Also entring into the woods Nepse and Rutholt, they found a great
bootie of sheepe and beasts, and tooke a great sort of prisoners of
the countrie people, which were fled into those woods for feare of the
enemies: but the Englishmen, plaieng the part of good bloudhounds,
found them out, & sent all their booties and preie vnto Grauelin and
Bruckburge. On the eight daie of Iune they came before the towne of
Ypres, and laid siege thereto, whereat they continued the space of nine
wéekes. Thither came to their aid twentie thousand Gauntiners vnder
the leading of Francis Akreman, Peter Wood, and Peter Winter: so that
they within Ypres were streictlie besieged, but there were within it
in garrison diuerse valiant knights & capteins, which defended the
towne right manfullie: it was fensed with a mightie rampire, and a
thicke hedge, trimlie plashed and woond with thornes, as the manner of
fortifieng townes was in ancient time amongst them in that countrie (as
Strabo witnesseth.)
[Sidenote: Hope of gaine incourageth the soldier.]
During the time that the siege laie before Ypres, the Englishmen
swarmed abroad in the countrie, for when it was once knowne what good
successe the first companie that went ouer had found, there came dailie
foorth of England great numbers to be partakers of the gaine. Sir Iohn
Philpot that fauoured the bishops iournie, prouided them of vessels
for their passage, till the bishop vnderstanding that the more part
of those that came thus ouer were vnarmed, and brought nothing with
them from home, but onelie swords, bowes |760| and arrowes, did write
vnto the said sir Iohn Philpot, that he should suffer none to passe
the seas, but such as were men able and likelie to doo seruice: where
a great number of those that were come to him, were fit for nothing
but to consume vittels, much like the popish shauelings and the Romish
rascalitie, of whome the like is spoken thus:
Nos numerus sumus & fruges consumere nati.
[Sidenote: _Ia. Meir._