Froissart. And when the king had tarried two days at Mons in Hainault, then he went to Valenciennes; and he and twelve with him entered into the town, and no more persons. And thither was come the earl of Hainault and [his uncle] sir John his uncle, and the lord of Fagnolle, the lord of Werchin, the lord of Havreth and divers other, who were about the earl their lord. And the king and the earl went hand in hand to the great hall, which was ready apparelled to receive them; and as they went up the stairs of the hall, the bishop of Lincoln, who was there present, spake out aloud and said: "William bishop of Cambray [Map], I admonish you as procurer to the king of England, vicar of the Empire of Rome, that ye open the gates of the city of Cambray [Map]; and if ye do not, ye shall forfeit your lands and we will enter by force." There was none that answered to that matter, for the bishop was not there present. Then the bishop of Lincoln said again: "Earl of Hainault, we admonish you in the name of the emperor, that ye come and serve the king of England his vicar before the city of Cambray [Map] with such number as ye ought to do." The earl, who was there present, said, 'With a right good will I am ready.' So thus they entered into the hall, and the earl led the king into his chamber, and anon the supper was ready.

And the next day the king departed and went to Haspres, and there tarried two days and suffered all his men to pass forth; and so then went to Cambray [Map] and lodged at Iwuy, and besieged the city of Cambray [Map] round about, and daily his power increased. Thither came the young earl of Hainault in great array, and sir John his uncle, and they lodged near to the king, and the duke of Gueldres and his company, the marquis of Meissen, the earl of Mons, the earl of Salm, the lord of Fauquemont, sir Arnold of Bakehem, with all the other lords of the Empire, such as were allied with the king of England.

And the sixth day after the siege laid thither came the duke of Brabant with a nine hundred spears, beside other, and he lodged toward Ostrevant on the river of I'Escault, and made a bridge over the water to the intent to go from the one host to the other. And as soon as he was come, he sent to defy the French king, who was at Compiegne, whereof Leon of Crainhem, who had always before excused the duke, was so confused, that he would no more return again into Brabant, but died for sorrow in France.

This siege during there were many skirmishes; and sir John of Hainault and the lord of Fauquemont rode ever lightly together, and brent and wasted sore the country of Cambresis. And on a day these lords, with the number of five hundred spears and a thousand of other men of war, came to the castle of Oisy in Cambresis, pertaining to the lord of Coucy, and made there a great assault: but they within did defend them so valiantly, that they had no damage; and so the said lords returned to their lodgings.

The earl of Hainault and his company on a Saturday came to the gate toward Saint-Quentin's, and made there a great assault. There was John Chandos, who was then but a squire, of whose prowess this book speaketh much, he cast himself between the barriers and the gate, and fought valiantly with a squire of Vermandois called John of Saint-Disier: there was goodly feats of arms done between them. And so the Hainowes conquered by force the bails, and there was entered the earl of Hainault and his marshals, sir Gerard of Werchin, sir Henry d'Antoing and other, who adventured them valiantly to advance their honour. And at another gate, called the gate Robert, was the lord Beaumont and the lord of Fauquemont, the lord d'Enghien, sir Walter of Manny, and their companies, made there a sore and a hard assault. But they of Cambray [Map] and the soldiers set there by the French king defended themselves and the city so valiantly, that the assaulters won nothing, but so returned right weary and well beaten to their lodgings. The young earl of Namur came thither to serve the young earl of Hainault by desire, and he said he would be on their part as long as they were in the Empire, but as soon as they entered into the realm of France, he said, he would forsake them and go and serve the French king, who had retained him. And in likewise so was the intent of the earl of Hainault, for he had commanded all his men on pain of death, that none of them should do anything within the realm of France.

In this season, while the king of England lay at siege before Cambray [Map] with forty thousand men of arms, and greatly constrained them by assaults, king Philip made his summons at Peronne in Verman-dois. And the king of England counselled with sir Robert d'Artois, in whom he had great affiance, demanding of him whether it were better for him to enter into the realm of France and to encounter his adversary, or else to abide still before Cambray, till he had won it by force. The lords of England and such other of his council saw well how the city was strong and well furnished of men of war and victuals and artillery, and that it should be long to abide there till they had won the city, whereof they were in no certainty; and also they saw well how that winter approached near, and as yet had done no manner of enterprise, but lay at great expense. Theri they counselled the king to set forward into the realm, whereas they might find more plenty of forage. This counsel was taken, and all the lords ordained to dislodge, and trussed tents and pavilions and all manner of harness, and so departed and rode toward Mount Saint-Martin, the which was at the entry of France. Thus they rode in good order, every lord among his own men; marshals of the English host were the earl of Northampton and Gloucester and the earl of Suffolk, and constable of England was the earl of Warwick. And so they passed there the river of I'Escault at their ease.

And when the earl of Hainault had accompanied the king unto the departing out of the Empire, and that he should pass the river and enter into the realm of France, then he took leave of the king and said how he would ride no further with him at that time, for king Philip his uncle had sent for him, and he would not have his evil will, but that he would go and serve him in France, as he had served the king of England in the Empire. So thus the earl of Hainault and the earl of Namur and their companies rode back to Quesnoy. And the earl of Hainault gave the most part of his company leave to depart, desiring them to be ready when he [should] send for them, for he said that shortly after he would go to king Philip his uncle.