At a time when French historical studies on both sides of the Atlantic have come to be dominated by the methods and techniques of the Annalistes and their imitators, the appearance of what is an essentially old-fashioned narrative history perhaps needs some explanation. Let me say at the outset that I am one of the keenest supporters of the ‘new’ social and economic history that is currently à la mode; indeed, my next book will be a modest attempt to emulate this kind of history on a small scale. Both types of history have much to offer, however, and they are by no means mutually exclusive. Clearly, events such as the crown's periodic decisions to wage war in the provinces made just as great an impact on the lives of most sixteenth-century Frenchmen as the changing birthrate or climatic transformations over the longue durée. Neither kind of history tells the whole story, but each can illuminate the other. Thus, I hope readers who find this study unfashionable may at least find it somewhat useful.

In the spelling of all place names I have followed the usual practice of using an English form if one exists: Brussels, Antwerp, The Hague, Dunkirk, Flushing, etc. If there is no English equivalent, I have used the form currently employed by present-day inhabitants of the place in question: leper (rather than Ypres), Mechelen (rather than Malines), Aalst (rather than Alost), etc.