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FIGURE 1 Our cosmic address. These diagrams
show key levels of structure in our universe.
Universe
approx. size: 1021 km ≈ 100 million ly
Local Supercluster
approx. size: 3 x 1019 km ≈ 3 million ly
Local Group
Solar System
(not to scale)
Earth
Be sure to note that a light-year is a unit of distance, not of time. about 1500 light-years from Earth, which means we see it as
Light travels at the speed of light, which is 300,000 kilometers it looked about 1500 years ago—about the time of the fall of
per second. We therefore say that one light-second is about the Roman Empire. If any major events have occurred in the
300,000 kilometers, because that is the distance light travels Orion Nebula since that time, we cannot yet know about them
in one second. Similarly, one light-minute is the distance that because the light from these events has not yet reached us.
light travels in one minute, one light-hour is the distance that The general idea that light takes time to travel through
light travels in one hour, and so on. Mathematical Insight 1 space leads to a remarkable fact:
shows that light travels about 10 trillion kilometers in one year,
The farther away we look in distance, the further back
so that distance represents a light-year.
we look in time.
The Andromeda Galaxy (FIGURE 3) is about 2.5 million light-
Looking Back in Time The speed of light is extremely fast years away, which means we see it as it looked about 2.5 million
by earthly standards. It is so fast that if you could make light years ago. We see more distant galaxies as they were even further
go in circles, it could circle Earth nearly eight times in a single in the past. Some of the galaxies in the Hubble Space Telescope
second. Nevertheless, even light takes time to travel the vast dis- photo that opens the chapter are billions of light-years away,
tances in space. Light takes a little more than 1 second to reach meaning we see them as they were billions of years ago.
Earth from the Moon, and about 8 minutes to reach Earth from
the Sun. Stars are so far away that their light takes years to reach
us, which is why we measure their distances in light-years.
S E E I T F OR YO U R S E L F
The glow from the central region of the Andromeda Galaxy is
Consider Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, which faintly visible to the naked eye and easy to see with binoculars.
is located about 8 light-years away. Because it takes light Use a star chart to find it in the night sky. Contemplate the fact that
8 years to travel this distance, we see Sirius not as it is today, you are seeing light that spent 2.5 million years in space before
but rather as it was 8 years ago. The effect is more dramatic reaching your eyes. If students on a planet in the Andromeda
at greater distances. The Orion Nebula (FIGURE 2) is a giant Galaxy were looking at the Milky Way, what would they see?
Could they know that we exist here on Earth?
cloud in which stars and planets are forming. It is located
solar system The Sun and all the material that orbits it, including
TERMS RELATING TO MOTION
planets, dwarf planets, and small solar system bodies. Although the
term solar system technically refers only to our own star system (solar rotation The spinning of an object around its axis. For example,
means “of the Sun”), it is often applied to other star systems as well. Earth rotates once each day around its axis, which is an imaginary
star system A star (sometimes more than one star) and any planets line connecting the North and South Poles.
and other materials that orbit it. orbit (revolution) The orbital motion of one object around another
galaxy A great island of stars in space, containing from a few due to gravity. For example, Earth orbits the Sun once each year.
hundred million to a trillion or more stars, all held together by expansion (of the universe) The increase in the average distance
gravity and orbiting a common center. between galaxies as time progresses.
4
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
Cassiopeia
Betelgeuse
M31
Bellatrix
Orion’s
belt
VIS Andromeda
Orion
Nebula Pegasus VIS
Orion’s
sword
Rigel
Saiph
It’s also amazing to realize that any “snapshot” of a distant ago*—which means we see it as it was when the universe was
galaxy is a picture of both space and time. For example, half its current age. If we look at a galaxy that is 12 billion
because the Andromeda Galaxy is about 100,000 light-years light-years away (like the most distant ones in the Hubble
in diameter, the light we currently see from the far side of the Space Telescope photo), we see it as it was 12 billion years
galaxy must have left on its journey to us some 100,000 years ago, when the universe was only 2 billion years old. And if we
before the light we see from the near side. Figure 3 therefore tried to look beyond 14 billion light-years, we’d be looking
shows different parts of the galaxy spread over a time period to a time more than 14 billion years ago—which is before the
of 100,000 years. When we study the universe, it is impossible universe existed and therefore means that there is nothing
to separate space and time. to see. This distance of 14 billion light-years therefore marks
the boundary (or horizon) of our observable universe—the
The Observable Universe As we’ll discuss in Section 2, portion of the entire universe that we can potentially observe.
astronomers estimate that the universe is about 14 billion Note that this fact does not put any limit on the size of the
years old. This fact, combined with the fact that looking deep
into space means looking far back in time, places a limit on
the portion of the universe that we can see, even in principle.
*Distances to faraway galaxies must be defined carefully in an expanding
FIGURE 4 shows the idea. If we look at a galaxy that is 7 universe; distances like those given here are based on the time it has taken a
billion light-years away, we see it as it looked 7 billion years galaxy’s light to reach us (called the lookback time).
Far: We see a galaxy 7 billion light-years away Farther: We see a galaxy 12 billion light-years The limit of our observable universe:
as it was 7 billion years ago–when the universe away as it was 12 billion years ago–when the Light from nearly 14 billion light-years away
was about half its current age of 14 billion years. universe was only about 2 billion years old. shows the universe as it looked shortly
after the Big Bang, before galaxies existed.
FIGURE 4 The farther away we look in space, the further back we look in time. The
age of the universe therefore puts a limit on the size of the observable universe—the portion of the
entire universe that we can observe, at least in principle.
5
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
Y ou’ve probably heard people say things like “It will take me
light-years to finish this homework!” But a statement like
this one doesn’t make sense, because light-years are a unit of
you to walk through it. The Voyage scale model solar system
in Washington, D.C., makes such a walk possible (FIGURE 5).
The Voyage model shows the Sun and the planets, and the dis-
distance, not time. If you are unsure whether the term light-year tances between them, at one ten-billionth of their actual sizes
is being used correctly, try testing the statement by using the
fact that 1 light-year is about 10 trillion kilometers, or 6 trillion
and distances.
miles. The statement then reads “It will take me 6 trillion miles FIGURE 6a shows the Sun and planets at their correct sizes
to finish this homework,” which clearly does not make sense. (but not distances) on the Voyage scale. The model Sun is
about the size of a large grapefruit, Jupiter is about the size of a
marble, and Earth is about the size of the ball point in a pen.
entire universe, which may be far larger than our observa- You can immediately see some key facts about our solar
ble universe. We simply have no hope of seeing or studying system. For example, the Sun is far larger than any of the
anything beyond the bounds of our observable universe. planets; in mass, the Sun outweighs all the planets combined
by a factor of nearly 1000. The planets also vary considerably
in size: The storm on Jupiter known as the Great Red Spot
Scale of the Universe Tutorial, Lessons 1–3 (visible near Jupiter’s lower left in the painting) could swal-
low up the entire Earth.
How big is the universe? The scale of the solar system is even more remarkable when
Figure 1 put numbers on the sizes of different structures in you combine the sizes shown in Figure 6a with the distances
the universe, but these numbers have little meaning for most illustrated by the map of the Voyage model in FIGURE 6b. For
people—after all, they are literally astronomical. Therefore, example, the ball-point-size Earth is located about 15 meters
to help you develop a greater appreciation of our modern (16.5 yards) from the grapefruit-size Sun, which means you
view of the universe, we’ll discuss a few ways of putting these can picture Earth’s orbit as a circle of radius 15 meters around
numbers into perspective. a grapefruit.
MAT H E M AT ICA L I N S I G H T 1
How Far Is a Light-Year?
Math Review Video: Problem Solving Part 1
An Introduction to Astronomical Problem Solving
We can develop greater insight into astronomical ideas by applying “If you drive at 50 kilometers per hour, how far will you travel in
mathematics. The key to using mathematics is to approach problems 2 hours?” You’ll realize that you simply multiply the speed by the time:
in a clear and organized way. One simple approach uses the follow- distance = speed * time. In this case, the speed is the speed of light,
ing three steps: or 300,000 km/s, and the time is 1 year.
Step 1 Understand the problem: Ask yourself what the solution Step 2 Solve the problem: From Step 1, our equation is that 1 light-
will look like (for example, what units will it have? will it be big or year is the speed of light times one year. To make the units
small?) and what information you need to solve the problem. Draw a consistent, we convert 1 year to seconds by remembering that there
diagram or think of a simpler analogous problem to help you decide are 60 seconds in 1 minute, 60 minutes in 1 hour, 24 hours in 1 day,
how to solve it. and 365 days in 1 year. We now carry out the calculations:
Step 2 Solve the problem: Carry out the necessary calculations.
1 light@year = (speed of light) * (1 yr)
Step 3 Explain your result: Be sure that your answer makes sense,
km 365 days
and consider what you’ve learned by solving the problem. = a300,000 b * a1 yr *
s 1 yr
You can remember this process as “Understand, Solve, and Explain,” 24 hr 60 min 60 s
or USE for short. You may not always need to write out the three * * * b
1 day 1 hr 1 min
steps explicitly, but they may help if you are stuck. = 9,460,000,000,000 km (9.46 trillion km)
E XAM P L E : How far is a light-year? Step 3 Explain your result: In sentence form, our answer is “One
light-year is about 9.46 trillion kilometers.” This answer makes
SOL U T I O N : Let’s use the three-step process.
sense: It has the expected units of distance (kilometers) and it is a
Step 1 Understand the problem: The question asks how far, so we are long way, which we expect for the distance that light can travel in a
looking for a distance. In this case, the definition of a light-year tells year. We say “about” in the answer because we know it is not exact.
us that we are looking for the distance that light can travel in 1 year. For example, a year is not exactly 365 days long. In fact, for most
We know that light travels at the speed of light, so we are looking for purposes, we can approximate the answer further as “One light-year
an equation that gives us distance from speed. If you don’t remember is about 10 trillion kilometers.”
this equation, just think of a simpler but analogous problem, such as
6
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Jupiter Mars
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto Sun
Eris
a The scaled sizes (but not distances) of the Sun, planets, and two largest known dwarf planets.
Venus to
Capitol
Pluto Neptune Uranus Saturn Jupiter Mars SUN
Hill
to Washington
Monument Mercury
7th Earth
St
Art and Industries Hirshhorn National Air and Space Museum
Building Museum
b Locations of the Sun and planets in the Voyage model, Washington, D.C.; the distance from the Sun to Pluto is about
600 meters (1/3 mile). Planets are lined up in the model, but in reality each planet orbits the Sun independently and a
perfect alignment never occurs.
FIGURE 6 The Voyage scale model represents the solar system at one ten-billionth of its actual size. Pluto is included in
the Voyage model, which was built before the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet.
7
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
VIS
Omega
Centauri
(globular
cluster)
Gamma
Centauri
Centaurus
Alpha
Centauri Beta Crux
Centauri (Southern
Cross)
FIGURE 7 This famous photograph from the first Moon landing FIGURE 8 This photograph and diagram show the constellation
(Apollo 11 in July 1969) shows astronaut Buzz Aldrin, with Neil Centaurus, which is visible from tropical and southern latitudes.
Armstrong reflected in his visor. Armstrong was the first to step Alpha Centauri’s real distance of 4.4 light-years is 4400 kilometers
onto the Moon’s surface, saying, “That’s one small step for a man, on the 1-to-10-billion Voyage scale.
one giant leap for mankind.”
Distances to the Stars If you visit the Voyage model in about 4.4 light-years away. That distance is about 4400 kilometers
Washington, D.C., you can walk the roughly 600-meter distance (2700 miles) on the 1-to-10-billion scale, or roughly equivalent
from the Sun to Pluto in just a few minutes. How much farther to the distance across the United States.
would you have to walk to reach the next star on this scale? The tremendous distances to the stars give us some perspec-
Amazingly, you would need to walk to California. If tive on the technological challenge of astronomy. For exam-
this answer seems hard to believe, you can check it for ple, because the largest star of the Alpha Centauri system is
yourself. A light-year is about 10 trillion kilometers, which roughly the same size and brightness as our Sun, viewing it in
becomes 1000 kilometers on the 1-to-10-billion scale (because the night sky is somewhat like being in Washington, D.C., and
10 trillion , 10 billion = 1000). The nearest star system to our seeing a very bright grapefruit in San Francisco (neglecting the
own, a three-star system called Alpha Centauri (FIGURE 8), is problems introduced by the curvature of Earth). It may seem
SP E C IA L TO P IC
How Many Planets Are There in Our Solar System?
Until recently, children were taught that our solar system had nine When Pluto was discovered in 1930, it was assumed to be simi-
planets. However, in 2006 astronomers voted to demote Pluto to a lar to other planets. But we now know that Pluto is much smaller
dwarf planet, leaving our solar system with only eight official planets than any of the first eight planets and that it shares the outer solar
(FIGURE 1). Why the change? system with thousands of other icy objects. Still, as long as Pluto was
the largest known of these objects, most astronomers were content
to leave the planetary status quo. Change was forced by the 2005
discovery of an object called Eris. Because Eris is slightly larger
than Pluto, astronomers could no longer avoid the question of what
objects should count as planets.
Official decisions on astronomical names and definitions rest with
the International Astronomical Union (IAU), an organization made
up of professional astronomers from around the world. The ques-
tion of Pluto’s status was voted upon during the IAU’s 2006 meeting.
The result was the new definition of “planet” that you see in the Basic
Astronomical Definitions box, and the addition of the “dwarf planet”
category to accommodate objects like Pluto and Eris.
Not all astronomers are happy with the new definitions, but for
now they seem likely to hold. Of course, some people are likely to keep
thinking of Pluto as a planet regardless of what professional astrono-
mers say, much as many people still talk of Europe and Asia as separate
continents even though both belong to the same land mass (Eurasia).
FIGURE 1 Notes left at the Voyage scale model solar system Pluto So if you’re a Pluto fan, don’t despair: It’s good to know the official clas-
plaque upon Pluto’s demotion to dwarf planet. sifications, but it’s better to understand the science behind them.
8
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
remarkable that we can see the star at all, but the blackness of
the night sky allows the naked eye to see it as a faint dot of light. CO MMO N MI SCO NCEPTI O NS
It looks much brighter through powerful telescopes, but we still Confusing Very Different Things
cannot see features of the star’s surface.
Now, consider the difficulty of detecting planets orbiting
nearby stars, which is equivalent to looking from Washington,
M ost people are familiar with the terms solar system and
galaxy, but few realize how incredibly different they are.
Our solar system is a single star system, while our galaxy is a
D.C., and trying to find ball points or marbles orbiting grape- collection of more than 100 billion star systems—so many that
it would take thousands of years just to count them. Moreover,
fruits in California or beyond. When you consider this chal- if you look at the sizes in Figure 1, you’ll see that our galaxy
lenge, it is all the more remarkable to realize that we now is about 100 million times larger in diameter than our solar
have technology capable of finding such planets. system. So be careful; numerically speaking, mixing up solar
The vast distances to the stars also offer a sobering lesson system and galaxy is a gigantic mistake!
about interstellar travel. Although science fiction shows like
Star Trek and Star Wars make such travel look easy, the reality
is far different. Consider the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Launched in the separations among star systems in our region of the Milky
1977, Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981, Uranus Way Galaxy. We therefore cannot use the 1-to-10-billion scale
in 1986, and Neptune in 1989. It is now bound for the stars at a for thinking about distances beyond the nearest stars, because
speed of close to 50,000 kilometers per hour—about 100 times more distant stars would not fit on Earth with this scale. To
as fast as a speeding bullet. But even at this speed, Voyager 2 visualize the galaxy, let’s reduce our scale by another factor of
would take about 100,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri if it 1 billion (making it a scale of 1 to 1019).
were headed in that direction (which it’s not). Convenient On this new scale, each light-year becomes 1 millimeter, and
interstellar travel remains well beyond our present technology. the 100,000-light-year diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy becomes
100 meters, or about the length of a football field. Visualize a foot-
The Size of the Milky Way Galaxy The vast separa- ball field with a scale model of our galaxy centered over midfield.
tion between our solar system and Alpha Centauri is typical of Our entire solar system is a microscopic dot located around the
M AT H E M ATI CA L I N S I G H T 2
The Scale of Space and Time Math Review Video: Scientific Notation, Parts 1 to 3
Making a scale model usually requires nothing more than division. For We’ve found that on the 1-to-10-billion scale the Sun’s radius is
example, in a 1-to-20 architectural scale model, a building that is actu- about 7 centimeters, which is a diameter of about 14 centimeters—
ally 6 meters tall will be only 6 , 20 = 0.3 meter tall. The idea is the about the size of a large grapefruit.
same for astronomical scaling, except that we usually divide by such large
EXAMPLE 2: What scale allows the 100,000-light-year diameter of the
numbers that it’s easier to work in scientific notation—that is, with the aid
Milky Way Galaxy to fit on a 100-meter-long football field?
of powers of 10.
SOLUTION :
EXAMPLE 1: How big is the Sun on a 1-to-10-billion scale?
Step 1 Understand: We want to know how many times larger the
SOLUTION:
actual diameter of the galaxy is than 100 meters, so we’ll divide the
Step 1 Understand: We are looking for the scaled size of the Sun, so actual diameter by 100 meters. To carry out the division, we’ll need
we simply need to divide its actual radius by 10 billion, or 1010. The both numbers in the same units. We can put the galaxy’s diameter
Sun’s radius is 695,000 km, or 6.95 * 105 km in scientific notation. in meters by using the fact that a light-year is about 1013 kilometers
(see Mathematical Insight 1) and a kilometer is 103 meters; because
Step 2 Solve: We carry out the division: we are working with powers of 10, we’ll write the galaxy’s 100,000-light-
actual radius year diameter as 105 ly.
scaled radius =
1010
Step 2 Solve: We now convert the units and carry out the division:
6.95 * 105 km
=
1010 1013 km 103 m
105 ly * *
= 6.95 * 10(5 - 10) km = 6.95 * 10-5 km galaxy diameter 1 ly 1 km
=
football field diameter 102 m
Notice that we used the rule that dividing powers of 10 means
subtracting their exponents. = 10(5 + 13 + 3 - 2) = 1019
Step 3 Explain: We have found an answer, but because most of us Note that the answer has no units, because it simply tells us how
don’t have a good sense of what 10−5 kilometer looks like, the answer many times larger one thing is than the other.
will be more meaningful if we convert it to units that will be easier to
interpret. In this case, because there are 1000 (103) meters in a kilometer Step 3 Explain: We’ve found that we need a scale of 1 to 1019 to
and 100 (102) centimeters in a meter, we convert to centimeters: make the galaxy fit on a football field.
103 m 102 cm
6.95 * 10-5 km * * = 6.95 cm
1 km 1m
9
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
20-yard line. The 4.4-light-year separation between our solar The Observable Universe As incredible as the
system and Alpha Centauri becomes just 4.4 millimeters on this scale of our galaxy may seem, the Milky Way is only one of
scale—smaller than the width of your little finger. If you stood roughly 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Just
at the position of our solar system in this model, millions of star as it would take thousands of years to count the stars in the
systems would lie within reach of your arms. Milky Way, it would take thousands of years to count all the
Another way to put the galaxy into perspective is to consider galaxies.
its number of stars—more than 100 billion. Imagine that Think for a moment about the total number of stars in all
tonight you are having difficulty falling asleep (perhaps because these galaxies. If we assume 100 billion stars per galaxy, the
you are contemplating the scale of the universe). Instead of total number of stars in the observable universe is roughly
counting sheep, you decide to count stars. If you are able to 100 billion * 100 billion, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
count about one star each second, how long would it take you (1022). How big is this number? Visit a beach. Run your hands
to count 100 billion stars in the Milky Way? Clearly, the answer through the fine-grained sand. Imagine counting each tiny
is 100 billion (1011) seconds, but how long is that? Amazingly, grain of sand as it slips through your fingers. Then imagine
100 billion seconds is more than 3000 years. (You can confirm counting every grain of sand on the beach and continuing to
this by dividing 100 billion by the number of seconds in 1 year.) count every grain of dry sand on every beach on Earth (see
You would need thousands of years just to count the stars in the Mathematical Insight 3). If you could actually complete this
Milky Way Galaxy, and this assumes you never take a break— task, you would find that the number of grains of sand is
no sleeping, no eating, and absolutely no dying! comparable to the number of stars in the observable universe
(FIGURE 9).
T HIN K A B O U T IT
Contemplate the fact that it would take more than 3000 years
just to count out loud the stars in our galaxy, and that each
star is a potential sun for a system of planets. How does this TH I NK ABO U T I T
perspective affect your thoughts about the possibilities for find- Overall, how does visualizing Earth to scale affect your perspec-
ing life—or intelligent life—beyond Earth? Explain. tive on our planet and on human existence? Explain.
MAT H E M AT ICA L I N S I G H T 3
Order of Magnitude Estimation
In astronomy, numbers are often so large that an estimate can be useful volume of sand, counting the number of grains in this volume, and
even if it’s good only to about the nearest power of 10. For example, then dividing the volume by the number of grains. If you do this, you’ll
when we multiplied 100 billion stars per galaxy by 100 billion galaxies find that a reasonable order of magnitude estimate is one-tenth of a
to estimate that there are about 1022 stars in the observable universe, cubic millimeter, or 10−10 m3, per sand grain. We can estimate beach
we knew that the “ballpark” nature of these numbers means the actual width and depth from experience or photos of beaches. Typical widths
number of stars could easily be anywhere from about 1021 to 1023. are about 20 to 50 meters and typical sand depth is about 2 to 5 meters,
Estimates good to about the nearest power of 10 are called order of so we can make the numbers easy by assuming that the product of
magnitude estimates. beach width times depth is about 100 square meters, or 102 m2. The
total length of sandy beach on Earth is more difficult to estimate,
E X A M P L E : Verify the claim that the number of grains of (dry) sand but you can look online and find that it is less than about 1 million
on all the beaches on Earth is comparable to the number of stars in kilometers, or 109 m.
the observable universe.
Step 2 Solve: We already have our equation and all the numbers we
SOL U T I O N : need, so we just put them in; note that we group beach width and
depth together, since we estimated them together in Step 1:
Step 1 Understand: To verify the claim, we need to estimate the
number of grains of sand and see if it is close to our estimate of 1022 beach length * (beach width * beach depth)
stars. We can estimate the total number of sand grains by dividing total sand grains =
average volume of 1 sand grain
the total volume of sand on Earth’s beaches by the average volume
of an individual sand grain. Volume is equal to length times width 109 m * 102 m2
=
times depth, so the total volume is the total length of sandy beach on 10-10 m3
Earth multiplied by the typical width and depth of dry sand. That is,
= 10[9 + 2 - ( - 10)] = 1021
total volume of beach sand
total sand grains =
average volume of 1 sand grain Step 3 Explain: Our order of magnitude estimate for the total number
beach length * beach width * beach depth of grains of dry sand on all the beaches on Earth is 1021, which is
= within a factor of 10 of the estimated 1022 stars in the observable
average volume of 1 sand grain
universe. Because both numbers could easily be off by a factor of 10
We now need numbers to put into the equation. We can estimate the or more, we cannot say with certainty that one is larger than the other,
average volume of an individual sand grain by measuring out a small but the numbers are clearly comparable.
10
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
11
C O S M I C C ON T E X T F IGU RE 10 Our Cosmic Origins
1 Birth of the Universe: The expansion of the universe began with the hot
and dense Big Bang. The cubes show how one region of the universe has
expanded with time. The universe continues to expand, but on smaller
scales gravity has pulled matter together to make galaxies.
4 Earth and Life: By the time our solar system was born, 41/2 billion years
ago, about 2% of the original hydrogen and helium had been converted into
heavier elements. We are therefore “star stuff,” because we and our planet
are made from elements manufactured in stars that lived and died long ago.
12
2 Galaxies as Cosmic Recycling Plants: The early universe contained only
two chemical elements: hydrogen and helium. All other elements were made
by stars and recycled from one stellar generation to the next within galaxies
like our Milky Way.
3 Life Cycles of Stars: Many generations of stars have lived and died in the
Milky Way.
13
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
S M T W T
JANUARY
F S
FEBRUARY
S M T W T F S
MARCH
S M T W T F S S M
APRIL
T W T F S
DECEMBER
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 S M T W T F S
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 24
31 25 26 27 28 29 30 28 29 30 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST
S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S 15 16 17 The 18 19 20 21
1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 Cambrian
explosion
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Rise of the
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 dinosaurs
23
26 27 28 29 30 31 30 24 25 26 27 28 29 28 29 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 30 (7:00 A.M.) 31
29
Dinosaurs
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER extinct
S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 27 28 29 30 31 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 29 30 31
FIGURE 11 The cosmic calendar compresses the 14-billion-year history of the universe into 1 year,
so each month represents a little more than 1 billion years. This cosmic calendar is adapted from a
version created by Carl Sagan.
How do our lifetimes compare to the was born about 0.05 second ago, around 11:59:59.95 p.m. on
age of the universe? the cosmic calendar. On the scale of cosmic time, the human
We can put the 14-billion-year age of the universe into species is the youngest of infants, and a human lifetime is a
perspective by imagining this time compressed into a single mere blink of an eye.
year, so each month represents a little more than 1 billion
years. On this cosmic calendar, the Big Bang occurred at
the first instant of January 1 and the present is the stroke of TH I NK ABO U T I T
How does an understanding of the scale of time affect your
midnight on December 31 (FIGURE 11).
view of human civilization? Explain.
On this time scale, the Milky Way Galaxy probably
formed in February. Many generations of stars lived and died
in the subsequent cosmic months, enriching the galaxy with
the “star stuff ” from which we and our planet are made. 3 SPACESHIP EARTH
Our solar system and our planet did not form until early
September on this scale (412 billion years ago in real time). Wherever you are as you read this book, you probably have
By late September, life on Earth was flourishing. However, the feeling that you’re “just sitting here.” Nothing could be
for most of Earth’s history, living organisms remained rela- further from the truth. As we’ll discuss in this section, all
tively primitive and microscopic. On the scale of the cosmic of us are moving through space in so many ways that noted
calendar, recognizable animals became prominent only in inventor and philosopher R. Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983)
mid-December. Early dinosaurs appeared on the day after described us as travelers on spaceship Earth.
Christmas. Then, in a cosmic instant, the dinosaurs disap-
peared forever—probably because of the impact of an asteroid How is Earth moving through space?
or a comet. In real time the death of the dinosaurs occurred As you “sit” on spaceship Earth, you are in fact being spun in
some 65 million years ago, but on the cosmic calendar it circles as Earth rotates, you are racing around the Sun in Earth’s
was only yesterday. With the dinosaurs gone, small furry orbit, you are circling the galactic center with our Sun, and you
mammals inherited Earth. Some 60 million years later, or are careening through the cosmos in the Milky Way Galaxy.
around 9 p.m. on December 31 of the cosmic calendar, early Let’s explore each of these motions in a little more detail.
hominids (human ancestors) began to walk upright.
Perhaps the most astonishing fact about the cosmic calen- Rotation and Orbit The most basic motions of Earth
dar is that the entire history of human civilization falls into are its daily rotation (spin) and its yearly orbit (or revolution)
just the last half-minute. The ancient Egyptians built the around the Sun.
pyramids only about 11 seconds ago on this scale. About Earth rotates once each day around its axis, which is
1 second ago, Kepler and Galileo proved that Earth orbits the imaginary line connecting the North Pole to the South
the Sun rather than vice versa. The average college student Pole. Earth rotates from west to east—counterclockwise as
14
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
1 second ago:
December 31:
Kepler and Galileo
9:00 pm: 11:58 pm: 25 seconds ago: 11 seconds ago: show that Earth
Early hominids evolve Modern humans evolve Agriculture arises Pyramids built orbits the Sun Now
DECEMBER 31
Morning...
12:00 noon
1:00 pm
2:00 pm
3:00 pm
4:00 pm
5:00 pm
6:00 pm
7:00 pm
8:00 pm
9:00 pm
10:00 pm
11:00 pm
11:58 pm
11:59 pm
12:00 midnight
viewed from above the North Pole—which is why the Sun 100,000 kilometers per hour (60,000 miles per hour), which
and stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west each is faster than any spacecraft yet launched.
day. Although the physical effects of rotation are so subtle As you study Figure 13, notice that Earth’s orbital path
that our ancestors assumed the heavens revolved around us, defines a flat plane that we call the ecliptic plane. Earth’s axis
the rotation speed is substantial (FIGURE 12): Unless you live is tilted by 2312° from a line perpendicular to the ecliptic plane.
very near the North or South Pole, you are whirling around This axis tilt happens to be oriented so that the axis points
Earth’s axis at a speed of more than 1000 kilometers per hour almost directly at a star called Polaris, or the North Star. Keep
(600 miles per hour)—faster than most airplanes travel. in mind that the idea of axis tilt makes sense only in relation
At the same time as it is rotating, Earth also orbits the Sun, to the ecliptic plane. That is, the idea of “tilt” by itself has no
completing one orbit each year (FIGURE 13). Earth’s orbital meaning in space, where there is no absolute up or down. In
distance varies slightly over the course of each year, but as space, “up” and “down” mean only “away from the center of
we discussed earlier, the average distance is one astronomi- Earth” (or another planet) and “toward the center of Earth,”
cal unit (AU), which is about 150 million kilometers. Again, respectively.
even though we don’t feel this motion, the speed is impres-
sive: We are racing around the Sun at a speed in excess of T HINK A B OU T I T
If there is no up or down in space, why do you think that most
globes and maps have the North Pole on top? Would it be
Earth rotates from . . . which means counterclockwise
west to east . . . as viewed from above the North Pole. equally correct to have the South Pole on top or to turn a globe
sideways? Explain.
0 km兾hr
1670 km兾hr
23 2 °
1
1 AU
ecliptic plane
1275 km兾hr axi (not to scale!)
s
FIGURE 12 As Earth rotates, your speed around Earth’s axis FIGURE 13 Earth orbits the Sun at a surprisingly high speed.
depends on your location: The closer you are to the equator, the Notice that Earth both rotates and orbits counterclockwise as
faster you travel with rotation. viewed from above the North Pole.
15
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
Notice also that Earth orbits the Sun in the same direction In 500,000 years they will be unrecognizable. If you could
that it rotates on its axis: counterclockwise as viewed from watch a time-lapse movie made over millions of years, you
above the North Pole. This is not a coincidence but a conse- would see stars racing across our sky.
quence of the way our planet was born. Strong evidence indi-
cates that Earth and the other planets were born in a spin-
ning disk of gas that surrounded our Sun when it was young, TH I NK ABO U T I T
and Earth rotates and orbits in the same direction that the Despite the chaos of motion in the local solar neighborhood
over millions and billions of years, collisions between star
disk was spinning.
systems are extremely rare. Explain why. (Hint: Consider the
sizes of star systems, such as the solar system, relative to the
Motion Within the Local Solar Neighborhood distances between them.)
Rotation and orbit are only a small part of the travels of space-
ship Earth. Our entire solar system is on a great journey with-
Galactic Rotation If you look closely at leaves floating in
in the Milky Way Galaxy. There are two major components to
a stream, their motions relative to one another might appear
this motion, both shown in FIGURE 14. Let’s begin with our
random, just like the motions of stars in the local solar neigh-
motion relative to other stars in our local solar neighborhood,
borhood. As you widen your view, you see that all the leaves are
by which we mean the region of the Sun and nearby stars.
being carried in the same general direction by the downstream
To get a sense of the size of our local solar neighborhood
current. In the same way, as we widen our view beyond the local
relative to the galaxy, imagine drawing a tiny dot on the paint-
solar neighborhood, the seemingly random motions of its stars
ing of the galaxy. Because the galaxy contains at least 100 billion
give way to a simpler and even faster motion: rotation of the
stars, even a dot that is 10,000 times smaller than the whole
Milky Way Galaxy. Our solar system, located about 27,000 light-
painting will cover a region representing more than 10 million
years from the galactic center, completes one orbit of the galaxy
stars (because 100 billion , 10,000 = 10 million). We usually
in about 230 million years. Even if you could watch from outside
think of our local solar neighborhood as a region containing
our galaxy, this motion would be unnoticeable to your naked
just a few thousand to a few million of the nearest stars.
eye. However, if you calculate the speed of our solar system as
The arrows in the box in Figure 14 indicate that stars in
we orbit the center of the galaxy, you will find that it is close to
our local solar neighborhood move essentially at random
800,000 kilometers (500,000 miles) per hour.
relative to one another. The speeds are quite fast: On average,
Careful study of the galaxy’s rotation reveals one of the great-
our Sun is moving relative to nearby stars at a speed of about
est mysteries in science. Stars at different distances from the
70,000 kilometers per hour (40,000 miles per hour), almost
galactic center orbit at different speeds, and we can learn how
three times as fast as the Space Station orbits Earth.
mass is distributed in the galaxy by measuring these speeds. Such
Given these high speeds, you might wonder why we don’t
studies indicate that the stars in the disk of the galaxy represent
see stars racing around our sky. The answer lies in their vast
only the “tip of the iceberg” compared to the mass of the entire
distances from us. You’ve probably noticed that a distant airplane
galaxy (FIGURE 15). Most of the mass of the galaxy seems to be
appears to move through your sky more slowly than one flying
located outside the visible disk (occupying the galactic halo
close overhead. Stars are so far away that even at speeds of
that surrounds and encompasses the disk), but the matter that
70,000 kilometers per hour, their motions would be notice-
makes up this mass is completely invisible to our telescopes. We
able to the naked eye only if we watched them for thousands
therefore know very little about the nature of this matter, which
of years. That is why the patterns in the constellations seem
we refer to as dark matter (because of the lack of light from
to remain fixed. Nevertheless, in 10,000 years the constel-
it). Studies of other galaxies suggest that they also are made
lations will be noticeably different from those we see today.
mostly of dark matter, which means this mysterious matter
must significantly outweigh the ordinary matter that makes up
planets and stars. We know even less about the mysterious dark
energy that seems to make up much of the total energy content
illion-year o
0-m rb of the universe.
Sun 23 i
t
16
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
FIGURE 15 This painting shows an edge-on view of the Milky Way Galaxy. Study of galactic rotation
shows that although most visible stars lie in the central bulge or thin disk, most of the mass lies in
the halo that surrounds and encompasses the disk. Because this mass emits no light that we have
detected, we call it dark matter.
M AT H E M ATI CA L I N S I G H T 4
Speeds of Rotation and Orbit Math Review Video: Problem Solving, Part 3
Building upon prior Mathematical Insights, we will now see how EXAMPLE 2: How fast is Earth orbiting the Sun?
simple formulas—such as the formula for the circumference of a
SOLUTION :
circle—expand the range of astronomical problems we can solve.
Step 1 Understand: We are again asked how fast and therefore need
EXAMPLE 1: How fast is a person on Earth’s equator moving with
to divide a distance by a time. In this case, the distance is the circum-
Earth’s rotation?
ference of Earth’s orbit, and the time is the 1 year that Earth takes to
SOLUTION: complete each orbit.
Step 1 Understand: The question how fast tells us we are looking for Step 2 Solve: Earth’s average distance from the Sun is 1 AU, or about
a speed. If you remember that highway speeds are posted in miles 150 million (1.5 * 108) km, so the orbit circumference is about
(or kilometers) per hour, you’ll realize that speed is a distance (such 2 * p * 1.5 * 108 km ≈ 9.40 * 108 km. The orbital speed is this
as miles) divided by a time (such as hours). In this case, the distance is distance divided by the time of 1 year, which we convert to hours so
Earth’s equatorial circumference, because that is how far a person at the that we end up with units of km/hr:
equator travels with each rotation (see Figure 12); we’ll therefore use
the formula for the circumference of a circle, C = 2 * p * radius. orbital circumference
orbital speed =
The time is 24 hours, because that is how long each rotation takes. 1 yr
Step 2 Solve: Earth’s equatorial radius is 6378 km, so its circumference 9.40 * 108 km km
= ≈ 107,000
is 2 * p * 6378 km = 40,074 km. We divide this distance by the 365 day 24 hr hr
1 yr * *
time of 24 hours: yr day
equatorial circumference
rotation speed at equator =
length of day Step 3 Explain: Earth orbits the Sun at an average speed of about
40,074 km km 107,000 km/hr (66,000 mi/hr). Most “speeding bullets” travel
= = 1670 between about 500 and 1000 km/hr, so Earth’s orbital speed is more
24 hr hr
than 100 times as fast as a speeding bullet.
Step 3 Explain: A person at the equator is moving with Earth’s
rotation at a speed of about 1670 kilometers per hour, which is a
little over 1000 miles per hour, or about twice the flying speed of a
commercial jet.
17
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
Galaxies are approaching each other head-on, it will be billions 3 centimeters after baking, which means it moves a distance
of years before any collision begins. of 2 centimeters away from the Local Raisin during the hour
When we look outside the Local Group, however, we of baking. Hence, its speed as seen from the Local Raisin is
find two astonishing facts recognized in the 1920s by Edwin 2 centimeters per hour. Raisin 2 moves from a distance of
Hubble, for whom the Hubble Space Telescope was named: 2 centimeters before baking to a distance of 6 centimeters
after baking, which means it moves a distance of 4 centim-
1. Virtually every galaxy outside the Local Group is moving
eters away from the Local Raisin during the hour. Hence, its
away from us.
speed is 4 centimeters per hour, or twice the speed of Raisin
2. The more distant the galaxy, the faster it appears to be 1. Generalizing, the fact that the cake is expanding means
racing away. that all the raisins are moving away from the Local Raisin,
with more distant raisins moving away faster.
These facts might make it sound as if we suffered from a
cosmic case of chicken pox, but there is a much more natural
explanation: The entire universe is expanding. You can under-
stand the basic idea by thinking about a raisin cake baking in TH I NK ABO U T I T
an oven. Suppose a raisin started out 10 centimeters from the Local
Raisin. How far away would it be after one hour, and how fast
would it be moving away from the Local Raisin?
The Raisin Cake Analogy Imagine that you make a
raisin cake in which the distance between adjacent raisins
is 1 centimeter. You place the cake into the oven, where it
expands as it bakes. After 1 hour, you remove the cake, which Hubble’s discovery that galaxies are moving in much the
has expanded so that the distance between adjacent raisins same way as the raisins in the cake, with most moving away
has increased to 3 centimeters (FIGURE 16). The expansion of from us and more distant ones moving away faster, implies
the cake seems fairly obvious. But what would you see if you that the universe is expanding much like the raisin cake. If
lived in the cake, as we live in the universe? you now imagine the Local Raisin as representing our Local
Pick any raisin (it doesn’t matter which one) and call it the Group of galaxies and the other raisins as representing more
Local Raisin. Figure 16 shows one possible choice, with three distant galaxies or clusters of galaxies, you have a basic
nearby raisins also labeled. The accompanying table summa- picture of the expansion of the universe. Like the expanding
rizes what you would see if you lived within the Local Raisin. dough between the raisins in the cake, space itself is grow-
Notice, for example, that Raisin 1 starts out at a distance ing between galaxies. More distant galaxies move away from
of 1 centimeter before baking and ends up at a distance of us faster because they are carried along with this expansion
like the raisins in the expanding cake. Many billions of light-
years away, we see galaxies moving away from us at speeds
approaching the speed of light.
1
1 cm
1 cm The Real Universe There’s at least one important dis-
cm Before baking: raisins
3 are all 1 cm apart. tinction between the raisin cake and the universe: A cake
2
1
Local Raisin has a center and edges, but we do not think the same is true
From an outside Distances and Speeds as Seen from the Local Raisin
perspective, the cake 1
expands uniformly as hr Raisin Distance Distance After
it bakes . . . Number Before Baking Baking (1 hour later) Speed
After baking:
3 cm raisins are all 1 1 cm 3 cm 2 cm/hr
3 cm 3 cm apart.
3 cm 2 2 cm 6 cm 4 cm/hr
3
Local 2
3 3 cm 9 cm 6 cm/hr
Raisin 1
f f f f
18
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
Earth rotates around its axis once each day, carrying people
in most parts of the world around the axis at more than 1000 km/hr.
Earth orbits the Sun once each year, moving at more than 100,000 km/hr.
The Solar System moves relative to nearby stars, typically at a speed of 70,000 km/hr.
The Milky Way Galaxy rotates, carrying our Sun around its center
once every 230 million years, at a speed of about 800,000 km/hr.
FIGURE 17 This figure summarizes the basic motions of Earth in the universe, along with their asso-
ciated speeds.
of the entire universe. Anyone living in any galaxy in an 4 THE HUMAN ADVENTURE OF
expanding universe sees just what we see—other galaxies
moving away, with more distant ones moving away faster.
ASTRONOMY
Because the view from each point in the universe is about In relatively few words, we’ve laid out a fairly complete over-
the same, no place can claim to be more “central” than any view of modern scientific ideas about the universe. But our goal
other place. in this text is not simply for you to be able to recite these ideas.
It’s also important to realize that, unlike the case with a Rather, it is to help you understand the evidence that supports
raisin cake, we can’t actually see galaxies moving apart with them and the extraordinary story of how they developed.
time—the distances are too vast for any motion to be notice-
able on the time scale of a human life. Instead, we measure
the speeds of galaxies by spreading their light into spectra and
How has the study of astronomy
observing what we call Doppler shifts. This illustrates how
affected human history?
modern astronomy depends both on careful observations and Astronomy is a human adventure in the sense that it affects
on using current understanding of the laws of nature to explain everyone—even those who have never looked at the sky—
what we see. because the history of astronomy has been so deeply inter-
twined with the development of civilization. Revolutions in
Motion Summary FIGURE 17 summarizes the motions astronomy have gone hand in hand with the revolutions in
we have discussed. As we have seen, we are never truly sitting science and technology that have shaped modern life.
still. We spin around Earth’s axis at more than 1000 kilometers Witness the repercussions of the Copernican revolution,
per hour, while our planet orbits the Sun at more than which showed us that Earth is not the center of the universe
100,000 kilometers per hour. Our solar system moves among but rather just one planet orbiting the Sun. This revolution
the stars of the local solar neighborhood at typical speeds began when Copernicus published his idea of a Sun-centered
of 70,000 kilometers per hour, while also orbiting the center of solar system in 1543. Three later figures—Tycho Brahe,
the Milky Way Galaxy at a speed of about 800,000 kilometers Johannes Kepler, and Galileo—provided the key evidence
per hour. Our galaxy moves among the other galaxies of the that eventually led to wide acceptance of the Copernican idea.
Local Group, while all other galaxies move away from us The revolution culminated with Isaac Newton’s uncovering
at speeds that grow greater with distance in our expanding of the laws of motion and gravity. Newton’s work, in turn,
universe. Spaceship Earth is carrying us on a remarkable became the foundation of physics that helped fuel the indus-
journey. trial revolution.
19
A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE
More recently, the development of space travel and the As you learn about astronomical discovery, try to keep in
computer revolution have helped fuel tremendous progress mind the context of the human adventure. You will then be
in astronomy. We’ve sent probes to all the planets in our learning not just about a science, but also about one of the
solar system, and many of our most powerful observatories, great forces that has shaped our modern world.
including the Hubble Space Telescope, reside in space. On These forces will continue to play a role in our future. What
the ground, computer design and control have led to tremen- will it mean to us when we learn the nature of dark matter
dous growth in the size and power of telescopes. and dark energy? How will our view of Earth change when
Many of these efforts, and the achievements they spawned, we learn whether life is common or rare in the universe? Only
led to profound social change. The most famous example is the time may answer these questions, but this text will give you
fate of Galileo, whom the Vatican put under house arrest in 1633 the foundation you need to understand how we changed
for his claims that Earth orbits the Sun. Although the Church from a primitive people looking at patterns in the night sky
soon recognized that Galileo was right, he was formally vindi- to a civilization capable of asking deep questions about our
cated only in 1992 with a statement by Pope John Paul II. In the existence.
meantime, his case spurred great debate in religious circles and
profoundly influenced both theological and scientific thinking.
1
S
2
M
DECEMBER
3
T W T
4 5 6
F
7
S
SEPTEMBER
S M T W T F S
old, and a human lifetime lasts
DECEMBER
S M T W T F S
15 16 17 The
Cambrian
explosion
18 19 20 21
20
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In consequence of this resolution, the official of the town was sent
to the king at Pont de l'Arche to obtain a safe conduct for certain
persons therein named, to treat of peace,—which being granted, the
official returned to the archbishop and the duke. The archbishop,
and some knights and esquires on the part of the duke of Somerset,
together with certain of the townsmen, were sent to Port St
Ouen[55], within a league of Pont de l'Arche, where they met, on the
part of the king of France, his lieutenant-general the count de
Dunois, the chancellor of France, the seneschal of Poitou, sir William
de Cousinot, and some others. They had a long conference, in which
the deputies from Rouen insisted on a general amnesty being
granted, and that such as chose might depart with the English, and
all who preferred to stay should have the enjoyment of their
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their party should have safe conducts for themselves and their
effects, when they marched away. All these demands having been
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The archbishop and his companions then departed, to make their
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in the night, they could not do it until the following day. On the 18th,
therefore, the archbishop and the other deputies went very early to
the town-hall, and related every thing that had passed between
them and the ministers from the king of France, which was very
agreeable to the inhabitants, but sorely displeasing to the English,
who, when they saw the strong inclinations of the townsmen to turn
to the french interest, were greatly astonished, more especially the
duke of Somerset and the lord Talbot. They therefore left the town-
hall much discontented, and, instantly arming themselves, withdrew
to the government-palace, the bridges, and portals of the castle.
The citizens, having observed their motions, began to take alarm,
and armed themselves also. They, as well as the English, kept up a
strong guard the whole of this Saturday, and likewise during the
night; but the townsmen, anxious to expel the English for refusing to
accept of the terms the deputies had agreed to, sent a messenger to
Pont de l'Arche, who arrived there on Sunday by day-break, to
inform the king, that if he would send a force to their relief, it should
have free entrance into the town.
On this same Sunday, the 19th day of October, about eight o'clock in
the morning, the whole of the inhabitants were under arms, and on
their guard against any attempts of the English,—when they
attacked all of that nation whom they found in the streets so sharply
that it was with difficulty that they could join their companions on
the bridge, and in the palace and castle. In the pursuit, from seven
to eight English were killed,—and the townsmen gained possession,
in the interim, of the principal gates of the town.
The count de Dunois lost no time in hastening to the relief of Rouen,
but instantly mounted his horse, attended by a large company of
men at arms. In the number was Flocquet, bailiff of Evreux; but in
his hurry, he forgot to put his greaves on, and was so badly kicked
by one of the horses of his troop that his leg was broken, and he
was carried back to be cured at Pont de l'Arche, after he had given
the command of his men to the lord de Maulny.
On the arrival of this force before Rouen, those within St Catherine's
were summoned to surrender the place to the king of France, who
had, during the summons, set out from Pont de l'Arche, grandly
accompanied by men at arms and archers, to appear personally
before the walls of Rouen. He had ordered his artillery to be
charged, for an immediate attack on his arrival at St Catherine's,
although there was no necessity,—for the governor of the place,
having six score English under his orders, seeing so noble a
company, and knowing that the king was on the road, fearful also of
the event, if he made any resistance, surrendered it to the count de
Dunois, and he and his garrison marched away whither they
pleased. The bailiff of Evreux was appointed governor, until the king
should otherwise dispose of it. A herald was sent with the english
garrison of St Catherine's, to answer for their safety, and to conduct
them to Port St Ouen. On their march, they met the king, who bade
them take nothing from the poor people without paying for it; but as
they said they had no money, he gave them the sum of one hundred
francs to defray the expences,—and then they continued their march
with their baggage, of which, indeed, they had little, to Honfleur, or
wherever else they pleased. The king took up his quarters that night
at St Catherine's, with the intent to accomplish his enterprise.
To gain the city of Rouen, the count de Dunois, the count de Nevers,
the lord d'Orval, the lord de Blainville and the lord de Maulny,
advanced with all their men, with the king's banners displayed,
before that gate of Rouen called Martinville, and drew up in battle-
array near to the bulwark of the gate. The citizens came out with the
keys of the gates and presented them to the count de Dunois,—at
the same time pressing him to enter the town with as many of his
men as he pleased. The count replied, that he would act as should
be most agreeable to them, when, after some further conversation
respecting the welfare of the city, sir Pierre de Brézé, seneschal of
Poitou, was ordered to enter with one hundred lances and his
archers, the lord de Maulny with the same number of lances, and
the archers of Robert de Flocques, and one hundred lances and
archers from the men of the count de Dunois.
They posted themselves as near to the English as they could,
namely the men of the count de Dunois in front of the government-
palace, in which were the duke of Somerset and lord Talbot, with
twelve hundred English,—the lord de Maulny between the palace
and the castle, and the seneschal of Poitou facing the castle. The
other captains were encamped in the fields, and posted in the
villages on the side toward the countries of Caux and Beauvoisis.
The king's army was a fine sight; for never, in the memory of man,
had the king so grand or so numerous an assembly of lords, barons,
knights and esquires, with common men, as were now under his
orders.
This evening, the English surrendered the bridge, the guard of which
was given to the lord de Herunville,—and, on the morrow, the gates
of the town were thrown open, for all to enter or go out as they
pleased.
The duke of Somerset was afflicted at heart to see the great army
the king had brought against him, and demanded a conference with
him. On this being told the king, he was well pleased to agree to it.
In consequence, the duke of Somerset set out, on the fifth day
afterward, from the palace, accompanied by a certain number of
persons, and by some of the king's heralds, who escorted him to St
Catherine's on the mount of Rouen, where the king received him,
attended by the king of Sicily, the count de Dunois, and others of his
council and blood: the patriarch of Antioch, the Archbishop of
Rouen, and other prelates, were likewise present. After the usual
salutations, and when the duke had paid his respects to the king, he
requested that his majesty would be pleased to allow him and lord
Talbot, with the men under their command, to march away with
their baggage in safety, according to the terms of the general
amnesty which had been agreed to by the lords of his council.
The king deliberately and prudently replied, that his request was
unreasonable, because they had refused to accept or adhere to the
terms of the amnesty; but in contempt of it had held, and now did
hold, the palace and castle contrary to his will, and had also done
every thing in their power to prevent the inhabitants of Rouen from
surrendering their town. The amnesty had, therefore, been annulled
by their own conduct; and before they were suffered to leave the
palace, Honfleur, Harfleur, and all places in the country of Caux, now
in the hands of the king of England, must be given up to him.
The duke of Somerset, on receiving this answer, took leave of the
king and returned to the palace, and saw every one, in all the
streets he passed through, wearing the white cross, which did not
tend to raise his spirits. He was escorted back by the counts of Eu
and of Clermont.
FOOTNOTES:
[55] St Ouen. I believe there must be some mistake, for there is
no St Ouen near to Pont de l'Arche; but a St Ouen seems to be
within a league of Elbeuf, which is near to Pont de l'Arche.
CHAP. XIII.
THE KING OF FRANCE BESIEGES THE DUKE OF
SOMERSET, LORD TALBOT, AND THEIR MEN, IN THE
GOVERNMENT-PALACE OF ROUEN.—THEY SURRENDER,
ON CONDITION OF BEING ALLOWED TO MARCH AWAY
ON YIELDING UP THE CASTLE OF ARQUES[56], AND
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED.
On Wednesday, the 22d of October the king of France commanded
the government-palace and the castle of Rouen to be besieged at
the same time. Eight hundred lances, with the archers, were ordered
on this service, who made deep trenches round the palace, as well
in the town as in the fields. Bombards and cannon were pointed
against the gates that opened to the country and town. All these
preparations greatly dismayed the duke of Somerset. Having
considered that there was very little provision or stores within the
palace, and a great many men, and that there was not a possibility
of his being relieved, he requested, on the 28th of the same month,
that the king would permit him to speak with him, which the king
kindly granted. The duke left the palace accompanied by about forty
of his principal knights and esquires: he was dressed in a long robe
of blue figured velvet, lined with sables, having on his head a
crimson-velvet bonnet, trimmed also with sables. The king's heralds
escorted him through the tower to the sallyport leading to St
Catherine's, where he was met by the count de Clermont, eldest son
to the duke of Bourbon, and other knights and esquires, who
conducted him to St Catherine's where the king received him very
kindly, in an apartment most richly decorated.
The king had with him, at this audience, the king of Sicily, the counts
of Maine, of Dunois, of Nevers, of Clermont, of St Pol, of Castres, of
Tancarville, the viscount of Loumaigne, and so many great lords and
knights that it would be tiresome to name them all. When the duke
had saluted the king, he requested that his majesty would be
pleased to grant to him, and the English in the palace and castle, the
same capitulation he had granted to the town.
The king replied aloud, and in handsome terms, that the same
capitulation had been granted them at the conference at St Ouen,
but that neither himself nor his countrymen, like ill-advised persons,
would accept of it: his request was therefore so unreasonable that
he could not grant it. The duke then took his leave of the king and
returned, with those who had accompanied him, to the palace,
escorted, for his security, by the counts of Clermont, of Eu, and of
Castres.
The king ordered the count de Dunois to push forward his
approaches to the palace with the greatest vigour, on the side
toward the country as well as on that toward the town. The
lieutenant-general obeyed this order with so much activity, valour
and prudence, that the English were completely blockaded in both
the castle and the palace.
The English now demanded a parley with the count de Dunois, and a
truce was concluded between them. The bailiff of Evreux, the
marshal de la Fayette, and others of the king's council were called in
to the conference, when the truce was prolonged from day to day,
for the space of twelve days, because the English would not leave
the lord Talbot as an hostage for the performance of the treaty. After
many discussions, it was at length agreed that the duke of
Somerset, lieutenant of the king of England, his lady, children, and
all the English within the palace and castle should depart in safety
with their effects whithersoever they pleased, leaving behind the
prisoners and heavy artillery. They were bound to pay the king of
France the sum of fifty thousand crowns within the twelvemonth,
and to those who had concluded this treaty six thousand. They also
promised faithfully to pay every thing they owed to the innkeepers,
townsmen, tradesmen and others of Rouen.
The duke of Somerset and his companions were besides bounden to
deliver up the castle of Arques, the town of Caudebec, the castle of
Tancarville, and L'isle-bonne, the towns of Honfleur and
Monstierville, to the king of France, or to such commissioners as he
should appoint to receive them. For the fulfilment of these
engagements, the duke of Somerset gave written promises, and also
left, as hostages for their performance, lord Talbot, the sons of lord
Abergavenny, of lord Roos, and of the duchess of Somerset, of the
earl of Ormond in Ireland, and two other english noblemen.
On the conclusion of this treaty, the duke of Somerset and the
English departed from the palace on the 4th day of November, and
went strait to the town of Harfleur,—some by water, others by land.
The hostages remained under the care of the king's commissaries in
Rouen. The duke of Somerset, before his departure, had directed sir
Thomas Hou and Fulk Hou[57] to restore to the king of France the
places mentioned in the treaty; which was done, excepting Honfleur,
—for the governor, called master Thomas Courson, refused to
surrender it,—and the lord Talbot, therefore, remained prisoner to
the king. On Monday, the 10th of November, the eve of the feast of
St Martin, the count de Dunois and the bailiff of Rouen had the
king's banner displayed from the castle, palace, and walls of the city,
by one of the king's heralds, and in the presence of the principal
inhabitants.
FOOTNOTES:
[56] Arques,—two leagues from Dieppe.
[57] Sir Thomas Hou, &c. Q. Howe? Berry changes the names
into Heu and Heston. See Hollingshed, &c.
CHAP. XIV.
THE KING OF FRANCE MAKES A GRAND ENTRY INTO
ROUEN.—HE IS SUMPTUOUSLY RECEIVED.—THE ENGLISH
RESTORE TO THE KING THE CASTLE OF ARGUES,
CAUDEBEC, TANCARVILLE, MONSTIERVILLE, &c.
While the negotiations were carrying on with the English, the king of
France celebrated the feasts of All-saints in St Catherine's with the
utmost joy on seeing his enemies fall before him,—and he returned
thanks to God for the good fortune that was daily pouring in upon
him. The count de Dunois having restored good government in the
town of Rouen, the king prepared to make his solemn entry into it.
He set out from St Catherine's on this same Monday, about one
o'clock after midday, attended by the king of Sicily, and several great
princes, as well of his blood as otherwise, with his army drawn out in
handsome array. First marched his archers, the leaders of whom
were dressed in striped jackets of red, white and green, covered
with embroidery. After these came the archers of the king of Sicily,
of the count du Maine, and of other great lords, to the number of six
hundred, well mounted, and all armed with plate armour, under
jackets of various colours, having greaves, swords, daggers and
helmets, richly ornamented with silver. The king appointed the lords
de Preuilly and de Cléré, sir Theaulde de Valperge, and a few more,
to command them, who had their horses covered with satin
housings of different forms and colours.
After the archers came the heralds of the king of France, the king of
Sicily, and the other princes in company with the king, all dressed in
their tabards of arms,—and with them were some pursuivants. Then
came the trumpeters and clarions, who sounded so loudly that it was
very melodious, and gave much delight to hear them: the king's
trumpeters were clothed in crimson, having their sleeves covered
with embroidery.
Next came sir William Juvenal des Ursins, knight, lord of Trainel and
chancellor of France, dressed in his robes of ceremony, namely, a
robe, mantle and hood of scarlet, trimmed with minever, and on
each of his shoulders were golden ribbands, interlaced with strips of
fur. Before him walked two footmen, leading by the bridle a white
hackney, covered with a housing of blue velvet, besprinkled with
flowers de luce and gold tissue. On this housing was placed a small
coffer, covered also with blue velvet and flowers de luce in
silversmith's work, in which were the seals of the king. After him
rode an equerry of the stables, called Pierre Fonteville[58], fully
armed, and mounted on a charger covered with housings of azure
velvet, having great clasps of silver gilt: he had on his head a
pointed hat, with the point trimmed with crimson-velvet and ermine.
He bore before him, in a scarf, the royal mantle of scarlet,
ornamented with purple fringes and ermine. Next came, without any
interval between him and the king, the lord de Saintrailles, grand
equerry of the royal stables, and bailiff of Berry. He was in complete
armour, mounted on a charger with similar housings and clasps as
the said Fonteville, and bore in a scarf the royal sword of state,
whose handle, cross and sheath, were covered with blue velvet,
besprinkled with flowers de luce of gold.
Then came the king, in complete armour, on a stately charger with
housings, reaching to the ground, of blue velvet, covered with
flowers de luce in embroidery. On his head was a beaver hat lined
with crimson velvet, having on the crown a tuft of gold thread. He
was followed by his pages dressed in crimson,—their sleeves
covered with silver plates, the armour of their horses' heads was of
fine gold, variously ornamented, and with plumes of ostrich feathers
of divers colours. On the right of the king rode the king of Sicily, and
on the left his brother the count of Maine, both in full armour, their
horses richly ornamented, with similar housings, having white
crosses, and their devices intermixed with tufts of gold thread. Their
pages' horses had the like housings,—but their head-armour was of
fine gold with their devices.
After them came the counts de Nevers, de St Pol, and de Clermont.
The first was mounted, fully armed, on a charger covered with green
velvet embroidered with gold, and followed by three pages dressed
in violet and black: he was also accompanied by twelve gentlemen
completely armed, mounted on horses covered with violet-coloured
satin: each housing bore a white cross, except one whose housing
was of green satin. The count de St Pol was likewise in full armour,
mounted on a charger having a housing of black satin covered with
silversmith's work and embroidery. His five pages were clothed in
black satin, slashed below, which slashes were covered with
silversmith's work: the housings of their horses were the same. One
of them bore a lance covered with crimson-velvet, another a lance
covered with figured gold tissue, and the third bore on his head an
helmet of fine gold richly ornamented; and behind these pages was
his groom handsomely dressed, with the housings of his horse
similar to the others, leading a handsome charger in hand. The
count de Clermont was also completely armed, mounted on his
charger covered with housings of his livery, as were his pages.
The lord de Culant, grand master of the king's household, (having
the command of a battalion of six hundred lances, each having a
pennoncel of crimson satin with a golden sun in the center,) followed
the pages of the king, in complete armour, a hat on his head, and
mounted on a charger covered with a housing of blue and red velvet
in stripes, each stripe having a large golden or silver leaf: the
armour of his horse was similarly ornamented. He wore round his
neck a baldrick of pure gold, that hung down below the crupper of
his horse. With the lord de Culant was an esquire called Rogerin
Blosset, equerry of the stables to the king, who bore the royal
standard of crimson satin, having the figure of St Michael in the
center, and besprinkled with leaves of gold.
Jean de Scaenville was also in the rear of the king: he was
surnamed Havart, bailiff of Dreux and esquire-carver to the king,
and bore the royal pennon, which was of azure velvet, with three
flowers de luce embroidered thereon in gold, and the border of this
pennon was of large pearls.
In their attendance on the king were numbers of great lords, such as
the viscount de Lomagne, the count de Castres, Ferry lord of
Lorraine, sir John his brother, the lord d'Orval, the count de
Tancarville, the lord de Montgascon, son to the count de Boulogne
and Auvergne, the lord de Jalognes marshal of France, the lord de
Beauveau, and more than I can remember, all clad in complete
armour, and their horses covered with housings of velvet or satin,
having on each a white cross.
Thus did the king advance until he came within bow-shot of the
beauvoisine gate, near to the carthusian convent, where the count
de Dunois, his lieutenant-general, came out to meet him, mounted
on a charger covered with crimson velvet, and himself dressed in a
crimson-velvet jacket trimmed with sables: he was girt with a
magnificent sword, whose pummel was set with diamonds, pearls
and rubies, to the Value of fifteen thousand crowns. The seneschal
of Poitou, and Jacques Coeur, master of the king's wardrobe,
attended him mounted on chargers covered and clad like to the
lieutenant-general. The bailiff of Evreux and sir William Cousinot
were also there,—the first mounted on a charger covered with
crimson velvet, and himself clad in the same stuff. Sir William
Cousinot had lately been nominated bailiff of Rouen, and was
dressed in blue velvet with rich clasps of silver gilt: his horse had
housings of the same.
The lieutenant-general had brought from the town, to do reverence
to the king, the archbishop of Rouen, the bishops of Lisieux, Bayeux,
and Coutances, and the principal inhabitants. When these prelates
had done their obeisance, they returned into the town, leaving the
citizens, who were very numerous, clad in blue with red hoods, with
the lieutenant, who presented them to the king. After paying their
humble reverence, they delivered the keys of their town into the
hands of the king, as their sovereign lord; and after many fine
speeches from them, which he heard with kindness, he gave the
keys to the before-mentioned seneschal, appointing him governor of
the place.
The king then began his entrance into the city in the same order as I
have described; but the moment he began to move a procession of
prelates and churchmen, in their pontifical habits, regulars and
seculars, bearing jewels and relics, and accompanied by the four
mendicant orders, came out to meet him, singing 'Te Deum
laudamus,' for the joyful arrival of the king of France, their sovereign
lord. They placed themselves before the chancellor of France, the
lord de la Fayette marshal of France, the lord de Gaucourt first
chamberlain to the king, the lord de Presseigny, and Jacques Coeur,
who all had their horses covered with velvet and satin, and had
jackets of the same with white crosses. The count de Dunois placed
himself directly before the king, near to the equerry of the stables.
It is certain, that in the memory of man, never was king seen with
such a handsome body of chivalry, so finely dressed, nor so great a
number of men at arms as the king of France had with him on his
regaining his good city of Rouen. At the entrance of the gates, a
youth, aged about twelve or thirteen years, and son to the lord de
Presseigny, was knighted by the seneschal of Poitou. At the gate of
the bulwark were four of the most distinguished of the citizens with
an exceedingly rich canopy, which they held over the head of the
king until he came to the church of our Lady in Rouen. All round this
gate, and on the bulwark, were immense crowds of people, who, on
the king's entrance in the midst of his men at arms, sang carols for
joy at the happy event. In all the squares were different pageants: in
one was a fountain ornamented with the arms of the town, namely,
a lamb, who spouted out liquors from his horns. Elsewhere was a
tyger with its young ones, who were admiring themselves in looking
glasses; and near to the church of our Lady was a flying stag,
sumptuously made, having on his neck a crown,—and he kneeled
down, by way of reverence to the king as he passed on his way to
the church.
At this place were the count de Dunois with lord Talbot and the
english hostages at a window to see the pageant: the last were very
pensive, and hurt at heart, on witnessing a sight so disagreeable to
their interests. The king dismounted on his arrival before the church,
where he was received by the archbishop and his clergy, richly
dressed in their copes. Having entered the church, he continued
some time in prayer, and thence went to the palace of the
archbishop, where he was lodged.
Every one now returned to their homes,—and the populace made
great bonfires in all the streets, to testify their joy on the occasion.
The archbishop, on the morrow, led several solemn processions,—
and the day was kept sacred from all labour and work, the same as
if it had been Sunday. On the Wednesday and Thursday, the
rejoicings were continued, and tables were spread in the street,
covered with meats and wines for all comers, at the expense of the
inhabitants. They also made rich presents to the king, his officers,
his heralds and pursuivants, then present. While the king remained
at the archbishop's palace, the churchmen, citizens and inhabitants,
required an audience of him, touching certain requests they had to
make. On its being granted, they entered the great hall, where the
king was seated on his throne richly adorned, and himself dressed in
cloth of gold, surrounded by his ministers. They proposed various
measures to him, and, in the number, most humbly supplicated that
he would be graciously pleased to pursue his ancient enemies the
English; for by means of the towns they yet possessed in Normandy
they were still enabled to do great mischiefs to the country. To assist
him in this measure, they offered their lives and fortunes.
The king was well pleased with their proposal, more particularly with
their offers of service and of money, and made, by means of the
chancellor, a satisfactory answer to all they had proposed. They then
took their leave, and retired to their homes. The king staid some
time in Rouen to remodel the government of it; during which the
English surrendered all the places they had given hostages for
namely, the castle of Arques, Tancarville, Lillebonne, Monstierville[59]
and Caudebec. But although they had engaged to restore Honfleur, it
was not done, because the governor refused to obey, in this point,
the orders of the duke of Somerset, and, consequently, the lord
Talbot with the other hostages remained prisoners to the king of
France. Sir Pierre de Brézé, seneschal of Poitou, was appointed
governor of Rouen.
FOOTNOTES:
[58] Fonteville. Fontenay.——MS. Du Cange.
[59] Monstierville—should be Montivilliers, a town in Normandy,
three leagues from Havre, eight from Fecamp.
CHAP. XV.
THE CASTLE OF GAILLON SUBMITS TO THE OBEDIENCE
OF THE KING OF FRANCE.—FOUGERES SURRENDERS TO
THE DUKE OF BRITTANY, AND BELLÊME[60] TO THE DUKE
OF ALENÇON.—A WELL-FOUGHT BATTLE TAKES PLACE
BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH.
On the 23d of November, in this year, the impregnable castle of
Gaillon surrendered to the king's forces, after a siege of six weeks.
The english garrison amounted to from one hundred to six score,
and marched away on capitulation, to carry with them their effects
to Harfleur, or to any other place under their subjection.
About the same time, the duke of Brittany gained the town and
castle of Fougeres, after a siege of a month. He had battered the
walls with his cannons and bombards so that the breaches were
nearly wide enough to storm, when the English, seeing their danger,
and knowing their provisions were expended, surrendered on
capitulation. Their captain was sir Francis de Surienne, called the
Arragonian, having under his command from five to six hundred
men,—and they were allowed to march away with their horses and
arms, but each with only a small bundle before him. This sir Francis
afterwards turned to the French, and took the oaths of allegiance to
the king, notwithstanding that he had taken the town of Fougeres
from the duke of Brittany, and thus had broken the truce between
the kings of France and England.
The duke of Brittany had, at that time, in his army, eight thousand
combatants, lords, knights and esquires; but after the surrender of
Fougeres they returned home, on account of the great mortality in
the army, which carried off very great numbers, and among the rest
the son of the viscount de Rohan, which was a great pity. The duke
went also into Brittany, after he had placed sufficient garrisons in his
conquests.
Toward the end of November, the duke of Alençon laid siege to his
town and castle of Bellême, then occupied by the English contrary to
his will. He had with him about three hundred lances, knights and
esquires, and a body of archers, without including the peasantry
from the countries of Maine and Vendôme, who were estimated at
three thousand fighting men. After several skirmishes and sallies,
the English, finding all resistance vain, entered on a treaty with the
duke, and engaged to surrender the town and castle on the 20th
day of December, unless their friends should appear on that day in
sufficient force to give the duke battle and conquer him.
The duke, therefore, intrenched his army on the plain to wait the
arrival of the English, who were on their march to relieve the place.
Two thousand of them had advanced to Torigny[61], and, on their
departure, had set it on fire, and proceeded to Thury[62], where they
received certain intelligence of the exact strength of the duke's army,
and in consequence marched back again. On the 20th day of
December, the duke of Alençon and the lord de Saintrailles drew
their army up in battle-array, and waited thus until the hour for the
appearance of the enemy was passed. The captain of the english
garrison in Bellême, called Matago[63], having about two hundred
combatants with him, then surrendered the place, and marched
away in safety with their effects, according to the terms of the
capitulation, whither they pleased.
About Christmas-day, the english garrison in Vire[64], to the number
of twelve score, marched out to seek adventures, but were met by a
party of the constable's men in garrison at Gourey[65], near to the
Croix de Vamoux, under the command of sir Geoffry de Couvran,
Joachim Rouhault, and others, when a very sharp engagement took
place,—but the English were discomfited, so many being killed or
taken that few escaped.
FOOTNOTES:
[60] Bellême,—a town in Perche, 10 leagues from Alençon.
[61] Torigny,—a small town in Normandy.
[62] Thury,—a small town in Normandy.
[63] Matago. Q. Matthew Gough?
[64] Vire,—on the river Vire in Normandy, diocese of Bayeux,
generality of Caen.
[65] Gourey. Q. if not Gournetz, a village in Normandy.
CHAP. XVI.
THE KING OF FRANCE LEAVES ROUEN.—HE SENDS HIS
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL TO BESIEGE HARFLEUR, WHICH
SURRENDERS ON CAPITULATION.—THE FAIR AGNES IS
TAKEN ILL.—HER DEATH, AND HER LAST TESTAMENT.
The king of France, having settled the government of Rouen to his
satisfaction, marched thence clothed in a brigandine, having over it a
jacket of gold tissue, accompanied by the king of Sicily, and the
other princes of his blood, magnificently dressed, more especially
the count de St Pol, whose horse's forehead-piece was valued at
thirty thousand francs.
Thus attended, the king rode to Caudebec,—in which town it was
resolved to lay siege to Harfleur; and in consequence, he advanced
to Montivilliers, which is but half a league distant from Harfleur, and
thence detached his lieutenant-general, the count de Dunois, to
open the trenches. The count had with him the counts d'Eu, de
Clermont, de Nevers, de Castres, with many men at arms, archers
and franc archers, so that his force was estimated at six thousand
men, without including the franc archers, who amounted to three
thousand, or the cannoneers, labourers, and followers, or the
mariners who blockaded the place with twenty-five large vessels, or
those who had besieged the abbey of Graville, amounting, in the
whole, to more than a thousand men.
The siege was commenced on the 8th day of December, with many
difficulties,—for there were neither houses nor trees near at hand,
and the weather was more severe, by reason of frosts and
inundations, than had been experienced for some time. The
besiegers suffered also greatly from the sea, which at times
destroyed their huts, which were composed only of earth covered
with juniper branches.
Sixteen large bombards were pointed against the walls, which the
king came frequently from Montivilliers to see fired. Deep trenches
of communication were formed, wherein the king often exposed his
person, armed only with a light helmet and covering shield, to
witness the effect of this battery against the walls. Covered trenches
were carried to the very walls of Harfleur; and these mines and
trenches were formed under the directions of master John Bureau,
treasurer to the king, in conjunction with his brother Jasper, grand
master of the royal artillery, both very expert and able in the
sciences.
Thomas Aurmagan[66], governor of Harfleur, and the English with
him, to the amount of sixteen hundred, receiving pay, witnessing the
great preparations of the king of France, opened a treaty with the
count de Dunois, on the eve of Christmas-day, for the surrender of
the place. On the morrow, the capitulation was signed,—and they
were to march away with their baggage, and were allowed to
transport their effects by land or sea, the term for so doing being
limited to the first day of the year. Eight english gentlemen were
given as hostages for the due performance of the treaty, who were
sent under an escort to Montivilliers. On the first day of January,
they were brought back to Harfleur, for the accomplishment of the
treaty. About vespers, Thomas Aurmagan, the governor, presented
the keys of the gates and towers to the count de Dunois, with much
reverence and kneeling, in the presence of all the English, and even
before master Sanice[67], who had brought a reinforcement of five
hundred English just before the siege.
The lieutenant-general, on receiving the keys, sent a party to take
possession of the towers, and to lower the english standard, of a red
cross on a white field, that was flying on one of them. He afterwards
ordered two heralds to replace it with the standard of France, which
was done with the shouts and rejoicings of the populace. The count
also posted a party of his men in the towers on the side toward
Rouen. This day, the greater part of the English departed; but as all
could not be ready by the return of the tide, the lieutenant-general
listened to their humble supplications, and permitted those who
remained to tarry there until the Friday and Saturday at midday, and
appointed a guard over them that they might not be ill treated.
When the English were all gone, the king gave the government of
Harfleur to the count de Dunois, who appointed the lord de Moy his
lieutenant, with one hundred lances and a proportionate number of
archers for its defence, and for that of the country around.
Jacques de Clermont, esquire, was made governor of Montivilliers,—
and he had likewise one hundred spears and archers for its guard,
and for the defence of other forts in the neighbourhood. The king,
having made these appointments, left Montivilliers on the 5th day of
January: he ordered detachments of his army to march through
Rouen, Caudebec and Tancarville, to besiege Honfleur, and went
himself to the abbey of Jamieges[68], on the Seine, five leagues
below Rouen, where he remained for some time, while preparations
were making for the siege of Honfleur.
At this abbey, the king met the fair Agnes, who had come thither (as
she said) to give the king information that some of his officers
intended to deliver him up to his enemies the English. The king,
however, paid no attention to the intelligence, but laughed at it. This
fair Agnes had been five years in the service of the queen, during
which she had enjoyed all the pleasures of life, in wearing rich
clothes, furred robes, golden chains, and precious stones; and it was
commonly reported that the king often visited her, and maintained
her in a state of concubinage,—for the people are more inclined to
speak ill than well of their superiors.
The affection the king showed her was as much for her gaiety of
temper, pleasing manners, and agreeable conversation, as for her
beauty. She was so beautiful that she was called the Fairest of the
Fair, and the Lady of Beauté, as well on account of her personal
charms as because the king had given her for life the castle of
Beauté, near Paris. She was very charitable, and most liberal in her
alms, which she distributed among such churches as were out of
repair, and to beggars.
It is true, that Agnes had a daughter, who lived but a short time,
which she said was the king's, and gave it to him as the proper
father: but the king always excused himself, as not having any claim
to it. She may indeed have called in help, for the matter was
variously talked of.
At length, she was seized with a bowel-complaint, and was a long
time ill,—during which, she was very contrite, and sincerely repented
of her sins. She often remembered Mary Magdalen, who had been a
great sinner, and devoutly invoked God and the virgin Mary to her
aid. Like a true catholic, after she had received the sacraments, she
called for her book of prayers, in which she had written with her own
hand the verses of St Bernard, to repeat them. She then made many
gifts (which were put down in writing, that her executors might fulfil
them, with the other articles of her will), which, including alms and
the payment of her servants, might amount to nearly sixty thousand
crowns. Her executors were Jacques Coeur, counsellor and master of
the wardrobe to the king, master Robert Poictevin, physician, and
master Stephen Chevalier, treasurer to the king, who was to take the
lead in the fulfilment of her will, should it be his gracious pleasure.
The fair Agnes, perceiving that she was daily growing weaker, said to
the lord de la Trimouille, the lady of the seneschal of Poitou, and one
of the king's equerries called Gouffier, in the presence of all her
damsels, that our fragile life was but a stinking ordure. She then
required that her confessor would give her absolution from all her
sins and wickedness, conformable to an absolution, which was, as
she said, at Loches, which the confessor, on her assurance, complied
with. After this, she uttered a loud shriek, and called on the mercy of
God, and the support of the blessed virgin Mary, and gave up the
ghost on Monday, the 9th day of February, in the year 1449, about
six o'clock in the afternoon. Her body was opened, and her heart
interred in the church of the said abbey, to which she had been a
most liberal benefactress; and her body was conveyed, with many
honours, to Loches, where it was interred in the collegiate church of
our Lady, to which also she had made many handsome donations,
and several foundations. May God have mercy on her soul, and
admit it into paradise![69]
FOOTNOTES:
[66] Thomas Aurmagan. Q.
[67] Master Sanice. Q.
[68] Jamieges,—a market-town on the Seine, two leagues from
Caudebec, six from Rouen.
[69] Agnes Sorel, says Moreri, was one of the handsomest
women of her time. She was a native of Promenteau, a village of
Touraine, in the diocese of Bourges. King Charles VII. no sooner
saw her than he fell in love with her. This prince made her great
presents, and gave her the castle of Beauté sur Marne. It is said
that his affection for her caused him to neglect public business,
but that Agnes contrived to excite him with such animosity
against the English that he exerted his utmost efforts to drive
them out of the kingdom. It is added, that she assured him that
an astrologer had foretold to her that she would captivate the
affections of the greatest king in the world, but that this
prediction had no reference to him, since he neglected to
establish his authority in a state which his enemies had usurped,
and that, in order to accomplish it, she would be obliged to repair
to the court of the king of England. These reproaches roused the
king from his lethargy,—and he took the field to gratify, at once,
his love and his ambition. On this subject it is also said, that
Francis I. being, one day in the house of the count d'Estampes,
who had been his governor, and who was then grand master of
France, he amused himself with looking into a port-folio which
was upon the dressing table of the countess, who was fond of
painting, and had drawn in it the portraits of divers illustrious
persons, and among others of Agnes Sorel. The king made
devices and verses for each of these portraits,—and under that of
the fair Agnes he wrote the following lines with his own hand.
CHAP. XVII.
THE COUNT DE FOIX RAISES A LARGE ARMY TO BESIEGE
THE CASTLE OF GUISCHEN.—THE ENGLISH ASSEMBLE TO
RAISE THE SIEGE, BUT ARE DEFEATED BY THE LORD DE
LAUTREC AND THE BASTARD DE FOIX.
About this period, the count de Foix raised a large army, and caused
the strong castle of Guischen, situated four leagues from Bayonne,
to be besieged by his brother, the lord de Lautrec, and the bastard
de Foix. The English, on hearing this, instantly took the field with
four thousand combatants, under the command of the constable of
Navarre. He had with him the mayor of Bayonne, George
Saltviton[70],
'Plus de loüange et d'honneur tu merites,
La cause étant de France recouvrer,
Que ce que peut dedans un cloitre ouvrer
Close nonnain, en bien devot hermite.'
and many other English, who, having embarked their stores on the
river that runs through Bayonne, to convey them near to this castle,
marched as close to the vessels as they could.
News of their intentions was carried to the besiegers, who marched
as secretly as possible to meet them, and made so sharp an attack
on the English that they were driven from their boats, and lost
twelve hundred of their men in killed and taken. When Saltviton
witnessed this defeat, fearing it was impossible to recover the boats,
he broke gallantly through the french army with only sixty lances,
and saved himself for the moment in one of the outworks of the
castle. Finding that he could not long maintain himself in his present
post, he marched away with his men, thinking to regain Bayonne;
but the bastard de Foix, knowing his departure, immediately pursued
him, and made him and the greater part of his men prisoners.
On the morrow, the castle surrendered, and all the country between
Dax and Bayonne,—in which were from fifteen to sixteen strong
places, that surrendered to the count de Foix. When these forts had
been sufficiently garrisoned, the count's army was marched home.
The siege of Honfleur was commenced with great courage on the
17th day of January, while the king remained at Jamieges, by his
lieutenant general, the count de Dunois, and the other lords before
named. The franc archers, who had been sent by these lords in
advance ten or twelve days before, to skirmish with the english
garrison of Honfleur, did their duty well.
When the blockade was completed, the king left Jamieges, and fixed
his quarters at the abbey of Grestain, two leagues from Honfleur. On
his arrival, the approaches and trenches were pushed forward with
vigour, and many cannons and bombards were pointed against the
walls, to the astonishment of those within the town.
The governor of the place was called master Courson[71], having a
garrison of three or four hundred English who exerted themselves
valiantly in their defence with cannons and other missile weapons.
By their means was killed a gallant Frenchman, named Regnault
William, le Bourgognon, then bailiff of Montargis, which was a great
loss. At length, the English were so overpowered by fear and want of
provision that they were constrained to demand a parley, to arrange
terms of capitulation; and they agreed to surrender the town and
castle on the 18th day of February, unless there should appear a
force sufficient to relieve them, by conquering the French, and gave
hostages for its due performance, on which they were to march
away with their effects in safety.
The French now fortified their camp, and made preparations for a
combat, but the English did not appear; for the duke of Somerset
dared not leave Caen ungarrisoned, and, besides, they were not
strong enough to expect success without great reinforcements from
England. The place was therefore surrendered according to the
terms of the capitulation, and the English marched to other parts
under their obedience.
Soon after the reduction of Honfleur, the king left the abbey of
Grestain, and went to Berucy[72], and thence to Essay[73] and
Alençon. He ordered a party of his guards, with the franc archers, to
lay siege to Fresnay[74], which was under the government of two
Englishmen, called Andrew Torfflot[75] and Janequin Vaquier[76],
having with them from four to five hundred English and Normans,
called French Renegadoes. The French advanced before the place in
a numerous body, in handsome array, which so much alarmed the
governors that they instantly offered to treat for a surrender. After a
short discussion, it was agreed, that on the place being given up to
the king of France, together with ten thousand golden saluts, their
captain, called Montfort[77], who had been made prisoner at Pont
Audemer, should be restored to them, and they should be allowed to
march away in safety with their baggage. Thus was the place
surrendered,—and the English departed, on the 22d day of March,
for Caen or Falaise, or to wherever else they pleased.
During the time of Lent, in this year, three thousand English landed
at Cherbourg, under the command of sir Thomas Kiriel, a knight of
great experience and renown, and marched to lay siege to
Valognes[78], which was under the government of an esquire from
Poitou, called Abel Rohault. He held it valiantly for some time, for his
brother Joachim Rohault; but having no hope of succour, he was
forced to surrender it to sir Thomas Kiriel, after a defence of three
weeks, and was allowed to march his men away in safety with all
they possessed.
The king's army was, at the time, collecting to raise the siege; as
were the English to oppose them, from their different garrisons,—
namely, sir Robert Vere, in Caen, had six hundred combatants,—
Henry Morbery, in Vire, had about four hundred,—Matago, in the
town of Bayeux, had eight hundred fighting men,—so that they
amounted in all, including sir Thomas Kiriel's force, to six or seven
thousand combatants. The French, learning this, suffered the town
to be surrendered without any attempt to the contrary,—for they
could not be assembled in time, considering that the king's army
was then dispersed in cantonments throughout Normandy, for the
better preservation of their conquests.
FOOTNOTES:
[70] Saltviton. In the MS. of Du Cange, it is Soliton; but this
seems as far from the true name as the other.
[71] Courson. Q. Curzon?
[72] Berucy,—Bernay, a market-town in Normandy, twenty
leagues and a half from Alençon. MS. Du Cange.
[73] Essay,—a market-town in Normandy, five leagues from
Alençon.
[74] Fresnay. There are two villages of this name in Normandy.
[75] Andrew Torfflot. Troslo.——MS. Du Cange. Q. if not Truslow?
[76] Janequin Vaquier. Basquier and Baquier.——MS. Du Cange.
[77] Montfort. Q. if not lord Fauconberg? See in the preceding
pages.
[78] Valognes,—five leagues from Cherbourg.
[a.d. 1450.]
CHAP. XVIII.
AFTER THE CAPTURE OF VALOGNES BY SIR THOMAS
KIRIEL, HE TAKES THE FIELD WITH A LARGE ARMY OF
ENGLISHMEN.—HE IS MET BY THE COUNT DE
CLERMONT, WHO ATTACKS AND DEFEATS HIM.
On the 12th day of April, in the year 1450, after Easter, sir Thomas
Kiriel dislodged from Valognes, having with him the greater part of
the garrisons of Caen, Bayeux, and Vire, and, crossing the fords of
St Clement[79], advanced toward the country of Bayeux and Caen.
Intelligence of this movement was carried to the french
headquarters, and a detachment was ordered to pursue them, under
the command of the count de Clermont, the count de Castres, the
seneschal of Poitou, the lord de Montgascon and de Retz, admiral of
France, and others, to the amount of five or six hundred spears and
archers. Although they were so few in numbers, they continued their
pursuit until they overtook them. Sir Geoffry de Couvran and
Joachim Rohault had, some little time before, separated from them
to seek if they could gain any information of the enemy, and luckily
fell in with their track. Notwithstanding the disparity of numbers,
they boldly and courageously made an attack on their rear-guard,
and killed and wounded several. They then retreated, and sent
notice of what they had done to the count de Clermont, who was
not far off. He hastened to come up with the English, which he did
near a village called Fourmigny, between Carentan and Bayeux, on
the 13th of the same month.
The English, on perceiving the enemy, drew up in battle-array, and
sent in haste to a captain, called Matago, who had that morning
quitted them for Bayeux, but instantly returned to the aid of his
companions.
The two armies remained drawn up facing each other for three
hours, while a continual skirmish was going forward,—during which,
the English made, with their swords and daggers, deep holes in their
front, that those who should charge them might fall in with their
horses: they were also very advantageously posted, for they had,
within a bow-shot of their rear, a small river with gardens and
orchards thick planted with fruit-trees, so that they could not be
attacked on that quarter.
The count de Clermont, observing their situation, and considering
that he had not an adequate force to combat them, dispatched a
messenger in haste to St Lo, to require that the count de Richemont,
constable of France, would come to his succour,—otherwise he and
his men would have more work on their hands than they could
accomplish, for that the English greatly outnumbered his force.
The constable, on receiving this intelligence, instantly set out, at
three o'clock in the morning of the same day, the 18th, to his
assistance, although he was but just arrived from Brittany without
halting. He rode to Trevieres[80], accompanied by the lord James de
Luxembourg, the count de Laval, the lord marshal de Lohéac, and
from two hundred to twelve score lances and eight hundred archers.
They advanced with great rapidity (for the English had already
crossed the ford) until they came to the windmill above Fourmigny,
where they drew up in order of battle in sight of the English.
The count de Clermont had begun the engagement with his army of
a thousand to fifteen hundred men before the arrival of the
constable, and had been sharply repulsed by the English, who had
taken from them two culverines. The constable first marched his
men to gain a stone bridge,—but no sooner did Matago and sir
Robert Vere perceive this manœuvre of the constable than they fled
with a thousand of their men from Caen and Bayeux. Kiriel and the
remainder retreated toward the rivulet, and occupied the village that
was hard by.
Part of the constable's archers, having dismounted at the end of the
bridge, attacked the left wing of the English,—and many were killed
and put to the rout. The constable now crossed the rivulet and
joined the count de Clermont; when the grand seneschal of
Normandy asked his permission to march his division toward the
enemy's right wing, which being granted, the English were slain and
defeated. The main body of the constable's men marched now in
handsome order until they were near the village, and crossed the
brook by the high road. The English were so much alarmed that they
quitted the village, and advanced to the rivulet, where a well-fought
engagement took place; but although the French were in all not
more, according to the report of the heralds, than three thousand
combatants, and the English from six to seven thousand,
nevertheless, by the grace of God, the French defeated them. From
the accounts of the heralds, priests, and credible persons, three
thousand seven hundred and seventy-three were slain, and buried in
fourteen deep trenches on the spot.
Among the prisoners were sir Anthony[81] Kiriel, sir Henry
Norbery[82], sir Thomas Drieut[83], Thomas Kirby, Christopher
Auberton, Arpel, Helix Alengour, Jannequin Vacquier, Gobert
Caleville, and numbers of other captains, and english gentlemen
bearing coats of arms. Conformably to the old proverb, of 'He who
fights and runs away, may live to fight another day,' did those act
who fled and left their companions to bear the brunt of the battle,
namely, Matago, sir Robert Vere, Henry Lons, master Meillan, and
another captain who commanded thirty lances and five hundred
archers. The prisoners taken at this battle were estimated at from
twelve to fourteen hundred. Matago fled to Bayeux, and sir Robert
to Caen,—and thus, by the favour of Divine Providence, were the
English defeated.
On this day, the following were made knights: the count de Castres,
son to the count de la Marche,—Godfrey de Boulogne, son to the
count de Boulogne and Auvergne,—the lord de Vauvert, son to the
count de Villars, the lord de St Severe, the lord de Chalençon, and
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