Abr. Fl. out of Henrie Knigh|ton canon of Leicester abbeie.¶Henrie Knighton reporteth of this voiage as fol|loweth, in somewhat a differing sort from this alrea|die laid downe. On Easter daie (saith he) Iohn the duke of Lancaster with his wife came to the king, to take their leaue; to the which duke the king gaue a crowne of gold, and the quéene likewise gaue an o|ther crowne of gold to the duchesse. Besides this, the king commanded his people that they should call him king of Spaine, and doo him honour in all things. He had with him a power of 20000 chosen men; of which number noted in the marshals bill or scroll, 2000 were men of armes, Thom. Wals. The duke of Lancaster lan+deth at Brest and winneth two bastid [...]s from the Frenchmen. and 8000 were archers.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 As they passed by Britaine, they landed at Brest, the capteine whereof, at that time named sir Iohn Roche, finding himselfe greatlie annoied by the Frenchmen that were lodged in two bastides erec|ted before the castell, declared to the duke in what state he stood. Wherevpon he caused the said bastides to be assailed, which was doone by the lord Fitz Wal|ter, and others, who bare themselues so manfullie, that the bastides were woone, broken downe, and a great preie with prisoners obteined, although not without losse of diuerse valiant personages. Thus were they within Brest castell deliuered of their vn|freendlie neighbours by the duke of Lancaster and his people. Anno Reg. 10. The duke of Lancaster landeth at [...]. Who hauing doone their feat tooke the seas, and sailed foorth till they came on the coasts of Gallis, where on S. Laurence eeuen, they arriued in the hauen of Groigne, otherwise called Coron,Le Groigne Corone. and there they vnshipped all their prouisions, determining to inuade the countrie on that side. ¶ Héere, bicause it is not vnprofitable to know the absolute truth of things doone, by the collection of writers, Abr. Fl. out of Henrie Knigh|ton canon of Leicester abbeie. I haue translated the beseeging of Brest, as the same is set downe by Henrie Knighton in his annales, in a lar|ger and more ample sort, with a fuller certificat of circumstances than hath hitherto béene declared. At the same time (saith he) the duke of Britaine had laid siege both by sea and land, to a certeine towne in Britaine, in old time subiect to the king of England, which was called Brest, with a great multitude of Frenchmen and Britains. Now on the twelfth of the kalends of Iulie, he began to build a fort before the said towne of Brest, of a woonderfull bignesse, the walles thereof being ten foot thicke, and seauen towres about it. A thousand workemen did worke daie by daie vpon it, and to defend the said worke|men (that they might not be hindered in their busi|nesse by the citizens) ten thousand fighting men were appointed. So that this fort was begun and en|ded in ninetéene daies space, and called the Dooue|house, bicause a doouehouse stood in the same place be|fore. Furthermore he stored this fort with all necessa|ries, as vittels, armour, guns, and other engins, and he placed therin as capteine of the warriors the lord Iohn Maletret with a hundred and fiftie armed men, and as manie other soldiors, the whole number be|ing thrée hundred.

The good duke of Lancaster hauing knowledge hereof, directed his fléet or nauie towards the hauen of Brest, where when he had arriued, they all fled from the siege, both by sea and land, those onlie, which were in the fort, remaining behind. Now the prior of S. Iames in Calis desired the good duke that he might giue the first assault against the fort; who ta|king the repulse with his retinue, he ceased and gaue ouer. In like sort did manie more giue the assault to the same for the space of two daies and more: in so|much that some digging vnder the wals, and vnder|mining the foundations of one towre, the same fell downe vpon sir Robert Swinarton a valiant knight of Staffordshire, and manie more, among whome was Iohn de Bolton a couragious gentle|man and an esquire by degree of Yorkeshire. As for those that were vpon the towre, they also came tum|bling downe, and were presentlie slaine.