King of France and his army did not come to battle, as he had promised, the King of England, after mature deliberation, marched back into the duchy of Brabant. Howbeit he traversed parts of France with his army, killing, plundering, and burning over a space eight-and-twenty miles broad and sixty miles long, to wit, in the counties of Cambrai, Vermandois, Meuse, Tierache, Blois, Artois and La Flamengriá.1 After the King of England returned from his expedition, many of his troops, English as well as German, returned to their homes; but the Earls of Derby, Northampton, Salisbury and Suffolk remained with him. At this time my lord Pope Benedictus XII. sent two cardinals to the King of England to convey his paternal exhortation that peace or truce should be concluded with the King of France. The King of England wrote to him in reply setting forth the grievances, injuries and annoyances he had endured from Philip, who was in occupation of the realm of France, and who had declined to negotiate reasonably with him either about a truce or a peace, which if he would do, he [King Edward] would be ready to come to reasonable agreement with him. [Here follows a long letter from King Edward to the Pope, setting forth his grievances against King Philip, the advances he had made to him from time to time, Philip's refusal of his offers and the many injuries he had received from him. Printed in Fadera, 8th February. Also a declaration to the people of France as to the King of England's title to the crown of France and his intentions in regard to the same. Printed in Fædera.] Meanwhile, the King of England, having prepared to sail back to England, being entreated by the community of Flanders, remained several weeks at Ghent, where the Flemings acknowledged him as rightful heir, King and Lord of France, and swore fealty and homage to him as to the rightful King of France. In compliance with their suggestion and advice the King of England assumed the title of King of France and the arms of each realm, to wit, of England and France, whereof he claimed dominion, and entitled himself King of England and France, in 1 Father Stevenson observes that the general narrative of King Edward's operations in this campaign is confirmed by an eye-witness, Johannes Hocsemius, a canon of Liége, whose history covers the period 1251-1348, and was printed at Liége in 1630. 2 The title of King of France was retained by the Kings of England and Great Britain until A.D. 1801, when it was discontinued and the lilies of France were removed from the royal arms. F MS. consequence of which he caused public letters given at Ghent to be displayed and published throughout England and France, and he besought the Supreme Pontiff for letters of absolution for the invasion of the realm of France. After which, with the consent and advice of the Flemings and the Duke of Brabant, he sailed for England with the Earls of Salisbury and Suffolk, leaving Queen Philippa in Flanders. After his departure William de Montagu was captured on the frontier of Flanders by some of the King of France's army and placed in prison. In the same year on the sixth of the Ides of March,1 my lord Henry de Beaumont died at Luthburg and was buried in the Abbey of Valle Dei on the morrow of S. Gregory the Martyr.2 In the year of the Lord MCCCXxx [ ] died William de Meltoun, Archbishop of York, and was committed to the tomb on the morrow of S. Gregory. My lord William de la Zouche succeeded him. King Edward, the third of England after the conquest and first of France, held his parliament in London, demanding and obtaining a large subsidy from clergy and people in aid of [the wars] against France and Scotland, taking a ninth of all produce from A.D. 1340. the people and a triennial tenth from the clergy, in recognition of which welcome concessions my lord the King of England and France granted and published a new charter, ratified the liberties of the Church in England and also renewed many, as is contained at length in his charter. In the same parliament he decreed and specially confirmed by his charter that, in regard of the claim which he made to the realm of France as rightful heir, king and lord, devolving upon him by the death of his uncle my fo. 238b lord Charles King of France, the realm of England should in no respect be subject to the realm of France, neither through him nor any his successor whatsoever, but that as regardeth divine things the succession and liberties should remain freely and totally separate. Parliament having ended he assembled a fleet and sailed for Flanders from the port of Orwell on the day before the eve of S. John the Baptist (which in that year was a Thursday), with a few nobles, to wit, the Earls of Derby, Gloucester, Northampton and Huntingdon, and only a few other nobles. Arriving off the coast he was informed that the fleet of Philip de Valois, at that time occupying the realm of France, was in hostile array with a great force of Normans and French to attack him and his people. 1 10th March, 1340. 213th March. $ Blank in original. 5 22nd June. 4 13th March, 1340. 5 He sent forward the Bishop of Lincoln and Sir Reginald de Cobham to Sluys to stir up the Flemings (as they themselves had proposed) to fight the King of France's fleet on the morrow. On the morrow, therefore, to wit the vigil of S. John the Baptist, about the ninth hour, he prepared for battle, and, albeit he had no more than 147 ships against the immense fleet of the French, by God's grace he obtained the victory he hoped for, killing, drowning or capturing 30,000 of the French. But on the English side. they killed but some four hundred men, with four noble knights, to wit, Sir Thomas de Mouhermere, Thomas de Latimer, John Butler and Thomas de Poynings.1 After this victory the King of England and France remained at sea for three days, and then landed in Flanders, all men shouting, 'Long live the King of the French and of England! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!' And although they had been some little incensed with him by reason of his long stay in England (the queen remaining in Ghent exposed to many risks, together with her English there who were in Flanders supporting the King of England and France) yet all those afflicted with king's evil who came near him were immediately made whole by his touch. After this, the King of England and France, having rested in Ghent and held counsel with his people, marched with a strong force to Tournay and laid close siege to that city, to relieve which, Philip de Valois, occupying the kingdom of France, assembled a large army. To him the King of England and France wrote from the siege works, sending [the letters] by his ambassadors, giving him a triple alternative to wit, that, as a means of deciding the dispute between himself and the aforesaid Philip, they two themselves should fight a duel for the settlement of their rights; or that Philip [should choose] one hundred of the most valiant knights of France, Philip himself being one of their number, and Edward [should choose] as many English knights, Edward himself being one of their number, and thus the slaughter of Christian people might be avoided. Or again, should neither of these [proposals] be agreeable to the aforesaid Philip, then, after receiving the aforesaid letters of the King of England and France, let him appoint a certain day for battle between power and power before the city of Tournay to which he [Edward] had laid siege; so that God who removeth kingdoms and establisheth them should Confirmed by an entry in the Close Rolls, but the date was 24th June (Fœdera). 1 MS. make justice manifest through whichever of the three plans might be chosen, and bring the conflict to an end. When Philip received this letter and understood the alternatives, he would not reply to King Edward about his proposals because the letter had not been addressed to him as King of France; but he wrote back to the King of England and France to effect that whereas he had unreasonably and injuriously invaded the realm of France and had rebelled against him to whom he had done homage, he [Philip] proposed to expel him from his kingdom for the honour of the realm and welfare of the people.1 Meanwhile, during these transactions, seeing that the aforesaid Philip dared not encounter the King of England and France in any manner, and that the funds required by the King of England for maintaining the siege were far short of what was necessary, a truce between him and the aforesaid Philip was agreed to through the mediation of the cardinals; whereupon the king suddenly came to England and [imprisoned] the warden of the Tower of London, to wit, Sir Nicholas de Beche (who was also guardian of the king's son), Sir John de Pulteney, William del Pole, and several other knights and justiciaries, as well as some clerks of the Treasury. A serious dispute had arisen between him [King Edward] and John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury; all of which was caused by their not having supported him with proper funds when he was going to war, but frustrated his just right and purpose. While these things were going on, David de Brus, returning from France to Scotland, and collecting an army, wasted Northumberland with sword and fire as far as the river Tyne, returning home without any opposition. After this he marched to Scotland and kept Christmas at the Abbey of Melrose in Scotland, where he was exposed to much danger by cunning assaults of the Scots, losing several of his men, and he retreated to England without [performing] any notable exploit. Preceded by certain nobles, the King of England invaded fo. 239 Brittany, where he took several castles and fortresses by storm, closely besieging the city of Vannes, which he would have taken within a few days, had not a truce for three years and more been 1 Edward's challenge and Philip's refusal are printed in Fœdera. Sir Nicholas de la Beche must have cleared himself, for he was appointed Seneschal of Gascony, 20th July, 1343 (Fœdera). 3 King Edward. struck at the earnest mediation of my lord the Supreme Pontiff and by the intervention of the two cardinals, which truce proved to be rather a betrayal than a settlement. [Here follow the terms of truce at great length. They are not in Fadera.] In the same year the King of England incurred many dangers in returning from Brittany to England, especially from flashes of lightning and unprecedented storms, whereby nearly all his ships were scattered from him and several were sunk in the sea. Howbeit it is said that not one of the sailors or soldiers was so cheerful amid these storms and dangers as himself, who ever remained fearless and unperturbed through them all; whence he was delivered by God's grace and the Blessed Virgin's intercession (whom he always had invoked and chosen as his peculiar patron in all dangers), and so was happily carried to that part of the kingdom of England which he desired. The truce in Brittany having been concluded, several nobles of England assembled at Carlisle under my lord Bohun1 Earl of Northampton, in order to fortify Lochmaben ; but they A.D. 1344. went no further, as the Scots gave leave that the aforesaid castle should be peacefully fortified. In the same year the King of England held a round table of three hundred knights and as many ladies at Windsor, for which immense expense was incurred as befitting the royal dignity. The King of England on the eve of the kalends of July2 went to sea at Sandwich with a large army for the protection of his people, and kept at sea with the aforesaid army until A.D. 1345. the ninth of the kalends of August,3 and then returned to the kingdom of England at Sandwich, without performing any notable exploit. In the same year, while [the king] was at sea, the Flemings, who were then believed to be faithful to the King of England, attacked [ ] at Ghent and cruelly put him [?] to death. In the same year the Scots with a large force invaded England by way of Carlisle on the eighth of the kalends of November, and also burnt Gillesland and Penrith in Cumberland, with the adjoining villages; but as they suffered from hunger, they returned without any gain to themselves or much loss to us. Afterwards, on the eighteenth of the kalends of January, certain nobles invaded Scotland in revenge for the deeds they had 1 Wowen in MS. 4 Blank in original. 2 30th June. 3 3 24th July. |