How King Edward left England and sailed to Normandy and laid waste the land.

Some people, when they hear this story read, may wonder why I call the King of England ‘the noble King Edward’ but the French king simply ‘King Philip of France’; they might well imagine I'm biased or partisan. Saving the grace of all listeners, it's not a question of taking sides; I do this to honour the one who behaved most nobly in this story, and that's King Edward, who cannot be honoured too highly, for in all his deeds he always followed sound advice, and loved his men and knights and squires, and honoured each man according to his degree, and defended his land well against his enemies (and won a good deal from them), and bravely put his life at stake alongside his men both at home and abroad, and paid his troops and allies well and gave generously of his own wealth; for these reasons all should be glad to serve him and he deserves to be called ‘noble king’. None of this can be said of King Philip of France, who allowed his land in many parts to be ravaged and laid waste, and stayed ensconced around Paris in comfort and safety, and always followed the poor advice of clerics and prelates, especially those who said: