Then the
king of England summoned to him the page who had shown them the way across, and had him released from his prison out of affection for him, along with his companions; and he gave him a hundred gold nobles and a good horse. Of this man I know nothing more. After that the
king and his men rode on contentedly and took lodgings in a town called
Noyelles, but when he discovered that it belonged to the
countess of Aumale, sister to my lord
Robert of Artois who had died, they assured the safety of the town and the land out of affection for him, for which the
lady was most thankful to them.
The
king and his marshals went to lodge further on the way to
La Broye; they rode as far as
Le Crotoy, which is by the sea, capturing the town and razing it. In the harbour they found a great fleet of ships laden with wines from
Poitou, belonging to merchants from
Saintonge and
La Rochelle. In no time at all they had sold the lot. The marshals had some of the best of the wine carried to the king's host, who were encamped two leagues away. The following morning the
king of England decamped and rode towards
Crécy in
Ponthieu, and the two marshals rode in two divisions, one on the right flank and the other on the left. One made a push forward right up to the gates of
Abbeville then returned in the direction of Saint-Riquier, burning the land, whilst the other followed the coast road and came marauding as far as the town of the Holy Spirit of
Rue. It was that Friday around midday that the three divisions were reunited and the
king took lodgings near to
Crécy.
pb 136 r