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 body of Philyp dartuell was brought to the kynge and so hā¦ged vp. and howe the towne of Cur∣tray was brent. Cap. C C C C .xxiii. (Book 423)

THus as ye haue herde the flemynges were discon∣fyted on the mount Dorre / their pride abated and Phi¦lyppe Dartuell slayne. and of them of Gaunt / & of their parteners slayne with hym in the felde / to the nombre of nyne thousande / a¦cordynge to the report of the herauldes / and in the chase .xxv. thousande slayne. And the ba∣tayle endured nat past halfe an hour / or it was disconfyted. And after this discōfyture / the whi¦che was right honourable for all christendome / and for all noblenesse. For if these sayd villay∣nes had atchyued their ententes / there had ne∣uer so great crueltie haue ben sene before in all the worlde. For the comonties in dyuers coun∣treis had rebelled / to haue distroyed all noble∣nesse.

What thynke you that they of Parys wolde saye / whan they knewe of this disconfyture? I thynke they were nothynge ioyfull therof. thus whan this batayle was atchyued / at laste they left the chase / and trūpettes sowned the retrait. And so euery man drewe to his lodgynge / and the vowarde lodged forwarde / there as the fle∣mynges had lyen the nyght before. And there toke their ease & were well refresshed / for newe purueyaunce came to them fro Ipre. And so y^• night they made great fyres / with suche paues∣ses and staues as the flemynges had broughte to the felde. And whan the kyng was in his lod gynge / there was pyght vp a pauilyon of cry∣masyn sendall right noble and riche. And there the kynges vncles 〈…〉〈…〉ed hym / and dyuers other lordes of Fraunce came thyder to se hym as reason requyred. Than the kynge sayde to them that were about hym. Sirs / if Philyppe Dartuell be a lyue or dedde / I wolde fayne se hym. they answered / howe they wolde do their payne that he shulde se hym. And thanne there was made a crye throughe the hoost / that who soeuer coude fynde Philyppe Dartuell / shulde haue a hundred frankes for his laboure. Than there were many that went among the deed bo¦dyes / who were nyghe dispoyled of all their clo¦thes. At laste ther was suche serche made / that he was founde and knowen / by a varlette that had serued hym longe tyme before / & he knewe hym very well by dyuers tokens. So he was drawen and brought before the kynges pauy∣lyon. And the kyng behelde hym a longe space and so dyde all thother lordes. And he was tur¦ned and retourned / to se what hurtes or woun∣des he had / but they coude se no wounde wher∣by he shuld dye. But it was iudged that he fell in a lytell dyke / and a great meny of the gaun∣toyse on hym / wherby he was pressed to dethe. And so whā they had well regarded hym / than at last he was taken fro thens and hāged vpon a tre. This was the ende of Philyp Dartuell.

Sir Danyell of Helwyn / who was within Andewarpe with other knyghtes and squyers the whiche had kepte the garyson right honou∣rably / the wednisdaye before the batayle. by∣cause he knewe well that the kyng was in Flaū¦ders / and shulde haue batayle with the flemyn¦ges. Late in the nyght / he caused foure fagot∣tes to be sette a fyre and caste a highe out of the towne / in tokenynge to thē that lay at the sege / howe their siege shulde be reysed. The thurs∣daye / tidynges came to the lorde of Harselles / howe that their company were discōfyted and Philyp Dartuell slayne. And as soone as thes tidynges were knowen they dislodged / & toke their way to Gaunt / and left behynde them the moost parte of their prouysion. But they with in And warpe knewe nothynge therof / tyll the next mornynge. And whan they knewe therof / they issued oute / and brought in great pyllage that they founde hydden there about. The sāe thursday at nyght / tidynges came to Bruges of the disconfyture of the batayle / wherof they were greatly abasshed / and sayde. Lo / we may nowe se our owne distructyon. If the bretons come hyder and entre in to our towne / we shall all be pylled and slayn / for they wyll haue of vs no mercy. than the burgesses and their wyues / toke all their best iowelles and riches / and put it in to shyppes to saue it / to sende it by water in to Hollande and in to zelande. In this case they were four dayes / so that they left no disshe nor cuppe of syluer in all Bruges / but all was put in to shyppes for dout of the bretons. whan Peter de Boyse who laye there sore wounded / with the hurtes. that he toke at the passage of Comynes. Understode the disconfyture of his company / and howe that Philyppe Dartuell was deed and slayne / and howe the people of Bruges were so abasshed. Than he was in no suretie of hym selfe. And so determyned to de∣parte and to go to Gaunte / for he thought that they of Gaunt wolde also be sore abasshed. and so made a lytter to be dressed for hym for he cou¦de nat ryde. ye may knowe well / whan these tidynges came to Gaunte / of the losse of their men and of the dethe of Philyp Dartuell / they were so sore disconforted / that if the frenchmen had come thyder / the daye of the batayle or the next day after / or y^e saturday after / or euer that Peter de Boyse came thyder. they wolde haue suffred them to haue entred in to y^e towne with out any resystence / to haue done what they had lyste: but the frenche men toke no hede therto. They thought right well to be lordes therof at their pleasure. seynge that Philyppe Dartuell was deed / they thought surely: that the people of Gaunte wolde haue yelded them to the kyn∣ges mercy. Howbeit they dyde nat so / for they alone made greatter warre than euer they dyd before. As ye shall herafter in this hystorie.

ON the friday the kyng disloged fro Ros∣beque / bycause of the eyre of the deed bo∣dyes. And he was counsayled to go to Cour∣tray to refresshe hym there. The Hase and dy∣uers

other knightes & squyers / suche as knewe the countrey / lepte on their horses and galow∣ped streyght to Courtray / and entred in to the towne / for there was made no defence agaynst them. The burgesses and their wyues / and all other men / women / and chyldren / entred in to cellars and into the churches to flye fro y^e doth / so that it was pytie to se it. Suche as entred first in to Courtray / had great profyte by pyl∣lage. And so than after there entred the frenche men and bretons / and euery man toke vp their lodgynge as they came. And the kynge entred the firste day of Decembre. Than there was a newe persecucyon made in the towne on the fle¦mynges / suche as were hydden about. For as they were founde out they were slayne / for ther was no man taken to mercy. The frenche men and they of that towne hated eche other mortal lye / bycause of a batayle that was ones fought before Courtray / where as sir Robert Arthors and a great parte of the ••••oure of Fraūce were slayne. It was shewed the kynge / howe y^• there was in Courtray / in the churche of oure Lady a chapell / wherin were fyue hundred gylte spur¦res parteyninge of olde tyme to the lordes and knyghtes of Fraunce / suche as had bene slayne at the sayde batayle of Courtray. The whiche was in the yere of oure lorde god / a thousande thre hundred and two. And they of Courtray ones a yere made therof a great triumphe and solempnyte. Wherfore the kyng sayd. it shulde be derely bought / and so it was after. for at his departynge he sette the towne a fyre / to the en∣tent that it shulde be knowen euer after / howe that the frenche kynge had bene there. And a∣none after that they kynge thus come to Cour∣tray / there came thyder a fyftie speares fro the garyson of And warpe / with sir Danyell of hel∣wyn to se the kynge / who made thē ryght good chere / and so dyde all the lordes. And whanne they had bene there a day / than they retourned to And warpe to their company.