Page "belles_lettres" Paragraph 1190

This also gave them the unpleasant duty of being spokesmen for the mission, and they could foresee that that would not be easy.

Underneath all the high-sounding phrases of royal and papal letters and behind the more down-to-earth instructions to the envoys was the inescapable fact that Edward would have to desert his Flemish allies and leave them to the vengeance of their indignant suzerain, the king of France, in return for being given an equally free hand with the insubordinate Scots.

This was a doubly bitter blow to the king.

In the eyes of those who still cared for such things, it was a reflection on his honor, and it gave further grounds for complaint to his overtaxed subjects, who were already grumbling -- although probably not in Latin -- `` Non est lex sana Quod regi sit mea lana ''.

Bad relations between England and Flanders brought hard times to the shepherds scattered over the dales and downs as well as to the crowded Flemish cities, and while the English, so far, had done no more than grumble, Othon had seen what the discontent might lead to, for before he left the Low Countries the citizens of Ghent had risen in protest against the expense of supporting Edward and his troops, and the regular soldiers had found it unexpectedly difficult to put down the nasty little riot that ensued.