he was under the prince's banner: there was a sore
battle and the knight fought valiantly; howbeit he was there taken,
and the earl of Joigny, the viscount of Brosse, the lord of Chauvigny
and all the other taken or slain, but a few that scaped. And by the
prisoners the prince knew how the French king followed him in such
wise that he could not eschew the battle:[2] then he assembled
together all his men and commanded that no man should go before the
marshals' banners. Thus the prince rode that Saturday from the morning
till it was against night, so that he came within two little leagues
of Poitiers. Then the captal de Buch, sir Aymenion of Pommiers, the
lord Bartholomew of Burghersh and the lord Eustace d'Aubrecicourt, all
these the prince sent forth to see if they might know what the
Frenchmen did. These knights departed with two hundred men of arms
well horsed; they rode so far that they saw the great battle of the
king's, they saw all the fields covered with men of arms. These
Englishmen could not forbear, but set on the tail of the French host
and cast down many to the earth and took divers prisoners, so that the
host began to stir, and tidings thereof came to the French king as he
was entering into the city of Poitiers. Then he returned again and
made all his host do the same, so that Saturday it was very late or he
was lodged in the field. The English currours returned again to the
prince and shewed him all that they saw and knew, and said how the
French host was a great number of people. 'Well,' said the prince, 'in
the name of God let us now study how we shall fight with them at our
advantage.' That night the Englishmen lodged in a strong place among
hedges, vines and bushes, and their host well watched, and so was the
French host.

[2] Or rather, 'that the French king had gone in front of them
(les avoit advancez) and that he could in no way depart without
being fought with.'

OF THE ORDER OF THE FRENCHMEN BEFORE THE BATTLE OF POITIERS

On the Sunday in the morning the French king, who had great desire to
fight with the Englishmen, heard his mass in his pavilion and was
houselled, and his four sons with him. After mass there came to him
the duke of Orleans, the duke of Bourbon, the earl of Ponthieu, the
lord Jaques of Bourbon,[1] the duke of Athens, constable of France,
the earl of Tancarville, the earl of Sarrebruck, the earl of
Dammartin, the earl of Ventadour, and divers other g