Maunay A.D. 1342. goes to mand of the Earl of Warwick, Walter de and others, to mask it, and proceeded to with about 1,500 men-at-arms and 6,000 bowmen. it and When, however, he had been five days before Rennes, Rennes, he heard that Charles of Blois was at Nantes, and so, leaving his friend, the Earl of Salisbury, to continue the siege of Rennes, Edward marched off to measure and then his strength with his chief opponent at Nantes. Edward tried to tempt Charles of Blois to come out which he of the city to fight with him, but, failing in this, endeavoured to take the city by assault. He did not succeed, and therefore, leaving a portion of his forces to continue the siege, wandered about, ravaging the country, and, after a time, returned to Vannes. to Nantes, besieges; but soon gives up the siege and re turns to Vannes. lish and at last In the meanwhile John of Normandy, Philip's eldest son, was assembling an army at Angers; when ready, he marched to Nantes to reinforce the Count of Blois. On reaching Nantes, however, he found that Edward had left it, and had gone to assist in the siege of Vannes, and therefore hastened off to protect it. Edward then with- The Engdrew his troops from Rennes, and gathered them all French together before Vannes, which thus at last became forces are the probable battle-field between the two contending gathered parties. But after all, nothing came of all these before preparations for a decisive struggle. The two armies faced each other all the winter without any serious fighting. The French were four times as numerous as the English, and the Duke of Normandy tried therefore to besiege the English in their camp, and Distress cut off their supplies, for the coast was so well armies guarded by Louis of Spain that Edward could receive during the nothing by sea. But the English were so placed that this could not be done effectually, and the Duke together Vannes. of both winter. A.D. 1342. of Normandy himself found it difficult to supply his own army. The weather was especially inclement; rain and snow deluged the camps, the horses died, and the soldiers became discontented.1 A.D. 1343. A truce At last, on January 19th, A.D. 1343, at the intercession of the Pope, a truce was agreed on at agreed on. Malestroit, not, however, without a vigorous protest on the part of Edward, that he submitted his quarrel to the Pope, as a private person and not as a judge. So jealous was the King of any interference on the part of the Pope in the affairs of England, that he repeated this protest twice (on the 20th of May and the 29th of August 2), during the negotiations which ensued, for the conversion of the truce into a peace. The truce was to last till Michaelmas, and thence to be continued for three years; the Scots, the Flemings, the Hainaulters, and the two rivals to the Duchy, were to be included in it; De Montfort was to be set free; and it was also agreed that, if hostilities broke out between De Montfort and De Blois, it should not be considered a breach of the arrangement, unless one or other of the Kings took part in their quarrel.3 The truce unexpect ed by the English. The truce was evidently unexpected by the English, and by the king's son the Duke of Cornwall, who had been left guardian of the kingdom during his father's absence, for the young Duke continued to make active preparations for war, up to and even after the time of its being signed. 1 Buchon's Froissart, vol. i. pp. 171-177. See also Edward's letter to his son, Avesbury, p. 98. 2 Rymer, vol. ii. pp. 1224 and 1231. See also Rot. Parl. 17 Ed. III. (8). 3 Buchon's Froissart, vol. i. p. 177, note; and Avesbury, p. 102. prepara On the 20th of December,1 the King himself, by A.D. 1343. his great seal, had ordered 506 men-at-arms and 606 and conbowmen to be sent to Brittany immediately; and on sequent January 3rd the Guardian ordered 5132 lances and tions for archers to be raised in North and South Wales, part the war. continuing of whom were, as on a former occasion, especially directed to be clothed in uniform, and 3000 of the number were to sail for Brittany on the 1st of March at latest.2 On the 26th of the same month (after the truce was signed, but before news of it could reach England) seven persons were directed each to furnish 51 men-at arms to go with the others, and ships were got ready to convey them. On the 1st of February the Guardian wrote to the Sheriff of Lincoln, and all the Sheriffs south of the Trent, saying that all menat-arms who wished to take part in the war were to be ready to sail from Portsmouth by the 1st of March. At last however the news of the truce ar- News of rived; on the 6th of February5 the Duke counter- reaches manded the orders to the fleet; and, on the 20th, the England, King wrote to the Sheriff of London, the Bishop of like Durham, the Justice of Chester, and others, to inform counterthem of the temporary cessation of arms. 3 the truce and war parations manded. England Edward then embarked for England, and after a Edward stormy passage, during which he was driven to the returns to coast of Spain, landed at Weymouth on the 2nd of on March March. Thus ended a third campaign, which pro 1 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 1216. 3 Ibid. p. 1218. 4 Ibid. p. 1219. 2 Ibid. p. 1217. 6 Le Roy as viscountz de Londres, salutz, &c. En mesme le manere a touz les viscontes d'Engleterre, c'est assavoir, al evesque de Duresme, al justice de Cestre, al gardein de Cinque Portz, al justice d' Irland, al justice de Suthgales, al justice de Northgales.' -Rymer, vol. ii. p. 1219. 7 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 1220, and Avesbury, p. 109. 2. A.D. 1343. duced no advantage whatever to England, shed no glory on her arms, and only increased the load of debt consequently incurred by Edward. It must however be admitted, that the campaign was equally barren of valuable results to the King of France. CHAPTER XIII. PARLIAMENT DECIDES ON PEACE, OR WAR IN EARNEST. THE CON- meets to SOON after the King had returned from Brittany, a A.D. 1343. Parliament was held in the Palace of Westminster Parlia to consider of the truce that had been made, and of ment the propriety of converting it into a peace. During consider its sitting, the King's son Edward was created Prince The King's of Wales. the truce. son crea ted Prince tution of The Bishops, Prelates, and Barons sat in the of Wales. "White Chamber," afterwards called the Court of ConstiRequests;1 and the Knights of the Shires and Parlia the Commons, as the representatives of the cities ment. and boroughs were then termed,2 in the Painted Chamber. Though frequent mention is made, in former Parliament rolls, of the four orders of Parliament, viz.: Prelates, Barons, Knights of the Shires, and Citizens or Burgesses, consulting apart by themselves, yet this is the first time that a clear distinction First disis made of the two houses as formed at present, and the two that the Knights of Shires are mentioned as sitting in houses. the same chamber as the representatives of boroughs, separately from the "Great Men."3 It is not how 1 Tyrell's England, vol. iii. p. 471. 2 May's Parliamentary Practice, 8vo. 3rd ed. p. 22. 3 Rot. Parl. 17 Ed. III. (8). In the Parliament held in the tinction of |