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 sir Helion of Lignacke ma∣de his reporte to the duke of Berrey And howe the lordes of Scotlande assembled toguyder in the Cytie of Berdane / and determyned to reyse vp an army to entre in to Englande And of an Englysshe squyer / Who was takenne by the Scottes / who knewe the secretnesse of bothe real∣mes Englande and Scotlande. Cap. C .xl. (Book 140)

THan by the counsayle of the bysshoppe of Trect and by the aduyse of the bysshoppe of Colonge / y^e bysshoppe of Laege was sente to the French kynge to treate for y^e duke of Iu∣lyers. The kynge approched / but he passed nat two or thre leages a daye / for his trayne was great bytwene Morsay and oure lady of Amount / where as the duke of Berey and all his route / with mo than fyue hundred spe¦res was lodged. Thyder came to the duke of Berrey sir Helyon of Lignacke / and sir Wyllyam his brother. Sir Wyllyam came fro the siege before Vanchadore / for the duke had sente for hym / and the duke of Burbone had sente for sir Iohan Boesme launce. and they had lefte styll at the siege all their com∣panyes / and had lefte for capitaynes sir Io∣han Butlere and sir Loyes Dambier: And sir Helyon of Lignacke came out of Gascon fro Bayon / fro the duke of Lancastre. The duke of Berrey made hym good chere / and demaunded tidynges. Sir Helyon shewed hym and sayd. Sir / the kyng of Castyle se∣keth on the duke of Lancastre to haue peace with hym / and treateth sore to haue his sone the prince of Wales / to marry with the du∣kes doughter. With that worde the duke of Berrey was pensyfe and sayd. Sir Helion / yet I shall sende you ones agayne to knowe

more certayne / and the bysshoppe of Poy∣cters with you / but as at this tyme we haue ynoughe to do. Also the same weke the lorde of Coucy retourned fro Auygnon and came to the kyng to Ardane / euery man was glad of his cōmynge.

yE haue herde here before / howe kyn∣ge Richarde of Englande had some trouble: He agaynst his vncles / and his vncles agaynst hym / with other dyuers incydentes / as by the duke of Irelande and other / and many knyghtes in Englāde deed and beheeded / and the archebysshop of yorke brother to the lorde Neuell was at a poynte to haue loste his benefyce. And by the newe counsaylers about the kyng / and by the arch bysshoppe of Caunterbury: the lorde Ne∣uell (who had ben the chiefe ruler and kepar of the fronters of Northumberlande agayst the scottes fyue yeres togyder) was as than put out of wages. He had before euery yere sixtene thousande frankes / out of the countie of yorke and bysshoprike of Durham. And there was sette in his stede the lorde Henry Percye / and he hadde to wages by the yere but a .xi. thousande Frankes. Wherof other lordes of his lygnage / thoughe they were of his kynne / yet they hadde therat great enuy and indignacyon one agaynst another: And all this knewe ryght well the scottes. Than the lordes and knyghtes of Scotlande de∣termyned ones agayne to reyse vp an army / and to make a iourney in to Englande. they sayde it was as than good tyme and houre / for they sawe the Englysshmen were nat all of one accorde. And where as often tymes past / they had receyued great buffettes / than they sayd it was good tyme for them to be re¦uenged. And to the entent that their purpose shulde nat be knowen / they ordayned a feest to be holden on the fronter of the wylde scot∣tes / at a cytie called Berdane / where assem∣bled in maner all the lordes of Scotlande. At this feest they concluded and made full promyse / that in the myddes of August / the yere of our lorde god / a thousande thre hun∣dred fourscore ano eight / They shulde mete all with their puyssaunce on the fronters of Gales / at a castell in the hyghe forest called Gedeours. Thus at that tyme they depar∣ted eche fro other. And of this couenaūt there was none of them that made their kyng pri∣uy therto / For they sayd amonge themselfe / their kyng was no manne of warre. There came to Gedeours at the day apoynted. first the erle Iames Duglas / sir Iohan of Mo∣rette / erle of Marche and or Donbare / sir Wyllyam de Fu / and sir Stephyn Erle of Monstres / sir Aucebauce of Duglas / sir Ro¦bert Auerceque / sir Marke Odremneu / sir Wyllyam Lymsey / & sir Iames his brother / Thomas of Berry / sir Alysaunder Lymsey / the lorde of Sechyn / sir Iohan of Sobelas sir Patryke of Dōbare / sir Iohn̄ Senclere / sir Patryke of Hoteborne / sir Iohan sonne to y^e lorde Momogomercy / sir Adam of glas diuyn / sir Wyllyam Reduryn / sir Wyllyam Stonacke / sir Iohn̄ of Halpe breton / sir Ali¦der / and sir Robert Lander / sir Stephyn fre¦seyle / sir Alysander Ramsey and sir Iohan his brother / sir Wyllm̄ Morbereth / sir Mau¦bert Here / sir Wylliam of Waleran / sir Iohn̄ Amonstan / and Dauy his sonne / Robert Co¦lemney / and dyuers other knightes and squi¦ers of Scotlande. In threscore yere before there was nat assembled toguyder in Scot∣lande suche a nombre of good mē / they were a .xii. hūdred speares and .xl. thousande men besyde with their archers: but ī tyme of nede the scottes can lytell skyll with their bowes. They rather beare axes / wherwith they gy∣ue great strokes.

WHan they were thus mette togyder in the marchesse of Gedeours they were mery / and sayd / they wolde ne¦uer entre againe in to their owne houses tyll they had ben in Englande and done suche de¦des there / that it shulde be spoken of .xx. yere after. And to the entent to make sure poynt∣ment / they assigned a daye to mete at a chur∣che in a fayre laūde called zedon. Tidynges came in to Northumberlande (as nothynge can be hydde if men putte to their dilygence to knowe) bothe to therle and to his chyldrē / to the seneschall of yorke / and to sir Mathue Redman capitayne of Berwike / of this gret feest that had ben at Bredane. And to thērent to knowe wherfore it was / these lordes sente to sertche couertly by heraudes & mynstrels. The scottes coude nat do their maters so se∣crerly / but y^e lordes of Englāde knewe howe men rose in scotlāde / & how they shulde mete

agayne at Gedeours. Brute of this came to Newcastell vpontyne: And whan the lordes knewe of this / euery man toke good hede to his charge / and prouyded them selfe redy to assemble if nede were / and this they dyde se∣cretly / bycause their enterprice shulde nat be broken. Euery man helde hym selfe in their owne houses / and were determyned to mete toguyder / as soone as they knewe that the scottes came forwarde and sayd. If the scot∣tes come forthe we shall haue knowlege ther¦of / If they drawe toward{is} Carlyle we shall entre at another parte in to their countrey / and we shall do them more dommage than they can do vs / for their countrey is all open. We maye go where we lyst / and our countre is strong / and the townes and castelles well closed. And the better to knowe the state of the scottes / they sent a gentylman of Englā∣de / who knewe ryght well the marchesse of Scotlande / and specially the forest of Gede∣ours where y^e scottes shulde assemble. And the Englisshe squyer went so forwarde / that without espyeng he came to the churche of ze¦don / where the scottyss he lordes were. And he encred in amonge them lyke one of their seruauntes / and there he herde and knewe a great parte of thententes of the scottes. and at thende of their counsayle the squyer went to a tree where he hadde tyed his horse / and thought to haue foūde him there / but he was gone. for a scotte (who be great theues) had stollen hym awaye. He durste nat speke for hym / but so went forthe a fote boted and spur¦ted. And whan he was gone fro the churche two bowe shotte / than there were two scot∣tyss he knyghtes deuysed bytwene them selfe and sayd one to another. felowe / I haue sene a marueyle / beholde yonder a man gothe a∣lone / and as I thynke he hath lost his horse / for he came by and spake no worde / I wene he be none of our company / lette vs ryde af∣ter hym to proue my sayeng. They rode af∣ter hym and soone ouertoke hym. Whan̄e he sawe them cōmynge / he wolde gladly haue ben thens. They came to hym and demaun∣ded whether he wolde and from whens he came / and what he had done with his horse. He began to varry in his sayeng / and answe¦red nat directely to their purpose. They tur∣ned hym / and sayde he shulde go and speke with their lordes. They brought hym again to the churche of zedon / and presented hym to the erle Duglas and to other lordes: they examyned hym and parceyued well he was an Englysshe man. Than they sayde they wolde knowe the trouthe why he came thy∣der. He was yuell wyllynge to shewe the trouthe / but they handled hym in suche wise / that he was fayne to shewe all the mater / for they bare hym in hande / withoute he wolde shewe the trouthe / incōtynent he shulde lese his heed: and if he wolde shewe the trouthe / he shulde haue none yuell. There they knew by hym that the lordes of Northumberlande had sente hym thyder: to knowe the estate of their ent̄price / and whiche waye they wolde drawe. Herof the scottes were right ioyous / and wolde nat for a great good / but that they had spoken with this squyer. Than they de∣maunded agayne of hym / in what parte the Englysshe lordes were / and whyder there were any aparence that they wolde assemble toguyder / and what way•• they wolde take to entre in to Scotlande: Outher by the see syde by Berwyke / or els by Donbare: or els the highe waye by the countie of Monstres towarde Streuelyn. The squyer answered and sayde. Sirs / sithe it behoueth me to say the trouthe I shall.

Whan I departed from them fro Newca∣stell there was none aparence of their assem¦blyng / but they be on a redynesse to departe / as well to daye as to morowe. And as soone as they knowe that ye set forwarde and entre in to Englande / they wyll nat come to mete with you / for they be nat of y^e power so to do / nor to fyght with you / sythe ye be so great a nombre / as it is sayd in Englande that ye be. Why quod the erle of Moret: what nombre do they repute vs at? Sir quod he it is sayd howe ye be a .xl. thousande men and .xii. hun∣dred speares. And sir / if ye take the waye in to Gales they wyll go by Berwike / and so to Donbare / to Edenborome / or els to Alquest. and if ye take nat that waye than they wyll go by Carlyle / and in to the mountayns of y^t countrey. Whan the lordes herde that / eche of them regarded other. Than the Englysshe squyer was putte to the kepyng of the Con∣stable of Gedeours / and cōmaunded that he shulde be surely kepte: than in the same place they wente agayne to counsayle.

THe lordes of Scotlande were ryght ioyfull of that they knewe surely the entent of their ennemyes / and than they de∣maunded counsayle what waye was best for them to take. The moost wysest and best ex∣perte in warre spake fyrst / and that was sir Archanbas Duglas and therle of Fenne / sir Alysander Ramsey / sir Iohan Saynt clere / and sir Iames Lymsey: They sayd for feare of faylynge of our entent / we counsayle that we make two armyes / to the entente that our ennemyes shall nat knowe whervnto to at∣tende. And lette the moost parte of our hoost and caryage go by Carleon in Galles / and lette the other company (of a thre or four hū∣dred speares and two thousāde of other well horsed) drawe towardes Newcastell vpon Tyne / and passe the ryuer and entre in to the bysshorike of Durham / and burne and exyle the countrey. We shall make a great breull in Englande or our ennemyes be prouyded / And if wese that they do folowe vs (as they wyll do) Than lette vs drawe all oure com∣panyes toguyder / and take a good place and fyght with them. We doute nat but we shall haue honoure. Than lette vs be reuenged of the dommages they haue done to vs. This counsayle was accepted / and ordayned that sir Archanbas Duglas / therle of Fenne / the erle of Surlancke / the erle of Monstres / the erle of Mare / therle of Astroderne / sir Ste∣phyn of Freseyle / sir George of Donbare / and sirtene other great lordes of Scotlande shulde lede the moost parte of the armye to∣wardes Carlyle. And the erle Duglas / sir Orge erle of Mare and of Donbare / and the erle Iohan of Morette. These thre to be ca∣pitaynes of thre hundred speares of chosen men / and of two thousande other men and archers / and they to go towardes Newca∣stell and entre in to Northūberlande. Thus these two hoostes departed eche from other / eche of them prayenge other / that if the En∣glysshmen folowed any of their armyes / nat to fyght with them / tyll bothe their armyes were ioyned toguyder. Thus in a mornyng they departed fro Gedeours and toke the feldes. ∵