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 great necessyte of vytales / that they of Gaūt endured. and how they were socoured by thē of Liege. Cap. CCC. xCvi. (Book 396)

ALl the season / after the distruction and brinnyng of the towne of Grauntmont / and of y^e reysyng of the siege of Gaunt. by cause of the dis∣pleasure y^e the erle of Flaun∣ders had / for the dethe of his cosyn / the yonge lorde of Dangheyn. slayne by the enbusshment of the gauntoyse (as ye haue herde here before) The knyghtes and squiers / nor good townes / made no warre to thē Gaūt: but by garisons. so y^e all the countre helde with the erle / agaynst Gaunt: except the four mesti∣ers / and so by theym / some vytayle came in to Gaunte. And some vitayle cāe in to Gaunt out of the countie of Alos / but the erle of Flaūders / as sone as he knewe that / he foūde remedy. For incōtynent / he sent to the garyson of Teremōt / cōmaūdyng them to ouerryn and to brenne / all the playne countrey of the countie of Alos: whi¦che was done at his cōmaundment. so that the poore folkes with their beastes / were fayne to flye a way in to Brabant / and in to Haynalte. and the moste parte to go a beggyng. yet there was a countrey parteynyng to the foure mesti∣ers / fro whom ther came euer some ayde or vi∣tayle into Gaunt. Thus all this wynter the erle and they of Flaūders / constrayned so sore them of Gaunt / that they coulde haue nothyng come to them / nother by land nor by water. The erle had so wonne his cosyns / the duke of Brabant and duke Aubert / that their coūtreis were kept close agaynst them of Gaunt. so that nothynge came to thē fro thens / without it were by stelth. and by great aduenture and parell / for thē that dyd it. The sage men sayd: howe it coulde nat longe endure / but y^e they must dye for famyne. for all their garners were voyd / and the people coulde gette no breed for no money. And whan any breed was baken in the towne / they were fayne to kepe it by stronge hande. or els the co∣mon people that dyed for hunger / wolde haue taken it byforce. It was great pyte to se and to here the poore people / bothe men / women / and chyldren. ye / suche as were right notable / fell in this daūger. And euery day encreased the com¦playntes / wepynges / and cryes / made to Phy∣lyp Dartuell / their souerayne capitayne. Who had of them great pytie and compassyon / and made many good orders: wherof he was great¦ly praysed. For he caused the garners of the ab∣beys to be opened and of ryche men / and sette a resonable price of the corne / wherby the towne was greatly conforted. & some corne ther came to them by stelthe / out of Holande and zelande / and tonnes full of flower and bysket breed / the whiche greatly conforted them. for they hadde bene longe discomfyted before / if they had nat bene comforted by these sayd coūtreys. It was defēded in all Brabant by the duke / y^e on payne of dethe / they shulde cary any thyng to Gaunt / but if they of Gaunt wolde ieoparde to fetche a¦ny. thā they myght gyue them or sell to them at their pleasure. And whan y^e tyme of lent came / than were they in great dystresse / for they had no lenton stuffe. Than ther departed out of the towne a .xii. thousande of sowdyers / and suche as had nothyng to lyue by / but were ouercome with famyne. And so they came to the towne of Brusels / the towne closed their gates agaynst them / for they feared them / they knewe nat their thoughtes. Whan̄e they were nere to Brusels / they sende a certayne of their cōpany vnarmed to the gate of the towne / and there they desyred them of the towne / for godsake to haue pytie of them / as to suffer them to haue vitayle for their money. Saynge / howe they dyed for hunger. And sware / howe they thought none yuell too them / nor to the coūtrey about. The good men of Brusels had pytie on thē / and brought them vytayle for their money. & so they passed their tyme about in the countrey / the space of thre we¦kes but they coulde entre in to no good towne. And so they came to Louayn / who had pytie on them / and dyde them moche good and refres∣shyng. Their capitayne and leader was Fraū¦ces Atreman / he made the treaties for thē with the good townes. And in this season while they of Gaunt lay in the marches of Louayne / their capitayne spake with the maysters of the cytie of Lyege / and they had compassyon on them. and so had the bysshoppe of Liege / sir Arnolde Darcle. and promysed them to sende to the erle of Flaunders / and to do so moche / as to make their peace / sayeng vnto thē. A ye good men of Gaunt / if the coūtrey of Lyege were as nere to you as Brabant is / or Haynalte. ye shuld be o∣therwyse comforted by vs / than ye be by them / to maynteyne your fraunches. Howe beit / we shall ayde you as moche as we maye. We wyll that ye that be marchauntes and vse marchan∣dyse

/ may go and come through the coūtrey / as it is reason: to the sōme of fyue or sire hundred cartes / laded with corne / so that the owners of the corne may be truly payed therfore. they wyl suffer our marchaundyse to passe thorowe Bra¦bant they and we are at a peace. And though it be so that Brusels be closed / we knowe it well / it is more for feare / than for any yuell wyll: for they haue of you great cōpassyon. but the duke of Brabant and y^e duches / at the desyre of their cosyn the erle of Flaunders / inclyneth rather to his parte than to yours: as it is reason. for all wayes great lordes wyll holde eche with other. Of these offers and loue that the legeoyse offe∣red to the gauntoyse / they were therof greatly reioysed / and thanked them hertlye / and sayd: howe of suche people & frendes / the gauntoyse had great nede.

FRaunces Atreman and the burgesses of Gaunt / y^t were in the cyte of Liege. toke leue of y^e maysters of Liege / who ordayned cer¦tayne men / to go with them in to the countrey / to gette them chares. and so in two dayes they had a sixe hundred charged with corne / wherof they had moost nede. And so they wente forthe with their caryage / & passed bytwene Louayn and Brusels. And whan̄e Fraunces Atreman came to his company / he shewed them the loue and courtesy / y^e they of Liege had offred them. and offereth yet to do. and moreouer he sayde / howe he wolde go to Brusels to speke with the duches of Brabant / and to desyre her / to fynde some meanes / howe the good towne of Gaunt myght haue peace with the erle of Flaunders. And so he sent vnto her to knowe her pleasure / and she was contente / that he shulde come and speke with her / and so he went to Brusels. The same tyme the duke of Brabant was at Lusen∣burge. And so this Fraūces and thre with him entred in to Brusels / and so came to the duches to her lodgyng at Coleberge. The duches had parte of her counsayle about her. Than Fraun¦ces Atreman kneled downe before her / & sayd. Ryght honorable and dere lady: through your benygne grace. may it please you / to haue pyte and compassion of thē of Gaunt / who can come to no mercy / with the erle of Flaunders: by no meanes. right dere lady / if by your meanes: ye coude cause my lorde therle to discende to some reason. and to haue pytie of these poore men of Gaunt: ye shulde do herin a great almes dede. and madame / they of Liege wolde gladly help therto: to the best of their powers. Than the la¦dy aunswered ryght humbly / and sayd. Howe that the discencyon / bytwene her cosyn the erle and them of Gaunt: displeased her right great∣ly. and howe that longe or that tyme / she wolde gladly there had bene a peace bytwene them. if she could haue founde any meanes howe. But also she sayd. A ye sirs of Gaunt / ye haue so oft tymes displeased hym / & haue holden so mar∣ueylous opyniōs agaynst him. which hath cau¦sed him to susteyne styll his displeasur agaynst you. howbeit for goddessake / and for pytie / I shall enploy me herin / to do the best I can. I shall sende to him. desyring / that he wyll come to Tourney / and there shall be my counsayle. and do you somoche / that ye may haue ther the counsayle of Haynalte and of Liege (as ye say they wyll) ye truely madame {quod} he so they haue promysed vs. well {quod} the duches / and ye shall se that I shall do the best I can. Madame quod they god rewarde you / both bodely and gostly. and so tooke their leaue and departed fro Bru∣sels / and so came to their company & chariotes / who taryed for thē. And than they dyd so moch that they came to their towne of Gaunt.

WHan the tydinges came to Gaūt / that their men were retourned / and hadde brought with them / mo than sixe hun∣dred chares with vytayle / they were ryght ioy∣full. howbeit all y^• they brought / wolde nat suf∣fyse the towne of Gaunt / the space of .xv. dayes yet to them y^• were disconforted / it was a great comforte. And so there went agaynst this cari∣age moche people in maner of processyon / and kneled and helde vp their handes too the mar∣chaūtes that brought it / sayng. A ye good peo∣ple: ye haue done great almes / thus to conforte the meane people of Gaunt. who had nothyng to lyue by / if ye had nat come. Fyrst / laude and prayse be to god / and than to you. And so these chares were conueyed in to the market place / and there discharged. and so this corne was de¦uyded and delyuered by weight{is} to them y^• had moost nede. And so / fyue thousande of them of Gaunt / cōueyed agayne these chares into Bra∣bant out of daūger. All this knewe well the erle of Flaunders / beynge at Bruges. And knewe well they of Gaunt were so sore cōstrayned that they coude nat longe endure. He was nothyng sory of their pouertie. nomore were his coun∣sayle / who wolde gladly haue sene the distruc∣cyon of the towne / as Gylberte Mahewe and his brethern / with other. All this fell in the lent / in the monethe of Marche and Aprill / the yere

of our lorde god / a thousande thre hūdred four∣score & one. The erle of Flaunders was in pur¦pose to come more puissantly / than euer he dyd to lay sieg before Gaunt. and was determyned to entre on the four mestiers / & to brinne all be∣fore hym / bycause they had ayded Gaunt with vytayle. The erle sent his mynde and entent to all the good townes of Flaūders / cōmaundyng them to be redy. for y^e processyon day ones past at Bruges / he sayd: he wolde departe to go and lay siege before Gaunt. and also / he wrote to all knyghtes and squiers that held of him in Hey∣nalt / that they shulde be with hym at Bruges within .viii. dayes after.