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The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Holinshed's Chronicle 1387 is in Holinshed's Chronicle.
But the duke of Ireland hauing with him Molineux, Uernon, and Ratcliffe, rode forward in statelie and glorious araie, with an armie (as ye haue heard) of fiue thousand men, supposing that none durst come foorth to withstand him. Neuerthelesse when he came to Ratcote bridge, not past foure miles from Cheping Norton (which bridge if he could haue passed, he had béene out of the danger of all enimies) he suddenlie espied where the armie of the lords laie, not far distant from him, readie in the midst of a vallie to abide his comming. Some of the earle of Derbies companie had broken the bridge, & so stopped his passage. He therefore perceiuing his enimies intention, staied, and caused the kings banner to be spred, and began to set a good countenance of the matter, and to exhort his people to shew themselues valiant; and herewith caused the trumpets to sound. But when it appeared that as some were readie to fight in his quarell,The duke of Ireland his souldiers reuolt frõ him. so there were other that quite forsooke him, and said flatlie they would not fight against so manie noble men, in so vniust a cause: he being thereof aduertised, began to wax faint-harted, and to prepare himselfe to escape by flight; and declaring no lesse openlie vnto them, said:
Before we come to ioine, I will séeke to withdraw my selfe out of the waie, and saue my selfe if I can; for me they onlie seeke, against you they haue no quarell, so that I being shifted awaie, you shall easilie be preserued. Herewith one of the knights said to him; You haue brought vs out of our countrie, you haue procured vs to giue you our promise, you haue caused vs to take this iournie in hand: here therefore are we readie to fight & win the victorie with you, if our hap be such; or if fortune will not so fauour vs, we are readie to spend our liues with you.
No said he, ye shall not so doo, and forthwith striking his horsse with spurs, he fled from them for feare which had set wings on his héeles, as one saith:
pedibus timor addidit alas.1
Note 1. Virgil's Aeneid Book 8 Lines 222-225.
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19th December 1387. Herevpon manie that were with him, cursing this his demeanour, prepared to yeeld themselues to the lords. But Thomas Molineux (age 49) determined to fight it out, sith the lords were not yet all come togither to that place, but onelie the earle of Derbie and certeine others. Neuerthelesse, after he had fought a while, and perceiued it would not auaile him to tarie longer, as one despairing of the victorie, betooke him likewise to flight, as the duke of Ireland had led him the waie: and plunging into the riuer, which was at hand, it chanced that sir Thomas Mortimer being present amongst other at the same place, willed him to come out of the water vnto him; for if he would not, he threatened to shoot him through with arrowes in the riuer where he stood.
If I come (said Molineux) will ye saue my life? I will make thée no such promise (said sir Thomas Mortimer) but notwithstanding, either come vp, or thou shalt presentlie die for it. Well then (said Molineux) if there be no other remedie, suffer me to come vp, and let me trie with hand-blowes, either with you or some other, and so die like a man.
But as he came vp, the knight caught him by the helmet, plucked it off his head, & streightwaies drawing foorth his dagger,Thomas Molineux slaine. stroke him into the braines, and so dispatched him. This was the end of sir Thomas Molineux, which through his bold and rash aduenture, in a most dangerous and desperat case, he pulled vpon himselfe; and might as well haue auoided as incurred, if the same prouident care of safetie had taken him in the head that mooued the duke of Ireland to take flight for his indemnitie: wherein he séemed to remember that there is no safe attempting of any perilous enterprise without dread of danger: for he that can tell when a thing is to be feared, can tell in like sort when it is to be vndertaken; as the wiseman verie sententiouslie saith:
Animus vereri qui scit, scit tutò aggredi. i.e. A mind that knows how to fear, knows how to proceed safely.
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In the meane time, the duke of Ireland (as ye haue heard) séeking to escape by flight, came to the riuers side; but finding the bridge broken, he galoped till he found an other bridge, where he found a number of archers readie to stop his passage. When he saw that he was thus inclosed with his enimies on the one side, and the riuer of Thames on the other, he thought to put all in aduenture; and casting awaie his gantlets, and sword (to be the more nimble) gaue his horsse the spurres, and lept into the riuer; but missing the foord, and not able to land with his horsse on the further side, he forsooke him, and swimming ouer so well as he might, got to the banke, and so escaped. It was now night, and therefore his enimies hauing no knowledge of the countrie, followed him not; but his horsse, helmet, curasses, gantlets, and sword being found, it was thought verelie that he had béene drowned. The next newes heard of him, was that he had passed the seas, and was got into Holland, where he had no great freendlie welcome, by reason that Albert duke of Bauiere, who was lord of that countrie, bare such good will to his coosins of England, the dukes of Lancaster, Yorke, and Glocester, that he commanded this duke of Ireland to depart foorth of his countrie, as immediatlie therevpon he did, from thence resorting to the bishoprike of Utreict, and after into other countries, till finallie he ended the course of his life, as after in place conuenient shall appeare.
But now to returne to the armies where we left them. After the duke was fled, and Thomas Molineux slaine (as before ye haue heard) the armie of the lords set vpon the people that were come with the duke of Ireland (as hath béene said) foorth of Chesshire, Lancashire, and Wales; and taking them as enimies, spoiled them of their horsse, armour, bowes and arrowes. The knights and esquiers had their armour and horsses againe to them restored, and were reteined with the lords to serue them: but the commons without either armour or weapon were sent home, and had no other harme done vnto them. The duke of Irelands cariage being taken, letters were found in his trunkes or males, which the king had written to him, exhorting him with all spéed to repaire vnto London, with what power he might make, and there he should find him readie to liue and die with him. Such was the conclusion of this battell, which happened néere vnto Burford,. fast by Bablake, to the great reioising of manie through the realme, for that the enimies thereof (as they tooke the matter) were thus ouerthrowne. But yet the escaping awaie of the duke of Ireland did somewhat mitigate their ioy, for what was become of him it was vncerteine. After this the duke of Glocester, and the other lords went to Oxford, being sorie that their fortune was not to haue taken the duke of Ireland.
At the same time, or rather before, the archbishop of Yorke, and the lord chiefe iustice sir Robert Trisilian, fearing the indignation of the lords, withdrew out of the waie, and durst not be séene. But now the lords, who after the iournie at Radcote bridge, were come (as ye haue heard) to Oxford; we find that the same time a brute was raised (whether of truth or not we haue neither to affirme nor denie) how there was a messenger taken being sent from the French king with letters, in which was conteined a licence of safe conduct, for the king of England, the duke of Ireland, and others, to come to Bullongue, with a certeine number limited, where they should find the French king come downe thither readie to receiue them, to the end that for a certeine summe of monie, which the French king should giue to the king of England, the towne of Calis, and all the fortresses in those parts, which were in the Englishmens hands, should be deliuered to the Frenchmen; and further that the king of England should doo his homage to the French king, for the lands which he held in Gascoigne, and so to haue acknowledged himselfe his liege man. The lords (as was reported) hauing got these letters, and taken counsell togither how to procéed in their businesse, to bring the same to good end, remoued from Oxford, and on Christmas euen they came to S. Albons, and there staied that daie and the next.