In the beginning of this year, the admiral of Brittany, the lord de Penhors, the lord du Chastel[44], the lord du Boys, with many other knights and esquires of Brittany, to the amount of twelve hundred men at arms, assembled at Morlens[45], and embarked on board thirty vessels at a port called Chastel-Pol[46], to engage the English, who had a large fleet at sea on the look-out for merchantmen like pirates. On the following Wednesday, as the English were cruising before a port called St Matthieu[47], the Bretons came up with them, and chaced them until sun-rise the ensuing morning, when they engaged in battle. It lasted for three hours; but the Bretons at last gained the victory, and took two thousand prisoners, with forty vessels with sails, and a carrack. The greater part of the prisoners were thrown overboard and drowned, but some escaped by promising punctual payment of their ransom. About this same time, an esquire, named Gilbert de Fretun, a native of the country of Guines, sent his challenge to the king of England, to avoid paying him his homage; and in consequence, this Gilbert collected many men at arms, and made such exertions that he provided himself with two vessels well equipped, and carried on a destructive war against the king as long as the truces between the kings of France and England were broken, from which event great evils ensued. CHAP. XIII. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS QUARRELS WITH SIR CHARLES DE SAVOISY AND WITH THE PROVOST OF PARIS. At this period, when the university of Paris was making its annual processions, much dissention arose between some of its members, as they were near to St Catherine du Val des Escoliers, and the grooms of sir Charles de Savoisy, chamberlain[48] to the king of France, who were leading their horses to drink in the river Seine. The cause of the quarrel was owing to some of the grooms riding their horses against the procession, and wounding some of the scholars,—who, displeased at such conduct, attacked them with stones, and knocked some of the riders off their horses. The grooms, on this, returned to the hôtel de Savoisy, but soon came back armed with bows and arrows, and accompanied by others of their fellow-servants, when they renewed the attack against the scholars, wounding many with their arrows and staves even when in the church. This caused a great riot. In the end, however, the great number of scholars overpowered them, and drove them back, after several of them had been soundly beaten and badly wounded.