[24] Hollingshed styles him 'Antilope, pursuivant at arms.'
[CHAP. XXVI.]
THE KING OF ENGLAND, WHILE AT SOUTHAMPTON, DISCOVERS A CONSPIRACY OF HIS NOBLES AGAINST HIM.—HE LAYS SIEGE TO HARFLEUR, AND WINS THAT TOWN.
While the king of England remained at Southampton, to embark his army which was now ready to sail for France, he was informed that many lords of his household had entered into a conspiracy against him, with the intent to place the earl of March, the rightful successor and heir to Richard the second, on the throne of England. True it is, that the earl of Cambridge, with others, had plotted to seize the persons of the king and his brothers, to accomplish the above purpose, and had revealed their plan to the earl of March, who had discovered it to the king, advising him, at the same time, to be on his guard, or he would be betrayed, and named to him the conspirators. King Henry was not long in having them arrested, when the three principal were beheaded, namely, the earl of Cambridge, the lord Scrope of Masham, who every night slept with the king, and sir Thomas Grey. Some others were afterward executed.
This matter being ended, the king hastened the embarkation of his army, and put to sea. On the vigil of the assumption of our Lady, they made in the night-time a harbour[25], which lies between Harfleur and Honfleur, where the river Seine enters the sea, and landed without any effusion of blood. Their fleet might consist of about sixteen hundred vessels of all sorts, full of soldiers, and every sorts of warlike stores.
When the whole of the army was landed, the king fixed his quarters at a a priory in Graville[26], and his brothers the dukes of Clarence and Glocester near to him. His uncles, the dukes of York and Dorset, the bishop of Norwich, the earls of Windsor, Suffolk, earl marshal, Warwick and Kent, the lords de Camber, Beaumont, Willoughby of Trompington, sir John de Cornewall, Molliflac[27], with many more, lodged themselves as well as they could. They marched the army to besiege, with vigour, the town of Harfleur, the commanding sea-port of all that coast of Normandy.
The king's army was composed of about six thousand helmets and twenty-three thousand archers, exclusive of cannoneers, and others employed with the engines of war, of which he had great abundance. About four hundred picked men at arms had been sent by the french government, to defend Harfleur, under the command of the lords d'Estouteville, governor of the town, de Blainville, de Bacqueville, de Hermanville de Gaillart de Bos, de Clerè de Bectou, de Adsanches, de Briautè, de Gaucourt, de l'Isle-Adam, and several other valiant knights and esquires, to the amount aforesaid, who gallantly opposed the English. But their attempts were vain against so superior a force, and in their sallies they had great difficulty to re-enter the town. They took up the pavement, which was between Montivilliers and Harfleur, to make the road as bad as possible, and carried away the stones. Notwithstanding this, the English scoured the country, made many prisoners, and gained much booty, and planted their large engines in the most convenient spots for battering the town, which greatly damaged its walls.
The besieged were not slack in their defence, but made such good use of cross-bows and other weapons that many of the English were slain. The town had but two gates, namely, that of Caltinant and that of Montivilliers, whence they made several vigorous sallies on the enemy; but the English defended themselves well. An unfortunate accident befel the besieged, for a supply of gunpowder sent them by the king of France was met by the English and taken.
While these things were passing, the king of France sent against the English a considerable body of men at arms to Rouen, and other parts on the frontier under the charge of the constable, the marshal Boucicaut, the seneschal of Hainault, the lords de Ligny, de Hamede, sir Clugnet de Brabant, and several other captains.