fearful of consequences, entered into a capitulation to surrender, if they should not, on the ensuing Friday, be in force to meet them in the field, and gave hostages for the performance. When the day arrived, not receiving any succours, they yielded up the place. While these armies were thus employed, the English garrison of the town and castle of Essay* made an excursion to fish a pond at some distance, which coming to the knowledge of the duke d'Alençon he instantly ordered his men to mount, and marched, as secretly as he could, to cut off their retreat. He succeeded in making the whole prisoners, and, carrying them to Essay, forced them to deliver up the town and castle, on pain of losing their heads. The French garrison in Dieppe, knowing that there was but a small garrison in Fécamp, which is a sea-port, marched thither secretly, and won it by storm. Shortly after, arrived a vessel from England, and having on board ninety-seven soldiers to garrison the abbey, supposing it still to belong to king Henry, whom the French suffered to land without opposition, but instantly afterwards took them all prisoners. CHAPTER XIX. THE DUKE OF BRITTANY AND THE CONSTABLE OF FRANCE ENTER NORMANDY WITH A GREAT ARMY, AND LAY SIEGE TO ST. LO†, WHICH SURRENDERS ΤΟ THEM, AS DO MANY OTHER SMALL PLACES. THE TOWN OF CARENTAN SURRENDERS ALSO. + + ABOUT the same period of this year, the duke of Brittany, his brother the count de Richemont, constable of France, with other nobles and men-at-arms from his duchy, amounting to a thousand or twelve hundred lances, entered lower Normandy, to restore it to the obedience of the king of France from the dominion of the English (the ancient enemies of the realm,) who had usurped the government of it for nearly thirty-two years. They first advanced to the town of Mont St. Michel §; and the nobles and men-at-arms were quartered in the villages of upper and lower Les Pas, Courtis T, St. George en Gaine, Postulbanch, and thereabouts. The duke, on quitting Brittany, had left his brother, the lord Peter, on the frontiers, near to Fougeres and Avranches, for their defence, with three hundred lances. On the morrow, the duke and the constable formed their van-guard under the command of sir James de Luxembourg lieutenant to the constable, the marshal and admiral of France, of five hundred spears, who that day marched to Coutances **, and lay before it,-while the duke and the main army, consisting of five or six hundred lances, remained that night in and about Granville ++. On the morrow, the constable advanced the main army toward Coutances, and halted opposite to the hospital; but they were not there a day before the English in the town marched away, and the inhabitants continued in the same peaceful state as before this renewal of war. The duke of Brittany next marched to lay siege to St. Lo, and ordered his van to advance and take up their quarters on one side of the town, -while he followed with the army on the next day, and posted himself on the opposite side. Sir William de Poitou commanded in the place, with a garrison of two hundred men,-but, notwithstanding these numbers, he made no resistance, but capitulated with the duke for its surrender, on being allowed to march away with his men whither he should please. The duke and the constable, during their stay at St. Lo, won the following towns, villages, and castles, namely, le Hommet ++, Neufville §§, Torigny ||||, Beuseville ¶¶, Hambie ***, La Motte l'Evêque +++, la Haye-du-Puy ‡‡‡, Chanteloup*, L'Aunay†, and many other small places round St. Lo, in which city, as well as in those captured places, strong garrisons were posted. The van was now detached to the town of Carentan, and followed by the main body; but the garrison held out only three days before they surrendered, and then marched away with staves in their hands,— and those in the town were reinstated in their possessions. The marshal and the admiral of France now separated from the duke and the constable, and came before Pont d'Oue‡, which having taken by storm, they overran all the country of Coutantin, without meeting any resistance. The government of it and Carentan was given to Joachim Rohault. From Carentan, the above lords returned to Coutances, and thence, in the month of October, detached a party to Gavrey §. On the morrow, the duke and the constable came to Coutances, where the duke staid that day, and before the constable could arrive at Gavrey, the bulwark had been won by storm; and on the morrow, sir Geoffrey de Couvren, who directed the siege, having made great approaches by his mines, attacked the castle with such vigour that the English garrison, of about six score men, demanded a parley, and concluded a treaty with the constable for its surrender, on being allowed to march away in safety with their effects. CHAPTER XX.—THE DUKE OF ALENÇON CONQUERS HIS TOWN OF ALENÇON ||.-THE COUNT THE duke of Alençon, in consequence of intelligence with friends in Alençon, advanced thither by day-break, and by their means was admitted into the town. The English garrison retreated to the castle, which was instantly surrounded by the duke, who had with him eight hundred lances besides archers. There were numbers of English in the place,— but their hearts failed them, for they made little resistance, and surrendered the town to the duke, whose inheritance it was. Sir Louis de Beaumont, governor of Mans, had come to his assistance with sixty lances, and archers in proportion. During this time, the king of France was at Louviers. ++ About this same period, namely, the latter end of September, the count de Foix, accompanied by the counts de Comminges++, d'Estract ‡‡, the viscount de Lautrec §§ his brother, and many other knights, barons, and esquires from the counties of Foix, Comminges, Estract, Bigorre and Béarn, to the amount of five or six hundred lances and two thousand cross-bows, marched from his country of Béarn through that of the Basques ||||, until he came before the town of Mauléon de Soule, to which he laid siege. The inhabitants, perceiving such numbers, were afraid of the consequences, should the siege be pushed to extremities, and capitulated to surrender, on condition that no harm should be done to them. Upon this the English garrison retreated into the castle, which is the strongest in all the duchy of Guienne, and is seated on a high rock. But the count de Foix, learning that it was badly provided with stores and provisions, surrounded it with his troops on all sides, * Chanteloup, a village near Coutances. L'Aunay, a village. country, and one of Edward the Third's great captains. He is frequently mentioned by Froissart. §§ Peter lord of Lautrec, brother to the count of Foix, married Catherine daughter to John II. lord d'Estarac (or Astarac), by whom he had one son, John, afterwards lord de Lautrec. The house of Astarac is derived from GarciaSanches, duke of the Gascons, who lived in the tenth century, from whose youngest son, Arnoud the unborn, (so called by a quibble similar to that of the witches respecting Macduff), they trace eighteen descents to Martha the heiress of the family, who married Gaston II. count of Candale (or Kendal), in whose house the title afterwards remained. Basques, a small country near the Pyrenees, surrounded by Spain, the ocean, Béarn and the river Adour. and this coming to the knowledge of the king of Navarre, he instantly issued his summons for the relief of the English, and marched six thousand Navarrois, Arragonians, Gascons and English, to within two leagues of it, to raise the siege. Finding the enemy so strongly intrenched, and so numerous, he retreated, and sent messengers to the count to say that he was desirous of having a conference with him, if he would send passports for himself and what company he might please to bring with him. The knig of Navarre, on receiving the passports, advanced with a small company to within a quarter of a league of the count's army, where he was waiting for him; when, after the usual salutations from the count, (who had married the king of Navarre's daughter, and had a beautiful family) the king said that he was much astonished, considering how nearly they were connected together, that he had besieged a place under his protection, his constable being governor for the king of England, to whom he had promised to defend it against all his enemies. The count good-humouredly replied (paying at the same time all honour and respect), that he was lieutenant-general for the king of France of all the countries between the river Gironde and the mountains: he was, likewise, a relation and subject to the king of France, and that it was by his command that he had taken the town and besieged the castle; and to preserve his honour unspotted, and that no blame might ever be cast on him by any of his family, he would never raise the siege until the place was reduced to the obedience of the king of France, unless he should be fought withal and conquered; that in every other respect he would assist and serve the king of Navarre, the father of his wife, against all persons whatever, excepting the king of France, his subjects and allies, and all things appertaining to the crown of France. Upon this, the king of Navarre returned with the troops to his own country. The garrison in the castle, finding they had no hopes of succour, and knowing their scarcity of provisions, surrendered it on capitulation,-and thus was the castle restored to the obedience of the king of France. Shortly after, the lord de Luce *, attended by six hundred combatants, all wearing red crosses, came and did homage to the king of France in the hands of his lieutenant-general for the town and castle of Mauléon, which was his inheritance. After he had taken the oaths, he and his company returned to his mansion, wearing white crosses, to the great astonishment of all the men, women and children, of his country. When this had been done, the count de Foix marched his army back to Béarn, having left a sufficient garrison in the town and castle of Mauléon. On the 27th of September, the lord de Blainville came with a large force of men-at-arms before the castle of Toucques, strongly situated on a rock close to the sea, and having an English garrison of sixty men. On seeing so large a body, they did not attempt resistance, but surrendered on having their lives and fortunes spared, and being allowed to march in safety whither they pleased. On the last day of this month, the counts de Dunois and de Nevers laid siege to the castle of Yemmes †, which the English instantly surrendered on similar terms. The count de Dunois then marched his army to besiege the town and castle of Argentan. The English opened a parley, although they had not any intentions to surrender; but when the townsmen saw that they were only laughing at the French by these pretended parleys, and knew their intention of holding out to the last, and that what they were saying to the French was the farthest from their thoughts, they called some of their countrymen aside, and bade them have no more parleys with the English, for that they would hold out as long as they could. At the same time, they asked for a banner or pennon, which they would display from a certain part of the walls,—and that when they should see it they should advance thither with courage, and they would admit them into the town, which was done. The English, perceiving themselves betrayed, retreated into the castle; but a large bombard was instantly pointed against the walls, and made a breach wide enough for a cart to pass. The This should be Luxe. Luxe is the name of a sovereign county in lower Navarre, which passed in 1593 into the house of Montmorency-Fosseux. It was Francois de Montmorency, count of Luxe, of whom the court of Louis XIII. judged it proper to make a memorable example by way of preventive to the epidemical rage for duelling then prevalent. He was beheaded in 1627, for the honourable murders of the count de Thorigny and the marquis de Bussy in two successive rencontres. Yemmes. Q. if not Yesme, a village in Maine? French, on this success, attacked the castle, and entered the breach, but the English retired into the donjon, which they soon surrendered, fearing to be taken by storm; and although they demanded a capitulation, they were marched away with only staves in their hands. CHAPTER XXI.-THE KING OF SICILY WAITS ON THE KING OF FRANCE AT LOUVIERS.-FRESNOY SURRENDERS TO THE DUKE OF ALENÇON.-GISORS CAPITULATES.-the GAILLON IS BESIEGED ‡. CASTLE OF Ar this season, the king of Sicily came to the king of France at Louviers, where he was very joyfully received. He had with him his brother the count du Maine, and a long train of nobles, knights and esquires, whose names it would be tedious to relate, to the number of more than two hundred lances, and archers, without including those from the army of the duke d'Alençon, the duke of Brittany, the count de Dunois lieutenant-general, the count de Clermont, nor those of the count d'Eu, or of the count de St. Pol, who all had with them very many men of note. The king, seeing such a numerous and well appointed body of chivalry, resolved to pursue with vigour the conquest of the whole duchy of Normandy, and began his operations by ordering siege to be laid to the castle of Gaillon. This castle was very strong and impregnable but by famine,—for it was seated on a rock near to the Seine, out of cannon-shot, and could not any way be won, so long as provision for the garrison should last. The command of the siege was given to the seneschal of Poitou and others, who pushed their approaches toward it with great activity. The king went thither in person. In the mean while, the duke of Alençon laid siege to the town and castle of Fresnoy, wherein were many English; but they made no opposition to the prosperity of the king's affairs, and surrendered on capitulation. During the siege of Gaillon, and about three or four days before its surrender, sir Richard de Merbury, an English knight and governor of Gisors, agreed to terms of capitulation with the brother of his wife, for its surrender on the 17th day of October following. In fact, the governor turned to the French interest, and took the oaths of allegiance, on condition that two of his sons, John and Hemond, who had been made prisoners at the capture of PontAudemer, should be restored to him without ransom; and also that he should enjoy unmolested the lands of his wife, which were now held by the French, whether by gift from the king or otherwise. At the solicitations of his wife's relations, the king granted his requests, and, in expectation of the services that he looked to from him and his children, he also made him governor of St. Germain-en-Laye, and gave him, for his life only, all the profits and emoluments arising from this government. The king appointed, as governor of Gisors, the lord de Gaucourt, who had long laboured in his majesty's service: and considering his great age, of four-score years and upwards, he had lately acquired very great honour. CHAPTER XXII.-THE KING OF FRANCE ORDERS THE COUNTS DE DUNOIS, D'EU, AND DE ST. POL TO JOIN HIM, AS HE INTENDED TO MARCH TO ROUEN, WHENCE, AFTER DAYS HE RETURNS.-SOME OF THE INHABITANTS OF ROUEN ARE NEAR DELIVERING UP THE CITY ΤΟ HIM. ТПЕ DUKE OF BRITTANY BESIEGES FOUGERES.-CONDE IS TAKEN. REMAINING THREE In the month of October, the king of France ordered the count de Dunois, and the lords in his company who had subdued Argentan, to join him and likewise the counts d'Eu and de St. Pol; for it was his intention to march to reduce Rouen to his obedience. They hastily complied with his orders, insomuch that their armies were soon in the plains of Neufbourg §, Fresnoy, a village in Normandy. Gisors, a city in Normandy, capital of VexinNormand. Gaillon,-ten leagues from Rouen, about a league from the Seine. § Neuf bourg,-a town in Normandy, between the Scine and Rille, eight leagues from Rouen. and assembled on the opposite side of the river, towards Rouen. The king of France departed from Louviers, attended by the king of Sicily and his nobles, and advanced to Pont-de-l'Arche, when the inhabitants came out with great joy, to welcome him on his arrival. He thence sent heralds without delay to summon Rouen to surrender, that all oppressions might be avoided by a voluntary submission: but the English garrison, aware on what embassy the heralds came, would not let them approach the walls, nor would they hear their summons, ordering them, at the same time, to make haste and return, under pain of death. They reported to the king all they had seen and heard, who, having learned the answers the English had given to his heralds, commanded the army to cross the bridge at Pont-de-l'Arche, which was done under the conduct of the count de Dunois, and thence to proceed to Rouen. They remained before that city for three days with a multitude of menat-arms and soldiers of all descriptions; but during these three days, the army suffered so greatly from the continued rains and storms that the whole was nearly destroyed. Notwithstanding the severity of the weather, the garrison made many sallies, in which very gallant deeds of prowess were done; and a French esquire, called the bastard de Forbier, was made prisoner by reason of his horse falling under him. The French lords drew their army up in battle array before the walls, and sent the king's heralds, a second time, to summon the city to surrender; but as the English would not suffer them to approach near enough to be heard by the people, they were forced to return as before, which was quite contrary to every rule of chivalry; for heralds are always allowed the liberty of freely going and coming, to deliver their messages, provided such messages do not contain anything treasonable. The heralds having made their report to the count de Dunois on their return, and he having cousidered that there seemed at present no chance that the city would surrender, and that the severity of the weather had much weakened his army, and worse was to be expected during the winter, which was nigh at hand, marched back to Pont-de-l'Arche, and quartered his men in the villages round that town. On the day of this retreat, the king of France had come with the king of Sicily to a nunnery within a league and a half of Rouen ; but the king of France returned to his former quarters at Pont-de-l'Arche, while the king of Sicily remained until all the companies had marched for their cantonments near to Pontde-l'Arche. array. Shortly after, the king received intelligence that some of the inhabitants of Rouen had gained two towers that commanded part of the walls, and that they would admit them by this way into the city. On this information, the count de Dunois was ordered with the army to undertake the business, who marched off, on the 16th day of October, in handsome On their arrival before Rouen, the army was drawn up fronting the new castle, whence two detachments were ordered; the one to the gate of the Carthusians, and the gate Beauvoisienne, under the command of the counts de Dunois, de Nevers, d'Eu, and de St. Pol, having with them many knights and esquires. The other detachment was to take post between the place appropriated to the execution of criminals and the walls of the city, under the command of the counts de Clermont, de Chartres, the viscount de Lomaigne, and others. Each remained in battle-array until two hours after mid-day, when a person sallied out of the city on horseback, and told the above-mentioned commanders that some of the townsmen had gained, and kept by force, two towers, purposely to introduce, by their means, the king's army into the town. Upon this, the count de Dunois, and the other lords in the detachment before the gate of the Carthusians, ordered their archers to march towards that part of the walls between these two towers; and the count and his companions instantly dismounted and advanced to the foot of the walls, against which they raised the few scaling-ladders they had, and made all diligence to mount them. On this occasion were made knights the count de Nevers, the lord Concresault, Brunet de Long-champ, the lord de Pleumartin, Pierre de la Fayette, the lord de Graville, master William Cousinot, Jacques de la Riviere the bailiff of Nivernois, Robert de Hurenville, who all exerted themselves manfully to scale the walls, so that there were more than thirty Frenchmen who were on the battlements or within the town. The lord Talbot now advanced, with about three hundred men, planting his banner on the wall, charged the French most valiantly, to repulse those who had made good their entrance |