<p><span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_35" id="Page_35"></SPAN></span></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/chapterbreaks.jpg" width-obs="600" height-obs="92" alt="Border" title="" /></div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-035.png" width-obs="450" height-obs="347" alt="Edward the Black Prince." title="" /></div>
<div class="sidenote"><span class="smcap">a.d. 1340.</span></div>
<div class='cap'>THE name of Edward the Black Prince will always be remembered
with love and admiration by all young Englishmen, because he was
by all accounts a very brave, gallant, and courteous prince, feared by his
foes and by his friends beloved. His father, Edward the Third, had not
given up his hopes of regaining his lost possessions in France, so he spent
two long years in getting together money and ships and an army. He
fought the French fleet near Sluys. Both sides fought fiercely, and at
last the English won. The French had thought that they were quite
sure to get the best of it, and they were afraid to tell the King of France
how the English had beaten them, for hundreds of the French had been
either killed or been forced to jump into the sea to escape the swords of
the English.</div>
<p>Now, at this time every king kept a jester to make jokes and amuse
him and his friends at their feasts, and the jester was a privileged person,
who could say anything he liked. So now they told the jester of the
King of France that he must tell the king the bad news, because he could
say what he liked and no one would punish him for it. So the jester
said—</p>
<p>"Oh! what dastardly cowards the English are!"</p>
<p>"How so?" said the king, who expected to hear that the cowardly
English had been driven away by his men.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_36" id="Page_36"></SPAN></span></p>
<div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-036.png" width-obs="375" height-obs="281" alt="·KING·EDWARD·SAILS·FOR·FRANCE·" title="" /></div>
<p>"Because,"
answered the
jester, "they
have not
jumped into the
sea as our brave
men had to do."</p>
<p>So then the
king asked him
what he meant,
and then the
courtiers came
forward and
told the sad
story of the English
victory.</p>
<p>Then Edward
besieged a town called Tournay, but he had not enough money
to get provisions for his men, so he had to make friends with the king of
France for a little while and go back to England.</p>
<p>Six years later he pawned his crown and his queen's jewels, and at
last got together enough money to go and fight with the French again.
He landed at La Hogue, and as he landed he fell so violently that his nose
began to bleed.</p>
<p>"Oh, this is a bad sign," said his courtiers, "that your first step on
French soil should be a fall."</p>
<p>"Not so," said the king. "It is a good sign. It shows that the
land desires me: so she takes me close to her."</p>
<p>He had thirty-two thousand men with him, and his son, the Black
Prince. Some say he was called the Black Prince because he wore black
armour, but others say it was because he made himself as great a terror to
the French as a black night is to foolish children.</p>
<p>Edward marched towards the French and the French marched to
meet him, and as they marched they broke down all the bridges, so that
the English could not advance by them. But Edward had made up his
mind to get across the river Seine and fight with his enemies; and he was<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_37" id="Page_37"></SPAN></span>
no more to be stopped by the water than a dog would have been who
wanted to get over to the other side to fight another dog. He got a poor
man to show him a place where the river was shallow at low tide, and
there he plunged into the river, crying, "Let him who loves me follow
me," and the whole army followed and got safely to the other side.</p>
<p>Edward arranged his soldiers well, and went himself to the top of a
little hill where there was a windmill. From this he could see everything
that went on. The French had a far larger army than the English,
and when they came in sight of Edward's army and saw how well placed
it was, the wiser Frenchmen said, "Do not let us fight them to-day, for
our men and horses are tired. Let us wait for to-morrow and then we
can drive them back." So the foremost of the French army turned back,
but those behind were discontented and thought the fighting had begun
and that they had not had a chance. So they pushed forward till the
whole French army was close to the English.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-037.png" width-obs="600" height-obs="419" alt="Meeting" title="" /></div>
<div class="sidenote"><span class="smcap">a.d. 1346.</span></div>
<p>King Edward had made all his soldiers sit on the grass and eat and
drink. Mounted on his horse he rode among them telling them to be
brave, for that they were now going to win a
glorious victory and cover themselves with
eternal glory. At three in the afternoon the
first French soldiers came face to face with the
Englishmen, and the battle began. Some<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_38" id="Page_38"></SPAN></span>
soldiers from Genoa who had been paid to fight for the French king,
said they did not want to fight, they were too tired and could not
fight as good soldiers should, but the men behind pressed them on
and they were beaten. A heavy rain fell, with thunder, and a great
flight of crows hovered in the air over all the battalions, making a loud
noise. Shortly afterwards it cleared up and the sun shone very bright.
But the French had it in their faces and the English at their backs.</p>
<div class="figright"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-038.png" width-obs="271" height-obs="375" alt="Look" title="" /></div>
<p>When the Genoese drew near, they approached the English with a
loud noise to frighten them; but the English remained quite quiet, and
did not seem to attend to it. They then set up a second shout and
advanced a little forward. The English never moved. Still they hooted
a third time, and advanced with their crossbows presented and began to
shoot. The English archers then
moved a step forward and shot
their arrows with such force and
quickness that it seemed as if it
snowed. The fight raged furiously,
and presently a knight came galloping up to
the windmill and begged the king to send
help to his son, the Black Prince, as he was
sore pressed.</p>
<p>"Is my son in danger of his life?" said
the king.</p>
<p>"No, thank God," returned
the knight, "but in
great need of your help."</p>
<p>Then the king answered:
"Return to them
that sent you and say that
I command them to let the
boy win his spurs, for I am
determined that, if it please
God, all the glory of this
day shall be given to him
and to those to whose care
I have entrusted him."<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_39" id="Page_39"></SPAN></span></p>
<div class='center'> <table class="horse" summary="horse">
<tr><td align='left'><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>
<div class='blockquot4'>This message cheered the Prince mightily,
and he and the English won the battle of Creçy.</div>
<div class='blockquot4'>And the battle of Creçy, one of the most
glorious in English History, was won by the
common people of England, yeomen and
archers, foot soldiers against the knights and
squires of France with their swords and
horses.</div>
<div class='blockquot4'>In this battle the blind king of Bohemia
took part with the French.</div>
<div class='blockquot4'>"I pray you," he said to his friends, "lead me into the battle
that I may strike one more stroke with this good sword of
mine."</div>
</td></tr></table></div>
<p>So they led him in and he was killed.</p>
<div class="sidenote"><span class="smcap">a.d. 1356.</span></div>
<p>The battle of Poictiers was fought entirely under the direction
of the Black Prince, and this was another splendid victory to England;
and in this battle the French king was taken. The king was brought
to the Black Prince as he was resting in his tent, and he behaved
like the true gentleman he was. He showed the deepest respect
and sympathy for his vanquished foe. He ordered the best of suppers
to be served to the king, and would not sit with him to eat, but
stood behind his chair and waited on him like a servant, saying—"I<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_40" id="Page_40"></SPAN></span>
am only a prince. It is not fitting I should sit in the presence of
the king of France." And King John said—</p>
<p>"Since it has pleased Heaven that I am a captive, I thank
my God I have fallen into the hands of the most generous and valiant
prince alive."</p>
<p>King John was taken as a prisoner to London. They rode into
the city, King John mounted on a beautiful white horse that belonged
to the Black Prince, while Prince Edward himself, riding on a black
pony, was ready to wait on him, and to do his bidding.</p>
<p>It was this generous temper which made the Black Prince beloved
by all who knew him; it was only during his last illness that his character
seemed to be changed by the great sufferings that he underwent,
and it was only during the last year of his life that he did anything
of which a king and an Englishman need be ashamed.</p>
<p>He seems to have inherited his skill in war from his father, and
from his mother, Queen Philippa, he inherited gentleness, goodness, and
true courtesy. There are many stories told of the goodness and courage
of this lady. Among others, this:—</p>
<div class="sidenote"><span class="smcap">a.d. 1347.</span></div>
<p>When Edward the Third had besieged Calais for a year, the good
town which had held out so long was obliged to surrender, for there was
no longer anything to eat in the city, and the folks said: "It is as good
to die by the hands of the English as to die here by famine like rats in a
hole." So they sent to tell the king they would give up the town to him.
But Edward the Third was so angry with them for having resisted him
so long, that he said that they should all be hanged. Then Edward the
Black Prince begged his father not to be so hard on brave men who had
only done what they believed to be their duty, and entreated him to
spare them. Then said the king—</p>
<p>"I will spare them on condition that six citizens, bare-headed and
bare-footed, clad only in their shirts, with ropes round their necks, shall
come forth to me here, bringing the keys of the city."</p>
<p>And when the men of Calais heard this, they said: "No; better to
die than live a dishonoured life by giving up even one of these our
brothers who have fought and suffered with us." But one of the chief
gentlemen of Calais—Eustace de S. Pierre—said:</p>
<div class="figright"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-041.png" width-obs="327" height-obs="500" alt="King" title="" /></div>
<p>"It is good that six of us should win eternal glory in this world<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_41" id="Page_41"></SPAN></span>
and the sunshine of God's countenance in the next, by dying for our town
and our brethren. I, for one, am willing to go to the English king on
such terms as he commands."</p>
<p>Then up rose his son and said likewise, and four other gentlemen,
inspired by their courage, followed their example. So the six in their
shirts, with ropes round their necks and the keys of the town in their
hands, went out through the gates, and all the folk of Calais stood
weeping and blessing them as they went. When they came to the king,
he called for the hangman, saying—"Hang me these men at once."</p>
<p>But Queen Philippa was
there, and though she was ill,
she left her tent weeping so
tenderly that she could not
stand upright. Therefore she
cast herself upon her knees before
the king, and spoke thus:—</p>
<p>"Ah, gentle sire, from the
day I passed over sea I have
asked for nothing; now I pray
you, for the love of Our Lady's son
Christ, to have mercy on these."</p>
<p>King Edward waited for a
while before speaking, and looked
at the queen as she knelt, and he
said—"Lady, I had rather you
had been elsewhere. You pray
so tenderly that I dare not refuse
you; and though I do it against
my will, nevertheless take
them. I give them to you."</p>
<p>Then took he the six
citizens by the halters and
delivered them to the queen,
and released from death all
those of Calais for the love
of her.</p>
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