Chapter VI

THE EARL OF FLANDERS AGAIN LAYS SIEGE TO GHENT.

While the affairs you have heard were passing in England, there was no intermission in the wars which the Earl of Flanders was carrying on against Ghent, and which those citizens waged against him. You know that Philip von Artaveld was chosen commander in Ghent, through the recommendation of Peter du Bois, who advised him, when in office, to become cruel and wicked to be the more feared. Philip did not forget this doctrine, for he had not long been governor of Ghent before he had twelve persons beheaded in his presence: some said they were those who had been principally concerned in the murder of his father, and thus he revenged himself on them.

Philip von Artaveld began his reign with great power, and made himself beloved and feared by many, more especially by those who followed the profession of arms: for, to gain their favor, he refused them nothing; every thing was abandoned to them. I may be asked how the Ghent men were able to carry on this war; and I will answer to the best of my ability, according to the information I received. They were firmly united among themselves, and maintained the poor, each according to his means: thus, by being so firmly united, they were of great force. Besides, Ghent, taken all together, is one of the strongest towns in the world, provided Brabant, Zealand, and Holland be not against it; but, in case these countries were leagued with Flanders, they would be shut up, surrounded, and starved.

This whole winter of 1382, the Earl and country of Flanders had so much constrained Ghent, that nothing could enter the place by land or water: he had persuaded the Duke Brabant and Duke Albert to shut up their countries so effectually, that no provisions could be exported thence but secretly and with a great risk to those who attempted it. It was thought by the most intelligent, that it could not be long before they perished through famine, for all the storehouses of corn were empty, and the people could not obtain bread for money: when the bakers had baked any, it was necessary to guard their shops, for the populace who were starving would have broken them open. It was melancholy to hear these poor people (for men, women, and children of good substance were in this miserable plight) make their daily complaints and cries to Philip von Artaveld, their commander-in-chief. He took great compassion on them, and made several very good regulations, for which he was much praised. He ordered the granaries of the monasteries and rich men to be opened, and divided the corn among the poor at a fixed price. By such means he gave comfort to the town of Ghent, and governed it well. Sometimes there came to them in casks flour and baked bread from Holland and Zealand, which were of great assistance; for, had they not been thus succored by those countries, they would have been much sooner defeated.

The Earl of Flanders determined to lay siege to Ghent once more, but with a much superior army to what he had hitherto brought against it; for he declared he would invade the Quatre Metiers, and burn and destroy them, as they had been too active in assisting Ghent. The earl therefore signified his intentions to all the principal towns in Flanders, that they might be ready in time. Immediately after the procession at Bruges, he was to march from hence, to lay siege to Ghent and destroy it. He wrote also to those knights and squires who were dependent on him in Hainault, to meet him at Bruges at the appointed day, or even eight days before.