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 Iohn̄ Froissart arryued in Englande / and of the gyfte of a boke that he gaue to to the kyng. Cap. CC. (Book 200)

TRewe it was / that I sir Iohan Froissart (as at that tyme treasourer and chanon of Chymay / in the erldome of Heynaulte in the diocese of Liege) had great affectyon to go and se the realme of Englande / whan I had ben in Abbeuyle / and sawe that trewce was ta∣ken bytwene the realmes of Englande and Fraunce / and other countreis to them con∣ioyned and there adherentes / to endure four yeres by See and by lande. Many reasons moued me to make that voyage. One was / bycause in my youthe I hadde been brought vp in the court of the noble kynge Edwarde the thyrde and of quene Philyppe his wyfe / and amonge their chyldren / and other baro∣nes of Englande / that as than were a lyue: In whome I founde all noblenesse / honour / largesse / and courtesy. Here fore I desyred to se the countre / thynkynge therby I shulde lyue moche the lengar / for I hadde nat been there .xxviii. yere before / & I thought though I sawe natte those lordes that I lefte a lyue there / yet at the leest I shulde se their heyres the whiche shulde do me moche good to se / and also to iustifye the hystories and maters that I hadde written of them. And or I to∣ke my iourney / I spake with duke Aubert of Bauyere / and with the Erle of Heynaulte / Hollande / zelande / and lorde of Freese / and with my lorde Wyllyam erle of Ostrenaunt / and with my right honourable lady Iahane duchesse of Brabant and of Lusenbourge / and with the lorde Eugerant / lorde Coucy / and with the gentyll knyght the lorde of Go¦megynes / who in his youthe and myne / had been toguyder in Englande in the kynges courte. In lykewise so had I sene there the lorde of Coucy / and dyuers other nobles of Fraunce / holden great housholdes in Lon∣don / whan they laye there in hostage for the redempcion of kynge Iohan / as than Fren∣che kynge: As it hath been shewed here be∣fore in this hystorie.

THese sayd lordes and the Duchesse of Brabant / counsayled me to take this iourney / and gaue me letters of recommendacyon to the kynge of Englande and to his vncles / sauynge the lorde Coucy: He wolde nat write to the kynge bycause he was a Frenche man / therfore he durste nat / but to his doughter / who as than was called duchesse of Irelande. And I had engrosed in a fayre boke well enlumyned / all the mat∣ters of Amours and moralytees / that in four and twentie yeres before I hadde made and compyled / whiche greatly quickened my de∣syre to go in to Englande to se kyng Rychar¦de / who was sonne to the noble prince of Wa¦les and of Acquitayne / for I hadde nat sene this kynge Rycharde / sythe he was Christe∣ned in the Cathedrall churche of Burdeaux / at whiche tyme I was there / and thought to haue goone with the prince the iourney in to Galycia in Spaygne. And whan̄e we were in the cytie of Aste / the prince sente me backe in to Englande to the Quene his mother.

For these causes and other / I hadde great desyre to go in to Englande to se the kynge and his vncles. Also I hadde this said fayre boke well couered with veluet / garnysshed with clapses of Syluer and gylte / therof to make a present to the kynge / at my fyrst com∣inynge to his presence. I hadde suche desyre to goo this voyage / that the payne and tra∣ueyle greued me nothyng. Thus prouyded of horses and other necessaries I passed the See at Calais and came to Douer / the .xii. daye of the moneth of Iuly. Whan̄e I came there I founde no man of my knowledge / it was so longe sythe I had been in Englande and the houses were all newly chaūged / and yonge children were become men / and y^e wo∣men knewe me natte nor I theym. So I a∣bode halfe a daye and all a nyght at Douer: It was on a Tuesdaye / And the nexte daye

by nyne of the clocke I came to Canterbury to saynt Thomas shrine / and to the tombe of the noble prince of Wales / who is there en¦tered ryght richely. There I herde masse & made myne offrynge to the holy saynt / and thanne dyned at my lodgynge: And there I was enformed / howe kyng Richarde shulde be there the nexte daye on pylgrimage / whi∣che was after his retourne out of Irelande / where he had ben the space of nyne moneches or there about. The kyng hadde a deuocyon to visyte saynt Thomas shrine / and also by∣cause the prince his father was there buryed Than I thought to abyde the kynge there / and so I dyde. And the next daye the kynge came thyder with a noble company of lordes ladyes / and damoselles. And whan I was a¦mong them they semed to me all newe folkes I knewe no {per}sone. The tyme was sore chaū¦ged in .xxviii. yere. And with the kynge as than was none of his vncles / the duke of Lā¦castre was in Acquitayne / and the dukes of yorke and Glocestre were in other busynes∣ses / so that I was at the firste all abasshed / for if I had sene any auncyent knyght that had ben with kyng Edwarde or with the pri¦ce / I had ben well reconforted and wolde ha¦ue gone to hym / but I coulde se none suche. Than̄e I demaunded for a knyght called sir Rycharde Seury / whyder he were a lyue or nat / and it was shewed me yes / but he was at London. Than I thought to go to y^e lorde Thom̄s Percy / great seneschall of Englade who was there with the kyng. so I acquayn¦ted me with hym and I founde hym right ho¦norable and gracyous. And he offred to pre∣sent me and my letters to the kynge / wherof I was right ioyfull / for it behoued me to ha∣ue some meanes to bringe me to the presence of suche a prince as the Kynge of Englande was. He wente to the kynges Chambre / at whiche tyme the kynge was gone to slepe / and so he shewed me / and badde me retourne to my lodgynge and come agayne / and so I dyde. And whan I came to the bysshoppes palays / I founde the lorde Thomas Percy redy to ryde to Ospring. And he counsayled me to make as than no knowledge of my be∣ynge there / but to folowe the court / and sayd he wolde cause me euer to be well lodged / tyl the kyng shulde be at the fayre castell of Le∣des in Kent. I ordered me after his coūsayle and rode before to Ospring / & by aduēture I was lodged in an house / where was lodged a gentyll knyght of Englande called sir Wyl¦lyam Lysle. He was taryed there behynde the kynge / bycause he had payne in his heed all the nyght before. He was one of the kyn∣ges preuy chambre. And whan he sawe that I was a straunger / and as he thought of the marchesse of Fraūce bycause of my langage / We fyll in acquayncaunce toguyder / for gen∣tylmen of Englande are curcesse / treatable / and gladde of acquayntaunce. Than he de∣maunded what I was / and what busynesse I had to do in those parties. I shewed hym a great parte of my cōmynge thyder / and all that the lorde Thomas Percy hadde sayd to me / and ordred me to do. He than answered and sayde / howe I coulde nat haue a better meane / and that on y^e Friday y^e kyng shulde be at the castell of Ledes. And he shewed me that whan I came there / I shuld fynde there the duke of yorke the kynges vncle / wherof I was ryght gladde / bycause I had letters dyrected to hym / and also that in his youthe he hadde sene me / in the courte of the noble kyng Edwarde his father and with y^e quene his mother. Than on the Friday in the mor¦nyng sir Wylliam Lysle and I rode toguy∣der / and on the waye I demaunded of hym / if he had been with the kynge in the voyage in to Irelande. He answered me yes. Than I demaunded of hym the maner of the Hole that is in Irelande / called saynt Patrykes purgatorie / if it were trewe that was sayde of it or nat. Than he sayde / that of a suretie suche a hole there was / and that he hym selfe and another knyght of Englande hadde ben there whyle the kynge laye at Duuelyn / and sayd / howe they entred in to the hoole & were closed in at the sonne goynge downe / and a∣bode there all nyght / and the nexte mornyng issued out agayne at the son risyng. Than I demaūded it he had any suche strāge sightes or vysions as was spoken of. Than he sayd / howe that whan he & his felowe were entred and past the gate y^t was called y^e purgatorie of saynt Patryke / and that they were discen¦ded and gone downe thre or four paces / dis∣cendyng downe as in to a cellar / a certayne hoote wapure rose agaynst them / and strake so in to their heedes / that they were fayne to syt downe on the steres / whiche are of stone.

And after they had sytte there a season / they had great desyre to slepe / and so fell a slepe and slepte there all nyght. Than I demaū∣ded that if in their slepe they knewe where they were / or what visyons they had: he an∣swered me / that in slepyng they entred in to great ymaginacyōs and in marueylous dre∣mes / otherwyse / than they were wont to ha∣ue in their Chambres: and in the mornynge they issued out / and within a shorte season / clene forgate their dreures & visyons / wher∣fore he sayde / he thought all that mater was but a fantasy. Than I lefte spekyng any fur¦ther of that matter / bycause I wolde fayne haue knowen of hym what was done in the voyage in Irelande. And I thought as thā to haue demaūded what the kyng had done in that iourney / but than company of other knyghtes came and fell in communycacion with hym / so that I lefte my purpose for that tyme. Thus we robe to Ledes / and thyder came the kyng and all his cōpany / and there I founde the lorde Edmonde duke of yorke. Than I went to hym and delyuered my let∣ters fro the erle of Heynaulte his cosyn / and fro the erle of Ostrenaunt. The duke knewe me well and made me good chere and sayde. Sir Iohan / holde you alwayes nere to vs / and we shall shewe you loue and courtesy / we are boūde therto for the loue of tyme past and for loue of my lady the olde Quene my mother / in whose courte ye were: we haue good remembraunce therof. Than I than∣ked hym as reason requyred. So I was ad∣uaunsed by reason of hym and sir Thomas Percy and sir William Lysle. By their mea¦nes I was brought in to the kynges cham∣bre / and in to his presence by meanes of his vncle the duke of yorke. Than I delyuered my letters to the kyng / and he toke and reed thē at good leysar. Than he sayd to me that I was welcome / as he that hadde ben and is of the Englysshe courte. As on that daye I shewed nat the kynge the boke that I hadde brought for hym / he was so sore occupyed w^t great affayres / that I had as than no leysar to present my boke. The kyng was sore bu∣syed there in counsayle for two great & migh¦tye maters. First was / in determynynge to sende sufficient messangers / as therle of Rut¦lande his cosyn germayne and the erle Mar¦shall / the archbysshoppe of Dublyn / the bys∣shoppe of Ely / the lorde Loys Clyssorde / the lorde Henry Beaumonde / the lorde Hughe Spensar / and many other / ouer the See to Charles the Frenche kynge / to treate with hym for a maryage to be hadde / bytwene the kyng of Englande and the Frenche kynges eldest doughter / named Isabell / of the age of eyght yeres. The secōde cause was the lorde de la Barde / the lorde of Taryde / the lorde of Pyntherne / the lorde of Newcastell / the lorde of Nesque / the lorde of Copane / and the counsaylours of Burdeux / Bayon / and of Daxe were come in to Englande / and had quickely pursued their mater / sythe the kyn∣ges retourne out of Irelande / to haue an an∣swere / of the requestes and processe that they had put forthe to the kyng / on the gyfte that the kynge had gyuen to his vncle the duke of Lācastre / of the landes / seignories / lordship¦pes / and baronyes in Acquytayne / whiche they verifyed to pertaygne to the kynge and realme of Englande. They hadde alleged to the kynge and his counsayle / that his gyfte myght nat passe so / bycause it was vnprofy∣table and mutyle. For they sayd / all those lan¦des helde of right and of the demayne of the crowne of Englande / Wherfore they sayde / they wolde nat disioyne nor disceuer thē fro the crowne. They alleged furthermore / ma∣ny other reasonable causes: as ye shall here after in this processe. But thus to haue co••∣sayle of those two great matters / the kynge had sente for the moost parte of the prelates and lordes of Englande / to be at the feest of Maudelyntyde / at a manner of the kynges called Eltham / a seuyn Englysshe myles fro London. And whan they had taryed at Le∣des a four dayes / the kyng retourned to Ro∣chester and so to Elthame: & so I rode forthe in the kynges company. ∴ ∴