From Heraldry to History: the Death of Giles D'argentan Andrew Taylor

From Heraldry to History: The Death of Giles D’Argentan Andrew Taylor John Barbour’s sources for the Bruce have always attracted much discussion. This essay considers the contribution of heraldic narrative, whether written or oral, focus- ing on the example of Giles D’Argentan. It concludes that such narratives may indeed be more significant for the Bruce and other chivalric romances than previously thought. Keywords: Giles D’Argentan; Bannockburn; John Barbour; Walter Bower; Bruce; Edward Bruce; chivalry; Edward II; Jean Froissart; Thomas Gray; Gib Harper; heralds; heraldic narrative; Otterburn; Robert le Roy; Scalachronica; Scotichronicon. At a certain point, neither family pride, nor loyalty to one’s comrades or king, nor years of indoctrination in chivalric values can withstand the basic human instinct to escape danger, and once the first man flees the others soon follow. So it was at Bannockburn. After several hours, the battle turned against the English. According to John Barbour’s account in his Bruce, when King Edward saw that the enemy’s army had grown so brave that his own men lacked the strength to withstand and had begun to flee, he himself was so greatly discouraged (“abaysyt sa gretumly”) that he and five hundred of his men took to flight in a great rush (“in-till a frusch”) (McDiarmid and Stevenson 1981: 3: 61; further references to Barbour’s Bruce will be to this edition, and will take the form of book and line numbers). Barbour adds, in fairness, that he has heard some men say that the king was led away against his will, before turning to one man who refused to withdraw: And quhen Schyr Gylis ye Argente Saw ye king yus and his mene Schap yaim to fley sa spedyly, He come rycht to ye king in hy And said “Schyr, sen it is sua Yat e yusgat our gat will ga Hawys gud day for agayne will I, eyt fled I neuer sekyrly And I cheys her to bid and dey Yan for to lyve schamly and fley”. Hys bridill but mar abad 26 Andrew Taylor He turnyt and agayne he rade And on Eduuard ye Bruys rout Yat was sa sturdy and sa stout As drede off nakyn thing had he He prikyt cryand “ye Argente”, And yai with speris swa him met And swa fele speris on him set Yat he and hors war chargyt swa Yat bathe till ye erd gan ga And in yat place yar slane wes he. (XIII: 299–319) Then Barbour provides his final assessment, and inscribes d’Argentan into history as the third best knight of his day: Off hys deid wes rycht gret pite, He wes ye thrid best knycht perfay Yat men wyst lywand in his day, He did mony a fayr iourne. On Saryzynys thre dereneys faucht he And in-till ilk derene off ya He wencussyt Saryzynys twa. His gret worschip tuk yar ending. (XIII: 320–27) Argentan’s bravery was rewarded with fame, for his defiant charge became a standard part of the medieval account of Bannockburn. The way this story took shape and circulated testifies to the strength of an oral tradition in which heralds, minstrels, and the knights themselves collaborated, burying fear and panic beneath dramatic accounts of conspicuous bravery. In their edition of the Bruce, Matthew McDiarmid and James Stevenson suggest that Barbour’s source for the account of Sir Giles d’Argenté or d’Argentan was a lost chronicle of the English minstrel and king of heralds, Robert le Roy (McDiarmid and Stevenson 1985: I: 38). McDiarmid and Stevenson take the suggestion from Walter Bower, who in his Scotichronicon of ca. 1440 also calls Argentan one of the three best knights of his day, and attributes this remark to Edward’s herald, “king Robert”, and also mentions that Argentan defeated two Saracens in each of two encounters (Watt et al. 1987–98: 7: 50–57). Bower refers to Argentan twice: first in his account of the battle itself, where he singles out his death for particular mention but says .

Load more