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The siege of Tournai (23 July - 25 September 1340) occurred during the
Edwardian phase The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
of the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
. The Siege began when a coalition of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, Hainaut,
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
under the command of King
Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...
besieged the French city of
Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...
. This siege would end in the Truce of Espléchin, marking the end of the Tournaisis campaign of 1340.


Background

Edward's crushing naval victory at the
Battle of Sluys The Battle of Sluys (; ), also called the Battle of l'Écluse, was a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between England and France. It took place in the roadstead of the port of Sluys (French ''Écluse''), on a since silted-up inlet betwee ...
allowed him to land his army and carry out his campaign in northern France. When Edward landed he would be joined by
Jacob van Artevelde Jacob van Artevelde (; c. 1290 – 17 or 24 July 1345), sometimes written in English as James van Artvelde, also known as The Wise Man and the Brewer of Ghent, was a Flemish statesman and political leader. Biography Jacob Van Artevelde was bo ...
, Flanders' semi-dictatorial ruler who had gained control of the County in an insurrection. By 1340 the cost of the war had already drained the English treasuries and Edward arrived in Flanders penniless. Edward had attempted to pay for his campaign through a large tax on grain and wool, however, this tax raised only £15,000 of the £100,000 predicted. Shortly after landing Edward split his army. 10,000 to 15,000 Flemings and 1,000 English longbowmen would launch a chevauchée under the command of
Robert III of Artois Robert III of Artois (1287 – between 6 October & 20 November 1342) was Lord of Conches-en-Ouche, of Domfront, and of Mehun-sur-Yèvre, and in 1309 he received as appanage the county of Beaumont-le-Roger in restitution for the County of Artois ...
and the remainder of the coalition forces under Edward would go on to besiege Tournai.


Siege

Apart from the inhabitants, Tournai also had a 5,800 man strong French garrison inside. This garrison was made up of the permanent garrison led by
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 ...
, Raoul I and a 2500-3000 strong force commanded by Gaston II, the Count of
Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of south ...
sent earlier by Philip. The coalition reached Tournai on 23 July. Edward's forces were supported by Flemish militia led by Jacob van Artevelde, the armies of William II, the Count of Hainaut and the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
sent by Louis IV. At the end of July, the survivors of the
Battle of Saint-Omer The Battle of Saint-Omer, fought on 26 July 1340, was a major engagement in the early stages of the Hundred Years' War, during Edward III's 1340 summer campaign against France launched from Flanders. The campaign was initiated in the aftermath o ...
arrived at Tournai and joined the siege. Later, these forces would be reinforced by the troops of John III, the Duke of
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...
. Upon their arrival, the coalition surrounded the city and constructed siege engines. Among these siege engines were
cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...
. This makes the Siege of Tournai notable for being an early example of the use of the cannon in European siege warfare. These siege engines had little effect due to Tournai's modern walls and Edward soon decided to secure the city through famine. Tournai had little time to accumulate stores of food as the French had done before in the Siege of Cambrai and the massive size of its garrison made the city vulnerable to a protracted siege. The besiegers quickly grew impatient and on 26 August 2,000 Flemings assaulted the walls. However, they were repulsed with heavy losses. On 2 September another attempt on the walls was made when a battering ram was brought to the gate. This attempt lasted most of the day but no progress was made and the attempt was broken off. These assaults worsened the animosity between the members of the coalition in part due to their lack of success and because the Germans and Brabantians didn't take part in them. As the siege dragged on the financial position of Edward became more apparent. When September arrived and no money arrived from England, Edward had to go further into debt to feed his army. It was clear to him that the armies of the coalition would abandon him if they weren't paid. As Phillip drew closer the men of Brabant and Hainaut threatened to mutiny if they weren't paid. Edward knew that most of his army wouldn't fight and started seeking peace negotiations. On 22 September Edward's mother-in-law, Joan of Valois, visited him in his tent and begged for peace. She had already made the same plea to her brother, Philip. These negotiations would lead to the Truce of Espléchin on 25 September and Tournai was relieved.


Aftermath

The Truce marked a complete failure for England in northern France. England's allies were unhappy with their lack of success and lack of pay and immediately disintegrated after the truce. Edward returned to England bankrupt, blaming the failure of the campaign on his ministers for failing to send him money. After returning to London on 30 November 1340 he purged the royal administration of a great number of ministers and judges. Among those purged were the Mayor of London, the chancellor
Robert de Stratford Robert de Stratford ( c. 1292 – 9 April 1362) was an English bishop and was one of Edward III's principal ministers. Early life Stratford was born into the landed Stratford family of Stratford-on-Avon around 1292. His father was anot ...
, the treasurer and the financers
William de la Pole William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and Richard de la Pole. This purge of ministers paralyzed the English government for the first four months of 1341. Also, in response to the failure suffered by the English under John Chandos, he reportedly sacked and burned nearby towns and smaller castles. The truce also weakened the French crown. Flanders remained under the control of Jacob van Artevelde. This brought Flanders into England's sphere of influence.
Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ...
, Count of Flanders remained in exile until his death. The cost of war had also taken a great toll on France. Although France was not bankrupt, Philip had debased his currency five times between 1337 and 1340, reducing its nominal value by 60%. Many towns in northern France had also been destroyed by the English on campaign. Among them
Aire Aire may refer to: Music * ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987 * ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997 *''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy Places *Aire-sur-la-Lys, a town in the Pas-de-Calais département in France *Aire-la-Ville, a municip ...
, Arques,
Orchies Orchies (; nl, Oorschie) is a commune in the department of Nord in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Orchies is the biggest town of the Pévèle. It is especially known for its ''Musée de la chicorée'', the museum of chicory. ...
and
Saint-Amand-les-Eaux Saint-Amand-les-Eaux (; former nl, Sint-Amands-aan-de-Skarpe, link=no) is a commune in the Nord department, northern France. It lies on the river Scarpe, 12 km northwest of Valenciennes. In French, the town people are named ''Amandinois ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tournai, Siege Of Sieges involving England Sieges involving France Sieges of the Hundred Years' War Conflicts in 1340 1340 in France 1340 in England Edward III of England
Siege of Tournai (1340) The siege of Tournai (23 July - 25 September 1340) occurred during the Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years' War. The Siege began when a coalition of England, Flanders, Hainaut, Brabant and the Holy Roman Empire under the command of King Edw ...
Battles in Wallonia