Battle of La Brossinière
Encyclopedia
The Battle of La Brossinière or Battle of la Gravelle (French - la "besoigne" de la Brossinière) was a battle of the Hundred Years' War
on 26 September 1423. It occurred at La Brossinière (commune of Bourgon
, Mayenne
), between the forces of England and France, shortly after hostilities had resumed, following the battle of Agincourt
(1415).
, or "chemin du Roy" as it was mentioned in 1454, a famous ancient route, built to expedite travel of wheeled vehicles between Anjou and Normandy.
, given the titles of Duke of Anjou and Count of Maine, ordered a systematic conquest, though this was not effected without resistance.
At the time of this battle, in September 1423, the English force commanded by William de la Pole
, who had returned to Normandy
after a pillaging expedition to Anjou and Maine, suffered a crushing defeat. Cousinot reports that "there were great deeds of arms done" and that the English "were beaten in the field and there were fourteen to fifteen hundred killed"
, and there mustered a huge collection of loot and a herd of 1,200 bulls and cows, before setting off to return to Normandy, taking hostages as he went.
, mother-in-law to Charles VII of France
, who was in her town of Angers
, had the first thought of avenging the affront and the damage to her county
, and gave orders for such a mission to the most valiant of the unlucky French king's partisans, Ambroise de Loré
, who had been commander of Sainte-Suzanne
since 1422. Knowing that John VIII of Harcourt
, count of Aumale and governor of Touraine
, Anjou and Maine, was then in Tours
and preparing an expedition into Normandy, Amboise despatched a message to Aumale by letter. The governor came in haste to Laval
, bringing the troops he had already gathered "and summoning men from all the lands he passed through".
at Vitré "to pray her that she would send him the army of her sons, named André of Lohéac, then a young man of twelve years; which she did very willingly, and sent him to accompany it, master Guy XIV de Laval
, lord of Mont-Jean, and all the people of the seigneurie
of Laval, with several other of their vassals that she could recover and bring in promptly from other parts".
Aumale then took counsel from the bastard duke of Alençon
, the sire de Mont-Jean
, Louis of Trémigon and Ambroise of Loré. He appraised them that the English were three leagues off and that they would pass La Brossinière, following the main road from Brittany
, the following Sunday morning.
The English, with a long baggage train but marching in good order, dug in strongly behind defences, behind which they could retire in case of cavalry attack. Trémigon, Loré and Coulonges wanted to make an attempt on the defences, but they were too strong; they turned there and bravely attacked the English in the flank, but were broken and cornered in a large ditch. The infantry moved to the front; the convoy of carts, and troops closed up and tried to escape behind but they were unable to withstand for long.
The result was a butchery in which 1,200 to 1,400 men of the English forces perished. The others, including William Pole, Thomas Aubourg and Thomas Cliffeton, fled, though only 120 got away. On the French side, only a single knight was lost, John Le Roux, and "a few others [of no title]" ("peu d'autres"). André of Lohéac, the future marshal, was knighted with several of his companions. The lady of Laval had the dead buried.
The victory was a happy augury for the start of Charles VII's reign, and remains a glorious memory for the French.
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
on 26 September 1423. It occurred at La Brossinière (commune of Bourgon
Bourgon
Bourgon is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France....
, Mayenne
Mayenne
Mayenne is a department in northwest France named after the Mayenne River.-History:Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine...
), between the forces of England and France, shortly after hostilities had resumed, following the battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
(1415).
Place
The battle was fought on the former chemin gravelaisChemin de Cocaigne
The Chemin de Cocaigne was a Gallo-Roman way restored under the Carolingians, that linked the Cotentin peninsula of what would become Normandy, skirted Brittany and ran eventually beyond Aquitaine to the Gascogne in the southwest. The section called the chemin gravelais linked Normandy and Anjou...
, or "chemin du Roy" as it was mentioned in 1454, a famous ancient route, built to expedite travel of wheeled vehicles between Anjou and Normandy.
Prelude
The battle of Agincourt had been particularly damaging for the nobility of the region. After this battle, the English regent John, Duke of BedfordJohn of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG , also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as Regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI....
, given the titles of Duke of Anjou and Count of Maine, ordered a systematic conquest, though this was not effected without resistance.
At the time of this battle, in September 1423, the English force commanded by William de la Pole
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, KG , nicknamed Jack Napes , was an important English soldier and commander in the Hundred Years' War, and later Lord Chamberlain of England.He also appears prominently in William Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 1 and Henry VI, part 2 and other...
, who had returned to Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
after a pillaging expedition to Anjou and Maine, suffered a crushing defeat. Cousinot reports that "there were great deeds of arms done" and that the English "were beaten in the field and there were fourteen to fifteen hundred killed"
William Pole
In the month of September 1423, Lord William de la Pole, brother of the earl of Suffolk, left Normandy with 2000 soldiers and 800 archers to go raiding in Maine and Anjou. He seized SegréSegré
Segré is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.-Geography:The town of Segré is the most southern part of the commune, where the Verzée flows into the Oudon River.-External links:*...
, and there mustered a huge collection of loot and a herd of 1,200 bulls and cows, before setting off to return to Normandy, taking hostages as he went.
To avenge the insult
Queen Yolande of AragonYolande of Aragon
Yolande of Aragon, , was a throne claimant and titular queen regnant of Aragon, titular queen consort of Naples, Duchess of Anjou, Countess of Provence, and regent of Provence during the minority of her son...
, mother-in-law to Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, who was in her town of Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, had the first thought of avenging the affront and the damage to her county
Comte
Comte is a title of Catalan, Occitan and French nobility. In the English language, the title is equivalent to count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl...
, and gave orders for such a mission to the most valiant of the unlucky French king's partisans, Ambroise de Loré
Ambroise de Loré
Ambroise de Loré was baron of Ivry in Normandy, a French military commander, and companion of Joan of Arc. A reforming commisar of trades and police and "Garde de la prévôté de Paris" , he became Provost of Paris from 1436 to 1446...
, who had been commander of Sainte-Suzanne
Sainte-Suzanne, Mayenne
Sainte-Suzanne, Mayenne is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.-References:*...
since 1422. Knowing that John VIII of Harcourt
John VIII of Harcourt
Jean VIII of Harcourt was a count of Aumale. He was the son of John VII of Harcourt, count of Harcourt, and of Marie of Alençon, a "princess of the blood".-Life:...
, count of Aumale and governor of Touraine
Touraine
The Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, the Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher and Indre.-Geography:...
, Anjou and Maine, was then in Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
and preparing an expedition into Normandy, Amboise despatched a message to Aumale by letter. The governor came in haste to Laval
Laval, Mayenne
Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...
, bringing the troops he had already gathered "and summoning men from all the lands he passed through".
Preparations
The promptest and best-armed response came from the baron of Coulonges, whose services were accepted despite his current disgrace with the governor, who merely enjoined Coulonges not to present himself to him. This whole concentration of force was all gathered together very rapidly. D'Aumale had not yet arrived in Laval on Friday 24 September, but set off again as early as the Saturday morning, on his way to take up a position on the road to follow the English, sending scouts to keep an eye on their march and to inform him of it exactly. It was early at the Bourgneuf-la-Forêt, from which he sent word to Anne de LavalAnne de Laval (1385-1466)
Anne de Laval was a medieval French noblewoman. She was the daughter of Jeanne de Laval-Tinténiac and her second husband Guy XII de Laval , governor of Britanny and baron of Laval .-Titles:She was the hereditary dame of Laval, hereditary baronne of Vitré, hereditary countess of Rennes, of...
at Vitré "to pray her that she would send him the army of her sons, named André of Lohéac, then a young man of twelve years; which she did very willingly, and sent him to accompany it, master Guy XIV de Laval
Guy XIV de Laval
Guy XIV de Laval, François de Montfort-Laval, , comte de Laval, baron de Vitré and of La Roche-Bernard, seigneur of Gâvre, of Acquigny, of Tinténiac, of Montfort and Gaël, of Bécherel, was a French nobleman, known for his account of Joan of Arc...
, lord of Mont-Jean, and all the people of the seigneurie
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
of Laval, with several other of their vassals that she could recover and bring in promptly from other parts".
Aumale then took counsel from the bastard duke of Alençon
John II of Alençon
John II of Alençon was the son of John I of Alençon and Marie of Brittany. He succeeded his father as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche as a minor in 1415, after the latter's death at the Battle of Agincourt.He saw action as a young man at the Battle of Verneuil on 17 August 1424, and was...
, the sire de Mont-Jean
Guy XIV de Laval
Guy XIV de Laval, François de Montfort-Laval, , comte de Laval, baron de Vitré and of La Roche-Bernard, seigneur of Gâvre, of Acquigny, of Tinténiac, of Montfort and Gaël, of Bécherel, was a French nobleman, known for his account of Joan of Arc...
, Louis of Trémigon and Ambroise of Loré. He appraised them that the English were three leagues off and that they would pass La Brossinière, following the main road from Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, the following Sunday morning.
Course of the battle
Two hours after the troops had been drawn up in battle order, the English scouts who were giving chase arrived and met the French skirmishers. The scouts ran them down and forced them to withdraw into the line of battle, where they stood their ground. The English could no longer pursue them, since a massed body of cavalry was in front of them, withdrawing towards the count of Aumale; they could only form an arc when the troops unmasked themselves.The English, with a long baggage train but marching in good order, dug in strongly behind defences, behind which they could retire in case of cavalry attack. Trémigon, Loré and Coulonges wanted to make an attempt on the defences, but they were too strong; they turned there and bravely attacked the English in the flank, but were broken and cornered in a large ditch. The infantry moved to the front; the convoy of carts, and troops closed up and tried to escape behind but they were unable to withstand for long.
The result was a butchery in which 1,200 to 1,400 men of the English forces perished. The others, including William Pole, Thomas Aubourg and Thomas Cliffeton, fled, though only 120 got away. On the French side, only a single knight was lost, John Le Roux, and "a few others [of no title]" ("peu d'autres"). André of Lohéac, the future marshal, was knighted with several of his companions. The lady of Laval had the dead buried.
The victory was a happy augury for the start of Charles VII's reign, and remains a glorious memory for the French.