THE LORD D'AUXY AND SIR FLORIMONT DE BRIMEU, SENESCHAL OF PONTHIEU AND OF ABBEVILLE, MARCH TO LAY SIEGE TO CROTOY.
ABOUT the middle of October, in this year, the lord d'Auxy, commander in chief, on the frontiers of Ponthieu and Abbeville, together with sir Florimont de Brimeu, seneschal of the same, and a bold and hardy knight of Rhodes, called sir John de Foix, assembled a certain number of combatants. These they marched before the castle of Crotoy, held by the English, with the hope of conquering and putting it under the obedience of the duke of Burgundy within a short time, from the intelligence of a peasant,—who had lately, as he said, been in the castle, and the garrison had so wasted their corn and flour that he gave them to understand they would not be able to hold out, from famine, more than one month.
On this report, which was afterward found to be untrue, they fixed their quarters in front of the castle, within the old inclosure of the town. They demanded assistance from different lords, who sent them some men at arms. They were also much aided with provisions and money from Abbeville, the inhabitants of which were very desirous that Crotoy should be conquered, for the garrison had frequently done them great mischief. They sent intelligence of what they were about to the duke of Burgundy, and required his support. The duke dispatched some of his household to examine into the matter, and they reported to him, that unless the place were blockaded by sea, it would be impossible to reduce it by famine. Upon this, the duke wrote letters to the governors of Dieppe, St Valery, and of the adjoining sea-ports, to hire as many vessels as they could to blockade the entrance of the river Somme; and went himself to the castle of Hêdin, whither he sent for sir John de Croy, bailiff of Hainault, who had been formerly governor of Crotoy, to ask his opinion as to the probability of its being conquered.
The duke ordered sir John to join the lord d'Auxy and his companions, with a body of men at arms, and to take the chief command of the siege. He went thither also himself, with few attendants, to examine into the state of the business, but made no long stay. That his men might be undisturbed by the English in their quarters, either by sea or land, from Crotoy, he ordered a large blockhouse to be erected, wherein they might be more securely lodged. It was very substantially built, and surrounded with ditches, under the directions of a knight called sir Baudo de Noyelle. When this was done, other works were erected, and the whole provided with a sufficiency of all sorts of stores and provision. In the interim, several skirmishes passed,—and in one of them the lieutenant governor of Crotoy was taken prisoner by the lord d'Auxy.
Intelligence of these preparations of the duke of Burgundy was carried to king Henry of England and his council, who were not well pleased thereat; for they were sensible of the great advantage of Crotoy to facilitate their landing a force in Picardy. It was therefore resolved to provide a speedy remedy against them; and letters were instantly dispatched to the governor of Rouen, ordering him to collect as large a body of men at arms as he could in Normandy, and to march to the relief of Crotoy. This order was immediately published, and four thousand combatants, as well horse as infantry, speedily assembled, under the command of lord Talbot, lord Faulconbridge, sir Thomas Kiriel and others. They advanced to the abbey of St Valery, where they quartered themselves, having brought provision with them.
While this army was collecting, the duke of Burgundy, having had information of the intentions of the English, had previously summoned from Picardy and his other dominions the greater part of his nobility and men at arms, who might amount to eight hundred or a thousand fighting men. They marched from Hêdin, and had arrived at Abbeville the day before the English came to the abbey of St Valery.
The duke of Burgundy was attended on this expedition by the count d'Estampes, his nephew of Cleves, the count de St Pol, and other nobles. Sir John de Luxembourg had also, in obedience to his summons, joined him at Hêdin,—but he excused himself to the duke for not bearing arms, because he had not then sent back his oath of alliance with the English, and could not therefore with honour then take part against them: but this excuse, as I was informed, was not well received by the duke of Burgundy, who remonstrated with him on the occasion,—how he was bound by his oath to serve him, as his vassal; that he wore his order, and had always been attached to his party; for all these reasons, therefore, he could not honourably refuse to serve him, more especially as it was to repulse his enemies, who had invaded several parts of his dominions. Notwithstanding the duke's arguments, sir John de Luxembourg returned home with his permission, and obtained from the duke letters of remission to this effect. When the duke, on his arrival at Abbeville, was assured of the coming of the English, he reinforced that town with all sorts of stores and provision, and there might be with him from eight hundred to a thousand expert and well tried men at arms. When the duke asked them if they thought they could hold out the place against the enemy, they replied, that they had no doubt of so doing.
The duke determined not to make any engagement of fighting the English on an appointed day, and to avoid a general action; to guard all the defiles and fords, and to attack them in their quarters, or wherever they should meet them to their disadvantage, and to endeavour to cut off their supplies. These plans were not, however, carried into execution.
The English, having fixed their quarters in the abbey of Saint Valery, immediately crossed the river at a ford above Crotoy, to the number of three or four hundred, and foraged the whole of the country round the blockhouse, and even as far as the town of Rue. They made prisoners of some men at arms, with their horses and baggage, without meeting with any to oppose them.
The whole army marched on the morrow very early, and crossed the river in good order: about two thousand of the infantry had the water above their middle and drew up in battle-array on an eminence above the town, and in sight of those within the blockhouse, who were expecting an attack every moment, and in consequence made preparation for their defence. On this occasion, the following were created knights in the blockhouse: James de Craon lord of Dommart in Ponthieu, Aymon de Moucy lord of Massy, Eustache d'Inchy, the tall bastard of Renty, Anthony d'Ardentin lord of Bouchanes, Harpin de Richammes, Gilles de Fay, and some others.
The English, who had been unmolested on their march, advanced to Forest-monstier[11], two leagues distant, and there quartered themselves.—Two days after they took the field, and halted at a large village called La Broye[12], on the river Authie, which was full of all kinds of provision: they remained at this village four or five days, whence parties of a hundred or six score went daily foraging all the villages within half a league of their quarters. While they remained at la Broye, a party went to set fire to a considerable village called Angien, close to Hêdin, although the duke had detached a large body of men at arms to Hêdin for the defence of that place and the surrounding country; but, to say the truth, the English did little mischief. On their departure from la Broye, they burnt it down, and advanced to Auxi, where they staid three days, making thence excursions in small parties to forage all the country round, and without the smallest hinderance on the part of their adversaries of whom it is necessary now to speak.
The duke of Burgundy remained in Abbeville, but had detached the greater part of his men to garrison and defend the principal towns and castles in that part of his territories. He one day sent the lord de Croy and Jean de Brimeu, bailiff of Amiens, to inspect the blockhouse at Crotoy, and to learn if those within were firmly resolved to defend it.—On their arrival, they soon discovered that the greater number would gladly be out of it, could they do it with honour. It was therefore concluded by the duke and his ministers, on hearing this report, that to avoid worse happening, all the artillery and stores should be packed up, and the men at arms retreat with them to the town of Rue, after they should have set fire to the blockhouse.
The garrison, however, did not make so honourable a retreat,—for without any reasonable cause, nor seeing the enemy near them, great part mutinied, and sallied out of the blockhouse in the utmost confusion and disorder, leaving behind the artillery, the most part of their armour, and much other baggage, and thus they marched to Rue.
Some of their captains took great pains to rally and bring them back, but in vain. Fire had been secretly set to the outworks, which soon communicated with the blockhouse and consumed it. The English made a sally from the castle, shouting after them as they would have done to a ribald mob.
Shortly after, the captains, who were (as may be supposed) the most valiant and renowned belonging to the duke of Burgundy, left the place, ashamed of the conduct of their men, and went to Rue, and thence to other places under their obedience. The principal among them were, sir John de Croy, bailiff of Hainault, sir Florimont de Brimeu, sir Jacques de Brimeu, sir Baudo de Noyelle—all four bearing the order of the Golden Fleece; sir Waleran de Moreul, the lord d'Auxi, sir Galois de Renty, the lord de Fremesen, sir Robert de Saveuses, sir Jacques de Craon, sir Jean d'Arly, with a great number of knights and esquires from Picardy who were much blamed for this dishonourable retreat.—They excused themselves by throwing the fault on the archers, whom they said they could not restrain.
The English heard of this event the day it happened, and were greatly rejoiced. In consequence, they resolved to recross the Somme and return to the places they had come from, and burnt down the town of Auxi, which was a fair and considerable place.
They took the road to Crotoy, and lodged at Nonnion[13]: on the morrow, they recrossed the Somme at the place where they had crossed it before, and quartered themselves at the abbey of St Valery, and thence returned to Rouen and other parts under their command, carrying with them many prisoners, horses, cattle, and all the plunder they had made. They had done great damage to the country by burning seven or eight towns and villages, without meeting with any opposition from their adversaries, who had hanged only thirty or forty foragers that had straggled at too great a distance from the main body.
When the English were departed, the duke of Burgundy retired to Hêdin, where he dismissed all his men at arms excepting those appointed to guard the frontiers.