Читать книгу The boy's Froissart - Froissart Jean - Страница 32

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THREE days after the Earl of Hainault had returned from before Mortagne, he made a request to his companions that they would come with him to St. Amand; for he had received many complaints of the soldiers of St. Amand having burnt the monastery of Hanon, and of their attempt to do the same at Vicoigne, as well as of many other troubles which they had wrought upon the borders of Hainault. The earl set out from the siege of Tournay with three thousand combatants, and came before St. Amand by the way of Mortagne, which town was only enclosed with a palisade. A knight from Languedoc, and seneschal of Carcassonne, was governor of it; and he had told the monks of the abbey, as well as the inhabitants, that it was not tenable against any body of men, not that he meant to give it up, but on the contrary to defend it as long as he could, and mentioned it merely as a piece of information. These words were not much attended to, or believed: however, he had some time before sent to Mortagne all the jewels of the monastery, and thither went also the abbot and his monks, who were not very well calculated to defend themselves.

The Valenciennois, who had been ordered by the earl their lord to be before St. Amand on a certain day, came with twelve thousand combatants, and, posting themselves before the town, armed all the crossbow-men, and made them advance toward the bridge over the Scarpe. The conflict was here very sharp: it lasted all that day, without the Valenciennois being able to make any impression; but they had a great many of their men killed and wounded, and the besieged, mocking them, called out, “Go your ways, and drink your good ale.” Towards the evening they retired from before the town, much wearied, and surprised that they had not heard any tidings of their lord. They called a council, and resolved to return back to their own town. On the morrow after their departure, the Earl of Hainault arrived, as has been said, by the way of Mortagne, and he immediately began the attack: it was so violent that the barriers were instantly won, and they advanced to the gate which opens toward Mortagne. The earl and his uncle headed this attack: they fought most valiantly, and spared none. Each of them at this place received two such blows from stones thrown down upon them, that their helmets were split through, and themselves stunned. One present then said to the earl, “Sir, we shall never do any thing effectual in this place, for the gate is very strong, the passage narrow, and it will cost you too many of your people to gain it; but if you will order some large beams of wood to be brought, and shod with iron in the manner of piles, and strike with them against the walls of the monastery, I will promise you that you will make breaches in many places. If once we get into the monastery, the town is ours, for there is nothing to stop us between it and the town.” The earl ordered this advice to be followed; for he perceived it was reasonable, and the shortest method of getting possession of the town. Great beams of oak were brought, formed, and sharpened like piles; and to each were ordered twenty or thirty men, who, bearing it in their hands, retreated some paces, and then ran with it with great force against the wall, which they battered down in many places, so that they entered valiantly, and crossed a small rivulet.

The seneschal of Carcassonne was there, with his banner displayed before him, which was gules, with a chef argent, three chevrons in chief, and an indented border, argent; and near him were collected many companions from his own country, who received the Hainaulters very gallantly, and fought as well as they were able; but it was in vain, as they were overpowered by numbers. It may be worth remembering, that, on their entering the monastery, there remained a monk called Sir Froissart, who did wonders, killing and wounding, at one of the breaches where he had posted himself, upward of eighteen, so that no one durst venture to pass through. At last he was forced to fly, for he perceived that the Hainaulters were entering the monastery by various other breaches: the monk therefore made off as fast as he could, and saved himself in Mortagne. As soon as the earl, Sir John, and the knights of Hainault had entered the monastery, the earl ordered no quarter to be given, so much was he enraged at the violences they had committed in his territories. The town was soon filled with soldiers, who pursued all they met from street to street, and from house to house: very few escaped being put to death. The seneschal was slain under his banner, and upward of two hundred men with him. The earl returned that evening to Tournay.

On the morrow the men at arms of Valenciennes and the commonalty came to St. Amand, burnt the town, the monastery, and the great minster; breaking and destroying all the bells, of which there were numbers of very good and melodious ones. The Earl of Hainault made another excursion from the siege of Tournay, with about six hundred men at arms, in order to burn Orchies, Landas, and Le Celle. He afterwards crossed, with his army, the river Scarpe above Hanon, and, entering France, came before a large and rich monastery at Marchiennes, of which Sir Aymé de Vervaulx was governor, who had with him a detachment of crossbow-men from Douay. The attack was violent; for the knight had strongly fortified the first gate, which was surrounded by wide and deep ditches, and the French and monks withinside defended themselves valiantly. The Hainaulters exerted themselves much; and, having procured boats, they by this means gained entrance into the monastery: but a German knight, attached to the Lord of Fauquemont, was drowned; his name was Sir Bacho de la Wiere. At the attack of the gate, the earl, his uncle the seneschal of Hainault, and many others, proved themselves such good knights, that the gate was gained, Sir Aymé slain, and the greater part of the others. Many monks who were there were captured, the monastery pillaged and burnt, as well as the village. The earl after this returned with his army to Tournay.