Table Of ContentLIVERPOOL HISTORICAL CASEBOOKS T
H
The Battle of Crécy
THE BATTLE OF
E
A Casebook
B
A CR ÉC Y
A
‘Outnumbered, exhausted, and facing what should have been a decisively stronger T
force in arms, on 26 August 1346 the English achieved a resounding victory under
CT
the banner of King Edward III. It was a triumph that would not only earn its high
place in history, but would also pass quickly into heroic legend and national myth. aL A Casebook
Th at much is not in doubt.’ s
E
e
— from the Preface
b
O
o
Th is casebook is the most extensive collection of documents ever assembled for the study of one of the oF
famous battles in history. Together with other experts, the editors have gathered, edited, and translated k
over 80 fourteenth-century sources concerning this fascinating and important confl ict — written across C
Europe, from Bohemia to France, from Italy to Wales — many here printed or translated for the fi rst time.
Original essays provide historical context and literary background to help interpret the battle in light R
of this new material. Here we see the Battle of Crécy across the cultural landscape of Europe, through
É
chronicles and letters, through poems and prophecies, enabling us to understand what happened on 26
August 1346 like never before. C
Michael Livingston is an Associate Professor at Th e Citadel, Th e Military College of South Carolina. He Y
is the editor of Th e Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook (2011), the co-editor of Owain Glyndŵr: A Casebook
(2013), and the author of the novel Shards of Heaven (2015).
Kelly DeVries is a Professor of History at Loyola University Maryland. He has authored many books on
military history, including a biography of Joan of Arc (1999; reissued 2011) and the widely used textbook
Medieval Military Technology, now in its second edition (2012).
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MICHAEL LIVINGSTON
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KELLY DEVRIES
Cover image: Detail from London, British Library
MS Cotton Nero E II, part 2, fol. 152v.
Courtesy of the British Library.
LUP,Devries and Livingston casewrap.indd 1 23/09/2015 11:41:58
T B C
HE ATTLE OF RÉCY
A Casebook
‘Outnumbered, exhausted, and facing what should have been a decisively stronger
force in arms, on 26 August 1346 the English achieved a resounding victory under
the banner of King Edward III. It was a triumph that would not only earn its high
place in history, but would also pass quickly into heroic legend and national myth.
That much is not in doubt.’
— from the Preface
This casebook is the most extensive collection of documents ever assembled for the
study of one of the famous battles in history. Together with other experts, the
editors have gathered, edited, and translated over 80 fourteenth-century sources
concerning this fascinating and important conflict — written across Europe, from
Bohemia to France, from Italy to Wales — many here printed or translated for the
first time. Original essays provide historical context and literary background to
help interpret the battle in light of this new material. Here we see the Battle of
Crécy across the cultural landscape of Europe, through chronicles and letters,
through poems and prophecies, enabling us to understand what happened on 26
August 1346 like never before.
Michael Livingston is an Associate Professor at The Citadel, The Military College of South
Carolina. He is the editor of The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook (2011), the co-editor of
Owain Glyndwˆr: A Casebook (2013), and the author of the novel Shards of Heaven (2015).
Kelly DeVries is a Professor of History at Loyola University Maryland. He has authored
many books on military history, including a biography of Joan of Arc (1999; reissued 2011)
and the widely used textbook Medieval Military Technology, now in its second edition (2012).
THE LIVERPOOL HISTORICAL CASEBOOKS SERIES
Series Editors: Kelly DeVries and Michael Livingston
T B C
HE ATTLE OF RÉCY
A Casebook
edited by
Michael Livingston
and
Kelly DeVries
LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cover image courtesy the British Library.
First published in 2015 by
Liverpool University Press
4 Cambridge Street
Liverpool L69 7ZU
UK
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
© Michael Livingston, Kelly DeVries, and the individual contributors 2015
The right of Michael Livingston, Kelly DeVries, and the individual contributors
to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Acts 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Hardback ISBN 978-1-78138-264-6
Paperback ISBN 978-1-78138-270-7
Typeset in 10/13 New Baskerville with Golden Cockerel Ornaments display
by Michael Livingston, after layout design by Linda K. Judy.
Printed and bound by Short Run Press Ltd, Exeter.
`
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS viii
CONTRIBUTORS ix
PREFACE: THE SHAPE OF THE VOLUME xi
MAP OF THE CRÉCY CAMPAIGN xiv
LOSSES UNCOUNTABLE: THE CONTEXT OF CRÉCY
Michael Livingston 1
SOURCES ON THE BATTLE
Texts and Translations Notes
1. William Retford, Kitchen Journal 20 339
2. Cleopatra Itinerary 22 339
3. Colins de Beaumont, On the Crécy Dead 26 340
4. Richard Wynkeley, Letter to the Blackfriars 50 342
5. Edward III, Letter to Thomas Lucy 54 343
6. Michael Northburgh, Letter 58 344
7. Edward III, Request for Supplies 62 344
8. Philippe VI, Payment to Loyal Men 62 344
9. Robert de Dreuex, Horses Lost at Crécy 64 345
10. Johann von Schönfeld, Letter to Passau 64 345
11. Thomas Bradwardine, Victory Sermon 66 346
12. Jean de Batery, Poem of the Eight Coats-of-Arms 68 347
13. King John of Bohemia 82 347
14. Chronicle of the Este Family 84 348
15. Annals of Zwettl 86 348
16. Chronicle of Lanercost 86 349
17. Chronicle of Guyenne 88 350
18. Crécy Poem 88 350
19. Guillaume Flote, Horses Lost at Crécy 92 351
20. Chronicle of the Counts of Flanders 92 352
21. Chronicle of Artois 94 352
22. Chronicle of Saint-Omer 100 353
23. Capture of Tifford 106 354
24. Rhyming Chronicle 106 355
25. Giovanni Villani, New Chronicle 114 356
26. John of Hocsem, Chronicle 122 357
27. Pistoian History 122 358
28. Jean de Winterthur, Chronicle 124 358
29. Gilles li Muisit, Major Chronicle 126 359
30. Grand Chronicles 130 359
31. William of Dene, History of Rochester 134 360
32. Matthias von Neuenburg, Chronicle 136 360
33. Anonymous of Leoben, Chronicle 138 361
34. John of Tynemouth, Golden History 140 361
35. Pseudo-Adam Murimuth, Chronicle [Nero Version] 140 361
36. Philippe of Orléans, Ransom Payment 144 362
37. Chronicle of Siena 144 363
38. Jan van Boendale, Brabantese Stories 146 364
39. Laurence Minot, Edward III in France 148 364
40. Polychronicon Continuation 148 365
41. Iolo Goch, Panegyric to Edward III 150 365
42. Francis of Prague, Chronicle 154 369
43. Marco Battagli, Chronicle 156 369
44. Michael de Leone, Housebook 158 369
45. Geoffrey le Baker, Chronicle 158 370
46. Anonymous of Rome, Chronicle 164 371
47. Iolo Goch, Elegy for Sir Rhys ap Gruffudd 176 372
48. Richard Lescot, Chronicle Continuation 178 378
49. Guglielmo Cortusio, History of Padua 180 378
50. Jean le Bel, Chronicle 182 378
51. Heinrich of Diessenhofen, Chronicle 190 379
52. Thomas Gray, Scalacronica [Leland’s Abstract] 192 379
53. Thomas Bisset, Gesta Annalia II 192 380
54. Neplach of Opatovice, Chronicle 192 381
55. Heinrich Taube of Selbach, Chronicle 194 381
56. John Ergom, Commentary to Bridlington’s Prophecy 194 381
57. Brief Chronicle 198 382
58. Chronicle of Canterbury 198 382
59. Eulogium Historiarum 198 382
60. Accounts of a Citizen of Valenciennes 202 383
61. Chronicle of Saint-Trond 210 384
62. John of Reading, Chronicle 212 384
63. Jean de Venette, Chronicle 212 384
64. Chronicle of Normandy 216 386
65. Beneš Krabice, Chronicle of the Church of Prague 222 388
66. World-chronicle of Köln 222 388
67. Prose Brut [Common Version to 1377] 224 388
68. Chronicle of Flanders [Version A] 226 389
69. Niccolò of Ferrara, World History 228 390
70. Chandos Herald, Life of the Black Prince 232 390
71. Death of King John 240 391
72. Henry Knighton, Chronicle 246 394
73. Anonimalle Chronicle 248 395
74. Tilemann Elhen, Chronicle of Limburg 250 396
75. Jean Froissart, Chronicles [Amiens Version] 252 396
76. Jean Froissart, Chronicles [Abridged Version] 276 400
77. Jakob Twinger, Chronicle of Strasburg 296 405
78. Chronicle of the First Four Valois Kings 298 405
79. Thomas Burton, Chronicle of Meaux Abbey 300 406
80. Chronicle of the Low Countries 302 406
81. Jean Froissart, Chronicles [B/C Version] 306 407
NOTES TO THE TEXTS 339
ESSAYS ON THE BATTLE 413
THE LOCATION OF THE BATTLE OF CRÉCY
Michael Livingston 415
THE BOHEMIAN PARTICIPATION IN CRÉCY
Jan Biederman and Václav Žu°rek 439
THE GENOESE CROSSBOWMEN AT CRÉCY
Kelly DeVries and Niccolò Capponi 441
THE TACTICS OF CRÉCY
Kelly DeVries 447
FROISSART’S HERCE AND CRÉCY
Kelly DeVries and Michael Livingston 469
THE ITALIAN PERSPECTIVE ON CRÉCY
Niccolò Capponi 477
COUNTING THE DEAD AT CRÉCY
Michael Livingston 485
THE AFTER-LIFE OF CRÉCY
Michael Livingston 489
BIBLIOGRAPHY 497
INDEX TO THE VOLUME
John K. Bollard 507
`
ILLUSTRATIONS
Cover Art. Detail from London, British Library MS Cotton Nero E II, part 2, fol. 152v.
Courtesy of the British Library.
Cross of Bohemia. Courtesy Kelly DeVries. x
Map of the Crécy Campaign. By Michael Livingston. xiv
Detail of the Kitchen Journal. Courtesy Michael Livingston. 19
1934 Stamp of Luxembourg. Courtesy Kelly DeVries. 338
Edward III oversees the identification of the dead. Courtesy of the Koninklijke
Bibliotheek. 413
Stone-built Crécy windmill. Courtesy Kelly DeVries. 414
Cassini’s Atlas (1757). Public Domain. 417
Proposed Site of the Battle. By Michael Livingston. 434
Ridge along the Mont de Crécy. Photo by Kelly DeVries. 435
English position on the Mont de Crécy. Photo by Kelly DeVries. 436
Ditchworks on the Mont de Crécy. Photo by Kelly DeVries. 438
Bohemian coats of arms. By Jan Biederman. 440
Initial Attack. By Michael Livingston. 454
Triangular harrow. Courtesy of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. 475
viii
`
CONTRIBUTORS
Rémy Ambühl is a lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Southampton. He has
worked extensively on ransoms and prisoners, including the recent Prisoners of War in the
Hundred Years War (2013). His current research is on surrender in fifteenth-century France.
Jan Biederman is one of the Curators at the Museum of Military History Institute in Prague.
He specializes in the military history of the Middle Ages, most particularly the late-medieval
and early modern periods.
John K. Bollard is a Medieval Welsh scholar, editor, and lexicographer. He has published
extensively on The Mabinogi and other early Welsh works, including popular translations of
The Mabinogi (2006) and Tales of Arthur (2010). He is a contributor to The Battle of Brunan-
burh: A Casebook (2011), and the co-editor of Owain Glyndwˆr: A Casebook (2013).
Niccolò Capponi, Florentine, obtained his PhD in Military History at the University of
Padua. A former fellow of the Medici Archive Project, he is at present the curator of the Cap-
poni Archive in Florence. He has written extensively on Italian and Mediterranean history.
Godfried Croenen is Reader in French Historical Studies at the University of Liverpool,
where he specializes in the medieval history of France and the Low Countries. He is co-
general editor of the Online Froissart: A Digital Edition of the Chronicles of Jean Froissart.
Kelly DeVries is a Professor of History at Loyola University Maryland. He has authored
many books on military history, including a biography of Joan of Arc (1999; reissued 2011)
and the widely used textbook Medieval Military Technology, now in its second edition (2012).
Dan Franke is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at the United States Military Aca-
demy at West Point. He is the author of several articles on medieval warfare and the cru-
sades, and is currently working on a study of the earls of Suffolk in the Hundred Years War.
Michael Livingston holds degrees in History, Medieval Studies, and English. He is an Asso-
ciate Professor at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He is the editor of The
Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook (2011), and the co-editor of Owain Glyndwˆr: A Casebook (2013).
Elizaveta Strakhov is an Assistant Professor of English at Marquette University, where her
research focuses on cross-Channel literary relations during the Hundred Years War. She has
also written on Chaucer, Machaut, the lyric, and the literary history of the Burgundy region.
Matouš Turek holds degrees in History and English literature and is currently studying at
Charles University in Prague, where he specializes in late-medieval culture.
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