I would fain name some of the most renowned knights and nobles of Hainault, of Gascony, and England, who were with the Prince of Wales in this expedition. From Hainault were Sir Eustace d'Ambreticourt, the Lord de Guystelle, the Lord de Phaselle, and the Lord de Morbeque; from Gascony were the Captal de Buch, the Lord d'Albret, the Lord of Pumiers, the Lord de Chaumont, and the Lord de Montferrand; from England were Sir John Chandos, Sir Robert Knolles, Sir Walter Woodland; James, Lord Audley; Reginald, Lord Cobham; Thomas, Lord Berkley; Roger, Lord De Ov; and the great Earls of Warwick, Oxford, Salisbury, Suffolk, and Stafford. As their armour glanced and their banners shone in the rising sun, the sight was pleasant to behold. About twelve thousand men formed the army which was to accomplish such memorable exploits. Part of these were Gascons and part English, the Gascons being much more numerous than the English, who were, for the most part, archers and engineers qualified by experience to direct the bombards that had done good service at the siege of Calais. But both Gascons and English were then animated by a spirit of hostility against the French, and armed with equal ardour; and all were under such discipline as had never been exercised in modern warfare; for the young hero who was the soul of that army was unrivalled as a war-chief, and much had he studied how war had been carried on in the days when Rome made herself mistress of the world; and so thorough was his success, that his ranks moved with an order and precision which raised the wonder and envy of the oldest and most experienced captains of the age.
It was about this time that, in order to give éclat to his fair complexion, and set off his handsome countenance to advantage, the Prince of Wales assumed that black armour from which he derived the name by which he has since been popularly called; and I would fain give some notion of his appearance when, after having mounted at the monastery of St. Andrew, he rode forth to lead his army from the gates of Bordeaux. No longer the stripling who appeared at Smithfield to lend countenance to the sports of the Londoners, and who won his spurs while fighting so gallantly in the van at Cressy, the Prince of Wales was now in his sixth lustre, and had grown year by year in strength, in courage, and in comeliness. His form was tall, athletic, and finely proportioned; his face fair to look upon, and lighted up with expression and intelligence; while nothing could have been more impressive than his grand air and chivalrous bearing. Every gift he had derived from nature and inherited from his ancestors had been carefully cultivated, and it was well-nigh impossible to observe him without feeling the full truth of the words used by his father on the field of Cressy—"You are already worthy to be a king."
At the time of which I write, the chain mail worn at the Crusades and in the Barons' Wars was no longer in fashion; and the Bigods and Bohuns, and the first Edward, would have opened their eyes as wide, and stared with as much surprise, as Robert Curthose and Richard Cœur de Lion at the garniture in which their heirs mustered at Bordeaux. Every part of the body was defended by plate armour; and from crown to toe the knight was cased in steel. Plates entirely defended the legs; and pointed shoes of overlapping steel plates guarded the feet. The leathern gauntlets were similarly cased with steel, and provided with steel tops, while on the knuckles were small spikes, knobs, and ornaments, called gadlings. A breastplate, termed a plastron, kept the chain shirt from pressing on the chest when the plates for breast and back, which rendered the shirt necessary, were not worn; and a short apron of chain hung from the waist over the hips. Such was the defensive armour in use during the reign of King Edward; and such was the armour worn by his hero-son. Imagine the Prince of Wales, such as I have described him, with his tall figure, his vigorous frame, his fair hair, his bright eye, his refined features, his frank expression, and his elegant air; array him in such armour as was then in fashion—but black in colour, and embossed with gold—put over all the guipin, or upper garment, fitting closely to the body and confined round the waist by a magnificent belt, to which his dagger was attached on one side, his sword on the other; place a golden lion on his broad breast, and a basinet on his high head; mount him on a steed black as a raven and somewhat fierce—and you will have before you the son of Edward and Philippa as he set forward on that enterprise which was to result in a victory never likely to be forgotten so long as skill and valour in the hour of peril, and courtesy and generosity in the hour of triumph, are held in regard by mankind.
[CHAPTER LIII]
THE INCURSION
It was, as I have intimated, late in the month of July, when the Prince of Wales, marching out of Bordeaux, ascended the Garonne as far as Agen, and then, turning to the left, overran the provinces of Quercy, Limousin, and Auvergne, sparing not the country; for the object of his incursion was to weaken the French by destroying their resources, and thus bring the war to a speedy conclusion.
Rich and fertile as ever the sun shone on looked the land through which the prince rode in hostile array. It was summer, and the days were long, and bright, and merry. The harvest was well-nigh ready for the sickle. The corn was waving in the fields; the grapes were swelling on the stem; the fruit was reddening on the bough. But the invaders were in no mood to spare either corn, or grapes, or fruit. The harvest was trodden down by the horsemen; the villages and farm-houses were given to the flames; the very cattle on the hills were slaughtered; and every man who was thought rich enough to pay a ransom was taken prisoner, to be carried to Bordeaux. All this time the prince rode on at his ease, and without any opposition. When he entered any town which was well provisioned, the English rested some days to refresh themselves; and, ere taking their departure, they staved the heads of the wine-casks that were full, and burnt the wheat and oats, so that nothing was left for the enemy. It was not the Prince of Wales whom the French had to blame for all this; for their real enemies were the chiefs of the House of Valois, whom they had, in defiance of King Edward's claims, too readily recognised as their sovereigns.
Great, meanwhile, was the terror of the inhabitants. The people of Montpellier fled to Avignon to place themselves under the protection of the Pope. Trembling for his own safety, the Pope ordered his palace to be fortified and his gates to be covered with iron, and, hoping to influence the invaders, sent, offering money, to the prince to spare Perigord.
"My father," answered the prince, "has plenty of money, and does not want yours. But I will do no more than what I came to perform, namely, to chastise those who are in rebellion against our just rights."