Here begynneth the table of the rubryshys of the boke of the fayt of armes and of chyualrye whiche sayd boke is departyd in to foure partyes ...

¶Begynneth to speke of trewes / and asketh yf that while they laste betwene two werreyers / Any towne castell or other thynge may be taken one vpon other / And whether that one partye shal kepe the trewes whyche that other par¦tye hath broken or not / Capytulo / iiij / (Book 4)

MAyster me semeth that there is another assewryng of werre betwix enemyes that men calle trewes / whi¦che is as one manyere of a peas made for a certeyn season / So wol I therfore som what wyte of the of suche questy∣ons as I shall make to the concernyng the same / by cause that other while I haue harde saye in som contreys where na¦mely it hath be som tyme vsed / that it is noo grete euyll in tyme of trewes yf men see theyre aduauntage for to take or stele by som cawtele som towne or castell or som gode pryso¦ner yf they may / So demaunde I of the yf it is trouthe that men may do soo without wronge to doo Wherby to thys I ansuere vnto the that who someuer do soo he enfrayneth the pure ryght of this that trewes conteynen / And to thende thou shall knowe hit best soo that thou mayste in thys par¦tye testyfye it the bettre / I shall telle the what oure maisters sayen therof / Fyrst of all they saye that trewes is a royall assewrynge that by noo ryght ought neuer to be broken vpon peyne capytall lyke as the ryghtwis lawe of a kyn∣ge or prince ought neuer to be broken / ¶Item that trewes ••onteynen thre pryncypall thynges / that is to wyte suretee

youen for goodys moeuable and other goodis / ¶Item sem¦blably to men / and thirdly hit draweth to a treattee and to hope to haue peas / And thenne syth that trewes conteynen in hem self suche thynges bothe in generall and in especyall by what ryght myght the one partye take other towne or castel or other thyng vpon that other partye / dere loue with out faylle they that doon soo or that contryuen that yt may be doon without wronge / they sett nothyng by the ryght / soo fynde they dyuerse maneres of begylyng / And sythe that they wol couere theyre falshed with ryght and with the la∣we whyche vttyrly is ayenst hem / there as she sayth that al thyng taken and vsurped vndre truste of trues ought to be yolden ayen and restored and all the costys payed / the name of trewes ought not to be called amonge suche men / But theyre dooyng ought rather to be cleped extorcyon & deceyte / And wyte thou what a kynge or a prynce ought to doo of hys owne folke that suche a vylany sholde doo to hym / as to make hym lye and not sayeng trouthe of hys promesse and affyaunce made / On my feythe to make theyre hedes to be smytten of / So shulde other take ensample / and thys is the sentence of the lawe and therof he shuld gete suche a gode na¦me that he shulde be reputed a ryghtewis kynge / and more doubted he shuld be therfore / And by the same he shulde gyue to hys enemyes cause for to yelde them the sooner and glad∣lyer vnto hym / the whiche yf they be broken of them / and that he can haue som of them to hys a boue / noo raunson ought not to spare them / but that they be pugnyshed as it appartei¦neth / And I aske the mayster / yf the kynge of Fraūce and the kynge of englande had sworne a trewes togyder for a certeyn tyme / and that the sayde kynge of englande shulde breke hem in dede / shulde the kynge of Fraunce be holden to

kepe for it myght seme ye / seeyng that supposed that yf one doo som euyll / another is not holden to doo hit semblably / but ought euery man to kepe his trouthe within hym self / I telle that syth that one of the two kynges whyche that he be and of all other in lyke cas / hathe broken hys promesse and hathe for sworn hym self / that other is not helden to kepe hys othe that he had made vnto him / and for the same he for swereth hym not / for after ryght syth that men haue broke fyrst couenaunt wyth hym he is not bounde to kepe the sa∣me / but he is assoylled by the ryght wryton of the Iugemēt therof / And that worse is he shuld synne dedly yf he shulde suffre hys owne folke to be slayne for fawte of his owne deffense