prince turned his
course northward, toward the heart of the country, carrying
devastation and destruction with him wherever he came. He advanced
through Auvergne and Berri, two provinces in the central part of
France. His army was not very large, for it consisted of only about
eight thousand men. It was, however, very compact and efficient, and
the prince advanced at the head of it in a very slow and cautious
manner. He depended for the sustenance of his soldiers on the supplies
which he could obtain from the country itself. Accordingly, he moved
slowly from town to town, so as not to fatigue his soldiers by too
long marches, nor exhaust them by too frequent battles. "When he was
entered anie towne," says the old chronicler, "that was sufficientlie
stored of things necessarie, he would tarrie there two or three
daies to refresh his soldiers and men of warre, and when they dislodged
they would strike out the heads of the wine vessels, and burne the
wheat, oats, and barlie, and all other things which they could not take
with them, to the intent that their enimies should not therewith be
sustained and nourished."

At length, while the prince was advancing through the province of
Berri, and approaching the River Loire, he learned that the King of
France, John, had assembled a great army at Paris, and was coming down
to meet him. Large detachments from this army had already advanced as
far as the banks of the Loire, and all the important points on that
river had been taken possession of, and were strongly guarded by them.
The king himself, at the head of the main force, had reached Chartres,
and was rapidly advancing. The prince heard this news at a certain
castle which he had taken, and where he had stopped some days to
refresh his men.

A council of war was held to determine what should be done. The
prevailing voice at this council was in favor of not attempting to
cross the Loire in the face of such an enemy, but of turning to the
westward toward the province of Poitou, through which a way of retreat
to the southward would be open in case a retreat should be necessary.
The prince determined to accept this advice, and so he put his army in
motion toward the town of Romorantin.

Now the King of France had sent a detachment of his troops, under the
command of three famous knights, across the Loire. This detachment
consisted of about three hundred horsemen, all armed from head to
foot, and mounted on swift chargers. This