Battle of Saint-Mathieu

Battle of Saint-Mathieu
Part of the War of the League of Cambrai
Le Combat de la Cordelière contre une flotte anglaise, en 1512, au large de Saint-Mathieu, an 1838 painting of the battle by Pierre-Julien Gilbert showing later 16th century ships
Date 10 August 1512 Location Off Pointe Saint-Mathieu, Iroise Sea 48°20′N 4°46′W / 48.33°N 4.77°W / 48.33; -4.77 Result English victory
Belligerents
France Brittany	England
Commanders and leaders
René de Clermont	Edward Howard
Strength
22 warships 3 engaged	25 warships 3 engaged
Casualties and losses
1,230 killed 1 warship destroyed (exploded) 1 warship damaged	400 killed 1 warship destroyed (destroyed in the explosion) 2 warships damaged

The naval Battle of Saint-Mathieu took place on 10 August 1512 during the

Although the War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League (among several alternative names), was largely an Italian war, nearly every significant power in Western Europe participated at one point or another, including France, England, and Brittany. The latter was de facto independent of France, although the Dukes of Brittany were vassals to the French King.

When war with France broke out in April 1512, England's Edward Howard was appointed admiral of a fleet sent by King Henry VIII to control the sea between Brest and the Thames estuary. Howard seized vessels of various nationalities on the pretext that they were carrying French cargoes. At the beginning of June, he escorted to Brittany an army which Henry sent to France under the command of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, with the hope of recovering Guyenne. Howard then raided Le Conquet and Crozon on the Breton coast. During June and July, Howard effectively controlled the English Channel and is said to have captured more than 60 vessels. By August, a French-Breton fleet had assembled at Brest; Howard moved to attack them.^[3]

Well informed about the Franco-Breton manoeuvres, the English surprised them at anchor.^[4] Unprepared and confronted by a superior fleet, all the French and Breton ships cut their anchor cables and spread their sails.^[4] By accident, about 300 guests, including some women, were visiting the Breton flagship Marie la Cordelière when it was attacked. In the hurry, Hervé de Portzmoguer, the captain of the ship, could not disembark them and the crew was thus reinforced by those "involuntary" combatants who, however, fought bravely.^[4]

The two main ships (Marie la Cordelière and Petite Louise) faced the enemy to cover the retreat of the rest of the fleet to the port of Brest.^[4] Under English fire, Marie la Cordelière – at 1,000 tons,^[4] one of the largest of her time^[5] – sailed towards the Regent,^[4] with 600 Tons^[4] the largest and most powerful ship in the English navy.^[6] The Sovereign and the Mary James rushed to rescue the Regent and surrounded the Cordelière, while the superior fire of the Mary Rose badly damaged the Petite Louise which was forced to retreat.^[4] The Cordelière remained alone among the English fleet, with the exception of the small Nef-de-Dieppe which harassed the English ships.^[4] The Cordelière's cannons dismasted both Sovereign and Mary James which became ungovernable and drifted in the Iroise Sea.^[4]

Hervé de Portzmoguer, also known as "Primauguet", the Breton captain of the Cordelière ordered the assault of the Regent.

Role in Breton culture

Brittany and France were still de facto separate states at the time, although the

Louis XII of France, who she had also recently married. The combination of the French and Breton fleets was thus the first significant military action in which the two countries fought together, twenty four years after the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (1488)

, the last battle between them. It thus became symbolic within Brittany of the unity between Brittany and France.

The destruction of the Breton ship Marie la Cordelière quickly became famous. French poets Humbert de Montmoret and Germain de Brie both wrote poems about it.^[10] The latter work presented such an exaggeratedly heroic version of the death of Hervé de Portzmoguer, that it occasioned a satirical response from Thomas More, leading to a literary battle between More and de Brie.^[11] The death of de Portzmoguer, on the day of Saint Lawrence (10 August), was later portrayed as a deliberate act of self-sacrificing heroism. He is supposed to have said «Nous allons fêter saint Laurent qui périt par le feu!». ("we will celebrate the feast of Saint Lawrence, who died by fire") before blowing up the ship to avoid its capture. In fact, there is no evidence that the explosion was intentional and early literary accounts make no such claims.^[12][13][14] This version was commemorated by the Breton poet Théodore Botrel. A similar version is portrayed by Alan Simon in the song Marie la Cordelière from Anne de Bretagne (2008).

In 2018, the French government was searching for the wrecks of the sunken warships Cordelière and Regent.^[15]

Ships involved

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

England (Edward Howard) (List is probable not certain) Regent (Thomas Knyvet) – Burnt Sovereign (Charles Brandon) – Dismasted Jenett Barbara Mary Barking Mary Rose (Thomas Wyndham) Peter Pomegranate John Hopton Mary John Anne of Greenwich Mary George Dragon Lion George of Falmouth Peter of Fowey Nicholas of Hampton Martinet Christopher Davy Sabyn Nicholas Reede Margaret of Topsham (James Knyvet) Mary James (Anthony Ughtred) –Dismasted Magdalene (J. Brigandyne) Henry of Hampton Catherine Pomegranate (Henry Gyldeford)

France & Brittany (René de Clermont) Nef de Rouen Nef d'Orléans Nef de Dieppe Nef de Bordeaux Petite Louise – Damaged Nef de Morlaix (Marie la Cordelière) (Hervé de Porzmoguer aka Primauguet) – Burnt Nef de Brest Nef de Rochelle Nef de Bordeaux Saint Sauveur 12 others

Footnotes

1. ^ Clabby, Simon (2014-04-17). "The first battle of the Mary Rose". The Mary Rose. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
2. ISBN 978-1846032516. Retrieved 9 August 2012.^{[permanent dead link}
   ‍]
3. ^ Loades, David (2008). Howard, Sir Edward (1476/7–1513), naval commander; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Georges G. Toudouze, Hervé de Portz-Moguer et "Marie la Cordelière", d'après les témoins oculaires de 1512, in Fantômes des Combat^{[permanent dead link‍]}
5. ISBN 978-1428647510. Retrieved 9 August 2012.^{[permanent dead link}
   ‍]
6. ^ Knight, Charles (1838). The Penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. p. 136. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
7. ISBN 978-0060005504
   . Retrieved 9 August 2012.
8. ^ Spont, Alfred (1897). Letters and papers relating to the war with France, 1512–1513. Navy Records Society. pp. xxv–xxviii.
9. ISBN 978-0756657017
   . Retrieved 9 August 2012.
10. ISBN 978-9061861072
    . Retrieved 9 August 2012.
11. ISBN 978-0674885257
    . Retrieved 9 August 2012.
12. ^ Max Guérout, Le dernier combat de la Cordelière, Serpent de Mer, 2002.
13. ^ Hervé de Portzmoguer at www.netmarine.net/ Archived August 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
14. ^ Max Guérout, Le Mythe de la Cordelière Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
15. ^ Schofield, Hugh. "Intrepid French hunt for sunken warships Cordelière and Regent". BBC. Retrieved 31 July 2018.

References

• Childs, David (April 2007). "Shock and Oar: Mary Rose and the Fear of the French Galleys". History Today. 57 (4).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Saint-Mathieu.

• Medal commemorating Marie de la Cordelière and the light cruiser Primauguet