Meanwhile Count John of Namur, brother of Robert de Bethune, returned to Flanders and assumed the government; he collected in haste a new and far larger army, to resist any further attempt on the part of the French, and restored order everywhere. Without allowing his troops any repose, he marched to Lille, where some disturbances had broken out; thence he proceeded to Douay, which he captured, taking the garrison prisoners; and Cassel yielded after a very brief resistance. After taking some other garrisons of lesser note he was obliged to return; for not an enemy remained on the soil of Flanders; and as he deemed a small band of picked soldiers sufficient for all purposes of defense, he disbanded his army.
The land was still and at rest; trade and commerce flourished with renewed vigor; the wasted fields were sown with better hope of a bounteous harvest, and it seemed as though Flanders had acquired new life and new strength. Men thought with reason that the lesson France had received was sufficient. Philip the Fair himself had, in fact, little desire to renew the strife; but the reproaches which burst from all France, the lamentations of the knights whose brothers had fallen at Courtrai, and, above all, the instigations of Joanna, who thirsted for revenge, compelled him at length to declare war. He collected a force of eighty thousand men, among whom were twenty thousand cavalry; but it was far inferior to the former army, inasmuch as it consisted chiefly of mercenaries, or of recruits levied by force. The command was entrusted to Louis, King of Navarre; he was instructed, before venturing on a general action, to take Douay and other French frontier towns from the Flemings; and with this commission, he pitched his camp in a plain near Vitry, a few miles from Douay.
No sooner did the Flemings hear that a fresh army was being assembled in France than the cry "To arms!" resounded through the length and breadth of the land. Never was so universal and so intense an enthusiasm known; from every village the inhabitants poured forth with weapons of all kinds; on they came, singing and shouting in such numbers that John of Namur was obliged to send many of them back to their abodes, fearing that it would be impossible to provide for so enormous a host. Those who had formerly been Lilyards longed now to wipe out the stain, and implored, with tears in their eyes, to be allowed a part in the conflict; and this was readily granted them. Besides John of Namur, most of the knights who had shared the glories of Courtrai repaired to the army. Guy, William van Gulick, John van Renesse, John Borluut, Peter Deconinck, Jan Breydel, and many others, were among them. Adolf van Nieuwland had not yet recovered from his wounds, and could not therefore accompany them.
The Flemings marched against the enemy in two divisions, and at first took up a position about three leagues from the French camp; but they soon advanced to the Scarpe, a small river near Flines. The Flemings daily challenged the French; but as the generals on both sides wished to avoid an action, day after day passed on without any result. The cause of this pacific attitude was, that John of Namur had sent ambassadors to France to treat with the king for the liberation of the old Count and of Robert, and to conclude, if possible, a treaty of peace. But the French court could not agree on the terms to be proposed or accepted, and the answer was unfavorable.
The Flemings meanwhile began to murmur, and longed to fall on the French, in spite of the prohibition of their general; and the discontent became at last so alarming, that John of Namur was compelled to cross the Scarpe and attack the enemy. A bridge of five boats was thrown across the stream, and the Flemish army passed over, singing and shouting with joy that they were at length going to fight; but an ambiguous message from France kept them still for some days longer on the further side of the river. At length the army would be no longer restrained, and the murmurs threatened to become serious. Everything was ready for the attack, and the army was put in motion; when the French, not daring to meet it, hastily broke up their camp, and retreated in confusion. The Flemings put themselves in pursuit, and slew a great number of them; they possessed themselves beside of the castle of Harne, where the King of Navarre had taken up his quarters. Their stores, tents, and everything the French army had brought with them, fell into the hands of the Flemings; and after a few insignificant skirmishes, the French were driven back into France overwhelmed with disgrace.
When the Flemish generals saw that no enemy remained in the open field, they disbanded a part of their force, and retained only as many soldiers as were necessary to keep the French frontier garrisons in check, and to prevent their plundering expeditions.
For a long time there were occasional battles and enterprises of lesser importance and of various success. At length Philip collected a third army to avenge the defeat of Courtrai. The command was given to Walter de Chatillon, and he was instructed, on his arrival in Flanders, to take with him all the troops in garrison on the frontier, which would make his army far more than one hundred thousand strong.
Philip, one of the sons of the old Count of Flanders, had inherited the territories of Tyetta and Loretto in Italy. As soon as he heard of the French levy, he hastened to Flanders with his troops, and was appointed by his brothers to the chief command of the army. He assembled about fifty thousand men, and marched on St. Omer to await the French assault.
The two armies soon met; for two
