Henry at the Siege of Vilna 201 



manfully with them. The foray resulted in much trade, especially 

 after the upper house had been gained. And when everything had 

 been done with the help and at the will of the Lord, they returned 

 home, having lost no more than thirty men^ slain and shot in the 

 raid (reyse). 



Ill 



[Wigand von Marburg (S. R. P. 2. 642-3), in D. A., pp. cix-cx.] 

 An incursion {reysaY was made by the aforesaid Marshal, along 

 with numerous foreigners, especially the son of the English Duke of 

 Lancaster (Lankasten), the Earl of Derby (Terpi). Duke Vitovt 

 (Wytaudus) was of the party, and the Samogitians went up on this 

 side of the Memel. On the other side, Skirgiello (Schirgal) was 

 stationed near Old Kovno^ to prevent the Christians from crossing; 

 this, however, he was not able to effect, for they found the ford and 

 passed over it, and, the moment they had reached the further shore, 

 the heathen fled, pursued by the Christians, who slew many of them. 

 Three of the heathen dukes were taken, besides much booty. 



him, clad in green; like him, , with 'arwes brighte and kene' ; encoun- 

 tered 'under a forest-syde', as the Knight's yeoman was a 'forster.' 

 That a yeoman (= valet) is practically identical with an archer is 

 clear from the name valet-archer, in the account of wages paid to Derby's 

 attendants on the expedition of 1390-91 ; there are valetti sagittarii 

 (D. A. 128. 10), and the same man is now called yeoman, and now 

 archer {D. A. 118. 23; 123. 31); cf. D. A., p. xl, note. The 'mighty 

 bowe' of the Prologue (108) is paralleled by the 'broad bows' {arcuhus 

 latis) which Henry bought for his journey (D. A. 34. 16) — four, as 

 against eighty of the ordinary sort, and costing twice as much each. 



^ Two of Henry's knights had been captured, and were perhaps never 

 released (D. A., pp. xxxi-xxxii). See also note 20. 



"For reysa, reyse, cf. Fliigel, in Angl. 24. 444-5; New Eng. Diet., s. v. 

 Before Henry left England, his whole expedition was called a voyage 

 (D. A. 1. g; 2. 20, 24; 3. 15, 26; 4. 25, etc.). The reys proper lasted 

 66 days — Aug. i8-0ct. 22 (D. A., p. xliii) ; for the word (le Reys) see 

 D. A. 43. 31; 46. 12, 32 (and often); cf. per totum (sic) reisam (105. 

 18; 106. 11); per totum le reisam (106. 8). Reze is nearly equivalent 

 to the French chevauchee; John of Gaunt's 'military promenade' in 1373 

 is spoken of by one author as a 'chevaucie,' and by another as a *reze' 

 (Armitage-Smith, p. 115). 



^Kovno is 55 miles from the Prussian frontier, and in 1903 had a 

 populcition of nearly 74,000, having more than trebled in forty years. 

 It consists of a cramped Old Town and a New Town stretching up 

 the side of the Niemen. The fork of the river-junction (the Niemen 

 with the Wiliya) is an important feature of the city's strength. From 

 1384 to 1398 the town belonged to the Teutonic Order. Old Kovno 

 here = Marienwerder. 



