English Naval Orders

1326

Be it remembered that Monsieur Rauf de Cameys, who by order of our lord the King is going to Southampton, is charged by him, our lord, to speak to the Admirals of the sea of those parts and to the masters and mariners of the ships of the same parts, lately mustered by the King's order, ordering them to put, array, and set the fleet to sea, to serve against the enemies of the power of the King of France, who have made war upon him, and are detaining his wife and his dear son Edward against his will, and waging war on the Duchy of Guienne, and keeping from him his lands there, and receiving into the company of his said wife and son his mortal enemies; and that Rauf is ordered to tell the said Admirals and masters and mariners, as faithfully and as positively as he knows or can, that the intention of the King was and is, that all merchants, except those of the said power of France, shall be able safely and surely to enter and stay in his realm, and to depart out of it, according to the tenor of the Ordinance of the Staple and the King's command, upon pain of severe punishment to the said Admirals, masters, and mariners, if they trouble or molest, either in person or goods, any merchant or other man passing by sea, whether he be of the King's realm or of any other country or power, except only the people of the said King of France; and these the King wills and commands them to assault at all costs, except they be men of Flanders or Brittany, who, of late, just before this quarrel began, entered into a truce with our said lord the King, which is still existing for as long as is mentioned therein. But our lord the King wills and commands the said Admirals, masters, and mariners, that they treat all merchants other than those in hostility with him, as is before more distinctly and fully set forth, in as good and courteous a manner in all respects as possible, and assist them, and sail in company with them for their safety, according as they have need of it.

R.G. Marsden, Documents Relating to the Law and Custom of the Sea. (London: 1916), I:62-63