OSPREY Crécy 1346 Triumph of the LongbowCampaign - 7| par Crécy 1346 Triumph of the LongbowFiat pubtshed in Great Grain» 2000 by Osprey Pubiehing, Es Cour, [Chapel Way, Bote. Oxon OX2 9LP United Kiger Ema: foSospreypubishing.com © 2000 Osprey Punishing lta eprntes 2002 [Al ight reserve. Apart rom any fit dein forthe purpose o eae sty ‘researc, ericism o review. as parmited under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no pat ofthis pubieaton may be reproduced stored in 8 rtrav eye, be trata inary frm or by ary meer, esctone, ‘ecteal, chemical, mecnaica eptal, photocopying, reerdeg of onenwae ithout he per written permission ofthe copyright owner. Engutas should be ‘ress the Publisher. ISON 1 85532 9652 CConsulant Eder: DAVID G, CHANDLER ‘Series Ector: LEE JOHNSON Editor Marcus Cowper Design: Th Black Spot Colour bes-eye view lustations by the Back Spot Cartegaphy by the Map Stucko Battiescene artwork by Graham Tuer Wargaming Créey by Stat Aaguan Crignated by Grasmere Orga maging, Leeds, UK Printed in China through Word Pe Li a2 09 06 98765432 FomacnALooue oF A BoKs PUSHED BY srner Mesanvano Anevon ease covmact ‘Tho Marketing Manager, Osprey Direct UK, PO Box 140, \Wotingborough, Northants, NN 2FA, United Kingdom. mai: info @ ospreycrect.couk ‘Tho Marketing Manager, Osprey Direct USA, clo MBI Publishing, PO Box 1 728 Prospect Avenue, Osceola, WI 54020, USA. mai info ospreycrectusa.com ‘rw ospreypubtshing.com KEY TO MILITARY SYMBOLS CICS bs oo Q2Saaes For Peter Nicolle and his family, a long-lost cousin and a new-found fellow interest. Artist’s Note Readers may care to note that the original paintings from ‘which the colour plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publisher All enquiries should be addressed to: Graham Tumer, PO Box 88, Chesham, Bucks, HPS 2SR, UK ‘The publishers regret that they can enter in to no correspondence on this matter. Further rea ‘Allman, C. ., Society at War, The Experiences of England ‘and France during the Hundred Years War ((evised ed. Woodbridge 1998). Ashley, W., Edward ill and his wars, 1327-1960 (1887; reprint 1993) Bume, A.H., The Crécy War: A Miltary History of the ‘Hundred Years War trom 1337 to the Peace of Bretigny 1360 (London 1955). Chazelas, A., Documents Relatits au Clos de Galées de oven et aux Ammées de Mer du Roi de France de 1293 4 1418 Paris 1977-1978). Contamine, P, ‘Crécy (1346) et Azincourt (1418): une ‘comparaison,’ in Divers aspects duu Moyen Age en Ocoident; Actes du Congrés tenu & Calais en ‘Septembre 1974 (Calais 1977) 29-44. Contamine, P, Guerre, Etat et Société en France, en Angleterre et en Bourgogne Xive-Xve Siecle (Lile 1991). Cum, A. and Hughes M. (eds), Arms, Armies and Participants in the Hunted Years War (Woodbridge 1994). Devries, K. infantry warfare nthe early fourteenth century: Discipline, tactics and technology (1986). Hewitt, H. J, The Organisation of War under Edward i, 1338-62 (Manchester 1996). Lot, F L’Art Miltaire et les Armées au Moyen Age en Europe et dans le Proche Orient (Paris 1946). Louandre, F-C., Lhistoie d’Abbevile et du comte de Ponthieu (Paris 1944; revised 1983). Lucas, H. S., Low Countries and the Hundred Years War, 1826-1847 (Ann Arbor 1928). Postan, M. M., ‘The Costs of the Hundred Years War’ Past and Present XVII (1964) 34-53. Prince, A. E, ‘The Payment of Army Wages in Edward Il's eign,” Speculum, XIX 1844) 137-160. Prince, A. E., ‘The Strength of English Armies in the Reign ‘of Edward I,” The Engyish Historical Review CLXXXI (1931) 353-371. ‘Sumption,J., The Hundred Years War, vol. 1: Tial by Battle (London 1990) Wail, H. de, Crécy 1346: Anatomy of a battle (Poole 1987).CONTENTS | ORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN 7 THE OPPOSING COMMANDERS 10 Englch Leaders « French Leadors OPPOSING FORCES 15 The English * The French OPPOSING PLANS 32 The English Invasion Plan « The French Defence Pian THE CAMPAIGN 33 “The invasion # The Battlefield © The Battle AFTERMATH AND RECKONING 77 THE BATTLEFIELDS TODAY 84 CHRONOLOGY 85 WARGAMING THE BATTLE OF CRECY 88 The English Army # The French Army INDEX 95 |‘The Mulihouse Altar was Jn Bohemia around 1395 ‘several decades after the ‘of Crécy. Nevertheless its 0 of the Saint-King shows the country's ‘saint as a warrtor-rulor se typical 14th-century used by Bohemia's feudal [State Galleries, no.1038, “A knight rescuing a from a giant, in an earty- English manuscript. Jenightly class saw them- ‘88 fully armoured cavalry ing right and erushing » which was, as in this ‘often represontod as a foot soldier. (Psalter of ‘of Canterbury, Pierpont Lib., Ms. Glazier 24, f. New York) ORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN prosperous and powerful than at any time since the height of the Roman Empire, France being the richest country in Christendom, England lagged far behind in terms of population and prestige, although the country was more united. Not only was part of south-western France ruled by the English king, but Flanders and Brittany were virtually auto-nomous. Both these fringe areas also had close commercial links with England, In 1328 there was a crisis of succession. Philip IV had died 14 years earlier, leaving the Capetian line apparently secure with three sons and a grandson. All of them died in rapid succession, with the last, Charles TV, leaving a pregnant queen. The French nobles elected Philip of Valois (the nephew of Philip IV) as regent and agreed that, if the queen produced a daughter, Philip would become king. A daughter duly appeared and Philip de Valois became King Philip VI. But the only w to legalise this situation was to adopt the new Salic Law, which stated th: no woman could rule France, nor could anyone lay claim to the crown through a female relative. This law also excluded several other princes who could have claimed the crown, one of them being King Edward IT of England, whose mother was a daughter of Philip IV. For several years things progressed smoothly enough until a new crisis erupted when Philip VI found it politically necessary to support the Count of Flanders against his old friend Robert d’Artois over the succession to the County of Artois, Robert felt betrayed and so transferred his allegiance to Edward Il of England. Not long afterwards a similar situation arose in Brittany when Philip VI ruled in favour of his nephew Charles of Blois, and his rival, Jean de Montfort, consequently turned t Edward. cre 1 D uring the early-l4th century France and England were moreSuch constitutional problems subsequently provided Edward II with political propaganda when war finally broke out in 1337; he officially proclaimed himself king of France three years later. The anonymous Invective against France, written shortly after the battle of Crécy, ma ing somewhat strangely that, ‘Christ is the King of the Jews by right of his mother, therefore let the boar (Edward's nickname] be made king over the French by right of his mother.’ The trigger to the outbreak of the Hundred Years War in 1937 was, as in so many previous Anglo-French wars, the unclear iglish-ruled Gascony in south-western France. This time, however, Edward III decided to use his claim to the French throne as a political weapon against Philip VI, while the latter used France's old ‘cotland as a weapon against Edward. Each ruler also ined the justice of Edward's claim by sta frontiers of alliance with S sought allies elsewhere, notably within the fragmented Holy Roman Empire, which included much of what are now Germany, Austria, part of Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, northern Italy, eastern France, Luxembourg, eastern Belgium and Holland. The first years of the war were very inconclusive. Despite a major English naval success at the battle of Sluys in 1340, many Englishmen doubted the wisdom of Edward III's aggressive policy towards a country as powerful as France and there was widespread fear of enemy coastal raids, Certainly Philip VI had decided to invest more heavily in naval power than France had done before, even hiring fleets of war galleys from Genoese and Spanish ship owners. Philip VI also undermined Edward's alliances in Flanders, though Edward opened up a new front in Brittany By 1545 the war was becoming dangerously expensive for both rulers. Edward IITs allies held most of Brittany on behalf of Jean de Montfo French attacks on Gascony in the southwest had been checked and Edward II had rebuilt his Flemish alliances. Finance was a proble Philip VI, whose subjects objected to paying taxes unless France was actually being invaded. Edward IIL also borrowed heavily and widely, so for Effigy of an unnamed knight, English c.1340-80. His armour is ‘typical of tho period, though more decorated than most. The previously accepted dating for English effigies and brasses ‘should be pushed forward ‘approximately a generation, in line with comparable monuments ‘on the Continent. (Parish church, Ifield; author's photograph)much so that the famous Bardi bank of Florence, lenders to crowned heads 346. Philip VI sent senior officials to recruit a war fleet in Nice, Monaco and Genoa consisting of 30 large and two smaller galleys whose crews could also serve as infantry. Crossbow-armed marines were recruited separately, and in March 1346 a large number were reviewed in the grounds of the Carmelite Convent in Nice. Edward IPs preparations were similarly careful, and focused on English troops rather than uncertain Flemish or Breton allies. His officers recruited men, purchased supplies and arms, and requisitioned large numbers of ships. ‘One such order to the sheriffs of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and elsewhere to purchase bows, strings and arrows demanded, ‘Since, for the sake of our expedition of war to France, we have immediate need of a great quantity of bows and arrows, we now firmly order and command you [that] you shall immediately cause to be brought and provided for us, out of the issues of your jurisdiction, 200 bows and 400 sheaves of arrows, from whatever places may seem best to you ....’ They were taken to the Tower of London, where Edward’s clerk, Robert de Mildenhale, promised to repay the sheriffs" expenses at a later date, Secret diplomatic or spying missions were sent to different parts of Europe before and during the Crécy campaign. Philippe de Burton, for example, was sent secretly to Spain and Portugal, along with André de Offord and Richard de Saham. Richard de Saham was subsequently sent to the Islamic Amirate of Granada in 1346-47, so perhaps he was regarded as an Iberian specialist, Other embassies were sent to Germany, Italy, Bohemia and Hungary:10 THE OPPOSING COMMANDERS ENGLISH LEADERS E dward IIT was born in 1312 and became king when his father Edward II was deposed in 1327. His long reign seemed filled with foreign wars while the Black Death, the plague of 1348, cast its ghastly shadow over the middle of the century. More positively Parliament also became a major force in English politics. Edward III’s carly years as king were overshadowed by his domincering mother Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, until in 1380 Edward had Mortimer executed and exiled his mother to a convent. Edward III is said to have been devoted to the ideals of chivalry, founding the Order of the Garter in 1348, but, despite an apprenticeship fighting the Scots, he had personal experience of only two major battle, Halidon Hill in 1333 and Crécy in 1346, His wars saw early successes and ended in long- term failure, while he himself died alone in 1377, his infamous mistress, Alice Perrers, having taken the rings from his fingers while only a priest \ed 10 give the king the last rites. son,, Edward, Prince of Wales, known as the ‘Black Prince’, is regarded as one of the most romantic figures in English history, The eldest son of Edward IIT and Philippa of Hainault, he was born in 1380, and was tall, muscular and a fearsome warrior. Even as a child Edward was given symbolic duties, becoming Earl of Chester at three, Duke of Cornwall at six and Prince of Wales in 1343. His participation in the Hundred Years War began two years later and he was only 16 when he A scene of knightly combat between Tristan and his foes in the Arthurian eyele wall-painting in a small castle in central France. Its dating Is uncle ‘most of the arms, armour and ‘costume are remarkably old- fashioned. (St Floret Castl author's photograph)‘so-called effigy of Bertold V, Duke of Zahringen, dating the early-14th century, is ‘over life-size. The knight's ‘and armour are typically (Freiburg-in-Breisgau 3; author's photograph) ‘cating knife with a carved handle, 14th century. ‘Museum, St ro) earned a reputation as a great warrior at the battle of Crécy. On that oceasion his authority was largely nominal, but at the battle of Poitiers in 1356 Prince Edward proved himself one of the finest commanders of his, generation, In reality, however, bis reputation for chivalry was earned in tournaments rather than on the battlefield, and his nickname of the Black Prince is likely to reflect his ruthlessness rather than the supposed colour of his armour. He fought his last campaign carried in a litter and his illness may have contributed to his savage treatment of the French city of Limoges. He died in 1376, a year before his father; his cultured son Richard IT became king on Edward IT's death, English noblemen commanded various parts of the army during the Crécy campaign, William Bohun, Earl of Northampton, probably being the most important. He supported Edward III during the political coup against his mother in 1830, then fought alongside the king in Scotland and Flanders where he earned a reputation for boldness. But William Bohun was more than merely a soldier; he was a member o! important embassy to the Pope, was granted the tide of Earl of Northampton in 1337 and became Constable of England the following year. He was one of the commanders of an Anglo-German force that campaigned in north-western France in 1339 and in the early 1340s he served as the king's lieutenant in Brittany, where he won several notable vietories before being recalled to help with the Crécy campaign. William Bohun remained a loyal supporter of Edward IL, taking part’in most major campaigns before his death in 1360 ‘Thomas Beauch ick, was another leading English commander during th In 1399 he had been one of the faders of a somewhat lacklustre Anglo-German, campaign near Cambrai, In 1340 lie was sent back to Flanders but with too few men to make much difference. With Northampton he was briefly imprisoned in Brussels as surety for Edward IITs debts and in 1342 he too was sent to Brittany. Thomas Beauchamp was a founder knight of the Order of the Garter and, like Northampton, took part in most major ‘campaigns of the Hundred Years War before his death in 1369. Godfrey de Harcourt was a minor baron from Normandy and is regarded as a traitor in French accounts of Crécy. The Harcourts claimed descent from a 10th-century Viking chieftain and Jean I de Harcourt had been Admiral of France. His eldest grandson, Jean IV, received the title of count in 1338, but Jean IV's brother Godfrey, the lord of SaintSaveur in the Cotentin peninsula, became a chronic rebel against the French Crown. The immediate reason for Godfrey de Harcourt’s rebellion was a dispute with Robert Bertrand, lord of neighbouring Briequebec, about the marriage of a local heiress. Both were summoned to Paris and during the course of a heated argument swords were drawn in the presence of the more successful le "12 king. Godfrey refused to return to Paris for judgement and gathered support among other diygruntled members of the Norman nobility, When their rebellion failed, Godfrey de Harcourt fled to Brabant and then to England in May 1345. Godfrey is sometimes credited with the idea of invading Normandy. According to the chronicler Froissart, he told Edward II, n jeopardy of my head, if you will land there, there is none that shall resist you. The people of Normandy have so far had no experience of war, and all the chivalry of France is gathered outside Aiguillon [in Gascony] with the Duke [of Normandy, King Philip’s son]. And Sire, there you shall find great towns without walls where your men shall haye riches to last them twenty years.” After Grécy, Edward's decision to abandon Normandy undermined Godfrey de Harcourt’s hopes of returning to his ancestral estates and, after again fleeing to Brabant, he returned to King Philip’s court with a rope around his neck, begging forgiveness. Any reconciliation was, however, temporary and in 1356 Godfrey de Harcourt again appealed to Edward Ill for help, this time against Philip VI’s son, King John IL FRENCH LEADERS Philip VI was the first French ruler in many generations to suffer defeat at the hands of the English. He was born in 1293 and his father, Charles, Count of Valois, Anjou and Maine, was the younger brother of King Philip IV and a grandson of Louis IX. His mother was Marguerite, daughter of King Charles 11 of Naples in southern Italy. When Philip himself inherited Valois, Anjou and Maine, his first cousin, Charles IV, was king of France. Crowned in 1328, Philip VI died in 1350 and was the first of the Valois dynasty, which ruled France until 1 is remembered as an astute politician rather than as a warrior, and was extremely cautious in military matters. In this he followed the advice given in an anonymous motet, or song, addressed to himself and his son. Philip, more vaduable than iron, betier than force used artfully is prudence, superior to lange armies, enabling you to bring back spoils from the enemy. Charles I, Count of Alencon, was the younger brother of King Philip VI. He was more of a warrior than the king and before the catastrophe of Crécy was quite successful, In 1380, for example, he captured the English-held city of Saintes in western France despite its large garrison. Whether his subsequent sacking of Saintes was approved by Philip VI is unclear but it forced Edward II to surrender his previous position, Unfortunately his success at Saintes may have given the Count of Alencon a false impression of both his own abilities and those of the English. Nevertheless, he remained one of the most experienced advisers to King Philip and his sickly son Duke John of Normandy, the future King John Il, and supported Charles of Blois in his attempt to regain Nantes, the historic capital of Brittany. Alencon’s participat the negotiations that broke an Anglo-Flemish alliance near Bouvines without recourse to a battle also suggests that he had diplomatic talents. on inThis picture of a warship carrying mailed troops and efended by an archer and a erossbowman Is in an English manuscript made around 1340. Guttrell Psalter, British Library, Ms. Add. 42130, f. 161v, London) John of Luxembourg was the son of one German emperor and the father of another. He himself was something of a knight errant, a chivalrous figure with skills of leadership and diplomacy, as well as absolute loyalty to France, Bohemia, which now forms part of the Czech Republic, lost its native ruling dynasty with the assassination of Wenceslas IL in 1306. The Bohemian nobility then turned to the Luxembourg dynasty, a German family under strong French influence. As a result, the L4yearold John of Luxembourg became king of Bohemia in 1310. His chivalric enthusiasm prompted his participation in Crusading campaigns in Lithuania (1328-29, 1337 and 1345), campaigns in Maly (1330-31) and in Bohemia itself. John of Luxembourg’s own interests were focused firmly westward. His ancestral estates lay in the fragmented western regions of the Empire, bordering France. Here the aristocracy spoke French while the common people spoke a variety of Low German dialects which the French lumped together as Thiois. Throughout his adult life, John of Luxembourg remained a faithful courtier, soldier and diplomat in the service of the French Crown. As one of Philip VI’s most trusted confidants, he was given authority in south-western France in 1338.39, fought alongside the king in Cambrai, and formed part of the negotiating team that broke the Anglo-Flemish alliance at Bouvines. John of Luxembourg was also one of Philip. VI's main financial backers for the Crécy campaign in 1346, by which time he was not only old, but almost blind. Count Louis of Flanders was also known as Count Louis Il of Nevers ‘de Creci’ to differentiate from his father, Count Louis 1 ‘de Flandre’, whom he succeeded in 1322 at the age of 18. Separated from his family at an early age Louis was brought up in the French court and had little understanding of his Flemish subjects, whose interests often clashed with those of the French Crown, Louis, however, remained totally loyal to King Philip VI even though this damaged his position in Flanders, and, perhaps as a result, was sometimes described as unimpressive and lacking judgement, Other evidence suggests that Louis of Flanders was not the buffoon history has painted, and he 1344 showed considerable guile in escaping from Ghent when he might otherwise have become a prisoner within his own lands. Thereafter he remained in exile at the French court until his death at the bate of Crécy. He took part in the Cambrai campaign of 1338, strongly opposed asion of Flanders in 1340 because the resulting devastation would ruin his chances of ever being accepted back, and played a partin the highly successful negotiations at Bouvines, Carlo Grimaldi, 1 Grande, was from one of the four leading families in medieval Genoa. The Grimaldis were Guelphs, traditional supporters of the Papacy in its ancient rivalry with the Holy Roman Empire. Thus, by extension, they were friends of France, which had long been the Popes’ most powerful supporter, Consequently Grimaldis were often found in French service as mercenaries, naval commanders or Carlo's father, Ranieri, had been lord of the Mediterranean ¢ of Ventimiglia from 1329 to 1335 until ousted by a Ghibbeline (pro- Imperial) coup. Four years later the Genoese, tired of the squabbling between their Guelphs and Ghibbeline aristocracy, proclaimed Simon Boccanegra as their new doge, or ruler but, Ventimiglia, where Carlo maldi had regained control, denied the new doge’s authority. In 1341 Carlo purchased Monaco from the Spinola family and this, with Ventimiglia and Roquebrune, became a refuge for Guelph families. Carlo Grimaldi and various members of his family, friends and dependants offered support to Philip of France in his struggle with Edward III of England. The Grimaldis’ territory may have been tiny, but their naval potential was significant. They were also prepared to fight alongside fleets supplied by their Ghibbeline rivals, the Doria family. For the first time in its history, the autonomy of Monaco was recognised while Carlo and his brother Antoine were made vicars, or governors, of Provence. In 1346 Carlo Grimaldi was temporarily ousted from Monaco bya local coup, but by then he was fully engaged in providing support to Philip VI, resulting in his own serious injury at the débacle of a French noes ‘Squires arming knights who then Joust with one another, as shown fon @ French or Italian carved Ivory mirror holder, mid-to late- 14th century. (Bargello Museum, Florence)lish effigy of an unnamed nt, 1940-50. This effigy is jal because the figure has @ , though now very aged, visor. (Alvechurch # author's photograph) OPPOSING FORCES THE ENGLISH hen the Hundred Years War began, the English Crown could W: upon plenty of professional soldiers in England and Gascony, and many commanders were experienced in combining different kinds of infantry and cavalry. Such capabilities resulted from a virtual military revolution that had taken place during the first half of the 1dth century. An important part of this was the indenture system, which, although it had been used earlier, meant that England could field entirely indentured or paid professional or semi- professional armies. At the start of the 14th century the higher aristocracy of England would not serve for money for fear of losing status but by the 1330s all accepted pay. Many of them also became military sub-contractors, raising troops by enlisting or indenturing their feudal tenants and members of their own households. This did not, however, mean that the men who fought at different from those who fought in earlier wars. They merely served under different conditions; they were volunteers who were properly paid for their participation. No indenture documents survive from the Crécy campaign, but in 1341 the Earl of Northampton was contracted to supply seven knights banneret, 84 ordinary knights, 199 other men-atarms, 250 archers and 200 other infantry soldiers. This indenture system may also have reflected the olde ons of Array, which listed available fighting men and their equipment based upon the value of cy were Commi 15their property. Only a quarter to a th f these levies were listed as archers and most of these were minor yeomen rather than the poorest peas: were similarly much better eq than those from country areas, Nevertheless, it seems th: still not enough voluntary recruits and in 1345-46 unpopular orders went out to enlist men through the old Commissions of Array. Another source of military manpower was men convicted of crimes, and several thou: vice pardons were issued during 134647. The poor and backward Celtic fringes of the realm were a further useful sourc Wales providing archers and spearmen, Cornwall spearmen, while assorted troops came from Ireland. All were, regarded by both English colleagues and French foes as singularly brutal in battle. Then there were local troops in English-ruled Gascony, as well as Edward III's Breton and Flemish allies, where the wealthy city of Bruges alone could mobilise 7,000 militiamen, Edward IL had hoped to raise army four or five times larger than those previously used in Fland Scotland, Although this was not achieved, the army which eventually sailed to Normandy was very large by the standards of the day. English armies were still bound together by a loose sense of feudal obligation despite the importance of the indenture system, and English military organisation lagged behind the systems of France, Burgundy or Italy. Leadership remained a noble prerogative, as did the command structure, which was reflected in the creation of the Order of the G: one of the earliest secular orders of knighthood. Like the slightly older French Order of the Star, but unlike the old religious Military Orders, it was intended to focus loyalty upon the monarch rather than the Church, -s were not of standard sizes, nor were the proportions of inf ind cavalry, archers and spearmen. Leaders led the troops they had, whatever their skills, and the optimum size and composition, though recognised in theory, was rarely achieved. The exis nts, Urban levies ped there were however, ce of terms, n leading , were divided m such as vintenar (an officer leading 20 men) and cendenar ( 100 men) suggests that such troops, particularly into roughly regular units where possible. There is also evidence that at Crécy and elsewhere English-speaking vintenaryand centenars were put in command of Welsh foot soldiers to improve communication and perhaps control their wild behaviour. ‘The provisioning of English armies was sophisticated. The Royal Wardrobe was closely involved in mil while its sub- department, the Privy Wardrobe, supervised the storage of important military equipment including the new-fangled guns. This Privy Wardrobe consequently became a reserve of ‘stores to be used in expeditions such as that of 1346. The main source of food, clothing and military equipment was managed by a system of purveyance, allowing eded at what they regarded as local officials to purchase whatever was 1 ‘A young King Edward itt of England does homage to King Philip VI of France for his possessions in Gascony in 1329, as illustrated in a mid- 14th-century French manuscript Such friendship would not, however, characterise their relationship for long. (Grandes Chroniques de France, ibliotheque Nationale, Ms. Fr. 2090-2, Paris)a fair price. Not surprisingly, there was widespread corruption and in the year of Crécy Edward III, ‘on hearing the great outcry and the complaints common amongst his subjects’, punished purveyors who abused their position. During the winter of 1345-46 the Tower of London, Greenwich and several other places served as depots for huge numbers of bows, while food was brought to numerous collection points ~ there were seven in Yorkshire alone. The Keeper of the King’s Wardrobe Accounts was primarily responsible for army wages during the Grécy campaign, its clerks sometimes accompanying military commanders to supervise payment. At this time a fully armoured cavalryman or man-avarms was regarded as worth ten infantry, Payment among the cavalry also varied, but the following daily rates seems to be typical of Edward III's time: a duke 13s. 4d; an earl 6s, 8d; a knight banneret 4s; a knight bachelor 2s; an esquire 1s. Its worth noting that the basic armour expected of a man-at-arms at the start of the 4th century cost about six days’ active service pay, and armour had become more expensive since then, Additional payment was introduced for overseas expeditions, averaging around 6d per day. Payment for non-noble troops was much less, though military engineers could expect high status and high pay. Even so the pay of a common. soldier serving within England might be twice or three times that of a peasant, with additional pay for service overseas. Otherwise, the pay of an archer was more than an ordinary foot soldier, an English archer more than a Welsh arche and a mounted archer sin ‘These paid indentured armies enabled longer-term planning and as a result the first decades of the Hundred Years War saw more co-ordinated movement and multi:pronged attacks than_ previous conflicts, The availability of experienced military leaders from the upper nd lower aristocracy alo relieved the king of mundane military concerns, On the ground, howew ed remarkably traditional. On the march English armies were usually divided into three battles or divisions: vanguard, mainward and rearguard, each with their rms and archers, their flanks being protected by mounted archers and men-at-arms, Similar attention was paid to transport systems. In 1359, and almost certainly during the Crécy campaign, the main units were preceded by a sort of pioneer corps of varlets who, according to Froissart, ‘went before the carts and cleared the paths and ways, and cut down the thorn bushes and the thickets, so that the carts might pass more easily’. ‘The importance of battlefield tactics has consistently been exaggerated by military historians, as has the supposedly superior English firepower achieved by massed use of longbows during the Hundred Years War, What did change was the number of archers in English armies and a more effective co-ordination between archers in defensive array and men-at- anns, either on foot or on horseback. Such tactics would remain largely unchanged throughout the Hundred Years War and a lack of further development would contribute to England’s ultimate defeat. The fully rmoured English menatarms were now not only prepared to fight on foot, but also co-ordinated their actions with those of the previously despised infantry. By learning to work together, and with their leaders beginning to employ archers and dismounted menatarms in concert, a crossbowman more than a longbowman, ar to that of a non-noble cavalryman, 5 tactics rem! own mer 1718 4 A gold noble or high-value coin minted in London 1346-51 but found in Rouen. It shows Edward Il with his coat-of-arms ‘quartered England and France, which he adopted after claiming the French crown. (Musée départmentale des Antiquités, Rouen) b A seal of Edward the Black Prince. It shows his coat-of-arms with a lable denoting a son or cadet of the family, plus his own badge of two ostrich feathers on ‘each side of the helmet. (Public Records Office, London) English armies consistently defeated their to come. Despite the dwindling number of militarily active knights in Englanc Edward III was never short of men-at-arms. There were probably fo. non-noble men-atarms for every person of knightly rank or above, whi there were still enough men of aristocratic rank to fill command an leadership ranks. In fact many from knightly families remained squires because of the huge expense involved in full knightly status William de Thweyt, for example, the younger son of a Norfolk gentr family, took up a military career, fought at Sluys and Crécy, anc commanded garrisons in England and Ireland. Such men formed th ed backbone of King Edward's army. But the English populatio: no longer seems to have held the knightly élite in particularly hig esteem. The Romance of Sir Percyvelle de Galles was probably written in th north Midlands for a non-noble audience during the mid-I4th cent It gently mocks the knightly way of life, its self-importance and its limite: Usefulness in battle, as in one part of the poem where a heroic knight h: to raise his visor to see what is going on: “And fast going they fle; for he was so mightily clothed [armoured]; all fearfu from him they fled, and ever the faster that they sped, the swifitier he came until he was aware of a knight. And when of this manoeuvre the knight ha sight, he put up his visor on height, and said, Six, by God watch out.” ench opponents for decade For its part, the English knightly élite regarded the master at arms or professional mi teacher as suspect, while fencing was seen a ‘trade of subtlety undermining true and natural valour’. Mercenary cavalr played a prot role in Edward III's armies: German men-atarms were recruited by the English more than by the French, while men fron ‘avoy served on both sides. Another unusual form of cavalry was the hobelar, @ light or almost unarmoured cavalryman riding a small fas horse or pony. They served Edward I in Ireland in 1296 and English hobelars were mentioned four years later. From the 1330s they serve¢ alongside mounted archers, who were themselves first recorded in 1333 English historians have largely focused on English infantry duri the Crécy campaign. The most effective element was, of course, the long. bowmen. Modern archers have shown that a longbow could be shot 15 times a minute, and although this was far slower than the rate of orientalcho used composite bows, it was much faster than the best cross- rate of shooting. A fully trained I4th-century longbowman ould also have done better. At home archers practised against targets at range of around 225 metres. In battle they could shoot with an almost lat trajectory at a close-range target to achieve maximum penetration, ough their greatest success at Crécy seems to have been by shooting adirect with a high trajectory to drop arrows within a designated kil one. Such indirect archery did relatively little harm to fully nen, except to their less protected limbs, but the arrows caused havoe to orses as even the best horse-armour was still largely made of mail, felt padded material. The function of an English longbowman when ing zone shooting was, of course, the same as that of Byzantine or sian horse-archers while shooting at rest ~ namely to dissipate the iking power of an enemy cavalry charge. The English mounted archers, of whom 1,700 served in Britany in 2, were not horsearchers but were capable of keeping up with the alry men-atarms with whom they formed a mobile striking force. In early part of the Hundred Years War most mounted archers came om towns rather than rural areas, more from southern England than om the north or the Celtic regions. It is also clear that prosperous omen families could supply both mounted archers and non-noble ratarms. Much less is known about the so-called spearmen who aght throughout the Crécy campaign, except that their status and their ay was low. Many came from Cornwall or Wales, and those from north les in the service of the Prince of Wales or the Earl of Arundel were the units in Edward III’s army to wear proper uniforms, Arundel’s men red and white, the Prince of Wales’ green and white. ‘The English fleet was not a navy in the modern sense and was far less plined than the army. But by the mid-14th century its technology more sophisticated than is generally realised. Fishermen from the h Isles sailed far afield, perhaps almost as far as those Scandinavian sriners who took identical ships to Iceland and Greenland. On the her hand the psychological horizons of English sailors were much ore limited than those of the Genoese, Spaniards or even the French. 's almost impossible for their commanders to keep a fleet together any length of time, or for individual vessels to maintain station in ABOVE 14th-century stained glass window of the Tree of Jesse, plus a series of donor figures. The armour is very old fashioned and ‘could even date trom the late- 13th century. (Church of St Mary, ‘Shrewsbury; author's photograph) BELOW Part of a large, richly ‘embroidered textile showing the ‘golden leopards of the ruling Plantagenet family of England, on ‘an essentially red ground. it was made between 1325 and 1350 and may have been part of a horse's caparison or covering. (musée de Cluny, inv. Cl. 20367, Paris)relation to one another. In fact the men who actually fought at sea for Edward TH, rather than merely controlling the ships, were soldiers rather than sailors and this was particularly true of their commanders, Most ships were commandeered or ‘arrested’ when needed for royal service. They came from all around England, principally from the southern and East Anglian coasts, their crews and ship masters being paid from the Royal Exchequer via the masters of their home ports. The only permanent naval arsenal was at the Tower of London, where the Clerk of the Royal Ships had his office. The king also had a few royal ships, cither purchased or captured from the enemy, although most seem to have been specially built. Nor did these vessels have permanent crews, which were hired, pressganged or selected from il when needed, The Mth century was a time of great change in armour, though less so in weaponry, with an increasing use of French terminology, reflecting new pieces of equipment. In The Lay of Havelock the Dane, probably written in Lincolnshire early in the 14th century, ns of armour had names derived from French with only the simplest or most basic Ii or Anglo-Saxon names. More French terminology is seen in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written in Cheshire around the mid-or later 14th century. Archery mostly used English terms except, inter- arrow. Other infantry The Lay of Havelock the estingly enough, for the barbe or barb of a wat weapons are mostly English or Norse but, as ‘One side of the wooden Levitic Pew end, mid-14th-century German. This carving particularly important because © illustrates the rear as well as front of a coat-of-plates, here ‘with two shoulder buckles and two buckles on the back. (Vers! Cathedral) ‘St George and the Dragon, a Bohemian wall-painting made before 1350. Though old ‘fashioned, this picture shows t basically German-style military ‘equipment used by the knightly {lite of Bohemia around the time! of the battle of Crécy. (The ‘Molantrich House, Prague)Dane, the French giserne or gisarme is mentioned. Sir Gawain and the Gren Knight also included a detailed description of a knight putting on his helmet: Then lifts he the helm and hastily it kisses; that was stapled stiffly [referring to the vervelles, which secured the mail aventail] and padded within, Tt was tall on his head, buckled behind [to his coatofplates}; with a fluttering yrysoun [cloth covering] hanging over the aventail; embroidered and bounded with the best_gems; with broad silken borders and birds on the seams. Longbows were not, of course, new but had largely fallen out of favour as a military weapon during the 13th century, In fact the longbow was simply called a bowe until the 16th century and was widely used in the Low Countries, France, Scandinavia, Italy and elsewhere. [ts draw= weight way usually between 30 and 46 kilograms and, though it could rarely penetrate the armour worn by the lth century to protect the vital organs, it could infliet disabling wounds to limbs and to horses. The best arrows were of ash, though many were of aspen, and they included different weights for long-range flight shooting, ordinary archery, and arrows with heavy broad heads for use at short range. In 1347 such bows f of arrows costing Is 4d, a high price compared with the wages of an ordinary working man or peasant. The numbers of bows and arrows needed for campaigns like Crécy was enormous, requiring the importation of raw materials from much of the known world. In 1341, 35 counties supplied 7,700 bows and 13,000 59 the same areas sent 20,000 bows, 850,000 of arrows and 50,000 bowstrings to the Tower of London. Other weapons ranged from the simple cultellus, or knife, worn by men of all classes, and the broaderbladed basilard dagger, which reached England in the 1340s, to swords of different sizes and weights. A greater variety of polearms included the long-bladed gisarme with its thrusting point, the heavy poleaxe and the similar bill. The a few pikestaffs or pikes, as well as the halberd, halm ba Cannon were used in small numbers in several parts of Europe by the 1340s, Ribaldis are first mentioned in the Privy Wardrobe accounts between February 1345 and March 1346, during preparations for the Crécy campaign. They would also appear in larger numbers at Edward II's siege of Calais in 1346-47, yet this ribald may still have been no more than a light cart. Only later in the 1380s would the ribaudekin clearly be a light or multiple gun mounted on cartlike wheels. Other cannon were, however, readied for the Crécy campaign. They are believed to have shot large arrows as well as cannon balls and perhaps a simple form of grapeshot. Limited as their effectiveness may have been, guns and gunpowder were so valuable that they were virtually confined to the Royal Wardrobe, Another major concern for governments during the mid-14th century was the supply of horses of suitable quality. During the Sluys campaign of 1339 it was assumed that a man-atarms needed three horses, a knight four, and a banneret five. They ranged from the very expensive destrier to the less costly courser and the cheapest equus, with huge price differentials within each category. The high wastage of horses ‘on campaign meant that studs and breeding centres were vital, as was were Is 8d each, with a st sheaves of arrows. In 1 sb or shafied 24importation, The English government similarly banned the export of horses in times of crisis. THE FRENCH In France the old service debitwm feudal system of military recruitment via the ban or arriére ban, st general levy, had virtually collapsed by the start of the 1th century when many troops won the right not to serve outside their own regions. During the early part of the 14th century, however, military obligations were extended to rear or secondary vassals, and in 1317 King Philip V reorganised the French army on this basis. Each town and castellany was responsible for providing a specified number of fully equipped troops, usually sergeants and infantry, while towns in economically advanced areas like Flanders became a major source of men and money. At the same time the old arriére ban was generally commuted in favour of taxation, The aristocracy continued to form the basis of French armies. The aristocracy, the noblesse or chevalerie, differed from that of England in significant respects. It had become a hereditary caste whose members claimed privileges in taxation and law, as well as status and military rank, while th within their own regions. There were between 45,000 and families in the cou could only afford the rank of squire, This meant that 2,850 to 4,000 fighting men, theoretically capable of serving as a man-avarms, should have been available ~ four times as many as in England Philip VI abandoned traditional feudal vassal recruitment by 1350, except where a form of feudal annuity called the fiefrentewas concerned. Here a man received payment in return for feudal military service and although this very expensive system was in decline by the mid-I4th n. Hiring najor provincial barons remained almost autonomous rulers 50,000 noble try, although those at the lower end of the scale century, it played a significant role during the Crécy campais ‘The Church of St Saveur and, beyond it, the Abbaye aux Hommes in Caen. The spot where St Saveur now stands ‘would have been inside the walis of the Old City in 1348, while the Abbaye stood outside. The English approached from the hills in the distance. (Author's photograph)42th-13th-century walls of castle on the northern side the city were strong enough to ‘the English conquerors. ¢ Edward Ill moved on, the ison emerged to destroy the unit he left behind. 1or's photograph) troops by verbal or written contract was becoming more important. The fully developed indenture system with a retaining fee, as seen in England, was rarely seen in France. Instead, military units simply left in search of other employers at the end of their contract, while failure to \d such employment led to widespread banditry Philip VI and his successors also tried to develop a new form of feudal recruiument for men-atarms, supplementing the now inadequate ban and arnéve ban, The latter had demanded military service from all male subjects between the ages of 14 and 60, but the new semonce des nobles was directed towards all me Those summoned on this basis received daily wages similar to troops hired by contract. As a result French rulers w ‘ely short of fighting men. What they lacked were disciplined, wained and experienced ts. Another form of recruitment was the arriéve-ban apnis bataille, or al call to arms after a major defeat, which implied a distinction between ordinary and crisis situations. In rural areas cart or wagon service provided the army with its tansport. One example survives in a judgement of the Parlement de Paris, made on 2 June 1346, Apparently the villagers of Villencuve-Saint-Georges had refused to provide wagon service to the local abbey in time of war because the claim of the Crown to such service was more important As in England, changes in recruitment made little difference to the composition or appearance of French armies. These forces were however, large and expensive. The king’s own contingent or hotel generally cost less than one-tenth of the total, though the royal hétel did include garrisons as well as the artillery train, Military expenditure also covered food, wine, fodder and wages. As a result Philip VI was almost constantly in financial difficulty, largely because France lacked a national system of approving taxation. The king had tried to solve this by first summoning the arriée dan, then commuting it for money. But the arrive ban could only be called after a war began, so forward m lly impossible, In 1345, during the build bers of the nobility between those ages. sol gene planning was virtd 23‘Scene from the Life of St. ‘Nicholas on a panel painting by ‘Ambroglio Lorenzetti, ¢.1332 AD. The importance of this lit picture lies in the fact that Lorenzetti showed the typical mid-14th contury Italian great ‘alleys with great accuracy, though the figures are out of scale. Such vessels would have formed part of the Genoese fleet which arrived in Normandy early Jn August 1346. (Uffizi Gallery, Florence) Crécy campaign, Philip VI tried a new method of raising cash, with each locality paying a specified sum to furnish a specified number of sergeants or men-atarms, and this proved quite effective. Defeats lowered royal prestige, however, which made it harder to gather taxes and rai armies. In fact defeat fed upon defeat Following the military reorganisation of 1317, leaders and regional commanders were appointed directly by the crown. Of all the senior officers, the master of crossbowmen was the most strictly military, since other officers including the constable and the marshals also had political roles, Men supervising military expenditure in the king’s own hdtel were also active soldiers, Philip VI's butler, Gille de Soyecourt, being killed at Crécy. The terms lance and glaive described a mounted man-ata with his squire and other support personnel, while infantry were generally grouped into constabularies or connétablies. These usually newaremame-tont feul que relfentable fore eiengue en babilone par fixe 2 par teftroic a tant retpenra Lamurant neo groit queilnes nes horineuct aint 9 eve tore afotte fone parfone > h vercaal fort deor umbered from 45 to 55 although they could range between 20 d 150. Urban militiamen aged from 15 to 60 were often formed into aines, four of which formed a connétablie of about 100 men. As in Jand, the monarchy encouraged a revival of the chivalrie ethos with yalty focused upon the Crown, resulting in the creation of the Order the Star. Defeats during the early years of the war may also have couraged all levels of society to group themselves around patrons mutual support. This, however, fragmented the aristocracy imo npeting factions. French defeats have given the impression that French commanders outclassed by their supposedly more advanced English opponents. fact, both sides faced similar constraints. The existing communications transport systems meant that defence had to be organised locally, bh small military units watching extensive frontiers, coasts and roads. herefore seems remarkable that so little effort was put into improving, snch fortifications during the first decades of the war, In the perous but vulnerable north, several generations of relative peace produced towns and even cities with few, inadequate or poorly tained defences. In the generally flat or rolling countryside of thern France, walled towns were also militarily more important than the rugged south. Here, major centres might have royal garrisons, but were responsible for defending the entire area, not merely the town. the same time the vital plat pays, the agricultural zone associated with mn or city, was more vulnerable in the north than the south. When jer did threaten an inadequately fortified town, the first priority was rengthen walls and gates, organise guards, prohibit the export of dstufls, check the identity of strangers and get an exemption from ding troops to the arriére ban. The command structure and duties of citizen had supposedly been arranged in advance, with the local being divided into squads of 10 to 50 men. Until the end of the 13th century France had virtually no naval dition along its Channel and Atlantic coasts, all previous naval phasis having been in the Mediterranean, The Clos des Galées at en, established in 1293, was the first arsenal in northern Europe. the galleys themselves, it was of Genoese design. Timber came from Youngsters train in the use of the lance, one boy charging towards ‘a quintain that the second boy ‘swings on a rope, as shown in ‘the margin of a mid-14th-century Flemish manuscript. (Romance of Alexander, Bodleian Library, Ms. Bod. 246, 1.82v, Oxford)‘Amid-14th-century fully armoured crossbowman on a ‘carved altar from what is now eastern France. Many of the mercenary or allied infantry in Philip V's army would have been ‘equipped in this manner. (Church of St Nicholas, Hagenau; author's photograph) the Cotentin peninsula, most of the shipbuilders and naval crews originated in Narbonne or Provence, while their officers were Genoese In 1330 the Clos des Galées also started building northern ships, notably the Norman barge, which was a development of the old Scandinavian single-masted longship with the addition of fighting castles and a crew o! 100 to 200 men. As in England, transport vessels were requisitioned when required. Scottish privateers were also welcomed in French ports as allies against their common English foe, many ships operating with mixed French and Scottish crews. Coastal defences were based upon « similar system to that in southern England. Even. major coastal ports were virtually unfortified, but several small garrisons were supported by mobile forces based in three coastal zones, each under a ‘captain of the sea frontier’, One stretched from the Flemish border to the Somme estuary; the next from the Somme to the Seine and the third from the Seine to the Breton border. Another covered the Atlantic coast from Brittany to English-ruled Gascony. Local militias and lordships supposedly reinforced the captains of the sea frontier, but usually arrived too late to be much help. In battle the French still relied primarily upon the impact on morale of a fully-armoured cavalry charge in which men-at-arms operated in eschielles, or squadrons, which probably averaged around 100 horsemen. In such a charge it was normal to ride with a loose rein with the horses very close together. Banners still played a vital role, enabling cavalry and infantry to maintain cohesion and for men to rally aroundSe erian knight or man- /semed in typical French as illustrated in a ‘manuscript from around See of Crécy. His horse semever, completely 1. (King Nabor and Sewain, Ms. Fr. 122, 1. 80v, ue Nationale, Ms. Fr, 20y, Paris) if they became separated; the fall of a banner was normally accepted as a time to retreat, It was now also usual for commanders to retain a cavalry reserve to take advantage of any break in the enemy line. At the battle of Crécy the impact of cavalry charges was intended to strike at morale rather than cause physical damage, but the impact on morale of French armoured cavalry had already failed against infantry in solid ranks several times before the outbreak of the Hundred Years War Disciplined infantry armed with crossbows had sim charges in Italy and in the Iberian peninsula, What English infantry now brought to the battlefield was a massed use of Iongbows which proved even more effective in shattering the morale of armoured cavalry oops A crossbow was held laterally and could not be used in such close ht and superior aerodynamics of a crossbow bolt gave it greater penetrating power. The use of large numbers of crossbowmen in open battle also requi between crossbowmen, the pavesari, or shield-bearers behind whom up to three crossbowmen took turns to load, advance, shoot and retire, and the cavalry who defended their vulnerable flanks. Unfortunately problems of co-ordinating the actions of cavalry and infantry in earlys lth-century French armies had led to the establishment of separate chains of command. It would be wrong to assume that French rn from previous cavalry failures, but the larly foiled ca ranks as the hand bow, but the wei d close co-operation commanders were unable to k 27A late-14th-century Italian infantry pavise, complete with ‘the arms of Florence (among others). Such pavises provided protection for crossbowmen, and the Genoese lack of them at the battle of Crécy proved disastrous. (Private collection, Florence) first recorded occasion when French mounted to fight the English manner’ was less than three months before Crécy. The military effectiveness of the French nobility was, in fact, in decline. The nobility had become a closed caste entered only by birth, The increasing cost of maintaining a noble lifestyle meant that many families entered trade and consequently the militarily active aristocracy was shrinking. Some families solved the problem by offering allegiance to more powerful noblemen in return for patronage. Others entered the direct service of king or Church, while in peaceful and prosperous Normandy the local knightly class had been virtually demilitarised for 100 years. Those of the senior French chevalerie who remained militarily active often regarded the primary role of knighthood as the achievement of personal or family honour through highly visible individual acts of prowess. This was fine during tournaments, but if it spilled over into battle the results could be disastrous, as at Crécy. The majority of French mer atarms also tried to follow a knightly code known as the ‘Law of Arms’, which reduced the brutality of warfare, at least where fellow members of the aristocracy were concerned. In this they were helped by varlets, o1 servants, who did the dirty work of robbing or pillaging to obtain food on campaign. Varlets were often recruited for their local knowledge and, in 1351, appear to have been paid half as much asa squire. A\ atarms were similarly protected from the consequences of capture; their tenants were expected to pay ransoms since it was not in the government's interest that a noble family became destitute. Many mid-l4thcentury French men-atarms had wide military experience, ranging from the relatively humane battlefields of Italy to the rougher circumstances of Balkan, Mediterranean, Iberian and Baltic crusades. The large numbers of French soldiers who served as mercenaries in Italy must have learned the effectiveness of disciplined crossbow-armed infantry. Combat skills were taken similarly seriously by French men-avarms. Training manuals had been known since at least the late-13th-century, and the attitudes expressed in such manuals are closer to those of modern commando training than the gentlemanly skills of a duel. When using a sword the thrust was already extolled ove: the cut, the main blows being aimed at an opponent's head. Physical fitness, agility and an ability to dodge or parry blows were all expected of a fully trained man-atarms, who also trained hard to improve his horsemanship, particularly the ability to remount quickly in the press of battle. Most French mi id mercenary infantry came under the authority of the Grand Master of Crossbowmen, Though larger towns employed professional guards and sergeants, and some had royal garrisons, their defence relied primarily on local militias. Many members of the aristocracy now lived in towns and although they would not normally serve in the guet or night watch on the ramparts, nor in guard daytime sentry duty at the gates, they probably assumed a command or leadership role. Urban nights may also have formed part of an arriére guet, or mounted re within the walls. In France urban militias were obliged to send men to the king's muster who were normally dispersed among existing divisions when they reached the royal army. Militia crossbowmen would probably have been from slightly better-off backgrounds, as they were in Italy, and agreed to train regularly in exchange for certain tax exemption: tocratic men- crve,The equipment of well-armed infantry in an army sent by Charles of re to Normandy in 1357 consisted of lorigones (mail hauberks), inet helmets, plates or coatsofplates armour, large pavois and ller tablachos shields, plus crossbows. Among ordinary militiamen poorest did not possess crossbows, the next grade had merely a bow, the next a crossbow and armour, while the top category expected to provide arms for eight or so sergeants. Large-scale luction of complex weapons like crossbows required sophisticated momic organisation, which could only be found in towns or cities. yy different craftsmen would be involved, all working in a co- finated manner. The resulting weapon required little strength and ted training to be effective, but confident teamwork between cross yen and their supporting shielc-bearers enabled a trained unit of bowmen to maintain a much faster rate of shooting than might be ted. Uniforms were rare, although one unit of royal crossbowmen been issued with standard black cottes, or tunics, earlier in the century, Discipline was severe, with the houses of militia deserters yg pulled down, Other foot soldiers in mid-L4uhcentury France ded so-called brigans, brijantes or brigands. Some were relatively armoured, although a similar term had previously been used in Italy Savoy for low-status foot soldiers without crossbows. Later in the century, of course, the word brigand came to mean a desperate x, in many cases a recently demobilised soldier. lost of those units which were called companies stemmed from, or formed by the lords of regions closely associated with France. ing the early decades of the Hundred Years War companies of men- came from neighbouring parts of the German Empire such as e, Cologne, Guelders, Juliers and more distant Bavaria. Some units, small, less than 100 men, and as the years passed they became ler still. Bohemia was also part of the Empire and some of its knights ‘lieved to have followed John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, to . Bohemia was, however, a relatively backward part of central ype where arms and armour seem to have been old fashioned. vrance’s weakness in archery was recognised well before Crécy. In King Philip recruited crossbowmen in Brabant in what is now jum, In 1345 he tried to do the same in Aragon, while Provence in eastern France was another significant source. [aly remained the reservoir of qualified crossbowmen. It was the most densely lated part of medieval Europe and practice with the weapon was an ation for men throughout much of the country, so there were many ‘a Seal of Charles Il de Valois, Count of Alencon, 1329-46. (Cabinet des Médailles aux Archives Nationales, Paris) Grande, first ruler of autonomous Monaco, 1341-87. (after E. E. Robella) ‘© Seal of Raoul, Duke of Lorraine, 1329-46, dated February 1994. (Archives duu Meurthe and Moselle, Nancy) 4 Seal of John of Luxembourg, kking of Bohemia, also showing hhim as ruler of Poland, 1310-46, dated 1914, (Staatsarchivs, m 2729, Or, Reg. Luxembourg, Bertin)qualified crossbowmen available. Italian crossbowmen had, in fact, served France since at least the early-14th century. The most famous were the so-called Genoese, who actually came from many different places, even beyond Italy. To describe them as mercenaries is misleading, since Genoa was an ally of France. In fact many of these crossbowmen, their pavesarii (shield-bearers), the fleet in which they served and the men who recruited them, had long exp France. ience of serving Italians had long dominated trade and warfare in the Medite anean and they were now a force to be reckoned with in the Adantic. Their galleys carried large fighting crews and their m land, presum: weapons also car rines also fought on ply using light ballistae crossbows rather than the heavy ied by many galleys, In 1340, for example, a large ally with around 100 quarrels, or arrows, for each. According to Clos des Galées records for 1346-47, the master of a galley called the Sainte Marie was Crestien di Grimault (or Grimaldi), with a crew of 210 men, consisting of one comite, one souz comite, one clerk, one under-clerk and 205 crossbowmen and sailors plus the master. This ship left Nice on 24 May 1346 and was contracted to serve for 161 days at 900 gold florins per month, plus 30 florins per extra day. It is not clear how such men were organised when serving on land, ner. Records from late-13th-century Venice mention naval spears or pikes, 5 metres long with shafts of ash or beech. Since there were usually more than three crossbowmen for each shield-bearer, it would seem that these Crossbowmen took turns to shoot from behind cover provided by the shield-bearer, then stepped back to span and load their weapon before returning to shoot. If this was their normal tactic, then the Genoese Genoese galley in French service carried 40 ballistae, norn but presumably those from one ship would remain toget The Seine valley near Elbeuf. Hore Edward Ill had to decide whether to attack Rouen, attack Paris, cross the River Seine and Join his Flemish allies, or return ‘the way he had come. It is still one of the richest and most fertile parts of northern France. Tho Seine was also a vital stratogic and trade link between Paris and the sea. (Author's photograph)failure at Crécy becomes easier to understand, since here they were operating without their mantlet-shields, Quite what the pavesarii (shield- bearers) were expected to do when the Genoese infantry were ordered forward at Crécy is unknown, though written sources mention spearmen. advancing with the crossbowmen. Such teams of soldiers were essentially static or defensive troops and the decision to send them forward against the English at Crécy may indicate that the French commanders had little idea how to use what were at that time regarded as the finest infantry in Christian Europe. King Philip VI took a close interest in the theoretical aspects of warfare, offering his patronage to Guido da Vigevano, the author of the 1385 Texawrus. This hook was intended as a source of military advice for a future Crusade and 14 of its 23 sections are devoted to milita technology. The Texaurus is also more original and practical than other military weatise written in the period. Most of its technical terms are in Italian, not Latin, and reflect the flourishing technology of an age when Latin could no longer cope with the language of real machine developments. Of more immediate concern, however, was the manufacture and purchase of large quantities of arms and armour. Such equipment took a long time to manufacture but was easy to store, Consequently arms and armour merchants built up their stocks in time of peace, ready to sell them in time of crisis. Italian merchants seem to have dominated ul le, Haly producing the finest armour, and Germany manufacturing the best blades. France, like England, also had its own arms manufacturing centres. By the 1830s and 1340s the Clos des Galées, for example, was turning out huge quantities of couteaux (daggers), lances, dards (javelins), haches norroises (axes), as well as crossbows, garrocs to span crossbows, crossbow stirrups, quarrels (arrows) and ‘spinning’ viretons. In 1340 it had no less than 3,000 to 4,000 crossbows, tens of thousands of quarrels, as well as spears, javelins and other weapons in store, Virctons were manufactured in hundreds of thousands. The average cost of a crossbow was quite cheap at 11 sous and 5 deniers, most having bows of composite construction, which, though coated with another substance, were vulnerable to damp. The standard war crossbow would have been spanned using a belt and hook, possibly incorporating a pulley, with straps and belts to suit the size and strength of the man Other French weapons were the same as those used by their English opponents, though French infantry may have made greater use of the barde, a long-hafted axe with a thrusting point. Both the French and the Genoese may similarly have used the tavelas, a large round or oval infantry shield. Since the French were on the defensive during the Crécy campaign, they made more use of static siege weaponry. Written records indicate that the stores of a walled town or castle anticipating a siege should include timber, lime, stones, bricks, tiles, nails, pitch, tar, rope, canvas thread, hide, leather, coal, iron, lead, saltpetre, carts, cord, ammunition for springalds (frame-mounted weapons comparable to very large crossbows), crossbows, armour and weapons, plus boats and naval tackle for coastal or riverside locations. The French were, in fact, ahead of the English when it came to firearms. One French ship used a gun at sea in 1838, and cannon helped save Cambrai from Anglo- Flemish hands the following year. atTHE OPPOSING PLANS THE ENGLISH INVASION PLAN ixandahalf centuries after the event, Edward TI's original S intentions remain unknown, although a grand strategy whereby several armies converged on Paris from Normandy, Flanders, Brittany and Gascony is extremely unlikely. Perhaps Edward hoped to conquer the northern coastal regions, then add them to Brittany where allies were doing well. Ifso, the plan proved impossible and Edward npaign became little more than a great chevauchée, or raid. On the other hand all major English campaigns from 1344 to 1359, including that of Crécy, may simply have been political demonstrations to lay bare Philip VI's weakness. Edward’s military ‘might’ would thus strengthen his ‘right’ to the French Crown. It has been suggested that after Edward's fleet sailed home laden with booty following the fall of Caen, he had no choice but to march overland towards the supplies he hoped to find at Le Crotoy in Ponthiew Itis unlikely that Edward If wanted a major battle with Philip until after he had linked up with the Flemings, so their retreat would have come as unpleasant news. Once a battle became inevitable, however, Edward III's plans made it clear that he wanted to fight the French cavalry rather than, their infantry, Consequently, he provoked cavalry charges uphill against obstacles defended by welkprepared infantry formations, Once the Genoese had been defeated, this was of course precisely what happened. THE FRENCH DEFENCE PLAN Philip VI had almost no choice but to adopt a defensive strategy in which local forces tried to defend towns in the English path and harassed the invaders while the king assembled an army to face them openly. IFit became impossible for the English to administer the territory they had conquered, then in time the French could retake it. In fact this is what happened in Normandy. Only at Calais were the invaders determined to hold what they overran. After Edward III’s army crossed the River Seine, Philip VI may have hoped that by vigorously pursuing the English he could encourage them to eave France without a major battle, This hope was shattered when he came upon the English army in a well-prepared position at Crécy. ‘Once a major battle became inevitable, Philip's previous experience may have misled him. At Cassel in 1328 a welljudged French cavalry attack against the Flemish flank had brought rapid victory. King Philip's other su cesses at Buironfosse in 1339 and Bouvines in 1340 had been ‘non-battles’ where a patient avoidance of combat had defeated two of Edward TI's previous campaigns. But such tactics required a strong political position. Following the devastation caused by the English since landing in Normandy, not to mention the taunts of those who described this as the “behaviour of the fox and not the lion’, King Philip was under pressure to act decisively.4th-century French bronze aquamanile, te wine or water rm the form of a fully ¢ knight, (Bargello . Florence) THE CAMPAIGN THE INVASION he English army which assembled around Portsmouth in May I and June 1346 was very large, though not as large as Edward IIL had hoped. The mustering was also slower than intended. Nevertheless, King Edward took the risk of exposing the country to Scottish raids by recruiting everywhere except in the most northerly counties. At least half the army seem to have been archers, but it included miners, masons, smiths, farriers, engineers, carpenters, tent- makers, surgeons, officials, clerks and the men-atarms The resulting force numbered between 10,000 and 15,000 and required at least 750 ships. The gathering of this fleet was si delayed by storms. The largest vessels were 200-ton cogs, but a shortage of suitable ships meant that 10-ton craft were requisitioned, perhaps including the coastal ships which brought huge amounts of food to the assembly point, Edward IIT himself arrived at Porchester Castle on 1 June to supervise operations, while the government used various forms of propaganda to whip up antiFrench feeling. Troops were then paid an extra fortnight’s wages in advance, and the ports of London, Dover, Winchelsea and Sandwich were closed to prevent news of the invasion fleet reaching France. No ships were allowed to leave until a week after the fleet had sailed, the only exception being Sir Hugh Hastings and the men he was taking to Flanders. Quite when Edward TIT changed his final plans is unclear, but it may have been during a secret meeting around 20 June. It had previously been assumed that the fleet would sail to Gascony and the ships were victualled for a two-week journey. But then Edward II either changed his mind or told his commanders his true plans, which were to land on the Cotentin peninsula of Normandy. Another invasion would be launched from Flanders, supported by Sir Hugh Hastings, a knight from Norfolk with a small force of 18 barges, 250 archers and some men-atarms, On 24 June the leaders of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres had accepted English direction and on 16 July Hastings left for Ghent, where Flemish forces were assembling under the nominal command of Count Henry of Flanders. The neighbouring rulers of Brabant and Hainault had meanwhile agreed to support Philip VI of France, counter-balancing Edward's Flemish alliance, The French knew that invasions were imminent but they were severely hampered by not knowing the destination of the English fleet. Defence preparations had been ince 18 March, with Brittany or Gascony as the anticipated targets. Charles of Blois recruited widely in Brittany and enlisted foreign woops, while in May Philip VI sent reinforcements drawn from the Duke of Normandy's army in Gascony. This left a few scattered garrisons and some Genoese crossbowme Normandy and Picardy, where a state of emergency was declared with der waFRANCE BEFORE THE INVASION Sem etooors tary & Flanges pis Cty Pots ees rom amare Ma a oe Fume Yar hy France HB ncaa sceneries o ners i 1B engisn courses mtn coastal cetenceresponsibites | F 4 canes by Aol Gascons in 1345 [essences somo hat French assoie stipe ote ao sscarmaty Seemasrrtgom] / [Swett . ae oenet] S eee ‘ S rs @Paris THE EMPIRE : FRANCE - a a i “ } 7 log rea | ro | | \ aioe j ro "i uy ae perry s Sere ee | I / es | castle NAVARRE. Somos, ha ‘ARAGON‘of the smaller wall-paintings Castle shows cross- and pavesari operating t dates from around (Castle of Sabbionara, ‘author's photograph) crude attempts to block harbours with wooden piles. Apparently King Philip hoped to intercept the English at sca and a census of available shipping was made, At least 78 larger ships were requisitioned and fitted with wooden castles in Lower Normandy, with more in Upper Normandy and Picardy, Genoese officers and crossbowmen were placed aboard to serve as auxiliaries for a substantial force of Genoese war galleys. Unfortunately the Genoese galley fleet was delayed and only arrived in August. Their advance guard had left Nice under the command of Carlo Grimaldi on 6 May, as it was not possible to cross the Bay of Biscay any earlier. They were then scattered by an Adantic storm and took refuge in the Tagus estuary in Portugal, where they remained in early July. Back in France, Charles of Blois had launched a major offensive in Brittany but had suffered a severe setback at SaintPol de Leon on 9 June. In Gascony the Duke of Normandy was making no progress in his siege of English-held Aiguillon. A direct assault had failed, the French besiegers were short of food and their widely spread foragers were harassed by forces sympathetic to the English, Then, late in June Philip VI realised that the main threat was in the north and recalled the Constable of France with part of the Duke of Normandy’s army. He was placed in command of Harfleur on the Seine estuary and the Count’of Flanders was sent to join him. The Marshals of France were probably also recalled from the south, precautions were stepped up along the Channel coast and summonses were sent to recruit a northern army, The Scots did not break their truce with England, but massed along the border once Edward had broken his truce with France. The urgency of Philip’s letter to King David of Scotland in June is obvious: ‘I beg you, Timplore you with all the force that I ean, to remember the bonds of blood and iendship between us. Do for me what I would willingly do for you in such a crisis, and do it as quickly and as thoroughly as with God's help you are able.’ Edward II boarded ship on 28 June and, after several days of contrary winds, sailed to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight where he waited for the rest of the fleet. Unfavourable winds then forced the wholearmada back to Portsmouth and Forland, On 3 July Edward IT again sailed to Yarmouth to be followed by the rest of the fleet until ships were anchored as far ay the Needles. Again the wind veered, making this anchorage unsafe, so they returned to Portsmouth harbour for a further nine or ten days. Finally, on 11 July the armada broke free and, with perfect wind and tides, assembled off St Helens. There Edward III gave sealed orders to his captains before almost 1,000 assorted vessels set off for Normandy. They arrived before dawn on the 12th and anchored off a broad beach at SaintMarco outside Saint-Vaast-la-Hogue, The Genoese fleet, which had been sent to intercept them, was still several days south of La Rochelle, and French shi iched in various harbours ng them, Fourteen were at Saint-Vaast, and the eight most heavily nvaders, Wooden stakes blocking the ms to the invaders, and the abandoned. 1s were bt wail armed were burned by the harbour caused no serious probl town was sacked. ‘The main French forces were north of the Seine, leaving Marshal Robert Bertrand, captain of the sea frontier, with very few troops. He had, however, been planning to inspect the Saint-Vaast militia on the day the English arrived. So Bertrand assembled around 300 poorly trained locals and made a brief, unsuccessful counterattack that morning. But the English already had several thousand men ashore, so Bertrand retreated south with his own retainers, gathering other local forces as he went Around midday King Edward landed and, according to Froissart, tripped with his first step on to the beach, Some regarded this as a bad omen but Edward III supposedly replied, ‘Why? I look upon it as very favourable for me, as a sign that the land desires to have me.’ The king then knighted some young noblemen to mark their first active service, including his son Edward, Prince of Wales. Next, the royal party climbed a hill to survey the area. Godfrey de Harcourt and the Earl of Warwick were appointed as the army’s two marshals, with the Earl of Arundel as its constable. The Earl of Huntingdon was put in command of the ighting ships with 100 men-at-arms and 400 archers. From 13 to 17 July the English disembarked men and supplies while raiding the surrounding territory, On the 14th Barfleur was assaulted from land and sea. It surrendered and some leading citizens were taken ‘This well-known English marginal illumination made ‘around 1340 shows archers practising at the butts. Their blunt-tipped arrows were not, the sort used in warfare and the men are, of course, unarmoured. (Luttrell Psalter, British Library, Ms. Add. 42130, 147y, London)‘armoured knights in combat mid-14th-century Flemish ript. The lack of visors ‘simply enable the artist to their faces. All the horses ‘chamfrons to protect their while that of the king also heraldic caparison. 2 of Alexander, Bodleian Ms. Bod. 246, Oxford) for ransom while the town was pillaged then burned, as were nine warships in the harbour. The booty included gold, silver, jewels and, according to Froissart, “There was so much wealth that even the servants of the army set no value upon gowns ied with fur.’ The raiders then burned the Abbey of Notre Dame du Voeu in Cherbourg, although they unable to take the town’s castle. In fact an area 35 kilometres around the landing point was devastated, its inhabitants fleeing into the woods or trekking south as refugees, The English army was now divided into three divisions. One followed the coast, one under Edward IIL remained in the centre, while the third followed a road further inland. The Earl of Northampton now seems to have been made constable and Edward III ordered that there should be ho further destruction of life or property, though this had no effect on the behaviour of his troops. Most of the ships were sent home, but 200 large ong the coast, destroying or capturing every ship they found and devastating an eight kilometre-wide belt to undermine the basis of French naval powe: vessels sailed 37ENGLISH CHANNEL on 4 Foo pg an Bahar ‘ ! emer ese] cote [ge wr: te om i m0 TR | nt ——— Fina ose {Ses aeesesr aes ume [sespeennormansiese : a ss { Engen tet ca AN 5, |e fraser? beh | beer Cases = fetes a ie seat [news floss anang | ss acres = eae Oe , Ta NEE cette mae] Cf 3 . — fees: . - wFougeres e = y fea) ~ : ze aN sate 7 JS i : Sa : os Mayenne ® ie edi os i os pe . cn S : iy Drew ( : = | Sameee ©) oo oe ow tna £ se re ‘s ‘reas devastated by s i aa ¥ Ni Engl ai iter ta ae ae ee LES) 07 Ets eae done ‘ oy eS ee aes tn 25 miles oun ' ;ga Femin amy caces | @ Cassel zs Seep icles as Mori ae San Veer but eres 0 ren rs Fira deed orosy ve seeaes| | by kogerateauy artes be Sore, eg rie ae tan Puls ester ary] we a. NORTH SEA . aa ‘ree sterant bie te oy - Se Menite. © are Mes coat sence A rage eran ary ewes ) @Ue a ‘amsvean ty aes Fech oe Ee geeteypedion : ne Lora — dese ortioe | Saas sam Bag. ae THE EMPIRE | Z| ower ae sbe aees Ber i ie yoee he Cae oe Renae nents oo pores aABOVE, LEFT The subsidiary figures on the monumental brass of Sir Hugh Hastings include ‘many leading English military commanders of the mid-14th century. It was made around 1347-48. This figure reprosents ‘Thomas Beauchamp, third Earl of Warwick. (Elsing Church) ABOVE, RIGHT A deed relating to ‘property transaction in Sussex, dated November 1341 and bearing, on the right, the seal of Richard Fitzalan, the third Earl of Arundel. (Archives, Arundel Castle) vale som : : as rin drips Reet ied est Bale beer se eae | seen ey a Sex SoqE Gio yell BEE oy =e i mite celal BS Sear Chevauchée or Conquest? By 18 July the disembarkation was finished, the horses rested, supplies organised and bread baked for the next few days, although the Englis! still had to forage widely. Godfrey de Harcourt, whose family estates were at the southern end of the Cotentin peninsula, soon proved his value as one of the army’s leading scouts. With an advance guard of 500 men-at ns and 1,000 archers he marched 30 kilometres ahead and to the righ of the king's division, The coastal division was regarded asa vanguard and inally led by the young Prince of Wales, was actually commanded by the earls of Northampton and Warwick, The inland rearguard under Thomas Hatfield, Bishop of Durham. ‘The English finally left Saint-Vaast on 18 July, marching along narrow lanes to Valognes, where Edward III spent the night in a house owned by the Duke of Normandy. Next day the troops burned Montebourg before spending the next night divided between SaintCome-du-Mont anc Coigny, where King Edward learned that the bridge over the Douve was broken. Since there was only a narrow impractical causeway across the neighbouring marshes, teams of carpenters spent the night repairing this bridge. The nearby town of Carentan was large and well stocked wit supplies, much of which was destroyed when English soldiers set fire tc the place. Resistance was brief, apparently because the garrison had been provided by Godfrey de Harcourt’s men. They and perhaps some reinforcements were left in control when the English moved on, taking with them leading citizens for ransom Like several other places in the Cotentin pe soon retaken by French troops, its treacherous garrison being sent to Paris and executed. Otherwise, all that Marshal Robert Bertrand could do was harass the advancing English hordes while more effective resistance was prepared at Caen, where the Constable of France, Count Raoul I d’Eu, had transferred his available troops by boat from Harfleur, There were not enough men to garrison all the castles ahead of the English advance and only a few were defended as Robert Bertrand fell back. The English, however, were delayed by broad marshes between Saint- Come and Carentan, and beoween Saint-LO and Bayeux, where several causeways had to be rebuilt, Bertrand had intended to defend Saint but realised it was impossible once the English had rebuilt a bridge sion acted as the nsula, Carentan was‘The River Somme just east of Sengest-sur-Somme, between ‘Aens and Abbeville. All the ‘Seidges along this stretch of river “were either broken of very ‘strongly defended by the French, ‘atte fords such as that at Seogest would probably also ‘save boon closely watched. ‘Rathor’s photograph) across the Vire, so he abandoned the town to its fate, Edward III's division now had to wait almost three days outside SaintL6 before the coastal division could reach him. The reassembled army then put its booty into wagons before moving forward. This time the earls of Warwick and Suffolk, Lord Thomas Holland, Reginald Cobham and their division advanced on the left, burning , while the right under Godfrey de Harcourt did the same. Rumours that the French were massing around the Cistercian abbey at Torigny prompted the main English force to change direction towards Cormolain; the advance party, heading for Torigny, caught up later, Over the following two days Edward moved very cautiously, with the rearguard only reaching slightly beyond the advance guard’s starting point of the previous morning. The head of the great army came in sight of the city of Caen on the evening of the 24th, while 200 ships which had followed the army along the coast, sailed round the same time. By this time the ships yy all the booty the nd destro up the River Orne to arrive were so laden with plunder that they could not ca army had won. Caen stood in the middle of a atural defences, ‘The city was split between the Old Town and the New Town, divided by the Odon stream, Its crumbling Ith-century fortifications consisted partly of wooden walls and partly of a stone wall with marshes on one open plain without atside. The only substantial fortification was a castle at the northern edge of town. Outside the city the Abbaye aux Dames and the Abbaye aux Hommes had defensive walls, but there were not enough men to on them, The defenders of Caen were now commanded by Raoul who also had a small unit of Genoese erossbowmen, some 800 knights a ns, and the city militia, a total of around 4,000 men. Efforts had been made to strengthen the old walls with trenches and palisades, while 30 or so small ships manned by cross bowmen were moored in the Odon between the Old and New towns. Edward II had many more men, but he lacked heavy siege equipment and the French defenders refused be in throwing Edward's envoy, the friar Geoffrey of Maldon, into prison. At dawn on 26 July the Prince of Wales’ division set fire to their overnight lodgings at Cheux and made their way around Caen to the Abbaye aux Dames. King Edward established his headquarters in the western suburbs while the English rearguard pitched its tents just beyond. When they saw the size of the English army, the French commanders decided to abandon the Old Town and concentrate their troops in the New ‘Town, which, though it stood on the island of SaintJean, was now separated from the castle commanded by the Bishop of Bayeux. The people of Caen similarly concentrated in the New Town. Unfortunately, the towers of the fortified Pont Saint-Pierre were now on the wrong side of the river, so an improvised barricade was added to the northern side, Worse still, the River Odon was low during that notably dry summer, Early in the morning the Old ‘Town was apparently taken without resistance, and units under Warwick, Northampton and Talbot attacked the Pont Saint-Pierre without success. A group of English and Welsh infantry was therefore sent across the Odon some 200 metres away, cither by a bridge at the Boucherie or via an undefended ford. But they 1 had to break through the line of ships: two were set on fire and the remainder retreated as the English entered the New Town. The defenders of the Pont Saint-Pierre were now surrounded, Some, dl men-atal midated, even The effigy of Sir Richard de Goldsborough the Younger, dating from around 1340, unusual because the sculptor ‘shows the interior of his In detall. This includes the nails holding the enarmes straps and the thickly padded leather lining. ‘The armour is, howover, remarkably old-fashioned for the date. (Goldsborough Church; authors’ photograph)‘The existing bridge over the Somme at Pont Remy is modern, while the church largely dates from the 19th century. Here a substantial English force under Godtroy de Harcourt tried to force a crossing but wore eteated by John of Luxembourg’s troops on the orth bank. (Author's photograph) including Robert Bertrand, fought their way to the castle; others, ncluding the Count d’Eu, took refuge in the towers until they could re killed where they stood. Valuable prisoners were sent back to England with the Earl of Huntingdon, who had fallen ill. Massacre, rape and looting followed: over 2,500 inhabitants of Caen We at the church of surrender, but many wi were killed, 500 of whom were tipped into a mass gra Saint-Jean. The English then rested for five days while the surrounding countryside was systematically burned. On 29 July King Edward also sent a letter to the Council of England, ordering them to recruit men-at-arms and an additional 1,200 archers from fighting men, along with large quantities of munitions, money and 100 ships to bring the reinforcements to France. They were to land at L Crotoy on the northern side of the Somme estuary in Ponthieu - territory which the English had yet to conquer reas not already emptied of The French Reaction Philip VI of France probably got news of the invasion on 16 July and he spent the next fortnight organising a muster of troops at Paris and Amiens. On the 22nd or 23rd Philip went to the great church of Saint Denis to receive the sacred Oriflamme banner, which was only used 43‘The famous stained glass window in Tewkesbury Abbey was made around 1344. It Includes a large number of military figures, including the earls of Gloucester and members of the Clare family. All have slightly different arms and armour. On the left is Gilbert de Clare |, and on the right William, Lord Zouche of Mortimer. (Abbey Church, Tewkesbury; author's photograph) during the defence of France. On the 25th he set out down the Seine valley while troops assembled! from all directions, He also sent another letter to King David of Scotland, whose men raided Cumberland late in July. But the Scots were no willing to commit themselves to a full-scale invasion and made a two-month truce with the lords of northern England, Philip VI hurried on to Rouen, as his primary concern was to stop Edward nd blocking the Seine. The et also arrived early in August 1, as it was too late to stop the invasion, the crews joined Philip's army as infantry. Meanwhile, the English were still at Lisieux and on the 31st Philip crossed the Seine and began moving cautious mn, On 2 August two cardinals, sent by the Pope to negotiate peace, are said to have reached the French camp. About now Philip VI was warned of an imminent Flemish invasion and as there were only a handful of French garrisons close to the northem front other units assembl towards thi ilitia and 1, most of the \g at Amiens were held back to defend the Tine of the Somme, The Flemish invaders in fact set out on 1 August under the nominal authority of Count Henry of Flanders, although Sir Hugh Hastings was in actual command. On the 2nd they left Ypres and marched Via Bailleul to the River Lys, Here there were minor clashes at Estaires, Menville and Saint-Venant before Hugh Hastings led the Flemish down- stream to outflank the French defenders. Their march was still painfully slow but on 14 August they reached Béthune, which they besieged. Quite how Edward III and the Flemish force communicated is unknown, but they undoubtedly did so. For his part Philip decided to defend the Seine her than risk placing the river between himself and the new Flemish threat. His army returned to Rouen and all the bridges between Paris and the sea were broken or heavily defended. Towns south of the river were authorised to empty their prisons if they needed more defenders of the militia assembling at Amiens were ordered to join Philip. As the English moved up the south bank of the Seine, there was near panic in Paris and John of Luxembourg was sent to keep control with 500 men-at-arms while the Paris militias prepared to defend the city Edward II clearly had the initiative: Philip VP's army was still small, many of the Genoese were dispersed in garrisons and Philip was in danger of spreading his forces to thinly along the winding River Seine. Under these circumstances Philip decided to establish his headquarters at Saint- Denis while the bulk of his army camped nearby at Saint-Cloud. Far to the south the youthful Duke of Normandy still insisted on taking the stubborn castle of Aiguillon, at least until King Philip sent direct orders for him to march north; on 20 August the duke finally abandoned his camp and crossed the Garonne. The English withdrew from Caen on 31 July, leaving behind a small force to blockade the castle. The French garrison soon took the nd moreoffensive, however, and killed virtually all the English troops in Caen, Edward IT marched to Troarn, Argences and Lisieux, which he entered on 1 August, and dis covered the two cardinals who had been sent to make peace. Two days of negoti- ations came to nothing, although some of the unruly Welsh troops stole 20 horses from the cardinals’ retinue. In the light of Philip's preparation for a counterattack the English now advanced with greater caution. They halted for a probable council of war on the 6th and next day changed direction towards Rouen, reaching the River Seine at Elbeut. Edward may have hoped to find Rouen vi mally undefended, but a reconnaissance under Godfrey de Harcourt discovered that the French army was already in the city and the Seine bridge was down. This was a setback and Edward now had to decide whether to race for Paris or to try to cross the river to link up with his Flemish allies in Picardy. The bridge at Pont de l'Arche proved too strongly defended to take and Philip VI was shadowing the English from the north bank, Nevertheless, the invaders devastated a strip of land over 30 kilometres wide south of the Seine. They burned Louviers and Gaillon, and unsuccessfully attacked a castle where Sir Richard Talbot and Sir Thomas Holland were both wounded, On the 9th the English also failed to seize Vernon, Next day a raiding party crossed the Seine and took La Roche-Guyon by assault, but this was not a suitable place for the whole army to cross. At Freneuse the cardinals peace terms, including a marr et ed with Philip VI's final offer of \ge alliance between the royal houses of Valois and Plantagenet, but Edward was not interested. Very few possible crossing points remained before reaching Paris, and the English tried them all. Some way upriver from Meulan, French soldiers mocked the frustrated English by baring their bac Philip VI resisted the temptation to cross the river, fearing that the English would suddenly attack Paris, and on the 18th he returned to his capital. Here the inhabitants could see smoke rising only a few kilometres to the west and south-west where English raiders were at work. Edward even issued a challenge to battle south of Paris and on 15 August Philip VI took his amy to the southern wall, arraying them in readiness Edward’s challenge was, of course, a ruse. ‘The only way to join his Flemish allies was to rebuild one of the Seine bridges and Poissy was chosen. The town was devastated and its inhabitants, including King Philip's sister, had fled to Paris. English engineers now set to work and by the afternoon of the 15th a single beam had been laid across the gap. Philip VI heard the news and diverted a unit on its way from Amiens, but when they reached Poissy enough English troops were already across to drive them off, Still Edward III did not cross the Seine immediately waited while his men spread devastation right up to the gates of Patis. But Philip VI would not be lured into premature action and similarly waited to see which way the English would turn, les across the riv iately and “Soldiers at the Resurrection’ on the Bohemian Vyssi Brod Altar. ‘This panel was painted around 1350 and probably reflects Bohemian and other central European infantry quite -curately. (National Gallery, Prague)‘ecarteroury Dover © [xen spp teat oeng * 44| ssrtiofencast aon see "1 ica FE Frc or eae on Boe) saiecses nese Stee Rats ys Meralee eee i va wi \ castaaeurn, | 44 ieee | 6, Wem fag Rema eg | Eras tenn | Sea wth bss Anan are ose 7 | Sea St | Abeta cuareeramans Seneca Tipe wnres Reem” el STERN etme] TOP Amié-14th-contury haere |S : northern talian or French faerie cdemvacrens | Mesias eseerae A sane Dascinet heme with vervtes Sag ERATE TES | wank ATS forte mal avntal ana we va oon Ml eqerseste tate Papen | | hooked studs to secure tho nose } Shean rerch arg. ‘any siasuthofkagy) or face-covering bretache. oo = ge (Private collection) Novae ABOVE A mid-14th-contury oe S German bascinet with a so-called ‘dog-faced’ visor. (National | “powen | Percy wet tas | Museum, Budapest) rr | near we rons | / ieeeues” ey na re me face ate 2 A178 fg gs sts tn aes ‘ANT7/8 Fee ih’ sop wath oes 40km La © senristse y |< Seenemees ee | cane me 25m | eon‘The estuary of the River Somme bbetwoon Saint-Valery-sur-Somme land the Blanchetaque ford. Since the area has been drained and a ‘ood barrier erected betwe this spot and the sea, the flats are no longer tidal. In the 14th century they would have consisted of almost impassable ‘mud, except where an outcrop of chalk provided a firmer footing. (Author's photograph) The race to the Somme On 16 August English marauders rode in the direction of Chartres to give the impression that Edward was heading southward, but instead Edward crossed the river and bolted north. As soon as this n confirmed, Philip had the bridge at Saint-Cloud broken as a precaution and led his own army northward. He may have sent his infantry ahead before setting out with the cavalry on the 18th and on this first day Philip covered an impressive 55 kilometres. In this race to the Somme the English had started first but the French won, Philip VI's army was reinforced by fresh contingents including those of Jaime I, King of Majorca, Each day the English averaged three times the ground they had covered in Normandy. Before reaching Beauvais the English vanguard under Godfrey de Harcourt seattered a force of Amiens militia on their way to Paris, The Prince of Wales now wanted to attack Beauvais itself, but Edward IIL told him to press on North of Beauvais the people of Poix - probably the local militia ~ attacked English stragglers and this time part of Edward’s army turned back to burn their town. Soon the English had to abandon some of their baggage wagons for the sake of speed, but the countryside had been emptied of food stocks, forcing English foragers to scour far afield and slowing down Edward's march. The French now overtook the English, their leading troops reaching the Somme on 20 August. The infantry arrived later, but now the people of Picardy took heart and started attacking isolated groups of invaders, On the 20th Edward reached Camps-en-Amienois 25 kilometres south of the Somme. The English rearguard had, however, been delayed by attacking Poix and as a result the king had to wait for them to catch up. On the 22nd Edward halted his tired and hungry soldiers at the small fortified town of Airaines, whose garrison had been withdrawn to PontRemy. The main body of the French army reached Amiens that night. Philip VI now had numerical superiority and he 47e Ayan e po ewanes of08 fans Gly uit widve cgypnios yore tnuerie walte danny Addi: stab yeti ee pala egy vehuoduewoker udu cus yer | ordered the demolition or garrisoning of bridges over the Somme if they had fortifications, Edward III had few options. On the 22nd he sent scouting parties to look at the Somme bridges, while a large force went to Acheux 10 establish a forward base. The largest scouting party, under Godfrey de Harcourt, tried to seize the bridge at Pont Remy but was thrown back. The Earl of Warwick also found that the bridges at Long, Longpré and Picquigny were too strongly defended. The English seemed to be trapped, but Edward was on home territory; Ponthieu had been b il confiscated by Philip VI at the outbreak of the war, and some of his commanders knew the area. Edward may have looked at the defences of Abbeville from Caubert Hill, while Warwick and de Harcourt attacked the town. They seem to have been driven off and the English certainly left Airaines in a hurry on the morning of the 23rd, the fi French arriving only two hours after the last English departed for Acheux. At Oisemont local knights and militia made a stand, but were dispersed by English longbowmen. Edward had a choice: he could fight where he was, retreat to Saint Yaléry and take ship home, or cross the Somme by the Blanchetaque ford. Its name referred to an outcrop of chalk which made the riverbed relatively firm and it would have been known to English commanders since it was maintained as an official crossing point at what was then the head of the Somme estuary. Various stories are told about information being bought from a French varlet captured at Oisemont, from a squire in the retinue of a Flemish knight in Edward's service, and from an Englishman who had lived near Oisemont for many years. So perhaps Edward III needed clarification about the ford’s practicability for a large army with heavy wagons and, more importantly, about local tides. Blanchetaque was certainly not an ideal spot for a large army to cross ‘a major river. Nevertheless, before dawn on 24 August the English made a dash for the ford and reached Saigneville near its southern edge around dawn where they awaited low tide. Around eight in the morning own county Pharaoh and his army as portrayed in the Velisiav Bible, made around 1340. It is in a much more archaic style than ‘the Vyssi Brod Altar. The arms, armour, costume and horse- harness are similarly old fashioned, perhaps reflecting styles that persisted In Bohemia before a major wave of German Influence in the mid-14th century. (Univorsity Library, Ms. XXM-C-24, 1.70, Prague)‘The oldest surviving structure in the little town of Crécy fe the base of a cross erected by Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of kings Richard and John of England, in 1159. This brick monument is now called the Lanteme des Morts and it stands at the foot of what was originally the road oF track leading to Crécy Grange and Wadicourt. (Author's photograph) was possible for horsemen to cross, closely followed by infantry and ‘ons. The fact that they did so within an hour, suggests they crossed. 1 relatively wide front ~ a remarkable logistical feat. The French had also set out at dawn, Philip VI sending Godemar du Fay to watch the north bank with 500 men-atarms and 3,000 foot soldiers, He arrived as the leading English troops were crossing. Godemar du Fay's Genoese crossbowmen caused the English some losses, and his men-atarms rode into the river to fight the enemy vanguard under Hugh Despenser, Reginald Cobham and the Earl of Northampton. But the French were too few, and some were pursued east towards Abbeville, others probably west to the high ground between Portle-Grand and Noyelles. By the time the English rearguard came ashore the fighting was over. On the south bank the French vanguardCROSSING THE SOMME “The English crossed the Somme via the Blanchetaque ford. ‘There were no bridges below Abbeville and this was the last ford betore the estuary of the River Somme became too 's army seems to Wide and too tidal to cross. Edward have crossed rapidly on a broad front, not only using the ford itself, where the baggage carts would have concentrated, but either side as well. A small force of, French men-at-arms and local French militia under Godemar du Fay, stiffened by a handful of professional Genoese crossbowmen, tried to resist the English but were overwhelmed after a brief, one-sided battle, Nevertheless, ‘there was skirmishing even in the river, where the French men-at-arms came down to face the English vanguardunder John of Luxembourg had captured a few English wagons but the tide was now rising fast; Edward II's army was north of the Somme and Philip was south, There is still debate about the road Edward TI took from Blanchetaque to Crécy, In the mid-Ith century the coast north of the Somme was marshy and undrained, the little port of Le Crotoy being an island at high tide. The estuaries of the Somme, Maye and Authie were similarly undrained, their marshes reaching far inland, so there y practical coastal road. The Forest of Crécy covered much of the area between the Somme and the Authie and was divided by the smaller River Maye, while further south the Forest of Cantétre now only exists as isolated fragments. The rest of Ponthicu consisted of rolling agi land dotted with villages and windmills. Edward IIL also had to consider the activities of his Flemish allies. On 16 August the French defenders in Béthune, commanded by Godfrey @Annequin, beat off an assault in which Henry of Flanders was wounded, On the 22nd d’Annequin learned that a smaller Flemish force around Lillers had also suffered badly, so he risked a substantial and highly successful sortie. The Flemish militias started quarreling among themselves and on the 24th, the day the English crossed the Somme, they abandoned their siege and reweated t Merville ‘That same day an English force under Sir Hugh Despenser took Noyelles, Le Crotoy and Rue, but there no sign of an English fleet bringing urgently needed supplies. Philip had refused to be lured into attempting a crossing at Blanchetaque and the English army was not only tired, but even its shoes were wearing out. On the 25th Edward learned of his allies’ retreat and Philip returned to Abbeville to decide his next move. It was probably at this point that Edward III decided that since his army could no longer outrun the French, it would make a stand at nearby Crécy. So Warwick, Cobham, Suffolk and Godfrey de Harcourt were sent ahead as the main English force moved slowly along the only road through the forest towards a low hill overlooking the village of Crécy, keeping as far as possible from the French in Abbeville, sno ultural THE BATTLEFIELD Edward had selected a position north of the shallow valley of the Maye. It was on the edge of an undulating plain, with Estrées to the east and Wadicourt to the north-east, both villages probably being surrounded by orchards. The low ridge between Wadicourt and Crécy was about two kilometres long with a windmill overlooking Crécy itself. Behind the ridge was Gréey-Grange Wood, partially covering the English rear and right flank. The Vallée des Cleres was little more than a dip in the prevailing high ground, leading from Wadicourt to the Maye. It was about two kilometres long and no more than 35 metres lower than the surrounding plateau at its lowest point. Some French scholars believe that there were three ancient or medieval cultivation terraces or raidillons in front of the English centre, though these are not mentioned in original sources. There is a bump towards the bouwom of the slope but this would not have been an obstacle to a cavalry change and still less to infantry. Ifa substantial hedge existed, it is likely to have been on top of the ridge, ‘Among the various infantrymen carved by Giovanni de Campione .c. 1360 in the southern portal of Santa Maria Maggiore is thi man. He has what appears to be 8 heavy mace, a basilard dagger and a large tabulaccio shield. Foot soldiers equipped in thi ‘manner would almost certainly have served alongside the Genoese crossbowmen at Crécy. (Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo: author's photograph) RIGHT The probable site of the English fortified encampment or ring of wagons on the plateau north-east of Crécy. The modern buildings of Crécy Grange farm ‘ean be seen on the right, beneath the edge of Crécy Grange Wood. The battlefield is Just beyond the skyline on the left. (Author's photograph)King Edward drew up his battle array at an almost leisurely pace during the morning of 26 August. The men were grouped into the same three divisions in which they had marched. The vanguard under the nominal authority of the young Prince of Wales, though supervised by Godtrey de Harcourt, was placed closest to Crécy and the anticipated French approach, the central battle or division under the king moving past them to take up position on the ridge between Crécy and Wadicourt. The rearguard, under the command of the earls of Northampton and Arundel, moved further still 10 place itself between the king and Wadicourt. When seen from Crécy village it still formed a vanguard, a centre and a rearguard, but all commentators assume that Edward knew that the French would attack from the Vallée des Cleres. The horses were put inside a field fortification of wagons behind the centre-right flank and in front of the army, certainly on its right flank, and a series of scattered pot-holes about a foot square were dug to disrupt an enemy cavalry charge. The Prince of Wales’ division on the right wing seems to have been some way down the slope. The precise position of the English archers is another subject of debate. They were probably placed on each side of the army like wings and close to the menatarms. They may also have fallen back as the French attacked since it was not their task to engage the enemy hand-to-hand. Many may, as the contemporary Italian chronicler Villani stated, have ended up behind the men-atarms, Froissart’s use of the term herce or harrow’ is still not fully understood, but what historians have apparently failed to notice is a similarity between Froissart’s herce and a formation called El Haz, ‘the closely packed bundle’, in a MMth-century Spanish military treatise by Don Juan Manuel, Many of Froissart’s informants would, of course, subsequently campaign in Spain with the Black Prince. Overall the evidence suggests that the archers were in relatively close- packed units which could move around in a controlled manner. ‘Then there is the question of the English guns, apparently on the English right wing. They are likely to have been small bombards, which were already used in parts of southern Europe to defend field fortifications. Edward II's baggage train was close to Crécy Grange and the wood, probably surrounded by wagons with a single opening but close enough for the archers to be rapidly resupplied with arrows during the battle. ‘Hauberk of St ',13th-14th century (Cathedral Treasury, Prague) ABOVE Tooled hardened leather rerobrace upper-arm defence found in London, mid-14th ‘century. (London Museum, London)‘The English baggage camp was surrounded by a ald fortiiation made of certs and wagons with a single entrance, probably nthe western side facing Créey Grange ENGLISH ARMY ‘There i ite doubt that the English used a small number Crécy, and they ae closely associated with infantry in the Prince of Wales’ division. FE Genoosa crossbowren and lay THE BATTLE OF CRECY 26 AUGUST 1346: initial positions “There may also have been a line of seattered pot oles along the rear of Engllah position, though ‘this seems lees likely Pe eeAline of scattered pot-holes clearly existed along the front ‘The Count af Alengan command the largest fores of Freneh men-at-arms and ‘ofthe English position facing the anticipated French ‘was now elthar on the right of the French aray er near its contre ‘tack, but it ia not known how far they extended towards y ae rae cea ay ae Seen eee Xing Philip V and his men-atarms seems to have remained in = reserve for much ofthe battle, probably with Charis, king ofthe / Romans, and Jaime, king of Majorca wih thelr contingents ‘Tho Fronch baggage train and additonal troops, mostly militia infantry, were stil onthe road from Abbeviie when the battle Bogan. Among them were 3 militia unit from Orléans whieh, by tho clsing stage Hn ( oe i ye bo PHILIP VL inn “The Franch army - ae woored loft when . oo Pip VI received news ‘that the English were stil at Crécy. Philip ordered ‘hat, but it seems that much ot his army was ao keen to come o aripe with the invaders that they continued to edge westward "and were soon in sight of the English postion ‘Tho eriginal Fronch tno of march from Abbeville towards Hosdin was Intended ‘ithor to pursue the English they were heading north orto get ahead of them as ‘the Fronch had already done during the race from the Seine tothe Somme [Count John of Lxcembourg was in command ‘of the Fronoh vanguard. M now formed the left of a somowhat confused Fronch battle array, probably close tothe Genoese, whom Luxembourg may have been supervising. ‘Tho Count of Savoy with his men had als eon attached to John of Luxembourg’s56 Crécy Grange Wood on the left ‘and the probable location of the English camp beyond the clump of trees in the centre, as soon from the top of a wooden towor recently built almost on the spot of the medieval windmill. The road in the foreground would have marked the rear of the English line, which would have bboen facing in the opposite direction to this photograph. (Author's photograph) On the day of battle King Edward rose early and, with the Prince Wales, heard mass and took communion, The army would have done t! same before taking up their positions. Food was cooked within baggage train, the fighting men being allowed to leave their positions few at a time to eat and relieve themselves. Each archer marked | position with his bow, each man-atarms with his helmet, Edwards fin order, once the French came in sight, was that no prisoners would t taken, nor was any man to leave his position to look for loot. The French march to Crécy was not the disorganised scramble th some historians have n ined, Nor were King Philip VI's plans incompetent as some believe. Nevertheless, he did not enjoy the sar control over his troops as Edward III. Having returned to Abbeville fro Blanchetque on the 24th, Philip VI remained throughout the 251 probably because several contingents were still on their way to join hin Jaime I, the exiled king of Majorca, had already arrived, as had John « Luxembourg’s son Charles, who had been proclaimed king of th Romans in July 1346, as well as Edward III's brother-in-law Count John c Hainault and several minor German princelings; the Count of Savoy anc his brother Louis arriving on the 25th. Philip also knew the sieg of Béthune had been abandoned and that the English could no: immediately join their Flemish allies ‘The French line of march is another of Crécy’s unanswered questions Certainly Philip's force was now so large that it was divided betweer Abbeville and SaintRiquier. He knew that the pursuit must continue new day and his army set out at dawn, leaving their cannon behind as they hac 1 move fast. Smoke was rising from the direction of Noyelles and the vanguard of the French headed in that direction, but scouts would soor have reported that the English were no longer there. At this point the rench army, strung along the road from Abbeville to Noyelles, were ordered to turn right towards Crécy and Hesdin, The vanguard and perhaps Philip VI seem to have been more than halfway to Noyelles beforeAnother marginal illustration from the Luttrell Psalter of 1340 shows an archer with a full-length longbow, what appears to be a blunted target arrow and a ballock dagger at his waist. (Luttrell Psatter, British Library, Ms. Add. 42120, f, 451, London) ‘This French manuscript Slustration of an attack on a castle or fortified town was made ‘over a generation after the battle of Crécy. It does, however, show = small cannon in a heavy ‘wooden cradle in the lower left corner. The English guns at Crécy would probably have been of this type. (British Library, Ms. ton Nero Eull, London) they turned along what came to be called the ‘Valois Path’ before reaching the English route, uaditionally known as “Le Chemin de VArmée’, King Philip now pliced his infantry ahead of the cavalry as a precaution against ambush as they marched between the forests of Crécy and Cantatre, presumably separating the Genoese crossbowmen from their pavise shields in the baggage train. Around this point a reconnaissance party was also sent ahead under Miles de Noyers, the royal standard-bearer, Jean de Beaumont and Henri le Moine of Basle. Much of the French army was strung along the road from Abbeville and some took various lanes east of the Forest of Cantitre, while others may even have headed direct from Abbeville towards Hesdin. This would account for the confused state of the army when it was east of Crécy. The ed a disorderly mass behind the more disciplined Genoese infantry, their commanders still believing that they were tying w catch the English as the latter retreated north, The medieval road itself probably followed the line of a Roman road near Caney, Mancheville, Fontaine-sur-Maye and Estréesles-Crécy. The head of the French army was probably passing Fon id-afic ‘¢ party told Philip that his enemy held a strongly defended position to the left of his line of march, perhaps with mounted men-atarms now form }oon, the reconnaissa‘THE ENGLISH MAKE PREPARATIONS NEAR CRECY ‘The English army had time to make a strongly fortified position on the ridge between Crécy and Wadicourt. The ‘ordinary soldiers are reported to have dug a series of small scattered pot-holes in front of their positions. These were Intended to trip the enemy's horses and the idea is said to hhave been learned from the Seots. Relatively small holes. ‘would have been easier to make, less visible and thus harder to avoid, than long ditches. By making oven a fow horses fall they would algo effectively disrupt the cohesion and momentum of an enemy charge. At the southern end of the gentle slope overlooking what became known as the Vallée des Cleres was a windmill. Behind it there may have bboen a dense hedge running alongside the track from Crécy to Wadicourt. King Edward himself is said to have ridden around the English positions, encouraging his men but not himself wearing any armour.sight of the front of the French army. There seems to have been some delay before Philip ordered a halt, Perhaps he had planned to make camp. at Estrées, The Genoese infantry under Carlo Grimaldi and Odone Doria were tired after a long march. Behind them great numbers of men-acarms were now somewhat disorganised. The bulk of the French militia infantry and the baggage were further back, while hordes of local people filled the lanes between the Somme and Crécy in hope of striking a blow, Other contingents may only just have reached Abbeville. While his marshals rode up and down, trying to stop the menat- arms jostling forward in their eagerness to punish an enemy which had wrought such devastation, Philip VI held council with his senior commanders. He received conilicting advice, the reconnaissance party urging him to wait until tomorrow before attacking the well-prepared English position; some suggesting that they press on to Labroye castle, where they could reorganise and block the English march northwards; others demanded an immediate attack to avoid a repeat of previous stand-offs. Philip took the latter course, perhaps realising that it would be almost impossible to make his enthusiastic army abandon the field within sight of their foe. Once Philip decided to attack, the disarray seemed to get worse as units crossed each other’s paths, pushing those ahead still further forward, As the chronicler Froissart said, "This disorder was entirely caused by pride, every man wishing to surpass his neighbour, in spite of the marshals’ words.’ Few of their commanders had experience of full-scale battle but the men were confident. French knighthood had any hardened the highest reputation in Christendom and there were veterans in their ranks, particularly among the Genoese. The French force numbered roughly the same as the English troops facing them on the other side of the Vallée des Cleres, but in terms of men actually in the line of battle they may have been outnumbered Philip certainly knew about the English longbowmen but pe believed that his Genoese crossbowmen could counterbalance them with sustained and accurate fire. The English archers were, afier all, aps ‘This panol trom a particularly finely carved Easter Sopulchro altar front, made around 1345, shows a fully armoured man-at- ‘arms from the Rhineland. Many of the allied cavalry in Philip V's ‘army would have used such armour. (Musée de Ocuvre Notre Dame, Strasbourg; authors photograph)The battlefield of Crécy looking {from where the windmill stood, over the Prince of Wales’ position in the foreground, towards a modern best factory where the Vallée des Clercs meets the small River Maye. The lage of Fontaine-sur-Maye is in the centre of the skyline. The Initial attack by Genoese cross- bowmen was up this hil, followed by the first cavalry charge of the Duke of Alencon's division, (Author's photograph) da short battle, virtually unarmoured, Philip may similarly have exp: so starting late in the afternoon would not be 1 problem The French array is perhaps Crécy's biggest mystery, with sources mentioning from four to nine units or lines of men. Apart from the well- organised Genoese, Philip's army may actually have consisted simply of two, three or four unwieldy cavalry divisions, perhaps with infantry on their flanks or still arriving from the rear, Men-atarms under the Duke of Alencon and John of Luxembourg formed the first line, probably with Alencon on the right and John of Luxembourg in support of the Genoese. Philip VP's own contingent, plus those of the king of Majorca d_ other senior noblemen including John of Luxembourg’s son Charles, may have formed a reserve THE BATTLE The Prince of W: sacred French Oriflamme was now unfurled, indicating that no invader should be taken prisoner, and around Spm Philip VI ordered the in direct contravention of their jes’ division was probably closest to the French. The Genoese forward without their pavises normal tactics in aly. Though it was common for infantry to form the front line in Italian warfare, the Genoese were used to serving in highly structured armies in which they were closely supported by equally professional cavalry. Not surprisingly they were not keen on advanging at the end of a long march, without proper preparation, without their reserves of ammunition and with the low pavises or adequ their eyes. Their officers’ complaints to the Count of Alengon were ing sun in 6162 Bieter ey Tow vies alts Te ete 8 ane mates Wore 8 et o ° a na eae ee ranarsss ‘abd we 2 A E pee carth nena see oa cacniemenetee Steere meantios mae dnane eeeierracnesiegc eraae ears, Raia acoso aaaae PRE Se castecrerrinrers oes nel ay mrtarcomontinsel Day eeCrtim Ste eR Ena een iat Peierregetit tour asa Frerargarardooogs ano nie etn ‘st a eg es Beg citing marae E.G namsncieuaenti ean Sesser aes cee” ‘Sear ee evita Reve teaeehe cares dren tee Sys woasnaeer ele‘The Vallée des Clores from the site of Edward I's windmill, with the villages of Estrées-les-Crécy bbohind the trees in the distance. The throo clumps of troos in the middle distance on the right may ‘mark the site of another windmill, perhaps at the centre of the French position. (Author's Photograph) ignored, but were subsequently taken as evidence of the Genoese supposed treachery, Nevertheless, they formed up under the command of Ottone Doria with the Prince of Wales’ division as their target. The 2,000 t0 6,000 Genoese were also g longbowmen; perhaps even by those of the Prince of Wales’ division reatly outnumbered by the opposing alone. To the sound of trumpets and drums, the Genoese crosshowmen and spearmen moved forward in three stages, each pause being signalled by a shout that enabled the foot soldiers to adjust their ranks. Legend recalled two great crows which flew over the battlefield as they advanced, but more significant was a sudden rain storm ~ the first in six weeks, This made the ground si remains very muddy days after rain for some 250 metres from its junction with the River Maye, The rain also soaked the strings of the Genoese crossbows, making them lose considerable power: Jean de Venette stated that the English longbowmen took the strings from their bows and kept them dry beneath their helmets. However, this simply could not be done with a crossbow, and only the stretching of the Genoese crossbow strings pery, and to this day the bottom of the Vallée des Cleres can account for the ease with which the English longhowmen outranged their opponents. It also enabled the English to take advantage of their weapons’ only real superiority; the rapidity with which they could shoot and their ability to rain heavy arrows from a high trajectory. In terms of accuracy, range and penetrat have been with the Genoese. ng power the advantage should otherwise The Genoese role should have been to disrupt the enemy line with crossbow bolts, whereupon the supporting cavalry would take advantage 63ABOVE The road from Crécy towards Wadicourt, which ios behind the troes in the distance. This part of the English position was held by the earls of ‘Northampton and Arundel on the loft wing. (Author's photograph) LEFT Detail of a German ettigy of a knight in somewhat old- fashioned costume over a coat-of-platos, with a substantial dagger on his right hip. It dates {from around 1358. Comparable armour was clearly worn in many parts of France. (Kirchzarten ‘Church; author's photograph)BELOW, RIGHT These litle carved figures on a 14th-century English misericorde represent ‘monsters or demons with birds! leg's. Tho upper parts of their bodies, however, are men ‘wearing typical costume of the period, carrying small round uckler shields and in one case 2 heavy basilard dagger. (St Mary's Church, Lancaster; author's photograph) of any breaks, In fact the Genoese shot the third time they halted, about 150 metres from the English, They did so uphill with a low sun almost directly in their eyes, a major disadvantage for men who aimed directly at their targets rather than dropping arrows on them, As they shot, the Genoese were hit by an arrow storm from the Prince of Wales’ division to which the English guns added noise, terror and casualties. Froissart stated that they made ‘two or three discharges on the Genoese’, each gun firing once as it was not possible to reload such primitive weapons any faster. Villani agreed that their impact was considerable, and maintained that the bombards continued to fire upon French cavalry later in the battle: “The English guns cast iron balls by means of fire .. They made a noise like thunder and caused much loss in men and ‘The Genoese were continually hit by the archers and the was covered by men struck horses gunners ... [by end of battle] the whole pla down by arrows and cannon balls.” Without their pavises, outshot and outranged by their opponents, the Genoese wavered, then streamed back, They are said to have been attacked by the French mer supervising them and although this seems unlikely, the Count of Alengon apparently concluded that the Italians had been bribed to betray King Philip. On the other hand, Jean de Venette maintained that some men-at-arms attacked their own infantry, ‘though all the while the crossbowmen were excusing themselves with great cries’. The English ability to shoot further volleys into this confusion also suggests that the cavalry in question were with the Genoese during their initial advance. ‘The idea that Philip VI ordered his men-at-arms to ride down the broken Genoese is almost inconceivable since it would have ruined the cohesion of a cavalry charge. More likely the Count of Alencon advanced when he saw atarms who wel seDuring the fist phase ofthe battle the English centre and left flank were not yet engaged ome English guns alee opened fire on the Genoese intantry ‘Tho English archorsropliod with ‘a massive arrow storm which ‘utranged the Genoese crossbows ‘and wae loosed at afar fator rate of fire AS a result the virtually unprotected Genoose retired with heavy losses and their formation breken ENGLISH ARMY 1 English baggage camp ‘2 Ewart ‘3 Eni f Northampton and Arundol's men-at-arms 4 Eas Nerthampon anc Arundel achars 'S Ponce of Wales’ men-at-arms {6 Price of Wale” rehera ‘TEngich cannon FRENCH ARMY THE BATTLE OF CRECY 26 AUGUST 1346: es| defeat of the Genoese and AlengonBefore it reached the English line, the Count of ‘Alencon's charge mas shattered by massed afrow- Storme shet by English archers In the Prince of Wales division. The dismounted English men-at-arms thon probably advanced to engage the French men- at-arms. The Count of Alencon was Killed and the Survivors of his division retreated ‘The Genoese and other crossbowmen, apparently supported by epearmen but stil helt pavises, were ordered forward to engage the archers of the Prince ‘of Wales’ division. A sudden shower of rain dampencd thelr crossbow strings and ‘when they had come within range of the Engish position ‘a the Genoese retreated, the Count of Alencon led his cavairy through the broken Intantry, reportedly striking at them Inthe process. The Gensese fought back and ‘the resulting contusion disrupted the French charge oY PHILIP Vi Luxembourg was not ‘commited ‘and adaitional troops continued to arrive from Abbeville King Phiip W's division was similarly not yet committedan opportunity to hit the English, pethaps in the belief that they would be unready after having just confronted the Genoese. Equally clearly his men- atarms took no care to avoid the scattered infantry and caused additional casualties as they rode through. Whether or not the French and Genoese really came to blows remains unknown. Carlo Grimaldi himself was severely wounded, though it is not clear when he was hit Philip VI now only had cavalry readily available. They, however, had to charge uphill across muddy fields, through the broken remnants y against an enemy flushed with victory and protected with virtually invisible potholes to trip the French horses. Not surprisingly the Count of Alengon’s first attack failed, He seems to have ridden past the English archers, aiming for the Prince of Wales’ banner, which was surrounded by dismounted menatarms, But before he reached the target his cavalry was hit by one or more arrow stor Numerous horses were struck, while others tripped in potholes, the dead and wounded animals lined up like piglets suckling a sow. ‘The arrows caused far more damage to horses than to their rider but many of the latter were thrown as the charge collapsed. Formation was lost, horses reared, fled or panicked and lay down, refusing to move As Jean le Bel described it, “The arrows of the English were directed with such marvellous skill at the horsemen that their mounts refused to advance a step. Some leapt backwards stung to madness, some reared hideously, some turned their rear quarters towards the enemy, others merely let themselves fall to the ground, and their riders could do nothing about it.’ The English men-atarms then advanced and attacked the confused Frenchmen. Some sources maintain that the French reached the English position and that the Count of Alencon touched the Prince of Wales’ banner before being cut down, but this is almost certainly a heroic myth. John of Luxembourg’s men-at-arms were the next into the fray, perhaps moving forward as their commander realised that Alencon was in trouble. Certainly he was aware of the situation and asked the whereabouts of his son Charles, king of the Romans. Some of John’s advisers reportedly urged him to flee, but instead the nearblind old warrior ordered his companions to tie their horses’ bridles to his before leading him against the Prince of Wales. According to Froissart his last request had been, ‘Je vous requers tres especialement que vous me of their own infan ‘Only one statue representing the ‘early 14th-century militia of Ghent now survives. It was made ‘around 1340 and originally stood on the city’s belfry. The militiaman's arms and armour are just as up to date as those of ‘a knight, as would be expected in a rich Flemish city like Ghent. (Stonework Museum, St Bavon's ‘Abbey, Ghent) The Liber de Nobilitatibus, Saplentiis ot Prudentiis Regum by Walter de Milemete, made in 1826, is best known for Its very early representation of a cannon, but it algo contains pictures of other siege machines. This giant frame-mounted crossbow is, like the cannon, exaggerated and Inaccurate, but includes the ‘Screw system to span such a ‘weapon. (Christ Church Library, Ms. 92, t. 68, Oxtord)Tristan slays an enemy knight in 4 series of French wall-paintings lMlustrating the Roman de Tristan ft fsoutt made in the mid-or late- 14th century. Tristan's armour is. old-fashioned, whereas that of his enemy includes a number of modern features, as well as the ‘man's shorter surcoat. (St Floret Castle; author's photograph) meniez si’avant que me puisse ferir un coup d’epee’ (I specially request you to place me so far forward that I am able to strike a sword-blow). Whatever the tuth, John of Luxembourg’s men-atarms now attacked with their war cry of ‘Prague!’ and did so with greater success. According to Froissart: ‘Certain lords and knights and esquires on the French side, in addition to certain Germans and Savoyards, did break through the archers in the Prince of Wales’ division and came up against his men-at-arms whom they attacked with swords, man-to-man, with great valour ... for all the flower of English chivalry was there around the Prince.’ In the resulting mélée John of Luxembourg and his com- panions were dragged from their horses and killed, That morning King Philip had given a black charger to John of Hainault, who in turn gave it to his standard-bearer, Sir John de Fusselles. On this great horse Fusselles barged right through the English line and came out the other side. But the animal was struck by an arrow and fell into a ditch, rapping its rider until Fusselles’ page rode around the English position and freed his master before they returned ‘by a different way.’ During John of Luxembourg’s charge Prince Edward was forced to his, knees before being rescued by his standard bearer, Sir Richard FitzSimon, ‘The latter is said to have put down the banner to defend his prince, but this would have been contrary to a standard bearer’s duties and may have been a legend to explain why the banner briefly fell Flen maintain that the Count of Hainault pulled the banner from Fit/Simon's sh sourcesTHE DEFEAT OF THE GENOESE Genoese and French crossbowmen, supported by other infantry but not protected by their large pavise shields, which were still in tho sispee Vas Sogo spoon oa ea ala He g ‘the south-western end or right flank of the English position. This eee aes Ree ow erent Senrpee at eae sive “acca 6 gt ares nace Cae treme ee Sie eo am aoe posse pelle iris ee mc aeemke ee eee eee bowmen highly vulnerable, Within a few minutes they were suffering severe casualties from the fe eel ae ocala es S72 hands until he and Sir Thomas Daniel raised it again. Meanwhile, the Earl of Northampton received a message from Godfrey de Harcourt and sent his nearest unit, commanded by the Earl of Arundel, to help the prince. ‘The messenger may have been the same Sir Thomas Norwich who also asked help from the king who, according to Froissart, asked, ‘Sir Thomas, is my son dead, fallen or so wounded that he cannot help himself?’ This was not the case, so Edward II famously replied; ‘I order that the lad be allowed to earn his spurs, for it is my wish if the day be his, the glory of it belong to him and those in whose charge I have entrusted him.’ Most likely Edward, from his position on top of the ridge, saw Arundel’s counter-attack and realised that the danger was over. Alencon and Luxembourg were both now dead, but the French made as many as 13 further cavalry charges, each leaving their dead and wounded in front of the English position. Most were against the Prince of Wales’ division, though the Earl of Northampton was also attacked. In the centre Edward III merely seems to have sent reinforcements where needed, including the Bishop of Durham and 20 knights to help his son. The French attacks became spasmodic and disjoined until, as dusk fell, Edward II] ordered the English to advance. The horses were brought and, after forming into conrois formations, the English men-at- arms charged, Most of what remained of the French army fled, although Philip V's own followers stood firm, with 50 to 70 lances or cavalry units and the Orléans militia. Phi twice had horses killed beneath him and he may have been struck in the jaw by an arrow, His standard-bearer was killed, the royal banner and the Oriflamme both being captured Fighting continued until dark as the English, Welsh and Cornish infantry moved forward to kill the wounded and stunned that lay around the Vallée des Cleres. Belated efforts were made to capture some of the enemy alive, Godfrey de Harcourt unsuccessfully trying to save the life of his brother John de Harcourt. ‘The road junction where the Vallée des Clores moots the ley of the River Maye. On the ‘skyline, above the long white building in the centre, is a ‘pagoda-like modern tower which stands approximately where Edward I's windmill stood. The road to the right leads to Estrées-les-Crécy and that to the left into Crécy itselt. (Author's photograph)‘This effigy Is thought to be the lest carved from alabaster in England. It dates from around 1840 and is also interesting because the knight seems to beneath or attached to the Interior of his surcoat. Otherwise his equipment is old-fashioned. (Hanbury Church; author's photograph) ‘The knights Jousting on this carved wooden misericorde, ‘spurred on by a drummer and a trumpeter, are equipped with the st armour. It was carved in ‘the mid- to late-14th century and ‘huge changes that ‘author's photograph) Eventually the Count ng survived John. of Luxembourg’s charge and perhaps others as well, grabbed Philip V's bridle and dragged him off the field. With a handful of followers they fled to Labroye castle, where the king had some difficulty convincing the garrison of his identity. Next day Philip went to Doullens. Back on the battlefield King Edward refused to allow his men to pursue. He probably knew that several French contingents had not yet reached the scene of carnage. Edward II reportedly had the famous windmill set alight to4 ‘A unit te by the Ear of Arundel, stationed on the right of the Eat of Northampton’s division, was sent to help the Prince of Wales, who was lunder grest pressure from the Count of Luxembourg’s attack. Arundel’ ‘mon probably struck Lusambourg’sdlvsion In its flank, tipping the balance in favour of the English During the course ofthe battle the Enolish archers were supplied with ational arrows from their fortified baggage camp English tine but his horse tipped in a pot-hole and fol, The second French cavalry charge was made by John of Lurembourg’s division. tt was the most successful ofthe day, breaking through the Enalish archers and penetrating to the centre ofthe Prince of Wales! Potiton before being driven back. John of Lsxembourg was killed inthe ‘éléo, probably by archers or epearmen outs the main English position as hie body was not found until ater, Luxemboura's surviving eraterms agnin arom to have re-lormed near Geir starting poet ENGLISH ARMY FRENCH ARMY 1 English baagege came ‘A French baggage overs Pha M Ears of Northampton and Anda mon-atams | | ¢ Count ot Aengon ‘Ears of Nothampton and Arundel archers 1 vot of Luxembourg {Prince of Was’ men-at-arms, FE Goroese crossbow se lanky {Prince of We archers Engle carnon THE BATTLE OF CRECY 26 AUGUST 1346: subsequent French attacks and the English counter-attackSeveral large grave-pite were dug by local poasants for ‘he mass burial of French dead on the day after the battle. The location of these pts would have marked ‘the locations of the most intensive fighting, which was ‘onthe two flanks of the English postion crore | ( \ ‘The French mounted men-at-arms made up to 13 further cavatry charges during the course of the late aftrnoon and early evening. Most were against the Prince of Wales’ ‘division on the English right lank, but some were against the Earl of Northampton's v ‘division on the English lef. All were driven off [At dusk Edward tod his dismounted English men-at-arms to have thelr horses brought rom the baggage camp. He then ordered a general advance, which seems ‘a have boon primarily directed againet Philip V's position on the other aie of the ‘Vallée des Clores King Philip VI and his immediate retinue probably remained near 2 spot now known a Le Moulin Rathuile whore 4 windmill may have served as his command ‘centre. A windmill existed on tis spat many years ago and there may have been y ‘ono thore inthe 18th contury After heavy fighting, Philip VI and his remaining household ‘troop retreated tothe castle of Lbroye, about five hilometros north-east ofthe batltild. ‘suggesting thatthe survivors of Alengon’s division re-formed ‘despite the death of their leaders, ‘Tho surviving Genooco Infantry seem to have let the batleield, probably heading tor Abbevile and Amiens [Additonal French troops may have continued to ~ arrive right up tothe ond of the battle, while ‘others were 80 far back that they spent the night Sleeping beside the read or under hedges76 ‘A detail from a carving of the ‘Sleeping Guards at the Holy Sopulchre' shows the construction of splinted arm defences and gauntlets. Both were probably made largely of hardened leather. The carving dates from around 1345. (Musée de POeuvre Notre Dame, Strasbourg; author's photograph) nate the ba illum lefield during the first wr hours of night, and the following day many Fret wagons were burned along with anything English could not use Throughout the night and following foge morning French soldiers, separated from the leaders, wandered around shouting their passwor as they tried to find their friends, Many were foune by the English and all were killed as the victors still took no prisoners, One French contingent of around 2,000 men arrived on the battlefield ignorant of the result, having spent the night on the road from Abbeville. They were m antry from Rouen and Beauvais, escorted by Count Louis of Blois and his brotherin law Duke Raoul of Lorraine, Edward TIT sent Warwick, Suffolk and Northampton against them, to greet them as friends until at the last moment the English charged. The Frenchmen realised their error and fled, thoug many were killed including Raoul of Lorraine. The monks of Grécy Grange tended the English wounded. Those who died in their care were buried in an enclosure in the corner of a rough field which was never again ploughed. The English also discovered the full extent of their victory and Edward Il ordered Reginald de Cobham to assemble those who could recognise coatsofarms to identify the dead. No document survives, but according to Jean le Bel the French lost nine princes, 12,000 knights, and from 15,000 to 16,000 others. This was an exaggeration, and even Geoffrey le Baker's estimate of a total of 4,000 noblemen and knights slain on both sides is probably excessive, More realistic is the statement that 1,542 men of aristocratic rank were identified and buried. The literate men who drew up the grisly tally subsequently gave their name to the Vallée des Cleres. A handful of noblemen were extracted for proper burial, some at the Abbey of Valloires, while the rest were tipped into large grave-pits. The death of John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, was mourned by both sides, His body was washed, wrapped in linen, placed on a horse- drawn litter and returned to Luxembourg. In his honour the Prince of Wales adopted John of Luxembourg’s motto Ich Dene or Ich Dien, ‘I serve’, and added beneath it his own badge of three feathers, Many of Philip VI's most experienced troops had died at Crécy, but instead of trying to rally what remained he retreated to Amiens, where he met Charles, King of the Romans and now of Bohemia, John of Hi the Count of Namur and Louis, the new Count of Flander had already dispersed so the leaders similarly made their way home. Before doing so, however; Philip VI ordered all the Genoese ‘traitors’ be executed. Many were killed before the king’s anger cooled and, not surprisingly, the survivors also went home. Philip rode to Pont Sai Maxence in a secluded part of Hallate Forest about 56 kilometres north of Paris. Meanwhile his son, Duke John of Normandy, finally reach Paris ‘on 8 October, before collecting his father from Pont SaintMaxence.‘The English position as soon from the bottom of the Vallée des Ceres, close to where the Genoese would have started their advance against the Prince of Wales! division on the left of the picture. The modern wooden tower can be seen on the skyline in the centre. (Author's photograph) AFTERMATH AND RECKONING fter Crécy the English moved slowly northwards, covering only A iG lose per lay They aie cae 1p Tie eal Nope receiving supplies by sea, again destroying an area 30 kilometres wide, sacking Etaples and making an unsuccessful assault upon Montreuil-surMer. On 1 September Edward's army rested at Neufchatel and the following day stopped at Wimille just north of Boulogne to ion. The English at Caen had been destroyed by the French garrison in the castle and Edward realised that it was no longer possible to retain Normandy. This was a serious disappointment for those Norm noblemen who had pinned their colours to the English mast. Edward now decided to besiege Calais rather than Boulogne because it would be a better base for future operations and was closer to his Flemish allies. On 3 September the ancient port of Wissant was destroyed, and on. the 4th the vanguard of the English army reached the marshes that surrounded Calais. That day the English fleet also attacked Boulogne but were driven off. They then made contact with King Edward, who wrote a letter home demanding men and material for the forthcoming siege of Calais. A few days later the long-awaited supply fleet arrived from England under the command of Sir John Montgomery, Around this time Godfrey de Harcourt finally abandoned hope of receiving anything from the English and slipped away to Brabant. review their situa 77success, penetrating the centre of the Prince of Wales! position and briefly overturning the English banner, while ot least one man-at-arms broke right through and out the rear of the English line. Nevertheless, after a bitter struggle the ‘gallant, old and near-blind Count of Luxembourg was killod ‘along with his closest companions and the survivors of his, division were forced to retreat.French inilitary failure during the Crécy campaign has been th subject of heated debate on both sides of the Channel. Clearly King Philip's army was not properly arrayed during the battle, their attac started very late in the day and their numerous cavalry charges were poorly co-ordinated. Yet it would be wrong to put all the blame on the French men-atarms or on the The charges were no more disorderly than usual, while the men-atarms’ ability to reform and return to the attack indicated excellent horsemanship, determination, discipline and control. The reason for English success most favoured by English historians was the superiority of longbows over crossbows. Carlo Grimaldi himself admitted that the Genoese crossbowmen were outshot by the English longbowmen, while Villani said that the English shot three arrows for every one by the crossbowmen. The longbowmen's ability to outrange the crossbowmen must, however, have been a result of the rain, while the English position above the Genoese enabled them to direct massed falling fire to which the flat trajectory crossbow could not respond. Skilled English longbowmen now became someth recruited into English noble households, but there were clear lim England’s new-found military prowess. English armies remained notably good at raiding and major battles, effectiveness in siege warfare. The psychological impact on the English was significant, however, and their confidence soared. Returning soldiers ad the idea that there were easy pickings in France and although men ofien had to sell their loot for far less than its true value, Thomas Walsingham could write that: ‘The woman was of no account who did noese crossbowme of an élite, Ss 10 but never achieved the sa “The view from the Vallée des Ceres towards the left of the English line, held by the Northampton and Arundel. (Author's photograph)ABOVE, LEFT.Franch bombard ‘cannon found in Lisieux castle, 14th century. (Musée dopartmental des Antiquités, Rouen; author's photograph) ABOVE, RIGHT Italian bombardella cannon from Morro near Ancona, 14th century. (Museo Nazionale dollArtig Turin) Sir Geoffroy Luttrell with his wite and daughter-in-law, ¢. 1340. The knight is taking his heavy reat holm, which could be placed over the lightor bascinet which he already wears. In battle, however, the great helm was rapidly being abandoned. (Luttrell Psalter, British Library, Ms. Add. 42130, t. 202v, London) not possess something from the spoils of Caen and Calais and the other overseas in the form of clothing, furs, quilts and utensils.” Changing attitudes made it much easier for Edward III to recruit domestic troops and there were cases of men rising from the humble rank of archer to man-atarms and captain by the 1350s. King Edward III's victories were also widely seen as evidence of Divine approval for his claims in France, as John Erghome of Yorkshire maintained: ‘The Lord God ordains the English to have strength of arms in battles against the French on account of the right which they have in the kingdom of France.’ Meanwhile Philip VI was the butt of particular ridicule. To quote the poet Minot: ‘In the chambers you are an ornament, in battle almost acR lt aye getter an ‘Se ng (ey Mi CoV) Gage ale aon dens S “ scieap | > pega] syst as ‘Palyarumiest te lo an Sn Ypres Want eGuines Egham eas an desis Spaces Sim a seach ofc 7 | revs tsitaersniche tegehd unre | VA | Strats iimdyntcnctonaton ciate | sehgyapacn,, Newel A mies fesse Se eetnne virgin. T Fre and a str batlefiel Hundred Years ¥ In Fra political lon and French menatarms were basic tac little cross NU ea Yat nd cine mas themselves were ace en em sot ere 20 mies 254m rusting in a tower of deceit, you seek means of defence.’ The cused of effeminacy, the worst sexual deviations 1 through diplomacy what they lost on the id. Sadly such stereotypes survived long after the end of the ge ability to re 1d to some extent can even be found today ance the impact of Crécy and the subsequent loss of Calais was and miliary. The cavalry learned tw be very wary of English powmen, not so much for themselves as for their vulnerable horses, soon fighting on foot though their Edward IIs campaign may have won only retaining Calais, but it wrought huge damage nrthern France and was a political disaster for Philip VI. In tics remained offensive psychological terms the impact was the opposite of that seen in England: Jacob bows before Esau and his {followers in the Volisiav Bible, made around 1340, Once again the military equipment in this Bohemian manuscript is old- tashioned, though the ccavalrymen's oval shields may be ‘a distinctive central European style. (University Library, Ms. 3-24, 1.84, Prague)Crécy was a huge shock for the French nobility and the reputation of the knightly class was severely damaged. The French view of the typical Englishman was, predictably, unfl te the English were widely ded as brutish gluttons, the ignoble dregs of mankind. ‘Their it was said, ‘is their god, and they are zealous in sacrificing to it A sense of near despair which gripped France in the wake of Crécy was reflected in a song written by Guillaume de Machaut, He was the greatest French musician of the Mth century but earlier in his life had fought alongside John of Luxembourg in Poland, Italy, Germany and Lithuania as, in fact The son a prayer for peace ‘Christ, who art the light and the day; cast down by thy power the vandals w death, to whose gates we are so near, protect us... hear the sighs of the weepin Come, hasten, already our strength is fading. whom a wretched people is wickedly destroying Beyond France the battle f Crécy had less impact on the country’s military reputation than might have been expected, though English archers and menatarms were soon welcomed as mercenaries in aly Carlo Gi maldi, once more the lord of Monaco and leading entre preneur in the recruitment of Genoese mercenaries, recovered sufficiently to join other expeditions before dying in 1357. His sc Ranieri, the lord of nearby Menton, remained a loyal servant of France ay did most of the Grimaldi fam rule Monaco to this day ly, and Carlo Grimaldi’s descendants des Cleres seen from just outside Wadicourt. The English held the low ridge on the right, the French and the! attacking from the trees on the loft and from the other side of the valley further left. (Author's photograph) 83THE BATTLEFIELDS TODAY ‘ormandy and Picardy still exist. Many of them are, however, minor D-roads or even country tracks because the French started modernising their road network much earlier than did the English. The countryside has, however, changed less in overall terms because Francs retains the large unhedged fields which were characteristic of the Middle ‘Ages. Forests have diminished, many disappearing or only surviving as scattered woods. Towns and villages have, of course, expanded, though once again France retains a great number of tiny hamlets scattered evenly across the countryside. The city which has changed most is Caen which suffered appalling damage during the Second World War. Otherwise the biggest change is the result of centuries of drainage projects, most notably on low-lying coasts along the eastern base of the Cotentin peninsula, around and to the north of the Somme estuary. Accommodation is, of course, not a problem in France, and the French network of cheap well equipped campsites is probably the best in the world. There are many along the coast of Lower Normandy and sufficient between Paris and the sea. North of Paris they are more scattered before reaching the region around Crécy, the coast of what was Ponthieu, and up the coast of Picardy to Calais. Although the battle was fought close to the small town of Crécy, with another village on its far flank, the ground had only been disturbed to a small extent. The site of the famous windmill is where a small underground reservoir now stands, and in recent years a tall wooden structure, roughly the same size asa medieval windmill, has been erected next to the reservoir. The little town of Crécy does not reach the top of the hill though a school and sports facilities covers part of its south-western slope. The only major structure on the fighting area is a beet processing factory next to where the Vallée des Clercs meets the road from the eastern edge of Crécy. Wadicourt has increased in size but still only abuts the edge of the battlefield. There is also a farm track down the Vallée des Clercs between Wadicourt and the beet factory which can get very muddy. Several of the campsites near Crécy appear in English guidebooks, the closest probably being at Vironchaux and is certainly well sited for the battlefield. Pleasant bed and breakfast accommodation exists in Crécy, Estréestes-Grécy and other nearby towns or villages, while larger hotels and excellent restaurants can be found in Abbeville T he roads which the English and French armies marched along in The superbly carved Easter ‘Sepulchre at Hawton includes ssovoral military figures. It was made around 1330 and ilustrates English military costume of the period. Note that this man has a brimmed chape! de for over his bascinet. (Hawton ‘Church; author's photograph)‘A longbow archer braces hie weapon against his foot as he restrings or unstrings the bow. The English ability to remove and 2 rapidly replace the strings of their longhows during a sudden rain shower at the start of the battle of Crécy had a major impact on its outcome, (Luttrel! Pealter, British Library, Ms. Add. 42190, f. 56, London) CHRONOLOGY 1928 1337 1340 s242 1344 1348, Philo of Vaois decared Kang of France as Philp Mt Start of Huncred Years War. English defeat French at naval batt of lus. English destroy Gencese galey squadron at Brest; widespreac! breakdown of ord in southern France. Engish Peclament votes two-year subsidy for Edward I April, Eduard Il ofors ‘defen’ of Philp VI ctober, Engish victory at Auberoche in Gascony December, Engi take Aiguilon in Gascony December 1345-March 1946, Franc recruit troops and ships in Genoa, Monsco and Nico, 118 March, French start dence maasures long Channel coast, April, French under Duke of Normandy besiage English Algullon. May-June, Engish army and fet assembies around Portsmouth. (6 May, Carlo Grima and his fet eave Nee. ‘9 June, English defeat Charies of Blois at St Pol de Léon in Britany, 20 June, Ewa ll probably decdes to invade Nornandy; English wn eral victory at La- Roche Derren in Bettany, 24 June, eaders of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres agree to support Ecward il ly, Edward orders closing of English ports to stop information reaching France. Caro Grimaldi’ lot sheltrs from storms in Tagus estuary, Portugal July, Scots rac northern Engana, ‘3 July, Enaish fost atterpis to sal om Portsmouth to Normandy but & forced back by contrary winds. 111-12 July, Enaish toot sas trom Portsmouth to Saint-Vaastls-Hégue.on Cotentin perineua 42+48 July, Engish army dserrbarks at Sart-Vaaste-Hogue, ursuccessti resistence by [Mershal Robert Betrand English rad and burn neghbouring towns and vlages in Coterin peninsue, 16 July, English force under Sir Hugh Hactings eres in Flarders end join Flemish forcos at Ghent; Philo VI receives nows of English landing in Nornancy, 18 July, English amy archos from Saint Yaast to Valognes. 19 July, Enofsh army marches from Valognes to Sait-Ciime-durMont ane Coigy. 20 July, Engtsh army takes Carentan, 21 July, Enalsh amy marches from Carentan to Pont Hébert. 222 July, Engish ary marches ftom Pont-Hébert and takes Seint-L6; Philo VI accepts th (Orfamme sacred banner at Saint-Denis (or on 23rd, 2 July, English army marches from Saint. to Torgny and Cormch 24-25 July, English army reaches vilages west of Caen; English fest aves in Ome estuary

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