William Marshal at the Tournament at Lagny-sur-Marne,
from the History of William the Marshall

MEDIEVAL
WARFARE

MEDIEVAL
WEAPONS

MEDIEVAL
ARMOUR

CRUSADES &
CRUSADERS

TEMPLARS &
HOSPITALLERS

WILLIAM
MARSHAL

MEDIEVAL
LIFE

MEDIEVAL
RE-ENACTMENT

MEDIEVAL
TORTURE

BOOKS

Follow @Medieval_War

William the Marshal was renowned as a tournament competitor and was able to make a good career from the money made from ransoms of those he captured in these mock battles, as well as from prize winnings. The following text details the tournament held at Lagny-sur-Marne, in 1179. Organized by Henry, count palatine of Champagne and Brie, this tournament was unusually large, with the writer of our history estimating that 3,000 knights attending. Many prominent people from France and England were on hand as well, including Henry Plantagenet, son of the English king Henry II, the count of Flanders, the duke of Burgundy, the brother of the King of Scotland and eighteen other counts:

4750	Engaging in feats of chivalry in Lagny,	Oe chivalerie ensement
	alongside the young King,	Le giemble rei a Leeingni
	were those here named,	Furent cil que j'ai nomez ci,
	eighty chosen knights.	Quatre vinz chevaliers esliz;
	Not merely chosen, but the pick of the chosen.	Non mie esliz mais tresesliz.
	Why were they called the pick of the chosen?	Por quei tresesliz nomez furent?
	Because those well capable of picking them out	Qu'entre les esliz les eslurent
	had chosen them from amongst the best.	Cil qui bien les sourent eslire;
	That is the right gloss to put on the text.	Issi deit l'om la letre lire.
	But eighty is still an under-estimate,	Quatre vinz, c'est ore del mains,
4760	and I shall undertake to prove to you	Quer a prover vos prenc en mains
	that there were yet seven times as many such after them:	Qu'il en remaint set tanz ariere,
	whoever raised his banner	Quer qui unques portout baniere
	in the company of the young King,	E ert ove le giemble rei,
	whoever was under his command, received twenty shillings a	A toz cels qu'il menout o sei,
	day for each man he had with him	Aveient vinten sous lo jor,
	from the moment they left their own lands,	Fust a esrer, fust a sejor,
	whether they were on the move or in lodgings.	Des que il moveient de lor terre.
	It was a source of wonder where this wealth was to be found,	Merveille ert ou l'em puet ce querre,
	and one can only say that God shared out to him	Ne mais que Dex li devisout
4770	the wealth placed at his disposal.	Les biens qu'il li abandonout.
	There were fifteen flying their banners,	Quinze i out banieres portant;
	and so I can swear to you	Por ce vos plevis en por tant
	that there were at least two hundred and more,	Que bien erent deux cenz e plus,
	as you have already heard,	Si com avez oī desus,
	who lived off the purse of the young King	Qui del giemble rei se vivoient
	and were knights of his.	E qui si chevalier estoient.
	There is no account of all these,	De toz cels n'est gaires de conte,
	for there were at least nineteen counts	Quer bien furent dis e noef conte
	with the King on that occasion,	O le rei en cele besoingne,
4780	and the duke of Burgundy besides.	Si i fu li dus de Borgoingne.
	Why should I spin out my tale?	Que vos ireie ge contant?
	The knights who were there to tourney	A plus de trei mile ou a tant
	were estimated	Furent esmé li chivalier
	at more than three thousand or so,	Qui la furent por torneier,
	some with the King, some with the count.	Que devers rei, que devers conte.
	I shall not spin out my tale further:	Ne vos ferai ci plus lonc conte:
	they armed, joined in combat,	Armez furent, si s'entrevindrent
	and did what they had come to do.	E firent ce por quei il vindrent.
	There were to be seen banners unfurled,	La vit l'em despleier banieres
4790	so many of them and of such diverse types	Tantes e de tantes manieres
	that no man could make them out sufficiently	Que nuls ne seüst diviser
	to be able to describe them in detail.	Tant qu'il les seüst deviser;
	The entire field of combat was swarming with them,	Tote en formiout la campaingne,
	the plain so full of them	Si esteit emplie la plaingne
	that there was not an inch of ground to be seen.	Que de plaingne n'i aveit point.
	One company spurred to meet the other.	Li uns conreis vers l'autre point.
	I can tell you that that encounter	Or saciez que cele asemblee
	was not a stealthy affair,	Ne fu mie faite a emblee,
	indeed, there was great noise and tumult	Ainz grant noise e grant bruit;
4800	as all strove to deal mighty blows.	Al bien ferir tendeient tuit.
	There you would have heard such a great clash	La oīsiez si grant escrois
	of lances, from which the splinters	De lances, de quei li retrois
	fell to the ground as the companies met	Qui chaeient a terre al joindre
	and impeded the forward charge of the horses.	Ne lassoient les chevals poindre.
	The throng across that plain was huge,	Molt fu grant la presse en la plaingne,
	with each company shouting out its battle cry.	Chascuns conreis crie s'ensenne;
	There you might have learned something of armed combat,	La peüst l'om d'armes aprendre,
	there you might have seen knights taken	La veīst l'om chevalers prendre
	by the bridles of their horses, and others being rescued.	As freins e les autres rescorre.
4810	On all sides you would have seen horses running	De totes parz veīst l'om core
	and sweating with their exertions.	Chevals a tressuer d'angoisse;
	Every man strove hard and did all within his power	Chascuns a son poeir s'angoisse
	to perform high deeds, for it is in such a situation	De bien faire, quer en tele ovre
	that prowess is shown and displayed for all to see.	Se mostre proëce e descouvre.
	It was a very fiercely fought contest,	Molt i out aresté estor,
	many were the feats of arms performed that day;	Molt i out fait d'armes le jor,
	the tournament was an exceedingly fine one,	Molt fu li torneiemenz buens
	even before the King and the count	Anceis que li reis ne li quens
	had arrived to join in combat.	I venissent por asembler.
4820	But when they did, then you would have seen the earth shake,	Lors veīssiez terre trembler
	e King said: "This has gone on long enough;	Quant li reis dist: "Ore est ennui;
	spur on, I shall have not a moment's further delay."	Poinniez! n'i atendrai mais hui."
	The King spurred forward, but the count cleverly	Li reis poinst, mais li quens se tint
	held back, and did not move forward	Par cointise, que pas ne vint
	until he saw that the time was exactly right.	De si qu'il en vit ore e point,
	But when it was, he did not hesitate for a moment.	Mais lors ne se targa il point.
	Those on the King's side rode forward	Cil qui par devers li rei furent
	so impetuously	Si sorcuideement s'esmurent
	that they did not wait a moment for the King,	Qu'onques le rei n'i atendirent,
4830	and they fought so fiercely	E si oltreement le firent
	that the other side were sent on their way.	Que cil se mistrent a la veie:
	Actually, not so much on their way as off their way.	Ne fu pas veie, einz fu desveie.
	Once they had driven them back	Quant il les ourent adossez
	through the vines and the ditches,	Parmi vingnes, parmi fossez,
	off they rode between the closely planted	Si aloient parmi les ches
	vine stocks.	Des vingnes, qui erent espés;
	Horses fell down there thick and fast,	La chaeient chevals souvent,
	and the men who fell with them	Si erent defolez vilment
	were badly trampled and injured,	Cil qui chaeient e laidi
4840	damaged and disfigured.	E empeirié e enlaidi.
	Count Geoffrey and his company	Li quens Geifreis o sa baniere
	rode on with such incredible speed that,	Poingneit si d'estrange maniere,
	when the King arrived, all those who should have been with	Quant li reis vint, qu'esloingnié furent
	him were in the far distance,	Tuit cil qui o lui estre durent,
	so that on his arrival	Si que li reis en son venir
	he was nowhere able to reach	Ne pout en nul liu avenir
	his opponents, for off they went	A lor genz, quer il s'en aloent,
	with the others in hot pursuit.	E cil durement les tesoent.
	Some were intent on performing well in combat,	Li un al bien faire tendoient,
4850	others were bent on booty,	Li autre al gaaing entendoient,
	and the King was greatly disturbed	Si que li reis fu angoissous
	by the fact that he had been left completely on his own.	De ce qu'il fu remés si sous.
	He saw a company belonging to the other side	Une bataille vit sor destre
	on his right, consisting of some	De lor gent, s'i poeient estre
	forty knights at least.	Quarante chevaliers al mains.
	With his lance in hand,	Une lance tint en ses mains;
	he galloped to engage them in combat,	Il lor corut sore a l'encontre;
	and the clash was so ferocious	Si tresdurement les acontre
	that his lance was shattered as easily	Qu'altresi peceia en eirre
4860	as if it had been made of glass.	Sa lance cum s'el fust de veirre;
	And those on the other side, who were very	E cil de la, qui grant gent erent,
	ous, soon took him by the bridle and brought him to a halt.	Par le frein tantost l'aresterent.
	They had come up from all sides,	De tutes parz furent venu;
	but the situation with the King was that,	E a lui fu si avenu
	out of his entire company,	Qu'il n'i out de tote sa gent
	all he had with him were	Ensemble o lui fors solement
	the Marshal, who was following closely	Le Mareschal, qui le suieit
	behind him, for it was his wont	De pres, quer costumiers esteit
	to be at his side in a difficult situation	D'estre pres de lui a besoing,
4870	and never be far away from him,	Quer il ne s'en teneit pas long.
	and William de Préaux,	E Willaumes, cil de Preials,
	who, that day, had just been taken prisoner	Qui le jor ert prisons novels,
	and had left the throng,	E s'ert departi de la flote
	and, in great secrecy, had donned	E out vestu de soz sa cote
	a hauberk under his tunic,	Un haubert molt priveement,
	and, apart from this, nothing more	E chapel de fer ensement
	than an iron cap on his head.	Olt al chef, sanz plus e sanz mains.
	The others had the King within their grasp;	E il tindrent entre lor mains
	each of them strove might and main	Li reis; chascuns d'els mist sa force
4880	to knock off his helmet by force.	D'abatre li son helme a force.
	The Marshal rode forward,	Li Mareschals tant s'avansa
	then launched himself into their midst;	Que tresdevant els se lansa;
	he dealt so many blows in front and behind him,	Tant feri avant e ariere,
	showed them so much the stuff he was made of,	Tant lor acointa sa maniere
	pushed and pulled to such an extent	E tant bota e tant sacha
	that he forced the harness	Que a force al rei esracha
	off the head of the King's horse,	La testiere de son cheval,
	together with the bridle, and pulled it to the ground.	O tot le frein, e traist aval;
	And William de Préaux took	E Willeaume de Preials prist
4890	the horse by the neck and put every effort	Le cheval par le col e mist
	into escaping the fray,	Grant peine a esir de l'estor,
	for those who were intent on capturing him	Quer molt li aloient entor
	had hemmed him in.	Cil quil voleient retenir.
	They tried hard to strike William	Molt se penoent de ferir
	as often as they could,	Willeaume de Preals souvent;
	but the King protected him skilfully	Li reis le couvreit sagement
	with his shield, so that they did not touch him	A son escu, qu'il n'ateingneient
	or do him injury.	A lui ne mal ne li faiseient,
	However, the force of their assault had been such	Mais tant se furent esforcié
4900	that they had torn the King's helmet	Qu'il ourent al rei esracié
	from his head,	Son healme a force de son chef;
	and that was a source of great annoyance to him.	Molt li pesa e li fu grief.
	The tussle lasted for a long time,	Li tooilz dura longement,
	but the Marshal hounded them,	Mais molt le faiseit durement
	fighting them with great ferocity	Li Mareschals quis herdoiout,
	and meting out powerful blows.	De granz coups i empleiout.
	The count of Flanders was filled with joy	Li cuens de Flandres s'esjoī
	when he heard the battle-cry raised by the King,	De la baniere qu'il oī
	there in the midst of that fray	Al rei qui esteit en l'estor,
4910	where he had been for some time.	E out esté piece de jor.
	There was no question now of holding back:	D'arester fu pus nule chose,
	now he rode hard to cut them off,	Einz lor corut a la forclose
	and, reaching them, overwhelmed them.	Sis desconfist en sun venir,
	The men who had tourneyed there	Que cil ne se porent tenir
	and were by now suffering from fatigue,	Qui le ici torneié avoient
	could not withstand the onslaught.	E qui trop travaillé esteient;
	[They fled] and were given chase,	Si fu la chace maintenue
	and every horse was given its head.	Que puis n'i out regne tenue.
	Count Geoffrey was greatly grieved by this	Molt pesa al conte Guiffrei
4920	and very much dismayed.	E molt en fu en grant effrei;
	Often he turned round to face his opponents,	Souventes feiz lor trestorneit,
	but nobody in his company turned to do the same,	Mais ove lui ne retorneit
	so there was no possibility of his standing his ground.	Nus; por ce n'i poeit remaindre.
	But when he was in a position to strike them,	Quant il poeit a els ateindre,
	they found the games he played were wicked ones,	Molt troveuent ses gieus porvers,
	and often he left them face up on the ground.	Souvent en i laissout d'envers.
	But, before the rout occurred,	Mais devant la desconfiture
	there was another incident	I avint une autre aventure
	which should have been recounted earlier;	Qui deüst estre devant dite;
4930	as I find it in my written source,	Mais si cum ge la truis escrite
	so should I relate it word for word.	La m'estuet dire mot a mot.
	It is not possible to resume in a sentence	L'en ne puet pas tot a un mot
	the whole course of a tournament,	Conter tot le conveiement
	or the blows dealt there.	Ne les coups d'un torneiement.
	Anyway, at the point where the King was thus making off,	Quant li reis s'en alout issi,
	Sir Herluin de Vancy,	Missire Herlins de Vanci,
	who was the seneschal of Flanders,	Seneschal de Flandres esteit,
	had at least thirty knights with him,	Bien trente chevaliers aveit
	outside the press of battle.	Ovoques lui ors de la presse.
4940	One of his knights galloped up	Uns siens chevaliers s'eslece,
	to inform his lord, Herluin.	A seignor Herlin le vait dire.
	"My lord," he said, "in God's name,	"Enom Deu!" fait il, "beal doz sire,
	look over there, the King is on the point of being captured.	Veez la le rei pres de pris,
	You take him and get the praise for it;	Pernez le, sin avrez le pris,
	he's already lost his helmet	Qu'il a ja son hialme perdu,
	and is much distraught by that."	Dont molt se tient a esperdu."
	When sir Herluin heard this,	Quant misires Herlins l'oī,
	his heart was filled with joy,	Molt durement s'en esjoī
	and he said: "He's ours, I think."	E dist: "Cist est nostre, ce cuit."
4950	They all spurred on at a fast gallop	Des esperons ferirent tuit
	in pursuit of the King.	Aprés le rei grant aleüre.
	The Marshal was not idle,	Li Mareschals ne s'aseüre,
	instead he rode to meet them with lance in hand.	Ainz muet d'une lance a encontre;
	They clashed so violently	Si tresdurement les encontre
	that his lance was completely shattered ....	Que sa lance tote depiece ....
	as far as his horse's hocks,	Dusque as jarrez de son chival,
	but I can assure you that he was soon upright again.	Mais tost fu redreciez sanz faille.
	The fight homed in around him;	Sor lui comence la bataille;
	they attacked him, and he defended.	Cil l'asaillent, il se defent,
4960	Everything he struck was broken and split,	Quantqu'il ateint depiece e fent,
	shields were hacked to pieces, helmets staved in.	Decoupe escuz, enbarre hielmes.
	My lord William the Marshal performed so many feats	Tant fist li Marescal Willelmes
	that nobody present had the slightest idea	Unques nul de cels qui la vint
	what had become of the King.	Ne seurent qui li reis devint.
	Afterwards, the King, those who witnessed the event,	Puis dist li reis e cil quil virent
	and those who heard speak of it,	E cil qui parler en oīrent
	said that never before had finer blows been witnessed	Qu'ains plus beau coups ne fu veüz
	from a single knight, or known of,	D'un sol chevalier ne seüz
	as those dealt by the Marshal that day.	Que li Mareschals fist le jor;
4970	The bravest amongst them gave him high praise for this.	Molt l'en loerent li meillor.

This text was translated by Stewart Gregory, with the assistance of David Crouch. We thank Ian Short of the Anglo-Norman Text Society and David Crouch for their permission and assistance in republishing this section.