Search -
Chronicles of England, France, Spain, and the adjoining countries
Chronicles of England France Spain and the adjoining countries Author:Jean Froissart Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER CLI. THE LORD DESTOUBNAY ASSEMBLES FORCES TO RETAKE OUDENARDE. HE CONQUERS IT BY STRATAGEM. You have before heard how Francis Atrcmen took by scala... more »do the town of Oudenarde, while the treaties for a truce were negotiating before Bergues and Bourbourg, to the great surprise of Tournay and the adjacent towns. The garrison of Oudenarde, during this time, had overrun the country: and done much mischief to the territories of Tournay : the whole estate of the lord Destournay was under their subjection. They had at the feast of Christmas collected his rents and duty-fowls, from the towns belonging to him, for their own use, which displeased him and his friends exceedingly. He therefore declared, that whatever truce or respite there might be between the kings of France and England with the Flemings, he should not pay any attention to it, but would exert himself in doing them as much damage as he was able, for they had so grievously oppressed him that he was become a poor man. The lord Destournay turned his whole attention to retake Oudenarde, and succeeded through the friendship of some knights and squires from France, Flanders and Hainault, who assisted him in it. When he sent to these friends, several were ignorant of his intentions. The expedition was undertaken on the 17th day of May 1384; for the lord Dcstournay learnt by his spies, that Francis Atretneu was gone to Ghent, trusting to the truce which had been made with the French : by so doing he committed a fault, and was no longer attentive to guard Oudenarde, as I shall relate. The lord Destournay formed a considerable ambuscade of four hundred knights, squires and good men at arms, whom he had entreated to assist him. These he posted in the wood of Lart, near to the gate of Oudenarde. There were among them sir Joh...« less