Battle of Taillebourg
Part of theSaintonge War
Battle between the French (Louis IX) and the English (Henry III). (British Library, Royal 16 G VI f. 399)
Date 21–22 July 1242 Location Taillebourg, Charente-Maritime (at the bridge over the Charente River) and later nearSaintes, Charente-Maritime 45°50′N0°39′W / 45.83°N 0.65°W /45.83; -0.65 Result French victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	Kingdom of England andFrench allies
Commanders and leaders
Louis IX of France Alphonse of Poitiers	Henry III of England Richard of Cornwall Hugh X of Lusignan
Strength
4,000 knights 20,000 infantry	1,600 knights 700 crossbowmen 20,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
Light	Heavy losses

TheBattle of Taillebourg, a major medieval battle fought in July 1242, was the decisive engagement of theSaintonge War. It pitted a FrenchCapetian army under the command of KingLouis IX, also known as Saint Louis, and his younger brotherAlphonse of Poitiers, against forces led by KingHenry III of England, his brotherRichard of Cornwall and their stepfatherHugh X of Lusignan.

The battle was fought on the bridge built over the riverCharente, a point of strategic importance on the route between northern and southern France. Later it was fought near the city ofSaintes. According to Charles Oman; the English and their allies were routed and forced to make peace^{[citation needed]} but the King of France contented himself of leaving things as they had been before the war.^[1] The battle put down thePoitevin revolt and marked the end of Henry III's hopes of restoring theAngevin Empire, which had collapsed during hisfather's reign.

By the terms of his will,Louis VIII had given the title ofCount of Poitou to his younger son Alphonse. In June 1241, Louis IX held a plenary court atSaumur inAnjou and announced that Alphonse, having come of age, was ready to come into possession. Many nobles from Aquitaine attended the court, among themIsabella of Angoulême and her husband, theCount of La Marche, Hugh de Lusignan.

After the meeting at Saumur, Louis went toPoitiers to install his brother ceremonially as the Count of Poitiers. TheLusignans were firmly against Capetian authority in the region. Isabella was particularly frustrated that her son, theEarl of Cornwall and brother to King Henry III of England, had not received the title at Poitiers. Shortly after his arrival at Poitiers, Louis learned that Hugh, Count of La Marche, had assembled an army at the nearby town of Lusignan. Talks between Louis and Alphonse and Hugh and Isabella did not resolve the dispute.

In April 1242, Louis assembled a force atChinon that some contemporaries estimated at around 50,000 men (but credibly estimated at 25,000 men by modern historians)^{[citation needed]} consisting ofknights,men-at-arms, andfoot soldiers. They captured a multitude of rebel castles. On 20 May, King Henry III of England arrived atRoyan and joined the rebelling French nobles, forming an army that modern estimates number at around 30,000 men^{[citation needed]}, and which varied in types of unit. The two kings exchanged letters, but these resolved nothing. The key battle would take place atTaillebourg, a strategic site near a key bridge over theCharente, which marked the boundary of territories under dispute.^{[citation needed]}

On 21 July, the two armies faced each other across the bridge. The king of France and the count of Poitiers were installed in theChâteau de Taillebourg, which overlooked the bridge over theCharente, a strategic passage betweenSaint-Jean-d'Angély and Poitou in the north and betweenSaintes andAquitaine in the South. The king of England and the count of La Marche set up their joint army on the opposing side of the river.^{[citation needed]}

Determined to take the bridge, the English and the rebels initiated the engagement and assaulted the French positions. The battle ended in a massive cavalry charge by French knights, who sallied forth from the castle and harried their adversaries, who were compelled to flee to Saintes.^{[citation needed]}

After the setback in the initial engagement, which permitted the French to control the strategic bridge, Henry and Hugh both individually fled to Saintes, and then toGascony, leaving the Allied army leaderless. On 22 July, a field battle took place north of Saintes. A prolonged melee fight ensued and the English were once more thoroughly beaten. These two actions constituted the Battle of Taillebourg.^{[citation needed]}

Louis continued to pursue the English troops, capturing many prisoners, until arriving upon the city of Saintes. After a short siege, the keys of the city were handed to Louis by the citizens. Henry tried one last time to prevent a complete takeover of his lands in Aquitaine and Gascony by organizing the blockade ofLa Rochelle by sea. However, the blockade failed along with the attempt to rebuild an army and build an alliance with other European monarchs. On January 1243, Henry sent a letter toFrederick II,Holy Roman Emperor, to whom he had made a request for an alliance earlier, announcing the end of his hopes for retaking his possessions in France. On 12 March, Henry was forced to ask Louis for a five-year truce.^[2][3]

The truce was signed atPons, on 1 August. A more lastingpeace was concluded at Paris, on 4 December 1259, amidst the threat of asecond Baron's war in England. The king of France restored Guyenne to Henry as a noble gesture and to seek for further peace so that he could go on a crusade. Though if he had chosen, he might have forced Henry to surrender Bordeaux and Guyenne, the last possessions of the English crown beyond the seas.^[4]

The settlement of the feudal revolt was less advantageous forHugh of Lusignan. His Poitevin castles were confiscated, rearmed, and sold by Alphonse of Poitiers. His daughter Isabel of Lusignan was married to his enemy Geoffrey of Rancon, lord of Gençay, in 1250, who rebuilt his castle with the dowry.^{[citation needed]}

The battle is the subject of an anonymous trouvère song,Molt lieement dirai mon serventois (RS 1835); it was written in support of Louis and his allies and mentions several historical figures by name.^[5]

Eugène Delacroix represented the battle in his tableauThe Battle of Taillebourg won by Saint Louis, which was presented to the 'Salon' in 1837. In it he depicted all the spirit and ardour of the charge of the French knights.^{[citation needed]}

• Capetian-Plantagenet rivalry
• Anglo-French war
• Saintonge War
• Louis IX of France

• Le Goff, Jacques; Evan Gollrad, Gareth (Translator) (Translated from French edition (2009)).Saint Louis. Paris: University of Notre Dame Press. pp. 180–185, 301.ISBN 978-0268033811.

• History of the Saintonge region (in French)
• Other battles in Taillebourg:
  • Rickard, J. (3 October 2000),Battle of Taillebourg, 8 April 1351
  • Froissart's account of the 1385 action

• 1242 in Europe
• 1240s in France
• Battles involving England
• Battles involving France
• Military history of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
• History of Charente-Maritime
• Battles of the Middle Ages
• Conflicts in 1242
• Henry III of England
• Louis IX of France

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