POITIERS.
After the great sea-fight at the end of August, 1350, England had peace
for some years. Philip of France had died a week before that battle, and
had been succeeded by his son John, Duke of Normandy. Upon the part of
both countries there was an indisposition to renew the war, for their
power had been vastly crippled by the devastations of the plague. This
was followed by great distress and scarcity, owing to the want of labor
to till the fields. The truce was therefore continued from time to time;
the pope strove to convert the truce into a permanent peace, and on the
28th of August, 1354, a number of the prelates and barons of England,
with full power to arrange terms of peace, went to Avignon, where they
were met by the French representatives. The powers committed to the
English commissioners show that Edward was at this time really desirous
of making a permanent peace with France; but the French ambassadors
raised numerous and unexpected difficulties, and after lengthened
negotiations the conference was broken off.
The truce came to an end in June, 1355, and great preparations were
made on both sides for the war. The King of England strained every
effort to furnish and equip an army which was to proceed with the Black
Prince to Aquitaine, of which province his father had appointed him
governor, and in November the prince sailed for Bordeaux with the
advance-guard of his force. Sir Walter Somers accompanied him. During
the years which had passed since the plague he had resided principally
upon his estates, and had the satisfaction of seeing that his tenants
escaped the distress which was general through the country. He had been
in the habit of repairing to London to take part in the tournaments and
other festivities; but both he and Edith preferred the quiet country
life to a continued residence at court. Two sons had now been born to
him, and fond as he was of the excitement and adventure of war, it was
with deep regret that he obeyed the royal summons, and left his house
with his retainers, consisting of twenty men-at-arms and thirty archers,
to join the prince.
Upon the Black Prince's landing at Bordeaux he was joined by the Gascon
lords, the vassals of the English crown, and for three months marched
through and ravaged the districts adjoining, the French army, although
greatly superior in force, offering no effectual resistance. Many towns
were taken, and he returned at Christmas to Bordeaux after a campaign
attended by a series of unbroken successes.
The following spring the war recommenced, and a diversion was effected
by the Duke of Lancaster, who was in command of Brittany, joining his
forces with those of the King of Navarre and many of the nobles of
Normandy, while King Edward crossed to Calais and kept a portion of the
French army occupied there. The Black Prince, leaving the principal part
of his forces under the command of the Earl of Albret to guard the
territory already acquired against the attack of the French army under
the Count of Armagnac, marched with two thousand picked men-at-arms and
six thousand archers into Auvergne, and thence turning into Berry,
marched to the gates of Bourges.
The King of France was now thoroughly alarmed, and issued a general call
to all his vassals to assemble on the Loire. The Prince of Wales,
finding immense bodies of men closing in around him, fell back slowly,
capturing and leveling to the ground the strong castle of Romorentin.
The King of France was now hastening forward, accompanied by his four
sons, one hundred and forty nobles with banners, twenty thousand
men-at-arms, and an immense force of infantry. Vast accessions of forces
joined him each day, and on the 17th of September he occupied a position
between the Black Prince and Guienne. The first intimation that either
the Black Prince or the King of France had of their close proximity to
each other was an accidental meeting between a small foraging force of
the English and three hundred French horse, under the command of the
Counts of Auxerre and Joigny, the Marshal of Burgundy, and the Lord of
Chatillon. The French hotly pursued the little English party, and on
emerging from some low bushes found themselves in the midst of the
English camp, where all were taken prisoners. From them the Black Prince
learned that the King of France was within a day's march.
The prince dispatched the Captal de Buch with two hundred men-at-arms to
reconnoiter the force and position of the enemy, and these coming upon
the rear of the French army just as they were about to enter Poitiers,
dashed among them and took some prisoners. The King of France thus first
learned that the enemy he was searching for was actually six miles in
his rear. The Captal de Buch and his companions returned to the Black
Prince, and confirmed the information obtained from the prisoners that
the King of France, with an army at least eight times as strong as his
own, lay between him and Poitiers.
The position appeared well-nigh desperate, but the prince and his most
experienced knights at once reconnoitered the country to choose the best
ground upon which to do battle. An excellent position was chosen. It
consisted of rising ground commanding the country toward Poitiers, and
naturally defended by the hedges of a vineyard. It was only accessible
from Poitiers by a sunken road flanked by banks and fences, and but wide
enough to admit of four horsemen riding abreast along it. The ground on
either side of this hollow way was rough and broken so as to impede the
movements even of infantry, and to render the maneuvers of a large body
of cavalry nearly impracticable. On the left of the position was a
little hamlet called Maupertuis. Here on the night of Saturday, the 17th
of September, the prince encamped, and early next morning made his
dispositions for the battle. His whole force was dismounted and occupied
the high ground; a strong body of archers lined the hedges on either
side of the sunken road; the main body of archers were drawn up in their
usual formation on the hillside, their front covered by the hedge of the
vineyard, while behind them the men-at-arms were drawn up.
The King of France divided his army into three divisions, each
consisting of sixteen thousand mounted men-at-arms besides infantry,
commanded respectively by the Duke of Orleans, the king's brother, the
dauphin, and the king himself. With the two royal princes were the most
experienced of the French commanders. In the mean time De Ribaumont,
with three other French knights, reconnoitered the English position, and
on their return with their report strongly advised that as large bodies
of cavalry would be quite useless owing to the nature of the ground, the
whole force should dismount, except three hundred picked men destined to
break the line of English archers and a small body of German horse to
act as a reserve.
Just as the King of France was about to give orders for the advance, the
Cardinal of Perigord arrived in his camp, anxious to stop, if possible,
the effusion of blood. He hurried to the King of France.
"You have here, sire," he said, "the flower of all the chivalry of your
realm assembled against a mere handful of English, and it will be far
more honorable and profitable for you to have them in your power without
battle than to risk such a noble array in uncertain strife. I pray you,
then, in the name of God, to let me ride on to the Prince of Wales, to
show him his peril, and to exhort him to peace."
"Willingly, my lord," the king replied; "but above all things be quick."
The cardinal at once hastened to the English camp; he found the Black
Prince in the midst of his knights ready for battle, but by no means
unwilling to listen to proposals for peace. His position was indeed most
perilous. In his face was an enormously superior army, and he was,
moreover, threatened by famine; even during the two preceding days his
army had suffered from a great scarcity of forage, and its provisions
were almost wholly exhausted. The French force was sufficiently numerous
to blockade him in his camp, and he knew that did they adopt that course
he must surrender unconditionally, since were he forced to sally out and
attack the French no valor could compensate for the immense disparity of
numbers. He therefore replied at once to the cardinal's application that
he was ready to listen to any terms by which his honor and that of his
companions would be preserved.
The cardinal returned to the King of France, and with much entreaty
succeeded in obtaining a truce until sunrise on the following morning.
The soldiers returned to their tents, and the cardinal rode backward and
forward between the armies, beseeching the King of France to moderate
his demands, and the Black Prince to submit to the evil fortune which
had befallen him; but on the one side the king looked upon the victory
certain, and on the other the Black Prince thought that there was at
least a hope of success should the French attack him. All, therefore,
that the cardinal could obtain from him was an offer to resign all he
had captured in his expedition, towns, castles, and prisoners, and to
take an oath not to bear arms again against France for seven years. This
proposal fell so far short of the demands of the French king that
pacification soon appeared hopeless.
Early on the Monday morning the cardinal once more sought the presence
of the French king, but found John inflexible; while some of the
leaders, who had viewed with the strongest disapproval his efforts to
snatch what they regarded as certain victory from their hands, gave him
a peremptory warning not to show himself again in their lines.
The prelate then bore the news of his failure to the Prince of Wales.
"Fair son," he said, "do the best you can, for you must needs fight, as
I can find no means of peace or amnesty with the King of France."
"Be it so, good father," the prince replied; "it is our full resolve to
fight, and God will aid the right."
The delay which had occurred had not been without advantages for the
British army, although the shortness of provisions was greatly felt.
Every effort had been made to strengthen the position. Deep trenches had
been dug and palisades erected around it, and the carts and baggage
train had all been moved round so as to form a protection on the weakest
side of the camp, where also a rampart had been constructed.
Upon a careful examination of the ground it was found that the hill on
the right side of the camp was less difficult than had been supposed,
and that the dismounted men-at-arms who lay at its foot under the
command of the dauphin would find little difficulty in climbing it to
the assault. The prince therefore gave orders that three hundred
men-at-arms and three hundred mounted archers should make a circuit from
the rear round the base of the hill, in order to pour in upon the flank
of the dauphin's division as soon as they became disordered in the
ascent. The nature of the ground concealed this maneuver from the
enemies' view, and the Captal de Buch, who was in command of the party,
gained unperceived the cover of a wooded ravine within a few hundred
yards of the left flank of the enemy. By the time that all these
dispositions were complete the huge French array was moving forward. The
Black Prince, surrounded by his knights, viewed them approaching.
"Fair lords," he said, "though we be so few against that mighty power of
enemies, let us not be dismayed, for strength and victory lie not in
multitudes, but in those to whom God give them. If he will the day be
ours, then the highest glory of this world will be given to us. If we
die, I have the noble lord, my father, and two fair brothers, and you
have each of you many a good friend who will avenge us well; thus, then,
I pray you fight well this day, and if it please God and St. George I
will also do the part of a good knight."
The prince then chose Sir John Chandos and Sir James Audley to remain by
his side during the conflict in order to afford him counsel in case of
need. Audley, however, pleaded a vow which he had made long before, to
be the first in battle should he ever be engaged under the command of
the King of England or any of his children. The prince at once acceded
to his request to be allowed to fight in the van, and Audley,
accompanied by four chosen squires, took his place in front of the
English line of battle. Not far from him, also in advance of the line,
was Sir Eustace d'Ambrecicourt on horseback, also eager to distinguish
himself.
As Sir James rode off the prince turned to Walter. "As Audley must needs
fight as a knight-errant, Sir Walter Somers, do you take your place by
my side, for there is no more valiant knight in my army than you have
often proved yourself to be."
Three hundred chosen French men-at-arms, mounted on the strongest
horses, covered with steel armor, led the way under the command of the
Marechals d'Audeham and De Clermont; while behind them were a large body
of German cavalry under the Counts of Nassau, Saarbruck, and Nidau, to
support them in their attack on the English archers. On the right was
the Duke of Orleans with sixteen thousand men-at-arms; on the left the
dauphin and his two brothers with an equal force; while King John
himself led on the rear-guard.
When the three hundred _elite_ of the French army reached the narrow way
between the hedges, knowing that these were lined with archers they
charged through at a gallop to fall upon the main body of bowmen
covering the front of the English men-at-arms. The moment they were
fairly in the hollow road the British archers rose on either side to
their feet and poured such a flight of arrows among them that in an
instant all was confusion and disarray. Through every joint and crevice
of the armor of knights and horses the arrows found their way, and the
lane was almost choked with the bodies of men and horses. A considerable
number, nevertheless, made their way through and approached the first
line of archers beyond.
Here they were met by Sir James Audley, who, with his four squires,
plunged into their ranks and overthrew the Marechal d'Audeham, and then
fought his way onward. Regardless of the rest of the battle he pressed
ever forward, until at the end of the day, wounded in a hundred places
and fainting from loss of blood, he fell from his horse almost at the
gates of Poitiers, and was borne from the field by the four faithful
squires who had fought beside him throughout the day.
Less fortunate was Sir Eustace d'Ambrecicourt, who spurred headlong upon
the German cavalry. A German knight rode out to meet him, and in the
shock both were dishorsed, but before Sir Eustace could recover his seat
he was borne down to the ground by four others of the enemy, and was
bound and carried captive to the rear.
In the mean time the English archers kept up their incessant hail of
arrows upon the band under the French marshals. The English men-at-arms
passed through the gaps purposely left in the line of archers and drove
back the front rank of the enemy upon those following, chasing them
headlong down the hollow road again. The few survivors of the French
force, galloping back, carried confusion into the advancing division of
the dauphin. Before order was restored the Captal de Buch with his six
hundred men issued forth from his place of concealment and charged
impetuously down on the left flank of the dauphin.
The French, shaken in front by the retreat of their advance-guard, were
thrown into extreme confusion by this sudden and unexpected charge. The
horse archers with the captal poured their arrows into the mass, while
the shafts of the main body of the archers on the hill hailed upon them
without ceasing.
The rumor spread among those in the French rear, who were unable to see
what was going forward, that the day was already lost, and many began to
fly. Sir John Chandos marked the confusion which had set in, and he
exclaimed to the prince:
"Now, sir, ride forward, and the day is yours. Let us charge right over
upon your adversary, the King of France, for there lies the labor and
the feat of the day. Well do I know that his great courage will never
let him fly, but, God willing, he shall be well encountered."
"Forward, then, John Chandos," replied the prince. "You shall not see me
tread one step back, but ever in advance. Bear on my banner. God and St.
George be with us!"
The horses of the English force were all held in readiness by their
attendants close in their rear. Every man sprang into his saddle, and
with leveled lances the army bore down the hill against the enemy, while
the Captal de Buch forced his way through the struggling ranks of the
French to join them.
To these two parties were opposed the whole of the German cavalry, the
division of the dauphin, now thinned by flight, and a strong force under
the Constable de Brienne, Duke of Athens. The first charge of the
English was directed against the Germans, the remains of the marshal's
forces, and that commanded by the constable. The two bodies of cavalry
met with a tremendous shock, raising their respective war-cries, "Denis
Mount Joye!" and "St. George Guyenne!" Lances were shivered, and horses
and men rolled over, but the German horse were borne down in every
direction by the charge of the English chivalry. The Counts of Nassau
and Saarbruck were taken, and the rest driven down the hill in utter
confusion. The division of the Duke of Orleans, a little further down
the hill to the right, were seized with a sudden panic, and sixteen
thousand men-at-arms, together with their commander, fled without
striking a blow.
Having routed the French and German cavalry in advance, the English now
fell upon the dauphin's division. This had been already confused by the
attacks of the Captal de Buch, and when its leaders beheld the complete
rout of the marshals and the Germans, and saw the victorious force
galloping down upon them, the responsibility attached to the charge of
the three young princes overcame their firmness. The Lords of Landas,
Vaudenay, and St. Venant, thinking the battle lost, hurried the princes
from the field, surrounded by eight hundred lances, determined to place
them at a secure distance, and then to return and fight beside the king.
The retreat of the princes at once disorganized the force, but though
many fled a number of the nobles remained scattered over the field
fighting in separate bodies with their own retainers gathered under
their banners. Gradually these fell back and took post on the left of
the French king's division. The constable and the Duke of Bourbon with
a large body of knights and men-at-arms also opposed a firm front to the
advance of the English.
The king saw with indignation one of his divisions defeated and the
other in coward flight, but his forces were still vastly superior to
those of the English, and ordering his men to dismount, he prepared to
receive their onset. The English now gathered their forces, which had
been scattered in combat, and again advanced to the fight. The archers
as usual heralded this advance with showers of arrows, which shook the
ranks of the French and opened the way for the cavalry. These dashed in,
and the ranks of the two armies became mixed, and each man fought hand
to hand. The French king fought on foot with immense valor and bravery,
as did his nobles. The Dukes of Bourbon and Athens, the Lords of Landas,
Argenton, Chambery, Joinville, and many others stood and died near the
king.
Gradually the English drove back their foes. The French forces became
cut up into groups or confined into narrow spaces. Knight after knight
fell around the king. De Ribaumont fell near him. Jeffrey de Charny,
who, as one of the most valiant knights in the army, had been chosen to
bear the French standard, the oriflamme, never left his sovereign's
side, and as long as the sacred banner floated over his head John would
not believe the day was lost. At length, however, Jeffrey de Charny was
killed, and the oriflamme fell. John, surrounded on every side by foes
who pressed forward to make him prisoner, still kept clear the space
immediately around himself and his little son with his battle-ax; but at
last he saw that further resistance would only entail the death of both,
and he then surrendered to Denis de Montbec, a knight of Artois.
The battle was now virtually over. The French banners and pennons had
disappeared, and nothing was seen save the dead and dying, groups of
prisoners, and parties of fugitives flying over the country. Chandos now
advised the prince to halt. His banner was pitched on the summit of a
little mound. The trumpets blew to recall the army from the pursuit, and
the prince, taking off his helmet, drank with the little body of knights
who accompanied him some wine brought from his former encampment.
The two marshals of the English army, the Earls of Warwick and Suffolk,
were among the first to return at the call of the trumpet. Hearing that
King John had certainly not left the field of battle, though they knew
not whether he was dead or taken, the prince at once dispatched the Earl
of Warwick and Lord Cobham to find and protect him if still alive. They
soon came upon a mass of men-at-arms, seemingly engaged in an angry
quarrel. On riding up they found that the object of strife was the King
of France, who had been snatched from the hands of Montbec, and was
being claimed by a score of men as his prisoner. The Earl of Warwick
and Lord Cobham instantly made their way through the mass, and
dismounting, saluted the captive monarch with the deepest reverence, and
keeping back the multitude led him to the Prince of Wales. The latter
bent his knee before the king, and calling for wine, presented the cup
with his own hands to the unfortunate monarch.
The battle was over by noon, but it was evening before all the pursuing
parties returned, and the result of the victory was then fully known.
With less than eight thousand men the English had conquered far more
than sixty thousand. On the English side two thousand men-at-arms and
fifteen hundred archers had fallen. Upon the French side eleven thousand
men-at-arms, besides an immense number of footmen, had been killed. A
king, a prince, an archbishop, thirteen counts, sixty-six barons, and
more than two thousand knights were prisoners in the hands of the
English, with a number of other soldiers, who raised the number of
captives to double that of their conquerors. All the baggage of the
French army was taken, and as the barons of France had marched to the
field feeling certain of victory, and the rich armor of the prisoners
became immediately the property of the captors, immense stores of
valuable ornaments of all kinds, especially jeweled baldrics, enriched
the meanest soldier among the conquerors.
The helmet which the French king had worn, which bore a small coronet of
gold beneath the crest, was delivered to the Prince of Wales, who sent
it off at once to his father as the best trophy of the battle he could
offer him.
Its receipt was the first intimation which Edward III. received of the
great victory.
As the prince had no means of providing for the immense number of
prisoners, the greater portion were set at liberty upon their taking an
oath to present themselves at Bordeaux by the ensuing Christmas in order
either to pay the ransom appointed or to again yield themselves as
prisoners.
Immediately the battle was over Edward sent for the gallant Sir James
Audley, who was brought to him on his litter by his esquires, and the
prince, after warmly congratulating him on the honor that he had that
day won as the bravest knight in the army, assigned him an annuity of
five hundred marks a year.
No sooner was Audley taken to his own tent than he called round him
several of his nearest relations and friends, and then and there made
over to his four gallant attendants, without power of recall, the gift
which the prince had bestowed upon him. The prince was not to be
outdone, however, in liberality, and on hearing that Audley had assigned
his present to the brave men who had so gallantly supported him in the
fight, he presented Sir James with another annuity of six hundred marks
a year.