Chronicle and Romance: Froissart, Malory, Holinshed: (The Harvard Classics Series)
History
Chronicle and Romance: Froissart, Malory, Holinshed: (The Harvard Classics Series)
England -- Social life and customs -- 16th century; Great Britain -- History -- Edward III, 1327-1377
The same Sunday, as the king of England came from mass, such as had
been sent forth returned and shewed the king what they had seen and
done, and said: 'Sir, we think surely there is now no more appearance
of any of our enemies.' Then the king sent to search how many were
slain and what they were. Sir Raynold Cobham and Sir Richard Stafford
with three heralds went to search the field and country: they visited
all them that were slain and rode all day in the fields, and returned
again to the host as the king was going to supper. They made just
report of that they had seen, and said how there were eleven great
princes dead, fourscore banners, twelve hundred knights, and more than
thirty thousand other.[1] The Englishmen kept still their field all
that night: on the Monday in the morning the king prepared to depart:
the king caused the dead bodies of the great lords to be taken up and
conveyed to Montreuil, and there buried in holy ground, and made a cry
in the country to grant truce for three days, to the intent that they
of the country might search the field of Cressy to bury the dead
bodies.
[1] Another text makes the loss of persons below the rank of
knight 15,000 or 16,000, including the men of the towns. Both
estimates must be greatly exaggerated. Michael of Northburgh says
that 1542 were killed in the battle and about 2000 on the next
day. The great princes killed were the king of Bohemia, the duke
of Lorraine, the earls of Alençon, Flanders, Blois, Auxerre,
Harcourt, Saint-Pol, Aumale, the grand prior of France and the
archbishop of Rouen.
Then the king went forth and came before the town of
Montreuil-by-the-sea, and his marshals ran toward Hesdin and Brent
Waben and Serain, but they did nothing to the castle, it was so strong
and so well kept. They lodged that night on the river of Hesdin
towards Blangy. The next day they rode toward Boulogne and came to the
town of Wissant: there the king and the prince lodged, and tarried
there a day to refresh his men, and on the Wednesday the king came
before the strong town of Calais.
THE BATTLE OF POITIERS
OF THE GREAT HOST THAT THE FRENCH KING BROUGHT TO THE BATTLE OF
POITIERS
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