THE ENGLISH IN FRANCE (1242).
Source.—Matthew of Westminster, vol. ii., pp. 206 et seqq. (Bohn's Libraries.)
The same year a great sedition arose in Poitou, which subsequently produced great ruin, and a deadly quarrel, and war, and irreparable damage; for the Count de la Marche, at the instigation of Isabella, whom the French call the most impious Jezebel, being his own wife and the mother of the King of England, lifted up his heel against his lord the King of France ... and he intimated to the King of England to come to Poitou, not with any great retinue of English, but armed only with a large sum of money, and that he would make over to him all his territories beyond the sea. The King, by the advice of the Poitevins, a race always ready for treachery, gave credence to his proposals, and agreed to them, and prepared for his passage, with much treasure, and in a single vessel, and could not be delayed by either the advice or entreaties of any of his friends or natural subjects.... When Earl Richard (the brother of King Henry) saw that there were no means of turning the King from his design, he agreed to cross the sea with him, and prepared in a magnificent manner for the passage. And encouraged by his example, many other nobles prepared to make the passage in company with the King and the aforesaid Earl. The guardianship of the kingdom, therefore, being entrusted to Walter, Archbishop of York, because he was considered a man of singular discretion and fidelity among all the nobles of the kingdom, the lord the King, accompanied by his Queen, and by his brother, Earl Richard, with seven other Earls, and about three hundred knights, embarked on board ship on the fifteenth of May and set sail, steering his course towards Bordeaux....
About this time, the most pious and accomplished King of France, being moved by the spirit of mercy and peace, offered the lord the King of England excellent conditions of peace, because he was his kinsman, and because the Queen, his wife, was sister of the Queen of England. But the King of England, being led away by the false promises of the Count de la Marche, utterly refused them, asserting that he would never reject the advice of the said Count, whom, according to his usual custom, he called his father. And immediately, in a rash and hostile manner, he defied the King of France himself. Therefore the King of France repented of having thus humbled himself to the King of England, and unfolding the oriflamme, he made a vigorous attack on all the territories which belonged to the Count de la Marche; and in a short time the war was so successful in his hand, that he had crushed his enemies and brought the war to a wished-for end; for he had already occupied the Castle of Frontignac, which appeared to the Poitevins to be impregnable, and in it he took prisoners the son of the Count de la Marche, and a hundred knights. After that, he took the castle called Movent. And after that, day by day, he took other castles and cities, and all their inhabitants, illustrious citizens and knights, voluntarily submitted to his power. At last he came to a city very rich in vineyards, which is called Taillebourg, and which rejoices in a river, which is called the Tarente; and while the King of France was there, the King of England came in close order of battle to the other side of the river, and the two armies were so near that they could see one another's flags and standards, and there the King of England was saved from the danger of a disorderly battle by the energy of Earl Richard. Accordingly, King Henry fled with prudence and good fortune, and came to Saintonges; but the King of France pursued him without delay, and a very fierce battle took place between the French and English, outside of the city, in which the French, though against their will, were forced to confess that the English gained the most honour.
But as the army of the King of France was increasing every day, like a lake which grows in consequence of torrents which pour into it, a sedition arose in the city, in consequence of which evil reports got abroad, and so the King of England fled disgracefully, and retreated with all expedition to Blaye, where for some days he was detained by illness. So when the Count de la Marche heard this, being stung with grief in his heart, he sent the Count of Brittany to the King of France, to be a mediator and an intercessor for peace. And so, though with great difficulty, he was admitted to peace by the King of France, on very severe conditions, being forced to abandon the King of England, after he had drained him of his treasures and injured his honour. After these events, Reginald de Pontibus, and (following his example) William, surnamed the Archbishop, and the Viscount of Thouars, and many other nobles of Poitou, who nevertheless had craftily, or one might say treacherously, received all the money of the King of England that they could get, now flew to shelter themselves under the wing of the King of France....
Meantime, the King of France, having taken counsel with his nobles, because he saw that his military enterprises all prospered in his hands, according to his wishes, proposed to pursue the King of England in a hostile manner, without losing any time, as far as Blaye, because he knew that the said King was now deserted by all the forces of the Poitevins, and deprived of all comfort, and descending rapidly to the abyss of despair; and from Blaye to Bordeaux, if he departed in that direction, and to continue the war with unwearied diligence till its termination. And lo! the Lord, pitying the King, the Lord who giveth salvation to Kings, when and how He wills, that Henry might not appear to have recommended himself in vain to the prayers of the men of the religious Orders on his retreat, threw the hearts of the French, who were giving way to absurd pride, into confusion, by permitting seeds of division and dissension to arise among them.... Besides, a great want of provisions, and especially of water, oppressed their army, which was numerous, in a miserable manner, so that as their want of all kinds of food grew greater, they became swoln, and wasted away with sickness, and being afflicted and exhausted with various miseries, expired. For their fellow-citizens of the province had closed up the mouths of the wells, and had polluted and poisoned the rivers and fountains, had ploughed up the meadows and pasture-lands, and, having driven away the cattle, had removed to a distance all their supplies and all their crops. Accordingly, when they drank the waters, both horses and men perished; and as the dog-days were just at hand, those who were sick lay down, and speedily died, being destitute of all comfort and rest, and having no attendance or medicine. And in this way upwards of eighty nobles of the French army, who were entitled to bear standards, died, and of the infantry about twenty thousand. And as the King of France at the same time was very ill, great fear and despair seized upon the French, who said that the alms of the King of England had undone them. For they were greatly afraid that their own King, because he was tender and delicate, and indeed that they themselves, too, might be overwhelmed with sudden death; and the example of strong men who were overtaken by death increased their fear.
Therefore, as the fates were adverse to him, the King of France was compelled to beg a truce of five years from the King of England, being desirous to return with all speed into France, where he might be able to enjoy a better climate, and the truce was accordingly, and indeed joyfully, granted to him when he requested it. Having therefore received the homage of the nobles of Poitou, and having placed garrisons of his own natural and loyal subjects in their castles and cities, to command them, and keep them for him, the King returned to France; and being soon restored to perfect health, he commanded the men of Poitou, who had been surrendered on conditions of extremity, to be kept in close custody, and while there a condition was imposed on them that they should not give their daughters in marriage, nor go from one city to another, without leave of the French. Also the Count de la Marche, being accused and impeached of treason that same year before the King of France, was with difficulty saved from the infliction of an ignominious death. But he became a sort of prodigy in the eyes of all men; a sign that is to be pointed at and ridiculed, and hissed at by all men, because he had so wickedly betrayed the King of England, who rashly trusted in him. From that time forth, then, the prodigal anxiety of the King of England was released from its burdens, though before that time he was accustomed foolishly to distribute among the Poitevins seven thousand marks every year, for their shadow of homage and useless service.