Knights and Tactics of the Hundred Years War: Battles at Sea

Battle of Sluis. Engraving by Edmund Evans from the illustrated Chronicles of England 55 BC to 1485 James Doyle. 1864 g.

«It was a glorious, sturdy vessel, covered by a deck at the bow.
and in the middle and open at the stern. Single mast, it is by the nature of its rig
was a cross between a felucca and a lugger. Apparently
the skipper Arblester was doing excellently, as barrels of French wine
filled the entire hold. And in a small cabin, besides the image of the Virgin Mary,
who testified to the piety of the captain,
there were locked chests that spoke of his wealth and thrift».
"Black Arrow" by R. L. Stevenson

Military story countries and peoples. In the XNUMXth century, the sea also became the site of fierce battles, with the greatest military activity taking place in the English Channel, although many battles also took place in the turbulent Bay of Biscay. And the most interesting thing is that the ships of the beginning of the XIV century were not intended for combat, especially defensive. Warships, if they can be called such, were designed in such a way that they could be used to attack merchant ships, as well as transport troops for raids on enemy coastal lands. Privateering and piracy were very widespread, as well as attacks on single ships or on small groups of enemy ships at anchor.

One of the most valuable sources of our knowledge of the Hundred Years War is the Chronicle of Froissart. Here is one of the pages of a 1470 manuscript with a beautiful illustration of the Battle of Sluis. (Their designation in the National Library of France in Paris is Français 2643-2646)

The typical ship of the northern seas at this time was the kogg - a high-sided, short but wide ship, with superstructures at the stern and bow. These superstructures also had wooden sides made of thick planks, often with battlements similar to the battlements of the towers and walls of medieval fortresses, behind which it was convenient for shooters - crossbowmen and archers, to hide, and for this reason they were called "castles" ("castles"). Thus, the warriors on the cog could, with sufficient convenience, operate at once both from the stern and from the bow of this floating wooden fortress. Another "firing point" was on the mast, where 3-4 archers could be in the "crow's nest". The large rectangular sail did not allow steep maneuvers to the wind, but these ships already had a real rudder, while steering oars were still used on the Mediterranean ships.

Both the French and their Spanish allies also sailed on galleys - more powerful sailing and rowing warships, which, however, were not adapted for sailing in the harsh northern seas. In the famous Clos de Gale in Rouen, they were also engaged in the construction of many types of ships, such as battels, battelins, barges, coca and coggs.

A thumbnail from a page from the Chronicle of Froissart, large. To the left is the English flagship "Thomas", on the deck of which we see King Edward himself in gilded armor and heraldic jupone. The battle is taking place on all three ships on the right. Archers (you can't see the crossbowmen!) Shoot at enemies point-blank. The wounded are thrown overboard. But, being in heavy helmets, they are straight head down and drown. The warriors' helmets are of the type "German salad" and "French salad", that is, a salad with a visor, there are bascinets, but without a visor. They fight with swords, only one bastard sword. Over the armor, the warriors wear multi-colored jackets made of fabric (djupons).

Naturally, all members of the ship's crew of that time were armed in one way or another. For example, the armor and weapons of the crew of a small galliot in 1330 could consist of chain mail, gambesons, shields of various shapes, bascinet helmets, and of course, he had crossbows with arrows, bows and spears. The crews of the larger nave ships were similarly armed. On the galleys, the soldiers had both heavy bascinet helmets and chapel helmets. Putting on all this was required quickly, as well as taking off, because, being in the water, being dressed in armor, the warrior did not have the slightest chance to escape and went like a stone to the bottom.

Battle at sea. Illustration from a Neapolitan manuscript of the early XNUMXth century, Italy. Anonymous artist. In this illustration, a curious fact attracts attention: knights in fully closed helmets shoot from bows. In addition to the fact that it is inconvenient, it was considered a shameful thing for a knight to use a bow in battle against Christians. Or was it allowed at sea? But then why don't they take their helmets off their heads? Most likely, the illustrator of the knights saw, but how they fight at sea - did not imagine. British Library, London

Battle of Sluis

The most famous, perhaps, in the history of naval battles of the Hundred Years War was the naval battle of Sleis, which took place on June 22, 1340.

King Edward III of England had previously assembled the maximum possible number of ships to attack the enemy. In the Chronicles of Jean Froissard it is indicated that he had 120 ships, naves and balangiers, on board of which there were 4 men at arms and 000 more archers.

Here it must be borne in mind that in the first half of the XIV century England was not a naval power, and its fleet was much inferior to the Spanish, French, and also Flemish.

Actually, this is a bunch of requisitioned coasters and fleet-that was not, moreover, it also consisted of small single-masted fishing and merchant ships. They were converted into warships very simply: they were brightly painted, and castles and battle marches on masts were arranged on the bow and stern.

The largest ships of Edward were the flagship nave "Thomas" and "Michael", but even their displacement did not exceed 250 tons. However, there is evidence that in quantitative terms the English fleet was superior to the French and that there were about 250 ships in it, although most of them were smaller in size than the French.

The British fleet approached Sluis Bay on 23 June. There was a combined fleet of the French, Spaniards, Genoese and Flemings of 200 ships, the largest of which was the nave "Christofle", by the way, previously captured from the British. Other ships were smaller, but nevertheless had on board 150-200 people in full armor. There were also very small ships. For example, the nave of the Assumption of Our Lady had only 80 sailors and soldiers on board.

In addition to ships of the cogg type, the Allies had about four dozen Genoese galleys, which made up the second line. As for the number, Froissart put it, including the Normans, Picardians and Genoese, at 40, but this is most likely an exaggeration.

The Chronicles of Froissart. English captain Robert Knolles, ship manager. National Library of France in Paris

At the head of the English fleet was King Edward III himself, as well as two admirals Robert Morley and Richard Fitzalan. The French fleet, which consisted of three squadrons, was led by Admiral Hugo Chirier, as well as Admirals Nicolas Beguchet and the Genoese Barbavera.

The French fleet, anchored, was lined up in four lines and, of course, in the very first there were both the largest and largest ships on which the Genoese crossbowmen were located. The British built a fleet in three lines, with the largest ships in the center. The flagship of Edward III's nave "Thomas" was also located here.

The battle began on June 24th.

Hugo Kirje, in the best traditions of the war of that time, decided to block the way to the Zvin Bay, where the docks of the port of Bruges exited, in chains, stretching them from one coast to the other through ships. It turned out to be a real "wooden wall", but the British, nevertheless, were not afraid of this, attacked the French head-on and began to clash with them on board. Despite desperate resistance, they managed to capture the flagship "Christofl", after which they simply threw overboard his entire Genoese team, and they themselves stationed their archers on it.

Battle of Kadsan between the British and Flemings in 1337. The Chronicles of Froissart. National Library of France in Paris

The battle, which lasted all day, ultimately ended in the complete defeat of the French. Played a role the maneuverability of British ships, not chained, which allowed 2-3 ships to lean on one "Frenchman". A significant role was also played by the significantly higher rate of fire of English archers, compared to arrows armed with crossbows, as well as slingers with slings. Various data are given on the losses of the French, but in general they are estimated at 16-000 people.

The rules of the knightly war were not observed at all.

Admiral Kirje was beheaded, Beguche was taken prisoner and ... hung, like a robber, on the mast, and Barbavere was killed, and the corpse was thrown from the ship into the sea.

"If God gave the fish the opportunity to speak, then it would speak French, as it ate a lot of Frenchmen,"

- the British joked after this battle! Although the victory did not come cheap to them either. Even King Edward III himself was seriously wounded.

It is clear that after such a defeat, the French could no longer land their troops in England, but they did not lose the opportunity to build ships and replenish their fleet with them. In addition, many ships were hired for a fee along with the crew. For example, a record from the arsenal of Claude Gale shows that in 1346-1347 a Genoese galley called "Santa Maria" was hired, which had a crew of 210 people, including the captain ("master") Chrétien de Grimaud, three officers - the comité , su-komita (souz comité) and the priest; and all the other members of her crew, sailors and crossbowmen. And ten years later, another fleet was prepared in Rouen, which consisted of ten galleys, five large barges and three small bargots, which was supposed to deliver food to the coastal fortresses.

Return of Isabella of France to England. The ship is very clearly shown. The Chronicles of Froissart. National Library of France in Paris

Nevertheless, even such a routine service could lead to naval combat clashes. Although the meeting of enemy ships at sea at that time almost always happened by chance. The battle began with a crossbow shootout, after which the ships went on boarding. Usually, crossbowmen and archers took up positions on high casts, fore and aft, since it was convenient to fire at the enemy from there. Here the advantage was given to those whose castles were higher, and their wooden sides were thicker.

In addition, from high castles it was easier to resist the enemy who seized the ship's deck, because they had to climb up high ladders. Because of the poor communication between several ships, it was difficult to control them, and the whole fleet had nothing to think about carrying out complex maneuvers. By 1377, it was considered necessary to have on board any large ship at least two large guns, which were supposed to fire lead balls instead of stone. At the same time, the guns were usually breech-loading and had several already loaded interchangeable chambers in stock at once, which made it possible to maintain a sufficiently high rate of fire and did not require pushing the guns out of the ports for loading. But stone-throwing machines, due to the tightness of the casts, were almost never installed on them.

The usual tactics of the British were large-scale raids on French territory, to which the French, for their part, responded with raids from the sea on individual coastal cities. At the same time, the French, as a rule, did not go deep into the territory.

So, in 1338, successful raids were made against the city of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, in 1360 - an attack on Winchelsea, then again on Portsmouth in 1369, on several ports between Portsmouth and Ray - in 1377, as well as on Gravesend in 1380. In addition, French and Scottish ships operated against the British in the North Sea and along the entire western coast of Britain.

Siege of Tournai by Edward III in 1340. Without boats - nowhere! The Chronicles of Froissart. National Library of France in Paris

In general, because of the winds prevailing in the English Channel and the harbors located in the strait, the French could not seriously threaten the British communications. The defeat at Sluis also played a role in this, and especially the capture of Calais by the British in 1347.

But France still continued to be a major maritime power and even sent sea expeditions. For example, such an expedition was the voyage of Jean IV de Bettencourt with the aim of conquering the Canary Islands in 1402.

PS

A very interesting model of the ship "Thomas" is being produced by the firm "Zvezda" on a scale of 1: 72 ...

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Comments

[Flooding]

the methods of conveying perspective among the artists of that time now look childishly awkward
warriors on the platforms of Mars (I don't know what to call it more correctly) are drawn disproportionately small (viewer, feel the height of the mast)
but still clearly visible in the javelins in his hands
effective weapon to defeat crowded enemy from above
probably optimal when boarding

[SERGE ANT]

The tactical rules for the conduct of hostilities at sea in that era required naval teams and soldiers on board to intensively fire at the enemy with all available means during the descent of ships, in order to then hook with hooks on the enemy ship, the crew of which was already pretty battered and, due to the large number of killed and the wounded on board, partly devoid of the ability to counter. In this sense, the British forces at Sluis enjoyed a significant advantage. On their ships there was a landing, which included many heavily armed "gendarmes" and - more importantly - shooters from Welsh bows, and therefore in terms of "firepower" the British were many times superior to the French enemy. While the French did not lack people who could throw stones or darts at the enemy from the tops of masts and superstructures, such weapons began to operate effectively from a distance of no more than 10 m, while there were only 500 professional crossbowmen on the sides of the squadron. But even these crossbowmen were inferior to the English archers in the rate of fire, so important in the process of rapprochement.
English archers not only beat more accurately, confidently wounding and killing the enemy's manpower already from 80 - 100 m, but in an environment where the pace of "fire" was of great importance, arrows from Welsh bows had the ability to fire up to 12 arrows per minute, significantly exceeding this indicator of crossbowmen. What is also important in naval combat, the bowstrings of English bows exposed to moisture were not difficult to replace at any time, which turned out to be not so easy in the case of crossbows, given the more complex mechanisms of these weapons.

[Flooding]

about the superiority of bows in naval combat is absolutely correct
when firing at crowded groups of the enemy in a state of convergence or boarding combat, it is not so much accuracy or penetrating ability of the shot that gains special importance, but rather the rate of fire

[SERGE ANT]

about the superiority of bows in naval combat

The Battle of Sluis was the first large-scale test of the effectiveness of English Welsh bows outside of England, which convincingly proved their superiority over the more complex and slower-firing crossbow. Thus, we can say that this battle served as a kind of prelude to the Battle of Crecy in 1346, when a similar tactic was successfully used on land against heavily armed cavalry. And in general, the French had little chance in that battle. and when the cold-blooded Flemish allies of King Edward, who at first only watched what was happening from the banks of the Zwaine River, but were in no hurry to take part in the battle after the British superiority became obvious, the Flemish ships left the harbors on the Zwaine River to attack the third the line of French ships from the rear, they did not have the slightest chance at all. The battle broke up into local foci of confrontation between individual ships and turned into a massacre. By 22 o'clock, the fighting had largely ceased, but the fierce fighting between the two ships continued until dawn. Froissart says that when the British took the last French ship, 400 corpses remained on its deck.

[Flooding]

Quote: SERGE ant

The Battle of Sluis was the first large-scale test of the effectiveness of English Welsh bows outside England, which convincingly proved their superiority over the more complex and slower-firing crossbow.

Stop it!
With your juicy comments, you drive me into shame for your insufficient historical knowledge.

[SERGE ANT]

Just an undeservedly underestimated battle, and while it is fair to say that the battle was the biggest battle of the Hundred Years War, success at Sluis was overshadowed by other events, largely due to the outlook and military priorities of the time. Despite the description of the encounter by the chronicler Froissart, it did not receive the same deep attention from authors of other sources. In a word, Sluis did not enter the memory of his contemporaries as firmly as the smaller and less significant land battles at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt. Sluis, despite the personal leadership of the battle of Edward III, was basically a battle of the lower classes, where there was no place for the romanticized personal duels of the leaders in subsequent eras in the spirit of European chivalry, designed to perform bright feats on the battlefields. Modern authors repeat the mistakes of medieval chroniclers, paying only a little attention to the large-scale military contact of the Hundred Years War and the greatest victory of England in the Middle Ages. I'm just very glad that the Author remembered about it.

[kalibr]

Wonderful comment!

[SERGE ANT]

The Battle A direct consequence of the Battle of Sleuis was the unopposed landing of troops by Edward III, which gave him the opportunity to build on his success and embark on a summer campaign against the French. Such a convincing victory of the British, of course, served to strengthen confidence and strengthen relations between Edward and the Flemish allies, who received very convincing evidence of the military power of the British. In reality, the main result of the defeat of the French at Sleuis was the actual elimination of the danger of their invasion of England, which in itself determined the geography of the Hundred Years War, which was henceforth destined to take place on French, and not on English soil.

[Kerensky]

arrows from Welsh bows had the ability to fire up to 12 arrows per minute, significantly surpassing crossbowmen in this indicator.

This is hard work. It may look good in movies, but there are scenes of 10 seconds each ..

[Evil troll]

the methods of conveying perspective among the artists of that time now look childishly awkward

But what attention to detail!

[kalibr]

And this is what captivates. Everything is so realistic and reliable that it can be considered as ... a historical monument. Although ... although it is necessary to make a discount on the timing. They painted it all in 1470, but the battle itself was more than a hundred years earlier! That is, we see the armor of the XNUMXth century, not the XNUMXth!

[Flooding]

Quote: kalibr

Everything is so realistic and authentic that it can be considered as ... a historical monument

I am only confused by full armor on all participants in the battle without exception
including even those on the masts
it is rather a tribute to convention

[kalibr]

Quote: Flood

I am only confused by full armor on all participants in the battle without exception
including even those on the masts
it is rather a tribute to convention

First, keep in mind that the year the miniature appeared is 1470, that is, more than 100 years have passed since the battle. Secondly, of course, the artist thus added drama to what is happening.

[depressant]

the methods of conveying perspective among the artists of that time now look childishly awkward

Thanks to the zeal of churchmen for the Early Middle Ages, the traditions of ancient art were almost forgotten, the artistic style of miniatures really resembles children's drawings - artists learned to draw on the go, barely keeping up with events that had to be hastily displayed.
Hence - the flat figures of people and the free treatment of perspective, allowing the combination in one drawing of the frontal image of the ship with a bottom view of the "crow's nest" located on the mast. To emphasize the height of the location of the "nest", the artist reduced it so that in reality the "nest" had to be much higher than the mast supporting it, that is, to hang in the air. Or the mast had to have an unrealistically high height.
But, you see, how much charm there is in medieval miniatures! )))

[vladcub]

"how much charm" the first miniatures are really awkward. They reminded me of Anderson: "The Ugly Duckling": the same awkward, but later miniaturist artists reached perfection

[3x3zsave]

Thanks to the diligence of the churchmen
A delusion repeated a thousand times does not become true.
Thanks to the diligence of the churchmen, the Proto-Renaissance was born.

[3x3zsave]

Photos from the Hermitage Exhibition "Art of the Middle Ages. Masterpieces from the Collection of the National Gallery of Umbria"

[depressant]

Anton, yes, once, in my former life, I had an album with these icons, I know them. And I looked at them for a long time.
By the way, the term rinascita, implying rebirth, was coined by Giorgio Vasari. Thus, opposing the art that revives the ancient culture, the "dark Middle Ages". Representatives of the Renaissance art themselves consolidated the epithet "dark" for the time, creating in subsequent generations the idea that in the Middle Ages there was a complete failure, there was nothing good there. This belief, which has survived to this day, as well as widespread modern atheism, lead to the fact that the adoption of such an attitude towards icon painting of the Middle Ages deprives modern man of the tool with which one can discern the special beauty of the captured spirituality of icons from the Umbrian collection.
This instrument is the attitude to the medieval icon as to the liturgy, which it, in fact, was called to serve.
How many are able to enter a state of prayer before looking at the icon of the Early Middle Ages? Or looking at it? I guess not. But this is the main condition for communicating with the icon.
Therefore, the canons of such painting - elongated figures, faces, small mouths, asceticism, etc., excluding everything worldly, are perceived as the ineptness of the painter.
The icons of the Late Renaissance evoke a spirit of a different type, closer to modern man. And this is not much like a desire to pray. Such an era - if only it is not stressful.

[SERGE ANT]

The rules of the knightly war were not observed at all.

This is due to the peculiarities of war at sea, where, unlike land battles, it was not customary to spare the crew of an enemy ship taken on board, and the psychological impact of hot hand-to-hand combat cannot be disregarded. If a sea battle resembled a battle on land, it was more like an assault on a fortress rather than a battle in the field, where the winners, in the event of a successful attack, usually did not spare the vanquished. In general, those who lost on the deck of the ship had, in fact, only two ways: either they had to look so rich that, in the heat of battle, the enemy thought about the attractiveness of the prisoner as a source of ransom, or they should just jump into water. However, in this particular battle, even such a ghostly hope of swimming to the shore did not guarantee salvation: the Flemings occupied the western bank of the Zvein River and cut or killed all the French who reached the land.

The runner was taken prisoner and ... hanged

He had every chance of surviving and subsequently gaining freedom for a ransom, but Edward learned that the admiral was leading a series of devastating raids on the English coast, and therefore ordered Beyusha to be thrown on the neck of his own ship.

[depressant]

Since Vyacheslav Olegovich paid great attention to miniatures as an illustration of distant military incidents, I wanted to dwell in more detail on the question of why the miniatures of the Middle Ages are so different from the excellent illustrations of Korovkin, who is close to us and other contemporary artists, as well as from the frescoes and mosaics of Antiquity.
The main factor influencing the formation of medieval art was the destruction by the barbarians who put an end to the Roman Empire, the masterpieces of Antiquity as art objects alien to the barbarian culture. And also the formation of Christianity. Which in turn also led to the active destruction of the art of Antiquity, but already as sinful.
However, asceticism and spiritual perfection cultivated by the Christian Church, combined with arts and crafts and legends of barbarian tribes, gave rise to an unexpected effect that ruled out the idea of ​​the Early Middle Ages as an era of cultural silence, as a stage that did not give the world any masterpieces.
The Middle Ages were not silent! It created its masterpieces in the form of book miniatures, heroic epics, new architecture, various genres of church music, a specific theatrical genre of mystery, and the relationship of the suzerain and vassal, established by the hierarchy of feudalism, was reflected in literary works of the 13th - 15th centuries ... For example, we know "Song of Roland", "Song of my Side", "Song of the Nibelungs". And then, already in the Late Middle Ages, the institution of chivalry, which originated in the 8th century, gave rise to secular, courtly and palace cultures, which led to the creation of such famous works as Tristan and Isolde, or, say, the Romance of the Rose.
And as a result, it turns out that the specific, in comparison with the ancient or modern art of the Middle Ages, including the Early, is in no way inferior to both. It's just different. Completely different. But that is why it is no less beautiful.
And a book miniature ... If you take an interest, you will be surprised - there is such a thing! Artists quickly learned to bypass church prohibitions, Bosch did not appear from scratch)))

[vladcub]

V.O., thank you for the interesting material. No longer hoping for good material. And "zhanki * was going to crack
Comrades, remember: Furmanov "Chapaev", when V. I. Chapaev talks about his childhood?

[Undecim]

The rules of the knightly war were not observed at all.

Admiral Kirye was beheaded, Beguche was taken prisoner and ... hanged like a robber

Beguchet two years before the events described, after the Battle of Arnhemuiden, ordered the execution of all English prisoners.
That's why they hanged him.

[Kote Pan Kokhanka]

Quote: Undecim

Beguchet two years before the events described, after the Battle of Arnhemuiden, ordered the execution of all English prisoners.
That's why they hanged him

As far as I remember, it took place in France on the tax side. So few people remembered him with a kind word!

[depressant]

And then I suddenly discovered that I had forgotten the reasons for unleashing the Hundred Years War. I forgot them! Clean!
An episode was immediately composed.
The French King Philip the Sixth and the English King Edward the Third dined in honor of each other's reception at the same table. The Frenchman gracefully cut a piece of meat from a boar's ham, but the poorly sharpened knife slipped awkwardly out of the cut, and hot meat juice splashed into the Englishman's face. Oh, you scoundrel, it’s you on purpose! - he exclaimed. Yes, I did not mean anything like that, - the Frenchman was confused. Didn't have? - screamed the Englishman, rubbing his eyes with a handkerchief, trimmed, by the way, with Velancienne lace. - You will pour tears in my eyes for a hundred years! A hundred years!
So, it turned out that it was not so. Both shed tears, and the heirs cried out especially loudly - according to the economic and political results of that feast ... Ugh! There was no feast!
And so it was.

In 1328, the last direct descendant of the Capetian clan, Charles the Fourth, died. The new ruler of France was Philip the Sixth of the Valois family. According to the set of legislative acts "Salicheskaya Pravda", Edward the Third could also claim the crown; Territorial disputes over the Gascony region, one of the main economic centers of France, also became a stumbling block. Formally, the region was owned by England, but in fact - by France. Edward III wanted to get back the land that his father had previously owned; Philip the Sixth wanted the English king to recognize him as a sovereign ruler. Edward the Third took such a step only in 1331, since his native country was constantly torn apart by internal troubles ...

Well, and so on. Events like "I can't eat already!" went one after the other and an avalanche formed, which could no longer be stopped. Covered both diners.
Again, not so!
They did not dine together. And if they dined at the same table, drank Burgundy, as expected, then maybe they would have found a peaceful solution to the problems. But demanding peace for the king is a sign of weakness.

[sivuch]

A small clarification - the allies of the French were the Castilians. There were no Spaniards then. And the same Franco-Castilian team piled on the British at la Rochelle in 1372.

[depressant]

A thumbnail from a page from the Chronicle of Froissart, large. To the left is the English flagship "Thomas", on the deck of which we see King Edward himself in gilded armor and heraldic jupone.

She looked with all her eyes.
I did not see )))

[Danil Scufas]

And, well, yes, the battle of Slace ... Then, however, the entire fleet that the Britons had at that time in full force was defeated and partly burned, partly captured (not a single English ship was able to escape) by Castilian galleys in the devastating sea for the British the battle of La Rochelle in 1372.
After this pogrom, within the framework of the same 100-year war, major military clashes at sea somehow ... uh, withered away.

URL:
https://www.france.promotour.info/histoire/histoire-134.php

[Keer]

On the miniature "Battle of Slays", from left to right, an Englishman, side to side - a Spaniard? , then a Frenchman, and who is green on the right? Enlighten, pzhlst.