Source:Scotichronicon (Lib. XIV, Cap. I)

Transcription

CAP. I. De bello de Cressy et Durham.

Eodem anno, scilicet Domini millesimo trecentesimo quadragesimo sexto, rex Franciæ scripsit regi David, supplicans sibi , ut cum omnibus suis viribus accommodis, gratiâ sui, guerram feralem contra regem Angliæ moveret ; quia promisit ſe obsidionem ponere circa oppidum de Cales, ut sic undique rex Angliæ angustatus, sive angulatus, viribus et violentiâ attenuaretur. Cujus petitioni rex David annuens, collegit undique grandem exercitum, cupiens ultra modum cum Anglis habere congressum. Convenerunt hinc inde ex omni parte regni, et monstrationem armorum secerunt apud Perth. Quo inter ceteros affuit, cum exercitu suo, comes Rossensis. Et in monasterio de Elquho hospitatus est Raynaldus de Insulis cum suis . Ad quem de nocte ex insidiis misit comes de Ross certos sicarios, qui ipsum Raynaldum, cum aliis septem somno soporatis, interemerunt : ipse verò comes cum exercitu suo quantocius proprias partes petiit, rege relicto . Propter quod consultum suit regi expeditionem intermittere, cùm diceretur* pro malo omine tam insortunabile principium habuisse. Noluit autem rex eorum consiliis acquiescere, sed coeptum iter peragere sestinavit, et municipium de Lidallis , quod apud Marchias erat , obsessit et cepit, unà cum Waltero de Selby ex parte Anglorum ejusdem custode, et ipsam ad terram prostravit.

Considerans autem nobilis Willelmus de Douglas, qui tunc peritiâ armorum ceteros præcellebat, insortunium casûs intersectionis Raynaldi, et honorem assecutum regi per captionem municipii, regi consuluit planè loras retorquere, et denuo , si sibi et consilio suo videretur, expeditionem repetere. Cui astantes satrapas sic ferunt respondisse : Tu satis abundas de bonis Anglorum , nec velles in lucro socios habere , sed in bello. Non est qui nobis resistet , cùm citra Londonias non habentur homines guerris assueti, quia quotquot valentes deAnglia cum suo rege sunt in Francia ; nec domi remanent nisi presbyteri, sratres et clerici , sutores et mechanici†. Veritas enim suit , quòd Eadwardus de Windesour rex Angliæ, cum Eadwardo primogenito suo principe Walliæ et domino Cornubiæ, ac universis sere proceribus et nobilibus Angliæ, in regno tunc Franciæ guerris insistebant ; actibus bellicis indulgendo, terras, villas et oppida, per quæ transivit, depopulando , obsistentes sibi intersiciendo, capiendo, vel in sugam convertendo : et post captionem Cadomi , quæ erat villa plena populo, satis opulenta, divitiis ac bonis omnibus assluens et soecunda ; quibusdam de valentioribus , qui ad defensionem et custodiam ejusdem deputati suerant, intersectis , quibusdam tunc captis et in Angliam missis carceribus mancipandis, cum Francorum rege Philippo de Valoys , in cujus comitiva suerunt duo reges, Bohemiæ viz. et de Mailogre ‡ , ac duces, comites et barones, necnon alii de majoribus Franciæ, præter communem populum ad numerum excessivum , juxta forestam de Cressy, in locis planis et campestribus consligendo . In quo quidem conslictu prædicti duo reges, et alii quamplurimi de majoribus totius regni Franciæ, ceciderunt, præsato rege Philippo per sugæ præsidium evadente. Contigit etiam casu , quòd electi suerunt de Anglia eo tunc decem millia ad transsretandum in ſubsidium regis Angliæ, expectantes ad portus auræ congruitatem . Qui, audientes quòd rex Scotia intraverat eorum terras, intermiserunt passagium et de nostris victoriam obtinuerunt : aliàs Anglici qui remanserant non proponebant cum nostris congredi , quamvis pro tunc Eboracum petivissent Scoti .

* Apud quamplures susurratum exstitit quod pro malo omine, &c. MS. Cupr.

† Qui nec sunt in arte pugnandi sortes, nec bello efficaces, addit idem MS.

‡ Sive Majoricarum .

Translation

CHAPTER I. Of the war of Cressy and Durham.

In the same year, that is to say, in the year one thousand three hundred and forty-six of the Lord, the king of France wrote to king David, beseeching him, that with all his forces at his disposal, by his grace, he might wage a civil war against the king of England; because he promised to place a siege around the town of Cales, so that the king of England, being narrowed or cornered, might be subdued by force and violence. King David, agreeing to his request, collected a large army from all quarters, desiring to have an encounter with the English beyond measure. They assembled from all parts of the kingdom, and made a show of arms at Perth. Whereupon among the rest, with his army, was the count of Rossen. And in the monastery of Elquho was entertained Raynald of the Isles with his people. To whom in the night the Count of Ross sent certain assassins out of ambushes, who killed Raynald himself, together with seven others who had fallen asleep: the Count himself with his army as soon as possible sought his own parts, leaving the King. Because of this, it was advisable for the king to stop the campaign, since it was said to have had such an intractable beginning because of the bad omen. But the king would not consent to their plans, but determined to carry out the journey he had begun, and besieged and captured the municipality of Lidalli, which was in the Marches, together with Walter de Selby, the same guard on the part of the English, and laid it prostrate to the ground.

But the noble William de Douglas, who at that time excelled the rest in skill in arms, considering the insolence of the events of Raynald's intersection, and the honor gained to the king by the capture of the municipality, advised the king to turn his reins plainly, and once more, if it seemed to him and his counsel, to resume the expedition. To whom the satraps standing by are said to have replied thus: You are sufficiently abundant with the goods of the English, and you would not have partners in profit, but in war. There is no one to resist us, since there are no men accustomed to war on this side of London, because as many of the valiant men of England are in France with their king; nor remain at home except priests, priests and clerics, tailors and mechanics. For the truth follows, that Edward de Windesour, king of England, together with Edward his first-born, prince of Wales and lord of Cornwall, and all the chieftains and nobles of England, were then at war with France in the kingdom; indulging in acts of war, depopulating the lands, villages, and towns through which he passed, cutting off those who resisted him, capturing them, or turning them into slaves; some of the stronger men, who had been appointed for the defense and guard of the same, were intercepted, and some were then captured and sent to England to be imprisoned, together with the king of the Franks Philip de Valoys, in whose retinue there were two kings, viz. of Bohemia. and of Mailogre ‡ , and the dukes, counts, and barons, as well as others of the majors of France, besides gathering the common people to an excessive number, near the forest of Cressy, in plain and plain places. In the course of which the aforesaid two kings, and many others of the chiefs of the whole kingdom of France, fell, escaping through the siege of the squire by the besieged king Philip. It also happened by chance that the elect sent ten thousand men from England at that time to cross over to the support of the king of England, waiting for the suitability of the harbor. When they heard that the King of Scotland had entered their lands, they stopped the passage and obtained a victory over ours; the English who remained elsewhere did not propose to join ours, although for that time the Scots had sought York.

* Among many there was a whisper that it was a bad omen, &c. MS. Copper.

† Those who are neither skilled in the art of fighting, nor effective in war, adds the same MS.

‡ Whether Majorica.

Document

Printed sources	Scotichronicon (Goodall vol. 2)

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