XVI. 1355. bonne, laying every place wafte around him: CHA P.. And after an incurfion of fix weeks, returned with a vast booty and many prisoners to Guienne, where he took up his winter-quarters'. The constable of Bourbon, who commanded in those provinces, received orders, though at the head of a fuperior army, on no account to run the hazard of a battle. THE king of England's incurfion from Calais was of the fame nature, and attended with the fame iffue. He broke into France at the head of a numerous army; to which he gave a full licence of plundering and ravaging the open country. He advanced to St. Omer, where the king of France was pofted; and on the retreat of that prince, followed him to Hefdin. John ftill kept at a distance, and declined an engagement: But in order to fave his reputation, he fent Edward a challenge to fight a pitched battle with him; a ufual bravado in that age, derived from the practice of fingle combat, and ridiculous in the art of war. The king, finding no fincerity in this defiance, retired to Calais, and thence went over to England, in order to defend that kingdom against a threatened invafion of the Scots. THE Scots, taking advantage of the king's abfence, and that of the military power of England, had furprised Berwic; and had collected an army with a view of committing ravages upon Ibid, chap. 144. Avesbury, p. 206. Walfing. p. 171, XVI. CHAP. the northern provinces: But on the approach of Edward, they abandoned that place, which was not tenable, while the caftle was in the hands of the English; and retiring to their mountains, gave the enemy full liberty of burning and destroying the whole country from Berwic to Edinburgh Baliol attended Edward on this expedition; but finding, that his conftant adherence to the Engifh had given his countrymen an unconquerable averfion to his title, and that be himself was declining through age and infirmities, he finally refigned into the king's hands his pretenfions to the crown of Scotland, and received in lieu of them an annual penfion of 2000 pounds, with which he paffed the remainder of his life in privacy and retirement. 1356. DURING thefe military operations, Edward received information of the increafing diforders in France, arifing from the imprifonment of the king of Navarre; and he fent Lancaster at the head of a small army, to fupport the partifans of that prince in Normandy. The war was conducted with various fuccefs; but chiefly to the difadvantage of the French malecontents; till an important event happened in the other quarter of the kingdom, which had well nigh proved fatal to the monarchy of France, and threw every thing into the utmost confufion. 7 THE prince of Wales, encouraged by the Walfing, p. 171. Rymer, vol. v. p. 823. fuccefs XVI, 1356. fuccefs of the preceding campaign, took the field CHA P. with an army, which no hiftorian makes amount to above 12,000 men, and of which not a third were English; and with this small body, he ventured to penetrate into the heart of France. After ravaging the Agenois, Quercy, and the 'imoufin, he entered the province of Berry; and made fome attacks, though without fuccefs, on the towns of Bourges and Iffoudun. It appeared that his intentions were to march into Normandy, and to join his forces with those of the earl of Lancaster, and the partifans of the king of Navarre; but finding all the bridges on the Loire broken down, and every pass carefully guarded, he was obliged to think of making his retreat into Guienne'. He found this refolution the more neceffary, from the intelligence which he received of the king of France's motions. That monarch, provoked at the infult offered him by this incurfion, and entertaining hopes of fuccefs from the young prince's temerity, collected a great army of above 60,000 men, and advanced by hafty marches to intercept his enemy. The prince, not aware of John's near approach, loft fome days, on his retreat, before the caftle of Remorantin ; and thereby gave the French an opportunity of overtaking him They Battle of came within fight at Maupertuis near Poitiers; Poitiers. and Edward, fenfible that his retreat was now become impracticable, prepared for battle with 10 Ibid. Froiffard, liv. 1. CHAP. all the courage of a young hero, and with all XVI. the prudence of the oldest and most experienced commander. 1356. BUT the utmost prudence and courage would have proved infufficient to fave him in this extremity, had the king of France known how to make ufe of his prefent advantages. His great fuperiority in numbers enabled him to furround the enemy; and by intercepting all provifions, which were already become fcarce in the English camp, to reduce this fmall army, without a blow, to the neceffity of furrendering at difcretion. But fuch was the impatient ardor of the French nobility, and so much had their thoughts been bent on overtaking the English as their fole object, that this idea never ftruck any of the commanders; and they immediately took measures for the affault, as for a certain victory. While the French army was drawn up in order of battle, they were stopped by the appearance of the cardinal of Perigord; who having learned the approach of the two armies to each other, had haftened, by interpofing his good offices, to prevent any farther effufion of Chriftian blood. By John's permiffion, he carried proposals to the prince of Wales; and found him fo fenfible of the bad pofture of his affairs, that an accommodation feemed not impracticable. Edward told him, that he would agree to any terms confiftent with his own honor and that of England; and he offered to purchase a retreat by ceding all the conquefts, which he had made during this and the former XVI. 1356. campaign, and by ftipulating not to ferve against c H A P. France during the course of seven years. But John, imagining that he had now got into his hands a fufficient pledge for the reftitution of Calais, required that Edward should furrender himself prisoner with a hundred of his attendants; and offered on these terms a fafe retreat to the English army. The prince rejected the proposal with difdain; and declared, that, whatever fortune might attend him, England fhould never be obliged to pay the price of his ranfom. This refolute answer cut off all hopes of accommodation; but as the day was already spent in negociating, the battle was delayed till the next morning ". THE cardinal of Perigord, as did all the prelates of the court of Rome, bore a great attachment to the French intereft; but the most determined enemy could not, by any expedient, have done a greater prejudice to John's affairs, than he did them by this delay. The prince of 19th Sepp Wales had leifure, during the night, to ftrengthen, by new intrenchments, the poft which he had before fo judiciously chofen; and he contrived an ambush of 300 men at arms, and as many archers, whom he put under the command of the Captal de Buche, and ordered to make a circuit, that they might fall on the flank or rear of the French army during the engagement. The van of his army was commanded by the earl of Warwic, the rear by the earls of Salisbury and |