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YE may well knowe / howe the frenche kyng had knowlege of all this mater / & howe the erle had answered. He loued hym nat one whyt the better / howe be it he must
let it passe / for more he coud nat haue as at that tyme / and sayd: howe therle of Flaūders / was the moost proudest prince that he knewe. And a man myght haue sene well by the maner of the kyng / that the erle was the lorde that the kyng wolde moost gladly haue brought somwhat to reason. Whan he sawe that he withsayd him / & that he was no more displeased thā he was. the erle of Flaunders for all the kynges writyng / & that he was in his great displeasur / bycause of kepyng about him the duke of Bretayne. yet y• nat withstanding / he kept him styll as long as it pleased him to tary / & made him kepe a good¦lye estate. finally the duke of Bretayne had coū¦sayle to drawe in to Englande / and so he tooke leaue of therle his cosyn & went to Grauellyng. and thyder came to him the erle of Salisbury with fyue. C. speares / and a thousand archers / for dout of the frēche garysons / and so brought him to Calais / wherof sir Hugh Caurell was capitayne / who receyued him right ioyously. & whan the duke had taryed ther a fyue dayes he had wynde at wyll / and so toke the see / and the erle of Salisbury in his company. and so ary∣ued at Douer / and came to the yong kyng Ri∣chard / who receyued him with great ioye. And so dyde also the duke of Lancastre / and therles of Cambridge and of Buckynghame / and the great lordes of Englande.
ye haue herde before: how sir Ualeran of Lu¦senburge / yong erle of saynt Poule was taken prisoner / bytwene Arde and Calays / & was in Englande at the kyng{is} pleasure / for kyng Ed∣warde in his lyfe tyme / bought hym of the lord of Gomegines for he was first his prisoner / by¦cause he made the iourney whan he was taken / of a squier a mā of armes of the coūtre of guer∣les. So this yonge erle of saynt Poule / abode longe prisoner in Englande or he was delyue∣red. It was of trouthe the kyng offred hym oft tymes in exchāge for the captall of Bu••z whyle he lyued / but the frenche kyng nor the coūsell of Fraūce wolde in no wyse here therof / wherof y• kyng of Englande had great disdayne. Thus the ••ater cōtynued a long space / and the yong erle styll prisoner in Englande / in the fayre ca∣stell of Wynsore. and he had so curtesse a kepar that he might go and sport him a haukyng / by∣twene Wynsore and Westm̄: he was beleued on his faythe. The same season the princesse / mo∣ther to kyng Richarde lay at Wynsore / and her doughter with her: my lady Maude: the fay∣rest lady in all Englāde. therle of saynt Poule and this yong lady were in true amours togy∣der eche of other / & somtyme they met togyder at daunsynge and carollyng / tyll at last it was spyed. And than the lady discouered to her mo¦ther / howe she loued faithfully the yong erle of saynt Poule. Than there was a mary age spo∣ken of / bytwene therle of saynt Poule / & the la∣dy Maude of Holande. and so therle was set to his raūsome to pay sixscore. M. frākes / so that whan he had maryed the lady Maude / than to be rebated / threscore thousande: and the other threscore thousande to pay. And whan this co∣uynant of maryage was made / bitwene therle and the lady: the kyng of Englande suffred the erle to repasse the see to fetche his raunsome / on his onely promyse / to retourne agayne within a yere after. So the erle came in to Fraunce to se his frendes: y• kyng / therle of Flaunders / the duke of Brabant and his cosyns in Fraunce. In the same yere there was made an harde in∣formacyon agaynst the erle of saynt Poule / for it was layed to his charge / that he shulde dely∣uer to thenglysshmen the strong castell of Bo∣haygne. and so the frenche kyng caused him to be rested / and kept in suretie: and so the kynge shewed / howe therle of saynt Poule wolde ha∣ue made an yuell treatie for hym and for the re∣alme / and the erle in no wyse coude be excused. And also for the same cause / there was kepte in prison in the castell of Mons in Heynaulte / the lorde Chanon of Robersarte / the lorde of Uer∣tayne / sir James Dusarte / and Gerarde Da∣byes / but at length all that mater came to none effecte / for there coulde nothynge be proued a∣gaynst them / and so they were delyuered. than the yong erle retourned agayne in to Englan∣de / to acquyte him of his promyse / and so wed¦ded the lady: and dyde so moche / that he payed his threscore thousande frankes / and so passed agayne the see. But he entred nat in to Fraūce bycause the kyng loued him nat. And so he and the coūtesse his wyfe went and lay at the castell of Han on the ryuer of Ewre. The whiche ca∣stell the lorde of Mor••ane / who hadde wedded his suster / lent hym to lye in. And there he laye / as longe as kynge Charles of Fraunce lyued / for the erle coude neuer gette his loue.
¶ Nowe lette vs leaue to speke of this mater and retourne to the busynesse of Fraunce.
THe same season all Bretayne was kept close / what agaynst the frenche kynge & agaynst the duke. Howe beit some of the good townes of Bretayn helde them selfe close in the dukes name / and many had great marueyle y•
they toke hym for their lorde. And also dyuers knightes and squyers of Bretayne were of the same acorde. And also ther was alyed to them the coūtesse of Ponthyeute / mother to the chyl∣dren of Bretayne. But sir Bertram of Clesqui constable of Fraūce / ye lorde Clysson / the lorde de Lauall / the vycont of Rohan / and the lorde of Rochfort. They helde the countre in warre with the puyssance that came dayly to thē oute of Fraūce. for at Pontorson at saynt Malo the¦yle and there about / lay a great nombre of men of armes of Fraunce / of Normandy / of Auuer¦gne / and of Burgoyne: who dyde moche hurt in the coūtre. The duke of Bretayne who was in Englande had knowledge of euery thynge / and howe the duke of Aniou was at Angers & dayly distroyed his countre. Also he had know¦lege howe ye good townes kept thē selfe close in his name / and certayne knyghtes and squyers of the same parte / wherof he conde them good thanke. yet nat that withstādyng / he durst nat well trust in them / to ieoparde to retourne in to Bretayne on the trust of his men: for alwayes he douted of treason. Also the kyng of Englan∣de nor the duke of Lancastre / wolde nat coun∣sayle him to retourne.