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 the dethe of the duke of Lā¦castre was knowen in Fraunce. the kyng of Englande wrote in maner of ioye to the Frenche kynge therof / and wrote nothyng therof to therle of Derby who was the dukes son̄e. Cap. CC .xxxv. (Book 235)

TIdynges of the duke of Lancasters dethe came in to Fraunce / & kyng Ry¦charde of Englāde in ma∣ner of ioye wrote therof to the frenche kyng / and nat to his cosyn therle of Der¦by / howe be it the erle knewe it as soone as the Frenche kynge or soner / by suche men as he had in Englande. Than the erle apparel∣led hym and all his men in blacke / and cau∣sed his obsequy to be done right honorably / at the whiche was the Frenche kyng and his brother the duke of Orlyaunce / and all y^e kyn¦ges vncles / with a great nombre of prelates and great lordes of Fraunce. For the erle of Derby was welbeloued with euery mā / and many were right sorie of his trouble / for he was a pleasaunt knight and an honest {per}son / curtesse and swete / & meke to euery man / and euery man that sawe hym said / howe y^e kyng of Englande was nat well counsayled / that he repealed / hym nat home agayne. And true¦ly to saye trouthe / if the kynge of Englande had wysely regarded the mater / and had ben well counsayled / the mater had nat tourned agaynst hym as it dyde. For the erle of Der∣by / after the dethe of his father / was right enherytoure to be duke of Lancastre / and to haue been the seconde persone of the realme / and by whom all the busynesse of the realme shulde chiefely haue passed. Also the kynge and his counsayle ought to haue consydred / howe often tymes the people of Englande hadde styrred and murmured agaynst hym: and shulde haue knowen / howe he was nat very welbeloued of the people / nor of some knightes / & other: and how that in y^e duke of Gloucesters dayes / he was often tymes in daunger of his persone. As whan the Lon∣doners and the counsaylles of dyuers good townes in Englande cāe to hym to Eltham / and there made their requestes / that all sub∣sidies and ayes gyuen and graunted within twentie yere / shulde haue ben frustrate and fordone / or els they were determyned by the consent of the duke of Gloucestre / and other noble men of the Realme / to haue taken the kynge and to haue sette another to haue rey∣gned in his place / and to haue putte y^e kyng and the Quene in to a place / and so to haue hadde meate and drinke as long as they had lyued. In somoche / that the duke of Glou∣cester hadde desyred a nephewe of his / sonne to the doughter of the duke of Clarence / who was called Iohan erle of Marche: That he wolde haue taken on hym the charge and go¦uernyng of the realme / and that they wolde haue made hym kyng. But the same erle ex∣cused hym selfe honestly therfro. All these thynges were apeased and layde downe / by the wyse sadde meanes and prudence of the sayde duke of Lancastre / father to this sayd erle of Derby.

IF kyng Richarde had wysely consy¦dred all these mats / he had reigned in gretter {pro}sperite than euer he did before. Kyng Richarde knewe all this well ynough / and so by yuell counsayle the kynge caused by colour of loue / the duke of Glouce¦stre to be taken and ledde to Calays / where he was strangled and murdered. Wherof great brute was throughe out all the realme with great grudge and murmuracyons / so that it was at the poynt to haue deposed the sayde kyng Richarde. Howe be it the duke of Lancastre lyke a sage and a prudent price for all that the duke of Gloucestre was his brother / and that the murderyng of hym tou¦ched hym nere to his herte. All thynges con¦syred / and that he coude nat recouer agayne his brother / wisely and amiably he apeased all these maters. And the kynge his nephue more feared in Englāde than he was before. All this the kynge ought to haue consydred / and specially howe therle of Derby was bet¦ter beloued with the people / than any other man within the realme. All these thyng{is} wy¦sely cōsidred after the dethe of the duke rf Lā¦castre / the kyng shulde haue repealed therle of Derby agayne in to the Realme / but the kyng had no mynde so to do / for he dyd clene the contrary / for incontynent he sente his of∣fycers in to all the duke of Lācasters landes

and toke the profites therof to hym selfe / and sayd / that as longe as therle of Derby stode as a banysshed man / that he nor none of his shulde receyue any reuenues of any landes within the realme of Englande. And more∣ouer (wherof the kyng was greatly blamed of suche as loued the erle and his chyldren) The kyng gaue awaye landes parteynynge to the herytage of the duchy of Lancastre to some of his seruauntes / suche as asked them for the whiche cause / many knyghtes & other in Englande spake and said. The kyng she∣weth well that he oweth no good wyll to his cosyn the erle of Derby / sythe he wyll nat re∣peale hym home agayne: and suffre his lan∣des to be gyuen awaye / where as therle and his chyldren shulde be great membres in En¦glande / & a good staffe for the kyng to leane by. But he dothe the contrary / for he driueth hym awaye / & so wyll kepe hym in this daū∣ger and worse if he coude. For he hath taken to hym selfe his heritage / and causeth his of∣fycers to medell with the dukes landes / as thoughe they were his owne. And if y^t poore tenauntes complayne of the iniuryes done to them in their lordes absence / they can nat be harde: there is none y^t wyll do them right Also it is but a small token of loue / that the kyng beareth to the erle of Derby and to his chyldren / for their herytage of Lācastre whi∣che shulde come to thē by right enherytaūce / discended fro their grandame the lady Blan¦che / doughter to duke Henry of Lancastre. The kyng gyueth parte therof away where as it pleaseth hym / & suche landes as shulde fall to them by the right of the lady their mo∣ther / who was doughter to the erle of Her∣forde and Northampton / and cōstable of En¦glande. The kynge gyueth parte therof at his pleasure. This is to moche done agaīst all ryght and reason / and to the displeasure of all the noble men of Englande: this can nat longe endure vnamended. Thus the pre¦lates / noble men / and commons in Englāde cōmuned and murmured.

IN lykewise in y^e realme of Frā∣ce / suche men of honour as her∣de spekynge of this mater / and hadde sene erle of Derby at Parys / hadde great marueyle therof / and sayd one to another. As we thyn∣ke / the kynge of Englande hath takenne to great a displeasure with his cosyn the erle of Derby / who is the greattest man in Englad next hym selfe. He is a gracious knyght / cur¦tesse / meke / and tretable / and a man good to be spoken vnto. The kyng of Englande kno¦weth some other thynge by hym than we do / or elles the kynge is yuell counsayled. And it is marueyle / that the Frenche kynge and his brother the duke of Orlyaunce / and the kynges vncles / do nat attemper the mater / for the erle is daylye amonge theym. They shulde fynde best prouisyon in this case / for the kynge of Englande wyll do more for thē than for any men / bicause he hath maried the Frenche kynges doughter. But sythe they do nothynge therin / it is best we holde oure peace and lette it passe. As for the Frenche kynge & his brother and his vncles / thought nothyng but good. They honoured and lo∣ued greatly the erle of Derby / and desyred moche his company: and they sawe well he was a wydower and to marry / and that the duke of Berry hadde a doughter a wydowe of two husbandes / she was but yonge of a xxiii. yere of age / & was named Mary. Her fyrst husbāde was Loys of Bloys who died yonge: and her secōde husbande was y^e lorde Philyppe of Arthoys erle of Ewe / who died in his retourne in Hungry: as ye haue herde here before. This maryage was at apoynt to haue concluded / for they in Fraūce knewe well that the duke of Lancastre was a great enherytoure in Englande / and the Frenche kynge was well pleased therwith / bycause his doughter was Quene of Englande. for he thought that the company of those two la∣dyes togyder shulde be great pleasure to thē bothe / sythe they were so nere of blode. And therby the two realmes of Fraunce and En∣glande / shulde be the surer conioyned toguy¦der in loue and peace / whiche was trewe / if it might haue been accomplysshed. but kyng Richarde of Englande & his coūsayle brake all that mater / for the fortunes of this world whiche are marueylous: nor a thynge that shall be canne nat be eschewed. The whiche fortune of this kynge Richarde was so mar∣ueylous / that it is harde to thynke theron. The kynge myght well haue remedyed the mater if he had wolde / but that that shall be shalbe. I shall shewe you what I Iohan

Froissarte / auctour of this hystorie / Herde whan̄e I was but yonge in Englande / in a place called Bertamstede / whiche as at that tyme parteyned to the price of Wales / father to this sayde kynge Rycharde / it was in the yere of grace / a thousande thre hundred thre score and two. And bycause y^e same tyme the prince and the princes shulde departe out of Englande to go in to Acq̄tayne to kepe their estate there. Kyng Edwarde his father and quene Phillyppe my maistres / and Lyon du¦ke of Clarence / Iohan duke of Lancastre / & the lorde Edmonde / who was after Erle of Cambridge and duke of yorke / & their chyl∣dren / were come to the said maner place / to se the prince and princes or they departed. And as than I was of the age of .xxiiii. yere / and one of my said lady the quenes clerkes of her chambre. And as I satte on a benche I herde a knyght talkyng and deuysinge among dy∣uers ladyes and damoselles of the Quenes / and sayde to them. There is a booke in this countrey called the Brust / & many men saye / it is of marueylous prophycies. But accor∣dynge to that booke / the realme and crowne of Englande shulde nat retourne to the pri∣ce of Wales / nor yet to the duke of Clarence / nor that they shulde be kynges of England / though they were sonnes to kyng Edwarde but this knyght sayd / that accordyng to that boke / the crowne of Englande shulde come to the house of Lancastre. The same season whan this knyght spake these wordes / this sayd Hēry erle of Derby was nat borne / nor yet seuyn yere after. but yet in my dayes the same wordes tooke effecte / for I sawe after / the same Henry erle of Derby kynge of En∣glande. ∴ ∴