CHAPTER LVIII.
The King of England lays Siege to Calais.—The Poorer Sort of the Inhabitants are sent out of it.
A BURGUNDY knight named Sir John de Vienne was governor of Calais; and with him were Sir Arnold d’Andreghen, Sir John de Surie, Sir Bardo de Bellebourne, Sir Geoffrey de la Motte, Sir Pepin de Were, and many other knights and squires. On the king’s arrival before Calais, he laid siege to it, and built, between it and the river and bridge, houses of wood; they were laid out in streets, and thatched with straw or broom; and in this town of the king’s there was every thing necessary for an army, besides a market-place, where there were markets every Wednesday and Saturday for butchers’ meat, and all other sorts of merchandise: cloth, bread, and every thing else, which came from England and Flanders, might be had there, as well as all comforts, for money. The English made frequent excursions to Guines and its neighborhood, and to the gates of St. Omer and Boulogne, from whence they brought great booties back to the army. The king made no attacks upon the town, as he knew it would be only lost labor, and he was sparing of his men and artillery; but said he would remain there so long that he would starve the town into a surrender, unless the King of France should come there to raise the siege. When the governor of Calais saw the preparations of the King of England, he collected together all the poor inhabitants, who had not laid in any store of provisions, and, one Wednesday morning, sent upward of seventeen hundred men, women, and children out of the town. As they were passing through the English army, they asked them why they had left the town. They replied, because they had nothing to eat. The king upon this allowed them to pass through in safety, ordered them a hearty dinner, and gave to each two sterlings, as charity and alms; for which many of them prayed earnestly for the king.
CHAPTER LIX.
The Duke of Normandy raises the Siege of Aiguillon.
THE Duke of Normandy, whom we left before Aiguillon, which he was besieging, while Sir Walter Manny and the other knights were within it, made, about the middle of August, a skirmish before the castle, which increased so much that almost his whole army was engaged in it. Near about this time, the Lord Philip of Burgundy, Earl of Artois and of Boulogne, and cousin-german to the duke, arrived. He was a very young knight. As soon as this skirmish commenced, he armed himself, and, mounting a handsome steed, stuck spurs into him in order to hasten to the combat; but the horse, taking the bit between his teeth, ran off with him, and in crossing a ditch fell into it, upon the knight, who was so grievously bruised that he never recovered, and in a short time died. Soon afterwards the King of France sent to his son the Duke of Normandy, to lay all other things aside, and raise the siege, in order to return directly into France to defend his inheritance against the English. The duke upon this demanded advice from the earls and barons there present, for he had vowed he would never move from thence until he had the castle, and all within it, in his power; but they assured him, since the king his father had so expressly ordered him to return, he might comply without any forfeiture of his honor. On the morrow at break of day, therefore, the French decamped, and, trussing up tents and baggage with great haste, took the road for France.
The knights who were in Aiguillon, seeing this, armed themselves, and, mounting their horses, sallied forth (the pennon of Sir Walter Manny taking the lead), fell upon the French, who were scarcely all marched off, cut down and slew numbers, and took upward of forty prisoners, whom they brought back to the castle. From them they learned the successful campaign the King of England had made in France, and that at present he was laying siege to Calais. Before the King of France left Amiens, after the battle of Crecy, to go for Paris, he was so much enraged against Sir Godémar du Fay, for not having done his duty in defending the ford of Blanchetaque, by which means the English had entered Ponthieu, that he had determined to hang him; to which many of his council also were inclined, for they were desirous that Sir Godémar should make some amends, by his death, for the defeat the king had suffered at Crecy, and called him traitor. But Sir John of Hainault excused him, and averted the king’s anger, by saying that it would have been difficult for him to have resisted the English army, when all the flower of the French nobility could do nothing. Soon after this the Duke of Normandy arrived in France, where he was joyfully received by his parents the king and queen.
CHAPTER LX.
Sir Walter Manny, by Means of a Passport, rides through France from Aiguillon to Calais.
ABOUT this time Sir Walter Manny had a conversation with a great knight from Normandy, whom he detained as his prisoner, and asked him what sum he was willing to pay for his ransom. The knight replied, “Three thousand crowns.” Upon this Sir Walter said, “I know you are related to the Duke of Normandy, much beloved by him, and one of his privy councillors. I will let you free upon your honor, if you will go to the duke, and obtain from him a passport for myself and twenty others, that we may ride through France as far as Calais, paying courteously for whatever we may want. If therefore you obtain this from the king, I shall hold you free from your ransom, and also be much obliged to you; for I have a great desire to see the King of England, and will not remain in any town more than one night. If you cannot accomplish it, you will return in a month to this fortress, as to your prison.” The knight set out for Paris, and having obtained from the duke the passport, returned with it to Sir Walter at Aiguillon, who acquitted him of his ransom. Sir Walter shortly afterwards set out with twenty horse, and took his road through Auvergne. He told everywhere who he was, and, at every place he stopped, showed his passport, and was directly set at liberty; but at Orleans he was arrested, although he showed his papers, and from thence conducted to Paris, where he was confined in the prison of the Châtelet. When the Duke of Normandy heard of it, he went immediately to the king, and remonstrated with him on the subject, because Sir Walter Manny had had his passport through his means; and demanded that he should as soon as possible be set at liberty, otherwise it would be said that he had betrayed him. The king answered that he intended putting him to death, for he looked upon him as one of his greatest enemies. Upon which the duke said, that, if he put his intentions in execution, he would never bear arms against the King of England, and would prevent all those dependent on him from doing the same. Very high words passed between them; and he left the king, declaring he would never serve in any of his armies so long as Walter Manny should remain in prison.
Things remained in this situation a long time. There was a knight from Hainault, named Sir Mansart d’Aisnes, who was eager to serve Sir Walter, but had great difficulty in getting access to the Duke of Normandy: however, at last the king was advised to let Sir Walter out of prison, and to pay him all his expenses. The king would have Sir Walter to dine with him in the Hotel de Nerle at Paris, when he presented him with gifts and jewels to the amount of a thousand florins. Sir Walter accepted of them upon condition that when he got to Calais he should inform the king, his lord, of it; and if it were agreeable to his pleasure he would keep them, otherwise he would send them back. The king and duke said he had spoken like a loyal knight. Sir Walter then took leave of them, rode on by easy day’s journeys to Hainault, and remained, to refresh himself, three days in Valenciennes. He arrived at Calais, where he was well received by the King of England, who, upon being informed by Sir Walter of the presents he had from the King of France, said, “Sir Walter, you have hitherto most loyally served us, and we hope you will continue to do so. Send back to King Philip his presents, for you have no right to keep them: we have enough, thank God, for you and ourselves, and are perfectly well disposed to do you all the good in our power for the services you have rendered us.” Sir Walter took out all the jewels, and, giving them to his cousin the Lord of Mansac, said, “Ride into France, to King Philip, and recommend me to him; and tell him that I thank him many times for the fine jewels he presented me with, but that it is not agreeable to the will and pleasure of the King of England, my lord, that I retain them.” The knight did as he was commanded; but the King of France would not take back the jewels: he gave them to the Lord of Mansac, who thanked the king for them, and had no inclination to refuse them.
CHAPTER LXI.
The King of Scotland, during the Siege of Calais, invades England.
I HAVE been silent some time respecting the King of Scotland, but until this moment I have not had any thing worth relating; for, as I have said before, mutual truces had been granted between him and the King of England, which had not been infringed. During the time the King of England was carrying on the siege of Calais, the Scots determined to make war upon him, thinking it a good opportunity to be revenged for the many disasters he had brought on them. England had at that time very few men at arms, as the king had a great number with him before Calais, as well as in his other armies in Brittany, Poitou, and Gascony. The King of France took great pains to foment this war, in order that the English might have so much to employ them at home as would oblige them to raise the siege of Calais, and return to England.