The siege of Tournai was an event of the Franco-Flemish War in 1303. Following French defeat at 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 ...

, the Flemish army entered France, burning the town of

Thérouanne Thérouanne (; vls, Terenburg; Dutch ''Terwaan'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located west of Aire-sur-la-Lys and south of Saint-Omer, on the D 157 and D 341 road junction. Locate ...

and laying siege to

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 ...

. A French army of 1,400 men led by

Foulques du Merle Foulques or Foucaud du Merle (died 1314) was a Marshal of France, Seigneur of Gacé and Bellou-en-Houlme, and Baron of Le Merlerault, Briouze and Messei. Du Merle was the son of Guillaume VI du Merle and Marie de Nollent. He served Philip III ...

and reinforced by soldiers of

John II, Count of Holland John II (1247 – 22 August 1304) was Count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland. Life John II, born 1247, was the eldest son of John I of Hainaut and Adelaide of Holland.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der ...

, arrived to bolster the city's defences in June 1303. The Flemish campaign lasted forty-seven days.J. F. Verbruggen, ''The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Courtrai, 11 July 1302): A Contribution to the History of Flanders' War of Liberation, 1297-1305'' (Boydell & Brewer, 2002). The siege was ended by negotiations between

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 ...

and the Flemish, in which the French agreed to release their prisoner,

Guy, Count of Flanders Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated th ...

, in return for the lifting of the siege.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tournai, Siege of Sieges of the Middle Ages Battles involving Flanders Sieges involving France 1303 in Europe 1300s in France Conflicts in 1303 Franco-Flemish War