Jean Froissart

“ Most dear sire, you have here with you all the flower of knighthood of your kingdom, against a handful of people, such as the English are, when compared to your army: you may have them upon other terms than by a battle; and it will be more honorable and profitable to you to gain them by these means than to risk such a fine army and such noble persons as you have now with you. ”

“ It was therefore ordered to draw out the whole army properly arrayed, that, if the Saracens had formed any bad designs, they might be prepared to meet them. Every one, therefore, made himself ready: the whole were drawn up, as if for instant combat, the Genoese crossbows on one side, and the knights and squires on the other; each lord under his own banner or pennon emblazoned with his arms. ”

“ When Sir John saw them, he saluted them, and said, “Gentlemen, I am sent to you by my lord the prince, who wishes, as it appears to me, to behave courteously toward his enemies; and thus says, that, if you will surrender the castle and yourselves, he will show you mercy, and give you good company.” The Lord of Boucicault replied, “We have no sort of inclination to accept of such terms, nor to commit such an act of folly without any necessity; for we are determined to defend ourselves.” ”

“ King Edward then came down from his post, who all that day had not put on his helmet, and, with his whole battalion, advanced to the Prince of Wales, whom he embraced in his arms, and kissed, and said, “Sweet son, God give you good perseverance: you are my son, for most loyally have you acquitted yourself this day. You are worthy to be a sovereign.” The prince bowed down very low, and humbled himself, giving all the honor to the king his father. ”

“ On the Thursday morning all the men at arms of the army, the vanguard, the rear-guard, and the king’s battalion, armed themselves completely, except their helmets, as if they were about to engage; for the lords well knew the day could not pass without a battle, from the reports of the foragers on the Wednesday evening, who had seen the Flemings on their march demanding a battle. The King of France heard mass, as did the other lords, who all devoutly prayed to God that the day might turn out to their honor. ”

“ All the roads between Abbeville and Crecy were covered with common people, who, when they were come within three leagues of their enemies, drew their swords, bawling out, “Kill, kill!” and with them were many great lords that were eager to make show of their courage. There is no man, unless he had been present, that can imagine, or describe truly, the confusion of that day; especially the bad management and disorder of the French, whose troops were beyond number. ”

“ John Copeland, falling on one knee, replied, “If God, out of his great kindness, has given me the King of Scotland, and permitted me to conquer him in arms, no one ought to be jealous of it; for God can, when he pleases, send his grace to a poor squire, as well as to a great lord. ”

“ It fell out, that their clothes were once mixed together; and, the coat of Gaston being on the bed, Evan, who was malicious enough, noticing the powder in the bag, said to Gaston, ‘What is this that you wear every day on your breast?’ Gaston was not pleased at the question, and replied, ‘Give me back my coat, Evan: you have nothing to do with it.’ Evan flung him his coat, which Gaston put on, but was very pensive the whole day. Three days after, as if God was desirous of saving the life of the Count de Foix, Gaston quarrelled with Evan at tennis, and gave him a box on the ear. ”

“ The knights again went to the townsmen, and received their submissions. They all came out to the plain, and, presenting the keys of the town to the earl, said, “Dear sir, from this day forward, we acknowledge ourselves as your loyal subjects, and place ourselves, in every respect, under the obedience of the King of England.” They swore by their heads, that they would not in any manner assist or succor those in the castle, but, on the contrary, distress them all in their power. The earl forbade, under pain of death, that any hurt should be done toward the inhabitants of La Réole. ”

“ The three knights left the king to obey his commands. The king was mounted upon a white palfrey, and, riding to the head of his army, said aloud, “You, men of Paris, Chartres, Rouen, and Orleans, have been used to threaten what you would do to the English if you could find them, and wished much to meet them in arms. Now that wish shall be gratified: I will lead you to them; and let us see how you will revenge yourselves for all the mischief and damage they have done you. Be assured we will not part without fighting.” ”

“ I therefore beg of you to be loyal, and not alarmed at any thing you shall see or hear; for we are combating in a just cause, to preserve the franchises of Flanders, and for our right. Admonish your men to behave well, and draw them up in such manner that, by this means and our courage, we may obtain the victory. To-morrow, through God’s grace, we shall not find any lord to combat with us, or any who will dare take the field, unless he mean to remain there; and we shall gain greater honor than if we could have depended on the support of the English ”

“ YOU have before heard what pains the Christians took to conquer the town of Africa; for they thought if they succeeded they should gain renown, and be able to withstand, during the winter, all the forces the infidels could bring against them, until they should be re-enforced from Europe, especially by the King of France, who was young and fond of arms; and there were still two years to run of the truce with England. The Christians had therefore laid siege to Africa, as being the most convenient entrance into Barbary. ”

“ Thus, for the space of nine weeks that the siege lasted, were continual skirmishes made; and on both sides many were killed and wounded, more especially such as ventured too rashly. The Christians imitated the Saracens by avoiding a close combat; and the lords from France and other countries took delight in their manner of fighting, for, to say the truth, novelty is always pleasing. The young lords of these infidels were greatly struck with the glittering armor and emblazoned banners and pennons of their enemies ”

“ It was late in the afternoon when the earl and his army arrived, and the sun going down. One of the knights said to the earl, “My lord, you now see your enemies: they are but a handful of men in comparison with your army, and as they cannot escape, do not engage them this day, but wait for to-morrow, when you will have the day before you: you will, besides, have more light to see what you are about; and they will be weaker, for they have not any thing to eat.” ”

“ The King of England, upon hearing this, sent to him Sir Walter Manny and Lord Basset. When they were come near, the Lord de Vienne said to them, “Dear gentlemen, you, who are very valiant knights, know that the King of France, whose subjects we are, has sent us hither to defend this town and castle from all harm and damage: this we have done to the best of our abilities. All hopes of help have now left us, so that we are most exceedingly straitened; and, if the gallant king your lord have not pity upon us, we must perish with hunger. ”

“ He thought he was in the city of Arras, where until then he had never been, attended by all the flower of knighthood of his kingdom; that the Earl of Flanders came there to him, and placed on his wrist a most beautiful and elegant pilgrim-falcon, saying, “My lord, in God’s name I give this falcon to you for the best that was ever seen, the most indefatigable hunter, and the most excellent striker of birds.” The king was much pleased with the present, and said, “Fair cousin, I give you my thanks.” ”

“ It will be against them who have such excellent crossbows, that we must support the first attack; and we are not armed, nor have we shields to guard us against their arrows. Our men, finding themselves wounded, will draw back, and refuse the combat, so that these Genoese will make good their landing in spite of us. Their men at arms, desirous of displaying their courage, will leap from their boats, and, observing our disorder, will attack us with lances, and gain a victory. Should this happen, the town of Africa is irrecoverably lost, for any thing we can do to prevent it. ”

“ Let us stop here until it be daylight, when we shall have a sight of these Flemings who quit not the advantage of their intrenchments; but at last they will not fail to come to us, and when near we will shout our war-cries with a loud voice, each his own cry, or the cry of his lord, notwithstanding all our lords may not have joined us. By this means we shall frighten them, when we will fall on them with a thorough good will. It is in the power of God, and within the compass of our own ability, to defeat them ”

“ The French lords who were in the town, seeing the English coming to attack them, said they should be well received, and sallied forth in battle-array: they had with them a multitude of foot-soldiers, and country-people badly armed. The English made their approaches in close order, so that they were plainly to be distinguished by the townsmen, and the archers began to shoot thickly. When the foot-soldiers felt the points of the arrows, and saw the banners and pennons glittering in the air, which they had not been accustomed to see, they fell back upon their men at arms. ”

“ Thy disposition must be infamously bad: know therefore thou shalt die with this blow.’ And leaping over the table, with a knife in his hand, he would have slain him; but the knights and squires again interfered, and on their knees said to him with tears, ‘Ah, ah! my lord, for Heaven’s sake, do not kill Gaston: you have no other child. ”

“ When the Prince of Wales saw, from the departure of the cardinal without being able to obtain any honorable terms, that a battle was inevitable, and that the King of France held both him and his army in great contempt, he thus addressed himself to them: “Now, my gallant fellows, what though we be a small body when compared to the army of our enemies? do not let us be cast down on that account, for victory does not always follow numbers, but where Almighty God pleases to bestow it. ”

“ If we be defeated, we shall die honorably, and God will have pity on us; and thus the remainder of the inhabitants of Ghent will escape and be pardoned by the earl our lord.”
At these words they all shouted out, “We will follow this plan, and no other!” Philip then said, “My good gentlemen, since you are thus resolved, return home, and get ready your arms; for in the course of to-morrow I am determined to march for Bruges: the remaining longer here will not be to our advantage. Within five days we shall know if we be to die, or to live with honor. ”

“ My good friends, things cannot go on well in England, nor ever will, until every thing shall be in common; when there shall neither be vassal nor lord, and all distinctions levelled; when the lords shall be no more masters than ourselves. ”

“ When their companions heard this they said, “Let us hasten to arm ourselves; for we will ride toward Bergerac.” It was no sooner said than done: they were all armed and mounted in an instant. When the Earl of Derby perceived such willingness in his men, he was exceedingly joyful, and cried out, “In the name of God and of St. George, let us march to our enemies!” They then rode on, with banners displayed, during the greatest heat of the day, until they came to the barriers of Bergerac; which was not a place easily to be taken, for a part of the river Dordogne surrounded it. ”

“ Philip, while at the siege of Oudenarde, was informed of every thing, and that the King of France was marching a large army against him, though he pretended not to believe it; and said to his people, “By what means does this young king think to enter Flanders? He is as yet too young by a year to imagine he can frighten us by his assembling an army. I will have the entrances so well guarded that it shall not be in their power for this year to cross the river Lis.” He sent to Ghent for the Lord de Harzelles. ”

“ There was among them a common fellow whose name was Gobin Agace, who answered the king, and said, “Sir, I promise you, under peril of my life, that I will conduct you to such a place, where you and your whole army may pass the river Somme without any risk. There are certain fordable places where you may pass twelve men abreast twice in the day, and not have water above your knees; but, when the tide is in, the river is full and deep, and no one can cross it: when the tide is out, the river is so low that it may be passed on horseback or on foot without danger. ”

“ But what became of those who conducted the pillage?”—“I will tell you,” replied he. “At the bridge of Tournay, below Malvoisin, where they intended to cross, they found the Bourg d’Espaign in ambuscade, who, on their arrival, sallied out upon them, being in sufficient force. Those of Lourde could not retreat, and were obliged to abide the event. I must truly say that the combat was as severe and as long, if not longer than that at Marteras. The Bourg d’Espaign performed wonders: he wielded a battle-axe, and never hit a man with it but he struck him to the ground. ”

“ THE noblemen of France, under the command of the Duke of Normandy, pushed on until they came before the castle of Aiguillon, when they encamped, and divided their forces in the extensive and handsome meadows on the banks of the river Garonne, which is navigable for great vessels. Each lord was posted with his own people, and every company by itself, according to the orders of the marshals of the army. This siege continued until the beginning of October; and there were upward of one hundred thousand men in arms, including cavalry and infantry. ”

“ At last Sir Walter Manny said, “Gentlemen, let us who are now here mount our horses, skirt this wood, and advance until we come to their camp: when we shall be close to it, we will stick spurs into our horses, and, with loud shouts, fall upon them. It will be about their hour for supper; and we shall see them so much discomfited, that they can never rally again.” The knights present replied that they would all do as he had proposed. Each went to his horse, re-girthed him, and tightened his armor: they ordered their pages, servants, and baggage to remain where they were. ”

“ Those within will be so much discouraged by our defeat, that, before our men can be rallied, the place will be taken by storm or capitulation, and be so well guarded that we shall have the greatest difficulty to regain it. The French, and those with them, are very expert and subtle in arms. I therefore maintain, that it will be more to our advantage that the enemy should be ignorant of our force at the onset; for at this moment we have not a sufficiency to offer them battle, though our strength is daily increasing. ”

“ In the course of the day there were frequent cries of alarm, as if the foremost ranks were engaged with the enemy; which those behind believing to be true, they hurried forward as fast as possible, over rocks and mountains, sword in hand, with their helmets and shields prepared for fighting, without waiting for father, brother, or friend. ”

“ This he continued to do until the hour which the Flemings had fixed upon to attack them. It was on the point of day when they began their march in close order, without uttering a word. The Lord de St. Py, who was on the watch, no sooner saw this manœuvre than he found they were in earnest, and, hastening to his companions, said to them, “Now, my lords, be alert: we have but to do our utmost, for our enemy is on his march, and will be instantly here. These barons of new date are advancing slowly, and think to catch and surprise us: show yourselves true men at arms, for we shall have a battle.” ”

“ I know you are related to the Duke of Normandy, much beloved by him, and one of his privy councillors. I will let you free upon your honor, if you will go to the duke, and obtain from him a passport for myself and twenty others, that we may ride through France as far as Calais, paying courteously for whatever we may want. If therefore you obtain this from the king, I shall hold you free from your ransom, and also be much obliged to you; for I have a great desire to see the King of England, and will not remain in any town more than one night. ”

“ SOON after the deliverance of the King of Navarre out of prison, a marvellous and great tribulation befell the kingdom of France, in Beauvoisis, Brie, upon the river Marne, in the Laonnois, and in the neighborhood of Soissons. Some of the inhabitants of the country towns assembled together in Beauvoisis, without any leader; they were not at first more than one hundred men. They said that the nobles of the kingdom of France, knights, and squires, were a disgrace to it, and that it would be a very meritorious act to destroy them all ”