ENG 
sifter, brought to bed of a daughter, lie was unanimoufly 
elefted king. Being crowned amidft the congratulations 
of his fubjefts, he received the appellation' of Philip the 
Fortunate. 
A brewer of Ghent in the m'ean while perfuaded Ed¬ 
ward to alfuine rite title of king of France. This citi¬ 
zen’s name was James Arteveld, 1 a man grown too rich 
and powerful for a fubjeft; an'd one of thoTe whom, ac¬ 
cording to Machiavel, kings ought to flatter or deftroy. 
With the nfliftance of this man, therefore, Edward re- 
' folved to undertake the conqueft of France. Hefirft, 
however, confulted his parliament on the propriety of 
the undertaking, obtained their approbation, received 
adequate fupplies, and with a gallant army, July 16, i 338, 
he failed over to Flanders. Edward’s firft ftep was -to af- 
fert his claim to the French crown; to affume the title 
of king of the country, and brand Philip, his rival, with 
the title of ufurper. Philip, on the other hand, made vigo¬ 
rous preparations to oppofe him ; he even challenged the 
invader to try their fortune in Angle combat, upon equal 
terms, in fome appointed plain. Edward accepted the 
challenge ; but various obftacles prevented its taking 
place. 
The firft fignal advantage gained by the Englifh, was in 
a,naval engagement on the coaftof Flanders, in which the 
French loft two hundred and thirty (hips, and had thirty 
thoufand feanien, and two of their admirals, (lain. None 
of Philip’s courtiers, it is faid, dared to inform him of the 
event, till his jefter gave him a hint, by w hi eft he dif- 
covered the lofs he had fuftained. This victory brought 
on a truce, which neither fide feemed willing to break, 
till the ambition of-Edward was' once more excited b-y 
the invitation of the count de Montfort, w ho had polfef- 
fed himfelf of the province of Bretagne, and applied to 
Edward to fecond his claim. This entirely coincided 
with Edward’s mod fanguine defires, fince it promifed to 
open to him'an entrance into the heart of France.. Thefe 
flattering profpe&s, however, were for a while clouded, 
by the imprifonment of Montfort, who was foon after 
befieged in the city of Nantes, and taken. But Jane of 
Flanders, his wife, more than made up for the lofs of her 
hulband. This lady, the mod extraordinary woman of her 
age, courageoufly undertook to fupport the falling for¬ 
tunes of her family. She aflembled the inhabitants of 
Rennes; and, carrying her infant fon in her arms, de¬ 
plored her misfortunes, and called loudly upon the citi¬ 
zens to efpoufe her caufe. The inhabitants of Nantes, 
and of all the fortreffes of Bretagne, embraced the fame 
refolution ; and the king of England, apprifed of her ef¬ 
forts, anxioufly forwarded fuccours to the town of Hen- 
nebonne, in w hich place flie refolved to fttllain the at¬ 
tacks of the enemy. Charles de Blois, Philip’s general, 
eager to make himfelf mafter of fo important a fortrefs, 
and dill more to take the countefs prifoner, fat down be¬ 
fore the caftle with a large army, and conducted the fiege 
with indefatigable labour. The defence was no lefs re- 
folute : feveral fallies were made by the garrifon, in which 
the countefs herfelf was alw'ays mod forward, and led on 
to the affault. Obferving one day that the whole army 
of the enemy had quitted the camp to join in a.general 
fform, flie {'allied out by a poftern-gate, at the head of 
three hundred hotfe, fet fire to their tents and baggage, 
put the futlers to the fword, and occafioned fuch an alarm, 
that the French army defifted from the affault, in order 
to cut off her retreat to the town. Thus intercepted, 
{lie retired to Auray, where die continued'for five or fix 
days; then, returning at the head of five hundred horfe, 
file fought her way through the French camp, and re¬ 
turned to her faithful citizens in triumph. But mere 
unfupported valour could not long withftand the impref- 
fions of an adtive and vigorous enemy. The befiegers 
had made feveral breaches in the walls;’and a capitula¬ 
tion was fet'on foot, when the countefs, who had mounted 
on a high tower, and was looking towards the fea, de- 
i'cried fome {hips at a diftance. She immediately ex- 
Vol. VI. No. 375. 
j A N D. - 5Q7 
claimed that fuccours were at hand, and forbade any fur¬ 
ther capitulation. She was not difappointed in her ex- 
peibations; the fleet file deferied was from England, with 
fix thoufand archers, whom Edward had fent for the re¬ 
lief of Hennebonne, but who had. long been detained by 
contrary winds. They entered the harbour, under the con¬ 
duct of fir Walter Manny, a moll valiant commander, who 
kept up the drooping fpirits of the Bretons, until thl\ time 
appointed by the late truce with Edward was expired, 
when lie would be at liberty to renew the war in perfon. 
The king of England, therefore, failed from Sandwich 
on the-5th of October 1342, and landed at Morbian, near 
Vannes, with an army of twelve thoufand men ; and being 
mafter of the field, where no enemy dared to appear 
againft him, he endeavoured to give luftre to his arms, 
by befieging fome of the moft capital of the enemies’ forti¬ 
fications. The vigour of his operations led to another 
truce ; and this was loon after followed by a frefti infrac¬ 
tion. The truth is that neither fide obferved a truce 
longer than it coincided with their interefts ; and both 
had always fufficient art to throw the blame of perfidy on 
the other. The earl of Derby was fent by Edward to de¬ 
fend the province of Guienne, with inftrudtions alfo to 
take every poflible advantage that circ uni fiances might 
offer. At firft his fucceffes were rapid and brilliant; 
hut as foon as the French king appeared in force, he met 
with a very unexpedted refinance; fo that the Englifh 
general was compelled to act only on tire defenfive.' One 
fortrefs after another was furrendered to the French ; and 
nothing was expedled but a total extinction of the power 
of England upon the continent. In this fit nation of af¬ 
fairs, Edward refolved to appearat the head-of his foreign 
fubjedts and allies'; and accordingly embarked at South¬ 
ampton, and fet fail from St. Helen’s with a fleet of near 
a thoufand fhips on the 10th of July, .1346. He Carried 
with him, belides the chief nobility of England, Iris eldeft 
fon, tire prince of Wales, furnamed the Black Prince, a 
youth only verging to his fixteenth year; but whofe 
ftrength of body, and vigour of mind, greatly TurpafTed 
his age, and fet him above all his competitors. The 
army of the king of England confided of four thoufand 
men at arms, ten thoufand archers, ten thoufand Welch 
infantry, and fix thoufand Irifli, all which lie landed fafe- 
ly at La Hogue in Normandy, which country he deter¬ 
mined to make the feat of war. 
The intelligence of Edward’s landing with fo formida¬ 
ble an army, fpread confternation and terror through the 
French court. The rich city of Caen was taken and 
plundered by the Englifir; the villages and towns, eveir 
to the gates of Paris, (hared the fame fate; and the 
French had no other refource but by breaking down their 
bridges, to flop the invader’s career. In the mean time 
Philip exerted every effort in his power to reprefs.phe in- 
curfions of the enemy. He had ftationed one.of his gene¬ 
rals, Gondemar de Faye, with an army on the oppofite 
fide of the river Somme, over which Edward was to pal's; 
while he himfelf, at the head of a hundred.thoufand men, 
advanced on the contrary fide to give him baptle. Ed¬ 
ward thus, in the midft of his victories, unexpectedly ex-, 
pofed to the danger of being furrounded and ftarved in an. 
enemy’s country, publifhed a reward to afiy that fliould 
bring him intelligence of a paffa'ge o'yet* the Somme. 
This was difeovered by a peafant of the country; and 
Edward had juft time to get his army over the river, 
when Philip appeared in his rear. 
Though Edward had thus far overcome all obftacles, 
and eluded or defeated his enemjes, he became fenfible, 
that it wouidhe extremely dangerous to purfue his march 
with an army fo much fuperior to his own, efpecially in 
cavalry, hanging oh his rear. He determined therefore 
to make a ftand, and to give his'pi\rfi*ers a check. For 
this purpofe, he ciiofe his ground with great judgment, 
on the gentle declivity of a hill, with a thick wood in his 
rear. Fie ordered deep entrenchments to be made 'on 
each flank, and waited with finnnefs the approach of hi's. 
,7 N . enemies.. 
