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 frenche kynges messan∣ger was let of his vyage in to Scot∣lāde: and of the debate that began by¦twene the frenche king and therle of Flaunders. Cap. CCC .xliii. (Book 343)

IN the same season re∣tourned in to Englande / sir Thomas Tryuet & sir Wyl¦lyam Helman / with dyuers other knightes and squyers suche as had ben in Spaine to ayde the kyng of Nauers warr. And so they cāe to the kyng of Englāde / who as than was at Chertsay and his two vn∣cles / the duke of Lancastre and therle of Cam∣bridge with him. And these knightes were ioy¦fully receyued / of the kyng and these lord{is}: and ther they were desyred to shewe some tidynges fro those parties. And so they shewed all y^• they knewe / bothe of Spayne and of Nauer / and of the peace made bytwene the two kyng{is} / of spay¦ne and Nauer. And howe the kynge of Nauer had maryed Charles his eldest sonne / to kyng Hēryes doughter: and so fro poynt to poynt as the treatie was bytwene thē. The duke of Lan¦castre and therle of Cambridge were right pē∣syfe of those wordes / for they thought & named them selfe to be heyres of Spayne / by ryght of their wyues. Than they demaūded howe long it was syth kyng Henry the bastarde dyed / and whider the spanyerdes had crowned John̄ his son̄e or no. The knightes answered / and sayd.

〈◊〉〈◊〉: at the dethe of kyng Henry / nor at the co¦cona••yon of Johan his sonne / we were nat pre∣sent / for by that tyme we were come backe in to Nauer. But sir / here is an haraude was there presēt / ye may knowe euery thyng by him / and it please you. Thau y^e heralde was called forthe and demaunded by the duke of Lancastre how the mater was. He answered / and sayde. Sir: at your request I shall she we you. In y^e meane season whyle these noble mē were at Pāpylone abyding the acomplysshment of the treatie / the whiche was made by their goode wylles and leaues. I taryed behynde styll with the kynge of Na••er / wher as I had good chere / bothe of hym and of his men. And so I went with hym fro Pa••pylone to saynt Domynikes / agaynst whose comyng / kynge Henry issued out of the towne with a goodly cōpany / and met vs with great signe of loue & peace. And ther the kyng of Nauer was gretly honoured by hym and all his / and gaue him the same night an honest sup¦per. and after supper tidynges was brought to them / howe that a great wylde Boore was lod¦ged in the laundes therby. And so it was orday¦ned / that the next mornyng they shulde go and hunt the same Boore / & so they dyde. at whiche huntyng ther was bothe kyng{is} / and a great cō¦pany & the boore taken. and against night they returned agayne with great loue to saynt Do∣mynikes. And the next day kyng Henry depar¦ted and went to Peter Ferando / for a day that he had there agaynst his men: and there he fell sicke and so dyed. And the kyng of Nauer was comyng to warde hym / to se hym there: and by the way he herde worde of his dethe / wherof he was right sorie / and so retourned agayne. and than I toke leaue of hym and wente in to Ca∣stell / to knowe some tidynges ther. This kyng Henry dyed on Whitsonday. And anone after the .xxv. day of July / the day of saynt James and saynt Christofer / Johan of Castell his el∣dest sonne was crowned king in the cathedrall churche / in the cytie of Burgus. At the whiche coronacion were all the barons and prelates of Spaygne / of Galyce / of Cordowayne / and of ••euyll. And all they sware there on the holy e∣••a••gelyst{is} / to take and mentayne hym for their kyng. And there was made the same day / two hūdred and tenne newe knyghtes / and many a great gyft gyuen. The next mornynge with a great company of noble men / he went to an ab∣bey of ladyes withoute Burgus / called ••ur∣ches. And ther he herde masse and dyned / and after dyner ther was great iustyng and the vy¦cont of Roq̄bertyn of Arragon had the price / & than he returned agayne to Burgus. And this feest endured .xv. dayes. Than the duke of Lā¦castre enquered if the kyng of Portingale was desyred to be ther ornat. Sir {quod} the heraud / he was desyred / but for all that he was nat there / nor wolde nat come thyder. And as it was said he answered the messanger that came to hym / howe he wolde nat go to the coronacyon of the son̄e of a bastarde. By my faithe {quod} the duke of Lancastre / he was rightwell counsayled / to say these wordes I can hym great thanke therfore. I trust the mater shall nat longe abyde in that case. For my brother and I wyll demaūde that herytage / wherof he calleth hym selfe kynge vs nowe. And so they lefte talkynge and called for drinke. ¶Nowe lette vs leaue to speke of this mater / and retourne to the busynes of Fraūce.

KIng Charles of Fraūce who as than rey¦gned / was ryght sage and subtell / & that was well shewed as longe as he lyued. For tho that he kept hym selfe preuy in his chambre / ta∣kyng his pleasure and sporte. yet he conquered agayne / that his predecessours had lost in the felde / armed with their swerdes in their hādes wherfore he was greatly to be cōmended. And bicause he knewe well y^t kyng Robert of Scot¦lande / and all the realme ther had made warr / and had mortall hate to thēglysshmen / for those two realmes coude neuer loue togyder. Ther∣fore to the entent to norisshe more loue bytwene Fraunce and Scotlande. The frenche kynge thought to send a knight and a secretary of his counsayle to kynge Robert of Scotlande / and to y^• scottes / to speke with thē / and to aduyse the countrey. And to knowe if he might make any good warre to Englande by Scotlande. For yuan of Wales in his lyfe tyme had enfourmed hym / that Scotland was the place in y^e worlde wherby Englāde might be moost anoyed. And of this purpose the frēche kyng had many yma¦ginacio••s. so that at last he ordayned a knight a sage man called sir Peter lorde of Bournesell / and said to him. Sir / ye shall go & do this mes∣sage in to Scotlande / and recōmende me to the kyng there / and to his barons. And shewe h•••• howe that we and our realme are redy to do thē pleasur / and to haue a treatie with them as our frendes. So that therby in the season to come / we may sende people thyder / wherby we maye haue entre in to England that way / in lyke ma¦ner as our predecesso^rs haue had in tyme past. and in your goyng thyder and comyng home∣warde

/ I wyll ye kepe suche estat•• as a messa∣ger and cōmissary of 〈…〉〈…〉ng shulde do: on our cost and charge. sir {quod} the knyght all shall be as it pleaseth you / and so he taryed nat long after / but whā he was redy departed fro Parys / and dyde so moche by his iourneys / that he came to Scluse in Flaūders / and there taryed & abode for wynde and passage a .xv. dayes / for y^• wyn∣de was cōtrary for him. And in the meane sea∣son he held a great estate / and well stuffed with vessell of golde and syluer through out his hall as largely / as though he had bene a lytell duke or better. His mynstrels played before his ser∣uyce dayly / and bare as werde garnisshed with golde and syluer / and his men payed well for e¦uery thynge. Of the great estate y^t this knight kepte in his house and in the stretes / dy••ers of the towne had great marueyle. The bayly of y^• towne behelde it well / who was officer ther vn¦der the erle of Flaunders / and coude kepe it no lenger secret / wherin he dyde yuell. For he sent worde therof to the erle / who lay at Bruges / & the duke of Bretayne his cosyn with him. And whan therle of Flaunders had studyed a lytell on the mater / and by y^• helpe of the duke of Bre∣tayne / ordayned that the knight shulde ••e bro∣ught to hym. The baylye retourned agayne to Sluse / & came vncurtesly to the french knyght for he set his hande on hym / and rested hym in the erle of Flaūders name. Wherof the knight had gret marueyle / and sayd to y^e bayly. What meaneth this? I am a messanger and comyssa¦ry of the frenche kyng. sir {quod} the bayly I beleue well. howbeit ye must nedes go and speke with therle of Flaunders / for he hath cōmaunded me to bring you to hym. so the knight coude make no scuse / but that he and his company were bro¦ught to Bruges to therle. And whan he was in the erles chambre / therle and the duke stode to∣gyder / leanyng out of a wynd••we into the gar¦den warde. Than the knyght kneled downe / & sayd. sir / beholde here is your prisoner. Of the whiche worde the erle was sore displeased / and sayd in dispyte and yre. what sayest y^• rybaude? that thou art my prisoner / bycause I haue sent to speke with the. Thy maisters seruant{is} / may ryght well come and speke with me. But thou hast nat well acquyted thy selfe / sythe thou hast ben so long at Scluse / and knowynge me here so nere to the: and yet nat to come ones to se or to speke with me. Thou haddest disdayne so to do. sir {quod} the knight sauynge your displeasure. Than the duke of Bretayne toke the wordes / & sayd. Among you bourders and iāglers / in the palys of Paris / and in the kynges chambre. ye ••ette by the realme as ye lyst / and play with the kynge at your pleasure and do well oryuell as ye wyll yourselfe. for ther is no price of y^e blode ryall / if ye among you haue ones brought hym in to any hate or displeasur with the kyng / that can be herde after. But ones I trust there wyll be so many of suche people taken / that the gy∣bettes wyll be full of them. The knight who sa••¦styll on his knees / was ryght sore abasshed of those wordes / for the hearyng of suche wordes was right harde to him. Howbeit he sawe well it was better for hym to kepe his tonge than to speke / and so gaue no answere to those wordes And whan he sawe his tyme / he toke his leaue of therle and of the lordes / and departed out of their presence. and some noble men that were a¦bout the erle made hym way / and made hym to drinke: and than he returned agayne to Sluse to his logyng. And I shall shewe you what f••ll after. Though all his purueyance were redy a¦parelled / and that he had wynd at wyll to haue sayled into Scotlāde / yet he durst nat put him¦selfe into the dangers of the see. For it was she∣wed him / how he was spyed by thēglysshmen y^• he lay at Scluse / & howe that if he kept on his voiage / he was likely to be taken & caryed into England. and bicause of those doutes he brake his vyage and returned to Parys to the kyng. ye may well knowe / that the lorde of Burne∣sell tolde no lesse to the frenche kyng / than was done to him by the erle of Flaunders. And also it was nedefull for him to tell all for his excuse / for the kyng had marueyle of his retonrnyng. The same season there were dyuers knyght{is} in the kynges chambre / and specially sir John̄ of Guystels of Heynalt / cosyn to therle of Fla••n∣bers / who had great displeasure at the wordes of this knight / that he had of therle of Flāders. so y^• finally he coude kepe his tōge no lēger / but sayd. I can nat suffre these word{is} thus to be spo¦ken of my dere lorde. And sir knight / if ye wyll say that he dyde as ye say / to let you of your vy¦age / in that quarell I appele you to the felde: & here is my gage. The lorde of Bournesell was nothyng abasshed to answere / but sayd. sir Jo¦han I say thus / howe I was thus taken by the bayly of Sluse / and brought before the erle of Flaūders: and as ye haue herde he sayd to me / and in lykewise so dyde the duke of Bretayne. And if ye wyll say contrary / to this I wyll re∣ceyue your gauge. I wyll say so {quod} the lorde of Guystelles. With those wordes the kynge was nat content / and sayde. Let vs go hens / I wyll

here no more of these wordes / and so de••ted 〈◊〉〈◊〉 went 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to his cha••r•• all onely with his cham∣〈…〉〈…〉 right 〈◊◊〉〈◊◊〉 at the lorde of Bu••••∣••ll had ••o well and frely spoken agaynst y^• wor¦des of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 John̄ of Guystels: and sayd all smy∣lyng. He hath holden fote well with him / I wol¦de nat for xx. M. frankes but that he had done so. And after it fortuned so / y^• this sir Johan of Guystels who was chāberlayn with the kyng / was so yuell beloued in the courte / that he was wery therof: and thought nat to abyde the dā∣gers. So he toke leaue of the kyng / and depar¦ted fro the court / and went into Brabant to the duke Uy••••elant of Brabāt / who receyued him toyfully. The french kyng was sore displeased with therle of Flāders / bicause it was thought by ••yuers of the realme / y^t he had letted y^• lorde of 〈…〉〈…〉sell of his ••••age in to Scotland. and al••o in that he ••eloe styll about hym the duke of Bretayne his cosyn / who was greatly in y^• kyn¦ges displeasur. and so they that were about the kyng p••rceyued well / howe the erle of Flaun∣ders was nothyng in the kynges grace.

ANone after the kyng wrote sharpe letis to his cosyn the erle of Flaūders / thret∣nyng hym: bycause he susteyned with hym the duke of Bretayn / whō he reputed to be his ene∣my. The erle wrote agayne to the kyng / excu∣sing himselfe aswell as he might: but it aueyled nothynge. For the kyng sent him agayne more sharper letters / shewyng him playnly / y^t with∣out he wolde putte the duke of Bretayne out of his cōpany he wolde surely displease him. whā therle of Flaūders sawe that the kyng pursued his cause with suche effect / than he toke aduyse in hym selfe / and thought he wolde shewe these ma••a•••• h••s & thretnynges to his good townes / and specially to Gaūt / to knowe what they wol¦de say to the mater. and so he sent to Bruges / to ••pre / and Cortrey / and after departed / and the duke of Bretayne in his cōpany. and so went to Gaunt and lodged at y^• posterne / wher he was ••oyfully receyued of the burgesses / for they lo∣••ed well to haue him among them. And 〈…〉〈…〉han the people of the good townes such as were sēt for were come: therle assembled them togyder in a pleace / and there he made be shewed to thē by John̄ de la Faucell his entency on / & the let∣t••••s reed that the frēche kyng had sent him two monethes before. And whan these letters were re••••: than the erle spake and sayd. All ye sirs of my good townes of Flaūders / through y^• helpe of god I haue ben your lorde a longe season / & I haue kepte and gouerned you in good peace to my power. Nor ye haue nat sene in me〈…〉〈…〉 cō¦trary / but that I haue entertayned you in gret prosperyte / in lyke maner as a lorde ought to kepe his menne and subgettes. But it is to my great displeasur and it ought to be to you that are my men / that the frenche kyng thus hateth me and wyll hate bycause I sustayne about me and in my company / the duke of Bretayne my cosyn germayne / who as nowe is nat welbelo∣ued in Fraunce. Nor he dare nat well trust his men in his owne countre / bycause of fyue or six barons that loueth him nat. Wherfore the king wolde that I shulde driue hym out of my coun¦tre / the whiche shulde be a strong thyng to him. I say nat nay / but if I dyde confort my cosyn: outher with townes or castelles agaynst the re¦alme of Fraunce / than the kynge myght haue good cause to complayne him of me. But I do nat so / nor am nat in wyll so to do: and therfore I haue here assembled you togyder / shewynge you the parels that may happe to fall. therfore I wolde knowe your myndes / whyder he shall abyde styll with me or nat. They answered all with one voyce. Sir / let hym abyde styll / why shulde he nat? And sir / if there be any man ly∣uyng that wyll make you warre / ye shall fynde redy in your lande of Flaūders .ii. C. M. men of warr to serue you. Those wordes greatly re¦ioysed therle and sayd. sirs I thanke you / and so ended that parlyament / and therle was well cōtent with his men / and gaue euery man leaue to de{per}te in peace. Than whan the erle sawe his tyme he retourned to Bruges / and the duke of Bretayne with him. Thus these maters hāged in a traunce. the erle was in great grace w^t his people / and the countre in peace and prosperite the which abode nat so long after. for it was in great trybulacion / as ye shall here after in this hystorie.