The Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon 1119. 1119. King Henry, in the fifty-second year after the Normans conquered England, and in the nineteenth year of his reign, fought a great battle with the King of France¹. That king placed the first division of his army under the command of William, the son of Eobert, King Henry's brother, supporting him with the main body of his army* On the other side, King Henry posted his [Norman] vassals in the first line; the second, consisting of his household troops, he led himself on horseback; in the third, he placed his sons, with the main body of infantry. At the outset, the first line of the French unhorsed and quickly dispersed the Norman knights. It afterwards attacked the, division which Henry himself commanded, and was itself routed. The troops imder the command of the two kings now met, and the battle raged fiercely; the lances were shivered, and they fought with swords. At this time, William Crispin² twice struck King Henry on the head, and though his helmet was sword-proof, the violence of the blow forced it a little into the king's fore-head, so that blood gushed forth. The king, however, returned the blow on his assailant with such force, that though his helmet was impenetrable, the horse and its rider were struck to the ground, and the knight was pre sently taken prisoner in the king's presence. Meanwhile, the infantiy, with whom the king's sons were posted, not being yet engaged, but waiting for the signal, levelled their spears, and charged the enemy. Upon which the French were suddenly daunted, and broke their ranks, and fled. King Henry, thus victorious, remained on the field until all file nobles of the defeated araiy were taken prisoners and brought before him. He then retiuned to Eouen, while the bells were ringing, and the clergy were chanting hymns of thanksgiving to the Lord God of hosts. This glorious victory has been thus celebrated in heroic verse:

Where Noyon's tow'rs rise o*er the plain.

And Oise flows onward to the Seine,

Two banner'd hosts in ranks advance:

Here, Lewis leads the powers of France;

Henry of England, there, commands His English and his Norman bands

See his arm the foremost crush.

The island spearmen onward rash;

While the bold chivalry of France

Recoils before the Norman lance;

And mattered oaths reveal their shame,

As they curse the conqueror's name.

So distant ages long shall tell

Of gallant Henry, first to quell

On his own soil the Frenchman's pride,

Where Noyon's field with blood was dyed;

And conq'ring England's mighty son

The spoils and laurell'd trophies won.

Note 1. Henry of Huntingdon omits mentioning in the text of his history where the battle was fought, but the verses which follow supply the name at the place, Noyon. We are indebted to Henry of Huntingdon for a fiill account of this very important and decisive action, of which the Saxon Gbreniele S'ves only a slight notice. Indeed, from this time, or shortly afterwards, enry of Huntingdon assumes the character of an original historian of events contemporary with the period in which he lived.

Note 2. Count of Evreux.