The Boke of Noblesse: Addressed to King Edward the Fourth on His Invasion of France in 1475
History
The Boke of Noblesse: Addressed to King Edward the Fourth on His Invasion of France in 1475
Chivalry -- Early works to 1800; Great Britain -- History -- Edward IV, 1461-1483; Hundred Years' War, 1339-1453
The next chapter sets forth how every man of worship in arms should
resemble the lion in disposition, being eager, fierce, and courageous. In
illustration of this it may be remarked, that Froissart, when describing
the battle of Poictiers, says of the Black Prince, "The Prince of Wales,
who was _as courageous and cruel as a lion_, took great pleasure this day
in fighting and chasing his enemies." So our first Richard is still
popularly known by his martial epithet of Coeur de Lyon: and that the lion
was generally considered the fit emblem of knightly valour is testified by
its general adoption on the heraldic shields of the highest ranks of feudal
chivalry. The royal house of England displayed three lions, and the king of
beasts was supposed to be peculiarly symbolic of their race--
Your brother Kings and monarchs of the earth
Do all expect that you should rouse yourself
As did the former Lions of your Blood.
Shakspere's Henry V. Act I. scene 1.
In the following chapter the author proceeds to describe "how the French
party began first to offend, and break the truce." This truce had been
concluded at Tours on the 28th of May 1444. The French are stated to have
transgressed it first by capturing certain English merchant-men on the sea;
and next by taking as prisoners various persons who bore allegiance to the
English king. Of such are enumerated sir Giles son of the duke of
Bretagne[1]; sir Simon Morhier, the {iii} provost of Paris, taken at
Dieppe[2]; one Mansel an esquire, taken on the road between Rouen and
Dieppe, in January 1448-9[3]; and the lord Fauconberg, taken at Pont de
l'Arche on the 15th May 1449.[4] The writer is careful to state that these
acts of aggression on the part of the French, or some of them, were
committed "before the taking of Fugiers," for it was by that action that
the English party had really brought themselves into difficulty.[5]
There is next discussed (p. 6) "a question of great charge and weight,
whether it be lawful to make war upon Christian blood." This is determined
upon the authority of a book entitled The Tree of Batailes, a work which
had evidently already acquired considerable popularity whilst still
circulated in manuscript only, {iv} and which so far retained its
reputation when books began to be multiplied by the printing-press as to be
reproduced on several occasions. Our author frequently recurs to it, but
his references do not agree with the book as it now remains; and it is
remarkable that he attributes it, not to Honoré Bonnet its real author,[6]
but to one dame Christine, whom he describes (see his note in p. 54) as an
inmate of the house of religious ladies at Passy near Paris. It would seem,
therefore, that he made use of a somewhat different book, though probably
founded on the celebrated work of Honoré Bonnet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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