SHF 1-272 syncThe
king of England was well informed that the
king of France was following him with a large force and had a strong desire to engage him in combat, as was apparent, for he had pursued him keenly until they were very close to
Blanchtaque and had then withdrawn to
Abbeville. Then said the
king of England to his men,
"Let us position ourselves here, for I will not proceed further until I have seen our enemies. There is good reason for me to await them for I am on the rightful inheritance of my lady
mother, given to her upon her marriage; and so I am eager to defend it from my adversary."
His men all obeyed his orders and intention; they went no further forward and encamped in open country. Well aware that he had only an eighth of the forces the
king of France possessed, he needed to manage his affairs carefully. So he commanded his marshals and several other valiant knights to look for a place where they might organise their divisions. The aforementioned men rode around the fields, scouring the land until they found an advantageous site, to which the
king and his forces then marched. They had sent their scouts to
Abbeville to find out whether the
king of France would ride forth into the fields that Friday. They reported back that there was no sign of this, and so the
king gave leave to all his men to retire to their lodgings for the rest of that day, to be ready to fight at once the following morning at the sound of the trumpet. Each man returned to his lodging with the intention of preparing and polishing his armour.
Now let us speak of
king Philippe, who was at
Abbeville.
SHF 1-273 syncAll through that Friday the
king of France remained in
Abbeville, awaiting his men who were ever arriving from all parts. He also had several men ride out and reconnoitre the field so as to be better prepared for the next day, for he intended to come out to fight his enemies. To that end, that same Friday he sent his marshals, the
lord of Saint-Venant and my lord
Charles de Montmorency, out of
Abbeville to explore the area and learn something of the
English. These men reported back to the
king, at the hour of Vespers, that the
English were encamped in the fields, indicating by their order and position that they were awaiting their enemies. The
king of France was gratified by this report and said that, please God, they would find combat the next day. That Friday the
king invited all the high princes who were there with him in
Abbeville to dine with him; above all the
king of Bohemia, then the
count of Alençon, his brother, the
count of Blois, his nephew, the
count of Flanders, the
count of Sancerre, the
count of Harcourt,
Sir Jean de Hainault, and a good many others. He spent that evening there in much recreation and talk of war, and after supper entreated all of the lords to be friends to one another without envy, hatred or pride. The
king was still awaiting the
count of Savoy and my lord
Louis of Savoy, who should have been on their way with at least a thousand lance from
Savoy and
Dauphiné, for that is how they had been summoned and retained, their wages having been paid for three months in advance at
Troyes in
Champagne.
pb 136 v