The real Falstaff fled from Joan of Arc

Sir John Fastolf is an English military commander whose Shakespearean plays inspired the famous theatrical figure of Falstaff. During the Hundred Years' War, he participated in the Battle of Patay where his tactical maneuver was misunderstood by his men, causing the rout of the English against the troops of Joan of Arc. While his ally John Talbot was captured by the French, Fastolf managed to escape by abandoning all his equipment before finally being exonerated by an inquiry by the Duke of Bedford.