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 kyng of Englandes coū¦sayle mocked the flemynges / and of the prisoners that were exchaunged. Cap. CCCC .viii. (Book 408)

WHan these gauntoyse were come to London / the kynge & his counsayle was certifyed therof. & so he sent to them / to knowe what they wold haue. and so they came all in a company to the palays of Westmynster and there they founde redy the duke of Lanca∣stre / the erle of Buckyngham / therle of Salis∣bury / and the moost parte of the kynges coun¦sayle. Howe be it / the kynge was nat present at their first comynge. These men of Flaunders and of Gaunte / enclyned them to the lordes of Englande. and than the clerke that was chosen bysshop of Gaūt / spake for them all / and sayde. My lordes / we become hyder / and sent fro the towne of Gaunt / & fro the hole countre of flaun¦ders. To haue counsayle / confort / and ayde of the kyng of Englāde. Upon certayne artycles and good reasons / of the aūcyent alyaūces / by¦twene Englande and Flaūders. They desyre nowe to renewe y^• same. for it is nowe nedefull to the coūtre of Flaūders / the which is as now without a lorde. The good townes and the coū¦tre / hath as nowe but a gouernour / the whiche is a man called Philyp Dartuell. who recom∣maundeth hym principally to the kyng / and to you all y^• be of his counsayle. & he desyreth you to take in gre / this offre that we shall make to you. And that is / whan soeuer it shall please y^• kynge of Englande / to arryue in Flaunders / he shall fynde the countre opyn to receyue him / And there to rest and refresshe hym / as longe as it shall please hym. And also / he shall haue at his commaundement / of the countre of flaū¦ders / a hundred thousande men armed redy to do hym seruyce. Moreouer my lordes / the coū∣tre of Flaunders / maketh one request / and that is this. To haue agayne / two hundred thou∣sande crownes / that somtyme Jakes Dartuell and the good townes of Flaūders / lent to king Edwarde of good memorie. At the sege of tur∣ney / and at the siege of Calais. For it is the en¦tencyon of the good townes of Flaūders / that or this alyaūce passe any farther / to be first re∣payed of this sayd som. And that done / than y^• king of England & all his / may well say / y^• they & the flemyng{is} are frendes togyder. and y^• they haue fre entre into Flaunders / to go where as

it shall please them. And whan the lordes of En¦glande herde those wordes and request / they be¦gan eche of thē to regarde other: and some smy¦led. Than the duke of Lācastre sayd. Fayre lor¦des of Flaūders / your wordes and demaunde requyreth to haue coūsayle. Go your wayes to London to your logynges / and the kyng shall take aduyse on your requestes: and shall so an¦swere you / that ye ought to be contente. The gauntoyse answered and sayd. God graunt it. and so they departed fro the counsayle / and the lordes abode styll to guyder: & began to laughe amonge them selfe / and sayd. Haue ye nat sene these fleminges / and herde their requestes that they make. They demande to be conforted / & say / howe they haue nede therof. and yet for all that / they demaunde to haue our money. It is no resonable request / that we shulde both ayde and pay. So thus they reputed the flemynges right proude and presumptuous ▪ to demaūde to haue agayne / two hundred thousande crow∣nes: of so olde dette (as they sayd) of a .xl. yere paste. There was neuer a better poynt for the frenche kyng / if he wyll / than to come into flaū¦ders. For if the flemynges had nat as than / de∣maunded the foresayd somme of crownes / but haue desyred the kyng of his confort and ayde. The kyng wolde haue gone or sent into Flaū∣ders / so puissauntlye: to haue bydden batayle (with the ayde of the flemynges) to any prince of the worlde. But it wente otherwyse: as ye shall herafter in the storie.

UIdynges came into Fraunce to the coū¦sayle there. Nowe that Philyp Dart∣well (whose courage was all englysshe) and y^• countre of Flaunders / had sent in to Englande certayne of their men / to make aly aūces with thenglysshmen. And the voyce ran / and the co∣mon renome: that the kyng of Englande with a great puissaūce / shulde come in that season & aryue in Flaūders ▪ and to lye in Gaunt. these tidinges were lightly to be beleued / howe that the flemynges wolde fortify them selfe ▪ in some maner awyse. Than it was deuysed / y^• the mes¦sanger that was come fro Philyppe Dartuell / whōe they helde in prison ▪ shulde be delyuered. And to say the trouthe / ther was no cause why to retayne hym. so he was delyuered / & sent to thost before And warpe. The same season they of Bruge▪ had taken certayn burgesses of tur¦ney / and kept thē in prison. The flemynges she wed well / howe they had as lyue haue warre w^t Fraūce as peace. And whan they of Tourney / sawe that they dyde so moche ▪ than they atrap∣ped / and toke certayne burgesses of Courtrey and so kept them in prison in Tourney. Thus ther engendred hatred dayly / bytwene Fraūce and Flaūders. howbeit the lordes of Tourney wolde nat that their dede / shulde be a tytell of warr to the flemynges / who were their neigh∣bours / without it were by the cōmaūdement of the frenche kyng. The whiche cōmaundement they had nat as than. Therefore they deuysed to sende two of their burgesses to y^• flemynges / & to haue in eschange / prisoners for prisoners. so ther was chosen to go on this message / Johan Bone and John̄ Pycart. And so they wente to thoost before And warpe / and spake with Phi∣lyp dartuell. Who for the honour of the cytie of Tourney / and nat for loue of the frenche kyng (as he sayd) welcomed: and receyued thē amy∣ably. For Philyp sayd: howe the kyng had nat deserued their loue. Whan that their messāger sent to hym for a good entent / shulde be put in prison. sir {quod} the two burgesses. ye haue agayn your messāger. That is true {quod} Philyp / but y^• was more for feare than for loue. But sirs / tell me wherefore ye become to vs. sir {quod} the burges¦ses / it is to haue agayne our men of the cytie of Tourney / that be in prison at Bruges. A sirs {quod} Philyp / if they kepe them / in lyke wise / so do ye kepe of our men of Cortrey. but sirs / ye shall nat lese your comyng. Rendre agayne ours / & we shall rendre yours. sir {quod} they / ye speke well and so shall it be done. So ther they were acor¦ded to make this eschange. and so Philyp dart well wrote to Peter de Boyse and to Peter de Myrt / beyng at Bruges: that they shulde dely¦uer the prisoners of Tourney / & to receyue for them the prisoners of Courtrey. And so whan they de{per}ted / Philyp Dartuell sayd to thē. sirs / take hede what I say / I wyll nat betray you. ye be of the towne of Turney / the which is vnder the frenche kyng / with whom we wyll haue no treatie / vntyll the season y^• Teremonde & And∣warpe be opyned to vs. Therfore sirs / come no more to vs / for they that do / shall nat go home a¦gayne. Therfore cōstrayne your people & mar∣chaunt{is} / nother to come nor go in to Flaūders. & they do on their ieo{per}dy. For we loke for none other thyng / but that the frenche kyng wyll cōe and make vs warre. The burgesses of Tour∣ney vnderstode well those word{is} / & so de{per}ted & returned to Turner: & shewed as ye haue herd before. Than ther was made a cōmaūdemēt / y^• non shulde go a marchandise in to flaūders. on payne / to be in the indygnacyon of the frenche

kyng. and so the prisoners were delyuered but they of Tourney durst nat marchaūdyse with them of Flaūders. But whan they wolde haue any marchaūdyse of Flāders: than they wolde go to Ualencennes. For they of Heynaulte / of Holande / of zelande / of Brabant / and of Liege might go and come / and make their marchaū∣dyse through all Flaunders. ¶ Thus the sege laye styll before Andwarpe. Philyp Dartuell and they of Gaunt / lay on the mount of Ande∣warpe / on the syde towarde Heynalte. & there were his engyns / and great bombardes & gon¦nes: The whiche made suche noyse whan they were losed / that the noyse therof ▪ might well be herde sixe leages of. and next were lodged they of Bruges / beyonde the ryuer of Lescalt. And next them: they of Ipre / of Courtrey / of Pro∣prigne / of Cassell / and of the franke of Bruges so that they vyroned rounde aboute the towne. Thus the towne was enuyroned. And the flē∣mynges thought by this siege / to famyne them within. And somtyme they within wolde yssue out / & somtyme wan and somtyme lost / as auē∣ture falleth often tymes in suche cases. but ther was none assaut made. for Philyppe dartuell wolde nat folisshely aduenture his men / for he sayd: he wolde haue them without any assaut. Seyng / howe they coude haue no conforte fro any parte. A byrde coude scant haue flyen in to the towne / but that some of the host shulde haue sene her. It was so set rounde about.