BAL41824 Fr 2643 f.82 Battle of Ecluse, 24th June 1340, from \'Froissart\'s Chronicle\' (vellum) by French School, (15th century); Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; (add.info.: Edward III gains control of the seas; naval Battle of Sluys; one of opening battles of Hundred Years War; destruction of most of French fleet so that the threatened French invasion of England was no longer possible; off Sluys in the French fief of Flanders - now spelt Sluis and part of Dutch region of Zeelandic Flanders; English longbowmen could fire arrows five times faster than the French crossbowmen; English victory;); French, out of copyright.