On 30 Sep 1342 the French army attacked the English besiegers of Morlaix forcing the English to retreat to the nearby woods. William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton (age 32) commanded, John de Vere 7th Earl of Oxford (age 30) and Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer (age 34) fought.

Around 25 Aug 1345 Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster (age 35) commanded the English forces at Bergerac, Dordogne during the Battle of Bergerac. The English army including Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny (age 35) won a decisive victory over the French with Henri Montigny captured.

After 22 Sep 1345 Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster (deceased) was buried at Church of the Annunciation of our Lady of the Newark [Map], or possibly the Hospital Chapel, at a ceremony attended by King Edward III of England (age 32) and his wife Philippa of Hainault Queen Consort England (age 31). His son Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster (age 35) subsequently moved had his remains moved to St Mary de Castro Leicester, Leicestershire [Map].

On 21 Oct 1345 Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster (age 35) commanded an English army including Walter Manny 1st Baron Manny (age 35) at Auberoche, Perigueux during the Battle of Auberoche. The battle was a significant victory for the English with the French forces being heavily defeated. The ransoms alone made a fortune for many of the soldiers in Derby's army, as well as Derby himself, who was said to have made at least £50,000 from the day's captives, and sealed his reputation as 'one of the best warriors in the world'.

On 12 Jul 1346 King Edward III of England (age 33) landed at La Hogue [Map] with army of around 10,000 men including John Lisle 2nd Baron Lisle (age 28).

On 26 Jul 1346 the English army attacked and took Caen [Map] killing around 5000 French soldiers and militia. Otho Holland (age 30) fought.

Adam Murimuth Continuation. 24 Aug 1346. And with the bridges broken, there was no way forward for our lord the king except between Crotoy and the Abbéville during the ebb of the tide, where the entire army crossed unharmed, even though the people of that land did not know of a safe ford there, except for a place where six or ten could cross at a time. However, our men crossed almost everywhere as if in a safe ford, which was astonishing to all who knew that place. The adversary of our lord the king had stationed around 1,000 knights and 5,000 or more foot soldiers to guard that passage, to strongly resist the lord king; but they were repulsed by the lord Earl of Northampton and the lord Reginald de Cobham, who, with 100 armed men and some archers, led the army forward. They fought bravely and, after killing 2,000 or more that day, the rest fled as far as the Abbéville, where the said adversary was with his army.

Et, fractis pontibus, via non potuit domino nostro regi, nisi inter Croteye et Abbatis villam in refluxu maris, ubi totus exercitus transivit illæsus, licet in loco a populo illius terræ nesciretur esse vadum tutum, nisi situm ubi sex vel decem transire poterant simul. Nostri tamen indifferenter quasi omni loco, tanquam in vado tuto, transierunt; quod mirum est in oculis omnium qui noverant locum illam. Et adversarius domini nostri regis ordinavit circiter M. equites et v. millia peditum vel ultra pro custodia illius passagii, ad resistendum fortiter domino regi; sed per dominum comitem Northamptonie et dominum Reginaldum de Cobham, cum c. armatis et quibusdam sagittariis exercitum præcedentes, viriliter sunt repulsi, et, interfectis eo die duobus millibus vel ultras, ceteri fugerunt nsque ad Abbatis villam, ubi dictus adversarius cum exercitu suo fuit.

Chronicle of Henry Knighton. 24 Aug 1346. And when Philip had learned of the English crossing and the defeat of his men, he set out towards Amiens. He ordered all the bridges in the surrounding area between himself and King Edward to be destroyed, so that no path was open to the English, except between Crotoy and Abbeville, where previously the inhabitants of that land or their compatriots had never found a way, and thus they crossed over a stretch of the sea about a league in length, on the eve of Saint Bartholomew.

Cumque Philippus intellexisset passagium Anglorum et ruinam suorum, carpsit iter uersus Amyas. Fecitque elidi omnes pontes in circuitu inter ipsum et regem Edwardum, ita quod non patuit iter Angligenis, nisi inter Crotoye et Abuylle ubi antea incolis dicte terre uel conpatriotis nunquam claruerunt uiam, et sic transierunt per unum whassum maris ad longitudinem unius leuce, in uigilia Sancti Bartholomei.

Chronicle of Jean de Venette. 24 Aug 1346. Coming to the river Somme near the town of Abbeville, they headed for a ford where the water was very low, in the place which is called Albataque, Blanchetaque in French, and there they crossed with their horses and baggage, unhindered and without danger, though Sir Godemar with many armed men was waiting on the other side to oppose them. For when Godemar, a Burgundian knight, saw them cross bravely in huge numbers, he did not wait on the bank but turned and fled with his men⁵³. The English⁵⁴ thus crossed the river Somme freely and came to the town called Le Crotoy, which they burned.

Note 53. Jean de Venette correctly labels Godemar du Fay a Burgundian. He was seigneur de Boutheon. See Viard, "Lettres d'état," Annuaire-Bulletin de la Soc. de hist. de France, XXXIV-XXXV (1897-98), No. 247, n. 1. Jean le Bel, followed by Froissart, credits him with putting up a good fight. The other chroniclers agree with Jean de Venette. The Chandos Herald also describes a vigorous defense of Blanchetaque (Life of the Black Prince, PP-7, 137, 183). A reads divertens for revertens.

Note 54. A adds Anglici before Sommam.

Froissart Book 1 Chapter 127. 24 Aug 1346. When the English host was come thither, sir Godemar du Fay arranged all his company to defend the passage. The king of England let not for all that; but when the flood was gone, he commanded his marshals to enter into the water in the name of God and Saint George. Then they that were hardy and courageous entered on both parties, and many a man reversed. There were some of the Frenchmen of Artois and Picardy that were as glad to joust in the water as on the dry land.

The Frenchmen defended so well the passage at the issuing out of the water, that they had much to do. The Genoways did them great trouble with their cross-bows: on the other side the archers of England shot so wholly together, that the Frenchmen were fain to give place to the Englishmen. There was a sore battle, and many a noble feat of arms done on both sides. Finally the Englishmen passed over and assembled together in the field. The king and the prince passed, and all the lords; then the Frenchmen kept none array, but departed, he that might best. When sir Godemar saw that discomfiture, he fled and saved himself: some fled to Abbeville and some to Saint-Riquiers. They that were there afoot could not flee, so that there were slain a great number of them of Abbeville, Montreuil, Rue and of Saint-Riquiers: the chase endured more than a great league. And as yet all the Englishmen were not passed the river, and certain currours of the king of Bohemia and of sir John of Plainault came on them that were behind and took certain horses and carriages and slew divers, or they could take the passage.

Life of the Black Prince by Chandos Herald. 24 Aug 1346.

Chronicle of the Monastery of Melsa 1346. 24 Aug 1346. Therefore, King Edward, having been informed by an Englishman born in Royston near Nafferton, who had lived in those parts for 16 years, directed his course through a certain ford of the aforementioned river into the towns of Saint-Valery and Crotoy, where the sea ebbs and flows. There, he crossed with his men at a place where the inhabitants of that land had never before dared to cross, except six or four at a time. But King Edward, with his army, crossed a league closer to the sea than others had ever crossed before, at a place where no one had previously crossed. Upon his arrival there, a large number of fighters and the communities of the entire surrounding region gathered to oppose Edward's passage. But King Edward, with his men, though continually facing resistance from enemies, crossed over thousands of front lines almost within a single hour of the day. After defeating the French—indeed, more than 8,000 of them were killed—King Edward and all his men remained unharmed. Immediately, the English took the town of Crotoy and the castle of Noyel.

Unde continuo rex Edwardus per quemdam Anglicum natum in Roestona prope Naffretonam, qui in illis partibus per 16 annos morabatur, informatus, per quoddam vadum preedicti fluminis in villas Sancti Valerii et Crotoye, ubi mare fluit et refluit, iter suum dirigebat. Ibique cum suis pertransivit ubi per prius terre illius incolse [nunquam], nisi 6 vel 4 simul, ausi sunt pertransire. Edwardus vero rex cum exercitu suo propinquius mari quam alii per unam leugam transvadavit ; ubi nunquam per prius aliquis pertransivit. Ad cujus illuc adventum, copiosus numerus pugnatorum et totius circaregionis communitatum Edwardo inobviam convenerunt, ad ipsius passagium perturbandum. Sed rex Edwardus cum suis continuo viribus tamen, licet resistentibus inimicis, per millenos frontorios quasi in una diei hora transvadavit, et victis Francigenis, videlicet 8,000 et amplius eorum interfectis, rex Edwardus et sui singuli incolumes remanserunt. Et continuo Anglici villam de Crotoy et castrum de Noyel acceperunt.

On 24 Aug 1346 the Battle of Blanchetaque was fought between the English and French. The English had become trapped in an area denuded of supplies and needed to cross the River Somme to access food. The French army had destroyed all the bridges across the River Somme. At the 1800m wide ford at Blanchetaque, ten miles inland from the sea, Edward III's (age 33) army crossed the river despite resistance from the French. Hugh Despencer 1st Baron Despencer (age 38) led a force of English longbowmen across the ford to engage the French crossbowmen. Following the archery battle a force of English mounted men-at-arms, probably led by William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton (age 36), engaged with the French. Following the battle the whole English army crossed the river then marched to Crécy to prepare for the next battle.

Adam Murimuth Continuation. 26 Aug 1346. And the said battle was committed near Crecy on the Saturday after the feast of Saint Bartholomew, which was the twenty-sixth day of August, as is evident from other letters sent previously and some other, albeit not contradictory, contents.

Et fuit commissum dictum bellum prope Cressy die Sabbati post festum sancti Bartholomæi, que fuit vicesima, sexta mensis Augusti, sicut patet per alias literas præmissa et quædam alia, non tamen contraria, continentes.

Chronicle of Henry Knighton. Battle of Crécy. 26 Aug 1346. And then, because Philip of Valois was moving from that place with his army, King Edward with his people withdrew into the forest of Cressy. Around the ninth hour, new rumours came to King Edward that King Philip was ready and arrayed in three distinct battle lines. King Edward, made joyful by this, prepared his people. And he came to the bridge of Cressy, and around the hour of vespers, and a little before, Edward watched the enemies approach. The English had remained fasting due to the long delay in waiting for the French, so that they could always be ready at their arrival. Immediately the trumpets and horns sounded, and there was an accompanying downpour of rain, with great thundering horror, and soon that remarkable storm ceased.

Bellum de Cressy. Et tunc quia Philippus Valoys se mouebat de illo loco cum exercitu, rex Edwardus cum populo suo recepit se in forestam de Cressy. Et circa horam nonam uenerunt noui rumores ad regem Edwardum, quod rex Philippus paratus erat et arraiatus in .iij. distentibus aciebus. Rex Edwardus, ex hoc letus effectus, parauit populum suum. Et uenit ad pontem de Cressy, et circa horam uesperarum et parum ante, prospexit Edwardus inimicos appropinquare. Anglici ieiuni adhuc erant pre longa mora Francos expectando, ut semper possent esse parati in eorum aduentu. Statimque clanxerunt clarriones et tube, inundacioque pluuiarum comitabatur, tonutruique magni horribilitas, et in breui cessauit illa mirabilis tempestas.

Froissart Book 1 Chapter 130. 26 Aug 1346. Of the battle of Cressy between the king of England and the French king.

Chronicle of the Monastery of Melsa 1346. 26 Aug 1346. Where King Edward, having left his horses and wagons behind to prevent his men from fleeing more freely, divided his army into three battalions and chose a field between the town and the forest of Crécy. In these three battalions, there were estimated to be a total of 8,000 men at arms, with archers placed strategically on either side. And when Edward was thus positioned with his men on that Saturday, the 26th day of August, behold, Philip appeared with 30,000 armed men and innumerable commoners, arranged in order. There, they fought continuously from the hour of vespers until night. The French, forming one large battalion from their three divisions, fiercely attacked the first battalion of the English, in which was Edward, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King Edward. And immediately, a great multitude of crows and ravens appeared flying and croaking around the French, and a terrifying thunderstorm followed, with thunder roaring twice and rain falling, which brought down the dust that had been lifted into the air. It had not rained on that land since the day King Edward entered the kingdom of France, for 6 weeks and 8 days.

Ubi rex Edwardus, equis suis et cariagiis post tergum dimissis, ne sui liberius ad fugam convolarent, exercituque suo in tres acies diviso, inter villam et forestam de Cressy campum preelegit. In istis siquidem tribus aciebus 8,000 hominum ad arma fuerunt totaliter eestimati, aliis hinc inde dispositis de sagittariis constitutis. Et ipso Edwardo sic cum suis ibidem constituto, sabbato 26 die Augusti, ecce Philippus cum 30,000 armatorum et communitatibus innumerabilibus, ordine disposito, apparebat. Ibique ab hora vesperarum usque ad noctem continue decertarunt. Franci autem de tribus ocuneis unam aciem maximam componebant, et Anglorum primam aciem, in quo erat Edwardus Princeps Wallis, regis Edwardus primogenitus, acrius invadebant. Et statim videbatur maxima multitudo corvorum et cornicum circumquaque volantium et orocitantium super Francos; et tonitruum terribilem bis tonantem pluvia, que pulverem per aiera levatum dejecit, sequebatur. Nec pluerat super terram illam a die quo rex Edwardus regnum Francie ingressus est, per 6 videlicet septimanas et 8 dies.

Life of the Black Prince by Chandos Herald. 26 Aug 1346

Froissart Book 1 Chapter 131. 27 Aug 1346. On the Sunday in the morning there was such a mist, that a man might not see the breadth of an acre of land from him. Then there departed from the host by the commandment of the king and marshals five hundred spears and two thousand archers, to see if they might see any Frenchmen gathered again together in any place. The same morning out of Abbeville and Saint-Riquiers in Ponthieu the commons of Rouen and of Beauvais issued out of their towns, not knowing of the discomfiture the day before. They met with the Englishmen weening they had been Frenchmen, and when the Englishmen saw them, they set on them freshly, and there was a sore battle; but at last the Frenchmen fled and kept none array. There were slain in the ways and in hedges and bushes more than seven thousand, and if the day had been clear there had never a one scaped. Anon after, another company of Frenchmen were met by the Englishmen, the archbishop of Rouen and the great prior of France, who also knew nothing of the discomfiture the day before; for they heard that the French king should have fought the same Sunday, and they were going thitherward. "When they met with the Englishmen, there was a great battle, for they were a great number, but they could not endure against the Englishmen; for they were nigh all slain, few scaped; the two lords were slain. This morning the Englishmen met with divers Frenchmen that had lost their way on the Saturday and had lain all night in the fields, and wist not where the king was nor the captains. They were all slain, as many as were met with; and it was shewed me that of the commons and men afoot of the cities and good towns of France there was slain four times as many as were slain the Saturday in the great battle.

On 03 Sep 1346 King Edward III of England (age 33) commenced the Siege of Calais. It lasted eleven months with Calais eventually surrendering on 03 Aug 1347.

In or after 03 Sep 1346 John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 21) took part in the Siege of Calais.

On 09 Apr 1347 Edward "Black Prince" (age 16) attended a Tournament at Lichfield. John Lisle 2nd Baron Lisle (age 28), Hugh Courtenay 10th Earl Devon (age 43) (or possibly his son also Hugh Courtenay (age 20) ) and Robert Ferrers 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley (age 38) took part in the Tournament.

On 20 Jun 1347 Charles "Saint" Chatillon Duke Brittany (age 28) was captured by Thomas Dagworth 1st Baron Dagworth (age 71) at La Roche Derrien during the Battle of La Roche Derrien.

On 03 Aug 1347 the English captured Calais [Map] providing England with a French port for the next two hundred years. Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick (age 34) commanded, John Lisle 2nd Baron Lisle (age 29), Richard Vache and Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster (age 37) fought during the year long siege.

On 20 Sep 1349 Archbishop Simon Islip was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. His two predecessors Archbishop Thomas Bradwardine (deceased) and Archbishop John de Ufford having died of plague in quick succession during the 1348-1350 Black Death Plague Outbreak.

In 1349 Parlament enacted the Ordinance of Labourers in response to the shortage of labour caused by the 1348 Black Death Plague Outbreak. The Ordinance introduced

• a requirement for everyone under 60 to work,
• wages to remain a pre-plague level,
• food must be reasonably priced, and
• no-one, under the pain of imprisonment, was to give any thing to able-bodied beggars 'under the color of pity or alms'.

In 1349 King Edward III of England (age 36) created new Garter Knights:

26th William Fitzwarin (age 32). The date may be earlier.

27th. Robert Ufford (age 50).

28th William Bohun 1st Earl of Northampton (age 39).