Battle of the Golden Spurs
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Golden Spurs, known also as the Battle of Courtrai (Dutch: , French: ) was fought on July 11, 1302, near Kortrijk
(Courtrai) in Flanders
. The date of the battle is the official holiday of the Flemish community
in Belgium.
, which was formally part of the French kingdom and added to the crown land
s in 1297 but resisted centralist French policies. In 1300, the French king Philip IV
appointed Jacques de Châtillon
as governor of Flanders and took the Count of Flanders, Guy of Dampierre
, hostage. This caused considerable unrest among the influential Flemish urban guild
s.
After being exiled from their homes by French troops, the citizens of Bruges
went back to the city and murdered every Frenchman they could find on May 18, 1302, an act known as the Brugse Metten
. According to legend, they identified the French by asking them to pronounce a Dutch phrase, (shield and friend) and everyone who had a problem pronouncing this shibboleth
was killed.
. The Flemish response consisted of two groups, one of 3,000 men from the city militia of Bruges
, was led by William of Jülich
, grandson of Count Guy and Pieter de Coninck, one of the leaders of the uprising in Bruges. The other group of about 2,500 men from the suburbs of Bruges and the coastal areas, was headed by Guy of Namur
, son of Count Guy, with the two sons of Guy of Dampierre; the two groups met near Kortrijk
. From the East came another 2,500 men, led by Jan Borluut
from Ghent
and yet another 1,000 men from Ypres
, led by Jan van Renesse from Zeeland
.
The Flemish were primarily town militia who were well equipped, with such weapons as the mace goedendag
and a long spear known as the geldon. They were also well organized; the urban militias of the time prided themselves on their regular training and preparation, which allowed them to use the geldon. They numbered about 9,000, including 400 nobles. The biggest difference from the French and other feudal armies was that the Flemish force consisted almost solely of infantry
with only the leaders mounted, more to express their leadership than for combat.
The French were by contrast a classic feudal army made up of a core of 2,500 noble cavalry
, including knights and squires. They were supported by 1,000 crossbow
men, 1,000 spearmen and up to 3,500 other light infantry, totaling around 8,000. Contemporary military theory valued each knight as equal to roughly ten infantry.
on July 9 and 10, the two forces clashed on July 11 in an open field near the city.
The layout of the field, crossed by numerous ditches and streams, made it difficult for the French cavalry
to charge the Flemish lines. They sent servants to place wood in the streams but did not wait for this to be done. The large French infantry force led the initial attack, which went well but French commander Count Robert II of Artois
recalled them so that the noble cavalry could claim the victory. Hindered by their infantry
and the tactically sound position of the Flemish militia, the French cavalry were an easy target for the heavily-armed Flemish. When they realized the battle was lost, the surviving French fled, only to be pursued over 10 km (6 mi) by the Flemish.
Prior to the battle, the Flemish militia had either been ordered to take no prisoners or did not care for the military custom of asking for a ransom for captured knights or nobles; modern theory is that there was a clear order that forbade them to take prisoners as long as the battle was as yet undecided (this was to avoid the possibility of their ranks being broken when the Flemish infantry brought their hostages behind the Flemish lines). Robert II of Artois
was surrounded and killed on the field. (According to some tales he begged for his life but the Flemish refused, claiming that "they didn't understand French".)
s that were collected from the French knights gave the battle its name; at least a thousand noble cavaliers were killed, some contemporary accounts placing the total casualties at over ten thousand dead and wounded. The French spurs were hung in the Church of Our Lady
in Kortrijk to commemorate the victory and were taken back by the French eighty years later after the Battle of Westrozebeke.
Some of the notable casualties:
) that showed that knights could be defeated by disciplined and well-equipped infantry (one other example is the Battle of Sempach
in 1386). The Scots then applied this idea of attacking infantry and brought it to the battlefield at Bannockburn
, where the Scottish schiltron
charged English cavalry and routed them. It is also a landmark in the development of Flemish political independence and the day is remembered every year in Flanders as the Flemish Community
's official holiday
.
The battle was romanticised in 1838 by Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience
in his book The Lion of Flanders
(Dutch: ""). Another unusual feature of this battle is that it is often cited as one of the few successful uprisings of peasants and townsmen, given that at the time most peasant uprisings in Europe were quelled.
Barbara Tuchman
describes this as a peasant uprising in A Distant Mirror
. Though the winning army was well armed, the initial uprising was nonetheless a folk uprising. Eventually, however, the Flemish nobles did take their part in the battle—each of the Flemish leaders was of the nobility or descended from nobility and some 400 of noble blood did fight on the Flemish side.
The outcome of the battle—the fact that a large cavalry force, thought invincible, had been annihilated by a relatively modest but well-armed and tactically intelligent infantry—was a shock to the military leaders of Europe. It contributed to the end of the perceived supremacy of cavalry and triggered a deep re-thinking of military strategies and tactics.
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
(Courtrai) in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. The date of the battle is the official holiday of the Flemish community
Flemish Community
The term Flemish Community has two distinct, though related, meanings:...
in Belgium.
Background
The reason for the battle was a French attempt to subdue the County of FlandersCounty of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
, which was formally part of the French kingdom and added to the crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
s in 1297 but resisted centralist French policies. In 1300, the French king Philip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
appointed Jacques de Châtillon
Jacques de Châtillon
Jacques de Châtillon was Seigneur de Leuze, de Condé, de Carency, de Huquoy et d'Aubigny, the son of Guy III, Count of Saint-Pol and Matilda of Brabant....
as governor of Flanders and took the Count of Flanders, Guy of Dampierre
Guy of Dampierre
Guy of Dampierre was the count of Flanders during the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302.Guy was the second son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders. The death of his elder brother William in a tournament made him joint Count of Flanders with his mother...
, hostage. This caused considerable unrest among the influential Flemish urban guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s.
After being exiled from their homes by French troops, the citizens of Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
went back to the city and murdered every Frenchman they could find on May 18, 1302, an act known as the Brugse Metten
Bruges Matins (history)
The Bruges Matins or Brugse Metten was the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by the members of the local Flemish militia on 18 May 1302. It has been named "matins" in analogy to the Sicilian Vespers...
. According to legend, they identified the French by asking them to pronounce a Dutch phrase, (shield and friend) and everyone who had a problem pronouncing this shibboleth
Shibboleth
A shibboleth is a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important...
was killed.
Forces
The French king could not let this go unpunished, so he sent a powerful force led by Count Robert II of ArtoisRobert II of Artois
Robert II was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant.An experienced soldier, he took part in the Aragonese Crusade and attempted an invasion of Sicily in 1287. He defeated the Flemings in 1297 at the Battle of Furnes...
. The Flemish response consisted of two groups, one of 3,000 men from the city militia of Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, was led by William of Jülich
William of Jülich
William of Jülich was one of the Flemish noblemen that opposed the annexation policies of the French king Philip IV - together with Pieter de Coninck....
, grandson of Count Guy and Pieter de Coninck, one of the leaders of the uprising in Bruges. The other group of about 2,500 men from the suburbs of Bruges and the coastal areas, was headed by Guy of Namur
Guy of Namur
Guy of Dampierre, Count of Zeeland, also called Guy of Namur , a younger son of Guy, Count of Flanders and Isabelle of Luxembourg, was Lord of Ronse....
, son of Count Guy, with the two sons of Guy of Dampierre; the two groups met near Kortrijk
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
. From the East came another 2,500 men, led by Jan Borluut
Jan Borluut
Jan Borluut was a patrician from Ghent.Jan Borluut was born into a rich patrician family of wool merchants, members of which continuously held magistrate positions in the city of Ghent from the 13th to the 16th century.After committing manslaughter in a feud with another patrician, he was banned ,...
from Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and yet another 1,000 men from Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, led by Jan van Renesse from Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
.
The Flemish were primarily town militia who were well equipped, with such weapons as the mace goedendag
Goedendag
The goedendag was a weapon originally used by the militias of Medieval Flanders in the 14th century. It was essentially a combination of a club with a spear. Its body was a wooden staff roughly five feet long with a diameter of roughly four inches...
and a long spear known as the geldon. They were also well organized; the urban militias of the time prided themselves on their regular training and preparation, which allowed them to use the geldon. They numbered about 9,000, including 400 nobles. The biggest difference from the French and other feudal armies was that the Flemish force consisted almost solely of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
with only the leaders mounted, more to express their leadership than for combat.
The French were by contrast a classic feudal army made up of a core of 2,500 noble cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, including knights and squires. They were supported by 1,000 crossbow
Crossbow
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...
men, 1,000 spearmen and up to 3,500 other light infantry, totaling around 8,000. Contemporary military theory valued each knight as equal to roughly ten infantry.
The battle
After the Flemish unsuccessfully tried to take KortrijkKortrijk
Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
on July 9 and 10, the two forces clashed on July 11 in an open field near the city.
The layout of the field, crossed by numerous ditches and streams, made it difficult for the French cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
to charge the Flemish lines. They sent servants to place wood in the streams but did not wait for this to be done. The large French infantry force led the initial attack, which went well but French commander Count Robert II of Artois
Robert II of Artois
Robert II was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant.An experienced soldier, he took part in the Aragonese Crusade and attempted an invasion of Sicily in 1287. He defeated the Flemings in 1297 at the Battle of Furnes...
recalled them so that the noble cavalry could claim the victory. Hindered by their infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and the tactically sound position of the Flemish militia, the French cavalry were an easy target for the heavily-armed Flemish. When they realized the battle was lost, the surviving French fled, only to be pursued over 10 km (6 mi) by the Flemish.
Prior to the battle, the Flemish militia had either been ordered to take no prisoners or did not care for the military custom of asking for a ransom for captured knights or nobles; modern theory is that there was a clear order that forbade them to take prisoners as long as the battle was as yet undecided (this was to avoid the possibility of their ranks being broken when the Flemish infantry brought their hostages behind the Flemish lines). Robert II of Artois
Robert II of Artois
Robert II was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant.An experienced soldier, he took part in the Aragonese Crusade and attempted an invasion of Sicily in 1287. He defeated the Flemings in 1297 at the Battle of Furnes...
was surrounded and killed on the field. (According to some tales he begged for his life but the Flemish refused, claiming that "they didn't understand French".)
Aftermath
The large numbers of golden spurSpur
A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids and to back up the natural aids . The spur is used in every equestrian discipline...
s that were collected from the French knights gave the battle its name; at least a thousand noble cavaliers were killed, some contemporary accounts placing the total casualties at over ten thousand dead and wounded. The French spurs were hung in the Church of Our Lady
Church of Our Lady (Kortrijk)
The Church of Our Lady in Kortrijk was built in 1199 established by count Baldwin I of Constantinople. The church is situated in the historic city centre of Kortrijk.- History :...
in Kortrijk to commemorate the victory and were taken back by the French eighty years later after the Battle of Westrozebeke.
Some of the notable casualties:
- Robert IIRobert II of ArtoisRobert II was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant.An experienced soldier, he took part in the Aragonese Crusade and attempted an invasion of Sicily in 1287. He defeated the Flemings in 1297 at the Battle of Furnes...
, Count of Artois, the French commander - Raoul of Clermont-NesleRaoul of ClermontRaoul II of Clermont was Lord of Nesle, Vicecount of Châteaudun, Grand Chamberlain of France and Constable of France.He was son of Simon II of Clermont and Adele of Montfort....
, Lord of NesleNesleNesle is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Nesle is situated at the junction of the D930 and D337 roads, some southwest of Saint-Quentin. The Ingon, a small stream, passes through the commune.-Population:...
, Constable of FranceConstable of FranceThe Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King... - Guy I of ClermontGuy I of ClermontGuy I of Clermont was Lord of Breteuil and Offemont and a Marshal of France.He was the youngest son of Simon II of Clermont and Adele of Montfort....
, Lord of BreteuilBreteuil-Places in France:*Breteuil, Eure, in the Eure département*Breteuil, Oise, in the Oise département...
, Marshal of FranceMarshal of FranceThe Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements... - Simon de MelunSimon de MelunSimon de Melun was a Marshal of France killed in the Battle of the Golden Spurs.He was a younger son of Vicecount Adam II of Melun and Constance of Sancerre. From his mother, he inherited the castles of La Loupe and Marcheville.In 1270, he followed King Louis IX of France in his Eighth Crusade to...
, Lord of La Loupe and Marcheville, Marshal of FranceMarshal of FranceThe Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements... - John I of Ponthieu, Count of Aumale
- John II of TrieJohn I, Count of DammartinJean II de Trie was the first of his name and second of his house to be Count of Dammartin. He succeeded his father, Mathieu, in Dammartin and as lord of Trie and Mouchy, on the latter's death in 1272. He is the same person as the trouvère Jehan de Trie, to whom two surviving chansons courtoises...
, Count of Dammartin - John II of BrienneJohn II of Brienne, Count of EuJohn II of Brienne was the son of John I of Brienne, Count of Eu and Beatrice of Saint-Pol. He succeeded his father as Count of Eu in 1294....
, Count of Eu - John d'Avesnes, Count of Ostrevent, son of John II, Count of HollandJohn II, Count of HollandJohn II of Avesnes was the oldest son of John I of Avesnes and Adelaide of Holland.-History:John II was Count of Hainaut from 1280 to his death, succeeding his grandmother, Margaret II...
- Godfrey of BrabantGodfrey of BrabantGodfrey of Brabant, , was Lord of Aarschot between 1284 and 1302 and Lord of Vierzon between 1277 and 1302.-Biography:...
, Lord of AarschotDuke of AarschotThe Duke of Aarschot was one of the most important titles in the Low Countries, named after the Flemish city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg... - Jacques de ChâtillonJacques de ChâtillonJacques de Châtillon was Seigneur de Leuze, de Condé, de Carency, de Huquoy et d'Aubigny, the son of Guy III, Count of Saint-Pol and Matilda of Brabant....
, Lord of LeuzeLeuze-en-HainautLeuze-en-Hainaut is a Walloon municipality of Belgium, located in the province of Hainaut. It consists of the former municipalities of Leuze-en-Hainaut, Grandmetz, Thieulain, Blicquy, Chapelle-à-Oie, Chapelle-à-Wattines, Pipaix, Tourpes, Willaupuis and Gallaix... - Pierre de FlottePierre FlottePierre Flote or Pierre Flotte was a French legalist, Chancellor and Keeper of the Seals of Philip IV the Fair....
, Chief Advisor to Philip IV the Fair.
Historical consequences
The battle was one in a string during the 14th century (started as early as 1297 by the battle of Stirling BridgeBattle of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.-The main...
) that showed that knights could be defeated by disciplined and well-equipped infantry (one other example is the Battle of Sempach
Battle of Sempach
An armistice was agreed upon on 12 October, followed by a peace agreement valid for one year, beginning on 14 January 1387.The battle was a severe blow to Austrian interests in the region, and allowed for the further growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy....
in 1386). The Scots then applied this idea of attacking infantry and brought it to the battlefield at Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
, where the Scottish schiltron
Schiltron
A sheltron is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, shield wall or phalanx....
charged English cavalry and routed them. It is also a landmark in the development of Flemish political independence and the day is remembered every year in Flanders as the Flemish Community
Flemish Community
The term Flemish Community has two distinct, though related, meanings:...
's official holiday
Day of the Flemish Community
The Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium, also known as the Flemish Community Day, is celebrated every year on 11 July in remembrance for the Battle of Golden Spurs or Guldensporenslag and is observed only by the Flemish Community of Belgium.- History :...
.
The battle was romanticised in 1838 by Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience
Hendrik Conscience
Henri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Belgian writer. He was a pioneer in writing in Dutch after the secession from the Netherlands in 1830 left Belgium a mostly French speaking country....
in his book The Lion of Flanders
De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (book)
De Leeuw van Vlaanderen is a historical book written by the Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience in 1838. The book tells the story of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302...
(Dutch: ""). Another unusual feature of this battle is that it is often cited as one of the few successful uprisings of peasants and townsmen, given that at the time most peasant uprisings in Europe were quelled.
Barbara Tuchman
Barbara Tuchman
Barbara Wertheim Tuchman was an American historian and author. She became known for her best-selling book The Guns of August, a history of the prelude to and first month of World War I, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1963....
describes this as a peasant uprising in A Distant Mirror
A Distant Mirror
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, published in 1978, is a work by American historian and Pulitizer Prize winner Barbara Tuchman, focusing on life in 14th century Europe....
. Though the winning army was well armed, the initial uprising was nonetheless a folk uprising. Eventually, however, the Flemish nobles did take their part in the battle—each of the Flemish leaders was of the nobility or descended from nobility and some 400 of noble blood did fight on the Flemish side.
The outcome of the battle—the fact that a large cavalry force, thought invincible, had been annihilated by a relatively modest but well-armed and tactically intelligent infantry—was a shock to the military leaders of Europe. It contributed to the end of the perceived supremacy of cavalry and triggered a deep re-thinking of military strategies and tactics.