Introduction

There are detailed itineraries for the Black Prince's chevauchées in France in 1355 and 1356 which culminated in the battle of Poitiers. The itinerary and events for 1355 were recorded by Geoffrey Le Baker in his Chronicon. He was most probably a clerk writing for his patron Sir Thomas de la More, an Oxfordshire knight. He is believed to have died between 1358 and 1360. The record for 1356 is attributed to a monk called Thomas of Malmesbury Abbey writing in his extensive history, Eulogium Historiarum, covering the period from the Creation to 1366.There is a continuation to 1413, written by another author, and the inference is that Thomas ceased his work in 1366. Geoffrey le Baker and Thomas were both, therefore, writing soon after the events they describe. Furthermore, both were most probably writing with reference to an itinerary written by members of the prince's middle division. Only occasional reference is made to locations of the vanguard and rearguard. However, on occasion the three divisions were spread over tens of miles to maximize destructive power, and the two itineraries describe only the general axis of advance of the army as a whole.

Unfortunately some place names in both itineraries are impossible to correlate with modern names with certainty. In some cases uncertainty is of little consequence, but in others a closer understanding of the route can shed light on the nature of operations. It can also resolve differing views of the conduct of the prince's campaigns. This article examines three examples where a better understanding of place names can give a clearer view of the conduct of operations: the route back past Carcassonne in 1355, and the crossing of the Dronne and the deployments in the vicinity of Châteauroux in 1356. The return crossing of the Garonne in 1355 and the route across the Vienne in 1356 are also reviewed, not because in these cases there are doubts over names, but for the examples they give of tactics employed.

1355 – The Chevauchée in the Languedoc

The victory of Edward III over Philip VI at Crécy in 1346 and the fall of Calais in the following year had not, as might have been hoped in English circles, resulted in Edward achieving his war aims.