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A.D. 1399. only two archbishops and ten bishops; and in the midst of dinner there came a knight named Dymock, fully armed, mounted on a horse, covered in mail, and caparisoned in scarlet. And the said knight was armed for battle, a knight carrying his lance before him; and the said knight had a naked sword on one side and his dagger on the other side; and he delivered a letter to the king which was read in these words: "If there be knight, esquire, 1 or gentleman, who will say or maintain that King Henry is not the rightful king, made so for cause, he [the challenger] is ready "to do battle with him, in the presence of the king, "or whenever it shall please the king to name a

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day." And the king had it cried by herald at arms in six parts of the said hall; but no one appeared. And when the king had dined he took wine and spices in the said hall, and then retired, and all the people departed thence, each one going to his house, or wherever he had to go. Thus passed the day of the coronation of King Henry, who remained that day, and the night following, and the morrow, at the Palace of Westminster.

How the Earl of Huntingdon was reconciled with King Henry and made peace on behalf of the Earl of Salisbury. CHAPTER II.

You must know that the Earl of Salisbury was not at these solemnities and was in a very bad position, for he was kept shut up in prison with good guards over him, and the king's council and many of the nobles of the country and the Londoners wanted to have his head cut off publicly in the street of Cheap in London, and they said that he had well deserved it, inasmuch as he had put himself forward to carry letters of credence on behalf of Richard of Bordeaux

1 The word estrangier in A. is escuyer in printed texts.

into France to the king and the lords of France; and A.D. 1399. he had said, and borne testimony, and set abroad, that King Henry was false and wicked; all saying that this crime and misdeed was not to be pardoned, but demanded a very cruel punishment. King Henry, who was wise and discerning, was not inclined to put him to death so soon, but took some pity on him, for the earl excused himself that what had been done was done by order and command of the four knights above named who had been beheaded. The king believed the excuse soon enough, but those of his council would not listen to it, and they said, and so did the Londoners, that he should die, for he had well deserved it; and so the Earl of Salisbury remained in prison in great peril of his life. Sir John de Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, who was at that time warden of Calais, grieved very much for his brother King Richard, who had been taken and put in prison in the Tower of London and sentenced to pass his life there, or wherever else it might please King Henry and his council, and had resigned the kingdom, the crown, and the whole government to Henry of Lancaster as King of England. The Earl of Huntingdon, whatever annoyance or displeasure he might feel about King Richard his brother, considered the times and what had happened, and saw that he alone against the power of England could not help it; and the countess his wife also, who was sister-german to King Henry, said to him when he had returned to England: "My lord, you must let pass your anger well and wisely, and "do nothing by which you may take harm, for my "lord the king my brother can do you much good;

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and then you see that all the country inclines to him, and if you show him any ill-will you are lost; so do you dissimulate over this matter, I beg and "counsel you, for King Henry is quite as much your "brother as King Richard was; then stay by him,

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A.D. 1399. and you will find him a good and ready friend, for "there has never been in England a king so rich as

he is, and he can do you and your children a great "deal of good." The Earl of Huntingdon understood well the words which his wife had said and explained to him, for he was sensible enough, and he believed them and listened to them; so he betook himself to King Henry his brother-in-law, did homage, and promised him his fealty, loyalty, and service; and the king received him, and was greatly rejoiced thereat, so that afterwards the Earl of Huntingdon was able to do so much through the good friends and power which he acquired, and so importuned the king, that the Earl of Salisbury was heard and all his excuses received, and he was pardoned all that he had done ill about his journey to France, and returned into the good graces of King Henry and the country. Now we will leave this matter for a little, and return to the Lady de Coucy, who was going back to France.

How the news of the capture of King Richard was
known in France by the arrival of the Lady de
Coucy, and how the King was angered thereat.
CHAPTER III

WHEN the Lady de Coucy had landed at Boulogne
she hastened her business as much as possible and set
out for Paris, and already there were rumours in France
in many places about the events which had happened
in England, for many things were known about them
through Lombards and merchants of Bruges; but when
the Lady de Coucy, who was in England with the
young Queen Isabel, was returned to Paris all the real
truth was known. The lady, when she arrived, went
as was right to the house of her husband the Lord de
Coucy, who was one of the household of the King of
France and one of the highest; and the news came to

Saint Pol in the king's hotel that the Lady de Coucy A.D. 1399. was come. Then men-at-arms and ushers were despatched in the morning to seek and ask after the Lord de Coucy, who knew the news from England through my lady his wife, who had returned the day before, and these messengers and ushers hastened in suchwise that the Lord de Coucy went to the king, who asked the knight of the state of England, of the king, and of his daughter. The knight did not dare to conceal anything, but told him all that his wife had informed him of. When the King of France heard this news it was very displeasing to him, for he knew the English to be harsh, severe, and strange; and the said king of France, who for a long time had been in good health, relapsed from anger into the malady of madness, whereat the barons of France, his brothers and uncles, and many others, were much angered, but they could not help it. The Duke of Burgundy said, "This was an unreasonable marriage; and truly I spoke of it when it was being treated for, and brought about, but I could not get a hearing. The "Londoners never quite liked this King Richard, and "all this mischief comes from and is engendered by "the Duke of Gloucester. Now we must look about " and see how the English wish to act, since they "have taken their king and put him into prison, and

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they will kill him, for they never loved him; and "because he was not warlike, but peaceful, they have "crowned the Duke of Lancaster king, who will give "himself up to greatly gratify2 them, and, whether he "wishes it or not, will do all they wish." Then many

1 That night there had been play at his hotel, so he did not come so early as the king and the lords would have wished, that they might hear news from England and know of the state of King Richard and

the young queen Isabel his wife.
As soon as he was come he entered
the chamber of the king, who asked
him about the state of England. S.
2 This appears to be the better
reading.

A.D. 1399. speeches were made, and many views were advanced,

how the men of Bordeaux would act, for he was born there, and they loved him much, as did also the men of Bayonne, Dax, and of the heaths of Bordeaux. “It "would be well" [said the Duke] "if the Constable " of France, Sir Louis de Sanxerre, were notified of it, and were to go to the frontiers thereabouts, and "had with him Sir Ragnault Despaigne, le Barrois "des Barres, and other barons and prelates who were "skilled in negotiation; and if my brother of Berry

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were to set off1 and go to the frontiers of Banites,2 "Blavres, and Mirabel, by which means, if the men "of Bordeaux were willing to listen to our proposals, they might be welcomed, for we must have them now or never."

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How the Londoners had news of the murmurs of the people of Bordeaux and Bayonne, and how they provided a remedy. CHAPTER IV.

THE words of the Duke of Burgundy were listened to, and it was ordered as he proposed. Indeed he well understood the matter, and had in thus speaking a good and clear apprehension, for when the people of the city of Bayonne, of Bordeaux, and Dax heard that their lord was taken and put in the Tower of London, and how his council had been executed, and Duke Henry of Lancaster crowned king, they were much amazed, and could not at first believe that so great a misdeed had happened in England, but little by little such news came that they clearly saw that it was all true. Then these three cities closed their gates, and allowed no man, knight or esquire,

1 Into Poitou in printed texts and

in S.

2 Frontiers of Saintes, Blayes and Mirabel in printed texts.

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