CHAP. LXV.
THE KING OF ENGLAND CONQUERS DREUX, AND PURSUES THE DAUPHIN, HE THEN LAYS SIEGE TO MEAUX IN BRIE,—AND OTHER MATTERS.
THE KING OF ENGLAND CONQUERS DREUX, AND PURSUES THE DAUPHIN, HE THEN LAYS SIEGE TO MEAUX IN BRIE,—AND OTHER MATTERS.
Wewill now return to the king of England, and relate how he conducted himself. When the duke of Burgundy left him at Mantes, as has been before mentioned, he marched thence his army which was very large, and daily increasing from the reinforcements that joined him from Normandy and Paris, and advanced to Dreux after the dauphin had raised the siege of Chartres.
He surrounded Dreux on all sides; but the garrison made a treaty, by which they were to surrender the place on the 20th of August, in case they were not succoured by their lord the dauphin before that day, and gave good hostages for the due performance of it. The dauphin sent them no assistance, so that king Henry obtained possession of Dreux, which hestrongly regarrisoned with his own men. The Dauphinois, in number about eight hundred, retired with their baggage, after they had promised not to bear arms against the English, or their allies, for one whole year.
When this was done, the king marched toward the river Loire, in pursuit of the dauphin, whom he was very desirous to meet, to revenge the death of his brother the duke of Clarence, and the loss of the English who had fallen at the battle of Baugey. On his march, he reduced to the obedience of the king of France and of himself, the town of Beaugençy on the Loire and some other castles.
Finding that the dauphin would not wait to give him battle, he returned toward Beauce. He had noticed that for some days fifty or sixty Dauphinois, very well mounted, had followed his army to observe his motions: on their one day coming nearer to him than usual, he ordered them to be pursued, when they fled to the castle of Rougemont in Beauce, which the king commanded to be instantly attacked; and this was attended with suchsuccess that it was won, and all within taken, with the loss of only one Englishman. King Henry, however, in revenge for this death, caused them all to be drowned in the Loire.
He thence marched to besiege Villeneuve-le-Roi, which soon submitted, on the garrison being allowed to march away with their baggage. It Was regarrisoned by Englishmen. Toward the end of September, he fixed his head-quarters at Lagny-sur-Marne, and his army was dispersed in the adjoining villages. At this town, he ordered many wooden engines to be constructed, and other necessary machines to lay siege to Meaux in Brie. He dispatched in haste his uncle the duke of Exeter, with four thousand combatants, to gain possession of the suburbs of Meaux, that the inhabitants might not set them on fire.
When king Henry had completed his machines in the town of Lagny, he marched his army thence, consisting of twenty thousand combatants at the least, and on the 6th day of October encamped before Meaux. A few days after, he had his camp surrounded with strong hedges andditches, to prevent any surprise from the enemy, and at the same time had his engines pointed to batter the walls and gates, which they continued to do with great activity.
The defence of the town of Meaux was intrusted by the dauphin to the bastard de Vaurus, captain-general of the place, Denys de Vaurus his brother, Pierron de Luppel, Guichard de Sisay, sir Philip Mallet, sir Louis Gast, the borgne de Caucun, John d'Aunay, Tromagon, Bernard de Meureville, Philip de Gamaches, and others, to the amount of one thousand picked combatants, tried in arms, without including the burghers and commonalty.
They made an obstinate defence against the attacks of the king of England, and continued it for a long time, as you shall hear.
In these days, it was enacted by the royal council at Paris, that the florettes, which were current for four deniers, should be reduced to two deniers; and that the gold crowns, current for nineteen sols, should now pass for eighteen only. These continued lowerings of the coin gave great causeof discontent among all ranks, seeing that their money-property was diminished an eighth part in value. To keep up a supply of coin, saluts[8]of gold were issued, which were current for twenty-five sols tournois the piece: two crown-pieces were also coined, one of France and the other of England. In regard to smaller money, doubles were coined that were current for two deniers tournois: these last were in the vulgar tongue called Nicquety, but were not current for more than three years.