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 princypall rote and cause of the warre / bytwene the erle of Flaū∣ders and the flemynges. And howe the whyte hattes were set vp by Jo∣han Lyon. Cap. CCC .xlviii. (Book 348)

THe same season: whyle the duke Loys of Flaūders was in his greattest prospe∣ryte. Ther was in Gaunt a burgesse (called Johan Ly∣on) a sage man: cruell / har∣dy / subtell / and a great enter¦priser: and colde and pacient ynough in all his warkes. This John̄ Lyon was great with the erle / as it apered / for the erle entysed him to slee a man in Gaūt / with whōehe was displeased. And at the erles cōmaundement couertly / this Johan Lyon made a matter to him / and so fell out with hym and slewe hym / the whiche bur∣gesse was sore complayned▪ and therfore John̄ Lyon went & dwelt at Doway / and was there a .iii. yere / and helde a great estate and porte / and all of therles cost. and for this slaughter on a day / Johan Lyon lost all that euer he had in Gaunt / and was banysshed y^• towne foure yere but after the erle of Flaunders dyd so moch for him / that he made his peace / and so to returne a gayne to the towne of Gaunt / & to haue agayne as great fraunches as euer he had / wherof dy∣uers in Gaunt and in Flaunders hadde great meruayle / and were ther with ryght sore abas∣shed / but for all that so it was done. And besyde that / to thentent that he shulde recouer agayne his losse / and to mayntayne his astate / the erle made him chefe ruler of all the shyppes / mary∣ners / and Nauy. This office was well worthe by yere a thousand frākes / and yet to deale but trewely. Thus this Johan Lyon was so great with the erle that there was none lyke him.

IN the same season there was anotherly∣gnage in Gaunte / called the Mahewes. Ther were of them seuyn bretherne / they were the chiefe of all the maryners. And amonge these seuyn bretherne / there was one of theym called Gylbert Mahewe: a ryght sage manne / moche more subtell than any of his bretherne. This Gylbert Mahue had great enuy couert∣ly at this Johan Lyon / bycause he sawe him so great with the erle / and studyed night and day howe he myght put him out of fauoure with the erle. Dyuers tymes he was in mynde to haue slayne him by his brethern / but he durst nat for for feare of the erle. So long he studyed and y∣magined on this mater / that at laste he founde the way. The chiefe cause that he hated him for was: as I shall shewe you / the better to come to the found acyon of this mater. Aunciently ther was in the towne of Dan a great mortall warr̄ bytwene two maryners / & their lynages. The one called Peter Guillon / and the other John̄ Barde: Gilbert mahewe & his bretherne were come of the one lynage / and this Johan Lyon of the other. So this couert hate was long no∣rysshed bitwene these two paties / how beit they spake and ete and dranke to gyder. and the ly∣nage of Gylbart Mahewe / made more a do of the mater / than Johan Lyon dyd. In so moche that Gylbert Mahewe without any stroke gy¦uyng aduysed a subtell dede. The erle of Flaū∣ders wolde some tyme lye at Gaunt / than this Gylbert Mahewe / came and aquaynted hym¦selfe with one of them that was nere aboute the erle / and on a day sayd to him. Sir: if my lord therle wolde / he might haue euery yere a great profyte of y^• shyppes and nauy / wherof he hath nowe nothyng / whiche profyte the straungers and the maryners shulde paye / so that Johan Lyon who is chiefe ruler there / wyll truely ac∣quyte him selfe. This gētylman sayd he wolde shewe this to the erle / and so he dyde. The erle than / in lykewyse as dyuers lordes are lyghtly enclyned naturally to harken to their profytte / and nat regardyng y^• ende / what may fall ther∣by / so they may haue riches / for couytousnes di¦sceyueth thē. he answerd and sayd. let Gylbert

〈◊〉〈◊〉 come to me / and we wyll here what he wyll say. Than cāe Gylbert and spake with the erle / shewynge him dyuers reasons resona∣ble as the erle thought / and so answered & sayd. I thynke it were well done y^t it shulde be thus. Than John̄ Lyon was sent for / who knewe no¦thyng of this mater / and there in the presence of Gylbert Mahewe / the erle shewed him all the mater and sayd: John̄ if ye woll / we may haue great profyte in this mater. Johan Lyon / who was a true man. sawe well it was nat a thynge resonable to be done howe be it he durst nat say the contrary / but sayd. Sir: that thyng that ye demaunde / and that Gylbert Mahewe hathe brought forthe / I can nat do it alone / for it wyll be a hard mater to all the maryners. Johan {quod} therle / if ye wyll acquyte you truely in this ma¦ter / it wyll be done. sir {quod} he: I shall do therin the best of by power / & soo they departed. Gyl∣bert Mahewe / who intended to brynge out of fauoure this Johan Lyon with the erle / enten¦ded to none other thyng / but to make hym lese his offyce. Than he came to his sixe bretherne and sayd / sirs. it is tyme nowe that ye socoure and ayde me / and to mayntayne this mater as good trendes and brethern shulde helpe eche o∣ther / it is for you that I haue dryuē about this mater / I shall discomfyt John̄ Lyon without any stroke strykyng / and shall bryng him in as great displeasure with the erle / as he is nowe great and in fauoure. Whatsoeuer I say in the ne••t parlyament / kepe youre owne openyons / for if the erle requyre you to do suche a thynge debate you well the matter / but I wyll say styll and mayntayne / y^t it Johan Lyon wyll truely acquyte him selfe / this ordynāce may be done. And I knowe so moche / that my lorde the erle if the mater come nat to his entent / Johan Ly∣on shall lease his fauoure and offyce / and gyue the offyce to me. And whan I ones haue it than ye shall agre therto / we are puyssant ynough in this towne to rule all the resydue / there is none wyll say agaynst vs: and thā I shall do so that John̄ Lyon shalbe ouerthrowen. thus we shall be reuenged on him w^tout any stroke gyuyng / all his brethern accorded to him. So the parly¦ament came / and all the maryners were redy. There Johan Lyon / and Gylbert Mahewe shewed them the erles pleasure on the newe sta¦tute that he wold reyse on the nauy of Lys and Lescaulte / the whiche thynge semed to them all ryght hard / and cōtrary to their olde custome. and the chiefe that spake there agaynste were Gylbert Mahewes bretherne / more than any o¦ther. Than Johan Lyon who was chiefe ruler of them all. was ryght ioyouse / for he wolde to his true power mayntayne them in their olde auncyent fraunchesses and lyberties. And he went that all that they sayde had bene for him / but it was contrary / for it was for an euyll en∣tent towardes him. Johan Lyon reported to the erle the answere of the maryners / and sayd. sir: it is a thynge can nat be well done / for great hurt may come therby. sir: and it please you let the mater rest in the olde auncyent estate / and make no newe thyng amonge them. This an∣swere pleased nothyng the erle / for he sawe that if the mater might be brought vp and reysed / it shulde be well worth to him yerely a seuen thou¦sande florens / so he helde his peace as at that tyme / but he thought the more. And soo purse∣wed by fayre word{is} & treaties these maryners / but alwayes Johan Lyon founde them ryght obstynate in the case. Than Gylbert Mahewe came to the erle and to his counsayll / and sayd: howe that John̄ Lyon aquyted him but slacke¦ly in the mater / but and y^e erle wolde gyue him the offyce that Johan Lyon hathe / he wolde so handell the maryners / y^t the erle of Flaunders shulde heretably haue y^e sayd profyte. The erle sawe nat clere / for couytusnes of the good blyn∣ded him / & by his owne counsayll he put John̄ Lyon out of the offyce / and gaue it to Gylbert Mahewe. Whā Gylbert Mahewe sawe howe he had the offyce / within a lytell space he turned all his syxe bretherne to his purpose / & so made the erle to haue his entent and profyt / wherfore he was neuer the better beloued of y^e most parte of the maryners. howebeit it behoued them to suffer / for the seuen brethern were great and pu¦yssant / with the ayde of the erle. Thus by this subtell meanes Gylbert Mahewe get him ••elfe in fauoure with the erle / and he gaue many gyf¦tes / and ioweles to them that were nere about the erle / wherby he had their loues. And also he gaue many great presentes to the erle / the whi∣che blynded him / and so by that meanes he gate his loue / and all these gyftes and presentes this Gylbert Mahewe reysed of y^e maryners / wher¦of there were many that were nat well content / howbeit they durst speke no worde to the con∣trary.

IOhan Lyon by this meanes / and by the purchase of Gylbert Mahewe / was out of y^• erls fauoure & loue. and so kept his howse and lyued of his owne / and endured and suffe∣red paciently all that euer was done to him. for

this Gylbert Mahewe / who as than was chefe ruler of all the shippes / couertly euer hated this Johan Lyon / & toke away the thirde or fourth {per}te of the profyte that he shulde haue had of his shyppes. All this John̄ Lyon suffered & spake no worde / but sagely dissymuled & toke in gre / all that euer was done to him / and sayd. Ther is tyme to be styll / & tyme to speke. This Gyl∣bert Mahewe had one brother called Stenu∣art a subtell man / who aduysed well the maner of Johan Lyon / and sayd to his brethern in pro¦phesyeng as it came to passe. Sirs this John̄ Lyon suffereth nowe / and hangeth downe his heed / he dothe it all for policy. but I feare me he wyll at length make vs lower / thā we be nowe highe. but I coūsayle one thyng / that whyle we be thus in the erles fauour / letre vs slee hym. I shall soone s••e him / if I take the charge to do it: and so we shall be out of all parelles. his other bretherne wolde in no wyse consent therto / and sayd to him / that in no wyse he shulde do him a¦ny hurt / sayeng to him: howe a man ought nat to be slayne / without the sentence of a Judge. Thus the matter contynued a certayne space / tyll the deuyll who neuer slepeth / awaked them of Bruges / to digge about the ryuer of Lys / to haue the easment of y^• course of the water / And the erle was well accorded to thē / and sent great nombre of pioners and men of armes to assyste them. Before that in tyme past they wold haue done the same / but they of Gaunt by puyssance brake their purpose. These tydynges came to Gaunt / howe they of Bruges were byggynge to turne the course of the ryuer of Lys / y^e which shulde greatly be to the preiudyse of Gaunte. many folkes in the towne began to murmure / and specyally the maryners / for it touched thē nere. wherfore they sayd. they of Bruges shuld nat be suffred so to dygge / to haue the course of theryuer to them / wherby their towne shulde be distroyed. And some said preuely / a god help nowe Johan Lyon / for if he hadd ben styll our gouernoure / it shulde nat haue been thus. they of Bruges wolde nat haue been so hardy to at∣tempt so farre agaynst vs. Johan Lyon was well aduertysed of all these matters. Than he began a lytell to wake / and sayd to him selfe. I haue slept a season / but it shall apere / that for a small occasyon I shall wake / and shall set suche a trymble bitwene this towne and the erle / that it shall coste perauenture a hundred thousande mennes lyues. The tidynges of these dyggers encreased. So it was / ther was a woman that come fro her pilgrymage from our lady of Bo¦layne (who was wery) and sate downe in the market place / where as ther were dyuers men / and some of thē demaūded of her fro whens she came / she answered fro Bolayne. and I haue sene by the way / y^e greatest myschefe that euer came to this towne of Gaunte. for there be mo than fyue hundred pioners / that night and day worketh before the ryuer of Lys / and if they be nat let / they wyll shortly torne the course of the water. This womans wordes was well harde and vnderstande / in dyuers places of y^e towne. Than they of the towne began to mone & sayd, this dede ought nat to be suffred / nor consented vnto. Than dyuers went to Johan Lyon / and demaunded counsayll of him / howe they shuld vse them selfe in this mater. And whan Johan Lyon sawe him selfe sought on / by them whom he desyred to haue their good wylles and loue / he was greatly reioysed / howe be it he made no semblant of ioye. For he thought it was nat as than yet tyme / tyll the mater were better a cer∣tayned / and so he was sore desyred or he wolde speke or declare his thought / and whā he spake he sayd. Sirs: if ye wyll aduenture to remedy this mater / it behoue that in this towne of Gaunte / ye renewe an olde auncyent custome / that somtime was vsed in this towne / and that is / that ye brynge vp agayne the whyte hattes / and y^• they maye haue a chiefe ruler / to whome they maye drawe / and by him be ruled. These wordes were gladly herde / and than they sayd all with one voyce / we wyll haue it so. lette vs reyse vp these whyte hattes. Than there were made whyte hattes / and gyuen and delyuered / to such as loued better to haue warre thā peace for they had nothynge to lese. And there they chase Johan Lyon to be cheife gouernoure of all the whyte hattes. The whiche offyce he toke on him ryght gladly / to the entent to be reuen∣ged on his enemyes / and to bryng discorde by∣twene the townes of Bruges and Gaunt / and the erle their lord. And so it was ordeyned / that they shuld go out agaynst the dyggers of Bru¦ges / with Johan Lyon their souerayne capy∣tayne / and with hym two hundred with their companyes / of suche as had rather haue hadde warre than peace. and whā Gylbert Mahewe and his brethern sawe the maner of these whyte hattes / they were nat very ioyfull therof. than Stenuart sayde to his bretherne. I sayde to you before / howe this Johan Lyon shulde di∣scomfytte vs at length / it had ben better that ye had beleued me before / and to haue lette me haue slayne him / rather than he shuld be in this

〈…〉〈…〉te that he is nowe in / and is likely to be in. and a〈…〉〈…〉s by the whyte hattes / that he hath bro∣ught vp. Nay nay quod Gylbert / whan I ha∣ue ones spoken with my lorde the erle: I war∣rant you / they shall be layde downe agayne. Lette them alone / to do their entprise agaynst the pyoners of Bruges / for the profyte of this oure towne: for els to say the trouthe / the tow∣ne were but lost.

IOhan Lyon and his company with the white hartes departed fro Gaunt / in wyll to slee all the pyoners / and suche other as kepte thē. These tidynges came to the pyoners howe the gauntoyes came on them with a great pu∣issaunce / wherfore they douted to lese all. And so lafte their warke / and went backe agayne to Bruges / and were neuer after so hardy to dyg there agayne. Whan John̄ Lyon & his compa¦ny sawe nothyng to do: they retourned agayne to Gaunt. But for all that / Johan Lyon lafte nat his offyce / but that the whyte hattes went dayly vp and downe the towne / and John̄ Ly∣on kepte them styll in that estate. And to some he wolde say secretely. Holde you well content / eate and drinke and make mery and be nat a∣frayed of any thyng that ye dispende. Suche shall paye in tyme to come for your scotte / that wyll nat gyue you nowe one peny.