Link LinkThus, as I have related, was the town of Vannes taken. Five days after that event, the contess of Montfort, sir Walter Manny, sir Yves de Tresiquidi, and many other English and Breton knights, returned to Hennebon. At the same time, the earl of Salisbury, the earl of Suffolk, the earl of Pembroke, with three thousand men at arms and three thousand archers, took leave of the lord Robert, left Vannes, and went towards Rennes, which the lord Charles and his lady had quitted four days before, and were gone to Nantes; but they had left in that city great numbers of knights and squires. The lord Lewis of Spain remained at sea with his Genoese and Spaniards, and so carefully guarded the coasts of England, that no one could come from thence, or go into Brittany, without much danger; and this year he did great damage to the English.
The country was much agitated by the capture of the city of Vannes; for they imagined that the captains who were within it ought to have defended it against all the world, as it was sufficiently strong, very well provided with men at arms, artillery, and all other sorts of provision. The lord of Clisson and sir Hervé de Léon were quite ashamed of their mishap; and, their enemies speaking villanously of what they had done, they sent to a great number of knights and squires of Brittany, and entreated they would meet them at an appointed rendezvous, by a certain day, with as many followers as they could bring. They all cheerfully promised, and exerted themselves so much, as did many of the people in Brittany, that, by the appointed time, there came before the town of Vannes twelve thousand men armed, including freemen and feoffs. Thither came, with a numerous body, the lord Robert de Beaumanoir, marshal of Brittany, and having besieged the city on every side, they began to assault it very sharply. When the lord Robert found himself thus besieged in Vannes, he was not negligent to defen it valiantly against the Bretons, who repeated their attacks with great courage and eagerness, lest those who had gone for Rennes should return and disappoint their enterprise. They gave one assault so well supported by the knights, squares, and even by the commonalty of the country, that they overpowered the barriers of the town, then the gates, and entered the town by storm, putting the English to flight, killing and wounding many. Among the last was the lord Robert, who was very badly wounded, insomuch that it was with difficulty he escaped being taken: he fled through a pistern gate, and lord Stafford with him. At this capture of Vannes, the lord Despencer, son of the lord Hugh Spencer, mentioned at the beginning of this history, was taken prisoner by sir Hervé de Léon; but he was so badly wounded that he died the third day afterwards. Thus did the French regain the town of Vannes.
Lord Robert d’Artois continued some little time in Hennebon; but at last he was recomended to return to England, where he would find more skilful surgeons and physicians. On his voyage, he was so much affected and oppressed by sea-sickness that this wounds grew worse: he survived but a short time after he had been carried to London. He was courteous, courageous, and gallant, and of the first blood in the world. He was buried at London in the church of St. Paul; and the king of England made his obsequies as solemn as if they had been for his cousin-german the earl of Derby. The lord Robert was much lamented in England; and when the king was informed of his death, he swore he would never rest until he had revenged it: he would go himself into Brittany, and reduce the country to such a situation that it should not recover itself for forty years. He issued out his summons for all manner of persons to get themselves in readiness to follow him at the end of the month; and he collected a numerous fleet, well provided with every thing that was necessary. At the end of the month he put to sea, and anchored near Vannes, at the same place where lord Robert had landed with his army. It took them three days to disembark their horse, provisions, &c.: on the fourth, they advanced toward Vannes. The earls of Salisbury and Pembroke, with the English before named, were all this time carrying on the siege of Rennes.
