churches of the Cordeliers, Jacobins, and some others. He also burnt on the opposite side of the city the suburbs of Baudemont, which were of large extent, and contained many fine edifices, as well inns as other houses; all of which were burnt and destroyed to the confusion of the inhabitants of this suburb.

CHAP. IX.

CHARLES KING OF FRANCE, HAVING REDUCED BAPAUME TO HIS OBEDIENCE, MARCHES TO LAY SIEGE TO ARRAS, AND TO SUBJECT THAT CITY TO HIS POWER.

KING Charles of France having, as I have said, reduced the town of Bapaume, to his obedience, departed thence on the 19th day of July with his whole army, and halted at a village called Vercourt, situated on a small brook two leagues from Arras. He had left his engines of war at Bapaume, under the guard of sir Gasselin du Bos and a sufficient garrison. Sir Gasselin, as gover

nor of the town, made the mayor, sheriffs and commonalty, take a solemn oath of fidelity to the king, and to him as his go

vernor.

From Vercourt, the king, passing by Arras, was lodged in the town of Vailly*; at which place, and before the gates of Arras, there were grand skirmishes between the king's army and those within the town. They sallied out of the place in great numbers on horseback against their enemies, of whom they that day, at different times, made sixty or more prisoners, and carried them into the town, with a quantity of baggage.

In company with the king were, his eldest son, Louis duke of Acquitaine, the dukes of Orleans, of Bourbon, of Bar and of Bavaria, the counts of Vertus, of Alençon, of Richemont, of Vendôme, of Auxerre, of la Marche, of la Marle, of Eu, of Roussy, the archbishop of Sens, the bishop of Laon, and the count of Armagnac. The lord Charles d'Albreth, constable of France, was also with the king, and some other knights

* Vailly, a town in Picardy, near Abbeville,

and esquires of the van division, consisting of three thousand men at arms at least, without including archers, so that the whole of the royal army may be estimated at about two hundred thousand persons of all sorts.

The king's quarters at Vailly were in a house which had belonged to the Templars about a cannon-shot from the town, and the duke of Acquitaine was lodged very near him. Soon after, the duke of Bourbon and others of the van division made an entrance early in the morning into the suburbs of Vaudemont, and there established themselves, in spite of the resistance from Arras, but it was not without a severe conflict.

On another day, the duke of Bar, the count de Marle and the count d'Armagnac, with the rear division, made good a lodgement on the opposite side, in the suburbs of of Belle-mocte, so that the city of Arras was now so completely surrounded that scarcely a single person could venture out without being taken, although, during the siege, there were daily sallies made from the town, sometimes on foot, at others on horseback.

The besieged often made sallies from two and even three gates within an hour's

time, and on these occasions, as it was afterwards known, they gained more than they lost; for, during the siege, they brought into the place upward of twelve score prisoners, and great numbers were in these sallies alleft dead on the field.

ways

One particular skirmish took place near the river Scarpe, between the suburbs of Belle-mocte and the postern of Arras, which was very fatal to the besiegers. A party from the vanguard had crossed the river on a plank, one at a time, to the number of six or seven score, purposing to make an attack on the postern; but the besieged instantly sallied forth to combat them, and drove them back to the plank,-when they, finding they could not repass without much danger, rallied and forced their enemies to retreat to the postern. At length by the valour of a man at arms, called Perceval le Grand, who was the leader of the townsmen, they were again forced to the water's edge, and so vigorous ly attacked that fifty at least were killed on the spot, or made prisoners: from fifteen to twenty were drowned in attempting to cross the river, whose bodies, in armour, were dragged out on the following day.

About twenty of the besieged were killed or taken in their various sallies.

Among those of name made prisoners were Baugeois de la Beauvriere, the bastard de Belle, the Bastard Dembrine, and some other gentlemen from Burgundy; but they lost the greater part of their best horses in these skirmishes.

The castle of Belle-mocte, situated near to Arras, remained, during the siege, steady to the Burgundy party. The guard of it was given to sir Fleurant d'Ancre and sir Symon de Behaignon: with them was a man at arms called Jean Rose, who was strongly suspected of wishing to betray the castle for money, and on that account was made prisoner and his effects confiscated. This fortress was well defended by the said knights, for the duke of Burgundy, although the king's army took great pains to conquer it.

To speak of all the different expeditions and incursions the king's troops made during this siege into Artois, Ternois, and other parts, would make too long a narrative; but I shall notice that which took effect under one of the bastards of Bourbon, and other captains, with about one thousand combatants. They