THE DUKE OF ORLEANS, BY THE KING’S ORDERS, MARCHES A POWERFUL ARMY TO ACQUITAINE, AND BESIEGES BLAYE AND LE BOURG.
This year, the duke of Orleans, by orders from the king, quitted Paris to march a large army of men at arms and archers, amounting to six thousand combatants, into Acquitaine, to wage war against the English. He took with him the lord Charles d’Albreth, constable of France, the marquis du Pont, son to the duke of Bar, the count de Clermont[101], Montagu, great master of the household, with many other noble lords, who marched in a body to lay siege to Blaye, which they sorely oppressed with their engines.
In a short time, the town began to negotiate, and offered to surrender to the duke, in case the town of Le Bourg, to which he intended to lay siege, should set them the example. They also promised to deliver provision to the duke’s army, during the siege of Le Bourg, at a reasonable price. The duke accepted of these terms, and besieged Le Bourg, which was strongly garrisoned by a numerous body of english and gascon men at arms. Many engines were pointed against the walls and gates by the French, which did them considerable damage; but, notwithstanding, the besieged defended themselves vigorously.
While this siege was going forward, sir Clugnet de Brabant, admiral of France, put to sea with twenty-two ships full of men at arms, to oppose the english fleet, which was also at sea in great force. The two fleets met, and had a sharp skirmish, in which many were killed and wounded on both sides; but nothing more was done, and they separated. The French, however, lost one of their ships, in which were Lionnet de Braquemont, Agieux de St Martin, and several more, attached to the duke of Orleans, who were carried by the English to Bordeaux.
The other Frenchmen, namely, sir Clugnet de Brabant, sir William de Villanes, governor of la Rochelle, sir Charles de Savoisy, and the rest, returned to Le Bourg, and related to the duke what had passed at sea.
The duke of Orleans, having remained in vain about three months at this siege, considered the strength of the place and the great mortality in his army, and held a council with his officers, when it was resolved that he should march his men at arms back to Paris.
The people of France, and some of the nobility, murmured much against him for this retreat, because there had been a very heavy tax levied for the support of this army.