abbat and conuent, & the said abbat by himselfe, since the 19 yeare of the reigne of king Edward the second vnto that present time, had sealed certeine charters, déeds, & writings, as well with the proper seale of the abbat, as with the common seale of the abbat & conuent, if the said Richard and the inhabitants of the said towne of Burie did restore vnto the said abbat & conuent all the same writings, or take such order, that neither the abbat nor conuent be impleaded, or in any wise hindered, indamaged nor molested by force of the same: and further if neither the said Richard, nor any the inhabitants of the said towne, nor their heires, executors, nor assignes, shall go about to reuerse the iudgements against them, at the suit of the said abbat, nor shall séeke to impeach the executions of the same iudgements by anie false or forged aquitances or releases, nor implead nor molest any of the iurie, by whom they were conuict, that then they and their heires, executors & assignes shall be acquited & discharged of ten thousand pounds parcell of the said 17666 pounds, 13 shillings foure pence.

And furthermore, if the said Richard and other the inhabitants of the said towne of Burie, doo not hereafter maliciouslie rise against the said abbat or conuent, nor séeke to vex them by any conspiracie, confederacie, or by some other secret vniust cause, nor likewise euill intreat any man by reason of the inditement found against them, nor yet claime to haue any corporation of themselues within that towne, that then the said Richard, & the said inhabitants, their heires, successors & assignes, shall remaine acquited and discharged of all the residue of the said 17666 pounds, thirtéene shillings foure pence for euer. And the said abbat and conuent doo grant for them & their successours, that their intention is not, that if any singular person of his owne priuate malice, shall rise against the said abbat and conuent, their successors, moonks, bailiffes, or seruants, to doo them, or any of them iniurie or displeasure; that those which be not partakers of the offense, shall be in any wise punished for the same, so that the offendors be not mainteined by any of the same towne, but that the inhabitants there, doo assist the abbat and conuent their successours, bailiffes, seruants & officers, that the same offendors may be punished, according to their demerits, as reason and law shall allow.

This was the effect of the agréement at length had and made betwixt the abbat and moonks of Burie on the one part, & the inhabitants of that towne on the other part, and for the more confirmation therof, it pleased the king to put his seale to the charter conteining the same agréement. ¶ But how soeuer it chanced, it should appeare by such records as came to the hands of master Iohn Fox, as he alledgeth in the first tome of his booke of acts and monuments, this agréement was but sorilie kept: for diuerse of the former offendors, bearing grudge towards the abbat for breaking promise with them at London, did confederat themselues togither, and priuilie in the night comming to the manour of Chennington where the abbat then did lie, burst open the gates, and entring by force, first bound all his seruants, and after they had robbed the house, they tooke the abbat, and shauing him, secretlie conueied him to London, and there remoouing him from stréet to stréet vnknowne, had him ouer the Thames into Kent, and at length transported him ouer vnto Dist in Brabant, where they kept him for a time in much penurie, thraldome and miserie, vntill at length the matter being vnderstood, they were all excommunicate, first by the archbishop, & after by the pope. At the last, his fréends hauing knowledge where he was, they found means to deliuer him out of the hands of those théeues, and finallie brought him home with procession, and so he was restored to his house againe.

Thus much touching those troubles betwixt the townesmen of Burie & the abbat and moonks there, and now we will returne to other generall matters touching the publike state of the realme. ¶ And first you shall vnderstand, that in the beginning of this kings reigne the land trulie séemed to be blessed of God: for the earth became fruitfull, the aire temperate, and the sea calme and quiet. This king though he was as yet vnder the gouernement of other, neuerthelesse he began within a short time to shew tokens of great towardnesse, framing his mind vnto graue deuises, and first he prepared to make a iornie against the Scotishmen, the which in his fathers time had doone so manie displeasures to the Englishmen, and now vpon confidence of his minoritie, ceassed not to inuade the borders of his realme. And namelie the verie selfe night that followed the day of this kings coronation, they had thought by skaling to haue stolne the castell of Norham: but Robert Maners capteine of that place, vnderstanding of their enterprise aforehand by a Scotishmen of the garison there, so well prouided for their comming, that where sixtéene of them boldlie entred vpon the wall, he slue nine or ten of them and tooke fiue.

This was thought an euill token, that they should still be put to the worsse in this kings time, sith they had so bad successe in the verie beginning of his reigne: but they continuing in their malicious purposes, about saint Margarets tide inuaded the land with thrée armies, the earle of Murrey hauing the leading of one of the same armies, and Iames Douglas of another, and the third was guided by the earle of Mar. King Edward aduertised hereof, assembled not onelie a great power of Englishmen, but also required Iohn lord Beaumont de Heinault, whome he had latelie sent home right honorablie rewarded for his good assistance, to come againe into England, with certeine bands of men at armes, and he should receiue wages and good interteinement for them. The lord Beaumont, as one that loued déeds of armes, was glad to accomplish king Edwards request: and so therevpon with seauen hundred men at armes, or fiue hundred (as Froissart saith) came ouer into England againe, to serue against the Scots.

The generall assemblie of the armie was appointed to be at Yorke, and thither came the said lord Beaumont with his people, and was ioifullie receiued of the king and his lords. Here whilest not onelie the Scotish ambassadours (which had béene sent to treat of peace, were heard to tell their message) but also whilest the councell tooke some leisure in debating the matter how to guide their enterprise, which they had now in hand: vpon Trinitie sundaie, it chanced that there arose contention within the citie of Yorke, betwixt the English archers, and the strangers, which the lord Beaumont of Heinault had brought with him, insomuch that fighting togither there were slaine to the number of foure score persons of those archers, which were buried within the church of saint Clement in Fosgate. ¶ Some write that there were slaine to the number of thrée hundred Englishmen: yet bicause the Henuiers came to aid the king, their peace was cried vpon paine of life. And further, it was found by an inquest of the citie, that the quarrel was begun by the Englishmen, the which (as some write) were of the Lincolneshire men,