The Great Events by Famous Historians [Volumes 1-14]

29 See The Hussite Wars, page 294.

30 See The House of Hohenzollern Established in Brandenburg, page 305.

31 See Deposition of Richard II, page 251.

32 See Battle of Agincourt, page 320.

33 See English Conquest of France, page 320.

34 See Jeanne d'Arc's Victory at Orleans, page 333.

35 See Trial and Execution of Jeanne d'Arc, page 350.

36 See Charles VII Issues his Pragmatic Sanction, page 370.

37 See Discovery of the Canary Islands: Beginning of Negro Slave Trade, page 266.

38 "I am not going to lose the men for the old women."

39 "The coward who the great refusal made."

40

"The beams on the low shores now lost and dead."

41

"A death-like shade— Like that beneath black boughs and foliage green O'er the cold stream in Alpine glens display'd."

42

"O'er all the sandy desert falling slow, Were shower'd dilated flakes of fire, like snow On Alpine summits, when the wind is low."

43

"So will a greater fame redound to thee, To have formed a party by thyself alone."

44 Translated by Charles Leonard-Stuart.

45 This Emperor was Albert I, son of Rudolph I.

46 James van Artevelde was called "the Brewer of Ghent," because, although born an aristocrat, he was enrolled in the Guild of Brewers.

47 Translated from the French by Thomas Johnes.

48 Lord Berners' account of the advance of the Genoese is somewhat different from this; he describes them as leaping forward with a fell cry. The whole passage is so spirited and graphic that we give it entire:

"Whan the genowayes were assembled toguyder and beganne to aproche, they made a great leape and crye to abasshe thenglysshmen, but they stode styll and styredde nat for all that. Than the genowayes agayne the seconde tyme made another leape and a fell crye and stepped forwarde a lytell, and thenglysshmen remeued nat one fote; thirdly agayne they leapt and cryed, and went forthe tyll they came within shotte; than they shotte feersly with their crosbowes. Than thenglysshe archers stept forthe one pase and lette fly their arowes so hotly and so thycke that it semed snowe. Whan the genowayes felte the arowes persynge through heedes, armes, and brestes, many of them cast downe their crosbowes and did cutte their strynges and retourned dysconfited. Whan the frenche kynge sawe them flye away, he said, Slee these rascals, for they shall lette and trouble us without reason; than you shoulde haue sene the men of armes dasshe in among them and kylled a great nombre of them; and euerstyll the englysshmen shot where as they sawe thyckest preace, the sharpe arowes ranne into the men of armes and into their horses, and many fell horse and men amonge the genowayes, and whan they were downe they coude nat relyne agayne; the preace was so thycke that one ouerthrewe a nother. And also amonge the englysshemen there were certayne rascalles that went a fote with great knyues, and they went in among the men of armes and slewe and murdredde many as they lay on the grounde, both erles, barownes, knyghts, and squyers, whereof the kyng of Englande was after dyspleased, for he had rather they had been taken prisoners."

49 His blindness was supposed to be caused by poison, which was given to him when engaged in the wars of Italy.

50 The following is Lord Berners' version of this narration: "In the mornyng the day of the batayle certayne frenchemen and almaygnes perforce opyned the archers of the princes batayle, and came and fought with the men at armes hande to hande. Than the second batayle of thenglyshe men came to socour the prince's batayle, the whiche was tyme, for they had as than moche ado, and they with the prince sent a messangar to the kynge who was on a lytell wyndmill hill. Than the knyght sayd to the kyng, Sir therle of Warwyke and therle of Cafort [Stafford] Sir Reynolde Cobham and other such as be about the prince your sonne are feersly fought with all, and are sore handled, wherefore they desire you that you and your batayle woll come and ayde them, for if the frenchemen encrease as they dout they woll your sonne and they shall have moche a do. Than the kynge sayde, is my sonne deed or hurt or on the yerthe felled? No, sir, quoth the knight, but he is hardely matched wherfore he hath nede of your ayde. Well sayde the kyng, retourne to hym and to them that sent you hyther, and say to them that they sende no more to me for any adventure that falleth as long as my sonne is alyve; and also say to them that they suffer hym this day to wynne his spurres, for if God be pleased, I woll this iourney be his and the honoure therof and to them that be aboute hym. Than the knyght retourned agayn to them and shewed the kynges wordes, the which greatly encouraged them, and repoyned in that they had sende to the kynge as they dyd."

51 Translated from the German by B. G. Babington.

52 Thucydides, in his account of the earlier plague in Athens, B.C. 430, says, "It was supposed that the Peloponnesians had poisoned the cisterns."