The
count took pity on them, bade them rise and was merciful. Then he entered the town of
Ypres with his forces and took up residence there for around three weeks, and sent the men of the
Franc and the
Brugeois home. During the
count's stay in
Ypres, he had more than seven hundred fullers and weavers beheaded, and such manner of men who had admitted
Jan Yoens and the
Ghenters into the town originally, and who had slaughtered the valiant men he had sent and stationed there; and he was especially vexed on account of what had happened to his knights. And to the end that they should no longer rebel against him, he sent three hundred of the most prominent among them to prison in
Bruges. When he had done all this he returned to
Bruges with a fine escort of men-at-arms, but took the road to
Kortrijk, declaring that it was his wish to bring that town under his authority.
SHF 2-197 syncWhen the people of
Kortrijk learned that the
count, their
lord, was on his way there in such force, and that the people of
Ypres had submitted to him, they were very fearful, for it appeared that they could not rely on
Ghent for aid, and so they decided to surrender readily to their
lord. It was far better to side with the
count, since they owed him their faith and loyalty, than with the
Ghenters.
Whereupon three hundred of the town's most notable citizens made preparations and went out onto the plain on foot to meet the
count, carrying with them the keys to the town.
When the
count was due to pass by, they threw themselves on their knees and begged for mercy. The
count took pity on them and received them mercifully. He entered the town joyfully, and all showed him honour and reverence.
Then he had around two hundred of the most distinguished of the citizens of
Kortrijk arrested and sent to
Lille and
Douai as hostages to ensure that the people of
Kortrijk would rebel no more. When he had been in
Kortrijk for six days, he went on to
Deinze and from there to
Bruges where he rested for more or less a fortnight. Then he sent a great summons far and wide with the intent of besieging the town of
Ghent, for all of
Flanders was his to command in those days. And so the
count of Flanders departed
Bruges in great pomp and went to lay siege to
Ghent, encamping at a place known as
Ter Boote.
Sir Robert de Namur came to serve the
count with a number of men-at-arms, as had been required in the written summons, but
Sir Guillaume de Namur was nowhere to be seen, for he was in
France with the king and the
duke of Burgundy. It was around the feast of the decollation of Saint John the Baptist that the siege of
Ghent began, and the
lord of Enghien, named
Gauthier, was the marshal of the entire host of
Flanders. He was a young man then, bold and intrepid, and fearless of the pain or peril which might befall him. Despite the
count of Flanders being encamped outside
Ghent with a great force, he could not constrain the townspeople from keeping three or four gates open through which provisions could reach them without hindrance. What's more, the people of
Brabant and particularly the
Brugeois were most favourable towards them, as were the
Liégeois who sent them a message which they thought would stiffen their resolve,
"Good people of
Ghent, we are well aware that at present you have a great deal to do and are being made to suffer much by your
lord, the
count, and by the noblemen and the rest of the country, and we are vexed about it.
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