Thus as ye have heard, the king rode forth, wasting and brenning the
country without breaking of his order. He left the city of
Coutances[3] and went to a great town called Saint-Lo, a rich town of
drapery and many rich burgesses. In that town there were dwelling an
eight or nine score burgesses, crafty men. When the king came there,
he took his lodging without, for he would never lodge in the town for
fear of fire: but he sent his men before and anon the town was taken
and clean robbed. It was hard to think the great riches that there was
won, in clothes specially; cloth would there have been sold good
cheap, if there had been any buyers.
[3] That is, he did not turn aside to go to it. Froissart
says, 'He did not turn aside to the city of Coutances, but went
on toward the great town of Saint-Lo in Cotentin, which at that
time was very rich and of great merchandise and three times as
great as the city of Coutances.' Michael of Northburgh says that
Barfleur was about equal in importance to Sandwich and Carentan
to Leicester, Saint-Lo greater than Lincoln, and Caen greater
than any city in England except London.
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