When Edward saw that he must fight he chose his position with rare skill. The place he pitched on was about five miles from Poitiers, on the side of a hill almost surrounded by vineyards. The only approach in front was through a lane bordered by thick hedges, and so narrow that only four horsemen could ride abreast in it. Behind the hedges Edward put half his archers. Three hundred picked French knights began the battle with a wild charge up the lane. When they were fairly between the hedges the archers behind let fly their arrows with such deadly effect that horses and riders were soon struggling in the dust. As the next line of John's army advanced it too was thrown into Nantes confusion by the showers of arrows. Then six hundred English knights, who had been hidden behind the hill, dashed down the slope and put the wavering mass to flight. All hope of victory was now over for the French, but separate bands of them still held out bravely. The chief one was led by the king himself. Armed with a battle-axe he fought on foot; his youngest son Philip, a lad of fourteen, was at his side warning feelings, and even the lives of the common people. Edward, for instance, when he took Limoges, had three thousand of the townsfolk massacred, and yet in 1admiration of the 5 gallant stand made by three French gentlemen stopped the slaughter. The battle of Poitiers was fought in 1356; in 1360 peace was made at Bretigny. King Edward agreed to give up for ever his claim to the throne of France, but he was to hold the south-west of the country in full sovereignty. After nine years of quiet war broke out again. Charles V. (the son of John II.) was then reigning, and in spite of the treaty of Bretigny he acted as if Edward III. were his vassal for the very lands which it was agreed he should rule as lord. Charles invaded those lands, but he avoided meeting the English in a pitched battle. They were ever marching up and down, gaining nothing, and wearing themselves out. To make matters worse for them their great commander grew so ill that he was obliged to return to England. The French continued their conquests till, when Edward III. died, there were in all the country barely half a dozen places in the hands of the English. The war dragged on wearily throughout the reign of Edward's successor, Richard II., the French always winning in the end. 8 3 massacre, 1 Territory, land, dominion. 2 captive, a prisoner. to kill a large number of persons without reason. wonder and delight. Chartres, about 40 miles south-west of Paris. 7 in full sovereignty, BOOK II. 5 4 admiration, Bretigny, near 6 gallant, brave, bold. K 8 not as vassal but as independent lord. successor, follower. Richard II., the son of Edward the Black Prince. The Black Prince himself had died the year before his father. TOWARDS the middle of the reign of Edward III. Europe was visited by a fearful plague. Dark blotches appeared on the bodies of those stricken by the sickness which was hence called "The Black Death." Starting from the east it moved gradually westward till in August, 1848, it reached our shores. It first appeared in Dorsetshire, but by Christmas it had spread to London. 2 1 Desolation marked its path. Many villages were left without a living being in them; even the beasts of the field perished. When all the churchyards in London were full, a field without the walls was used as a cemetery, and in this fifty thousand 3 victims of the plague were buried. It is said that the population of the country was reduced one-half. There were other, though less deadly, visitations, in 1362 and 1369. One result of the Black Death was a famine; many fields remained untilled, and hence the corn grown was not enough. Another result was a great scarcity of labour. The land to be cultivated was the same after as before the plague, but there were only half as many persons to cultivate it. Wages, therefore, rose, as they always do when work is plentiful and workmen few. Edward thought this was an evil, and an evil which he could cure. So he put forth a proclamation requiring people to work for the same as they had been receiving before the plague. The king's command being unheeded, parliament passed the 5 Statute of Labourers, fixing the rate of wages. It proved ineffective, and other laws of the same kind followed. They all failed, as they were bound to do, but they created among the peasants a deep feeling of discontent. 2 1 Desolation, loss of inhabitants. cemetery, burial place. 3 victim, a person slain. 4 proclamation, an order by a ruler. 5 statute, law, act of parliament. ineffective, useless for the purpose intended. 1 In the time of Edward III. and for a long while before many of the clergy greatly neglected their duties. They cared more for power and pleasure than for living holy lives or ministering to the needs of the people. Good men grieved for this, and early in the reign of Henry III. some friars came to England in the hope of mending matters. They were vowed to such strict poverty that they could not own any property and must live on alms |