The naval Battle of Saint-Mathieu took place on 10 August 1512 during the
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
, near
Brest, France
Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...
, between an English fleet of 25 ships commanded by Sir
Edward Howard and a Franco-Breton fleet of 22 ships commanded by
René de Clermont. It is possibly the first battle between ships using cannon through ports, although this played a minor role in the fighting. This was one of only two full-fledged naval battles fought by
King Henry VIII's
Tudor navy
The Tudor navy was the navy of the Kingdom of England under the ruling Tudor dynasty (1485–1603). The period involved important and critical changes that led to the establishment of a permanent navy and laid the foundations for the future Ro ...
.
During the battle, each navy's largest and most powerful ship — the ''
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
'' and the ''Marie-la-Cordelière'' (or simply ''Cordelière'') — were destroyed in a large explosion aboard the latter.
Background
Although the
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
, 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 independent of France at the time, although the two were closely allied.
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
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
*Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
*Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
**Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Brest, ...
and the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
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
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
an army which Henry sent to France under the command of
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner of the House of Grey.
Early life
Grey was the third son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455–1501), ...
, with the hope of recovering
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux.
The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...
. Howard then raided
Le Conquet
Le Conquet (; br, Konk-Leon) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. This is the westernmost town of mainland France. Only three insular towns—Ouessant, Île-Molène and Ile de Sein—are further west The ...
and
Crozon
Crozon (, ; br, Kraozon, , ) is a commune in the department of Finistère and the administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. As well as the town of Crozon, the village of Morgat is part of the commune.
Crozon is located on the Croz ...
on the Breton coast. During June and July, Howard effectively controlled the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
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.
Battle
![Cordeliere and Regent](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Cordeliere_and_Regent.jpg)
Well informed about the Franco-Breton manoeuvres, the English surprised them at anchor.
[Georges G. Toudouze, ''Hervé de Portz-Moguer et "Marie la Cordelière", d'après les témoins oculaires de 1512'', in Fantômes des Combat](_blank)
/ref> Unprepared and confronted by a superior fleet, all the French and Breton ships cut their anchor cables and spread their sails. 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 Hervé de Portzmoguer (c1470–1512), known as "Primauguet", was a Breton people, Breton naval commander, renowned for his raids on the English and his death in the Battle of St. Mathieu.
Raids
Portzmoguer participated in armed convoys, protecting ...
, the captain of the ship, could not disembark them and the crew was thus reinforced by those "involuntary" combatants who, however, fought bravely.
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
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
*Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
*Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
**Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Brest, ...
. Under English fire, ''Marie la Cordelière''— at 1,000 tons, one of the largest of her time—sailed towards the ''Regent'', with 600 Tons the largest and most powerful ship in the English navy. The ''Sovereign'' and the ''Mary James'' rushed to rescue the ''Regent'' and surrounded the ''Cordelière'', while the superior fire of the ''Mary Rose
The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her l ...
'' badly damaged the ''Petite Louise'' which was forced to retreat. The ''Cordelière'' remained alone among the English fleet, with the exception of the small ''Nef-de-Dieppe'' which harassed the English ships. The ''Cordelière''s cannons dismasted both ''Sovereign'' and ''Mary James'' which became ungovernable and drifted in the Iroise Sea
Iroise () or the Iroise Sea (french: mer d'Iroise ; br, An Hirwazh) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean which stretches from the Ile de Sein to Ushant off the coast of Brittany in north-western France. It is contained within the Celtic Sea, borderin ...
.
Hervé de Portzmoguer, also known as "Primauguet", the Breton captain of the ''Cordelière'' ordered the assault of the ''Regent''. Grappling hooks
A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hol ...
were thrown and the two ships were tied together. The seamen of the ''Marie-la-Cordelière'' rushed on the ''Regents deck which was constantly being reinforced by English ships transferring their crews on the ''Regent''. The little ''Nef-de-Dieppe'' manoeuvered skillfully to bombard these new assailants. The deck of the ''Regent'' was covered by blood when, suddenly, the ''Cordelière'' exploded. The flames spread to the ''Regent'' and both ships sank. The crews of both ships were almost entirely annihilated. Only 20 wounded Breton sailors out of 1,250 were saved from the ''Cordelière'' and 60 out of 460 English from the ''Regent''. Howard was devastated by the death of Thomas Knyvet, commander of the ''Regent'', and vowed "that he will never see the King in the face till he hath revenged the death of the noble and valiant knight, Sir Thomas Knyvet."
Over the next two days, with the French fleet in Brest, the English fleet captured or destroyed thirty-two French vessels and recovered the valuable French anchors before returning to England. As a result of the engagement Sir Edward Howard was made Lord High Admiral by .
Role in Breton culture
Brittany and France were still technically separate realms at the time, united only dynastically through the marriage of Duchess Anne to King Louis XII of France
Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...
. 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 Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier took place on 28 July 1488, between the forces of King Charles VIII of France, and those of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, and his allies. The defeat of the latter signalled the end to the " guerre folle" ('Mad ...
, 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 Germain de Brie (c. 1490 – 22 July 1538), sometimes Latinized as Germanus Brixius, was a French Renaissance humanist scholar and poet. He was closely associated with Erasmus and had a well-known literary feud with Thomas More.
Early life
Germain ...
both wrote poems about it. 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
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
, leading to a literary battle between More and de Brie. The death of de Portzmoguer, on the day of Saint Lawrence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...
(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. This version was commemorated by the Breton poet Théodore Botrel
Jean-Baptiste-Théodore-Marie Botrel (14 September 1868 – 28 July 1925) was a French singer-songwriter, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany, of which the most famous is ''La Paimpolaise''. Durin ...
. 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.
Ships involved
Footnotes
References
*
External links
Medal commemorating ''Marie de la Cordelière'' and the light cruiser ''Primauguet''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Mathieu, Battle of (1512)
1512 in France
Battles involving England
Battles involving France
Naval battles of the Italian Wars
History of Brest, France
Conflicts in 1512
16th-century military history of the Kingdom of England
England–France relations
Battles of the War of the League of Cambrai