Battles

   

There have been a number of important battles throughout the middle ages. As with most important frays, they sometimes decide borders or other important factors of a county’s cultural turn. Or sometimes, they are just amusing stories.

I turn to my favorite tome, The Dictionary of Chivalry, for a quick summary of some of the more important conflicts. Yes, some of your favorites might be left out, but these are but a few.

BATTLE OF HASTINGS, 1066—William the Conqueror changed the face of England. The tall, bastard Norman brought a certain je ne sais quoi to British shores, and more importantly, united once and for all the overlords and would-be kings of England under his leadership. If not for him and (dare I say it?) his French/Norman sensibilities, England might have degenerated into another Wales with its squabbling princes and city states.

They wanted to arrive at Pevensy but ended up close to Hastings. Duke William maintained that he was promised the throne of England by King Edward the Confessor. Harold Hardrada maintained that...well. He was here, dammit! The battle is well documented (including a bit on the Bayeux Tapestry). Things got so chaotic that at one point, rumors were running rampant that Duke William was killed. He had to raise his helm off his face to prove he was still alive. King Harold, on the other hand, ended up badly, with a sharp stick in the eye, or so it was said.

CRUSADES—11th-13th centuries. "Many battles to wrest the Holy Land from the Saracens. It is customary to distinguish 8 crusades, the first being 1096-1100 under Geoffrey of Bouillon, Raymond Toulose and on the other side, Bohemund of Tarantum. The last was led by St. Louis, King of France (1270-72). The most important from the English point of view—though its success was slight—was the 3rd Crusade (1189-92) because of the participation of one of England’s most absent king’s, Richard the Lionheart."

Looking through medieval eyes, it was nothing less than recovering the land where Christ walked from infidels who did not understand or appreciate Christianity or the cultures of the Europeans. But through our more modern eyes...well. We’re still sort of fighting it.

BATTLE OF THE STANDARD—"fought on August 22, 1138 at Northallerton, Yorkshire, between David I of Scotland and Stephen of England. The “standard” consisted of the consecrated banners of Ss. Cuthburt of Durham, John of Beverly, Peter of York and Wilfrid of Ripon, mounted on a carriage wheeled into the middle of the battle.

David was there supporting his niece the Empress Matilda who was usurped by Stephen. David was eventually forced to retreat but his troops later rallied and captured Wark castle. All in all, David seemed to come out of it fine." There is no mention on how the banners fared.

BATTLE OF THE SPURS—1302, "fought under the walls of Courtray between the Flemish and the French. The foolhardiness and ill-discipline of the French knights led to a heavy defeat at the hands of the Flemish burghers, and they fled, leaving large umbers of gilded spurs littering the field."

HUNDRED YEARS WAR—"long period of almost uninterrupted bickering, warfare, and name-calling between England and France in the 14th and 15th centuries. Various dates are given for its starting and finishing points, but 1338-1453 may be a fair compromise, i.e. since the Edward III’s first expedition set out, to the time when the valiant Sir John Talbot was killed in the Battle of Castillon. Of all the English possessions in France, only Calais remained.

Some of the greatest marital exploits in English history are encompassed by this war: Crécy, Poitiers, Agincourt; the sea fights of Sluys and Les-Espanols-sur-le-Mer.

Of course, no one at the time was checking their water clocks to see if the 100 years was up yet. The name is a later construct, but the conflicts did seem to cement English and French feelings of separate nationalities. New weapons came into play, new strategies, making the series of conflicts quite significant to the face of Europe."

CRÉCY—August 26-27, 1346. "One of the most celebrated victories in English history. France under Philip VI, attacked the English on a low ridge, facing southwest between the villages of Crecy and Wadicount, with woods to the right and behind. French forces numbered somewhere around 40,000 while the English had 13,000, of whom about 3,000 were knights and men-at-arms. The rest seemed to be archers. Blaming the beginning of the battle on French indiscipline, the French began their first strike as the sun set, not waiting until sunrise as was the usual custom.

The Genoese crossbowmen began haranguing the English line, but it was the English long bowmen who won the day, devastating the Genoese line. The French knights trampled over their allies to get to the English but the long bowmen continued to rain arrows. They 'shot with such force and quickness that it seemed as if it snowed.'

The battle ended after midnight. In the morning, the slaughter could be seen. The English heralds made their way through the fallen to indentify the dead nobility. The record survives and the valley below the ridge is still called La Valee aux Clercs, or 'the Valley of the Clerks'.

The lowly archers won the day over the proud knights. The French losses were staggering: 1500 knights and 10,000 soldiers. Incredibly, the English seem to have lost less than 50."

BATTLE OF THIRTY—fought March 27, 1351. "To settle a dispute over the occupation of a piece of territory, Beaumanoir and Bemborough, the French and English commanders respectively, agreed to a combat between 30 knights from each side. Bemborough was killed and the French were victorious. The French had a proverb: 'as a desperate as le combat des Trente', to describe a hard-fought battle."

POITIERS—We are talking here about September 19, 1356, "where Edward, the Black Prince, won the day (part of the Hundred Years War). After a year of campaigning in Southern France, in which he had covered many hundreds of miles and captured or recaptured many towns and castles, the prince marched north to Loire, hoping to make contact with his brother John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who had been campaigning in Normandy. The Black Prince, with only 6,000—7,000 men was running short of supplies and a great French army under the command of King John (who was very anxious to avenge his father’s defeat at Crecy ten years before) hurried to the south to meet him.

The Black Prince, in no fit state to meet his enemy, retreated with King John following along. John had 50,000 men headed by his four sons, more than two score dukes and counts, and 140 knights. When he could run no more, the Prince took up a defensive position on a low ridge eight miles from Poitiers. The Prince was ready to offer all their booty and prisoners to be left alone but John wanted unconditional surrender and 100 of his greatest knights for ransom. Edward decided to fight instead.

Edward addressed the troops: 'What though we be a small body compared to the army of our enemies, do not let us be cast down on that account, for victory does not always follow numbers, but where Almighty God pleases to bestow it. If, through good fortune the day shall be ours, we will gain the greatest honour and glory in this world...I therefore entreat of you to exert yourselves and combat manfully, for, if it please God and St. George, you shall see me this day act like a true knight.'" Now who wouldn’t want to do their best after that?

"By midday it was over. The broken French were pursued to the gates of Poitiers, leaving behind the French king, one of his sons, and more than 2000 nobles and knights in English hands. Thousands more lay dead in the field."

AGINCOURT—October 24, 1415 (St. Crispin’s Day) Henry V, with about 9,000 men, defeated 60,000 French, led by D’Albret, Constable of France. The French lost 1500 knights, 4,000-5,000 soldiers. It was another victory for the might of the English long bowmen and very few English fell (“We few. We happy few...This band of brothers...”)

WAR OF THE ROSES—"the struggle for the English throne between two great rival families of Lancaster and York, usually considered beginning with the first Battle of St. Albans (1455) and ending with the Battle of Bosworth (1485)

An historian C.A.J. Armstrong, collected together a number of examples of how fast news traveled during this troubled period:

• Battle of Wakefield: fought December 30, 1460. News received in London Jan 2, 1461. Distance 182 miles.

• Return of Edward IV after temporary exile: landed at Ravensour, March 14, 1471. News received in Bury St. Edmunds, Mar 19. Distance 245 miles.

• Battle of Barnet: fought Apr 14, 1471. News received in Cerne Abbas (Dorset) the next day. Distance 130 miles.

• Death of Edward IV: Apr 9, 1483, in London. News received in Calais the next day. Distance 92 miles

• Battle of Bosworth: fought Aug 22, 1485. News received in York the next day. Distance 120 miles."

TEWKESBURY—"(not counting Bosworth in 1485-'A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!'), this was the last Battle of the War of the Roses, fought n May 4, 1471. It saw the total defeat of the Lancastrians, headed by Queen Margaret who was captured, the death of Prince Edward, and the secure establishment of Edward IV on the throne."

Comments

[stevent]

Battle of the Spurs: I had never heard of this one. "The foolhardiness and ill-discipline of the French knights led to a heavy defeat at the hands of the Flemish burghers, and they fled, leaving large umbers of gilded spurs littering the field."

Seems to be a recurring theme with the french knights (e.g - Battle of Crecy, Battle of Agincourt, etc.)

[Jeri Westerson]

Ah the French! They were worthy opponents once. It is a universal joke that they are better at surrendering than any other country, but let us all remember that they were at one time a force to reckon with.