5 QS ENGL 
enemies. The king of France, dreading nothing fo much 
as the efcape of the Englifh, began the march of his 
great army from Abbeville early in the morning, Auguft 
26, and continued feveral hours with great eagernel's, till 
he received intelligence that the Englifh had halted at 
Crecy, and were waiting to give him battle. He was ad- 
vifed not to engage that day, when his troops were much 
fatigued with their march, and in great diforder ; and lie 
was difpofed to have taken this advice : but the difci- 
pline of the army was fo imperfect, that the orders given 
for halting were not obeyed; and one corps of this 
mighty holt impelling another foru'ard, they continued 
advancing till they came into the prefence of their ene¬ 
mies in much confufion. 
Edward had employed the forenoon of this important 
day in drawdng up his army in the mod excellent order, 
in three lines. The fir ft line, which confifted of Soo men 
at arms, 4000 Englifh archers, and 600 Welfti foot, was 
commanded by his young, amiable, and heroic, fon, the 
prince of Wales, aflifted by the earls of Warwick and 
Oxford, and feveral other noblemen ; the fecond line, 
compofed of 800 men at arms, 4000 halbardiers, and 2400 
archers, was led by the earls of Arundel and Northamp¬ 
ton ; the laft line, or referve, in which were 700 men at 
arms, 5300 billmen, and 6000 archers, was ranged along 
the fummit of the hill, and concluded by the king in 
perfon, attended by the lords Moubmy, Mortimer, and 
others. When the army was completely formed, Edward 
rode along the lines, and by his words and geftures in- 
fpired his troops with the mod ardent courage. He then 
commanded the cavalry to difmount, and the whole army 
to fit down upon the grafs, in their ranks, and refrefh 
themfelves with meat, drink, and reft.' As foon as the 
French came in view', they fprung from the ground, full 
of ftrength and vigour, and with cool and determined 
courage ftodd ready to receive'them. 
The king of France, aftifted by the kings of Bohemia 
and Majorca, the dukes of Lorraine and Savoy, and feve¬ 
ral other fovereign princes, with the flower of the French 
nobility, laboured to reftore fome degree of order to his 
prodigious army, and drew it up alfo in three lines, but 
very indiftintlly formed. The firft line was commanded 
in chief by the veteran king of Bohemia, the fecond by 
the earl of Alenyon, the king of France’s brother ; and 
the third by Philip in perfon ; and each of thefe lines 
contained a greater number of troops than the whole 
Englilh army. 
The battle of Crecy was begun about three o’clock in 
the afternoon, Auguft 26, by a great body of Genoefe 
crofs-bow men, in the French fervice, who let fly their 
quarrels at too great a diftance to do any execution, and 
were ptefently routed by a fhower of arrows from the 
-Englifh archers. The earl of Alen^on, after trampling 
to death many of the flying Genoefe, advanced to the 
charge, and made a furious attack on that corps com¬ 
manded by the young prince of Wales. The earls of 
Arundel and Northampton advanced with the fecond line 
to fuftain the prince, and Alenjon was fupported by more 
troops than could crowd to his afliftance. Here the battle 
raged for fome time with deftructive fury ; and the earl 
of Warwick, anxious for the fate of the day and the fafe- 
ty of the prince, lent a meflenger to the king, intreating 
him to advance with the third line. Edward, who had 
taken his ftand on a windmill on the top of the hill, from 
whence he had a full view of the motions of both armies, 
afked the meflenger if his fon was unhorfed, or wounded, 
or killed ; and, being anfwered that the prince was un¬ 
hurt, and performing prodigies of valour, “ Go, then, 
(laid he) and tell my fon, and his brave companions, 
that I will not deprive them of any part of the glory of 
their victory.” This flattering meflage being made known, 
infpired the prince and his troops with redoubled courage, 
juft at the moft important crifis of the battle. The king 
of Bohemia, a folaier of great reputation and experience, 
but a lino it blind through age, and the lofs of one of his 
AND. 
eyes in the Italian wars, feeing his divifion almoft beaten 
or deftroyed, with unparalleled fortitude called about 
him the chief commanders of his forces, and thus ad- 
drefted them : “ You have been my companions in many 
a bloody field, and have ever obeyed my commands with 
1‘eadinefs ; receive, therefore, with the fame refpedt my 
laft injunction ; bring me forward that I may deal among 
thefe Englifhmen one good ftroke of my fword, and I fhall 
die with fatisfaftion.” Without hefitating they agreed 
to obey him, though death ftiould' be the refult of their 
obedience; and, that they might not by any extremity 
be feparated from each other, they fattened their horfes’ 
bridles together, and thus advancing to the hotted of the 
battle, they courageoufly charged the Englifh prince; 
but, unable to withftand the power of that young hero 
and his valiant affailants, they were all flain, and the next 
day found dead about the body of their king, with their 
horfes’ bridles tied together. Thus fell the moft noble 
and warlike king of Bohemia, leaving the honour of his 
death to adorn the blooming laurels of the young prince 
of Wales. His arms were three oftrich feathers, with this 
motto, ICH DIEN, dignifying, in the German language, I 
SERVE; and, his ftandard being taken by the young 
prince, he afterwards ufed the fame device, which has 
ever fince been borne by the princes of Wales'his fuc- 
cefTbrs. 
After this total defeat of the two firft divifions of the 
French army, Philip, undifmayed at the (laughter of his 
troops, and the fall of fo many brave princes, advanced 
to the charge with the line under his immediate com¬ 
mand. But this body foon (hared the fame fate with the 
other two; and Philip, after having been unhorfed, and 
wounded in the neck and thigh, was carried off the field 
by John of Hainault, and fled with no more than five 
knights and about fixty foldiers in his company, out of 
all his mighty hoft, which, at the beginning of the brit¬ 
tle, confifted of more than 120,000 men. Such was the 
famous victory of Crecy, the greateft ever gained by any 
king of England. From the era of this memorable bat¬ 
tle, the French began to diftinguiftr young Edward by 
the epithet Le Noir, or Black Prince, as well from the 
terror of his arms, as from the darknefs of his coat ar¬ 
mour. 
After the battle, the king flew into the arms of the 
prince, and, grafping him to his bofom, cried, in an ec- 
ftacy of joy, “ My dear fon, you have this day fhewed 
yourfelf worthy of the knighthood which you lately re¬ 
ceived, and of the crown for which you .have fo bravely 
fought; perfevere in yourhonourable courfe.” The prince, 
as modeft as he was brave, funk down on his knees, his 
face covered with blulhes, and begged his father’s blef- 
ftng. Edward continued with his army at Crecy three 
days, employed in numbering and buryiitg the dead. The 
French had left on this bloody fcene the king of Bohe¬ 
mia, eleven other princes, eighty bannerets, 1200 knights, 
1500 gentlemen, 4000 men at arms, and 30,000 other fo’l- 
diers. 
Never did a more glorious year than that of 1346, pafs 
over the head of any Englifh monarch, the arms of Ed¬ 
ward being every where crowned with the moft fignai 
fuccefs. In Guienne, the duke of Normandy had been 
obliged to raife the liege of Aiguillon with precipitation, 
on Auguft 20, after having loft a great part of his army- 
before its walls, in many vain aflaults ; and the earl of 
Derby made lumfelf mafter of that whole province, with 
all its ftrong places. David Bruce king of Scotland, 
having, at the inftigation of France, invaded England 
with an army of 50,000 men, was, on 06 tober 12, at Ne- 
vil’s crofs near Durham, defeated in a great battle, taken 
prifoner, and carried to the tower of London. The par¬ 
liament of England,-dazzled with the luftre of fo many 
viftories, granted the king,a very large fupply, to enable 
him to prolecute the war with vigour. 
Edward marched his victorious army from Crecy, Sep¬ 
tember i } through the Boulonnois, towards Calais, which 
he 
