lucianus

Wednesday 24. November

This day did the enemy bombard our works; then about two hours after dawn did the sally out a large force with the intent to capture our trenches but our sentinels did sound the alarum and our hagabushers there drove back their first assault; then did we sally forth and fought man to man with their horse and I seeing their cornet alone with no other horse about him I riding up dealt him a great blow to his neck which cut him not but did make him reel in his saddle then turning about I dealt him a blow across this face which sent him sprawling off his mount and I did catch his standard as he fell; soon I was seconded by my valet and several others and then took we the cornet back to our quarters and his horse as well and the surgeon summoned to dress his wound; I expect he will fetch a good ransom.

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Today’s events are not based on Coningsby who was off that day visiting the Marquis of Allegra (really). Hagabushers were shot who carried a lighter longarm than a musket which had the advantage of not needing a rest to support the barrel. The cornet would have been wearing a helmet, probably a burgonet, a gorget and a breast plate and back plate so Luke’s great blow wouldn’t have connected with bare flesh but it would certainly have knocked the wind out of him giving Luke a moment to turn about and hit him again across the face. Luke has captured the cornet’s flag, or cornet and is joined by his valet so he can bring the cornet back and hold him for ransom. Capturing a rich officer was a great prize and captured officers were usually treated well (the exception being that terrible incident with the Prince of Conde after the Battle of Jarnac).

Monday 22. November

This day did Sir H. U. hold a great feast at the King his quarter for the Allmaine general Prince Christian who speaketh perfect French and passing good English and who seemeth a most learned gentleman and Sir R. W. attendeth and I did wait upon him; I did meet du Lac about the King his quarters and he doth say that the Gascons are angry for want of pay; some small skirmishing about St. Katherines; after supper returned to the camp and so to St. John his quarters to eat and he tells me of the loss this day of my Lord his coach through the foolish willful actions of the coachmen who were bidden to wait for his troop to convey them but rather set off alone and were overtaken by enemy horse.

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A busy day here for Luke. Sir H. U. is Sir Henry Unton the English ambassador to France and he has laid on a feast for the newly arrived Prince Christian of Anhalt-Bernburg. This news and the anecdotes about the cranky Gascons and the loss of Essex’s coach are drawn from Coningsby

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 48-49. Camden Miscellany by Camden Society (Great Britain), Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), published by Camden Society, 1847 Item notes: v.1 (1847)

Saturday 20. November

Rose very early this day to attend upon Sir R. W. who did himself attend upon my Lord who leaveth to day to go to England and there to plead his case to the Queen that Her Grace should send more troops to aid the King and our forces here and before my Lord his leaving he did knight my cousin Killigrew; then after my Lord’s departure Sir R. W. the better part of the day with the King and some others of us there at a table aplaying at primero with Matherine the King his fool and she quite too lucky that I did think that she did have cards in her sleeve or tucked in her doublet and what wit she doth have and what a bawd.

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Essex left for England today but before he went he knighted Sir Henry Killigrew, another distant cousin of Luke’s on his mother’s side of the family. Killigrew was married to Katherine, one of the daughters of Sir Antony Cooke. Cooke’s other three daughters were Mildred, Lady Burley, Ann, Lady Bacon and Elizabeth, Lady Hoby. Sir Roger stays on in the King’s camp to confer and that leaves Luke at loose ends so what better then to play cards. There is a scene described in Coningsby of coming to Henri’s quarters and find the King half dressed and his gentlemen hanging about playing primero. Matherine was one of the King’s two fools, the other being a dwarf named Chicot.

Bayrou, Francois, Henry IV : Le Roi Libre, Editions J’ai Lu : Paris, 1996.

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 47. Camden Miscellany by Camden Society (Great Britain), Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), published by Camden Society, 1847 Item notes: v.1 (1847)

Thursday 18. November

All the day about the camp and towards supper comes word from my Lord, who all the day had been closeted up with the King, for the bravst of us and those not afraid of the cold to come to the French their quarter and as we were come there Montmorancy his men in a very good fight with many pistol shots and much blood spilled.

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Today's account is drawn from Coningsby and will be continued in tomorrow's post.

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 46. Camden Miscellany by Camden Society (Great Britain), Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), published by Camden Society, 1847 Item notes: v.1 (1847)

Tuesday 16. November

This morning just after breakfast I with Sir R. W. and Sir Edmund Yorke and sundry other gentlemen went upon the river to view the best places for setting chains and other such obstacles for blocking the passage of goods and he has great plans and would, if he had his way and as many pioneers as he might, entrench the town entirely so that none would be able to pass out and were he quite to have his way, so saith he, he would reroute the river to deny the town totally its liveihood; we were returned to camp round about dinner and at that time the French were in a great skirmish with some 200 of the garrison their horse and so we caused our men to bring us our supper on the hill that we might watch and it maketh a fine show and later we sat and drank of tobacco and I did say and so did others agreethat the French for all their fine arms and menouvers and great speeches were fain to trying fight as do we English for if it were we there on that field the garrison horse would have been much more bloodied than they were; Coningsby did tell me of his being brought two youths of the town who had stolen out in the fight and run to our camp and he did discover of them that the townsmen like not Villiers and the at garrison has not over 1800 foot and horse and that they are hard pressed to guard the whole circuit of the walls; M. du Lac came in the evening and we and several others played at cards until not too late.

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Sir Edmund Yorke was a military engineer who appears on the scene in the middle of November with a lot of big ideas about besieging the town, few of which were adopted. Coningsby mentions him as well as the skirmish and the escaped boys.

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 43-44. Camden Miscellany by Camden Society (Great Britain), Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), published by Camden Society, 1847 Item notes: v.1 (1847)

Sunday 14. November

This day after dinner their fell a great fog and the King with great cunning did go close in to the walls in the hollow below the hills; my Lord ordered all his captains to mount and ride betwixt the King and the town for fear of a sally of the garrison and then the Marshall beyond that so that they might have fallen into the ditch; it mighty cold and raw this night but by and by comes cornet Saint John with some wine he had got by stealth near the burnt quarter and we quite merry and playing at tric trac until late.
 

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Coningsby reports the fog and King Henri's venture out by the walls and Essex and Biron's interposing themselves between. Luke has a pleasant evening getting soused on stolen wine and playing tric trac or backgammon. Tric trac playing was definitely considered a dodgy activity, in fact Clement Marot, the author of the Huguenot psalm book, was expelled from Geneva for playing tric trac in an inn with a woman.

 

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 41. Camden Miscellany by Camden Society (Great Britain), Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), published by Camden Society, 1847 Item notes: v.1 (1847) 
 

Friday 12. November

This day more houses were burned without of the walls; our shot had good play against the enemy his shot to which they drove them back to their lines and beyond; as I was awalking with Sir R. W. there comes a messenger from the King to say he would arrive on the morrow, this pleased Sir R. right well; in the afternoon died Captain Welsh of his hurt and one of Clifford his men as well who was hurt in the same fight; also in the early morning died very peaceful, Master David Lennox, a dear old friend with whom I have soldiered some fifteen years or more, of a wasting sickness, God rest his soul.

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Much of this post is based on Coningsby but with Luke's slant on the news. According to Coningsby Capt. Welch did die today of the wound he received in his arm. Such a wound, with a "chain bullet" (actually two soft lead bullets attached together with a chain) would have made a hideous wound requiring immediate amputation. Even if that was done, it did not guarantee that the patient would survive and in Capt. Welch's case he did not.

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 39. Camden Miscellany by Camden Society (Great Britain), Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), published by Camden Society, 1847 Item notes: v.1 (1847)

Wednesday 10. November

This day continued cold; Captain Welch of whom I won two crowns yesternight at cards was shot by a chain bullet this day the which has broken his arm, the surgeon has taken it off above the elbow but knows not if he will live or die, I expect he will be dead in three days time, a great shame for he was a brave soldier and merry company likewise; attended upon Sir R. W. this day and after dinner was sent to the Marshall, with the message that Sir R. W. desired of him pioneers for the digging of a trench beyond our lodgings; the Marshall received me well and gave me 5 crowns for my pains.

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The notice about Captain Welch is drawn from Coningsby who mentions in the next day or so that Marshall Biron sent pioneers for trench digging. Messengers usually expected to be tipped for their services by the person receiving the message. Biron is a great lord and can afford it.

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 38-39.

Monday November 8

Stirred not from here all the day; word comes that yesterday some of our horse, while about the countryside, did make very good profit and returned with upwards to three score kine, swine and muttons, some of the kine whereof I hope I might dine upon in three days time; I hear tell today that upwards to thirty of the Rouen garrison were slain yesterday in the fight to but two of ours.

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A slow day in camp today. Kine is an obsolete word for cattle. The facts here are drawn from Coningsby.

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 36.

Bourchier Devereux, Walter, Lives and Letters of the Devereux, Earls of Essex, Vol. I, p. 263.

Saturday November 6

All morning attending upon Sir R. W. and then after dinner sent with a message to the French colonels from my Lord bidding them come tomorrow to dinner and received an écu of them for my trouble; so back and at my ease drinking of tobacco and watching the townsmen of Rouen aplanting gabbions on their fortifications until quite dark.

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Luke has been under Sir Roger’s command for many years since their days in the Low Countries and he has come to be a trusted friend. Luke thinks all the world of Sir Roger and would follow him anywhere and into any fight. Williams employs Luke often for delivering and running other important errands for him. In this case Luke has taken an invitation to some colonels in the French camp and for his troubles the Frenchmen have tipped him a écu a French gold coin, a pretty generous amount. Gabbions are cylindrical wickerwork baskets which are filled with dirt and stones, the period version of the sandbag and much used around artillery emplacements.

Coningsby, Thomas, Jornall of Cheife Thinges Happened in Our Jorney from Deape the 13. of Auguste, Untyll, MS.- Harl. 288. f. 253279, p. 35-36. Camden Miscellany by Camden Society (Great Britain), Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), published by Camden Society, 1847 Item notes: v.1 (1847)