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 Englysshmen sende for them of Gaunt / and how they came to the siege of Ipre: And of the lorde saynt Leger and his company / who were disconfyted by thenglysshmen and howe the bysshop of Liege came to the siege of Ipre. Ca. iiii C .xxxiiii. (Book 434)

WHan̄e Peter de Boyse and Peter de Mirt / and the capitayns of Gaunt. vnder¦stode howe the englysshmen sende for them to come to the sege of Ipre. they were gret¦lye therof reioysed / and or∣dayned incōtynent to go thyder. And so depar∣ted fro Gaunt on a saturday in the mornynge / next after the vias of saynt Peter and s. Poule to the nombre of twentie thousande / and with great caryage and ordynaunce: and so wente through the countre besyde Courtrey to Ipre. And of their comynge the Englysshmen were greatly ioyfull / and made them good chere and sayd. Sirs / surely we shall nowe shortely con∣quere Ipre / and than we wyll wynne Bruges Dan / and Sluse. Thus they made no dout y^t or the ende of Septembre / they shulde cōquere all Flaūders. Thus they glorifyed in their for tunes. The same season there was a capitayne in Ipre / a right sage and a valyant knight / cal∣led Peter de la Syeple. He ordered all the bu∣synesse of the towne. Ther were men of armes with hym / sette there by the duke of Burgoyne and therle of Flaunders: As sir Johan of Bou¦grayne chatelayne of Ipre / sir Baudwyn Del beden his sonne / the lorde Dyssegien / the lorde of Stades / sir Johan Blancharde / sir Johan Meselede sir Hamell / sir Nycholas Belle / the lorde of Harleq̄becke / the lorde of Rollechen / sir John̄ Ahoutre / John̄ la Sieple squier nephue to the capitayne / Fraūces Bell / sir George bell and dyuers other expert menne of armes / who had dayly great payne and wo to defend their towne. And also they were in great feare / leest the comons of the towne shulde make any trea∣tie with them of Gaunt / wherby they shulde be in daunger and be betrayed by them of Ipre.

THe same season there was in the towne of Courtrey a valyant knyght of Hey∣nalte / called sir Johan of Jumont. He was set there at the request of the duke of Burgoyne & of therle of Flaunders. Whan he toke it on him there was neuer a knyght in Flaunders durst enterprise to kepe it: it was so perylous to kepe For whan the frenche kynge went oute of that countrey it was vnrepayred. And fewe folkes abode therin / for all was brent & beaten downe so that it was moche payne to lodge therin any horse. So this sir John̄ Jumont toke on hym to kepe it / and incontynent dyde repayre it. and dyde so thanked by god / that he attaygned no∣thyng therby: but honour and prayse. The du∣ke of Burgoyne to whom the busynesse of flaū∣ders touched right nere / toke great study to bri¦ge well all thing to passe. And so he sende a thre score speares bretons to Courtrey / to thentent to refresshe the towne: and so first these speares came to the duke to Lisle. And on a friday they departed thens and toke the way to Comynes / and the lorde of saynt Leger and yuonet of Cā¦temat were capitayns of the sayd speares. And in to the towne of Comynes the same morning at the breakynge of the day / there was cōe two hundred Englysshe speares to fetche forage a∣brode in the coūtre / to bringe it to their hoost be¦fore Ipre. The said bretons or they were ware fell in their handes and daūger. So ther was a harde and a sore encountre / at the foote of the bridge of Comynes: and valiantly the bretōs dyde beare them selfe. If they had bene rescued with as many mo as they were / by lykelyhode they had scaped withoute domage. Howe be it they were fayne to flye / for they were to fewe mē to endure long. The moost parte of them were slayne and taken in the felde / retournynge to∣wardes Lysle. The lorde of saynt Leger was sore woūded and lefte for deed in the place / they were happy y^t scaped. The chase endured with¦in halfe a myle of Lyle: to the whiche towne the lorde of saynt Leger was caryed / wounded as

he was / and a fyue dayes after he dyed / and so dyde fyue of his squyers. thus fortuned of this aduenture.

THus styll the siege lay at Ipre. The en∣glisshmen and gaūtoys made many as∣saut{is} & they of the towne trymvled for feare. the erle of Flaunders beyng at Lysle feared great¦lye the takyng of Ipre / for he knewe well the en¦glisshmen were right subtell. and cōfort might dayly come to thē fro Calys / by reason of y^e ga∣rysons that they had won in their way. And in¦dede they might haue had great socoure out of Englande and they had lyst / but at the begyn∣nyng they set nothyng by the erle / nor by all the power of Fraūce. Ther were dyuers great lor¦des of Englande about the marches of Douer and Sandwiche / redy apparelled to passe the see to Calys / and to haue ayded their company if they had ben requyred. Ther were redy M. speares and two thousande archers. Sir Wyl¦lyam Beauchampe and sir Wyllm̄ Wyndsore marshals of Englande were soueraygne capi∣tayns / set there by the kyng and by his coūsell. And for that cause the duke of Lācastre lost his vyage that season into Portyngale. For all the realme of Englāde was rather enclyned to the bysshop of Norwiches army thā to the duke of Lācastres. Therle of Flaunders knewe ryght well all this besynesse & insydentes / as they fell in Englāde: and euery thyng that was done at the siege of Ipre / thynkyng to fynde remedy to his power. He thought well y^t the duke of Bur¦goyne wolde moue the frenche kyng and y^e lor∣des of the Realme / to reyse and to assemble to driue the englysshemen out of Flaunders / the whiche they had wonne the same yere. And by∣cause he knewe that the assemblynge of the lor∣des of Fraunce wolde belonge / and specially of thē that shulde serue the kyng out of farre coun¦tries. and that many thinges might fall or they came toguyder. Therfore he aduysed to sende to the bysshoppe of Liege sir Arnolde Desorge who was good Urbanyst. To the entent that he shulde come to Ipre / to treate with the En∣glysshmen to depart fro thens / and to drawe to some other parte: bycause he hadde great mar∣ueyle that they shulde make hym warre. Se∣ynge that he was good Urbanyst / and all the countre of Flaunders: as all the worlde knewe. So moche dyde the erle of Flaunders / that the bysshoppe of Liege came in to Heynaulte and passed Ualencennes / & so came to Doway and than to Lysle and spake with the erle. And ther determyned what he shulde say to thenglysshe∣mē. And so thus the bysshop of Liege cāe to the siege before Ipre / to speke with the bysshoppe of Norwiche and thenglysshmen / and with thē of Gaunte: and they receyued hym right well / and were gladde to here hym speke.