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 Chanoyne Robersarde and his company retourned to their garyson. And of the maryage of the kynge of Englande / to the doughter of the kynge of Rhomayns. Cap. CCC lxxxix. (Book 389)

WHan these knight{is} of En¦gland had cōquered y^e castell of Sigheir they were right ioyfull / and so they repayred it and lefte therin .xl. of their company / and dyd furnyshe it with artillary & other pur¦ueyaunces / and sette there a good capitayne to kepe it. Than they counsayled toguyder / what was best for thē to do. And so they determyned to go agayne to their first lodgynges: and the englysshmen and gascoyns de{per}ted in thre rou∣tes. And behynde all to kepe y^e felde / abode the Chanoyne Robersarde / and with hym certayn englysshmen / gascoyns / and almayns. He was about a threscore speares and as many archers and so they rode all that day / & the seconde day in the mornyng all hole toguyder. and they en∣tred in to a great towne of Portyngale / called Huence / and the castell of Concrelet / was right without a wode syde. In the which wode more nere to Concrelet than to Huence / was the mai¦ster of saynt James in a busshmēt / with a four hundred men of armes. And as soone as the en¦glysshmen parceyued them / they drewe all togi¦der and made no coūtenance of feare / but rode forthe a good pase. And the spaynierdes for all their great nombre made no semblant to breke their busshement / but helde them selfe styll and close. for they beleued that the englisshmen had nere hande their great batayle / & therfore they durst nat assayle them. So thus they departed eche fro other / without any more doynge. The spaynierdes retourned the same night to Este∣ryes / and the Chanoyne Robersarde to Uesy∣ouse. And there he shewed his company / howe they had sene the spagynierdes / bytwene Con∣crelet and Huence / and sayd. If we had bene all toguyder / we wolde haue fought with thē / and so they were sorie / that they had nat bene all to∣guyder. And whan these tidynges came to the knowledge of the kyng of Portingale / he made semblant that he was dyspleased / bycause they rode forthe without his cōmaundement or ordi¦naunce. Thus the englysshmen and gascoyns

lay styll in their garysons all that wynter / with¦out any thynge doyng / worthy to be made mē∣cyon of / the whiche greatly anoyed thē. There lyeng styll / was nat by their wylles. ¶ In this meane tyme / Johan / kyng of Castyle: sende to the frenche kynge and to his vncles for socour. Shewyng them / howe the erle of Cambridge was arryued in Portyngale. And how y^e voice ranne through the realmes of Castyle and Por¦tyngale. Howe that the kyng of Englande / the duke of Lancastre and his brother / puissantlye acompanyed: shulde come in to Portyngale / to the erle of Cambridges ayde / in the next somer. Wherfore / he desyred the frenche kynge / accor∣dynge to suche alyaunces and confederacions / as the realme of Fraūce & the realme of Spay∣gne hath toguyder / and by reason of good loue and amyte. That they wolde sende some men of warre to hym the next somer / to the entent to resyst his enemyes. Than the french kyng and his counsayle / consented well therto. For they sawe well / howe the kyng of Spayne / desyred nothyng but reason. Than it was ordayned in Fraunce / to gyue all maner of men of warre ly∣cence to go thyder. And the kyng delyuered thē their first prest money. So sir Olyuer of Cles∣quy / brother to sir Bertram of Clesquy consta∣ble of Fraunce / was ordayned to take his voy∣age / in the begynnyng of the springyng tyme. And so dyde knight{is} and squyers: of Bretayne of Fraunce / of Beause / of Picardy / of Aniowe of Berrey / of Bloyse / and of Mayne. And so they passed by companyes to haue y^e more ease / and their passage was opyn throughe y^e realme of Aragon / and they founde euery thyng redy / and their wages payed. but they payed nat for euery thyng they toke / whan they were abrode in the countrey / whiche was great hurte to the poore commons.

yE haue herde here before / howe kyng Richarde of Englande / the space of a yere / hadde ben in treatie with kynge Charles of Almayne. Who wrote hym selfe the tytell of the kyng of Rhomayns / to haue his su¦ster / the lady Anne in maryage. And howe sir Symon Burle had sore traueyled in that ma∣ter. And howe the duke of Tasson in Almayne had ben in Englande / for to confyrme that ma∣ryage. And the mater was so cōcluded / that the kynge of Rhomayns sende his suster in to En∣glande / and the duke of Tasson with her. And a great company of knightes / ladyes / and da∣mosels / in royall astate / as it a{per}teyned to suche a lady. And so she came first in to Brabante / to the towne of Bruesels. And there the duches of Brabant receyued her and all her company / in goodly maner. The duke of Brabant was her vncle / for she was doughter to them{per}our Char¦les. And so thus y^e lady Anne of Behayne helde her at Brusels with her vncle and aunte / more than the space of a moneth. She durste nat go thens. I shall tell you why. ¶ It was shewed her / that ther was on the see a .xii. vessels of nor mayns / bytwene Caleys and Hollande / & they robbed and pilled on y^e see / they cared nat who. And so they kepte he boundes of the see / about Flaunders and zelande / abyding the comynge of this yonge lady. For the french kyng wolde gladly haue broken that maryage / for he great¦lye douted the alyaunce / bytwene Englande & Almayne. Howe be it alwayes it is sayd / that it is nat honorable to take ladyes in warre. In co¦loryng the warr bitwene lordes / to make their warr the fayrer. The prince of Wales / father to kyng Richarde of Englande. It was sayd / he consented to the takyng of the lady of Burbone mother to the french quene. She was taken by the prices seruaūtes / in the castell of Belperch. and so brought in to Guyen / and raunsomed. Wherfore the frēchmen thought / if they myght take the kyng of Englandes wyfe / in reuēgyng therof / they shulde do no wronge. So for feare and doute therof / this lady lay styll at Brusels / the space of a moneth. Than the duke of Bra∣bant sende his counsayle into Fraunce / as the lorde of Rousselās / and the lorde of Bousque∣her: to shewe the kynge & his vncles / they were nephewes to the duke of Brabant: as chyldren of his suster. These lordes of Brabant spedde so well with the frenche kyng and his coūsayle / that they had a sure saue conduct / for the lady to passe outher by lande or by see. Wheder it plea∣sed her / throughe the realme of Fraunce / or by the frōters therof to Calais. And the normains that were on the see / were countermaunded a∣gayne. And so the frenche kyng and his vncles wrote to the Duke of Brabant / that they dyde this for his sake all onely / and for none other. This pleased moche the duke of Brabant & the duchesse / and all suche as wolde passe the see. So than they departed fro Brusels / and the la¦dy toke her leaue of the duke her vncle / and of y^e duchesse her aunt. And of the ladyes and damo¦sels of the countrey / suche as had helde her com¦pany. And so the duke sende with her / a hūdred speares to conuey her to Gaunte / and there she rested her a day. And there the gauntoyse dyde

her gret honour. and fro thens she went to Bru¦ges / & there the erle of Flaunders receyued her ryght honourably / & there she rested her a thre dayes. And than she rode forth & came to Gra∣uelyng / where as was redy / the erle of Salys∣bury / and the erle of Dymester with a fyue hū∣dred speres: and as many archers / and so they brought her to Calays. And the brabansies re∣tourned / as soone as they had delyuered her to the barones of Englande.

THis yonge lady taryed nat longe at Ca¦layes / but that she had wynde at wyll. and so than she entred in to her shyppe on a fri∣day in the mornynge / and all her company and horses in other shyppes. And the same day she aryued at Douer / and ther she rested her two dayes: & the thirde day she rode to saynt Tho∣mas of Caunterbury. And there she founde the erle of Buckynghā / who receyued her honou∣rably. and so long this lady rode forthe that she came to London / where as she was honoura∣bly receyued of the burgesses / ladyes / & damo∣sels of the countrey and cytie. And so the kyng of Englande wedded her / in the chapell of his palays of Westmynster / the .xx. day of Christ∣mas: at which there was great feast & tryūphe holden. And euer syth she de{per}ted first out of Al¦mayne / the gentle and noble knight sir Robert of Namur left her nat / tyll she was maryed to the kyng of Englande. Wherof he hadde great thanke / bothe of the kyng of Englande / and of the kyng of Almayne. And so the kyng of En∣gland after his maryage / brought y^e quene his wyfe to the castell of Wyndsore / and there kept a great house. And so there they were ioyously togyder. And my lady princes the kynges mo∣ther / abode styll with y^e quene. And also y^e same tyme there was in the court with the quene / the duches of Bretayne suster to kyng Rycharde. for Lois her husband duke of Bretayne / coude nat haue her delyuered out of Englāde for the kyng of Englande nor his counsayle / wolde in no wyse cōsent to sende her in to Bretayne / by∣cause her husbande y^e duke was become french. For the lordes and knightes in England / sayd the same tyme. That the duke of Bretayne ac∣quyted hymselfe fasly / to the erle of Buckyng∣ham and to our men / nowe at this last vyage y^• they made in Frāce. And for all he hath sent for his wyfe / yet wyll nat we sende her to hym. but wyll rather send thyder his .ii. enemies / John̄ and Guy of Bretayne. Who were chyldrene to saynt Charles of Breten / who hath more right to the herytage of Bretayne than he hath. for he is duke but by reason of our puyssaunce & ayde and be semyng: he cōsydreth but yuell / y^e good∣nes y^• we haue done to hym. wherfore we must in lykewise / shewe hym the vylany that he doth to vs. Trewe it was / these two lord{is} John̄ and Guy of Bretayne / children to saynt Charles of Bloyse were prisoners in Englande. and kept in a stronge castell / in the kepynge of sir Peter Dambreticourt. And they were desyred in cur¦tes maner / by the kyng of Englande & his coun¦sayle / that they shulde holde Bretayne by fayth and homage of the kynge of Englande. And if they wolde thus do / than the kyng of England promysed / to recouer their right in Bretayne. and John̄ to haue to his wife / y^e lady Phylippe of Lancastre wydowe. But they answered: in no wyse they wolde do so / nor for sake to be frē∣che to dye in prison. So thus y^e materhanged. And after the kynge of Englande knewe ones fermly their myndes / they were no more desy∣red therto.