Chronicle and Romance | Page 5

been seen in France a hundred year before. He sent for men into so far
countries, that it was long or they came together, wherefore the king of
England did what him list in the mean season. The French king heard
well what he did, and sware and said how they should siever return
again unfought withal, and that such hurts and damages as they had
done should be dearly revenged; wherefore he had sent letters to his
friends in the Empire, to such as were farthest off, and also to the gentle
king of Bohemia and to the lord Charles his son, who from thenceforth
was called king of Almaine; he was made king by the aid of his father
and the French king, and had taken on him the arms of the Empire: the
French king desired them to come to him with all their powers, to the
intent to fight with the king o£ England, who brent and wasted his
country. These princes and lords made them ready with great number
of men o£ arms, of Almains, Bohemians and Luxemburgers, and so
came to the French king. Also king Philip sent to the duke of Lorraine,

who came to serve him with three hundred spears: also there came the
earl (of) Salm in Saumois, the earl of Sarrebruck, the earl of Flanders,
the earl William of Namur, every man with a fair company.
Ye have heard herebefore of the order of the Englishmen, how they
went in three battles, the marshals on the right hand and on the left, the
king and the prince of Wales his son in the midst They rode but small
journeys and every day took their lodgings between noon and three of
the clock, and found the country so fruitful, that they needed not to
make no provision for their host, but all only for wine; and yet they
found reasonably sufficient thereof.[1] It was no marvel though they of
the country were afraid, for before that time they had never seen men of
war, nor they wist not what war or battle meant. They fled away as far
as they might hear speaking of the Englishmen,[2] and left their houses
well stuffed, and granges full of corn, they wist not how to save and
keep it. The king of England and the prince had in their battle a three
thousand men of arms and six thousand archers and a ten thousand men
afoot, beside them that rode with the marshals.
[1] Or rather, 'thus they found reasonably sufficient provisions.'
[2] That is, they fled as soon as they heard their coming spoken of.
Thus as ye have heard, the king rode forth, wasting and brenning the
country without breaking of his order. He left the city of Coutances[3]
and went to a great town called Saint-Lo, a rich town of drapery and
many rich burgesses. In that town there were dwelling an eight or nine
score burgesses, crafty men. When the king came there, he took his
lodging without, for he would never lodge in the town for fear of fire:
but he sent his men before and anon the town was taken and clean
robbed. It was hard to think the great riches that there was won, in
clothes specially; cloth would there have been sold good cheap, if there
had been any buyers.
[3] That is, he did not turn aside to go to it. Froissart says, 'He did not
turn aside to the city of Coutances, but went on toward the great town
of Saint-Lo in Cotentin, which at that time was very rich and of great
merchandise and three times as great as the city of Coutances.' Michael
of Northburgh says that Barfleur was about equal in importance to
Sandwich and Carentan to Leicester, Saint-Lo greater than Lincoln, and
Caen greater than any city in England except London.
Then the king went toward Caen, the which was a greater town and full

of drapery and other merchandise, and rich burgesses, noble ladies and
damosels, and fair churches, and specially two great and rich abbeys,
one of the Trinity, another of Saint Stephen; and on the one side of the
town one of the fairest castles of all Normandy, and captain therein was
Robert of Wargny, with three hundred Genoways, and in the town was
the earl of Eu and of Guines, constable of France, and the earl of
Tancarville, with a good number of men of war. The king of England
rode that day in good order and lodged all his battles together that night,
a two leagues from Caen, in a town with a little haven called
Austrehem, and thither came also all his navy of ships with the earl of
Huntingdon, who was governour of them.
The