thousand good fighting men; and to speak of the A.D. 1415 banners of the King of England there were five about his own person, that is to say, the banner of the Trinity, the banner of Our Lady, the banner of St. George, the banner of St. Edward, and the banner of his own arms. Afterwards were the following banners, viz., of the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of York, the Earl of March, the Earl of Huntingdon, the Earl of Oxford, the Earl of Kent, the Lords de Ros, Cornwall, and several others.

These things being arranged, the king went along the ranks to see if nothing was wanting to the work of his army; and, in passing, he made fine speeches everywhere, exhorting and begging them to do well; saying that he had come into France to recover his rightful heritage, and that he had good and just cause for so doing; saying further that they could fight safely and with free heart in this quarrel, and that they should remember that they were born of the realm of England where they had been brought up, and where their fathers, mothers, wives, and children were living; wherefore it became them to exert themselves, that they might return thither with great joy and approval. And he showed them besides how his predecessors, kings of England, had gained many splendid victories over the French, and caused them marvellous discomfiture; and he begged that this day each one would assist in protecting his person and the crown of England, with the honour of the kingdom. And further he told them and explained how the French were boasting that they would cut off three fingers of the right hand of all the archers that should be taken prisoners to the end that neither man nor horse should ever again be killed with their arrows. Such exhortations and many others, which cannot all be written, the King of England addressed to his men.

How the Constable of France and the French princes arranged their troops on the Friday morning. CHAPTER X

A.D. 1415. Now we shall tell of the condition of the French, who, as it has been said, lay down on the Thursday evening on the field between Azincourt and Tramecourt, in which place on the morning of next day they made their preparations and arrangements for fighting the King of England and his force that day; for, on the Thursday, they had chosen that spot where they bivouacked in order to fight the English there, if they tried to pass it, as this was their direct way to go to Calais. And to the royal banner of the constable all the great lords of the gathering gladly joined their own; namely, marshals, admirals, and other royal officers; and this night the French made great fires round the banner under which they were to fight. And the French were at least fifty thousand, with a

1 Now we will begin to speak of the French, who on Thursday at night, as has been mentioned above, lay in the field which is between Azincourt and Tramecourt, where the battle was on the morrow, in which place, as I have already begun to relate, they remained till morning, hoping never to leave the place till they should have fought the King of England and his force. And they set and ordered themselves in readiness, but truth to tell, on the Thursday at evening when they had reconnoitred the place where they had halted and where the battle was on the morrow, the French princes and the royal officers who were there, such as the

Constable, Marshal Boucicault, the Lord of Dompierre, and Sir Clugnet de Brabant, both calling themselves Admirals of France, the Lord of Rambures, Master of the Crossbowmen, and many other princes, barons, and knights fixed their banners with great rejoicing with the royal banner of the said Constable on the said field reconnoitred by them, situate in the county of St. Pol in the territory of Azincourt, across whick on the morrow the English were to pass to Calais. And that night the French made great fires around the banner beneath which they were to fight on the morrow, H.

great number of waggons, baggage, artillery, and all A.D. 1415, appurtenances suitable to the case. They had few musical instruments, and during this night one hardly heard a single horse neigh throughout the host.

I, the author of this work, know the truth about this, for I was in this assemblage on the French side; and on behalf of the English, Golden Fleece, above mentioned, has certified the same thing, whence an evil augury was drawn in the army of the French, and some foretold that which came of it.

Then on the morning of the next day, that is to say, Friday, St. Crispin's day, the twenty-fifth of October, 1415, the constable and all the other officers of the King of France, the Dukes of Orleans, Bourbon, Bar, and Alençon, the Counts of Eu, Richemont, Vendôme, Marle, Vaudemont, Blaumont, Salines, Grampré, Roussy, Dampmartin, and generally all the other nobles and warriors armed themselves and issued from their bivouac; and then it was ordered by the constable and marshals of the King of France that three battalions should be formed, that is to say, vanguard main body, and rear guard. In the vanguard were placed eight thousand knights and esquires, four thousand archers, and fifteen hundred cross-bowmen; which vanguard was commanded by the constable, accompanied by the Dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, with whom were the Counts of Eu and, Richemont, Marshal Boucicault, the master of the cross-bowmen, the Lord of Dompierre, Admiral of France, Sir Guichart Daulphin, and some other captains; and moreover the Count of Vendôme and other officers of the king, with six hundred men-at-arms, were ar

1 And I truly know all this, for I the author of this work was present on the French side, and on the part of the English the said Golden Fleece has told me the same

thing for truth, whereat many
wondered greatly, and some of the
French drew no good augury from
it, saying within themselves as next
day befel. H.

A.D 1415. ranged as a wing to strike on the English on one side, and another wing was commanded by Sir Clugnet de Brabant, admiral, and Sir Louis Bourdon, with eight hundred mounted men-at-arms, picked men, with whom there were, to intercept the arrows of the English, Sir Guillame de Saveuse, Hector and Philip, his brothers, Ferry de Mailly, Alyame de Gapaume, Allain de Vendôme, Lamont de Lannoy, and several other valiant knights and esquires. The centre division, which had a number of men equal to the vanguard, was led by the Dukes of Bar and Alençon, the Counts of Nevers, Vaudemont, Blaumont, Salines, Roussy, and Grampré. And the rear guard, in which was the residue of the French host, was led by the Counts of Marle, Dampmartin, and Fauqembergue, and the Lord of Longroy, Captain of Ardre, who had brought the men from the frontier of Boullenois.

When the battalions of the French were thus formed, as has been told, it was grand to see them; and as far as one could judge by the eye, they were in number fully six times as many as the English. And when this was done the French sat down by companies around their banners, waiting the approach of the English, and making their peace with one another; and then were laid aside many old aversions conceived long ago; some kissed and embraced each other, which it was affecting to witness; so that all quarrels and discords which they had had in time past were changed to great and perfect love. And there were some who breakfasted on what they had. And these Frenchmen remained thus till nine or ten o'clock in the morning, feeling quite assured that, considering their great force, the English could not escape them; however, there were at least some of the wisest who greatly feared a fight with them in open battle. Among the arrangements made on the part of the French, as I have since heard related by

eminent knights, it happened that, under the banner of A.D. 1415. the Lord of Croy, eighteen gentlemen banded themselves together of their own choice, and swore that when the two parties should come to meet they would strive with all their might to get so near the King of England that they would beat down the crown from his head, or they would die, as they did; but before this they got so near the said king that one of them with the lance which he held struck him such a blow on his helmet that he knocked off one of the ornaments of his crown. But not long afterwards it only remained that the eighteen gentlemen were all dead and cut to pieces; which was a great pity; for if every one of the French had been willing thus to exert himself, it is to be believed that their affairs would have gone better on this day. And the leaders of these gentlemen were Louvelet de Massinguehem and Garnot de Bornouille. Now we will return to speak of the King of England, how he conducted himself after he had admonished his men, as has been told.

How the King of England began to march forward, and of the parley that was held between the two armies before they met. CHAPTER XI.

WHEN the English had heard their king speak thus, their courage and hardihood increased, for well they saw it was the hour for every one to put his hand to the work if he did not wish to perish there. Some on the side of the French have said that the King of England sent two hundred archers secretly from the rear of his army, so that they should not be perceived, towards Tramecourt through a meadow to