The Battle of Arques was fought on 4 April 1303 in the French city of Arques between the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...

and the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

Background

The

Battle of the Golden Spurs The Battle of the Golden Spurs ( nl, Guldensporenslag; french: Bataille des éperons d'or) was a military confrontation between the royal army of France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the Franco-Flemis ...

was an embarrassing defeat for King

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...

that liberated the whole of the County from French occupation. Eager for revenge, King Philip raised a new army under Gaucher de Châtillon,

Constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...

, and moved against Flanders. The Flemish under

William of Jülich William of Jülich, called the Younger (Dutch: ''Willem van Gulik de Jongere''; died August 18, 1304), was one of the Flemish noblemen that opposed the annexation policies of the French king Philip IV, together with Pieter de Coninck. He was al ...

were checking the French troops and both armies met on August 30, 1302, between

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

and

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

. Negotiations were opened and both armies withdrew a few days later without fighting.

Battle

In the spring of 1303 the French army moved against

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

. William of Jülich responded by an attack on the weakly defended city of Arques, killing the French garrison of 60 and burning down the city. De Châtillon hurried to Arques, where the Flemish prepared for battle. As in the Battle of the Golden Spurs, William of Jülich positioned his infantry, mainly from

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

in a horseshoe shaped formation. For hours, the French tried to break the Flemish formation, but to no avail. Finally the French withdrew to Saint-Omer, leaving 300 dead behind. The Flemish had lost 1,000 killed and did not pursue. The battle was a Flemish victory, as they retained the field. A new French invasion of Flanders had been prevented.

Aftermath

This battle was followed by a Flemish defeat the next year in the north in the

Battle of Zierikzee The battle of Zierikzee was a naval battle between a Flemish fleet and an allied Franco-Hollandic fleet which took place on 10 and 11 August 1304. The battle, fought near the town of Zierikzee, ended in a Franco-Dutch victory. The battle is part of ...

, where the French were supported by the

Count of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. House of Holland The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...

Casualties

The Franciscan Friar of Ghent reported 1,000 Flemish killed, mostly non-combatants. The French Chronicler

Guillaume Guiart Guillaume Guiart (or Guiard) (died c. 1316) was a French chronicler and poet. Life He was probably born at Orléans, and served in the French army in Flanders in 1304. Having been disabled by a wound he began to write, lived at Arras and then in ...

put the French death toll at 300. These estimates are accepted by Verbruggen. The Flemish death toll varies in the French chronicles. The ''Chronique Normande'' gave 2,000 dead, Jean Desnouelles and the ''Récits d'un bourgeois de Valenciennes'' 12,000, Guillaume de Franchet 15,000, the ''Chronique Artésienne'' 16,000 and the ''Chronique des Pays-Bas'' 24,000.

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arques, Battle of (1303) 1303 in Europe 1300s in France Conflicts in 1303 Battles involving Flanders Battles involving France Battles of the Middle Ages Battles in Hauts-de-France Military history of the Pas-de-Calais Franco-Flemish War 14th century in the county of Flanders