The duke of Burgundy was very desirous to get rid of the Dauphinois from the town of St Riquier, as they committed much mischief on the country round about; and during the month of November, he had frequent conversations on this subject with the principal prisoners whom he had made at the affair of Mons in Vimeu. At length, a treaty was concluded between the duke, on the one part, and the lord d'Offemont, governor of St Riquier, and the leaders of his garrison, on the other,—by which it was agreed, that the duke should set at liberty all prisoners whom he or his army had taken since he had first come before St Riquier, free of ransoms; and in return sir Hemon de Bomber, sir John de Blondel, Ferry de Mailly, John de Beaurevoir, John de Crevecoeur and some others, were to be delivered from their confinement, and also the town and castle of St Riquier were to be put in possession of the duke.
Not long after the conclusion of this treaty, sir Hemon de Bomber died in St Riquier of a lingering disorder, which so angered the duke that he would have violated the treaty, if his counsellors had not persuaded him to the contrary. At last, he sent his prisoners under an escort from Lille to Hesdin, and thence with passports they were conducted to the lord d'Offemont, who delivered up the prisoners he had promised, and the town and castle of St Riquier into the hands of the lords de Roubaix and de Croy, who had been commissioned for that purpose by the duke.
The lord d'Offemont, on his departure from St Riquier, crossed the Somme at Blanchetaque, and returned through Vimeu to Pierrefons, Crespy in the Valois, and to other places under his obedience. The lords de Roubaix and de Croy, after examining the town and castle, and receiving the oaths of allegiance from the inhabitants, nominated governors thereof le borgne de Fosseaux knight, master Nicholas Mailly, and his brother Ferry de Mailly, Nycaise de Boufflers, John Doncuerre, with others, and their men, to keep the field against sir James de Harcourt.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] Saluts,—an old French crown, of the value of five shillings sterling.—Cotgrave.
CHAP. LXVII.
THE BURGUNDIAN LORDS ASSEMBLE IN ARMS TO CONDUCT THITHER THEIR DUKE FROM PICARDY.—OTHER MATTERS.
About this time, in consequence of summonses from the duke and duchess dowager of Burgundy, the nobles of that duchy assembled in arms, and went to the duke in Picardy, to escort him thither, where his presence was much desired by the duchess, to consult on public affairs that were very pressing.
They amounted to six thousand horse, and began their march under the command of the prince of Orange, the lords de St George and de Château Vilain, sir John de Coquebrune marshal of Burgundy, and other lords and captains, through Champagne, to near Lille in Flanders. The principal lords left their men in the adjacent villages, and waited on the duke in Lille, who received them with joy.
As the duke was not quite ready to set out, they were requested by sir John de Luxembourg to join him, and make an attack on the lords de Moy and de Chin, who were Dauphinois, and had greatly destroyed his own estates, as well as those of his daughter-in-law the countess of Marle. They agreed to his proposal; and, as he had assembled about eight hundred combatants, they advanced to St Quentin, where they lay the first night, and then continued their march. When they approached the castle of Moy, the usual residence of the lord of that name, they were told that he was absent, but had left it well provided with men, stores and provisions: he had also burnt the lower court, and several houses of the town that joined the castle.