While Baliol enjoyed his short-lived and precarious royalty, he had offered to acknowledge Edward's superiority, and to espouse the Princess Jane, if the Pope's consent could be obtained for dissolving her former marriage, which was not yet consummated. Edward, ambitious of recovering that important concession made by Mortimer during his minority, willingly accepted the offer; but as the dethroning of Baliol had rendered this stipulation of no effect, the king prepared to reinstate him in possession of the crown, and advanced toward the north with an army for that purpose. Douglas, the Scottish regent, was defeated and slain at Halidown-hill, a little north of Berwick. Baliol was acknowledged as king by a Parliament held at Perth (1333), and the superiority of England was again recognized; many of the Scottish nobility swore fealty to Edward; and to complete the misfortunes of that nation, Baliol ceded Berwick, Dunbar, Roxborough, Edinburgh, and all the southeast counties of Scotland, which were declared to be forever annexed to the English monarchy. But the Scots were still far from being subdued. In 1335, and again in the following year, Edward was obliged to proceed thither with an army; and, as a war was now likely to break out between France and England, the Scots had reason to expect from this incident a great diversion of that force which had so long oppressed and overwhelmed them.

§ 4. This war was occasioned by Edward's claim to the crown of France, which embroiled the two countries for more than a century. Upon the death of Charles IV. in 1328 without male issue, Philip de Valois, the cousin of Charles, succeeded as Philip VI., since by the French law no female was capable of succeeding to the crown. Edward III., however, laid claim to the crown in right of his mother Isabella; and since the last three kings of France had all left daughters, who were still alive, he maintained that, though his mother Isabella was, on account of her sex, incapable of succeeding, a right to the crown could be transmitted to him through her. But even if this argument had been of any avail, Charles, King of Navarre, had a preferable title to the throne (see genealogical table below).* Edward's claim indeed was so *The following genealogical table exhibits the descent of Edward III and Philip VI. from their common ancestor, Philip III.:

A.D. 1332-1340.

WAR WITH FRANCE.

177

unreasonable, and so thoroughly disavowed by the whole French nation, that to insist on it was no better than pretending to the violent conquest of the kingdom; and it is probable that he would never have farther thought of it had it not been that in several particulars he had found reason to complain of Philip's conduct with regard to Guienne, as well as of that prince's having given protection to the exiled David Bruce, and supported, or at least encouraged the Scots in their struggles for independence.

§ 5. Edward now began to prepare for war, formed various alliances on the Continent, and assumed the title of King of France (1337). He crossed over to Flanders, where he had obtained the adhesion of Van Artevelde, the leader of the popular party among the Flemings (1338); and in the following year he invaded France, but was obliged to retreat without effecting any thing. Edward, however, was a prince of too much spirit to be discouraged by the first difficulties of an undertaking; and he was anxious to retrieve his honor by more successful and more gallant enterprises. Philip, apprised from the preparations which were making both in England and the Low Countries that he must expect another invasion from Edward, fitted out a great fleet of 400 vessels, manned with 40,000 men; and he stationed them off Sluys, with a view of intercepting the king in his passage to the Continent (1340). The English navy was much inferior in number, consisting only of 240 sail; but whether it were by the superior abilities of Edward, or the greater dexterity of his seamen, they gained the wind of the enemy, and had the sun in their backs, and with these advantages began the action. The Flemings, descrying the battle, hurried out of their harbors, and brought a re-enforcement to the English, which, coming unexpectedly, had a greater effect than in proportion to its power and numbers. 230 French ships were taken; 30,000 Frenchmen were killed, with two of their admirals; the loss of the English was inconsiderable compared to the greatness and importance of the victory. But though the lustre of this great success increased the king's authority among his allies, and though Edward marched to the frontiers of France at the head of above 100,000 men, consisting chiefly of foreigners, nothing of importance followed. A peace was concluded in the course of the year between the two monarchs, and Edward returned to England.

§ 6. Edward now found himself in a bad situation both with his own people and with foreign states; and it required all his genius and capacity to extricate himself from such multiplied difficulties and embarrassments. His unjust and exorbitant claims on France and Scotland had engaged him in an implacable war with these two kingdoms; he had lost almost all his foreign alli

ances by his irregular payments; he was deeply involved in debts, for which he owed a consuming interest; except his naval victory, none of his military operations had been attended with glory or renown; the animosity between him and the clergy, especially Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom the charge of collecting the taxes had been chiefly intrusted, was open and declared; the people were discontented on account of many arbitrary measures in which he had been engaged; and, what was more dangerous, the nobility, taking advantage of his present necessities, were determined to retrench his power, and, by encroaching on the ancient prerogatives of the crown, to acquire to themselves independence and authority. The Parliament framed an act to confirm the great charter anew, and to oblige all the chief officers of the law and of the state to swear to the regular observance of it. They enacted that no peer should be punished but by the award of his peers in Parliament; that the chief officers of state should be appointed by the advice of Parliament; and that they should answer before Parliament to any accusation brought against them. In return for these important concessions, the Parliament offered the king a grant of 20,000 sacks of wool; and his wants were so urgent from the clamors of his creditors and the demands of his foreign allies, that he was obliged to accept of the supply on these hard conditions. He ratified this statute in full Parliament; but he subsequently issued an edict to abrogate and annul it; and after two years of this arbitrary exertion of royal power, the obnoxious statute was formally repealed by the Parliament.

A disputed claim to the succession of Brittany on the death of the Duke John III. again attracted Edward's attention toward France. The succession was claimed by the Count de Montfort, John's brother by a second marriage, and by Charles de Blois, nephew of the French king, who had married John's niece. Montfort offered to do homage to Edward as King of France for the duchy of Brittany, and proposed a strict alliance for the support of their mutual pretensions. Edward saw immediately the advantages attending this treaty; Montfort, an active and valiant prince, closely united to him by interest, opened at once an entrance into the heart of France, and afforded him much more flattering views than his allies on the side of Germany and the Low Countries. Montfort, however, fell into the hands of his enemies; was conducted as a prisoner to Paris; but Jane of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, the most extraordinary woman of the age, after she had put Brittany in a good posture of defense, shut herself up in Hennebonne till she was relieved by the succors which Edward sent her under the command of Sir Walter Manay, one of the bravest captains of England (1342).

A.D. 1340-1346.

BATTLE OF CRECY.

179

§ 7. In the autumn of the same year Edward undertook, in person, the defense of the Countess of Montfort; and, as the last truce with France was now expired, the war, which the English and French had hitherto carried on as allies to the competitors for Brittany, was thenceforth conducted in the name and under the standard of the two monarchs. This war, like the preceding, was carried on without any important advantages on either side till 1346, when the English gained the first of the two great victories which have shed such a lustre upon Edward's reign. The king had intended to sail to Guienne, which was threatened by a formidable French army, and embarked at Southampton, on board a fleet of nearly 1000 sail of all dimensions, carrying with him, besides all the chief nobility of England, his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, now 16 years of age. The winds proved long contrary; and the king, in despair of arriving in time in Guienne, at last ordered his fleet to sail to Normandy, and safely disembarked his army at La Hogue (July, 1346).

This army, which, during the course of the ensuing campaign, was crowned with the most splendid success, consisted of 4000 men-at-arms, 10,000 archers, 10,000 Welsh infantry, and 6000 Irish. Edward, after laying waste Normandy and advancing almost up to the gates of Paris, retreated toward Flanders, pursued by the French king with an immense army. Edward had crossed the River Somme below Abbeville, when he was overtaken by the French army. He took up his position near the village of CRECY, about 15 miles east of Abbeville, and determined there to await the enemy. He drew up his army on a gentle ascent, and divided them into three lines, the first commanded by the Prince of Wales, and the third by himself. He had likewise the precaution to throw up trenches on his flanks, in order to secure himself from the numerous bodies of the French, who might assail him from that quarter; and he placed all his baggage behind him in a wood, which he also secured by an intrenchment. Edward, besides the resources which he found in his own genius and presence of mind, employed also a new invention against the enemy, and placed in his front some pieces of artillery, the first that had yet been made use of on any remarkable occasion in Europe. The invention of artillery was at this time known in France as well as in England; but Philip, in his hurry to overtake the enemy, had probably left his cannon behind him, which he regarded as a useless encumbrance. After a long day's march from Abbeville, the French army, imperfectly formed into three lines, arrived, already fatigued and disordered, in presence of the enemy. The first line, consisting of Genoese cross-bow men, was commanded by Anthony Doria and Charles Grimaldi; the second was led by

the Count of Alençon, brother to the king; Philip himself was at the head of the third. The King of Bohemia, and the King of the Romans, his son, were also present, with all the nobility and great vassals of the crown of France. The army consisted of above 120,000 men, more than three times the number of the English. But the prudence of one man was superior to the advantage of all this force and splendor.

The English, on the approach of the enemy, kept their ranks firm and immovable; and the Genoese first began the attack. There had happened, a little before the engagement, a thundershower, which had moistened and relaxed the strings of the Genoese cross-bows; their arrows, for this reason, fell short of the enemy. The English archers, taking their bows out of their cases, poured in a shower of arrows upon this multitude who were opposed to them, and soon threw them into disorder. The young Prince of Wales had the presence of mind to take advantage of this situation, and to lead on his line to the charge. The young prince had been knighted only a month before; and Edward, who was watching the battle from a windmill, resolved to leave to his son the glory of the victory. Although the prince was then hard pressed by the French, the king refused to send succors to his assistance, saying, "Let the child win his spurs, and let the day be his." After a stout resistance the French cavalry was thrown into disorder; the Count of Alençon was slain; the Welsh infantry rushed into the throng, and with their long knives cut the throats of all who had fallen; nor was any quarter given that day by the victors. The King of France advanced in vain with the rear to sustain the line commanded by his brother. He had himself a horse killed under him, and was at length obliged to quit the field of battle. The whole French army took to flight, and was followed and put to the sword, without mercy, till the darkness of the night put an end to the pursuit. The king, on his return to the camp, flew into the arms of the Prince of Wales, and exclaimed, "My brave son! persevere in your honorable course; you are my son; for valiantly have you acquitted yourself to-day, and worthy are you of a crown." From this time the young prince became the terror of the French, by whom he was called the Black Prince, from the color of the armor which he wore on that day.

This battle, which is known by the name of the battle of Crécy, began about four o'clock in the afternoon, and continued till evening (Aug. 26, 1346). On the day of battle and on the ensuing there fell, by a moderate computation, 1200 French knights, 1400 gentlemen, 4000 men-at-arms, besides about 30,000 of inferior rank many of the principal nobility of France and the King of