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 Mathue Reedman de{per}¦ted fro the batayle to saue hym selfe / and howe sir Iames Lymsaye was taken prisoner by the bysshoppe of Durhame: And howe after the ba∣taile scurrers were sente forthe to dis¦couer the countrey. Cap. C.xlvi. (Book 146)

I Shall shewe you of sir Mathewe Reedman / who was on horsbacke to saue himselfe / for he alone coude nat remedy the ma∣ter. At his departynge sir Iames Lymsay was nere to hym / and sawe howe sir Mathue de{per}ted. And this sir Iames to wyn honour / folowed

in chase sir Mathue Reedman / and came so nere hym / that he myght haue stryken hym with his speare if he had lyst. Than he said. Ah sir knyght tourne / it is a shame thus to flye. I am Iames of Lymsay / if ye wyll nat tourne / I shall stryke you on the backe with my speare. Sir Mathewe spake no worde / but strake his horse with the spurres sorer than he dyde before. In this maner he chased hym more than thre myles. And at laste sir Mathue Reedmans horse founvred and fell vnder hym. Than he stepte forthe on y^e erthe and drewe oute his swerde and toke corage to defende h••mselfe: And the scotte thought to haue seryken hym on the brest / but sir Ma¦thewe Reedman swarued fro the stroke / and the speare poynt entred in to the erthe: Than sir Mathue stroke a sonder the speare with his swerde. And whan sir Iames Lymsay sawe howe he had loste his speare: He caste awaye the tro••chon and lyghted a fote / and toke a l••tell bacayle are that he caryed at his backe / and handeled it with his one hande / quickely and delyuerly / in the whiche feace scottes be well experte. And than he sette at sir Mathue / and he defended hym selfe pro∣perly. Thus they tourneyed toguyder / one with an are and the other with a swerde / a longe season / and no man to lette them. Fy∣nally sir Iames Lymsay gaue the knyght su¦che strokes / and helde hym so shorte / that he was putte out of brethe / in suche wyse / that he yelded hym selfe and sayde. Sir Iames Lymsay / I yelde me to you. Well quod he / and I receyue you / rescue or no rescue. I am content quod Reedman / so ye deale with me lyke a good companyon. I shall nat fayle that {quod} Lymsay / and so putte vp his swerde. Well sir {quod} Reedman / what wyll you nowe that I shall do? I am your prisoner / ye ha∣ue conquered me. I wolde gladly go agayn to Newcastell / and within fyftene dayes I shall come to you in to Scotlande where as ye shall assigne me. I am cōtent quod Lym∣say: ye shall promyse by your faythe to pre∣sent your selfe within this .iii. wekes at Edē¦borowe: And where soeuer ye go to repute yourselfe my prisoner. All this sir Mathue sware and promysed to fulfyll. Than eche of them toke their ho••ses and toke leaue eche of 〈◊〉〈◊〉. Sir Iames returned / and his entent was to go to his owne cōpany the same way that he came / and sir Mathewe Reedman to Newcastell. Sir Iames Lymsaye coulde nat kepe the ryght waye as he came / it was darke and a myst: And he hadde nat rydden halfe a myle / but he met face to face with the bysshoppe of Durham / and mo than .v. hun¦dred Englysshmen with hym. He might wel escaped if he had wolde: But he supposed it had been his owne cōpany that had pursued the Englysshmen. Whan he was among thē one demaunded of hym what he was. I am quod he sir Iames Lymsay. The bysshoppe herde those wordes / and stepte to hym & said Lymsay ye are taken / yelde ye to me. Who be you quod Lymsay? I am {quod} he the bysshop of Durham. And fro whens come you sir {quod} Lymsay? I come fro the batayle {quod} the bys∣shop / but I stroke neuer a stroke there. I 〈◊〉〈◊〉 backe to Newcastell for this night / & ye shal go with me. I maye nat chose quod Lymsay sithe ye wyll haue it so. I haue taken and I am taken / suche is the aduentures of armes. Whom haue ye taken quod the bysshop? sir quod he I toke in the chase sir Mathue Red¦man: And where is he quod the bysshop? by my faythe sir he is retourned to Newcastell / he desyred me to trust hym on his faythe for thre wekes / and so haue I done. Well {quod} the bysshop / lette vs go to Newcastell and there ye shall speke with hym. Thus they rede to Newcastell toguyder / and sir Iames Lym∣say was prisoner to the bisshop of Durham.

VNder the baner of therle de la mare and of Dōbare / was taken asquer of Gascone called Iohn̄ of Newca∣stell. And vnder the baner of the erle of Mo∣ret was taken his companyon Iohn̄ de Cau¦teron. Thus the felde was clene auoyded or the daye apered. The scottes drewe togyder and toke guydes and sente out scurrers to se if any men were in the waye fro Newcastell to the entent that they wolde nat be troubled in their lodgynges / wherin they dyd wisely. For whan y^e bysshop of Durham was come agayne to Newcastell & in his lodgynge / he was sore pēsyfe / & wyst nat what to saye nor do: For he herde say howe his cosyns y^e Per∣cies were slayne or taken / & all y^e knightes y^t were with thē. Than he sent for all y^e knygh∣tes and squyers that were in the towne / And whan they were come he demaunded of thē /

if they shulde leaue the mater in that case / & sayde. Sirs / we shall beare great blame / if we thus retourne without lokynge on oure ennemyes. Than they cōcluded by the sonne rysynge / euery manne to be armed / and on hors backe and a foote / to departe out of the towne / and to go to Octenbourge to fyght with the scottes. this was warned through the towne by a trumpet / and euery man ar∣med theym and assembled before the bridge: And by the sonne rysynge they departed by the gate towardes Berwyke / and tooke the waye towardes Octebourge / to the nombre of tenne thousande / what a foote and a horse backe. They were nat gone paste two myle fro Newcastell / whan the scottes were sy∣gnefyed that the bysshoppe of Durham was commynge to theym warde to fyght. This they knewe by their spyes / suche as they had sette in the feldes.

AFter that sir Mathewe Reedman was retourned to Newcastell / and hadde shewed to dyuers / howe he had been taken prisoner by sir Iames Lym∣sey. Than it was shewed hym howe the bis∣shoppe of Durham hadde taken the sayd sir Iames Lymsey: and how that he was there in the towne as his prisoner. As soone as the bysshoppe was departed / sir Mathue Reed¦man wente to the bysshoppes lodgyng to se his mayster / And there he founde hym in a studye / lyeng in a wyndowe and sayd. What sir Iames Lymsay what make you here? Than sir Iames came forthe of the study to hym and gaue hym good morowe / and sayd. By my faythe sir Mathewe / fortune hathe brought me hyder: For as soone as I was departed fro you / I mette by chaunce y^e bys∣shoppe of Durham / to whome I am priso∣ner / as ye be to me. I beleue ye shall nat nede to come to Edenborowe to me to make your fynaunce. I thynke rather we shall make an exchaunge one for another: if the bysshoppe be so contente. Well sir quod Reedman / we shall accorde ryght well toguyder / ye shall dyne this daye with me. the bysshop and our men be gone forthe to fyght with your men / I can nat tell what shall fall / we shall know at their retourne. I am content to dyne with you quod Lymsay. Thus these two knygh∣tes dyned toguyder in Newcastell.

Whan the knyghtes of Scotlāde were en¦formed howe the bysshop of Durham came on them with .x. thousande men / they drewe to counsayle to se what was best for them to do / outher to de{per}te or els to abyde the aduē∣ture. All thynges consydred / they concluded to abyde / For they sayd they coude nat be in a better nor a stronger place than they were in alredy. They had many prisoners / & they coulde nat cary theym awaye if they shulde haue departed. And also they hadde many of their men hurte: and also some of their priso∣ners / whōe they thought they wolde nat leue behynde them. Thus they drewe toguyder / and ordred so their felde / that ther was no en∣tre but one waye / and they sette all their pri∣soners toguyder. And made them to promise howe that rescue or no rescue they shulde be their prisoners. after that they made all their mynstrels to blowe vp all atones / and made the greattest reuell of the worlde. Lightlye it is the vsage of scottes / that whan they be thus assembled toguyder in armes / the foote men bereth about their neckes homes / in ma¦ner lyke hunters / some great some small / and of all sortes: so that whan they blowe all at ones / they make suche a noyse / that it may be herde nighe .iiii. myles of. thus they do to a∣bass he their enemyes and to reioyse them sel¦fes. Whan the bysshoppe of Durham with his baner and .x.M. men with hym / were a∣proched with in a leage / than y^e scott••s blewe their hornes / in suche wise / that it semed that all the deuyls in hell had been amonge them / so that suche as herde them and knewe nat of their vsage / were sore abasshed. This blo∣wyng and noyse endured a longe space / and than cessed. And by that tyme thēglysshmen were within lesse than a myle / than y^e scottes began to blowe agayn & made a great noyse and as long endured as it dyd before. Than the bysshop aproched with his batayle well rainged ī good order / & came within y^e syght of y^e scottes / as within .ii. bowe shot or lesse / than y^e scottes blewe again their hornes a lō∣ge space. y^e bysshop stode styll to se what the scottes wolde do & auewed thē well / and saw howe they were in a stronge grounde / great¦lye to their aduauntage. Than the bysshop tooke counsayle / what was beste for hym to do. But thynge well aduysed / they were nat in purpose to entre in amonge the scot∣tes

to assayle them / but retourned withoute doyng of any thyng / for they sawe well they myght rather lese than wyn. Whan the scot∣tes sawe the Englysshe men recule / and that they shulde haue no batayle: They wente to their lodgynges and made mery / and than̄e ordayned to departe fro thens: And bycause that sir Rafe Percy was sore hurte / he desy∣red of his maister that he myght retourne to Newcastell or in to some place / where as it pleased hym / vnto such tyme as he were hole of his hurtes. Promysynge / as sonne as he were able to ryde to retourne in to Scot∣lande / outher to Edenborowe or in to any o∣ther place apoynted. The erle of Mare / vu∣der whom he was taken / agreed therto / and delyuered hym a horse lytter and sent hym a waye. And by lyke couenaunt dyuers other knyghtes & squyers were suffred to returne / and tooke terme outher to retourne / or els to paye their fynaūce / suche as they were apoȳ∣ted vnto. It was shewed me by the informa¦cyon of the scottes / suche as had been at this sayd batayle / that was bytwene Newcastell and Octeburge / in the yere of our lorde god a thousande thre hundred fourscore and viii. the .xix. daye of August: Nowe y^t there were taken prisoners of the Englisshe partie. M. and .xl. men one and other. And slayne in the felde and in the chase .xviii. hundred and .xl. and sore hurte mo than a thousande. And of the scottes there were a hundred slayne / and taken in the chase mo than two hundred: for as the Englysshmen fledde whan they sawe any aduautage / they retourned agayne and fought. By that meanes the scottes were ta∣ken and none otherwyse. Euery man maye well consydre that it was a well fought felde whan there were so many slayne and taken on bothe parties. ∴ ∴