The boy's Froissart

by Jean Froissart

CHAPTER LXIII.
John Copeland takes the King of Scotland Prisoner, and receives great Advantages From it.

WHEN the Queen of England, who had remained in Newcastle, heard that her army had gained the day, she mounted her palfrey, and went to the field of battle. She was informed that the King of Scotland had been made prisoner by a squire of the name of John Copeland, but who had ridden off with him, they could not tell whither. The queen ordered that a letter should be written, commanding him to bring the King of Scots to her, and telling him that he had not done what was agreeable to her in carrying off his prisoner without leave. All that day the queen and army remained on the field of battle which they had won, and on the morrow returned to Newcastle.

When the letter from the queen was presented by a knight to John Copeland, he answered that he would not give up his prisoner, the King of Scots, to man or woman, except to his own lord the King of England; that they might depend on his taking proper care of him, and he would be answerable for guarding him well. The queen upon this wrote letters to the king, which she sent off to Calais. She therein informed him of the state of his kingdom. The king then ordered John Copeland to come to him at Calais; who, having placed his prisoner under good guards, in a strong castle on the borders of Northumberland, set out, and, passing through England, came to Dover, where he embarked, and landed near Calais. When the King of England saw the squire, he took him by the hand, and said, “Ha! welcome, my squire, who by his valor has captured my adversary the King of Scotland.” John Copeland, falling on one knee, replied, “If God, out of his great kindness, has given me the King of Scotland, and permitted me to conquer him in arms, no one ought to be jealous of it; for God can, when he pleases, send his grace to a poor squire, as well as to a great lord. Sir, do not take it amiss if I did not surrender him to the orders of my lady the queen; for I hold my lands of you, and my oath is to you, not to her, except it be through choice.” The king answered, “John, the loyal service you have done us, and our esteem for your valor, is so great, that it may well serve you as an excuse; and shame fall upon all those that bear you any ill-will. You will now return home, and take your prisoner the King of Scotland, and convey him to my wife; and by way of remuneration I assign lands, as near your house as you can choose them, to the amount of five hundred pounds sterling a year, for you and your heirs; and I retain you as a squire of my body and of my household.” John Copeland left Calais the third day after his arrival, and returned to England. When he was come home he assembled his friends and neighbors, and, in company with them, took the King of Scots, and conveyed him to York, where he presented him, in the name of the king, to the queen, and made such handsome excuses that she was satisfied.

When the queen had sufficiently provided for the defence of the city of York, the castle of Roxburgh, the city of Durham, and the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as well as for all the borders, and had appointed the Lords Percy and Neville governors of Northumberland to take proper care of it, she set out from York, and returned to London. She ordered the King of Scots, the Earl of Murray, and the other prisoners, to be confined in the Tower of London; and, having placed a sufficient guard over them, set out for Dover, where she embarked, and with a favorable wind arrived before Calais three days preceding the feast of All Saints. The king, upon her arrival, held a grand court, and ordered magnificent entertainments for all the lords who were there, but more especially for the ladies; as the queen had brought a great many with her, who were glad to accompany her, in order to see fathers, brothers, and friends, that were engaged at this siege of Calais.

CHAPTER LXIV.

The young Earl of Flanders is betrothed, through the Constraint of the Flemings, to the Daughter of the King of England.—He escapes to France in a Subtle Manner

The siege of Calais lasted a long time, during which many gallant feats of arms and adventures happened. But it is not possible for me to relate the fourth part of them; for the King of France had posted so many men at arms in the fortresses, and on the borders of the counties of Guines, Artois, Boulogne, round to Calais, and had such numbers of Genoese, Normans, and others in vessels on the sea, that none of the English could venture abroad on horseback or on foot, to forage, without meeting some of these parties. There were frequent skirmishes near the gates and ditches of the town, which never ended without several being killed and wounded: sometimes one side gained the advantage, and sometimes the other. The King of England and his council studied night and day to invent new engines more effectually to annoy the town; but the inhabitants were equally alert to destroy their effect, and exerted themselves so much that they suffered nothing from them. However, no provisions could be brought into the place but by stealth, and by the means of two mariners who were guides to such as adventured. One was named Marant, and the other Mestriel: both of them resided in Abbeville. By their means the town of Calais was frequently victualled, and by their boldness they were often in great danger, many times pursued and almost taken; but they escaped, and slew and wounded many of the English. The siege lasted all the winter. The king had a great desire to keep on good terms with the municipalities of Flanders, because he thought that through them he should the more easily obtain his end. He made, therefore, frequent protestations of friendship to them, and gave them to understand, that, after he should have succeeded at Calais, he would reconquer for them Lisle, Douay, and all their dependencies: so that the Flemings, believing in such promises, put themselves in motion about the time that the king was in Normandy, whence he came to Crecy and Calais; and they laid siege to Bethune. They had chosen for their commander the Lord Oudart de Renty, who had been banished from France, and had closely besieged the town and much damaged it by their attacks. But there were within four knights for the King of France, who well defended it: their names were Sir Geoffry de Chargny, the Lord Eustace de Ribeaumont, the Lord Baudoin d’Anequin, and Lord John de Landas. The town of Bethune was so well defended, that the Flemings conquered nothing: they returned, therefore, to Flanders, not having been more successful than before.

When the King of England was come to Calais, he did not cease sending flattering messengers and promises to the municipalities of Flanders, to preserve their friendship, and lessen their opinion of the King of France, who was taking great pains to acquire their affections. The King of England would have gladly seen the Earl Lewis of Flanders, who at that time was but fifteen years old, married to his daughter Isabella, and set so many engines to work among the Flemings that they acceded to it; which mightily rejoiced the king, for he imagined that by this marriage he would easily govern that country. The Flemings also thought that this alliance would enable them more effectually to resist the French; and that it would be more profitable to be connected with the King of England than with the King of France. Their young earl, however, who had been educated with the royal family of France, and who at the time was in that kingdom, would not agree to it, and declared frankly that he would never take to wife the daughter of him who had slain his father. On the other hand, Duke John of Brabant was very eagerly trying to make a match between the earl and his daughter, and promised to obtain for him the full enjoyment of Flanders, by fair or foul means. The duke also gave the King of France to understand, that, if the marriage took place, he would manage the Flemings, that they should attach themselves to him in preference to the King of England. Upon the strength of these promises, the King of France consented to the marriage of the Earl of Flanders with the Duke of Brabant’s daughter. After the duke had obtained this consent, he sent messengers to all the principal citizens of the great towns in Flanders; who colored the union with so many specious reasons, that the councils of the principal towns sent to the earl, and informed him that if he would come to Flanders and follow their advice, they would be his true friends, and would give up to him all royalties, rights, and jurisdictions, in a greater degree than any earl had hitherto been possessed of. The earl was advised to go to Flanders, where he was joyfully received; and the chief towns made him rich and handsome presents.

As soon as the King of England was informed of this, he sent the Earls of Northampton and Arundel, and Lord Reginald Cobham, into Flanders; who managed matters so well with the leading men in the place, and with the corporations, that they were more desirous their lord should marry a daughter of the King of England, than the daughter of the Duke of Brabant: they very affectionately entreated their lord so to do, and supported it by many strong and good arguments (which would be too tedious to detail here), insomuch that those of the Duke of Brabant’s party could say nothing to the contrary. The earl, however, would not consent to it, notwithstanding their fair speeches and arguments; but repeated his former declaration, that he would never marry the daughter of him who had killed his father, were he to have a moiety of the kingdom of England for her dower. When the Flemings heard this, they said their lord was too much of a Frenchman, and very ill-advised; and that he must not expect any good from them, since he would not listen to their counsels. They arrested him, and confined him,—though not a close prisoner,—and told him he should never have his liberty until he would pay attention to their advice. They added, that if the late earl his father had not loved the French so much, but had listened to them, he would have been the greatest prince in Christendom, and would have recovered Lisle, Bethune, and Douay, and been alive at this day.

While all this was passing, the King of England still held on the siege of Calais. He kept his court there at Christmas in a right royal manner; and in the ensuing Lent the Earl of Derby, the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Oxford, and many knights and squires who had crossed the sea with them, returned from Gascony.