Here begynneth the thirde and fourthe boke of sir Iohn̄ Froissart of the cronycles of Englande, Fraunce, Spaygne, Portyngale, Scotlande, Bretayne, Flaunders, and other places adioynyng, translated out of Frenche in to englysshe by Iohan Bourchier knyght lorde Berners, deputie generall of ye kynges towne of Calais and marchesse of the same, at the co[m]maundement of our most highe redouted souerayne lorde kyng Henry the eyght, kynge of Englande and of Fraüce [sic] [and] highe defender of the Christen faithe. [et]c

¶Howe the duke of Berrey sent let¦ters to the duke of Lancastre to Ba∣yon: and howe the duke sent the co∣pye of the same letters in to Foiz & in to Nauer / to thentent to haue them publysshed in Spayne: And howe the duke of Bretayn demaūded coū¦sayle of his men in all his busynesse. Cap. C.xxvii. (Book 127)

ON this ymaginacyon rested the duke of Lancastre / nat all onely on the duke of Towrayne / but also on the duke of Berrey / For (as ye haue herde here before) y^e duke of Berrey and his sonne were wodo∣wers bothe their wyues deed. This mater I the auctour of this boke knewe of suretie / for the same tyme I was on the fronters of Ber∣rey & Poitou / in the countie of Bloys / with the right honorable lorde Guy erle of Bloys by whom and at his desyre / I folowed the cō¦tynuaūce of this historie. The duke of Ber∣rey set all his entencion and pleasure to be a∣gayne maryed: And oftē tymes he wolde say among his men / howe that a lorde was lytell worthe without a lady / nor another mā with out a wyfe. Than some of his coūsayle sayd to hym. Sir marry agayne your son / therby your house shalbe the more ioyfull. Asirs {quod} the duke my sonne is yong. Why sir {quod} they / haue ye nat sene howe the Erle of Bloyes hath maryed his sonne / who is as yonge as he to your doughter? That is trouthe quod the duke / let se name a wyfe for him. sir quod

they / we shall name the duke of Lancasters doughter. With that worde the duke studyed a season and gaue none answere / and ymagi¦ned sore: and than to suche as were of his se∣crete counsayle / he sayd. ye speke to mary Io¦han my sonne to my cosyn the duke of Lanca¦sters doughter by saynt Denyce ye haue well deuysed but she shulde be a good wyfe for our selfe and shortely I shall write to our co¦syn the duke of Lancastre: He is at Bayone as I am enformed / I wolde sende hym wor∣de howe I shall sende shortely to hym some of my counsayle to treate of this maryage: But I saye nat for my sonne / I shall marry hym in some other place. Whan his coūsayle herde hym saye so they smyled / Than y^e duke demaunded wherat they smiled. Sir {quod} they we laught / at that ye had rather haue a good tourne your selfe than your sonne shulde. by my faythe {quod} the duke and good reason why: For my fayre cosyn of Lancastre wyll nat so soone agre to my sonne as to my selfe. Than incontynent letters were written in to highe Gascoyne to Bayon to the duke of Lācastre / and sente by honourable messangers. Whan they came to y^e duke they delyuered their let∣ters. The duke toke and reed thē / and whan he had well parceyued theffecte of the mater / he was right ioyfull and made good chere to the messāgers and shewed that he was well content therwith / and wrote agayne by them other letters ryght amiably. Certifyeng the duke of Berrey howe he was right ioyfull of his letters. These messangers returned and foūde their lorde in Poitou / preparyng hym selfe to go in to Fraunce: for the Frēche kyng and the duke of Burgoyne had sent for hym / for to cōmune of the state of Bretayne. Than he oppned the letters that his cosyn the duke of Lancastre had sente hym / and had ioye of the answere / & thought surely to pursue the matter to effecte but he myght nat leaue his voyage in to Fraunce and so went thyder as shortely as he coulde. Thanne he wrote to a knyght of his called sir Helyon of Lignacke who as than was seneschall of Rochell / and of the countre of Rocheloys. Cōmaundyng hym that incou••ynent on the sight of his let∣ters he to sette all thyng there in good order and than to come to hym to Parys withoute fayle. Whan sir Helyon of Lignac who was at Rochell vnderstode those tidynges / & par∣ceyued by the duke of Berreys letters / howe he was sent for in all hast / he made hym redy / and in his absence he made two capitayns at Rochell / two valyaunt men to be gouerners of all Rocheloys. They were of the countre of Becaulse / the one called sir Peter of yon / & the other sir Peter of Tayllepy. This done sir Helyon tooke his waye in to Fraunce the shortest way he coude / for he knewe nat what the duke wolde do with hym / that he sente for hym so hastely.

NOwe let vs sōwhat speke of the duke of Lancastre who was at Bayon / and had great ymaginacions of y^t busynesse that his cosyn the duke of Berrey had written to hym of. First he wolde nat that it shulde be hydden but rather publysshed abrode / to the entent that his ennemyes shulde knowe it / & specially in the house of kynge Iohan of Ca¦style. And so the duke of Lancastre wrote to dyuers / and sent them the copye of the duke of Berreys letters: Shewynge by his wri∣tyng / that he had great affectyon to treate of the maryage / bytwene his doughter and the duke of Berry. First he sent his letters to the erle of Foiz / bycause he knewe well y^t to the erles house prepared all maner of gentylmen knightes and squyers / as well cōmyng & go∣ynge to the kyng of Spayne / as on pylgri∣mage to saynt Iames. Also he wrote to the kyng of Nauer / who had to his wyfe y^e kyng of Castels suster / and had by her many chyl∣dren: to thentent that the brute therof shulde the better be certifyed in the kyng of Castels court / rather than by flyeng wordes. also the duke wrote of his mater to the kyng of Por∣tugale / but he wrote no worde therof ī to En¦gland to the kyng nor to his bretherne / for he knewe well he shulde haue no thanke for his enterprice / as they were nat content in dede / (as ye shall here after) whan y^e mater requy¦reth it. In the meane season we shall speke of other maters / as of the duke of Bretayne / the mater lyeth there after.

WHan the duke of Berrey was come into Fraunce to the kyng and to the duke of Burgoyne his brother / and to other of his counsayle: As the bysshoppe of Langers / the bysshoppe of Laon / y^e lorde of Coucy / and other barons of Fraūce / than

beyng thereof the kynges secrete counsayle. They had many metynges to cōmune toguy¦der / as well of the state of Guerles (whyder the kyng had great affection to go) as of the duke of Bretaygne / whom they coude bring to no reason / nor wolde nat obey / nor wyste nat whom to sende to hym that he wolde be∣leue / for there hadde ben many valyant men and sage with hym / but all that aueyled no∣thyng / for they coude bring nothyng to passe as they desyred / wherof the kyng & his coun∣saile was sore troubled. For they vnderstode well that the duke of Bretaygne had all that wynter prouyded and fortifyed his townes and castelles / and shewed howe by lykehode he hadde rather haue warre than peace: and the wysest of the counsayle sayd. We speke of goynge in to Almayne / but we ought rather to speke of goynge in to Bretaygne / and to putte downe the duke there / who is so highe mynded that he wyll here no reasone / and is alwayes agaynst the crowne of Fraūce / and disdayneth to be obedyent thervnto. we shal haue no reason of hym without we force him therto: For and if he be suffred he wyll be to presumptuous he feareth no man / nor he lo∣ueth nor prayseth no man but hym selfe / this is a clere case. If the kynge go in to Almay∣gne and leaue his realme bare of men / as he muste do if he go thyder / The duke of Bre∣taigne than wyll suffre the Englisshe men to come in to his countrey / & so entre in to Fraū¦ce. The apparaunce herof is great / for there is all redy a great army of archers on the see and they kepe styll on the coste of Bretaygne for if wynde and wether putte theym of / yet euer they drawe thyder agayne / & lyeth there at ancre / besemyng taryeng tyll the warre be opyn / Wherfore we thynke it were good yet to sende agayne to the duke / the bisshoppe of Langers and the erle of saynt Poule / for the duke and the erle haue maryed two susters. Naye sirs nat so {quod} maister yues / who was a very Breton. If ye wyll sende to the duke agayne / ye can not sende one more agreable to hym than the lorde of Coucy / for in lyke∣wyse they haue maryed two susters / & haue loued marueylously togyder / and haue euer written eche to other. Fayre brother / & with the lorde of Coucy sende whom ye wyll. well quod the duke of Burgoyne: Maister yues / sithe ye haue begon name you the rest. Sir / with right a good wyll sithe it pleaseth you / With the lorde of Coucy sende sir Iohan of Vyen and the lorde de la Ryuer. These be su¦che thre lordes as shall bring hym to reason / if he wyll euer come to any. Thus let it be {quod} the dukes of Berrey and of Burgoyne. than they were apoynted and charged what they shulde saye / & whervpon they shulde groude their mater / and to handell hym by fayre wor¦des. Thus they taryed a certayne space or they departed fro Parys. The duke of Bre∣tayne knewe well of their comyng or they de¦{per}ted fro Parys / but he coude nat tell whan. And he sawe well the mater touched highlye in that the lorde of Coucy came. The duke had many ymaginacyons on that mater and discouered his mynde to certayne of his coū∣sayle: as the lorde of Mountbouchier / & de∣maunded counsayle of hym and of other / and sayd. Sirs / I here as the brute rōueth / that the duke of Lācastre shulde mary his dough¦ter in to Fraunce to the duke of Berrey: and the mater is so forwarde / that sir Helyon of Lignacke is goyng to the duke to Bayon / & the duke greatly enclyneth to this maryage / wherof I haue great marueyle / for my fayre brother of Lancastre hath nat written to me therof / so that I knowe nothyng of the mater but by heryng saye: He was nat accustomed so to do / for in all his maters touchyng Fraū¦ce / he was wount to write to me. than his coū∣sayle answered and said. Sir / if it be thus / it must behoue you to chaūge your purpose / or els it shalbe greatly to your losse and daun∣ger / and bring your coūtre in to warre / whi∣che were good to eschewe: For ye nede nat to make warre sythe ye maye be in peace / yea? and desyred therto. Also my lady your wy••e is great with chylde / the whiche ye ought to regarde. The kynge of Nauer can but tytell ayde you / for he hath ynoughe to do for hym selfe. Also the duke of Lācastre who is a sage and a valyant prince (as it is sayd) shall ma¦ry his doughter to the duke of Berrey. This shalbe a gret begynnyng to entre in to a trea¦tie of peace bytwene Englande and Fraūce / or elles a longe truse: And by reason therof ye shall se at the ende the kyng of Castell putte out of his realme / as they haue kepte hym in and the rather if the duke of Lancastre and the Englysshe men be agreed with hym: and also it is of trouthe / that the lorde Coucye

admyrall of Fraunce and the lorde de la Ry∣uer / are cōmyng hyder. ye maye well knowe that is for some great cause touchynge the kyng / who busyeth hym selfe for his cōstable and for his Realme. And by lykelyhode the kynge and his vncles wyll knowe presisely what ye wyll do / and wheder ye wyll kepe styll your opinyon or nat. And if ye kepe styll your purpose / it is to be ymagined / that the great armye that is prepared for to go in to Guerles shall tourne agaynst you. Nowe remembre well what conforte ye are likely to haue yf ye haue warre with Fraunce / whi∣che ye are moost lykely to haue if the duke of Lancaster marry his doughter into Fraūce / as be semyng he wyll / for he can nat bestowe her better to recouer her herytage. Also ye knowe well that the moost parte of the prela∣tes / barons / knyghtes and squyers / and cy∣ties and good townes / are in maner ye agaynst you. Therfore sir / sithe ye demaunde coun∣sayle of vs / We saye that ye had neuer so mo∣che cause to aduyse you (as ye haue nowe). Therfore putte to your hande to kepe well your herytage / whiche hath cost the shedyng of so moche blode / sweate / and traueyle: and refrayne somwhat your yre and hatered. We knowe well ye beare great dyspleasure to sir Olyuer Clysson. he hath done you many dis∣pleasures / and ye hym / & paraduenture may do / though he be nat lyke vnto you. the Frē∣che kynge and his vncles wyll maynteygne hym agaynst you / for he shall he Constable. And if kynge Charles that laste dyed (who loued hym so well) hadde lyued / and ye done as ye haue done: We knowe well it shulde rather haue cost the kynge halfe his realme / thanne he wolde haue suffred it. But kynge Charles his sonne is yonge / he taketh nat ••o good hede to all maters nowe / as he wolde do tenne yeres here after. He cometh on and ye shall go. If ye encre in to a newe warre a¦gaynst the Frenche men (besyde all that we haue shewed you) ye shall do it without our counsayle and without the counsayle of any man that loueth you. It behoueth you to dis∣semule whatsoeuer ye purpose to do here af∣ter. What nede you to kepe the thre castelles parteynyng to sir Olyuer of Clyssons hery∣tage / after the maner toke them? Wheder it be so ye haue peace or warre / they shall coste you more the kepynge of theym in thre yeres / than they shall profyte you in twelue yeres. Sir delyuer them agayne out of your handes without any desyre / and whan the re¦nome therof spredeth abrode (as there is no∣thynge done but it wyll be knowen) y^t with∣out cōstreynt ye haue delyuered them of your owne mynde / ye shall therby attemper and molifye euery mannes displeasure / & it shall greatlye please the duke of Burgoyne / who ye knowe well hath nat done so moche aga∣ynst you as he myght / in all your busynesse. And that is by the meanes of the good lady his wyfe your cosyn / She hath many fayre chyldren who are nexte of blode to you. ther∣fore sir / consyder fro whens ye came and are issued / departe nat farre of fro thens that ye ought to approche nere it were follye / in En∣glande ye hadde neuer thyng to do. Also the Englysshmen haue ynoughe to do amonge themselfe. They shewe you fayre semblaunt of loue / and promyse to do for you all y^t they maye / but they do it for their owne aduaun∣tage and for nothynge elles. ye haue proued them or this? ye were norisshed amonge thē in your youthe? ∴ ∴