 6 The famous order of the garter had been established. Men were feasting and carousing and were spending their days in brilliant festivals, while the shadow of a great calamity was creeping over the land. A terrible plague had broken out in the land. 7. It spread rapidly to Europe, devastating Greece and Italy, and passed on through France to England. Its coming is said to have been heralded by the most frightful signs. A stinking mist seemed to advance from the east and spread over Europe. 8. Numerous earthquakes shook the continent, and meteors of great size were seen. It was in August 1348 that the plague first reached the shores of England. Three months afterwards it reached London. 9. We can hardly imagine the terror which the plague must have spread over the country. No one could feel himself safe from its ravages. Before the plague, the population of England is supposed to have been five million. It is calculated that at least two million five hundred thousand persons perished of it. 10. The disease seemed to be a poisoning of the blood. It began with shivering, which was followed by a burning internal fever and then boils of a black color appeared upon the skin, whence it gained its name, the Black Death. 11. Death often ensued after a few hours illness. The terror of death only increased the danger and gave rise to utter selfishness and recklessness. Men deserted those dearest to them when they were stricken by the plague. Brothers deserted their sisters, husbands their wives, mothers their children. Some shut themselves up in utter solitude and hoped by living moderately and avoiding all contact with men to escape the danger. Others indulged in the wildest dissipation and strove to drown their anxiety by reckless drinking and excitement of all kinds. The mere sight of a stricken person was supposed to be sufficient to communicate infection. No one ventured to walk abroad without bearing in their hands some pungent herb, the smell of which was believed to disinfect the pestilential air. The rich shut themselves up in their castles and in many cases succeeded in escaping infection. It was amongst the poor that the mortality was greatest. From the large number of parish priests who are known to have died of the plague, we are led to hope that they at least did not shun the danger but went boldly amongst the sick and dying to administer the last comforts of religion. We know that seventeen out of twenty-one of the York clergy died during the pestilence. It was in the eastern counties that the mortality was the greatest. They were at that time the most thickly populated part of England. For many years there had been a slow and constant immigration of Flemings who had been encouraged by the English kings to settle in England that they might there establish their industries. From them the English had learnt weaving and commercial enterprise. The east, not the west of England, was then the center of manufacturers and industry. Norwich was a thriving manufacturing city possessing sixty parish churches and sixteen chapels. There exists a record stating that 57,374 persons died there of the plague. Norwich never recovered its prosperity. At the present day it has only thirty-six parish churches in place of sixty before 1348. Yarmouth was of great importance as a station for the herring industry. Out of ten thousand inhabitants it lost seven thousand by the plague. In Bristol, then one of the chief towns in England, the plague raged to such an extent that the living were scarcely able to bury the dead and grass grew several inches high in the principal streets. In London its ravages were terrible. The church yards were filled to overflowing and no longer sufficed. Sir Walter Manny bought a piece of land in West Smithfield to bury the dead and built a chapel where masses should be said for the souls of the departed. This was the origin of the charter house. Other persons also bought pieces of land for the same purpose and fields were set apart where the dead were buried in large pits. Two successive archbishops of Canterbury died of the plague, John de Ufford and Thomas Brad Wardin, one of the most learned men of his time. One of the king's daughters, the princess Joan, died of it at Bordeaux on her way to Mary Don Pedro of Castile. By many people the black death was looked upon as a scourge sent from God for the sins of mankind. A sect of fanatics called the flagellants arose and wandered over all parts of Europe. There appeared in London in 1349 a band of men and women, 120 in number, whose object was to expiate in their own persons the sins of the world. They wandered from town to town clad in sackcloth with red crosses on their caps chanting penitential hymns. From time to time they prostrated themselves upon the ground in the form of a cross and took it in turns for one of their number to scourge their naked backs and shoulders. This process was repeated every morning for 33 days, the number of the years of Christ's life upon earth. Then the fanatics, having fulfilled the appointed penance, returned to their own homes, having in many cases inspired others to follow their example. So great was their enthusiasm that they seemed not to feel the stroke of the scourge and sang their wild hymns only with greater exaltation as the blood streamed from their shoulders. The following is a translation of a verse of one of their hymns. Through love of man the Saviour came. Through love of man he died. He suffered want, reproach and shame, was scourged and crucified. O think then, on thy Saviour's pain, and lash the sinner, lash again. In England they found no response to their enthusiasm. The people only gazed and wondered, and they departed without having gained any followers. In Germany their success was much greater. The result of the Black Death in England was a social revolution which changed the whole course of English history. It disturbed the existing relations of land and labour, by increasing suddenly the value of labour whilst it diminished the value of land. We cannot follow in detail the course of this revolution, but we can trace some of the causes which produced it. So large a number of labourers had died of the plague that there were none left to till the land. Flocks and herds wandered over the country with no one to tend them. The labourers being few in number demanded wages which the farmers were not able to pay and make a profit. Land consequently fell in value and it became possible for one man to hold a large quantity of it. The small farms were broken up as it was easier for a small farmer to gain his livelihood by working for another man, than by attempting to get others to work for him and make a profit out of his own land. Arobo land was largely converted into pasture land because pasture land required fewer labourers. The immediate consequence of the plague was the outbreak of the first great conflict in the history of England between capital and labour. The free labourer at that time can hardly be said to have had a position recognised by law. According to the system of land tenure which had prevailed in England since early times, the surf was bound to the land. He was not a slave in the sense that he could be bought or sold, but he was his lord's property, for he could not move from the soil on which he had been born. He was an outlaw if he attempted to leave it without his lord's permission. As time went on the surf had gained certain rights. The amount of service due by him to his lord had been limited by custom. He had a legal right to the piece of land on which his hut was built. The labour which he owed to his lord was, as it were, the rent he paid for his land. In the 12th century the custom began to be common for the lord, who was frequently for long periods absent on the Crusades or at war, to lease some of his land to tenants, instead of farming it all through bailiffs. This was found to be both easier and more profitable, and thus arose the farmer class. A still greater change was the gradual rise of the free labourer. The church had long used its influence to urge men to give freedom to their serfs. It was possible also for a serf to gain freedom by living a year and a day within the walls of a chartered town. The tenants, as they increased in wealth and social importance, found the labour rent more and more burdensome. On the other hand the lords, owing to the increasing luxury of the time and to the expenses of chivalry and war, were continually in want of money. It became therefore the custom for the serfs to buy their freedom from their lords. Edward III himself used to raise money by selling manumissions to his serfs. In time the labourer became detached from the soil and could pass from one farm to another. The scarcity of labour after the Black Death made the landowners feel how disadvantageous this system was to them. Formerly they could compel their serfs to work. Now they had to pay the labourers the wages which they asked, or allow their land to remain untilled and the harvests to rot upon the fields. Government was of course in those days entirely in the interests of the landlords. To remedy the evil of high wages the king assembled his council on the 14th June 1349. The country was not yet sufficiently recovered from the plague to allow a parliament being summoned. The council issued a royal ordinance which was afterwards embodied in the Statute of Labourers. The preamble of the Statute gives us in a few words a vivid picture of the times. It states that a great part of the people and especially of workmen and servants late died of the pestilence. Many seeing the necessity of masters and the great scarcity of servants will not serve unless they may receive excessive wages and some are rather willing to beg in idleness than by labour to get their living. It then proceeds to ordain that all men and women who do not live by merchandise or by the exercise of any craft are to work for the same wages as they had received before the plague. They were to work first for their own lord, though he was not to retain more than he wanted. The Statute went on to say that seeing that many sturdy beggars as long as they can live by begging and charity refused to labour, no one under pain of imprisonment shall presume to nourish them in their idleness. Thus the law ordered that all men were to work, giving alms to beggars was forbidden, the scale of wages was fixed, and men were once more bound, at least in the first place, to work for their lord. The fixing of the scale of wages by law could have no permanent effect. With the high price of provisions which had resulted from the black death it was impossible for men to live on the same wages as before the plague. We see by the repeated reinforcements of the Statute during the reign of Edward III how unsuccessful it was in obtaining the desired result. Still more galling to the labourer was the attempt made by this Statute to bind him once more to the soil and thus to rob him of his newly acquired freedom. We cannot wonder that the Statute of Labourers produced a growing discontent amongst the labour class which at last broke out in the peasants' revolt under Richard II. The horrors of the black death had rudely disturbed the joy and prosperity of the English people. No greater contrast can be imagined than that between the condition of England in 1347 when the people reveled in the enjoyment of peace and of a luxury unknown before and England in the beginning of 1350. More than half the people had died of the plague, even amongst the cattle the mortality had been very great. The looms stood silent for want of weavers, the harvests lay rotting on the fields for want of labourers, sheep and oxen wandered half-wild over the country because there was no one to tend them. The country pulpits remained silent, the people as well as their sheep were without shepherds. All suits and pleadings in the king's bench and all sessions of parliament ceased for two years. War was impossible, France was decimated by the plague as much as England and a truce of two years was concluded between the two countries. The population soon recovered its losses. The nobles had suffered comparatively little by the plague and soon returned to their luxurious amusements. Preachers and moralists might declaim against the extravagances of fashion and dress and say that the plague had been sent as a scourge from God, but the nobles clung to their fashions all the same. It was the people who had suffered by the plague and felt its effects. Wheat was scarce, the price of provisions was exorbitantly high, and yet the law was striving to diminish wages. The life of the agricultural labourer in those days was at best very wretched. The articles of diet were few. The people lived on salt-meat half the year. They had neither potatoes, carrots, nor parsnips. Their only vegetables were onions, cabbages, and nettles. Spices were quite out of the reach of the common people. Sugar was a costly luxury. We can hardly realize the dreariness of the long winter nights in the dark and ill-ventilated huts, from which the smoke escaped as best it could. The people must have spent much of their time in darkness as candles were too dear for them to buy. But wretched as his surroundings might be, the labourer was not without intelligence. It was his ambition to send one of his sons to the university that he might become a priest. So general was this custom that Parliament petitioned Edward III to prohibit it because the landlords feared that thus they might lose useful labourers. The distress of the peasantry under the statute of labourers and the tyranny and oppression of their landlords soon led them to form combinations amongst themselves for the defence of their own rights. These combinations were maintained by subscriptions of money. We learned that the labourers gathered themselves together in great routes and agreed by such confederacy to resist their lords. These combinations paved the way for the revolt under Richard II. The agricultural labourers throughout the country could communicate with one another by means of preachers who wandered over the country and who, being men of the people themselves, shared the interests of their class. In attempting to form any true idea of the condition of the lower orders of society in those times of their hardships and grievances we are much aided by the poem of William Langland called The Vision of Peers the Plowman. Langland himself was an obscure man of whom little certain is known. He seems to have been born about 1332 and to have been a secular priest. Three versions of his poem exist, the first written in 1362, the last about 1380. It is a long poem, written in the old alliterative meter, that is the rhyme is at the beginning not at the end of the words. From a literary point of view the poem possesses little charm. Its great interest lies in the light it throws on the social condition of the times. Langland is an austere reformer. He is not like Chaucer, who likes to look on the bright side of things and to take a genial view even of men's failings and sins and make fun of them. He wishes to make men better by showing them their sin in its darkest colours and pointing out the contrast between it and the virtue they ought to attain to. The poem is one long testimony against the sins of the rich, against the sins of all who do not work. If Chaucer had any distinct wish at all to make men better, he only tries to do it by making their sins ludicrous. In Langland's poem, we never lose sight of the moral. The poet has no other purpose in writing than moral teaching. What he wishes to teach is simply this, that all men must work, though the work must differ in kind according to the rank of the worker. The night's duty is to guard the church from wasters and to help the farmer by killing the hares, foxes, and wild birds. The ladies are to sew chasables, to spin wool and flax, to clothe the naked and to help all those who work worthily. If men will not work otherwise, hunger must make them do so. There are to be no beggars, even hermits must seize their spades and dig. The dinner provided for the laborers after they have worked shows us what the peasants had to live on in those days. Piers says he had no geese nor pigs, only cheese, curds, cream, oat cake, and loaves of beans and bran, and for vegetables, parsley, leeks, and cabbages. Besides these the poor people bought peas-cods, beans, apples, and cherries to feed hunger with. These are the things on which they must subsist till harvest time, then they would have better food and good ale, too. Langlin tells us that the people were beginning to be discontented with this kind of food. The beggars would eat only the finest bread. The laborers grew dainty and were not content, even with penny ale and a piece of bacon, fresh flesh and fried fish, and grumbled about their low wages. Langlin is very bitter against the indulgences granted by the priests for men's sins. A man can only obtain pardon by good works. The merchants must trade fairly, must repair hospitals and broken bridges, must dour maidens and aid poor scholars. He is more severe upon the lawyers than upon almost any other class. They take bribes and will not speak unless you give them money first. Only those who plead the cause of the poor and do not need to be bought can be saved. With crushing severity he dwells continually upon the sins of the clergy and like Wycliffe wishes for the return of the apostolic purity of the church. The pestilence, he says, came simply as a punishment for men's sins. The whole poem is full of allusions to the questions of the day and the severity of its criticism is relieved by no playfulness, hardly by a single touch of humor. In the form of his poem, Langlin has followed the fashionable poets of his day and adopted the machinery of a dream, all that he tells us past before him in a vision. Some few touches show that he too was not wanting in some growing sense of the beauties of nature, particularly in the opening of the poem, when he tells us that he wandered on the Malvern Hills on a May morning. When weary of wandering he laid himself down under a broad bank by a burned side and as I lay and leaned and looked in the waters I slumbered in his sleeping, it sounded so merrily. It is only the form, however, that Langlin has taken from the fashionable poets of his day, of their spirit he has nothing. The beautiful side of chivalry was quite lost to him. He saw only its dark side, the luxury and selfish idleness to which it had led. He is a voice from the people and as such is doubly interesting to us, since most of the chroniclers and writers of those times entirely disregarded the people and spoke only of the upper ranks of society. End of section 7 Section 8 of Edward the Black Prince by Louise Creighton Chapter 7 Renewal of the War in France In 1350 the English were again troubled by rumors of war. The seamen of the Spanish ports on the Bay of Biscay had always been animated by hostility to the English in whom they found formidable opponents to their commercial enterprises. They were full of zeal for mercantile adventure and side by side with their commerce, they committed many acts of piracy. They now assembled a large fleet, primarily with the object of trading with Flanders, but in their way to the Flemish ports they behaved more like pirates than merchants and by claiming the dominion of the seas seemed to challenge the English to attack them. At the Flemish ports, the Spaniards loaded their ships with all kinds of rich merchandise and prepared to return home having no fear of the English for the fleet was strong and their admiral, De la Serda, by promising liberal pay, had succeeded in enlisting a large number of volunteers at Schlauss. Fozac tells us that the King of England hated the Spaniards greatly and said publicly they have for a long time spared these people for which they have done us much harm without amending their conduct. On the contrary, they grow more arrogant for which reason they must be chastised as they pass our coasts. His son and his lords were only too ready to engage upon a war-like expedition. Edwards summoned all gentlemen who at that time might be in England to meet him at Sandwich. Hither the Queen too came to see them off. The English fleet consisted of fifty sail but the ships were far inferior to those of the Spaniards. Edwards III and the Black Prince each commanded a ship in person. For three days they cruised between Dover and Calais waiting the coming of the Spaniards. On the third day when they hoped to engage the King sat in the fore part of his ship dressed in a black velvet jacket and wearing on his head a small hat of beaver which became him much. He was in most joyous spirits and ordered his minstrels to play before him a German dance which Sir John Chandos had lately introduced. For his amusement he made Chandos sing with his minstrels which delighted him greatly. From time to time he would ask his watch whether the Spaniards were in sight. At last whilst the King was thus amusing himself with his knights the watch cried out I spy a ship and it appears to me to be a Spaniard. At once the minstrels were silenced and the King asked whether there was more than one ship. Soon the answer was shouted out Yes, I see two, three, four in so many that God help me I cannot count them. Then the King and his knights knew that it was the Spanish fleet. The trumpet sounded and the ships were ordered to form in line of battle. It was already late but the King was determined to engage. He called for wine which he and his knights drank and then stood ready to fight. The Spaniards might easily have avoided the battle but hoping to crush their enemies they sailed down upon them. Then Edward said to the captain of his ship lay me alongside the Spaniard who was bearing down on us for I will have a tilt with him. The shock of the meeting of the two ships was like the crash of a tempest. The King's ship stood firm but the Spaniard was much disabled and lost her masts so that the English knights cried to the King Let her go away, you shall have better than that. Then another large ship bore down and grappled with chains and irons to that of the King and the fight began in earnest. Many gallant deeds were done but the Spanish ship proved hard to conquer. The King's ship was leaking and in danger of sinking. Only just in time was the Spanish ship boarded. The English threw all the men they found on it overboard and leaving their own ship continued to fight on board the Spaniard. Meanwhile the Prince of Wales was in great difficulty his ship was grappled by an immense Spaniard and was so full of holes that it was in great danger of sinking. The crew was employed in bailing out water and could not make head against the Spaniards. But the Duke of Lancaster, the Prince's cousin formerly Earl of Darby seeing the danger drew near and fell on the other side of the enemy grappling his ship to the Spaniard with shouts of Darby to the rescue. The ship was soon taken and the crew was thrown overboard. The Prince and his men deserting their own ship embarked on board the Spaniard. It was a hard battle for the English as the Spanish ships were very big and strong and the Spaniards fought with extreme bravery and knew no fear. At last, victory declared itself for the English. The Spaniards lost 14 ships and the others saved themselves by flight. When it was over Edward sounded his trumpets for retreat and the fleet sailed back to the English coast anchoring off Rye and Winchelsea. The King and the Prince landed and the same night rode to the house where the Queen was just two leagues distant. She was most joyful at seeing them return safely for she had been in great anxiety all day. Her servants had watched the battle from the hills on the coast once they could see it well as the weather was fine and clear and they had seen the great strength of their enemy and their fine big ships. So great were the rejoicings that instead of resting after the battle the King and his knights spent the night in revelry with the ladies talking of arms and love. The next morning the King thanked his knights for their services and dismissed them. This battle was the beginning of the rivalry between the English and the Spaniards for the dominion of the seas. The hardy Spanish seamen were not in the least oppressed by their defeat. Both sides however soon saw that the quarrel was to the interests of neither and a truce for twenty years was concluded in London between the King of England and the maritime cities of Castile. It must be remembered that the quarrel was not at all between the King of Castile and the King of England but only between these maritime cities and the English naval power. Attempts had been again made at a conference at Guyne between the envoys of France and England to change the armistice between the two countries into a permanent peace. Edward III offered to give up his claims to the French crown if the French king would give up his claim of homage to the English provinces in France. When the French king refused to do this Edward determined to begin the war again. Philippe of Valois, King of France, had died in 1350 and was succeeded by his son, John. John found the treasury of France already impoverished by the expenses of the war and did not make matters better by his unwise and prodigal liberality. His easygoing temper earned for him the name of the good though he brought his kingdom to the very verge of ruin. He wanted money for his favorites and his pleasures and when he attacked the people till they could give no more he tried to get money by debasing the coinage, that is he caused money containing a large quantity of alloy to be made and obliged the people to take this bad money This and his heavy taxes brought great misery and poverty upon the people who were still suffering from the effects of the black death. The country also suffered greatly from the free companies which roamed about in all directions committing robberies and every kind of crime. These free companies were the plague of the Middle Ages. They were bands of mercenary soldiers ready to fight for anyone who would pay them and when in intervals of peace they spent their time in plunder in defiance of all laws and government. Foissard tells us that in the year 1351 there was the greatest scarcity of provisions ever known in the memory of man all over the kingdom of France. But in spite of the sufferings of the people King John was eager for war and anxious to wash out the stain left on the French arms by the battle of Crécy. Edward was equally ready when during the years when negotiations for peace had been going on the truce had not really been observed and both French and English had made many aggressions upon the enemy's country. When in 1354 the Congress at Guyne broke up having accomplished nothing Edward began to hasten his preparations for a new invasion of France. He had gained a new and important ally against John in the person of Charles King of Navarre. This man was the evil genius of France during the years that followed. His crimes and unscrupulous ambition gained for him the surname of the bad. He was a vassal of the King of France as he had inherited the earldom of Evre in Normandy. To secure his friendship King John had given him his daughter in marriage. But Charles soon incurred the hatred by murdering the King's favorite and chief counselor. He had to fly from court and in his absence John invaded Normandy and took some of his fortresses. Charles determined to revenge this injury by aiding Edward III against the King of France. He promised to give the English King possession of several strong fortresses in Normandy so that he might land his troops there and be able to advance to Paris in safety. At the same time Edward received a visit from some of the Gascon nobles who came to ask him to send his son to lead them against the French. A great invasion of France by three separate armies was therefore planned. One under the Black Prince was to land at Boch d'eau. A second under the Duke of Lancaster was to go and aid the Countess de Montfort in Brittany. And a third under Edward himself was to invade Normandy. The third took a proud army with him to France, but he did not do much. His ally, Charles of Navarre made peace with John so that Edward was obliged to change his plans and land at Calais instead of Cherbourg. John was wise enough to give Edward no chance of a battle whilst he urged upon the Scots to invade England in the absence of its King. News was brought to Edward in France that the Scots crossed the border and retaken Barrick. He was obliged to return to resist them and punished their in-road by invading Scotland and spreading such destruction wherever he went that the Scots long spoke of the time of this invasion as burnt candle-ness. End of Section 8 Section 9 of Edward the Black Prince by Louise Creighton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 8 Poitiers Part 1 The Black Prince had sailed from Plymouth on September 8, 1355 with a large band of nobles. He was received at Bordeaux with great joy by all the nobles of the country. The Gascon lords were eager to fight under the banner of Sobrava Prince and to distinguish themselves by feats of arms. They had long been annoyed by the inroads of the French and they now begged the Prince to lead them on a foraging expedition into France. They formed no plan of campaign. The expedition was simply undertaken from love of plunder and of fighting for its own sake. The Prince had the absolute command and had been appointed the King's Lieutenant in Aquitaine. The expedition, which he now undertook, offers us the dark side of chivalry. We see him in his young knights and wanton love of adventure spreading ruin and destruction over the fairest provinces of France. On leaving Bordeaux he divided his army into several battles. These were to march at some distance from one another that they might devastate a larger extent of country. In this way they went through Armagnac to the foot of the Pyrenees. Then the Prince turned northward stood to lose, where he waited, hoping in vain that the French might be provoked to battle. He next crossed the Garon and went to Carcassonne, a rich and popular city as large as York. The inhabitants fled in terror, leaving the city gates open. The town was plundered and burnt, but the citadel stood firm and the Prince passed on without troubling to take it. To save themselves from a like fate the inhabitants of Montpellier destroyed their own suburbs and the members of the ancient university fled to Avignon to seek shelter with the Pope. Nachbun was one of the richest towns in France and almost as large as London. It also was burnt and plundered. In eight weeks the Black Prince succeeded in ruining the richest district of France from which the kings of France drew the chief part of their revenue. Peace had reigned there for more than a century so that the inhabitants were ignorant of war and its horrors. Now five hundred towns and villages were smoking in ruins, the harvests were destroyed, everywhere there was devastation and ruin. The name of the Black Prince had become a terror, not only to the people whose peaceful homes he had destroyed, but to the whole of France. Layed in with booty he and his knights returned to Bordeaux. Here the Gascon soldiers were dismissed till the spring when an expedition into Poit-2 was talked of. The winter was spent by the Black Prince with his knights in great joy and festivity. There the herald Chandos tells us was beauty and nobleness, sincerity, bounty and liberality. But they were not quite idle for in the course of the winter they succeeded in retaking such fortresses and Gascony as had been taken by the French. It was not till the middle of the following summer that the Black Prince gathered his men together to start on a second campaign. He left Bordeaux on the 8th of July with only a small force, two thousand men at arms and six thousand archers, partly Gascon and partly English. His object was to make another foraging expedition and if possible, proceed onwards to join his cousin the Duke of Lancaster in Normandy. He went through Auvergne northward as far as Berri. Foixac tells us that he found the province of Auvergne very rich and all things in great abundance. They burnt and destroyed all the country they passed through and when they entered any town which was well provisioned they rested there some days and searched themselves and on leaving destroyed what remained staving the heads of wine casks and burning the wheat and oats so that their enemies could not save anything. Everywhere they found plenty as they advanced for the country was very rich and full of forage for men at arms. At Vison a town in Berri they learned that the King of France was at Chartres with a large army and that all the passes and towns on the Loire were secured and so well guarded that no one could cross the river. The Prince then held a council with his knights and they resolved to return to Bordeaux through Turin and Poitou destroying all the country on their way. Near Romorentin some of the Prince's men had a skirmish with some French soldiers whom they routed. The Castle of Romorentin had to yield to the Prince. As he was assailing it one of his squires was killed at his side by a stone thrown from the castle. The Prince was so furious that he swore he would not leave that place till he had the castle and all in it in his power. Cannons were brought forward and Greek fire was shot upon the town till a large tower of the castle covered with thatch-caught fire and was all in a blaze. Then the garrison had to yield but the Prince treated them nobly and set many knights and squires at liberty, whilst he made the lords who had commanded the castle ride by his side and attend him as his prisoners. When the King of France heard that the Prince was hastening back to Bordeaux he determined to pursue him thinking that he could not escape. He left Charte and marched south to intercept him on his way back. John was marching almost in a direct line south whilst the Black Prince was marching from Rue-Morontain in a south-westerly direction. It was therefore impossible but that they should meet. The English, however, were ignorant of their danger till they accidentally discovered when near Charigny on September 17 by coming upon a French reconnoitering party that the great French army was between them and Bordeaux. Escape was impossible. The Prince had only 8,000 men while John had a mighty army of 50,000. But Prince Edward would rather fight even against such odds than yield to an enemy. All that remained for him was to choose his position well and fight his best. The skillful tactics displayed by the Prince in disposing of his small force show us that he was something more than merely a brave soldier. King John sent Sir Eustace de Rue-Moront to reconnoiter the English. He brought back an account of the way in which they were posted which has been preserved to us. There were 2,000 men at arms, 6,000 archers and about 1,000 camp followers quartered on a small hill which did not contain 2,000 square feet of ground. This hill was surrounded by very thick hedges and was divided in the middle a little crooked and so narrow that hardly 3 men could go up at a breast. The road was covered on both sides with high hedges behind which were encamped the archers who were still at work making a new ditch. At the end of these hedges were the men at arms on foot each holding his horse by his bridle. They were standing amidst vines and thorns where it was impossible to march in any regular order. Before them were drawn up the archers arranged in the manner of a hero. On the left were the hedges and the avenue were not so thick the wagons were piled up one upon another to make a barrier. Some cavalry were collected on a little eminence to the right that they might attack the enemy on the flanks. On Sunday morning, September 18th King John was ready and impatient for the attack. He ordered a solemn mass to be sung in his tent and he and his four sons partook of the communion. After some debate with his chief nobles it was ordered that the whole army should push into the plain and that each lord should display his banner and advance in the name of God and Sandini. The trumpets sounded and everyone mounted his horse and made for that part of the plain where the king's banner was planted and fluttering in the wind. As our might be seen all the nobility of France richly dressed in brilliant armor with banners and penins gallantly displayed for all the flower of the French nobility was there, no knight nor squire for fear of dishonor dared to remain at home. And all this mighty force was going to attack a small body of eight thousand men mostly simple archers men of the people standing at bay amidst the hedges and vineyards on the little hill. When the French were on the point of marching against their enemies the cardinal of Perrigaux who had left Poitiers that morning early came at full gallop to the king and making a deep reverence begged him for the love of God to stay a minute. Most dear sire he said with uplifted hands you have here all the flower of knighthood of your kingdom against a handful of people such as the English are. You may have them upon other terms than by battle. I beseech you by the love of God let me go to the prince and remonstrate with him on the dangerous situation he is in. Then the king answered it is agreeable to us but make haste back again. The cardinal found the prince on foot in the thickest part of the vineyard and when he asked him for permission to make up matters between the French the prince replied sir my own honor and that of my army saved I am ready to listen to reasonable terms. The cardinal then returned to John and after much eloquent pleading succeeded in persuading him to consent to a truce till the next day at sunrise. The king ordered a very handsome and rich pavilion of red silk to be pitched on the spot where he stood and dismissed his army to their quarters for the present. The cardinal rode from one army to another and did his utmost to bring about a peaceful agreement but the king of France would listen to nothing unless the prince of Wales and one hundred of his knights surrendered themselves, prisoners. To these terms the prince could not be expected to consent. On Monday morning the French almost angrily bade the cardinal be gone and troubled him no more with his entreaties. Then he went to the prince of Wales and said, Fair son, exert yourself as much as possible for there must be a battle. The prince replied that such was his intention and that of his army and God defend the right. On the whole the cardinal did not meet with much gratitude from either side for his endeavours and he went sadly back to Poitiers. Sunday had been spent by the prince's men in making many mounds and ditches round the ground where the archers stood in front of him. They were much straightened for want of provisions as they could not without danger move from their place to seek them. The French on the other hand were well supplied and spent the day in the midst of plenty. When the prince saw on Monday morning that the battle was inevitable and knew with what contempt the French regarded him and his men he spoke thus to his army. Now my gallant fellows of the army of our enemies do not let us be cast down on that account for victory does not always follow numbers but where the Almighty God pleases to bestow it. If through good fortune the day shall be ours we shall gain the greatest honour and glory in this world. If the contrary should happen and we be slain I have a father and beloved brethren alive and you all have some relations or good friends who will be sure of our deaths. I therefore beg you exert yourselves and fight manfully for if it please God and St. George you shall see me this day act like a true knight. With these and other words the prince and his marshals encouraged the men so that they were all in high spirits. Then the prince retired a little way apart and kneeling down prayed Father Almighty as I have ever believed that you were all kings and that for us upon the cross thou were content to suffer death to save us from the pains of hell Father who art very God and very man be pleased for thy holy name to guard me and my people from ill even as O Heavenly Father thou knowest that I have good cause then he was ready to fight Sir John Chandos placed himself near the prince to guard and advise him and never during that day any account quit his post. End of section 9 Section 10 of Edward the Black Prince by Louise Creighton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Pamela Nagami Chapter 8 Poitiers Part 2 As the battle was about to begin Sir James Oddly came to the prince and told him that he had made a vow that if ever he should be engaged in any battle where the king or any of his sons were he would be foremost in the attack and the best combatant on their side or die in the attempt now he begged permission to leave the prince's side and perform his vow the prince consented and holding out his hand to him said Sir James God grant that this day you may shine and valor above all other knights Sir James then proceeded to the front and attended only by four squires he was a prudent and a valiant knight and the order in which the army had been arranged was owing in great part to his advice the French now began to advance before reaching the battalion of the prince they must pass up the narrow lane where scarce three men could walk abreast the sides of which were lined with rows of archers it was certain death for those who advanced first but the French knights were brave and did not fear death two French marshals commanding a body of cavalry fearlessly entered the lane but as soon as they were well enclosed the archers let loose their flight of arrows a deadly and persistent shower came from each side of the lane the French horses smarting under the pain of the wounds made by the arrows would not advance but turned about and were so unruly as to throw their masters who could not manage them so great was the confusion that those who had fallen could not get up again trampled upon by the terrified horses and wounded by the arrows they lay writhing on the ground in agony some few knights were so well mounted that by the strength of their horses they passed through and broke the hedge but still could not succeed in getting up to the battalion of the prince Sir James Oddly stood in front of it with his force choirs who were fighting prodigies of valor and stayed not to make any prisoners the first battalion of the French were completely routed for the English men at arms rushed in upon them as they were struck down by the archers and seized and slew them at their pleasure as this French battalion fell back it prevented the main body of the army from advancing the next battalion was commanded by the Duke of Normandy King John's eldest son it was seized by wild terror at seeing the retreat of the first battalion and many knights mounted their horses and started off in flight a body of English came down from the hill and attacking their flank completed their terror the English archers shot so quickly and well that the French did not know which way to turn themselves to avoid their arrows little by little the English men at arms advanced under cover of the shower of arrows sent by their archers when they saw the first French battalion beaten and the second in disorder they mounted their horses which they held by their bridles and raised a shout of Saint George for Guillen Sir John Chandos said to the Prince Sir now push forward for the day is ours God will this day put it in your hand let us make for the king of France where he is will lie the main stress of the business not let him fly he will be ours if it please God in Saint George but he must be well fought with you have before said that you will show yourself this day a good night the Prince answered John get forward you shall not see me turn my back this day for I will always be among the foremost as they advanced the battle grew very hot and was greatly crowded many a one was unhorsed and Normandy on seeing the Prince's approach hastened their flight the king's three sons who commanded it were advised to fly and galloped away many others followed their example though they were not wanting some brave knights who preferred death to flight then the king's battalion advanced in good order the king and his knights had dismounted they despaired of the day but were determined at least fighting on foot it was hard to resist the shock of the Englishmen at arms but the king fought with desperate bravery and by his side fought his little son Philip a boy of fifteen who warned his father against unexpected blows the bravery of the boy on that day earned for him the sir name of Laartie the Bold he was that Philip Laartie afterward so well known as Duke of Burgundy King John proved himself a good knight if the fourth of his people had behaved as well the day would have been his own round him his knights too fought with great courage many were slain at his side and others were obliged to yield themselves prisoners the king himself was twice wounded in the face but still fought bravely on many of the English who knew him pressed round in eagerness for him crying surrender yourself or you are a dead man he was getting very roughly treated when a young knight called Dennis Morbeck forced his way through the medley and bade the king surrender to him then the king turned to him and said to whom shall I surrender myself where is my cousin the Prince of Wales if I could see him I would speak to him Sire answered Dennis surrender yourself to me and I will lead you to him then the king asked who he was and on learning gave him his right hand glove and said I surrender myself to you meanwhile the Prince of Wales had been fighting with the courage of a lion Sir John Chandos who had never left his side now said to him sir it will be right for you to halt here and plant your banner on the top of this bush that you may rally your scattered forces I do not see any banners or penins of the French they cannot rally again and you must refresh yourself a little as you are very much heated then the banner of the Prince was placed on a high bush the minstrels began to play and the trumpets and clarions to sound the Prince took off his helmet to cool himself and his attendants soon pitched a small pavilion of crimson cloth into which he entered wine was given him and his knights to drink every minute fresh knights kept arriving they were returning from the pursuit which was carried even to the gates of Poitiers and now stopped with their prisoners at the Prince's tent the Prince asked eagerly for news of the King of France none had seen him leave his battalion he must be either killed or a prisoner immediately the Prince ordered two of his barons the Earl of Warwick and Lord Cobham to ride off and learn what they could about the King they soon came upon a crowd with men at arms English and Gaskin who had snatched the King of France from the night who had first taken him and were now disputing who should have him the King, feeling himself in danger and treated them to take him and his son in a courteous manner to the Prince as he was great enough to make them all rich the two barons forced their way through the crowd and ordered them under pain of instant death to retreat then dismounting they greeted the King the Prince and led him quietly to the Prince's tent the Prince on seeing his royal prisoner made him a low bow and gave him such comfort as he could he ordered wine and spices to be brought and himself waited on the King the battle had begun at nine in the morning and was over at noon but not till dusk did the English return from the pursuit of their enemies so great was the number of prisoners that the English feared that it might be difficult to keep them all and thought it wiser to ransom a great part of them on the spot such was the confidence inspired by chivalry in a man's word that many were released on their promise of coming to Bordeaux before Christmas to pay their ransom no fewer than seventeen counts were among the prisoners and six thousand men lay dead upon the field the English encamped that night on the battlefield amidst the dead many of them had hardly tasted bread for three days now they had abundance of all things for the French had brought great stores of provisions with them besides provisions they gained also quantities of gold and silver plate, rich jewels and furred mantles the French army had come confident of victory provided with magnificent dresses and luxuries of all kinds that evening the Prince of Wales gave a supper in his pavilion to the King of France the food served had all been taken from the French as the English had nothing the French King with his son and his principal barons were seated at the chief table and was weighted upon by the Prince himself who showed every mark of humility he would not sit down at the table, though pressed to do so but said that he was not worthy of so great an honour nor did it become him to seat himself at the table of so great a King or of so valiant a man as he had shown himself by his actions that day he did his utmost to cheer the King saying, dear sir do not make a poor meal because the Almighty God has not gratified your wishes in the event of this day be assured that my father will show you every honour and friendship in his power and will arrange your ransom so reasonably that you will hence forward always remain friends in my opinion you have caused to be glad that the success of this battle did not turn out as you desired for you have this day acquired such high renown for prowess that you have surpassed all the best knights on your side I do not say this, dear sir to flatter you for all on our side who saw the deeds of both parties agree that this is your do and award you the prize and garland for it this little speech was greeted with tears of applause from everyone the French said the Prince had spoken nobly and truly and that he would be one of the most gallant princes in Christendom if God should grant him life to pursue his career of glory after supper the English repaired to their several tents each taking with him the knights or squires he had captured they soon came to agreement about ransoms as the English lords were not greedy in their demands each man declared he could pay the next morning they rose early and heard mass after breakfast whilst the servants packed up the baggages their lords decamped and the army began its march to Bordeaux the Mienerites of the convent of Poitiers took upon themselves the melancholy task of burying the dead the bodies were carried in carts and buried in large graves in their churchyard funeral masses were sung in all the churches and convent of the town of Poitiers at the cost of the good citizens of the town so was fought the great battle of Poitiers a signal instance of what a small force can do when skillfully posted and fighting for its life the French army failed through their excess of confidence in their proud strength the first rebuff was so unexpected that it struck terror into the whole army that it made them fly before a quarter of their number had been really engaged in battle of the English few fought more bravely than Sir James Oddly who was badly wounded the Prince inquired for him after the battle and caused him to be carried in the litter to the spot where he was standing then he bent down over him and embraced him saying that he had acquired glory and renown above them all and proved without him with a yearly income of five hundred marks this pension Sir James afterwards divided between the four squires who had fought so bravely with him and when the Prince learned this he praised him much for his generosity bravest and at the same time most modest of all the knights was the Prince himself two letters are still preserved in which he gives an account of the battle one to the Bishop of Worcester and one to the City of London the simplest story of his victory taking no credit to himself in his letter to the City of London after describing the events which led up to the battle of Poitiers he says for default of victuals as well as for other reasons it was agreed that we should take our way flanking them in such manner that if they wished for battle or to draw towards us in a place that was not very much to our disadvantage we should be the first and so forthwith it was done whereupon battle was joined on the eve of the day before St. Matthew 21st September and God we praised for it the enemy was discomfited and the king was taken and his son and a great number of other great people were both slain and taken as our Chamberlain the bearer hereof who has very full knowledge thereon will know how more fully to inform you and show you as we are not able to write you of section 10 section 11 of Edward the Black Prince by Louise Creighton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Pamela Nagami chapter 9 triumphal return to England on leaving the battlefield of Poitiers the little army of English with many prisoners and rich booty did not venture to attack any fortress on their way to Bocteau it would be honour enough to take back in safety the king of France and his son and all the gold and silver and jewels they had won they proceeded by slow marches as they were heavily laden they met with no resistance the whole country was subdued by terror and the men at arms retreated into the fortresses when the prince drew near to Bocteau all the people came out to welcome him first came the College of Bocteau in solemn procession bearing crosses and chanting thanksgivings they were followed by all the dames and damsels of the town both old and young with their attendants the prince led the king to the monastery of St. Andrew where they both lodged the king on one side and the prince on the other the citizens and the clergy made great feasts for the prince and showed much joy at his victory soon after his arrival the cardinal of Perrigaux came to Bocteau he sent a letter from the pope who sent a letter to the black prince exhorting him to use his victory moderately and to make peace during the following winter the black prince stated Bocteau where he and his Gaskin and English soldiers passed the time in feasting and merriment and lavishly spent all the gold and silver they had gained when the news of the battle of Poitiers was brought to England by a messenger bearing King John's helmet and coat of mail with great rejoicings throughout the country thanksgivings were offered up in all the churches and bonfires were made in every town and village as the spring drew near the prince began to make preparations for taking his royal prisoners to England when the season was sufficiently advanced he called together the chief Gaskin lords and told them what preparations he had made and how he was going to leave the country under their care but the Gaskins were not at all pleased on learning that he meant to take the king of France away from them to England they looked upon John as their prisoner and did not wish to lose him when the prince could not pacify them Sir John Chandos and Lord Cobham who knew well how dearly the Gaskins loved gold advised him to offer them a handsome sum of money after receiving a hundred thousand Florence the Gaskins consented that the king of France should depart the black prince embarked on a fine ship taking with him some Gaskin lords the king of France went in a ship by himself so that he might be more at his ease before making up his mind to return to England the black prince had concluded on the 14th of March 1357 through the mediation of the pope a truce of two years with the regency which was ruling France during the captivity of her king he was thus able to leave Aquitaine without fear of its being attacked by the French during his absence the voyage to England lasted eleven days and nights and the little fleet reached Sandwich on May 4th 1357 the prince with his royal prisoners and his attendants remained two days at Sandwich that they might refresh themselves after their voyage their next stopping place was Canterbury which in those days none would pass without turning aside to worship at the shrine of the famous martyr Saint Thomas of Canterbury in the great cathedral here the king of France and the black prince knelt and worshipped and made their offerings the second night they rested at Rochester the third night at Dartford as soon as Edward III had heard of their arrival in England he gave orders for preparations to be made for their triumphal entry into London all the great guilds of the city were ordered to appear in procession with the banners the twelve great guilds the livery companies of the city the merchant tailors, goldsmiths leather sellers and the unions of the artificers of special crafts were then at the very summit of their wealth and importance they possessed exclusive privileges with regard to their special trade which none might practice except members of the guild admission into the guild was almost impossible as the aim of the guild brothers was to make their crafts monopolies of a few families these guilds were possessed of enormous wealth and ruled the city of London so important were they that Edward III himself as well as the black prince became members of the guild of merchant tailors now the guilds were ordered to prepare a grand reception for the Prince of Wales and his prisoners each guild went out headed by its warden with its banners on the fourth floor mounted on horseback one thousand of the chief citizens went out to south to meet the Prince the king of France rode on a splendid white coarser the black prince was mounted on a little black hobby and rode by the king's side escorted by this great body of citizens they entered London first they had to cross London bridge which was very different than from what it is now it was a stone bridge of twenty arches with a large draw bridge on either side of the bridge was a row of high and stately houses in the middle was a gothic chapel dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury at either end was a fortified gateway with battlements and a port Cullis and on the battlements were stuck the ghastly heads of traitors the procession passed over the bridge watched by wandering crowds and on through the narrow streets with their quaint overhanging houses mostly built of wood it proceeded up Corn Hill where the corn merchants held their traffic along cheap side past the Cathedral of St. Paul's and then along Fleet Street everywhere the houses were decorated with tapestry hung outside the walls and the rich citizens exposed at their windows their splendid plate and quantities of armor bows and arrows and all kinds of arms through Temple Bar the procession passed out into the Strand which then ran through green fields to Westminster here and there on either side of the road were the houses of the nobles and the bishops surrounded by gardens they passed the Savoy Palace one of the largest of these houses which was to be the abode of King John during his captivity and Whitehall then the Palace of the Archbishop of York at last they came to Westminster so dense had been the crowd of spectators blocking the narrow streets that the cavalcade could only advance very slowly and though they had entered the city at three o'clock in the morning it was not till noon nine hours afterwards that they reached Westminster Edward III received them in Westminster Hall seated on a throne surrounded by his prelates and barons he greeted John with every possible honor and distinction descending from his throne to embrace him he then led him to partake of a splendid banquet prepared in his honor that afternoon the clergy of London came forth in procession clad in their robes and bearing crosses in their hands and marched through the streets singing Psalms of praise for two days prayers and thanksgivings were offered up throughout London and Westminster King John had an apartment in the King's Own Palace at Westminster till the Savoy Palace was prepared for him and his son he was afterwards removed to Windsor and then to Hartford Castle the winter after his arrival splendid jousts were held in Smithfield King John and his son as well as the French lords who had been brought as prisoners to England were allowed on giving their parole great liberty in England they amused themselves principally in hunting and hawking in the forests around Windsor the number of Frenchmen at that time in England led the English courtiers to imitate French fashions before the taking of King John the English used to wear beards and their hair was cropped short round their heads now they copied the French and wore their hair in flowing locks and shaved their beards Edward III and his queen paid frequent visits to the King of France and often invited him to sumptuous entertainments doing their utmost to cheer and console him Edward was anxious to release John as soon as possible but he asked such an enormous ransom that it was hopeless to obtain it in the impoverished condition of France the state of France was indeed deplorable the regent Prince Charles the Dolphin had summoned the stage general to meet at Paris to do something for the restoration of order and government they proved very unmanageable and complained of the misgovernment of the country of the over taxation which had ruined the people and of the wasteful prodigality which had emptied the exchequer the leading spirit of the stage general was Etienne Marcel provost of the merchants of Paris he hoped to be able to set on foot all kinds of reforms and succeeded in releasing from prison Charles the bad King of Navarre Charles had managed to gain the sympathy of the people of Paris by his imprisonment which they looked upon as unjust he now promised to befriend the people's interests he and Marcel harangued the populace of Paris and increased their zeal for reforms meanwhile the people in the country were suffering the most horrible poverty the barons who had been taken prisoners at Poitiers returned on parole and haste to their estates to collect the money necessary for their ransom to raise this money all the small possessions of the peasants on their estates were seized and sold afterwards the peasants were next subject to the cruelties of the free companies which were now more numerous than ever after the battle of Poitiers the disbanded French soldiers the soldiers of the King of Navarre many Gascon and even many English had formed themselves into companies these were commanded not by common soldiers or by low born persons but by barons and nobles one was even commanded by the brother of the King of Navarre in the absence of their King the barons seemed to have broken loose from all restraint and ravaged the country at pleasure these companies kept the whole land in terror they devastated the country and sacked the cities even Paris trembled at their approach the country people hid themselves in caves in the earth to escape them at last driven to despair by hunger and suffering the peasants rose in fury they attacked the castles plundered and burnt them and murdered the nobles with their wives and families it was a terrible and desperate vengeance for the outrages and oppressions of many centuries the nobles had long spoken contemptuously of the peasants as Jacques Bonhomme and from this the rising of the peasants was called the Jacquerie it was soon crushed the nobles forgetting all distinctions of party turned as one man against the peasants Charles of Navarre laid aside his character of a popular leader and was foremost in massacring the revolted peasants Marcel alone tried to send them aid as indeed it was in his interest to support the people against the nobility the suppression of the revolt left the country in a more miserable condition than before Marcel's position in Paris was becoming dangerous he was besieged in the city by the army of the Dauphin and to save himself determined to give over the city into the hands of Charles of Navarre in the very act of giving up the keys he was murdered by the partisans of the Dauphin and died after having done something for his country by the reforms which he had rung from the Dauphin after his death the Dauphin entered Paris but was powerless until he consented to make peace of Navarre for the whole country was overrun by English and Navarre's soldiers the Dauphin was at Paris with his brothers no merchants or others dared to venture out of the city to look after their concerns or take any journey for they were attacked and killed whatever road they took the Navarre's were masters of all of the rivers and most of the cities this caused such a scarcity of provisions that we are told that a small cask of herring sold 30 golden crowns and other things in proportion many died of hunger salt was so dear that the inhabitants of the large towns were greatly distressed for want of it by a reconciliation with the king of Navarre the Dauphin hoped to free the country from the ravages of the Navarre's soldiers and to be able to offer some resistance to the English but however deplorable the condition of France might be it could hardly be expected that it would accept peace on the conditions offered by the English the truce which had existed between England and France since the battle of Poitiers came to an end on the first May 1359 the king of England and the Prince of Wales had a meeting with King John at Westminster and John showed himself willing to sign any treaty that was proposed to him the English demanded all the country from Calais to the French even Normandy and Anjou should be given up to them and that four millions of golden Florence should be paid as King John's ransom when this treaty was brought to France the Dauphin assembled the king of Navarre and others in a council of state and laid it before them it was unanimously rejected we would rather endure they answered the great distress we are in at present then suffer the kingdom of France King John must remain longer in England when Edward III heard their answer he said that before the winter was over he would enter France with a powerful army and remain there until there was an end of the war by an honourable and satisfactory peace End of section 11 section 12 of Edward the Black Prince by Louise Creighton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Pamela Nagami chapter 10 the Peace of Patigny England all this time was in a condition of peaceful prosperity the king and his court were amusing themselves with tournaments and hunting parties Edward III determined to open the war again and began his preparations for leading a mighty army into France swarms of adventurers of all nations gathered at Calais and offered him their services the Duke of Lancaster was also to come to Calais and bring with him the English troops which had been fighting for the cause of the De Montfort in Brittany on the 28th of October 1359 Edward sailed from Sandwich with an army such as had not been raised in England for more than a hundred years Foisart tells us that there was not a knight or a squire from the age of 20 to 60 it is interesting to note that amongst those who took part in this expedition was Geoffrey Chaucer then only a young man but destined to become famous as the first great name in our list of English poets the king took with him the black prince and three of his other sons Lionel, John and Edmund on landing at Calais Edward proceeded to arrange his battalions that he might set off at once to meet the Duke of Lancaster first marched the king's battalion and after it an immense baggage train which Foisart tells us was two leagues in length it consisted of more than 5,000 carriages drawn by horses and carrying provisions for the army they were well provided with all kinds of things which no English army had ever taken with it before such as mills to grind their corn and ovens to bake their bread after the king's battalion came the battalion of the Prince of Wales who was accompanied by his brothers the men at arms were all so richly dressed and rode such fine horses that says Foisart it was a pleasure to look at them both they and the archers marched and close ordered that they might be ready to engage at any moment should it be necessary with the army went 500 pioneers with spades and pickaxes to level the roads cut down trees and hedges so that the carriages might pass easily the Duke of Lancaster's battalion joined them soon after leaving Calais and the three battalions proceeded on their march into the heart of France they did not advance very quickly as they had to let all the wagons keep pace with them they found no provisions on their way as everything had been carried off to supply the garrisons moreover the country had been so pillaged and destroyed that the ground had not been cultivated for three years they had hoped to refresh themselves in the vineyards and lay in stores of the new wine but the season was so rainy that the grapes were worth nothing day and night the rain fell in torrents but in spite of all difficulties and though winter was coming on they pressed on to reams avoiding all the other strong towns for it was Edward's ambition he was crowned at reams in the cathedral where the kings of France were always crowned reams was a strong town and was well defended by its archbishop Edward wished to reduce it by a long siege, not to storm it for he was careful of his men the English army therefore quartered itself in different villages round the town the king, the black prince and the Duke of Lancaster each kept their court in different places many of the counts and barons were not so comfortable as the rainy weather still continued and their horses were badly housed and ill-fed there was a great scarcity of corn of all kinds one of the English knights succeeded in taking a little town near reams in which he found three thousand butts of wine great part of which he sent to the king of England and his sons to their great joy the knights often wearied of the siege and went away on little expeditions by themselves and there were many brave passages of arms between them and the French for seven weeks Edward III remained before reams and then began to tire of the siege it was hopeless to try and take the city by assault for it was well defended many of the horses had perished owing to the scarcity of fodder so at last he determined to break up his camp he marched south from Reims to Chalon and Tonnerre at Tonnerre he found very good wines and in order to enjoy them stayed there five days he then went on further south still to Flavinye where he spent the whole of Lent because there was a good store of provisions there his light troops scoured the country and constantly brought in fresh provisions the men at arms amused themselves in many different ways they had brought with them from England a number of boats made surprisingly well they had built leather these would hold three men who could then go fishing in little rivers and lakes they were able to catch a great deal of fish which was very useful as during Lent according to the rules of the church no meat might be eaten the king had with him thirty falconers on horseback with their hawks sixty couple of strong hounds and as many greyhounds and amused himself every day of his lords also had their hawks and hounds Flavinye was in the Duke of Burgundy's dominions he was a vassal of the king of France but in reality ruled like an independent prince he therefore sent ambassadors and made a treaty with Edward so that his country might not be destroyed when the treaty was signed the English army broke up their camp and went on toward Paris by forced marches whilst Edward was in Burgundy and had been alarmed by the appearance of a French fleet which ravaged the English coast and even took and pillaged winchelsea with great difficulty the English succeeded in raising a small fleet before which the French retired and the English revenge themselves for the French outrages by ravaging the coast of France when news of this French invasion reached Edward it must doubtless have made him more anxious than ever to force a piece from the French he might not lose any of the advantages which he had already won he established himself at a short distance from Paris and sent heralds to the Dauphin who was in the city offering him battle but the Dauphin would not venture outside the walls of Paris this greatly enraged the king and he allowed Sir Walter Manny and other knights to assault the barriers of Paris but they could not do much as the city was well defended the army was exhausted but the sufferings endured on account of the rainy winter and the scarcity of provisions Edward determined therefore to take them along the Loire to Brittany to recruit and refresh themselves and then after the vintage which promised to be a very good one to bring them again to L'Aiseach to Paris meanwhile Pope Innocent VI had been doing his utmost to persuade the Dauphin to make peace who at last consented to send commissioners after the king of England to try and arrange terms it was hard to persuade Edward to give up his ambition to be king of France but at last he listened to the arguments of his cousin the Duke of Lancaster whom he much loved and trusted and who showed him how doubtful it was that he could hope to succeed in his ambitious desires whilst the war might easily last out his lifetime Foissard tells us that a sudden storm of hail and thunder so frightened the English army that they thought the world was come to an end Edward looking upon it as a judgment from God bowed to the Virgin to accept terms of peace at last at the little village of Bretigny near Charte a treaty was signed on May 8th, 1360 this peace known as the Peace of Bretigny is most important in history it serves as a sort of landmark in the midst of the wars and struggles of the Middle Ages in this treaty Edward promised to give up forever his claim to the throne of France and to all the dominions of the Angevin kings north of the Loire Anjou, Men, Turin and Normandy he retained only Calais on the other hand the kings of France were to give up forever all rights of exacting homage for the English provinces of Guyenne and Gascony Brittany was not included in the treaty and England and France were both at liberty to assist either of the competitors for the duchy King John was to be ransomed for three million golden crowns equal to about thirty million of our money a part of which was to be paid at once and hostages given for the remainder when the treaty was signed Edward and his son immediately hastened to England they then accompanied King John to Calais the final conference with the Dauphin might be held after many more discussions the peace was ratified when all was arranged and the hostages had arrived at Calais who were to go to England till John's ransom was all paid Edward gave a magnificent supper to King John in the castle the king's sons and all the greatest barons of England waited bare-headed on the two kings after the supper Edward and John took leave of one another in the most affectionate manner the black prince accompanied John to Boulogne they went on foot as the French king wished to make a pilgrimage to our Lady of Boulogne there they met the Dauphin and all went together to the church and made their offerings and afterwards to the Abbey of Boulogne where the black prince spent the day with the French and returned next day to Calais the English were not long and returning to England taking with them all the French hostages amongst these hostages were two sons of King John the dukes of Anjou and Berri and his brother the Duke of Orléans Edward commanded his officers and courtiers to treat them courteously and to be very careful to preserve peace with them as they were under his care they were allowed a great deal of liberty and might go where they liked in the city of London and its neighborhood Foissart tells us that they hunted and hawked according to their pleasure and rode out as they pleased to visit the ladies without any constraint where the king was right courteous and amiable the king of France was most joyously welcomed by his subjects on his return when he reached Paris all the clergy came out to meet him and conducted him to the palace where he and his nobles partook of a magnificent dinner so overjoyed were both people and nobles to see him that they all made him rich gifts and chained him at sumptuous feasts there was a good deal of difficulty in carrying out the articles of the Treaty of Bretigny many of the French towns and strongholds which had to be given over to the English objected very strongly and the king of France had to use much persuasion before they would consent to yield the town of La Rochelle only yielded with difficulty the principal inhabitants of the town saying honor and obey the English but our hearts shall never change on the other hand there were many small towns and fortresses in France which were held by English and Gascon nobles these had to be given up to the king of France and the soldiers who were turned out thought they could not better employ themselves than by forming themselves into robber bands and pillaging the country more than ever was France overrun by the free companies the king of France was at last obliged to send an army against the largest of these companies called the Great Company but they defeated his army and proceeded to threaten the Pope in Avignon who was obliged to hire soldiers to oppose them Edward had appointed Sir John Chandos as regent and lieutenant of his possessions in France and in the name of the king of England Chandos received the homage of the nobles of Poitou and the Duchy of Aquitaine he made near his headquarters and kept a great establishment there he was a brave and accomplished knight amiable and sweet-tempered and was beloved and esteemed by the king and all who knew him End of Section 12 Section 13 of Edward the Black Prince by Louise Creighton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Pamela Nagami Chapter 11 Edward III's Jubilee the Christmas after the Treaty of Bretigny was spent by Edward and his court with great splendor at Woodstock when the holidays were over the king went to Winchester where he had summoned his parliament to meet him on the 24th of January 1361 he told them all the articles of the peace concluded between him and the king of France with which they expressed themselves entirely satisfied on the last day of January the Archbishop of Canterbury celebrated the mass of the Holy Trinity in the presence of the court and parliament returning thanks for the peace after the mass torches were lighted and crosses held up over the Eucharist the king and his sons standing up in the presence of the French hostages then all those lords who had not yet sworn to keep the peace took the oath and signed a solemn declaration that they would observe all the conditions the black prince was now 31 years of age and still unmarried struck it is said by the beauty of his cousin Joan of Kent he obtained the consent of his father to marry her Joan was of the blood royal of England being daughter of Edmund, Earl of Kent son of Edward I she had already been twice married and was now a widow and 33 years of age somewhat older than the black prince her great beauty had won for her the name of the fair maid of Kent and there is no reason to suppose that she had lost any of her charms at the time of her marriage to the black prince the marriage took place on the 10th October 1361 and in the following year on the 14th July Edward III solemnly invested the black prince with the principality of Akiten and Gascony giving him the title of Duke of Akiten the peace and prosperity of England was disturbed in 1362 by a second outbreak of the plague which lasted from August till May it was not so destructive as it had been the first time but it seems to have been more fatal amongst the higher ranks of society amongst others the king's cousin the Duke of Lancaster died of it he left behind him only two daughters the elder had been married to the Earl of Aenot and the younger Blanche had married in 1359 Edward's third son John of Gaunt Blanche on the death of her elder sister became heiress of all her father's great wealth and it is in her right that John of Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster this marriage of John of Gaunt has a special interest to us as it is said to have inspired one of Chaucer's earliest poems the assembly of fowls or the Parliament of Birds the origin of the connection between Chaucer and John of Gaunt is not known but it seems to have begun early in the poet's life Geoffrey Chaucer was the son of a London vintner and seems most probably to have been born in 1340 the facts of his early life are involved in obscurity and we do not know whether his education was due to the wealth and enlightened views of his father or to his having been early taken under royal patronage John of Gaunt was never a popular man in English history but he seems to have had the capacity of attracting to him the great literary characters of his age for we know that Chaucer and Wickliffe were intimately connected with him poetry had at that time become very fashionable and was cultivated more especially in France by men of the highest rank Chaucer therefore though of humble birth might hope to raise himself by his genius to be the friend even of a royal prince if the date assigned to the assembly of fowls 1358 be a true one it must rank as one of his earliest poems he was then only 18 years of age but there are no signs of an unripe intellect about the poem it is full of the freshness and life which always remained such a distinguishing characteristic of Chaucer the poet has fallen asleep over his book and he dreams that he has led into a beautiful park walled with green stone with a few of his light delicate touches he brings before us the whole scene the trees clad with leaves that a shall last the garden full of blossomed boasts it is the orderly sweet fresh landscape that the medieval poet loved at last he came to the spot where all the birds were gathered together before the noble goddess nature that since it was Saint Valentine's Day each might choose his mate perched on nature's hand was a beautiful female eagle by whom the poet is supposed to have signified the Lady Blanche of Lancaster three eagles disputed vehemently as to which of them shall be her mate and nature refers the question to the assembly of birds each kind of bird chooses a representative to speak for them and in the speeches of the different birds there is ample scope for Chaucer's playful humor and irony characteristic of the spirit of chivalry is the great deference paid by the suitors to the Lady herself she is the sovereign lady whom the royal eagle besieges to be his through her mercy no constraint is to be put on her choice and nature as judge decides that she shall have him on whom her heart is set she bashfully asks for a year's respite in which to make her choice this charming little poem may almost be taken as a type of the Excellencies of Chaucer it shows us his love of nature, his vivacity, his humor like all that he has written it reflects faithfully the spirit of his age and breathes the very atmosphere of chivalry Chaucer was no doubt strongly influenced by the French truvert though first amongst the great English poets he was an outcome of the poetic movement which had been going on for two centuries in the south of France and in Italy he was the English representative of the great burst of medieval poetry but came late in its development and originated no great movement in England he had some few successors and imitators but after his death there is no great name in English literature till the revival of letters under the tutors it is not difficult to see how French influences were brought to bear upon Chaucer in those days there was constant intercourse between France and England Chaucer himself went to France as we have seen with the Royal Army in 1359 and remained there a year till he was ransomed by Edward III he also later on in his life visited Italy and was intimately acquainted with the writings of Boccaccio and Petrarch from whom he borrowed largely but it was from the French truvert that he received his great impulse he belonged to their school and adopted their form and imagery one of his first works was a translation of the Romance of the Rose yet he was no imitator he was inspired by the spirit of the truvert but everything he did is stamped with his own strong individuality and has a decidedly English character his greatest work, the Canterbury Tales, is most distinctively English he wrote another poem on the occasion of the death of the Duchess Blanche in 1369 called the Book of the Duchess in which he expresses the grief of the Duke of Lancaster the setting of this poem is again quite in the character of the truvert he employs his favorite machinery of a dream which opens with the singing of birds on a May morning as they sat among upon Michambro-Rofwooduta upon the teals over all the boot and song and every inch in his weasel the Mosta Solemn Servisa be note that Everman itro at erd he gives us an interesting picture of a medieval room by describing that in which he lay it was painted all over with frescoes illustrating the Romance of the Rose and the windows were filled with beautiful painted glass on which was wrought the history of the Siege of Troy as he lies in bed he hears the sound of a horn and jumps up that he may follow the hunt then as he wanders through the wood he comes upon a night sitting morning at the foot of an oak tree this of course is John of Gaunt who with bitter tears deplores the death of his lady Chaucer continued all his life to find a powerful friend in John of Gaunt to his influence he doubtless owed various offices which he held at different times he was several times sent abroad in secret affairs of state and at last obtained a permanent office in London with a salary and besides had a pension granted to him his connection with John of Gaunt was strengthened by the fact that his wife's sister Catherine Swinford who had been in the service of the Duchess Blanche first became the Duke's mistress and afterwards his third wife the advantage of such a patron to the poet must have been great as it relieved him from all anxiety about money and permitted him to devote most of his energy to his art we cannot overestimate what Chaucer did for the English language before his time French was the common language of the court the schools, the law courts and all the higher classes of society the dialects spoken in different parts of England differed widely from one another and it remained a question which of these dialects should triumph and form the cultivated English language it was Chaucer who decided this question it was his language that was to become the standard of English this was due to the force of his genius which made men feel the beauty, the power and the capacities of the language which he used so that insensibly it became the language of all cultivated men and as the English language developed it triumphed over the French one of the acts which commemorated Edward III's Jubilee is an edict in which he said that as the French tongue was much unknown in the country all pleas should be henceforth in English on the 14th November 1362 Edward III celebrated his Jubilee that is his 50th birthday in honour of the day he proclaimed a general pardon and set all prisoners at liberty and recalled all exiles to commemorate it still further he conferred various dignities upon his sons Lionel was made Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt was solemnly raised to the dignity of Duke of Lancaster the king in full parliament girded him with a sword and set upon his head a cap of fur and a circlet of gold and pearls Edmund the fourth son was made Earl of Cambridge this was the climax of Edward's prosperity on his 50th birthday he might look back upon his life and say that Fortune had indeed favoured him but from henceforth things did not go so well misfortunes and troubles marked the last years of his life and in the end he was destined to lose almost all that he had won it is not difficult to see how this came about Edward the third was a brave and accomplished knight a man full of energy and interests anxious to protect commerce and manufacture to increase the wealth of his people and to win glory for himself by his wars but he had no great purpose in his life he collected mighty armies at an enormous expense and led them into the enemy's country without any definite scheme of what he meant to do his own bravery and that of his soldiers enabled him to win great victories but not content with grasping firmly what he had once got he indulged in an ambitious dream of one day winning the crown of France even when the piece of Bretigny had secured to him the great duchy of Aquitaine neither he nor the black prince had sufficient political wisdom to take such steps as would have preserved it for the English crown they had won it but they could not keep it over the joy of Edward's jubilee there hung no shadow of distrust for the future the next year the black prince was to go and take up his abode in his new duchy of Aquitaine and the months before his departure were filled up with hunting parties in the royal forests which were conducted with the greatest possible magnificence and with no sparing of expense the king and queen with their children spent Christmas at the black prince's manor of Burkhamstead near London there were many jousts and tournaments and all the usual Christmas games and festivities the general extravagance and love of dress must have increased to an alarming extent for the next year is marked by a sumptuary statute which aimed at diminishing extravagance and high prices it decreed that each merchant was to deal only with one sort of merchandise which he must choose before the Feast of Candlemas handcraftsmen also were to practice only one mystery as the trades were then called exceptions only being allowed in the case of women workers the goldsmiths were to make their work sterling and each master goldsmith was to have his own mark his work must be assayed by the royal surveyors who were to put the king's mark on it and then the goldsmith was to have put his own mark no goldsmith might make both gold and silver plate the prices at which he was to sell his work were fixed the statute went on to regulate matters of mere personal expenditure it ordained that the poor were to eat and drink in the manner that pertained to them and not excessively that they were not to eat fish or meat more than once a day seeing that various people wore clothing above their estate and degree it ordained that the handicraftsmen and yeoman were not to wear cloth above a certain price and no silk and embroidery ribbons or gold and silver ornaments the plowmen and all agricultural laborers were only to wear tunics of blanket or russet with girdles of linen above all no one except persons of the highest rank was to wear fur or pearls the statute was not prompted by any feeling of the evils of luxury among the ruling classes about the time of its promulgation Archbishop Simon Islip issued a remonstrance against the abuses the phoppery and extravagance of the court the upper classes had no intention of reforming their own extravagance but they wished to have the monopoly of all luxuries and they fancied that the more extensive use of fine clothes and various kinds of victuals greatly increased their price these sumptuary laws show with what bitter jealousy the nobility regarded the growing wealth and prosperity of the merchant classes the burgers of London were indeed becoming very rich and powerful about this time Henry Picard, a vintner, the Lord Mayor of London sumptuously feasted Edward III, the Black Prince David Bruce, King of Scotland the King of Cyprus, who had come to ask Edward's help against the Turks and many nobles afterwards he kept open house to any who liked to play at dice or hazard with him whilst his wife, the Lady Margaret, received the ladies in her upper room the King of Cyprus engaged in play with Picard and won fifty marks but Picard was a good player and soon won back more than he had lost at which the King was much vexed he tried to hide his irritation but Picard sought and said to him my Lord King, be not aggrieved I covet not your gold but your play for I have not bid you hither that I might grieve you but that amongst other things I might try your play then he gave him his money back again and distributed more among his servants he gave also many rich gifts to Edward III his son and the knights who had dined with them at a later period the city bought a large quantity of play to present to the Black Prince at a cost of six hundred and eighty three pounds ten shillings four pence which equals about ten thousand two hundred and fifty two pounds of our money amongst other articles all of silver were ten dozen porringers five dozen salt sellers and twenty chargers there were also three gilded basins, six gilded pots a gilded cup in the form of an acorn and a pair of ivory bottles the total number of articles was two hundred and seventy nine not only among the people at large but still more at the English court itself had extravagance and dress and manner of living increased at an enormous rate old English simplicity was more than ever forgotten and large sums of money were wasted on every side merely on display in matters of food and clothing the remonstrance of Archbishop Islip attracted some attention but produced as little effect on the fashions of the day as did the sumptuary laws lost past by Parliament display was characteristic of Edward and where the king set the example it was only likely that the people would follow the mass of the clergy were worse than the people they who ought to have set an example of greater sobriety and simplicity were especially renowned for their love of good eating and fine clothes whilst they followed the chase and gave themselves up to pleasure of every kind they left their people wandering as flocks without shepherds a noticeable event occurred in the year 1362 some of the French hostages had begun to be weary of their confinement and asked Edward's permission to go to Calais and make some excursions into the surrounding country promising never to be absent for more than four days at a time the king believing that he might trust their promise granted their request but the Duke of Anjou basically took advantage of this permission to break his parole and went off to Paris his father King John was so deeply grieved at this breach of faith that he determined to go back himself to England as a prisoner in the place of his son who had escaped the English received him with great respect and courtesy and he took up his abode again at the Savoy Palace Edward did all he could to make his captivity pleasant but he was seized with a mortal illness and died three months after his return to England End of section 13