THE PRINCE IN BLACK ARMOUR
One morning in July, 1356--orders having previously been issued
that every man should be ready to march at the word of command--the
trumpets of the Prince of Wales sounded, and, forthwith, all was bustle
and excitement in Bordeaux. At break of day horses were saddled and
warriors armed, and the leaders, having mustered the men who followed
their banners, prepared to march into the provinces that owned John of
Valois as King of France.
I would fain name some of the most renowned knights and nobles of
Hainault, of Gascony, and England, who were with the Prince of Wales
in this expedition. From Hainault were Sir Eustace d'Ambreticourt, the
Lord de Guystelle, the Lord de Phaselle, and the Lord de Morbeque;
from Gascony were the Captal de Buch, the Lord d'Albret, the Lord
of Pumiers, the Lord de Chaumont, and the Lord de Montferrand; from
England were Sir John Chandos, Sir Robert Knolles, Sir Walter Woodland;
James, Lord Audley; Reginald, Lord Cobham; Thomas, Lord Berkley; Roger,
Lord De Ov; and the great Earls of Warwick, Oxford, Salisbury, Suffolk,
and Stafford. As their armour glanced and their banners shone in the
rising sun, the sight was pleasant to behold. About twelve thousand men
formed the army which was to accomplish such memorable exploits. Part
of these were Gascons and part English, the Gascons being much more
numerous than the English, who were, for the most part, archers and
engineers qualified by experience to direct the bombards that had done
good service at the siege of Calais. But both Gascons and English were
then animated by a spirit of hostility against the French, and armed
with equal ardour; and all were under such discipline as had never been
exercised in modern warfare; for the young hero who was the soul of
that army was unrivalled as a war-chief, and much had he studied how
war had been carried on in the days when Rome made herself mistress of
the world; and so thorough was his success, that his ranks moved with
an order and precision which raised the wonder and envy of the oldest
and most experienced captains of the age.
It was about this time that, in order to give _éclat_ to his fair
complexion, and set off his handsome countenance to advantage, the
Prince of Wales assumed that black armour from which he derived the
name by which he has since been popularly called; and I would fain
give some notion of his appearance when, after having mounted at the
monastery of St. Andrew, he rode forth to lead his army from the
gates of Bordeaux. No longer the stripling who appeared at Smithfield
to lend countenance to the sports of the Londoners, and who won his
spurs while fighting so gallantly in the van at Cressy, the Prince
of Wales was now in his sixth lustre, and had grown year by year in
strength, in courage, and in comeliness. His form was tall, athletic,
and finely proportioned; his face fair to look upon, and lighted up
with expression and intelligence; while nothing could have been more
impressive than his grand air and chivalrous bearing. Every gift he had
derived from nature and inherited from his ancestors had been carefully
cultivated, and it was well-nigh impossible to observe him without
feeling the full truth of the words used by his father on the field of
Cressy--"You are already worthy to be a king."
At the time of which I write, the chain mail worn at the Crusades
and in the Barons' Wars was no longer in fashion; and the Bigods and
Bohuns, and the first Edward, would have opened their eyes as wide, and
stared with as much surprise, as Robert Curthose and Richard Coeur
de Lion at the garniture in which their heirs mustered at Bordeaux.
Every part of the body was defended by plate armour; and from crown
to toe the knight was cased in steel. Plates entirely defended the
legs; and pointed shoes of overlapping steel plates guarded the feet.
The leathern gauntlets were similarly cased with steel, and provided
with steel tops, while on the knuckles were small spikes, knobs, and
ornaments, called gadlings. A breastplate, termed a plastron, kept
the chain shirt from pressing on the chest when the plates for breast
and back, which rendered the shirt necessary, were not worn; and a
short apron of chain hung from the waist over the hips. Such was the
defensive armour in use during the reign of King Edward; and such was
the armour worn by his hero-son. Imagine the Prince of Wales, such as I
have described him, with his tall figure, his vigorous frame, his fair
hair, his bright eye, his refined features, his frank expression, and
his elegant air; array him in such armour as was then in fashion--but
black in colour, and embossed with gold--put over all the guipin, or
upper garment, fitting closely to the body and confined round the waist
by a magnificent belt, to which his dagger was attached on one side,
his sword on the other; place a golden lion on his broad breast, and
a basinet on his high head; mount him on a steed black as a raven and
somewhat fierce--and you will have before you the son of Edward and
Philippa as he set forward on that enterprise which was to result in a
victory never likely to be forgotten so long as skill and valour in the
hour of peril, and courtesy and generosity in the hour of triumph, are
held in regard by mankind.