James Baquet In the Gospels, Jesus is reported to have said, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Somebody should have told King John of Bohemia. The year was 1346, and the Hundred Years’ War was just getting started. Edward III, King of England, had been leading a troop of soldiers across northern France on Aug. 26 when they were attacked by King Philip VI’s army in what is called the Battle of Crecy. It was a strategic blunder: Despite the French having superior numbers, the English won, and the French lost many lives. Historians have called it “a devastating military humiliation” for the French, and “a political catastrophe for the French Crown.” One of those killed was John of Bohemia. Born in Luxembourg, and raised and educated in Paris, John was the eldest son of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII. He lost his eyesight in 1336 while crusading in Lithuania; at the time he was 39 or 40 years old. But this did not stop him from further military exploits, and at age 50 — still blind — he was leading troops for Philip of France. Controlling the advance guard at Crecy, he used his knowledge of battle to guide his men into the fray. Perhaps unaware of the trend of the battle, he asked his men to bring him within arm’s reach of the enemy “that I may strike one stroke with my sword.” They did, tying the reins of his horse to those of another rider’s on either side. But the battle turned, and his supporters — including his son Charles — began fleeing the field. His escort, however, seems not to have been comfortable with telling the king to run. Though striking somewhere over four of the enemy, John was killed along with his men, stabbed in both the eye and the chest and — perhaps later — having his right hand cut off, probably for the rings it bore. They were found on the field the next day, their horses still tied together. John was succeeded as King of Bohemia (and also as Count of Luxembourg, Arlon and Durbuy) by his son Charles — the one who had wisely fled the field in a timely manner — who later became the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. embarrassment 2. adventures, noble deeds 3. fighting against non-Christians 4. fight, battle 5. government led by a king or other monarch 6. trench along the side of a road 7. ability to see 8. relating to military planning 9. books purporting to tell the life of Jesus 10. people assigned to accompany one or more others for protection | 