Cressy and Poictiers: The Story of the Black Prince's Page

by John G. Edgar

Henry of Trastamare and Bertrand du Guesclin were not, however, warriors to yield without a struggle; and, to meet the crisis, they mustered an army of a hundred thousand men, and prepared to encounter the conqueror of Cressy and Poictiers in close conflict. Accordingly, on Saturday, the 3rd of April, 1367, the two armies met at Navarretta, and fought a severe battle. But nothing could withstand the Prince of Wales; and that day he well maintained the character he had won as a war-chief, and gained so complete a victory that, seeing their men scattered in all directions, Henry of Trastamare fled to France, and Bertrand du Guesclin surrendered himself prisoner to Sir John Chandos.

When the news spread over Europe that Don Pedro was restored to his throne by the arms of the heir of England, the French dreaded the prince more than ever; and high was the admiration which the tidings of his exploit created, especially in England, Flanders, and Germany, and even among the Saracens. But, while Christendom was ringing with his name, and sovereigns were bowing at the mention of it, and while the citizens of London were celebrating his victory with solemn shows, and triumphs, and feasts, the Prince of Wales was in melancholy mood. Already he discovered the truth of the words spoken by the princess. He had been grossly deluded by the miscreant whom he had befriended.

Never, indeed, was a champion more ungratefully treated by the man for whom he had conquered. No sooner was Pedro restored to his kingdom by the prince's victory at Navarretta, than he forgot all his promises as to paying the "free companies," and the prince, after waiting for a time in the expectation of justice, in a climate that was proving most injurious to his health, lost all opinion of Pedro's good faith, and, returning to Bordeaux, burdened with debt, endeavoured to raise the money to defray the cost of his expedition by the hearth-tax. Much discontent was the consequence. Indeed, the Gascons declared that they had always been exempt from taxation, and appealed to the King of France as sovereign of Guienne.

By this time John of Valois was dead, and Charles, John's eldest son, occupied the throne of France; and though, by the treaty of Bretigny, the provinces of Guienne and Languedoc had been conveyed in full sovereignty to England, Charles not only responded to the appeal of the Gascons, but resolved on citing the Prince of Wales, as his subject, before the Chamber of Peers.

Accordingly, Charles of Valois despatched a knight and a lawyer to Bordeaux, and, on being admitted to an audience, they proceeded to read the letter with which they had been intrusted, summoning the heir of England to appear without delay at Paris. The prince listened, eyed the Frenchmen, and shook his head.

"Well," said he in reply, "I will willingly attend on the appointed day at Paris; but, by St. George, it will be with my helmet on my head, and with sixty thousand men at my back!"

Much alarmed was Charles of Valois on learning how the Prince of Wales had treated his summons, and how, in spite of his malady, he had put on his armour, mounted his horse, and displayed his banner. But it soon appeared that he was no longer himself—that he was not the Edward of Cressy, or Poictiers, or Navarretta; and when the campaign terminated, and he returned to Bordeaux, such was his languor that the physicians counselled him to repair to England.

Agreeably to the advice of his physicians, the Prince of Wales, with the princess, and their infant son Richard, embarked at Bordeaux, and, having landed at Southampton, took up their residence at Berkhamstead. But the prince, though he recovered sufficiently to take a part in public affairs, never regained his strength; and it was suspected that he had been poisoned in Spain. At length, on Trinity Sunday, 1376, after languishing for years, he expired at the palace of Westminster.

Great was the grief, loud the lamentation, caused by the news that the hero of England had departed this life; and in celebrating his obsequies no ceremony was omitted that could do honour to his memory. Canterbury having been selected as the religious edifice where his bones were to rest, great preparations were made for his burial, and when the appointed time arrived, a stately hearse, drawn by twelve horses, conveyed the corpse from Westminster; and, with great pomp, the remains of him who had been the pride of England and the terror of France were laid in the south side of the cathedral, hard by the shrine of Thomas à Becket.