Battle of Brouwershaven
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Brouwershaven was fought on January 13, 1426 in Brouwershaven
, Zeeland
. The battle was part of the Hook and Cod wars
waged over control of the Low Countries
and resulted in a significant victory for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
and Zeeland
following the death of Count William VI in 1417. Jaqueline had originally been married to John IV, Duke of Brabant
but in complex circumstances, had had this marriage set aside and, in 1422, married Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
, brother of Henry V
. Jaqueline's second marriage left Hainaut in the hands of John of Brabant, who had reached a rapprochment with John of Bavaria. John had made Philip of Burgundy his heir and this led him to take a role in the dispute.
In 1424, Jaqueline and Humphrey had landed with English forces and quickly overrun Hainaut. The death of John of Bavaria in January 1425 led to short campaign by Burgundian forces in pursuit of Philip's claim and the English were ousted. Jaqueline had ended the war in the custody of Philip but in September 1425 escaped to Gouda
, were she again asserted her rights. As leader of the Hooks, she drew most of her support from the petty nobility
and small towns. Her opponents, the Cods, were drawn largely from the burghers of the cities, including Rotterdam
and Dordrecht
.
troops to reinforce her, led by Walter FitzWalter, 7th Baron FitzWalter. In the meantime, Jaqueline's army had defeated a Burgundian force of city militia at the Battle of Alphen on 22 October, 1425. Duke Philip had plenty of notice of the assembly of the English force and raised a fleet to intercept them at sea. Although he did succeed in catching a small part of the English force, consisting of 300 men, most of the English force made landfall at the port of Brouwershaven
, where they rendezvoused with their Zeeland allies.
, The Hague
, and Delft
. The force consisted of about 4000 combatants, including gunners from Dordrecht and over 1000 militia crossbowmen.
The Zeelanders, led by the Lord of Heemstede
, numbered about 3000 men, reinforced by the English, who were reduced to about 1200 men.
-like triumph with the aid of their English allies.
However, when the Burgundians were still disembarking, the English led an attack, advancing in good order, giving a great shout and blowing trumpets. The English troops were bombarded with a cannonade and a volley of arbalest
bolts from the militia. The well disciplined English longbowmen held firm and then shot back with their longbows
, quickly scattering the crossbowmen in disarray. The well-armored and equally disciplined Burgundian knights then advanced and came to grips with the English men-at-arms. Unable to withstand the fierce attack of the knights, the English men-at-arms and archers were driven onto a dike and were virtually wiped out. The Chronyk en Historie van Zeeland of Janus Reygersberg records that three thousand of the Zeeland army were killed, and many captured. Duke Philip himself noted 200 Englishmen were captured. A number of the local nobility are also recorded to have been killed in the battle, though the Lord of Heemstede was captured and Lord Fitzwalter escaped.
, one of Jacqueline's ladies-in-waiting
. In 1428, he had their marriage dissolved and married Eleanor. Without foreign support, Jacqueline was unable to resist the full strength of Burgundy
, and she was compelled to surrender the administration of her territories to Philip.
Brouwershaven
Brouwershaven is a small city on the Grevelingen in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 45 km southwest of Hellevoetsluis.Brouwershaven received city rights in 1477....
, Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
. The battle was part of the Hook and Cod wars
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against...
waged over control of the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
and resulted in a significant victory for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
Philip III, Duke of Burgundy
Philip the Good KG , also Philip III, Duke of Burgundy was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty . During his reign Burgundy reached the height of its prosperity and prestige and became a leading center of the arts...
The factions
The origins of the conflict lay in a succession dispute between Jacqueline of Hainaut and John III, Duke of Bavaria over the Counties of Hainaut, HollandCounty of Holland
The County of Holland was a county in the Holy Roman Empire and from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands in what is now the Netherlands. It covered an area roughly corresponding to the current Dutch provinces of North-Holland and South-Holland, as well as the islands of Terschelling, Vlieland,...
and Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
following the death of Count William VI in 1417. Jaqueline had originally been married to John IV, Duke of Brabant
John IV, Duke of Brabant
John IV, Duke of Brabant was the son of Antoine of Burgundy, Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg.John IV was the second Brabantian ruler of the House of Valois....
but in complex circumstances, had had this marriage set aside and, in 1422, married Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Pembroke, KG , also known as Humphrey Plantagenet, was "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of king Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, brother to king Henry V of England, and uncle to the...
, brother of Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
. Jaqueline's second marriage left Hainaut in the hands of John of Brabant, who had reached a rapprochment with John of Bavaria. John had made Philip of Burgundy his heir and this led him to take a role in the dispute.
In 1424, Jaqueline and Humphrey had landed with English forces and quickly overrun Hainaut. The death of John of Bavaria in January 1425 led to short campaign by Burgundian forces in pursuit of Philip's claim and the English were ousted. Jaqueline had ended the war in the custody of Philip but in September 1425 escaped to Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
, were she again asserted her rights. As leader of the Hooks, she drew most of her support from the petty nobility
Petty nobility
Petty nobility is dated at least back to 13th century and was formed by Nobles/Knights around their strategic interests. The idea was more capable peasants with leader roles in local community that were given tax exemption for taking care of services like for example guard duties of local primitive...
and small towns. Her opponents, the Cods, were drawn largely from the burghers of the cities, including Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
and Dordrecht
Dordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
.
Events leading to the battle
Jaqueline requested support from her husband Humphrey, who was in England, and he set about raising a a force of 1500 EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
troops to reinforce her, led by Walter FitzWalter, 7th Baron FitzWalter. In the meantime, Jaqueline's army had defeated a Burgundian force of city militia at the Battle of Alphen on 22 October, 1425. Duke Philip had plenty of notice of the assembly of the English force and raised a fleet to intercept them at sea. Although he did succeed in catching a small part of the English force, consisting of 300 men, most of the English force made landfall at the port of Brouwershaven
Brouwershaven
Brouwershaven is a small city on the Grevelingen in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 45 km southwest of Hellevoetsluis.Brouwershaven received city rights in 1477....
, where they rendezvoused with their Zeeland allies.
The composition of the armies
The Duke of Burgundy personally led the Burgundian army landed at Brouwershaven, consisting of his own feudal retainers and municipal militia from DordrechtDordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
, The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, and Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
. The force consisted of about 4000 combatants, including gunners from Dordrecht and over 1000 militia crossbowmen.
The Zeelanders, led by the Lord of Heemstede
Heemstede
Heemstede is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-History :Heemstede formed around the Castle Heemstede that was built on the Spaarne River around 1286. Before 1296, Floris V, Count of Holland, granted Heemstede as a fiefdom to Reinier of Holy...
, numbered about 3000 men, reinforced by the English, who were reduced to about 1200 men.
The battle
The Zeelander forces allowed their opponents to land unopposed from boats, perhaps hoping for an AgincourtBattle 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...
-like triumph with the aid of their English allies.
However, when the Burgundians were still disembarking, the English led an attack, advancing in good order, giving a great shout and blowing trumpets. The English troops were bombarded with a cannonade and a volley of arbalest
Arbalest
The arbalest was a late variation of the medieval European crossbow. A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod . Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater compressive strength of steel, it had a greater force...
bolts from the militia. The well disciplined English longbowmen held firm and then shot back with their longbows
English longbow
The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful type of medieval longbow about 6 ft long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare...
, quickly scattering the crossbowmen in disarray. The well-armored and equally disciplined Burgundian knights then advanced and came to grips with the English men-at-arms. Unable to withstand the fierce attack of the knights, the English men-at-arms and archers were driven onto a dike and were virtually wiped out. The Chronyk en Historie van Zeeland of Janus Reygersberg records that three thousand of the Zeeland army were killed, and many captured. Duke Philip himself noted 200 Englishmen were captured. A number of the local nobility are also recorded to have been killed in the battle, though the Lord of Heemstede was captured and Lord Fitzwalter escaped.
Aftermath
The loss was devastating to Jacqueline's cause. Duke Humphrey was increasingly preoccupied with politics at home, and had become infatuated with Eleanor CobhamEleanor Cobham
Eleanor [née Eleanor Cobham], Duchess of Gloucester , was a mistress and the second wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. A convicted sorceress, her imprisonment for treasonable necromancy in 1441 was a cause célèbre.-Family:...
, one of Jacqueline's ladies-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
. In 1428, he had their marriage dissolved and married Eleanor. Without foreign support, Jacqueline was unable to resist the full strength of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
, and she was compelled to surrender the administration of her territories to Philip.