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
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Title
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
Author
Froissart, Jean, 1338?-1410?
Publication
Imprinted at London :: In Fletestrete by Rycharde Pynson, printer to the kynges moost noble grace,
And ended the last day of August: the yere of our lorde god. M.D.xxv. [1525]
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Subject terms
Europe -- History -- 476-1492 -- Early works to 1800.
Cite this Item
"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." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A71319.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 8, 2024.
Pages
¶Howe the frenche kynge beynge
at Tholouse sente for the erle of Foiz
who came thyder and dyd homage
to the kynge for the conntie of Foiz.
Cap. C.lxiiii.
AFter this cruell iustyce
the french kyng taryed nat
longe after at Besiers / but
departed and toke the way
to Carcassone. and always
sythe his departure fro A∣uygnon /
his marshall syr
Loys of Xancere rode in his company. The
kynge rode so longe by his iourneys that he
vysited the countreys and kepte nat the right
hyghe wayes. He was at Cabestan / at Nar∣bone /
at Lymons / at Mounte Royall / and at
Fongaur / and than he retourned to Carcas∣sone /
and there taryed foure dayes. Than he
rode and passed Vyle Franca / Auygnollet /
and Mongistarte / and so came to Tholouse /
and the burgesses there who greatly desyred
to se the kynge / receyued hym ioyfully / and
mette the kyng without the towne / all in a ly∣uery /
and so with greate solempnyte he was
brought to the castell of Thoulouse. They of
the cytie gaue the kinge many fayre presentes
wherwith the kynge was greatly reioysed.
Whan the kynge had been there thre dayes /
than he was counsayled to sende for the erle of
Foiz / who was come out of Byerne in to the
countie of Foiz / and was in the towne of Na∣siers /
four leages fro Thoulouse / for he knew
of the kinges state and ordynaūce. The mar∣shall
of Fraūce and the lorde de la Ryuer were
apoynted to go for the erle of Foize. They de∣parted
on a wednysday / and laye at a cytie in
Tholousyn called Iordayn / and the next day
they came to Nasyers. The erle of Foiz who
knewe well of their comynge receyued theym
nobly for the loue of the Kynge / and also he
knewe the lordes well / he had sene them before
Syr Loys of Xancere had the wordes / and
said. Syr my lorde of Foiz / the kynge our so∣ueraygne
lorde hath sente vs to you / cōmaun∣dyng
you to come to se hym at Thoulouse / or
els he wyll traueyle so farre that he wyll come
and se you in your owne countrey / for he great¦ly
desyreth to se you. The erle of Foyze aun∣swered
and sayd. Syr Loys I wolde nat the
kynge had so great traueyle to me / it is more
mete I haue it for hym / wherfore if it please
you ye shall shewe hym that I shall be at Tho¦louse
within foure dayes. That is well sayde
syr quod they / we shall returne and shewe him
these tydynges fro you. So be it {quod} he / howe
be it ye shall abyde here all this daye and re∣fresshe
your selfes / and to morowe ye shall de∣parte /
they obeyed and taryed that daye and
the nyght at their pleasure / and the erle deuy∣sed
with theym sagely & craftely / for he was a
man by reason of his fayre langage / to drawe
out by one meanes or other the secretes of ons
herte. The nexte daye they toke leaue eche of
other / and rode so long that the same day they
came to Tholouse / and founde the kinge play¦enge
at chesse with his vncle the duke of Bur∣bone.
Than the kynge demaunded of them a¦lowde
and sayde. Syrs howe saye you / wyll
the erle come or no. yes sir quod the lorde de la
Ryuer / he hath gret affection to se your grace /
he wyll be here with you within these foure
dayes. Well quod the kynge and we wyll glad¦ly
se hym. The two knightes departed fro the
kynge / and lefte hym playeng & went to their
supper and to reste them / for they had rydden
descriptionPage clxxxiiii
that daye a great iourney. The erle of Foiz
who was at Nasyers / remembred well the
voyage that he had to do. He made hym redy
and sente before to Tholous for his {pro}uisyon
acordingly. He had sent in to Bierne for kni¦ghtes
and squiers / for mo than two hundred
to serue and to accompany hym that voiage.
THe daye that the erle of Foiz had a∣poynted
he entred in to the Cytie of
Tholous / with mo than syxe hun∣dred
horses / and well acompanyed with kny¦ghtes
and squyers. There was with hym
Bōnuquell and sir Iohā his brother / sir Ro¦ger
of Spaygne his cosyn / the lorde of Cou¦rase /
ye lorde of Valētyne / the lorde of quare /
the lorde of Burnge / sir Espaygne du Lyon /
the lorde of Roquepayre / the lorde of Lane /
the lorde of Besache / the lorde of Perle / sir
Peter of Cabestayne / sir Monaunt of Non∣nalles /
sir Richarde de la Meete / sir Arnolde
of saynt Basyll / and dyuers other. Sir Pe∣ter
of Byerne and sir Arnolde his two bre∣therne /
and his two bastarde sonnes / sir Iob¦bayne
and sir Gracyen of Foiz. The enten∣cion
of the erle was to enherite those two his
sonnes / in to the moost parte of all the lande
of Bierne. Of the whiche lande he myght do
therwith at his pleasure / for he helde it frāke
and free / holdynge of no man but of Godde.
Thus the erle toke his lodgynge at the Fre∣ers
preachers. There he kept his house / and
his men lay as nere there about as myght be
The burgesses of Tholous made him great
chere for they loued him well / for alwayes he
had been their good neyghbour / curtesse and
tretable: For he neuer suffred any of his cō∣pany
to do them any displeasure nor vyolēce
wherfore they loued hym moche the better.
They gaue him many fayre p̄sentes of wyne
and other thynges / so that he was well con∣tente.
He entred in to Tholous whan it was
nere nyght. The nexte daye about ten of the
clocke he toke his horse / & suche other of his
company as pleased hym / mo than two hun∣dred
knyghtes and squyers men of honour.
And in that estate he rode a long through the
stretes / to the Castell where the kynge was.
Than he a lyghted in the fyrst court entryng
in to the castell. Than the erle moūted vp the
greces in to the great hall. The frēche kyng
was come out of his chambre in to the hall /
and there taryed for the Erle / and had great
desyre to se hym / for his great valure and re∣nome
that ran on hym. Therle of Foiz who
was a goodly prince and of a formall stature
beare heeded entred in to the hall. And whan
he sawe the kynge and other lordes of Fraū∣ce /
the kynges brother & his vncle / he made
his reuerence to the kyng and to none other /
and kneled downe on his one knee. than he a
rose and passed forthe / and at the thirde tyme
he kneled nere to the kynge. The kyng toke
hym by the hande and enbrased him and toke
hym vp and sayde. Erle of Foiz my fayre co∣syn
ye be right welcome / your cōmyng great¦lye
reioyceth vs. Sir quod the erle I thāke
your grace that it please you to say so. There
the kynge and the Erle talked toguyder / the
whiche wordes I herde nat all. Than̄e the
kynge went to dyner. At the kynges table at
the vpper ende sate the archbisshop of Tho∣lous /
than the kynge and his vncle the duke
of Burbone / than nexte the erle of Foiz / than
sir Iohn̄ of Burbone erle of Marche and of
Vandone. At that table sate no mo. At the se¦conde
table satte sir Iohan de la Brethe erle
of Harcourte / sir Philyppe of Bare / & foure
knightes of the erle of Foiz. And at another
table there sate the marshall sir Loyes of san¦xere /
sir Roger of Spayne / and eyght other
knightes of the erles. This was a great dy∣ner
and well stuffed of all thynges / and after
dyner and grace sayd / they toke other pasty∣mes
in a great chābre / and heryng of instru∣mentes /
wherin the erle of Foiz greatly dely∣ted.
Than̄e wyne and spyces was brought.
The erle of Harecourt serued the kynge of
his spyce plate. And sir Gerrarde de la pyerserued
the duke of Burbone. And sir Mon∣naunt
of Nonnalles serued the erle of Foiz.
Thus about four of the clocke the erle tooke
leaue of the kyng and of the other lordes. He
issued out of the hall / and in the courte were
his hourses redy / and his men. The erle moū∣ted /
and all suche as accompanyed hym / and
so retourned to his lodgynge / and was well
contente with the chere that hadde ben made
to hym and his / and praysed it moche to his
knightes.
TThus bytwene the Frenche Kynge
and the Erle Gascoyne of Foize be∣ynge
at Tholous / There was dyuers trea∣ties
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
and apoyntmentes of loue / and the mar∣shall
of Fraunce and the lorde de la Ryuer /
dyde their payne to helpe it forwarde. The
erle of Foiz made a dyner to the duke of thou
rayne and to the duke of Burbone / to therle
de la Marche / and to other great Lordes of
Fraunce. This dyner was great and sump∣tuous /
and syttyng at the tables mo than .ii.
hundred knightes. And or the dyner was ful¦lye
ended / the Frenche kyng who had dyned
in the castell / and with hym sir Charles de la
Brethe and sir Philyppe of Bare / and his
two cosyn germayns. Than the kyng sayde.
Go we thyder: and so he dyde but with .xii.
in his company. The erle of Foiz was great¦lye
reioysed / in that it pleased the kyng to cōe
to his lodgyng / and so was all the company.
There was sporte after dyner of wrestlyng
and castynge the barre / the stone & the darte /
bytwene the Frenche men and the Gascoyns
Thus they passed the tyme tyll it was nere∣hande
nyght. Than the kynge and the other
lordes retourned. The erle of Foiz gaue the
same daye to the kynges knightes and squy∣ers /
and to ye duke of Thourayne and to the
duke of Burbone / mo thā threscore coursers
palfrayes and mulettes / all with whyte sa∣dels
redy drest to apoynt. Also he gaue to the
kynges mynstrelles and other / two hundred
crownes of golde. And to the heraudes and
offycers of armes other two hundred crow∣nes /
so that euery man praysed the larges of
the erle of Foiz. The fourthe daye after the
erle came to the kynges palais / well acompa¦nyed
with lordes and knyghtes of Byerne
and of Foiz / to se the kynge and to do as he
was requyred / that is to saye / to do his ho∣mage
for the countie of Foiz / with the appen¦dauntes /
reseruyng the lande of Bierne. Be¦fore
that secretely there had been great trea∣ties
bytwene the kynge and the erle of Foiz /
by meanes of the lorde de la Ryuer & sir Io∣han
Mercier / and the bysshoppe of Noyon /
who was newly come thyder fro Auygnon.
It was sayd / that the erle desyred of ye kyng
that his sonne Iobbayne of Foiz / myght af∣ter
the erles discease / enheryte the countie of
Foiz. By that the erle whan soeuer he dyed /
shulde leaue to the kyng a hūdred thousande
frankes in money. And sir Gasyon his bro∣ther
to haue the land of Ayre in Bierne with
the Cytie / and the Mounte of Marcen / and
all other landes that the Erle of Foiz hadde
bought in Bierne / shulde retourne to the he¦rytaūce
of the vycount of Castyllon. These
assygnementes were in debate and in dyffe∣rence
bytwene the erle and the barones / and
knightes of his countrey. Some sayde / he
coude nat do thus with a generall consent of
all Byerne and Foize. And bycause that the
meane homage of the countie of Foize was
dewe to the Frenche kyng / therfore the kyng
sayde to the Erle and to the barons of Foiz.
Sirs / I holde in my handes the homage of
the lande of Foiz. and if it be so in our dayes
that the lande of Foiz be vacant by the dethe
of our cosyn the erle of Foiz / than we shall so
determyne and apoynt by the aduise of good
counsayle / that Iobbayns of Foiz and all o∣ther
men of the coūtie of Foiz shall holde thē
content. Those wordes well cōtented therle
of Foiz / and the other lordes and knyghtes
of Foiz that were there present. These ordy∣naunces
written and sealed / the erle toke his
leaue of the kynge and of all other great lor∣des /
but that daye he dyned with the kyng &
than went to his lodgyng. The nexte day he
departed fro Tholous and lefte his furriers
behynde hym / to paye for euery thyng. The
erle passed the ryuer of Gyronde by ye bridge
of Tholous / and retourned in to his coun∣trey
by the mount of Marsen / and so to Or∣tayes.
Than he gaue leaue to euery man to
departe / sauyng his ordynarye. It was she∣wed
me and I beleue it well / that the cōmyn¦ge
of the frenche kyng in to Lāguedocke / in
to Tholous / & in to those marchesse / cost the
erle of Foize more than threscore thousande
frankes. The erle was so lyberall / that what¦soeuer
it cost hym / he payde it wyllyngly.
∴ ∴
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