SPECIAl THEME
A medieval Christmas tale from the Siege of Rouen
They should have meat and drink Christmas can have a strange effect on warfare. Unofficial truces, the exchange of gifts between those who, just the day before, were exchanging artillery shells, plus the joint singing of carols are just some examples of the things that have occurred in past wars. The Christmas cease-fire of 1914 during the First World War is perhaps the most famous of these unofficial truces. There have been others, such as during the American Civil War, when the two sides stopped fighting in some places to peacefully trade coffee and newspapers. These passive Christmases are not only limited to recent history. They have happened during medieval warfare, as well. The Siege of Rouen in the fifteenth century provides us with one of these odd instances when Christmas inspired calm and charity at a time when starvation, death and destruction had ruled for many months. By Brian Burfield
By the time Henry V of England and his men arrived outside the fortified walls of rouen in 1418, war between the French and English had been raging for more than 80 years. Despite the horror and the large loss of life that battles like Crecy, Poitier and Agincourt had brought with them over the past eight decades, the cruelty, carnage and butchery continued. the Siege of rouen had actually begun in the previous year, when the Duke of Exeter, acting as Henry’s emissary and following the rules of engagement, sent his heralds to rouen. they went with banners unfurled to caution the citizens, on pain of death, to surrender peacefully to Henry. However, rather than opening the gates to allow the Duke’s party into the city, they responded with cannon fire, followed by a cavalry sortie. So, a siege of rouen it was to be, in July 1418. rouen was the capital of Normandy and one of Europe’s larger cities at the
time. It was a beautiful place that boasted a cathedral and nearly 75 abbeys, convents and parish churches. It was also a very wealthy city, thanks to its weaving and luxury goods industries. Henry V himself expressed that rouen was “the most notable place in France save Paris” (cited in: Desmond Seward, The Hundred Years War, p. 174). Prior to the siege, it had a population in excess of 60,000. Those from the neighbouring suburbs and countryside who were seeking the refuge of the city’s walls helped to swell the size of Rouen’s citizenry, in anticipation of the siege. the fortified walls of rouen supported 60 towers and six barbicans, creating an imposing defensive structure. A large, deep, dry moat sat in front of the walls. In addition, the surrounding neighbourhoods were razed to the ground by the French to eliminate any cover for the besiegers. According to the chroniclers, “Neither stick nor stone was left standing.” the area was left as flat “as the palm of a man’s hand.” (cited in: Geoffrey
Hindley, Medieval Sieges and Siegecraft, p. 151). The garrison of about 4000 soldiers inside the walls employed a combination of gunpowder weapons and older, catapult-style engines. In the month leading up to the siege, Henry first took the town of louviers. the affair nearly ended in disaster when a French cannon struck the royal English tent during the fighting. This raised Henry’s ire and resulted in the hanging of eight French gunners. In fact, he may even have crucified a few of them in his rage, according to a contemporary source. Next, the English pushed on to the small but extremely important Normandy town of Pont de l’Arche, just nine days before they reached Rouen. Pont de l’Arche represented the last piece of the puzzle for the English, in order to effectively besiege rouen. Its bridge was situated on the Seine river between Paris and rouen. Securing Pont de l’Arche now left rouen completely isolated and vulnerable. Now the English controlled the Seine all the way west of rouen to its mouth and, by gaining control of Pont de l’Arche, it meant that rouen was also cut-off from Paris to the south-east. Once at Rouen, the English army set themselves up in four very strong encampments around its strongly-fortified walls. these camps were connected by a series of trenches. As a direct attack on Rouen would have been very dangerous, Henry – as he had done in past successes – relied heavily upon his artillery to do a lot of the difficult work. His army was bolstered by other forces, such as the 1500 Irish soldiers known as Kern, who were especially skilled with their knives and spears. these were fierce and ruthless fighters, characterized by their bare feet, long hair and bright saffron-coloured cloaks, and are worth mentioning for the terror they caused. They are said to have ridden back Medieval Warfare II-6
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