lish Earls send to Edward for help, which he refuses. A.D. 1346. the English which was commanded by the Black Prince, and about the same time a body of German and Savoyard knights broke through the Prince's bowmen, to the men-at-arms behind, and engaged with them in a hand-to-hand fight. Then the Earls of Northampton and Arundel, who commanded the second division of the English, seeing the furious attack that was made on the Prince, sent to the The Eng King to beg him to come to his son's help. "Is he dead, or unhorsed, or so wounded that he cannot help himself?" asked the King. "No, Sire, please God; but he is in a hard passage of arms, and he much needs your help." "Sir Thomas," said the King, "return to those who have sent you, and tell them not to send to me again so long as my son lives; I command them to let the child gain his spurs, for I wish, if God has so ordered it, that the day may be his, and that the honour may rest with him and those to whom I have given it in charge." So the knight returned with the King's answer, and the English fought more fiercely than before. Vain were the efforts of the French: they could not break them. The Count d'Alençon, the Count of Flanders, and numbers of the French nobles, were slain; the Welshmen rushed in, stabbing the horses with their knives and short lances, and killing the dismounted knights. Courage ous conduct of the blind old King of In the meantime, John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, son of the Emperor Henry the Seventh, who was old and blind, when he heard that the Bohemia, battle had begun, asked his knights how it was going on. "Sire, thus and thus is it: all the Genoese aré discomfited, and the King has ordered them all to be killed, and they are falling on one another and CHAP. XIV. DEFEAT OF THE FRENCH. 261 hinder us," was the answer. "Ha!" said the King, A.D. 1346. one blow with his sword, even three, even four, and fought right valiantly." In the morning, they all who is made one heap of corpses.1 slain. defeated. The battle was lost to the French; it was of no The use fighting any longer; and John of Hainault advised French are the King to fly. Philip, whose horse was killed under him, mounted one furnished him by Sir John, and unwillingly rode away from the field. It was midnight when he reached the Castle of La Broye." The gate was shut, the bridge was drawn up. "Who is it that knocks at this hour?" was the answer to the shouts and hammerings of the King's companions. "Open, castellan, it is the unfortunate King of France.”3 Buchon's Froissart, vol. i. ch. 288-290. The story of the Prince of Wales adopting the plume of feathers and the motto "Ich dien," in memory of his having fought with the King of Bohemia, is of very doubtful authority. 2 It is evident this is a mistake of Froissart, unless there were two places of the same name. See ante, p. 253. 3 In all previously printed editions of Froissart, this phrase is given as "C'est la fortune de France," but Buchon states that he did not find it in that form in any MSS. he examined, besides which he considers it to be in complete contradiction to the circumstances of the day and of the epoch. Vol. i. p. 240 note. A.D. 1346. The King entered, remained there for the night, and the next day continued his flight to Amiens. Philip retreats to Amiens. Conduct of the English after the battle. Renewed fighting the next day, and further When Philip fled, the French were routed and were flying in utter confusion; but the English did not pursue them. They were still few in numbers, compared with their enemies, and prudently remained satisfied with the victory they had gained. Great fires, and numerous torches, were lit in the English camp to dispel the darkness, and the King now, for the first time, slaked his thirst, and then, heartily welcomed his brave son, kissing him and praising him. That night they thanked God, with devout adoration, for the victory they had gained, and "thus they passed this night without pomp or vanity." On Sunday morning, there was a great fog, and Edward sent out 500 men-at-arms and 2,000 bowmen, to see whether the French were rallying. A fresh defeat of body of soldiers, not knowing the defeat of the previous day, were advancing from Abbeville, and were immediately attacked and routed by the English. Soon after this, another troop, led by the Archbishop of Rouen and the Grand Prior of France, were also met and defeated by the English. But, at last, resistance was at an end, and the English counted the slain. Besides the King of Bohemia, 11 sovereign the slain. princes, 80 bannerets, 1,200 knights, and 30,000 foot, perished on the French side. No record was kept of the losses of the English; but they were nothing in comparison with those of the French, for, if these contemporary statements are true, the numbers of the French killed in the conflict far exceeded that of the whole of the English army.1 the French. Number and rank of 1 Buchon's Froissart, vol. i. ch. 294 and 295; and Avesbury, pp. 136-140. CHAP. XV. THE KING MARCHES ON CALAIS. 263 CHAPTER XV. THE SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF CALAIS. the battle THE consequences of the battle of Crécy were most A.D.1346. disastrous to France, for the relative positions of the Consetwo monarchs and of the two nations were thereby quences of entirely changed. When Edward landed in France, of Crécy. the French were hemming in the English in Guienne with overwhelming numbers; and, when he had penetrated into the heart of the country, his own situation was most perilous. It then became necessary to conquer or surrender; escape to England was impossible. But Crécy changed everything. The very flower of the French nobility was dishonoured or destroyed, as the Chronicler of St. Denis says with bitter sorrow; and he adds, "we must therefore believe that God has punished us for our sins." But it was not merely the nobility of France that was destroyed-Chivalry itself was disgraced; for Crécy proved that English villeins-common men bending their long bows, and Welsh and Irish serfs, armed with knives and spears-were more than a match for the proud nobles of France, mounted on war-horses and clothed in gorgeous armour. march to Calais. On Monday, August the 28th, Edward began his Edward's march to Calais, while Philip filed to Paris. He passed through the Boulonnais, taking Estaples on his way, and on September the 3rd1 arrived before 1 Robert of Avesbury, p. 140. A D. 1346. Calais.1 It is somewhat improbable, that, when Edward landed in Normandy, it was part of his plan to lay siege to Calais; had such been the case, it may be surmised that he would have landed nearer that city. As already related, however, he may have decided on so doing, after the capture of Caen. When flying before the French, anxiously seeking for means to cross the Seine, his plan can hardly have been any other than to secure his escape to England; but, after he had beaten the French at Crécy, it is pro Number The forces of Edward in Normandy and before Calais, and and cost of their cost, are stated in an ancient MS. (quoted in Buchon's Froissart, vol. i. p. 274) as follows: Edward's forces. 1 My Lord the Prince, per day 41. 1 Bishop of Durham, per day 6s. 8d. 13 Earls, each per day 6s. 8d. 44 Barons and bannerets, each per day 48. 1,046 Knights, each per day 2s. 4,022 Squires, constables, and guides, cach per day 1s. 5,104 Taverniers (? Vintners) and horse-archers, each per day 6d. 335 Revendeurs (? retailers, translated Pauncenars in Johnes' Froissart, vol. i. p. 190), each per day 6d. 500 Hoblers (soldiers armed lightly, obliged always to have a horse ready in case of invasion), each per day 6d. 15,408 Bowmen on foot, each per day 3d. 314 Masons, carpenters, tent-makers, artillerymen, &c., some at ls., and others at 10d., 6d., and 3d. a day. 4,474 Welshmen on foot, of whom 200 were taverniers at 4d., and the rest at 2d. a day. 700 Masters, sea-captains, and pages. 300 Ships and boats. The sum total of the cost of all these forces, without reckoning the nobles, but adding some German and some Frenchmen, who received 15 florins a month each, was 31,2941. sterling. This total amount is unintelligible; for, if the daily expenses are taken at 7007., the total amount would be for about 44 days instead of one month. But Buchon goes on to say that, according to the account-book of Walter Wentwaght, entitled Solde de Guerre en Normandie, en France, et devant Calais, the total cost of the land and sea forces from June 4, A.D. 1346, to October 12, a.d. 1347, was 127,2011. 2s. 9d. This is quite inconsistent with the other account, as it makes the expenses only about 2601. a day. |