Battle of Poitiers

On 19th September 1356 the army of Edward "Black Prince" (age 26) defeated the French and Scottish army led by King John "The Good" II of France (age 37) at the Battle of Poitiers

King John "The Good" II of France was captured by three captains including Ivon aka John Fane.

The the English army included: Bernard Brocas (age 26), Thomas Felton (age 26), James Audley (age 38), Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick (age 43), Bartholomew "The Younger" Burghesh 2nd Baron Burghesh (age 28), Reginald Cobham 1st Baron Cobham (age 61), Edward Despencer 1st Baron Despencer, Baron Burghesh (age 21), Ralph Ferrers (age 27), William Scrope (age 31), William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury (age 28), Walter Paveley 4th Baron Burghesh (age 37), Robert Ufford 1st Earl Suffolk (age 58), William Ufford 2nd Earl Suffolk (age 18), John de Vere 7th Earl of Oxford (age 44), John Willoughby 3rd Baron Willoughby (age 33), Thomas Arderne (age 19), Enion Sais Brecon, John Chandos (age 36), Richard Pembridge (age 36), Jean Grailly (age 25), Robert de Fouleshurst (age 26) and John Sully (age 73)

John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 31) probably fought having received letters of protection to travel overseas.

Hugh Courtenay 2nd or 10th Earl Devon (age 53) protected the baggage train.

The French and Scottish army included: King John "The Good" II of France, Philip "Bold" Valois II Duke Burgundy (age 14), Jean Bourbon I Count La Marche (age 12), Archibald "Grim" Douglas 3rd Earl Douglas (age 26), John "Sans Terre" Artois 1st Count of Eu (age 35); all captured.

Guichard d'Angle 1st Earl Huntingdon and William Douglas 1st Earl Douglas (age 33) fought.

Peter Bourbon Duke Bourbon (age 45) was killed. His son Louis (age 19) succeeded II Duke Bourbon.

Gauthier VI Comte de Brienne (age 54) was killed.

Bourgeois de Valenciennes. In the year of grace 1356, on the 19th day of September, King John of France went with nearly fifty thousand men toward Poitiers¹ to fight the Prince of Wales, son of King Edward of England. The prince was in those regions with about seven thousand men. There was fought a most cruel, fierce, and perilous battle. There the King of France and his company were defeated. The king himself was taken prisoner, and with him his son Philip; Sir James of Bourbon; the Count of Eu; the Count of Jenville and of Vaudémont; the Count of Joigny; the Count of Mont-Ventadour and of Montpensier; the Count of Longueville; the Count of Brosse; the Count of Dammartin; the Count of Étampes; the Chamberlain of Tancarville; and so many other knights and barons that the English were overwhelmed with guarding so many captives. There were slain about twelve hundred men-at-arms, both lords and knights and others. And there were taken about eight hundred men of renown.

En l'an de grâce mil III^c et LVI, le XIX^e jour de septembre, s'en alla le roy Jehan de France à tout bien L mil hommes vers Poitiers pour combatre le prince de Galles, fils du roy Édouart d'Engleterre, lequel prince estoit en ces marches-là à tout bien VII mil hommes, et yllec eult très-crueuse, très-fière et très-mervilleuse et périlleuse bataille. Et y fut desconfit le roy de France et sa compaignie. Et y fut prins le dit roy de France, et avoec luy Phi lippe, son fils, monseigneur Jaques de Bourbon, le conte d'Eu, le conte de Jenville et de Waudyraont, le conte de Jony, le conte de Mont-Ventadour et de Montpensier, le conte de Longueville, le conte de Brose, le conte de Dam martin, le conte d'Estampes, le conte cambrelens de Tancarville et tant d'aultres chevaliers et baronnie que les Englecqs estoient tous ensonyés et erapeschiés de les garder et tenir prisonniers. Et y eult bien ochis le nombre de XII^c hommes d'armes, que seigneurs et chevaliers, que aultres. Et s'y en y eult de prins bien le nombre de VIII^c tous de renommée.

Note 1. For a more detailed account of the Battle of Poitiers see Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke: "Saying these things, he [Edward, the Black Prince] looked and saw that there was nearby, off to the side, a certain hill, encircled on the outside with hedges and ditches, but within divided up: for on one side it was pasture, thick with thickets there; on another side it was planted with vines; and on the rest it was sown with crops. On the ridge of the arable side, he perceived a camp of the French positioned. Between our forces and the hill lay a wide and deep valley along with a marsh, irrigated by a certain stream. At a rather narrow ford, the prince's troop, together with the wagons, crossed the stream and, after passing through the valley and over the hedges and ditches, occupied the hill. There, among the thickets, they were easily hidden by the natural defences of the location, standing above the enemy with the advantage of higher ground. The field in which our first and second lines were stationed was separated from the plain occupied by the French army by a long hedge with a ditch beneath it. One end of this hedge sloped down into the aforementioned marsh. The slope descending toward the marsh was held by the Earl of Warwick, commander and leader of the first line. In the upper part of the hedge, well removed from the slope, there was a certain wide gap or opening created by cart-drivers in autumn. At a distance of a stone's throw from that opening stood our third unit, commanded by the Earl of Salisbury. The enemy, seeing the prince's standard recently in plain view but beginning to move slowly and become hidden from their eyes by the hill's obstruction, believed that the prince was retreating. Douglas the Scot and the Marshal of Clermont protested that it was not so. Nevertheless, deceived by their own assumption, the Marshal pursued what he believed was the prince's flight, and with him came Douglas, desiring to earn the shining name of new knighthood. Clermont advanced as well, determined to redeem his sullied reputation for loyalty. These men had been assigned to the enemy's first line. As was customary, they were preceded by combatants intending to engage in mock combat. These were met by knights of our own, specifically appointed for jousting, who confronted them from beneath the slope where our first line had been stationed."

"The Marshal d'Audenham, intending to observe the outcome of the jousting, delayed his advance. Meanwhile, Clermont, hoping to advance through the gap in the hedge and to encircle our first unit from behind, encountered the Earl of Salisbury. The Earl, seeing Clermont approaching, prudently suspected his intention. Therefore, as commander of our third line, he swiftly moved to occupy the gap and to block the enemy from passing through that way, and so he bore the brunt of the initial attack. Then arose a fierce clash of armed men, fighting with lances, swords, and axes. Nor did the archers neglect their duties. Positioned securely on the mound above the ditch and beyond the hedge, they made their arrows prevail over military armour. The quarrels of the crossbowmen also flew more frequently and in greater numbers. Thus, while our third unit above the gap vigorously struck down the enemy, and the first line below on the slope near the marsh, under the Earl of Warwick, laid low the advancing French, the archers of the first line remained secure in the marsh, shielded from cavalry attack. Nonetheless, they were of limited effect in that location. For the knights, as previously mentioned, had been deployed to trample the archers and to shield their own men from the arrows. They advanced against the archers with their chests protected by steel plates and strong shields made of sinew, so firmly set that arrows either shattered into pieces upon impact or were deflected skyward, falling back to the earth with uncertain harm, whether upon enemy or ally. Observing this, the Earl of Oxford came down from the prince and ordered the archers to shift their fire at an angle, aiming at the horses from behind. As a result, wounded destriers began to kick, throwing off their riders. Turning back upon their own ranks, they caused considerable havoc among their masters, though not the outcome that had been intended."

"With the war horses driven off, the archers, having returned to their former position, pierced the flanks of the fighting French with direct volleys. The dreadful frenzy of Mars continued, as the lions of Warwick and Salisbury strove in rivalry, each seeking to drench the land of Poitou with more abundant French blood, and to have his own arms gloriously stained with warm gore. Nor was the labour abandoned by that singular stronghold of military wisdom, Thomas Dofford, deservedly known as the consul of Suffolk, adorned with brave deeds from youth into advanced age. He ran through each rank, urging and encouraging every soldier to perform well. He took care that the passionate ardour of the young would not lead to rash advances, nor that the archers' arrows should be launched without purpose. With his venerable voice, he stirred up even greater fire in their already fervent spirits. In the midst of the struggle, death claimed Clermont, who had fought bravely and refused either to surrender or flee. His end came not without vengeance, and he was taken from the realm of human affairs."

"But that d'Audenham, though valiant, was overcome and forced to surrender by superior strength. William Douglas, wounded, fled the field, bringing back with him only a few of his Scottish companions along with his brother Archibald. For the fierce fury of war had nearly annihilated them all, and forced the remainder of that entire division either to meet an honourable death or to take necessary flight, with the exception of those held back to be ransomed as captives. However, lest the victors pursue the fugitives too far, our commanders acted with foresight. They rightly judged that, although the opening of the battle had been fortunate, a greater effort would be required once the rest of the enemy's forces arrived. Accordingly, our men regrouped and the first and second battles drew together in unison to recover and prepare."

"Without delay, another French division advanced, led by the firstborn of the crowned King of the French, namely the Dauphin of Vienne. The appearance of this force was more dreadful and more forceful than that of the first wave of battle that had been repelled; yet it could not strike fear into our men, who were eager for honour and enraged, seeking to avenge themselves or their wounded comrades. Boldly, both sides engaged. With swelling cries that thundered to the heavens, they invoked Saint George or Blessed Denis as the favourable judge of battle. Soon man raged against man, and each fought for his life, eager to deal death to his adversary. Nor does a ravening lioness bring down a wolf more swiftly, or a tiger strike fear more fiercely, than our noble warriors, clad not in robes but in valour, shattered and routed the armed enemy. And though this division resisted longer than the first, after a great slaughter of their own, they adopted a strategy which, though it was indeed a retreat, the indomitable French customarily call by the honourable name of 'a noble withdrawal.' Our men, however, realizing that the fate of the field still hung in the balance, and that the crowned king himself, with his remaining forces, might yet arrive, indeed, that he was likely hiding in a nearby valley, chose not to pursue the fleeing enemy, nor to hold the field."

"This was not heeded by the hero worthy of his illustrious ancestors, Lord Maurice de Berkeley, son of Thomas, who throughout the prince's two-year campaign had led his men beneath the standard and was ever among the foremost in the front line of battle, never once absent of his own will. At this moment, as was his custom, he charged with the leading warriors upon the enemy and launched deeds against the French worthy of eternal praise. Engaging with the retainers of the Dauphin and raging among them with armed force, he never believed the French would flee so long as he saw them standing firm. Focused entirely on what lay ahead, he paid no heed to what occurred behind him nor glanced at the banners in the sky above. Alone, he pursued the seemingly secure detachment of the great Dauphin's forces. Against them, with spear, sword, and all other weapons of war, he fought with savage courage, until at last, surrounded by a multitude, horribly wounded, and taken alive, he was spared for ransom and the price of his life."

"Meanwhile, our men tended to their wounded beneath thickets and hedgerows. Others seized lances and blades, less damaged than their own, from the defeated. The archers hastened to extract arrows from the wretched and half-alive. There was scarcely anyone who was not wounded or utterly exhausted from their efforts, except for the four hundred alone who served under the principal standard and had been held in reserve to confront the crowned king and his remaining force."

Chronicle of Henry Knighton. 19th September 1356. And they divided themselves into three battalions. The Earl of Warwick commanded the first battalion, and on the side of the French, the two Marshals of France commanded the first battalion. The second battalion was commanded by Lord Dauphin of Vienne, with his brother the Duke of Orléans, and it was the strongest. In the third battalion was the King of France, with 2,000 of the most select armed men in all France. Lord Geoffrey de Charny (age 50) bore the red banner, which was the sign of death. The King of France issued an order that no Englishman was to be spared, except for the Prince himself. The Cardinals, before the battle, climbed up a certain hill nearby to watch the outcome of the battle. Now the first French battalion engaged with the Earl of Warwick, but was quickly subdued by the English archers. Marshal Clermont was killed, along with many others, as will be mentioned below. The Earl of Warwick pursued the fleeing enemies, killing some and capturing others. Meanwhile, the second French battalion arrived and joined battle with the Prince of Wales, fighting very fiercely through a hedge. The English became very weary due to the intensity of the combat, and their weapons were badly damaged. The fighting was so strong and hard that the archers, having run out of arrows, picked up stones, and with swords and lances, and whatever they could grab, they fought on. They defended themselves with clever and courageous hearts, and it is astonishing to tell. But finally, as God willed, the French took to flight. And while the English stood tired, catching their breath and hoping they had won victory over all their enemies, King John of France suddenly arrived with a huge force, leading a battalion against the Prince, who at that moment had only a few men with him, as the others were chasing the fleeing enemies. As the French began to engage the Prince's line, the Earl of Warwick returned from the pursuit with his full force, and attacked the flank of the French king's army, and fought bravely. And thus, by the grace of God and not by human strength, the victory was granted to the Prince, and he emerged victorious from the battle, capturing the King of France and his younger son Philip, the Count of Poitiers, and many other nobles.

Et diviserunt se in tres acies. Comes de Warwych habuit primam aciem et ex parte Francorum duo marescalli Franciæ habuerunt primam aciem. Secundam aciem dominus Dolfynus de Vienna cum fratre suo duce de Orlyons cum majori fortitudine. In tertia acie erat rex Francie cum IJ mille de electioribus armatis totius Franciæ. Dominus Galfridus Charneys bajulavit vexillum rubium quod erat mortis signiferum. Rex Franciæ edidit præceptum ne quis Anglicus vitæ reservaretur solo principe excepto. Cardinales ante prælium ascenderunt in quendam montem prope ut viderent eventum belli. Jam prima acies Franciæ congreditur cum comite Warwych, sed cito per sagittarios subpeditati sunt. Et Marescallus Clermont occisus est et multi alii ut infra dicetur Comes de Warwych insequebatur fugientes et quosdam occidit et quosdam cepit prisonarios. Medio tempore venit secunda acies Francorum et miscuerunt cum principe Walliæ, et pugnaverunt nimis! acriter infra unam sepem, et Anglici devenerunt multum lassi præ gravedine certaminis, et arma eorum nimis laceratn. Et tam fortis et dura extitit pugna quod sagittarii pra defectu sagittarum sustulerunt lapides, et cum gladiis et lanceis, et quicquid possent arripere pugnaverunt, et sic se corde sagaci mirabile dictu defenderunt; sed tandem sicut deus voluit Franci fugam arripuerunt, et dum Anglici starent lassi se refocillantes et sperantes victoriam reportasse de suis inimicis omnibus, supervenit Johannes rex Franciæ cum ingenti fortitudine aciem dirigens versus principem qui paucos ea hora secum habebat, quia laborabant super inimicos fugientes. Dum igitur ccepissent Franci aciem miscere supervenit comes de Warewych rediens de fugatione inimicorum cum integro exercitu suo, et opposuit se a latere exercitus regis Francim et strenue pugnaverunt, et sic per gratiam dei et non humana virtute victoria. cessit principi et prælii reportavit principatum, et rex captus est et filius ejus Philippus, junior, comes de Peyters et magnates plurimi.

Froissart Book 5: 1356-1360. [19th September 1356] 388. You have above in this history heard much about the Battle of Crécy, and how fortune was most wondrously strange for the French. Likewise, at the Battle of Poitiers, it was very different and most cruel for them, and in some ways similar to that of Crécy; for at Poitiers, the French were seven men-at-arms to every one of the enemy. Now consider whether that was not a great misfortune for them, that they could not win the field against their enemies, despite their numbers. But to tell the truth, the Battle of Poitiers was much better fought than that of Crécy. The French had all kinds of men-at-arms, and more time and opportunity to observe and consider their enemies than they had at Crécy. For the Battle of Crécy began very late in the evening, without order or proper arrangement, whereas Poitiers began in the morning, at the hour of prime (around 6 a.m.), and under much better conditions, if only the French had taken advantage of it.

388. Vous avés ci dessus en ceste hystore bien oy parler de le bataille de Creci, et comment fortune fu moult mervilleuse pour les François: ossi à le bataille de Poitiers, elle fu moult diverse et très felenesse pour yaus, et auques parelle à ceste de Creci; car li François estoient bien gens d'armes sept contre un. Or regardés se ce ne fu mies grant infortuneté pour yaus, quant il ne peurent obtenir le place contre leurs ennemis. Mais au voir dire, la bataille de Poitiers fu trop mieulz combatue que ceste de Creci, et eurent toutes manières de gens d'armes, mieulz loisir de aviser et considerer leurs ennemis, que il n'euissent à Creci; car la ditte bataille de Creci commença au vespre tout tart, sans arroi et sans ordenance, et ceste de Poitiers matin, à heure 5de prime, et assés par bon couvenant, se eur y euist eu pour les François. Et y avinrent trop plus de biaus fais d'armes sans comparison que il ne fesissent à Creci, comment que tant de grans chiés de pays n'i furent mies mort, que il furent à Creci.