The Iron King | 4. The Battle of the Golden Spurs

This episode explores the historic Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, where Flemish rebels decisively defeated French knights.

1. The Flemish rebels utilized their knowledge of the terrain to outmaneuver the French knights.
2. The battle underscored the effectiveness of infantry against cavalry in specific conditions.
3. The defeat significantly embarrassed the French monarchy, impacting subsequent military and political decisions.
4. The episode of the golden spurs became a symbol of Flemish resistance and pride.
5. The conflict influenced broader European politics, particularly the relations between France, England, and the Flemish regions.

1: Prelude to Battle

The episode sets the scene with the Flemish rebels preparing for battle, their transformation from craftsmen to warriors, and the French cavalry's readiness. Danielle Cebalski: "Hands calloused and fingers dyed from the textiles that earn them their living."

2: The Battle Commences

Describes the initial clash, with the French knights struggling against the terrain and Flemish defenses. Danielle Cebalski: "Crossbow quarrels rain down on the Flemings. They hunker down and raise their shields."

3: Aftermath and Impact

Focuses on the aftermath of the battle, the collection of golden spurs, and the strategic mistakes of the French. Danielle Cebalski: "Fevered with victory, the Flemings walk among the corpses, collecting trophies from the dead."

1. Leverage Your Strengths: Like the Flemish using their knowledge of local geography, use your inherent strengths to overcome challenges.
2. Prepare Thoroughly: As the Flemish prepared defenses, always plan in detail for important endeavors.
3. Underestimate No One: The French underestimation led to a significant defeat. Treat all competitors with respect.
4. Learn from History: The episode teaches the importance of understanding historical successes and failures.
5. Adapt and Overcome: Be ready to adapt strategies in response to changing circumstances, as seen in historical battles.

Philip the Fair is determined to take control of the kingdom of Flanders, in his dream of a united France. But when he attacks, the people of Flanders throw up an astonishing resistance, defeating the French army and slaying some of its finest knights. The Iron King vows revenge, but it will come at a truly terrible cost.

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Robert of Artois, Philip the Fair

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Danielle Cebalski
Its July 1302. A gentle breeze stirs the smell of water and mud into the air. In the cool shadow of the walled city of Kojrig, a large group of men waits anxiously. Theyre ordinary craftsmen. Hands calloused and fingers died from the textiles that earn them their living.

But today theyre rebels, and instead of combs and wool, theyre holding spears and spiked clubs.

The men look across the field at the hundreds of french cavalry readying for war, their banners bright, their mail shining.

Soon, this colorful mass of iron and steel will charge headlong in their direction. The french commander, Robert of Artois, studies the field, too.

When we last met Robert, he had just successfully ambushed the English in Gascony. Now he's been called to Flanders to put an end to the rebellion here. But this is a much more daunting task. The Flemings have arranged themselves between the city wall and and a natural stream that curves around and behind their position. There's only one way to get at them, and the rebels have dug ditches across it to slow the french horses.

The ditches are covered with brush in a vague attempt at disguise, but Robert can tell what he's looking at. A frontal assault will be tricky. Then there is the stream. Robert knows how dangerous it is to try to get cavalry across water, but hes running out of time and options. At his elbow, the kings counselor urges Robert to attack.

The longer the rebellion goes on, he reminds Robert, the worse it looks for the king. Its time to teach these insolent peasants a lesson. Maybe, Robert thinks, a volley from his crossbowmen will give the cavalry some cover as they cross the water. There doesnt seem to be much of a choice, but he reassures himself, how could an army of knights lose against an army of weavers?

He gives the signal.

Crossbow quarrels rain down on the Flemings. They hunker down and raise their shields. No mercy. The rebel leaders shout. They know that while their position protects them, it also leaves them no escape route.

They need to win, or they will all be slaughtered. As the sound of the french charge rises across the field, the rebels form themselves into a line, jamming the butts of their spears into the ground. If the French make it across the stream and ditches, theyll have a wall of spears to contend with.

Hundreds of french knights storm through the river, but its chaos from the start. Horses shy and stumble, knights tumble into the water, arms flailing as the weight of their armor drags them under.

They straggle across and begin to form up, but their charge is checked again and again. By the long of the Flemings. Horses scream as theyre impaled, knights are pulled from their mounts. The clang of metal is deafening. As the Flemings swarm the fallen French, hammering them with their heavy spiked clubs.

The Flemings push the french horsemen backwards. With no room to maneuver, the horses stumble into the ditches, taking their riders with them. The french knights are trapped and struggle vainly to get up as blows rain down on them from above, the marshy ground turns red with their blood.

When the battle is over, hundreds of the most celebrated knights of France lie dead in the mud. Among them is Robert of Artois. Fevered with victory, the Flemings walk among the corpses, collecting trophies from the dead. They pull the golden spurs from the heels of their enemies, stripping them of the precious symbols of knighthood, symbols now of the victory of ordinary flemish men over the french elite. 500 golden spurs are brought to the nearby church and hung there as a tribute to victory and a taunt to the french king that Flanders will not bow down to him.

As the golden spurs catch the light in Courtrai's cathedral in Paris, Philip the fair is already plotting revenge, and his vengeance will ripple across the continent, destroying thousands of lives.

I'm Danielle Cebalski, and from Sony Music Entertainment, this is history presents the Iron King.

Episode four battle of the Golden Spurs.

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Danielle Cebalski
By the turn of the 14th century, conflict in Flanders is nothing new. Like just about every county in what is now France, it belongs to nobles who give homage to Philip, just like Gascony. But the capetian kings of France have long been working towards controlling these counties themselves. This was what Philip Augustus was dreaming about under his tree in season one. And his namesake, Philip the fair, is determined to make it happen.

The trouble is, the Flemings dont really feel very french at all. For one thing, the common people dont even speak French. They speak, well, Flemish. For another, they have much closer economic ties to England than to France. Flanders is a country of weavers, known across Europe and beyond for their beautiful, high quality broadcloth.

In order to make amazing woven wool textiles, you need wool. And that's where England comes in. During the entirety of the Middle Ages and beyond, wool is one of England's chief exports. And a massive amount of that wool goes directly to Flanders. So Flanders has a huge reason to stay besties with England, even when England is on the outs with France.

So far in our story, the flemish rebellion has been a thorn in Philips side. But the battle of the golden spurs in 1302 kicks things up a gear. Its a tremendous loss for the French and a huge embarrassment for Philip. Some of his greatest knights were killed, including Robert of Artois and his best lawyer, Pierre Flott, by a bunch of weavers who had the temerity to steal their golden spurs. Philip wont stand for it.

The first thing he does is turn his temporary truce with english king Edward I into a permanent peace, which shows you just how desperate he was. Plus, he can hardly be expected to keep fighting in Gascony when his best men, men have just been killed. Hes forced to compromise, and he hates compromise.

He especially hates having to give up his dream of controlling Gascony. But making peace with Edward means England will be on his side, dropping their alliance with Flanders. That is very much worth it. Now that hes got a bit of breathing space, the next thing Philip does is look in his war chest. To fund his campaigns, Philip has taxed the people beyond reason and even robbed the communion plate, landing him in hot holy water with Pope Boniface VIII.

Hes borrowed from italian bankers and owes a huge amount to the Knights Templar, the vastly wealthy military order bent on winning back the Holy Land. And yet Philip is still strapped for cash. So he takes things a step further. He devalues the french currency. Its a short term solution.

If you put less silver in the kingdoms coins, you can stretch the silver further. But of course, a coin with less silver isnt actually worth the same amount, no matter how much you might spin it. Its like just printing more money. So at first, this works pretty well. But soon prices have caught up and the money situation in France is worse than ever, making life for the citizens even tougher than usual.

In 1304, though, Philip isnt thinking about the cost of living for the common people. As we heard last episode, hes just sent Boniface to an early grave, and hes feeling invincible. Hes so invincible that he even makes his wife Joan return a few rich gifts she receives when the royal couple tours the south. Philip convinces himself these are bribes from heretics, and that by making Joan return them, he shows hes not so strapped for cash that hes willing to compromise his morals. For Joan, this is a pretty big public embarrassment.

But Philip doesnt care being right is more important than money or family. And besides, he doesnt need the money. Hes about to crush Flanders and take theirs. He makes big promises that hes going to fix the currency and then he taxes the people again.

This means that for now, Philip can pay his soldiers. He knows a day is coming when someone will have to pay the piper. But its not today.

Today Philip is heading north to crush Flanders once and for all or die trying.

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Danielle Cebalski
It'S the 18 August 1304. It's early evening. The air is still and hot. It shimmers off the armor of the french knights as they settle into camp. The Uriflamme, the sacred french war banner, hangs limply above the king's tent.

Inside the royal pavilion. Philip paces back and forth, frustrated with how things are going. Hes had his army camped outside the city of Monsant Pavel for five days, and so far they havent had any luck breaking through the flemish ranks. Emboldened by their success at the Battle of the Golden spurs two years ago, the Flemings have reused the same tactics, placing themselves between the walls of the city and a natural stream and its been working just as well. The two armies are in a deadlock.

Though it doesnt show on his mask like face, Philip is getting desperate. Maybe he thinks there is a trick they havent tried yet, maybe something oddly ingenious, like giles of Romes soap pots for naval warfare.

Suddenly Philip hears shouting and the pounding of feet. Its not coming from the battlefield, its close. Too close. Philip strides to the door of his tent and looks out on carnage.

Half armored knights are desperately fending off fierce blows from rebel clubs. There is the sound of bones breaking and men screaming in pain. For once Philips mask begins to slip as he realizes the mortal danger he's in.

The flemish rebels have seen the oriflamme hanging above the king's tent. They are coming for Philip. Philip's bodyguards draw their swords and throw themselves at the Flemings. But it's not enough. As Philip looks around in panic for an escape, one of his knights miraculously appears with a horse.

He holds the stirrup for the king, an act of chivalry that will cost him dearly. As Philip vaults into the saddle, the Flemings press close. With one swing of a sword they strike off the head of Philips Savior. The knights lifeless hands fall away from the stirrup. Philip kicks in his spurs and gallops towards the back of the french camp.

Once hes put some distance between himself and the rebels, Philips Stony expression returns. As he looks over the french camp, he sees that in their rash attempt to assassinate him, the Flemings have made a critical error at Courtrai. Their tightly enclosed position had prevented the french cavalry from getting up any speed in formation. But now theyve come far out of their foxhole. Philip allows himself a rare and cruel smile.

Someone hands him a mace. As the cavalry form up around him, theyre in disarray. Some have pieces of their armor missing, others have no helmets. But they're focused and they're ready to unleash hell.

With no wall of pikemen to stop them, the french cavalry do what they've trained all their lives to do. They ride down the rebels, slaughtering them without mercy as they turn tail and run. Led by the king himself, they pursue the Flemings and cut them down until night falls and its too dark to see its over.

Philip returns to Paris on a high everything is going his way. The church is between popes so theres no one to send him angry emails. And hes working on creating good marriages for his sons. Queen Joan isnt particularly a fan of the women he chooses. She thinks theyre not to be trusted.

But Philip is confident Joan will get over it and see things his way soon enough. Together theyll make France great again. But that never gets to happen, because in April 1305, Joan dies, and Philip, more than anyone, is shocked to find out just how much he loved her. Shed been part of his life since he was seven years old and supported him even when she disagreed. She was the only one who truly understood him.

Philips grief is so deep, he actually contemplates stepping down from the throne, at least for about 30 seconds. He even floats the idea of creating a new and glorious military order, absorbing both the Templars and the hospitallers with him as the leader. Naturally, the grandmaster of the Templars, Jacques de Molay, tries to cover his surprised snort with a cough. But his lack of enthusiasm doesnt go unnoticed.

Although he decides to soldier on as king for the glory of France. Without Joan, Philips heart hardens. He becomes the statue people have always accused him of being, and the kingdom is about to suffer for it.

The Flemings are made to pay harsh fines for antagonizing Philip, but it isnt enough to cover all the kingdoms debts. Philip really needs cash, so he calls in his fixer, Guillaume de Noghure. When we last saw Nogaret, he was bullying the pope to death, having drawn up a long list of trumped up charges against him. To everyones astonishment, the mudslinging worked, taking down one of the most powerful people on the planet. This time, Noghare takes aim at an entire frances jewish population.

By 1306, jewish people had been severely persecuted by several monarchs, including Philip Augustus, Louis IX and Edward I. Anti Semitism is nothing new, but Philip takes it up a notch with a paranoid campaign that brands jewish people as evil opportunists. Its a story he finds easy to sell. Medieval Christians were not permitted to loan money at interest, something called usury. So the Christians got jewish people to loan them money and then promptly resented them for it.

Their involvement in money lending gave rise to the conspiracy theory that jewish people were rich, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Although they cant help but be hyper aware of their tenuous position in society. The one reassurance the Jews have in 1306 is that legally, they are under the protection of the king. So when Noghare starts work on a plan to stab them in the back, they dont see it coming, and thats exactly how Philip wants it.

On June 8, 1306, Philip sends out a decree reassuring everyone that the currency is about to go back to the way it was. But he doesnt give any details. Less than two weeks later, on the morning of June 21, royal officials appear on the doorsteps of powerful men all over France. In their hands, they hold letters from the king. The letters say, please assist these officials in carrying out my instructions, which theyll tell you by word of mouth.

And the instructions, seize all the Jews in your district and confiscate their property, especially their account books. Anyone who finds treasure and doesnt report it is answerable to the king. Without warning, tens of thousands of jewish families all over France are arrested and their property stolen. When some nobles balk at the order, the Christians and their communities take matters into their own hands, looting and plundering as vigilantes, cash and valuables are sent to the king, while jewish homes, businesses and lands are sold, sold, that is, to anyone except nobles and churchmen. After all, Philip isnt doing this to make another group more powerful.

Crucially, all debts owed to the Jews are now owed to the king himself. By September, Philip has gotten what he wants, and he decides its time for him to wash his hands of them completely. Under a fine veneer of christian piety, he expels all Jews from France on pain of death. Just like that, 100,000 jewish men, women and children are exiled with only the clothes on their backs and a handful of pocket change. Philip doesnt say where they should go, nor does he care.

Once again, Noghare has come through for the king. With his help, Philip has increased both his wealth and his status as an avenging angel of the christian faith. Secrecy, nationwide coordination, a few trumped up charges, et voila. The money rolls in. The human cost doesnt keep either of them up at night.

But Philips coffers are still not full jewish people, as it turns out. Arent robbing christians blind after all. Did Philip believe his own lies and propaganda? Its hard to say. And now the Templars are starting to make noises about Philips debt.

The Templars, who didnt have the vision to consider him as a potential leader of their order. The Templars. A rich and lately unpopular religious order with secret rituals and an irritating sense of righteous superiority. Hmm.

Philip starts to feel the stirrings of an idea. He picks up the phone and calls Noghare.

But that's for next time on this is history presents the Iron King.

E
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