The Battle of Sluys, 1340

 

In 1337, King Edward III of England laid claim to the French throne, thus starting the lengthy series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. This was the first major contact between the two sides, a naval battle fought off the coast of Flanders.

In June 1340 at English fleet of 210 ships crossed the English Channel to meet a combined fleet of 190 French and Genoese ships that was drawn up in the inlet of Sluys in Flanders.

The French placed their fleet in a defensive position, lashing their anchored ships together with cables to create a floating platform on which to fight. The Genoese commander kept his galleys free behind the French lines. In response, the English placed single ships filled with knights and swordsmen between two ships packed with longbowmen. Naval battles at that time were fought aboard the ships’ decks.

Battle started at around noon on 24^th June and continued for most of the day and night.

Both sides used grappling hooks to hold an enemy ship fast while it was boarded, but it was the English who eventually got the better of the battle. This was because the English ships were free to attack the anchored French ships as and when required, and also because their longbows could produce more rapid and accurate fire than the crossbows of their opponents.

The result was a disaster for the French, with their commanders killed and 170 ships captured or sunk. Only the Genoese managed to inflict any damage on the English fleet, capturing two of their ships.

England’s victory ended the threat of a French naval invasion and brought England dominance of the channel.

© John Welford

An appalling historical example of Christian violence

Lest anyone should forget that unspeakable savagery in the name of religion is not the preserve of any particular faith, the date of 15^th July might be brought to mind. It was on this day in 1099 that the First Crusade achieved its aim of capturing Jerusalem from the Muslims who had occupied it for 400 years.

It had taken more than three years for the Crusading force to reach Jerusalem from western Europe, during which time the original army of 50,000 had been reduced by half. However, the force was still strong enough to breach the city’s defences, thus persuading the inhabitants to seek refuge in the Temple of Solomon.

When the Crusaders broke in they massacred everyone they could find – possibly as many as 10,000 men, women and children – and then cut open the bodies in case the victims had swallowed jewels or coins in the hope being able to escape with a little money to support themselves.

The Crusaders followed this episode by turning on the Jews of the city, herding them into the main synagogue which was then set on fire.

Having eliminated all opposition, the Crusaders set about establishing a permanent presence in Palestine in the form of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, which was to last for nearly 200 years. However, Jerusalem itself fell to the great Saracen leader Saladin in 1187, which led to another Crusade being launched, notably featuring England’s King Richard I as one of its leaders.

Although Christians at the time would have regarded the sack of Jerusalem as a major triumph that showed that God was definitely on their side, later generations have come to see these events in their true light, namely an utterly revolting episode that did absolutely no credit to the religion it purported to be championing.

© John Welford