PIERRE DE REGNAULT, BASTARD-BROTHER TO LA HIRE, GOES ON A FORAGING PARTY TO THE COUNTRY ROUND ABBEVILLE.
ABOUT this period, Pierre de Regnault bastard-brother to La Hire, who resided in the castle of Mailly, near to Beauvais, which he had repaired, set out with about eight score combatants, as well horse as foot, to forage the country round Abbeville. He took the castle of Yancourt[69], and the lord within it, whence he carried away every thing that was portable.
Intelligence of this was soon carried to Abbeville, wherein were the lord d'Auxi, Guillaume de Thiembrone, Philip de Vaucourt[70], Guy Gourle[71], and other captains, who no sooner heard it than they armed themselves and their men, and sallied out horse and foot, to the amount of more than three hundred, with the intent of overtaking the marauders and recovering the plunder they had made from the castle of Yancourt.
Pierre de Regnault, having had notice of this assembly, sent to the lord d'Auxi to excuse himself for what he had done, saying, it was only provisions he was seeking,—but this excuse was not admitted. Great discord now arose on the meeting of the two parties,—but Pierre de Regnault, observing that most of those who had come from Abbeville were only common men, charged them furiously; and breaking through them with little resistance, he turned on their rear, and, with great slaughter, totally defeated them.
Twenty or thirty were killed on the spot, and nine were drowned in attempting to cross the Somme,—in which last number was Guy de Gourlay,—and upward of sixty were made prisoners; the principal of whom were sir John de Fay knight of Rhodes, sir Philip de Jaucourt, and sir William de Thiembrone.
After this defeat, Pierre de Regnault returned with his prisoners and booty, unmolested, to his castle of Mailly, and ransomed his prisoners as if they had been Englishmen. He made, during this year, frequent excursions on the territories of the duke of Burgundy, who was very much displeased thereat, and in consequence sent information thereof to king Charles, and complained that those of his party were daily robbing and pillaging his country and subjects, and committing such devastations as were not to be endured, considering that peace had been concluded between them.
The king made answer, that he was equally vexed at such misconduct, and offered many excuses; adding, that he would provide as speedy a remedy for it as he could,—but that he should be no way displeased at the duke if he could arrest any of these marauders and put them to death, or punish them by any other method he might choose.
Notwithstanding this, the same inroads and plundering were continued, to the ruin of the poorer ranks of people.
At the same time, La Hire's companions, who resided in the castle of Bonne near Laon, began to make inroads on Hainault, the Cambresis, and other places dependant on the lord de St Pol, who, dissatisfied with their proceedings, placed a strong garrison in the town of Marle[72] to oppose them.
This garrison one day marched toward Rheims,—and, to secure a passage over the river, took the fort of Bac-a-Bery[73], of no great value, but possessed by La Hire's men. They left about thirty combatants to guard it, under the command of a captain; but within a few days the men of La Hire returned, having been joined by some from the garrisons in the Valois, who had been lately beaten by sir John de Luxembourg, amounting in the whole to full three hundred fighting men.
They instantly attacked the fort, which was soon won, and all within it put to the sword, or forced into the river and drowned,—after which, the French left a stronger garrison in the fort.
Within sixteen days, the vassals of the count de St Pol, and of his uncle sir John de Luxembourg, again assembled in great numbers, with the intent of attacking this garrison in the fort of Bac-a-Bery; but they, having had notice of their coming, abandoned the place before they arrived. The fort was now demolished and razed to the ground.
Thus were the countries about Rheims, Laon, and other parts, sorely oppressed by the inroads of both parties; and this was done by one side, as it has been said, because sir John de Luxembourg would not take the oaths of allegiance to king Charles, and had kept all his garrisons on a war establishment, to prevent them being insulted.