. 'il 



212 A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. [period h. 



successes, which were considered the perquisites of the 

 chivalry, as for sutt'ering defeat. 



Their cruelty to the Genoese mercenaries at Crecy was 

 even greater than usual, but these foot-soldiers were paid 

 foreigners, for whom there was no sympathy. The ap- 

 pearance of the crossbow-men in Philip's army shows, 

 however, that the infantry were gradually assuming a 

 certain recognised position. The King of France would 

 never have employed so large a body of infantry at great 

 cost, if they were not considered necessary to meet the 

 English archers, whose fame had been spreading over 

 Europe. Their being placed in the front line to open 

 the battle looks as if great reliance was placed upon 

 their ability to neutralise the efforts of the English 

 archers. The anger of the French king on the defeat of 

 his mercenaries was evidently caused by his disap- 

 pointment. 



The battle of Courtrai in Flanders, in 1302, was one 

 of the earliest instances of the successful employment of 

 infantry against men-at-arms. It was fought between 

 the French chivalry, under Count Robert of Artois, and 

 the sturdy burgesses of the Flemish towns, who were be- 

 coming rich and independent through their industry and 

 energy. They were armed with pikes as a defence 

 against the heavily-equipped French horsemen, and they 

 handled their weapons with such steadiness and bravery 

 as to completely defeat the knights with very great 

 slaughter.' This appears to have been the first general 

 action in which infantry pikemen were pitted against the 

 mounted chivalry.^ The pikemen employed by the 

 Count of Boulogne at Bouvines, in 1214, was an earlier 

 instance of the use of the pike, but it was an exceptional 

 case, and not a general adoption of it as a weapon for 

 offensive and defensive purposes. 



The Swiss infantry about this period began to attract 

 attention, and they soon won a reputation all over the 

 Continent as infantry pikemen. The battle of Morgarten, 

 15th November, 1315, was the Marathon of Switzerland, 



White's History of France. 



Bardin, 4121. 



