So far and wide did I travel, gathering information from every possible direction, that by the grace of God I arrived safe and sound at his castle at
Orthez in the country of
Béarn, on Saint Catherine's Day in what was at that time calculated as the year of grace 1388. The
count of Foix greeted me most cordially as soon as he set eyes on me, saying to me, jovially and in flawless French, that he knew me well, for although he had never seen me, he had often heard me spoken of. He gave me leave to stay at his court at my leisure and for as long as I wished, thanks to the letters of recommendation I had brought him. It was there that I was informed of most of what had occurred in the kingdoms of
Castile,
Portugal,
Navarre,
Aragon,
England, the area around
Bordeaux and the whole of
Gascony. When I myself asked the
count anything, he replied very readily, and was prompt to tell me that in the years to come the history that I had written and was now pursuing would be held in higher esteem than any other.
'The reason being, my learned fellow', said he, 'that the world has seen more feats of arms and extraordinary things in the last fifty years, than it has in the previous three hundred.'
So I was well lodged and agreeably provided for in the household of the noble
count of Foix, which is what I wished for, and was able there to gather all the news I wanted relating to those areas of interest it was my wish to explore. I had readily to hand all the barons, knights and squires I needed to inform me of these things, as well as the noble
count of Foix himself.
And so it is my wish to expound to you in well-wrought style all that I was informed of there, to augment our subject matter and provide examples of behaviour to those good men who wish to advance themselves by force of arms, for if at the outset I have introduced the theme of great feats of arms, the capture of towns and assaults on castles, brutal encounters and battles, you will find even more besides in the following pages, all of which, by God's grace, I hope to narrate both accurately and fairly.
SHF 3-2 sync
Third Book, Chapter 2 [1382]
How, after the count of Foix had received master Jehan Froissart at his court most honourably, the aforementioned master Jehan set down in writing the feats of arms that were recounted to him.
You will be aware, as it has been mentioned before in this history, that
Edmund, earl of Cambridge, the son of
king Edward of England, had left the kingdom of
Portugal and set sail with his men from
Lisbon, despite having betrothed
John, his son by the
lady Isabel of Spain, daughter of the late
king Pedro, to the young daughter of
king Fernando of Portugal, known as the
lady Beatriz. The
earl was most displeased with
king Fernando, for he and his forces had remained encamped for over a fortnight before
king Juan of Castile and his army, yet without instigating any fighting, and had entered into an agreement with the
king of Castile against his will. He was very much irritated, and he told him as much when negotiation of the treaty was beginning to be discussed between him and the
king of Castile
"My lord
king, take care what you do, for we have not come to this merry land to drink or to eat, nor yet to hawk or hunt. We have come, rather, to make war on the son of that bastard who styles himself king of Castile, the
count of Trastámara, and to reclaim our rightful inheritance, which
Juan of Trastámara, his son, presently has possession of.
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