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 Froyssart auctour of this cronycle / departed out of Fraunce and wente to the erle of Foiz / and the maner of his voyage. Cap. xxi.

IT is longe nowe sith I made any mencion of the busynesses of farre Coun∣treis / for the busynesses ne∣rer home hath ben so fresshe that I lafte all other maters to write therof: Howe be it all this season valyant men desyring to auaūce them selfe on the realme of Castell and Portyn¦gale: In Gascoyne / in Rouergue / in Quercy / in Lymosyn / and in Bygore: Euery day they ymagined / by what subteltie they coulde gette one of another by dedes of armes / or by stea∣lyng of townes / castels / & fortresses. And ther∣fore I Iohn̄ Froyssart / who haue taken on me to cronycle this present hystorie / at the req̄st of the highe renomed prince sir Guy of Chatellon erle of Bloyse / lorde of Dauesnes / Beauuoys / Destonhon / & of la Guede / my souerayne may¦ster & good lorde. Cōsydring in my selfe / howe there was no great dedes of armes likely to∣warde in the parties of Picardy or Flaūders / Seyng the peace was made bytwene the duke and them of Gaunt. And it greatly anoyed me to be ydell / for I knewe well that after my deth this noble and highe hystorie shulde haue his course / wherin dyuers noble men shulde haue great pleasure and delyte. And as yet / I thāke god I haue vnderstandyng and remembraūce of all thynges passed / and my wyt quicke and sharpe ynough to conceyue all thinges shewed vnto me / touchyng my princypall mater / & my body as yet able to endure and to suffre payne. All thynges cōsydred / I thought I wolde nat lette to pursue my sayde first purpose. And to

••••tent to knowe the trouthe of dedes done in 〈◊〉〈◊〉 countrie••/ I founde occasion to go to the ••••ghe and mighty prince Gascone erle of Foiz and of Byerne / for I knewe well y^t if I might haue that grace to come in to his house and to be there / at leysar I coude nat be so well enfor∣med to my purpose / in none other place of the worlde for thyder resorted all maner of knigh∣tes and strāge squyers / for the great noblenes of the sayd erle / and as I ymagined so I dyd / And shewed to my redoubted lorde the Erle of Bloyes myne entent / and he gaue me letters of recōmendacions to therle of Foiz. And so rong I tode without parell or domage that I cāe to his house called Ortaise / in the coūtre of Berne on saynt Katheryns day / the yere of grace .M. thre hundred fourscore and eight. And the sayd erle as soone as he sawe me / he made me good chere and smylyng sayd / howe he knewe me / & yet he neuer sawe me before / but he had often herde spekyng of me / and so he reteyned me in his house to my great ease / with the helpe of the letters of credence that I brought vnto hym / so that I might tary there at my pleasure. & there I was enfourmed of the busynesse of the real∣mes of Castyle / Portyngale / Nauar / and Ara¦gon / yea and of the realme of Englande / & coū¦tre of Burbonoyse and Galcoyne. And the erle him selfe if I dyd demaunde any thyng of him he dyde shewe me all that he knewe / Sayenge to me howe thy storie that I had begon shulde hereafter be more praysed than any other / and the reason he sayd why / was this. Howe that .l. yere passed / there had been done more maruey∣lous dedes of armes in the worlde / than in thre hundred yere before that. Thus was I in the court of the erle of Foiz / well cherysshed and at my pleasure / it was the thyng that I moost de¦syred to knewe newes / as touchyng my mater. And I had at my wyll lordes / knightes / & squi¦ers euer to enforme me / and also the gentle erle hym self. I shall nowe declare in fayre langage all that I was enfourmed of / to encrease ther∣by my mater / and to gyue ensample to thē that lyste to auaunce them selfe. Here before I ha∣ue recounted great dedes of armes / takynge and sautynge townes and castelles / and batay¦les and harde encountrynges / and yet here af∣ter ye shall here of many mo / the whiche by the grace of god I shall make iust narracion.

ye haue herde here before / that whan the lor∣de Edmonde / sonne to the kynge of Englande erle of Cambridge / was de{er}ted fro the realme of Portingale and had take shypping at Lust∣bourke / and howe he had made c••u••nant that Iohan to recouer our herytage. So thus we become byder / paraduēture nat so many as ye wrote for: but suche as I haue here be of suche good wylles / that they dare well abyde the ad∣uenture of batayle agaynst all those y^t be nowe present with the erle of Tryslmate / and surely we shall nat be content with you without we ha¦ue batayle. Suche wordes or lyke / the Erle of Cambridge shewed to the kyng of Portingale or he departed / the whiche kyng herde thē well / howe be it he neuer durste gyue batayle on the playne of Saluence / whafic he was before the spaynierdes / nor they of the countre wolde nat gyue hym counsayle therto / but sayde to hym. Sir / the puyssaunce of the kyng of Castell is as nowe so great / and that by fortune or mysad ••enture that ye lese the ••elde / ye lese than youre realme for euer. Wherfore it were better ye suf∣fred than to do a thyng wherby ye shulde haue domage and parell. And whan t••e erle of Cam¦bridge sawe it wolde be none otherwyse / Here tourned to Lusenborne and aparelled his shyp¦pes and toke leaue of the kyng of Portyngale / and so toke the see with his company / & wolde nat leaue Iohan his sonne in Portingale with the kyng / nor with the lady that he shulde ma∣ry with all: The chylde was but yonge / and so thus the erle reteurned in to Englande. Thus was the dealyng as than of the iourney in Por¦tyngale.

THe erle of Cambridge retourned in to Englande on the maner as ye haue her de before, and shewed his brother the Duke of Lancastre all the dealynge of kynge Ferant of Portyngale. The duke was sorie therof, for he sawe thereby that his conquest of Castell was farre of / and also kyng Richarde of Englande had abouth h••m c••ūsayle that were nat after his apetyte / and specially the••le of Or••forde / who was chefe in the kinges fauour. This erle dyd set as great trouble bytwene the kyng and his vncles as he might / and said oftentymes to the kyng. sir / ••fye wyll folowe the myndes of your vncles the duke of Lancastre & the crle of Cam¦bridge / it shall well cost all the treasure in En∣glande about their warre in Spayne / and yet they shall cēquere nothyng. It were better for you to kepe your owne people and your money than to spende it abrode where as ye can gette no profyte / and kepe and defende your owne he rytage / wherin ye haue war••e on all sydes / as

well by Fraunce as by Scotlande / rather than to enploy your tyme in other countreis. The yonge kynge enclyned lightely to his wordes / for he loued him with all his hart bicause they had been norisshed vp toguyder. And this erle had great alyaunces / with dyuers lordes and knightes of Englande / for he dyde all his ma∣ters by the counsayle of sir Symon Burle / sir Robert Treuelyen / {ser} Nicholas Brambre / sir Iohan Beauchampe / sir Iohan Salisbury / and sir Mychaell de la pole. And also sir Tho¦mas Tryuet and sir Wylliam Helmon / were named to be of the same {per}te / so that by the dyf∣fernes and discorde bitwene the kynge and his vncles / and the nobles and commons of the re¦alme / many yuels came therby in Englāde / as ye shall here hereafter in this hystorie.

IT was nat longe after that the erle of Cambridge departed out of Portyn∣gale / but that the kynge Feraunt felle sicke / and so contynued a hole yere and dyed. & than he had no mo chyldren but the Quene of Spayne. Than kynge Iohan of Castell was enformed of his deth / and howe that the realm of Portyngale was fallen in to his hādes / and howe that he was ryghtfull heyre thervnto / by reason of the dethe of the kynge. Sother was dyuers coūsayls kept on that mater / and some sayd / howe that the Portingales were so harde harted people / y^t they wold nat be had without it were by conquest. And in dede whan the por¦tyngales sawe howe they were without a kyng than they determyned by counsayle to sende to a bastarde brother of the kynges / a sage and a valyant man called Deuyse / but he was a man of relygton / and was mayster of the hospytals in all the realme / They sayd they had rather be vnder the rule of this maister Denyse than vn¦der the rule of the kynge of Castell / for they re∣puted hym no bastarde / that hath good corage to do well. Whan this mayster Denyse vnder∣stode the cōmens wyll of foure chiefe cyties of Portyngale (for they hadde great affectyon to crowne hym kyng) wherof he had great ioye / and so wrote secretely to his frendes and came to Lurbone / whiche is the kay of the realme. The people of the towne receyued hym with great ioye and demaūded of hym / if they crow¦ned him kyng: wheder he wolde be good to thē or nat / and kepe the lande in their fraunchese. And he aunswered and sayd / he wolde be to thē as they desyred / and that they had neuer a bet∣ter kynge than he wolde be. Than they of Lux¦bone wrote to Connubres / to Pount de portu¦gale / and to them of Dourke: These were the kayes of the Realme / and so they determyned to crowne to their kyng this mayster Denyse / who was a sage & a valyant man and of good gouernaūce / and was brother to kyng Ferant for they sawe well the realme coude nat be lon∣ge without a kyng / as well for feare of the spay mardes as of the myscreātes of Granado and of Bongie / who marched on them. So these sayde townes and certayne of the lordes of the lande enclined to him / but some of y^e lord{is} sayd that it was nat mete a bastarde to be crowned kyng: And the people of the good townes said that it shulde be so: for of necessyte they must so do / sithe they had none other / and seyng that he was a valyant and a sage man / bothe in wy••te and in dedes of armes. And they toke ensam∣ple by kynge Henry / who was crowned kyng of Castell by electyon of the countrey / and for the cōmon profyte / and that was done kynge Peter beynge a lyue. So thus the electyon a∣bode on this maister Denyse / and solemynely he was crowned in the Cathedrall churche of Connubres / by the accorde and puyssaunce of the cōmons of the realme. And there he sware to kepe iustyce & to do ryght to his people / and to kepe and maynteyne their frauncheses / and to lyue and dye with them / wherof they hadde great ioye.

Whan these tidynges came to the hearyng of don Iohan kyng of Castell / he was sore dis¦pleased therwith / and for two causes. The one was bycause his wyfe was enheryter there / & the other bycause the people by election hadde crowned maister Denyse kynge there. Wher∣fore this kyng Iohan toke tytell to make warr and to demaūde of them of Luxbone the sōme of two hundred thousande florens / whiche Fe∣rant promysed hym whan he toke his dough∣ter to his wyfe. So than he sende the Erle of Terme / therle of Ribydea / and the bysshoppe of Burges in to Portyngale / as his ambassa∣dours to them of Luxbone. & whan they were at saynt prayne / the laste towne of Castell to∣warde Luxbone: Than they sent an haraulde to the kyng and to them of Luxbone / to haue a saue conducte to go and come and to furnysshe their voyage / whiche was graunted lightly / & so they came to Luxbone / and so the towne as∣sembled their counsayle toguyder / and the am∣bassadours shewed why they were come thy∣der / and finally sayde. ye sirs of Luxbone / ye

ought iustely nat to marueyle / if the kyng our souerayne lorde demaundeth of you the sōme of money that ye are bounde for: And is nat cō¦tent that ye haue gyuen y^e noble crowne of Por¦tyngale to a clerke a man of relygion and a ba¦starde: It is a thynge nat to be suffred / for by rightfull election / there is non nerer to y^e crow¦ne thā he: And also / ye haue done this without the assent of the nobles of the realme. Wherfore the kyng our maister saythe / that ye haue done yuell. And without that ye shortely do remedy the make / he wyll make you sharpe war••. To the whiche wordes don Feraunt Gallopes de vyle fois / a notable burgesse of the cyte / answe¦red and sayd. Sirs / ye reproche vs greatly for our electyon but your owne election is as mo∣che reprouable / for ye crowned in Spaygne a bastarde / sonne to a iewe: And it is clerely kno¦wen, that to the ryghtfull election / your kynge hath no right to the realem of Portyngale / for the right resteth in the doughters of kyng Pe∣ter / who be in Englande maryed / bothe Con∣staūce and Isabell / maryed to the duke of I an castre & to therle of Cambridge. Wherfore {ser}s / ye may departe whan ye wyll / and retourne to them that sent you hyder / and say that our ele∣ctyon is good / whiche we wyll kepe / and other kyng we wyll haue none / as long as he lyste to be our kyng. And as for y^e sōme of money that ye demaūde of vs / we say we are nothyng boū¦de therto / take it of them that were boūde ther∣fore / and of suche as had the profyte therof. At this answere the kynge of Portyngall was nat present•• howbeit he knewe well what shulde be sayd. And whā these ambassadours sawe they coude haue non other answere / they toke their leaue and departed / and retourned to Cyuell / where they lafte the kyng and his coūsayle / to whom they shewed all the said answere. Than the kyng of Spayne toke coūsayle what was best to do in this mater. Than it was determy¦ned that the kyng of Portyngale shulde be de∣sied / and howe that the kyng of Spayne had a good quarell to moue the warre for dyuers rea¦sons. So than kyng Denyse was defyed & all his helpers in Portyngale. Than the kyng of Spayne made a gret sōmons of men of war•• to lay siege to the cytie of Luxbone / & the kyng sayd / he wolde neuer departe thens tyll he had it / for they had answered hym so proudely / that they shuld derely repent it / if he might ouercōe them. Thus the king of Castell with all his pu¦issaūce came to saynt yrayne. At y^t season there was a knight chased ••ut of his court / who was called sir Nauret / For if the kyng myght haue gette hym / it shulde haue cost hym his h••ed. the knight had knowledge therof / for he hadde ma¦ny good frendes. So he auoyded the Realme of Castell and came to Luxbone to the kyng of Portyngale / who had great ioye of his comyn¦ge / and retayned hym & made hym a great ca∣pitayne / and he dyde after moche hurte to the spayniardes. The kynge of Castell departed fro saynt yrayne / and came and layde siege be∣fore the cytie of Luxbone / and enclosed therin the kynge of Portyngale. The siege endured more than a hole yere / and constable of the host was the erle of Longueuyll / and Marshall of the hoost was sir Raynolde Lymosyn / he was a knight of Limosyn / who long before came in to Spaygne with sir Bertram of Clesquy in the firste warres that he made in Spaygne. This sir Raynolde was a valiant knight and well proued / And the kynge had well maryed hym to a fayre lady / & to a fayre herytage: And by her he had two sonnes Raynolde and Hen∣ry. And he was greatly praysed in the realme of Castell for his prowes / and with the kynge of Castell there was Dagheynes Mandake / sir Dygo Persement / don Peter Roseament / don Maryche de Versaulx portugaleys / who were turned spaynisshe / and the great mayster of Calestrane and his brother / a yong knyght called don Dighemeres / Pier Goussart of sel∣me / Iohan Radigo de Hoyes / & the great may¦ster of saint Iaques. The kyng had well with hym a thyrtie thousande men. There were dy∣uers assautes and scrimysshes / and many fea∣tes of armes done / on the one parte and on the other. The spaygnierdes knewe well that the kynge of Portyngale shulde haue none ayde of the nobles of his realme, for the commons had made hym kyng agaynst their wylles. So the kyng of Castell had intensyon to cōquere Lux¦bone and all the countre / or he retourned / for he sawe well they shulde haue none ayde without it were out of Englande / wherof he had moost doute. And yet whan he had well ymagined▪ he sawe well the Englysshe men were farr of / and he had herde howe they kynge of Englāde and his vncles were nat all of the best acorde. wher¦fore he thought hym selfe the more of sur••tie at his siege / whiche siege was right plentyfull of all thynges. There was in no market in Ca∣stell more plentie than was ther. And the kyng of Portyngale lay styll in the cytie of Luxbone at his case / for they coude nat take the See fro hym. And he deimyned to sende in to Englāde

to the kyng and to the duke of Lancastre tru∣stie ambassadours / to renewe the aliances ma∣de before / bytwene the kyng and kyng Ferant his brother: And also the ambassadours had in charge to shewe the duke of Lancastre / that in maryage he wolde gladly haue his dough∣ter Philyppe / and to make her quene of Por∣tyngale / and to swere and seale a {per}petuall pea∣ce and alyance bytwene them: And also promy¦synge hym (that if he wolde come thyder with two or thre thousāde men of warre / and as ma¦ny archers) to helpe and ayde hym to cōquere his enherytaunce of Castell. On this message was apoynted two knightes / sir Iohan Rade goe & sir Iohn̄ Tetedore / and an archedeaken of Luxbone / called Marche de la Fugyre. So they made them redy and toke the see and had good wynde / and so sayled towarde the fron∣ters of Englande. On the other {per}te the kyng of Castell laye a siege / and he was counsayled to write in to Fraunce and in to Gascoyne / for some ayde of knightes & squyers. for the spay∣nierdes supposed well / that the kynge of Por∣tyngale had sende for socoure in to Englande / to reyse their siege: & they thought they wolde nat be so taken / but that their puissaūce might be stronge ynoughe to resyst the Englysshmen and portugaleyse. And as he was counsayled so he dyde / and sende letters and messangers in to Fraunce / to dyuers knyghtes and squy∣ers / suche as desyred dedes of armes / and spe∣cially in the countrey of By••rne in the countie of Foiz / for there were plentie of good knight{is} desyring dedes of armes: For though they had ben brought vp with the erle of Foiz / as than there was good peace bitwene hym and therle of Armynake. So these messages of these two kyng{is} were nat sone brought about / howe be it the warres in other places ceased neuerthelesse as in Auuergne / in Tholousyn / in Rouergue / and in the lande of Bygore. ¶Nowe lette vs leaue to speke of the busynesse of Portyngale a lytell / and speke of other maters.