The Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois, vol 3 | Page 5

harass the Emperor. Philip had proved himself master of the
Flemish, and, with help of the King of Scotland, hoped so to embarrass
Edward III. as to have no difficulty in eventually driving him to cede
all his French possessions. While he thought it his interest to wear out
his antagonist without any open fighting, it was Edward's interest to
make vigorous and striking war. France therefore stood on the
defensive; England was always the attacking party. On two sides, in
Flanders and in Brittany, France had outposts which, if well defended,
might long keep the English power away from her vitals. Unluckily for
his side, Philip was harsh and raw, and threw these advantages away. In

Flanders the repressive commercial policy of the Count, dictated from
Paris, gave Edward the opportunity, in the end of 1337, of sending the
Earl of Derby, with a strong fleet, to raise the blockade of Cadsand, and
to open the Flemish markets by a brilliant action, in which the French
chivalry was found powerless against the English yeoman-archers; and
in 1338 Edward crossed over to Antwerp to see what forward
movement could be made. The other frontier war was that of Brittany,
which began a little later (1341). The openings of the war were gloomy
and wasteful, without glory. Edward did not actually send defiance to
Philip till 1339, when he proclaimed himself King of France, and
quartered the lilies of France on the royal shield. The Flemish proved a
very reed; and though the French army came up to meet the English in
the Vermando country, no fighting took place, and the campaign of
1339 ended obscurely. Norman and Genoese ships threatened the
southern shores of England, landing at Southampton and in the Isle of
Wight unopposed. In 1340 Edward returned to Flanders; on his way he
attacked the French fleet which lay at Sluys, and utterly destroyed it.
The great victory of Sluys gave England for centuries the mastery of
the British channel. But, important as it was, it gave no success to the
land campaign. Edward wasted his strength on an unsuccessful siege of
Tournia, and, ill-supported by his Flemish allies, could achieve nothing.
The French King in this year seized on Guienne; and from Scotland
tidings came that Edinburgh castle, the strongest place held by the
English, had fallen into the hands of Douglas. Neither from Flanders
nor from Guienne could Edward hope to reach the heart of the French
power; a third inlet now presented itself in Brittany. On the death of
John III. of Brittany, in 1341, Jean de Montfort, his youngest brother,
claimed the great fief, against his niece Jeanne, daughter of his elder
brother Guy, Comte de Penthievre. He urged that the Salic law, which
had been recognised in the case of the crown, should also apply to this
great duchy, so nearly an independent sovereignty. Jeanne had been
married to Charles de Blois, whom John III. of Brittany had chosen as
his heir; Charles was also nephew of King Philip, who gladly espoused
his cause. Thereon Jean de Montfort appealed to Edward, and the two
Kings met in border strife in Brittany. The Bretons sided with John
against the influence of France. Both the claimants were made
prisoners; the ladies carried on a chivalric warfare, Jeanne de Montfort

against Jeanne de Blois, and all went favourably with the French party
till Philip, with a barbarity as foolish as it was scandalous, tempted the
chief Breton lords to Paris and beheaded them without trial. The war,
suspended by a truce, broke out again, and the English raised large
forces and supplies, meaning to attack on three sides at once,--from
Flanders, Brittany, and Guienne. The Flemish expedition came to
nothing; for the people of Ghent in 1345 murdered Jacques van
Arteveldt as he was endeavouring to persuade them to receive the
Prince of Wales as their count, and Edward, on learning this adverse
news, returned to England. Thence, in July, 1346, he sailed for
Normandy, and, landing at La Hogue, overran with ease the country up
to Paris. He was not, however, strong enough to attack the capital, for
Philip lay with a large army watching him at St. Denis. After a short
hesitation Edward crossed the Seine at Poissy, and struck northwards,
closely followed by Philip. He got across the Somme safely, and at
Crecy in Ponthieu stood at bay to await the French. Though his
numbers were far less than theirs, he had a good position, and his men
were of good stuff; and when it came to battle, the defeat of the French
was crushing. Philip had to fall back with his shattered army; Edward
withdrew unmolested to Calais, which he took after a long siege in
1347. Philip had been obliged to call up