 
 the matter were better determined. Thus 
 that matter abode still in that estate : how- 
 beit the duke of Berry exalted greatly this 
 pope Benedict and sent his roll, whereby 
 much people were purveyed of graces of 
 this Benedict. The duke of Burgoyne and 
 the duchess dissimuled the matter with the 
 king, and so did the duke of Orleans with 
 many other great lords of France ; and 
 some for favour held them to this pope 
 Benedict, who denied no man his graces 
 to the intent that his court at Avignon 
 should be full, and to have the more reputa- 
 tion. The duke of Bretayne followed the 
 French king's opinion, for he was before- 
 time so abused by the information of his 
 cousin the earl of Flanders, that his heart 
 would never incline to believe on pope 
 Clement, though the clerks of Bretayne 
 believed and held him for pope. So when 
 any promotion was void in France, the 
 king promoted his clerks without giving 
 any knowledge thereof to this pope Bene- 
 dict, wherewith he and his cardinals at 
 Avignon were sore abashed and doubted 
 lest the French king would restrain such 
 rents and profits as they were wont to have 
 of the benefices given in the realm of 
 France. Then they determined to send a 
 legate into France, to speak with the king 
 and his council, to know how he would 
 order him against the Church, and to shew 
 him how that he that is chosen pope is 
 under this condition, that if he be pleased, 
 then he to abide still as pope, or else they 
 to put him out of his papality and the 
 cardinals to enter again into conclave and 
 choose one after the king's pleasure. 
 
 At this time was come to Paris and was 
 about the king the friar minor, a meek 
 man, who was sent into France by pope 
 
FROISSART IN ENGLAND, 1395 
 
 423 
 
 Boniface of Rome : the French king heard 
 gladly this friar's preaching. Then came 
 into France the legate from Avignon, who 
 was a great and a subtle clerk, and well 
 languaged. Then the whole university 
 counselled the king and said how it were 
 well done that either Boniface or else 
 BenedictUo be put out of their papality, 
 and all his cardinals to be put out of their 
 cardinalities, and instead of them to be 
 chosen good clerks, wise men and of good 
 conscience, as well of Almaine and France 
 as of other nations, and they to be set 
 together by good deliberation and counsel, 
 without favour or evil will, to set the 
 Church thereby at one point with one 
 pope. They said they saw well there was 
 none other way to bring it to a good con- 
 clusion, because pride and envy so reigned 
 in the world, that the princes and lords 
 each held their own party. This proposi- 
 tion that the university had made before 
 the king pleased right well the king and 
 the dukes of Orleans and of Burgoyne, and 
 the king said he would write and send 
 messengers to the king of Almaine and of 
 Boeme and of Hungary and to the king 
 of England, and he thought himself sure 
 enough of the kings of Castile, of Navarre, 
 of Aragon, of .Sicily, of Naples and of 
 Scotland, that they would obey to such a 
 pope as he and his realm obeyed unto : 
 and upon this the French king sent his 
 letters and messengers to these said kings. 
 There was good leisure in doing of this, 
 both in going and coming again with 
 answer. And in the mean time there 
 passed out of this world at Paris the noble 
 clerk, master John of Quignicourt, of whose 
 death the king and the lords and the whole 
 university were right sorry, for he left not 
 his fellow behind him, and he had in his 
 days taken great pain to reform the Church 
 and to have brought it into a perfect unity. 
 
 CHAPTERS CXCHI-CXCV 
 [CXCVII-CXCIX] 
 
 SUMMAR V. — Master John of Varennes 
 resigned his rich benefices and retired to 
 Saint-Lie near Rheivzs, where he led a holy 
 life and was by some reputed a saint. 
 
 The ki7ig of England gave to the duke of 
 Lancaster and his heirs the duchy of Acqui- 
 
 taine : he himself prepared for a voyage to 
 Ireland, 
 
 At this season the queen of England, the 
 lady Anne of Bohemia, fell sick and died. 
 By this the voyage to Irelandwas delayed, but 
 at length the king and his army passed over, 
 and lodged in and about the city of Dublin. 
 
 CHAPTER CXCVI [CC] 
 
 How sir John Froissart arrived in England, 
 and of the gift of a book that he gave to 
 the king. 
 
 True it was that I, sir John Froissart, as at 
 that time treasurer and canon of Chimay in 
 the earldom of Hainault, in the diocese of 
 Liege, had great affection to go and see 
 the realm of England, when I had been in 
 Abbeville and saw that truce was taken 
 between the realms of England and France 
 and other countries to them conjoined and 
 their adherents, to endure four years by 
 sea and by land. Many reasons moved 
 me to make that voyage : one was because 
 in my youth I had been brought up in the 
 court of the noble king Edward the third 
 and of queen Philippa his wife, and among 
 their children and other barons of England 
 that as then were alive, in whom I found 
 all nobleness, honour, largess and courtesy. 
 Therefore I desired to see the country, 
 thinking thereby I should live much the 
 longer ; for I had not been there twenty- 
 seven year before, and I thought, though I 
 saw not those lords that I left alive there, 
 yet at the least I should see their heirs, 
 the which should do me much good to see, 
 and also to justify the histories and matters 
 that' I had written of them : and or I took 
 my journey, I spake with duke Aubert of 
 Bavier and with the earl of Hainault,' 
 Holland, Zealand and lord of Frise, and 
 with my lord William earl of Ostrevant, 
 and with my right honourable lady Jane, 
 duchess of Brabant and of Lu.xembourg, 
 and with the lord Enguerrand, lord Coucy, 
 and with the gentle knight the lord of 
 Gommegnies, who in his youth and mine 
 had been together in England in the king's 
 
 1 Is It possible that the translator was not yet 
 aware that duke Aubert of Bavaria was the ear! 
 of Hainault, Holland, etc. ? If not, the original 
 text here ought to have informed him. 
 
424 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 court : in like wise so had I seen there the 
 lord of Coucy and divers other nobles of 
 France holding great households in Lon- 
 don,' when they lay there in hostage for 
 the redemption of king John, as then 
 French king, as it hath been shewed here- 
 before in this history. These said lords 
 and the duchess of Brabant counselled me 
 to take this journey, and gave me letters of 
 recommendation to the king of England 
 and to his uncles, saving the lord Coucy : 
 he would not write to the king, because he 
 was a Frenchman, therefore he durst not, 
 but to his daughter, who as then was 
 called duchess of Ireland. And I had en- 
 grossed in a fair book well enlumined all 
 the matters of amours and moralities that 
 in four and twenty years before I had made 
 and compiled, which greatly quickened my 
 desire to go into England to see king 
 Kichard, who was son to the noble prince 
 of Wales and of Acquitaine, for I had 
 not seen this king Richard sith he was 
 christened in the cathedral church of Bor- 
 deaux, at which time I was there and 
 thought to have gone with the prince the 
 journey into Galicia in Spain, and when 
 we were in the city of Dax, the prince sent 
 me back into England to the queen his 
 mother. 
 
 For these causes and other I had great 
 desire to go into England to see the king 
 and his uncles. Also I had this said fair 
 book well covered with velvet garnished 
 with clasps of silver and gilt, thereof to 
 make a present to the king at my first 
 coming to his presence. I had such desire 
 to go this voyage, that the pain and travail 
 grieved me nothing. Thus provided of 
 horses and other necessaries, I passed the 
 sea at Calais and came to Dover the twelfth 
 day of the month of July. When I came 
 there, I found no man of my knowledge, it 
 was so long sith I had been in England, 
 and the houses were all newly changed, 
 and young children were become men, and 
 the women knew me not, nor I them.' 
 So I abode half a day and all a night at 
 Dover : it was on a Tuesday, and the next 
 
 ' ' Qui a Londres avoient tenu hostagerie,' ' who 
 had been hostages in London.' The words ' when 
 they lay there in hostage ' are inserted by the trans- 
 lator to supply the place of the above, which he 
 misunderstood. 
 
 2 ' And the young children were become men and 
 women, who knew me not, nor I them.' 
 
 day by nine of the clock I came to Canter- 
 bury to Saint Thomas' shrine and to the 
 tomb of the noble prince of Wales, who is 
 there interred right richly. There I heard 
 mass and made mine offering to the holy 
 saint, and then dined at my lodging, and 
 there I was informed how king Richard 
 should be there the next day on pilgrimage, 
 which was after his return out of Ireland, 
 where he had been the space of nine 
 months or thereabout. The king had a 
 devotion to visit Saint Thomas' shrine, 
 and also because the prince his father was 
 there buried. Then I thought to abide the 
 king there, and so I did ; and the next 
 day the king came thither with a noble 
 company of lords, ladies and damosels : 
 and when I was among them, they seemed 
 to me all new folks, I knew no person ; 
 the time was sore changed in twenty-eight 
 year, and with the king as then was none 
 of his uncles. The duke of Lancaster was 
 in Acquitaine, and the dukes of York and 
 Gloucester were in other businesses, so 
 that I was at the first all abashed, for if I 
 had seen any ancient knight that had been 
 with king Edward or with the prince, I 
 had been well recomforted and would have 
 gone to him, but I could see none such. 
 Then I demanded for a knight called sir 
 Richard Stuiy, whether he were alive or 
 not, and it was shewed me, yes, but he 
 was at London. Then I thought 'to go to 
 the lord Thomas Percy, great seneschal of 
 England, who was there with the king; 
 so I acquainted me with him and I found 
 him right honourable and gracious, and he 
 offered to present me and my letters to the 
 king, whereof I was right joyful, for it be- 
 hoved me to have some means to bring me 
 to the presence of such a prince as the king 
 of England was. He went to the king's 
 chamber, at which time the king was gone 
 to sleep, and so he shewed me and bade 
 me return to my lodging and come again, 
 and so I did. And when I came to the 
 bishop's palace, I found the lord Thomas 
 Percy ready to ride to Ospringe, and he 
 counselled me to make as then no know- 
 ledge of my being there, but to follow the 
 court, and said he would cause me ever to 
 be well lodged till the king should be at 
 the fair castle of Leeds in Kent. I ordered 
 me after his counsel and rode before to 
 Ospringe, and by adventure I was lodged 
 
FROISSAJiT IN ENGLAND 
 
 in an house where was lodged a gentle 
 knight of England called sir William Lisle. 
 He was tarried there behind the king, 
 because he had pain in his head all the 
 night before : he was one of the king's 
 privy chamber, and when he saw that I 
 was a stranger and, as he thought, of the 
 marches of France, because of my lan- 
 guage, we fell in acquaintance together ; 
 for gentlemen of England are courteous, 
 treatable and glad of acquaintance. Then 
 he demanded what I was and what busi- 
 ness I had to do in those parts : I shewed 
 him a great part of my coming thither and 
 all that the lord Thomas Percy had said 
 to me and ordered me to do. He then 
 answered and said how I could not have a 
 better mean, and that on the Friday the 
 king should be at the castle of Leeds ; and 
 he shewed me that when I came there, I 
 should find there the duke of York, the 
 king's uncle, whereof I was right glad, 
 because I had letters directed to him, and 
 also that in his youth he had seen me in 
 the court of the noble king Edward his 
 father and with the queen his mother. 
 
 Then on the Friday in the morning sir 
 William Lisle and I rode together, and on 
 the way I demanded of him if he had been 
 with the king in the voyage into Ireland. 
 He answered me, yes. Then I demanded 
 of him the manner of the hole that is in 
 Ireland, called Saint Patrick's purgatory, 
 if it were true that was said of it or not. 
 Then he said that of a surety such a hole 
 there was, and that he himself and another 
 knight of England had been there, while 
 the king lay at Dublin, and said how they 
 entered into the hole and were closed in 
 at the sun going down and abode there all 
 night, and the ne.xt morning issued out 
 again at the sun-rising. Then I demanded 
 if he had any such strange sights or visions 
 as were spoken of Then he said how that 
 when he and his fellow were entered and 
 past the gate that was called the purgatory 
 of Saint Patrick, and that they were de- 
 scended and gone down three or four 
 paces, descending down as into a cellar, 
 a certain hot vapour rose against them and 
 strake so into their heads, that they were 
 fain to sit down on the stairs, which are of 
 stone. And after they had sat there a 
 season, they had great desire to sleep, and 
 so fell asleep and slept there all night. 
 
 425 
 
 Then I demanded that if in their sleep 
 they knew where they were, or what visions 
 they had. He answered me that in sleep- 
 ing they entered into great imaginations 
 and in marvellous dreams, otherwise than 
 they were wont to have in their chambers, 
 and in the morning they issued out and 
 within a short season clean forgat their 
 dreams and visions ; wherefore he said he 
 thought all that matter was but a fantasy. 
 Then I left speaking any further of that 
 matter, because I would fain have known 
 of him what was done in the voyage in 
 Ireland, and I thought as then to have 
 demanded what the king had done in 
 that journey ; but then company of other 
 knights came and fell in communication 
 with him, so that I left my purpose for 
 that time. 
 
 Thus we rode to Leeds, and thither came 
 the king and all his company, and there I 
 found the lord Edmund duke of York. 
 Then I went to him and delivered my 
 letters from the earl of Hainault his cousin 
 and from the earl of Ostrevant. The duke 
 knew me well and made me good cheer 
 and said : ' Sir John, hold you always near 
 to us and we shall shew you love and 
 courtesy : we are bound thereto for the 
 love of time past and for love of my lady 
 the old queen my mother, in whose court 
 ye were, we have good remembrance 
 thereof.' Then I thanked him, as reason 
 required ; so I was advanced by reason of 
 him and sir Thomas Percy and sir William 
 Lisle ; by their means I was brought into 
 the king's chamber, and into his presence 
 by means of his uncle the duke of York. 
 Then I delivered my letters to the king, 
 and he took and read them at good leisure. 
 Then he said to me that I was welcome, 
 as he that had been and is of the English 
 court. As on that day I shewed not the 
 king the book that I had brought for him ; 
 he was so sore occupied with great affairs, 
 that I had as then no leisure to present my 
 book. The king was sore busied there in 
 council for two great and mighty matters : 
 first was in determining to send sufficient 
 messengers, as the earl of Rutland, his 
 cousin-german, and the earl marshal,' the 
 archbishop of Dublin, the bishop of Ely, 
 the lord Louis Clifford, the lord Henry 
 
 1 Thomas Mowbray, earl of Nottingham, after- 
 wards (1397) duke of Norfolk. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Beaumont, the lord Hugh Spencer and 
 many other, over the sea to Charles the 
 French king to treat with him for a 
 marriage to be had between the king of 
 England and the French king's eldest 
 daughter, named Isabel, of the age of eight 
 years. The second cause was, the lord de 
 la Barthe, the lord of Terride, the lord of 
 Puycornet, the lord of Castelnau, the lord 
 of Lesque, the lord of Caupene, and the 
 councillors of Bordeaux, Bayonne and of 
 Dax were come into England and had 
 quickly pursued their matter sith the king's 
 return out of Ireland, to have an answer of 
 the requests and process that they had 
 put forth to the king on the gift that the 
 king had given to his uncle the duke of 
 Lancaster of the lands, seignories, lordships 
 and baronies in Acquitaine, which they 
 verified to pertain to the king and realm of 
 England. They had alleged to the king 
 and his council that his gift might not pass 
 so, because it was unprofitable and inutile : 
 for they said all those lands held of right 
 and of the demain of the crown of Eng- 
 land ; wherefore they said they would not 
 disjoin nor dissever them from the crown. 
 They alleged furthermore many other 
 reasonable causes, as ye shall hear after in 
 this process : but thus to have counsel of 
 those two great matters, the king had sent 
 for the most part of the prelates and lords 
 of England to be at the feast of Maudlin- 
 tide at a manor of the king's called Eltham, 
 a seven English miles from London. And 
 when they had tarried at Leeds a four days, 
 the king returned to Rochester and so to 
 Eltham, and so I rode forth in the king's 
 company. 
 
 CHAPTER CXCVII [CCI] 
 
 SUMMARY. —In riding to Eltham, 
 Froissart was informed by sir John de 
 Grailly of the state of things in Acqiutaine, 
 and how the people there refused to accept 
 the duke of La^uaster as their sovereign 
 lord. Also of the king s proposed marriage. 
 
 The chapter thus continues : — 
 
 Thus this gentle knight sir John of 
 Grailly and I devised together, as we rode 
 between Rochester and Dartford. This 
 knight was captain of Boutcville, bastard 
 
 son sometime to the captal of Buch, and I 
 heard his words gladly and did put them 
 in memory ; and all the way between 
 Leeds and Eltham I rode most part in his 
 company and with sir William Lisle. 
 Thus the king came to Eltham on a Tues- 
 day, and on the Wednesday the lords of 
 all coasts began to assemble. Thither 
 came the duke of Gloucester and the earls 
 of Derby, Arundel, Northumberland, 
 Kent, Rutland, and the earl marshal and 
 the archbishops of Canterbury and York, 
 and the bishops of London and Win- 
 chester. And on the Thursday about the 
 hour of three they assembled together in 
 the king's chamber in the king's presence. 
 Then the knights of Gascoyrie were sent for 
 and the councillors of the good towns, 
 and also the duke of Lancaster's counsel 
 was sent for. I was not present, nor might 
 not be suffered : there were none but the 
 lords of the council, who debated the 
 matter more than four hours. And after 
 dinner I fell in acquaintance with an 
 ancient knight, whom I knew in king 
 Edward's days, and he was as then of king 
 Richard's privy council ; he was called sir 
 Richard Stury. He knew me anon, and yet 
 in twenty-four years he had not seen me 
 before, which was at Codenberg and at 
 Brussels ^ in the house of duke Wenceslas 
 of Brabant and of the duchess Jane of 
 Brabant. This knight sir Richard Stury 
 made me good cheer and demanded of me 
 many things, and I answered him as I 
 knew ; and as I walked up and down with 
 him in a gallery before the king's chamber, 
 I demanded him questions of that council 
 and desired him to tell me, if he might, 
 what conclusion was taken. He heard me 
 well and paused a little, and afterward 
 said : ' Sir John, I shall shew you, for it is 
 no matter to be hidden and kept secret ; 
 for shortly ye shall hear them published all 
 openly. Ye know well, ' quoth he, ' and 
 I am sure ye have heard rehearsed how the 
 duke of Lancaster is gone into Acquitaine 
 to rejoice the gift^ that the king my sove- 
 reign lord hath given him for the love that 
 he hath to him ; for he hath done the king 
 right good service and the crown of Eng- 
 land, therefore in reward the king hath 
 
 1 ' At Codenberg in Brussels,' the palace of the 
 duke of Brabant. 
 
 2 ' Is gone into Acquitaine, and of the gift,' etc. 
 
DEBATE IN THE PRIVY COUNCIL, 1395 
 
 427 
 
 clearly given to him and to his heirs for 
 ever the whole duchy of Acquitaine, so as 
 it extendeth in metes and limitations, 
 seneschallies, bailiages, seignories and 
 vassalages, and clean quitteth all them that 
 hold of him by faith or oath and in all 
 homage, the resort reserved ; ^ more the 
 king hath [not] reserved to the crown of 
 England in time to come : and this gift is 
 so sufficiently confirmed, that all the king's 
 other uncles and all the council of England 
 hath accorded thereto, and the king hath 
 given special commandment to all his 
 subjects in the said limitations of Acqui- 
 taine to obey in all points without any 
 other mean his dear and well beloved 
 uncle duke John of Lancaster, and after 
 the sight of his letters to hold and to take 
 him to their sovereign lord and to swear to 
 him faith and homage and to hold of him 
 truly, as they have anciently done and held 
 at the date of those letters given by the 
 king of England or his deputies or commis- 
 sioners, and whosoever that rebelleth or 
 speaketh against this the king's grant, of 
 what condition soever he be, to answer 
 thereto within three days. The king gave 
 to his uncle of Lancaster and to his com- 
 missioners full power and puissance to 
 correct them and to put them out of all 
 hope to have any other return or resort ; 
 yet notwithstanding all these letters and 
 strait commandment of the king, the good 
 towns and cities of Gascoyne under the 
 king of England's obeisance and all other 
 lords, knights and gentlemen of the country 
 are conjoined together to keep their towns 
 close against the duke,^ and will not nor 
 are not in mind to obey the duke in this 
 case : for they say and have said and yet 
 sustain at this hour that the gift that the 
 king hath given to his uncle of Lancaster 
 is not sufficient nor profitable,^ and out of 
 the order of reason ; and the duke, who 
 would not win them but by gentleness, 
 heard patiently their defences. And that 
 no further inconveniences should ensue, 
 therefore his counsel and their counsels 
 are come hither to debate and to declare 
 
 1 That is, the right of appeal to the crown of 
 England reserved. 
 
 2 ' Have joined and formed an alhance together 
 against the duke ' (' se sent conjoints et adhers en- 
 semble et clos,' etc.). The translator mistook the 
 meaning of ' clos.' 
 
 3 ' Inutille ' ; that is, ' null and void. ' 
 
 the cause why they do not obey the king's 
 commandment. And surely as this day 
 they have right wisely shewed their answer 
 and laid forth certain articles of reason, 
 and they have been well heard : and they 
 have laid such reasons that in a manner 
 the king and his council think they have 
 cause to abide by their quarrel. I shall 
 shew you how, but I would ye keep it 
 secret till it be known further abroad.' 
 And I answered I would so do. 
 
 'Well,' quoth the knight, 'one (as me- 
 thought was official of Bordeaux) spake for 
 all his party, and first shewed forth his pro- 
 curation and authority to the intent he 
 might the better [be] believed, and then 
 began and said that the city of Bordeaux 
 and the cities of Bayonne and Dax, and all 
 the seignories and lordships that be append- 
 ant to the limits of the said countries and 
 cities, are of so noble condition, that no 
 king of England by no manner of action or 
 deed may put away or dissever them from 
 the demains of the crown of England, nor 
 to give or alienate them to child, uncle 
 nor brother by reason of marriage or other- 
 wise : " and to verify this we say that the 
 above named towns, cities and seignories 
 are sufficiently privileged by kings of Eng- 
 land, who have sworn faithfully to hold 
 and to keep us so without revocation ; for 
 as soon as any king of England entereth 
 into the possession of the heritage of the 
 crown of England, he sweareth sufficiently 
 on the Evangelists to hold this firm and 
 stable without breaking : and ye, right 
 dear sir, as king of England, have made 
 like oath. And, sir, to verify this to be of 
 truth, behold here these writings." And 
 therewith he shewed forth letters and 
 charters under the signs of notaries im- 
 perials ' and sealed with the great seal of 
 England, given by the same king Richard 
 there being present ; and there openly he 
 read it from clause to clause. The charter 
 was well heard and understanded, for it 
 was both in Latin and in French ; and it 
 named in the end many witnesses of pre- 
 lates and great lords of England, who were 
 for the more surety tests of that deed, at 
 the least to the number of eleven. When 
 the king's council heard this, they beheld 
 each other and looked on the king : there 
 was no man spake a word nor made no 
 1 ' Tabellionni^es,' 'drawn up in form.' 
 
428 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 replication. When he had read it over, 
 he folded it and put it up and spake further, 
 addressing his words to the king, and said : 
 "Right dear sir and redoubted sovereign 
 lord, and you my right dear lords and 
 other, at my departing out of the country I 
 was charged to shew you by the councillors 
 of the good cities and towns of Gascoyne, 
 being under the obeisance of the crown of 
 England, who hath well overseen the form 
 and manner of your commandment sent 
 unto them under your seal, which they 
 knew right well, yet they think and say 
 that this commandment may not be 
 obeyed ; ' for if so were that the cities 
 and good towns of Guyenne would incline 
 to receive the duke of Lancaster to their 
 lord and acquit for ever the homage and 
 obeisance that they owe to you, it should 
 be greatly to the prejudice of the crown of 
 England : for though it were so, that at 
 this time present the duke of Lancaster is 
 the king's uncle and subject and well 
 beloved, and would hold and keep all 
 points and articles belonging to the crown 
 of England, yet it may so hap that such love 
 and tenure may lightly be lost by change 
 of heirs by reason of marriages that are 
 made between lords and ladies in changing 
 from one to another,^ though they be near 
 of lineage, by dispensation of the pope. 
 For sometime it is of necessity that mar- 
 riages be made of high princes or of their 
 children one with another, to hold their 
 lands and seignories in love and amity ; 
 and so it might fall that such heirs as 
 might descend of the duke of Lancaster 
 should conjoin them by marriage to the 
 children of some king in France, or of 
 dukes of Berry, Bretayne, or earls of Foix 
 or Armagnac, or kings of Navarre, or 
 dukes of Anjou or of Maine ; and then 
 they, being beyond the sea peradventure in 
 the parts of France, should claim their 
 inheritance and thereby put the country of 
 Guyenne in discord and to bring it to be 
 against the crown of England ; whereby 
 
 ^ This.is partly corrupt and partly mistranslated : 
 the speaker said in effect : ' I was charged also to 
 shew you another consideration, which the coun- 
 cillors of the good towns have had on the form of 
 your mandate, granting that this thing may be, 
 which cannot be ; and the consideration is this : 
 that if,' etc. But the French text gave 'pos^ qu'il 
 soit et qu'il ne peut estre,' for ' pos^ qu'il soit ce 
 qu'il ne pent estre.' 
 
 - ' Between lords and ladies one with another.' 
 
 the king of England then reigning and the 
 realm also should have peradventure over- 
 much pain to recover it again, and so the 
 right to be put far off from thence, where- 
 unto it should return and be, as of the 
 demain of the crown of England. Where- 
 fore, right dear sir and redoubted lords 
 and noble councillors, please it you to 
 consider all these points and articles ■ft'hicli 
 I have proposed in your presence, and 
 determine it as ye shall seem best ; for, sir, 
 the full opinion of all the country is, they 
 say they will abide still in the obeisance of 
 you, right redoubted lord and king, and in 
 the demain of the noble crown of England." 
 ' Therewith this official held his peace, 
 and the prelates and lords each of them 
 regarded other. Then they drew together 
 and approached to the king, first his two 
 uncles and the earls of Derby and Arundel. 
 Then they of Acquitaine were commanded 
 to depart till they were called again : they 
 departed, and also the two knights that 
 were come thither from the duke of 
 Lancaster. Then the king demanded 
 counsel what should be done and what 
 answer should be made. The prelates 
 turned the answer to the king's uncles, 
 because the matter touched them rather 
 than any other. At the first they excused 
 them, saying they might not well answer, 
 for the matter was common and ought to 
 be debated by common counsel and not by 
 lineage nor favour. Thus they bode a good 
 space, but finally the answer was laid on 
 the duke of Gloucester and he was prayed 
 and required to say his advice. Then he 
 answered and said how it was a hard thing 
 to take away or to disannul the gift of a 
 king, confirmed and sealed by the accord of 
 all his subjects and by deliberation of his 
 special council ; wherefore, he said, his 
 subjects should be rebel that would not 
 obey,^ for in that they would make that 
 the king should not be lord of his own in- 
 heritance, if that he might not do with his 
 own what it pleased him. Some glosed 
 those words, and some thought in their 
 courage that the answer was not reason- 
 able, but they durst not say against it, the 
 duke of Gloucester was so sore dread ; 
 and the earl of Derby, son to the duke of 
 
 1 We ought to read, ' although his subjects should 
 rebel against it,' but the translator was pti2zled by 
 finding '.que' instead of 'quoyque.' 
 
DEBATE IN THE PRIVY COUNCIL 
 
 429 
 
 Lancaster, was there present, who furthered 
 those words and said : " Fair uncle, ye 
 have well said: I am of your opinion." 
 Therewith the council began to break, and 
 some murmured one with another, and they 
 of Guyenne nor yet the duke of Lancaster's 
 knights were not called again at that time. 
 When the king saw all the matter, he dis- 
 simuled a Httle, and it was his intention 
 that they should assemble together again 
 in council after dinner, to see if any other 
 proper way might be taken for the honour 
 of the crown of England. Then the king 
 caused the bishop of Canterbury to speak 
 of that he had given him in charge in the 
 morning to speak of; that was upon the 
 state of his marriage, and to send into 
 France. The lords were of accord and 
 named them that should go, which were the 
 archbishop of Dublin, the earl of Rutland, 
 the ear] marshal, the lord Beaumont, the 
 lord Hugh Spenser, the lord Louis Clifford 
 and twenty knights and forty squires.' 
 
 These were sent into France to treat for 
 the marriage of the French king's daughter 
 Isabel of eight year of age, and yet she was 
 already promised to the duke of Bretayne's 
 son by a treaty that was made in Tours in 
 Touraine. Now behold how this might be 
 broken, for the French king and his uncles 
 had sealed^ with the duke of Bretayne. 
 Yet for all that the English ambassadors 
 had their charge given unto them, and so 
 they departed out of England and arrived 
 at Calais, and there tarried a five days and 
 then departed in great array and took the 
 way to Amiens ; and they sent before 
 March the herald, who had brought to 
 them safe-conduct going and coming, and 
 beside that the lord Montcavrel was set to 
 be their guide and to see them served of all 
 things necessary. 
 
 Now we shall leave to speak of them 
 and return to our first purpose. 
 
 Now, as I have shewed you before, the 
 councillors of the cities and good towns of 
 Acquitaine prayed the king and his council, 
 to whom they were bound, to maintain 
 their liberties and franchises as in the 
 demain of the crown of England, as he 
 was sworn to do, affirming that surely they 
 
 ^ 'Consider how this may be broken, for the 
 French king and his uncles have sealed,' etc. He 
 is speaking of the matter as not yet concluded, 
 though the embassy has been sent into France. 
 
 would keep their ancient liberties and will 
 not break it for no manner of cause or con- 
 dition ; and in holding thus their opinion 
 four parts of the council and the common 
 voice of the country reputed them for 
 valiant and worthy men. But the duke of 
 Gloucester was of another opinion ; for he 
 would that his brother the duke of Lancas- 
 ter should have bidden still in Acquitaine, 
 for he thought he was over great in Eng- 
 land and too near the king. As for his 
 brother the duke of York, he cared not, 
 for the duke of York was a prince that 
 loved his ease and little business : also he 
 had a fair lady to his wife, daughter to the 
 earl of Kent, on whom was all his pleasure. 
 But the duke of Gloucester was subtle and 
 ever demanded somewhat of his nephew 
 king Richard ; yet he was but poor, for all 
 that he was a great lord and constable of 
 England and earl of Hereford and of 
 Exeter and of Buckingham, and also he 
 had yearly out of the king's coffers four 
 thousand nobles, and never rode on the 
 king's business nor for the realm one day, 
 without he knew why and wherefore. For 
 these causes he was not indifferent for the 
 matters of Acquitaine, for he would have 
 had his brother of Lancaster to have bidden 
 still in Acquitaine for ever, for then he 
 thought he would have shifted well enough 
 in England. As soon as he had said his 
 sentence, as ye have heard before, and that 
 he saw some murmured in the king's 
 chamber, and that the prelates and lords 
 talked together two and two, he issued out 
 of the chamber, and the earl of Derby with 
 him, and came into the hall at Eltham 
 and made a cloth to be laid on a table, and 
 so sat down to dinner and left all other 
 still talking together. When the duke of 
 York knew that he was at dinner, he went 
 to keep him company, and after dinner, 
 which he made short, the duke of Glou- 
 cester dissimuled the matter and took his 
 leave of the king sitting at the table, and 
 so departed and took his horse and rode to 
 London ; and the earl of Derby abode still 
 with the lords that day and the next day. 
 Thus they of Acquitaine could have none 
 expedition nor deliverance. 
 
 I have delight to write this matter at 
 length because to inform you of the truth : 
 for I, that am author of this history, was 
 present in all these matters, and this valiant 
 
43° 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 knight sir Richard Stury shewed me every- 
 thing.' And so it was, that on the Sunday 
 following all such as had been there were 
 departed, and all these councillors, except 
 the duke of York, who abode still about 
 the king ; and the lord Thomes Percy and 
 sir Richard Stury shewed my business to 
 the king.^ Then the king desired to see 
 my book that I had brought for him ; so 
 he saw it in his chamber, for I had laid it 
 there ready on his bed. When the king 
 opened it, it pleased him well, for it was 
 fair enlumined and written, and covered 
 with crimson velvet, with ten buttons of 
 silver and gilt, and roses of gold in the midst, 
 with two great clasps gilt, richly wrought. 
 Then the king demanded me whereof it 
 treated, and I shewed him how it treated 
 matters of love ; whereof the king was 
 glad and looked in it and read it in many 
 places, for he could speak and read French 
 very well. And he took it to ^ a knight of 
 his chamber named sir Richard Credon, to 
 bear it into his secret chamber. And the 
 same Sunday I fell in acquaintance with a 
 squire of England called Henry Christead,^ 
 an honest man and a wise, and could well 
 speak French. He companied with me, 
 because he saw the king and other lords 
 make me good cheer, and also he had seen 
 the book that I gave to the king ; also sir 
 Richard Stury had shewed him how I was 
 a maker of histories. Then he said to me 
 as hereafter foUoweth. 
 
 CHAPTER CXCVni [CCII] 
 
 The device and of the conquest ^ that king 
 Richard had made in Ireland, and how 
 he brought into his obeisance four kings 
 of that country. 
 
 ' Sir John,' quoth he, ' have ye not found 
 in the king's court sith ye came hither no 
 
 1 In the fuller text we read also : ' while walking 
 in the galleries at Eltham, where it was very plea- 
 sant and shady, for those galleries {or alleys) were 
 then covered with vines.' 
 
 - ' E.xcept the duke of York, who abode with the 
 king, and sir Richard Stury ; and these two with 
 sir Thomas Percy shewed my business to the king.' 
 
 3 'He caused it to be taken by.' 
 
 ** Perhaps the name was Chrystead or Chrystal. 
 The French text here has ' Castide,' but afterwards 
 ' ChristalL' Another reading is Cristede. 
 
 ^ 'La devise du voyage,' 'the account of the 
 voyage, ' 
 
 man that hath told you of the voyage that 
 the king made but late into Ireland, and 
 in what manner the four kings of Ireland 
 are come into the obeisance of the king 
 of England?' And I answered, 'No.' 
 'Then shall I shew you,' quoth the squire, 
 ' to the intent that ye may put it in per- 
 petual memory, when ye return into your 
 own country and have leisure thereto.' I 
 was rejoiced of his words and thanked 
 him : then he began thus and said : ' Sir 
 John, it is not in memory that either any 
 king of England made such apparel and 
 provisioh for any journey to make war 
 against the Irishmen, nor such a number 
 of men of arms nor archers. The king 
 was nine months in the marches of Ireland 
 to his great cost and charge to the realm, 
 for they bare all his expenses ; and the 
 merchants, cities and good towns of the 
 realm thought it well bestowed, when they 
 saw the king return home again with 
 honour. The number that he had thither, 
 gentlemen and archers, were four thousand 
 knights and thirty thousand archers, well 
 paid weekly, that every man was well 
 pleased. But I shew you, because ye 
 should know the truth, Ireland is one of 
 the evil countries of the world to make war 
 upon or to bring under subjection, for it is 
 closed strongly and widely with high forests 
 and great waters and marishes and places 
 inhabitable : it is hard to enter to do them 
 of the country any damage, nor ye shall 
 find no town nor person to speak withal ; 
 for the men draw to the woods and dwell 
 in caves and small cottages under trees and 
 among bushes and hedges like wild savage 
 beasts, and when they know that any man 
 maketh war against them and is entered into 
 their countries, then they draw together to 
 the straits and passages and defend it, so 
 that no man can enter into them, and when 
 they see their time, they will soon take 
 their advantage on their enemies, for they 
 know the country and are light people : 
 for a man of arms being never so well 
 horsed and run as fast as he can, the Irish- 
 men will run afoot as fast as he and over- 
 take him, yea, and leap up upon his horse 
 behind him and draw him from his horse ; 
 for they are strong men in the arms and 
 have sharp weapons with large blades with 
 two edges after the manner of dart heads, 
 wherewith they will slay their enemy ; and 
 
IRISH AFFAIRS 
 
 431 
 
 they repute not a man dead till they have 
 cut his throat and open his belly and taken 
 out his heart and carry it away with them. 
 Some say, such as know their nature, that 
 they do eat it and have great delight therein. 
 They take no man to ransom, and when 
 they see at any encounter that they be over- 
 matched, then they will depart asunder and 
 go and hide themselves in bushes, woods, 
 hedges and caves, so that no man shall find 
 them. Also sir William of Windsor, who 
 hath most used the wars in those parts of 
 any other Englishman, yet he could never 
 learn the manner of the country nor know 
 their conditions. They be hard people 
 and of rude engine and wit and of divers 
 frequentations and usage : they set nothing 
 by jollity nor fresh apparel, nor by noble- 
 ness ; for though their realm be sovereignly 
 governed by kings, whereof they have 
 plenty, yet they will take no knowledge of 
 gentleness, but will continue in their rude- 
 ness, according as they are brought up. 
 Truth it is that four of the principal kings 
 and most puissant after the manner of the 
 country are come to the obeisance of the 
 king of England by love and fairness, and 
 not by battle nor constraint. The earl of 
 Ormond, who marcheth upon them, hath 
 taken great pain and hath so treated with 
 them that they came to Dublin to the king 
 and submitted them to him, to be under 
 the obeisance of the crown of England ; 
 wherefore the king and all the realm re- 
 puteth this for a great and honourable deed 
 and thinketh this voyage well bestowed, 
 for king Edward of good memory did never 
 so much upon them as king Richard did in 
 this voyage : the honour is great, but the 
 profit is but little, for though they be kings, 
 yet no man can devise nor speak of ruder 
 personages. 
 
 ' I shall shew you somewhat of their rude- 
 ness to the intent it may be ensample 
 again people of other nations.^ I know it 
 well, for I have proved it by themselves : 
 for when they were at Dublin, I had the 
 governance of them about a month by the 
 king's commandment and his council, to 
 the intent that I should learn them to 
 use themselves according to the usage of 
 England, and because I could speak their 
 language as well as French or English, for 
 
 1 That is, 'that you may be able to compare 
 their manners with those of other nations.' 
 
 in my youth I was brought up among 
 them. I was with the earl of Ormond, 
 father to the earl that now is, who loved 
 me right well, because I could as then ride 
 and handle an horse meetly well ; and it 
 fortuned one time that the said earl, who 
 as then was my master, was sent with three 
 hundred spears and a thousand archers into 
 the marches of Ireland to make war with 
 the Irishmen, for always the Englishmen 
 have had war with them, to subdue and 
 put them under. And on a day, as the 
 said earl went against them, I rode on a 
 goodly horse of his, light and swift : thus 
 I rode and followed my master, and the 
 same day the Irishmen were laid in a bush- 
 ment, and when we came near them they 
 opened their bushment ; then the English 
 archers began to shoot so eagerly that the 
 Irishmen could not suffer it, for they are 
 but simply armed, therefore they reculed 
 and went back. Then the earl my master 
 followed in the chase, and I that was well 
 horsed followed him as near as I could ; 
 and it fortuned so that my horse was affrayed 
 and took his bridle in his teeth and ran 
 away with me, and whether I would or not, 
 he bare me so far forth among the Irish- 
 men, that one of them by lightness of run- 
 ning leapt up behind me and embraced me 
 in his arms, and did me none other hurt, 
 but so led me out of the way and so rode 
 still behind me the space of two hours, and 
 at the last brought me into ii secret place, 
 thick of bushes, and there he found his 
 company, who were come thither and 
 scaped all dangers, for the Englishmen 
 pursued not so far. Then, as he shewed 
 me, he had great joy of me and led me 
 into a town and a strong house among the 
 woods, waters and mires. The town was 
 called Herpelepin,^ and the gentleman that 
 took me was called Brien Costerec : he 
 ^vas a goodly man, and, as it hath been 
 shewed me, he is as yet alive ; howbeit, he 
 is very aged. This Brien Costerec kept 
 me seven year with him and gave me his 
 daughter in marriage, of whom I had two 
 daughters. I shall shew you how I was 
 delivered. 
 
 *It happened at the seven years' end one 
 of their kings, named Arthur Mackemur, 
 king of Leinster, made an army against 
 
 1 This has been supposed to be Elphin, but the 
 geography is far from exact. 
 
432 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 duke Lyon of Clarence, son to king 
 Edward of England, and against sir 
 William of Windsor, and not far from 
 the city of Leinster ^ the Englishmen and 
 Irishmen met together, and many were slain 
 and taken on both parties, but the English- 
 men obtained the victory and the Irishmen 
 fled, and the king Arthur saved himself; 
 but Brien Costerec, my wife's father, was 
 taken prisoner under the duke of Clarence' 
 banner. He was taken on the same courser 
 that he took me on, the horse was well 
 known among the earl of Ormond's folks ; 
 and then he shewed how I was alive and 
 was at his manor of Herpelepin, and how I 
 had wedded his daughter, whereof the duke 
 of Clarence, sir William Windsor and the 
 Enghshmen were right glad. Then it was 
 shewed him that, if he would be delivered 
 out of prison, that he should deliver me 
 into the Englishmen's hands, and my wife 
 and children. With great pain he made 
 that bargain, for he loved me well and my 
 wife his daughter and our children : when 
 he saw he could make his finance none 
 otherwise, he accorded thereto, but he re- 
 tained mine eldest daughter still with him. 
 So I and my wife and our second daughter 
 returned into England, and so I went 
 and dwelt beside Bristow on the river of 
 Severn. My two daughters are married, 
 and she in Ireland hath three sons and two 
 daughters, and she that I brought with 
 me hath four sons and two daughters. 
 And because the language of Irish is as 
 ready to me as the English tongue, for I 
 have always continued with my wife and 
 taught my children the same speech, there- 
 fore the king my sovereign lord and his 
 council commanded me to give attendance 
 on these four kings and to govern and 
 bring them to reason and to the usage and 
 customs of England, seeing they had yielded 
 them to be under his obeisance and of the 
 crown of England, and they were sworn to 
 hold it for ever. And yet I ensure you, 
 for all that I did my power to ensign and 
 to learn them good manner, yet for all that 
 they be right rude and of gross engine. 
 Much pain I had to make them to speak 
 anything in fair manner : somewhat I 
 altered them, but not much ; for in many 
 cases they drew to their natural rudeness. 
 The king my sovereign lord's intent was, 
 1 Or by another reading, ' Dulnestre.' 
 
 that in manner, countenance and apparel 
 of clothing they should use according to 
 the manner of England, for the king 
 thought to make them all four knights. 
 They had a fair house to lodge in in 
 Dublin, and I was charged to abide still 
 with them and not to depart, and so two 
 or three days I suffered them to do as they 
 list and said nothing to them, but followed 
 their own appetites : they would sit at the 
 table and make countenance nother good 
 nor fair ; then I thought I should cause 
 them to change that manner. They would 
 cause their minstrels, their servants and 
 varlets to sit with them and to eat in their 
 own dish and to drink of their cups, and 
 they shewed me that the usage of their 
 country was good, for they said in all 
 things (except their beds) they were and 
 lived as common. So the fourth day I 
 ordained other tables to be covered in the 
 hall after the usage of England, and I 
 made these four kings to sit at the high 
 table, and their minstrels at another board, 
 and their servants and varlets at another 
 beneath them, whereof by seeming they 
 were displeased and beheld each other and 
 would not eat, and said how I would take 
 from them their good usage, wherein they 
 had been nourished. Then I answered 
 them, smiling to appease them, that it was 
 not honourable for their estates to do as 
 they did before and that they must leave it 
 and use the custom of England, and that 
 it was the king's pleasure they should so 
 do, and how he was charged so to order 
 them. ^Vhen they heard that, they suffered 
 it, because they had put themselves under 
 the obeisance of the king of England, and 
 persevered in the same as long as I was 
 with them. Yet they had one use, which 
 I knew well was used in their country, 
 and that was they did wear no breeches. 
 I caused breeches of linen cloth to be made 
 for them. While I was with them, I 
 caused them to leave many rude things, as 
 well in clothing as in other causes. Much 
 ado I had at the first to cause them to wear 
 gowns of silk furred with minever and gray, 
 for before these kings thought themselves 
 well apparelled when they had on a mantle. 
 They rode always without saddles and 
 stirrups, and with great pain I made them 
 to ride after our usage. And on a time I 
 demanded them of their belief, wherewith. 
 
IRISH AFFAIRS 
 
 433 
 
 they were not content and said how they 
 believed on God and on the Trinity, as 
 well as we. Then I demanded on what 
 pope was their affection. They answered 
 me, on him of Rome. Then I demanded 
 if they would not gladly receive the order 
 of knighthood, and that the king of Eng- 
 land should make them knights according 
 to the usage of France and England and 
 other countries. They answered how they 
 were knights already and that sufficed for 
 them. I asked where they were made 
 knights, and how, and when. They an- 
 swered that in the age of seven year they 
 were made knights in Ireland, and that a 
 king maketh his son a knight, and if the 
 son have no father alive, then the next of 
 his blood may make him knight ; and then 
 this young knight shall begin to joust with 
 small spears, such as they may bear with 
 their ease, and run against a shield set on 
 a stake in the field, and the more spears 
 that he breaketh, the more he shall be 
 honoured. I knew their manner well 
 enough, though I did demand it. But 
 then I said that the knighthood that they 
 had taken in their youth sufficed not to 
 the king of England, but I said he should 
 give them after another manner. They 
 demanded how. I answered that it should 
 be in the holy church, which was the most 
 worthiest place. Then they inclined some- 
 what to my words. 
 
 ' Within two days after the earl of 
 Ormond came to them, who could right 
 well speak the language, for some of his 
 lands lay in those parts : he was sent to 
 them by the king and his council. They 
 all honoured him and he them : then he 
 fell in sweet communication with them, and 
 he demanded of them how they liked me. 
 They answered and said: "Well; for he 
 hath well shewed us the usage of this 
 country; wherefore we ought to thank him 
 and so we do." This answer pleased well 
 the earl of Ormond. Then he entered 
 little and little to speak of the order of 
 chivalry, which the king would they should 
 receive : he shewed it them from point to 
 point, how they should behave themselves 
 and what pertained to knighthood. The 
 earl's words pleased much these four kings, 
 whose names were these : first, the great 
 O'Neal, king of Meath ; the second Brian 
 of Thomond, king of Thomond ; the third 
 
 2 F 
 
 Arthur of Mackemur, king of Leinster; the 
 fourth Connor, king of Connor and Erpe : 
 they were made knights by king Richard 
 of England in the cathedral chvirch of 
 Dublin dedicate of Saint John Baptist : it 
 was done on our Lady day in March ; as 
 then it fell on a Thursday. These four 
 kings watched all the night before in the 
 church, and the next day at high mass 
 time with great solemnity they were 
 made knights, and with them sir Thomas 
 Ourghem, sir Jonathan Pado and sir John 
 Pado his cousin. These kings sate that day 
 at the table with king Richard : they were 
 regarded of many folks, because their be- 
 having was strange to the manner of Eng- 
 land and other countries, and ever naturally 
 men desire to see newelties. ' 
 
 Then I, sir John Froissart, said : 'Henry, 
 I believe you well, and I would it had cost 
 me largely that I had been there ; and 
 surely this year past I had come hither, an 
 it had not been for that I heard of the 
 death of queen Anne of England, which 
 did let me. But one thing I would desire 
 of you to know, how these four kings of 
 Ireland came so soon to the king of Eng- 
 land's obeisance, when king Edward, the 
 king's grandfather, who was so valiant a 
 prince and so redoubted over all, could 
 never subdue them nor put them under, 
 and yet he had always war with them ; 
 and in that they are subdued now, ye said 
 it was by treaty and by the grace of God. 
 Indeed the grace of God is good ; whoso 
 can have it, it is much worth : but it is 
 seen nowadays that earthly princes getteth 
 little without it be by puissance. I desire 
 to know this, for when I shall come into 
 Hainault, of which country I am of, I shall 
 be examined of this and many other things, 
 both by duke Aubert of Bavier, earl of 
 Hainault, of Holland and of Zealand, and 
 also by his son William of Bavier, who 
 writeth himself lord of Frise, which is a 
 great country and a puissant, which country 
 the said duke and his son claimeth to have 
 by right succession, and so did their pre- 
 decessors before them, but the Frisons 
 would never fall to any reason nor come 
 under obeisance, nor as yet do not unto this 
 day.' Then answered Henry Christead 
 and said : ' Sir John, to shew you the 
 very truth I cannot, but as many a one 
 saith, and it is to suppose, that the great 
 
434 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 puissance that the king had over with him, 
 and tarried there in their country nine 
 months, and every man well paid, abashed 
 the Irishmen : also the sea was closed from 
 them on all parts, whereby their livenges 
 and merchandises might not enter into 
 their countries, though they that dwell far 
 within the realm cared little for it, for they 
 know not what merchandise meaneth, nor 
 they live but grossly and rudely like unto 
 beasts, yet such as liveth on the marches 
 of England and by the sea coast use feat 
 of merchandise with us and into other 
 places. King Edward of noble memory in 
 his time had to answer so many wars, what 
 in France, Bretayne, Gascoyne and Scot- 
 land, so that his people were divided in 
 divers places and sore occupied, wherefore 
 he could not send no great number into 
 Ireland. But when the Irishmen saw the 
 great number of men of war that king 
 Richard had in Ireland this last journey, 
 the Irishmen advised themselves and came 
 to obeisance. And indeed of old time there 
 was a king in England named Edward, 
 who is a saint and canonised and honoured 
 through all this realm, in his time he sub- 
 dued the Danes and discomfited them by 
 battle on the sea three times ; and this 
 Saint Edward king of England, lord of 
 Ireland and of Acquitaine, the Irishmen 
 loved and dred him much more than any 
 other king of England that had been be- 
 fore : and therefore our sovereign lord king 
 Richard this year past, when he was in 
 Ireland, in all his armories and devices he 
 left bearing of the arms of England, as the 
 libbards and flower-de-luces quarterly, and 
 bare the arms of this Saint Edward, that is 
 a cross potent gold and gules with four 
 white martinets in the field ; ^ whereof it 
 was said the Irishmen were well pleased 
 and the sooner they inclined to him : for 
 of truth the predecessors of these four kings 
 obeyed with faith and homage to the said 
 king Edward, and they repute king Richard 
 a good man and of good conscience, and 
 so they have done to him faith and homage, 
 as they ought to do, and in like manner as 
 their predecessors sometime did to Saint 
 Edward. Thus I have shewed you the 
 manner how the king our sovereign lord 
 hath this year accomplished and fiirnished 
 
 ^ That is, a cross potent (potence'e) or, and four 
 white doves (coulons) in a field gules. 
 
 his voyage in Ireland. Put it in your 
 memorial to the intent that, when ye shall 
 return into your own country, ye may write 
 it in your chronicle with many other his- 
 tories that depend to the same matter.' 
 Then I thanked him and said it should be 
 done. So I took leave of him. Then I 
 met with March the herald and I demanded 
 of him what arms this Henry Christead 
 bare, and I shewed the herald how this sir 
 Henry had shewed me the manner of the 
 king's journey in Ireland, and the state of 
 the four kings, who had been, as he said, 
 in his governing more than fifteen days at 
 Dublin. The herald answered me and 
 said : ' Sir, he beareth in his arms silver, a 
 chevron gules, three besants gules.' AH 
 these things I did put in writing, because 
 I would not forget them. 
 
 Thus I tarried in the king of England's 
 court as long as it pleased me, not always 
 in one place, for the king oftentimes re- 
 moved to Eltham, to Leeds, to Kingston, 
 to Sheen, to Chertsey or to Windsor, about 
 the marches of London. And I was in- 
 formed of a truth that the king wrote to 
 his uncle the duke of Lancaster, for they 
 of Acquitaine sped so in their business, 
 that their country abode still to the crown 
 of England. Then it was concluded by 
 general council of England that the gift 
 that the king had given to the duke of 
 Lanc3.ster must needs abide still as his 
 own. Howbeit, the duke of Gloucester 
 would that his brother might have enjoyed 
 the king's gift, but his saying could not be 
 heard in that case : for they of the realm 
 of England (because of doubts and casual- 
 ties in time to come) heard well the words 
 of them of Bordeaux and of Bayonne, and 
 considered well that if the heritage of 
 Acquitaine were put from the crown of 
 England, it should be in time to come a 
 great prejudice to the realm, which they 
 would in no wise should fortune : for 
 always Bordeaux and Bayonne and the 
 frontiers and marches of Gascoyne had kept 
 and augmented greatly the honour of the 
 realm of England. These things were well 
 considered of the wise men of the king's 
 council, the duke of Gloucester absent, for 
 before him no man durst speak. So the 
 matter abode in this case. 
 
 We shall leave of this matter and speak 
 of the king of England's ambassadors, as 
 
EXPEDITION TO TURKEY, 1396 
 
 435 
 
 the earl of Rutland and the earl marshal 
 and other, that were sent into France to 
 treat of the marriage between king Richard 
 their lord and the daughter of Charles, 
 French king, who was but eight years of 
 age ; and I shall shew you how they sped. 
 
 CHAPTERS CXCIX, CC [CCIII, 
 CCIV] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The English ambassadors 
 were well received in France and saw the 
 young lady Isabel. They returned with a 
 hopeful answer, though 7?ia7iy in France 
 ive7-e against the ??iarriage. 
 
 One Robert le Meneust, called Robert 
 V Ermite, who had had a 7ni7'aculous vision 
 in retu7-}iing froin the East, had labou7'ed 
 hard for peace both with the French king 
 a?id also with the English lords at Leli?ig~ 
 hen, and afterwards in E?igland with the 
 duke of Gloucester and others. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCI, CCII [CCV, CCVI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The lord de la Riviere 
 and sir John le Mercier were delive^'ed out 
 of priso7i, but co7nnia?zded to leave Paris. 
 
 Peace was 7nade betzueen the duke of 
 Brittany a7id Oliver de Cliss07i. 
 
 Peter de Craoft, under the protection of 
 the duke of Burgundy, returned secretly to 
 Paris. 
 
 CHAPTER CCIII [CCVI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The king of Hu7igary sent 
 letters to the French king asking for help 
 agai7ist the Tu7'ks^ who threatened his 
 country. It was resolved that a7z army 
 should go with Joh7i earl of Nevers, so7i of 
 the duke of Burgundy, as its leader, and 
 with him the lord of Coucy a7td Philip 
 d Artois, constable of France. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCIV, CCV [CCVII, 
 CCIX] 
 
 SUMMARY — The earl of Ost7'evant pi-e- 
 pared to go into Friesla7id, and the earl of 
 Nevers set forth to Hungary. 
 
 The dtuhess of Aftjou, quee7i of Naples, 
 had a suit in the parlia7nent cha77iber of 
 Paris against Peter de Craon for a hundred 
 thousaiid franks, and obtained his pardon 
 
 fro7n other charges that he 7?iight a7iswer it. 
 
 /udgme7tt zvas giveit against him, and he 
 was put i7i priso7t till the siwi shotild be 
 
 paid. 
 
 CHAPTER CCVI [CCX] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The -marriage was ar- 
 ra7iged betwee7^ the king of England a7id 
 the daughter of the Fre7tch king. The 
 duke of lancaster married his 7?iistress 
 Catheri7ie de Roet [widow of Hugh Swin- 
 ford), tohich catised indig7iatio7t a7no7ig 
 ?nany great ladies, as the duchess of Glou- 
 cester, the countess of De7'by and the couiitess 
 of A rundely who said that they would 7iever 
 come into any place where she should be 
 prese7zt. 
 
 The histo7y thus coJitinues : — 
 
 Now let us a little speak of the journey 
 of the earl of Nevers and the lords of 
 France and what they did the same summer 
 in Hungary ; and after we shall speak of 
 the going into Frise of the earl of Plainautt 
 and the earl of Os'trevant. The earl of 
 Nevers and his company with many valiant 
 men that he had of France and of other 
 countries, when they were come into 
 Hungary into a great city called Bude, 
 the king of Hungary made them good 
 cheer and well they deserved it, for they 
 were come far off to see him. The inten- 
 tion of the king was that, or he set forward 
 with his puissance and with the aid of 
 France to enter into the field, to hear 
 first some news from the great Turk, called 
 Amurath-baquin,^ who had sent him word 
 in the month of February that surely he 
 would be in Hungary or the end of the 
 month of May, and that he would pass the 
 water of Dunoe ; - of which message many 
 had great marvel. And some said that 
 there is in a manner nothing but that 
 man may do it, considering that the Turk 
 
 1 This is Bajazet, or, as Froissart calls him, 
 ' Basach dit rAmourath-baquin.' He was called 
 Amurath (or Murad) from his father, and the addi- 
 tion ' baqujn ' is a title. Uke ' beg ' in ' Scander-beg.' 
 
 2 The Danube. 
 
436 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 is valiant and puissant and desireth much 
 deeds of arms : ' therefore sith he hath said 
 it, by all likelihood he will do it, and if he 
 pass not the Dunce to come hither to this 
 side, then let us pass over and enter into 
 Turkey with puissance : for the king of 
 Hungary with such aid as he hath of 
 strangers shall well make an hundred thou- 
 sand men, and such a number of such men 
 are well able to conquer all Turkey and 
 to go into the empire of Perse ; and if we 
 may have one journey of victory upon the 
 great Turk, we shall do after what we list, 
 and shall conquer Syria and all the holy 
 land of Jerusalem, and shall deliver it from 
 the hands of the soudan and the enemies 
 of God. For at the summer next coming 
 the French king and the king of England, 
 who will conjoin together, shall raise up a 
 great number of men of arms and of archers 
 and shall find the passages open to receive 
 them. Then nothing shall abide before us, 
 but all shall be conquered and put in our 
 obeisance, when we shall go all together.' 
 Thus devised the Frenchmen that were in 
 the realm of Hungary. 
 
 \Vhen the month of May was come, 
 trusting to hear tidings of Amurath-baquin 
 the great Turk, the king of Hungary sent 
 to the passages of the river of Dunoe and 
 sent throughout his realm to assemble his 
 puissance together, and the lords of the 
 Rhodes ^ came to him strongly, and all the 
 month of May they tarried for the coming of 
 the Saracens, but no tidings could be heard 
 of them. Then the king of Hungary sent 
 such as knew the country beyond the river 
 of Dunoe, to search to have some tidings 
 of the great Turk. Such as went searched 
 all the country beyond the bras of Saint 
 George - and to the marches of Alexandria, 
 of Damascus and Antioch, but they could 
 hear no news of Amurath-baquin nor of 
 none army toward. Then they returned 
 and shewed the king what they had heard 
 and seen. Then the king assembled his 
 council and called the lords of France, 
 who desired to do deeds of arms. The 
 king shewed them how he had sent men 
 into Turkey to have knowledge what his 
 enemies did, and how they could hear no 
 
 ^ The knights of Saint John: so afterwards the 
 grand prior of the Hospital is called the 'great 
 master of Rhodes.' 
 
 - That is, the Dardanelles. 
 
 tidings of Amurath-baquin nor no likeli- 
 hood of his approaching, for all the promise 
 he had made to pass the Dunoe and to 
 enter into Hungary to fight with the Chris- 
 tian men, or mid May should pass; where- 
 fore the king demanded what counsel they 
 would give him to do. Then the lord of 
 Coucy for all the other said : ' Sir, though 
 Amurath-baquin come not forward accord- 
 ing to his promise and maketh but a jape 
 thereof, yet that ought not to let us to do 
 deeds of arms and to pursue our enemies, 
 seeing we be assembled to that purpose.' 
 Thus all the Frenchmen, Almains and 
 other strangers shewed well how they had 
 great desire to seek out Amurath-baquin 
 to fight with him ; which was to their great 
 honour. The lord of Coucy's words were 
 affirmed by all the strangers : it was all 
 their opinions how they could employ their 
 season and time no better. 
 
 Then it was ordained by the king and 
 by his marshals that every man should pre- 
 pare himself to be ready to set forward at 
 a day assigned, which was the octave of 
 Saint John the Baptist. Then officers and 
 other servants apparelled for their masters 
 all things necessary, and the Frenchmen, 
 thinking to be fresh and gay, spared neither 
 gold nor silver. Their departure from 
 Bude, the sovereign city of Hungary, was 
 goodly to regard. The constable of Hun- 
 gary had the vaward with a great number 
 of Hungarians and Almains with him, be- 
 cause he knew the countries ; and next 
 after him rode the Frenchmen, with the 
 constable of France, the earl de la Marche, 
 the lord of Coucy, sir Henry and sir Philip 
 of Bar and divers other ; and with the king 
 rode the great lords of his country, as 
 reason was, and beside the king rode John 
 of Burgoyne and oftentimes devised with 
 the king. They were in the field a three- 
 score thousand horse, they had but few 
 afoot, saving such as were followers. The 
 company of the Christian men were noble 
 and well ordered, and of Hungary there 
 were many cross-bows a-horseback. The 
 army journeyed so long that they came to 
 the river of Dunoe, and passed over in ships 
 and barges and such bridges as they had 
 ordained for that purpose. It was eight 
 days or they were all passed over, and as 
 they passed they lodged them, every com- 
 pany tarrying for other. This river of 
 
EXPEDITION TO TURKEY 
 
 437 
 
 Dunoe departeth the realms of Hungary 
 and Turkey asunder. 
 
 When the Christian men were all over 
 and nothing tarried behind, and were in 
 the frontiers of Turkey, they greatly re- 
 joiced and desired greatly to do deeds of 
 arms. There they took counsel and deter- 
 mined to go and lay siege to a town in 
 Turkey called Comette ; and as they or- 
 dained so they did, and besieged it, as they 
 might well do, for it stood in a plain 
 country and a river joining to it with ships 
 thereon, called Mette,' the head coming 
 out of Turliey and falling into the sea at 
 the river of Dunoe. The river of Dunoe 
 is a great river of three hundred miles in 
 length" from the beginning till it enter into 
 the sea, which were the most profitable 
 river in all the world for the realm of 
 Hungary, if the ships that be thereon 
 might issue out thereof into the sea ; but 
 they cannot, for in the mouth thereof, 
 when they should issue into the sea, there 
 is in the river a mountain, which de- 
 parteth the river in two parts, and maketh 
 such bruit and noise, that it may well be 
 heard seven mile off ; and for that cause 
 there is no ship that dare approach near to 
 it. Along by this river side ' there be fair 
 meadows and pastures, whereby all the 
 country is well served, and divers vines 
 which in season make good wines, which 
 the Turks do make and put into goat-skins 
 and selleth it unto Christian men ; for 
 according to their law they dare drink no 
 wine, to be known ; it is defended them on 
 pain of life ; but they eat the raisins and 
 they have other good fruits and spices, 
 whereof they make drink, and use greatly 
 to drink goat's milk, which refresheth them 
 in the hot season. 
 
 Thus the king of Hungary and his host 
 lodged before the city of Comette at their 
 ease and pleasure, for no man troubled 
 their siege. And when they came before 
 the city, they found the fruits ripe, the 
 which was great pleasure to them. They 
 made to this city divers assaults, and they 
 within defended themselves, trusting daily 
 to have aid and succour of Amurath-baquin 
 their lord, to raise the siege with puissance ; 
 but he did not, whereby the city was taken 
 
 1 This is the Timok. 
 
 2 Froissart says, 'four hundred leagues.' 
 '^ ' Along by this river of Mette.' 
 
 by force of assault and destroyed with great 
 slaughter of men, women and children ; 
 for the Christian men that entered had no 
 mercy nor pity. When this city was thus 
 won, the king of Hungary dislodged and 
 went forward into Turkey, and was deter- 
 mined to go and lay siege to a great city 
 called Nicopoly ; and as they rode, they 
 found in their way the town of Quaire,' 
 and laid siege to it fifteen days or it was 
 won, but finally it was won by assault and 
 clean destroyed, and so passed forth. And 
 in their way they found another town and 
 a strong castle called Brehappe," and a 
 knight of Turkey was lord thereof and was 
 within the castle to defend it. The king 
 and his army were lodged within a mile, 
 where was a fair river, and about the town 
 there was none. There the earl of Nevers 
 was made knight and raised his banner, 
 and with him were made more than three 
 hundred knights, and all they and their 
 companies went before Brehappe and be- 
 sieged it and won the town perforce within 
 four days, but not the castle, it was so 
 strong. The lord of Brehappe saved much 
 of his people by force of the castle, who 
 was called Corbadas, a right valiant knight, 
 and he had other three brethren, one named 
 Maladius, another Balachius and the third 
 Ruffin. After this town was won, the 
 Christian men were before the castle seven 
 days and made divers assaults, but they lost 
 more than they won. The four knights 
 brethren that were within shewed well by 
 their defence that they were valiant men. 
 When the Frenchmen had considered well 
 the force of the castle and the valiant 
 ordering of the Turks within and the de- 
 fence that they made, they saw well then 
 they lost their pain, and so dislodged ; 
 for they had knowledge how the king of 
 Hungary would go and lay siege to the 
 strong town of Nicopoly. Thus the siege 
 before Brehappe brake up, and they within 
 the castle were in peace, but the town was 
 clean brent. Then the earl of Nevers and 
 all the lords of France resorted to the 
 king's army, ordering themselves to go to 
 Nicopoly. 
 
 When Corbadas of Brehappe saw the 
 
 siege broken up, he was right joyful and 
 
 said to his company : ' We need no more 
 
 to fear this season ; though my town be 
 
 1 Kaara, - Eelgraltchi. 
 
438 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 brent and exiled, I shall right well recover 
 it again : but of one thing I marvel greatly, 
 and that is that I can hear no news from 
 my lord the king Basach, called Amurath- 
 baquin ; for the last time that I saw him 
 in the city of Nicopoly, he said unto me 
 that this May time he would be in this 
 country, and had intention to pass with a 
 great puissance the bras of Saint George 
 and to go into Hungary to fight with the 
 Christian men, and so he sent word to the 
 king of Hungary. And yet he hath done 
 nothing, and thereupon they of Hungary 
 be fortified, and have as now great succour 
 out of France, and have passed the river of 
 Dunoe and are entered into Turkey, and 
 have and do destroy the country, for there 
 is no resistance made against them, and they 
 think surely to go and lay siege before 
 Nicopoly. The city is strong enough to 
 resist the siege a long season, if it be well 
 defended and kept : we are here four 
 brethren and knights of the lineage of king 
 Basach : we ought and are bound to defend 
 his right, therefore let us order ourselves 
 as I shall shew you. I and my brother 
 Maladius we shall go to the city of Nico- 
 poly, to aid to help and defend it, and my 
 brother Balachius shall abide here to keep 
 this castle of Brehappe, and my brother 
 Rufi&n shall pass the bras of Saint George 
 and go seek out Amurath-baquin and shew 
 him everything that is passed and done, 
 and advise him for his honour to intend to 
 defend his heritage and to come with such 
 puissance that may resist the Christian 
 men and to break their purpose, or else 
 he shall lose the realm of Armeny, which 
 he hath conquered, and his own country 
 also ; for by all imagination the king of 
 Hungary and the Christian men are 
 gathered to the intent to do some great 
 enterprise.' His three brethren agreed to 
 his saying. On this appointment they pre- 
 pared themselves to depart. 
 
 So in this season siege was laid before 
 Nicopoly, and Corbadas of Brehappe and 
 Maladius his brother came and entered into 
 Nicopoly, whereof they of the city were 
 right joyful, and Balachius abode still at 
 Brehappe to keep the castle, and Ruffin, 
 when he saw time, by night he passed the 
 Christian army, for he knew well the 
 country, and passed over the bras Saint 
 George and searched for Amurath-baquin. 
 
 And the same season he was at Quayre 
 with the soudan of Babylon, to have aid 
 of men of him. Ruffin found this Turk 
 there ; and when king Basach saw him, 
 he had marvel and thought surely he 
 should hear some news out of Turkey. 
 Then he demanded what tidings. ' Sir,' 
 quoth Ruffin, * all the country desireth sore 
 to see you there, for the king of Hungary 
 with puissance hath passed the river of 
 Dunoe and is entered into Turkey, and 
 hath done great damage and hath brent 
 and assailed a five or six of your closed 
 towns. And when I departed from Bre- 
 happe, he was in purpose to go and lay 
 siege to Nicopoly. Corbadas and Mala- 
 dius my brothers with such men of war as 
 they have are entered into Nicopoly to 
 help to defend the town, and my brother 
 Balachius is still at Brehappe to keep the 
 castle there : and, sir, of a surety there is 
 in the company with the king of Hungary 
 the goodliest army and best appointed 
 come out of France, that ever was seen. 
 Wherefore, sir, it behoveth you to as- 
 semble your host and friends and return into 
 Turkey, to cause your enemies to return 
 again over the river of Dunoe. An ye do 
 it not with great puissance, it will be hard 
 to bring it about.' 'What number be 
 they?' quoth Amurath-baquin. 'Sir,' 
 quoth he, ' they be more than hundred 
 thousand, and the goodliest men of the 
 world and best armed, and all on horse- 
 back.' Amurath-baquin gave none answer, 
 but entered into the soudan's chamber and 
 shewed the soudan all the whole matter, 
 as his knight had shewed him. Then the 
 soudan said : ' We must provide for it : 
 ye shall have men enow to resist them. 
 Needs we must defend our law and our 
 heritage.' ' That is true, sir,' quoth 
 Amurath - baquin. ' Now my desires are 
 come to pass ; for I have always desired 
 none other thing but that the king of Hun- 
 gary with his puissance might once come 
 over the river of Dunoe and enter into 
 Turkey. In the beginning I will suffer a 
 season, but at the end they shall pay for 
 the scot. Of all this I had knowledge four 
 months past by my great friend the lord 
 of Milan, who sent me goshawks, ger- 
 falcons and falcons to the number of twelve, 
 which were the best and fairest that ever I 
 saw, and with this present he wrote to me 
 
GALEAS DUKE OF MILAN 
 
 439 
 
 by name all the heads and chief captains 
 of the barons of France, such as should 
 come to make me war. In the which 
 letters was also contained, that if I might 
 get them in my danger, they should be 
 worth to me a million of florins, and also 
 how there should be in their company of 
 the limitees ^ of France more than five 
 hundred knights, valiant men of arms ; 
 also the duke of Milan wrote that surely 
 they will give me battle. Wherefore I 
 will prepare to meet with them by art, 
 advice and good ordinance, for they are 
 men of great feat, and so valiant in arms 
 that they will not fly nor recule. They 
 are worthy of thank to issue out of their 
 own nation by valiantness to find deeds of 
 arms, and I trust to accomplish their 
 desires within three months, so that they 
 shall have enough to do.' 
 
 To consider these words, one ought 
 greatly to marvel that the lord Galeas, earl 
 of Vertus and duke of Milan, who was 
 reputed to be a Christian man, baptized 
 and regenerate after the Christian law, 
 would seek or require love or alliance with 
 a king miscreant, out of our law and faith, 
 or to send him gifts and presents, as he did 
 every year, as dogs, hawks and fine linen 
 clothes, which are right pleasant to the 
 Saracens, for they have none but that 
 cometh from our parts : also the great 
 Turk sent to him again other presents of 
 rich cloth of gold and precious stones, 
 whereof the Saracens have great plenty. 
 But in those days the earl of Vertus, duke 
 of Milan, and sir Galeas his father reigned 
 as tyrants and so held their seignories. 
 
 SUMMARY. — Hen is related the history 
 of the lords of Milan, how they obtained 
 their power and how Galeas earl of Vertus 
 slew his uncle and reigned alone. 
 
 The author continues : — 
 
 This Galeas put in prison all his uncle's 
 children, such as he could get, and took 
 possession of all his uncle's seignories arid 
 joined them to his own, and so reigned in 
 great puissance and riches : for he raised up 
 such matters whereby he gathered together 
 great riches, as impositions, gabels, sub- 
 sidies, dimes, and all other extortions, 
 whereby he was much more dread than 
 1 ' Du royaulme ou des limites Ac France.' 
 
 beloved. He held the error and opinion 
 of his father that was, how one should 
 nother honour nor worship God. He took 
 from abbeys and priories much of their 
 revenues and took them to himself : he 
 said the monks were too deliciously nour- 
 ished with good wines and delicious meats, 
 by which superfluities (he said) they could 
 not rise at midnight nor do their service as 
 they should do. He said Saint Benet held 
 not the order of his religion after that 
 manner, and so (he said) he would make 
 them to live with eggs and small wine, to 
 clear their voices to sing the higher. These 
 lords in their days lived like popes : they 
 did great despites in their time to men of 
 holy Church ; they set nothing by the 
 pope's curse, and specially after the schism 
 began and that there was two popes ; that 
 the one cursed, the other assoiled. The 
 lords of Milan did but mock at their 
 doings, and so did many other lords through 
 the world. 
 
 The daughter of this lord Galeas duke of 
 Milan was duchess of Orleans, whose con- 
 ditions were like to her father's and not to 
 her mother's, who was daughter to king 
 John of France. This lady was of high 
 mind, envious and covetous on the delights 
 and state of this world. Gladly she would 
 have seen the duke her husband to have 
 attained to the crown of France, she had 
 not cared how. A general fame and 
 slander ran upon her, that all the infirm- 
 ities the king had, which no physician 
 could remedy, came all by her sorts and 
 arts ; and the chief discovering of her 
 works, whereby she was had in great sus- 
 pect, was this. This duchess of Orleans, 
 named Valentine, had a son by the duke 
 her husband, a fair child of the age of the 
 Dolphin, son to the king. On a time 
 these two children were playing together 
 in the duchess of Orleans' chamber, and 
 suddenly there was cast down an apple 
 full of poison on the pavement on the 
 same side that the Dolphin was on, to 
 the intent that he should have taken and 
 eaten it ; but, as grace was, he did not, for 
 the duchess' son ran after the apple and 
 took it and ate thereof, wherewith he was 
 poisoned and died, nothing could save hini ; 
 and such as had Charles the young Dolphin 
 to keep took him thence, and he never 
 came after in the duchess' chamber. Of 
 
44° 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 this adventure great bruit and murmura- 
 tion ran through all the city of Paris and 
 in other places. Thus it was said by her 
 of all the people, so that the duke her hus- 
 band perceived it well ; for bruit ran 
 through Paris that, if her husband did not 
 put her away out of the king's court, they 
 would fetch her away by force and cause 
 her to die : for the people said she would 
 empoison the king and his children, and 
 that she had enchanted the king ; for the 
 king in all his infirmities would not see the 
 queen nor none other woman, but all only 
 this duchess of Orleans. Upon which 
 saying and for doubt thereof her husband 
 had her away and put her out of the house 
 of Saint -Pol in Paris and sent her to a 
 castle beside Paris upon the way of Beau- 
 vais, called Asnieres, and there she was 
 kept a long season and never went out of 
 the castle ; and at last she was sent from 
 thence to Chateauneuf on the river of 
 Loire, and the duke of Orleans had great 
 displeasure to her because of the adventure 
 of the death of his son, but by reason that 
 he had other children by her somewhat it 
 brake his displeasure. 
 
 These tidings came to Milan, and the 
 lord Galeas was informed how his daughter 
 was in trouble and in great danger, whereof 
 he was sore displeased with the French 
 king and his council. Then he sent a 
 sufficient messenger, as sir Jaques of Verme 
 and other, to Paris to the king and his 
 council in excusing his daughter, saying 
 that if any person would accuse her of 
 treason, he should be fought withal at 
 utterance in that quarrel. When these 
 messengers came to Paris, the king was in 
 good health, but he took no heed of those 
 messengers nor of their excuse, and so they 
 were shortly answered, nothing to their 
 pleasure ; so they returned into Lombardy 
 and declared to the duke of Milan all that 
 they had seen and done. Then the duke 
 was in greater displeasure than he was before 
 and reputed it a great injury, and then sent 
 his defiance to the French king and to all 
 the whole realm of France. And when his 
 defiances were brought to Paris, the lords 
 and knights with the French army were as 
 then in ITungary and entered into Turkey ; 
 and for the despite and hate that the duke 
 of Milan had to the French king and to 
 some of his council, therefore he held in 
 
 amity and alliance the great Turk and 
 shewed him of the secrets of France. 
 
 Now we shall leave speaking of the duke 
 and speak of the great Turk and of the 
 barons of France and of other Christian 
 knights, that were as then in Turkey. 
 
 CHAPTER CCVII [CCXI] 
 
 How the great Turk desired the soudan and 
 many other kings Saracens to aid him with 
 men of war to resist against the Christian 
 men, and how many valiant Saracens 
 came to him out of far countries. 
 
 It was not long after but that the great 
 Turk departed from Quayre from the 
 soudan, who promised to send him shortly 
 great aid of the best men of arms of all his 
 seignories, to resist against the puissance 
 of the king of Hungary and the French- 
 men ; and the great Turk sent into all 
 realms and countries, whereas he thought 
 to have any aid and succour : for he 
 considered and said that if the French- 
 men conquered Turkey, all other realms 
 adjoining should tremble for fear of 
 them, and thereby their faith and belief 
 should decay and become under the sub- 
 jection of the Christian men, which they 
 had rather die. And thus at the desires 
 of the soudan and the great Turk many 
 kings Saracens inclined unto their desires, 
 as in Perse, in Mede and in Tarse, and 
 also out of the septentrion and out of the 
 realm of Lecto and to the bounds of 
 Pruce. And forasmuch as they were in- 
 formed that their enemies the Christians 
 were flower of chivalry, these kings Sara- 
 cens and other lords of their law did choose 
 out among them the best travailing and 
 expert men of arms in all their countries. 
 This assembly could not be suddenly done, 
 nor their purveyances so soon done. The 
 great Turk set himself forwards into the 
 field, always abiding for his people that 
 came to him from far countries, and 
 specially out of Tartary, Mede and Perse. 
 There assembled many valiant Saracens 
 out of all countries : they were desirous to 
 prove their strengths against the Christian 
 men. 
 
 Now let us speak of the Christian men 
 being before Nicopoly. 
 
EXPEDITION TO TURKEY 
 
 441 
 
 CHAPTER CCVIII [CCXII] 
 
 How the lord of Coucy and other lords of 
 the Christian men about a fi\e hundred 
 spears, discomfited a. fifteen thousand 
 Turks during the siege before Nicopoly. 
 
 They that were besieged within the strong 
 town of Nicopoly defended themselves 
 right valiantly : howbeit, they were sore 
 abashed that they heard no tidings from 
 the great Turk. The emperor of Constan- 
 tinople ^ had written unto them that he 
 was in the parts of Alexandria and was not 
 as then passed the bras Saint George ; so 
 the Christian men held their siege still 
 before Nicopoly : they had victuals plenty 
 and good cheap, that came out of Hungary 
 and other marches near adjoining. And 
 on a day the lord Coucy and other French- 
 men took pleasure to ride forth at adven- 
 ture, to go see the country further in : so 
 they departed from the siege, about the 
 number of five hundred spears and as many 
 cross-bows and archers, all horsemen. The 
 lord Coucy was captain of that journey, 
 and the lord Raynold of Roye and the lord 
 of Sempy in his company, and the chatelain 
 of Beauvais, the lord of Montcavrel and 
 the borgne of Montquel, with divers other, 
 and they had guides with them, such as 
 knew the country, and they had certain 
 foreriders well mounted to discover the 
 country before them. The same week 
 there was an army of the Turks assembled 
 together to the number of twenty thousand 
 men, for they were informed how the 
 Christian men were abroad destroying 
 their country. In resistance thereof they 
 assembled together and came to a strait 
 which the Christian men must pass, an 
 they would enter into the plain of Turkey, 
 and they could not well enter no [other] 
 way ; and there the Turks tarried a two 
 days and could hear no tidings of the 
 Christian men, and so the third day they 
 thought to have returned. Then the 
 Christian men's foreriders came to Bre- 
 chault - near where the Turks were ; and 
 when the Turks saw them approach, they 
 
 1 The translator writes ' Constantine the noble ' 
 for * Constantinople.' 
 
 " The French is *a brechault,' a corruption of 
 *a brochant,' ' spurring their horses.' 
 
 Stood still close together to see the dealing 
 of the Christian men, and made no token 
 nor sign to scrimmish with them. These 
 Christian men approached near to the 
 Turks and saw well they were a great 
 number, and yet they could not advise 
 them all ; and when they had well aviewed 
 them, they reculed back and came to the 
 lord Coucy and shewed him what they 
 had seen ; of which news the Christian 
 men were right joyful, and the lord Coucy 
 said : ' It is meet that we go and see them 
 more nearer. Sith we be come so far for- 
 ward, we shall not depart without fighting 
 with them : if we should, it shall be to our 
 blame and great rebuke.' 'That is true,' 
 quoth all the other knights that heard him. 
 ■Thus every man prepared himself and his 
 horse, and rode toward the place where 
 the Turks were. 
 
 And between them and the Turks there 
 was a little wood. When the Christian 
 men came to the wood side, the lord of 
 Coucy said to the lord Raynold of Roye 
 and to the lord of Sempy : ' Sirs, mine 
 advice is (to the intent to draw the Turks 
 out of their strength) that ye two shall 
 take two hundred' of our spears, and I 
 with the rest will abide here in this wood : 
 and ride ye so near them, that ye may 
 cause them to come out, and then return 
 you and suffer them to chase you till ye 
 be past us in this wood, and then suddenly 
 turn upon them, and we shall close them 
 in behind, and so we shall have them at 
 our will.' To this advice all the knights 
 inclined. Then two hundred of them that 
 were best horsed rode forth, and the rest, 
 who were an eight hundred, embushed 
 themselves covertly in the wood and there 
 tarried. The other rode forth and came 
 to the place were the Turks were. 
 
 When they saw the Christian men come, 
 they were right joyous, weening there had 
 been no more, and so came out of their 
 holds into the plain fields. And when the 
 Christian men saw time, they turned and 
 fled and made the Turks to chase them. 
 They were so well horsed that the Turks 
 could not overtake them, and they chased 
 so long that they passed the wood whereas 
 the embushment was. When the Turks 
 were passed, the Christian men issued out 
 and cried, ' Our Lady be with the lord of 
 ^ ' A hundred.' 
 
442 
 
 TFIE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Coucy ! ' and so dashed in behind them 
 and made great occision. The Turks held 
 them close together, when they saw how 
 they were beset before and behind, and 
 did put themselves to defence as well 
 as they might ; but they kept none order, 
 for they were not ware of the rearguard, 
 and when they saw themselves so suddenly 
 set on, they were abashed. The French- 
 men did quit themselves like valiant men 
 of arms and slew the Turks at their pleasure 
 in their flying : there were many slain, the 
 Christian men took none to mercy ; happy 
 were they that could escape and return 
 from thence as they came. And then 
 the Christian men that had done that 
 deed returned again to their host before 
 Nicopoly. 
 
 Then tidings ran over all the host how 
 the lord of Coucy by his wisdom and 
 valiantness had discomfited more than 
 fifteen thousand Turks. Many spake well 
 thereof, but the earl of Eu praised nothing 
 his deed, saying how it was done but by 
 pride, and how that he had put the Chris- 
 tian men, and specially his band, in great 
 adventure and peril, saying that with an 
 handful of men he fought foolishly with the 
 rout of twenty thousand Turks. He should 
 rather, seeing he was in will to do deeds 
 of arms and that the Turks were on the 
 field, have given knowledge, before he 
 assailed his enemies, to his head captain, 
 the lord John of Burgoyne, that he might 
 have had the renown and honour of that 
 enterprise. By seeming the earl of Eu 
 spake those words by envy that he had to 
 the lord of Coucy, for all that voyage he 
 had no love to him, because he saw how 
 the lord of Coucy had the love and favour 
 of all his company and of other strangers, 
 which he deserved right well to have,^ for 
 he was right near of the French king's 
 blood and bare in his arms flower-de-luces, 
 and also he was constable of France. Thus 
 there engendered a great hate and evil will 
 covertly between the earl of Eu and the 
 lord Coucy, which hatred at last appeared 
 clearly, whereby great mischief fell the 
 same season upon the Christian men, as ye 
 shall hear after. 
 
 1 'Which he (namely the earl of Eu) thought 
 
 ihat he himself ought to have, because he was very- 
 near of blood to the French king and bare in his 
 arms the flower-de-luces with very small difference. ' 
 
 Now we shall leave to speak any more 
 at this time of this matter and return to 
 speak of the kings of England and of 
 France. 
 
 OTAPTER CCIX [CCXIII] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The ncgotiaiioiis for peace 
 between England and F?'ajtce contifiued, 
 and the king of England met the duke of 
 Bitrgundy at Calais. 
 
 CHAPS. CCX, CCXI [CCXIV, CCXV] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The duke Azibert ajid his 
 son the earl of Ostrevant ??iade their pre- 
 pa7'ations to go into Eriesland, and applied 
 for aid both in England and in France. 
 From Efigland there ca?ne some meit of 
 arms a7id tivo himdj'ed arche?'S : from 
 France five hii}idred spears under the earl 
 of Saint- Pol and sir Charles d'Aibret. 
 The a7'7}iy la7ided i7i F7-iesland a7id gai7ied 
 so?ne victories, but at length retii'cd to 
 Holland for the winter , havi7ig conquered 
 but little. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXII [CCXVI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The marriage took place 
 bet'coeai the ki7zg of England a7id Isabel of 
 Fra7ice. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXHI [CCXVH] 
 
 How the siege before Nicopoly in Turkey 
 was raised by Amurath-baquin, and how 
 the Frenchmen were discomfited and how 
 the Hungarians fled. 
 
 Ye have heard herebefore how the king of 
 Hungary and the lords of France were 
 passed the river of Dunoe and were en- 
 tered into Turkey, and all the summer after 
 the month of July they had done many 
 enterprises and had brought divers towns 
 to their subjection, for there was none that 
 resisted them, and had besieged the town 
 of Nicopoly, and had near brought it to a 
 small estate nigh ready to yield, for they 
 
BATTLE OF NICOPOU, 1396 (Sept. 25) 
 
 443 
 
 could hear no news of Amurath-baquin. 
 Then Ihe king of Hungary said to the lords 
 of France and to other : ' Sirs, thanked be 
 God, we have had a fair season, we have 
 destroyed part of Turkey : I reckon this 
 town of Nicopoly ours when we list ; it is 
 so sore overlaid that it cannot long hold : 
 wherefore, all things considered, I counsel 
 (this town once won) that we go no further 
 at this season. We shall draw again over 
 the Dunoe into the realm of Hungary, 
 where I have many cities, towns and 
 castles ready furnished to receive you, as 
 reason is, seeing ye be come so far to aid 
 me to make war against the Turks, whom 
 I have found hard and cruel enemies. 
 And this winter we shall make new pro- 
 vision against the next summer, and send 
 word to the French king what case we be 
 in, so that this next summer he may refresh 
 us with new men, and I believe, when 
 he knoweth what we have done and 
 how everything standeth, he will have 
 great affection to come hither in his own 
 person ; for he is young and courageous 
 and loveth deeds of arms : and whether 
 he Cometh or not, by the grace of God this 
 next summer we shall win the realm of 
 Armeny, and pass the bras of Saint George 
 and so into Surie, and win the ports of 
 Jaffa and Baruth and conquer Jerusalem 
 and all the Holy Land ; and if the soudan 
 come forward, we shall fight with him, for 
 he shall not depart without battle.' 
 
 These or like words said the king of 
 Hungary to the lords of France, and 
 reckoned Nicopoly as theit own. How- 
 beit, fortune fell otherwise. All that 
 season the king Basach, called Amurath- 
 baquin, had raised an army of Saracens, 
 some out of far countries, as out of Perse ; 
 many great men of the Saracens came 
 to aid Amurath-baquin to destroy Christen- 
 dom. They were passed the bras Saint 
 George to the number of two hundred 
 thousand men. To say the truth, the 
 Christian men were not ascertained what 
 number they were of. This king Basach 
 and his men approached near to Nicopoly 
 by covert ways : they knew in feats of 
 arms as much as might be, and this king 
 was a valiant man, which shewed well by 
 reason of his policy. He ordered his battles 
 thus : all his host was in a manner as 
 wings, his men comprised well a great 
 
 mile' of ground, and before the host, to 
 shew a face ready, in a band an eight 
 thousand Turks. The two wings of the 
 battle were open a-forefront and narrow 
 behind, and Amurath-baquin was in the 
 heart of the battle. Thus they rode all in 
 covert : these eight thousand Turks were 
 ordained to make a face, and that as soon 
 as they should see the Christian men 
 approach, then they to recule little and 
 little into the heart of the battle, and then 
 the two wings, which were open before, 
 the Christian men being once entered 
 between them, to close together and join 
 into one company and then to fight with 
 their enemies. This was the order of their 
 battle. 
 
 Thus in the year of our Lord God a 
 thousand three hundred fourscore and 
 sixteen, the Monday before the feast of 
 Saint Michael, about ten of the clock, as 
 the king of Hungary sat at dinner at the 
 siege of Nicopoly, tidings came to the host 
 how the Turks were coming, and the scouts 
 that came in shewed how they had seen 
 the Turks ; but their report was not true, 
 for they had not ridden so forward that 
 they had aviewed the two wings nor the 
 battle behind, they had seen no more but 
 the foreriders and vaward, for as soon as 
 they had seen them, they returned. The 
 same season the greatest part of the host 
 were at dinner ; then tidings was brought 
 to the earl of Nevers and to all other in 
 general by their scurrers, who said : ' Sirs, 
 arm you quickly that ye be not surprised, 
 for the Turks are coming on you.' These 
 tidings greatly rejoiced the Christian men, 
 such as desired to do deeds of arms. Then 
 every man rose from their dinners and put 
 the tables from them and demanded for 
 their harness and horses, and they were 
 well chafed before with drinking, of wine. 
 Then every man drew into the field, 
 banners and standards displayed, every 
 man to his own banner : then the banner 
 of our Lady was displayed, therewith the 
 valiant knight sir John of Vienne, admiral 
 of France. And the Frenchmen were the 
 first that drew into the field freshly appar- 
 elled, making small account of the Turks ; 
 but they knew not that they were so great 
 a number as they were, nor that Amurath- 
 baquin was there in his own person. 
 1 'Lieue.' 
 
444 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 As these lords of France were into the 
 field, there came unto them the king of 
 Hungary's marshal in great haste, who was 
 a valiant knight called Henry of Enstein- 
 schalle, upon a good horse, with a pennon 
 of his arms, of silver a cross sable anchored, 
 called in armoury the iron of a mill-stone.' 
 When he came before the banner of our 
 Lady, he stood still and to the most part 
 of the barons of France he said openly : 
 ' Sirs, I am sent hither to you from the 
 king of Hungary, and he desireth you by 
 me that ye set not on your enemies until 
 such time as ye have word again from him ; 
 for it ought to be doubted lest our scouts 
 have not brought the certainty of the num- 
 ber of the Turks : but within these two 
 hours ye shall hear other tidings, for we 
 have sent other foreriders forth to aview 
 our enemies more substantially than the 
 first did : and, sirs, ye may be sure the 
 Turks shall not endamage us, if ye tarry 
 till all our whole puissance be together. 
 Sirs, this is the order that the king and 
 his council hath ordered : I must return 
 again to the king.' When he was departed, 
 the French lords assembled them together 
 to know What was best for them to do. 
 Then it was demanded of the lord Coucy 
 what he thought best to be done. He 
 answered and said : ' I would counsel to 
 obey the king of Hungary's commandment, 
 for that order seemeth to be good.' And 
 as it was informed me, sir Philip of Artois, 
 earl of Eu and constable of France, was 
 not contented that the advice had not 
 first have been demanded of him ; then he 
 for pride and despite held the contrary 
 opinion and said : ' Yea, sir, yea, the king 
 of Hungary would have the flower and 
 chief honour of this journey. We have the 
 vaward, he hath granted it to us, and now 
 he would take it from us again. Believe 
 him who will,= for I do not.' And then 
 he said to the knight that bare his banner : 
 ' In the name of God and Saint George,' 
 ye shall see me this day a good knight.' 
 
 When the lord Coucy heard the con- 
 stable speak these words, he took it done 
 
 1 ' Un fer dc moulin ' : it would be what is called 
 a cross moline,' that is a cross with the ends 
 divided and turned outwards both ways like the 
 flukes of an anchor fancree). 
 
 jj That is, ' obey him who will.' 
 
 s The better text gives, 'Advance banner, in the 
 name of God and Saint George.' 
 
 of a great presumption. Then he looked 
 on sir John of Vienne, who bare the 
 standard of our Lady, and demanded of 
 him what he thought best to be done. 
 ' Sir,' quoth he, ' whereas wise reason can- 
 not be heard, then pride must reign, and 
 sith that the earl of Eu will needs set on, we 
 must needs follow : howbeit, we should be 
 the stronger an if our puissance were whole 
 together.' Thus as they devised in the 
 field, still the Turks approached, and the 
 two wings, each of sixty thousand men, 
 began to approach and to close, and had 
 the Christian men between them, so that if 
 they would have reculed, they could not, 
 for they were closed in with the Saracens, 
 the wings were so thick. Then divers 
 knights that were well expert in arms saw 
 well the journey should be against them ; 
 howbeit, they advanced and followed the 
 banner of our Lady, borne by the valiant 
 knight sir John of Vienne : every knight of 
 France was in his coat armour, that every 
 man seemed to be a king, they were so 
 freshly apparelled. As it was shewed me, 
 when they began first to fight with the 
 Turks, they were not past a seven hundred 
 men. Lo, behold the great folly and out- 
 rage, for if they had tarried for the king of 
 Hungary, who were threescore thousand 
 men, they had been likely to have done a 
 great act ; and by them and by their pride 
 all was lost, and they received such damage 
 that sith the battle of Roncesvaulx, whereas 
 the twelve peers of France were slain, 
 Christendom received not so great a 
 damage. Howbeit, or they were discom- 
 fited, a great number of Turks were slain ; 
 for the Frenchmen discomfited the first 
 battle of the Turks and had them in chase 
 till they came into a valley, where Amurath- 
 baquin was with his whole puissance. 
 Then the Frenchmen would have returned 
 to their host, but they could not, for they 
 were closed in on all parts. There was a 
 sore battle : the Frenchmen endured long. 
 Then news came to the king of Hungary 
 how the Frenchmen, Englishmen and Al- 
 mains were fighting with the Turks, and 
 had broken his commandment and counsel 
 given them by his marshal; wherewith he 
 was sore displeased, and not without good 
 cause. Then he saw well how he was 
 hkely to lose that journey : then he said to 
 the great master of the Rhodes, who was by 
 
BATTLE OF NICOPOLI 
 
 445 
 
 him : ' Sir, we shall this day lose the 
 journey by reason of the pride of the 
 Frenchmen, for if they would have be- 
 lieved me, we had been strong enough to 
 have fought with our enemies. ' And there- 
 with the king of Hungary looked behind 
 him and saw how his men fled away and 
 were discomfited in themselves : then he 
 saw well there was no recovery ; and such 
 as were about him cried and said : ' Save 
 yourself ; for if ye be slain, all Hungary is 
 lost. Ye shall lose the field this day by 
 reason of the pride of the Frenchmen : 
 their valiantness turneth to foolish hardi- 
 ness, for they shall be all slain or taken, 
 none is likely to scape : therefore, sir, if 
 ye believe us, save yourself and scape this 
 danger.' 
 
 The king of Hungary was sore displeased 
 when he saw how he had lost the journey 
 by disordering of the Frenchmen, and saw 
 no remedy but to fly or else be taken or 
 slain. Great murder there was, for in 
 flying they were chased and so slain. They 
 of Hungary fled without order, and the 
 Turks chased them : howbeit, God aided 
 the king of Hungary and the great master 
 of the Rhodes, for they came to the river 
 of Dunoe and found there a little barge 
 pertaining to the Rhodes. They entered 
 into it but with seven persons and so 
 went off the shore, or else they had been 
 slain or taken ; for the Turks came to the 
 river side and there slew many a Christian 
 man, such as had followed the king to save 
 themselves. 
 
 Now let us speak of the Frenchmen and 
 Almains, who fought valiantly. When the 
 lord of Montcavrel, a right valiant knight 
 of Artois, saw that the discomfiture ran 
 upon them, he had by him a son of his, a 
 young man. Then he said to a squire of 
 his : ' Take here my son and lead him 
 away by yonder wing which is open and 
 save him, and I will abide the adventure 
 with other of my fellows.' When the child 
 heard his father say so, he said how he 
 would not depart ; but the father did so 
 much, that perforce the squire led him 
 away out of peril and came to the river of 
 Dunoe : but there the child had such care 
 for his father, that he took small regard to 
 himself, so that he fell into the river be- 
 tween two barges and there was drowned 
 without remedy. Also sir William of 
 
 Tremouille fought in that battle valiantly 
 and there was slain, and his son by him ; 
 and sir John of Vienne, bearing the banner 
 of our Lady, was slain, and the banner in 
 his hands. Thus all the lords and knights 
 of France that were there were destroyed 
 by the manner as ye have heard. Sir John 
 of Burgoyne, earl of Nevers, was so richly 
 beseen, and in like wise so was sir Guy 
 de la Riviere and divers other lords and 
 knights of Burgoyne, that they were taken 
 prisoners. And there were two squires of 
 Picardy right valiant men, called Gilliam 
 Beu and the borgne of Montquel, these two 
 by valiantness two times passed through 
 the field and ever returned in again and 
 did marvels, but finally there they were 
 slain. To say the truth, the Frenchmen 
 and other strangers that were there acquitted 
 themselves valiantly, but the Frenchmen's 
 pride lost all. There was a knight of 
 Picardy called sir Jaques of Helly, who 
 had dwelt before in Turkey and had served 
 Amurath-baquin, and could somewhat 
 speak the language of Turkey. When he 
 saw the battle lost, he yielded himself, and 
 the Saracens, who are covetous of gold 
 and silver, took and saved him. Also a 
 squire of Tournesis called Jaques du Fay, 
 who had before served the king of Tartary 
 called Tamburin,^ as soon as this Jaques 
 knew that the Frenchmen came to make 
 war in Turkey, he took leave of the king 
 of Tartary and departed, and was on the 
 said field and taken prisoner by the king 
 of Tartary's men, who were there in the 
 aid of Amurath-baquin ; for king Tam- 
 burin of Tartary had sent to him great 
 number of men of war. 
 
 The Frenchmen were so richly arrayed, 
 that they seemed like kings ; whereby 
 they were taken and their lives saved : for 
 Saracens and Turks are covetous ; they 
 trusted to have great ransoms of these that 
 were taken, and reputed them greater lords 
 than they were. Sir John of Burgoyne 
 earl of Nevers was taken prisoner : in 
 like wise were the earls of Eu and de la 
 Marche, the lord Coucy, sir Henry of Bar, 
 sir Guy de la Tremouille, Bouciquaut and 
 divers other ; and sir Philip of Bar, sir 
 John of Vienne, William of Tremouille 
 and his son, slain, and divers other. This 
 battle endured three hours fighting, and 
 1 That is, Tamerlane. 
 
446 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 the king of Hungary lost all his baggage 
 and all his plate and jewels, and was glad 
 to save himself but with seven persons with 
 him in a little barge of the Rhodes, else 
 he had been taken or slain without re- 
 covery. There were more men slain in 
 the chase than in the battle, and many 
 drowned : happy was he that might scape 
 by any manner of means. 
 
 When this discomfiture was done and 
 past, and that the Turks [and] such as were 
 sent thither by the soudan were withdrawn 
 into their lodgings, which was into tents 
 and pavilions that they had conquered, 
 which they found well replenished with 
 wine and meat ready dressed, wherewith 
 they refreshed them and made joy and 
 revel like such people as had- attained 
 victory on their enemies, then Amurath- 
 baquin with a great number of minstrels, 
 according to the usage of their country, 
 came to the king of Hungary's chief tent, 
 which was goodly apparelled and hanged 
 with rich stuff; and there he took great 
 pleasure and glorified in his heart of the 
 winning of that journey and thanked their 
 god according to their law. Then he un- 
 armed him, and to refresh him he sat down 
 on a tapet of silk and caused all his great 
 lords to come to him to jangle and to talk 
 with them. He made as great mirth as 
 might be, and said how he would shortly 
 with great puissance pass into the realm 
 of Hungary and conquer the country and 
 after other countries upon the Christian 
 men, and to bring them to his obeisance : 
 for he said he was content that every man 
 should live after their own laws, he desired 
 nothing but the seignory ; but he said he 
 would reign hke Alisander of Macedon, 
 who was twelve year king of all the world, 
 of whose lineage he said he was descended. 
 All that heard him agreed to his saying. 
 Then he made three commandments : the 
 first was that whosoever had any prisoner 
 Christian, to bring him forth the second 
 day after into his presence : the second was 
 that all the dead bodies should be visited 
 and searched, and such as were likely to be 
 noblemen to be laid apart by themselves in 
 their raiments till he came thither himself, 
 for he said he would see them : the third 
 was to enquire justly if the king of Hungary 
 were dead or alive. All was done as he 
 commanded. 
 
 When Amurath-baquin had well refreshed 
 him, then to pass the time he went to 
 the place where the field was to see the 
 dead bodies ; for it was shewed him that 
 he had many of his men slain and that the 
 battle had cost him greatly, of the which 
 he had great marvel and could not be- 
 lieve it. Then he mounted on his horse 
 and a great number with him : he had 
 with him two of his brethren called Ali- 
 Basach and Sour-Basach, as some people 
 said, but he would not be known of them,^ 
 for he said he had no brethren. When he 
 came to the place where the battle was, he 
 found it of truth that there were many 
 dead and slain : he saw that for one 
 Christian man dead he found thirty Turks 
 slain ; wherewith he was marvellously dis- 
 pleased, and openly said : ' Here hath been 
 a cruel battle and marvellously defended of 
 the Christian men, but I shall make them 
 that be alive to buy it dearly.' Then the 
 king went to his lodging and so passed 
 that night in great furour of heart ; and in 
 the morning, or he was up, much people 
 came to his tent to know what they should 
 do with the Christian prisoners : the re- 
 nown ran that they should all be put to 
 death without mercy. Amurath-baquin, 
 for all his displeasure, ordained that such 
 Christian men as were in the battle in great 
 array, and likely to be great men, should be 
 all set together in one part ; for it was 
 shewed him that they might well pay great 
 ransoms. Also there were divers Saracens 
 and paynims of Perse, of Tartary, of Araby, 
 and Syrians, that had many prisoners, by 
 whom they thought to have great ad- 
 vantage, as they had indeed : they hid 
 them out of the way, so that they came not 
 to knowledge. Among other sir Jaques 
 of Helly was brought before Amurath- 
 baquin : he that had him durst not hide 
 him no longer. Sir Jaques de Helly was 
 beknown with some of the king's servants, 
 who took him from them that had him, 
 which was happy for him, as ye shall 
 hear after, for many Christian men were 
 afterward cruelly slain and put to death. 
 
 King Basach had commanded to enquire 
 which were the greatest of the Christian 
 men, and that they should be set aside to 
 
 1 'He had with him Ali-Basach and Sour- 
 Basach, who some said were his brethren, but be 
 would not acknowledge them.* 
 
FATE OF THE PRISONERS 
 
 447 
 
 the intent to save their lives. So they 
 were tried out and set apart, first the lord 
 John of Burgoyne, earl of Nevers, who was 
 chief above all other, and then sir Philip of 
 Artois earl of Eu, the earl of Marche, the 
 lord Coucy, sir Henry of Bar, sir Guy of 
 Tremouille, and other to the number of 
 eight persons, and Amuralh-baquin went 
 to see and to speak with them, and beheld 
 them a long season, and he conjured these 
 lords by their faith and law to say the 
 truth, if they were the same persons that 
 they named themselves for : and they 
 saicl, ' Yea. ' And yet to know the more 
 certainty he sent to them the French 
 knight sir Jaques of Helly to know them ; 
 for he had served Amurath-baquin before, 
 therefore he had his life granted him. He 
 was demanded if he knew the French 
 knights prisoners. He answered and said : 
 ' I think, if I see them, I shall know them.' 
 Then he was commanded to go and aview 
 them and to shew plainly their names. 
 He did as he was commanded ; and when 
 he came to them, he shewed them his ad- 
 venture and how he was sent thither to 
 know surely their names. Then they said : 
 ' Ah, sir Jaques, ye know us all, and ye see 
 well how fortune is against us and how we 
 be in danger of this king : therefore to 
 save our lives make us rather greater than 
 we be indeed, and shew the king that we 
 be such men able to pay great ransoms.' 
 ' Sirs,' quoth he, ' so shall I do, for I am 
 bound thereto.' Then this knight returned 
 to Amurath - baquin and to his council, 
 and said how those knights which he had 
 spoken with were of the greatest men in all 
 France and were of the king's lineage, and 
 said they were able to pay great ransoms. 
 Then Amurath-baquin said how their lives 
 should be saved, and all other prisoners 
 to be slain and hewen all to pieces in ex- 
 ample of all other. Then the king shewed 
 himself before all the people that were 
 there assembled, to whom they all made 
 low reverence : they made a lane for 
 him to pass through, every man with his 
 sword naked in his hand, and so came 
 thither, where the said lords of France 
 stood together. Then the king would see 
 the correction of the other,-' which thing 
 the Saracens were desirous to do. 
 
 1 ' For the king desired that they should witness 
 the punishment of the rest.' 
 
 Then they were all brought before 
 Amurath-baquin naked in their shirts, and 
 he beheld them a little and then turned 
 from them-ward and made a sign that they 
 should be all slain, and so they were 
 brought through the Saracens, that had 
 ready naked swords in their hands, and so 
 slain and hewen all to pieces without mercy. 
 This cruel justice did Amurath-baquin that 
 day, by the which more than three hundred 
 gentlemen of divers nations were tormented 
 and slain for the love of God, on whose 
 souls Jesu have mercy. Among other was 
 slain sir Henry d'Antoing of Hainault. 
 And so it was, the lord Bouciquaut, 
 marshal of France, was one of them that 
 was brought naked before the king, and 
 had been slain with other, an the earl of 
 Nevers had not espied him. As soon as 
 he saw him, he went straight to the king 
 and kneeled down and desired him affectu- 
 ously to respite from the death that knight 
 sir Bouciquaut, saying how he was a great 
 man in France and able to pay a great 
 ransom. Amurath-baquin condescended 
 to the request of the earl of Nevers, and 
 so sir Bouciquaut was set among them that 
 should be saved. Thus cruel justice was 
 done that day upon the Christian men ; 
 and because that Amurath-baquin would 
 that his victory should be known in France, 
 he appointed out three of the French 
 knights to come before him, whereof sir 
 Jaques of Helly was one. Then the king 
 demanded of the earl of Nevers which of 
 the three knights he would choose to send 
 into France to the king and to the duke of 
 Burgoyne his father. Then the earl of 
 Nevers said : ' Sir, an it please you, I 
 would that this knight, sir Jaques of Helly, 
 should go thither from you and from us.' 
 So sir Jaques tarried with Amurath-baquin, 
 and the other two knights delivered to 
 death and so slain, which was pity. 
 
 Then Amurath-baquin was well appeased 
 of his furour and understood how the king 
 of Hungary was scaped away alive : then 
 he determined to return into Turkey to a 
 city called Bursa, and so he did, and thither 
 all the prisoners were brought ; and then 
 his army departed, and specially such as 
 were of far countries, as Tartary, Perse, 
 Mede, Surie, Alexandre and of Lecto. 
 Then sir Jaques Helly was delivered to 
 return into France, and he was commanded 
 
448 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 to return through Lombardy and to re- 
 commend Amurath-baquin to the duke of 
 Milan, and also he was straitly commanded 
 that in every place as he passed to manifest 
 and publish the victory that Amurath- 
 baquin had upon the Christian men. The 
 earl of Nevers wrote to the French king 
 for himself and all his company, and to his 
 father the duke of Burgoyne and to the 
 duchess his mother. When this knight 
 had his charge, as well by writing as by 
 credence, he departed and took his way 
 towards France. Or he departed, he was 
 sworn and promised, as soon as he had 
 done his message in France, incontinent 
 to return again thither, which oath and 
 promise he accomplished like a true 
 knight. 
 
 Now we will leave speaking at this time 
 of Amurath-baquin and of the lords of 
 France prisoners, and we will speak of 
 other matters that fell the same season. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXIV [CCXVIII] 
 
 Of the poverty and misery that the Christian 
 knights of France and other nations 
 endured in the coming home to their 
 country. 
 
 After this great discomfiture, that the 
 Turks had upon the Christian men, such 
 knights as could save themselves, did. The 
 .same iVIonday there was a three hundred 
 knights and squires that were gone a- 
 foraging and were not at the battle ; for 
 when they knew by them that fled that 
 the battle was done, they had no desire 
 to return again to their lodgings, but fled 
 as well as they might and took divers ways 
 to fly from the Turks. There fled both 
 Frenchmen, Englishmen, Almains, Scots, 
 Flemings and of other nations, and they 
 came into a country joining to Hungary, 
 called Blacquie ; ^ it was a country re- 
 plenished with divers people, they were 
 conquered upon the Turks and turned per- 
 force to the Christian faith. The keepers 
 of the ports, towns and castles suffered 
 these Christian men to enter and to lodge ; 
 but the ne.xt morning at their departure 
 they took from these knights and squires 
 all that they had and gave them poor coats 
 1 Wallachia. 
 
 and a little silver to pass therewith one 
 day's journey. This grace they shewed to 
 the gentlemen, and as for other yeomen 
 and varlets, they were spoiled all naked 
 and sore beaten and evil entreated without 
 pity. So they passed through the country 
 of Blacquie in great poverty, and through 
 Hungary : they could scant get bread for 
 God's sake, nor lodging at night. They 
 endured this danger in passing till they 
 came to Vien in Austrich : there they were 
 received more sweetly and refreshed and 
 new clad, and so through the realm of 
 Boeme ; for if they had found the Al- 
 mains so hard, they had never turned 
 again, but rather died for cold and hunger. 
 Every man that heard them tell of that 
 adventure had pity on them. So finally 
 they came into France to Paris and there 
 shewed their adventures. At the beginning 
 they could not be believed : some in Paris 
 said : 'It is pity these unthrifts be un- 
 hanged or drowned for telling of such lies.' 
 Howbeit, these tidings daily multiplied 
 with resorting of new men. 
 
 When the French king understood that 
 these news daily renewed, they were 
 nothing pleasant to him ; for it was a. 
 great damage of the loss of the noblemen 
 of his blood and of other good knights and 
 squires of the realm of France. Then he 
 commanded no man to be so hardy to 
 speak any more of that matter, till he were 
 better informed of the certainty, and com- 
 manded that all such as were come out 
 of Hungary should be taken and put in 
 prison, till the truth were known. So 
 there were many put into prison, and the 
 king had ordained, that if the news were 
 not true, that they should be all drowned, 
 and put to death. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXV [CCXIX] 
 
 How the true tidings of the battle in Turkey 
 was known in the French king's house. 
 
 So it was, on Christmas day sir Jaques 
 Helly about the hour of noon entered into 
 Paris and so took his lodging, and de- 
 manded where the king was ; and it was 
 shewed him that he was at Saint-Pol's on 
 the river of Seine : then he went thither. 
 There was with the king the duke of 
 
TIDINGS BROUGHT TO FRANCE 
 
 449 
 
 Orleans his brother, the duke of Berry, 
 the duke of Burgoyne, the duke of Bour- 
 bon and the earl of Saint-Pol, and divers 
 other noblemen of the realm of France, as 
 the usage was for such noblemen to be 
 with the king at such high feasts. So sir 
 Jaques of Helly entered into tlie court 
 booted and spurred : as then he was not 
 beknown, for he had of long time haunted 
 far countries. He did so much that he 
 came to the king's chamber, and said how 
 he came from Amurath-baquin out of 
 Turkey, and had been at the battle before 
 Nicopoly, where the Christian men had 
 lost the journey, and said he had letters 
 from the earl of Nevers and from other 
 lords of France, such as were prisoners. 
 Then he was brought to the king : he 
 kneeled down and wisely declared his mes- 
 sage, as well from Amurath-baquin as from 
 the earl of Nevers and other lords of 
 France prisoners in Turkey. The king 
 gave him audience, and was sweetly e.x- 
 amined of all the whole matter, and to 
 everything he answered so discreetly, that 
 the king-was well content with him, and 
 was right sorrowful for the damage that the 
 king of Hungary and they had sustained. 
 Howbeit, they were glad that the king of 
 Hungary was scaped without death or prison- 
 ment; for they said he should recover right 
 well again the loss and damage that he had 
 received at that time ; also they were right 
 joyful that the earl of Nevers and the other 
 lords were escaped the death, and Avere 
 but as prisoners ; and they said there was 
 no doubt but they should be ransomed and 
 delivered : for sir Jaques of Helly said there 
 was no doubt but that Amurath-baquin 
 would within the year put them to ransom, 
 for he loved gold and riches, and that sir 
 Jaques said he knew well, because he 
 had long been conversant in Turkey and 
 served Amurath-baquin's father more than 
 three year. Thus the king right well 
 received this knight, and so did all other 
 lords, such as were there ; and every man 
 said he was happy in this world to be in 
 such a battle and to have the acquaintance 
 of such a heathen king as Amurath-baquin 
 was, saying it was an honour for him and 
 for all his lineage. Then the king com- 
 manded all such as were in prison to be 
 delivered, whereof they were glad. 
 
 Thus these news that sir Jaques of Helly I 
 2 G 
 
 had brought spread anon abroad in France 
 and in other places ; many were right 
 sorrowful for the loss of their fathers, 
 brethren, husbands and children, and not 
 without good cause, and specially the 
 great ladies of France, as the duchess of 
 Burgoyne for her son the earl of Nevers, 
 and her daughter Margaret of Hainault 
 was sorrowful for the earl her husband : in 
 like wise was dolorous Mary of Berry, 
 countess of Eu, for her husband Philip of 
 Artois, constable of France, and in like 
 wise so was the countess of Marche, the 
 lady of Coucy and her daughter of Bar, the 
 lady of Sully and many other ladies, as well 
 of France as of other places ; and when they 
 had wept enough, then they recomforted 
 themselves, in that they were not slain but 
 prisoners : but such as knew their husbands, 
 fathers, brethren, children and friends dead, 
 their lamentations endured long in France. 
 The duke of Burgoyne made much of 
 this knight sir Jaques of Helly, who had 
 brought him word that his son was alive, 
 and gave him many rich gifts and retained 
 him as one of his knights with two hundred 
 pound of revenues yearly during his life. 
 The French king and all other lords gave 
 largely to this knight. Then he shewed how 
 he must needs return again to Amurath- 
 baquin, for that was his promise at his de- 
 parting, for he stood but as prisoner, and 
 said how he had not returned but to do 
 this message from Amurath-baquin. The 
 king and other thought it but reasonable 
 that he should keep his promise. Then 
 the king and other wrote to these prisoners, 
 and it was concluded by council that the 
 French king should send a knight of honour 
 to Amurath-baquin, to the intent that he 
 might return again to bring new tidings, in 
 what case the prisoners were in. There 
 was appointed to go in this voyage sir John 
 of Chateau Morant, who was a wise knight 
 and well languaged. Then it was de- 
 manded of sir Jaques what jewels or 
 presents the king might best send to 
 Amurath-baquin and that should best 
 please him, to the intent that the prisoners 
 should be the better entreated. The 
 knight answered that Amurath-baquin took 
 great pleasure in cloths of Arras made of 
 old ancient histories, and also, he said, he 
 had great delight in these white falcons 
 called gerfalcons ; also he said that fine 
 
450 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROrSSABT 
 
 linen cloths and fine scarlets were much 
 made of there, for of cloth of gold and 
 silk they had plenty. This pleased well 
 the French king and the duke of Burgoyne, 
 whose minds were set to please Amurath- 
 baquin. Thus a twelve days sir Jaques 
 of llclly tarried at Paris, and every man was 
 glad to hear him report the adventures of 
 Turkey and of the manner of Amurath- 
 baquin. 
 
 When he departed to return, the king 
 said to him ; ' Sir Jaques, take your way 
 and make but small journeys at your ease : 
 I think ye will return by Lombardy and 
 speak with the duke of Milan, for there is 
 great amity between him and Amurath- 
 baquin ; but which way soever ye go, we 
 will that sir John of Chateau Morant abide 
 in Hungary till ye have got him a safe- 
 conduct to go to Amurath-baquin with such 
 presents as we shall send him, to the in- 
 tent that he should be the more favourable 
 to the prisoners.' 'Sir,' quoth he, 'all 
 this shall be done.' So he departed and 
 took the same way he came. Anon after 
 his departure the king and the duke of 
 Burgoyne did prepare for these presents, 
 and sir John of Chateau Morant despatched 
 and had his charge. He had with him six 
 somers laden with presents, two of them 
 with cloths of Arras of the goodliest that 
 could be got, wrought with the story of 
 Alexander, of his life and conquests, right 
 pleasant to behold; other two somers were 
 charged with fine scarlets, white and red ; 
 and also with much pain the king gat of 
 these white gerfalcons. Thus sir John of 
 Chateau Morant departed from Paris with 
 his presents and charge a fifteen days after 
 that sir Jaques of Helly was departed. 
 
 In this mean season the king of Plungary 
 returned into his country, whereof all his 
 people were right joyful, for they loved 
 him ; and so came and comforted him and 
 said : * Sir, though ye have had damage at 
 this time, another time ye shall right well 
 recover it.' Thus the king bare his damage 
 as well as he might. On the other part, 
 Amurath-baquin returned into his country 
 and came to a town called Bursa, and 
 thither were all the prisoners brought and 
 there set under sure keeping. They were 
 nothing there at their ease ; the heat of 
 the country and diet sore changed them ; 
 for they had been used before to sweet and 
 
 delicate meats and drinks, and had their 
 own cooks and officers that did prepare 
 their meats according to their diets, and 
 there in Turkey they were served all con- 
 trary, with gross meats, flesh evil sodden 
 and dressed ; they had spices enough and 
 bread made of millet, clean from the nature 
 of France ; they had wine, and that was 
 with great danger.^ Though they were all 
 great lords, they were but smally regarded 
 there : the Turks had as lieve they had 
 been sick as whole and dead as alive ; 
 they would they had been all put to execu- 
 tion. So these prisoners comforted each 
 other within themselves, for they saw none 
 other remedy : so some of them their 
 nature changed and fell into sickness ; he 
 that made the best cheer and countenance 
 was the earl of Nevers, and that he did to 
 comfort his companions ; also sir Bouci- 
 quaut and the earl of Marche and sir Henry 
 of Bar were of good comfort and took every- 
 thing patiently, saying that the honours in 
 arms nor the glory of the world could not 
 be had without pain and sometime with 
 meeting of hard adventures, for they said 
 that there was never so valiant and happy, 
 that had always everything as they wished : 
 they said they were bound to thank God 
 that he had saved their lives, considering 
 the displeasure that Amurath-baquin and 
 his council were in for the loss of their 
 men ; * for it was once determined that 
 we should all generally have been put to 
 death.' Then Bouciquaut said: ' I ought 
 above all other to thank God of my life, 
 for I was at the point to have been hewen 
 all to pieces, as other of my company were ; 
 but at the request of my lord here, the earl 
 of Nevers, I was saved. This adventure 
 call I good, and sith God hath delivered us 
 from this peril, he will, an it please him, 
 deliver us from a greater ; for we be his 
 soldiers and for his sake we have this 
 pain. For by reason that sir Jaques of 
 Helly is gone into France, I trust within a 
 year we shall have good comfort and be 
 delivered : the matter cannot abide thus : 
 the French king and the duke of Burgoyne 
 will not forget us, but by some means ran- 
 somed and delivered.' 
 
 Thus sir Bouciquaut recomforted himself 
 and took everything in good patience ; but 
 the lord Coucy could take no comfort, 
 1 ' With great difficulty,' or ' in great scarcity.' 
 
RETURN OF JAQUES DE HELLY 
 
 451 
 
 which was marvel, for before that time he 
 was a lord of great wisdom and of great com- 
 fort and never was abashed ; but being thus 
 m prison in Bursa in Turkey, he was more 
 discomforted than any other and in more 
 melancholy, and said he was sure he should 
 never return into France. Sir Henry of 
 Bar comforted him as much as he might 
 and blamed him of his discomfort, saying 
 how he ought to give comfort to all other. 
 Howbeit, the same sir Henry was sore 
 abashed in himself and oftentimes remem- 
 bered his wife and would weep piteously ; 
 and in like wise so did sir Philip of Artois, 
 earl of Eu and constable of France : sir 
 Guy of Tremouille was of good comfort 
 and so was the earl of Marche. Amurath- 
 baquin was content sometime that they 
 should have some pastime, and' sometime 
 he would go himself and see them and 
 jangle and bourd with them right graci- 
 ously, and would that they should see part 
 of his estate and puissance. Now let us 
 leave somewhat to speak of them, and 
 speak of sir Jaques of Helly and sir John 
 of Chateau Morant, who were both riding 
 towards Hungary. 
 
 Sir Jaques of Helly tarried in the city of 
 Bude in Hungary about a ten or twelve 
 days, abiding for sir John of Chateau 
 Morant ; and when he was come, sir Jaques 
 was joyful, for he was desirous to pass 
 forth into Turkey, to acquit him of his 
 faith and promise, and to see the earl of 
 Nevers and the lords of France and to 
 comfort them. When the king of Hungary 
 saw sir John of Chateau Morant, he made 
 him good cheer for the love of the French 
 king, and he understood that the French 
 king had sent by him great presents and 
 jewels to Amurath-baquin, wherewith he 
 was sore displeased in his mind, but he 
 dissimuled the matter and kept it covert 
 till sir Jaques Helly was departed into 
 Turkey-ward ; but he said to such of his 
 privy council as he discovered the matter 
 unto, how that the miscreant dog his ad- 
 versary Amurath-baquin should have no 
 presents out of France not from no place 
 else, if it lay in his power to let it. Sir 
 Jaques Helly was departed, and promised 
 to get of Amurath-baquin a safe -conduct 
 for sir John Morant to pass into Turkey 
 and repass. So long he travelled with 
 guides, that he came into Turkey to the 
 
 city of Bursa, but as then Amurath-baquin 
 was in another city called Boli, and where- 
 soever he went the prisoners were carried 
 with him, except the lord Coucy, who 
 tarried still at Bursa, for he could not en- 
 dure to ride, he was so sick, and with him 
 tarried a cousin of his of Greece, a. right 
 valiant baron descended of the lineage of 
 the dukes of Austrich, who was called 
 Metelin.^ When sir Jaques was come to 
 Boli, Amurath - baquin was glad to see 
 him, because he was come out of France. 
 Then sir Jaques right humbly said to him : 
 ' Right dear and redoubted sir, behold 
 here your prisoner : to the best of my 
 power I have done your message that ye 
 gave me in charge to do.' Then Amurath- 
 baquin said : ' Thou art welcome, thou 
 hast truly acquitted thyself, and therefore 
 I acquit thee of thy ransom and prison, so 
 that thou mayst go, return and tarry at 
 thy pleasure.' Whereof sir Jaques right 
 humbly thanked him. Then he shewed 
 how the French king and the duke of 
 Burgoyne had sent a knight of honour 
 embassade to him with credence, and had 
 brought with him certain presents of plea- 
 sure from the French king. Amurath- 
 baquin demanded what they were and if 
 he had seen them or not. The knight 
 answered : ' Sir, I have not seen them, but 
 the knight that hath the charge to do the 
 message is at Bude in Hungary; and, sir, 
 I am come before to shew you thereof and 
 to have a safe-conduct for the said knight 
 to come and to return safely.* Then 
 Amurath-baquin said : ' We will that he 
 have one, as thou wilt devise ' ; whereof the 
 knight thanked him. So they departed as 
 at that time. Another time sir Jaques 
 spake with Amurath-baquin and kneeled 
 down before him and humbly required that 
 he might see the lords and knights of 
 France, for he had divers things to say to 
 them out of their country. Amurath- 
 baquin studied a little or he answered, 
 and at last said : ' Thou shalt speak with 
 one of them but with no more ' ; and so 
 sent for the earl of Nevers alone : and 
 when he was come sir Helly kneeled down 
 to him.^ The earl was glad to see him 
 
 r ' And for him had remained as hostage a cousin 
 of his of Greece . . called the lord of Metelin ' 
 (that is, Mitylene). 
 
 2 ' S'enclina vers luy.' 
 
452 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and demanded how the French king and 
 the duke his father and the duchess his 
 mother did. The knight shewed him all 
 that he knew and all that he was charged 
 to say to him ; howbeil, they had not so 
 good leisure to talk together as they would 
 have had, for Amurath-baquin's men that 
 were there present bade them have done, 
 for they said they had other things to do 
 than to stand there and wait upon them. 
 Then sir Jaques demanded of the earl how 
 all the other lords of France did. The 
 earl said they were all in good case except 
 the lord of Coucy, who was somewhat 
 diseased and was at the city of Bursa. 
 Then sir Jaques shewed him how sir John 
 of Chateau Morant was come out of France 
 from the king and from the duke of Bur- 
 goyne in ambassade to Amurath-baquin ; 
 * and to assuage his ire he hath sent him 
 rich jewels and presents ; but he is at 
 Bude in Hungary with the king there, and 
 I am come before for a safe -conduct for 
 him to come and go, the which Amurath- 
 baquin hath granted, and I think I shall 
 return to him shortly.' Hereof the earl 
 was right joyous, but he durst make no 
 semblant for fear of the Turks, but said : 
 ' Sir Jaques, I understand by you that ye 
 are quit of your ransom and prison and 
 that ye may return when it pleaseth you 
 into France. When ye come there, I pray 
 you shew the king and my father that we 
 all desire them to treat as shortly as may 
 be for our deliverance by some merchants 
 Genoways or Venetians, and agree at the 
 first word to that Amurath-baquin shall 
 desire for our ransom : for if they should 
 make long treaty with him, we shall be 
 lost for ever : for I understand Amurath- 
 baquin is true of his word, courteous antl 
 short in all his matters, so he be taken at 
 the point.' 
 
 Thus the earl of IS^evers and sir Jaques 
 departed. When the safe - conduct was 
 ready, it was delivered to sir Jaques. Then 
 he took his leave of Amurath-baquin and 
 of other of his court of his acquaintance, 
 and rode so long by his journeys that he 
 arrived at Bude in Hungary. Then he 
 drew to sir John Morant, who thought 
 long for him. Then sir Jaques said : ' Sir, 
 I have brought you a safe -conduct to go 
 into Turkey, and all your company, and to 
 return again at your pleasure.' * I am 
 
 glad thereof,' quoth the knight; 'let us go 
 to the king of Hungary and shew him 
 thereof, and then to-morrow betimes let 
 us depart, for I have tarried here long 
 enough.' Then they both together went 
 to the king into his chamber and shewed 
 him all the matter. The king then an- 
 swered and said : ' Sir John Morant, and 
 ye, Helly, ye be welcome : ye shall go at 
 your pleasure for the love of my cousins of 
 France, to whom I would be glad to do 
 pleasure and to you also. Ye may go and 
 come through my realm at your pleasure, 
 and also into Turkey, if ye please ; but as 
 for your presents, that you, sir John, have 
 brought out of France, I will not agree 
 that ye shall convey them to that hell- 
 hound Amurath-baquin ; he shall never be 
 enriched therewith : it should turn to our 
 great shame and rebuke, if he should make 
 his avaunt that because he hath had victory 
 on us and hath in danger and prison cer- 
 tain lords of France, that for fear thereof 
 there should be sent to him rich presents. 
 As for the gerfalcons, I care not for, for 
 fowls fly lightly out of one country into 
 another, they are soon given and soon lost : 
 but as for rich hangings of Arras, are things 
 to be seen and to endure for ever. Where- 
 fore, sir John Morant, if ye will pass into 
 Turkey with your gerfalcons, go when it 
 please you, but as for any other thing, ye 
 shall have none with you.' 
 
 Then the knight answered and said ; 
 ' Certainly, sir, it should not be mine 
 honour, nor pleasant to the French king 
 nor to the lords that have sent me hither, 
 without I might accomplish my voyage as 
 I have in charge.' 'Well,' quoth the 
 king, ' ye shall have none other way of me 
 at this time.' So the king went from them 
 and left the two knights speaking together. 
 They were sore troubled with the abusion 
 on the king of Hungary. Then they coun- 
 selled together what was best for them to 
 do : then they determined to send hasty 
 messengers to the French king and to the 
 duke of Burgoyne, sith they saw they could 
 have none other remedy. They wrote 
 letters to the king and to the duke of Bur- 
 goyne, that they should provide for the 
 matter : they sent their letters by post, to 
 make the more haste, and tarried still them- 
 selves at Bude with the king of Hungary 
 abiding the return of their messenger. 
 
THE SURVIVING PKISONERS RANSOMED, 1397 
 
 453 
 
 This messenger sped so well and made 
 such diHgence, that he came lo Paris and 
 there found the king and the duke of ]!ur- 
 goyne ; and there shewed his letters, and 
 they were read at length, with the which 
 they were nothing pleased and had marvel 
 that the king of Flungary would not suffer 
 his presents to pass through his country 
 into Turkey. The duke of Berry excused 
 the king of Hungary and said how he had 
 good cause to do as he did, ' for it is a thing 
 too humbly done for the king to send such 
 presents to an heathen king.' The duke of 
 Burgoyne, because the matter touched him, 
 he was of the contraiy opinion, and said it 
 was a thing reasonable so to do, sith that for- 
 tune had been so favourable to him to have 
 the victory in such a battle, and hath had 
 the king of Hungary in chase, and hath taken 
 prisoners all such noblemen as were against 
 him in that journey, ' wherefore the friends 
 of these prisoners may well find the means 
 to comfort them for their deliverance.' 
 This duke's words were upholden with the 
 king and with divers of his council. Then 
 the king demanded of his uncle of Berry 
 saying : ' Fair uncle, if Amurath-baquin, 
 the soudan or any other heathen king send 
 you a ruby or a rich jewel, whether will ye 
 receive it or not?' 'Sir,' quoth he, 'I 
 would take advice.' Then the king said : 
 ' It passeth not yet ten year sith the soudan 
 sent you a ruby which cost twenty thousand 
 franks.' So the king of Hungary's deed 
 was not sustained, but it was said that he 
 had evil done to stop the going of these 
 presents, and that it should rather hinder 
 the prisoners than advance them. Then 
 the king was counselled to write to the 
 king of Hungary amiable letters, desiring 
 him not to stop his knight, but suffer him 
 to pass into Turkey with his presents and 
 message. Then letters were written, 
 sealed and delivered again to the same 
 messenger, and so he departed to return 
 into J-Iungary. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXVI, CCXVH 
 [CCXX, CCXXI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The duchess of Orleans 
 •vas charged with causing the king''! malady, 
 ind the duke of Milan made this a cause of 
 luarrel with the French king. The news 
 
 of the battle of Nicopoli stopped them from 
 war. 
 
 The duke of Bzirgundy did all he 
 could to redeem his son a7id the other 
 prisofters. 
 
 By the influence of the grand master of 
 Rhodes, sir John de Chateau Alorant and 
 sir Jaques de TJelly were allowed to take the 
 French kings presents into Turkey, 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXVIH-CCXX 
 [CCXXII-CCXXIV] 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — The duke of^ Gloucester 
 schemed against his nephew king Richard 
 of England a7id stirred up the people 
 against him. 
 
 King Richard by subtlety caused Jiim to 
 be taken. 
 
 The lord of Coucy died at Rroussa and 
 the earl of Ku at Ephesus. The earl of 
 Nevers and the rest were raiisomed and 
 returned t>y Rhodes ajid Venice to France. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXI [CCXXV] 
 
 How after the return of the lords of France 
 the French king intended what he might 
 to set a concord and peace in the Church. 
 
 The earl of Nevers thus returned into 
 France ; he abode about the duke his father 
 and visited his lands and seignories. Then 
 he had desire to go to see the French king 
 and the duke of Orleans, who received 
 him with great joy. The king and the 
 duke of Orleans had great appetite to hear 
 the earl speak, and to hear of the news of 
 Turkey and of all his adventures and of 
 the state of Amnrath-baquin. The earl 
 answered wisely and complained nothing 
 of Amurath-baquin, but said he had found 
 him right courteous, and how that he was 
 well entreated ; and he forgat not to shew 
 the king and the ladies how at his depart- 
 ing Amurath-baquin said to him that he 
 was born in this world to do deeds of arms 
 and to conquer ever more and more, and 
 how that he would not command them 
 when they were prisoners that they should 
 no more bear arms against him, but said 
 he would rather have them come again the 
 
434 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 second, third or fourth time, if need were, 
 if the deeds of arms so required ; and also 
 he said how his intent was to see Rome 
 and to make his horse eat oats upon Saint 
 Peter's altar ; and also he said how our 
 Christian faith was nothing worth, but 
 corrupted by the heads that ought to 
 govern them, whereat the Turks make but 
 a mock ; wherefore he said it should be 
 the destruction of Christendom and that 
 the time was as then come : and divers of 
 the Turks and Saracens said that their 
 king Amurath-baquin was born to be lord 
 of all the world ; and this they of Turkey, 
 of Tartary, of Perse, of Alexandre and of 
 other parts of the Saracens' lands said 
 they knew it well that it should be so, by 
 reason that the Christian men were abused 
 upon two popes, whereby the Christian 
 men were not all of one accord,' but 
 differed, some believing on the one pope 
 and some upon the other; and the Saracens 
 had great marvel how the heads of Christen- 
 dom in every realm would suffer it. 
 
 These words of the earl of Nevers made 
 the French king and other lords greatly to 
 muse, and some said how the Saracens had 
 good reason to laugh and mock at Christen- 
 dom, because they suffered the prelates of 
 the Church to meddle so much : therefore 
 some said it was time to abate their pomps 
 and to bring them to reason. The clerks 
 of the university of Paris, who travailed to 
 learn, could not come to any preferment of 
 any benefice by reason of the schism in the 
 Church and of the two popes ; wherefore 
 they would gladly that the people should 
 murmur against them, and were right glad 
 that the earl of Nevers said thai the Turks 
 made a great derision thereof; and said 
 that, without the French king and the 
 king of Almaine found some remedy, 
 everything should be worse and worse : 
 and to say the truth, such as held them as 
 neuter they thought had taken the best 
 way, and so every man ought to do, if 
 they would bring the Church into good 
 case. Also it was secretly shewed the 
 French king by such as he loved and such 
 
 1 It should be : 'and by what he had seen and 
 heard, they knew in Turkey, in Tartary, in Persia, 
 in Alexandria, in Cairo and in all parts of the Sara- 
 cens' land, how the Christians erred through those 
 who wrote themselves popes, as well as they did in 
 France, and how the Christians were not all of one 
 accord,' etc. 
 
 as loved his health, how that it was the 
 common opinion in the realm of France 
 that he should never have perfectly his 
 health unto the time that the Church were 
 brought in another estate. And also they 
 shewed the king how that king Charles 
 his father, when he lay in his death-bed, 
 charged his council in conscience,' and 
 had great doubt that he was sore abused in 
 those two popes. Then the French king 
 answered them and said : ' When the king 
 my father died, I was but young, and I 
 have believed hitherto such as have coun- 
 selled me. If there be folly, it is in them 
 and not in me : but sith we be now thus 
 informed in the matter, we shall provide 
 for the remedy, and that shall be well 
 seen.' 
 
 The French king marked the matter 
 more profoundly than ever he did before, 
 and said to them of his council how he 
 would provide for the matter, and spake 
 thereof to his brother the duke of Orleans, 
 earl of Blois and of Valois, who agreed 
 anon to the king's will. In like wise so 
 did the duke of Burgoyne ; for though he 
 obeyed pope Clement, yet he had never 
 firm behef on him, but the prelates of the 
 realm of France, and specially Guy of 
 Roye, archbishop of Rheims, the arch- 
 bishops of Sens and of Rouen, and the 
 bishop of Autun, they had brought the 
 duke to believe on pope Clement. Then 
 it Avas advised by the king's secret council, 
 that if they purposed to bring the Church 
 to rest and peace, to have the accord of 
 Almaine. Then was there sent sufficient 
 ambassadors and clerks of both laws, as 
 master Philip of Plaoul was one, into 
 Almaine to the king of Boeme and of 
 Almaine, who wrote himself king of the 
 Romans. This matter went so forward, 
 that a day was set that the king of Almaine 
 and his council and the French king and 
 his council should met personally at the 
 city of Rheims. This matter was done 
 secretly, because the prelates, cardinals, 
 archbishops and bishops should not break 
 their purpose that they were about. They 
 made it to be noised that the meeting of 
 these two kings and their councils at Rheims 
 was for none other purpose but to treat for 
 
 1 ' Had charged his council, and doubted that he 
 were deceived in the matter of these popes, and 
 held his conscience much charged by it.' 
 
DEATH OF GUY DE BLOIS, 1397 
 
 455 
 
 a marriage to be had between the son of 
 the marquis of Brandebourg, brother to the 
 king of Almaine, and the daughter of the 
 duke of Orleans, and so by reason and 
 under colour of that matter they would 
 commune of other. 
 
 In this same season died at Avesnes in 
 Hainault the lord Guy of ChatiUon, earl of 
 Blois, and brought to Valenciennes and 
 buried at Saint Francis in the Friars 
 Minors, in a chapel called the chapel of 
 Artois. He had done much cost in the 
 closing of the said Friars, and when he 
 died he was so in debt,' that the countess 
 Mary of Namur forsook all his goods and 
 durst not take on her the administration of 
 his testament, but returned to her dowry of 
 the land of Chimay and of Beaumont, and 
 his other heritages went to the heirs. The 
 duke of Orleans had the county of Blois, 
 for he had paid while the earl Guy lived 
 two hundred thousand crowns of France, 
 and the lands of Holland, Zealand and 
 Hainault went to the duke Aubert of 
 Bavier, earl of Hainault, and the land of 
 Avesnes, of Landrecies and of Nouvion in 
 Thierache, fell to John of Blois, called 
 John of Bretayne, and if the earl had not 
 sold the county of Blois, the said John of 
 Bretayne should have been his heir thereof. 
 Consider what a damage a lord or any 
 other may do to his heir by giving credence 
 to evil counsel. God forgive him." 
 
 Now let us return to the business of 
 England. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXII [CCXXVI] 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — The duke of Gloucester was 
 taken to Calais and put to death, and the 
 earl of Arzindel was executed in London, 
 The king did what he would in England, 
 and none dared speak against hint. 
 
 1 ' True it is that he was building a very fair and 
 notable chapel in the close of the said minor friars 
 and near by, where he thought to lie. And he died 
 so much in debt,' etc. 
 
 2 Here in the fuller text we read also an acknow- 
 ledgment by Froissart of the liberality with which 
 the said earl of Blois had supported the e.xpenses 
 of his historical work, and an excuse for the dis- 
 honourable transactions connected with the sale of 
 the county of Blois, on the ground that he was 
 deceived by the counsel of others who wished him 
 neither honour nor profit. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXUI [CCXXVH] 
 
 SUMMARY. — At the meeting of the 
 emperor and the French king at Rheims, 
 it was resolved to seiid to both popes and 
 demand that they should resign and submit 
 to a new election. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXXIV-CCXXVH 
 
 [ccxxvni-ccxxxi] 
 
 SUMMAR Y. — The earl marshal in Eng- 
 land appealed the earl of Derby of treason, 
 and a combat was appointed to be betweeii 
 them before the king. The king was 
 counselled not to allow the combat, and gave 
 sentence accordingly that both should be 
 banished. The earl of Derby went into 
 France and came to Paris, where he 7vas 
 well received by the king and all others. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXVHI [CCXXXH] 
 
 How the treaty that had been at Rheims 
 between the French king and the king of 
 Almaine concerning the unity of the 
 Church, was followed, and how the bishop 
 of Cambray was sent by the said king to 
 Rome and to Avignon to them that wrote 
 themselves popes, to the intent that they 
 should depose themselves from their papali- 
 ties and submit them to the order of these 
 two kings. 
 
 Ye have heard herebefore how the king of 
 Almaine and the king of France and the 
 lords of the Empire and their councils had 
 been at the city of Rheims, and there they 
 had divers secret counsels ; and their inten- 
 tion was to bring the Church into a perfect 
 unity ; for to follow the way that the 
 Church held as then, the error was too 
 great. And also ye have heard how 
 master Peter d'Ailly, bishop of Cambray, 
 was sent in legation to Rome to speak 
 with pope Boniface. He sped him so in 
 his journey that he came to Fondes and 
 there found pope Boniface, and to him he 
 delivered his letters of credence directed 
 from the kings of Almaine and of France. 
 The pope received them and the bishop 
 right meekly : the pope knew well part of 
 his message. Then the bishop declared 
 
456 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Ihe cause of his coming. When the pope 
 had well heard him, he said how the 
 answer lay not all only in him, but also in 
 all the cardinals that had chosen him 
 pope ; but, he said, when he had spoken 
 with them by deliberate counsel, then he 
 would make such an answer that he trusted 
 to content them. This answer was sufficient 
 for that time. The bishop dined that day 
 in the pope's palace and certain cardinals 
 with him. Then after the pope departed 
 from Fondes and went to Rome, and there 
 the pope assembled a convocation of the 
 cardinals in his palace beside Saint Peter's 
 church. In this consistory there were none 
 but the pope and his cardinals, and there 
 the pope shewed the request that the king 
 of Almaine and the French king had made 
 him by the bishop of Cambray, and there 
 he demanded counsel what answer he 
 should make. There were then many 
 reasons alleged, for it seemed right con- 
 trary to the cardinals to put down that they 
 had made : they said it should be greatly 
 to their shame and rebuke. Then they 
 said to the pope : ' Holy father, to cause 
 these kings to be in a good hope that ye 
 will obey to them, ye must somewhat dis- 
 simule the matter and say how ye will 
 gladly obey to all thing that the king of 
 Almaine, the king of Hungary and the 
 king of England will counsel you unto ; so 
 that he that is in Avignon, who writeth 
 himself pope Benedict, whom the French 
 king and the Frenchmen uphold in his 
 error, that he depose him of the name of 
 papality : and then, wheresoever it shall 
 please the said kings to appoint a conclave, 
 ye will be ready and all your brethren the 
 cardinals.' This counsel pleased well pope 
 Boniface. This was the special and general 
 answer that the bishop of Cambray had. 
 
 And when the Romans understood that 
 the kings of Almaine and of France had 
 sent to their pope their ambassade to have 
 him to leave his papality, anon there 
 multiplied great murmuration through the 
 city of Rome, and the Romans doubted 
 greatly to lose the pope's siege, which was 
 yearly to them a great profit ; for all 
 pardons that should be two year after, the 
 vantage thereof should grow to the city of 
 Rome, and against that pardon they had 
 made great provision, wherefore they 
 doubted lest it should have been lost. 
 
 which should greatly have been to their 
 prejudice.^ Then the most notablest per- 
 sons in Rome assembled together and came 
 to the pope, and shewed him more sign of 
 love than ever they had done before, and 
 said : * Holy father, ye are the true pope, 
 therefore lose not your heritage and patri- 
 mony of the Church, the which was Saint 
 Peter's : take never counsel to the contrary, 
 but abide still as pope, for whosoever be 
 against you, we shall abide with you and 
 jeopard our bodies and goods to defend you 
 in your right.' The pope answered and said : 
 ' My well beloved children, be of good com- 
 fort, and be well assured that I will abide as 
 pope, for any treaty of king or kings to the 
 contrary.' Thus the Romans were con- 
 tented and appeased and returned to their 
 houses. The pope's answer was always to 
 the bishop of Cambray, that when he per- 
 ceived clearly that Benedict deposed him- 
 self, then he said he would be ordered by 
 the said kings. 
 
 So the bishop returned and came into 
 Almaine and found the king at Convalence,^ 
 and there he shewed the answer that he 
 had at Rome. Then the king of Almaine 
 said : ' Well, shew all this to our brother 
 and cousin the French king, and as he 
 ordereth himself, so shall I order me and 
 all the Empire ; but as far as I can see, he 
 must begin first, and when he hath put 
 down his pope, then we shall put down 
 ours.' Then the bishop departed from the 
 king and rode till he came to Paris, where 
 he found the French king ; and there the 
 bishop shewed his answer, which was kept 
 secret till the king had assembled together 
 more number of noblemen and prelates of 
 his realm, by whom he would be coun- 
 selled, how he should proceed further. 
 
 1 The reference is no doubt to the expected pro- 
 fits of the jubilee in the year 1400, that is two years 
 after. It should be ' to lose the pope's see, which 
 was yearly to them a great profit, and also with 
 regard to the general pardons which should be in 
 two years to come,' etc. The general pardon for 
 all pilgrims in the jubilee year would attract large 
 numbers to Rome. 
 
 - Coblentz. 
 
AFFAIRS OF THE CHURCH, 1398 
 
 457 
 
 CHAPTER. CCXXIX [CCXXXIII] 
 How the French king assembled Ihe prelates 
 and other noblemen of his realm with the 
 university of Paris, to take counsel how they 
 should order pope Benedict at Avignon. 
 
 When the French king had heard the 
 answer of pope Boniface at Rome, and 
 how the king of Almaine in like wise 
 answered how that first pope Benedict 
 must be put down ; that done, then he 
 would make a convocation of prelates and 
 noblemen of his realm and come to Paris. ^ 
 There were certain prelates in France, as 
 the archbishop of Rheims, sir Guy of Roye, 
 and the archbishops of Rouen and Sens, 
 and the bishops of Paris, of Beauvois and 
 of Auxerre, they had sore sustained the 
 opinions of pope Benedict at Avignon, and 
 specially of Clement, because he was 
 advanced by their means : ^ these six pre- 
 lates were not called to the king in this 
 council, but other prelates and the uni- 
 versity of Paris. And when the bishop of 
 Cambray had shewed before them all how 
 he had sped at Rome, and the answer that 
 pope Boniface and his cardinals had made 
 him, and the answer of the king of Almaine, 
 then they entered into council, and it was 
 agreed that the university should have the 
 greatest voice.' Then it was determined 
 by the university^ that the king should 
 send sir Bouciquaut his marshal into the 
 parts of Avignon, and to do so much by 
 treaty or otherwise, that Benedict should 
 leave his papality and to ordain himself in 
 all points by the king and his council, and 
 that the Church in all the limitations in the 
 realm of France should be as neuter, till 
 the Church were brought into perfect unity ; 
 and that done, then everything to return to 
 the true right. 
 
 This counsel was thought good and was 
 accepted of the king and all other. Then 
 the marshal of France and the bishop of 
 
 ■' Badly translated. It should be: 'When the 
 French king had heard the answer of pope Boniface 
 and how the king of Almaine had said also that 
 first pope Benedict must submit, he made a con- 
 vocation of the noblest prelates of his realm, and 
 they came all to Paris.' 
 
 2 * Because he had advanced and benefited them.' 
 
 3 'And my opinion is that the university had the 
 greatest voice. 
 
 4 The words 'by the university' are inserted by 
 the translator. 
 
 Cambray were ordained to go to Avignon. 
 They departed from Paris and rode till they 
 came to Lyons on the river of Rhone ; and 
 there they two departed asunder, for it was 
 ordained that the marshal should tarry there 
 still till he heard tidings from the bishop, 
 who rode forth and so came to Avignon. 
 There were some of the cardinals that 
 knew well wherefore he came, but they 
 dissimuled the matter to know what pope 
 Benedict would say. When the bishop of 
 Cambray had refreshed him at his lodging 
 and had changed his apparel, then he went 
 to the pope's palace ; and when he came 
 in the pope's presence, he made his rever- 
 ence, but not in such wise as he ought to 
 have done, if he had taken him as pope, as 
 other men did ; and yet he made him bishop 
 of Cambray, but that promotion he had by 
 the means of the lords of France. Then the 
 bishop of Cambray, who was well languaged 
 both in Latin and in French, spake and 
 shewed how he was sent thither from the 
 French king and from the king of Almaine, 
 and so began his process ; and when the 
 bishop came to the utterance of the matter, 
 how the pope should resign and depose 
 himself frorn the papal dignity, and that he 
 that was at Rome should do likewise, with 
 these words the pope began to change 
 colour, and lift up his voice and said : ' I 
 have endured great pain and travail for the 
 Church, and by good election I was created 
 pope, and now to depose myself, that I 
 shall never do during my life ; and I will 
 that the French king know that, for all his 
 ordinance, I will do nothing thereafter, but 
 I will keep my name and papality till I die. ' 
 ' Sir,' quoth the bishop of Cambray, 'saving 
 your grace, I took you for more prudent 
 than I now find you : first demand counsel 
 of your brethren the cardinals and then 
 make answer ; for you alone cannot make 
 no resistance against them, if they agree to 
 this opinion, nor ye are not able to resist 
 the puissance of the kings of France and 
 Almaine.' Then two cardinals that were 
 there, such as the pope had made before, 
 they perceiving the matter not likely to do 
 well, rose and said to the pope : ' Holy 
 father, the bishop of Cambray speaketh 
 well. Sir, we desire you to do herein after 
 his counsel.' 'Well,' quoth the pope, 'I 
 am content.' So they departed for that 
 time, and the bishop went to his lodging. 
 
458 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and went not to see any cardinals but dis- 
 simuled himself. 
 
 The next day betimes the bell sowned 
 to the consistory, and then there was a 
 convocation of all the cardinals that were 
 at Avignon : they all assembled at the 
 palace and entered into the consistory, and 
 thither was called the bishop of Cambray, 
 who in Latin shewed at length his message 
 and the cause of his coming thither. When 
 he had said, then he was answered how the 
 pope should take counsel to answer, and 
 in the mean time he to depart out of the 
 house, and so he did. And in the mean 
 season Benedict and his cardinals coun- 
 selled together and were long debating of 
 the matter, and many thought it hard and 
 a contrary matter to put down that they 
 had created. Then the cardinal of Amiens 
 spake and said : ' Lords, whether we will 
 or not, it must behove us to obey the 
 French king and the king of Almaine, sith 
 they be conjoined together, for without 
 them we cannot live. Howbeit, we should 
 do well enough with the king of Almaine, 
 if the French king would take our part : 
 but it is otherwise, for he commandeth us 
 to obey or else he will stop from us the 
 fruits of our benefices, without the which 
 we cannot live. True it is, holy father, 
 that we have created you as pope on the 
 condition that to your power ye should aid 
 to reform the Church and to bring it into 
 perfect union, and this ye have always said 
 and maintained. Therefore, sir, answer 
 attemperately and in such manner as we 
 may praise you ; for, sir, ye ought better 
 to know your own courage than we.' 
 Then divers other of the cardinals said : 
 ' Sir, the cardinal of Amiens sayeth well 
 and wisely ; wherefore, sir, we pray you 
 all in general that ye will speak and shew 
 us what ye will do.' Then Benedict 
 answered and said : ' The union of the 
 Church I desire, and I have taken great 
 pain therein ; but sith God of his divine 
 grace hath provided for me the papality, 
 and that ye have chosen me thereto, as 
 long as I hve I will be pope, and I will not 
 depose myself nother for king, duke, earl 
 nor other treaty, nor by no process nor 
 means, but that I will abide pope.' Then 
 the cardinals rose up all together with 
 great murmuring ; some said he had spoken 
 well and some said contrary. Thus they 
 
 differed and were in discord ; the most part 
 departed out of the consistory and took no 
 leave of the pope and returned to their 
 lodgings ; some, such as were in this pope's 
 favour, tarried still with him. 
 
 When the bishop of Cambray saw how 
 they departed in such manner, he knew 
 well they accorded not well, and therewith 
 advanced himself and entered into the con- 
 sistory, and so came to the pope while he 
 sat still in his see, and without doing of 
 any great reverence said : ' Sir, give me 
 mine answer : sith ye have had your coun- 
 cil about you, ye ought to give me mine 
 answer, that I may return.' This pope 
 Benedict, who was in great displeasure for 
 the words that the cardinal of Amiens had 
 spoken, said : ' Bishop of Cambray, I have 
 counsel of divers of my brethren the car- 
 dinals, who hath created nie into the 
 dignity papal, and have received all the 
 solemnities thereto belonging, and am 
 written and named pope by all my sub- 
 jects, and as pope I will abide as long as 
 I live. I will not do the contrary, to die 
 in the pain;-^ for I have done no cause 
 why to lose it. And say to our son of 
 France that hither-unto I have taken him 
 as a good catholic prince, but now by 
 sinister means if he will enter into great 
 error, he will repent it. I pray you to say 
 to him from me, that he be well advised 
 how he inclineth to anything that should 
 trouble his conscience.' Therewith this 
 Benedict rose out of his chair and went into 
 his chamber, and certain cardinals with 
 him ; and the bishop Cambray returned to 
 his lodging and dined soberly, and then 
 after took his horse and passed the bridge 
 of Rhone and came to Villeneuve, and 
 at night lay at Bagnols, which pertained 
 to the realm of France ; and he understood 
 that sir Bouciquaut, marshal of France, 
 was come to Bourg Saint-Andrew, a nine 
 leagues from Avignon. The next day 
 thither came the bishop of Cambray and 
 shewed him the answer of Benedict. 
 
 When the marshal understood that this 
 pope Benedict would not obey the king his 
 master's ordinance, he said to the bishop : 
 ' Sir, ye are best to return into France, ye 
 have no more to do here, and I shall exe- 
 cute that I am commanded to do by the 
 king and his uncles.' The next day the 
 1 That is, ' if I should die for it.' 
 
THE POPE BESIEGED AT AVIGNON 
 
 459 
 
 bishop departed and took the way to 
 Aiibenas and to Puy, and the marshal 
 set clerks awork to write, and sent for 
 knights, squires and men of war through 
 all the country of Velay, of Viviers and 
 Auvergne, to Montpellier, for he had com- 
 mission so to do by the king ; and also he 
 sent to the seneschal of Beaucaire, that he 
 should close all the passages, as well by 
 the river of Rhone as by land, to the intent 
 that nothing should enter into Avignon. 
 He went himself to the Pont Saint-Esprit 
 and closed there the passage over the river 
 of Rhone, that nothing should enter that 
 way into Avignon. Thus the marshal daily 
 gathered men of war, and many came to 
 serve him, some for obeisance and some to 
 pill and rob them of Avignon. There 
 came to him sir Raymond of Touraine and 
 the lord de la Voulte, the lord of Tournon, 
 the lord of Montclau and the lord d'Uzes, 
 so that the marshal had a great number of 
 men. Then the marshal sent an herald to 
 defy pope Benedict in his palace, and all 
 the cardinals that would take his part. 
 This was hard tidings to the cardinals and to 
 them in the city of Avignon, for they knew 
 well they could not long sustain the war 
 against the puissance of the French king. 
 Then they determined to go and speak 
 with the pope, and so they did, and shewed 
 him how they could not nor would not sus- 
 tain the war against the French king ; for, 
 they said, they must live and have their mer- 
 chandise to go as well by land as by river. 
 This Benedict answered foolishly ^ and 
 said : ' Sirs, your city is strong and well 
 provided : I will send for men of war from 
 Genes and into other places, and to my 
 son the king of Aragon, that he come and 
 serve me, which I am sure he will do, for 
 he is bound thereto for two causes, he is of 
 my lineage and also he ought to be obeisant 
 to the pope. Sirs, ye are abashed of too 
 little a cause : go your ways and keep and 
 defend your town and I shall keep my 
 palace.' Other answer the cardinals and 
 men of the city could not have of this Bene- 
 dict ; so every man returned home. This 
 Benedict had of long time purveyed his 
 palace with wine, corn, lard, oil, and of 
 all other things pertaining to a fortress, and 
 also he was of his person high and cruel 
 and would not be abashed for a little thing. 
 1 The true reading is 'felleirent,' 'angrily.' 
 
 The marshal of France departed from 
 Pont Saint-Esprit and passed with all his 
 company by the town of Orange, and so 
 entered into the country of Venese,' which 
 was land pertaining to the Church, the 
 which anon was overrun. And the men of 
 war passed at the bridge of Sorgues, and 
 so they were lords of all the river, and the 
 marshal tarried in the town of Sorgues with 
 a great number of men of war to keep the 
 town and passage, and also the garrison of 
 Noves, which pertained to the pope.- 
 Then the marshal went and lodged at 
 Saint -Verain near to Avignon, and his 
 men thereabout ; and daily came thither 
 men of war, so that the city of Avignon 
 was closed in before and behind by land 
 and by the river, so that nothing could 
 enter nor issue without leave. For at 
 Villeneuve without Avignon, which per- 
 tained to the realm of France, was the 
 seneschal of Beaucaire with five hundred 
 men and kept the entry on that side, and 
 the marshal of France with two thousand 
 men was on the other side of Avignon ; 
 and he sent to them of the city that, with- 
 out they would obey and open their city, 
 that he would burn all their vines and 
 houses abroad in the country about to the 
 river of Durance. That summoning greatly 
 abashed the men and women within the 
 city, for their heritages lay without Avig- 
 non unto the river of Durance. Then they 
 went to council without knowledge of the 
 pope, and they called to their council 
 certain cardinals, as the cardinal of Amiens, 
 of Poitiers, of Neufchatel, of Viviers and 
 divers other. Then such as had most to 
 lose shewed these cardinals how the mar- 
 shal of France had threatened them to 
 bren their vines and their houses, and all 
 this had caused the French king, against 
 whom they could not resist, for his puis- 
 sance was so near them : and all things 
 considered, they said they were better to 
 obey to the French king than to hold their 
 perilous opinions, for of Benedict they 
 could have no aid nor comfort ; and they 
 demanded of these cardinals if they would 
 join and take their part. The cardinals 
 said they were content to take their ways, 
 
 1 That is, the Venaissin. 
 
 2 ' And the marshal left a great number of men of 
 arms at Sorgues to guard the passage, and for the 
 garrison of Noves, which held for the pope. ' 
 
46o 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 for victuals began to fail them, and also 
 their benefices were in the realm of France, 
 which, they said, they would not willingly 
 lose. So they entered into treaty with the 
 marshal of France, the which took such 
 effect that all the men of war entered into 
 the city of Avignon and it was appointed 
 to besiege the palace. Their covenant 
 was to do no hurt nor displeasure to the 
 cardinals nor to none of their men, nor to 
 the whole body of the town. This to do 
 the marshal promised. So they entered 
 into Avignon and lodged at their ease and 
 liberty, and then all the passages, as well 
 by land as by water, were opened, to the 
 intent that all manner of victual might 
 come to the city. 
 
 When he that wrote himself pope Bene- 
 dict, being closed in his palace, saw that 
 the cardinals and the men of the city had 
 made a treaty with the marshal of France 
 without his counsel or advice, he was 
 therewith sore displeased ; howbeit, he 
 said that he would not submit himself, to 
 die in the pain, and so he kept himself 
 close in his palace, which was as strong a 
 place as any in the world and most easiest to 
 be kept, so that it be well victualled. This 
 pope had sent letters to the king of Aragon 
 instantly to succour him in his need and 
 to send him men of war, that he might be 
 able to resist the marshal of France. Also 
 he sent the king word in his letter that if 
 he could get him thence from Avignon, he 
 would go and keep his see apostolic in 
 Aragon, at Pcrpignan or at Barcelone. 
 The king of Aragon saw well the pope's 
 letters, but he made no force of them, and 
 said to his council that \vere about him : 
 ' What, weeneth this priest that to sustain 
 him and his arguments I .shall enterprise 
 to make war against the French king to 
 aid him? Then I might well be reputed 
 a fool.' 'Sir,' quoth his council, 'ye say 
 truth : ye have no need to meddle in that 
 matter; for, sir, ye may be sure the French 
 king hath such counsel about him that he 
 would make no war against him without a 
 just cause. Let the clergy alone ; for if 
 they purpose to live, the prelates must 
 obey the great lords under whom their 
 rents and revenues are : they have long 
 kept them in peace. And also, sir, the 
 French king hath written to you already, 
 desiring you to determine you and your 
 
 country to be neuter, as he is and will be : 
 and, sir, ye were best so to do, for my lady 
 the queen, who is the French king's cousin- 
 german, is content so to be, and so is the 
 most part of your realm, and the clergy 
 in like wise, and specially Cataloyne and 
 Spain : and, sir, we think it is the best 
 opinion, for if all Christian kings do not 
 the same, the Church shall never come to 
 unity by reason of [the] two popes.' Thus 
 the king of Aragon and his council devised 
 together, and pope Benedict was still in 
 his palace, trusting to have aid of the king 
 of Aragon, but he was deceived. And the 
 marshal of France was within the city of 
 Avignon, and the palace was so kept that 
 none could issue out nor enter in : they 
 lived with that store they had, for of 
 victuals they had sufficient for two or three 
 year, but they lacked wood to make fire 
 withal and to seethe their meat, which 
 made them abashed. Every week the 
 marshal heard news from the French king 
 and the king from him, and the king com- 
 manded him that he should not depart 
 thence till he had achieved his enterprise. 
 Thus the pope could not issue out of the 
 palace, there was such watch la^d on him. 
 The conclusion was, when this Benedict 
 saw that he was so straitly kept, and that 
 fire failed him and other provisions daily 
 discreased, and saw no comfort nor aid 
 came to him from no part, at last he yielded 
 at the request of certain of the cardinals, 
 and the treaty was thus, that he should not 
 depart out of Avignon, till there was made 
 an union in the Church. And a certain 
 guard was set about him, and the cardinals 
 and rich men of Avignon bound themselves 
 to keep this Benedict so strait, that they 
 should render account of him again either 
 quick or dead. .Such cardinals as had their 
 benefices in France took great pain to 
 make this treaty and composition, for they 
 said all with one accord that they would 
 abide with the French king. 
 
 Thus this business ended at that time, 
 and every man departed, and the marshal 
 went to Paris, and anon after he ordained 
 him to go into the realm of Tlungaiy, for 
 the king of Hungary had written to the 
 French king how Amurath -baquin as- 
 sembled great puissance of men of war, 
 of Turks, Ai-abs, Tartars and Surians, and 
 of divers other of his sect, to fight with 
 
DEATH OF JOHN OF GAUNT, 1399 
 
 461 
 
 him. The earl of Derby the same season 
 being at Paris in the house of Chsson 
 near to the Temple, was willing to go into 
 Hungary; which should be the less cost 
 to the French king, for he had every week 
 ready paid him five hundred crowns of gold, 
 and the earl thought himself much bound 
 to the French king for that grace. And 
 when that tidings came from the king of 
 Hungary into France, the earl of Derby 
 intended well to that matter and thought 
 in himself that voyage to be right honour- 
 able for him to pass his time there, where- 
 by he should the lightlier forget the time 
 of his trouble ; and spake to them of his 
 special council, and they counselled him to 
 go in that voyage, so that he knew first 
 the duke of Lancaster his father's pleasure 
 in that behalf. Then the earl sent one of 
 his knights called Dymoke' into England 
 to know his father's pleasure. This knight 
 came into England and found the duke of 
 Lancaster at a castle a twenty mile from 
 London, called Hertford ; there he shewed 
 him his son's intent. And when the duke 
 understood the mind of the earl his son 
 and the good will that he had to go into 
 Hungary to pass the time of his banish- 
 ment, he was right well content, and said 
 to the knight : ' Sir, ye are welcome ; your 
 words and my son's letter requireth coun- 
 sel. Ye shall rest you here with us a 
 season, and in the mean while we shall 
 take advice ; and in the while ye may go 
 and see my son's children, for ye nrust bear 
 tidings of them to their father. ' ' Sir, ' quoth 
 the knight, *ye say true.' So this knight, 
 sir Dymoke, tarried a season in England. 
 
 Now had the French king good occasion 
 to write to the king of Almaine and to his 
 council, in what case he had brought pope 
 Benedict and the cardinals. The king 
 then sent thither a noble ambassade, as 
 the patriarch of Jerusalem, sir Charles of 
 Hangest and other knights, and they found 
 the king at Strasburg and did their mes- 
 sage,- wherewith the king and his council 
 were well content, and said how they would 
 determine on that matter. But they said 
 they would gladly that the king of Eng- 
 i John Dymoke, who married the heiress of the 
 manor of Scrivelsby, and thus acquired the title 
 attached to that fief of Champion of the Crown. 
 He made the challenge at the coronation of Henry 
 IV., and his descendants continued to perform the 
 same ceremony down to the present century. 
 
 land should take the same way, the which 
 they feared should be hard to do. With 
 this answer the ambassadors returned into 
 France and shewed the king what they had 
 done and seen. The French king then, 
 to the intent to bring his purpose to pass, 
 sent again into England to king Richard, 
 and the messengers shewed the king the 
 cause of their coming. The king gave good 
 hearing to the matter, but as then he had 
 not the prelates of the realm nor the clergy 
 with him, nor were not so pliable to follow 
 his pleasure as they in France to follow 
 the pleasure of their king, and this he 
 shewed to the French king's messengers : 
 howbeit, he said he would do his devoir, 
 and so he did. And so the messengers 
 returned into France. And king Richard 
 on a day at Westminster assembled all his 
 prelates and clergy of England; and when 
 they were there, the king shewed wisely 
 the difference there was in the Church, and 
 how the French king, by deliberation and 
 advice of council and by consent of the 
 university of Paris and other clerks, he was 
 determined to be neuter, and in like wise 
 so are the kings of Spain, of Scotland, of 
 Aragon and of Navarre, and how that all 
 Almaine, Boeme and Italy were of the 
 same opinion. In like wise the king of 
 England desired that his realm should 
 follow the same. When the prelates and 
 the clergy, who knew nothing why they 
 were sent for, heard that matter, they had 
 great marvel and were sore abashed. Some 
 stood still and spake no word, and some 
 began to murmur and said : * Our king is 
 become French ; he intendeth to nothing 
 but to dishonour and destroy us : but he 
 shall not. What, would he bring us out 
 of our belief? Pie may do so much that 
 he shall have evil thereof. Let us not 
 follow this opinion, sith the French king 
 taketh that way. Let him hold himself 
 neuter, and let us hold still our belief, and 
 let no man put it from us, without there be 
 greater appearance of a surer foundation 
 than we see as yet.' When king Richard 
 saw the difference and murmuring of the 
 clergy, he caused the bishop of London to 
 demand of all the clergy what was best to 
 do. They all answered that the matter 
 was so great, that therein required great 
 counsel and dehberation, and so they de- 
 parted and every man went to his lodging. 
 
462 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 And when the Londoners knew the 
 cause of that assembly and the request 
 that the king had made, they were then 
 sore troubled against the king (for the 
 people of England were so firn:ily set on 
 the believing on the pope at Rome, that 
 they would not leave it), and said how 
 Richard of Bordeaux would destroy them 
 all, if he be let alone : ' his heart is so 
 French that he cannot hide it ; but a day 
 will come to pay for all, that he shall re- 
 pent him and all such as give him such 
 counsel.' Whatsoever the king said to have 
 his people neuter, they would in no wise 
 agree thereto. And the French king was 
 not well content with his son king Richard, 
 in that he had not incontinent caused his 
 realm to have been neuter : but to say the 
 truth, the king was not to blame therein ; 
 and also such accidents fell soon after, the 
 which were so great and horrible, that the 
 like hath not been seen in all this history 
 upon no king Christian except of noble 
 king Peter of Lusignan, king of Cypre 
 and Jerusalem, whom his own brother and 
 the Cyprians martyred.^ 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXXX-CCXXXII 
 [CCXXXIV-CCXXXVI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The duke of Lancaster 
 wrote advising the earl 0/ Derby not to go to 
 Hu7igar}'j and shortly after this he fell sick 
 and died. King Richat'd rejoiced at his 
 death, and took such part of his lands as 
 pleased hiin. Theji hearing of a treaty of 
 marriage between the earl of Derby and the 
 duke of Berry s daughter^ he sent itito 
 France a^id hindered it, accusing the earl 
 of Derby of treason. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXXXIII-CCXXXV 
 [CCXXXVII-CCXXXIX] 
 
 SUMMARY, —King Richard zuent to 
 Bristol, i7itending to pass over into Irelaiid. 
 The kingdom was in a very unqiiiet state, 
 and the Londoners especially vnir7nured 
 against the kifzg. At length they se7it the 
 archbishop of Cai^terbury to speak with the 
 earl of Derby. The earl of Derby accepted 
 the proposal which was ?7iade to hi7n, and 
 1 The better reading is 'murdrirent,' 'murdered.' 
 
 havi7ig take7t leave of the Fre7ich ki7ig, he 
 went to get aid from the dnke of Brittany, 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXXXVI, CCXXXVU 
 [CCXL, CCXLI] 
 
 SUMMARY. — The earl of Derby sailed 
 fro77t Van7ies a7id arrived at Plymouth?- 
 The7ice he rode to Lo7ido7i and was well 
 received. Frofu Lo7idon he set forth with 
 ait ar7ny to Bristol, a7id was joined by 
 7)iany. 
 
 The ki7tgy wke7i he heard of this, left 
 Bristol a7td came to Fli7it castle. 
 
 ■ CHAPTER CCXXXVIU [CCXU] 
 
 How king Richard yielded himself to the 
 earl of Derby to go to London. 
 
 The earl of Derby and the Londoners had 
 their spies going and coming, who reported 
 to them all the state of the king, and also 
 the earl knew it by such knights and squires 
 as daily came from the king's part to the 
 earl, who had sure knowledge that the 
 king was gone to the castle of Flint, and 
 had no company with him but such as were 
 of his own household, and seemed that he 
 would no war, but to scape that danger by 
 treaty. Then the earl determined to ride 
 thither and to do so much to have the king 
 either by force or by treaty. Then the 
 earl and all his company rode thither, and 
 within two mile of the castle they found a 
 great village. There the earl tarried and 
 drank, and determined in himself to ride 
 to the castle of Flint with two hundred 
 horse and to leave the rest of his company 
 
 1 The account of these events is full of inac- 
 curacies. Henrj' landed, as is well known, at 
 Ravenspurn (22nd July), and marched to Bristol 
 without going to London. Thence he went by 
 Ludlow to Chester (gth Aug.), and so to Flint. 
 Meanwhile Richard had returned from Ireland and 
 arrived at Milford in the last days of July. Hear- 
 ing that Henry was at Bristol, he sailed to North 
 Wales, disembarked at Harlech and reached Con- 
 way castle by land. Here he was met by the earl 
 of Northumberland, and trusting to his oath of 
 fidelity came to Flint, and was betrayed into the 
 hands of Henry (i8th Aug.) Froissart seems to 
 know nothing of the expedition to Ireland or of 
 the treachery of Northumberland, and apparently 
 thinks that Flint castle was in the hands of Richard 
 (Lettenhove, xvi. 326 ff.) 
 
RICHARD II. AT FLINT CASTLE 
 
 463 
 
 still there : and he said he would do what 
 he could by fair treaty to enter into the 
 castle by love and not perforce, and to 
 bring out the king with fair words and to 
 assure him from all peril except going to 
 London, and to promise him that he shall 
 have no hurt of his body, and to be mean 
 for him to the Londoners, who were not 
 content with him. The earl's device 
 seemed good to them that heard it, and 
 they said to him : ' Sir, beware of dissimu- 
 lation : this Richard of Bordeaux must be 
 taken other quick or dead, and all the 
 other traitors that be about him and of his 
 council, and so to be brought to London 
 and set in the Tower ; the Londoners will 
 not suffer you to do the contrary.' Then 
 the earl said : ' Sirs, fear not but all that 
 is enterprised shall be accomplished : but 
 if I can get him out of the castle with fair 
 words, I will do it ; and if I cannot, I shall 
 send you word thereof and then ye shall 
 come and lay siege about the castle, and 
 then we will do so much by force or by 
 assault, that we will have him quick or 
 dead, for the castle is well pregnable.' To 
 those words accorded well the Londoners : 
 so the earl departed from the army and 
 rode with two hundred men to the castle, 
 whereas the king was among his men right 
 sore abashed. 
 
 The earl came riding to the castle gate, 
 which was fast closed, as the case required. 
 The earl knocked at the gate : the porters 
 demanded who was there. The earl an- 
 swered : ' I am Henry of Lancaster : I 
 come to the king to demand mine heritage 
 of the duchy of Lancaster : shew the king 
 this from me.' ' Sir,' quoth they within, 
 'we shall do it.' Incontinent they went 
 into the hall and into the donjon whereas 
 the king was, and such knights about him 
 as had long time counselled him. Then 
 these news were shewed to the king, and 
 said : ' Sir, your cousin of Derby is at the 
 gate, who demandeth of you to be set in 
 possession of the duchy of Lancaster his 
 inheritance.' The king then regarded such 
 as were about him and demanded what 
 was best to do. They said : ' Sir, in this 
 request is none evil : ye may let him come 
 in to you with twelve persons in his com- 
 pany and hear what he will say : he is 
 your cousin and a great lord of the realm ; 
 he may well make your peace an he will, 
 
 for he is greatly beloved in the realm, 
 and specially with the Londoners, who 
 sent for him into France : they be as now 
 the chief that be against you. Sir, ye 
 must dissimule till the matter be ap- 
 peased and till the earl of Huntingdon 
 your brother be with you ; and it comelh 
 now evil to pass for you that he is at 
 Calais, for there be many now in England 
 that be risen against you, that an they 
 knew that your brother were about you, 
 they would sit still and durst not displease 
 you : and yet he hath to his wife the earl 
 of Derby's sister; by his means we suppose 
 ye should come to peace and concord.' 
 The king agreed to those words and said : 
 ' Go and let him come in with twelve with 
 him and no more.' Two knights went 
 down to the gate, and opened the wicket 
 and issued out and made reverence to the 
 earl and received him with gracious words, 
 for they knew well that they had no force 
 to resist them, and also they knew well the 
 Londoners were sore displeased with them : 
 therefore they spake fair and said to the 
 earl: 'Sir, what is your pleasure? The 
 king is at mass : he hath sent us hither to 
 speak with you.' 'I say,' quoth the earl, 
 ' ye know well I ought to have possession 
 of the duchy of Lancaster : I am come in 
 part for that cause and also for other things 
 that I would speak with the king of.' ' Sir,' 
 quoth they, ' ye be welcome : the king 
 would be glad to see you and to hear you, 
 and hath commanded that ye come to him 
 all only with twelve persons.' The earl 
 answered: 'It pleaseth me well.' So he 
 entered into the castle with twelve persons, 
 and then the gate closed again and the rest 
 of his company tarried without. 
 
 Now consider what danger the earl of 
 Derby was in ; for the king then might 
 have slain him and such as were with him, 
 as easily as a bird in a cage : but he feared 
 not the matter, but boldly went to the 
 king, who changed colours when he saw 
 the earl. Then the earl spake aloud with- 
 out making of any great honour or rever- 
 ence and said : ' Sir, are ye fasting ? ' 
 The king answered and said : ' Yea : why 
 ask you?' 'It is time,' quoth the earl, 
 ' that ye had dined, for ye have a great 
 journey to ride.' ' Why, whither should 
 I ride?' quoth the king. ' Ye must ride 
 to London,' quoth the earl; 'wherefore I 
 
464 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 counsel you eat and drink, that ye may 
 ride witii the more mirth.' Then the king, 
 who was sore troubled in his mind and in 
 a manner afraid of those words, said : ' I 
 am not hungry: I have no lust to eat.' 
 Then such as were by, who were as then 
 glad to flatter the earl of Derby, for they 
 saw well the matter was like to go diversely, 
 said to the king : ' Sir, believe your cousin 
 of Lancaster, for he will nothing but good.' 
 Then the king said : ' Well, I am content : 
 cover the tables.' Then the king washed 
 and sat down and was served. Then the 
 earl was demanded if he would sit down. 
 He said, no, for he was not fasting. 
 
 In the mean season, while the king sat 
 at dinner, who did eat but little, his heart 
 was so full that he had no lust to eat, all 
 the country about the castle was full of 
 men of war. They within the castle might 
 see them out at the windows, and the king, 
 when he rose from the table, might see 
 them himself Then he demanded of his 
 cousin wliat men they were, that appeared 
 so many in the fields. The earl answered 
 and said ; * The most part of them be 
 Londoners.' 'What would they have?' 
 quoth the king. 'They will have you,' 
 quoth the earl, ' and bring you to London 
 and put you into the Tower. There is 
 none other remedy, ye can scape none 
 otherwise.' 'No?' quoth the king, and 
 he was sore afraid of those words, for he 
 knew well the Londoners loved him not, 
 and said : ' Cousin, can you not provide 
 for my surety? I will not gladly put me 
 into their hands, for I know well they hate 
 me and have done long, though I be their 
 king.' Then the earl said : ' Sir, I see 
 none other remedy, but to yield yourself 
 as my prisoner ; and when they know that 
 ye be my prisoner, they will do you no 
 hurt : but ye must so ordain you and your 
 company, to ride to London with me and 
 to be as my prisoner in the Tower of Lon- 
 don.' The king, who saw himself in a 
 hard case, all his spirits were sore abashed, 
 as he that doubted greatly that the Lon- 
 doners would slay him. Then he yielded 
 himself prisoner to the earl of Derby, and 
 bound himself and promised to do all that 
 he would have him to do. In like wise all 
 other knights, squires and officers yielded 
 to the earl, to eschew the danger and peril 
 that they were in ; and the earl then re- 
 
 ceived them as his prisoners and ordained 
 incontinent horses to be saddled and 
 brought forth into the court and the gates 
 opened. Then many men of arms and 
 archers entered : then the earl of Derby 
 caused a cry to be made, on pain of death 
 no man to be so hardy to take away any- 
 thing within the castle, nor to lay any hands 
 upon any person, for all were under the 
 earl's safe-guard and protection : which cry 
 was kept, no man durst break it. The 
 earl had the king down into the court 
 talking together, and caused all the king's 
 whole household and estate to go forward, 
 as of custom they had done before, without 
 changing or minishing of anything. While 
 everything was a preparing, the king and 
 the earl communed together in the court 
 and were well regarded by the Londoners. 
 And as it was informed me, king Richard 
 had a greyhound called Math,' who always 
 waited upon the king and would know no 
 man else ; for whensoever the king did 
 ride, he that kept the greyhound did let 
 him loose and he would straight run to the 
 king and fawn upon him and leap with his 
 fore feet upon the king's shoulders. And 
 as the king and the earl of Derby talked 
 together in the court, the greyhound, who 
 was wont to leap upon the king, left the 
 king and came to the earl of Derby, duke 
 of Lancaster, and made to him the same 
 friendly countenance and cheer as he was 
 wont to do to the king. The duke, who 
 knew not the greyhound, demanded of 
 the king what the greyhound would do. 
 'Cousin,' quoth the king, 'it is a great 
 good token to you and an evil sign to me.' 
 ' Sir, how know you that ? ' quoth the 
 duke. ' I know it well,' quoth the king, 
 ' the greyhound maketh you cheer this day 
 as king of England, as ye shall be, and I 
 shall be deposed. The greyhound hath 
 this knowledge naturally : therefore take 
 him to you ; he will follow you and forsake 
 me.' The duke understood well those 
 words and cherished the greyhound, who 
 would never after follow king Richard, but 
 followed the duke of Lancaster. 
 
 So every man leapt a-horseback and de- 
 parted from the castle of Flint and entered 
 into the fields. Thus duke Henry of 
 
 1 Or according to another text 'Blemacb.' A 
 similar story to this was told about Charles of Blois 
 and the earl of IMontfort. 
 
THE KING BROUGHT TO LONDON 
 
 465 
 
 Lancaster, who was no more called earl 
 of Derby but duke of Lancaster, rode by 
 the king, and oftentimes talked together, 
 and men of war before and behind in great 
 number, and all such as were of the king's 
 court rode together in a company. That 
 night they lay about Oxenford. The duke 
 of Lancaster led king Richard by no castles 
 nor good towns, for fear of stirring of the 
 people, but always kept the fields. Then 
 the duke gave licence to a great number of 
 his people to depart, and said : ' Sirs, ye 
 may depart, for we have that we desire : 
 the king cannot fly nor scape from us ; we 
 and our own company shall bring him to 
 London and put him in safe-guard in the 
 Tower : he and all his are my prisoners, I 
 may bring them whither I will. Therefore, 
 sirs, go your ways home, till ye hear other 
 news.' They did as the duke commanded 
 them, who took the way to Windsor and 
 came thither ; and most part of the Lon- 
 doners returned to London, and other to 
 their own places. The duke of Lancaster 
 departed from Windsor and would not ride 
 by Colebrook, but took the way by Staines 
 and so came to dinner to Chertsey. The 
 king had desired the duke that he should 
 not bring him London way nor through 
 the city, and therefore they took that way. 
 As soon as they had the king thus in 
 their hands, they sent notable persons to 
 the young queen, who was at Leeds in 
 Kent, and they came to the lady Courcy, 
 who was second person there next to the 
 queen, and said to her : ' Madam, make 
 you ready, for ye must depart hence : and 
 at your departing make no semblant of 
 displeasure before the queen, but say how 
 your husband hath sent for you and for 
 your daughter also. This that we say, look 
 that you do accomplish on pain of your 
 life, nor axe ye no questions no further, 
 and ye shall be conveyed to Dover and 
 there have a ship that shall bring you to 
 Boulogne.' The lady, who doubted those 
 words, for she knew well Englishmen were 
 cruel and hasty, said : ' Sirs, as God will, I 
 am ready to do as ye will have me.' Anon 
 she made her ready, and horses were pro- 
 vided for her and for her company. So all 
 French men and women departed, and 
 they were conveyed to Dover, and at the 
 next tide they took shipping and had good 
 wind and so arrived at Boulogne. 
 2 H 
 
 CHAPTER CCXXXIX [CCXLII] 
 
 Of the state of queen Isabel of England, and 
 how she had all new persons appointed to 
 wait upon her, and how king Richard was 
 set in the Tower of London. 
 
 As for the state of the queen, was so turned 
 and broken ; for there was left nother 
 man, woman nor child of the nation of 
 France, nor yet of England, such as were 
 in any favour with the king. ^ Her house 
 was newly furnished with ladies and damo- 
 sels and other officers and servants : they 
 were charged all that in no wise they should 
 not speak of the king, not one to another. 
 
 Thus the duke of Lancaster departed 
 from Chertsey and rode to Sheen, and 
 from thence in the night time they con- 
 veyed the king to the Tower of London, 
 and such other knights and squires as the 
 king would. The next morning when the 
 Londoners knew that the king was in the 
 Tower, they were greatly rejoiced : but 
 there was great murmuring among them, 
 because the king was conveyed thither so 
 secretly ; they were angry that the duke 
 had not brought him through London 
 openly, not to have done him honour but 
 shame, they hated him so sore. Behold 
 the opinion of common people, when they 
 be up against their prince or lord, and 
 specially in England. Among them there 
 is no remedy, for they are the periloust 
 people of the world and most outrageoust, 
 if they be up, and specially the Londoners : 
 and indeed they be rich and of a great 
 number ; there was well in London a 
 twenty-four thousand men in harness com- 
 plete and a thirty thousand archers, and 
 they were hardy and high of courage, the 
 more blood they saw shed the less they 
 were abashed. 
 
 Now let us somewhat speak of the earl 
 of Rutland, constable of England, son to 
 the duke of York, who was tarried at 
 Eristow and the lord Spenser with him, 
 who had his sister to wife. When they 
 knew that the castle of Flint was given up 
 
 1 ' As for the state of the young queen, it was 
 so broken, that they left with her neither man, 
 woman nor child. All those of the nation of 
 France were put away and also many of the Eng- 
 lish who were in the king's favour.' 
 
466 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 and the king taken and brought to London, 
 then they thought surely the matters went 
 not weli for the king. Therefore they 
 thought no longer to tarry there, and gave 
 leave to all their men of war to depart ; 
 and the earl of Rutland and the lord 
 Spenser rode together with their own 
 servants to Henley in the marches of 
 Wales, a fair manor of the lord Spenser's, 
 and there they tarried till they heard other 
 tidings. And the duke of York lay still in 
 his castle and meddled with nothing of the 
 business of England : no more he did 
 before ; he took ever the time aworth as 
 it came : howbeit, he was sore displeased 
 in his mind to see such difference within 
 the realm and between his nephews and 
 blood. 
 
 Now let us return to speak of king 
 Richard. When the duke of Lancaster 
 had set his cousin king Richard in the 
 Tower of London and certain of his coun- 
 cillors, and had set sure keeping on them, 
 the first thing then that the duke did, he 
 sent for the earl of Warwick, who was 
 banished and commanded to lie in the 
 isle of Wight, and discharged him clean 
 thereof: and secondly the duke of Lancas- 
 ter sent to the earl of Northumberland and 
 to the lord Percy his son, that they should 
 come to him, and so they did. After he 
 enquired and sought out to have the four 
 companions who had strangled his uncle 
 the duke of Gloucester in the castle of 
 Calais ; they were so well sought out, that 
 they were all taken : they were set in 
 prison apart in London. Then the duke 
 of Lancaster and his council took advice 
 what should be done with king Richard, 
 being in the Tower of London, whereas 
 king John of France was kept, while king 
 
 r Edward went into the realm of France. 
 Then it was thought that king Richard 
 : should be put from all his royalty and joy 
 that he hath lived in ; for they said the 
 news of his taking should spread abroad 
 into all realms christened : he had been 
 king twenty-two year : and as then they 
 determined to keep him in prison.^ Then 
 
 3 The meaning of the true text is rather the 
 opposite, but the exact rendering is not quite 
 certain. The sense is : 'It was agreed by all that 
 they ought to give this king Richard all indul- 
 gence, if he would use it well and duly, for there 
 would be great talk of his taking in all Christian 
 realms, since they had had him as king for two and I 
 
 they regarded what case the realm stood in 
 and did put all his deeds in articles to the 
 number of twenty-eight. Then the duke 
 of Lancaster and his council went to the 
 Tower of London and entered into the 
 chamber where king Richard was, and 
 without any reverence making to him there 
 was openly read all the said articles ; to 
 the which the king made none answer, for 
 he saw well all was true that was laid to 
 his charge, saving he said: 'All that I 
 have done passed by my council.' Then 
 he was demanded what they were that had 
 given counsel and by whom he was most 
 ruled. He named them, in trust thereby 
 to have been delivered himself in accusing 
 of them, as he had done beforetime, trusting 
 thereby to scape and to bring them in the 
 danger and pain ; but that was not the mind 
 of them that loved him not. So as at that 
 time they spake no more, but departed ; and 
 the duke of Lancaster went to his lodging 
 and suffered the mayor and the men of law 
 to proceed. They went to the Guildhall, 
 whereas all the matters of the city were 
 determined, and then much people as- 
 sembled there. When they saw the 
 governours of the city go thither, they 
 thought some justice should be done, as 
 there was indeed : I shall shew you how. 
 
 First, the articles that were made against 
 the king, the which had been read before 
 him in the Tower, were read again there 
 openly : and it was shewed by him that 
 read them, how the king himself denied 
 none of them, but confessed that he did 
 them by the counsel of four knights of his 
 chamber, and how by their counsel he had 
 put to death the duke of Gloucester and 
 the earl of Arundel, sir Thomas Corbet 
 and other, and how they had long incited 
 the king to do those deeds ; which deeds, 
 they said, were not to be forgiven, but 
 demanded punition, for by them and their 
 counsel the justice of right was closed up 
 through all the courts of England, West- 
 minster and other, whereby many evil 
 deeds followed, and companies and routs 
 of thieves and murderers rose and as- 
 
 twenty years ; and afterwards they wished to keep 
 him prisoner (or degrade him) at all points.' The 
 true reading is no doubt 'royes' for 'joyes' in the 
 phrase ' il convenoit a ce roy Richard donner 
 toutes ses royes.' The text used by the translator 
 gives ' dompter toutes ses joies,' ' stop all his 
 pleasures. ' 
 
RICHARD If. IN THE TOWER 
 
 467 
 
 sembled together in divers parts of the 
 realm, and robbed merchants by the ways 
 and poor men in their houses ; by which 
 means the realm was in great peril to have 
 been lost without recovery : and it is to 
 be imagined that finally they would have 
 rendered Calais or Guines or both into the 
 Frenchmen's hands. These words thus 
 shewed to the people made many to be 
 abashed, and many began to murmur and 
 said ; ' These causes demand punition, that 
 all other may take ensample thereby, and 
 Richard of Bordeaux to be deposed : for 
 he is not worthy to bear a crown, but 
 ought to be deprived from all honour and 
 to be kept all his life in prison with bread 
 and water.' Though some of the villains 
 murmured, other said on high : ' Sir mayor 
 of London and ye other that have justice 
 in your hands to minister, e.xecute justice ; 
 for we will ye spare no man, for ye see 
 well the case that ye have shewed us 
 demandeth justice incontinent ; for they 
 are judges upon their own deeds. ' Then 
 the mayor and other of the governours of 
 the law went together into the chamber of 
 judgment. Then these four knights were 
 judged to die, and were judged to be had 
 to the foot of the Tower, whereas king 
 Richard was, that he might see them 
 drawn along by the dike with horses each 
 after other through the city into Cheapside, 
 and then their heads stricken off there and 
 set upon London bridge, and their bodies 
 drawn to the gibbet and there hanged. 
 
 This judgment given, they were delivered 
 to execution ; for the mayor of London 
 and such as were deputed to the matter 
 went from the Guildhall to the Tower and 
 took out the four knights of the king's, 
 whose names were called sir Bernard 
 Brocas, sir Magelars, master John Derby, 
 receiver of Lincoln, and master Sely, the 
 king's steward. Each of them were tied to 
 two horses in the presence of them that 
 were in the Tower, and the king might 
 well see it out at the windows ; wherewith 
 he was sore discomforted, for all other that 
 were there with the king looked to be in 
 the same case, they knew them of London 
 so cruel. Thus these four knights were 
 drawn one after another along through the 
 city till they came into Cheap, and there 
 on a fisher's stall their heads were stricken 
 off and set upon London bridge, and their 
 
 bodies drawn by the shoulders to the 
 gibbet and there hanged up. 
 
 This justice thus done, every man went 
 to their lodgings. King Richard, knowing 
 himself taken and in the danger of the 
 Londoners, was in great sorrow in his heart 
 and reckoned his puissance nothing ; for 
 he saw how every man was against him, 
 and if there were any that ought him any 
 favour, it lay not in their powers to do 
 him any aid, nor they durst not shew it. 
 Such as were with the king said : ' Sir, we 
 have but small trust in our lives, as it may 
 well appear ; for when your cousin of 
 Lancaster came to the castle of Flint and 
 with your own good will ye yielded you to 
 him, and he promised that you and twelve 
 of yours should be his prisoners and have 
 no hurt, and now of those tAvelve four be 
 executed shamefully, [and] we are like to 
 pass the same way. The cause is, these 
 Londoners, who hath caused the duke 
 of Lancaster your cousin to do this deed, 
 had him so sore bound to them, that he 
 must do as they will have him. God doth 
 much for us if he suffer that we might die 
 here our natural death and not a shameful 
 death : it is great pity to think on this.' 
 With those words king Richard began 
 tenderly to weep and wring his hands, and 
 cursed the hour that ever he was born, 
 rather than to have such an end. Such as 
 were about him had great pity and re- 
 comforted him as well as they might. 
 One of his knights said : ' Sir, it behoveth 
 you to take comfort. We see well, and so 
 do you, that this world is nothing : the 
 fortunes thereof are marvellous and some- 
 time turn as well upon kings and princes 
 as upon poor men. The French king, 
 whose daughter ye have married, cannot 
 now aid you ; he is too far off. If ye 
 might scape this mischief by dissimula- 
 tion and save your life and ours, it were a 
 good enterprise : peradventure within a year 
 or two there would be had some recovery.' 
 'Why,' quoth the king, 'what would ye 
 that I should do ? There is nothing but I 
 would be glad to do it to save us thereby.' 
 'Sir,' quoth the knight, 'we see for truth 
 that these Londoners will crown your 
 cousin of Lancaster as king, and for that 
 intent they sent for him, and so have aided 
 him and do. It is not possible for you to 
 live without ye consent that he be crowned 
 
468 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 king : wherefore, sir, we will counsel you, 
 to the intent to save your life and ours, 
 that when your cousin of Lancaster cometh 
 to you to demand anything, then with 
 sweet and treatable words say to him, how 
 that ye will resign to him the crown of 
 England and all the right that ye have in 
 the realm clearly and purely into his hands, 
 and how that ye will that he be king : 
 thereby ye shall greatly appease him and 
 the Londoners also. And desire him 
 affectuously to suffer you to live and us 
 also with you, or else every man apart, as 
 it shall please him, or else to banish us out 
 of the realm for ever ; for he that looseth 
 his life, looseth all.' King Richard heard 
 those words well and fixed them surely in 
 his heart, and said he would do as they 
 counselled him, as he that saw himself in 
 great danger. And then he said to them 
 that kept him, how he would gladly speak 
 with his cousin of Lancaster. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXL [CCXLIV] 
 
 How king Richard of England resigned the 
 crown and the realm into the hands of the 
 earl of Derby, duke of Lancaster. 
 
 Lr was shewed the duke of Lancaster how 
 Richard of Bordeaux desired to speak with 
 him. The duke in an evening took a barge 
 and went to the Tower by water, and went 
 to the king, who received him courteously 
 and humbled himself greatly, as he that 
 saw himself in great danger, and said : 
 ' Cousin of Lancaster, I regard and con- 
 sider mine estate, which is as now but 
 small, I thank God thereof. As any more 
 to reign or to govern people or to bear a 
 crown, I think it not ; and as God help me, 
 I would I were dead by n natural death, 
 and that the French king had again his 
 daughter. We have had as yet no great 
 joy together ; nor sith I brought her into 
 England, I could never have the love of 
 my people, as I had before. Cousin, all 
 things considered, I know well I have 
 greatly trespassed against you and against 
 other noblemen of my blood ; by divers 
 things I perceive I shall never have pardon 
 nor come to peace. Wherefore with mine 
 own free and liberal will I will resign to 
 you the heritage of the crown of England, 
 
 and I require you take the gift thereof 
 with the resignation.' When the duke 
 heard that, he said : ' Sir, it is convenient 
 that part of the three estates of the realm 
 be called to these words, and I have sent 
 already for some noblemen, prelates and 
 councillors of the good towns of England, 
 and I trust they will be here within this 
 three days, sufficient of them for you to 
 make a due resignation before them, and 
 by this means ye shall greatly appease 
 many men within the realm. For to with- 
 stand such enormities and evils as have 
 been used in the realm for fault of justice, 
 who had no place to reign, I was sent for 
 from beyond the sea ; and the people would 
 crown me, for the renown runneth through 
 England that I have more right to the 
 crown than ye have. For when our grand- 
 father king Edward the third did choose 
 and make you king, the same was as then 
 shewed him ; but he loved so his son the 
 prince, that none could break his purpose 
 nor opinion, but that you should be king. 
 And if ye would have followed the steps of 
 your father the prince, and have believed 
 his counsel, as a good son ought to have 
 done, ye might have been still king and 
 have continued your estate. But ye have 
 always done the contrary, so that the com- 
 mon renown runneth through England and 
 in other places that ye were never son to 
 the prince of Wales, but rather son to a 
 priest or to a canon ; for I have heard of 
 certain knights that were in the prince's 
 house, mine uncle, how that he knew well 
 that his wife had not truly kept her mar- 
 riage. Your mother was cousin-german to 
 king Edward, and the king began to hate 
 her, because she could have no generation ; 
 also she was the king's gossip of two chil- 
 dren at the font : and she that could well 
 keep the prince in her bandon by craft and 
 subtlety, she made the prince to be her 
 husband ; and because she could have no 
 child, she doubted that the prince should 
 be divorced from her ; she did so much 
 that she was with child with you and with 
 another before you. As of the first I cannot 
 tell what to judge, but as for you, because 
 your conditions have been seen contrary 
 from all nobless and prowess of the prince, 
 therefore it is said that ye be rather son to 
 a priest or to a canon ; for when ye were 
 gotten and born at Bordeaux, there were 
 
ABDICATION OF RICHARD IL 
 
 469 
 
 many young priests in the prince's house. 
 This is the briii: in this country, and your 
 works have well followed the same : for ye 
 be always inclined to the pleasure of the 
 Frenchmen and to take with them peace, 
 to the confusion and dishonour of the realm 
 of England. And because mine uncle of 
 Gloucester and the earl of Arundel did 
 counsel you truly and faithfully to keep 
 the honour of the realm and to follow the 
 steps of your ancestors, ye have traitorously 
 caused them to die. As for me, I have 
 taken on me to defend your life as long as 
 I may for pity, and I shall pray the Lon- 
 doners and the heritors of them that ye 
 have slain and banished, to do the same.' 
 'Cousin, I thank you,' quoth the king; 'I 
 trust more in you than in any other.' ' It 
 is but right that ye so should do, for if I 
 had not been, ye had been taken by the 
 people and deposed with great confusion 
 and slain, by reason of your evil works.' 
 King Richard heard well all the duke's 
 words and wist not what to say against it ; 
 for he saw well that force nor arguments 
 could not avail him, but rather meekness 
 and humility ; wherefore he humbled him 
 and prayed the duke to save his life. 
 
 When the duke of Lancaster had been at 
 the Tower two hours with king Richard 
 and had shewed him part of his faults, 
 then he returned. And the next day he 
 sent forth more commandments into all 
 parts of the realm to cause noblemen and 
 other to come to London. His uncle the 
 duke of York came to London, and the 
 earl of Rutland his son, the earl of North- 
 umberland and the lord Thomas Percy his 
 brother : the duke of Lancaster made them 
 good cheer. Thither came also great 
 number of prelates and abbots. And on a 
 day the duke of Lancaster, accompanied 
 with lords, dukes, prelates, earls, barons 
 and knights, and of the notablest men of 
 London and of other good towns, rode to 
 the Tower and there alighted. Then king 
 Richard was brought into the hall, appar- 
 elled like a king in his robes of estate, his 
 sceptre in his hand and his crown on his 
 head. Then he stood up alone, not holden 
 nor stayed by no man, and said aloud : ' I 
 have been king of England, duke of 
 Acquitaine and lord of Ireland about 
 twenty-two years, which seignory, royalty, 
 sceptre, crown and heritage I clearly resign 
 
 here to my cousin Henry of Lancaster ; 
 and I desire him here in this open presence, 
 in entering of the same possession, to take 
 this sceptre.' And so delivered it to the 
 duke, who took it. Then king Richard 
 took the crown from his head with both his 
 hands and set it before him, and said : 
 ' Fair cousin, Henry duke of Lancaster, I 
 give and deliver you this crown, wherewith 
 I was crowned king of England, and 
 therewith all the right thereto depending.' 
 The duke of Lancaster took it, and the 
 archbishop of Canterbury took it out of the 
 duke's hands. This resignation thus done, 
 the duke of Lancaster called a notary and 
 demanded to have letters and witness of ill 
 the prelates and lords there being present. 
 Then Richard of Bordeaux returned again 
 into the chamber fi-om whence he came. 
 Then the duke of Lancaster and all other 
 leapt on their horses, and the crown and 
 sceptre were put in a coffer and conveyed 
 to the abbey of Westminster, and there 
 kept in the treasury. And every man 
 went to their lodgings and abode till the 
 day of parliament and council should be at 
 the palace of Westminster. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXLI [CCXLV] 
 
 Of the coronation of king Henry duke of 
 Lancaster by the consent of the realm, and 
 the manner of the feast. 
 
 In the year of our Lord God a thousand 
 three hundred fourscore and nineteen, the 
 last day of September on a Tuesday, began 
 a parliament at Westminster holden by 
 Henry duke of Lancaster, at which time 
 there was assembled prelates and clergy of 
 the realm of England a great number, and 
 also dukes, earls and barons, and of every 
 town a certain. Thus the people assembled 
 at Westminster, there being present the 
 duke of Lancaster, and there the same 
 duke challenged the realm of England and 
 desired to be king by three reasons ; first 
 by conquest, secondly because he was heir, 
 and thirdly because Richard of Bordeaux 
 had resigned the realm into his hands by 
 his free will in the presence of certain 
 dukes, earls, prelates and barons, in the hall 
 within the Tower of London. These three 
 causes shewed, the duke of Lancaster required 
 
470 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 all the people there present, as well one 
 as other, to shew their minds and intents in 
 that behalf. Then all the people with one 
 voice said that their wills was to have him 
 king, and how they would have none other 
 but him. Then the duke again said to the 
 people : ' Sirs, is this your minds ? ' And 
 they all with one voice said, 'Yea, yea.' 
 And then the duke sat down in the siege 
 royal, which seat was raised up in the hall 
 and covered with a cloth of estate, so that 
 every man might well see him sit. And 
 then the people lifted up their hands a-high, 
 promising him their faith and allegiance. 
 
 Then the parliament concluded, and the 
 day was taken for his coronation on Saint 
 Edward's day, the IVfonday the thirteenth 
 day of October ; at which time, the Satur- 
 day before his coronation, he departed 
 from Westminster and rode to the Tower 
 of London with a great number. And 
 that night all such squires as should be 
 made knights the next day, watched, who 
 were to the number of forty-six, every 
 squire had his own bain by himself; and 
 the next day the duke of Lancaster made 
 them all knights at the mass time. Then 
 had they long coats with strait sleeves 
 furred with minever like prelates, with 
 white laces hanging on their shoulders. 
 And after dinner the duke departed from 
 the Tower to Westminster, and rode all 
 the way bareheaded, and about his neck 
 the livery of France. He was accompanied 
 with the prince his son, and six dukes, 
 six earls and eighteen barons, and in all, 
 knights and squires, a nine hundred horse : 
 then the king had on a short coat of cloth 
 of gold after the manner of Almaine, and 
 he was mounted on a white courser and 
 the garter on his left leg. Thus the duke 
 rode through London with a great num- 
 ber of lords, every lord's servant in their 
 master's livery, all the burgesses and Lom- 
 bards merchants in London, and every 
 craft with their livery and device. Thus 
 he was conveyed to Westminster. He 
 was in number a six thousand horse, and 
 the streets hanged as he passed by ; and 
 the same day and the next there were in 
 London running seven conduits with wine, 
 white and red. That night the duke was 
 bained, and the next morning he was con- 
 fessed and heard three masses, as he was 
 accustomed to do : and then all the pre- 
 
 lates and clergy came from Westminster 
 church to the palace, to fetch the king 
 with procession. And so he went to the 
 church a procession, and all the lords with 
 him in their robes of scarlet furred with 
 minever, barred of their shoulders accord- 
 ing to their degrees : ■" and over the king 
 was borne a cloth of estate of blue with four 
 bells of gold, and it was borne by four 
 burgesses of the ports, as Dover and 
 other ; ^ and on every side of him he had 
 a sword borne, the one the sword of the 
 Church and the other the sword of justice ; 
 the sword of the Church his son the prince 
 did bear, and the sword of justice the earl 
 of Northumberland did bear, for he was as 
 then constable of England, for the earl of 
 Rutland was deposed from that ofSce ; and 
 the earl of Westmoreland, who was mar- 
 shal of England, bare the sceptre. 
 
 Thus they entered into the church about 
 nine of the clock ; and in the midst of 
 the church there was an high scaffold all 
 covered with red, and in the midst thereof 
 there was a chair royal covered with cloth 
 of gold. Then the king sat down in that 
 chair, and so sat in estate royal, saving 
 he had not on the crown, but sat bare- 
 headed. Then at four corners of the 
 scaffold the archbishop of Canterbury 
 shewed unto the people how God had 
 sent them a man to be their king, and 
 demanded if they were content that he 
 should be consecrated and crowned as their 
 king. And they all with one voice said, 
 'Yea,' and held up their hands promising 
 him faith and obeisance. Then the king 
 rose and went down the scaffold to the 
 high altar to be sacred, at which consecra- 
 tion there were two archbishops and ten 
 bishops, and before the altar there he was 
 despoiled out of all his vestures of estate, 
 and there he was anointed in six places, 
 on the head, on the breast, and on the two 
 shoulders behind, and on the hands. Then 
 a bonnet was set on his head ; and while 
 he was anointing, the clergy sang the 
 litany and such service as they sing at the 
 hallowing of the font. Then the king was 
 apparelled like a prelate of the Church, 
 
 1 According to the fuller text the dukes and 
 earls had three borders of fur on their left shoulders, 
 and the barons had two. 
 
 - This is the ancient right of the burgesses of the 
 cinque ports. Froissart mentions Dover alone, 
 but the translator has corrected him. 
 
CORONATION OF HENRY TV., 1399 
 
 47t 
 
 with a cope of red silk^ and a pair of spurs 
 wilh a point without a rowel : then the 
 sword of justice was drawn out of the 
 sheath and hallowed, and then it was taken 
 to the king, who did put it again into the 
 sheath ; then the archbishop of Canterbury 
 did gird the sword about him. Then Saint 
 Edward's crown was brought forth, which 
 is close above," and blessed, and then the 
 archbishop did set it on the king's head. 
 After mass the king departed out of the 
 church in the same estate and went to his 
 palace ; and there was a fountain that ran by 
 divers branches white wine and red. Then 
 the king entered into the hall, and so into 
 a privy" chamber, and after came out again 
 to dinner. At the first table sat the 
 king, at the second the five peers of the 
 realm, at the third the valiant men of 
 London, at the fourth the new - made 
 knights, at the fifth the knights and squires 
 of honour ; and by the king stood the prince 
 holding the sword of the Church, and on 
 the other side the constable with the sword 
 of justice, and a little above the marshal 
 with the sceptre, and at the king's board 
 sat two archbishops and seventeen bishops. 
 And in the midst of the dinner there came 
 in a knight, who was called Dymoke, all 
 armed upon a good horse richly apparelled, 
 and had a knight before him bearing his 
 spear, and his sword by his side and his 
 dagger. The knight took the king a libel, 
 the which was read. Therein was con- 
 tained, that if there were other knight, 
 squire or any other gentleman, that would 
 say that king Henry was not rightful king, 
 he was there ready to fight with him in 
 that quarrel before the king or whereas it 
 should please him to appoint. That bill 
 was cried by an herald in si.'< places of the 
 hall and in the town. There was none 
 that would challenge him. When the 
 king had dined, he took wine and spices 
 in the hall and then went into his chamber. 
 Then every man departed and went to 
 their lodgings. Thus the day passed of 
 king Henry's coronation with great joy 
 and feast, which endured all the next day. 
 The earl of Salisbury was not at this 
 
 1 ■ There the king was apparelled in vestments of 
 the Church like a deacon, and then they put him 
 on shoes of red like a prelate.' 
 
 2 ' Which was arched in a cross,* or by another 
 text, 'which was arched in three.' 
 
 solemnity, for he was in sure prison, and 
 the king's council and divers other noble- 
 men and the Londoners would that his 
 head should have been stricken ofi^ openly in 
 Cheap ; for they said he had well deserved 
 it for bearing of letters and credence from 
 Richard of Bordeaux to the French king, 
 and there to report openly that king Henry 
 was a false traitor, which fault they said 
 ought not to be pardoned. King Henrj- 
 was more gentle than so, for he had some 
 pity on him ; for the earl e.xcused him and 
 said, that he did was by the king's com- 
 mandment and by the setting on of the 
 four knights that were beheaded. King 
 Henry believed well the earl's words, but 
 his council would not believe it, but said, 
 and so did the Londoners, that he should 
 die, because he had deserved death. Thus 
 the earl of Salisbury was in prison in great 
 danger of his life. 
 
 And sir John Holland, earl of Hunting- 
 don, captain of Calais, was well informed 
 of the whole matter, and how his brother 
 king Richard was taken and in prison in 
 the Tower of London, and had resigned 
 his crown and all, and how Henry of 
 Lancaster was king of England. This earl 
 of Huntingdon, whatsoever displeasure he 
 had for the trouble of his brother, yet 
 wisely he considered the time and ad- 
 ventures, and saw well that he was not able 
 to withstand all the power and puissance 
 of the realm. Also the countess his wife, 
 who was cousin -german to king Henry, 
 said : ' Sir, it must behove you to pass 
 your displeasure patiently and wisely, and 
 do not that thing whereby ye shall have 
 damage. For the king may do you much 
 good, and ye see that all the realm inclineth 
 to him : if ye shew any displeasure to him- 
 ward, ye are but lost. Wherefore, sir, I 
 require you and I counsel you to dissimule 
 the matter ; for as well king Henry now is 
 your brother, as king Richard was : there- 
 fore, sir, stick and lean to him and ye shall 
 find him your good lover; for there was 
 never a richer king in England than he is; 
 he may do to you and to your children 
 great good.' The earl heard well the 
 words of his wife and beheved her, and 
 inclined him to king Henry and offered' 
 him humble obeisance and promised him> 
 faith and troth. The king received him 
 and had great joy thereof, and he did so 
 
472 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 much with means of his friends, that the 
 earl of Salisbury was taken to grace and 
 his excusations accepted and was cl ean 
 pardoned. 
 
 CHAPTERS CCXLII-CCXLIV 
 [CCXLVI-CCXLVIII] 
 
 SUiMMARV. — The news "was brought to 
 France by the lady of Coiircy. The French 
 thought to win over the cities of Acquitaine, 
 •which had been jnuch attached to Richard^ 
 but these decided to 7-einain English. An 
 BJnbassy zvas sent from France to see how 
 the young queen of England did, and 
 assurances were given that she woidd be 
 well treated. 
 
 The earls of Huntingdon and Salisbury 
 ?nade a risijig against He^iry, with a priest 
 called Maudeleyn to personate king Richard. 
 They "were attacked while lodging in the 
 tow7i of Cirencester and either slain or taken. 
 
 The French king gathered a7t army as if 
 to invade England. 
 
 CHAPTER CCXLV [CCXLIX] 
 
 Of the death of king Richard of England ; 
 and how the truce between England and 
 France was renewed ; and also of the de- 
 position of pope Benedict at Avignon. 
 
 It was not long after that true tidings ran 
 through London, how Richard of Bordeaux 
 was dead ; but how he died and by what 
 means, I could not tell when I wrote this 
 chronicle. But this king Richard dead 
 was laid in a litter and set in a chare 
 covered with black baudkin, and four horses 
 all black in the chare, and two men in black 
 leading the chare, and four knights all in 
 black following. Thus the chare departed 
 from the Tower of London and was brought 
 along through London fair and softly, till 
 they came into Cheapside, whereas the 
 chief assembly of London was, and there 
 the chare rested the space of two hours. 
 Thither came in and out more than twenty 
 thousand persons men and women, to see 
 him whereas he lay, his head on a black 
 cushion and his visage open. Some had 
 on him pity and some none, but said he 
 had long deserved death. Now consider 
 well, ye great lords, kings, dukes, earls, 
 
 barons and prelates, and all men of great 
 lineage and puissance: see and behold how 
 the fortunes of this world are marvellous 
 and turn diversely. This king Richard 
 reigned king of England twenty-two year 
 in great prosperity, holding great estate 
 and seignory. There was never before any 
 king of England that spent so much in his 
 house as he did, by a hundred thousand 
 florins every year; for I, sir John Froissart, 
 canon and treasurer of Chimay, knew it 
 well, for I was in his court more than a 
 quarter of a year together, and he made 
 me good cheer, because that in my youth 
 I was clerk and servant to the noble king 
 Edward the third, his grandfather, and with 
 my lady Philippa of Hainault, queen of 
 England, his grandam ; and when I de- 
 parted from him, it was at Windsor, and 
 at my departing the king sent me by a 
 knight of his called sir John Golofre a 
 goblet of silver and gilt weighing two mark 
 of silver, and within it a hundred nobles, 
 by the which I am as yet the better, and 
 shall be as long as I live : wherefore I am 
 bound to pray to God for his soul, and with 
 much sorrow I write of his death ; but 
 because I have continued this history, 
 therefore I write thereof to follow it. 
 
 In my time I have seen two things : 
 though they differ, yet they be true. I 
 was in the city of Bordeaux and sitting at 
 the table when king Richard was born, the 
 which was on a Tuesday about ten of the 
 clock. The same time there came thereas 
 I was, sir Richard Pontchardon, marshal as 
 then of Acquitaine, and he said to me : 
 * Froissart, write and put in memory that 
 as now my lady princess is brought abed 
 with a fair son on this Twelfth day, that 
 is the day of the three kings, and he is son 
 to a king's son^ and shall be a king.* 
 This gentle knight said truth, for he was 
 king of England twenty -two year; but 
 when this knight said these words, he knew 
 full little what should be his conclusion. 
 And the same time that king Richard was 
 born, his father the prince was in Galice, 
 the which king don Peter had given him, 
 and he was there to conquer the realm. ^ 
 ^ Or rather, 'he is son of a king^.' In the suc- 
 ceeding passage the translator's French text was 
 unintelligible to him owing to omissions and altera- 
 tions, and therefore he attempted an emendation, 
 writing 'son to a king's son,' because he did not know 
 how Richard could be called 'son of a king.' Inthe 
 
DEATH OF RICHARD II., 1400 
 
 473 
 
 Upon these things I have greatly imagined 
 sith ; for the first year that I came into 
 England into the service of queen Philippa, 
 king Edward and the queen and all their 
 children were as then at Berkhamstead, a 
 n]anor of the prince of Wales beyond Lon- 
 don. The king and the queen were come 
 thither to take leave of their son the prince 
 and princess, who were going into Acqui- 
 taine, and there I heard an ancient knight 
 devise among the ladies and said : ' There 
 is a book which is called le Brut, and it 
 deviseth that the prince of Wales, eldest 
 .son to the king, nor the duke of Gloucester, 
 should never be king of England, but the 
 realm and crown should return to the house 
 of Lancaster.' There I, John Froissart, 
 author of this chronicle, considering all 
 these things, I say these two knights, sir 
 Richard Pontchardon and sir Bartholomew 
 of Burghersh, said both truth ; for I saw, 
 and so did all the world, Richard of Bor- 
 deaux twenty-tw"0 year king of England, 
 and after the crown returned to the house 
 of Lancaster, and that was when king 
 Henry was king, the which he had never 
 been if Richard of Bordeaux had dealt 
 amiably with him ; for the Londoners 
 made him king because they had pity on 
 him and on his children. 
 
 Thus when king Richard had lain two 
 hours in the chare in Cheapside, then they 
 drave the chare forward : and when the 
 four knights that followed the chare afoot 
 were without London, they leapt then on 
 their horses, which were there ready for 
 them, and so they rode till they came to a 
 village called Langley, a thirty mile from 
 London, and there this king Richard was 
 buried. God have mercy on his soul ! 
 
 Tidings spread abroad how king Richard 
 was dead : he tarried every day for it,^ for 
 every man might well consider that he 
 should never come out of prison alive. 
 His death was long kept and hid from his 
 wife. The French king and his council 
 were well informed of all this, and the 
 full text the meaning is clear : ' he is son of a king, 
 for his father is king of Galicia. King don Peter 
 hath given him that kingdom and he goes to con- 
 quer it.' As a matter of fact the prince of Wales 
 did not set forth from Bordeaux till after the birth 
 of Richard, and he never actually went into Galicia 
 at all. 
 
 1 Careless translation. The French is, 'et on 
 n'atendoit tous les jours autre chose.' 'and nothing 
 else was looked for.' 
 
 knights and squires desired nothing but 
 the war and that they might ride upon the 
 frontiers. Howbeit, the councils, as well 
 of the one realm as of the other, took their 
 advice and thought it best to uphold still 
 the truce that was taken before : they 
 thought it more profitable than the war. 
 And a new treaty was devised to be in the 
 marches of Calais, because the French king 
 was not in good case, nor had not been 
 sith he knew of the trouble that king 
 Richard was in : and yet his sickness 
 doubled when he knew that he was dead, 
 so that the duke of Burgoyne had the chief 
 rule of the realm. And he came to Saint- 
 Omer's and to Bourbourg, where the duke of 
 Bourbon was, and sir Charles d'Albret, and 
 Charles of Hangest and John of Chateau 
 Morant, and of prelates the patriarch of 
 Jerusalem and the bishops of Paris and of 
 Beauvais ; and on the English party there 
 was the earl of Northumberland, the earl 
 of Rutland, the earl of Devonshire and the 
 lord Flenry Percy, the earl's son, and Evan 
 of Fitzwarren, and prelates there were the 
 bishops of Winchester and of Ely. The 
 Frenchmen demanded to have again de- 
 livered the young queen of England, but 
 the Englishmen would in no wise deliver 
 her, but said she should live still in Eng- 
 land upon her dowry, and that though she 
 had lost her husband, they would provide 
 for her another, that should be fair, young 
 and gentle, with whom she should be 
 better pleased than with Richard of Bor- 
 deaux, for he was old ; and this should be 
 the prince of Wales, eldest son to king 
 Henry. To this the Frenchmen would 
 not agree ; for they would not consent 
 thereto without licence of the king her 
 father, who as then was not in good point, 
 for he was far out of the way, no medicine 
 could help him. So that matter was laid 
 apart, and the treaty of truce went for- 
 ward in such wise, that by consent of both 
 parties they sware and were bound to keep 
 the truce twenty-six year more to the four 
 years that it had endured ; the which in 
 all was thirty year according to the first 
 covenant. And upon this writings were 
 made and sealed by procurations of both 
 kings. This done, every man returned to 
 their own countries. 
 
 I have not as yet shewed you what be- 
 came of the earl marshal, by whom first all 
 
474 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 these tribulations began in the realm of 
 England ; but now I shall shew you. He 
 was at Venice, and when he knew that 
 king Henry was king and king Richard 
 taken and dead, he took thereof so great 
 displeasure and sorrow, that he laid him 
 down on his bed and fell in a frenzy and so 
 died. Such mischievousness fell in those 
 days upon great lords of England. 
 
 And in the year of our Lord God a thou- 
 sand four hundred, one less, pope Benedict 
 at Avignon, who had been sustained long 
 by the Frenchmen, was as then deposed : 
 and in like wise so was the king of Al- 
 maine for his evil deeds ; ^ for the electors 
 of the Empire and all the dukes and barons 
 of Almaine rose against him and sent him 
 into Boeme, whereas he was king ; and 
 they chose another, a valiant and a wise 
 man, to be king of Almaine, and he was 
 one of the Baviers and was called Robert 
 of Heidelberg ; and he came to Cologne, 
 where he was crowned with the crown of 
 Almaine, for they of Aix would not open 
 their town to him, nor the duke of Gueldrcs 
 
 1 The emperor Wenceslas, deposed 20th August 
 1400. As to pope Benedict, he was not effectively 
 deposed till the council of Pisa in 1409. 
 
 would not be under his obeisance. This 
 new king of Almaine promised to bring the 
 Church to a unity and peace ; howbeit, the 
 French king and his council treated with 
 the Liegeois, who held with the pope at 
 Rome, and they did so much by the means 
 of sir Baudwin of Montjardin,who governed 
 a great part of the bishopric of Liege, who 
 was a knight of the French king's, so that 
 by his means at the desire of the French 
 king the country of Liege turned to become 
 neuter ; so that the Liegeois sent to Rome 
 for all the clergy that were there of their 
 country to come by a certain day, or else 
 to lose all their benefices in the country. 
 When they heard that, they returned from 
 Rome and came to Liege. And pope 
 Boniface, who lost much by that trans- 
 mutation, sent a legate into Almaine to 
 preach among them, to cause them to 
 return again to his part ; but the legate 
 durst not pass Cologne, and sent letters to 
 Liege. When those letters were read, the 
 messenger was answered, that on pain of 
 drowning he should no more come on such 
 message, for they said : ' As many messen- 
 gers as cometh with any such message shall 
 be drowned in the river of Meuse. ' 
 
 FINIS TOTIUS FROISSART 
 
'(Eljue! cntietlj tlje tl)ictie anti fourtfje bofee of 0ir 3|ol)n 
 jfcoisigiart, of tljc ctonjcle0 of (Enfflantie, jfraunce, ^papne, 
 Portingale, ^cotlantie, ©retapne, jf launtiec^, ana ottiec place0 
 at)iojnpng:e: 'Eran^lated out of jfcenclje into matecnall 
 (£nglp00l)e, bp ^oljan ©ourcljier kn^s^t, lorij B^rnec^, Deputi'r 
 general! of tlje kingess totone of Calais anti marc^eef of tlje 
 0ame, at tljc tsff^e commauntiement of our mooi3t reDouteti 
 jSouerapne lorOe kins ^enr? t^t eigtit, fejug; of (lEng:Iantie 
 anti of jfraunte, ant) Ij^glje tiefeni3er of t\)Z c!)ri0ten fajtlje, 
 etc. 'Eije toljiclje ttoo bofeeef be compjleli into one tiolume, anti 
 fjnjsjgfljet! in tbe jsa^b totone of Calaicf t^e ;t. tiaj? of marct)e in 
 t\)t xti. j?ere of our gfaiD ^ouerapne lorlieef raigne. gjntprinteD 
 at ILontion, in jflete^tcete, bj Eicljarlie Pgn^on, printer to 
 tlje feintyes moosst noble grace, anti entieti ti\z laiSt bap of 
 S[u5u0t,tl)e jere of our lortie goti 9Ip3DaE3^(n. 
 
 Cum priujlegio a reg:e inUulto* 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 The references are to the chapters, but also, where necessary, to the pages : as a rule 
 one reference is given for each meaning, but when the word occurs repeatedly with that 
 meaning, ' etc' is often added to the reference. It must be understood that many of 
 the words mentioned are used also in their modern sense. 
 
 A, for 'have,' e.g. 'if he would a believed 
 
 them,' i. 140, p. 113 ; etc. 
 Abandon, cotnpleie control, in the phrase ' in 
 
 your abandon," Fr. a vostre abandon, i. 9. 
 Abash, Fr. esbahir, dismay, i. 9, etc. 
 Abused, deceived, ii. 221. 
 Abusion, deception, ' abusion on,' error on 
 
 the part of, ii. 215, p. 452 {but perhaps 
 
 'on' is a misprint for 'of'}. The French 
 
 ' abusion' means here rather 'scruple.' 
 Abye, pay for ^ i. 384, p. 259. 
 Achieve, be accomplished, \. 376, p. 246. 
 Addition, title, \. Pref. 
 Advance oneself {or one's body), distinguish 
 
 oneself^ i. 165, etc. 
 Advertise, observe, \. Pref. 
 Advice, consideration, \. 18, p. 18. 
 Advise, consider, observe, i. 18, etc. 
 Affectuously, Fr. affectueusement, earnestly, 
 
 i. 8, etc. {often spelt ' effectuously '). 
 Affiance, confidence, i. 231, p. 158. 
 Aff TSLjed., frightened, \. 184, etc. 
 Again, in comparison with, ii. 198, p. 431. 
 Against, to meet, i, 7, etc. 
 A-high, on high, aloud, i. 160, 164. 
 Alan, mastiff, ii. 24, p. 323. 
 Aland, on land, i. 81, etc. 
 Alate, of late^ ii. 37. 
 Aleft, left {verb), i. 26, p. 37 (unless it is for 
 
 ' a left,' i.e. ' have left '). 
 Alexandre i^r Alisandre, Alexandria. 
 Almain, German. 
 Almaine, Germany. 
 Ambassade, embassy, i. 15, etc. 
 Anger, regard with anger, i, 284 (end). 
 
 Apparel, pj-epare, \. 6, etc. also intrans., 
 
 i. 9, p. 8. 
 Appeal, summon^ challenge, \. 243 (beg.), 
 
 etc. 
 Archegay, lance (for throwing), i. 237, p. 
 
 XJJ. 
 
 Armeny, Ar?nenia. 
 
 Armoury, armorial bearings, \. 160 : 
 heraldry, ii. 213. 
 
 Arranged, pitched (battle), i. 3. 
 
 Assemble, join battle^ engage (in fight), i. 
 422, etc. 
 
 Assised, situated, \. 17 (where the original 
 edition has ' assysed to '). 
 
 Assist, support, accompany, ii, 153, p. 383. 
 
 Assister, supporter, ii. 153, p. 383. 
 
 Assoil, absolve, i, 233, etc, 
 
 Ast, Dax. 
 
 Astonied, stunned, i. 163. 
 
 Attemperance, sef -restraint, ii. iSi, p. 
 408. 
 
 Attrap, catch, ii. 80, p. ^6'^. 
 
 Austrich, Austria. 
 
 Availen, avail {2,1 <\ pars. plur. ), ii. Pref. 
 
 Availing, declivity, i, 18, p. 21. 
 
 Avale, avail, desceyid, i. 131, 
 
 Avaunt, boast, ii. 137, 
 
 Aview, view (verb), i. 40, 
 
 Avise, observe, i. 39, etc. : ' to avise one- 
 self of,' to perceive, think of. 
 
 Avoid, leave, depart, i. 25, 229, etc. . dis- 
 miss, i. 25. 
 
 Awork, to work (adv.), i. 59, 
 
 K^oxXh. patiently, ii. 239 {beg.). 
 
 Axe, ask, ii. 238 (end). 
 
47S 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Bailiage, district under a 'baily,' ii. 197, 
 
 p. 427. 
 Bailiff, ruler, i. 398. 
 Bails, Fr, bailie, ba7-rier (before the gate of 
 
 a town), i. 38, etc. 
 Baily, officer set over a town or district, i. 
 
 349, etc. 
 Bain, bathe, ii. 27 : bath (noun), i. 325. 
 Baleine, whalebone, i. 419 (end). 
 Bandon (cp. ' abandon '), in the phrase ' in 
 her bandon," 'at her will'; but it is a 
 translation of 'dans ses lacs,' 'in her tolls* : 
 ii. 240. 
 Barded, equipped with ar?nour (of horses). 
 Bascot, bastard, ii. 28. 
 Base, law, lower, ii. 28, p, 338. 
 Basenet, bassenet, helmet, i. 164, etc. 
 Bash, Fr. s'esbahir, be dismayed, i. 221, p. 
 
 149. 
 B3.slide, fortress, i. 133, etc. 
 Battle, division (of army), army, i. 18, etc. 
 Baudkin,yf«e cloth (properly of Bagdad), ii. 
 
 153 (beg.), etc. 
 Beaten, see notes on pp. 372, 374. 
 Beaten with, embroidered with (arms), i. 235, 
 
 p. 171 ; 270 (mid. ). 
 Behated, hated, i. 229 (end). 
 Behest, promise, i. 399. 
 Behoveful, advantageous , i. Pref, 
 Beknown, to be, to acknowledge, i. 400, p. 
 
 274. 
 Belfry, tower, i. 109. 
 Believe, trust, i. 162, p. 126 ; etc. 
 Ben, are, i. Pref. 
 Beseen, furnished, in the phrase ' richly 
 
 beseen, ' 'in rich array,' i. 77, 166. 
 Besyne, Fr. besongne, affair, i. 7, etc. ; but 
 ' besynes ' and ' business ' (sometimes spelt 
 'besynes') are difficult to distinguish in 
 the translator's pages. 
 Bidaus, the name of a kind of light-armed 
 
 soldier, i. 50, etc. 
 Bobance, Fr. boban, confidence, i. 399. 
 Boeme, Bohemia. 
 Bolsterer, maintai?ier, \. 350. 
 Bone, good, \. 399. 
 Boot, help, i. 87, etc. 
 Bounty, goodness, i. 406, ii. Pref. 
 Bourage (of Saint Peter), Fr.- bourg, the so- 
 called 'borgo,' i.e. the Leonine city, at 
 Rome, i. 326, 346. 
 Bourder, idle talker, i. 343, p. 213, 
 Bourg, bastard, i. 229, etc. 
 Brabances, ?nen of Brabant. 
 Brast, were broken, i. 336. 
 
 Bren, bur?i, i. 15, etc. (but 'burn' is also 
 
 found). 
 Bretayne, Brittany. 
 
 Bricole, an engine for throwing stones, ii. 
 167, p. 402. 
 
 Brigand, one of a ba?id, equivalent to ' com- 
 panion,' i. 220, p. 145 ; etc. 
 
 Bngandine, a light vessel, ii. 167, p. 400. 
 
 Broach, spit, \. 126. 
 
 Bruit, noise, rumour, i. 18, etc. 
 
 Brulling, disturbance, \. 350 (title). 
 
 Brunt, shock, violence of combat, i. 44 : also 
 of the sea, i. 91. 
 
 Bude, Buda. 
 
 Bulgary (spelt 'bowgery'), heresy, ii. 159, 
 
 P- 395- 
 
 Burgoyne, Burgundy. 
 Burgoynian, Burgundian. 
 Bursa, Broussa. 
 
 Bushment, ambush, i. 375, etc. 
 But, only, i, 428 (mid.). 
 By, except, ii. 34, p. 346. 
 
 Calabre, Calabria. 
 
 Can, know, i. 2, so 'could well the lan- 
 guage,' i. 40 : also in such phrases as ' I 
 can him thank,' i.e. 'I am grateful to 
 him,' as translation of ' savoir gr<5.' In i. 
 344 'conde' is probably a misprint for 
 ' coude. ' 
 
 Canayr, probably for 'nacayr,' Fr, nacaire, 
 kettledrum t i, 12. 
 
 Carol, dance (verb), ii. 156, p. 392. 
 
 Carolling, dancing, i. 344. 
 
 Carriage, baggage, i. 50, 231, etc., but fre- 
 quently also in the sense of ' wheeled 
 vehicle,' see note on i. 18, p. 24. 
 
 Cataloyne, Catalonia. 
 
 Cautel, trick, i. 235, 426. 
 
 Celler, canopy, ii. 153, p. 387. 
 
 Centenier, head of a hundred, i, 349 (end) ; 
 375, p. 243. 
 
 Certain, inforin, i, 270 (beg.). 
 
 Cess (verb), rate, tax, \. loi. 
 
 Cessing, levying {[axes), ii. 159, p. 394. 
 
 Chafe, heat, ii. 184, p. 416; etc. 
 
 Challenge, claim, i. 164. 
 
 Chapeau, chapew, cap, i. 419 (end), etc. 
 
 Chare, carl, carriage, i. 162, p. 124 ; etc. 
 
 Charette, carriage, \. 17. 
 
 Chatelainy, castelry (district of a fortress), i. 
 22, etc, (sometimes written ' castlayne'). 
 
 Cheap, in the phrase ' with good cheap,' as 
 translation of 'k bon marchiet," i. 16 (end) : 
 'good cheap,' cheaply, \. 403 (end). 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 479 
 
 Cheer, countenance, i. 8i, etc. 
 
 Cinquantenier, head of ^fiy, i. 349 (end) ; 
 375. P- 243. 
 
 Clipse, eclipse, i. 130. 
 
 C\o%^d, fortified, i. 39. 
 
 Closing, close, Fr. pourpris, ii. 221 (end). 
 
 Coast, district, ii. 197, p. 426. 
 
 Coast, go by the side of, pass along by, accom- 
 pany, i. 159 (beg.), etc. 
 
 Comble (in heraldry), dimin. of 'chief,' i, 
 77 (end). 
 
 Comfort, support, i. 30, etc. 
 
 Comforter, supporter, i. 350. 
 
 Commise, co7n?nit, i. 12. 
 
 Commit, desire (?), i. 384, p. 259. 
 
 Commonty, common people, i. 140, p. 112 ; 
 etc. 
 
 Compact, compacted, bound, i. Pref. 
 
 Companion, one of a company, adventurer , 
 i. 215, etc. 
 
 Complect, e7nbrace, i. Pref. 
 
 Compoin (oneself) with, joi?i uuith, i. 243 
 (mid. ) ; cp. ' compone. ' 
 
 Condign, loell merited, i. Pref. 
 
 Condition, temper, disposition, i. 4, 
 
 Confisc, confiscate, ii. 34, p. 346. 
 
 Conscience, scruple, i. 3S1, p. 251. 
 
 Constantine, Constantijiople. 
 
 Contagious, injurious, \. 233, p. 163. 
 
 Contemplation, in the phrase ' a la con- 
 templation de," 'out of regard to," ii. 26 
 (beg.). 
 
 Continue, contents, ii, 28, p. 337. 
 
 Convenable, proper^ i. 170. 
 
 Conveniently, properly^ \. 7. 
 
 Cordewan, Cordova. 
 
 Corogne, Coruna. 
 
 Counsels, deputies, bu7gesses, Fr. consauls, i. 
 64, etc. 
 
 Countersingle, girth, i. 18, p. 20. 
 
 Countervail, atone for, i. 139. 
 
 Countervenge, counteravenge, avenge, i. 44, 
 
 229, P- 155- 
 Courage, heart, inclination, i. loi, etc. 
 Cowardness, cowardice, ii. 33, p. 344. 
 Credence, letters of credence, credentials, ii. 
 
 215, p. 451 ; 228 ; etc. 
 Cresset, light (in a cup at the top of a pole), 
 
 i. 400, p. 274. 
 Croisey, crusade, \. 27, etc. 
 Cry, battle-cry, motto, i. 31; ii. 25, etc.: pro- 
 
 clam.ation, i. 18, p. 20 ; etc. 
 Cry, proclaim., \. 18, p. 20. 
 Cure-boly, Fr. cuir boulit, boiled hide, i. 
 
 109. 
 
 Currour, scout, i. 103, etc. 
 
 Curse, excotnynunicate, i. 229, p. 154. 
 
 Cursing, excommu?iication, i. 8, etc. 
 
 Custos, guard, i. Pref. 
 
 Cypre, Cyprus. 
 
 Damage, loss, pity, i. 20 (end), etc, (some- 
 times spelt 'domage'). 
 
 Damas, Damascus. 
 
 Danger, difficulty, ii. 215, p. 450, in translat- 
 ing the French phrase, ' i grant dangier.' 
 
 Deceived, see note on i. 231. 
 
 Defend, forbid, stop, repel, i. 8, 50, 161, 
 etc. 
 
 Defiance, challenge, declaration of -war, \. 
 15, etc. 
 
 Defoil, violate, i. 37: maltreat, i. 215, p. 
 141. 
 
 Defoiling, violation, i. 124, 
 
 Defy, challenge to combat, \. 25, etc. 
 
 Demain, dom,ain, ii. 196 (end). 
 
 Depart, separate, trans, or intrans. , i. 81, 
 91, etc. : leave, i. 375, p. 242 : distribiite, 
 i. 231, p. 159. 
 
 Descrive, describe, ii. Pref. 
 
 Devoir, duty, i. Pref., etc. 
 
 V>^\o\\on, pious desire, i, 326 (beg.). 
 
 Dime, tithe, i. 170, etc. 
 
 Disanchor, raise anchors, i. 37 (end). 
 
 Discovered, uncovered, ii. 153, p. 383. 
 
 Discrease, decrease, ii. 229, p. 460. 
 
 Disdain, displeasure, \. 344, p. 215. 
 
 Disdainous, disdainful, ii. 42, p. 358. 
 
 Disherit, disinherit, i. 167- 
 
 Dislodge, depart, break up camp, \. j8, p. 20; 
 etc. 
 
 Dispense, expense, i. 32. 
 
 Displeasant, unpleasant, i. 221, p. 148. 
 
 Dispurveyed, unprovided, i. 26, p. 36. 
 
 Dissimule, dissemble, i. 348, p. 224 ; etc. 
 
 Distance, difference, i. 357. 
 
 Distruss, strip of baggage, \. 57 (title). 
 
 Diverse, Fr. divers, perverse, bad, i. 4. 
 
 Diversely, badly, i. 6. 
 
 Done, do (3rd pers. plur. pres. ), ii. Pref. 
 
 Doubt, fear (noun and verb), i. 18, p. 23 ; 
 etc. 
 
 Douze-peers, twelve peers, i, 21. 
 
 Douzime, twelfth, i. 426 (end). 
 
 Drad, dreaded, i. g, p. 7 ; also 'dread,' ii. 
 197, p. 428 ; etc. 
 
 Drapery, cloth-making, i. 123. 
 
 Dredge-box, comfit-box, Fr. drageoir, ii. 153, 
 
 p. 387- 
 Dress, set up, arrange, i, 221, etc. 
 
4So 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Dressing-board, side-board, '\\. 153, p. 386. 
 Dunoe, Danube. 
 
 Easement, convenience , i. 348, p. 225 ; 400. 
 
 Easily, slightly, i. 39. 
 
 Effectuously, Fr. effectuelment, probably the 
 
 same as ' affectuously,' i, 24 (end). 
 Eke, also, i. Pref. 
 Embassade, envoy, \\. 215, p. 451; cp. 
 
 ' ambassade. ' 
 Embrase, stir -up, injlajne, ii. 181, p. 40S. 
 Embushed, ambushed, ii. 208. 
 Embushment, ambush. 
 Engine, genius, ii. 198, p. 43r. 
 Enherit, viake heir, i. 231, p. 157 ; cp. 
 
 ' inherit.' 
 Enlumined, illumijied, ii. 197, p. 430. 
 Enquire, seek after, i. Pref. 
 Ensign, teach, point out, i. Pref,, etc. 
 Ensure, engage, promise in marriage, i. 314 
 
 (end) : espouse, 1. 140 (title). 
 Enterprise, undertake, \. 229, p. 155 ; etc. 
 Entreat, negotiate, ii. 28, p. 337. 
 Entreator, negotiator, i. 314, p. 205. 
 Errand, occasion for a journey, ii. 27, p. 335. 
 Escault, Scheldt. 
 Eschew, avoid, i. 30, etc. 
 Escry, absence, i. 221, p. 148. 
 Estate, retinue, ii. 161. 
 E.xhort, exhortation, ii. Pref. 
 Exile, Fr. exillier, destroy, lay waste, i. 26, 
 
 p. 36 ; etc. 
 Expert, gained by experience, \. Pref. 
 Extraught, extracted, descended, \. 25, etc. 
 Eyen, eyes, i. 26, p. 37 ; etc. 
 
 Fail, jniss, i. 163. 
 
 Fain, obliged, \. 16, p. 16 ; etc. 
 
 Fain (verb), Fr. sc faindre, hesitate, decline, 
 i. 237 (end). 
 
 YmT\X, feigTied, ii. 29, p, 338. 
 
 Fault,/z27, i. 18. 
 
 Fauty, see note on i. 12. 
 
 Feeble, grow feeble, \. 379, p. 248. 
 
 Feeblished, weake?ied, ii. i8r, p. 408. 
 
 Ye'mWy, for a feint, i. 221, p. 148. 
 
 Felly, angrily, i. 146. 
 
 Felonous, a?Lgry, i. 384, p, 258, 
 
 Felony, cruelty, i. 7. 
 
 Fewe, track (of a deer), ii. 27, p. 335 ; pro- 
 bably connected with ' feute.' 
 
 Fiance, espouse, i. 140, p. 113. 
 
 Finance, payment, esp. for ransom, i. 239, 
 p. 184 ; etc. . su!?t of money, ii, 28, p. 
 337- 
 
 Fode ioxth, put off [^ person), prolong (the 
 
 time), ii. 42, p. 356 ; 128. 
 Foin, thrust, i, 237. 
 YoWj, foolish, ii. 26, p. 330. 
 Fondes, Fondi. 
 For, instead of, i. Pref. , etc. 
 Force, account, value, in the phrases ' set 
 
 less force in,' for 'esteem less," i. 280; 
 
 ' made no force of them,' ii. 229, p. 460. 
 Fordo, do away with, i. 21, etc. 
 Fovengex, forager, ii. 33, p. 341. 
 Forfeit, do wrong, i. 235, p. 169. 
 Forfeit, wrong [uoyin), i. 431, p. 302. 
 Forth, onward, i. 162, p. 125 ; etc. 
 Forthright, straight on, i. 140 (end). 
 Fortravailed, exhausted, i. 18, p. 18. 
 Fouage, hearth-tax, \. 241. 
 Franchises, liberties, i. 26, 349. 
 Frank, free, spelt 'fraunchcs,' ii. 156, p. 
 
 3S9- 
 
 Yrs-Y, fright, disturbance, i. 87, 346 (mid.). 
 
 Frequentation, habit, ii. 198, p. 431. 
 
 Fresh, lively, ii. 156, p. 389. 
 
 Frise, Friesland. 
 
 Frisk, lively, ii. 156, p. 392 ; spelt ' frysco ' 
 or 'friscay,' cp. 'fresh.' 
 
 Frontier, border, face [e.g. ' on the frontier 
 of the enemies ' for * in the face of the 
 enemy'), i. 235, p. 171: ' frontier war ' is 
 war waged from fortresses on the enemy's 
 border, i. 170, etc. 
 
 Furnish, Fr. fumieu, obstinate, i. 346 (beg.). 
 
 Furour, fury, ii. 213, p. 447. 
 
 Gabelle, salt-tax, i. 426 (end). 
 
 Galice, Galicia. 
 
 Garnish, garrison (verb), i. 26, p. 36. 
 
 Gascoyne, Gascony. 
 
 Gaunt, Gauntois, Ghent, men of Ghent. 
 
 Gedeours, Jedworth. 
 
 Genepar./Mi^z^^r (but the French i gcnestres), 
 
 i. 419. 
 Genes, Genoa. 
 Genetours, men mounted on genets, i.e. 
 
 small Spanish horses, i. 236 (end). 
 Genoways, Genoese. 
 Gest, exploit, \. Pref, 
 Gested, performed, i. Pref. 
 Glaive, spear, i. 39. 
 Glint, gla?ice, ii. 139. 
 Glose, reflect upon, ii. 197, p. 428. 
 Gonds, hinges, i. 426, p. 294. 
 Good, zveaJh, i. 383, p. 255. 
 Gossip, fellow -sponsor, ii. 240, p. 468 : 
 familiar friend, i. 280. 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 4S1 
 
 Graces, thanks, i. Pref. 
 
 Grapper, grappling- hook, i. 50. 
 
 Gre, gVQQ, favour, goodwill, i. Pref., etc. 
 
 Grise, gray fiir, properly fur of the gray 
 
 squirrel, i. 381, p. 251. 
 Gurged, collected [of r'lw&xs), i. i. 
 
 H.ACKNEY, /i??z7, i. 18 (beg.). 
 
 Hainowes, men of Hainan It. 
 
 Hamede (in heraldry), a fess made of three 
 
 pieces which do not touch the border of 
 
 the shield, i. 162, p. 124. 
 Hampton, Southampton. 
 Hardily, boldly, i. 231, p. 158. 
 Hardy, bold, i. 1, etc. 
 Harness, baggage, i. iS, p. 18 : also in the 
 
 sense of armour. 
 Harrow, alas, ii. 184, p. 417. 
 Herebefore, before this, i. 26, p. 35 ; etc. 
 Herse, harrow, i. 130 (beg. ). 
 Hight, e.g. 'I hight,' I ain called, i. 163. 
 Him, often for 'himself,' e.g. 'weening to 
 
 him,' 'thinking to himself,' i. 20, p. 28. 
 Histographier, historian, i. Pref. 
 Ho, cry oi hold/ stop I ii. 138 (end). 
 Hobby, small horse, i. 128, etc. 
 Hocqueton, a kind of coat, i. 419 (end), etc, 
 Holmess, knife (?), i. 419 (end). 
 Hormyes, ho?'ns [}), i. 147, p. 116. 
 Hosting, e.g. ' at an hosting pace,' ' at a 
 
 rapid pace, as of an army advancing to 
 
 battle, i. 237, p. 175. 
 Housel, give communion to, i. 18, p. 21 : 
 
 'to be houselled,' 'to receive the com- 
 munion.' 
 
 Imaginative, ingenious, i. 270 (end), etc. 
 Imagine^, consider, i. 266, p. 194. 
 In, get in (harvest), ii. 22, p. 317. 
 Indurate, hard, i. 398, p. 270. 
 Infamed, disgraced, ii. 80, p. 363. 
 Inhabitable, uninhabitable, i. 26, p. 36 ; etc. 
 Inherit (a person), make [him) heir, i. 167, 
 
 p. 36. 
 Intend, endeavour, attend, i. 51, etc. 
 Intent, endeavour (noun), i. 237, p. 176. 
 Inutile, void, ii. 196 (end). 
 Irk, hate (verb), i. Pref. 
 
 Jack, coat, ii. 184, p. 416. 
 Jangle, _;>j-;', i. 270, p. 196 ; etc. 
 Ja.ng\er, jester, i. 343, p- 213- 
 Jape, Jest, i. 233, p. 165, 
 Jeopard, risk (verb), i. 18, etc. 
 Jolly, gay, lively, i. 229, p. 155 ; etc. 
 2 I 
 
 Journey, day, battle, expedillon, i. 40, ,42, 
 
 162, etc. 
 Joy of. enjoy, ii. 27. p. 334. 
 
 Kercher, kei-chief, ii. 28, p. 338. 
 
 Know, in the phrase 'to be known of,' i.e. 
 
 'to acknowledge,' i. g (beg.), etc. 
 Knowledge, acknowledge, i. 24, p. 33. 
 
 Largess, liberality, \. 14, etc. 
 
 Latten, brass, ii. 25, p. 328. 
 
 Laund, glade in a wood, lande, \. 406, p. 
 
 282 ; ii. 22, p. 317 ; etc. 
 Learn, teach, ii. 198, p. 431. 
 Lecto, Lithuania. 
 Legitive, legitimate, i. 229, p. 154. 
 Let, hinder, i. 239, etc. : tarry, i. 127, p. 
 
 loi ; 199. 
 Libbard, leopard, ii. 198, p. 434. 
 Light, easy, i. 23. 
 Lightly, usually, 1. 38, etc. . I'eadily, \. 239, 
 
 p. 182. 
 Limit, appoint, agree, i. 24, p. 32 ; etc. 
 Limitee, vassal, ii. 206. p. 439. 
 List, desire (noun), i. 270. p. 196. 
 Livenges. victuals, ii. 198, p. 434. 
 Livery, delivery, i. 223, p. 151. 
 Livery, inn (?), ii. 156. p. 390. 
 Lodge, lodging, i. 18, p. 20 ; etc. 
 Loop, loophole, ii. 153. 
 Louage, commendatiojt, \. i. 
 
 iMalle. mallet, i. 419 (end), etc. 
 
 Mallorca, Majorca. 
 
 Maltote, tax, i. 170. 
 
 Many, number, ii. 24, p. 322. 
 
 iMarch, e.g. ' if we did march near you,' ' if 
 
 we had our borders near you,' i. 376. 
 IVTarches, regions, i. 235, p. 170. 
 Marish, marsh, i. 18, etc. 
 Marmoset, /az-cwW/^. ii. 42, p. 357. 
 Martinet, an engine for casting stones, i. 
 
 120, p. 93. 
 Mastery, difficult feat, i. 403, p. 279. 
 Me, often for ' myself.* 
 Meddle, jnanage, \. 179 : mingle, i. 222. 
 Meddling, combat, i. 81 : managing, i. 179. 
 Meetly, suitable, i. 16 (end). 
 Melancholious. melancholy, i. 346 (beg.). 
 Memorial, memory, ii. 198. p. 434. 
 Mess, dish, ii. 153, p. 386. 
 Message, messenger, W. 24. p. 323. 
 Mester, craft, i. 173. 
 Mete, boundary, ii. 197, p. 427. 
 Metelin, Mytilene. 
 
THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Mid, myddes, iniddle, \. 32. 
 Miniver, small fu?-, i. 403, etc. 
 Modered, moderated, ii. 184, p. 412. 
 More, moi-eover, \. Pref. 
 Mulet, mule, ii. 24, p. 323. 
 
 Namely, especially, \. 18, p. 18. 
 Nazres, Najara. 
 Ne, not, ii. Pref. 
 
 Near hand, jiearly, ii. "^6, p. 351. 
 Neuter, neutral, ii. 229, p. 457. 
 Newelty, 7iovelty, ii. 198, p. 433. 
 Nobless, nobleness, i. 146, p. 116. 
 Nother, often for 'neither.' 
 Noyful, troublesojne, i. 356, p. 236, 
 
 Obeisance, obedience, i. 109. 
 
 Obeisant, obedient, i. 238, p. 180. 
 
 Decision, slaughter, ii. 208, p. 442. 
 
 Once, in the first place, \. Pref. 
 
 Only, alone, i. 40, etc. 
 
 Open, from ' ope,' opejied, ii. 198, p. 431. 
 
 Or, ere. 
 
 Ordain, set i?i order, i. 18, p. 18. 
 
 Oreiller, /iV/^w {in heraldry), i. 17 (end). 
 
 Orgulous, p}-oud, i. 229, p. 155 ; etc. 
 
 Other or, whether . or, i. 10, etc.; 
 
 either or, i. 146, etc. 
 
 Ought, owed, i. 241, p. 185. 
 Outrage, deed of daririg, i. 384, p. 260. 
 Outrageous, dari?ig, savage, ii. 181, p. 409 ; 
 
 etc. ; outrageoust, i. 137, etc. 
 Overlaid, pressed by an enemy, ii. 213, p. 
 
 443- 
 Oversee, exaynine, ii. 197, p. 428. 
 
 Overthrow, yiz// oz'i??-, i. 270 {mid. ). 
 
 Pain, attempt, endeavour, i. 162, p. 124 ; 
 
 etc 
 Paliard, worthless fellow, i. 356, p. 235. 
 Pampelone, Pamplona. 
 Pane, piece {of a wall), i. 2S3. 
 Panel, saddle-cloth, i. 18, p. 20. 
 Part, distribute, i, 231, p. 161. 
 Party, place, side, i. 22 : snatch, ii. 33, p. 
 
 344- 
 VTLXxon, fellow , \. 381, p. 252: shipmaster, 
 
 ii. 167, p. 400. 
 Pavis, shield: as verb, cover with shield, i. 
 
 109, etc. 
 Pease, for appease, ii. 188 (end). 
 Pelerin, peregrine (falcon), i. 406. 
 Pensel, small pe7inon, \. 237, p. 176. 
 Pentice, penthouse, \. 125, p. 98. 
 Periloust, most perilous, ii. 239, p. 465. 
 
 Perse, Persia. 
 
 Persevere, coiiiinue, \. 237, p. 174 ; etc. 
 
 Y\^X, pitched, i. 164, p. 129; etc. 
 
 Pike, thrust, i. 163. 
 
 Pile, drive in (piles), i. 403, p. 280. 
 
 Pill, plunder, i. 18, p. 18. 
 
 Filler, p/u?2derer, ii. 24, p. 318. 
 
 Piment, spiced drink, ii. 153, p. 384. 
 
 Plain, /«//, i. 14, 229, etc. 
 
 Plancher, plank floor, i. 400, p. 275, 
 
 Planted, striped {\n pales), i. 419 (end). 
 
 Plash, /(?(?/, i. 399, p. 273. 
 
 Plump, group, i. 357, p. 237. 
 
 Point, for ' appoint,' i. 109. 
 
 Point, end [woMxi), i. Pref. 
 
 Poister, weigh do-wn, i. Pref. 
 
 Potent (in heraldry), ii. 198, p. 434 : the 
 
 cross potent or potenc^e is crutch-shaped 
 
 at the ends. 
 Pregnable, possible to be taken, ii. 24, p. 
 
 323- 
 Pre we, brave, i. i. 
 
 Prisonment, ijnprisonynerit, ii. 215, p. 449. 
 Profitable, valid, ii. 197, p. 427. 
 Proof, in the phrase ' to take with the proof, ' 
 
 i.e. ' to take in the act,' i. 152. 
 Provision, preparation, i. 35. 
 Pruce, Prussia. 
 Pucelle, danisel, i. 13, etc. 
 PuUen, ybzf/j, i. 16 (end). 
 Purchase, /rocwri?, endeavour, i. Pref., etc. 
 Purchase (noun), endeavour, i, 37. 
 Pursue, follow, i, 229. 
 
 Purveyance, provision, preparation, \. 6, etc. 
 Puylle, Apulia. 
 
 Quayre, Cairo. 
 Quit, set free, i. 166. 
 
 Rack, loss, i. 124. 
 
 Rappease, pacify, i. 44, p. 57 ; etc. 
 
 Rascal, common herd, i. 18 (beg.); also as 
 
 adjective, i. 229, p. 155. 
 Rash down, pull down, i. 147. 
 Ready, dressed, i. 18, p. 23. 
 Rearband, 7'earguard, ii. 141. 
 Recule, retire, i. 18, p. 22; etc.: drive back, 
 
 ii. 140 : also refl. ' reculed them aback,' i. 
 
 129. 
 Redress, relief, i. 18, p. 19, 
 Regaly, royalty, i. 15, etc. 
 Regard, as title the same as the Flemish 
 
 'rewaert,' 7'uler, i. 403, p. 279. 
 Rejoice, enjoy, ii. 197, p. 426. 
 'R.€\OMXXi, journey (verb), i. 375, p. 243. 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 483 
 
 Relieve, raise up, or raise oneself up, i. 130, 
 p. 104 ; etc. 
 
 Relong, prolong, i. 63 (end). 
 
 Rencounter, rencountering, encounter, \. 120, 
 etc. 
 
 Reny, renounce (bondage), ii. i8i, p. 409. 
 
 Repoin, feel sorrj', i. 130, p. 105. 
 
 Report, see note on i. 179. 
 
 Require, i-equest, i. Pref. , etc. 
 
 Resort, appeal, right of appeal, \. 242, etc. 
 
 Rest, arrest, i. 343 (mid.). 
 
 Retray, retire, i. 18, p. 23. 
 
 Ribaudeu.x, pointed stakes, carried by the 
 Gauntois to make a defence, i. 399, p. 
 272. 
 
 River, coast (Riviera), i. 326. 
 
 Road 7-aid, i. 18, p. 22. 
 
 Rout, company, i. 15 (end), etc. 
 
 Rutter, routier, member of n. company, ad- 
 venturer, \. 347, p. 221 ; etc. 
 
 Sad, serious, respectable, i. 140, p. 113. 
 
 Salet, head-piece, i. 128. 
 
 Savage, toild, \. 18, p. 19. 
 
 Say, assay, ii. 26, p. 332. 
 
 Scant, hardly, i. iS, p. 23. 
 
 Scot, 7-eckoning, ii. 206, p. 438. 
 
 Scrimmish, y5VA^, i, 18, p. 22; etc. : spelt 
 ' skrymisshe,' a variation of ' skirmish.' 
 
 Scurrer, scout, ii. 142 (title), etc. 
 
 Scuse, excuse, i. 343. 
 
 Scute, Fr. escu, crown, i. loi. 
 
 Seignory, lordship, i. 27 (end), etc. 
 
 Seisin, possession, \. 223, p. 151. 
 
 Seized of, possessed of , i. 26, p. 35. 
 
 Sendal, hidian silk, \. 423, p. 290. 
 
 Seneschally, district imder a seneschal, ii, 
 
 197, p. 427. 
 Seneschausse, same as the above, ii. 156, 
 Sentence, meaning, i. Pref. 
 Septentrion, north, ii. 207. 
 Servage, bondage, i. 381, p. 250. 
 Set by, esteeyn, i. 343, p. 213. 
 Sewer, seruer of ineat, ii. 31, p. 339. 
 Siege, see (of a bishop), ii. 228. 
 Simple, poor, i. 399 (end). 
 Single, simple, ii. 184, p. 416. 
 Sith, since, i. Pref. , also of time. 
 Sithe, sight, \. 18, p. 18. 
 Skrye, sudden attack, \. 18, p. 23 ; etc. 
 Slode for 'shd,' i. 270 (mid.). 
 Somer, beast of burden, i. 347, p. 222. 
 Sore (as noun), difficulty, i. 162, p. 125. 
 Sort, set, compa7iy, i. 130, p. 104; etc. 
 Sorts, lots (cast for magic), ii. 200, p. 439. 
 
 So that, pj'ovided that, on condition that, \. 
 270, p. igS ; etc. 
 
 Soudan, soldan, sulta?i, ii. 206, p. 348; etc. 
 
 Sown, sound, i. 91, etc., but 'sound' is also 
 used. 
 
 Sowter, cobbler, ii. 29, p. 338. 
 
 Sparkle abroad, disperse, scatter, i. 2-^0 
 (end). 
 
 Spial, watch, ii. 34, p. 346. 
 
 Stale, for 'stole,' ii. 141 (end). 
 
 Stall, stand, i, 81. 
 
 Stole, given as translation of ' coiffete,' head- 
 dress, ii. 181, p. 409. 
 
 Strainable, violent, i. 356, p. 235. 
 
 Stuff, supply (verb), i. 343, p. 213 ; etc. 
 
 Supportation, support, i. Pref. 
 
 Surie, Syria, 
 
 TAiihE, plank, i. 356. 
 
 Tail, fasten behind (of taking in tow), i. gi. 
 
 Taille, tax, ii. 24, p. 319. 
 
 Tapet, carpet, ii. 2x3, p. 446. 
 
 Test, witness, ii. 197, p. 427. 
 
 Thanken, thaiik, i. 420, p. 28G. 
 
 Them, often for 'themselves.' 
 
 Thereagainst, against it, i. 348. 
 
 Thereas, often for 'where.' 
 
 Thither-as, 'whithersoever, i. 431 (end). 
 
 Threat, threaten, i. 160. 
 
 Tice, stir np, entice, i. 347 (end). 
 
 Timbre, drum, ii. iSj, p. 401. 
 
 Tittle, talk to (verb), ii. 24, p. 319. 
 
 To-torn, tor?z in pieces, i. 350, p. 229. 
 
 Trance, state of suspense, i. 343 (end). 
 
 Trandal, cavip-folloiver, i. 17. 
 
 Travail, ti-ouble (verb), ii. 33, p. 345. 
 
 Travailed, wearied, i. 18, p. 18. 
 
 Treatable, pleasant, sociable, ii. 196, p. 425. 
 
 Treaty, treatise, i. 347 (end). 
 
 Treizime, thirteenth, i. 426 (end). 
 
 Trencher, slice, ii. 26, p. 332. 
 
 Trespass, pass away (of death), i. 20, p. 27 ; 
 
 etc. . transgress (trans.), i. 233, p. 163. 
 Trucheman, interpreter, d7'ag07nan, ii. 167, 
 
 p. 402, 
 Truncheon, piece cut short, ii. 142 (beg. ). 
 Truss, pack, i. iS, p. 18 ; etc. 
 Tryer, apparently a misprint for ' brywer,' 
 
 i.e. 'brewer,' i. 402. 
 Try out, pick out, select, ii. 213, p. 447. 
 T^'cuUe, Tlvoli. 
 
 Ungracious, wicked, i. 182, etc. : also 
 
 ' most ungracioust.' 
 Unhappy, worthless, bad, i. 399 (end), etc. 
 
4S4 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF FROISSART 
 
 Unied, united, i. 381, p. 251. 
 Unprofitable, invalid, ii. 196 (end). 
 Up-se-down, upside down, i. 242, p. 190. 
 Utterance, exireiniiy, ii. 24, p. 321. 
 Utward, most distant, ii. 156 (beg.). 
 
 Vail, avail, ii. 181, p. 411. 
 
 Vale of Olives, Valladolid, i. 23S, etc. 
 
 Valiance, valom', i. 165. 
 
 Valure, wortk, ii. 34, p. 346. 
 
 Varlet, servant, \. 16, p. 15, etc. 
 
 Vessel of gold and silver, silver and gold 
 
 plate, ii. 153, p. 387 ; etc. 
 V\?ige, journey, expedition, i. 124, etc, 
 Vidame, title of a feudal lord, as 'the 
 
 vidame of Chalons,' i. 43. 
 Vigier, title of a magistrate, mod. Fr. 
 
 ' viguier. ' 
 Villain, bondman, man of the people, i. 381, 
 
 p. 252 ; etc. 
 Villain, villanoiis, i. 233, p. 163. 
 Void, leave, i. 25, 
 Volve, turn over, \. Pref. 
 
 Voyage, expedition^ campaign, i. 15, p. 14 ; 
 etc. 
 
 Wage, in the phrase 'kept field and wage 
 of battle,' Fr. 'tint camp et gage de 
 bataille,* i.e. ' gave decisions on ques- 
 tions of chivalry,' i. 238, p. 180. 
 
 Ward, guard, division (of army), i. 160. 
 
 Wealth, benefit, i. Pref. 
 
 Ween, think, i. 20, p. 28, etc. 
 
 Whereas, wkei-e, i. 10, etc. 
 
 Whither-as, ivhither, ii. 87, p. 368. 
 
 Winage, duty on wine, i. 29, p. 41. 
 
 Without, unless. 
 
 Withsay, speak agaiiist, i. 284, p. 203. 
 
 Wodehouse, wild maii, satyr, ii. 1S8 (for 
 ' wodewose '). 
 
 Wood, mad, i. 383, p. 255. 
 
 Woodness, madfiess, i. 183. 
 
 Wrastling, struggle, i. 39, p. 50. 
 
 Wrye, turn, \. 146, p. 116. 
 
 YoNGTH, youth, i. 4, etc. 
 
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