bid them
let the lad win his spurs; for I wish, if God so deem, that the day
should be his, and the honor thereof remain to him and to those to whom I
have given him in charge.' The knight returned with this answer to his
chiefs; and it encouraged them greatly, and they repented within
themselves for that they had sent him to the king." Warlike ardor, if
not ability and prudence, was the same on both sides. Philip's faithful
ally, John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, had come thither, blind as he
was, with his son Charles and his knights; and when he knew that the
battle had begun he asked those who were near him how it was going on.
"'My lord,' they said, 'the Genoese are discomfited, and the king has
given orders to slay them all; and all the while between our folk and
them there is so great disorder that they stumble one over another and
hinder us greatly.' 'Ha!' said the king, 'that is an ill sign for us;
where is Sir Charles, my son?' 'My lord, we know not; we have reason to
believe that he is elsewhere in the fight.' 'Sirs,' replied the old
king, 'ye are my liegemen, my friends, and my comrades; I pray you and
require you to lead me so far to the front in the work of this day that I
may strike a blow with my sword; it shall not be said that I came hither
to do nought.' So his train, who loved his honor and their own
advancement," says Froissart, "did his bidding. For to acquit themselves
of their duty, and that they might not lose him in the throng, they tied
themselves all together by the reins of their horses, and set the king,
their lord, right in front, that he might the better accomplish his
desire, and thus they bore down on the enemy. And the king went so far
forward that he struck a good blow, yea, three and four; and so did all
those who were with him. And they served him so well and charged so well
forward upon the English, that all fell there and were found next day on
the spot around their lord, and their horses tied together."

"The King of France," continues Froissart, "had great anguish at heart
when he saw his men thus discomfited and falling one after another before
a handful of folk as the English were. He asked counsel of Sir John of
Hainault, who was near him and who said to him, 'Truly, sir, I can give
you no better counsel than that you should withdraw and place yourself in
safety, for I see no remedy here. It will soon be late; and then you
would be as likely to ride upon your en