1809.] Blondel’s Account of the Re-conquest of Normandy. 35 
diately took fire. The flame communi- 
cated to the neighbouring houses, and 
in an instant the distress was extreme. 
The besiegers prepared to take advantage 
of it, and put an end to the affair. The 
inhabitants cried at once—To the fire! 
To arms !—some ran to stop the pro- 
egress of the flames; others to the palli- 
s The soldiers of Picardy and the 
Pays de Caux jumped into the river ; 
their chiefs followed, they were up to 
their chin in water, and the current 
was rapid: but one supported the other, 
_they climbed up the bank, raised en dos 
d’ane (like an ass’s back) tore up the pal- 
lisades, and jumped down into the town, 
at /ance’s length. * The English to the 
number of five hundred had no resource 
sades. 
but to fly to astrong house, at the end of 
the town, and were very soon compelled 
to surrender. 
Then follows an account of the surren- 
der of Maulés, which the Count de Bre- 
quigny notices to be a gross falsehood— 
this,[ pass over,of course,to proceed to un- 
published accounts of particular mcidents. 
Gefirey de Couvron, who commanded 
for the King of France at Coutances, and 
Joachim Renault at Saint Lo, at the 
bead of two hundred horse and some 
infantry, went out at night and advanced 
to the gates of Vire, which was then in 
the hands of the English. They were 
very neur taking it; for towards eight in 
the morning, they fell upon the man 
who was on guard at the gate, and over- 
threw Aun by the thrust of a lance, and cut 
off the arm of another, who was attempt- 
ing to raise the draw-bridge ; buf the in- 
habitants running up at the noise, obliged 
the French to retire! [Thus, more than 
two hundred men boast of having con- 
quered two, but jled before the undisci- 
plined towns-people.] The intantry halted 
in the Fauxbourg, whence they carried 
away /wo prisoners, by whom they learn- 
ed that a party of three hundred English 
had left Vire on the preceding might. 
The French resolved to iein ambuscade 
to surprise them on their return; but 
they were not there long, when the Eng- 
Jish appeared and surprised the French 
themselves. Ronault hesitated upon the 
measure he ought to take. Couvron cried 
out: Itis no time to deliberate ‘ let us see 
which hus the fairest mistress ;’ an expres- 
sion of chivalry common im that age. He 
put his lance in the rest, and rushed upon 
the English, followed by his people. 
V——— a rT 
* More bombast like the boots. 
‘Twenty-four English were killed, as 
many made prisoners, and the rest _dis- 
persed, His victory cost him dear. He 
had with him the young Roisnivinen his 
yvephew, who was bringiug a prisoner. 
He had taken off his helmet to breathe a 
moment; ‘the perfidious prisoner seized 
the sword of Roisnivinen, whose heac 
he saw disarmed, and killed him. Near 
thirty prisoners paid upon the spot with 
their lives, for this treachery.* 
Blondel relates, the battle of Formigny 
in the same manner as the other French 
historians, and he precisely ayvrees, with 
Matth. de Coucs, concerning the num- 
ber of dead on the side of the Englishe 
He makes them aimount to three thou- 
sand, six hundred, and sixty-four men, 
whilst the French lost only twelve! The 
Enelish, according to him, had in all seven 
thousand men, the French but three 
thousand, five hundred. The English 
writers pretend that the French were 
far superior in number, and that the 
English had only five thousand, of which 
they lost only five hundred; but our au- 
thor explains the cause, and the Count 
thinks he is the only writer, who does so, 
The wind was so high, that it quite 
blinded the eyes of the English with dust, 
and not only hindered them from aiming 
their blows, but impeded the flight of the 
arrows. ’ 
Passing by a variety of superstitious 
reasons assigned by the author for the 
ill success of the English, I proceed to 
the capture of Avranches, This was the 
first result of the battle of Formigny. 
The author gives some particulars, net 
to be found elsewhere. The English go- 
vernor, without hopes of succour, wishing 
‘to save the inhabitants from the danger of 
storm, was resolved to surrender; but his 
wife, young and handsome, whose bravery 
equalled her charms, would not - permit 
a place, impregnable on one. side, 
protected on the other by high walls and 
deep ditches, and defended by a garrison 
of five hundred men, to surrender, 
without striking a blow! She quitted her 
female dress, put on a helmet, and cui- 
rass, and with a truncheon in her hand, 
harangued the soldiers, went from house 
to house, to the citizens, even to the ec 
clesiastics, and animated them with an 
ardour like her own. They engagea to 
* We are not told, whether the English 
were cavalry or infantry. In those times, the 
former had infinite advantage over the lat er; 
who could do nothing with them till cis- 
mounted. 
defend 
