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.

¶ Of the orgulous wordes / that the romayns sayde at the electyon of the newe pope agayne. And howe the warre renewed bytwene the french kyng and the kyng of Nauerre. Cap. CCC .xxvii. (Book 327)

OF the dethe of this pope the cardynalles were right sorowfull / for they saw well howe the matter shulde nat goo well to passe. For they had thought if y^• pope had lyued / to haue dissimuled a¦monge the romayns for two or thre yeres / and at the laste to haue brought the see apostolyke / in to some other place than at Rome / at Napo¦les / or at Gennes / out of the daunger of the ro∣mayns / but y^e dethe of the pope brake their pur¦pose. Than the cardynalles went agayne in to the conclaue in greater daūger than they were in before / for y^e romayns assembled them togy∣der

agayne before the conclaue / and made sem∣blant to breke it vp and to slee them all / if they dyde nat chose a pope / acordyng to their myn∣des and cryed to the cardynalles & sayd. Sirs aduyse yo we well / if ye delyuer vs a pope ro∣mayne we be content / or els we woll make your herd{is} reeder than your hattes be suche wordes and manasshes abasshed greatly y^e cardynall / for they hadde rather a dyed confessours then martyrs. Than to bryng them selfe out of that daunger and parell / they made a pope / but he was none of the colledge of cardynals / he was archbysshop of Bare a great clerke / who great¦ly had traueyled for the welthe of holy churche. with his promocyon of papalyte / the romayns were a peased / for the cardynall of Genne put out his heed out at a wyndowe of the conclaue / and sayd on hygh to y^e people of Rome. Sirs: apease you / for you haue a pope romayne / and that is Bartylme we des Angles / archbysshop of Bare. The people aunswered all with one voyce: than we be content / the same archebys∣shoppe was nat as than at Rome. I thynke he was in Napoles. Than he was incontynent sent for / of the whiche tydynges he was ryght glad / and so came to Rome / and at his comyng there was great feest made to hym. And so he had all the ryghtes that parteyned to the papa∣lyte / & was called Urban the sirt of that name / the romayns had great ioy: his creacyon was signifyed to all the churches of christentie. And also to emperours / kynges / dukes / and erles / and the cardynalles sent worde to all their fren¦des / that he was chosen by good and trewe ele∣ciyon howbeit some of them repented them af∣ter / that they had spoken so largely in the ma∣ter. This pope renounced all graces gyuen be¦fore also so dyuers departed fro their countres and places / and went to Rome to haue grace. ¶ Now let vs leaue somwhat to speke of this mater / and lette vp retourne to our princypall history of the besynesses of Fraunce.

yE haue harde right well here before / howe the kyng of Nauer / who hadde to his wyfe the freuche kynges suster / for the loue of the one & 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^e the french kyng their vncle by the succession of his suster ought to haue power therof in name of the chyl¦dren seyng the chyldren were in his kepynge / wherby all the lande that the kynge of Nauer helde in Normandy / shulde be in y^e french kyn∣ges hand / as long as his nephewes were with in age. Of all these maters the kyng of Nauer doughted greatly / for he knewe well the vsage and custome of Fraūce. Than he aduysed him of two thynges / the one was to sende the bys∣shop of Panpilone and sir Martyn Car / in to Fraunce to the kynge / Desyring hym hertely / that for good loue and fauoure to send him his two sonnes / Charles and Peter. and if it plea∣sed him nat to send hym bothe two / than at lest to sende him his son̄e Charles / bycause he was towardes a treaty for a maryage for him / with the doughter of y^e kyng of Castell. The second thing was / nat withstandyng that he sent thus into Fraunce / yetsecretly he sent also in to Nor¦mandy / to visyte and to refresshe the castelles there / pertaynyng to hym: to thentent that the frenchmen shulde nat take them in to their han¦des / for he feared if they had them ones in theis possessiōs / he shulde nat haue thē agayn whan he wolde. And so he sent two valyaunt men of armes naueroyse / in whom he had great trust the one called Peter Basylle / and the other Fe¦rando into Normandy / for y^e sayd enten•• The fyrst messangers went into Fraūce / as the bys∣shop of Panpylone / and sir Marten Car / who spake with the kyng at great leysar / right hum¦bly recōmaundyng the kyng of Nauer to him desyringe in his name / that he wolde sende to hym his two sonnes. The kyng answered and sayde. He wolde take aduyse and counsayle in the mater. And so after they were answered in the kynges name: the kyng beyng present and the two chyldren / also his nephewes / how that the kynge loued them right entierly. Wherfore they coulde nat be better in no place / and y^• the kyng of Nauerre ought to be content rather to suffre thē to be in Fraunce with the kyng their vncle / than in any other place. And also y^e kyng wyll in no wyse depart fro them / but kepe them aboute hym in their estate / as the chyldren of a kyng / and lyke his nephewes: other answere y^e messangers coude nat haue. And in the meane season y^• these messangers were in Fraūce / Pe¦ter of Basylle and Ferādo / arryued at Chyer∣bourge with great prouisyon / the whiche they putte in dyuers places / in townes and castels of the kyng of Nauers in Normandy. And so they visyted in the kynge of Nauers name / all the countie of Eureux / and made newe officers and sette in people at their pleasures. and so re¦tourned agayne into Nauerre / the bysshoppe of Panpylone and sir Marten Carr / and she∣wed

the kynge howe they had spedde in Fraū∣ce. The kynge of Nauer was nat very gladde of that tidyges / whan he coulde nat haue his owne sonnes. And so began a great hatered in his hert towarde the frenche kynge / the whiche he wolde gladly haue shewed if he had might / but the puyssance of him selfe was nat so great to greue the realme of Fraunce / without helpe and ayde of some other realme. So he suffred all these maters / tyll he had better cause to spe∣ke / and more displeasure done to hym / than he hadde as than.

THe frenche kyng and his coūsayle were well enformed / that the kyng of Nauer had newe reuitayled his castels and townes in Normādy / but they knewe nat for what entent The same season thenglysshmen made a secret army on the see of two thousand men of armes but they had no horse with them. Of the which army the duke of Lancastre and the erle of Cā∣bridge were chefe capitayns. This y^e normans reported surely to the french kyng / and this ar¦mye came on the costes of Normādy / but they coulde nat tell to what parte they wolde drawe vnto. Some in Fraunce thought that y^e kynge of Nauer had caused them to come in to Nor∣mandy / to delyuer to them suche castelles as he had there. Wherfore it was sayde to the kynge. Sir go hastely / and be lorde of those castels be¦fore: for ye may happe to tary to long / for if the englisshmen haue thē / they may do moche hurt to the realme of Fraunce / for it shall be one of the best entrees that they can haue / if they were lordes in Normādy / of the cyties / townes / and castels / belongyng to the kyng of Nauer. The same season there was taken in Fraunce / two secrataries of the kyng of Nauers / a clerke & a squyer. The cleke was called Peter of Tertre and the squyer James of Rue / and they were brought to Parys to be examyned. And somo∣che it was knowen by theym of the secrettes of the realme of Nauerre / howe they were deter∣myned to haue done domage to the kyng or els to haue poysoned him. so they were condemp∣ned to dye / and execucyen was done at Parys beheeded and quartred. These tydynges mul∣typlied so on the kyng of Nauer / that y^e frenche kynge sware y^• he wolde neuer attende to none other thynge / tyll he had ryd Normandy / and taken in to his possession / for the behoffe of his nephewes / all the townes and castelles that the kyng of Nauer helde there. so dayly ther came sore informacions to the frenche kyng agaynst the kynge of Nauer. Also it was sayde openly / that y^e duke of Lācastre shulde gyue his dough¦ter Kateryn to the kynge of Nauer / and so by that meanes the kyng shulde gyue to the duke of Lancastre all the hole countye of Deureur. These wordes were lightly beleued in Fraūce for the kyng of Nauer was but lytell trusted a¦mong them. So than the same tyme the french kynge came to Rohan / and there assembled a great army of men of warre / wherof the lorde Coucy / & the lorde de la Ryuer were chefe capi¦tayns / and they all met togyder before a towne called Lyseur / a cytie in Normandy / partey∣nynge to the kyng of Nauer. and these two lor∣des had the two sonnes of the kyng of Nauer / Charles and Peter / to shewe to thē of the coun¦trey / that the warre that they made was in the name of y^e two chyldren / for their herytage that was fallen to them by y^e ryght of their mother / And howe y^t the kynge of Nauer had no right to kepe them / but the moost parte of the men of armes / were so ioyned in loue with the kyng of Nauer / that they coude nat departe out of his seruyce. And also the naueroyse that were there assembled / suche as the kyng of Nauer hadde sent thyder / caused his warr to be the more ea∣syer and fayre.