A.D. 1406. related to the king all their adventures, and also concerning the siege which had been raised from before Bourg.

How Duke John of Burgundy negotiated so with the King of France and his great council that he had leave to besiege Calais. CHAPTER XVII.

ABOUT the time that the Duke of Orleans made this expedition into Aquitaine, the Duke of Burgundy came to Paris, when he so negotiated with the king and his council that he obtained leave to lay siege to the town of Calais, they promising him aid in men-at-arms and funds as far as they well could. After this conclusion was come to, the duke very joyful returned into his country of Flanders, where he caused orders to be written which he sent throughout all his countries, giving to his subjects a day for coming to him at St. Omer, and he caused to be made many preparations, especially in the Forest of Beaulot, where he had built two large towers to set before Calais, and in many good towns he caused to be made a great quantity of other instruments of war of different kinds of use for his enterprise. On the other hand, the King of France caused to assemble throughout his kingdom a great multitude of fighting men to go to St. Omer, so that there were there about four to five hundred Genoese, the greater part of whom were crossbow men on foot, and when all were come to St. Omer they joined with the company of Duke John of Burgundy, hoping to go before Calais, and they were in number full six thou. sand men-at-arms, three thousand archers, and five hundred crossbowmen, all picked men, besides the foot from the marches of Flanders, from Cassel, and other places, of whom there was a great number, and

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they had a great transport conveying artillery, victuals, A.D. 1406. and other matters helpful for fighting. But notwith. standing all these great preparations thus made, and the great courage of the Duke of Burgundy, the enemy of mankind, who never sleeps nor is ever satiated with persecuting the human race, who had long fomented a jealousy between the Dukes of Burgundy and Orleans, again found a way of destroying this enterprise by means of certain covert hypocrises, for just as the army was ready to start from Saint Omer, there came to the Duke of Burgundy and the other lords of his company certain messengers bearing letters to the royal company from the King of France by which he ordered them to go no further with this enterprise. The letters then being come and the same being read before the Duke of Burgundy and those of his council, he showed signs of great grief at the prohibition of the king, saying that it caused him great shame and confusion to break up and disperse so fine an army and so noble a company as he had assembled without doing anything. Nevertheless the lords considering that they must obey the king and the great council and carry out their orders, deliberated and concluded to break up the expedition and return with all their men each to his own country, for in like manner the king had written to the Count of Saint Pol, to the master of the crossbowmen, and to several other great lords to beware as they feared to incur his indignation that they went no further in fighting, but all returned to their places. And this disbandment of the army was on the night of Saint Martin in the winter. However, Duke John of Burgundy, grieved and angry, made oath and swore in the presence of many of his people that in the month of March next coming he would return to the town of Saint Omer with the

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A.D. 1406. greatest force of men that he could find, and would march against the English by all the frontiers of Boullenois to place them under subjection to the King of France or he would die in the attempt. Some days after these things the said duke left the good town of Saint Omer, and all his men-at-arms returned to their houses.

Owing to the departure of the said duke, those of the frontiers of Boullenois and Picardy made great murmuring against the council of the King of France, that is to say, against those whom they considered to be the cause of this breaking up, for on account of the multitude of the muster the countries had been much harassed. And at this time Sir William de Vienne, Lord of Saint George, then Captain of Picardy, surrendered the office into the hands of Duke John of Burgundy, who afterwards established therein in his place the Lord of Croy. And then a great number of the artillery of the King of France were placed round the castle of Renty in the hope of taking it in the coming season. After the departure of the Duke of Burgundy from the town of Saint Omer he came to Hesdin, where the duchess, his wife, was, and thence drew towards Douai, very melancholy at the disbandment he had had to make, and at giving up his enterprise against Calais, for which reason he held in hatred and suspicion some of the principal counsellors of the kingdom of France, especially the Duke of Orleans, because he was informed that by his means this breach had been effected. So he was much troubled in his heart, besides which before that he had never had any great love for him. Wherefore concerning this matter, the Duke held at Douai several great councils amongst his nobles, and there decided to set out to go to Paris to the King of France, with a view to again obtaining permission to make up for his abandoned expedition in the March following, which journey to Paris he made very hur

riedly and very largely attended. And there he made A.D. 1406. to the king, to the Duke of Berri, his uncle, and to many others of the great council, bitter complaints of the great dishonour, loss, and damage caused to him. and to those who were then in his company when he had by their common consent and accord prepared and fitted out and at great charges and costs to himself set on foot this great army and all to do nothing; and he was at this time spoken softly to by the king and the other lords, who showed him many grounds on which it had been necessary and profitable to do as had been done, so much so, that at last he made pretence to be fully well satisfied; for, besides, to appease him, they gave him hope that as soon as the king well could do it, he would make up the affair and repair this breach.

At this disbandment of the army the King of England was not sorry, for during this time he was much occupied with the business of his kingdom, owing to some persons taking the side of King Richard, whom he forced to beg for mercy, so that there was none who thenceforth dared to rise against him or show signs of rebellion, wherefore he held much greater power than he ever had before, and so to provide against the attacks of the French, he reinforced with men-at-arms and archers his good town of Calais, and other places on the frontiers of his possessions. King Henry of England, who was wise and crafty, clearly saw great preparations for war brewing in different places, wherefore it seemed clear to him that the French would have enough of it much nearer at hand and in their own territories without going to seek it elsewhere, and it so fell out as he thought, as you shall hear hereafter.

How the people of Liege rebelled against John of Bavaria their bishop and the reason thereof. CHAPTER

XVIII.

A.D. 1406. AT this time John of Bavaria, formerly called "Sans pitié," Bishop of Liege, own brother of William Duke of Bavaria, Count of Hainault, because he would in no way incline or bind himself to holy orders, albeit he had bound himself and sworn to the people of Liege to take them, was by them for this reason ejected from the bishopric and country of Liege, and in his place they made the son of the Lord of Peruel, a native of the country of Brabant aged eighteen years or thereabouts, who was a canon of Saint Lambert at Liege, their bishop; and at the same time the said people of Liege made the Lord of Peruel, father of the said new bishop, their principal maimbourg and governor of all the country of Liege, for previously the said Sir John of Bavaria had promised to lay aside and resign his bishopric into the hands of the said son of Peruel, at which promise had been present Anthony Duke of Brabant, Walleran Count of Saint Pol, and many other notables, of which promise he would keep nothing, and for this reason by the encouragement of the said Lord of Peruel all the commons of Liege rose against the said Sir John; whereupon great war arose between the parties, and there were many slayings and other innumerable evils done and perpetrated, as you shall hear, for, very soon after, the said people of Liege came to besiege the town of Utrecht, whither they brought their new bishop, and maimbourg with the intention of reducing it to their obedience, and you shall hear hereafter how it befell them. At the same time that these things were being done, there arose in France great murmurings and jealousies between the great princes through their