overpowered by fear and want of provision that they were constrained to demand a parley, to arrange terms of capitulation; and they agreed to surrender the town and castle on the 18th day of February, unless there should appear a force sufficient to relieve them, by conquering the French, and gave hostages for its due performance, on which they were to march away with their effects in safety. The French now fortified their camp, and made preparations for a combat, but the English did not appear; for the duke of Somerset dared not leave Caen ungarrisoned, and, besides, they were not strong enough to expect success without great reinforcements from England. The place was therefore surrendered according to the terms of the capitulation, and the English marched to other parts under their obedience.

Soon after the reduction of Honfleur, the king left the abbey of Grestain, and went to Berucy, and thence to Essay † and Alençon. He ordered a party of his guards, with the franc-archers, to lay siege to Fresnay‡, which was under the government of two Englishmen called Andrew Torfflot § and Janequin Vaquier, having with them from four to five hundred English and Normans, called French Renegadoes. The French advanced before the place in a numerous body, in handsome array, which so much alarmed the governors that they instantly offered to treat for a surrender. After a short discussion, it was agreed, that on the place being given up to the king of France, together with ten thousand golden saluts, their captain, called Montfort ¶, who had been made prisoner at Pont Audemer, should be restored to them, and they should be allowed to march away in safety with their baggage. Thus was the place surrendered; and the English departed, on the 22d day of March, for Caen or Falaise, or to wherever else they pleased.

During the time of Lent, in this year, three thousand English landed at Cherbourg, under the command of sir Thomas Kiriel, a knight of great experience and renown, and marched to lay siege to Valognes **, which was under the government of an esquire from Poitou, called Abel Rohault. He held it valiantly for some time, for his brother Joachim Rohault; but having no hope of succour, he was forced to surrender it to sir Thomas Kiriel, after a defence of three weeks, and was allowed to march his men away in safety with all they possessed. The king's army was, at the time, collecting to raise the siege; as were the English to oppose them, from their different garrisons, namely, sir Robert Vere, in Caen, had six hundred combatants; Henry Morbery, in Vire, had about four hundred; Matago, in the town of Bayeux, had eight hundred fighting men, so that they amounted in all, including sir Thomas Kiriel's force, to six or seven thousand combatants. The French, learning this, suffered the town to be surrendered without any attempt to the contrary, for they could not be assembled in time, considering that the king's army was then dispersed in cantonments throughout Normandy, for the better preservation of their conquests.

CHAPTER XXIX. AFTER THE CAPTURE OF VALOGNES BY SIR THOMAS KIRIEL, HE TAKES THE FIELD WITH A LARGE ARMY OF ENGLISHMEN.-HE IS MET BY THE COUNT DE CLERMONT, WHO ATTACKS AND DEFEATS HIM.

[A. D. 1450.]

ON the 12th day of April, in the year 1450, after Easter, sir Thomas Kiriel dislodged from Valognes, having with him the greater part of the garrisons of Caen, Bayeux, and Vire, and, crossing the fords of St. Clement ††, advanced toward the country of Bayeux and Caen. Intelligence of this movement was carried to the French head-quarters, and a detachment was ordered to pursue them, under the command of the count de Clermont, the count de

• Berncy,-Bernay, a market-town in Normandy, twenty leagues and a half from Alençon.-MS. DU CANGE. † Essay, -a market-town in Normandy, five leagues from Alençon.

+ Fresnay. There are two villages of this name in Normandy.

Andrew Torfflot. Troslo.-MS. DU CANGE. Q. if not Truslow?

|| Janequin Vaquier. Basquier and Baquier.—MS. Du CANGE.

Montfort. Q. if not lord Fauconberg? See in the preceding pages.

** Valognes,-five leagues from Cherbourg.
+ St. Clement,-
-a village near to Bayeux.

Castres, the seneschal of Poitou, the lord de Montgascon and de Retz, admiral of France, and others, to the amount of five or six hundred spears and archers. Although they were so few in numbers, they continued their pursuit until they overtook them. Sir Geoffry de Couvran and Joachim Rohault had, some little time before, separated from them to seek if they could gain any information of the enemy, and luckily fell in with their track. Notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, they boldly and courageously made an attack on their rear-guard, and killed and wounded several. They then retreated, and sent notice of what they had done to the count de Clermont, who was not far off. He hastened to come up with the English, which he did near a village called Fourmigny, between Carentan and Bayeux, on the 18th of the same month.

The English, on perceiving the enemy, drew up in battle-array, and sent in haste to a captain, called Matago, who had that morning quitted them for Bayeux, but instantly returned to the aid of his companions. The two armies remained drawn up facing each other for three hours, while a continual skirmish was going forward, during which, the English made, with their swords and daggers, deep holes in their front, that those who should charge them might fall in with their horses: they were also very advantageously posted, for they had, within a bow-shot of their rear, a small river with gardens and orchards thick planted with fruit-trees, so that they could not be attacked on that quarter.

The count de Clermont, observing their situation, and considering that he had not an adequate force to combat them, despatched a messenger in haste to St. Lo, to require that the count de Richemont, constable of France, would come to his succour, otherwise he and his men would have more work on their hands than they could accomplish, for that the English greatly outnumbered his force. The constable, on receiving this intelligence, instantly set out at three o'clock in the morning of the same day, the 18th, to his assistance, although he was but just arrived from Brittany without halting. He rode to Trevieres *, accompanied by the lord James de Luxembourg, the count de Laval, the lord marshal de Lohéac, and from two hundred to twelve score lances and eight hundred archers. They advanced with great rapidity (for the English had already erossed the ford) until they came to the windmill above Fourmigny, where they drew up in order of battle in sight of the English.

The constable now

The count de Clermont had begun the engagement with his army of a thousand to fifteen hundred men before the arrival of the constable, and had been sharply repulsed by the English, who had taken from them two culverines. The constable first marched his men to gain a stone bridge, but no sooner did Matago and sir Robert Vere perceive this manœuvre of the constable, than they fled with a thousand of their men from Caen and Bayeux. Kiriel and the remainder retreated toward the rivulet, and occupied the village that was hard by. Part of the constable's archers, having dismounted at the end of the bridge, attacked the left wing of the English, and many were killed and put to the rout. crossed the rivulet and joined the count de Clermont; when the grand seneschal of Normandy asked his permission to march his division toward the enemy's right wing, which being granted, the English were slain and defeated. The main body of the constable's men marched now in handsome order until they were near the village, and crossed the brook by the high road. The English were so much alarmed that they quitted the village, and advanced to the rivulet, where a well-fought engagement took place; but although the French were in all not more, according to the report of the heralds, than three thousand combatants, and the English from six to seven thousand, nevertheless, by the grace of God, the French defeated them. From the accounts of the heralds, priests, and credible persons, three thousand seven hundred and seventy-three were slain, and buried in fourteen deep trenches on the spot.

Among the prisoners were sir Anthony + Kiriel, sir Henry Norbery‡, sir Thomas Drieut §, Thomas Kirby, Christopher Auberton, Arpel, Helix Alengour, Jannequin Vacquier, Gobert Caleville, and numbers of other captains, and English gentlemen bearing coats of Conformably to the old proverb, of "He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day," did those act who fled and left their companions to bear the brunt of Norbery. Before Morbery. Probably Norbury. § Dricut. Q. Trivet?

arms.

* Trevieres, a market-town near Bayeux. Anthony. He is called Thomas before.

the battle, namely, Matago, sir Robert Vere, Henry Lons, master Meillan, and another captain who commanded thirty lances and five hundred archers. The prisoners taken at this battle were estimated at from twelve to fourteen hundred. Matago fled to Bayeux, and sir Robert to Caen, and thus, by the favour of Divine Providence, were the English defeated.

On this day the following were made knights: the count de Castres, son to the count de la Marche, Godfrey de Boulogne, son to the count de Boulogne and Auvergne, the lord de Vauvert, son to the count de Villars, the lord de St. Severe†, the lord de Chalençon ‡, and several more. The French only lost this day, by death, eight persons at the most! The army now marched to lay siege to the town and castle of Vire. After their departure a dispute arose among the captains, to whom the honour of the day was due; some said to the constable, as being, from his office, lieutenant-general for the king in all parts of the realm; but others claimed it for the count de Clermont, he having been specially ordered on this service, and a special order ought to supersede a general one. It came to such a length that it was referred to the king, who decided in favour of the count de Clermont, although it was through the constable's able support that he had gained the victory. News of this success was soon spread all over the kingdom of France, and coming to the ears of master William Charrier, bishop of Paris, he immediately ordered a procession to be made to the church of Notre Dame of all children, as well male as female, that were at school, from the age of seven to eleven years, to return thanks to God for the signal victory the most Christian king had obtained over his ancient enemies. The procession, consisting of from twelve to fourteen thousand children, attended by their masters and tutors, set out from the church of St. Innocent, where they were assembled, each with a wax taper or other light in his hand. The chaplains of the church were in the centre, bearing the relics of St. Innocent; and the procession extended from this church to that of Our Lady, and was a fine sight to see, and did great honour to the bishop. On its arrival at the church of Notre Dame a solemn mass was sung, and the bishop preached a sermon, taking for his text the second verse of the eighth Psalm,-" Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." When the service was over they returned two and two as they had come, conveying back the relics to the church of St. Innocent, and thence each child went to its school.

About this period the duke of Suffolk quitted a strong castle into which he had retired for fear of the English, who would have put him to death, and embarked for foreign countries; but he was met at sea by the partisans of the duke of Somerset, who laid hands on him and cut off his head, which they sent, with the body, to their friends in London, who hung up the quarters at the different gates §. The French, without loss of time after their late victory, marched to besiege the town of Vire, in which was a garrison of three or four stout English combatants; their captain was sir Henry Norbury, then a prisoner, in consequence of the defeat at Fourmigny. The siege did not last long before the commandant capitulated to surrender, on being allowed to march away in safety with the garrison and baggage to Caen. The French army was now divided: one part, under the count de Clermont, marched toward Bayeux, and the other, with the constable, returned to the duke of Brittany, to lay siege to Avranches |.

*Lord of Montgascon.

John de Brosse, lord of St. Severe, afterwards count of Penthievre, &c., son of the marshal de Boussac.

Louis Armand de Chalençon, viscount de Polignac, married Isabel, second daughter of Bertrand III. lord of

La Tour, and his wife Mary countess of Auvergne and
Boulogne.

§ See the English historians for a more correct account of the end of the duke of Suffolk.

|| Avranches,-a bishopric in Normandy, seventy-five leagues from Paris, fifty from Rouen.

CHAPTER XXX.-THE DUKE OF BRITTANY BESIEGES AVRANCHES WITH HIS WHOLE FORCE.
-IT SURRENDERS TO HIM. HE TAKES TOMBELAINE
BAYEUX IS WON. THE

CONSTABLE GAINS BRICQUEBEC†, VALOGNES, ST. SAUVEUR LE VICOMTE§.—OTHER

INCIDENTS.

WHEN the duke of Brittany's army was returned to him, and had taken some rest, he mustered his men, and without delay began his march, well attended by artillery, to besiege the town of Avranches, which was garrisoned by four or five hundred English under the command of a captain called Lampet ||. The duke displayed great ability and courage in forming the siege, during which many skirmishes took place between the parties. This siege lasted three weeks, when the walls were so battered that the captain and garrison were reduced to surrender; but although they proposed different terms of capitulation, they could only obtain permission to march away in safety, but without arms or baggage; so that when the place was given up, they departed with staves in their hands. On the reduction of Avranches, the duke of Brittany advanced with his army to Tombelaine, which is impregnable so long as provision and stores last, for it is seated on a rock in the sea, near to St. Michael's Mount. There was in it an English garrison of from four-score to one hundred men; but they no sooner perceived the great force that was brought against them, than they capitulated to surrender the place, on being permitted to march to Cherbourg in safety with their baggage and effects.

On the 16th day of May, the king of France ordered the counts de Dunois, de Nevers, d'Eu, and several other knights and esquires, to lay siege to Bayeux. In consequence they encamped near to the town, and pushed forward the siege with such vigour, by mines and battering cannon, that many breaches were made in the wall wide enough to be stormed; but the commanders were averse to this, to avoid the effusion of blood and the numberless other evils that would ensue. However, notwithstanding this laudable resolution, the ardour and avarice of soldiers to become rich induced part of the army, without orders, to storm the town twice in the same day, when many gallant deeds were done on both sides, and several were killed by arrow and culverine shots. The French were forced to retreat without success, for the storm had been only made on one side: had this measure been carried on under the direction of their officers, it must undoubtedly have succeeded.

Matago, the governor of Bayeux, surprised at the valour he had seen displayed by the French at this attack, for they had slain some of the stoutest of the English, opened a treaty with the count de Dunois for its surrender; but after many parleys, he could only obtain permission for his men to march away without arms or baggage and with staves in their hands. Thus marched away, by the castle-gate for Cherbourg, all the English, to the amount of nine hundred, esteemed the most valiant of their party; but in honour of nobility, horses were given to carry their damsels and gentle ladies, and carts were also supplied to convey the most respectable of the women who followed their husbands. It was a pitiful sight thus to see from three to four hundred women, (without including children, who were very numerous,) some carrying their infants in cradles on their heads, others swinging them round their necks or in rolls of cloth round their bodies, and in a variety of other ways.

On the restoration of Bayeux to the obedience of the king of France, the count de Dunois appointed a captain and other officers to govern the city, and then crossed the Orne ¶, with the count de Clermont, and there cantoned the army, to live on the country until the arrival of the count de Richemont, constable of France. He had left all his artillery at Bayeux to be ready for laying siege to Caen.

In the meantime, the constable, and those in his company,-namely, the troops of the **

Tombelaine,-a small island, or rock, on the coast of Normandy, between Avranches and St. Malo.

+ Bricquebec. Probably Bricquebosq, a village in Normandy, near Valognes.

Valognes, a large town between Cherbourg and Carentan.

§ St. Sauveur le Vicomte, near Valognes.
Lampet. Q. Lambert ?

¶ Orue,―a river in Normandy: it runs into the sea at Estreham.

** Guy XIV. lord, and in 1429 count of Laval, son of John de Montford, lord of Kergolay, who, by his marriage

lord de Laval, the marshal de Lohéac, the troops of the admiral and of the lord de Touteville*,-gained the town of Bricquebosq for the king of France, on permitting those within it to march away with their baggage and effects. The constable then besieged Valognes, that had lately been captured by the English; but it was not long before it surrendered, for the lieutenant-governor for the king of England had turned to the French interest. He, however, obtained from the constable that the English garrison, amounting to six-score men, should march in safety, with arms and baggage, to Cherbourg.

On the departure of the duke of Brittany, the constable came to Bayeux, and thence sent Sir James de Luxembourg his lieutenant, and Odet Dadic, with about thirty lances, to commence the siege of St. Sauveur-le-Vicomte, which is a handsome town, and one of the strongest in Normandy. They remained before it three days, waiting for the marshals of France and of Brittany, the lords de Touteville, de Boussac, and others.

The lord Robersart, a baron of Hainault, was the governor, having with him two hundred English combatants, and on the arrival of the marshals the place was besieged in earnest. During the opening of the trenches, a valiant esquire from Berry, called John de Blanchefort, was killed by a cannon-shot, whose loss was much lamented. The garrison witnessing the approaches of the French, although unhurt by their batteries, offered to surrender, on condition that they should depart in safety with their arms, baggage and effects, and be allowed eight days for clearing the place. Thus was St. Sauveur-le-Vicomte restored to the king of France; and the marshals rode to a village called Ceaux†, within two leagues of Caen, where the constable and his company were quartered, carrying with them the English hostages for the performance of the treaty, and at the end of eight days, when the place was cleared, they were set a liberty.

CHAPTER XXXI.-THE SIEGE OF CAEN. THE KING OF FRANCE, ATTENDED BY THE KING OF SICILY AND HIS SON, THE DUKE OF CALABRIA, APPEAR BEFORE IT WITH A LARGE ARMY.-THE ENGLISH, AFTER SUSTAINING MUCH DAMAGE FROM THE BATTERIES,

SURRENDER THE TOWN AND CASTLE OF CAEN.

On the 5th day of June, the constable and his division dislodged from Ceaux, and fixed his quarters in the abbey of St. Stephen, in the suburbs of Caen, and near to the walls. On the same day, the count de Clermont, the count de Castres, and many other lords, knights and esquires, marched their men to the quarters of the constable: they amounted to twelve hundred spears, four thousand five hundred archers, guisarmes ‡, and armour-bearers, and two hundred franc-archers on foot. The count de Dunois posted himself in the suburbs of Vaucelles, on the side toward Paris, with a large company of nobles, men at arms and archers, to the amount of eight hundred lances, and two thousand archers, guisarmes, and armour-bearers on horseback, and two thousand franc-archers on foot, so that the city was completely blockaded on its two sides. They instantly threw a bridge of communication between the two divisions over the river Orne, by which, the fourth day after, the counts of Nevers and of Eu passed a considerable body of men-at-arms and archers, and quartered them in the suburbs of Caen, toward the sea, at the abbey of La Trinité, a convent of women. They were scarcely arrived before they attacked an outwork of the town, which was valiantly defended, and many gallant deeds were performed on each side, but it was at length won by storm by the French. They soon deserted it, because it was open on the side near the walls, and it was not re-occupied by the English, for they had destroyed its communication with the town by walling up the gate.

The king of France departed from Argentan §, to be present at this siege, attended by the king of Sicily, his son the duke of Calabria, the duke of Alençon, the counts of Maine,

with the sister and heir of Guy XII, became lord of Laval, assumed the name of Guy XIII., and died in his passage from the Holy Land in 1415. Guy XIV. married first Isabel, daughter of John VI. duke of Brittany, and secondly Frances, the widow of the lord Giles.

Q. Estouteville. Louis, grand-butler of France.

+Ceaux, a small town in Normandy, near Avranches.

Guisarmes, a kind of (offensive) long-handled and long-headed weapon; or, (as the Spanish visarma), a staff that had within it two long pikes, which, with a shoot or thrust forward, come forth.-Cotgrave.

§ Argentan. I should suppose it must be Alençon.