THE MEN OF BRUGES MAKE FREQUENT EXCURSIONS FROM THEIR TOWN, AND LAY THE LOW COUNTRIES UNDER CONTRIBUTIONS.
WE must now return to what was going forward at Bruges, the inhabitants of which continued their mad and foolish rebellion against their prince.
They made frequent sallies in large bodies to forage the low country, and to destroy the houses of all whom they suspected as enemies. Among others, they took the castle of Koecklare, held by the bastard of Bailleul, and did great damage to it.
On the other hand, when they remained within the town, they committed many acts of injustice on such as they knew were of a contrary way of thinking to themselves. In the number of their wicked deeds, they caused the deacon of the handicraft trades to be beheaded, on a charge which they made against him of intending to deliver up the town to the ghent men. But all the principal and most wealthy citizens had left Bruges, and gone to other places for fear of them.
The commonalty next collected a body of three or four thousand, and marched against Sluys, with every implement of war to lay siege to it, for they had an implacable hatred against it. The duke of Burgundy and sir Simon de Lalain were in that place, with a certain number of combatants: notwithstanding this, the men of Bruges remained before it three and twenty days, and made many attacks on the barriers and gates,—in which numbers were killed and wounded on each side, but more especially on that of Bruges.
The duke of Burgundy, during this time, was assembling a large force of the nobles and men at arms in Picardy, and in his lordships near to St Omer, with intent to give them battle. But in the interim, the bruges men, fearful of the consequences, prevailed on those of Ghent to mediate between them and the duke, and returned quietly to Bruges.