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 Peter of Byerne had a stronge dysease / and of the countesse of Bisquay his wyfe. Cap. xxvii. (Book 27)

WHan I had herde this tale of the dethe of Gascone sonne to the erle of Foyz / I hadde great pytie therof / for the loue of therle his father / whome I founde a lorde of hyghe recōmendacyon / no∣ble / lyberall / and curtesse: And also for loue of the countrey / that shulde be in great stryfe tor lacke of an heyre. Than I thanked the squyer and so departed fro hym / but after I sawe him dyuers tymes in the erles house / and talked of∣ten tymes with hym. And on a tyme I demaū∣ded of hym of sir Peter of Byerne / bastarde brother to therle of Foyz (bycause he semed to me a knyght of great valure) wheder he were riche / and maryed or no. The squyer aunswe∣red & sayd. Truely he is maryed / but his wyfe and chyldren be nat in his company: And why sir quod I? I shall shewe you quod the squier. ¶This sir Peter of Bierne hathe an vsage / that in the night tyme whyle he slepeth / he wyll ryse & arme hym self / and drawe out his swerde and fyght all aboute the house / and can nat tell with whome / and than gothe to bedde agayne. And whan he is wakynge / his seruautes do shewe hym howe he dyde: And he wolde saye / he knewe nothymg therof / and howe they lyed. sōtyme his seruautes wolde leaue non armure nor swerde in his chābre. & whan he wold thus ryse & fynde non armour / he wolde make suche a noyse and rumoure / as though all the deuyl∣les of helle had ben in his chambre. Than I de¦maunded yf he had great landes by his wyfe. yes truely sir quod he: But the lady by whom cometh the lande / ioyeth of the profytes therof. This sir Peter of Bierne hath but the fourthe parte. Sir quod I / where is his wyfe? sir {quod} he she is in Castell with the kynge her cosyn. her father was erle of Bisquay / and was c••syn germayne to kyng Dampeter who slewe him: and also he wold haue had the lady to haue put her in prisone. And he toke the possession of all the lande / and as long as he lyued the lady had nothynge there. And it was sayd to this lady / who was countesse of Bisquay / after the dys∣sease of her father. Madame / saue youre selfe / for kyng Dampeter if he may gette you / wyll cause you to dye / or els put you in prisone. He is so sore displeased with you / bycause he sayth ye shulde report and beare wytnesse / y^t he cau∣sed the quene his wyfe to dye in her bedde / who was suster to the duke of Burbone and suster to the frenche quene / & your wordes (he sayth) are beleued / rather than̄e another / bycause ye were preuy of her chambre. And for this cause / the lady Florens countesse of Bisquay / depar∣ted out of her countre with a smalle company / as the cōmon vsage is: to flye fro dethe as nere as men can. So she went in to the countrey of Bascles and passed throughe it / and so came hyder to Ortayse to the Erle / and shewed hym all her aduenture. The erle who had euer pyte of ladyes and damoselles / reteyned her: and so she abode with the lady of Carase / a great lady in his countre. As than this sir Peter of byerne his brother was but a yonge knyght / and had nat thanne / this vsage to ryse a nyghtes / as he dothe nowe. The erle loued hym well and ma∣ryed hym to this lady / and recouered her land▪ And so this sir Peter had by this lady a sonne and a doughter / but they be with their mother in Castell / who be as yet but yong / therfore the lady wolde nat leaue them with their father. Ah saynt Mary quod I / howe dyde sir Peter of Bierne take this fantasy? First that he dare nat slepe alone in his chambre / and that whan he is a slepe / ryseth thus and maketh all that be synesse / they are thynges to be marueyled at. By my faithe quod the squyer / he hath ben of∣ten demaunded therof / but he saythe he can nat tell wherof it cometh. The first tyme that euer he dyde so / was the night after that he had ben on a day a huntynge in the wodes of Bisquay / and chased a marueylous great Beare: and y^e beare had slayne four of his houndes / and hurt dyuers / so that none durst come nere him. than this sir Peter toke a swerde of Burdeanx and came in great yre / for bycause of his houndes / and assayles the beare and fought longe with hym / and was in great parell / and tooke great payne or he coulde ouercome hym. Finally he slewe the beare / and than retourned to his lod∣gyng

to the castell of Lāguedon in Bisquay / & made the beare to be brought with him. Euery man had marueyle of the greatnesse of the beest and of the hardnesse of y^e knight / howe he durst assayle the beare. And whan̄e the countesse of Bisquayes wyfe sawe y^e beare / she fell in a sow∣ne and had great dolour / and so she was borne in to her chambre / and so all that day / the night after / and the nexte day she was sore disconfor∣ted / and wolde nat shewe what she ayled. On the thirde dayeshe sayd to her husbande: Sir / I shall nat be hoole / tyll I haue been a pylgri∣mage at saynt Iames. Sir / I praye you gyue me leaue to go thyder / and to haue with me my sonne and Adrian my doughter: her husbande agreed therto. She toke all her golde / towels / and treasure with her / for she thought neuer to retourne agayne / wher of her husbande toke no hede. So the lady dyde her pylgrimage / and made an errande to go and se the kynge of Ca∣stell her cosyn / and the quene. They made her good chere / and ther she is yet / and wyll nat re¦tourne agayne / nor sende her chyldren. And so thus the next night that this sir Peter had thus chased the beare and slayne hym / while he slept in his bedde / this fātasy toke hym. And it was said / that the countesse his wyfe knewe well / as sone as she sawe the beare / that it was the same that her father dyde ones chase. And in his cha¦syng / he herde a voyce and sawe nothynge / that sayd to him. Thou chasest me and I wolde the no hurte / therfore thou shalt dye any yuell dethe. Of this the lady had remembraunce / whan she sawe the beare / by that she had herde her father saye before: and she remembred well howe kyn¦ge dan Peter strake of her fathers heed / with∣out any cause / & in lykewise she feared her hus∣bande. And yet she say the and maynteyneth / y^t he shall dye of an yuell dethe / and that he dothe nothyng as yet / to that he shall do herafter.

NOwe sir / I haue shewed you of sir Pe∣ter of Byerue / as ye haue deman̄ded of me / and this is a true tale / for thus it is / & thus it be fell. Howe thynke you quod he therby? & I who mused on the great marueyle sayd. sir / I beleue it well / that it is as ye haue sayde. sir / we synde in olde writyng / that aūciently suche as were called goddes and goddesses / at their pleasure / wolde chaunge and transforme men in to beestes and in to foules / and in lykewyse women. And it might be so / that this ••ere was before some knight chasyng in the forest of Bis¦quay / and paraduenture displeased in y^t tyme / some god or goddes / wherby he was transfor∣med vnto a beare / to do there his penaunce / as aunciently Acteon was chaūged vnto an hart. Acteon quod the squyer / I pray you shewe me that storie / I wolde fayne here it. Sir quod I accordyng to the auncyent writynges / we fyn∣de howe Acteon was a iolye & an expert knight and loued the sporte of huntynge aboue all ga∣mes. And on a day he chased in the wodes / and an Harte arose before hym / marueylous great and fayre: he hunted hym all the daye / and lost all his company / seruauntes / and hoūdes / and he was right desyrous to folowe his pray. And folowed the fewe of the Harttyll he came in to a lytell medowe / closed rounde about with wo∣des and highe trees. And in the medowe there was a fayre fountayne / in the whiche Dyana / goddesse of Chastyte was bayninge her selfe / and her damoselles about her. The knight cāe sodaynly on them or he was ware / and he was so farre forwarde / that he coulde nat go backe. And the damoselles were abasshad to se a strā∣ger / and ran to their lady and shewed her / who was a shamed / bycause she was naked. & whan she sawe the Knyght she sayde. Acteon / they that sente the hyder / loued the but lytell. I wyll nat that whan thou arte gone hens in other pla¦ces / that thou shuldest reporte that thou haste sene me naked / and my damoselles. and for the outrage that thou hast done / thou mayst haue penaunce. Therfore I wyll that thou be tran∣formed in the lykenesse of the Iame Harte / that thou haste chased all this daye, and incōtynent Acteon was tourned vnto an Harte / who natu¦rally loueth the water. In lykewise it might be of the beare of Bisquay: and howe that the la∣dy knewe paraduenture / more than she wolde speke of at that tyme / therfore she ought the bet¦ter to be excused. The squier answered & sayd. Sir / it maye well be. Than we lefte oure tal∣kynge for that tyme. ∵ ∵