Here begynneth the first volum of sir Iohan Froyssart of the cronycles of Englande, Fraunce, Spayne, Portyngale, Scotlande, Bretayne, Flau[n]ders: and other places adioynynge. Tra[n]slated out of frenche into our maternall englysshe tonge, by Iohan Bourchier knight lorde Berners: at the co[m]maundement of oure moost highe redouted souerayne lorde kyng Henry the. viii. kyng of Englande and of Fraunce, [and] highe defender of the christen faythe. [et]c.

¶ Howe the frenchmen laye at ••iege at four sundry places all a tones / and howe they of Roche suryon / yelded them selfe and became frenche: And howe the englysshmen came before Brest. Cap. CCC .ix. (Book 309)

THus the lordes of Fraūce helde a / tones four seges. One before Ber¦cerell / another before Brest / the 〈◊〉〈◊〉. before Roch sur yon / and the .iiii. before Duriuall: & to eche of these was made many a great assaut. They within Roche sur you / who were farthest of fro any co¦pany or cōfort / made a composycion with their enemys / that w^tout they were socoured within the space of a moneth / they shulde de{per}te & put y^e castell vnder the obeysance of the french kyng. At whiche day / the lorde Clysson and the other knyghtes of his cōpany cāe thyder / & whan no rescue cāe to reyse their siege / the castell yelded vp / and thenglysshmen de{per}ted / vnder the saue conduct of the lorde of Pons / & so went to Bur¦deur. Than the lorde Clysson & the other went from thens to the siege before Duryuall / and brought with thē great engins. And also to the samesege cāe the constable of Fraūce / the duke of Burbon / therles of Alenson & of Perche / & a great nōbre of the barony & cheualry of Frāce. For they thought they dyde but lose their tyme with lyeng before Brest: howbeit they left styll ther a two. M. and they fortifyed thē selfe in a place to kepe the wayes / y^• non shulde entre nor issue out of Brest / to refressh the fortresse. And whan sir Broes & they within Duryuall / sawe thē selfe so sore oppressed / they douted greatly the takyng of their fortresse. Than they deuy∣sed a treaty to haue respyte for two monethes / so that without they were rescued by the duke of Bretayne / or by some other / able to kepe the felde / & to reyse the siege within the sayd space / 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to yelde vp the forteresse to the duke of An∣iou or to the constable / & if men of armes came fro y^e duke of Bretayne to coost the frenchmen / than they within to sitte styll in rest and peace. This treaty was put for the and shewed to the duke of Aniowe and he agreed / so that they of Duryuall / durynge the sayd terme / shulde nat take into their fortresse no more ayde nor help. Than sir Broes delyuered certayne gētylmen knyght{is} and squiers for hostag{is} in y^• behalfe / & so after this treaty and cōposycion / the cōstable rode to Naūtes / and they of the cytie shyt fast their gates agaynst him / bycause he came with suche a great army / and so they sent to hym to knowe his entēcyon. The constable / answered and sayd: howe he was sent thyder by y^e french kyng their lord / to take possession in his name of the duchy of Bretayn / and that sir Johan of Mountforte / who calleth hym selfe duke / hath forfayted it. Thā the burgesses of Naūtes de∣maunded to take counsayle / & than to answer. and whā they had long counsayled / they came forthe and sayde. Sir: it is great meruayle to vs / that ye thus take the herytage of our lorde the duke for the frenche kyng / who commaun∣ded

vs to receyue hym as our duke and lorde / and to hym we haue swerne fealtie & homage / and he hath sworne to vs to gouerne vs as his subgettes. Thus haue we taken hym / and we knowe no cause in him of fraude or suspection. Ifye cóe in to this towne by the vertue of suche procuraryon as ye haue / we agre that ye shall entre by condicyon. So that if it hap that the duke of Bretayne our lorde retourne in to this countre and wyll become frenche: than all pre¦lates barones / gentylmen / & the good townes of Breten / all we to knowlege him as our lord and thā we to be quyte without domage / nowe or any other tyme. and also ye to receyue no rē∣tes nor reuenues of Bretayn / but let them styll remayne in our hand{is}: vntyll suche tyme / that we haue other tydinges: y^• whiche shalbe more agreable to vs than this. The constable sware to thē to fulfyll all this / as procurer of the frēch kyng in that case. Thus the cōstable entred in to the rytie of Nauntes / which was chiefe cytie of Bretayne / and all his company.

WHan sir Robert Canoll / who was so∣uerayne of Breest / vnderstode howe sir Hugh Broes his cosyn / had made composycion of the fortresse of Duryuall with the frenchmen: & sawe well howe he coulde nat departe fro thens ther as he was / to go and cō¦fort his castell of Duriuall / w^tout so be he wol∣de make a cōposycion in lyke case. Than he be¦gan to treat with the frēchmen / that were there before Brest / and they answered: that without the cōstable they coude do nothyng. Than two knightes & two squyers of Englande had saue cōducte / and went to the constable besyde Naū¦tes / wher as he lay by the ryuer of Loyre / with great copany of Fraūce and of Bretayne. And so this treaty toke suche effect / y^t they of Brest had respite for .xl. dayes: so that w^tin that space they shulde beso conforted with men of warte / able to fyght with the constable / or els to yelde vp the forteresse. And in the meane season they of Brest / to abyde styll in the same case as they were thā in / without reuitaylyng or enforsyng any thyng of their fortresse. Than the messan∣gers retourned agayne to sir Robert Canoll / and he sent sufficyent men bothe knightes and squiers to the constable for hostage. Than the constable put them in prison / and all they y^t had ben at the siege before Brest departed: the con∣stable gaue them lycence. And the frenche king sent for them to fortifye the cyties / townes / ca∣stels / and fortresses in Picardy / for the duke of Lancastre was aryued at Calais with a great armye.

WHan the erle of Salisbury / who was on the see: and had all y^t sea∣son kept the fronters of Bretayne & Normādy / and also the kyng of Englande had newly reconforted them with a thousande men of armes and two thousande archers. Whan he vnderstode the cō¦posycion of them of Brest / he sayd: that with goddes grace he wolde fight with the frenche∣men / and he sayled so longe that he arryued at Brest. Than he toke lande and all his cōpany before Brest / and euery night went agayne to his shyppes / and euery daye raynged in batell to fight with his enemyes if they brewe thider. The constable / who had gyuen lycence to the moost parte of his cōpany / and helde styll two sieges: one before Bercerell / and the other be∣fore Duryuall: and thought full lytell that the erle of Salisbury wolde haue come thyder / so strongly as he dyde. Than he departed fro the marches of Nauntes / whan the day of the de∣lyueraunce of Brest dyde aproche: howe be it whā the day came he went nat thyder / for than he had knowledge howe the englisshmen were there with suche a strengthe / able to fyght with hym. therfore he thought to warke by great & sadde aduyse / and so he dyd (for he taryed styll there he was / & remoued nat) and ther taryed a .vii. dayes or more. & whan therle of Salis∣bury beyng before Breest / hadde taken a place of grounde for his auauntage / And sawe that the constable of Fraunce nor the bretons came nat forwarde / he sent thyder an haraude / who whan he came before the constable / sayd. Sir / the erle of Salisbury & the lordes of England send you worde by me / who am an haraude of armes / how that before this tyme / ye haue layd siege before the castell and towne of Brest. sir / my lordes and maisters vnderstand / howe cer¦tayne composycions and treatyes were made / bitwene you and them of the towne / that if they were nat comforted by the daye lymytted / the whiche is nat nowe long vnto that they shulde yeld vp the towne and castell to you. Wherfore sir. maye it please you to knowe / they be come before Breest to kepe their day / and to defende their fortresse. Therfore sir / they desyre you to drawe forwarde / and ye shalbe fought withall without dout / and if ye wyll nat / than they de∣syre you to sende them agayne suche hostages as ye haue for that entent. Than the constable

sayde / haraulde: ye bringe vs good tidynges / wherfore ye be welcōe. ye shall say to your may¦sters: howe we haue greatter desyre to syght with thē / than they haue to fight with vs / how beit they be nat in that place / where the treaty was made and agreed vnto. Therfore saye to them / that lette theym drawe to that parte and place / and without fayle they shall be sought withall. Than the haraud retourned to Brest and dyde his message / and than they sent hym agayne to the constable with another message and whan he came there / he sayd. Sir / I am cōe agayne to you fro my lordes and maisters / to whome I haue shewed euery thynge / as ye cōmaunded me to say / whan I was with you last. How be it sir: nowe they say howe they be men of the see lately cōe thens / & haue brought no horse with them. and sir / they say they haue nat ben acustomed to go farre a fote / wherfore they sende you worde that if ye wyll sende thē your horses / they wyll come to what place ye wyll apoynt them to fyght with you / & to kepe their day. Fayre fared {quod} the constable: we are nat in mynde / to do to our enemys somoche a∣uantage / as to send to thē our horses: it shulbe be reputed for a great outrage and if we were so mynded to do / we wolde deman̄de good ho∣stages and sufficient / to answere vs of our hor¦ses agayne. Sir {quod} the haraud / I haue no su∣che commaūdement to answere to that mater / Howe beit sir / they say that if ye wyll nat agre to this poynte: ye haue no lawfull cause to re∣tayne styll the hostages that yehaue. Therfor sir: and yesend thē / ye do as ye shulde do. The cōstable sayd he was nat abuysed so to do. So retourned the haraude to the erle of Salisbu∣ry and his company / before Brest. And whan they vnderstode that they shulde nat be fought wall / nor their hostages delyucred / they were sore dyspleased. Howe be it they taryed there styll without remouyng / tyll the day was expy¦red / and parceyued well how the constable cāe nat to fight with them. Than they entred in to Brest and newe reuitayled the towne / and re∣fresshed greatly the fortresse. And on the other {per}te whan the constable sawe that the englyssh∣men cāe nat forwarde to fyght with hym / than he de{per}ted and toke the hostages with him. and sayd: how they were his prisoners (for he said) that the englysshmen and they of Brest / hadde nat kept truely their apoyntment / in rescuyng of Brest / bycause the erle of Salisbury hadde newly refresshed and vitayled y^• fortresse. And so than the erle of Salisbury de{per}ted fro Brest and entred agayne in to his shippes / to kepe y^• marches and fronters / as he was commytted to do. And also sir Robert Canoll whan he de∣parted fro Brest he went streight to his owne forteresse of Duryuall. And assoone as he was come in to the castell (it was shewed to y^• duke of Aniou) and to the cōstable / beyng as than in Nauntes. They supposed than / as it fortuned after / for sir Robert Canoll brake all the trea∣tie and apoyntment before made / and renoun∣sed them all. And send worde to the duke of An¦iou and to the constable / that he wolde kepe no such apoyntmeut / as his men had made in his absence without his leaue: sayeng they had no suche authorite so to do. Whan the duke herde that / he came {per}sonally to the sege of Duriuall.