in his favour were ruthlessly stamped out, and a halo of legend and poetry soon encircled his name.  In France Charles entrusted him and another Welshman, named John Wynn, with the equipment of a fleet at Rouen with which the champion was to descend on the principality and excite arising.  Bad weather caused the complete destruction of the expedition of the Welsh pretender.  Two years later, however, another fleet was fitted out on his behalf, and in June, 1372, Owen took possession of Guernsey.

    [1] The place of Owen of Wales in history was for the first
    time clearly shown by Mr. Edward Owen in Y Cymmrodor,
    1899-1900, pp. 1-105.

At that time the fortune of war was strongly in favour of France, though the initial successes of Charles V. were damped by the doubtful results of the petty struggles which filled the year 1371.  During that year Du Guesclin, the soul of the French attack, ejected the English from many places in Normandy and Poitou.  On the other hand, the English won the hard fought battle over a Flemish fleet in Bourgneuf Bay, which has already been mentioned.  They also showed some power of recovery in Aquitaine, where their recapture of Figeac in upper Quercy gave them a base for renewing their attacks on Rouergue.  On the whole then, the year left matters much as they had been.

The occupation of Guernsey by Owen of Wales was the beginning of a new series of French victories.  Up to that time the northern coastlands of Aquitaine, lower Poitou, Saintonge, and Angoumois had remained almost entirely under their English lords.  In the hope of resisting attack, the English projected the invasion of France both from Calais and from Guienne.  To carry out the latter plan John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, was despatched with a fleet and army from England, with a commission to succeed John of Gaunt as the king’s lieutenant in Aquitaine.  The Franco-Spanish alliance then began to bear its fruits.  Henry of Trastamara equipped a strong Spanish fleet to meet the invaders in the Bay of Biscay.  On June 23, 1372, the two fleets fought an action off La Rochelle.  The light Spanish galleys out-manoeuvred the heavy English ships, laden deep in the water with stores and filled with troops and horses.  The Spaniards set on fire some of the English transports, which became unmanageable owing to the fright of the horses embarked upon them.  The English fought valiantly, and night fell before the battle was decided.  Next day, the Spaniards attacked again, and won a complete victory.  The English fleet was destroyed, and Pembroke was taken a prisoner to Santander.