oa Boendale en de koning van Engeland

In his function of secretary of the city of Antwerp Jan van Boendale (also named Jan de Clerck) played his part in the international events of the first half of the fourteenth century. He describes these events in his books, and contemporary documents give additional information. In his works he shows a marked interest in king Edward iii of England, about whom he wrote two dedicated historiographical texts and whom he mentions at some length in two other texts, especially in relation to the Hundred Years War. The fact that he wrote so much about a foreign king is intriguing. This might be (partly) explained by the fact that he was in contact with the king at least eight times in the period from 1338 to 1342. British charters provide biographical information about the interaction of Boendale with the king on behalf of the Duke of Brabant.