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From Illustrations of Chaucer's England, edited by Dorothy Hughes, M.A.; Longmans, Green and Co.; 1919.



1

BOOK I

A. THE WAR ON THE CONTINENT.

1.

[Schedule to be read by influential persons commissioned to explain the King’s business before meetings to be held in all counties. (French.) “Foedera,” II, ii. 994. 28 August, 1337.]

THESE are the offers made to the King of France by the King of England to avoid war.

First, the King of England sent solemn messengers to the King of France, begging him to restore the lands that he is arbitrarily and unreasonably withholding from him in the Duchy of Guienne; at whose request the King of France did nothing; but at last he promised that if the King of England would come to him in his own person, he would do him justice, grace, and favour.

Trusting in which promise, the King of England crossed secretly into France, and came to him humbly requesting the delivery of his aforesaid lands, offering and performing to the said King whatever he ought, and more; but the King of France put him off always with words and treaty, and in reality did nothing; and moreover, during these same discussions, he wrongfully drew to himself more and more the King of England’s rights in the aforesaid duchy.

Item, the King of England, seeing the stubbornness of the King of France, to have his goodwill, and that which he wrongfully detains from him, held out to him the following great offers, that is to say, when one was refused, he put forward another: —

2

First, the marriage of his eldest son, now Duke of Cornwall, for the said King of France’s daughter, taking nothing with him for the marriage;

Item, the marriage of his sister, now Countess of Gelders, for his son, with a very great sum of money;

Item, the marriage of his brother, the Earl of Cornwall, whom God assoil, for some demoiselle of his royal blood.

Item, to make recompense for the inconvenience, he offered him money, as much as he might reasonably wish to ask. Item, because the King of England was given to understand that the King of France wished to undertake the blessed voyage to the Holy Land, and desired greatly to have the King of England in his company, and therefore he would show him grace and favour, the King of England, so that no hindrance of the said voyage might be charged upon him, made offer to the King of France to pass over with him with great force on the said voyage; on condition, however, that before his going he should make him full restitution of the aforesaid lands.

Item, then he offered to go with him on the said voyage, on condition that before his going, he should make restitution of the half, or of a certain part, of the said lands.

Item, afterwards he made him more ample offers, namely, that he would go with him, so that on his return from the Holy Land the King of France should make him such restitution.

Item, then to arrest the malice of the King of France, who was striving to charge the hindrance of the said voyage upon the King of England, he proffered his readiness to undertake the voyage with him, so that, upon his return, he should accomplish justice towards him.

But the King of France, who was striving by all means in his power to undo the King of England and his people, so that he might retain what he wrongfully withheld, and 3 conquer more from him, would accept none of the aforesaid offers; but seeking occasion, he busied himself in aid and maintenance of the Scots, the King of England’s enemies, striving so to delay him by the Scottish war, that he would have no power to pursue his rights elsewhere.

Item, then, in deference to the King of France, and at the request of his envoys, the King of England granted the Scots respite of war, and truce, in the hope of parley concerning peace; during the which respite, the Scots slew the Earl of Athol and others, and seized many great men of the King of England’s allegiance, and besieged and took castles and other places of the King and his people. And nevertheless, at the request of the said envoys, he offered the Scots a truce for four or five years, on condition that they would make restitution of the things which they had seized during the first truce, so that in the meantime, the aforesaid voyage might have been undertaken. But to this restitution the King of France would not assent, but maintained the Scots in their malice with all his might; and moved open war upon the King of England without just cause, and has sent to sea his galleys and his fleet, which he caused to be prepared under feigned colour of the said voyage, with great number of men-at-arms, to destroy the fleet and the subjects of the King of England. And these men have in warlike manner seized and carried off many English ships, capturing and killing those on board; and they have come to England, and to the King of England’s islands, burning, slaying, robbing, and committing other horrible mischiefs, according to their power.

Item, then the King of England, by the counsel and advice of the great men and sages of his realm, wishing to avoid war so far as he could, sent solemn messengers to the King of France, to offer him whatever he could, without great disherison, in order to have peace with him. But the King of France, hardened in his malice, would 4 not suffer the said messengers to come to him, nor agree to peace, or talk of peace; but sent his host, great and strong, to take into his hands by force, the whole of the aforesaid Duchy, saying untruly, that the Duchy is forfeit to him; the which host is doing very great mischiefs in the Duchy, besieging and taking castles and towns.

Item, the King of France, to cover his malice, etc., is striving falsely to inform the Pope, and other great persons of Christendom, against the King of England, compassing with all his might to win not only the said Duchy, but all the lands of the King of England.

These things and others, as many as the King and his Council can think of, have been offered to the King of France in order to have peace; and if any man may know other fitting way, he will be glad and ready to accept it.

2.

[During 1337 Edward III obtained the alliance of many princes of the Netherlands, including his brother-in-law the Court of Gelderland, and John, Duke of Brabant; he also secured promises of support from the Emperor Louis of Bavaria. In October of that year his relations with France became hopeless, and some fighting began in Flanders. But truces were arranged, as the result of Papal diplomacy, and it was not until July, 1338, that his first expedition set sail. After waiting at Antwerp until late in August, he set out on his expedition up the Rhine, where he met the Emperor on 5 September and was created Imperial Vicar. But various delays occurred after his return to Brabant, and no serious expedition was undertaken until the summer of 1339. Letter inserted by Robert of Avesbury in his “Chronicle”. (French.)]

Edward, etc., to our dear son, and to the honourable fathers in God, John, by the same grace, Archbishop of Canterbury, Richard, Bishop of London, William de la Zouche, our Treasurer, and others of our Council in England, greeting. The cause of our long sojourn in Brabant we have often made known to you before now, and well is 5 it known to each one of you. But because lately scarcely any aid has come to us from our realm, and the delay was so grievous to us, our people in such straits, and our allies all too tardy about the business; and also our ambassadors, who had tarried so long with the Cardinals and the Council of France to treat of peace, brought us no other offers but that we should have not one hand’s breadth of land in the realm of France; and moreover, as we had tidings, our cousin Philip of Valois had always sworn that we should not be a single day in France with our host without that he would give us battle — we, always trusting in God and our right, caused our allies to come to us, and had it certainly shown to them that we would on no account wait longer, but would advance in pursuit of our right, taking the grace that God should give us. And seeing the dishonour that would have fallen upon them if they had stayed behind, they agreed to follow us. A date was appointed for us to be on the marches within France on a certain day, at which day and place we were all ready, and our allies came after, as well as they could. The Monday on the eve of St. Matthew we went out from Valenciennes,1 and the same day there began burning in the Cambrécis, and we were burning the country there all the following week, so that that district is full clean laid wasted, the corn and cattle, and other goods. On the following Saturday we came to Marcoing, which lies between Cambrai and France, and that same day we began to burn in France.2 And we had heard that the said lord Philip was coming towards us at Péronne, on his way to Noyon. So we still held on our march, our people burning and devastating the country commonly for the space of twelve or fourteen leagues. The Saturday3 next before the Feast of St. Luke we crossed the water of Oise, and camped and tarried there on the Sunday; on which day we had our allies with us, who 6 showed us that their victuals were nearly spent, and that winter was coming hard upon us; and that they could not stay with us, but when their victuals were spent they must set out on their return march. Truly, they had the shorter supplies by reason that they expected our said cousin would have given us speedy battle. On the Monday morning there came letters to my lord Hugh of Geneva from the master cross-bowman of France, making mention that he wished to say to the King of England, from the King of France, — let him take up a field not protected by wood, marsh, or water, and he would give him battle before the Thursday next following. The next day we moved on, so as always to do what damage we could. The Wednesday after there came a messenger to the said lord Hugh, bringing letters from the King of Bohemia and the Duke of Lorraine, with their seals hanging, containing that as to whatever the said master cross-bowman had sent on behalf of the King of France, he would keep covenant. We, seeing the said letters, at once drew towards Flamangerie, were we stayed all day on Friday. At vespers three spies were taken, and were examined, each one separately, and they all agreed that the said Philip would give us battle on Saturday,4 and that he was a league and a half from us. On the Saturday we were on the field a full quarter before daybreak, and took up our position to fight, in a place fitting for us and for him. In the early morning some of his scouts were taken, who told us that his advanced guard was in front of the field in battle array, and coming out towards us. When the news came to our host, our allies, although they had before borne themselves sluggishly towards us, were truly of such loyal intent that never were men of such good will to fight. In the meantime, one of our scouts, a knight of Germany, was taken, who perchance showed all that he had seen of our array to 7 the enemy; so that he at once withdrew his vanguard, and gave orders to encamp. And they made trenches around them, and cut down the big trees, to prevent our approach. We stayed all that day on foot, drawn up for battle, until towards vespers, when it seemed to our allies that we had tarried long enough. And at vespers we mounted our horses, and went near to Avesnes, a league and a half from our said cousin, and made known to him that we would await him there all the Sunday; and thus we did. And we can send no other news of him, save that on the Saturday, when we mounted our horses, in departing from our ground, he thought that we should have come against him, and he was in such haste to take stronger ground, that in his crossing, a thousand horsemen foundered in the marsh, coming down one over another. On Sunday, the lord of Faniels was taken by our people. On the Monday morning we had news that the lord Philip and all his allies were scattered and withdrawn in great haste; so that out allies would not afterwards stay longer. And as to what is to be done further, we shall hold a Council with them at Antwerp on the morrow of St. Martin. And afterwards we will send you tidings thence speedily as to what shall in the meantime have been done. Given under our Privy seal at Brussels, the first day of November.





NOTES


1   20 September.

2  9 October.

3  16 October.

4  23 October.



3.

[Protest addressed to Edward III, on his assumption of the title of King of France, by the Pope, Benedict XII. (Latin.) “Foedera,” II, ii. 1117. Edward formally assumed the title of King of France in January, 1340, in accordance with his agreement with the Flemings, made in the previous autumn.]

Benedict, Bishop, and servant of the servants of God, to his dearest son in Christ, Edward, the illustrious King of England, greeting, and the Apostolic benediction. Letters of the King’s excellency were lately presented to us, wherein, 8their contents being understood, a new title, and the impression of a seal engraved, as it appeared, with the arms of both France and England, afforded us matter of great amazement. Verily, most dear son, insomuch as we bear great affection towards thee, we are the more seriously disturbed, in perceiving thee to be led by perverse and knavish counsel into courses neither expedient nor seemly. Nevertheless, our affection suffers us not to pass these over in silence, without exposing them before thy mental view, that thou mayst more profitably take thought for thyself in these matters.

Since the assertion admits of no doubt, that a certain custom, hitherto unbrokenly observed, does not permit succession to the throne of France in the female line, the succession does not belong, it is said, to thee, who art descended in that line from the race of the house of France. And albeit even that a successor in such line were not debarred by custom, there are indeed daughters and daughters’ children of the Kings of France who in turn succeeded Philip, thy grandfather of famous memory, who, in respect of the succession are, as is shown, nearer to the Kings their fathers than art thou and our dear daughter Isabel, thine illustrious mother, the child of the said Philip. . . . But to think that thou couldst seize upon that realm by force — of a truth, considering the greatness and might of the King of France, for that thy strength is held by no means sufficient; indeed, this calling of thyself King of France, and this assumption of his arms, albeit thou dost possess nothing in that kingdom, we hold to proceed, beyond all doubt, from evil and iniquitous counsel. If indeed, they who have urged thee to such steps strive to assert, in excuse, that thou art lord in Flanders, which is known to be a fief of the King and realm of France, yet thy royal prudence should diligently consider who, and of what character, are they who there have introduced thee. 9Hitherto they have been by no means distinguished for their constancy, for often have they, at their arbitrary pleasure, expelled their natural lords, to whom they were bound by the obligation of fealty; and if they have dealt thus with those whom they were naturally bound to revere, consider, my son, what is to be expected in thy case, and what manner of title may thence be construed. Observe also, whether it is the result of good and just counsel that thou dost cause thyself to be called King of France while our beloved son in Christ, Philip, is reigning, who has for many years peacefully possessed that kingdom — and didst thou not, by doing fealty and liege homage to him as such, for the lands pertaining to thee within that realm, recognise him as King of France, and thy liege lord? Verily, these who hear it are amazed! ascribing it not to judgment, but rather to foolish vaingloriousness. Moreover, we think thou shouldst more discerningly take heed how it is feared that such title, lacking both profit and reason, may prove a poisonous root, which if care be not had, will in all likelihood send forth fruits of sorrow and bitterness; — and it is said that they suggested it who love not thee, but are busied about seeking their own gain at thy expense, believing they can attain it when they have procured thee to be entangled in deep toils and parlous difficulties. Furthermore, we think that thou shouldst diligently take thought as to what number and manner of kings, princes, and magnates, sprung from the stock of the house of France, or joined thereto by marriage and alliance, who hitherto have not opposed thee, thou wouldst provoke by this title, and wouldst expressly incense, shouldst thou persist. It might set up such argument as would render peace between thee and the said King of France so far as human judgment is concerned, for ever impossible; and by it these same princes and others of that Kingdom — who, as the common saying runs, 10would sooner risk death and loss of all their goods than suffer these things — will be made the more valiant and ready in defence of the same Philip and his kingdom.

Nor shouldst thou, dearest son, place much confidence in the Teutons and Flemings, for thou wilt find them courteous and kindly while they may consume thy fortune, but otherwise thou mayst not depend upon their assistance. If also thou wilt reflect upon the deeds of thy forefathers — how these same Flemings and Teutons have behaved to them in times past, thou wilt plainly find what manner of trust thou mayst put in them. Therefore do we entreat thy royal highness, earnestly exhorting thee in God to receive in friendly spirit the foregoing matters, which are written of our fatherly goodwill and sincere affection, examining them, and other points which may occur to thee touching them, with due consideration; and, laying aside the aforesaid title, to turn thy heart into the way of peace and concord, whereby, when mutual accord is established between thee and the said King, thou mayst peaceably attain and hold those things which shall be thine of right.

And as ye are united in truth by blood and affinity, so may ye be bound by the lasting bond of mutual alliance and affection. Given at Avignon on the 5th of March, in the sixth year of our Pontificate.



4.

[Memorandum of the King’s passage, 1340. (Latin.) “Foedera,” II. ii. 1129, from the Close Roll. Edward remained on the Continent until February, 1340, when he at last returned to England. Preparations were soon made for another expedition, supplies being obtained from Parliament. Shortly before he sailed, news arrived of the presence of a French fleet off the Flemish coast, but, in spite of the opposition of some of the Council, he set out.]

Be it remembered that on the Thursday next before the Feast of St. John Baptist, to wit, on the 22nd day 11 of the month of June, in the 14th year of the reign of lord King Edward III in England, and the first year of his reign in France, the King, with certain magnates and others of his realm of England, with his great fleet assembled in the port of Orwell for his passage to parts beyond the sea, set sail from that port to the same parts, about the hour of prime.



5.

[The account given to Parliament of Edward’s victory at Sluys, and his intention to besiege Tournai. (French.) “Rolls of Parliament,” ii. 118.]

And upon this came the Earls of Arundel and Gloucester, and Sir William Trussel, with letters of credence under our lord the King’s Privy Seal, addressed to the Prelates, Earls, and other great men assembled in the Parliament, making mention of the said victory, and of our lord the King’s great necessity, so that he must be speedily succoured, or lose his friends and allies; — the tenor of which letters is as follows: — Edward, by the Grace of God King of England and France, and Lord of Ireland, to the Duke, and the Archbishops, Bishops, Earls, Barons, and others who shall be assembled in this our next Parliament at Westminster, Greeting. After our last coming into England, our Parliament being summoned, and on the appointed day assembled in the above place, and our business over here, with the great need in which we stood of having aid for its favorable execution being shown to those who were present, the great men and others, we found them of right goodwill, which they plainly proved by the great subsidy granted to us. 1 But because such an aid cannot at once be converted into money, and we, and other great men with us were bound to return to Flanders, and keep our faith with those to whom we had pledged ourselves in that 12 country and elsewhere (for to hold to this we were determined); and also because the great men of our Council who were there counselled us to do so, we resolved to cross over at this time with a certain number of men-at-arms, and that afterwards other great men should come with the other fleet, that was ordained to be ready at Midsummer, with all the great men and others who were appointed to come then. And as we were on the point of crossing, with great part of our horses shipped, news came that our enemy of Valois had arrayed a great fleet of ships, that was before us in the water of Zwyn. Having heard this, and having considered the perils that might befall if they set out to injure our realm of England, or our people elsewhere — and also what comfort it would have been to our enemies, and especially to Scotland, if such a force had come to them — we determined at once to seek them out wherever we might find them, as is well known to those of our Council who were present at our departure from England. And we found them on St. John's day,2 in the aforesaid port, and our Lord Jesus Christ showed us such mercy touching them that day, that the victory rested with us, as we think, indeed, has fully been made known to you by those who were present. For which mercy we praise God, and entreat you all to give thanks unto Him. After this same St. John's day, the people of Flanders, and also other great men our allies came to us, and showed us how our said enemy was on the border, ready to invade our allies in Flanders or elsewhere, where he could most injure them, and force them to withdraw from our alliance. We, having regard to the pursuit of our right, and above all, the keeping our faith and resisting his malice, resolved with the consent of our said allies, and of the great men of our realm of England and of the country of Flanders, who were with us, to disembark, 13 and to divide our army; ourselves with the one part going towards Tournai, where there will be a hundred thousand armed men of Flanders, and Sir Robert of Artois to St. Omer with fifty thousand men, besides all our allies and their power. For the managing and conducting of the which host, a full great sum of money is wanted, besides the debts which we must needs pay before our going. We pray you earnestly, and each one of you, that before all things you will consider the claim we have, in consequence of the great peril that will ensue if we be not shortly succoured with money and supplies, to satisfy the said country and our allies, as well as the soldiers who have before been retained with us, who will withdraw if they be not paid. And moreover, if our allies themselves be not paid, they will peradventure go over to the enemy, and with his malice, and their power drawn unto him, consider that our land, ourselves, our children, and all the great men and others would be on the verge of destruction. And if we be speedily aided, we hope to find him in ill plight, and ourselves ever henceforth at an advantage. We beg you then to make provision that we may be succoured in all haste with money or supplies, in such manner, and at such time, that we may make satisfaction there where we are pledged, and retain our forces. And the Earls of Arundel, Huntingdon, and Gloucester, and Sir William Trussel, who have borne themselves very loyally and nobly towards us in this business, and come to you in order to explain the state of our affairs, can show you our intent more fully by word of mouth. Please to give full faith and credence to them and each one of them, in what they shall tell you from us. Given under our Privy Seal at Bruges, the 9th day of July.





NOTES


1    The aid of “the ninth sheep, fleece and lamb.”

2   24 June. 14

6.

[The Siege of Tournai was begun on 23 July. Philip of France had an army of some 70,000 men in the neighbourhood of Arras; he came to Bouvines early in September, but did not attempt to attack the English. On 25 September the Truce of Esplechin was signed. (Latin.) Adam of Murimuth.]

The siege of the city of Tournai lasted until the Feast of St. Cosmo and St. Damian; on which day, after much treaty about the setting afoot of an armistice contrived by the French, agreement was come to for the making of a truce, at their request, until the Feast of St. John the Baptist next following, so that in the meantime there might be discussion as to the making of peace. Prisoners were restored on both sides, under a sworn agreement that they would return at the said Feast of St. John in case a final peace should not be made. And thus the siege was raised, and some English noblemen returned home. But there was much talk concerning this truce, since the King of England lay at Tournai, besieging the city, and Philip of Valois with his whole army was within four leagues of him, yet dared not come near to raise the siege, but there was much treaty through the King of Bohemia who was with him, about the offering of a truce. At last the Duke of Brabant, the Count of Hainault, the Marquis of Juliers, the Duke of Guelders, and others of the King of England’s allies agreed that an honourable, though unprofitable truce should be made — unprofitable, I say, to the King and his people, not to the aforesaid allies, whose towns and castles which the King of France had seized some time before were restored. The King of England long delayed his consent to the truce, hoping for money from England, which did not come; and therefore, on account of his want of money, and because he had only a few Englishmen with him, he was obliged to fall in with the wishes of his allies, and to agree at last to the truce. He did so unwillingly, 15 and also against the wishes of the men of Flanders, but he could do nothing else at that time.

7.

[The French government having undertaken to enforce the decision of the Parlement of Paris in favour of the claim of Charles of Blois to the Duchy of Brittany, Edward III agreed in 1342 to support the claim of Charles’s rival, John de Montfort. In June an English fleet was sent to relieve Hennebont, then besieged by the French, and in October of the same year Edward himself set out with an expedition to Brittany. Edward’s letter to his son from Brittany. (French.) Preserved in Robert of Avesbury’s “Chronicle”.]

Right dear and well-beloved son, we know well that you desire greatly to hear good news of us and of our estate. We do you to wit that on the departing of these letters we were well and of good cheer praised be God, desiring also to hear and know this of you. Right dear son, as for how things have passed with us since our leaving England, we do you to wit that we have made a long raid through the Duchy of Brittany, the which country is yielded to our obedience, with many good towns and strongholds, namely, the town of Ploermel, the castle and town of Malestroit, and the castle and town of Redon, which are good towns and well enclosed. And know that the lord of Clisson, who is one of the greatest men of Poitou, and four other barons, namely, the lord of Loyat, the lord of Machecoul. the lord of Retz, and the lord of Rieux, and other knights of the said country, and their towns and strongholds, which are right on the borders of France, and of our Duchy of Gascony, are surrendered to our peace; the which is thought a great achievement for our war. And before the writing of these letters, we sent into the parts of Nantes our cousin of Northampton, the Earl of Warwick, and Sir Hugh le Despenser, with great number of other bannerets and 300 men-at-arms, to achieve what success they may. And since their departing, we 16 have news that the Lord of Clisson and the aforesaid barons have gone to the support of our cousin and his company, with a good number of men-at-arms; but at the sending of these letters we have yet no news of their doings. Nevertheless, we hope speedily to have good tidings, with God’s help. Right dear son, know that, with the advice of the wisest men in our host, we have laid siege to the city of Vannes, which is the best town of Brittany, after the town of Nantes, and can best hold down and constrain the country to our obedience; for we thought that if we advanced further without being sure of the said city, the country which has yielded to us could not in any manner keep holding for us. And moreover, this town is on the sea, and is well enclosed, so that if we can have it, it will be a great exploit for our war. And know, right dear son, that Sir Louis of Poitier, Count of Valentinois, is captain of the town, and they say that there are good men with him; but we hope, by God’s puissance, to have a good issue. For since our coming into these parts, He has given us a good beginning, and success enough for the time, for the which may He be praised. The country is full abundant in corn and flesh; none the less, dear son, you must needs urge our Chancellor and Treasurer to send us money, for they well know our condition. Dear son, know that on the third day that we were encamped at the aforesaid siege, there came to us an abbot and a clerk from the Cardinals with their letters asking us to send them safe-conduct to come to us; and they told us that if they had safe-conduct, they could be with us in about eight days. We caused our council to answer the messengers, and to deliver them our letters of conduct for the Cardinals to come to the town of Malestroit, thirty leagues from us, which was lately surrendered to our peace. For it is not our intent that they should approach nearer to our army than the said town, for several reasons. And know 17 that in whatever case we are, with God’s help our intent is always to incline to reason, at what time soever it shall be offered us. Howbeit that the Cardinals must needs come to us in this manner, we do not mean to hinder our purpose for one day, for we have well in mind the delays we have suffered before this time through parleys with them and others. Dear son, as soon as we shall have any issue of our siege or of other business touching us, we will at all times send you news as speedily as the messengers may cross.

Dear son, cause these letters to be shown to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to those of our council with you. Dear son, God have you in His keeping. Given under our secret seal at the siege of Vannes, on the eve of St. Nicholas.1

Right dear son, after the writing of these letters, there came news that our cousin of Northampton and the Earl of Warwick, Sir Hugh le Despenser and the other bannerets of their company have laid siege to the town of Nantes, for they hope, with God’s help, to have speedy issue.





NOTES


1   5 December.

8.

[The Truce of Malestroit, signed on 19 January, 1343. (Latin.) “Chronicle” of Henry Knighton. ]

And King Edward was planning to make an assault upon the said town;1 but when he had prepared the engines and other contrivances that were needed in so great a business, and he was ready with his people to attack the place, forthwith there came two Cardinals, sent expressly from the Pope, and these so importuned him with their entreaties that he granted them a truce for three years, that is, between the Kings of England, France, and Scotland.





NOTES


1   Vannes.







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