Ye have heard herebefore of the order of the Englishmen, how they went in three battles, the marshals on the right hand and on the left, the king and the prince of Wales his son in the midst They rode but small journeys and every day took their lodgings between noon and three of the clock, and found the country so fruitful, that they needed not to make no provision for their host, but all only for wine; and yet they found reasonably sufficient thereof.[1] It was no marvel though they of the country were afraid, for before that time they had never seen men of war, nor they wist not what war or battle meant.  They fled away as far as they might hear speaking of the Englishmen,[2] and left their houses well stuffed, and granges full of corn, they wist not how to save and keep it.  The king of England and the prince had in their battle a three thousand men of arms and six thousand archers and a ten thousand men afoot, beside them that rode with the marshals.

      [1] Or rather, ‘thus they found reasonably sufficient provisions.’

      [2] That is, they fled as soon as they heard their coming spoken
      of.

Thus as ye have heard, the king rode forth, wasting and brenning the country without breaking of his order.  He left the city of Coutances[3] and went to a great town called Saint-Lo, a rich town of drapery and many rich burgesses.  In that town there were dwelling an eight or nine score burgesses, crafty men.  When the king came there, he took his lodging without, for he would never lodge in the town for fear of fire:  but he sent his men before and anon the town was taken and clean robbed.  It was hard to think the great riches that there was won, in clothes specially; cloth would there have been sold good cheap, if there had been any buyers.

[3] That is, he did not turn aside to go to it.  Froissart says, ’He did not turn aside to the city of Coutances, but went on toward the great town of Saint-Lo in Cotentin, which at that time was very rich and of great merchandise and three times as great as the city of Coutances.’  Michael of Northburgh says that Barfleur was about equal in importance to Sandwich and Carentan to Leicester, Saint-Lo greater than Lincoln, and Caen greater than any city in England except London.

Then the king went toward Caen, the which was a greater town and full of drapery and other merchandise, and rich burgesses, noble ladies and damosels, and fair churches, and specially two great and rich abbeys, one of the Trinity, another of Saint Stephen; and on the one side of the town one of the fairest castles of all Normandy, and captain therein was Robert of Wargny, with three hundred Genoways, and in the town was the earl of Eu and of Guines, constable of France, and the earl of Tancarville, with a good number of men of war.  The king of England rode that day in good order and lodged all his battles together that night, a two leagues from Caen, in a town with a little haven called Austrehem, and thither came also all his navy of ships with the earl of Huntingdon, who was governour of them.