Here begynneth the table of the rubryshys of the boke of the fayt of armes and of chyualrye whiche sayd boke is departyd in to foure partyes ...

¶ Deuyseth yet the manere of rengynge of bataylles / ¶Capitulo / xxiiij /

Howe be it that it is sayd here by fore and after of the maners of fyghtynge and of rengynge of an oost / sayen thauncyent that of thys matyere haue spoken that the best manyere to gyue a bataylle is in roundnes and that men putte many bataylles in the fore fronte / and at that syde that they knowe theyre enemyes shall come they shal kepe hem self by gode ordynaunce wel nyghe clos togy∣der / and wyth peyne shal they mowe be ouercome nor descon¦fyted thoughe that theyre enemyes be moo than they •• And yf it fall so that the aduersaryes be of lesse folke / the bata¦ylle ought to be then ordred and made in manere of a hors shoo / and thus saythe he thou shalt stoppe hem aboute yf thou goo to hyt wysely / And yf the other be foyson of folke ordeyne ye the bataylle as wyth a sharp ende before for to perse forth / But late the capytayne be wel aduysed sayth vegece / that at that same owre that the bataylle shall assem¦ble he chaunge not thys manere of ordre nor lede not bere nor there noo nombre of peple ont of theyre ordynaunce / For that were for to destroye all / and shold putte trouble in hys bataylles / Nor nothyng profyteth more in a bataylle saith he / than to kepe the ordre that ought there to be kepte wyth the interualle or dystance that ought for to be betwix euery rowe / For men ought to see by grete cure that they ouerpresse not eche other / and that they also large not no∣ther

y^e one from that other but shal kepe themself in couena∣ble ordre togider / For they y^t were to nyghe eche other shuld lese theyre strokys and theyre fyghtyng for lacke of more rowme and space & that one shuld so lette that other / Al¦so they that were ouer large ordred shuld gyue to theyre ennemyes an entree thrughe theym self / And so were they in parell to be broken and sparpeylled a brode / Wherof the fere that they shuld haue to see theyre ennemyes so co∣men wythyn them / shuld yelde hem as dysperate and lo∣ste / ¶Yet sayth vegece / that by fayre ordre ought to make an yssue in to the felde where as the capytayne by dyuerse tymes shal haue putte hem in ordynaunce for to shew vnto theyme / how that they ought to maynten and be haue hem self when the bataylle shal come in hande / the fyrst bataylle so ordred as it ought for to be / and the secon¦de bataylle after and the other so that the ordynaunce be in euery poynt kepte as it is sayd by fore / And som capytay∣ne sayth he hath had a manyere to tourne theyre batayl∣le in a square and syn in a manere of a tryangle that men called at that bersuell / ¶And thys manere of ordyna∣unce hath proffyted muche in bataylle / And whan eny grete strengthe of ennemyes dyde comme vpon hem / they putte hem self in a rounde and the best to the formest rowe and so kepte theyrs that they tourned not for to flee and that they were not ouer charged wyth to grete a dommay∣ge / ¶And a manyere had the auncyent that they putte neuer al theyre folke in one assemblee / but made many bataylles / to thende they that were fresshe shuld comme for to socoure & helpe theym that were wery / And bythys waye with peyne they myght be dysconfyted all for that whi¦che one bataille loste / that other bataille recoured hyt ayen

¶Neuertheles al dedes of bataylle ben doon at alaventure / wherfore noon ought to trust therto in hope to haue the bettre of hyt by cause that often tymes it falleth al contra∣ry to that / whiche men thought a fore / ¶ Example he∣rof / For who shuld euer haue trowed that that of the ••yght grete oostes and grete assemblees of men of the Car¦tagyens / and of the rommayns that werred eche other / shulde the slawghter and occysyon be soo equall in a bata∣ylle / that ones be felle bytwene hem / ¶For there abode not one man a lyve of neythre of bothe partyes / ¶Item he sayth / that that day that the bataylle must be It is couenable for men for to ete lytyl to thende they haue a lon∣ger breth and that they may be the more lyght and more moeuable / But som goode wyne ought men to drynke who that may / by cause that the wyne moevyth the spyrytes and the strengthes of man so that it be mesu∣rably taken / ¶And it happeth of tymes sayth he that almost all the corages of men are troubled in hem self whan they shal goo to the bataylle / but to theym that be fyrst chaffed and angry is the force and hardynes encre¦ced wythyn hem / and doo forgete al parell / ¶And ther¦fore the wyse capytayne for to gyue a cause vnto hye∣men to be more fyers and hardy / ought for to haue had them fyrst at a scarmysshe ayenst the aduersaryes to then¦de that for the strokys and sorys that they haue receyued of them they may be in anger and chaffed vpon them ¶ And yet he sayth that the lasse wyse and the lasse bolde are wont for to gyue vp the escr••e by fore that the bataylle be bygonne Whyche thyng ought not for to be doo / ¶ But the callyng and the scry ought to be wyth the fyrst strookys / ¶ The auncyent had a

respecte in thassemblyng of theyre bataylles that the men of armes were not made a ferde in bataylle by the scrye and alarme that the landysshe peple or comons maken som tyme / ¶And therfore they instructed and aduysed them therof by certeyn sowne of a trompette / ¶ Also thoo that be not excersyced in armes nor lerned Redoubten sore the bataylle / And therfore the boke sayth / that suche men ought to be occupyed in other thynges than in fayttys of werre / ¶For thoos that neuer sawe noo man kylde nor noo shedyng of bloode they are a ferde to see hyt / And for thys cause whan they ben atte hyt / theyre thoughte is more to flee / than to fyght / and thus they may lette more / than doo eny auayll atte lest yf they be not put vndre the Rule of som good captaynes / ¶ Som saye that they ought to be putte by fore all the other to gyder / And som sayen nay / but ought to be medled emonge the goode / ¶Yet agayne / for to speke short∣ly by recapytulacyon of that that is couenable to be ke¦pt in the ordynaunce of bataylles after the teghyng of the noble auncyent / ther ben seuen thynges wherupon the gode capytayne ought to take kepe vnto / ¶The fyrst is that he haue take fyrst the aduauntayge of the place yf he may as it is sayde a fore where as he shall haue sette hys peple in fayre ordynaunce / ¶The se∣conde / that they be at the one syde of them shelded or paueysed with hylles that nought may lette them / or ellis with the see or wyth a ryuere or som other thynge that shall lette that noon ennemyes shall conne come vpon them of that syde / ¶The thyrde / that they haue nother sonne nor wynde that can combre theyre fyght wyth pouldre or glysteryng / The fourth y^t muche couenable is to

them that they shal knowe yf they can the astate of theyre ennemyes / What nombre of peple they haue whiche waye they comme and in whyche array / ¶And what ordre they kepe / For after the knowlege of the same they may ordeyne and sette hem self to the best for to abyde and to re∣ceyue them / ¶The fyfthe / that they be not mated nor tra∣ueylled nor made the more feble for honger / ¶The syxth that they muste be al of one corage and purpos for to kepe the place / and to be wyllyng rather to dey than for to flee aw¦aye / ¶And thus suche men shal not be brought lyghtly vnto noo manere of dysconfyture / ¶And the seuenth is that theyre ennemyes knowe not what theyre entencyon and purpoos is / nor what they thinke for to doo / nor what cours they wyl take / ¶Neuerthelesse after that / that it is sayd a boue the falles and the aduentures of the batayl∣les ben wondrefull and merueyllous / For hyt happeth at suche a tyme as god wylle helpe that one partye and nought that other / ¶As it dyde fall that tyme whan the rommayns fought som tyme wyth the two myghty kynges of Oryent Iugurta and Boctyus / ¶For at that tyme as the hete of the sonne was so brennynge boot and so feruent that almost hyt smoldred the rommayns / sodaynly rose vp awynde so myghty and so grete that the archers shot / of whyche thees two kynges had foyson / had as almost noo vertue / and syn came a rayne that refress¦hed al the rommayns whiche thyng was contrary to y^e other by cause hyt slaked the cordes of theyre bowes / & theyre ele∣phantes wherof a grete plente was there whiche is a beste that can not wel suffre wet nor watre a boute hem / myght vnnethe moeue hem self & y^e girdell that helde vp the castell vpon theyre backes were also slaked and the castelles char¦ged

wyth water that sore combred them / ¶And by thys manere of waye the Rommayns that al redy had recoured theyre strengthe by the refresshyng of the rayne / dyde en∣vaysshe so vygourously theyre ennemyes / that how be it that they were muche lasse in quantyte of peple yet they ob∣teyned and had the victorye /