The Crusade of the Bishop of Norwich (1383),
according to the Westminster Chronicle
The Westminster Chronicle seems to have been
the work of two authors, the first who wrote the events between 1381 and 1383,
and the second continuing from that point until 1394. They may have
each written a part of the text below, which relates the events of the Crusade
of Henry Dispenser, Bishop of Norwich. The Chronicle blames the Bishop's
lieutenants for the failure of this invasion, accusing them of taking bribes and
betraying the English cause.
The bishop of Norwich landed at Calais with his commanders
on Trinity Sunday [17 May]; after waiting there throughout the Monday and until
noon on Tuesday to rest themselves they rode on to Gravelines.
On the Wednesday they made their dispositions and at the end of a
spirited assault had gained possession of the town, going on to bring under
their control the towns of Dunkirk, Nieuport, Bourbourg, Poperinghe and
Lombartzyde with their satellite forces. On
the afternoon of 25 May, while the bishop and his troops, stripped of their
arms, were resting in the town of Dunkirk, a numerous body of Flemings and
Frenchmen, efficiently drawn up in armed squadrons and their ranks everywhere
crammed with banners and lances, appeared at a distance of barely a mile from
the town; their total reached at least 28,000 men.
In the English army bugles and trumpets blared and amid hubbub and
shouting there was a rush to arms; and company after company sallied out of the
town and swept into battle. As the
opposing lines met with a clash of lances, helmets were shivered and lancings
burst; the whole field echoed with the screams of the fallen and cavalry pressed
the pursuit of the fleeing enemies. The
victims of the slaughter, scattered in ditch, cornfield, and plain over the
entire countryside, numbered at least 10,000.
When the battle was over, there was a general rally to the standards by
the English who humbly knelt and sang a Te Deum in thanks to the Most High for
the victory vouchsafed to them from Heaven.
As the hymn ended a miracle took place: over the regions for which the
fleeing enemies were making, thunder pealed deafeningly and appalling lightning
and murky cloud appeared, while above the English army the Lord provided
tranquil weather and a gentle breeze. In
all this fighting few or none of the English lost their lives.
At this point the chronicle moves on to discuss other
topics, and a few paragraphs later returns to the events in Flanders.
In June the bishop, with his own men and forces from
Ghent, laid siege to Ypres, but after eight weeks he had made little progress.
At the end of that time he raised the siege and caused the heralds to
proclaim his orders that all who were not in receipt of official wages should
return to England: for there were with the army countless persons with neither
horses nor weapons who, on learning of the great execution recently done in
those parts, had flocked to the bishop, the more eagerly because their motive
was profit, but who were wholly disinclined to be subject to the control of any
commander. The bishop now withdrew
his men to the neighbourhood of Bourbourg, Poperinghe, and Gravelines into which
he had first marched. Almost at
once there was borne to his ears by the voice of rumour the news that the king
of France planned an immediate move into the area with a huge army.
The bishop proposed, subject to the determination of God, to steal upon
the French king's van one night and to deliver a devastating attack on it before
he approached any closer. He
accordingly summoned his knights – Thomas Trivet, William Elmham, and William
Faringdon – whom he was obliged to consult about the conduct of military
operations, but they refused their consent to what the far-sighted bishop, with
the agreement of Sir Hugh Calveley, had worked out in his mind as the best plan
to carry out in the circumstances. So
the king of France came down upon Flanders with a n untold host under arms, and
towards the end of September launched a series of heavy attacks upon a town –
Bourbourg – in which the knights named, together with the other stalwarts in
their order, all stout warriors, had established themselves.
At the first onset they heavily repulsed the enemy; but they were
subsequently lured by bribes into surrendering the town to the king of France,
taking an oath that they would not bear arms against him until after their
actual arrival in England. Their
motive in acting in this way was to enjoy their lives – or rather their
worldly goods. We are aware of no
occasion when this infamous thing has been done by knights of England, that they
should sooner strive to preserve this world's ephemeral riches than to lay up
for themselves in good name with outshines and surpasses all fortune's favours.
Can we not apply to them the words of the prophet, 'Be thou ashamed, O
Zidon, for the sea hath spoken'? Will
not the action of these knights redound to the everlasting humiliation of
Englishmen? It will indeed; and
would that that money had never been for which they involved themselves in
dishonour so great and by so shabby a bargain tamely surrendered into the hands
of the king's enemies towns won for him by valour in war.
Between them they received, for this and other services, the sum of
28,000 francs. While these sorry doings were afoot, the bishop, observing
the misconduct of his associates, ensconced himself and his troops in the town
of Gravelines; and to him Sir Hugh Calveley attached himself.
The two of them meditated holding this fortress for some time against the
enemy, but owing to their lack of men, arms, and food supplies (and that had no
hope of relief), they demolished it completely in accordance with an agreement
with the French. The English now
returned home; and the French came in and, having rebuilt the fortress in
greater strength than ever, at present hold the place as a garrison town.
The Gantois abandoned the siege of Ypres, which in company with the
bishop and his forces they had been investing for about two months, and a little
later, captured a town called Oudenarde, in which they found untold treasure and
wine galore. Enriched by its spoils
they shortly afterwards returned to their homes, leaving behind them certain
commanders to safeguard the town.
The previous section is from: The Westminster Chronicle:
1381-1394, edited and translated by L.C. Hector and Barbara F. hrvey (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1982)
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