hen we say a little less (or it may have been a little
more) than 20,000 fighting men, we mean that the "men-at-arms" (that is,
fully equipped, mounted men, for the most part gentlemen), together with
not 4000 Welsh and Border Infantry, and approximately 10,000 Archers,
bring us near to that total.

But an army of the fourteenth century was accompanied by a number of
servants, at least equal to its mounted armed gentry: men who saw to the
equipment and service of the knights. No man at arms was fit to pass
through a campaign without at least one aide, if only for armouring; and
for all the doubtfulness of the records, we know that the Yeoman Archers
were also served by men who carried a portion of their equipment, and who
saw to their supply in action. It is impossible to make any computation at
all accurate of the extra rations this organisation involved, nor of what
proportion of these uncounted units could be used in the fighting. We are
perhaps safe in saying that the total number who landed were not double
the fighting men actually counted, and that Edward's whole force certainly
was much more than 20,000 but almost as certainly not 40,000 men. We must
imagine, all told, perhaps 5000 horses to have been assembled with the
force for transport over sea: others would be seized for transport on the
march. It is remarkable that Edward carefully organised certain small
auxiliary bodies, smiths, artificers, etc., and took with him five
cannon.[1]

It was not until Tuesday, the 11th of July, that the very large fleet
which the King had pressed for the service was able to sail from the
Solent and Spithead. It crossed in the night with a northerly breeze, and
appeared upon the following morning off St Vaast.

St Vaast lies in a little recess of the north-eastern coast of the
Cotentin, protected from all winds blowing from the outer Channel, and
only open to such seas as can be raised in the estuary of the Seine by a
south-easterly breeze. It was therefore, seeing the direction of the wind
under which they had sailed, upon a calm shore that this considerable
expedition disembarked. We may presume, under such circumstances, that
though Edward had announced his decision of sailing for _southern_ France,
the point of disembarkation had been carefully settled, and that a course
had been laid for it.

A small force composed of local levies had been raised to resist the
landing. It was able to effect nothing, and was easily disp