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.

¶ Letters sent to Philyp dartuell fro the cōmyssaries of the frenche kyng. And howe the messangers that bare the letters / were taken and set in pri∣sone. Cap. CCCC .ix. (Book 409)

NOwe let vs retourne to the french kyng. His vn∣cles & the coūsayle of Frāce detmyned to sende to Tur∣ney / certayne prelates and knyghtes of the realme / to treate with the flemynges / and to knowe more playnly their entētes. So ther were apoynted to go to Tourney / sir My¦les of Ormayns bysshop of Beauuoys / the bysshop of Anxere / the bysshop of Lan / sir Guy of Honcourt / and sir Trystram de boyse. And so all these came to Tourney / as cōmyssaries fro the frenche kynge. And ther was Johan Bone enfant and John̄ Pycart / who were newly cōe thyder / fro the sege before Andwarpe. and they shewed to these cōmyssaries and lord{is} of Frāce howe that Philyppe Dartuell / whan they toke their leaue of hym / sayd to them. sirs / we wyll neuer harken to any treatie / tyll And warp and Teremonde be to vs opyned. Well {quod} these lor∣des / Philyp Dartuellis of great pride. how be¦it / yet he is nat mayster of all the good townes in Flaunders. Therfore / let vs sende & write to Gaunte / to Bruges / and to Ipre: & let vs sende to euery towne a letter & a messanger. We must haue some maner of entre of comunycacion / yf we purpose to begyn. Than they wrote thre let¦ters to the thre pricipall townes of Flaūders / & in euery lr̄e / they began euer with Philyp dart well the cōtent of the sayd letts here foloweth.

TO Philyppe Dartuell and to his cōpa∣nyes / and to the good people of the thre townes of Flaūders / and to the franke of Bru∣ges. Please it you to knowe / that the frēch king hath sent vs into these parties. In hope y^• good peace and concorde may be made / bytwene the noble prince therle of Flaūders his cosyn / & the comors of the countre of Flaūders. For the re∣nome and brute rynncth / Howe y^• ye go about / to seke alyaūce with y^• kyng of Englande. Whi¦che thyng is agaynst reason / & to the preiudice of the realme of Fraūce / & of the crowne royall the which the kyng may in no wyse suffre. wher∣fore we desyre you / in y^• name of the frēch kyng / that ye wyll gyue vs sauecōduct. To thētent y^• we may go and cōe / and sende in & out to make the peace. And to bring the mater to suche a cō∣clusyon / that the kyng may be cōtent. Prayeng you / to write to vs an answere of your ententes in this behalfe. And thus oure lorde kepe you. Written at Tourney / the .xvi. day of Octobre.

Whan these thre letters cōteyning one thing were writen and sealed / they were delyuered to thre men. And it was sayde to them. ss / ye shall go to Gaūt / ye to Bruges / and ye to Ipre. And bring vs agayne an answere. they answered it shulde be done / & so they de{per}ted euery man his way. And whan the one of thē aryued at Gaūt / Philyp dartuell was ther the same tyme / or els they of Gaūt / wolde nat haue opyned the letter without hym. & so he opyned y^• letter & reed it / & whan he had done he laughed therat. & so dep∣ted fro Gaūt / & returned to the sege before And¦warp & bare the lr̄e with hym / but the messāger

abode styll in prisone in Gaunte. And whan he was come to the siege / he called to him the lorde of Harsels / & other of his cōpanyons: and reed to them the letter / sende fro the frenche kynges commyssaries: and sayd. Sirs / me thynke the frenchmen do but tryfell with me / and with the countre of Flaūders. I sayd or this to the bur∣gesses of Turney / whan they were here before me. That I wolde here no tidyng{is} out of Fraū¦ce / nor entende no no treatie: W^tout And warpe and Teremonde were yelden to vs. and ther∣with came tydinges to them fro Bruges / and fro I pre / howe they had receyued lyke letters / and the messengers retayned and set in prison. that is well sayde 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Philyp / and than he sayd: howe he wolde write agayne to the commyssa∣ries of Fraūce / and so he dyd. He wrote on the su{per}scripcyon. To the ryght noble and discrete lordes / cōmyssaries of Fraunce / the content of whiche letter foloweth.

RIght dere and puissaunt lordes / to your right noble discressyons. please it you to knowe / that we haue receyued right amiably / the letters to vs sent▪ fro y^• ryght excellent Char¦les of Fraūce. Makyng mencyon / how that ye ryght noble lordes ar come to Tournay / for to treat for peace and acord in his name. bytwene vs / and the ryght hygh prince the erle of Flaun¦ders / and his sayd countrey. And howe that ye haue / by the sayd kyng and his counsayle: suffy¦cyent puyssance and authorite / to conclude and acomplyssh. as they of Tourney our right dere and good frēdes beare wytnes / by their letters patētes: by vs sene and reed. And bycause that the kynge writeth: that it is ryght displesaunt to hym / that the discorde hath so long endured. Wherof we haue great marueyle / howe it may be. for in tyme past: whan Gaunt was assysed / And warpe was of lytle valur. And also / whan that we by the comon▪ coūsayle of the thre good townes of Flaūders / wrote vnto him as to our souerayne lorde / to haue made peace & accorde. and as than / it pleased him nat so to do / the whi¦che nowe semeth to vs he wolde do. and also in lyke maner: we haue receyued letters patentes cōteyning / howe that two tymes ye haue writ∣ten to vs / and that ye haue come two tymes for the same ententes. But acordyng to y^• answere we haue sent you or this / that we haue no wyll nor entēt to harken to any treaty of peace. with out the townes and fortresses / whiche be closed agaynst the countrey of Flaunders / and specy∣ally agaynst the towne of Gaūt. Wherof we be regard / be opyned at our wyll / and at the com∣maūdement of the good towne of Gaunt. And W^tout this be first done / we can make no treatie as ye desyre. For we thynke the king dothe and may do assemble great puyssaunce / for y^• ayde of his cosyn in the colour of this treatie. For we se well / y^• fals hed may be wrought in the meane tyme / as there hath ben done or this. Wherfore our entencyon is / to be sure and redy at our de∣fence. Our hoost shall be redy apparelled to de∣fende our enemyes: for we hope by the ayde of god / to haue y^• vyctorie / as we haue had or this tyme. Moreouer / we gyue you knowledge: that the brute is. Howe ye thynke / that we of Flaun¦ders treate / to haue alyaunce with the kynge of Englande: and to haue socoure of hym. Wher∣in ye saye / we do agaynst right / bycause we be subiectes to the crowne of Fraunce. And howe that the kynge there / is our soueraygne lorde. Wherfore ye say / we ought to aquyte vs truely agaynst hym. And so we haue done or this / for in tyme past / we haue sende to hym our letters / as to our soueraygne lorde / requyring hym to haue made our peace: whervnto he hath gyuen vs none answere / but our messāger taken and sette in prisone. The whiche we thynke a great blame in suche a lorde. And moreouer / yet we repute in hym more blame / in that we wrote to hym / as to our souerayne lorde: and he nat wyl¦lynge to sende vs an aunswere▪ And bycause it pleaseth hym nat so to do. We thought and yet thynke / to seke for the profyte of the countrey of Flaūders / by some other meanes / and to suche as wyll helpe vs. Howe beit / as yet there is no∣thynge: but that the kyng may helpe all the ma¦ter / so that the forteresses be opyned to vs. And therfore / we defended them of Tourney / whan they were laste with vs in oure hoost / that they shulde nomore come in suche maner to vs / with any maner of letters or credēce by mouth / with¦out sauecōduct. And yet for all that / they be cōe to Bruges & to Gaunt with other letters. wher¦fore we haue taken the messangers / in gyueng ensample to other / to bringe any suche letters. For we thynke ye study some treason / and spe∣cially agaynst me Philyppe Dartuell / fro the whiche god defende me. Wherfore / we wyll ye knowe / that your traueyle is for nought / with∣out so be the fortresses be opyned to vs: the whi¦che we trust by the ayde of god shortely shalbe. And thus God kepe you / written before Ande∣warpe / the .xx. day of Octobre. The yere of our lorde god / a thousande thre hundred .lxii. By Philyp Dartuell regarde of Flaunders.

Whan Philyppe Dartuell had thus writen his letter / by the aduyce of his counsayle / & had well examyned it / and so sealed it: than he be∣thought hym who shulde beare it. & so demaun¦ded / if there were no prisoner taken before And¦warpe. and it was shewed him / how there was a varlet of Arthoyse / taken the day before at a scrimysshe. than he cōmaunded / that he shulde be brought before hym / and so he was. Than Philyppe sayde / thou art my prisoner / I may make the to dye and I wyll. howbeit / syth thou art here / thou shalte be delyuered / vpon coue∣naunt on thy faythe. y^• thou shalt delyuer suche letters as I shall take the: to the french kynges counsayle / nowe being at Tourney. And whan the varlet harde spekyng of his delyueraunce / he was neuer so ioyouse / for he went verely to haue dyed / and sayd. sir: I swere to you by my faithe / that I shall beare your letter / whyder it shall please you / & if it be into hell. Than Phy∣lyp began to laughe. and sayd: thou sayest well and so Philyppe gaue hym two crownes / and delyuered hym the letter / and caused hym to be conueyed out of the hoost / and set in the way to Turney. And whan he cāe to Turney he went to the lodgynge of the bysshoppe of Laon / and so he came before the bysshop / and dyd his mes∣sage / fro poynt to poynt. and ther was demaū¦ded of hym tydinges / of the hoost before And∣warpe / and he shewed as moche as he knewe / and so dyned there. And after dyner y^• bysshop departed to his company / and wolde nat open the letter / tyll they were present. And whan the thre bysshoppes were all togyder / they opyned the letter / and redde it at good leyser / and made due examynacion therof. Than they spake to¦gyder / and sayde: howe that Philyp Dartuell by that he shewed / was full of pride & presump∣cion. and sayd / howe that he loued but lytle the maieste royall of Fraūce. And so toke coūsayle togyder / and sayd: howe that the Prouost and coūsayle of the towne of Turney. knewe right well / howe they had sent letters to Philyp Dar¦tuell / & to the other townes of Flaunders. wher¦fore they sayd: it shulde be well done / that they shuld here the answere that Philyp had made. And so sent for the prouost / and sowned the co∣mon bell / and all the counsayle drewe togyder. and than before thē all the letter was red two or thre dtymes. The wyse men ha great marueyle of the presūptuous wordes y^• were therin writ∣ten. & so it was determyned that a copy of the let¦ter shulde remayne styll in Turney. & therwith the coūsayle de{per}ted / euery man to his logyng.

PHilyp Dartuell / beyng styll in the hoost before And warpe. repēted him nothyng of that he had writen so roughly to the comyssa¦ryes of Fraūce. but he repented hym / in that he had written so amiable / to the {pro}uost & thē of tur¦ney. she wyng them honour / by way of dissymu¦lacion. but he dyd it / bicause he wold nat beare all the blame / nor norisshe all the hate y^• myght fall therby. So thus Philyppe wrote to them in maner as foloweth. And the superscripcyon was. To y^• right honorable and sage / our dere frendes / the prouost and cytezins of Tourney.