dancaster

Updated: May 2, 2025

Of more enduring importance were the gradual extensions of the English pale by the piecemeal conquest of the fortresses of the neighbourhood. The chief step in this direction was the capture of Guînes in 1352. An archer named John Dancaster, who escaped from French custody in Guînes, led his comrades to the assault of the town by a way which he learnt during his imprisonment.

T. F. (Thomas Frederick) Tout - The History of England: From the Accession of Henry III. to the Death of Edward III. (1216-1377)

The attack succeeded, and Dancaster, to avoid involving his master in a formal breach of the truce, professed to hold the town on his own account and to be willing to sell it to the highest bidder. Of course the highest bidder was Edward III. himself, and thus Guînes became the southern outpost of the Calais march. In Aquitaine and Languedoc there was no thought of repose.

T. F. (Thomas Frederick) Tout - The History of England: From the Accession of Henry III. to the Death of Edward III. (1216-1377)