They within the towne, being well furnished of all things necessarie for the defending of a siege, manfullie resisted the Englishmens inforcements, which spared not to deuise all waies and means how to approch the walles, and to batter the same with their great artillerie, till at length they brought the Frenchmen̄ to that extremitie, that they were contented to yéeld the towne on these conditions; that if by the thrée and twentith of Iune there came no succour from the French king to raise the siege, the towne should be deliuered into the kings hands, the soldiers of the garrison should serue vnder the king for a time, and the townesmen should remaine in their dwellings as they did before, as subiects to the king: but the gunners that had discharged anie péece against the Englishmen should suffer death. When the daie came, and no aid appeared, the couenants were performed accordinglie. From thence went the king with all spéed vnto Point de Larch, standing vpon the riuer of Seine, eight miles aboue Rone towards Paris: he came thither about the seauen and twentith of Iune.
The English armie passeth the riuer of Seine.
When the Frenchmen which kept the passage there heard of the kings approach, they gathered togither a great number of men of warre, minding to defend the passage against him, appointing an other band of men (if they failed) to kéepe the further side of the bridge; and to watch, that neither by boate nor vessell he should come ouer the riuer by anie maner of meanes. At his comming néere to the towne, he perceiued that it was not possible to passe by the bridge without great losse of his people, and therfore he retired almost a mile backeward, where, in a pleasant and commodious place by the riuer side he pitched his campe, and in the night season, what with boates and barges, and what with hogsheads and pipes, he conueied ouer the broad riuer of Seine a great companie of his soldiers, without anie resistance made by his enimies. For they which were on the hither side of Seine, thinking that the Englishmen had gone to winne some other place, followed them not, but studied how to defend their towne, which was inough for them to doo.
A good policie.
And to put the French men in doubt, least the Englishmen should séeke passage somewhere else, the king appointed certeine of the soldiers which had skill in swimming, to go to a place thrée miles from the siege by the riuer side, and there to enter into the water, making great clamor and noise, as though they had meant to haue passed; but they had in commandement not to trauerse past halfe the riuer, so to procure the Frenchmen to make thitherwards, whilest the king in one place, and his brother the duke of Clarence in another, got ouer their men, and that in such number, before the Frenchmen had anie vnderstanding thereof, that when they made towards them, and perceiued that they were not able to incounter them, they fled backe, and durst not abide the English footmen, which would faine haue béene dooing with them.
Pont de larch rendred vp to the Englishmē.
When the king saw that his men were on the other side of the water, he (the next daie earlie) returned to the towne, & assaulted it on both sides. When the inhabitants therefore saw themselues compassed on both sides, contrarie to their expectation, with humble heart and small ioy they rendered vp the towne vnto the kings hands. After this, the king hauing no let nor impediment, determined foorthwith to besiege the citie of Rone, and first sent before him his vncle the duke of Excester, with a great companie of horssemen & archers to view the place, & thervpon with banner displaied came before the citie, and sent Windsore an herauld at armes to the capteins within, willing them to deliuer the citie vnto the king his maister, or else he would pursue them with fire and sword. To whome they proudlie answered, that none they receiued of him, nor anie they would deliuer him, except by fine force they were therevnto compelled: and herewith there issued out of the towne a great band of men of armes, and incountered fiercelie with the Englishmen, the which receiuing them with like manhood, and great force, draue the Frenchmen into the towne againe to their losse, for they lett thirtie of their fellowes behind prisoners and dead in the field.
Rone besieged by K. Henrie.
The duke returned with this good spéed and proud answer of the Frenchmen vnto the king, who remained yet at Pont de Larch, and had giuen the towne of Louiers to his brother the duke of Clarence, which made there his deputie sir Iohn Godard knight. After that the duke of Excester was returned to Pont Larch, the French capteins within Rone set fire on the suburbs, beat downe churches, cut downe trées, shred the bushes, destroied the vines round about the citie, to the intent that the Englishmen should haue no reléefe nor comfort either of lodging or fewell. When the king heard of these despitefull dooings, he with his whole armie remooued from Pont Larch, and the last daie of Iulie came before the citie of Rone, and compassed it round about with a strong siege. This citie was verie rich in gold, siluer, and other pretious things, in so much that when the same was taken and seized vpon by the English, the spoile was verie great and excéeding aduantagable: which the compiler of Anglorum prælia hath verie well noted, in a few lines, but pithie; saieng
Angl. præl. sub.