164 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[period II. 



ii 



fled, the English following them. As the one fell back, 

 the other pressed nfl-er, and when the Frenchmen re- 

 treated, the English thought and cried out that the men 

 of France fled, and would never return. Thus they were 

 deceived by the pretended flight, and great mischief 

 thereby befell them ; for if they had not moved from 

 their position, it is not likely that they would have been 

 conquered at all." 



This stratagem gave William the victory, for as soon 

 as they were broken in the pursuit, he turned upon the 

 English, and a desperate struggle ensued, in which he 

 was successful. A charge of cavalry, led by the Norman 

 Duke, is described in the following words : — 



" Then those who kept close guard by him, and rode 

 where he rode, being about a thousand armed men, came 

 and rushed with closed ranks upon the English ; and 

 with the weight of their good horses, and the blows the 

 knights gave, broke the press of the enemy, and scattered 

 the crowd before them, the good Duke leading them on 

 in front. Many pursued and many fled, many were the 

 Englishmen who fell around and were trampled under 

 the horses, crawling ujDon the earth, and not able to rise. 

 Many of the richest and noblest men fell in the rout, 

 but still the English rallied in places, smote down those 

 whom they reached, and maintained the combat the best 

 they could, beating down the men and killing the 

 horses." 



Nothing could give a more vivid idea of the manner of 

 fighting in the eleventh century than this interesting 

 narrative, which has the great advantage of being written 

 shortly after the battle, and of being confirmed in many 

 particulars by the Bayeux tapestry. 



The next battle concerning which we have any details, 

 is that of Bouvines, in Flanders, fought in 1214 between 

 Philip Augustus and the Emperor Otho, in which the 

 former won a decisive victory. 



Philip's army was composed mainly of cavalry, and he 

 manoeuvred to draw the emperor out of some broken 

 country into the plain, where his horsemen could act to 

 advantage. Otho, hearing that the French king waH 



