Froissart. Around 10 Oct 1339. As soon as king Edward had passed the river of I'Escault and was entered into the realm of France, he called to him sir Henry of Flanders, who was as then a young squire, and there he made him knight, and gave him yearly two hundred pounds sterling, sufficiently assigned him in England. Then the king went and lodged in the abbey of Mount Saint-Martin, and there tarried two days, and his people abroad in the country; and the duke of Brabant was lodged in the abbey of Vaucelles.

When the French king at Compiegne heard these tidings, then he enforced his summons, and sent the earl of Eu and of Guines his constable to Saint-Quentin's, to keep the town and frontiers there against his enemies, and sent the lord of Coucy into his own country, and the lord of Ham to his, and sent many men of arms to Guise and to Ribemont, to Bohain, and the fortresses joining to the entry of the realm; and so went himself toward Peronne.

In the mean season that king Edward lay at the abbey of Mount Saint-Martin, his men ran abroad in the country to Bapaume and near to Peronne and to Saint-Quentin's. They found the country plentiful, for there had been no war of a long season; and so it fortuned that sir Henry of Flanders, to advance his body and to increase his honour, [went] on a day with other knights, whereof sir John of Hainault was chief, and with him the lord of Fauquemont, the lord of Berg, the lord of Bautersem, the lord of Cuyk and divers other to the number of five hundred: and they avised a town thereby, called Honnecourt, wherein much people were gathered on trust of the fortresses, and therein they had conveyed all their goods; and there had been sir Arnold of Baquehem and sir William of Duvenvoorde and their company, but they attained nothing there.

There was at this Honnecourt an abbot of great wisdom and hardiness; and he caused to be made without the town a barrier overthwart the street, like a grate, not past half a foot wide every grate, and he made great provisions of stones and quicklime, and men ready to defend the place. And these lords, when they came thither, they lighted afoot and entered to the barrier with their glaives in their hands, and there began a sore assault, and they within valiantly defended themselves. There was the abbot himself, who received and gave many great strokes: there was a fierce assault: they within cast down stones, pieces of timber, pots full of chalk¹ and did much hurt to the assailers: and sir Henry of Flanders, who held his glaive in his hands, and gave therewith great strokes. At the last the abbot took the glaive in his hands and drew it so to him, that at last he set hands on sir Henry's arm, and drew it so sore that he pulled out his arm at the barrier to the shoulder and held him at a great advantage, for an the barrier had been wide enough, he had drawn him through; but sir Henry would not let his weapon go for saving of his honour. Then the other knights strake at the abbot to rescue their fellow: so this wrastling endured a long space, but finally the knight was rescued, but his glaive abode with the abbot. And on a day, when I wrote this book, as I passed by I was shewed the glaive by the monks there, that kept it for a treasure.²

So this said day Honnecourt was sore assailed, the which endured till it was night, and divers were slain and sore hurt. Sir John of Hainault lost there a knight of Holland called sir Herman. When the Flemings, Hainowes, Englishmen and Almains saw the fierce wills of them within, and saw how they could get nothing there, withdrew themselves against night. And the next day on the morning the king departed from Mount Saint-Martin, commanding that no person should do any hurt to the abbey, the which commandment was kept. And so then they entered into Vermandois, and took that day their lodging betimes on the mount Saint-Quentin in good order of battle: and they of Saint-Quentin's might well see them, howbeit they had no desire to issue out of their town. The foreriders came running to the barriers skirmishing, and the host tarried still on the mount till the next day. Then the lords took counsel what way they should draw, and by the advice of the duke of Brabant they took the way to Thierache, for that way their provision came daily to them, and were determined that if king Philip did follow them, as they supposed he would do, that theii they would abide him in the plain field and give him battle.

Thus they went forth in three great battles: the marshals and the Almains had the first, the king of England in the middleward, and the duke of Brabant in the rearward. Thus they rode forth, brenning and pilling the country, a three or four leagues a day, and ever took their lodging betimes. And a company of Englishmen and Almains passed the river of Somme by the abbey of Vermand, and wasted the country all about: another company, whereof sir John of Hainault, the lord of P'auquemont and sir Arnold of Baquehem were chief, rode to Origny-Saint-Benoiste, a good town, but it was but easily closed: incontinent it was taken by assault and robbed, and an abbey of ladies violated, and the town brent. Then they departed and rode toward Guise and Ribemont, and the king of England lodged at Boheries, and there tarried a day, and his men ran abroad and destroyed the country.

Then the king took the way to the Flamengerie³, to come to Leschelle in Thierache; and the marshals and the bishop of Lincoln (age 47) with a five hundred spears passed the river of Oise and entered into Laonnois, toward the land of the lord of Coucy, and brent Saint-Gobain and the town of Marie, and on a night lodged in the valley beside Laon: and the next day they drew again to their host, for they knew by some of their prisoners that the French king was come to Saint-Quentin's with a hundred thousand men, and there to pass the river of Somme. So these lords in their returning brent a good town called Crecy and divers other towns and hamlets there-about.

Now let us speak of sir John of Hainault and his company, who were a five hundred spears. He came to Guise and brent all the town and beat down the mills: and within the fortress was the [his future wife] lady Jane (age 16), his own daughter, wife to the earl of Blois called Louis: she desired her father to spare the heritage of the earl his son-in-law, but for all that [his future father-in-law] sir John of Hainault (age 51) would not spare his enterprise. And so then he returned again to the king, who was lodged in the abbey of Fervaques, and ever his people ran over the country.

And the lord of Fauquemont with a hundred spears came to Nouvion in Thierache, a great town; and the men of the town were fled into a great wood and had all their goods with them, and had fortified the wood with felling of timber about them. The Almains rode thither, and there met with them sir Arnold of Baquehem and his company, and so there they assailed them in the wood, who defended them as well as they might; but finally they were conquered and put to flight; and there were slain and sore hurt more than forty, and lost all that they had. Thus the country was over-ridden, for they did what they list.

Note 1. 'Chaulx,' i.e. 'quicklime.'

Note 2. The fuller text has it as follows: ' But his glaive abode with the abbot by reason of his great prowess, who kept it many years after; and it is still, as I believe, in the hall of Honnecourt. It was there assuredly at the time when I wrote this book, and it was shewed to me on a day when I passed that way, and I had relation made to me of the truth of the matter and of the manner how the assault was made; and the monks kept it still as a great ornament."

Note 3. La Flamengerie, dep. Aisne.