Coordinates: 50°35′0″N 3°13′30″E

Battle of Bouvines

The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214

Battle of Bouvines
near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders.
It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French Part of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214
War of 1213–1214. A French army of approximately
7,000 men commanded by King Philip Augustus
defeated an Allied army of approximately 9,000
commanded by Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV.

In early 1214, a coalition was assembled against

King Philip Augustus of France, consisting of Otto
IV, King John of England, Count Ferrand of
Flanders, Duke Henry I of Brabant, Count William I La Bataille de Bouvines, by Horace Vernet in 1827.
of Holland, Duke Theobald I of Lorraine, and Duke (Galerie des Batailles, Palace of Versailles).
Henry III of Limburg. Its objective was to reverse
the conquests made by Philip earlier in his reign. Date 27 July 1214
Location Bouvines, County of Flanders, Kingdom
After initial manoeuvring in late July, battle was
of France
offered near Bouvines on 27 July. The long allied
column deployed slowly into battle order, leaving Result Decisive French victory
the Allies at a disadvantage. The superior discipline Belligerents
and order of the French knights allowed them to
carry out a series of devastating charges, shattering Kingdom of Holy Roman
the Flemish knights on the allied left wing. In the France Empire
centre, the Allied knights and infantry under Otto
enjoyed initial success, scattering the French urban Duchy of County of Hainaut
infantry and nearly killing Philip. A counterattack by Burgundy Kingdom of
French knights smashed the isolated Allied infantry County of Germany
and Otto's entire centre division fell back. Otto fled Champagne Duchy of Brabant
the battle and his knightly followers were defeated
County of Dreux County of Louvain
by the French knights, who went on to capture the
Imperial eagle standard. With the Allied centre and County of Duchy of Lorraine
left wing routed, only the soldiers of the right wing Ponthieu
County of Holland
under Renaud of Boulogne and William de County of Saint-
Longespee held on. They were killed, captured or County of Namur
Pol
driven from the field. A pursuit was not conducted Duchy of Limburg
as it was nearly dark. County of
Duchy of Saxony
Beaumont
The crushing French victory dashed English and County Palatine of
County of
Flemish hopes of regaining lost territories. Frederick the Rhine
Soissons
II Hohenstaufen deposed Otto as emperor after the County of
battle. King John was forced to agree to the Magna County of Perche
Tecklenburg
Carta in 1215 by his discontented barons and hand County of Auxerre
over English-occupied Anjou to Philip in a peace County of
County of Nevers
settlement. Counts Ferrand, Renaud and Longespee Katzenelnbogen
were captured and imprisoned. The balance of power Lordship of
Free Imperial City
Nemours
of Dortmund
in Europe shifted, with the popes of the 13th century Lordship of Coucy
increasingly seeking the support of a powerful County of Flanders
Viscounty of
France.
Melun
Kingdom of England
Duchy of
Normandy
Contents Duchy of Bretagne
Minor participants

Prelude County of Boulogne

Prince-Bishopric of
Barony of Boves
Order of battle Liège
French
Commanders and leaders
Allied
Philip II (centre) Otto IV (centre)
Battle
Robert II, Count of Renaud of Boulogne
Allied left
Dreux (left flank) (POW) (right flank)
Centre
Allied right Eudes III of Burgundy Ferrand of Flanders
Last stand (right flank) (POW) (left flank)
List List
Aftermath
centre: centre:
Commemoration
Bartholomew of Roye Theobald of Lorraine
References (POW)
William of Garlande
Sources William II des Barres William of Holland
External links Enguerrand III of Henry of Brabant
Coucy Philip II of Courtenay-
Namur
Prelude Gauthier II of
Nemours Henry III of Limburg
In 1214, Ferdinand, Infante of Portugal, and Count Girard Scophe
right flank:
of Flanders desired the return of the cities of Aire-
sur-la-Lys and Saint-Omer, which he had recently left flank:
William Longespée
lost to Philip II, King of France in the Treaty of (POW)
Philip of Dreux
Pont-à-Vendin. He thus broke allegiance with Philip
William II of Ponthieu Hugo of Boves
and assembled a broad coalition including Emperor
Otto IV, King John I of England, Duke Henry I of Peter II of Courtenay left flank:
Brabant, Count William I of Holland, Duke
Thomas of St. Valery
Theobald I of Lorraine, and Duke Henry III of Ferrand of Flanders
Limburg.[1] right flank: (POW)

The campaign was planned by John, who was the Arnulf IV of

Matthew II of
fulcrum of the alliance; his plan was to draw the Oudenaarde
Montmorency
French away from Paris southward towards his
William I of Sancerre
forces and keep them occupied, while the main
army, under Emperor Otto IV, marched on Paris Walter III of Châtillon
from the north.[1] John's plan was followed initially, Peter of Remi
but the Allies in the north moved slowly. John, after
Jean, Count of
two encounters with the French, retreated to
Beaumont
Aquitaine on 3 July.
Adam II of Melun

other command:
On 23 July, having summoned his vassals, Philip had Thomas of Perche
an army consisting of 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers.[2] The Stephen Longchamp
Emperor finally succeeded in concentrating his
forces at Valenciennes, although this did not include Strength
John, and in the interval Philip had counter-marched
northward and regrouped.[3] Philip now took the 6,500–7,660 8,800–9,000
offensive himself, and after manoeuvring to obtain
good ground for his cavalry he offered battle on 27 1,200–1,360 knights 1,300–1,500 knights
July, on the plain east of Bouvines and the river 300 mounted 7,500 infantry
Marque.[4]
sergeants
Otto was surprised by the speed of his enemy and 5,000–6,000 infantry
was thought to have been caught unprepared by Casualties and losses
Philip, who probably deliberately lured Otto into his
trap. Otto decided to launch an attack on what was Comparatively light
169 knights killed
then the French rearguard.[5]
131 knights captured
The Allied army drew up facing south-west towards 400–700 Brabançons
Bouvines, the heavy cavalry on the wings, the killed
infantry in one great mass in the centre, supported by
Heavy infantry
a cavalry corps under Otto himself. The French army
formed up opposite in a similar formation, cavalry casualties
on the wings, infantry, including the town militias, in
the centre. Philip, with the cavalry reserve and the royal standard, the Oriflamme, positioned himself to the
rear of the men on foot.[4] It is said by William the Breton, chaplain to Philip at the battle, that the soldiers
stood in line in a space of 40,000 steps (15 ha or 37 acres), which leaves very little clearance and
predisposes to hand-to-hand fighting. William the Breton also says in his chronicle that "the two lines of
combatants were separated by a small space".[6]

Order of battle

French

The French army contained 1,200–1,360

knights (of whom 765 were from the
royal demesne) and 300 mounted
sergeants.[7][8] Philip had launched an
appeal to the municipalities in northern
France, in order to obtain their support.
16 of the 39 municipalities of the royal
demesne answered the call to arms.
They provided 3,160 infantry, broken
down as: Amiens 250, Arras 1000,
Beauvais 500, Compiegne 200, Corbie
200, Bruyeres 120, Cerny and Crepy-en-
Laonnais 80, Crandelain 40, Hesdin 80,
Pre-battle dispositions.
Montreuil-sur-Mer 150, Noyon 150,
Roye 100, Soissoins 160, and Vailly
50.[8] The balance of the infantry,
possibly another 2,000 men, were composed of mercenaries.[9] The other communes of the royal demesne
were supposed to provide a further 1,980 infantry, but it is doubtful that they did.[8] In total, the royal army
totalled approximately 6,000–7,000 men.

The royal army was divided into three parts, or "battles":[10]

The right wing, composed of the knights of Champagne and Burgundy, was commanded by
Eudes, Duke of Burgundy, and his lieutenants: Gaucher of Châtillon, Count of Saint-Pol, Count
Wilhelm I of Sancerre, Count of Beaumont, Mathieu of Montmorency and Adam II Viscount of
Melun. In the front of the right wing were men-at-arms and militia from Burgundy, Champagne,
and Picardy led by 150 mounted sergeants from Soissons.
The central battle was led by Philip Augustus and his chief knights – William des Barres,
Bartholomew of Roye, Girard Scophe, William of Garland, Enguerrand of Coucy and Gautier of
Nemours. In front of the king and his 175 knights were 2,150 infantry from the towns of the Île
de France and Normandy.
The left wing was led by Robert of Dreux, supported by Count William of Ponthieu. The main
body of the left wing consisted of Bretons and militia from Dreux, Perche, Ponthieu, and
Vimeux.
The bridge of Bouvines, the only means of retreat across the marshes, was guarded by 150
sergeants-at-arms, who also formed the French reserve.

Allied

Otto's army contained some 1,300–1,500 knights: 600–650 Flemish, 425–500 Hainaulter and 275–350 from
elsewhere.[11] He also fielded approximately 7,500 infantry, to give a total force of just under 9,000 men.
The imperial army was also formed up in three battles:[12]

The left flank, under the command of Ferrand of Flanders with his Flemish knights – directed
by Arnaud of Oudenaarde. The infantry were from Flanders and Hainaut.
The centre was under the command of Otto and of Theobald, Duke of Lorraine, Henry, Duke of
Brabant, and Philip Courtenay, Marquis of Namur. It included many Saxons and infantry from
Brabant and Germany. In the front of the battle stood German pike phalanxes. Saxon infantry
formed the second line. Otto stood between these with 50 German knights.
The right flank, under the command of Renaud de Dammartin, included Brabant infantry and
English knights, the latter under the command of the Earl of Salisbury, William Longespée.
On the extreme right, English archers supported the flank of both the Brabant infantry and the
nobles of the two Lorraines (i.e. of the Duchy of Lorraine and the County of Bar).

Battle

Allied left

The battle opened with an attack by 150 light cavalrymen from the Abbey of Saint-Médard de Soissons
against the Flemish knights on the allied left, aiming to throw it into confusion. The Flemish knights easily
drove off the unarmoured horsemen. Some Flemish knights left their formations and chased the retreating
light cavalry. 180 French knights from Champagne in turn attacked and killed or captured the over-
aggressive Flemish knights.[13][14] The Count of Flanders counter-attacked with his entire force of 600
knights and threw the French back.[15]
Gaucher de Châtillon launched his 30 knights at the Flemish force,
followed by a further 250 knights.[13][14] They carried out a
continuous series of charges, and halted the allied advance.[14] Many
knights on both sides fell from their horses in the first clash. The
French were better ordered than the more loosely formed Flemish
knights, and the Allied ranks grew thinner as they were assaulted by
the compact French masses. Châtillon and Melun with their knights
broke through the ranks of their Flemish counterparts, then wheeled
and struck them from the rear, constantly switching targets. St. Pol's
knights and the Burgundians engaged in an exhausting struggle
against the Flemings, taking no prisoners. The Duke of Burgundy's
horse was killed and the Duke thrown to the ground, but he was
saved by his knights, who beat off the Flemish and found him a fresh King Philip, Emperor Otto IV and
horse.[16] their knights clashing in a 14th-
century illustration of the battle.
The Flemings fought on for three hours despite their increasingly
desperate situation, driven by knightly honour. Finally, the wounded
and unhorsed Count of Flanders was captured by two French knights, triggering the collapse of his knights'
morale.[16][17]

Centre

The French urban militia infantry, 2,150 strong, were gathered under
the Oriflamme in the centre, in front of Philip's knights and the fleur-
de-lis standard.[18]Soon after deploying, they were attacked by
Allied knights and infantry under Otto and thrown back.[16] Otto and
his knights had nearly reached the French king when they were
halted by French knights.[19] The allied infantrymen broke through
to Philip and his handful of knightly companions, unhorsing him
with their hooked pikes. The French king's armour deflected an
enemy lance and saved his life. Gales de Montigny used the royal
standard to signal for help and another knight gave Philip a fresh King Philip II of France's victory at
horse.[20] Bouvines, 1410 illustration by Vincent
of Beauvais
The allied infantry used daggers to stab unhorsed French knights
through the eye-slits of their helmets and other weak spots in their
armour. The Norman knight Etienne de Longchamp was killed in this way and the French suffered heavy
losses. After repeated French counterattacks and a prolonged fight the Allies were thrown back.[20][4]

The battle in the centre was now a melee between the two mounted reserves led by the King and the
Emperor in person. The French knight Pierre Mauvoisin nearly captured Otto and his horse and Gérard la
Truie stabbed the Emperor with a dagger, which bounced off his coat of mail and struck Otto's horse in the
eye, killing it. Otto was saved by four German lords and their followers.[4] As the French sent more knights
to attack him personally he fled the field. The German knights fought to the bitter end to save their emperor,
all being killed or captured. The Imperial Standard with the eagle and dragon was captured by the French
knights, who brought it to their king. By this time, Allied resistance in the centre had ceased.[20]

Allied right
Meanwhile, on the French left Robert de Dreux's troops were at first pressed by men led by William
Longespée.[21] William Longespée was unhorsed and taken prisoner by Philip of Dreux, the Bishop of
Beauvais, and the English soldiers fled. Mathieu de Montmorency captured twelve enemy banners. (In
memory of this feat, the shield of Montmorency includes an additional twelve eagles or sixteen altogether
instead of the previous four.)[22]

Last stand

Ferrand of Flanders and
Renaud of Boulogne being
conveyed as prisoners to
Paris in a 14th-century
illustration. Ferrand was
released in 1227 and died
soon after of a disease
contracted in prison. Renaud
was kept in chains and
committed suicide in 1227.
five barons and over a hundred knights.[23]
The day was already decided in favour of the French when their wings
began to close inwards to cut off the retreat of the imperial centre.[20] The
battle closed with the celebrated stand of Reginald of Boulogne (Renaud
de Dammartin), a former vassal of King Philip, who formed a ring of 400–
700 Brabançon pikemen. They defied every attack by the French cavalry,
while Reginald made repeated sorties with his small force of knights.[21]
Eventually, long after the Imperial army had retreated, the Brabant
schiltrom was overrun by a charge of 50 knights and 1,000–2,000 infantry
under Thomas de St Valery. Reginald was taken prisoner in the melee. A
pursuit was not conducted owing to the approaching nightfall and a fear
that the prisoners might escape. The French formations were recalled using
trumpets.[23]
Aftermath
French knightly casualties are not recorded; the French infantry suffered
heavily. The Allies had 169 knights killed and "heavy" but unquantified
losses among the infantry; including between 400 and 700 Brabant infantry
killed.[4] As well as Reginald of Boulogne two other counts were captured
by the French, Hainaut Ferrand and William Longespée, as well as twenty-

The battle ended the threat from both Otto and John.[24] According to Jean Favier, Bouvines is "one of the
most decisive and symbolic battles in the history of France".[25] For Philippe Contamine "the Battle of
Bouvines had both important consequences and a great impact".[26] Ferdinand Lot called it a "medieval
Austerlitz".[27]

Philip returned to Paris triumphant, marching his captive prisoners behind him in a long procession, as his
subjects lined the streets to greet the victorious king. In the aftermath of the battle, Otto retreated to his
castle of Harzburg and was soon overthrown as Holy Roman Emperor by Frederick II, who had already
been recognised as emperor in the south a year and a half earlier.[28] Count Ferdinand remained imprisoned
following his defeat, while King John obtained a five-year truce, on very lenient terms given the
circumstances.[29]

Philip's decisive victory was crucial to the political situation in England. The battle ended all hope of a
restoration of the Angevin Empire.[30] So weakened was the defeated King John that he soon needed to
submit to his barons' demands and agree to the Magna Carta, limiting the power of the crown and
establishing the basis for common law.[31]

Commemoration
In thanksgiving for the victory, Philip Augustus founded the Abbey of
Notre Dame de la Victoire, between Senlis and Mont l'Evêque.[32] In 1914,
to mark the seventh centenary, Félix Dehau had the parish church of
Bouvines rebuilt with a number of stained-glass windows representing the
history of the battle.[33] In 2014, the eighth centenary was commemorated
in Bouvines by an association called Bouvines 2014. A series of events,
including an official ceremony and a show called "Bouvines la Bataille"
attracted more than 6,000 viewers in Bouvines.[34]
A detail of one of the stained-
glass windows installed in the
parish church of Bouvines in
1914

References
1. Verbruggen 1997, p. 239.
2. Verbruggen 1997, pp. 245–246.
3. Verbruggen 1997, p. 240.
4. Chisholm 1911, pp. 336–337.
5. Verbruggen 1997, p. 241.
6. Duby 1990.
7. Bradbury 1996, pp. 244–245.
8. Verbruggen 1997, p. 245.
9. Heath 1990, p. 10.
10. Verbruggen 1997, pp. 242–245, 250.
11. Verbruggen 1997, pp. 246–247.
12. Verbruggen 1997, pp. 249–250.
13. Verbruggen 1997, p. 242.
14. Verbruggen 1997, p. 251.
15. Verbruggen 1997, pp. 246, 251.
16. Verbruggen 1997, p. 252.
17. DeVries 2006, pp. 80–89.
18. Verbruggen 1997, pp. 245, 252.
19. Verbruggen 1997, pp. 252–253.
20. Verbruggen 1997, p. 253.
21. Verbruggen 1997, p. 254.
22. Eysenbach 1848, p. 321.
23. Verbruggen 1997, p. 255.
24. Baldwin 1986, p. 381.
25. Favier 1993, p. 176.
26. Contamine 1992, p. 83.
27. Lot 1941.
28. Kamp 1995.
29. Gillingham 1984, p. 106.
30. Sumption 1990, p. 355.
31. France 2015, pp. 251–253.
32. Morel 1864, p. 280.
33. Association Bouvines a 2014.
34. Association Bouvines b 2014.

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"Le 700è anniversaire en 1914" (http://www.bouvines2014.fr/commune-bouvines-php/le-700e-
anniversaire-en-1914/). Bouvines la Bataille (in French). Association Bouvines. 2014.
Retrieved 30 November 2018.
"Son et Lumière" (http://www.bouvines2014.fr/les-projets-association/son-et-lumiere/).
Bouvines la Bataille (in French). Association Bouvines. 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
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(https://web.archive.org/web/20100617052651/http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/b
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Studies in Medieval Military History in Honor of Bernard S. Bachrach. Farnham, Surrey:
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External links
Historical accounts (http://www.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/SOURCES/bouvines.htm)

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