Timeline for the Hundred Years War
1331 to 1340





1331   Henry Beaumont, one of the nobles disposessed of his Scottish lands (including the Earldom of Buchan) by the treaty Northampton, comes up with a plan for a private army to invade Scotland, raised by himself and other prominent 'disinherited' nobles, including Edward Balloil, eldest son of King John of Scotland, who had abdicated in 1296.
1331 February A grand embassy, including the bishops of Worcester and Norwich, and Sir William Montague, leaves for France to negotiate terms of homage for Edward III.
1331   Charles, count of Alençon, takes and sacks Saintes
1331 30 March Edward writes letters saying he had not done liege homage before because been advised that there was some doubt as to whether he actually needed to. An agreement is reached between Philippe VI and Edward III that releases Edward from having to perform liege homage for the Aquitaine by saying, in writing, that the homage at Amiens was liege homage. Philippe pardon's Edward for his tardiness in the matter and revokes the decree of confiscation in Parlement.
1331 4 April Edward, in greatest secrecy, dressed as a merchant, leaves England to meet with Philippe VI. He is accompanied by the Bishop of Winchester and only 15 of his knights. He leaves behind letters saying he has gone to fulfill a pilgrimage vow, and to do 'certain other things touching the well being of ourselves and our kingdom'.
1331 April Philippe VI meets Edward III at Pont-Sainte-Maxence, north of Paris, and they retire to Philippe's hunting lodge at Sainte-Christophe. There Philippe declares that he is satisfied with the letters clarifying Edward's earlier homage, and that Edward need not do homage again. The Comte d'Alençon has been recalled, and Edward will be paid an indemnity for the sack of Saintes, as d'Alençon exceeded his authority, and the letters ordering him to desist did not arrive until too late. Edward expresses interest in joining Philippe in a crusade against the Spanish Moslems, and the kings part on reasonably amicable terms.
1331 June Oliver Ingham is re-appointed Seneschal of Guyenne/Gascony.
1331 12 July William de la Pole and his brother Richard dissolve their partnership, possibly in anticipation of William de la Pole becoming Mayor of Kingston-on-Hull.
1331 September Parliament meets at Westminster. Chancellor John Stratford addresses the gathering, outlining three alternatives to the Anglo-French problem; Submitting the outstanding disputes to the arbitration of the peers of France, by negotiating a marriage alliance and permanent treaty, or by war. Parliament advises that arbitration and war are too risky, and that negotiations should continue.
1331   At a tournament in Cheapside King Edward III fights Henry of Lancaster, William Montague and a dozen others against all comers. The press of spectators is so great that the Queen's viewing stand collapses.
1331 Winter Edward Balloil moves from his estates in France to Yorkshire, there joining Henry Beaumont in his plans for an invasion of Scotland.
1332
1332   Princess Isabella Plantagenet is born.
1332 March In response to King Philippe VI's statement that he would not make any concessions to an embassy, but only to Edward III in person, Edward asks Parliaments advice in the matter. Parliament, not in the mood to press the point, responds tepidly that Edward could go if he thought it useful, and when he affairs allowed.
1332   Edward III alerts the sheriffs of the northern counties that he has received reports of armed men preparing to invade Scotland in breach of the peace, and orders them to be stopped and arrested. No action is taken, however, and the Balloil/Beaumont invasion plans proceed.
1332 July Pope John XXII calls for Philippe VI to lead a crusade against the Seljuk Turks, to sail from the ports of Languedoc on 1 May, 1335
1332 20 July Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray and Regent of Scotland, dies at Musselburgh, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, where he was waiting for Edward Balloil's invasion force.
1332 31 July Edward Balloil and Henry Beaumont, along with a collection of English adventurers, Scots exiles and mercenaries, set sail from Yorkshire ports.
1332 2 August A gathering of Scottish nobles at Perth name Donald, Earl of Mar as regent. He is chosen because he is the young king's closest male relative, but he has few political skills and no military experience. He is also of questionable background and loyalty, having lived most of his life in England, a friend and courtier of Edward II.
1332 6 August Edward Balloil lands at Kinghorn, in Fife, and marches towards Dunfermlin.
1332 11 August Battle of Dupplin Moor. Balloil's army, attacked by a larger Scottish force, is victorious, mostly through the use of the longbow. Donald, Earl of Mar and Robert Bruce (a bastard son of Robert the Bruce) are amongst the dead.
1332 17 August Edward Balloil crowned King of Scotland at Perth. His grip on the kingdom is so questionable that at his coronation feast his knights are in full armor.
1332 9 September Parliament, summoned to discuss the affairs of Ireland, advise Edward III to proceed at once to the north of England, fearing that Edward Balloil's invasion will fail and the Scots will invade. They vote him a ten percent tax on moveables and a fifteen percent tax on unmovables to pay for the effort.
1332 Third week September Edward III leaves London and marches an army north to York.
1332 24 September Edward Balloil is crowned King of Scotland at Scone, after which he moves to Roxburgh, and receives submissions.
1332 Mid-October Edward III and his army reach York, where he is informed of Edward Balloil's coronation.
1332 2 October King Philippe VI of France announces his intention to lead a crusade to the middle east before an assembly of notables at Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
1332 Late October Archibald Douglas, who has been appointed Guardian of Scotland, makes a truce with Edward Balloil, supposedly to let the Scottish Parliament assemble and decide who their true king was. Emboldened by the truce, Balloil dismisses most of his English troops and moves from Roxburgh to Annan, on the north shore of the Solway Firth.
1332 Late November Edward Balloil issues two public letters, Saying that with the help of England he had reclaimed his kingdom, and acknowledging that Scotland was always had been a fief of England. He also promised 2,000 librates of land for Edward III, on the border, to include Berwick-on-Tweed, and that he would, for the rest of his life serve Edward III with 200 men-at-arms, wherever had need of them.
1332 4 December Parliament open in York. Given the distance of the city, there was a very low attendance.
1332 8 December After two delays to allow delegates to get there, Parliament opens it's main proceedings. Those few that are there are addressed by Geoffrey Scrope, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, who explains that the Anglo-Scottish peace of 1328 could be ignored, as it had been made by others who had taken advantage of Edward III's youth., and that there were two ways in which the current situation could be handled. Either Edward III could take the kingdom for himself, or he could support one of the rival claimants to the throne. Parliament was asked to deliberate on which of these was best. Though it was clear from the speech that Edward III wanted to be told to annex the kingdom, Parliament, after a long deliberation tells him that they are too few, and the matter to weighty, for them to decide, and that it should be put off until a Parliament in January.
1332 17 December Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland, attacks Edward Balloil at Annan, in the early hours of the morning. Most of Balloil's companions are killed while still in their beds, though Balloil himself manages to escape through a hole in the wall, and flees, half naked and on an unbridled horse, to Carlyle.
1333
1333 20 January A reassembled Parliament, apparently uneasy with King Edward III's new ambitions in Scotland, disperses without offering any advice on the matter. Meanwhile the King and his Council decide to invade Scotland in force. Edward III moves the seat of his government to York.
1333 March Edward Balloil, leading half of Edward III's forces, marches into the Scottish lowlands from Carlyle, heading for Berwick-on-Tweed.
1333 End of April Edward III marches from Newcastle with the remainder of the army, heading for Berwick.
1333 Second week May Edward III reaches the south bank of the Tweed, finding Edward Balloil already encamped on the north bank.
1333 June Edward III and Edward Balloil lay siege to Berwick. By the end of the month much of the town had been destroyed by fire and catapults, and the garrison weakened by repeated assaults.
1333   Archibald Douglas attempts to relieve the city, staging diversions to the south. Tweedmouth is burned, and Bamburgh Castle, 15 miles south, where Queen Philippa is quartered, is laid siege to. Edward III does not leave Berwick.
1333 28 June The Warden of Berwick agrees to surrender in two weeks, unless help arrived.
1333 12 July The Warden of Berwick fails to honor his promise to surrender. Edward III begins to hang the hostages, beginning with the son of the garrison commander, and continuing to hang two a day.
1333 Third week July Archibald Douglas crosses the Tweed to attempt to relieve Berwick-on-Tweed directly.
1333 19 July Archibald Douglas finds the English army drawn up on Halidon Hill. Dismounting his knights he charges the English position, and his army is destroyed under a hail of arrows. He, and the new regent of Scotland, the Earl of Mar are slain, along with four other Scots earls. The few prisoners that are taken are put to death.
1333   King David II of Scotland flees to Dumbarton Castle, along with his Queen. Less than half a dozen castles continue to support him.
1333 20 July Berwick-on-Tweed surrenders to Edward III, and is immediately annexed to the English crown, along with the county which it is the capital of.
1333 2 October King Philippe VI of France publicly takes the cross in a grand ceremony in the Pré-aux-Clercs outside the abbey of St. Germain, outside Paris.
1333 December Theologians at Paris declare in favor of the Beatific Vision. They also point out that the pope has not made any firm statement in the matter, and ask him to confirm their decision.
1334
1334   Philippe VI pays 1,000 marks to the Scots Earl of Moray, John Randolph, who had taken refuge in his court after Edward Balloil's victories in Scotland, to bring King David II of Scotland and his court to France for asylum.
1334 February King Edward Balloil summons the Scots Parliament t0 Holyrood Abbey to ratify his agreement with King Edward III. Edward III compromises some, agreeing not to hear appeals from Scotland, and not requiring Balloil's attendance at English Parliaments. On all other points he remains firm.
1334 Spring Robert d'Artois, heavily disguised, arrives in England, seeking asylum at the court of Edward III, explaining that he had been slandered by his enemies in France and intends to return as soon as he can do so safely. Edward allows him to remain, but gives him no help against the French King.
1334 May King David II of Scotland, with his queen and his court, arrive in Normandy. They are installed by Philippe in Chateau Galliard in Normandy.
1334 June King Edward Balloil meets with King Edward III at Newcastle and cedes to him most of the English speaking lowlands of Scotland, eight counties in all.
1334   Philippe VI, deciding that he cannot abandon his allies, the Scots, derails the Anglo-French peace negotiations by declaring to Edward III's embassy at Senlis that any treaty between France and England must include the exiled King of Scotland. The grand embassy, who's members include John Stratford, Archbishop of Canturbury, Sir William Montague, William Clinton and Chief Justice Scrope, is unprepared to deal with this, having no instructions on the subject, and foundering on this subject they leave empty handed to return to England.
1334   Philippe VI appoints new commissioners, with expanded powers, to the Anglo-French commission meeting in Agen to negotiate land issues in the Aquitaine.
1334 19 June King Edward Balloil does homage to King Edward III for the Kingdom of Scotland in the Dominican convent at Newcastle.
1334 July Robert Stewart and John Randolph, Earl of Moray, lead an insurrection in the south west of Scotland. Stewart, only 18 at the time, attacks and takes Dunoon Castle by sea, followed quickly by Rothesay.
1334   John Randolph, Earl of Moray, crosses the Clyde and raises most of the south-west in his support. He is a 'youth not yet fully grown', but he and Robert Stewart set themselves as joint regents of Scotland and proceed to set up the beginnings of a government.
1334 August The insurrection led by John Randolph and Robert Stewart spreads to most of Scotland.
1334 24 August King Edward Balloil's close associates and supporters refuse to make a common effort against the rebels, and disperse to their castles to resist them individually. Balloil flees to Berwick-on-Tweed, barely escaping a raiding party sent to apprehend him.
1334 September Parliament, sitting at Westminster, hears the news of Edward Balloil's expulsion from Scotland, and of the mistreatment of his English supporters. They vote a new subsidy to King Edward III to make war on Scotland. The church is pressured to make a 'donation', and Edward increases his borrowing from the bankers.
1334 29 September The new commission in Agen meets and falls quickly to arguing over matters both of substance and procedure. The French commissioners demand the surrender of Blanquefort and Veyrines. Edward III's Seneschal advises him to comply, but Edward balks, as he is reluctant to let the fortresses fall in to the hands of the Comte d'Armagnac, who is a French sympathizer.
1334 October One of the French commissioners from Agen leaves for Paris to secure the confiscation of the Comté of Ponthieu until such time as Edward III returns the fortresses of Blanquefort and Veyrines.
1334 November King Philippe VI of France sends to King Edward III of England, stating his intention to send an embassy to discuss the Scottish situation.
1334 November King Edward III invades Scotland with approximately 4,000 men, making Roxburgh his primary objective. The Scots pursue a strategy of avoiding pitched battles.
1334 15 November Edward III sends a letter to Philippe VI, saying that what was needed was a reappraisal of the existing treaties, and conventions between the two kings, as well as the resumption of the detailed work of the Aquitaine commission.
1334 Winter The worst winter for many years descends upon England and Scotland, upsetting Edward III's plans of invasion by depriving him of his re-enforcements.
1334 4 December Pope John XXII, aged eighty five, dies at Avignon.
1334 20 December Cardinal Jaques Fournier is elected pope. He is a Cistertian theologian and a former inquisitor. He is also no great friend to the French kingdom, and has a particular dislike for Mile de Noyers.
1334 After Christmas Edward III conducts a military probe through the forest of Etterick, in an attempt to find the rebels. Edward Balloil, having led a smaller force up from Carlisle conducts a search for them in Peebles. Between them they only succeed in laying waste to large tracts of the western lowlands.
1335
1335   Mile de Noyers, a Burgundian noble, becomes a dominant force in the French royal Council. He is a determined man, with definite ideas on the matters of foreign policy and where French interests lay.
1335   Edward III buys the massive Cog Edward for the sum of 450 l.
1335 January Philippe VI's embassy arrives in England, headed by the Bishop of Avranches.
  8 January Cardinal Jaques Fournier is enthroned as pope Benedict XII.
1335 February Edward III and Edward Balloil return to England.
1335   A large ship carrying provisions from the French is seen at Dumbarton Castle, discharging wine and armor for the Scots. Edward III begins to requisition ships in Bristol, Falmouth, Plymouth and Southampton to search for and blockade other such shipments.
1335 18 February Edward III arrives in Newcastle and receives Philippe VI's embassy. He responds that he will consider his reply and send it at some later time. The French ambassadors ask to be allowed to attempt mediation. Edward, out of troops and money, agrees, despite having no real intention of making peace.
1335   Three of the ambassadors from France travel to Scotland, where they find chaos. John Randolph and Robert Stewart have fallen out, and are seizing whatever royal revenues they can get their hands on and surrounded by armed camps of jealous and suspicious nobles.
1335 Easter The ambassadors from France negotiate a truce to last until Midsummer.
1335 March Due to a revaluation of the French currency, in an attempt to restore stronger currency in the wake of repeated devaluations, a bullion shortage forces French mints to close.
1335 6 March King Edward III informs the recruiting officers of thirty-seven counties to be ready to meets the King's need for troops when the order is given.
1335 26 March Edward III, advised by a council of noblemen and ecclesiastical magnates at Nottingham, decides to invade Scotland again.
1335 27 March Writs are issued through England calling for all contingents to be in arms at Newcastle by 11 June.
1335 Spring French and Scottish privateers are allowed to use the Channel ports of France.
1335 April The bitterly divided Scots leaders meet in Dairsie, in Fife, and agree to follow the now traditional plan of avoiding battle with the English. They also decide to evacuate the inhabitants of the lowlands as much as possible, moving them to the safety of the hills.
1335 20 April An English ship, the Little Lechevard of Southampton, is attacked in the Seine estuary by a Scots privateer, John of St. Agatha. After killing the master of the ship he takes the cargo off to Honfleur and scuttles the ship. The cargo is seized by the baillis of Rouen, but returned to John after he defends his actions as a legitimate act of war.
1335 27 May Parliament meets at York, and is informed of Edward III's plans for the summer campaign, which they endorse.
1335 End of May The French embassy leaves York to return to France, clearly having been duped by Edward III.
1335 June Edward III sends a party of spies to Calais, to report on French activities.
1335 Mid-June Jean de Normandie, Prince of France falls suddenly ill at Taverny. The illness is serious, and processions and public prayers are held throughout France.
1335 Early July The French royal Council decides to send a force of 6,000 soldiers, including 1,000 men-at-arms, to Scotland.
1335 7 July Philippe VI writes to Edward III saying that the Scots had been 'frequently, continually, insistently' asking for his aid, and that he was bound to honor their request by sending his 6,000 troops. In an attempt to avoid an open breach between France and England, and the almost certain cancellation of the planned crusade, he invites Edward III to submit his differences to arbitration by the Pope and himself.
1335   Jean de Normandie, Prince of France, is pronounced out of danger from his illness.
1335 ?July? Philippe VI informs the Benedict XII of his intention to help the Scots. The pope responds to Philippe's ambassador that he did not agree that Philippe was obliged to do so, that the Crusade would have to be cancelled, that it would damage the King of France in his own realm, cost him more money than he had, and more than likely be useless, as Edward III would probably win anyway. He also said that Philippe was not qualified as an arbitrator, as he was biased in support of one of the parties in question.
1335   Pope Benedict XII appoints two mediators, Hugh d'Aimery and another, who traveled to Paris, to speak first to Philippe, and them move on to Amiens, to await an English escort.
1335 July Pope Benedict XII offers generous terms of reconciliation to envoys of Louis of Bavaria.
1335 Second week of July Edward III has 13,000 men under arms. This is three times as many men as for the Roxburgh campaign, and is the largest English army which Edward ever took into Scotland. The plan is for a three pronged attack, one part of the army, under Edward III, to march north from Carlyle, the rest, Under Edward Balloil, to march west from Berwick-on-Tweed, the two to meet on the Clyde, while a naval force was to land men in the Clyde estuary.
1335 Mid-July Edward III receives reports of raiding parties of Scots and other foreign troops gathering in the ports of Normandy, and that warships and other sea transport was being sought and gathered by French officers from Sluys to Mont-Saint-Michel. In response he orders castles surveyed and repaired throughout the south of England and Wales, and beacons are prepared on hilltops to warn the coastal towns. Whatever recruits that could be scraped up after the muster for the army in Scotland were raised.
1335 Second half of July Edward III and Edward Balloil march into Scotland, meeting no real opposition, and destroying everything in their path.
1335 22 July The Parlement of Paris is informed of Philippe VI's plans to send troops to Scotland.
1335 End of July Edward III and Edward Balloil meet up at Glasgow. Finding no enemy in the south-west, they turn north. Edward III installs himself at Perth, while his army looted and destroyed the surrounding countryside.
1335 31 July Pierre Roger, Archbishop of Rouen, announces the Philippe VI's decision to send troops to Scotland in a sermon in the courtyard of the royal palace in Paris.
1335 August For national defense the realm of England is divided into three sections (North of the Trent (including Lincolnshire), South of the Trent, and Wales and the marches. Assemblies of notables in each section gather and plan their responses to the possible French invasion, with special captains in each to requisition shipping, and keepers of the coast organized for sea watches.
1335   Despite the defense measures, eight French ships get through the Solent in August, three of them landing troops. Two of these are captured and their raiding parties stranded and killed or captured.
1335   John Randolph, Earl of Moray and the most effective of the Scots leaders, is taken in a border skirmish with English garrison troops. This leaves Roger Stewart, who is brave but inexperienced and immature, and David of Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, who is unreliable and ambitious. The Earl of Atholl submits to Edward III almost immediately at Perth, and Stewart follows suit somewhat later.
1335 20 August Edward III, at Perth, receives Philippe VI's letter informing him of the French troop movements. Edward responds immediately, saying that the crusade will not be threatened, as he will soon have the country pacified, that it was surprising that Philippe should stand on the side of the Scots, rather than on the side of Edward III, his own cousin and vassal, and anyway Edward III was dealing with his own vassals, so the offer of arbitration was offensive.
1335 Last week of August Edward III's Irish troops finally leave Dublin, theoretically to take Dumbarton Castle. They instead land on the Isle of Bute and lay siege to Roxburgh.
1335 Mid-September Edward III's Irish troops, having wasted their time in the siege of Roxburgh and faced with the oncoming winter, return home.
1335   Edward III's main army moves south to be paid off and disbanded, the entire campaign having achieved very little beyond destruction of the Scottish countryside. Edward Balloil returns with them, as he has no place to call his own in Scotland at this point. He spends the winter at Holy Island, off Northumberland, running up bills he can't afford to pay.
1335 End of September The remaining leaders of the Scottish resistance gather at Dumbarton Castle and select Sir Andrew Murray as Guardian of Scotland. He is the brother-in-law of Robert Bruce, one of the few Scots nobles who never submitted to Edward Balloil, and possesses both personality and ruthlessness to rival Edward III's. He is also an associate of Sir William Douglas, a brilliant guerrilla leader.
1335 Mid-October Sir Andrew Murray contacts Edward III and proposes a truce to begin negotiations. Edward agrees, and a truce is declared until 12 November, and is extended periodically until Christmas. It, and the negotiations that follow, do not include or protect Edward Balloil.
1335 November A French Embassy arrives in Newcastle.
1335 1 November Papal legate Hugh d'Aimery reaches Newcastle, and begins to hold meetings with all three parties in the Anglo-Scottish dispute.
1335 First week of November Talks between the English and the Scots begin in Bathgate, near Edinburgh.
1335   David of Strathbogie, now a supporter of Edward Balloil begins a campaign of murder, destruction and eviction in the coastal lowlands between Perth and Aberdeen, in order to bring the Scots to obedience, he claims. He lays siege to Sir Arthur Murray's castle at Kildrummy, where Sir Arthur's wife mounts a 'stowt and manly resistance'.
1335 St. Andrew's Day Sir Arthur Murray, having left the talks at Bathgate and gathered some 800 supporters (including William Douglas) attacks and defeats David of Strathbogie by the river Dee in the forest of Culbean. Strathbogie makes a stand by an oak tree and fights until he dies. His widow flees, leaving her money and most of her wardrobe behind, to Lochindorb, which the Scots proceed to lay siege to.
1336
1336 26 January The Anglo-Scottish truce is extended again, this time until the middle of April. The Scots agree to lift the sieges of Lochindorb and Cupar, and a draft treaty is drawn up. It provides that, as Edward Balloil is middle aged and childless, he shall be recognized as King of Scotland, with young David II as his Heir, and that David would leave France and live in England. A party of Scots are sent to Normandy, to seek David II's agreement, and report back to the English Parliament in March.
1336 29 January Pope Benedict XII issues the bull 'Benedictus Deus', confirming the existence of the Beatific Vision.
1336 March Benedict XII summons Philippe VI to Avignon, and informs him in a private interview that the Crusade is cancelled. There are too many problems, he says, the preparations were not going well, recruitment was poor, and there were doubts about Philippe VI's ability to lead the expedition. Germany and northern Italy are in turmoil, Naples and Aragon were on the verge of war in Sicily, and now France was involved in the war between England and Scotland. It was simply not possible at this time.
1336 11 March Parliament meets at Westminster, and hears from a messenger of David II that he rejects the peace proposal, and is not interested in further truces. Parliament votes a new subsidy for war.
1336 Mid-March Philippe VI leaves Avignon and travels to Marseille, where his galley for the crusade is being prepared. He is entertained by a mock sea battle where the ships fire oranges at each other.
1336 Easter Philippe VI, celebrating Easter at Lyon, meets with a delegation from Scotland. They inform him that the truce has only five weeks to run, and remind him of promise of aid. Philippe repeats his promise.
1336 7 April Edward III announces that as soon as the truces expire he will once again invade Scotland in great numbers.
1336 May Edward III, having decided not to lead the invasion himself this time, appoints Henry of Lancaster, son of the Earl of Lancaster to command. He leaves in May for the north, with a small force of 500 men-at-arms and more than 600 infantry.
1336   Edward III appoints admirals to requisition ships.
1336 First week of May An English spy reports that there is an unusually high level of activity in the French Channel ports.
1336 June Henry of Lancaster, having encountered little resistance, reaches Perth, where he settles in to await supplies. One of his retainers, Sir Thomas Rosslyn, sails from King's Lynn to take the coastal castle of Dunnotar, 15 miles south of Aberdeen, meeting heavy resistance and loosing his life in the process.
1336   The ships gathered by the English admirals gather at Portsmouth.
1336 Early June Edward III receives reports of Philippe VI's meetings with the Scots at Lyon, and alarming (and assuredly exagerated) reports of the French King's preparations for war.
1336 11 June Edward III, abandoning his plan to preside over a Great Council at Northampton, leaves in haste for Newcastle, where a force of about 400 men, including Robert d'Artois, is put together from available royal household and the retinue of William Montague. He then marches at speed for Perth.
1336 25 June The Great Council Edward lll had summoned assembles at Northampton. John Stratford, Archbishop of Canturbury, Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln, and Edward's brother John of Elthham preside in the King's absence. They suggest a new embassy to France, to divine the intentions of Philippe VI, and negotiate.
1336 Late June John of Eltham travels north to oversee the muster of the levies from the northern counties.
1336 7 July The Bishops of Durham and Winchester, along with others, are appointed as ambassadors to France.
1336 11 July A judgment is made in the Parlement of Paris in favor of Garcie Arnaud, Sire de Navailles, who has been suing Edward III for some years, attempting to collect some 30,000 florins he claims Edward owes him. A large award of damages is made in Arnaud's favor, and the Parlement orders it to be paid out of seizures made on Edward III's holdings in Gascony.
1336 12 July Edward III, having added some 400 men to his forces from Henry of Lancaster's troops, leaves Perth and relieves the siege of Lochindorb, where the Countess of Atholl and her forces are down to their last quarter of rye. He then proceeds to destroy every bit of livestock he can find.
1336 17 July Edward III reaches the Moray Firth, and begins to pillage the area. The food stores at Kinloss Abbey were emptied, Forres was burned, and while Elgin's famous church was let stand, nothing else around it was. He also burns the crops as far inland as he can reach.
1336 21 July Edward III and his troops reach Aberdeen, descending on the city from the north.
1336 22 July Edward III and his troops spend the day burning the town, and demolishing what cannot be burned.
1336 24 July The Bishops of Durham and Winchester depart from Dover for France.
1336 End of July John of Eltham enters Scotland with several thousand troops, and proceeds to ravage the south-west of the country in Carrick and the Clyde valley, burning, it was claimed, whole congregations in their churches, to which they had fled for safety.
1336   Philippe VI's Mediterranean galley fleet arrives in the harbors of Normandy and Brittany.
1336   English spies report the arrival of the Mediterranean fleet.
1336   The English fleet at Portsmouth, reacting to incorrect information suggesting the crisis was over, disperses, leaving the coast unguarded.
1336 August The Bishops of Durham and Winchester have a series of meetings with Philippe VI and his Council at the royal palace in the Bois de Vincennes. They do not go well.
1336 12 August Edward III forbids all exports of wool and leather from the country, which eventually causes great distress in Flanders .
1336 20 August Philippe VI announces his final answer to the English ambassadors, rejecting their proposals entirely, and saying he intended to aid the Scots by every means in his power, and that he had a large fleet and a large army, with which he intended to invade both England and Scotland. Startled by this frankness, and reluctant to commit such information to paper, the Bishops dispatch a messenger, one William Tickhill, to warn the royal Council verbally.
1336 22 August Four French warships attack the town of Orford, attacking and taking the merchant ship Caterine. Once her crew is all killed or captured, she is sent to Flanders.
1336 23 August William Tickhill, traveling with a single squire, reaches Dover.
1336   French warships return and raid Walton, taking the Paternoster with a valuable cargo of dye and wax.
1336 24 August William Tickhill, having ridden through the night, arrives at Northampton in the late evening.
1336 Late August John Stratford has writs issued calling for a Great Council at Nottingham, to be on 23 September, summoning not only the prelates and barons of the realm, but also representatives of the shires and boroughs.
1336   Walter Tickhill is despatched to Scotland, to inform Edward III of his news, and of the Council, and request that Edward return to England in haste.
1336 Autumn Philippe VI, deprived of his Mediterranean reinforcements and lacking a suitable port to land his troops in due to Edward III's raids in Scotland, cancels his plans to invade, and instead concentrates on naval raids on southern England.
1336   The English government in Bordeaux begins to repair and supply the castles in the Aquitaine.
1336   Plans are made for the reenforcement of Guyenne/Gascony with English troops.
1336   A large French fleet, consisting of galleys and transports, leaves the harbors of Normandy and Brittany, making for the Isle of Wight. There they attack several of the Edward III's ships, and some loaded merchantmen, either scuttling or carrying off the ships once the crews were dead.
1336 September English merchants and travelers in France are arrested, and their goods seized, and English sailors in Flanders are rounded up and imprisoned.
1336 6 September The English fleet is ordered to attack the retreating French galleys, but they are unable to, as the French have returned to their bases.
1336 Second week of September Walter Tickhill, having arrived in Scotland to find the eastern lowlands in turmoil because of Douglas' raiding parties, and been abandoned by his bodyguard, finally reaches Edward III with his message.
1336   Edward III abandons the planned campaign, riding south with the commanders of the army, though leaving most of his forces behind.
1336 Mid September John Thrandeston, Edward III main agent in Europe, is sent by the King's Council on a mission to the counts of Hainault, Juliers and Guelders.
1336 24 September Edward III arrives in Nottingham, where the Great Council is already gathering.
1336 25 September The Great Council at Nottingham opens, receiving the news of the outcome of the embassy to France and the raids in Suffolk and the Isle of Wight. Southern England is in hysterical fear of invasion and wild and improbable rumors are everywhere. In response the Council authorizes recruitment of an enormous army (80, 000), appointing commissioners to select men and see to the gathering of supplies, and grants a tax of a tenth on movables and a fifteenth on lands. They also levy a special tax on wool merchants.
1336   Once the Council disperses, Edward and the army commanders return to Scotland.
1336 October Edward III asks the Pope's permission to use the money raised for the Crusade for his current needs. When the Pope says no, he seizes it from St. Mary's Abbey anyway, along with any subsidiary chests in cathedrals throughout England.
1336   Andrew Murray, Guardian of Scotland, captures and destroyed the English strongholds of Dunnotar, Kynnef and Lauriston, and carried on a harsh campaign of destruction in his own territories, ravaging Gowrie, Angus and Mearns, seeking to make them uninhabitable by the English.
1336   The English, learning of the arrest and imprisonment of English merchants and sailors throughout France, retaliate in kind.
1336   Orders are given detaining every ship in England, from which a fleet will be chosen, and galleys are summoned up from Bayonne. Requests are also sent to Genoa for more.
1336 October Relations between England and Flanders, already bad due to the fact that Flemish ports are shipping supplies to the Scots, and that Flemish ships are in the forefront of the attacks on the coast of England, break off completely as a result of the Comte de Flandres enforcement of Philippe VI of France's trade sanctions.
1336 18 October Edward III marches to Bothwell, which was Edward I's principal fortress fortress in the lowlands. Repairs are begun to the place, despite the fact that winter had come on, and that there were partisan attacks led by William Douglas.
1336 22 October Deciding that the French have missed their opportunity, the fleet of the western Admiralty, which had been stationed off the mouth of the Thames, is dismissed. The larger ships make for Gironde, to join the annual wine fleet.
1336 26 October The fleet of the northern Admiralty is dismissed.
1336 End of October John Thrandeston spends a fortnight at Valenciennes, in the court of Count William of Hainault
1336 November French forces stage a destructive raid on the Channel Islands.
1336 8 November The massive recruitment of men in the Coastal areas of England is which the Great Council had ordered is canceled.
1336 Mid-December Edward III leaves Scotland.
1336 25 December Edward III holds Christmas at Hatfield.
1336 26 December Philippe VI demands Robert d'Artois' extradition from England. He sends this demand not to Edward III, but to Edward's Seneschal in Gascony, and says that the Seneschal should deal with the Master of Royal Archers that Philippe was sending to Gascony for that purpose.
1337
1337   Edward III knights John Pulteney, who has lent him a great deal of money.
1337   Public order begins to break down in Ghent and Bruges, as a result of the English embargo on wool. The principal advocate of coming to an agreement with England, Sir Sohier de Courtrai, attempts to persuade the men of Ghent and Bruges to join Edward III's continental coalition, and was paying out English money to buy friends for England.
1337   The Pope attempts to mediate the rising tensions between Philippe VI and Edward III. Philippe tells him that this is a matter between a sovereign and his vassal, and that the attempt is impertinent. The Pope then proceeds to refuse Philippe VI a tax on the Church, and orders the money gathered for the Crusade to be returned to the donors, to prevent Philippe from using it for his spring campaign.
1337   War hysteria reaches a fever pitch. Wild rumors circulate through England, that Englishmen are being massacred in France, that French spies are aiding the Scots in the north, and that enormous armies are being prepared to invade and annihilate England.
1337 Early January At the bastide of Puymirol in the Agenais officers of Edward III defy officers of Philippe VI, who are trying to seize his property to satisfy the Parlement judgment against Edward.
1337 5 January Representatives of the ports of the northern and western Admiralties meet in London to be informed by four of Edward III's most senior councillors of the King's need for shipping in the coming year. This amounted to the services of the ships and their crews for a period of three months, without compensation. This proposal is greeted with an uproar, and immediately dismissed.
1337 10 January Edward III obtains permission from a Council of magnates to require free service from his ports, with or without the consent of the seamen. All ships of the western and northern Admiralties are ordered to assemble at Portsmouth by 15 March.
1337 Mid-January Robert Ufford and William Monatgue, close confidants of Edward III, are appointed as Admirals.
1337 February Philippe VI's Master of Royal Archers, a Savoyard named Etienne le Galois de la Baume, arrives in Gascony, and attempts to take the walled town of Saint-Macaire by surprise. The town however, closes its gates in time and le Galois de la Baume is forced to withdraw, due to a lack of siege equipment.
1337 February The ships of the northern Admiralty are ordered to assemble a month ahead of the March 15 date, and to proceed to Orwell to await orders. Twenty ships already mustered for the western Admiralty are ordered to leave at once for Bordeaux.
1337   Sir Andrew Murray takes Kinclaven Castle, north of Perth, then joins up with William Dougas and invades Fife, taking Falkland tower and Leuchars.
1337   Philippe VI, after a short, ultra secret negotiation, purchases five castles in the eastern Cambrésis for his son, Jean from the Bishop of Cambrai, including Cambrai itself, and two sites on the Scheldt. Louis of Bavaria, the Holy Roman Emperor, protests strongly, but to no avail.
1337   Edward III tells his commanders in the north, Percy and Neville, that he is detained by greater threats in the south, and they will have to do the best they can.
1337 28 February After three weeks bombardment by a siege engine named 'Buster' St. Andrews surrenders to Andrew Murray and William Douglas.
1337 Spring Count William of Hainault announces that he is convening a diplomatic conference at Valenciennes, on 4 May, 1337. To this he invites representatives of Edward III and, perhaps cynically, Philippe VI, as well as representatives of the Comte de Flandres and the Bishop of Liège.
1337 March Sir Andrew Murray attacks Bothwell Castle, recently and expensively re-fortified by the English. It surrenders, and is torn down by Murray.
1337 3 March Parliament, originally summoned for York, meets at Westminster. The government reports the losses in Scotland, and Edward III proposes to raise two armies, one to proceed to Gascony at once, and another to go to Scotland soon, and meanwhile to send a great embassy to France with a draft treaty to be submitted to Philippe VI. Parliament endorses these plans, and votes the King a subsidy.
1337   Edward uses the occasion of this Parliament to publicly recognize the service of those close to him.William Montague is made Earl of Salisbury, and is appointed to command the expedition to Guyenne/Gascony. Henry of Lancaster is made Earl of Derby, William Bohun is made Earl of Northhampton.William Clinton and Robert Ufford are also made Earls, and twenty other men are knighted by the King in person
1337 16 March Parliament closes with magnificent celebrations at court.
1337 18 March Edward III issues orders for an army to be raised for the defense of Guyenne/Gascony, to sail from Portsmouth at the end of April, and requisitions all ships in the south and west coast ports of more then 40 tons. This proves to be an unrealistic date, and is pushed back several times.
1337 Second half of March King Philippe VI is at his hunting lodge in Saint-Christophe-de-Halate, and passes the next month in the forests of Ile de France.
1337 End of March The Scots march westward and lay waste to the lands of the supporters of Edward Balloil in Galloway.
1337 April Pope Benedict XII warns Philippe VI that the mood in Germany is one of 'Irritation approaching desperation' and that an imperial alliance with England is likely.
1337   A combined French and Scottish fleet raids Sark.
1337   John Thrandeston returns from the continent accompanied by agents of the counts of Hainault and Guelders, as well as the Duke of Brabant.
1337 11 April Under pressure from king Philippe VI of France, and convinced by him that his earlier generous offers were an encouragement to heresy and rebellion, pope Benedict XII declares that it is impossible to absolve Louis of Bavaria.
1337 15 April Edward III announces his delegation to the conference at Valenciennes. It consists of Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln, and two earls, William Montague, Earl of Salisbury and William Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon. Burghersh and the embassy travel with an ultimatum from Parliament and Edward III for Philippe VI, and orders to acquire as many continental allies as possible for Edward III.
1337 End of April Ambassadors from Edward III arrive to seek an audience with Philippe VI. He refuses to see them.
1337 Last week of April Henry Burghersh and the English embassy leave England for the conference in Valenciennes, well supplied with money. They are authorized to draw 2,000 L. from the Bardi bank, and 1,000 L. from the Peruzzi. Additionally the Earl of Salisbury has brought with him 5,000 marks, in case it should be needed. They arrive in Valenciennes in great spectacle.
1337 30 April The arrière-ban, a general levy of feudal troops, is proclaimed throughout France.
1337 May Philippe VI meets with his Great Council, swelled by the presence of the principal members of the nobility, and agrees that the Aquitaine should be taken into his hands, on account of Edward III's breach of his obligations as a vassal of the French crown by harboring Robert d'Artois, and for 'certain other reasons' that are not defined.
1337   Philippe VI formally confiscates the Aquitaine, sending his troops over the border to seize Edward III's castles, while French ships raid Jersey and the Cinque Port towns.
1337 4 May The Count of Hainault's conference opens in Valenciennes. Not surprisingly, only supporters of Edward III have shown up. The count and his brother are present, as well as the counts of Guelders, Limburg, Cleves and Alost, and the Margrave of Juliers. The Duke of Brabant, the Count of Namur and the Bishop of Cologne send representatives.
1337 Mid May Philippe VI and his advisors finalize their war strategy for the south. Guyenne/Gascony is to be attacked from the east, via the Garonne valley, by an army gathered from the southern provinces. Muster date is set for 8 July.
1337 Third week of May Jeanne de Valois, Countess of Hainault and sister to Philippe VI and quite possibly the only person at the Valenciennes conference who is really interested in peace, sets out from Valenciennes accompanied by Jean de Hainault, with the ultimatum that the conference has produced. This is a document with three main points: One, that Robert d'Artois be given a safe conduct to defend himself in the French court, two, that Philippe VI should abandon his alliance with the Scots, and three, that Philippe should appoint a date when the continuing litigations in the Parlement of Paris between himself and Edward III would be settled.
1337   Jeanne de Valois arrives at Vincennes to find Philippe VI preparing for war. After several days of being ignored by Philippe's ministers she succeeds in gaining an audience with him, but to little purpose. Jeanne asks Philippe to send representatives to Valenciennes, but Philippe dismisses her saying he know about her husband's part in assembling a coalition against him, and accusing Jean de Hainault of trying to 'hound him from his kingdom'.
1337   Philippe VI relents somewhat, sending a message after the departed Jeanne de Valois, saying he would consider giving a safe conduct to Robert d'Artois, and would allow him to choose his own counsel and object to the presence of his enemies among the judges. On the Scots and he litigation with Edward III, he has nothing to say.
1337   The Cogge de Flandre, laden with armor, jewelry, chests of records and correspondence, and 30,000 livres of silver, is taken by ships of Yarmouth en route to Scotland from France.
1337 20 May The Comte de Foix, Philippe VI's commander in the south receives his orders.
1337 23 May Raoul, Comte d'Eu and Constable of France, receives his orders.
1337 24 May The bailli of Amiens is ordered to take over the comté of Ponthieu.
1337 Early Summer Conversations between Sohier de Courtrai and agents of the English are overheard at Ghent, and reported to the French government.
1337 7 June William, Count of Hainault dies.
1337   The English embassy departs Valenciennes bound for Brussels, capital of the Duke of Brabant. There, after promising him the stupendous sum of 60,000 L., payable over four years, and liberally dispensing wool licenses to his subjects, they succeed in making an alliance with the Duke.
1337   The first signs of activity for the army for Guyenne/Gascony appear in Portsmouth, ships arriving, supplies being stored. The sailing date, thrice postponed, is set for July 7.
1337 13 June Oliver Ingham, Seneschal of Guyenne/Gascony, receives at Linbourne two lieutenants of the Seneschal of Périgord who deliver letters declaring the duchy forfeit, and demanding him to surrender the towns and castles in his command. He temporizes, saying that he needs time to consult with the council in Bordeaux, and that Robert d'Artois, who's activities were the stated reason for the forfeiture, was not in Guyenne/Gascony, and that he would need several weeks to get instructions from England. He is granted some time, grudgingly, but is informed that an army is on the way to enforce the forfeiture.
1337 Mid June Edward III's embassy writes to him optimistically that they would be ready to return at the end of the month, with all the alliances needed to mount a major campaign.
1337   Edward III downgrades plans for the army for Guyenne/Gascony, deciding instead to concentrate his forces in the Low Countries. Command is given to one John of Norwich, a man of minor rank, and the forces to be made available to him are much reduced from the original plan, some of the men gathered at Portsmouth being told to go to London to be shipped to the Low Countries.
1337 22 June Edward III, at Stamford, begins issuing orders for the gathering of a invading army, to be ready to sail from London on 28 July.
1337 28 June The results of the English embassy to Valenciennes and Brussels are reported to Philippe VI and his advisors. As a result of this information troops that were holding themselves ready for either Amiens or Marmande were directed to the northern army muster at Amiens.
1337 End of June A fleet of 20 ships from Great Yarmouth arrive in Dordrecht to ferry the English embassy home, but they are not there, still being in negotiations with Louis of Bavaria, the excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor. He eventually agrees to an alliance after being promised the sum of 300,000 gold florins (@45,000 L.).
1337   Once negotiations with Louis of Bavaria are concluded the smaller rulers settle their contracts, the counts of Hainault and Guelders being paid, 100 ,000 florins (@£15,000), and likewise the Margrave of Juliers. Other, smaller princes, make similar acommadations, and Henry Burghersh compiles a list of troops amounting to nearly 7,000 men, as follows:
The Emperor 2,000
The Duke of Brabant 1,200
The Count of Hainault 1,000
The Count of Guelders 1,000
The Margrave of Juliers 1,000
The Count of Loos 200
Rupert, Count Palatine 150
The Count of La Marck 100
The Margrave of Brandenburg 100
The Lord of Falkenburg 100
Others 96
For a total of 6,946 men, at a cost in excess of £160,000. up front, plus fixed wages to each purveyor of troops (15 florins per man per month being the usual rate), replacement cost for horses lost on the campaign, and ransom costs, if needed.
1337   Muster is set for the middle of the Cambrésis, on 17 September, with the Emperor to join later, on 1 October.
1337 6 July Sohier de Courtrai is arrested by officers of the Comte de Flandres, and charged with treason. This leads to an uproar, as de Courtrai is a citizen of Ghent, and ought not to have been arrested on the king's order, but stand trial before the courts of the town.
1337 8 July The French army set to invade Guyenne/Gascony is mustered. It consists of @12,000 men, made up of contingents brought by the seneschals of Toulouse, Beaucaire, and Agen, and the comtes d'Armagnac and de Foix. Command is given to the Constable of France, Raoul, Comte d'Eu, who is at best a man of limited ability.
1337 10 July Constable Raoul d'Eu takes the castle of Villeneuve, then splits his army, leaving part of it to to besiege other strongholds in the Agenais while he marched west to meet up with the Comte de Foix.
1337 17 July Puymirol in the Agenais falls to the French. The garrison may have resisted, but the town did not, surrendering in exchange for the right to hold an annual fair on St. Foy's day.
1337   Raoul d'Eu and the Comte de Foix meet and invest Sainte-Macaire for siege, doing great damage to the walls, destroying outlying houses and uprooting vinyards.
1337 26 July William de la Pole and Reginald Conduit meet with a consortium of English wool merchants, and approve of a plan form the English Wool Company, to raise money for the King's war. The plan is that the Crown will compulsorily purchase nearly all of the years wool crop, on credit, and then sell it at wildly inflated prices in the wool starved Low Countries. This consortium is granted a monopoly on the wool, the right to purchase at enforced low prices on credit, an indefinite period to repay the credit, and protections in the courts against being sued. In return, the merchants of the Company will lend Edward III £200,000, and give him half the profits of the expected 30,000 sacks of wool they were expecting to export. This plan, understandably, meets with resistance amongst wool producers.
1337 31 July Raoul d'Eu, Constable of France, abandons his siege of Sainte-Macaire, again splitting his army and dispatching them on raiding missions in different parts of the Duchy to harass the partisans of Edward III.
1337 Early August Raoul d'Eu, Constable of France, marches his section of the Army into the area east of Bordeaux, taking the keep at Tastes, which belongs to one of Edward III's staunchest supporters.
1337   Gaston de Foix, commanding the other part of the French army in Guyenne/Gascony, marches south to the foothills of the Pyrenees and, while not taking anything of note, inflicting great damage on the property of the partisans of Edward III.
1337   Edward III appoints Arnaud de Durfort and his son, also Arnaud, as joint captains of Penne.
1337   Edward III further reduces the number of troops bound for Guyenne/Gascony, appropriating to the army for the Low Countries all of the ships and most of the troops set aside for the army. John of Norwich is left with a small force of Welsh archers, Londoners, and a handful of men at arms, perhaps 300-500 men in all. Embarcation point is changed from Portsmouth to Bristol.
1337   In an attempt to appease the rebellious Flemings a commission of five senior counsellors is sent to Bruges to announce that the indemnities for past rebellions, now two years in arrears, would be reduced.
1337   A small French squadron is stationed at the new port of La Rochelle. It is quickly bested by attacks from Bayonne.
1337 13 August After a wait of three weeks, and a run across the channel under a storm to avoid the French fleet, some of the English embassy arrive in England. The rest arrive several days later, minus horses and baggage.
1337 Second week August Raoul d'Eu, Constable of France, invests Pommiers for Siege.
1337 Third week August The English embassy arrives in London, where the beginnings of an army are mustering, to inform Edward III of the details of their treaties.
1337 End of August Pommiers falls to Raoul d'Eu, Constable of France.
1337 26 August Muster date for the army destined for the Low Countries is pushed back to 30 September. Troops continue to gather slowly at London, Sandwich and Orwell.
1337   Edward III agrees with Louis of Bavaria, the Holy Roman Emperor to push off the meeting of the English and Imperial armies for two months, the new date being St. Andrew's Day, 30 November.
1337 26 August Despite some misgivings about the quality and enormous cost of their German allies by some of the English royal Council (William Montague, Earl of Salisbury, in particular is appalled at the size of the subsidies), Edward ratifies all of the treaties that Henry Burghersh has negotiated with the German Emperor and princes.
1337   John of Norwich, commanding what there is of the English forces bound for Guyenne/Gascony finally sets out, from London, as the point of embarcation has been changed yet again.
1337   Raoul d'Eu, Constable of France, lays siege to Civrac, which capitulates almost immediately.
1337 September Raoul d'Eu, Constable of France, retires to La Réole, leaving field operations to his subordinates.
1337   The Scots begin to stage destructive diversionary attacks in the north. Edward III to reluctantly reassign several of the nobles and retinues intended for the Low Countries campaign to deal with the Scots.
1337   John of Norwich arrives in Bordeaux
1337 Mid September Gaston de Foix returns to La Réole from his raiding with 6,000 reinforcements from Bearn. At this point the Constable bestirs himself, and plans are made to lay siege to Bordeaux. Troops are moved to Podensac, 30 miles from Bordeaux, and part of the French Channel fleet is moved to La Rochelle, to blockade the city from the seaward side.
1337 20 September Raoul d'Eu, Constable of France, is recalled to the north, ending the plans for the siege of Bordeaux.
1337 September A French fleet attempts to capture Henry Burghersh, the Bishop of London, but fail. They take shelter afterwards on the island of Cadsand, in the Scheldt.
1337 End of September Parliament votes a generous grant, a tenth on moveables and a fifteenth on unmovables, to be collected annually for the next three years to finance the wars in France and Scotland.
1337 October Edward III formally revokes his allegiance for the Aquitaine, and repudiates the homage he swore at Amiens.
1337   Edward III is forced to send the Earl of Salisbury north to deal with the rising incursions of the Scots.
1337   The date of the French muster at Amiens is pushed back to 15 November, as it is clear that the English will not be taking the field on their planned date.
1337 Mid-October The Scots attack Carlisle, and lay waste to parts of Cumberland.
1337   The French, convinced that the English will soon be landing at Boulogne, place all available troops under the command of Charles, Comte d'Alençon and Philippe de Navarre, and dispatch them to defend the town.
1337   In Gascony, relieved of the French invasion, the English come out of their garrisons and retake almost everything that the Constable had captured that year, save for Puymirol.
1337 End of October Troops at Sandwich receive their orders. They are to be shipped over first, under the command of the Admiral of the north, Sir Walter Mauny, to land in Holland. Henry Burghersh travels with them, to explain the delays to Edward III's continental allies, and to pay them something if they demand it.
1337   An English force of 500 men-at-arms and 2,000 archers, lead by Sir Walter Maunyy, attacks and defeats the French fleet under the command of Sir Guy of Flanders, at Cadsand.
1337   Oliver Ingham, Seneschal of Gascony, convenes an assemblage of the loyal barons of Guyenne/Gascony. They are few enough in number that a side chapel of the Dominican church in Bordeaux is big enough to fit them all. Notable for their absence are the lords of Fronsac, Caumont and Duras, who were to become major pro-English players.
1337 Early November The troops at Sandwich under Sir Walter Mauny embark and depart for the Low Countries.
1337   The Scots lay siege to Edinburgh.
1337   The English in Guyenne cross the Dordogne and invade eastern Saintonge, raiding Sainte-Foy-la-Grande and taking Parcoul-sur-Dronne, burning it and all the towns around it before invading the Agenais from the north, crossing the Lot near Villeneuve.
1337   Sir Walter Mauny, with a fleet of 85 ships, 1,450 troops and2,200 marines (as well as the wool cargo, and associated diplomats and clerks...), makes an attempt to land at Sluys, but is driven back.
1337 9 November Sir Walter Mauny lands his fleet at Cadzand, a marsh with small fishing villages at the mouth of the Hondt. The spend several days there burning the villages and killing the inhabitants in an attempt to draw out the garrison at Sluys.
1337 13 November In response to Oliver Ingham's raids, Philippe VI appoints Simon d'Arquèry, a judicial official of the royal household, and Etienne le Galois de la Baume, the Master of Royal Archers) as captains-general for the south west.
1337 Mid November Cardinals Bertrand de Montfavence and Pedro Gomez de Barroso, appointed despite their vast lack of political and diplomatic experience by the Pope to attempt to mediate the Anglo-French conflict, arrive in Paris. They are well received by Philippe, who is not at the moment averse to a truce.
1337 12 or 13 November The garrison at Sluys, under the command of Guy, le Batard de Flandres and half-brother to the count, responds to the depradations of the English at Cadzand, and offer battle. They are defeated after much bloodshed on both sides, and Guy is taken prisoner.
1337 20 November Edward III cancels his expedition to the Low Countries, and sends his soldiers home. It is 10 days before he is to meet the Holy Roman Emperor in the field and he has only 1,000 men gathered, not counting those led by Sir Walter Mauny, already en route, his coffers are empty, and Louis of Bavaria has not been paid.
Late November Cardinals Bertrand de Montfavence and Pedro Gomez de Barroso arrive in England, equipped as if they were traveling into a desert, bringing their own wine cellar and a huge supply of food. Edward had been denying them safe conduct across the channel, until he cancelled his continental expedition, but now received them with an outward show of grace, but informs them that he can't make any decisions without consulting Parliament, and that he could not make any truce without the approval of his German allies. The Cardinals, angry and tactless, respond that Louis of Bavaria's consent is immaterial, as he is an excommunicate, and that the others are only in it for the money, and have in fact already deserted him, swearing secret oaths to Philippe VI.
1337   The next day, in another unpleasant meeting, one of cardinals makes a long, pro French sermon on peace, loudly heckled by the Archbishop of Canterbury. They then explain that unless Edward III agrees to a truce the Pope would declare for France, and that they had the authority to, and would, degrade any churchman below the rank of Bishop who assisted in the war effort, dissolve his treaties and alliances and prohibit military expeditions on pain of excommunication and interdict.
1337   The Bishop of Thérouanne arrives in Bruges with messages from the King of France assuring them that the indemnities would not only be reduced, but cancelled entirely, if he could be sure of the loyalty of Flanders.
1337 End of November Henry Burghersh, with the fleet if Sir Walter Mauny, lands in Dordrecht, Holland. He proceeds directly upriver to Antwerp, and then to Mechelen, to meet with the German princes and explain to them the changes in English policy. He manages to convince them that Edward III will be with them in the spring, when French armies will be appearing on their borders, and that their subsidies, already in arrears, will be paid by March.
1337   Henry Burghersh returns to Holland, where he meets with Pole, Conduit and the wool merchants at Gertruidenberg, where he demands that they pay him 276,000 L. by 22 March. The merchants, faced with this demand for cash exceeding the amount that they had agreed to pay for all of the wool when they were in possesion of only a third of it, are shocked, replying that they couldn't raise that much money if they sold everything they owned. The best they could do, they said, was to advance 100,000 marks (66,666L.), which was the agreed on first installment of the loan, before they sold the wool.
1337 Somewhere about this time, actual time indefinite... Some of Edward III's German allies begin discrete communications with the French. In particular the Duke of Brabant, after making Henry Burghersh sign a new agreement stating that his alliance with Edward III would not be revealed, appoints Leon of Crainheim as his diplomatic agent in the French court. Leon explains to Philippe VI, and may even believe, that the Duke is not and never was allied with Edward III, does not have a grievance with King Philippe VI, and his involvement with the English embassy under Burghersh was limited to allowing them to lodge in his territory as they passed.
1337 20 December Henry Berghersh and his fellow councillors, unable to believe that the merchants are telling them the truth, respond harshly, seizing all of the wool sacks at Dordrecht for the King's expenses. The sale was turned over to officials of the Crown, who, because of political pressure and lack if skill, do not manage to sell the wool for good profit, selling at low prices for ready cash, and managing to raise only 41,679L., after expenses, which was less even that the merchants had offered to forward.
1337   Writs of summons are issued for a Parliament at Westminster in the first half of February.
1337 24 December Spurred by the threats of the Cardinals Bertrand de Montfavence and Pedro Gomez de Barroso, Edward III promises that he will not attack France until 1 March of the next year, and that he would suspend all military action by land and sea until that same date, unless his own subjects were attacked. Also that he would hold a Parliament on 3 February of the next year to consider more formal arrangements. This appears to satisfy the cardinals.
1337 25 December Messengers leave to inform Henry Burghersh of this new agreement, and warn him of the matters he now had to deal with.
1337 28 December Faced with economic ruin, the Flemings rebel. There is a large, armed and angry demonstration in Ghent, outside the Cistertian convent at Biloke.
1337 End of December Henry Burghersh receives news of Edward III's intent to negotiate with Philippe VI. He is appalled, and responds to Edward that the unanimous opinion of the German princes is that a truce would be disastrous, as they were already angry about the cancellation of this years fighting, and as all of the allies would have to be named in it, and some of them were quite anxious that they not be named. Also that a delay would mean that their subsidies would have to be paid before they were due to take the field, and that would leave them with no incentive to actually do so.
1337   The English forces in the Agenais lay siege to Agen, the provincial capital and seat of the French Seneschal.
1337   The French fleet at La Rochelle is reinforced, allowing the French to establish great control over the Bay of Biscay, and allowing them to patrol near the mouth of the Gironde.
1338
1338   England begins shipping grain to Gascony, which is suffering from the drought which has destroyed the previous years crops of grain, wine and oil.
1338   An English army of 4,000 men under the command of the earls of Arundel and Salisbury lay siege to Dunbar.
1338   Gaston, Comte de Foix invades the upper Adour, encountering little resistance due to the fact that most of the garrisons are unpaid and morale is very low.
1338 January The commander of Saint-Sever, one of the greatest fortresses of the Aquitaine, complains that he has been maintaining 500 men at arms and 1,000 infantry at his own expense, and is owed a colossal sum from the government, some 11,400 L.
1338 3 January The citizens of Ghent , led by one Jacob van Artevelde, appoint an emergency government for the town, consisting of five captains (one of whom is van Arteveld). They impose controls over food prices, establish a curfew, and take strong steps against public disorder. Bruges and Ypres follow the lead of Ghent.
1338 Mid January Simon d'Arquèry and Etienne le Galois de la Baume, captains-general of the south west, lay siege to Madallian.
1338   Philippe VI summons his army to meet at Amiens, on 20 March, to march on Flanders. He also dispatches the Bishop of Cambrai fo Flanders to negotiate with representatives of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres, and make concessions if necessary.
1338   Henry Burghersh and Edward III's councillors in the Low Countries, having traveled south from Nijmegen as soon as they heard of the Flemish rebellion, are in conference with the newly instituted government of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres at Louvain in Brabant.
1338 End of January Henry Burghersh and the representatives of the Flemish rebellion come to an agreement in principal. The principal towns of Flanders will lend aid to neither side of the conflict, and would not allow the armies of either side to pass through their territories. Flemish ports would no longer be used to ship supplies to Scotland, nor would they be used to harry English shipping, nor would any attempt be made to hinder the movement of the English army up the Scheldt to Antwerp in the summer. In return, the English wool embargo would be raised.
1338 Late January-Early February The English siege of Agen is raised, most probably by force. The English withdraw east, and vanish into Gascony.
1338 February Edward III and his councillors go through the motions of appeasing the Cardinals Bertrand de Montfavence and Pedro Gomez de Barroso, going through the motions of negotiations, and drawing up an outline for a formal truce.
1338   Several prominent Gascon nobles arrive in England in the hopes of convincing Edward III to pay more attention to the Aquitaine theater of the war
1338   Gaston, Comte de Foix, invades Tursan with 6,400 men, plus a contingent brought by the Seneschal of Toulouse.
1338 3 February Parliament meets, and while there are some complaints about the questionable fundraising tactics the Crown is involved in, on the principal point Edward III gets the answer he wants. There is to be no truce, this was a voluntary cessation of hostilities, and the Low Countries campaign would go on, unless Philippe VI showed some serious interest in restoring Edward III's lost continental properties. A date is fixed for the expedition's departure, 26 April. Money is to be raised by a forced loan on the wool stocks, up to half of each mans supply to be requisitioned and paid for according to quality, payment to be made in two years.
1338 5 February Gaston, Comte de Foix captures Geaune, then bribes the commander of Aire-sur-l'Adour to surrender with an offer of 1,000 livres cash and 50 livres per annum in pension. Once the town surrenders the fortifications are razed.
1338 Mid February Philippe VI appoints one of his financial officials, Nicholas Béhuchet, as Admiral of France. He is a short, fat man, and is said to know more about book-keeping than naval warfare, and is unpopular at court.
1338 26 February Orders are issued for raising an army to go to the Low Countries. The hope is to raise 4,500 men, to muster at Norwich on 12 May.
1338 End of February Agents of the Crown begin to collect the 20,000 sacks of wool that constitute the forced loan Parliament has granted to pay for the Low Countries campaign.
1338 March Members of the staff of Bertrand de Montfavence and Pedro Gomez de Barroso arrive in France with the English proposal for a truce. When presented to Philippe VI, he dismisses out of hand, saying that they are 'insincere, hostile and dangerous to our realm'.
1338   Another deputation of nobles from the Aquitaine arrive in England, again in hopes of convincing Edward III to send more troops and money to the Aquitaine.
1338   The first shipments of wool arrive in Flanders, from Dordrecht, as per the English agreement with the Flemish.
1338   The French campaign in Aquitaine begins. There are two main thrusts, one to invade Saintogne and the north shore of the Gironde, to be commanded by Savary de Vivonne and Jean 'Mouton' de Blainville. The other, to invade the Agenais and the Garonne valley, to be commanded by Simon d'Arquèry and Etienne le Galois de la Baume, captains-general of the south west.
1338 1 March Orders are issued for the raising of an army to go to the Aquitaine, hopefully to raise 1,000 men, to be commanded by William Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon. They are to muster at Portsmouth on 29 April.
1338 5 March Gaston, Comte de Foix captures Cazaubon.
1338 11 March Unable to convince or pressure the merchants of the now defunct English Woll Company scheme to have anything to do with the sale of wool overseas, Edward III entrusts the overseas sales of woll to the bankers of the Bardi and Peruzzi families.
1338 16 March Amenieu de Fossat, lord of Madaillan, surrenders to Simon d'Arquèry and Etienne le Galois de la Baume, captains-general of the south west, ending the siege.
1338 20 March The planned muster of the French army set for this date is cancelled. The call to arms to suppress the Flemings was not popular, and met with great resistance, especially in the neighboring provinces.
1338 21 March Outraged at the Flemish agreement with the English, Philippe VI orders the execution of Sohier de Courtrai, still being held in his prisons.
1338   Two French ecclesiastics, acting as Papal commissioners but on orders from the French Government, excommunicate the entire lay population of Ghent.
1338 23 March The Constable and the Marshal of France are ordered to see to the demolition of the walls of Ghent. They are hampered in this due to the fact that the only troops available to them are the garrisons of Tournai and Lille, and some late arriving reinforcements. Additionally there was the Comte, who was at Bruges with his own men, and a band of Flemish noblemen desiring to fight for Comte and King.
1338 24 March Nicholas Béhuchet leads a fleet of mixed galleys and barges in a raid on Portsmouth. Landing parties burn the whole of the town, with the exception of the church and the hospital.
1338 26 March Nicholas Béhuchet lands his fleet on Jersey and proceeds to destroy buildings and crops on the eastern portion of the island, and nearly takes Gorey castle, the main fortification on the island.
1338 Late March John of Norwich's brother arrives in Bordeaux, with the news of a relieving being on its way, along with a letter from Edward III promising the nobles of the Aquitaine that their loyalty was not in vain.
1338   Oliver Ingham sets about convincing the wavering nobility of the Aquitaine that they can count on, and should fight for, Edward III. Bernard-Aiz d'Albret, who to this point had remained neutral, says he will declare for Edward III.
1338 11 April A group of Flemish nobleman appear before the walls of Ghent. They are driven off when the dykes are opened, flooding them out.
1338 Mid April The captains general of the south west lay siege to Penne, in the Agenais, which mounts a fierce resistance.
1338 Late April Jacob van Artevelde and the militia of Ghent attack the town of Biervliet, which has been occupied by allies of the Comte de Flandres, taking it after much bloodshed.
1338   After taking Biervliet, Jacob van Artevelde and the militia of Ghent march to Bruges, where they join forces with the townsmen and fight a fierce battle through the streets and markets of the town with the Comte and his men.
1338 Early May Jacob van Artevelde and the militia of Ghent attack Ypres, which was showing signs of wavering commitment to the Flemish revolution. He takes the town and reduces it once again to obedience.
1338 May Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln, arrives in Paris with a declaration from Edward III to 'Philippe de Valois' and the announcement of the withdrawal of all Plantaganet allegiance and stating his claim to the throne of France. Philippe takes the news well, and, apparently in a good humor, responds 'Bishop, you have performed admirably the task for which you came. Your letters are of such a kind as to need no answer. You may go when you wish.' The Hundred Years War officially begins.
1338   Despite the summons, neither men nor provisions have shown up in Portsmouth for William Huntingdon's expedition to the Aquitaine.
1338 End of May 'Black Agnes' Randolph continues to resist the English laying siege to Dunbar, hurling defiance and abuse from the walls. Edward III has her brother sent north and threatens to execute him, but she ignores this, and Edward does not make good on his threat.
1338 31 May Edward III celebrates Whisunday at the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, close to the army at Norwich, taking counsel.
1338 13 June Philippe VI, claiming to be moved by the 'great suffering and hardships of the people of Ghent for want of their trade and livelihood', recognizes defeat in Flanders, pardoning the Flemish townsmen for dealing with the King of England, and formally recognizing their neutrality.
1338   The earls of Salisbury and Arundel lift the siege of Dunbar. Arundel stays in the north to organize the defense of the border, while Salisbury marches south to join the king in East Anglia.
1338 Early June The French army commanded by the captains-general of the south west abandons the siege of Penne.
19 June Short of troops, ships and most especially short of money, Edward III cancels the Aquitaine expedition. While this was militarily negligible, it was politically a disastrous setback, demoralizing the nobles of the region even further.
1338 1 July Edward III appoints Bernard-Aiz d'Albret as joint Seneschal of the Aquitaine. He never takes up any of the duties, and the office is allowed to lapse.
1338 5 July The first shipment of wool leaves England, bound for the Low Countries.
1338 8 July Date for the French Army to gather at Amiens and Marmande.
1338 Early July Oliver Ingham and John of Norwich, having gathered a small army by stripping the garrisons of Bordeaux, Linbourne and Saint-Émeilion and pulling in the retinues of some loyal retainers, break the French siege of Blaye, sweeping down on them in boats and scattering them.
1338 Mid July The French commanders in the south have a general meeting at La Réeole, after which the offensive breaks down into a series of raids in the area of Agen and southern Landes.
1338 16 July Edward III sails from the Orwell to Antwerp.
1338 22 July Edward III lands in Antwerp. He has with a force of some 1,400 men at arms and 3,000 archers, on board 350 ships.
1338 23 July Edward III narrowly escapes death when his lodgings in Antwerp burn down, an accidental fire started by one of his servants
1338 Late July Only 1,846 sacks of wool have been shipped to Antwerp. The initial cause seems to be lack of shipping, and all the ships that brought Edward III and his troops are dispatched back to England to ferry the wool over, at which point it becomes clear that the actual problem is that only 3,000 of the expected 20,000 sacks have actually been gathered. Avoidance of the forced loan had reached masterful levels, with there being a sudden and unexplained shortage of sacks to pack the wool in. Combined with corrupt and/or incompetent bureaucrats, it left Edward III shockingly free of wool to convert to cash. He complains bitterly to Henry Burghersh, saying 'I have been badly advised'.
1338 26 July Philippe VI is informed of the English landing at Antwerp. He summons the French army to muster on 8 August.
1338   Edward, Prince of Wales, presides over a Great Council at Northhampton, attended by the prelates and magnates left in England, and representatives of the Commons. A new wool levy is ordered, with each town to supply it in proportion to their tax assessment. Arrangements for its collection were ruthless, and nobody was allowed to say they didn't have any. Those who truly didn't have any were instructed to buy some.
1338   John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England, along with the Richard Bury, Bishop of Durham, arrive in Antwerp and depart for Paris on a cynical peace mission, mostly to forestall a repeat performance of the Cardinals threats of the previous year.
1338 Early August Montendre surrenders to the French, and is immediately demolished.
1338   The Italian galley fleet hired by the French reaches the Channel, some three months late. While they are too late to prevent the English from crossing to the Low Countries they still represent a major threat to the English lines of supply and communication, and the English go to great lengths to be kept aware of their movements.
1338   In a tense meeting with his German allies, who had all come to Antwerp to both greet him and present accounts, Edward III, empty handed, asks the princes to attack the French at once. Led by the Duke of Brabant and the Count of Hainault, both of whom have become dubious about this enterprise, they reply that they have only brought a ceremonial escort, that their men at arms have yet to be summoned, that they will need to consult their advisors at home, and that it would be best if he could find the money he owes them. They then depart, having fixed a date for the next meeting, 15 August.
1338   After this meeting, Edward III begins to borrow money from any source he can find. He secures a loan from the Bardi and Peruzzi banks for 70,000L., secured by the wool not yet shipped, pressed William de la Pole for every penny he could lend, pawned his Great Crown along with gold and jewelry belonging to rich English monasteries, and sent out agents looking for anyone, Italian, Dutch, Jewish, anything. Interest rates were recorded at up to 50%.
1338   The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Durham arrive in Paris and are received by Philippe VI. They have little to say, and none of it quickly, claiming they needed to await further instructions from Edward III in Antwerp. They suggest that Philippe appoint a selection from his council to confer with them at some convenient place and time. Philippe, perhaps himself going through the motions, appoints a committee, and says that the discussions will take place at Arras, close by the Flemish border.
1338 8 August The muster of the French army is not very great. The threat is not treated very seriously, and the arrival of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Durham lend credence to the rumor that the whole thing will be solved politically before it devolves to fighting. Philippe VI, in a series of letters written from the Bois de Vincennes, denies the rumors, and encourages further troops to muster.
1338 15 August Edward III meets with his German allies at Mechelen, and is able, through his massive borrowing, to make small installment payments to a few of them, though not all. The princes are not sympathetic to Edward's plight, and tell him they need more time, pointing out that the Emperor is not present, whose approval they would need to have before taking such a weighty step as an invasion of France. Edward bitterly asks them why they hadn't told him that earlier.
1338   Edward III dispatches the Margrave of Juliers to arrange a meeting between himself and Louis of Bavaria, the Holy Roman Emperor, and without waiting for an answer sets off behind him for Coblenz, where Louis is due to be holding a Reichstag in the beginning of September.
1338 23 August The largest food convoy yet from England to Gascony is attacked off Talmont by eighteen galleys from La Rochelle. Two of the convoy's ships, including one of the largest, are captured.
1338 24 August Philippe VI arrives at Amiens, bearing the relic-banner of the French Kings, the Oriflamme.
1338 Last week of August The French army is in position on the northern frontier. The Constable, Raoul d'Eu, is in Tournai, approximately 60 miles from Antwerp, along with the garrison and armed contingents from the town, as well as the Comte de Flandres and some refugees from the Flemish rebellion. Some forty miles away, the Bishop of Cambrai had been instructed to see to the defense of his town by the Pope. The main body of the French army is drawn up on the Somme at Amiens and Saint-Quentin.
1338   The Archbishop of Canturbury and the Bishop of Durham, along with a staff of more than 200, settle in at Arras, and begin nominal negotiations. What occupies most of their time, and that of their staff, is intelligence gathering, dispatching regular reports to Antwerp.
1338 30 August Edward III, traveling light and fast with a small group of counsellors and a small bodyguard of archers, arrives in Niederwerth am Rhine, north of Coblenz. The bulk of his household, and his baggage travel more slowly by barge.
1338 September Edward III announces as an economy measure that he will stop the salaries of top civil servants, except in verifiable hardship cases. This order is patently ignored.
1338 3 September John Montgomery arrives in Neiderwerth, bringing with him the results of the wild borrowing. He has some 50,000 florins (7,500L.) in coin, and a load of jewelry to be pawned to the local merchants. Edward III, needing to impress, spends the money as if it had been his all along, not recently borrowed at ruinous rates. He proceeds to distribute it liberally amongst Louis of Bavaria's family and councillors, giving 4,000 florins to one important advisor, 2,400 florins for the Empress, and 60 florins for her clerk. For Louis himself, 4,000 florins, making one fifth of what was due to him paid, and a promise to pay the rest in installments, in January and March of 1339.
1338 5 September The Emperor, eased by the payments on his account, sends his barge to bring Edward III into Coblenz. There in an impressive ceremony the electors of the Empire gave their approval of the Emperor's appointing Edward III as Imperial Vicar, investing him with all the powers of the Emperor himself.
1338 8 September Galleys of Monaco, under the command of Marshal of France Robert Bertrand, stage a raid on the Channel Islands, taking Castle Cornet and Jerburgh Castle on the same day. Local seamen put up some resistance, causing the Italians to loose two of their galleys, but in spite of this the French are able to occupy the whole of Guernsey.
1338 15 September The bulk of the French army is sent home, it having become apparent that an attack from the Low Countries is not forthcoming this year, but with orders to be ready to return at short notice. 1,000 mounted men at arms and 5,000 infantry are retained at reduced wages for garrison duty.
1338   Messengers arrive to inform the council of the raids on Gurnsey. The first set had been captured in mid-Channel, and their ship burned.
1338 18 September On his return to Antwerp Edward exercises his new powers, sending out summonses to his German allies, on pain of forfeiture of their fiefs, to attend him and, after hearing the declarations of Coblenz read out to them, to receive his orders.
1338 21 September The French fleet, reinforced from Harfleur, now consisting of 40 galleys and some Norman barges and under the command of the French Admirals Nicholas Béhuchet and Hugh Quiéret, take the Christopher and the Cog Edward, two of Edward III's largest and finest ships, off the island of Walcheren in the Scheldt estuary, after a fierce fight which lasts most of the day. The ships are still loaded with wool and provisions, and are taken to Normandy and entered into French service. The prisoners are all executed, on orders from Admiral Quiéret
1338 24 September Nicolino Fieschi, who had succeeded in hiring two galleys for Edward III for 1338 is sent again to Italy, to attempt to regain some of the money a dishonest solicitor named Sarzana had been given, which had been impounded by the Comte de Provonce, and to use it himself for hopefully better results.
1338 27 September In reaction to the French raids the Admiralties of England are ordered to put to sea to seek and destroy enemy shipping. This order is only carried out in a desultory fashion by captains tired of the constant requisition of their ships.
1338 5 October The French fleet, under the command of Hugh Quiéret, who has been offering a 100 livre reward for the man who breaches the defenses first, sails up the Solent and raids Southampton. The city is only partly walled, being open on the shore side save for a minimal wooden wall. Resistance was minimal, as the levies for defense had not yet mustered. Most of the townsmen fled into the surrounding countryside. A small group stays, and manages to repulse the first assault, but are unable to repeat their performance with the second, led by Ayton Doria, with 200 men from his galley. They pour into the town and pillage it through the night, taking large amounts of wine, wool and provisions.
1338 6 October Signs of armed resistance begin to appear outside Southampton. Angry villagers congregate outside the landward walls along the roads. The invaders decide to withdraw, setting fire to the town in five places. Between that and the returning townsmen looting what had been left behind the town is almost completely destroyed, and all commerce in the town ceases for nearly a year, and the great trading houses of the Bardi and Peruzzi withdraw, shipping their goods elsewhere.
1338 12 October Edward III meets with his German allies at the town of Herk, in Loon, chosen because it was nearby while not being in the territory of the Duke of Brabant. There, with his throne set up on a butchers counter, he received the loyal oaths of the princes, and told them the plans for the coming campaign. The campaign in the Cambrésis would begin in July. To put a fine legal point on it, the Bishop of Cambrai, the Bishop of Liège and the Count of Flanders were summoned, on pain of forfeiture, to appear before Edward III, as Imperial Vicar, at Mechelen on 26 October.
1338 26 October Edward III and his German allies assemble at Mechelen. The bishops of Cambrai and Liège, and likewise the Count of Flanders fail to show up, and therefore are technically subject to the attacks about to be visited upon them.
1338 Early November Edward III moves his household for the winter, where the Queen joins him. The troops are dispersed in several towns throughout Brabant, Hainault and Flanders, where many of them desert and try to make their way home 'for want of food to eat' and the rest wear out their welcome with heavy drinking, theft and violence.
1338   The French fleet retires for the winter, having in a short time spread panic throughout southern England, with wild rumors flying about planned raids on the Isle of Sheppy, the Kent coast, the Medway ports and London itself, and that these raids were the first signs of an impending invasion in great force by the French.
1338   Philippe VI and his council at Vincennes decide to make a serious effort to invade the Aquitaine. The plan was to concentrate on the principal fortresses of the English, beginning with Penne in the Aenais, and not to fritter away their forces with raids to little effect. Political direction and civil power over the campaign is given to John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, and to ensure his enthusiastic participation, Gaston, Comte de Foix was paid off, in land, all the arrears for past services. He is sent immediately to invest Penne, along with Le Galois de la Baume, one of the captains-general from the summer, and another Savoyard, Pierre de la Palu.
1338 November The remainder of the French army is dispersed. Godemar du Fay is given command of Tournai, the left bank of the Scheldt, and the western section of the Hainault march, with a strong army of Picards and Normans at Tournai, and reinforcements at Mortagne, Douai and Arleux. The Comte d'Auxerre is given command of the Cambrésis, and the march of Flanders is guarded by more than a dozen garrisons. Those parts of Normandy and Brittany which are thought vulnerable to English attack are also garrisoned.
1338 Mid November Gaston, Comte de Foix and the Savoyard captains arrive in the south west, and set up their headquarters at Marmande.
1338 20 November Edward III, possibly informed by the spies of John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, attempts a diversion in the north, in hopes of cancelling the French invasion of the Aquitaine. He suddenly issues orders for his German allies to assemble in Hainault, between the towns of Mons and Binche, on 18 December, informing them that from there they would march immediately and in force on the French.
1338 23 or 24 November Edward III summons the Bishop of Cambrai before him in his capacity as imperial Vicar to answer serious charges of treason.
1338 Late November In response to Edward III's actions the garrison at Tournai is reinforced with troops led by Philippe VI's cousin, the King of Navarre, and the Prince, Jean de Normandie, raises a force at Peronne, on the Somme.
1338 Early December John of Bohemia leaves Paris for the Garonne valley, to take up command of the army invading the Aquitaine.
1338 December Negotiations between the French and English, which have continued pointlessly throughout the summer and fall under the chairmanship of Cardinals Bertrand de Montfavence and Pedro Gomez de Barroso are moved from Arras to Paris. The Cardinals have put forth a series of proposals, which have all been rejected by the French, or the English, or both.
1338   In the opening of what is to become a continuing skirmish between Edward III and those officials he has left behind to rule the country while he is gone, Edward summarily dismisses his Treasurer, Robert Woodhouse. Woodhouse confides in a friend 'May God be pleased that I shall never again serve a master who has so little interest in my efforts and so little concern with the burdens that I carry for him'.
1338 Mid December William, Count of Hainault, crosses into Cambrai and lays waste to a swathe of land north of the city. Several of the bishop's granges and windmills were destroyed, and several castles, within a mile of Cambrai itself, were seized by surprise. Count William left a garrison in them when he withdrew.
1338   John of Bohemia arrives in the south west. He and the other commanders begin to lay siege to Penne and the tower of Castelgaillard, which guards the approach. The army is not large, consisting of the personal retinues of it's commanders, some 1,200 men raised by the Comte d'Armagnac, and a train of German siege engineers.
1338 19 December The French army on the Flemish march is once again reduced to garrison strength. None of Edward III's allies other then the Count of Hainault had answered his summons, and it became clear that it had been either a diversion or a failure.
1338 Late December The town of Penne, having sent several messages to Oliver Ingham and gotten no reply, faced with no relief in sight and unwilling to suffer an assault, surrenders. The commander of the town garrison, a Béarnese mercenary named Fortanier d'Esguarrepaque is offered an enourmous bribe of 14,000 livres to bring the town and the castle over to the French. This plan backfires, however, when the men of the garrison go to reinforce the castle which continues its resistance, and Fortanier runs off with the money.
1338   Etienne le Galois de la Baume and his Savoyards are left to blockade the castle of Penne while the main body of the French army marches towards Bordeaux.
1338   The French build to floating pontoon bridges over the Garonne, at La Reole and Marmande. Another is built later at Le Mas d'Agenais. They also create a fleet of forty-two barges on the river, some with siege equipment.
1338 26 December Fortanier d'Esguarrepaque is found in the Bordeaux area, and promptly shut up by Oliver Ingham's men in the gatehouse of Château de l'Ombrière.
1339
1339   Edward III agents succeed in hiring a number of galleys in Aigues-Mortes and Nice, but agents of Philippe VI out bid them and buy them out from under him.
1339   The French create forty-five new garrisons throughout the Garonne and Dordogne valleys.
1339   Despite his desire to remove the papacy back to Rome pope Benedict XII is convinced by the cardinals that living in faction torn Italy would be impossible. He is also talked out of moving the court to Bologna, and instead begins a massive palace building project at Avignon.
1339 January The French build up their strength in the south west to 5,700 men.
1339 February At Parliament, which was called to consider the defense of the realm, the debate is mostly about the purveyance of supplies, which has become a major issue at home. It also calls for service at sea from a large number of ports, to prodice, in theory, a fleet of 31 ships at Orwell, and another of 111, in two sqadrons, one at Portsmouth and one at Winchelsea. The southern fleet seems to have never appeard, however, as subsequent events show.
1339   The French army, having descended on Caumont, the only English garrison north of Saint-Macaire, late in the year with siege train and armed barges, take the town.
1339   The Genoese and Normans return to their ships, to prepare for putting to sea in March. Rumor amongst the English has it that they intend to raid heavily on the coast of East Anglia. In actuality one part of the fleet is to do just that, and another to attack the Channel Islands again, and then proceed to Garonne valley, to aid the campaign there.
1339   An anonymous poet rails against the war, the government and the great magnates who vote taxes to pay for their schemes. 'He who takes money from the needy without just cause is a sinner'.
1339 March The French army lays siege to Puyguilhem, on the border of the Agenais, bringing up reinforcements, additional siege engines and a corps of sappers to undermine the walls. This siege is the first recorded use of cannon during the Hundred Years War.
1339 9-11 March The Channel Islands/Aquitaine fleet, consisting of 17 galleys of Carlo Grimaldi, 35 or so Norman Barges and the cog Christopher, all under the command of Robert Bertrand, Marshal of France, set sail from the mouth of the Seine, bound for Jersey. The second fleet, under the command of Ayton Doria, make way for Sluys.
1339 12 March Robert Bertrand's fleet lands on Jersey, and he demands the surrender of Gorey Castle. The castle, fully garrisoned with 260 English troops and about 40 local men, defies him, saying that the castle 'would not be given up so long as there were ten men alive in it'.
1339 Between 12 and 16 March Robert Bertrand makes an assault on Gorey Castle, but it fails.
1339 16 March Robert Bertrand and his fleet sail to Gurnesy, still in French control. He uses some of his troops to reinforce the garrison there, and sails on to La Rochelle, with a large commercial convoy.
1339 23 March At Vincennes, Philippe VI and the communities of Normandy come to an agreement on a vast and improbable plan to invade England. The Normans agree to supply an army of 24,000 men, including 4,000 cavalry and 5,000 archers, along with ships to transport them. The command was to be given to the Prince, Jean, Duc de Normandie, and the force was thought to be enough to conquer England in 12 weeks. They were to receive in return all the land in England save for the royal domains, which were to go to the Duc de Normandie; the domains of the papacy, which were to be undisturbed; and 20,000L. worth of land reserved for the English church.
1339 24 March Ships from the fleet of Ayton Doria arrive off Harwich, a fishing town near Orwell. The land and set fire to the town in three places, while the townsmen mount a fierce resistance. Unable to take the place, or even do any serious damage (the fires were blown out by the wind) they get back on their ships and sail off.
1339 early April The northern fleet ordered by the February Parliament gathers in the North Sea, under the command of Sir Robert Morley, with John Crabbe, a Flemish pirate captured by Walter Mauny, as his second in command. This convoy of 63 ships, loaded with re-inforcements for Edward III's continental army, wool and money, sets sail for the continent. Off the Coast of Flanders they loacte and attack a French convoy, under escort of some Genoese galleys, driving them into the harbor as Sluys, where the galleys are unable to maneuver, due to the confined space. The English take many of the convoey ships as prizes, and indiscriminately attack the ships in the harbour, including a large Spanish carrack. The action causes international incidents, and embarrrasement for Edward III, who had to pay £23,000 in compensation.
1339 6 April The commander of Puyguilhem gives up waiting for relief and surrenders to the French.
1339 10 April Having exhausted all supplies, the garrison commander of Castelgalliard surrenders to the French.
1339 17 April Deprived of the support of Castelgalliard and also having drained all supplies, Penne surrenders to the French.
1339 20 April A fleet of galleys from La Rochelle, commanded by the Admiral of France and the Seneschal of Saintonge, attack Blaye from the lightly fortified river side of the town, taking the town by surprise. The town falls to the French with only minor casualties, and is pillaged and burned.
1339 23 April The Norman invasion plan agreed to at Vincennes is ratified by the Estates of Normandy. The english, informed of the plan, react seriously, appointing the Earl of Huntingdon commander in Kent, the Earl of Surrey in Sussex, and the Earl of Arundel in Hampshire. The Earl of Oxford is made responsible for the defense of London and the Essex coast, and as large a reserve army as is possible is raised inlaned and placed under the nominal command of Edward the Prince of Wales. Southampton, Portsmouth and Porchester are heavily re-inforced, as is the Isle of Wight.
1339 Late April Bourg is taken by the French, in much the same manner as Blaye, placing the whole north shore of the Gironde in French hands. Bérard d'Albret, one of Edward III's most loyal and able commanders, is taken prisoner, and sent to the Temple in Paris.
1339   Blaye is retaken by the English, but they are unable to hold on to it, and the French take it again.
1339 Spring Having spent most of his money, Edward III pledges the years wool crop, and pawns the remaining crown jewels to pay his troops.
1339   The northern fleet, on it's return to Orwell, quarrels over the division of the booty from the Flemish raid, as a result of which part of the fleet mutinies, and sails off.
1339 May Edward III repeats his order that the salaries of top civil servants be stopped, but rescinds the order when he is informed that if it is carried out all of his civil servants will resign in a body.
1339 mid May The Norman invasion force being unready, the naval squadron sails north to harry the English coast.
1339 15 May The French fleet appears off Southampton. Unable to find an undefended place to land, they withdraw and sail west, cruising around Land's End and into the Bristol channel, raiding merchant shipping with impugnity.
1339 20 May The French fleet arrives off Plymouth. Seizing and burning the merchant vessels in the harbor, including seven ships from Bristol, who were hiding there from the French raiders, they then fall upon the town and begin to set fire to it. They are at that point repulsed by aged (64) but still active Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, who brought the Devon levies to the defense of the town. After a brief, fierce but indecicive skirmish the French retire to their ships and sail away.
1339 24 May The French fleet lands on the Isle of Wight, but cannot hold their position, and retire. Attempts at landings at Dover, Folkestone and the Isle of Thanet are abandoned in the face of heavy English garrisons.
1339 27 May The French fleet appears off Hastings. Landing apparently unopposed, they burn much of the town, including three churches, invade the castle, and plunder the canons of their alter plate and ornaments.
1339   Edward III receives fresh troops from England.
1339   In an attempt at pro-war propaganda, commissioners are sent out to lecture provincial officials about the threat posed by the French, and to attempt to ease their discontent.
1339 July The Earl of Warwick inspects the garrison and defenses of Southampton and finds them wholly inadequate, estimating that 200 men at arms could take the town at will.
1339   The French admirals, along with the fleets of Ayton Doria and Carlo Grimaldi, a combined fleet of 67 vessels, gathers at Boulogne, for a massive raid on the Cinque Ports.
1339 20 July Under the command of admiral Béhuchet the French fleet sails from Boulogne, for Sandwich. Finding the Kent levies there, they turned aside and landed at Rye, where they landed men and did a great deal of damage before the ships of the northern admiralty and the Cinque Ports, under sir Robert Morley arrived at Rye Bay. As a result of a spreading panic amongst the french and Italiam fleets, who mistakenly believed the English fleet numbered 400 ships when it really was closer to 100, the French fleet withdrew and, after an inconclusive confrontation at sea off Wissant that did not result in actual battle, retired in safety to their ports.
1339 23 July A second son, Louis, is born to King Jean of France and Bonne of Luxembourg at Vincennes.
1339 Autumn Edward III marches across Artois, seizes Cambrai and pillages the towns of the Thierache.
1339 Autumn At Buironfosse Edward III offers battle to Philippe VI. Philippe refuses, according to Friossart at the advice from Robert, King of Sicily and astrologer, from whom he received a letter predicting disaster. Philippe withdraws from the field, leaving Edward in a foul humor.
1340
1340 Late February Edward III, in debt for over £300,000, seeks permission from his creditors to return to England to raise money. The creditors agree, on condition that his wife and two children, Edward and Lionel, remain in Ghent. His third son, John of Gaunt (Ghent) is born here early in the year.
1340   Edward III summons Parliament, which grants him a subsidy, but only on the conditions that he never raise a poll tax or a general tax without the full consent of Parliament, and that, should Edward become King of France that the English would not be subject to the rule of France.
1340 22 June Edward III sails for Bruges with a fresh army, and a fleet of 250 ships.
1340 23 July Edward III sends two knights ashore, Sir Reginald Cobham and Sir John Chandos to make contact with the Flemish, and who return with a report of the French-Castillian fleet of 400 vessels tightly packed in the entrance of the Zwin channel.
1340 24 July Battle of Sluys: Capture or destruction of the French Fleet. The Christopher is retaken by the English. Only thirty Genoese ships survive, by fleeing the battle.
1340 25 July Edward III attends a triumphal mass, and goes on a pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Ardenberg, a few miles from Bruges, to give thanks for his victory.
1340 Late summer Edward III campaigns along the Scheldt, laying siege to Tournai. The town holds out for months, and Philippe VI refuses to give Edward battle.
1340 September Emissaries from the Pope conclude a truce at Espléchin, to last from September 1340 to June 1341.
1340 November 7 Edward III sails from Ghent for England.
1340 10 November Edward III arrives in London. landing at the water gate of the Tower at dawn with only eight followers. He finds that the Governor, Sir Nicolas de la Beche, absent from his post. This, coupled with the fruitless campaign, sends him into a fury. Over the next few months he dismisses the Bishops of Chichester and Coventry, all the Justices and many of the Magistrates of the Kings Bench, and locks up William de la Pole and Walter Putney, merchants who Edward III felt had not gotten enough for the previous years wool crop. He also locks up de la Beche in one of his own dungeons, and dismisses his Chancellor, John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, charging him with treason.


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