Siege of Ypres (1383)
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Siege of Ypres | |||||||
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Part of Despenser's Crusade and the Revolt of Ghent (1379–1385) | |||||||
Ypres during the Bishop of Norwich's siege. The illustration, a reproduction of an engraving published in 1610, shows the siege in progress | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
City of Ypres County of Flanders Kingdom of France |
Kingdom of England Ghent rebels | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John d'Oultre Louis II of Flanders | Henry le Despenser | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
~20,000 | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The siege of Ypres occurred between 8 June and 8 August 1383 as part of Despenser's Crusade and the Revolt of Ghent (1379–1385). It was conducted by English forces and forces from the Flemish city of Ghent. The siege was a failure.
Prelude
The city of
The English landed at Calais in May 1383 and took Gravelines, Dunkirk, Poperinge, and Nieuwpoort. On 25 May the crusaders put to flight a Franco-Flemish army, under the command of Louis of Male, in a pitched battle fought near Dunkirk.[1][2] Despenser was then persuaded by his Ghent allies and some of his officers to besiege Ypres,[3] which had remained loyal to the count and to France.
Siege
The inhabitants of Ypres were well prepared for a siege by the time the English and their allies arrived and attacked the city on 8 June 1383. Dwellings in the outlying suburbs had been abandoned; the timber from them was used to strengthen the earth ramparts and the stone gates of the city. A mission had been dispatched to Paris to replace artillery powder stocks. The city was well-organised under the command of the Castellan of Ypres, John d'Oultre, and had been divided into different defensive sectors. Although the ramparts were low, they were well protected with a double wet ditch, a high thorny hedge reinforced with stakes, and a wooden stockade and fire-step. [4]
The English attacked the Temple Gate on the first day but were beaten off. Over the next three days the city gates were attacked simultaneously, without success. Before the end of the first week of the siege,
In Ypres, the victory was attributed to the intervention of
Aftermath
After the débâcle at Ypres, the bishop and Sir Hugh Calveley wished to advance into France, but Sir William Elmham, Trivet and some of the other commanders refused to go.[7] The bishop was obliged by the approaching French army to fall back upon Gravelines. The demoralised and disease-ridden English forces were bribed to evacuate Gravelines and Despenser ordered it to be sacked. By the end of October the remaining crusaders had returned across the English Channel.[8]
Ghent continued its revolt, until it concluded the
Ypres never really recovered from this siege. The entire hinterland of the city had been destroyed and the trade with England was seriously compromised. The decline of the city continued further and the population of the city dropped from 20,000 in 1383 to only 7,600 by the end of the 15th century.
References
- ^ Westminster Chronicle On-line version Archived 2010-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Knighton On-line version Archived 2010-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Becke, p. 553
- ^ Becke, pp. 550–1
- ^ Becke,pp. 553–4
- ^ Becke, p. 555
- ^ McKisack p. 432
- ^ Saul p. 105