About midnight euerie souldior, by the comman|dement of the capteins, put on a white cassakin ouer his armor, to be knowne from the Frenchmen. They were cast into two squadrons of horssemen, & foure of footmen In the first were six thousand footmen equallie compounded of lanceknights, Spaniards, and Italians: this squadron was led by the mar|quesse of Guast: the second stood onelie vpon cer|teine bands of Spanish footmen vnder the charge of the marquesse of Pisquairo: the third and fourth squadron were of lanceknights, commanded by the viceroy and the duke of Burbon. They arriued at the parke walles certeine houres before daie, and by the working of their masons, and readie willes of their souldiers, they cast downe to the earth thrée score fadome of wall: by which breach, being entred within the parke, the first squadron drew towards Mirabell, and the residue of the armie tooke the waie to the campe.

As soone as the king vnderstood that they were entred into the parke,Whie the French king desired to fight in plaine and o|pen field. thinking they would draw to Mirabell, he issued out of his lodging to fight in plaine and open field, desiring to draw the battell rather to that place than to anie other, for the ad|uantages which it gaue to the horssemen: he com|manded to turne the artilleries toward the enimies, which beating them in flanke, brought great da|mage to the reregard. But in the meane while, the battell of the imperialles gaue a furious charge vp|on the kings squadron, which ordinarilie was the battell: but as the Spaniards went, it was the reregard. The king fought valiantlie, & abode with great courage the violence of his enimies, who with the furie of their harquebuziers forced his men to giue ground, till the rescue of the Switzers came, when the Spaniards were repelled, as well by them as by the horssemen that charged them in flanke. But the viceroy being called in by the marquesse of Pisquairo, who broght to the fight his lanceknights, they were easilie broken, not without great slaugh|ter of the Switzers, who that daie did nothing an|swer the opinion of valor which aforetimes they had woont so honorablie to expresse in battelles.

The king kept alwaies the middle of the battell, being inuironed with a great gard of men at armes. And albeit he did what he could to conteine and con|firme his people:The ma [...] how the French king was vanqui|shed and ta|ken prisoner [...]. yet after he had fought long with his owne hands, his horsse being slaine vnder him, him selfe lightlie hurt in the face and in the hand, he was stricken downe to the earth, and taken priso|ner by fiue souldiers that knew not what he was. In which misfortune the viceroy pressing into the throng his maiestie disclosed him selfe to him, who with great reuerence kissed his hand, and receiued him prisoner in the emperours name. At the same time the marquesse of Guast with the first squadron had defeated the horssemen that were at Mirabell. And Anthonie de Leua, who (as was said) had to that end cast downe to the earth so great a quantitie and space of wall, as an hundred and fiftie horssemen might sallie foorth in front, issued out of Pauia, & so charged the French behind, that he put them wholie to flight. And in that feare they were almost all strip|ped EEBO page image 885 and trussed, except the reregard of the horsse|men, which being led by monsieur de Alanson from the beginning of the battell, retired almost whole.