The boy's Froissart : $b being Sir John Froissart's Chronicles of adventures, battle, and custom in England, France, Spain, etc.Froissart, Jean
History
The boy's Froissart : $b being Sir John Froissart's Chronicles of adventures, battle, and custom in England, France, Spain, etc.
Froissart, Jean
France -- History -- House of Valois, 1328-1589; Great Britain -- History -- 14th century; Hundred Years' War, 1339-1453
When, on the Saturday night, the English heard no more hooting or
shouting, nor any more crying out to particular lords or their banners,
they looked upon the field as their own, and their enemies as beaten.
They made great fires, and lighted torches because of the obscurity of
the night. King Edward then came down from his post, who all that day
had not put on his helmet, and, with his whole battalion, advanced to
the Prince of Wales, whom he embraced in his arms, and kissed, and said,
“Sweet son, God give you good perseverance: you are my son, for most
loyally have you acquitted yourself this day. You are worthy to be a
sovereign.” The prince bowed down very low, and humbled himself, giving
all the honor to the king his father. The English, during the night,
made frequent thanksgivings to the Lord for the happy issue of the day,
and without rioting; for the king had forbidden all riot or noise. On
the Sunday morning there was so great a fog that one could scarcely see
the distance of half an acre. The king ordered a detachment from the
army, under the command of the two marshals, consisting of about five
hundred lances and two thousand archers, to make an excursion, and see
if there were any bodies of French collected together. The quota of
troops from Rouen and Beauvais had, this Sunday morning, left Abbeville
and St. Ricquier in Ponthieu, to join the French army, and were ignorant
of the defeat of the preceding evening. They met this detachment, and,
thinking they must be French, hastened to join them.
As soon as the English found who they were, they fell upon them, and
there was a sharp engagement; but the French soon turned their backs,
and fled in great disorder. There were slain in this flight, in the open
fields, under hedges and bushes, upward of seven thousand; and, had it
been clear weather, not one soul would have escaped.
A little time after, the same party fell in with the Archbishop of
Rouen, and the great Prior of France, who were also ignorant of the
discomfiture of the French; for they had been informed that the king was
not to fight before Sunday. Here began a fresh battle, for these two
lords were well attended by good men at arms: however, they could not
withstand the English, but were almost all slain, with the two chiefs
who commanded them, very few escaping. In the course of the morning the
English found many Frenchmen who had lost their road on the Saturday,
and had lain in the open fields, not knowing what was become of the king
or their own leaders. The English put to the sword all they met; and it
has been assured to me for fact, that of foot-soldiers sent from the
cities, towns, and municipalities, there were slain, this Sunday
morning, four times as many as in the battle of Saturday.
CHAPTER LVII.
THE ENGLISH NUMBER THE DEAD SLAIN AT THE BATTLE OF CRECY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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