Chapter XXXIII

THE KING OF ENGLAND SENDS THE EARL OF DERBY TO MAKE WAR IN GASCONY.

St. George’s Day drew near, when the grand feast was to be celebrated at the castle of Windsor. The king had made great preparations for it; and there were earls, barons, ladies, and damsels most nobly entertained. The festivities and tilts lasted a fortnight. Many knights came to them from beyond sea, from Flanders, Hainault, and Brabant, but not one from France. During the holding of these feasts the king received intelligence from different countries, particularly from Gascony. The Lord de l’Esparre, the Lord de Chaumont, the Lord de Mucident, were sent thence by the other barons and knights who at that time were dependent on the King of England; such as the Lord d’Albret, the Lord de Pumiers, the Lord de Montferrant, the Lord of Duras, the Lord of Craton, the Lord of Grailley, and many others; and some were likewise sent by the cities of Bordeaux and Bayonne. These ambassadors were most courteously entertained and received by the king and his council; to whom they explained the weakness of the country of Gascony, and that his good friends in that country and the loyal city of Bordeaux wanted aid: they therefore entreated that he would send thither such a captain and force of men at arms as he might think able to make head against the French, who kept the field in opposition to all that were sent to meet them. The king soon afterwards appointed his cousin the Earl of Derby leader of this expedition, and nominated those knights that he had fixed upon to be under him: first the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Oxford, the Lord Stafford, Sir Walter Manny, Sir Frank van Halle, Sir Henry Eam of Brabant, Sir Richard Fitzsimon, Sir Hugh Hastings, Sir Stephen Tombey, Sir Richard Haydon, Sir John Norwich, Sir Richard Radcliffe, Sir Robert Oxendon, and several more. They were fully three hundred knights and squires, six hundred men at arms, and two thousand archers. The king advised the earl his cousin to take plenty of gold and silver with him, and to bestow it liberally among the knights and squires, in order to acquire their good opinion and affection.

The king also, during the time of these festivals, sent Sir Thomas Dagworth into Brittany to re-enforce the Countess of Montfort, and assist her in preserving that country; for, notwithstanding the truce, he doubted not but that King Philip would begin the war on account of the message he had sent to him by Sir Hervé de Léon. He therefore despatched thither one hundred men at arms, and two hundred archers under the command of Sir Thomas. He likewise ordered the Earl of Salisbury into the county of D’ulnestre; for the Scots had rebelled against him, had burnt much in Cornwall, and had advanced as far as Bristol, and besieged the town of D’ulnestre. However, the Earl of Salisbury marched thither, with three hundred men at arms and six hundred archers well appointed. Thus the king sent forth his people, and directed his treasurers to deliver out to the commanding officers a sufficiency of money for their own expenses, and to pay their fellow-soldiers; and each set out according to the orders he had received.

We will speak first of the Earl of Derby, as he had the greatest charge, which he conducted to Southampton, and, embarking on board the fleet stationed there for him, made sail for Bayonne. It was a handsome city, and had always held out for the English. He arrived there, without accident, on the sixth day of June, 1344, when he disembarked, and landed his stores. They were joyfully received by the inhabitants, and he remained there seven days to refresh himself and his horses. The Earl of Derby and his army left Bayonne the eighth day after his arrival, and set out for Bordeaux, where a grand procession came out to receive him. The earl was lodged in the Abbey of St. Andrew, and his people within the city. When the Count de Lisle was informed of the arrival of the English, he sent for the Count de Comminges, the Count de Perigord, the Count de Carmain, the Viscount de Villemur, the Count Duras, the Count de Valentinois, the Count de Mirande, the Lord of Mirade, the Lord de la Barde, the Lord of Pincornet, the Viscount de Châtillon, the Lord of Chateauneuf, the Lord de Lescun, the Abbot of St. Savin, and for all the other lords who were attached to the King of France. As soon as they were all assembled, he demanded their counsel on the arrival of the Earl of Derby. The lords in reply said they were sufficiently strong to defend the passage of the river Dordogne, at Bergerac, against the English. This answer mightily pleased the Count de Lisle, who was at that time like a king in Gascony, and had been so since the commencement of the wars between the two kings. He had taken the field, captured towns and castles, and waged war upon all who were of the English army. These lords sent immediately to assemble their dependants on all sides, and advanced to Bergerac, where they entered the suburbs, which are large, strong, and partly surrounded by the Dordogne. They had all their purveyances brought to them there in safety.