The Bishop of Norwich's Crusade (1383), according to the Chronica maiora of Thomas Walsingham

Thomas Walsingham was a Benedictine monk at the St Alban's abbey until his death in 1422.  He wrote several historical works, and is considered one of the most important writers of the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV.  His account of the Henry Despenser's invasion of Flanders is more detailed than most of the other sources for these events.  Walsingham also makes frequent use of the writings of Ovid, Claudian and other classical authors in this excerpt. 

The expedition of the crusaders against Flanders

At about the time of Trinity Sunday, which this year occurred in the middle of May, the crusading bishop of Norwich made his way with some of the army he had hired towards the coast.  He arrived speedily in Kent and put up at the manor of the abbot of St Augustine's called Northbourne to await a favourable wind. While he was staying there he received a note from the king which ordered him to return to speak to him, and to ascertain his will. The bishop was afraid that if he returned to the king he would receive a command to stay put, and thus all his efforts and all his preparations would come to nothing, and be ridiculed. He therefore chose to expose himself to fortune with the small force he had with him, rather than become a byword to his enemies by staying behind. So he had a message taken to the king to the effect that he was now all ready to undertake the expedition and it was not expedient for him to be hindered now by any discussion, which might perhaps be of little or no import. He should instead hasten on the journey he had undertaken for the honour both of God and of the king. Then he quickly summoned those who were accompanying him, and with the aid of Sir John Philpot, the knight and London merchant, who provided the fleet, he sailed for Calais with them, recalling the counsel of the poet who gave the following advice:

Away with delay, it always harms those who are prepared to put things off.

He stayed at Calais for a few days until the army which was needed to form the forward troops landed. After this force had assembled, he raised the standard of the Holy Cross, and immediately left Calais. It was with a bold spirit that he approached Gravelines, a town fortified by strong walls and defended by soldiers brought there from France and Brittany.  He preferred to make an assault upon the town rather than besiege it, while the English still seemed full of vigour. Those who were in the town were not dilatory in their preparations to defend themselves, but ran with alacrity to the walls, one moment hurling lead down upon the English, at another iron, then quick lime, and yet again stones, or whatever was necessary for their defence. Our men had the standard of the Holy Cross before their eyes, and keeping their minds intent upon the cause of their crusade, as well as upon the remission of their sins, they considered it glorious indeed to conquer, but gain to die.  Therefore, scorning dangers, despising wounds and contemptuous of death, they assailed the walls and engaged in close combat with the enemy. One moment they were driving the enemy back, at another being driven back, they wounded and were wounded, cut the foe down and were themselves cut down, until many mortal men on both sides were dead.

Meanwhile the Bretons and Frenchmen in the town stirred their townspeople to resist bravely and fight fiercely, declaring that French troops were coming who would destroy the present English troops, who lacked resources, who were not soldiers, and were a poor lot when facing a sword, like a straw before a fire. On our side, the bishop and Sir Hugh Calveley of blessed memory, inspired our troops with courage through their exhortation and instruction, making it clear to them that they were fighting on behalf of God and the whole Church, which they had undertaken to protect, declaring that all those whose lot it was to depart this life in this cause would be martyrs. They therefore asked, urged and entreated them to abandon all fear, and to attack the enemies of the Cross, in the knowledge that they would earn no less a reward from killing these dogs than they would from destroying as many Jews or Saracens.  Urged on by such words of admonition, each warrior collected his strength, and in a fierce attack slaughtered the enemy, forcing them to retreat, until just a few defenders were to be seen on the walls.  Our men manfully seized the walls, therefore, and by assault descended into the town, pressing hard upon the enemy inside the walls and restricting their movement, until panic stricken, the townsmen threw down their arms and fled, looking for places to hide themselves.  Our men, however, seeing that things were now equal, were eager to avenge the dishonour done to the Cross, as well as to take their revenge for the insults that they themselves received from the sneering inhabitants of the town the previous day when they first came up to the walls.  For indeed, they had shouted many abuses at our men which with good reason annoyed them.

For this reason our men searched for the enemy throughout all their hiding-places, dragged them out ignominiously, and in violent scenes forced them to surrender their perverse lives.  They ranged through the town, sparing nobody, but endeavoured to destroy every single one of them.  As a result, with the blessing of the Cross, the crusaders succeeded in gaining triumphant possession of the town, and the enemies of the Cross suffered such destruction that not one of them remained alive.  It was not by stealth, or by secretly surrounding the enemy, that they contrived the ruin of the walls; rather they gained victory by open warfare, after enduring the swings of fortune from noon the previous day, throughout the whole night, and up until noon the following day.

In the harbour of the town three large vessels were captured, which contained two hundred tuns full of wine, a large quantity of salted meat, and corn as well as iron.  All of these had been brought there to build up the town's stocks.  Two barges were also captured there, and it would not have been easy to find any better than these in the whole of France.  Two galleys along with sixteen fishing boats were also seized there.

            Many fine, high-spirited horses were found in the town.  The French had sent these on ahead to the town because they had planned to use them in battle to be waged later, as we shall explain, and after gaining victory, which they undoubtedly hoped to do, they would use them to intercept the bishop as he was fleeing with his men. However, things turned out differently from their expectations, for the very ruse they had planned, God turned to the benefit of his own, and allowed them to seize the town before the French expected.

            As a consequence, our men were very reassured by the outcome of these events, for very many of them who had come as foot-soldiers unexpectedly became horsemen. There was such an abundance of horses there that a horse was sold for a shilling. Such, then, were the events that took place at the town of Gravelines.

The battle at Dunkirk, and the glorious victory

During the few days they spent at the town of Gravelines the bishop of Norwich and Sir Hugh Calveley fortified the town and established a garrison there. The bishop then took his own soldiers with him and set off for Dunkirk, a fine town surrounded by wide ditches and strengthened by bolted gates. He had, in fact, heard that the towns­men of Dunkirk had one night recently killed as many as thirty-seven of our sailors. Stung by their action, he determined to take his revenge on them for the deaths of his countrymen. He took the town without much trouble, and in the town he rendered appropriate punishment upon those he wished, but spared others. He then led his whole army into Dunkirk.

In the mean time the Flemings and the French, the Bretons and other mercenaries, had mustered a huge army under the leadership of the Bastard of Flanders - called in their own language 'Hasa' - and that of the lord of Dixemude, and a certain John Mytteneye who had a short time before been in England and had promised loyal aid to the bishop when he came; but he violated the pledge, having told a pack of lies.

            After collecting an army of more than thirty thousand crossbow­men and fighting men, albeit secretly, they decided to make a surprise assault upon the bishop and utterly destroy him and the whole of his army. However, the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, opposed these endeavours, taking command in the war, and revealed to the bishop their stratagem on this occasion. In fact servants had left on the swiftest horses of their masters to forage, and it was they who unexpectedly caught sight of a very large, strong army, its arms gleaming, and filling almost the whole of the horizon. Concluding, rightly, that these were enemy forces, they spurred on their horses, and made great haste back. They informed the bishop, who was dining in the town of Dunkirk, of everything they had seen. Without any delay the bishop left his meal and, taking up arms, went out of the town, intending to fight there and then, even though some advised him to wait for the large force of allies to come from England. Sir Hugh Calveley, seeing the bishop's resolute spirit, and realizing that the enemy were all but on them, urged his comrades to act manfully even in these circumstances, and not to lose faith in the help of God, who had given them a more prosperous beginning than they could scarcely have hoped for, before finally showering upon them the whole fullness of his grace: `Which of you', he asked, `could have believed that so strong a town, defended by so strong a force, where there was no lack of military equipment, and no lack of soldiers, could have been subdued by so few, unless God had helped us, unless the hand of God had done all these things? Just consider', he said, `you will not now be fighting against stone walls, or against rampart and ditch at Gravelines, but will be attempting an easier conflict against feeble forces of Flemings, schismatics, and enemies of the Cross; and because they have had no experience of fighting Englishmen before this, they will be more easily defeated.'

            After addressing his troops he drew up the battleline, positioned archers at particular points, and instructed the inexperienced in the manner of fighting the battle. The enemy, seeing our men now advancing to meet them, counteracted with a warcry. But to prevent them getting too close, the archers drove them back until our soldiers were ready to clash with them. So, when the soldiers engaged in close combat, a difficult conflict could be seen, the enemy fighting with swords, lances, and with hammers bound with chains, and the English, with their sharp steel axes, striking those down who stood against them, like animals. There, rectors and vicars, whom the benefit of release from office had enticed, now exposed to danger, appreciated how sweet their own homes were; monks and canons learned how good obedience was, and Mendicant Friars realized how much easier it was to beg for alms in their own country amongst those they knew. For, to tell the truth, on our side there was only a small force of men numbering five thousand, more or less, being opposed by thirty thousand soldiers. So, men who were inexperienced in warfare, leisurely educated, nurtured in peace and quiet, could have lost heart, had not the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom and fortitude been with them, and filled them with boldness. However, it happened at that time that, with divine assistance, men whose lives had lain fallow, to use a well-used expression, showed by their strength and their valiant deeds that their long rest had been of great advantage to them. Indeed, it was discovered that some of the religious had killed sixteen men in that very battle, and it was agreed that the longer such men had spent in the quiet of the cloister, the more did they surpass others in bravery. As the poet once wrote,

Allow her to rest, for a field that is rested well repays its trust.

So it was that those men, suddenly taken from rest to toil, produced fruit nobly from their peace and leisure.

Among all the combatants, our archers surpassed all others and deserved praise and glory on that occasion, for they so struck the enemy with their flying arrows that no more of them remained who were protected by their armour than would have done if the very arrows had struck them when unprotected by armour. Indeed, such was the hail of arrows in the air that the sky was darkened, as if by a black cloud and so dense was the flight of arrows shot at the enemy, that they did not dare raise their faces. For anyone who tried to look into the air soon suffered an arrow through the eye, or one through the head. Many protected their heads with their shields, but the arrows coming at them soon pierced both their shields and their heads. Despite breastplates, bodies were pierced and men were wounded in their breasts, for the mail could not withstand the arrows; men were shot through the head, their helmets being of no avail, and hands holding lances or stakes were fastened to these very weapons by arrows, gloves being no protection. To be brief, the difference in the men fighting there was so great that on the one side you could see men ready to kill, on the other side they were like cattle ready to be slaughtered

            Therefore, when the French and the Bretons who were there, numbering as many as one thousand nine hundred, saw such a slaughter of the Flemings, they were horror-stricken. They had put the Flemings in the front line of the battle for two reasons: one was that they did not trust their loyalty, and so they exposed them to the first dangers to prevent them fleeing from the battle when a difficult situation faced them; the other reason was that if it turned out that the English were victorious, they themselves would have the greater chance to flee. The French, then, contemplating such a calamity, as we have said, were all petrified with fear, and speedily turned tail. Straightway all the rest of their large army fled behind them. When the English saw this, they made haste immediately to pursue the enemy, and cut down those they caught in flight in front of them, as well as those fleeing on their left and their right, and the slain fell in huge numbers. So that none should be in doubt that this victory was gained by divine help, there was a dreadful thunderstorm at the time of this battle, with frightening peals of thunder, which came to the service of the English, but occurred to the ruin of the enemy. For both during the battle and during their flight the enemy were blinded by the frequent flashes of lightning, and they were cut down and butchered. But the English, feeling that this was a blessing from God, were encouraged and buoyed up, so that they could with good reason consider this verse of Claudian applicable to any one of their number:

On your behalf, the North Wind from the frozen hills has overwhelmed the enemy's battle-lines, and turned the whirling missiles against those who threw them, and with his whirlwind has repelled their spears, O most beloved of God, when Aeolus lets his hostile storms pour out from his cave, when the elements assist you in battle, and the allied winds come at the call of our trumpets.

Twelve thousand of the enemy were killed on the battlefield and in flight, but only seven of our men fell.  This was so that it might be made manifest for all time that this victory had been granted us by Heaven.

This battle took place on 25 May, the day on which the Holy Church commemorates St Urban, pope and martyr.  So all things combined to prevent anyone doubting that the bishop's expedition was pleasing to God. After the battle he returned with his men to the town of Dunkirk.

The action of the king of France after this battle

When they heard the reports of this victory and the bishop's continual successes in France, our enemies were despondent and very afraid. Therefore, the king and the whole nobility of France discussed matters in council, and decided to summon all their friends and allies whose territories were close to theirs, that they might provide help against so fierce an enemy. This was done, and in the mean time the king waited in the valley of Soissons for them to arrive, assisting his French soldiers there, for that was a region expansive enough to receive a large army as well as being fertile and rich in every kind of produce. Seven dukes came to the king there with their armies, as well as ten counts - some bound by allegiance, others responding to entreaty - with many other lords and men of considerable reputation and authority, not counting the knights and esquires, yeomen and citizens, as well as the common people, and their number exceeded a hundred thousand. However, the bishop made light of the gathering of all these men, and in the mean time decided to subdue the territory around him until he received his own mercenary troops which had not yet crossed the channel. Indeed, he had hired many experienced soldiers, who would have been the right men for this conflict if they had been willing to be loyal. One of them was William Beauchamp, brother of the earl of Warwick, Lord Thomas Beauchamp. He had personally received five hundred marks from the bishop; but because he was paid less than the amount he should have had, according to the agreement, before he crossed the channel, he kept the money for himself and, despite this, remained in England, to be cursed bitterly by all the common people. Sir Thomas Trivet, who had also been hired, had not yet mustered his men who were to set out with him, and he himself had not so far prepared himself, but like a woman in childbirth, was lying there by the sea, waiting for something or other to happen. Therefore, men of London and some friends of the bishop threatened to kill him if he did not make haste to cross the sea, all of them accusing him of delaying with the intention of betraying the bishop. Goaded on by these men, he crossed the sea and soon reached the bishop, but his arrival proved to be of no benefit to the bishop as subsequent events will reveal. The bishop, as we have said, was eager to subdue the district, so he set out from the town of Dunkirk. The whole region was soon greatly agitated at the prospect of his arrival and, recalling what had happened at Gravelines, and later at Dunkirk, the townsmen pre­ferred to surrender without putting up any resistance, than to lose their towns and their lives by resisting. So he took the towns of Nieuport, Bourbourg, Bergues, and Poperinghe, and many other nearby towns, without a fight.

A new expedition of the crusaders

When the people in England learned of such joyful news from men who had been present at the capture of the towns of Gravelines and Dunkirk, and had brought home with them stallions and mares, as well as cattle and furnishings from the plunder, thus proving the validity of the reports, the whole country was immediately attracted by the hope of plunder and motivated to set off on the expedition. So, without much deliberation many apprentices from London, and more servants, put on white hoods, with red crosses on their right side and red sword scabbards on their left, and set off without the support of their masters and lords. Others from almost the whole of England followed their example, leaving their parents, relations, and their beloved households, and departed unarmed apart from swords, bows, and arrows. This action was not confined to men of the world alone; religious of every order were of the same mind: these sought permission, but if it was not given they took it upon themselves to take to the road, greatly to their own personal shame and detriment; indeed, it was not so much in the service of Jesus that they decided to go on the crusade, but that they might see their country and the world. Along every road and every track, common folk with no experience of war and simple country men were hurrying to reach the coast, where Sir John Philpot, in response to the bishop's pleas, was preparing a fleet. Many were there who had no provisions other than those for the voyage, for they reckoned that if they made the crossing they would lack nothing at all, but would have everything they desired. Many were taken across, therefore, and these hurried to the bishop, who then advanced further into the country and reached the town of Ypres with his army, a town that was very rich, famous for its buildings, and protected by soldiers. Therefore, although he was reluctant, and protested that it was against his wishes to besiege the town, and that his intention was to invade France in the cause of both the pope and the king, he was forced by the knights, Sir Thomas Trivet, William Elmham, and William Farringdon, to stay there, whether he wanted to or not.  All of them declared unanimously that they were unwilling to follow him any further, until he had stormed and broken into the town, despite his wish to invade France. They asserted also that the men of Ghent would come to their aid, and said that it would not now be difficult for the English and the men of Ghent to break into the town as a united force, since the men of Ghent had that very year taken the town by force of arms on their own, without any foreign aid. Seeing that he could not get his way at all, he decided to say no more, and to bow to their wishes for the time being, especially as he was assured that the men of Ghent would assist in the toil involved in the siege.

The siege of the town of Ypres

So it was that the bishop and his crusaders laid siege to Ypres on one side of the town, and thirty thousand men of Ghent on the other.  The men whom we have mentioned above as being enticed by hope of plunder, all came together from England for the siege, and such was the host of those who flooded into the country that those who had arrived from England numbered sixty thousand. When the bishop considered how large a number of men had arrived who had no training in warfare and did not even possess arms, he was perturbed, and sent a message to Sir John Philpot, asking him not to allow any others to cross the channel in future unless they were experienced soldiers; to those who had come without arms he said, `Why have you come? Is it to consume the provisions which will scarcely be enough for those who will be fighting? "You are but a cipher, born to consume earth's fruits"; it would have been better for you to have stayed at home without concerning yourselves to sit around the flesh pots.  The men were therefore angry, and now everyone of them then began to denigrate the bishop, secretly, of course, because they were afraid of him.

Betrayal by certain men

While the bishop and his confederates were occupying themselves in the siege of Ypres, and the people of the town, reckoning that during the heat in those days the besiegers were off guard and enjoying their inactivity, occupied themselves continuously in strengthening their town; they repaired parts that had been damaged, and made arms and military equipment which they needed for repelling the enemy. The men of Ghent, who were besieging the other side of the town, were working with all their might to transport earth, and to fill in the ditch, so that there would be an easier approach for engaging the townsmen in battle. Our men, on the other hand, decided not to make an assault upon the town and try their fortune, or even to approach the walls, because of the dangers which could arise, but rather to bide their time till a voluntary surrender was made, though they knew this would never happen, for inside the town there was an abundance of meat, wheat, and different kinds of drinks.

There were those who said that Thomas Trivet and some of his other knights had seized bags full of gold from the townsmen, that they had frequently entered the town, and had very often engaged in private as well as public negotiations with the townsmen; so not only did the common people-suspect them of being traitors, but said so in public proclamations. Consequently, through the unprofitable delay which they had engaged in, the situation of the besiegers was worse than that of the besieged, for whereas the latter enjoyed considerable harmony and an abundance of provisions, our men suffered suspicion and strife, and a scarcity of bread and water. The result was that a deadly plague broke out amongst our men, and a considerable number died daily of dysentery. Consequently, many of our men withdrew secretly from the camp and made for the coast, and when they arrived in England they reported what they had seen or heard about the knights. The bishop, seeing the number of his men diminish daily, urged his knights, who had become no longer his subordinates but his masters, to try their strength against the town before their force became too weak, either through the plague or because of the desertions.

An assault upon the town of Ypres

At last they agreed, but reluctantly, to his request; and on the eve of the festival of St Laurence [August 9] they approached the rampart. Aware of this, the townsmen met them full of courage, and drove our men back everywhere with stones, lances, arrows, Greek fire, and with missile weapons which are called 'guns'.  The bishop had had a slender bridge built, over which there was an easy climb to the rampart.  When the townsmen saw that this posed a considerable danger to them, they shot a huge rock from one of the guns; this struck the bridge and shattered it without difficulty, at the same time brutally killing some knights who were standing upon it. Just as much damage was inflicted in other places, which forced our men to retreat and abandon the assault. All who had survived withdrew, and left that dangerous location to go to billets with individuals, and within a few days the siege was raised.  The men of Ghent departed with bitterness, cursing the treachery of the English, for undoubtedly, if the English leaders had had as much honesty as the men of Ghent, the town of Ypres would not be in existence today.

            When they abandoned the siege, they set fire to whatever could be burned, lest these things should bring the enemy consolation or support. Whether they wanted to or not, they left behind in that place whatever they could not burn, destroy, or carry off, especially the great guns, which cost a great deal of money and were very valuable. Most of them, not knowing when they would be depart­ing, and now being compelled to leave suddenly, abandoned at Ypres valuable booty which they had gained through much toil and many dangers. Such was the end and the outcome of the siege of Ypres. 

The knights oppose the bishop when he wishes to enter Picardy

After the raising of the siege, the bishop learned through scouts that the king of France had arrived at the city of Amiens with an army. He therefore spoke to his knights, Sir Thomas Trivet, Sir William Elmham, and others, saying that he wanted to enter Picardy and try his fortune one day in battle against the king of France. However, though he gave them many good reasons which should have inspired them to undertake the expedition, he had no success in persuading them, but was even unjustly insulted by them when they asserted that he was rash and unaware of the strength of that great army, which had a hundred men to every one of theirs. They said that it would not be safe, and would be contrary to good sense to tempt God in this way, when there would be no hope of victory, but certain defeat. It would have been different perhaps if they had suddenly fallen into such dire straits that they could not escape from the situation except by fighting. When he heard their reply, the bishop bade them farewell, and entered Picardy with just a few men.

The bishop returns to Gravelines, and the knights to Bourbourg

The knights made haste to the town of Bourbourg, which they decided to fortify and protect against the French, should they happen to come against it.

Approaching part of the French army, the bishop unfurled his standards and revealed himself and his army on the field. However, nobody dared to engage him, because the French army had not yet assembled in its entirety. The bishop therefore reversed his standards and with all speed made for his town of Gravelines with Sir Hugh Calveley, who had ever been his inseparable companion in all difficult circumstances, and a loyal comrade.

The king of France having mustered his armies, was highly delighted by the departure of our men. When he learned that some of them had entered the town of Bourbourg he turned the whole of his army towards that place, swearing that he would spare none of those who were in that town, either through entreaty or by ransom, but would consign them to the flames along with the town, and any they took captive they would certainly put to the sword. The duke of Brittany opposed these plans, declaring that it would not turn out as the king believed. He said that he knew the persons who were in the town, that they were all brave men and experienced soldiers, who could not be defeated without serious loss of French lives. `You are not going to be fighting against Flemings', he said, `but against the English, who are certainly men of good sense, and prefer to die than to be defeated.'

            The king, angry at the duke's words, said, `You are one of them, and that is why you speak on their behalf.' The duke was swift to reply, `Do not reckon that I have uttered these words from fear or for their favour; you will see that I shall be the first with my men to make an assault upon them.' Indeed, he had up to twelve thousand first-rate troops, whom he had drawn from every part of his dukedom. And there and then, he raised his standards and approached the walls. In that town were the knights Lord Beaumont, Thomas Trivet, William Elmham, William Farringdon, and many other brave men, who, once troops had been positioned around the walls to defend the town, immediately prepared to oppose the Bretons, and took up their stations. A fierce conflict therefore broke out, and in every attack that was made the Bretons came off worse, the king of France and all the French looking on. Our men had made hooked weapons of iron, with which to pull the men who came at them towards them, and throw them down into the town, or else to prod them with them and push them back, making them fall into the ditches which were full of mud. The result was that many were drawn over the walls into the town, and soon fell like cattle after being brained by axe-blows; many who were pushed off the walls drowned in the filth in the ditches. Furthermore, the duke of Brittany's standard, wrenched by force from the hands of his standard-bearer, was carried off into the town along with many flags belonging to others. So the Bretons were forced through fear of death to quit the battle, and to withdraw with ignominy from the walls. Then the French themselves arrogantly attempted to approach the walls, but they learned from the perils they faced that the Bretons had not been rash in their withdrawal; for as soon as they reached the walls, they were driven back by flaming darts: some wanted to pick them up and make them their own, many laid hands upon one dart, but all suffered the same punishment of having their hands dreadfully burned. Consequently, when they let go of the darts they were immediately rendered powerless in the fight, and were either dragged into the town or were tossed headlong into the ditch. So more than five hundred of the French were killed in that encounter, our men suffering hardly any injury, except that a third of the dwellings along with many provisions were set alight by the Greek fire which was hurled into the town.

The battle was abandoned at nightfall, and the French withdrew to their tents, having lost the king's standards and most of their lords' standards too. At that point during the night the duke of Brittany came to the king of France asking him what his opinion was of the English and whether he still intended to make more attacks upon them. The king replied that they were devils, not human beings, to have conceived such dastardly devices against other Christians. Nevertheless he said he would not give up, until he had captured them all by force. In reply the duke said `I am opposed to making more attacks, for they are men of ability and courage, and would daily think up new devices against us. If we continue such attacks for three days we should lose men against them and our numbers be diminished. They will be strong enough in four days with the help of the bishop, who is bivouacking near the town of Gravelines, to leave the town to engage us on the battlefield; I have no doubt that we shall then lose more men than we have lost before.'

            Therefore, the king and those Frenchmen of wiser counsel, who were now considerably downhearted, began to consider not an assault upon our troops but negotiations with them; the many deaths were indeed distressing them, for they were not of the common people, but of experienced knights and esquires, and there were many lords wounded amongst both the Bretons and the French. Indeed, the marshal of France was killed there, and the lord of Clisson was seriously wounded, so that he had to be carried by hand from the walls. In view of all this, they now reckoned that the duke of Brittany had been speaking the truth, and decided that he should himself parley with the English on behalf of the king of France about the surrender of the town, for he was known to them, and knew them very well himself.

The duke and our men therefore engaged in negotiations, and after considerable differences of opinion had been expressed, they finally came to this decision: that the English would surrender the town to the king of France, provided that they themselves were allowed to leave the town unharmed with their horses, their arms, and all their servants, along with all the possessions which they wished to take with them from the town, and proceed to any place they wished, under conduct of the king of France, so that they could make swiftly for England. They therefore departed and came to Calais, bringing with them considerable spoils, which caused the French great annoyance. They had hoped, in fact, that they themselves would have been enriched from enemy spoils and gladdened by enemy deaths, but things turned out other than they had hoped, as this account has shown.

The previous section is from: The St Albans Chronicle: The Chronica maiora of Thomas Walsingham,  v.1:1376-13964, edited and translated by John Taylor, Wendy R. Childs and Leslie Watkiss (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2003)

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