These nobles and their men arrived in
Plymouth where they found lodgings in the surrounding villages while they waited for wind and loaded their vessels little by little; however, no horses were to cross, because the journey was too long from
England to
Lisbon in
Portugal. The Portuguese knight
João Fernandes accompanied them. They were more than three weeks on the coast making preparations and waiting for a favourable wind, for they were wind-bound then. Meanwhile, the
duke of Lancaster was on his way to
Scotland; he continued until he reached
Berwick, the very last town in all
England. When he had arrived there, he came to a halt and sent a herald into
Scotland to the
king and barons with the message that he had come there to negotiate, as they had always been accustomed to doing in the past, and that if they wished to ride forth to meet him, could they let him know. The
duke's herald departed
Berwick and rode towards
Edinburgh where
king Robert of Scotland, the
earl of Douglas, the
earl of March, the
earl of Moray and the barons of
Scotland were all assembled, for they had already heard that the
duke of Lancaster was on his way to negotiate with them, for which reason they had gathered in the principal town of
Scotland on the frontier with
England.
This is where they were found by the English herald sent by the
duke of Lancaster, who delivered his message well and was willingly heard, and the response he had from the noblemen of
Scotland was that they would gladly listen to what the
duke had to say. And so the herald brought back guarantees of safe conduct for the
duke and all of his men, to last as long as they would remain on the borders and so that they might parley together. The herald returned to
Berwick in good spirits and carrying these guarantees, and made it known what he had done, whereupon the
duke of Lancaster left
Berwick, but on his departure he left all of his provisions in the town and took the road to
Roxburgh where he stayed for one night. The following day he lodged at an abbey named
Melrose Abbey, on the
Tweed. It is an abbey which divides the kingdoms of
Scotland and
England, and the
duke and his men remained there until the
Scots had arrived at
Monbane, three short leagues from there. When they had arrived, the
duke was informed of it. Thus commenced the talks and negotiations between the
Scots and the
English, which lasted for over a fortnight. While these negotiations were going on, in
England there was a great wave of rebellion and uprising among the common people, which brought
England to the brink of disaster without hope of recovery. Never before had the kingdom nor country been in such jeopardy as it was in that period, and it was the great comfort and prosperity of the common people of
England that stirred up and kindled revolt, just as the
Jacques Bonshommes in
France had done in times past, who were the cause of much calamity and incidents which greatly troubled the noble kingdom of
France.
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