Franco-Flemish War
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Franco-Flemish War | |||||||||
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The Flemish forces at the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302) as depicted on the Courtrai Chest. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Kingdom of France | County of Flanders | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
William of Jülich † Guy of Namur (POW) Philip of Chieti |
The Franco-Flemish War (French: Guerre de Flandre; Dutch: Vlaamse opstand) was a conflict between the Kingdom of France and the County of Flanders between 1297 and 1305.
Causes
Philip IV of France became king in 1285, and was determined to strengthen the French monarchy at any cost. The County of Flanders had been nominally part of the kingdom since the Treaty of Verdun in 843, but had maintained its de facto independence from the crown.
Flanders had some of the richest cities of that time, like
In 1288, Philip IV used complaints over taxes to tighten his control over Flanders. Tension built between Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders and the King. In 1294, Guy turned for help to King Edward I of England, arranging a marriage between his daughter Philippa and the Prince of Wales. However, Philip imprisoned Guy and two of his sons, forced him to call off the marriage, and imprisoned Philippa in Paris until her death in 1306. Guy was summoned before the king again in 1296, and the principal cities of Flanders were taken under royal protection, until Guy paid an indemnity and surrendered his territories, to hold them at the grace of the King.
After these indignities, in 1297 Guy attempted to revenge himself on Philip by an alliance with Edward I, now at war with France. Philip responded by declaring Flanders annexed to the
1297–1300
First phase of the war
In January 1297 Count Guy formally broke his allegiance to King Philip IV and allied himself with King Edward I of England, Count
The count's eldest son
On 16 June 1297 the entire French Army entered Flanders marching upon Lille and burning the towns of Seclin and Loos on the way. On 17 June the city of Lille was invested and a formal siege, lasting ten weeks, began. During the siege, French raiding parties marched through the Flemish countryside, burning or conquering the towns of Komen, Waasten, and Kortrijk, which surrendered to Valois.
In August 1297, the French troops were reinforced when Robert of Artois returned from his successful campaign against Edward in Aquitaine. Artois' troops marched upon Cassel, which, except for the Flemish occupied castle, was burned, and to Sint-Winoksbergen, which surrendered. By 20 August, Artois' troops had reached Veurne. The Flemish counter-attack on Artois ended in a French victory at the Battle of Furnes (20 August 1297). Five days later Lille surrendered to King Philip and the 3,000-man strong Flemish Army, led by Robert of Bethune, was allowed to march out to Roeselare.
Although facing problems at home, at the end of August 1297 King Edward eventually moved an army of 895 knights and 7,560 infantry and bowmen to Flanders. Finding no support in Bruges, the king moved to Ghent and made that city his base of operations in Flanders.
After the fall of Lille, the French main army marched upon Kortrijk and Ingelmunster. On 18 September 1297 Philip was met with a delegation from Bruges which surrendered the city to him. The city was occupied by French troops led by Raoul de Nesle and Guy IV, Count of Saint-Pol but its port Damme was retaken by troops led by Robert of Bethune.
Armistice 1297–1300
Papal mediation led to an armistice, starting in October 1297 and at times prolonged until 1300. During this period negotiations between the French and English Kings and the other warring parties, including Count Guy, took place at the Papal court, while simultaneously strengthening the defences of the Flemish towns in their hands. Having reached an agreement with his barons to fight the Scottish threat, in March 1298 Edward and his forces left Flanders, effectively abandoning his Flemish allies.
King Edward's expedition to help Flanders was aborted and he made peace with Philip in 1298 and left Guy to his fate.
Second phase of the war: French conquest
By the end of 1299 Count Guy had turned over the government to his eldest son Robert. After the expiration of the armistice in January 1300, the French invaded Flanders again, starting skirmishes alongside the armistice line of 1298. A French detachment led by Wale Paièle plundered and burned the countryside around Ypres and Cassel, and Charles of Valois marched from Bruges to the outskirts of Ghent, burning Nevele and twelve other towns and hamlets. From March 1300 the French besieged Damme and Ypres, where the defences respectively was led by the Count's sons William of Dendermonde and Guy of Namur. At the end of April William surrendered Damme, Aardenburg and Sluis. Ghent surrendered to the French on 8 May, Oudenaarde on 11 May, and Ypres on 21 May 1300. By mid-May the old count, his sons Robert and William and several Flemish nobles were led into captivity in France, and the whole of Flanders was under French control.
French occupation and local insurrection (1300–1302)
The conquest of Flanders had been relatively easy, because the Flemish cities had remained neutral up to then. The
The urban proletariat hoped for more justice and a better distribution of wealth under the new ruler, but Philip IV appointed Jacques de Châtillon as governor of the county, a very bad choice. Together with the Leliaards, this undiplomatic soldier imposed a very repressive government, raising new taxes, which infuriated the Flemish. Soon the urban guilds forged an alliance with the Flemish nobles supporting the count. They were called Liebaarts or Klauwaards (after the Claws of the Flemish Lion).
On 19 May 1302, a rebellion broke out in Bruges where the Flemish populace killed every Frenchmen they could find, including the French garrison. This event was called the
Now the rebellion became general. William of Jülich, the grandson of Count Guy, arrived in Bruges, and became the leader of the Flemish uprising. He was supported by his uncles John I, Marquis of Namur and Guy of Namur. Soon, most of Flanders was under their control. Only Cassel and Kortrijk remained in French hands and the city of Ghent remained neutral.
When the Flemish besieged Kortrijk on 9 and 10 July, a powerful French army led by Count
This battle returned full independence to Flanders for the next two years. Two attempts by the French King to take revenge for this embarrassing defeat were averted by a Flemish army under William of Jülich at the Battle of Arques (1303), followed by a Flemish incursion into France which led to the Siege of Tournai (1303).
1304–1305
In the meantime Flanders was again at war with the Count of Holland.
One week after this naval battle, on 18 August Philip IV personally led a French army against the Flemish main army at the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle, here William of Jülich met his death.
After further minor battles, eventually the Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge was signed on 23 June 1305 which recognised Flemish independence as a fief, but at the cost of the cities of Lille, Douai and Bethune, which were transferred to the French crown-lands, and the paying of exorbitant fines to Philip IV.[1]
See also
References
- ^ Gillespie 2016, p. 189.
Sources
- Verbruggen, J. F. (2002) [1952]. The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Courtrai, 11 July 1302): A Contribuution to the History of Flanders' War of Liberation, 1297–1305 [De Slag der Guldensporen: Bijdrage tot de geschiednis van Vlaanderens Vrijheidsoorlog, 1297–1305]. Rochester, NY: Boydell and Brewer.
- Gillespie, Alexander (2016). The Causes of War. Vol. II: 1000 CE to 1400 CE. Bloomsbury Publishing.
- Verbruggen, J. F. and Falter, Rolf, 1302 Opstand in Vlaanderen, Lannoo, 2010, 324 p.