When they were nearing
Ename, they sent
Sir Daniel d'Halewyn ahead with a hundred lance to initiate the conflict and draw
Arnould de Clerk out of the abbey, as well as to give the men-at-arms and crossbowmen, who were on foot, time to catch up and position themselves.
Sir Daniel and Sir de Disquemac and the
Hase de Flandres went ahead, spurring their horses and entering the square in front of the
abbey of Ename, calling out, "
Flanders to the Lion! To the bastard!" The
Ghenters were not expecting this ambush, for it was still relatively early in the morning and so they were not dressed. Nevertheless, those who had been on watch during the night gathered together and alerted and urged on the knights and their men who were making their way thither, while the others set to and armed themselves. Before
Arnould de Clerk could assemble all of his men, the
lord of Enghien, the
lord of Lens, the
lord of Briffeuil, the
lord of Escornay, and the
lord of Montigny entered from the back of the town with their force, yelling, "Enghien, for its lord!" and launched themselves so vigorously at the
Ghenters and
White Hoods that they could not withstand them, but broke ranks and could not maintain any semblance of order. Of the twelve hundred, eleven hundred were slain, whether in the monastery or in the fields, and
Arnould de Clerk was killed as he fled by two pikemen who ran him through and left him propped up against a hedge. After this rout the
lord of Enghien and the other knights returned to
Oudenaarde, considering their handiwork a proud accomplishment indeed. When the
count of Flanders, who was residing at
Bruges at that time, heard the news, he said of the
lord of Enghien with joy,
"By my faith, he is a good child and will be a courageous man yet."
In truth, the
lord of Enghien was so close to the
count of Flanders' heart that he did not call him his cousin, but his fair son.
SHF 2-206 syncWhen news reached
Ghent that
Arnould de Clerk was dead and their men defeated, many of them began to panic and said among themselves,
"Our affairs are going from bad to worse, and they are killing our captains and our men. We made a mistake in waging this war against our lord, the
count, for little by little he will wear us all down. The bad blood between
Gilbert Mayhuus and
Jan Yoens has come back to haunt us, and we have given too much support and credence to the opinions of
Jan Yoens and
Pieter van den Bossche. They have driven us into this war and instilled in us this hatred of the
count, our lord, so much so that we cannot and do not know how to find a way to have mercy and peace. Even so, it would be better that twenty or thirty should suffer, rather than the entire town."
This is how many of them spoke among themselves in secret. They did not say it in public for fear of the evil-minded, who were all of one sect, and who were gaining power day by day, though they had previously been but poor companions with no wealth to speak of. Now they had gold and silver in abundance, for whenever they needed some, they would complain to their captains who listened to them and lent them their support immediately,
pb 66 r