Sir Gauthier accepted them for the honour of the
king, on condition that on arriving before
Calais he would speak of them to the
king of England, his lord, and if it should please him, he would keep them, or otherwise he would return them. The
king of France and the
duke of Normandy were content with this and said that he had spoken like a faithful knight. Then he took his leave of them and rode to
Hainault where he rested in
Valenciennes for three days. After leaving he travelled to
Calais where he was received joyfully by the
king and barons. He recounted his adventures to them and showed the
king the jewels that the
king of France had presented him with and asked the
king sincerely what the best thing to do was, for he had accepted them in such a way that if they pleased him he could keep them, otherwise he could send them back. The
king said to him then,
"
Sir Gauthier, you have served us loyally up to now and will continue to do so, so we hope. Send these presents back to
king Philippe, you have no cause to keep them. We, thank God, have enough for ourselves and for you, and are well disposed to reward you for the great services you have done us."
Sir Gauthier responded, "Many thanks, my lord."
Immediately afterwards, he took all of the jewels and presents and entrusted them to his cousin,
Sir Mansart, and said to him,
"Ride to
France to the
king; recommend me to him, and tell him that I thank him sincerely for the fine jewels with which he presented me, but it is against the will of the
king of England, my lord, that I should retain them."
Sir Mansart said, "Sir, I will do it gladly."
Then
Sir Mansart departed and travelled to
Paris and delivered his message well. The
king would not hear of taking back the jewels, but gave them as they were to
Sir Mansart, who thanked the
king and had no inclination to refuse them.
SHF 1-292 sync
How the earl of Derby captured several towns and castles in Poitou and how he arrived at the siege of Calais.
You have heard earlier how the
earl of Derby had resided for the season in the city of
Bordeaux during the siege of
Aiguillon. As soon as he discovered that the
duke of Normandy had withdrawn to
France, he decided to make a foray into
Poitou. He sent a summons to all the lords of
Gascony who proclaimed themselves as on the side of the
English, and informed them of the day they were to be at
Bordeaux. To the summons of the aforementioned earl came the
lord of Albret, the lord of Lesparre, the
lord of Rauzan, the lord of Mussidan, the lord of Pommiers, the lord of Courton, the lord of Languiron, my
lord Aimery de Tastes and several others, until there were twelve hundred men-at-arms, two thousand archers and three thousand foot soldiers. They crossed the
river Garonne between
Bordeaux and
Blaye. After the crossing, they took the
Saintonge road and came to
Mirambeau. They launched an assault on the town as soon as they reached it and stormed the castle, stationing some of their men there. They then came to
Aulnay, conquering it also, then
Surgères and
Benon.
pb 144 r