Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

of his charge, the savagery and power of which would often be sufficient to break that
cohesion. He knew that, if it did, these untried men would waver and flee as the
London militia did before the future Edward I at Lewes in 1264 or as the Flemish
militias did before the French at Mons-en-Pevele in 1304, just two years after the
former's victory at Courtrai.
That self-confidence could get the warrior into trouble, however. It was the Count
of Artois' ignoring the advice ol the Templars' Grand Master that led to his death in
the streets of Mansourah. Having pursued the fleeing Muslims, he found himself cut
off in the narrow streets and attacked by the citizens from the rooftops. He and his
retinue, as well as Longespee and 280 of the Knights Templar, who had followed Artois
fearing that they would be accused of cowardice if they did not, were killed. His son
was to lose his life at Courtrai a little over 50 years later, cut down by the Flemish
militiamen whom he had dismissed before the battle with the words 'Even if there are
many of them, one hundred knights are worth a thousand men on foot!' We are told
that when the English army broke up and fled at Hastings some of them made a last
stand in some broken ground known as the 'malfojje' where a number of Norman
knights were killed. The pursuit following the English victoiy at Poitiers lasted longer
than the battle, as English men-at-arms and archers hunted down and captured the
fleeing French knights for ransom.
Medieval armies were brittle things, lacking much of the training and esprit de corpd
that hold modern permanent armies together. As such their cohesion could be
destroyed much more quickly and dramatically. The death of a commander, or even the
rumour of his death, could be enough, as happened at Hastings in 1066. The rumour
passed through the Norman army that Duke William had been killed and part of
the army began to rout (the sources closest to the duke specify that it was Breton
knights who were the first to break). The duke had to ride in front of his fleeing men
and, in an act lifted directly from the pages of Caesar, pushed back his helmet to reveal
his face and declared Look at me? I am alive, and with God's help I will conquer.
What madness is persuading you to flee? What way is open to escape?' The subsequent
death of Harold and his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine in the ensuing counter-attack,
leaving the English army leaderless, may have proved the trigger for the English troops
to flee.
At Bremule it was the defeat of the French vanguard and the charge of Helias of
Maine 's mounted reserve into the flank of the main French body that caused the entire
force to turn and flee, Louis VI's household knights taking him by the bridle to get
him off the field. At Courtrai the loss ol their commander, Robert d Artois, and
the destruction ol both the vanguard and the main guard meant that many of the
remaining knights turned and fled.
CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE -J*
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