No sooner had they appeared than the vineyards and hedges
rained arrows upon them, killing and wounding knights and horses; the
animals, wild with pain, flinging and trampling their masters; the
knights, heavy with armor and disabled by wounds, strewing that fatal
lane with their bodies; while still the storm of steel-pointed shafts
dealt death in their midst.
The horsemen fell back in dismay, breaking the thick ranks of footmen
behind them, and spreading confusion wherever they appeared. At this
critical moment a body of English horse, who were posted on a little
hill to the right, rushed furiously upon the French flank. At the same
time the archers poured their arrows upon the crowded and disordered
mass, and the prince, seeing the state of the enemy, led his men-at-arms
vigorously upon their broken ranks.
"St. George for Guienne!" was the cry, as the horsemen spurred upon the
panic-stricken masses of the French.
"Let us push to the French king's station; there lies the heart of the
battle," said Lord Chandos to the prince. "He is too valiant to fly, I
fancy. If we fight well, I trust, by the grace of God and St. George, we
shall have him. You said we should see you this day a good knight.
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