"And now," he continued, addressing the archers, "I will take care that bravery hath its reward. Another penny a day shall be added to your pay, and, as for Raymond Buckland, who, I am told, undertook the defence after my trusted Wyatt's death, from this time forth he shall be one of my squires! Let him but acquit himself as he hath done since he hath been in my company, and he will be on the road to win a pair of gilded spurs!"
[1] Not, of course, the well-known coast town in Kent, but the ancient village of that name on the New Forest side of Southampton Water.
[CHAPTER X]
FATHER AND SON SET OUT FOR HENNEBON
NEARLY four years have elapsed since the events recorded in the last chapter—years full of national interest. The naval battle of Sluys had been fought and won, and for the time the English fleet ruled the Channel, so that scarce a French or Spanish vessel dared to show itself betwixt Ushant and Cape Grisnez.
After the siege of Tournay, a treaty had been concluded between King Edward III. and Philip of France, but the former was ever on the alert to seize a favourable opportunity of renewing hostilities, and late in 1341 an incident occurred that gave the King the excuse to prosecute the war once more—a step that led to the glorious victory at Crécy and the overrunning of nearly the whole of France by the victorious arms of England.
The Duchy of Brittany was disputed between John of Montfort and Charles of Blois, and, while the latter was pressing his claims at the French Court, Montfort, by force or intrigue, had acquired the fortresses of Rennes, Nantes, Brest, and Hennebon; and in order to obtain a powerful supporter he had journeyed to England and concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with King Edward, at the same time offering to do him homage for the Duchy of Brittany.
Keeping this treaty a deep secret, Montfort did not hesitate to return to Paris to defend his case, but realising that the French King did not favour him, and fearing violence at his hands, the Earl retired to Brittany and declared war against the Count of Blois.
Philip sent his son, the Duke of Normandy, with a powerful force to aid Charles of Blois, and Montfort, after sending urgent requests for assistance to the King of England, shut himself up in Nantes, which was immediately besieged by the French.
By the treachery of the inhabitants Nantes fell, and Montfort, taken prisoner, was hurried to Paris, where he was loaded with chains and thrown into a loathsome dungeon in the Louvre.
But, though low, the fortunes of the Montforts were destined to recover. The cause was taken up by the Countess Joan of Montfort, the heroic wife of the imprisoned Earl, and being loyally supported by the Bretons, she withdrew her forces to the town of Hennebon, where she awaited the onslaught of the French, trusting in the expected aid from England.