CHAP. VII.
THE FRENCH TAKE THE FORTRESS OF DOMMART IN PONTHIEU BY SCALADO.—AND MANY OTHER EVENTS.
ON the 20th day of March in this year, the French escaladed and won the castle of Dommart in Ponthieu,—in which were the borgne de Fosseux, knight, and Jacques de Craon his son-in-law, who made their escape, with a few attendants, by a postern, on hearing the tumult and the numbers of the enemy. Sir Simon de Boulenviller, John de Douceure, and others within the castle, with the lady of de Fosseux, were detained prisoners.
All the effects, which were very abundant, were seized as lawful prey and carried off.
Shortly after, the lord de Crotoy, with three or four hundred combatants, fixed his quarters at a castle belonging to the bishop of Amiens, called Pernois, about a league distant from Dommart, to make head against and oppose the farther progress of the French. A treaty was concluded with the French some days after the lord de Crotoy's arrival, by which they were to return unmolested, with their plunder, on condition they surrendered Dommart. The chief of this expedition was one called Dandonet.
At this period, the duke of Glocester married Jacqueline duchess of Bavaria, countess of Hainault and of Holland, who had for some time resided in England, notwithstanding that Jacqueline had been married to duke John of Brabant, then living. This marriage astonished many persons.
In this same year, the king of Arragon went to Italy, at the request of queen Johanna, wife to sir James de Bourbon, as her elected heir. On his arrival he drove the duke of Anjou, who styled himself king of Sicily, and all his people, out of that country. He then attached to his service all the great captains of the queen of Naples, namely, Sforza, Braccia-Monte and Tartaglia, with others of the leading men in Italy, who, uniting with the king of Arragon, made the queen Johanna prisoner. Thus was she punished in the same way she had treated her former lord sir James de Bourbon. The king of Arragon, by these means, remained for a considerable time master of great part of Italy: even the pope joined his party, and sent the cardinal of St Angelo to conclude a treaty of friendship with him. This cardinal, while on the journey, fell from a plank, as he entered a fort, into the ditch, and was so grievously bruised that he died soon after.
News was now brought to France that the heretics at Prague were in great force, and attempting to subdue all the Christian castles and fortresses. Their heresy was more powerful and extended than it had ever been, in so much that the emperor, unable to resist them, was returned to Hungary without effecting any thing.
About this time also, sir James de Harcourt's men made several secret inroads to the countries of Vimeu, Ponthieu and Artois, and seized and carried away many ploughs from the farmers of Mont St Eloy, near to Arras, which they sold, with other booty, in the town of Crotoy, so that the farmers were afraid of residing on or working their lands.
On the other hand, the French, quartered at Guise, made frequent visits to Crotoy and Rue, by which the country was sorely harrassed by each party,—and justice was no where obeyed.
The Burghers and commonalty of Tournay had, at this time, great dissentions, and assembled in arms under the banners of the different trades, that is to say, the great against the small. The commonalty admitted the lord de Moy into the town, who was attached to the party of king Charles, as well as themselves; and they elected several men of low degree for their captains, in place of the provost and their rulers. This time, however, the quarrel was appeased without coming to blows; but similar agitations and changes frequently took place afterward within the town of Tournay.
Two thousand five hundred English were now assembled in Normandy under the command of the lord de la Pole, sir Thomas Berry and other captains, who marched them through the country of Maine, wasting every part they passed through, to Angers, where they did much damage, and made numbers of prisoners. They returned with them and their plunder to a large town, called Busignes de la Graville, where they halted many days.
While these things were passing, John count d'Aumarle, who had received from the country people intelligence of this expedition together with the baron de Colilouvre, the lord de Fontaines in Anjou, and sir Peter le Porc, collected a large body of men at arms and common people, and lay wait for the enemy in handsome array not far from La Graville. When the English perceived them, they dismounted, and posted the baggage in their rear. The French were mounted, and began the attack with great vigour, but the English defended themselves with such courage, the conflict was very severe and doubtful; but at length the English were conquered, and left full twelve hundred men on the field. The lord de la Pole, was made prisoner, and thirty other gentlemen at the least. Of the commonalty on the side of the French, six score persons were killed.