The Battle of Val-ès-Dunes was fought in 1047 by the combined forces of the Norman duke William II and the French king
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...
against the forces of several rebel Norman barons, led by William's cousin Guy of Brionne.
As a result of winning the battle, William was able to retain his title and maintain control over the western half of his duchy.
Background
William had succeeded to his title in 1035, as the seven-year-old
illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
son of the previous Duke,
Robert I Robert I may refer to:
*Robert I, Duke of Neustria (697–748)
* Robert I of France (866–923), King of France, 922–923, rebelled against Charles the Simple
* Rollo, Duke of Normandy (c. 846 – c. 930; reigned 911–927)
* Robert I Archbishop o ...
. Several of William's kinsmen (including Guy of Burgundy, his cousin) believed themselves to have a better claim to the title, but William had the support of King Henry I and other influential nobles.
In 1046, some of William's enemies decided to finally strike. After an ambush near
Valognes
Valognes () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.
Geography
Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg.
Histo ...
on the
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...
Poissy
Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French.
Poissy is one ...
, and reminded the king that a revolt against his faithful
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...
was a revolt against himself. Wanting to protect his vassal and ally, King Henry raised an army of about 10,000 men to march on Normandy.
Battle
In the summer of 1047, King Henry's army joined Duke William's (the conqueror) much smaller Norman army near
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Conteville.
The battle consisted mainly of a series of cavalry skirmishes. The rebel army outnumbered the royal army, but it lacked the latter's coordination and leadership. Haimo of Creully (Haimon or Hamo Dentatus) unhorsed King Henry, but was killed before he could injure him. After losing several skirmishes, the rebel army broke apart, panicked, and fled to the west. The royal army pursued closely, slaughtering rebels by the thousands and driving the remnants of their army into the
Orne River
The Orne () is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is long. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre.
T ...
Fleury-sur-Orne
Fleury-sur-Orne (, literally ''Fleury on Orne'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is part of the Communauté urbaine Caen la Mer and of the agglomeration of Caen.Barbillon as the river carried them downstream ''en masse''.
The battle is traditionally said to have taken place on 10 August, but there is no decisive evidence for this date. The historian David Douglas argues for a date early in 1047 on the ground that the drowning of the fleeing army indicates that the Orne was flooded, which points to the winter or spring. However, David Bates dismisses this argument as the tidal nature of the Orne would account for the drownings. In his view, the battle almost certainly took place in the summer.
Aftermath
While the royal army drove much of the rebel army to the west, Gui of Burgundy and his surviving forces escaped to his lands in the east and holed up in the strategic castle of
Brionne
Brionne () is a commune in the Eure department. Brionne is in the region of Normandy of northern France.
Population history
Notable sites and buildings
The keep of Brionne was built in the 11th century A.D. and was destroyed in the 18th cent ...
. Despite an energetic siege, William was not able to force the castle into surrender until 1050, and, during that time, he was not able to assert his authority in the eastern third of his duchy, which lay beyond Brionne.
After the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes, there was still strong opposition to William among the Norman nobles, but they were forced to declare a "
Truce of God
The Peace and Truce of God ( lat, Pax et treuga Dei) was a movement in the Middle Ages led by the Catholic Church and one of the most influential mass peace movements in history. The goal of both the ''Pax Dei'' and the ''Treuga Dei'' was to limi ...
" at Caen in October 1047. This truce, backed by the full endorsement of the
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
, stated that private wars or vendettas were prohibited from Wednesday evening to Monday morning. The truce gave William special rights to defend his title and the public order; he did not, along with King Henry I, have to abide by the order. Even though William's position was still weak, with Gui of Burgundy still holding out and William having to pardon many of the barons who had opposed him, it would be five years before he had to face another major revolt.