CRESSY
August 26. 1346.
| 1. Edward III. | 4. Genoese. |
| 2. Northampton & Arundel. | 5. Alençon. |
| 3. Prince of Wales. | 6. Philip VI. |
(From Sprüner.)
Battle of Cressy. Aug. 26.
The hired army of the English, and the professional soldiers who commanded them, formed a far more efficient body of troops than was supplied by the feudal levies and noble leaders of the French. The English were arranged in three divisions, the foremost of which was nominally commanded by the Prince of Wales. From the summit of the hill, Edward had a general survey of the field. As usual, the archers began the battle; their flights of arrows threw the Genoese crossbow-men, to whom they were opposed, into confusion. The confusion once begun, the very numbers of the French did but add to it. The Duke of Alençon, and the Count of Flanders, with their followers, cut their way through their own troops before they could reach the English men-at-arms. While these successfully held their ground, the remaining masses of the French were decimated by the English arrows, nor could any sufficient support be given to Alençon. At length, as night closed in, Philip left the field, and the further disconnected efforts of individual French commanders were useless. The English could hardly believe their good fortune, and Edward, fearing a return of their enemies, kept them under arms during the night. The loss of the French was enormous; the heralds appointed to examine the field reported the death of eleven princes, 1200 knights, and 30,000 of inferior rank. The English had killed considerably more than their own numbers; but their little army was quite insufficient to advance into France, and Edward, following his original plan, marched on to the siege of Calais.
Battle of Neville’s Cross. Oct. 17.
The battle was on the 26th of August. Already some days before, Lionel of Clarence, who had been left in command of England, had summoned troops for the defence of the Scotch border; and Philip now wrote strongly to David, begging him to make a diversion. David was not sorry to answer to the call. Cumberland was overrun, and the Bishopric of Durham; but the English levies, inspirited by the courageous language of the Queen, and under the joint command of the Percies and Nevilles, defeated him completely at Neville’s Cross, David himself being taken prisoner. The battle of Cressy had relieved the Earl of Derby, who was again overrunning the south-west of France. The year closed in triumph for the English arms in all directions.
Siege of Calais. 1347.
This year of success was shortly crowned by the fall of Calais. Edward had attacked that city by way of blockade, shutting his army round it, and guarding the approaches by the sea with his ships. All the efforts of the French King to relieve it had been useless, and the slow process of famine at length obliged its defenders to surrender. The inhabitants had not been free from the usual crime of seafaring life at that time—they were the rivals in piracy of the Cinque Ports and St. Malo. They had but little mercy to expect from the King. Eustace de St. Pierre, an important citizen, offered to give himself up, with a certain number of friends, to bear the first brunt of the King’s anger, hoping thereby to save his fellow-citizens. Barefooted and bareheaded, with ropes round their necks, Eustace, with his devoted friends, appeared before the King. Irritated with the long defence of the town, and their former misdeeds, Edward would hear of no mercy; it was only at the urgent prayer of Queen Philippa that the lives of the deputation were spared. The advantages of the possession of Calais were obvious. It afforded an excellent entrance into France in the immediate neighbourhood of the King’s Flemish allies, and supplied him also with a good central mart for the national commerce, which in the existing state of trade was a thing much desired. The inhabitants were therefore given their choice of being French or English; those who refused to become English were expelled, and their places occupied by English colonists, and the whole “staple”[61] trade of England was for a certain number of years confined to this town, which accordingly became prosperous.