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 frenche ambassadours came to the duke of Bretayne / vpon the takyng of the cōstable of Fraūce / and of the aunswere that was made to them. Cap. xci.

IF I had ben as longe in cōpany with this knight sir Guyllyam of Aunsens / as I was with sir Espayn de Leon / whā I rode with hym fro the cyte of Pauy∣ers to Ortayes in Byerne / Or elles as long as I had ben with sir Iohn̄ Ferant Pertelette of Portyngale. He wolde haue shewed me many thyng{is} / but it was nat so / for after dyner whan we had rydden a .ii. leages we came to a forked waye / the one way was right to Towres in Towrayne / whether as. I supposed to ryde / & the other waye was to Maylle / whether the knyght was determy¦ned to ryde. So at this waye we brake com∣pany takyng leaue eche at other / but bytwene Prinulley and our departynge he shewed me many thynges / and specially of the busynesse in Bretayne / and howe the bysshoppe of Lan¦gers was sent in the stede of the bysshoppe of Beawuoys / who dyed by the waye. and how the bysshoppe of Langers with sir Iohan de Bowyll and other / came to the duke of Bre∣tayne / and of the answere that they had. and on the informacyon of this knyght I toke my foundacion / and haue written as foloweth.

yE haue herde here be fore / howe these ambassadours departed fro Parys / fro the kyng and his counsaye / well in structed what they shulde saye and do: and so long they rode by their iourneys / that they a∣ryued at Nauntes. Than they demaunded where the duke was / it was shewed thē howe he was about the marchesse of wānes / whe•• as most accustomably he lay. They rode thy∣der / and so came to the cytie of Wannes / it is but .xx. myles bytwene. The duke was in the castell called le Mote: than they came before the duke / who by semblant made to thē good and swete recule. The bysshoppe of Langers bycause he was a prelate / began to speke and to make his preposicyon well and sagely / and sayde. Sir duke / we are here sente to you fro the kynge our maister and fro his vncles / the duke of Berrey and of Burgoyne / to shewe vnto you / howe they haue great marueyle / in that the voiage that they wolde haue made in to Englande is by your meanes broken / and haue taken and raunsomed the Constable of Fraunce / at so highe a raūsome / that they are ryght sorie therof. And moreouer ye wyll ha∣ue thre of his castelles in Bretaygne / the whi∣che shalbe a great anoyaūce to all the resydue of the coūtre / if they shuloe be holde agaynst them / with the ayde of the towne of Iugone / the whiche is pertaynynge to the Constables herytage. Therfore we are charged to shewe you / and we saye vnto you as messangers fro the kynge our mayster / and from his vncles / that ye rendre agayne to the cōstable of Fraū∣ce his herytage / that ye with holde from hym / and sette hym agayne in peasable possessyon / accordyng vnto ryght / in lyke maner as they were before / whan they were delyuered you perforce / and by none other ryght nor tytell / that ye haue to them. And also / that ye restore agayne entierlye / all the money that ye haue hadde of hym. And this is the commaunde∣ment of the kynge and his counsayle / that ye come {per}sonally to Parys / or where as it shall please the kyng to assygne you / there to make your excuse. And we repute hym so benygne and pacyent / with that ye be of the blode roy∣all / that he wyll here your excuse: And if he be nat reasonable / the duke of Berrey and the duke of Burgoyne wyll so temper hym / that ye shalbe frendes and cosyn to the kynge / as by reason ye ought to be. Than the bysshopp̄

tourned hym to sir Iohan of Beull and said. Sir / is nat this the kynges pleasure? and he sayde yes / and so dyde sir Iohan de Vyen. At these wordes there were no mo present but they foure.

WHan the duke of Bretaine had herde the bysshoppe of Langers speke / he studyed a lytell and good cause why for it was a great matter / and at the laste he sayde. Sirs / I haue well vnderstande your wordes / and it is good reasone that I so do / bycause ye be sent from the kyng and his vn∣cles. Wherfore in their behalfe I wyll do you all the honour and reuerence that I can do / I am bounde therto / but your demaūde and re¦quest requyreth counsayle. Wherfore I shall take counsayle with myne / and make you su∣che answere / that ye shall be contented. Sir / ye saye well quod they / it suffyceth vs. Than they departed and wente to their lodgynges. At nyght they were desyred to dyne the nexte daye with the duke. So the nexte daye they came to the duke and were well receyued / and so wasshed and went to dyner & satte downe. Firste the bysshoppe of Langers bycause he was a prelate / and than the duke / than the ad¦myrall of Fraunce / and thanne sir Iohan de Beulle: They hadde a great dyner and were well serued / and after dyner they entred in to a counsayle chambre / and there they talked of dyuers maters / and herde mynstrelsy.

These lordes of Fraunce thought surely to haue hadde an answere / but they hadde none: Than wyne and spyces were brought in / and so made collasyon / and than toke their leaue and departed to their lodgynge. The nexte daye they were apoynted to come to the duke / and so they dyde / and the duke receyued them swetely and at the laste sayd. Sirr / I knowe well ye looke to be aunswered / for by the wor∣des that I haue herde you saye / ye are char∣ged by the kyng and his vncles to bring them an answere. Wherfore I say to you / y^t I haue done nothynge to sir Olyuer of Clesquyne / wherof I shulde repente me / sauynge of one thynge / and that is / That he hadde so good a markette / as to escape a lyue. And in that I saued his lyfe / was for the loue of his offyce / and nat for his persone / For he hath done me soo many displeasures / that I ought to hate hym deedly. And sauynge the displeasure of the kyng and of his vncles / and his coūsayle. For all the takynge of sir Olyuer / I haue nat therby broken their voyage by the see. I wyll well excuse my selfe therin / for I thought non yuell the daye that I toke hym / a man ought to take his ennemy whersoeuer he fynde hym And if he were deed / I wolde thynke the Re∣alme of Fraunce to be as well ruled or better / than it is by his counsayle. And as for his ca∣stelles that I holde / the whiche he hath dely∣uered me / I am in possessyon of them / and so wyll be / withoute the puyssaunce of a kynge take them fro me. And as for rendringe of his money / I aunswere / I haue had so moche to do in tyme paste / by the meanes of this sir O∣lyuer of Clysquyn / that I ranne in dette gret¦lye therby: and nowe I haue payde them that I was bounde vnto / by reason of this dette. This was the answere that the duke of Bre∣taygne made to the kynges ambassadours / Than they layde forthe other reasons / to en∣duce the duke to some reasonable waye / but all his answeres tourned euer to one conclu∣syon. And whan they sawe none other waye / they toke their leaues to departe / and y^e duke gaue them leaue. Than̄e they retourned and dyd so moch by their iourneys that they came to Parys / to the house of Beautie / besyde Wynsentes. There was the kyng & the quene and thyder came the duke of Berrey and the duke of Bourgoyne / hauyng great desyre to knowe what answere the duke of Bretaygne haddemade.

THe aunswere ye haue herde here be∣fore / I nede nat to shewe it agayne / but the kyng and his counsayle were nat content with the duke of Bretaygne / that his ambassadours hadde made no better ex∣ployte: and they sayde / howe the duke was a proude man and a presumptuous / and that the mater shulde nat so reste in peace / seynge the matter so preiudyciall for the Crowne of Fraunce. And the entensyon of the kyng and his counsayle was / to make warre agaynste the duke of Bretayne / and the duke loked for nothynge elles / For he sawe and knewe well / howe he had greatly displeased the kyng and his counsell / but he hated so mortally the con∣stable / that it toke fro hym the good order of reason / for he repented hym sore / that he had nat putte hym to dethe / whan he hadde hym

in his daunger. Thus the mater contynued a longe season / and the duke of Bretayne laye at Wannes / and lytell and lytell rode ouer his countrey / for he freared greatly embusshmen¦tes. He kepte styll in loue and fauour his cy∣ties and good townes / and made secrete trea¦ties with the Englysshmen / and made his ca∣stelles and forteresses to be as well kepte / as thoughe he had had opyn warre / and was in many imaginacions on the dede he had done Somtyme he wolde say / he wolde he had nat taken the constable / howe be it he sayd euer to stoppe mennes mouthes / that sir Olyuer of Clesquyn had sore dishleased hym / so that ma¦ny a man sayd / that elles he wolde neuer haue done it / therby he brought his coūtre in feare / for it is but a small signorie / if a prince be nat feared and douted of his menne / for and the worste fall / he maye haue peace whan he lyst. ¶Nowe lette vs leaue to speke of the duke of Bretaygne / and let vs somwhat speke of the busynesse that was in the realme of Englāde / whiche was in the same season / horryble and marueylous. ∴ ∴