150 



YPHES. 



und was productive of no immediate good effects ; 

 but it prepared the way for future and more suc- 

 cessful struggles. It served at least as an example, 

 and, that once given, the rest followed of course. 



For this leading step in the onward march of 

 civilization, we are mainly indebted to the citizens 

 of Ypres and other Flemish towns. The cloth 

 weavers of these towns were the first commonalty 

 in Europe that became to a certain extent, inde- 

 pendent of their feudal lords, and acquired a degree 

 of inherent power and importance by means of 

 manufactures and 4rade. They were accordingly 

 the first to rise in extensive and formidable concert 

 against the system of misrule by the grandees and 

 lords of the soil which then universally prevailed. 

 And from the Netherlands, the movement was pro- 

 pagated into other countries. English liberty in 

 particular is probably much indebted to these sturdy 

 burghers. To us they gave much more than their 

 example. Edward III. brought over to England 

 large numbers of these cloth-workers from the Ne- 

 therlands, who settling here, communicated to our 

 labouring classes their own arts and habits of in- 

 dustry, and may also be supposed to have transmit- 

 ted and diffused that new spirit of liberty which 

 had principally induced them to leave the land of 

 their birth. Elizabeth also, long after, again in- 

 creased the population of this island by opening her 

 ports to those mechanics of the Low Countries who 

 were driven abroad in her day, by the tyrannical 

 conduct of the Spanish government of that pro- 

 vince, as administered by the notorious duke of 

 Alva. 



The first insurrection of the Flemings, however, 

 against their princes, was, as we have observed, 

 attended with very disastrous results to Ypres and 

 the other towns, whose inhabitants engaged in it. 

 " Before the commencement of these wars in Flan- 

 ders," says Froissart, in commencing his account 

 of the attempt made by the people, in the latter 

 part of the fourteenth century, to restrain the op- 

 pressions of their governors, " the country was so 

 fertile, and everything in such abundance, that it 

 was marvellous to see, and the inhabitants of the 

 principal towns lived in very grand state." But 

 the war laid all this prosperity waste. " The peo- 

 ple," he says, " were very murderolis and cruel, 

 and multitudes were slain or driven out of the 

 country. The country itself was so much ruined, 

 that it was said a hundred years would not restore 

 it to the situation it was in before the war." 



This war was left for some time at first to rage 

 between the earl of Flanders and his insurgent 

 subjects, who, according to an old custom of the 

 country, having chosen themselves leaders, assum- 

 ed the name of White-hoods. At length, however, 

 the French king, Charles VI., struck in, to the aid 

 of his brother potentate ; and although the rebels 

 had been hitherto successful at every point, this 

 interference speedily turned the scale. The follow- 

 ing is the account which Froissart gives of the sub- 

 mission of the city of Ypres to the powerful force 

 which the earl was now enabled to bring against it : 



" As soon as the citizens of Ypres learned that 

 the earl was on his march thither with such a force, 

 , they were greatly alarmed ; and the principal and 

 richest inhabitants held a council, in which they 

 resolved to open their gates, and go out to meet 

 him, with offers to replace themselves under his 

 obedience, trusting to his mercy. It was well 

 known to him that they bad allied themselves with 

 Ghent through fear of the lower ranks, such as 



weavers, fullers, and other ill-intentioned people of 

 the town ; they besides depended on his kiiul and 

 mi Tciful character for their pardon. As thy had 

 resolved, so did they execute ; and upwards of three 

 hundred in a company went out of the town, car- 

 tying the keys of the gates with them. On meet- 

 ing the earl of Flanders, they fell on their knees, 

 and begged for mercy, saying, that they personally 

 and the whole town, resigned themselves to his 

 will. The Earl took pity on them, made them ri.-c, 

 and granted them his pardon. He entered the 

 town of Ypres with his whole army, and remained 

 there for three weeks, sending back those of the 

 Franc and of Bruges to their several towns. Dur- 

 ing his residence in Ypres, he had upwards of seven 

 hundred weavers and fullers beheaded ; and all 

 those who had been any way concerned in admit- 

 ting John Lyon and the Ghent men into the town, 

 who had slain the knights and men-at-arms whom 

 he had sent thither, and which had enraged him so 

 much. To prevent them again rebelling against 

 him, he sent three hundred of the principal inhabi- 

 tants to prison in Bruges, escorted by a handsome 

 body of men-at-arms." 



But these successes of the Earl of Flanders and 

 his ally, the king of France, soon aroused a strong 

 feeling of hostility against France in England. 

 Froissart attributes this to envy. However this 

 may be, Lord Henry Spencer, bishop of Norwich, 

 having been about this time appointed by Pope 

 Urban VI. commander-in-chief for England, of 

 what was called a crusade in the interest of that 

 pope, against his rival Clement IV., and having as 

 such been placed at the head of a formidable force, 

 he and his troops embarked for the continent, and 

 landed at Calais on the 23d of April, 1383. A con- 

 sultation was then held by the leaders with the 

 object of determining in what direction they should 

 next proceed ; when it was resolved that the ex- 

 pedition should march into Flanders. They then 



sent to the insurgents in Ghent for their aid 



" When Peter du Bois, Peter le Nintre, and the 

 captains in Ghent," continues the historian, "heard 

 that the English demanded their assistance, and 

 were lying before Ypres, they were much pleased, 

 and prepared themselves to march thither as speedi- 

 ly as possible. They set out from Ghent on the 

 Saturday morning after the octave of St Peter and 

 St Paul, to the amount of near 20,000, with a very 

 considerable train of carts, and in good array. 

 They marched by Courtray, and came before Ypres. 

 The English were rejoiced at their coming, and 

 made great cheer for them, saying they would take 

 Ypres, and then conquer Bruges, Damme, and 

 Sluys, making no doubt that before September 

 they would have conquered all Flanders. Thus 

 did they boast of their good fortune." 



The issue, however, was very mortifying. " It 

 always happens," says Froissart, " that in war 

 there are gains and losses; very extraordinary are 

 the chances, as those know well who follow the 

 profession. The siege of Ypres was pushed on with 

 unwearied force ; and it was fully the intention of 

 the bishop of Norwich, the English, and Peter de 

 Bois. to conquer Ypres by storm or otherwise, as 

 the vigour of their attacks showed." But all their 

 assaults being attended with no result, they re- 

 solved to adopt a new plan of operations. Frois- 

 sart continues, " The English and Flemings, find- 

 ing they could riot take the town by storm, and 

 having expended much of their artillery, resolved 

 to have quantities of faggots made and collected, 



