272 ROGER OF WEN DOVER. [A.D. 1-214. parturc lie invaded tlie count':- territories, destroying every ])!nee lie emne to by lire, and piittinj; the inhabitants to the sword, lie also gave orders to the sailors and commanders of his fleet, who, as we said before, had been waiting at the mouth of the river Seine, equipped with stores and arms, to set sail without delay towards Swine, a port of Flanders, and to make all haste to come to him there, which they did. The count of Flanders, who was much alarmed at this attack of the French king, sent word of it in all haste to .John, earnestly imploring him to send some troops to help him. At this news the English king sent to the assistance of the count, his brother William earl of Salisbury, William duke of lloutland, and Reginald count of Boulogne, able s ldicrs, with live hundred ships and seven hundred knights, with a large number of soldiers horse and foot ; and these nobles, setting sail with a fair wind, soon arrived at the port of Swine. On their arrival there they were astonished to behold such a concourse of shipping, and by means of scouts they learned that this was the French king's fleet, which had lately arrived, and they also found out that there were scarcely any in charge of it except a few sailors ; for the soldiers, to whose charge it had been entrusted, were gone out to collect booty, and were ravaging the count's territory. When the chiefs of the English army learned this, they flew to arms, fiercely attacked the fleet, and. soon defeating the crews, they cut the cables of three hundred of their ships loaded with corn, wine, flour, meat, arms, and other stores, and sent them to sea to make for EuL'land ; besides these they set lire to and burned a hundred or more which were aground, after taking all the stores from them. By this misfortune the French king and almost all the ransmarine nobility lost all their most valuable possession-. Afterwards, some of the English nobles, incited bv animosity beyond bounds, burst forth from their ships, mounted and armed, and set off in hot pursuit of those of the French who had fled from the slaughter : but the French kin" who was not far off from the conflict, sent some of his most trnstv soldiers to keep the enemy in check, and to Γιικί out fi certain who they were. They accordingly took to tin or arms and soon met with the hostile party, and both parties engaged; but the English nobles were put to (light with