Royaux! Royaux!

“The Battle of Taillebourg won by Saint Louis” is a painting by Eugene Delacroix, first exhibited in 1837 at the Galeries des Batailles at the Palace of Versailles. It is now in the Louvre and commemorates the victory of Saint Louis of France over Henry III of England at the bridge of Taillebourg on 21 July 1242. Louis himself is shown leading the charge against the hapless rosbifs.

It is also a good example of political spin; or gilding the lily, as it were. There was no battle at Taillebourg, and French historians have not been slow to admit it: Charles Bémont, writing in 1893, remarked:

“Les chroniqueurs français sont aussi muets sur une bataille au pont de Taillebourg”

My execrable French translates this as: “French chroniclers are also silent on a battle at the bridge of Taillebourg”.

A contemporary French writer, Philippe Mousket, had this to say:

“When the king [Louis] was on the Charente, he made a bridge to allow his people to pass. There were a large number of horsemen and footsoldiers; they were eager but tired. On the other side were the English. Their boasting and cunning availed them little, for they were chased away in confusion to the gates of Saintes”.

This fits with other accounts, which state the English withdrew from Taillebourg because they didn’t have enough men to guard all the passes over the river Charente. Guillaume Guiart, a French soldier-poet active in about 1300, wrote:

“The terrified English turn their backs and ran away; with tears, sighs and complaints, they returned together to Saintes”.

An anonymous French poet, whose work was discovered in a collection of 16th century papers, wrote:

“The Poitevin, the Gascon, and the Englishman badly guarded the bridge of Taillebourg, and despite of them the French passed over.”

French writers were clearly amused at the flight of the English from Taillebourg, but there is no suggestion of any combat. Rather, Henry and his Poitevin and Gascon allies retreated in haste to Saintes. They were hotly pursed by five hundred mounted French sergeants, who galloped across a wooden bridge to cut the line of retreat to Saintes. They had to be stopped, and Bémont suggests it was at this point that Richard of Cornwall, Henry III’s brother, intervened to negotiate with Saint Louis. Matthew Paris, an English chronicler, credits Richard with persuading the French king to stay his hand. Guillaume Nangis, a French chronicler, claims Louis ignored him. Take your pick.

There was a battle at Saintes, where the English had retired. On 22 July the Comte de la Marche, one of Henry’s allies, was alerted to the presence of French scouts. He gathered up a band of English, Irish and Gascons and attacked the foragers, driving them away. The Count of Boulogne brought up his French troops in support and a general engagement broke out in the lanes and vineyards. The French cried ‘Montjoie!’ while the English cried “Royaux! Royaux!’ Eventually Henry’s army was scattered, his baggage train captured and the king himself forced to flee into the town, accompanied by a guard of 120 sergeants. Many of his men were killed or captured in the flight; those taken prisoner included John Mansel, Henry’s clerk. The following day, after an argument with the Comte de la Marche, Henry quit Saintes and retreated into Gascony.

One has to wonder why Delacroix based his painting on the non-combat at Taillebourg, instead of the French victory at Saintes the following day. He was possibly inspired by Joinville, a French chronicler writing sixty years after the event, who mixed up the events at Taillebourg and Saintes. Or he chose to apply a bit of artistic licence.