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 french kyng could haue no money of the receyuour of Parys. And howe the duke of Aniowe pas∣sed in to Italye / & of his noble chyual¦ry. Cap. CCC. xCi. (Book 391)

LE haue herd here before / howe the parysiens were a greed with the kyng / to pay a certayne sōme of flo¦rens euery weke. This some of flo¦reyns was payed to a certayne re∣ceyuour apoynted by them / but the kyng had it nat / nor it wēt nat out of Parys. And so it hap∣ped / that the kynge had besynes with money to pay his men of warre / suche as he sent in to Ca¦stell. wherto he was boūde / by y^e aliaunces that was made before. And so the kyng sent to Pa∣rys to his receyuour / that he shulde prepare for hym a hundred thousande frankes / for he sayd he wold comforte and ayde kyng John̄ of Ca∣stell. The receyuour answered y^e kyng{is} letters and message right graciously / and sayd: howe he had money mough. howe beit he myght de∣lyuer none without the hole consent of y^e towne of Parys. These wordes pleased nothyng the kyng / but he sayde he wolde puruey right well for remedy: whanne he myght / and so he dyd.

And so for his entente (as at that tyme) he pur∣ueyed hym of other money / by the helpe of his good townes in Pycardy. Thus there was a great discēcion / bytwene the kyng and them of Parys. and so the kyng wolde nat come to Pa¦rys / but he abode at Mieulx / at Senles / or at Compayne / & there a bout: wherof they of Pa¦rys were sore displeased. And the greatest sure tie and meane that they hadde / was the duke of Aniou / who wrote hym selfe kynge of Cecyll / and of Hyerusalem: and had taken on hym the armes therof. This duke most comonly lay at Parys / and there he gate moche good to helpe hym to his viage. He gate toguyder so great a sōme of money (that it was sayd) that he had at Roquemore besyde Auignon / two myllions of florens. He entreated so them of Parys by his fayre langage. and by that he had y^e soueraynte aboue all his bretherne / bycause he was eldest. that he had of them the sōme of a hundred thou∣sande frankes. But the kyng coude gette none of them / nor his vncles of Berrey / nor of Bur∣goyne. and whan the duke of Aniou had made his prouision / in the springyng tyme of the yere he toke his iourney / & so passed the realme / and came to Auignon: wher as he was greatly fea¦sted with the pope / and with the cardynals. and thyder came to hym the barones and rulers / of the good townes of Prouence / & receyued hym for their lorde / and dyd hym homage & feaulte. and dyd put them selfe in to his obeysance. and thyder came to him y^e gentle erle of Sauoy his cosyn: with certayne lordes and knightes / who were also well receyued of the pope and cardy∣nals. And there the duke of Aniou delyuered to the erle of Sauoy a great sōme of money / for thē of Sauoy / who were a great nombre. So than the duke and therle toke leaue of the pope and departed / and toke the way to the dolphyn of Uien / and so in euery good towne they had good chere. And so their men of warre went on before / and at last they entred into Lombardy / the whiche passage was redy open. And so the duke entred in to Lombardy / & in euery towne had great feast and chere / and specially at Myl¦layne. There they were honored beyonde mea¦sure of sir Galeas / and sir Barnabo. and they had of them great riches and iuels / that it were marueyle to recounte it. And in euery place the duke of Aniowe helde astate lyke a kynge / and euer as he went he made money floreyns / and whyte money to pay his menne of warre. And whan they came in to Coustane / and aprochyd Rome / than they kept them selfe nerer togyder than they dyde before. For the romayns / who knewe right well of their comyng / were great∣ly fortifyed agaynst them. and y^e romayns had a capitayn an englisshman / called sir John̄ Ha¦••onde / who hadde longe lyued amonge the ro∣mayns: and knewe all the fronters / and hadde many so wdyours in the felde / atte the wages of the romayns / as almayns / and other nacyons: in the quarell of pope Urban. who was at Ro∣me. He was nothynge afrayde of the comynge of the duke of Aniowe. and whan any spake to hym and shewed hym howe the duke of Aniou: with the erle of Sauoy in his company / was comyng to Rome warde / by lykelyhode to put hym downe fro his siege apostolyke / bycause they were all clementyns. He wolde than aun∣swere / and saye. Christe protege nos. Christ helpe vs. this was all the fray that he had / and all the aunswere that he wolde make.

THus the men of warre / and the duke of Aniou callynge hym selfe kyng of Na∣poles / of Cecyll / and of Hyerusalem / Duke of Puylle / and of Calabre. And the Erle of Sa∣uoy and his company / costed Italy and Cou∣stane / and the marches of Denconnye / and the lande of Patrimone: and entred nat Rome / for the duke of Aniowe wolde make noo warre to Rome / nor to y^e romayns. for he thought to do the viage that he enterprised or he departed out of Fraūce. and in euery place where as he went he kept y^e state of a kynge / and euery man pray∣sed hym. And all men of warre lyked well his paymēt. The same tyme in y^e cytie of Napoles there was his enemye / sir Charles de la Payx / who in lyke wyse wrote hym selfe kyng of Na∣poles / of Cecyll / and of Hyerusalem / Duke of Puyll / and of Calabre. He claymed to be kyng by rightfull enherytaūce / without any heyre in lawfull maryage / after the kynge of Napoles was deed. This Charles helde the gyft that the quene had made to the pope / but in vayne: and so shewed after his opinyon / by two reasōs. the one was / he sustayned and sayd. and the neapo¦litans ayded hym / in sustaynynge of the same. and the cesilyens in lykewise (they sayd) howe the quene of Napoles / coude nat gyue away a¦nother mannes herytage. and though her gyft hadde bene good / and so alowed in the court of Rome / yet she dyd nat well. for she helde with pope Urbane and nat with Clemēt. these were the questions and the debates / that sir Charles de la Payx layde for him selfe / and in y^e begyn∣nyng he wrought wysely. For he sore fortifyed

and furnysshed the castell of Leufe / the whiche is the moost strongest castell of the worlde. for it is set by enchaūtment in the see / and it is nat passyble to be wone / but by nygromancy or by the art of y^e deuyll. he vitailed it for thre or four yere / & had with hym a certayne men of warre and so kept that place: for he knewe well they of Napoles wold nat forsake him though he lost Puyll & Calabre for .ii. or thre yere. he thought to recouer it agayne as lyghtly. for he ymagy∣ned in his mynd: that the duke of Aniou wolde entertayne suche a nombre of men of warre as he hadde brought with hym / the whiche shulde nat long lye in his puyssaunce so to do / outher for faulte of vytayle: or for money. Wherby he thought they shulde be constrayned to departe within a two or thre yere. And than he ymagi∣ned / that whan they were wery and out of good rule / than he wolde fyght with them at his ad∣uauntage. These thoughtes and ymagynaci∣ons hadd Charles de la Payx / wherof he sawe some take effect: or the terme passed that he pre¦sired. For truly / there was no prince christned: without it were the frenche kyng / or the kynge of Englande. that coude kepe four yere to gy∣der suche a nombre of men of warr / out of their owne countreys / as y^e duke of Aniou had with hym. He brought ouer the mountaynes a .xxx. thousande fyghtinge men / and to begyn suche an enterprise / behoueth in y^e beginnynge wyse∣ly to consyder and ymagin.

wHan the duke of Aniou and his com∣pany / entred in to Puylland in to Ca¦labre / the countrey incontynent tour¦ned to them. For the people shewed / howe they desyred no other thyng / nor to haue none other lorde / but the duke of Aniou. And so thus with in a shorte tyme / all the lordes / cyties / and tow∣nes in that coūtrey / were vnder his obeysance. Suche as had ben in those coūtreyes / the whi∣che is one of the greatest marches of the world. sayde and affyrmed: howe y^t for bycause of the great plenty & welthe that haboundeth in those parties / the people are all ydell / and wyll do no laboure. And whan these men of warre were in this countrey / the whiche they founde so reple∣nysshed with all welth / wherof they were right glade. And than the duke of Aniou / the erle of Sauoy / the erle of Uandon / & all the chyualry of Fraunce / of Bretayn / and of Sauoy passed forthe and came in to the marches of Napoles. They of Napoles / for all y^e feare that they had of these men of warre / they wolde neuer close gate of their towne / but kept thē styll open. for they thought well / that y^e duke of Aniou shulde neuer en•• in to their towne / with their displea∣sure. for if he were within the towne with all the people that he had / they thought he shulde but lese hym selfe and all his / and they lyst. for their houses were nat easy to be wonne / for they had plankes and boordes: to take away whan they lyst. and vnderneth is the see / so that none dare enterprise there too fyght. Than there was an enchaunter / a connynge man in nygromancy / in the marches of Napoles / and so he came to the duke of Aniou / and sayd. Sir / if ye wyll / I shall rendre to you the castell of Leufe / and all tho that be within / at your pleasure. howe may that be {quod} the duke. Sir quod he I shall shewe you. I shall by enchaūtment / make the ayre so thycke / that they within / shall thinke that there is a great bridge on the see / for ten men to go a front. And whan they within the castell se this bridge / they wyll be so afrayde / that they shall yelde them to your mercy. for they wyll thanne dout / if they be assayled / that they shulde be ta∣ken perforce. The duke had great marueyle of his wordes / and called to hym the erle of Uan∣don / and the erle of Genesue / sir John̄ and sir Peter of Benill / sir Moris of Maum & other. and shewed theym what this enchauntour had said / wherfore they had great marueyle. Than the duke sayd. Fayre mayster: on this bridge y^e ye speke of / may our people assuredly go ther∣on to the castell / to assayle it. Sir quod the en∣chauntour / I dare nat assure you that. for if a∣ny that passeth on the bridge / make the signe of the crosse on hym / all shall go to noughte / and they that be on the bridge shall fall in to the see. Than the duke began to laugh / and a certayne of yong knyghtes that were there present sayd / sir. For godsake / let the mayster assay his con∣nyng / we shall leue makyng of any signe of the crosse on vs as for that tyme / and a more redyer way can we nat gette our enemyes. Well {quod} the duke / I shall take aduise in this mater. Therle of Sauoy was nat there present / but he came to the duke sone after.