The
Romans and
Urban, who called himself pope, resolved to send for him, once
Clement had left
Rome, and appoint him master and overlord of their campaign. Thus they summoned him and made him generous offers to retain him and his troop for a handsome wage. And he was loyal to his word for, with the
Romans, in a single day he defeated
Sir Sylvestre Budes and a great company of
Bretons, all of whom were slain or captured there and then, and
Sylvestre Budes was taken as a prisoner to
Rome where he was in great danger of being beheaded.
Truth be told it would have been better that he had been on the day he was taken to
Rome, for the honour of himself and his friends, because
pope Clement had him beheaded later in the city of
Mâcon, along with another Breton squire named
Guillaume Boileau. They were suspected of treason, since they had emerged from the Romans' prison and nobody knew what agreement they had made to achieve this, and so when they reached
Avignon they were detained there. The
cardinal of Amiens was to blame for their arrest, for he had hated them since they had made war in
Rome for the
pope, because in the fields they had captured the
cardinal of Amiens' pack horses which were carrying a large quantity of gold and silver plate, which he shared among the companions who could not be paid their wages. The
cardinal greatly resented their actions and secretly accused them of treason when they arrived in
Avignon, alleging that they had come there deviously to betray the
pope; and so they were arrested, sent to
Mâcon and beheaded there.
This was the state of affairs at that time in those regions. I can assure you that
Sir Bertrand du Guesclin was furious with
pope Clement and the cardinals for the death of
Sir Sylvestre Budes, his cousin. If he had lived longer, he would have shown them how much the death of
Sylvestre had offended him.
We shall leave these matters for now and enter into the affairs of the wars of
Flanders which began in this season. They were harsh and cruel, a great many people were killed and exiled, and the country was thrown into such violent turmoil that it was said a hundred years would not be enough to restore nor recover what the wars had stripped away. Now let us expound and recall the cause of these accursed wars.
SHF 2-101 syncWhen this hostility and trouble first arrived in
Flanders the land was so rich and abundant that it was marvellous to behold, and the people of the chartered towns had such large estates they were a wonder to see. You should know that all of these wars and hostilities were born of the pride and envy the chartered towns of
Flanders had against one another;
Ghent against the town of
Bruges, and
Bruges against the town of
Ghent, and other towns against one another besides. However, there was such recourse that no war between them could flare up without the consent of their lord, the
count, for he was so dreaded and so loved that none dared to anger him.
pb 11 v