Page:Lectures on The Historians of Bohemia by Count Lutzow (1905).djvu/30

 Weitmil tells us that the Bohemian king declared for immediate battle and was opposed by the French, while most accounts state that through the influence of the Duke of Alençon the French resolved to give battle immediately, while King John, who had sent one of his knights to reconnoitre the English position, advised delay. All who know how very contradictory the accounts even of recent battles are, will appreciate the difficulty of forming an opinion with regard to a battle fought in 1346. In any case the account of a contemporary writer is interesting.

Weitmil writes: ‘At this time the King of England, having collected a very large army, began to devastate the lands of the King of France, and hostilely measured out his camp before the city of Paris. Then the King of France, unable to resist him, sent messengers to John King of Bohemia and his son Charles king-elect of the Germans, who were then at Luxemburg. He earnestly begged them immediately to come to his aid with all the men they could collect, for there was no time to lose and peril in all delay. Then the King of Bohemia, collecting a large number of warriors, set out with his son, the king-elect of the Germans, to aid the King of France.

‘The King of England, hearing of their arrival, retreated with his men and took up a very strong position between rivers and woods, so that no one could in any way harm him. But King John and his son, the king-elect of the Germans, were not content that the enemies had fled before their faces. Though the King of France objected and spoke against it, they pursued the enemies to their strong position and formed in battle-array, prepared to war against the