The battle of Limoges

Limoges and Béarn (2)

On 8 August 1273 the armies of the Queen of England and the Viscomtesse of Limoges faced each other on an open plain between Aixes and the town of Limoges. It is tempting to say that both ladies were present and in command, but it seems not. Eleanor of Castile’s Gascons were led by Luke de Tany, seneschal of Gascony, while the French were led by Géraut de Themines, governor of Limoges.

The battle that followed, totally ignored by English chroniclers, was described by the Chronica Majora of Limoges:

“In the same year, on the day following the feast of Saint Sixtus, the king of England's seneschal, who had come to the aid of the citizens of Limoges against the viscountess of Limoges, had a great victory over her army, between Aixe and the town of Limoges. He wounded and captured many of them, killing a nobleman and many others, without loss to him or his allies, at which the townsfolk rejoiced greatly. Moreover, they captured the banner of Girbert de Tamines. On the feast of Saint Laurence following [two days later] one of the viscountess's men was found dead and many horses on both sides too, but the viscountess lost many more.”*

The arms of William de Valence (1225-1296)

Edward I’s seneschal had won a battle for his master, and the bourgeois of Limoges celebrated their deliverance. On 27 August the king’s uncle, William de Valence, arrived with letters from Edward requesting the inhabitants of the town to swear an oath of fealty to him as Duke of Aquitaine. This went against previous judgements of the court of Paris, but the bourgeois agreed wholeheartedly. The service of the oath took place on 3 September, in the abbey of Saint-Martial, in the presence of the consuls and of all the community. 

The fighting continued. On 16 September the bourgeois won another skirmish, and were so encouraged they decided to try a second attack upon Marguerite’s castle at Aixe. They marched on Sunday morning, with drums and trumpets, crossed the ford of Vienne and burnt the borough of Saint-Priest. They also roughed up the local priest and carried off the silver chalice, missal and candles from the church. At the gates of Aixe panic set in, and the mob fled in all directions, throwing away their weapons and hiding in the woods. A few days later Marguerite sent her men to burn the vineyards near Saint-Martial.

Edward could not move from Gascony. In September, even as war raged in the Limousin, Gaston de Béarn raised his head again.

*Thanks to Rich Price for the translation.