The Battle of Gavere was fought at Semmerzake, near

Gavere Gavere () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of , Baaigem, , Gavere, and . In 2021, Gavere had a total population of 13,007. The total area is 31.35 km². Sports The ...

, in 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 a ...

(modern-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) on 23 July 1453, between the army of

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

and the rebelling city of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

. The battle ended the Revolt of Ghent with a Burgundian victory.

Background

Ghent was the richest, most populous, and powerful city in the

Burgundian Netherlands In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands (french: Pays-Bas bourguignons, nl, Bourgondische Nederlanden, lb, Burgundeschen Nidderlanden, wa, Bas Payis borguignons) or the Burgundian Age is the period between 1384 and ...

. The battle was a consequence of Ghent's opposition against a new salt tax. When the city openly declared its rebellion, the Duke assembled an army from neighbouring lands, including southern Flanders, and attacked three fortifications; Schendelbeke, Poeke, and Gavere. Schendelbeke and Poeke were both taken with little effort and both garrisons were executed. The Burgundian army began its bombardment of Gavere on 18 July. The Ghentenaar relief army arrived on 23 July, not knowing the fort had fallen the day before. Philip, aware of the approach of the Ghentenaar army, drew up his army into battle lines. Finding Philip's army battle ready, the Ghentenaar army formed up.

Battle

The battle began with an artillery exchange, a first for the Burgundian army, and due to the superior range of the Ghentenaar artillery, Philip was forced to move his cannons closer to the enemy. Once in range, the Burgundian artillery began to weaken Ghentenaar morale, and numerous Ghentenaar soldiers fled. A Ghentenaar contemporary source claims a spark ignited an open sack of gunpowder causing an explosion which caused the Ghent cannoners to rout. Seeing the enemy flee, the Burgundian army charged. Some Ghent soldiers regrouped to counter the charge, but their efforts were useless and casualties were high.

Afterwards

It was feared the Duke would destroy the city completely, but when asked to show mercy he is said to have replied "If I should destroy this city, who is going to build me one like it?" The battle broke the power of Ghent only temporarily, as in 1539 there would be another revolt against the high taxes under

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

(see Revolt of Ghent (1539)).

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

Charles Terlinden Charles Terlinden (1878—1972) was a Belgian historian, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, and papal chamberlain.Henri Haag, "Terlinden, Charles", ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale''vol. 3(Brussels, 1994), 323-325. Life Terlinden was ...

, ''Histoire militaire des Belges'', Brussels, La Renaissance du Livre, 1931.

External links

History of the Battle of Gavere

History of Ghent 1453 in Europe 1450s in France

1450s in the Burgundian Netherlands {{Battle-stub