THE CAREER OF SIR THOMAS TRIVET (1330-88)

assist his men in ridding the surrounding countryside of Breton troops.¹⁰ They were relatively successful, sacking the castles of Montpin, Claracq and Pouillon.¹¹ However, by this time most of southern Navarre had fallen to the Castilian troops, and the blame could be placed at Trivet's door for his unnecessary delay at Dax. Charles II himself was besieged at Pamplona and running short of supplies. He was therefore counting on Trivet's immediate help. Neville (who had obviously reached the province by this time) assured Charles that Trivet was on his way. On hearing that in fact he was unnecessarily delayed at Dax, Charles immediateIy ordered him to march. In the end, Trivet did not encounter the enemy at Pamplona, since they had decided to retreat as soon as news reached the Castilian commander that Engish forces were on their way. By this time, winter was fast approaching and the majority of English troops (under Trivet himself) marched to their intended destination at Tudela. Trivet was probably annoyed at having been denied an encounter with the enemy he had been sent to fight, and so when the weather proved relatively mild, he set out for the Castilian town of Soria on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, his force lost their way in a sudden snowstorm, and by the time they had reached the

outskirts of Soria, the Castilans were expecting them. There was a small skirmish with the town's garrison although, according to Saul, he and his men did leave 'laden with booty ,.¹² They withdrew back into Navarrese territory, burning Castilian villages on ther way before Charles himself greeted them at Cascantes. The King of Navarre seems to have been pleased with Trivet's exploits, despite the raid's lack of tactical value.¹³

In spite of Trivet's brief success, Charles II had already made steps to conclude a treaty with Castile, and this was sealed, despite Trivet's protests, on 31st March 1379 at Briones. Through the terms of the treaty, Engish interest in Navarre all but ended, and in this respect, Trivet had failed. Charles II promised to expel all English and Gascon troops from his kingdom and agreed that none of his children would marry English royalty.¹⁴ However, this did not prevent Trivet from trying to salvage EnglLsh interest in the province. While the peace was being concluded, he took the opportunity to attack the countryside around Tudela, and when this caused little effect, he was perhaps ordered to pursue an Anglo-Aragonese alliance. As Russell states; 'he reported to the Aragonese king that

Castilian troops in Navarre had begun to raid Aragonese territoty' and he may have offered to hold the Tudela salient for En Pere if given any encouragement from Barcelona'.¹⁵ In April,he evidently went to Aragon in person to discuss these future possibilities with the King of Aragon himself but nothing came of it. By the summer of 1379, Trivet had returned to Bordeaux. having been paid for his exploits the handsome sum of 20,000 francs.¹⁶

It is difficult to say precisely how this particular expedition aided his advancement or affected his later military career. The King of Navarre had certainly seemed impressed bv his exploits, and he seems to have established a rapport with the King of Aragon, but