OF TWO FRENCHMEN THAT FLED FROM THE BATTLE OF
POITIERS
AND TWO ENGLISHMEN THAT FOLLOWED THEM
AMONG the battles, recounterings, chases and pursuits that
were made that day in the field, it fortuned so to sir Oudart
of Renty that when he departed from the field because he
saw the field was lost without recovery, he thought not to
abide the danger of the Englishmen; wherefore he fled all
alone and was gone out of the field a league, and an English
knight pursued him and ever cried to him and said,
'Return again, sir knight, it is a shame to fly away thus.'
Then the knight turned, and the English knight thought to
have stricken him with his spear in the targe, but he failed,
for sir Oudart swerved aside from the stroke, but he failed
not the English knight, for he strake him such a stroke on
the helm with his sword, that he was astonied and fell from
his horse to the earth and lay still. Then sir Oudart alighted
and came to him or he could rise, and said, 'Yield you,
rescue or no rescue, or else I shall slay you.' The Englishman
yielded and went with him, and afterward was ransomed.
Also it fortuned that another squire of Picardy
called John de Hellenes was fled from the battle and met
with his page, who delivered him a new fresh horse, whereon
he rode away alone. The same season there was in the
field the lord Berkeley of England, a young lusty knight,
who the same day reared his banner, and he all alone
pursued the said John of Hellenes. And when he had
followed the space of a league, the said John turned again
and laid his sword in the rest instead of a spear, and so
came running toward the lord Berkeley, who lift up his
sword to have stricken the squire; but when he saw the
stroke come, he turned from it, so that the Englishman
lost his stroke and John strake him as he passed on the
arm, that the lord Berkeley's sword fell into the field.
When he saw his sword down, he lighted suddenly off
his horse and came to the place where his sword lay,
and as he stooped down to take up his sword, the French
squire did pike his sword at him, and by hap strake him
through both the thighs, so that the knight fell to the earth
and could not help himself. And John alighted off his
horse and took the knight's sword that lay on the ground,
and came to him and demanded if he would yield him or
not. The knight then demanded his name. 'Sir,' said he,
'I hight John of Hellenes; but what is your name?' 'Certainly,'
said the knight, 'my name is Thomas and am lord
of Berkeley, a fair castle on the river of Severn in the
marches of Wales.' 'Well, sir,' quoth the squire, 'then ye
shall be my prisoner, and I shall bring you in safe-guard
and I shall see that you shall be healed of your hurt.' 'Well,'
said the knight, 'I am content to be your prisoner, for ye
have by law of arms won me.' There he sware to be his
prisoner, rescue or no rescue. Then the squire drew forth
the sword out of the knight's thighs and the wound was
open: then he wrapped and bound the wound and set him
on his horse and so brought him fair and easily to Chatelleraut,
and there tarried more than fifteen days for his sake
and did get him remedy for his hurt: and when he was
somewhat amended, then he gat him a litter and so brought
him at his ease to his house in Picardy. There he was more
than a year till he was perfectly whole; and when he departed
he paid for his ransom six thousand nobles, and so
this squire was made a knight by reason of the profit that he
had of the lord Berkeley.