65 pages • 2-hour read
Chronicles
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Book 1, Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “The Beginning of a Reign”
Froissart begins by discussing the ascension of King Edward III to the English throne. He cites an English legend that “between two brave and warlike kings there has always reigned one less gifted in body and mind” (39). The example of this was Edward III’s grandfather, King Edward I, who was a great king who won wars against Scotland “three or four times” (39). However, Edward I’s father and his predecessor Edward II fell under the influence of a bad advisor, Hugh Despenser, and alienated the nobility of the kingdom.
After the barons of the kingdom met to discuss the problems of the realm, Edward II had them arrested and executed 22 of them, including Thomas, the Earl of Leicester. The spot where the Duke of Leicester was executed became believed to be a site where miracles took place. Froissart also blames Despenser for causing the relationship between Edward II and his queen Isabella to deteriorate so badly that Isabella left for her homeland of France with one nobleman, Roger Mortimer, and her son, the future King Edward III. Despenser bribed and manipulated both the Pope and Isabella’s brother King Charles IV of France to force Isabella to leave France. Next, Isabella went to Hainault, where the Count of Hainault’s brother Robert gave her a fighting force.
Isabella returned to England with the troops provided for her in Hainault. “They were acclaimed in every town through which they passed, and people continued to join them from all sides until they reached Bristol and laid siege to it in full military form” (42). Bristol was the center of power for Hugh Despenser and his father, Despenser the Elder. Isabella tried and executed Despenser the Elder and the Earl of Arundel, Dispenser’s ally and granddaughter’s husband. King Edward II and Hugh Despenser tried to flee to Wales, but, in Froissart’s words, “their sins weighed so heavily upon them that God would not permit it” (42).
After being condemned before Queen Isabella and an assembly of nobles and knights, Hugh Despenser was castrated because he was a “heretic and a sodomite” (44) since it was believed he was Edward II’s lover. Then his genitals and his heart were thrown into a fire, and his body was cut into pieces and sent around England with his head being placed publicly in London. Next, Isabella and a conference of the kingdom’s elites wrote down the alleged misdeeds of Edward II and deposed him in favor of his 16-year-old son, who became Edward III.
Chapter 2 Summary: “The Scots Invade England”
Taking advantage of the overthrow of King Edward II, King Robert of Scotland attacked England. “The Scots are a bold, hardy people, very experienced in war,” Froissart writes. “At that time they had little love or respect for the English, and the same is true today” (46). With the support of soldiers from Hainault, Edward III marched north to fight the Scots, who were looting the northern English region of Northumberland. Since King Robert was elderly and sick with leprosy, the Scots were led by the Earl of Moray and Sir James Douglas, who were “most famous for their feats of arms and great exploits” (47).
The Scots flee back north, followed by the English. However, the English struggled to get across the uninhabited mountains and swamps on horseback, which were made worse by heavy rain. Finally coming across some peasants, the king and his army learned they were near the city of Newcastle. Edward III declared that anyone willing to sell food and provisions to the army would be paid well and given safe conduct. Eventually, the two armies faced each other around a river with neither side having an advantage.
The Scots engage in skirmishing tactics and intimidate the English at night by lighting “great fires” and “blowing on their horns and whooping in chorus so that it sounded to the English as though all the devils in hell had been let loose” (51). The English respond by sleeping in their armor and setting up patrols and sentries. They capture a Scottish knight, who tells them the Scottish were ready to follow Sir James Douglas. However, the Scots returned to the north and the English stopped to rest at the town of Durham. Later, Edward III signed the Treaty of Northampton, which did recognize Scottish independence.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Edward III Does Homage to Philip VI”
Since King Edward III held territory in France, mainly Aquitaine or Guienne, he had to do homage to the new king of France, King Philip VI, as his vassal for Guienne. At first, Edward III refused to do so until his position in relation to the king of France was clarified by looking at older charters. Still, Philip VI received Edward III graciously. After consulting others, Edward III did full homage for the English territories in France, including Montreuil, Ponthieu, and Aquitaine/Guienne.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
Significantly, the Chronicles begins with the ascension of King Edward III of England, who will start the Hundred Years War that concerns most of the Chronicles. The beginning of the Chronicles will also echo its ending. Froissart writes about King Edward II, whose reign was corrupted by the bad advice of trusted friends and would be not unjustly overthrown by the nobility. Book Four of the Chronicles will describe the downfall of Edward II’s descendant Richard II in similar terms. In Froissart’s view, both kings were above all victims of self-interested advisors “ambitious to overstoop the other great barons of the realm” (40).
In his description of the battles between the Scots and the English, Froissart also shows an example of what Brereton describes as Froissart “striving to be impartial” (14). As would be common throughout the Chronicles, Froissart would be careful to try to discuss the tactics used by and the perspectives of both sides in a battle. Froissart is interested in Chivalry, Honor, and War overall, driving him to attempt to record what he considers acts of heroism and honor by all sides of a conflict when possible.
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