In the acts and monuments.
Salutations premised. We giue you to vnderstand, that our souereigne lord the king came to the towne of Poissie the daie before the Assumption of our ladie, where was a certeine bridge ouer the water of Saine broken downe by the enimie, but the king tarried there so long, till that the bridge was made againe. And whiles the bridge was in reparing, there came a great number of men at armes, and other souldiers well armed, to hinder the same. But the earle of Northampton issued out against them, and slue of them more than a thousand, the rest fled awaie: thankes be to God. And at another time, our men passed the water (although with much trauell) and slue a great number of the common souldiers of France, about the citie of Paris, and countrie adioining, being part of the French kings armie, and throughlie well appointed: so that our people haue now made other good bridges vpon our enimies, God be thanked, without anie losse and damage to vs. And on the morrow after the Assumption of our ladie, the king passed the water of Saine, and marched toward Poissie, which is a towne of great defense, and stronglie walled, and a maruellous strong castell within the same, which our enemies kept. And when our vauntgard was passed the towne, our rergard gaue an assault therevnto, and tooke the same, where were slaine more than thrée hundred men at arms of our enimies part. And the next daie following, the earle of Suffolke, and sir Hugh Spenser, marched foorth vpon the commons of the countrie assembled and well armed, and in fine discomfited them, and slue of them more than two hundred, & tooke thrée score gentlemen prisoners, beside others.
And after that, the king marched toward grand Villiers, and while he was there incamped, the kings vantgard was descried by the men at armes of the K. of Boheme: whervpon our men issued out in great hast and ioined battell with them, but were inforced to retire. Notwithstanding, thanks be vnto God, the earle of Northampton issued out, and rescued the horssemen with the other soldiers: so that few or none of them were either taken or slaine, sauing onlie Thomas Talbot, but had againe the enimie in chase within two leagues of Amiens: of whome we tooke eight, and slue twelue of their best men at armes: the rest being well horssed, tooke the towne of Amiens. After this the king of England marched toward Pountife, vpon Bartholomew day, and came to the water of Some, where the French king had laid fiue hundred men at armes, and thrée thousand footmen, purposing to haue kept and stopped our passage: but thanks be to God, the K. of England and his host entered the same water of Some, where neuer man passed before, without losse of any of our men; and after that incountered with the enimie, and slue of them more than 2000, the rest fled to Abuile, in which chase were taken manie knights, esquiers, & men at armes. The same day sir Hugh Spenser tooke the towne of Crotaie, where he & his soldiers slue 400 men at armes, & kept the towne, where they found great store of vittels.
The same night incamped the king of England in the forrest of Cressie vpon the same water, for that the French kings host came on the other side of the towne, néere vnto our passage: but he would not take the water of vs, & so marched toward Abuile. And vpon the fridaie next following, the king being still incamped in the said forrest, our scuriers descried the French K. which marched toward vs in foure great battels; and hauing then vnderstanding of our enimies (as Gods will was) a little before the euening tide, we drew to the plaine field, and set our battels in arraie: and immediatlie the fight began, which was sore and cruel, & indured long, for our enimies behaued themselues right noblie. But thanks be giuen vnto God, the victorie fell on our side, & the king our aduersarie was discomfited with all his host & put to flight: where also was slaine the king of Boheme, the duke of Loraine, the earle of Alanson, the earle of Flanders, the earle of Blois, the earle of Harecourt, with his two sons, the earle Daumarle, the earle de Neuers, and his brother the lord of Tronard, the archbishop of Nismes, the archbishop of Sens, the high prior of France, the earle of Sauoie, the lord of Morles, the lord de Guies, le seigneur de Saint Nouant, le seigneur de Rosinburgh, with six earles of Almaine, and diuerse other earles, barons, knights, and esquiers, whose names are vnknowne. And Philip de Valois himselfe, with an other marques, which was called lord elector among the Romans, escaped from the battell. The number of the men of armes which were found dead in the field, beside the common soldiers and footmen, were a thousand, fiue hundred, fortie and two: and all that night the king of England with his host aboad armed in the field, where the battel was fought.
On the next morrow before the sunne rose, there marched towards vs another great host mightie & strong, of the Frenchmen: but the earle of Northampton, and the earle of Norffolke issued out against them in thrée battels, & after long and terrible fight, them likewise they discomfited by Gods great helpe and grace (for otherwise it could neuer haue béene) where they tooke of knights and esquiers a great number, and slue aboue two thousand, pursuing the chase thrée leages from the place where the battell was fought. The same night also the king incamped himselfe againe in the forrest of Cressie, and on the morrow marched toward Bullongne, and by the way he tooke the towne of Staples: and from thence he marched toward Calis, where he intendeth to plant his siege, and laie his batterie to the same. And therfore our souereigne lord the king willeth and commandeth you, in all that euer you may, to send to the said siege vittels conuenient. For after the time of our departing from Caen, we haue trauelled through the countrie with great perill & danger of our people, but yet alwaies had of vittels plentie, thanks be to God therefore. But now (as the case standeth) we partlie néed your helpe to be refreshed with vittels. Thus fare you well. Written at the siege before the towne of Calis, the fourtéenth daie of September.
Iac. Meir.
Terrouan.
Terrouan woon by force.
But now touching the siege of Calis, and to returne where we left, ye shall vnderstand, that (as ye haue heard) the English campe was furnished with sufficient prouision of meat, drinke, apparell, munition, and all other things necessarie: and oftentimes also the soldiers made roads and forrais into the borders of France next adioining, as towards Guines, and saint Omer, ye euen to the gates of that towne, and sometime to Bullongne. Also the earle of Northampton fetched a bootie out of Arthois, and as he returned toward the host, he came to Terrouan, which towne the bishop had fortified and manned, deliuering the custodie therof vnto sir Arnold Dandrehen: for when he heard the Englishmen approched, he durst not tarrie within the citie himselfe, but got him to saint Omers. Sir Arnold stood valiantlie to his defense, and would not yéeld, till by verie force the Englishmen entered the citie, slue the soldiers, and tooke their capteine the said sir Arnold prisoner. The citie was put to sacke, and after set on fire. And when the Englishmen were departed, there came a number of Flemings from the siege, which they had laid before S. Omers, and began a new spoile, and fired such houses belonging to the canons and other, which the Englishmen had spared. Thus were those confines in most miserable case, for no house nor other thing was in safegard, but such as were conteined within closure of strong townes and fortresses.