And of knightes with other men of armes, to the number of an hundreth, of footemen 600. and the town and suburbes beaten downe to the hard walles. And all that could be borne away transported to the shyppes.

In þ^e page before, mention was made how the French K. began first to infringe the truce takē, & how the earle of Lācaster, vpon þ^e same was sent vnto Gasconie. Now for the more euidence of the matter concernyng the fallyng of þ^e French kyng frō the leage, & other hys wrōgs and vntrue dealing: It shal better in the kings letter appeare, who hearing word þ^t the Lord Philip de Valois (cōtrary to the forme of truce taken at Vanes) had apprehēded certain of his nobles of Englād, & had brought them to Paris to be enprisoned and put to death: beside other slaughters and spoylinges made in Britaine, Gasconie, and other places mo. He therfore seyng the truce to be broke of the French kings part, and beyng therto of necessitie compelled: In the yere aboue prefixed, the xiiii. of the moneth of Iune, did publish and send abroad his letter of deffiaunce, conteinyng this effect.

MarginaliaThe kinges letters of defiance against the frēch kingTO all and singular, to whom these presents shal come, publike gretyng. We thinke it is not vnknowen vnto you all. that after the deceasse of Charles late kyng of Fraunce of famous memory, brother to our redoubted Ladye mother Queene Isabell, queene of Englande. That the crowne of Fraunce, by iuste inheritaunce hathe fallen vnto vs, as to the nexte heire maile now lyuing after the sayde kyng. Howe Philip de Valois, beyng sonne but onely to the vncle of the foresayd kyng Charles, and therfore by degree of cōsanguinitie beyng farther of remoued from the same (we beyng in the tyme of our minoritie) hath violently by force & power contrary to God and iustice vsurped, occupied, and yet doth occupie the same, inuadyng further and spoylyng our landes in the dukedome of Aquitania, and ioyning him selfe with our rebellous enemies the Scottes, sekyng our subuersion both by lande and by sea, to the vttermost of his endeuour. And although we to preuent the damagies whiche might rise by warre, haue offered to the said Philip diuers frēdly wayes of peace: to the entēt, we might better intend our purposed viage against Christes enemies the Turkes: Yet could nothyng preuaile with hym in obteinyng any peaceable way of reformation, driuing vs of by crafty dissimulation, through false pretensed wordes, but performing nothing with hart & dede. Wherupon, we not neglecting the grace and the gift of God, to defend the right of our inheritance, and to repulse the iniuries of our enemie: haue not refused by force of armes, comming downe to Britanie, to encounter with him in open fielde. And so we beyng occupied in our warres, there repayred vnto vs, the reuerend father byshop of Preueste, and of Tusculane cardinals, & legates from pope Clement vi. to entreate some reformation of peace betwene vs. At whose request we consented, agreyng to such formes & conditions of peace, as then were take betwene vs, sēdyng moreouer our embassadours to the court of Rome, speacially to entreate of the same matter. And thus whyle some hope of truce semed betwene vs to appeare: Newes sodenly came vnto vs, which not a litle astonied our minde, of the deathe of certaine of our nobles and adherentes, whō the sayd Philip vniustly, and cruelly at Paris commaunded to be executed. Beside the wasting and spoiling our landes and subiectes in Britanie, Gasconie, and other places: with other innumerable wrongs & iniuries deceitfully intēded against vs both by sea and land. By reason wherof the truce on his part being notoriously broken, it is most manifest to haue been lawful for vs, forthwith to haue set vpon him w^t opē warre. Yet notwithstāding to auoid those incommodities that come by warre, we thought first to proue, if by any gentle meanes, some reformatiō might be had touching the premisses. And therfore sondry times, haue sent our embassadors to the popes presence for treatise of peace, & reformatiō to be had in those aforesayd excesses: requiryng also for the tractation therof certaine termes of time to be appoynted, alwayes reseruyng to our selues notwithstandyng, free libertie to resume warre at our pleasure, accordyng as the doings of þ^e said Philip shall constrein vs therunto. And now forsomuch as þ^e foresaid termes be already expired, & yet no reasonable offer of peace appeareth, neither wil the sayd Philip come to any cōformitie, being required & monished notwithstāding by the popes letters therunto, (as the pope by his letters hath written to vs) but alwayes haue multiplied his conspiracy and obligacions vsing all extremities agaynst vs, to omitte here to speake of MarginaliaThe popes legate styrreth vp warre.the excessiue enormitie of the popes legate, who beyng sēt by the bishop of Rome, for the keping of truce, and whose part had been rather to haue quenched and staied the discorde: hath stirred vp our enemye more egerly against vs. MarginaliaLyke Legat lyke pope.In the whiche doyng, neither hath the B. of Rome (sauing his reuerence) as yet prouided any remedy, albeit he hath been diuers tymes required of vs so to do. Whiche things being so, we ought to be excused both before God and mā, if for the deffect of other remedie to be had, we shalbe constrained our selues to finde remedie agaynst such wronges and iniuries. the case of iustice & necessitie constreining vs to giue out these our letters of defiāce, agaynst the violator of the truce and the vniust inuader of our kyngdom. Protestyng that this we do, not vpon any displeasure to the byshop of Rome, or to the apostolike sea, but onely for the moderacion of equitie, standyng vpon the defence of our owne right and and lawfull inheritaunce, intendyng alwayes rather to haue peace if by any reasonable way it might be had. And thus much for thestopping of slaunderous fame and the mouthes of backbyters: We thought good to signifie first to the hygh B. of Rome, and the foresayd Cardinals: that by thē as persons indifferent & mediators, the same may be insinuated to the contrary parte, and also vnto your whole vniuersitie in general: recommendyng vnto you all the innocēcy of my cause and the communitie of iustice. Dated at Westminster the xiiij. of Iune the xix. yeare of our reigne in England, and of Fraunce the vi.

And thus much for the kinges letter. Now let vs agayn returne to his passage, frō whence, a litle we haue disgressed. Concerning þ^e which passage of þ^e king, w^t the order of hys actes atchiued in the same, frō the wynning of Cadame or Cordoyne, vnto the twone of Pusiack, is sufficiently described by one of the kinges chaplyns and hys confessour, who being a Dominike fryar, & accompanieng the king through all hys iourney, writeth therof as followeth.

MarginaliaA letter of the kings confessor touching his actes doyng at Cardoyn.Benedicere debemus deum cœli. &c. Great cause we haue to prayse and laude the God of heauen, and moste worthely to confesse his holy name, who hath wroughte so his mercy to vs. For after þ^e conflicte had at Cadame, in the whiche many were slaine, & the citie take & sackt euen to the bare walles, the citie of Baia immediatlye yelded it selfe of his own accord, fearing least their coūsailes had been bewrayed. After this, the L. our king directed hys progresse toward Roane. MarginaliaThe Cardinals againe entreate for peace.Who being at the towne of Lexon, there came certain Cardinalls to him, greatly exhorting hym to peace. Which Cardinals, being courtuouslye receiued of the kyng for the reuerence of the popes see, it was thus answered to them agayne: MarginaliaThe kings answer to the Cardinals.That þ^e kyng being much desirous of peace, had assayde by all waies and meanes reasonable, how to mainteine the same. And therfore hath offered conditions and manifolde wayes of peace to be had, to the no small preiudice of hys owne cause. And yet is ready to admitte any reasonable offer of peace, if by any meanes it maye be sought, &c. With thys answere the Cardinalls going to the French king the kings aduersary, to persuade with hym in lyke maner: returned to king Edward agayne, offring to hym in the French kinges name the Dukedome of Aquitania, in as full assuraunce as hys father before hym euer had it, besides further hope also of obtayning more, if entreatie of peace myght be obteyned. MarginaliaThe French K. sheweth no carefull study of peace.But for somuch, that contented not enough the kynges minde, neither did the Cardinals finde the French king so tractable and propense to the studie of peace as they looked for, the Cardinalls returned, leauing the matter as they found it. And so the king speeding forwarde, by the way, as hys iourney dyd lie, he subdued the country & the great townes, without any resistaunce of the inhabitaunce, who dyd all flye and runne away. Such feare God stroke vnto them, that it seemed they had lost their hartes. In the same viage, as the king had gotten many townes and villagies, so also he subdued castles and munitions, very strong, and that with litle stresse. His enemy being at þ^e same tyme at Roane had reared a great army, who notw^tstanding being wel māned, yet euer kept on þ^e other side of the riuer Sequane, breaking downe all the bridges, that we shoulde not come ouer to hym. And although the countrey round about continually was spoyled, sackte, and with fire consumed by the circuite of xx. myles round about: yet the French king being distant scarse the space of one myle frō vs, eyther would not, or els durste not (when he might easely haue passed ouer the riuer) make any resistance for þ^e defence of hys countrey and people. MarginaliaThe kings comming to Pusiacke.And so our kyng iourneyng forward came to Pussiacke or Poisie, where þ^e French kyng had likewise broke downe the brydge, & keping on the other side of the riuer, would rest in no place.

After whose comming to Poisie, the foresayd chapleyne & confessour to the kyng, named Michaell Northburgh, describing the kinges viage and the actes of the Englishmen, frō the towne of Poisie, to hys comming to Calys, in hys letters wryteth on thys wyse.