Battle of Lunalonge
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The Battle of Lunalonge was fought in the summer of 1349 between a
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
force numbering approximately 1,500 men and an
Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term '' Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people ...
- Gascon force of some 500 men, during the first phase 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 location of the battle is thought to have been modern Limalonges in
Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.
. The outnumbered Anglo-Gascons, commanded by Thomas Coke, gained the upper hand during the day, but had to withdraw on foot during the night because the French, under
Jean de Lille Jean de Lille, Seneschal of Poitou was a 14th century French noble. Life Lille raised a Poitevin army to besiege Lusignan Castle held by an Anglo-Gascon garrison in Summer 1349. He attacked an Anglo-Gason force of 500 mounted men, led by Thomas ...
, had captured their horses. The French lost approximately 300 killed and an unknown but large number captured, including their leader.


Background

Since the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them
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 suzerain. W ...
s of the kings of France. The status of the English kings' French
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
s was a major source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. French monarchs systematically sought to check the growth of English power, stripping away lands as the opportunity arose. By 1337 only
Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
in south western France and
Ponthieu Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu play ...
in northern France were still English-controlled. The Gascons had their own language and customs. A large proportion of the red wine that they produced was shipped to England in a profitable trade. This trade provided the English king with much of his revenue. The Gascons preferred their relationship with a distant English king who left them alone, to one with a French king who would interfere in their affairs. Following a series of disagreements between
Philip VI of France Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 ...
and
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 ...
, on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that the
Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...
, which included all of Gascony, should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start 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, ...
, which was to last one hundred and sixteen years. Although Gascony was the cause of the war, Edward was able to spare few resources for it and up to 1349 whenever an English army campaigned on the continent it operated in northern France. In most campaigning seasons the Gascons had had to rely on their own resources and had been hard pressed by the French.


Prelude

In November 1348 the
Truce of Calais The Truce of Calais () was a truce agreed by King Edward III of England and King Philip VI of France on 28 September 1347, which was mediated by emissaries of Pope Clement VI. The Hundred Years' War had broken out in 1337 and in 1346 Edward ...
was agreed between the two kings. In May 1349 it was extended for twelve months. It was almost completely ignored in the south west, where a series of raids and actions were fought in eastern Gascony in the summer of 1349. The
Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
of
Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
, Jean de Lille, had raised a force of local Poitevins to besiege Anglo-Gascon held castle of Lusignan. In late May Thomas Coke, Seneschal of Gascony, led a force of 500 mounted men, composed largely of native Gascons, from
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
to the relief of Lusignan. He was intercepted at Lunalonge by 1,500 French under de Lille. The location of the battle is thought to have been modern Limalonges in
Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.
. Among the forces on the Anglo-Gascon side was Jean de Grailly,
Captal de Buch Captal de Buch (later Buché from Latin ''capitalis'', "first", "chief") was a medieval feudal title in Gascony held by Jean III de Grailly among others. According to Du Cange, the designation ''captal'' (''capital, captau, capitau'') was applied l ...
, later to be a famous commander; while among the French rode
Jean le Maingre Jean II Le Maingre (Old French: Jehan le Meingre), also known as Boucicaut (28 August 1366 – 21 June 1421), was a French knight and military leader. Renowned for his military skill and embodiment of chivalry, he was made a marshal of France. ...
, known as Boucicault, later
marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
.


Battle

The French approached the English in three mounted bodies or
battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. The Anglo-Gascons withdrew to a small rise and dismounted as was the fashion among English armies of the time. They sent their horses to their
baggage train ''Wagon Train'' is an American western (genre), Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on American Broadcasting Company, ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, ...
at the rear. The French were wary of attacking the English position head on; earlier in the war, this tactic had fared badly. Instead they took advantage of their superior mobility, circled round the Anglo-Gascons, overran their baggage train, captured their horses and attacked the dismounted Anglo-Gascons from the rear. The first two French battles charged home, but the Anglo-Gascons stood firm, using their lances as improvised pikes. The French repeatedly attacked but failed to break into the Anglo-Gascon
schiltron A schiltron (also spelled sheltron, sceld-trome, schiltrom, or shiltron) is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, shield wall or phalanx. The term is most often associated with Scottish pike formations during the Wars of Scottish Indepe ...
and suffered heavy casualties. The third French battle did not attack, but held its position waiting for any opportunity to exploit. When none had arisen by nightfall, the survivors of the French force, having been defeated in detail, retreated back to Lusignan with the captured horses. In the course of the fighting, 300 French were killed and many were captured, including Lille and Boucicault. That night the Anglo-Gascons withdrew on foot with their prisoners to a nearby fortification.


Aftermath

On the return journey Coke sent a detachment to reconnoiter the large castle at Taillebourg, which controlled the most important crossing of the River Charente. The detachment took the French by surprise and captured the fortress early in June. In early August the French formally repudiated the ill-observed Truce of Calais, by some accounts due to the loss of Taillebourg. By this time the French had abandoned the siege of Lusignan; the following summer a fresh French army captured the town.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunalonge, Battle of 1349 in England 1340s in France Battles involving France Battles involving England Battles of the Hundred Years' War Conflicts in 1349 Hundred Years' War, 1337–1360