When the townsmen of Castel Moron perceived that the earl and the greater part of his army were marching off, they said among themselves, “Let us hasten to arm, and sally forth to combat this handful of English that stay behind: we shall soon discomfit them, and have them at our mercy, which will bring us great honor and profit.” They all agreed to this proposal; and, hastening to arm themselves, they sallied out, to the number of about four hundred. As soon as the Earl of Oxford and his party saw them coming, they began to retreat, and the French to follow them with great eagerness: they pursued them until they had passed the ambush, when those posted there advanced upon them, calling out, “Manny forever!” for Sir Walter commanded this ambuscade. One part of his detachment fell upon those that had come from the town; and the other made for Castel Moron, where they came about midnight, and found the gates wide open, for the guards thought it was their own people returning. The first-comers therefore seized the bridge, and were soon masters of the town; for the inhabitants that had sallied out were surrounded on all sides, and either slain or made prisoners. Those that had remained in the town surrendered themselves to the Earl of Derby, who received them kindly, and, out of his nobleness of disposition, respited the town from being pillaged and burnt. He made a present of it, and all its dependencies, to Sir Alexander de Chaumont, through whose advice he had gained it. Sir Alexander made his brother, who was a squire, called Antony de Chaumont, governor; and the Earl of Derby left with him his archers, and forty infantry armed with bucklers, in order to enable him the better to guard the town. The earl then came before Villefranche, which he took by storm, as well as the castle. He made an English knight, Sir Thomas Cook, governor of it. Thus did the Earl of Derby march through every part of the country, without any one venturing out to prevent him. He conquered many different towns and castles, and his army gained so much riches, that it was marvellous to think on.
Jacob von Artaveld, the citizen of Ghent that was so much attached to the King of England, still maintained the same despotic power over all Flanders. He had promised the King of England that he would give him the inheritance of Flanders, invest his son the Prince of Wales with it, and make it a duchy instead of an earldom. Upon which account the king was at this period--about St. John the Baptist’s Day, 1345--come to Sluys, with a numerous attendance of barons and knights. He had brought the Prince of Wales with him, in order that Jacob von Artaveld’s promises might be realized. The king remained on board his fleet in the harbor of Sluys, where he kept his court. His friends in Flanders came thither to see and visit him; and there were many conferences between the king and Jacob von Artaveld on one side, and the councils from the different capital towns on the other, relative to the agreement before mentioned; as to which, those from the country did not unite in sentiment with the king or with Von Artaveld: they declared they never would consent to such a thing.