In the year of our Lord 1214, on the sixth calend of August, something worthy of remembrance occurred at the bridge of Bouvines, in the confines of the Tournaisis. In this place, on one side, Philip, the noble King of the Franks, had gathered a part of his kingdom. On the other side Otto who, having persisted in the obstinacy of his wickedness, had been deprived of the imperial dignity through the decree of the Holy Church, and his accomplices in wickedness, Ferrand, Count of Flanders, and Renaud, Count of Boulogne, many other barons, and also those receiving a stipend from John, the King of England, had assembled in order, as the events were to show, to fight against the French. Driven by insatiable hatred, the Flemings, in order to recognize each other more easily, had, while preparing themselves to attack the French, sewn a small sign of the cross on the back and front of their coats of arms. But it was much less for the glory and honor of Christ's cross than for the growth of their wickedness, the misfortune and harm of their friends, the misery and damage of their bodies. This was clearly shown by the outcome of the battle. Indeed, they did not remind themselves of the sacred precept of the Church which states: "The one who communicates with an excommunicate is excommunicated." Persisting in their alliance with Otto who, by the judgment and authority of the Pope, had been bound into anathema and had been separated from the faithful of the Holy Mother Church, they were mocking this sentence with impudence and dishonesty. Inflamed by cruelty, they were planning while boasting with each other to reduce to nothing, if they could, the scepter and the crown of royal dignity: However, divine mercy and compassion which everywhere saves and protects its own, disposed of the matter differently. Philip, the very wise king of the Gauls, troubled by the imminent danger he saw his army facing, decided in a prudent and discreet council to withdraw himself and his people from the enemy's aggression if lie could. He gradually retreated. However, seeing that his adversaries were pursuing him terribly, like enraged dogs, and also bearing in mind that he could not retreat without too much dishonor, he put his hope in the Lord; he arranged his army into military echelons as is customary for those who are about to fight. But first, with a contrite heart, he addressed a prayer to the Lord. Then having called upon the noblemen of his army, he started to exhort them humbly, modestly, and with tears in his eyes: they should resist the adversaries with virility as their ancestors had been accustomed to doing, and so as not to suffer a loss that neither they nor their heirs could repair. These things, said with so much humility and earnestness, strongly warmed the hearts of his audience to act well and fight with virility. As soon as the order of the royal power was heard in the army, tile knights and the auxiliaries, armed and arranged into ordered echelons, prepared ill all haste for the battle. The horses' bridles were tightened by the auxiliaries. The armor shone in the splendor of the sun and it seemed that the light of day was doubled. The banners unfolded in the winds and offered themselves to the currents; they presented a delightful spectacle to the eyes. What then? The armies, thus ordered for battle on each side, entered into combat, full of ardor and desire to fight. But very quickly the dust rose toward the sky in such quantities that it became hard to see and to recognize each other. The first French echelon attacked the Flemings with virility, breaking their echelons by nobly cutting across them, and penetrated their army through all impetuous and tenacious movement. The Flemings, seeing this and defeated in the space of all hour, turned their flacks and quickly took to flight. At this perilous moment, dependants abandoned to distress their lords, their fathers, their sons, and their nephews. However, Ferrand, Count of Flanders, and Renaud, Count of Boulogne, remained in the battle and resisted the onslaught of the French with virile fighting. In the end, they were wounded and taken by the French along with innumerable nobles whose names we will not give; they were jailed in a number of castles in Gaul. As for Otto who, by the authority of the Pope, we refrain from calling Emperor, deprived of everyone's help, thrown three times to the ground from his horse, or rather his horses as some claim, almost alone except for a single count, he hurried to take flight. Thus, surreptitiously fleeing from the King of France's hand, he escaped, vanquished in battle. In this manner, the providence of divine mercy ended this battle which had been fought, as we have said, near the bridge of Bouvines, for the praise and the glory of His Majesty, and for the honor of the Holy Church. May its honor, its virtue, and its power remain through the infinity of centuries to come. Amen.