St. George for England: A Tale of Cressy and PoitiersHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
St. George for England: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Great Britain -- History -- Edward III, 1327-1377 -- Fiction
Provisions were indeed running short in the English camp, and the
arrival of supplies from England was cut off by a strong fleet under Don
Louis, which cruised off the coast and captured all vessels arriving
with stores. At this moment two legates, the Cardinal Bishop of Preneste
and the Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum, arrived from the pope and strove to
mediate between the two sovereigns and to bring about a cessation of
hostilities, pointing out to them the scandal and desolation which
their rivalry caused in Christendom, the waste of noble lives, the
devastation of once happy provinces, and the effusion of innocent blood.
Going from camp to camp they exhorted, prayed, and reproached the rival
sovereigns, urging that while Christians were shedding each other's
blood in vain, the infidels were daily waxing bolder and more insolent.
Their arguments would have been but of little use had either of the
monarchs felt sure of victory. King Edward, however, felt that his
position was growing desperate, for starvation was staring him in the
face, and only by a victory over an immensely superior force in a
strongly intrenched position could he extricate himself. Upon the part
of the French, however, circumstances were occurring which rendered them
anxious for a release from their position, for they were not without
their share of suffering. While the English army lay on a hill the
French camp was pitched on low ground. An unusually wet season had set
in with bitterly cold wind. The rain was incessant, a pestilence had
destroyed a vast number of their horses, and their encampment was
flooded. Their forces were therefore obliged to spread themselves over
the neighboring fields, and a sudden attack by the English might have
been fatal.
Thus distress pressed upon both commanders, and the pope's legates found
their exertions at last crowned with success. A suspension of
hostilities was agreed to, and the Dukes of Burgundy and Bourbon on the
one side and the Earls of Lancaster, Northampton, and Salisbury on the
other met as commissioners and agreed to a convention by which a general
truce was to be made from the date of the treaty to the following
Michaelmas, and to be prolonged from that day for the full term of three
years. It was agreed that the truce should embrace not only the
sovereigns, but all the adherents of each of them. The truce was to hold
good in Brittany between all parties, and the city of Vannes was to be
given into the hand of the cardinals to dispose of as they chose. It was
specially provided that in the case of any of the adherents of either
party in the duchies of Gascony and Brittany waging war against each
other, neither of the monarchs should either directly or indirectly
meddle therewith, nor should the truce be at all broken thereby.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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