Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

Chronicle and Romance (The Harvard Classics Series) by Raphael Holinshed Thomas Malory Jean Froissart
page 56 of 481 (11%)
the rest and ran into the French battle, and then a knight of Almaine,
called the lord Louis of Recombes, who bare a shield silver, five
roses gules, and sir Eustace bare ermines, two branches of
gules[2],--when this Almain saw the lord Eustace come from his
company, he rode against him and they met so rudely, that both knights
fell to the earth. The Almain was hurt in the shoulder, therefore he
rose not so quickly as did sir Eustace, who when he was up and had
taken his breath, he came to the other knight as he lay on the ground;
but then five other knights of Almaine came on him all at once and
bare him to the earth, and so perforce there he was taken prisoner and
brought to the earl of Nassau, who as then took no heed of him; and I
cannot say whether they sware him prisoner or no, but they tied him to
a chare and there let him stand[3].

[1] The first setter-on and the best combatant.

[2] That is, two hamedes gules on a field ermine.

[3] They tied him on to a cart with their harness.

Then the battle began on all parts, and the battles of the marshals of
France approached, and they set forth that were appointed to break the
array of the archers. They entered a-horseback into the way where the
great hedges were on both sides set full of archers. As soon as the
men of arms entered, the archers began to shoot on both sides and did
slay and hurt horses and knights, so that the horses when they felt
the sharp arrows they would in no wise go forward, but drew aback and
flang and took on so fiercely, that many of them fell on their
masters, so that for press they could not rise again; insomuch that
the marshals' battle could never come at the prince. Certain knights
DigitalOcean Referral Badge