Chaucer And His England Author:G. G. Coulton Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE KING'S SQUIRE For I, that God of Love's servants serve, Dare not to Love for mine unlikeliness Prayen for speed, though I should theref... more »ore sterve, So far am I from this help in darkness 1 "Troilus and Criseyde," i., 15 IN Chaucer's life, as in the "Seven Ages of Man," the soldier follows hard upon the lover; he is scarcely out of his 'teens before we find him riding to the Great War, " in hope to stonden in his lady grace." He fought in that strange campaign of 1359-60, which began with such magnificent preparations, but ended so ineffectually. Edward marched across France from Calais to Reims with a splendid army and an unheard-of baggage train ; but the towns closed their gates, the French armies hovered out of his reach, and the weather was such that horses and men died like flies. "The xiii. day of Aprill [1360] King Edward with his Oost lay before the Citee off Parys ; the which was a ffoule Derke day of myste, and off haylle, and so bytter colde, that syttyng on horse bak men dyed. Wherefore, unto this day yt ys called blak Monday, and wolle be longe tyme here affter." Edward felt that the stars fought against him, and was glad to make a less advantageous peace than he might have had before this wasteful raid. Chaucer's friend and brother-poet, Eustache Deschamps, recalls how the English took up their quarters in the villages and convents that crown the heights round Reims, and watched " Chronicles of London," ed. Kingsford, p. 13. forty days for a favourable opportunity of attack. Froissart also tells us how Edward feared to assault so strong a city, and only blockaded it for seven weeks, until " it began to irk him, and his men found nought more to forage, and began to lose their horses, and were at great disease for lack of victuals...« less