The Battle of Steppes was fought in 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 th ...

on 13 October 1213 between Hugh Pierrepont,

Bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, and Henry I, Duke of Brabant.

Cause

In 1212, Albert II, Count of Dagsburg, the last ruler of the County of Moha, died without a son. Both Henry I, Duke of Brabant and

Louis II, Count of Loon Louis II was count of Loon between the end of the 12th century to 1218. He was the son of Gerard, Count of Looz, and Adelaide of Gelderland, daughter of Henry I, Count of Guelders, and Agnes of Arnstein, daughter of Louis III of Arnstein. He a ...

were related to Albert and claimed the county. Henry was also allied with the King of France, who threatened to invade Flanders, the traditional ally of the Bishopric of Liège. This gave Henry the chance to invade the Bishopric, and to besiege Liège. Badly prepared, the Duke of Brabant retreated, plundering and looting the Bishopric and setting fire to

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

. Bishop Hugh Pierrepont rallied his allies,

Henry III, Duke of Limburg Henry III ( – 21 June 1221) was the Duke of Limburg and Count of Arlon from 1165 to his death. He was the son and successor of Henry II and Matilda of Saffenberg. In 1172, he fought against the Count of Luxembourg, Henry IV the Blind, and ...

and the citizens of

Huy Huy ( or ; nl, Hoei, ; wa, Hu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the ''sillon industriel'', the former industrial ...

, to pursue the Brabantines.

The battle

The two parties agreed to deliver battle in the plain of Steppes (Steps). Henry aligned his army, in three battalions, on the higher ground with the sun in their backs. He also gave his armour to one of his knights, Henry of Huldenberg, to avoid being targeted during the battle. Hugh placed the Louis on the right flank with the Duke of Limburg in the center, while Hugh occupied the left flank. Louis attacked first, drawing the Brabantine re-enforcements to the right wing. Then the rest of the Liège army attacked the weakened left and center. Overwhelmed by the all out charge, the Brabantine army broke and ran. Henry of Huldenberg, the knight in the armour of Duke Henry, was killed. The Liège militia army, eager on revenge for the destruction in their lands, butchered the Brabantine infantry. They pursued the fleeing army for several kilometers, killing everyone they could. The wounded were savagely mutilated and no quarter was given.

Consequences

The battle of Steppes is one of the first battles where a professional army was beaten by a civilian army. Moha was annexed to Liège. The battle gave birth to the local legend of the intervention by the Virgin Mary, when a statue of her reflected the sun, blinding and causing panic amidst the Brabantines. This miracle is still celebrated every year in May.

References

Sources

* * *{{cite encyclopedia , title=Battle of Steppes , first=Bertrand , last=Schnerb , encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology , volume=3 , editor-first=Clifford J. , editor-last=Rogers , publisher=Oxford University Press , year=2010

External links

History of War - Battle of Steppes

Steppes In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grassland ...

1213 in Europe Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Europe