The town of Limoges had been under English control but in August 1370 it surrendered to the French, opening its gates to the Duke of Berry. The siege of Limoges was laid by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

army led by

Edward the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

in the second week in September. On 19 September, the town was taken by storm, followed by much destruction and the deaths of numerous civilians. The sack effectively ended the Limoges enamel industry, which had been famous across Europe, for around a century.

The attackers

The Anglo-Gascon force was not large but was led by three sons of Edward III; Edward, Prince of Wales; John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; and

Edmund of Langley Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (5 June 1341 – 1 August 1402) was the fourth surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Like many medieval English princes, Edmund gained his nickname from his birthplace: Kings Lang ...

, Earl of Cambridge. Edward was a sick man and was carried on litter. They were accompanied by experienced soldiers

John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, (29 August 1347 – 16 April 1375), was a fourteenth-century English nobleman and soldier. He also held the titles Baron Abergavenny and Lord of Wexford. He was born in Sutton Valence, the son of Laurenc ...

, Sir Walter Hewitt, Guichard d'Angle and the

Captal de Buch Captal de Buch (later Buché from Latin ''capitalis'', "first", "chief") was a medieval feudal title in Gascony held by Jean III de Grailly among others. According to Du Cange, the designation ''captal'' (''capital, captau, capitau'') was applied ...

. The army was small, about 3200 strong, comprising approximately 1000 men-at-arms, 1000 archers and 1200 infantry.

The defenders

By the time of the siege, the Duke of Berry had left Limoges with most of his army, leaving a small garrison of 140 men. According to

Jean Froissart Jean Froissart (Old and Middle French: ''Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthurian ...

Jean de Cros Jean de Murat du Cros was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He became the Bishop of Limoges (1347–1371). He was a leader in what became the Great Schism within Western Christianity. He was born on an unknown date in the Chateau of C ...

, Bishop of Limoges, played a large role in assisting the surrender to the Duke of Berry. Sir John Villemur, Hugh de la Roche and Roger Beaufont are described in terms of putting up a last stand in against the English in a town square and were captured when the town fell.

Sack and massacre

Froissart alleges that Edward was put into a "violent passion" in which he declared that regaining Limoges and punishing the French for its capture would be his singular goal. When the city wall fell, Froissart mentions the massacre of three thousand inhabitants—men, women and children—breaching the rules of chivalry and Edward still "inflamed with passion and revenge". Three captured French knights appealed to John of Gaunt and the Earl of Cambridge for being treated "according to the law of arms" and turned prisoners. Froissart's account is sometimes challenged as French bias. Froissart had worked for the English court, being in the service of

Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Stricklan ...

, queen consort of

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

, but at the time he wrote he was employed by Guy de Châtillon, Count of Blois.

Jim Bradbury Jim Bradbury (born 27 February 1937) is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages. Bradbury lectured in history at Brunel University. Selected works * (1975) ''Shakespeare and his Theatre'', Longman, * (1985) ...

does not dispute Froissart's account but simply states that Limoges was "not an exceptional atrocity".

Richard Barber Richard William Barber FRSL FSA FRHistS (born 30 October 1941) is a British historian who has published several books about medieval history and literature. His book ''The Knight and Chivalry'', about the interplay between history and literat ...

, in his biography of the Black Prince, notes that a contemporary source from Limoges only records 300 civilian casualties and other period sources don't mention civilian deaths at all, concentrating on property damage.

Jonathan Sumption Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, Lord Sumption, (born 9 December 1948), is a British author, medieval historian and former senior judge who sat on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2018. Sumption was sworn in as a Jus ...

also records that casualties may have been 300 civilians, "perhaps a sixth of the normal population", plus 60 members of the garrison. A recently discovered and previously unread letter from

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

Gaston III, Count of Foix Gaston Fébus (also spelt Phoebus) (30 April 1331 – 1391) was the eleventh count of Foix (as Gaston III) and twenty-fourth viscount of Béarn (as Gaston X) from 1343 until his death. Early life Gaston was born either in Orthez or Foix, the e ...

has cast further doubt on Froissart's claims. The letter states that 200 prisoners were taken but mentions no civilian deaths. Sean McGlynn, in his study of atrocity in Medieval warfare ''By Sword and Fire'', examines the evidence for the massacre and concludes that it was notable as major urban areas were rarely devastated as completely as Limoges. He identifies a complex interplay of reasons behind Edward's actions, including a desire to punish the perceived treachery of the city, a frustration that he could not prevent his territories from falling under the control of the French, the effects of his illness and a desire to liquidate the wealth of Limoges and carry it away, because he could not defend it. Michael Jones reviews the evidence in an appendix of his biography of the Black Prince. He finds that the archaeological and documentary evidence points to widespread property destruction and that there were civilian casualties but not at the level Froissart states, quoting a range of sources giving the killed and captured among citizens and garrison between 200 and 400. He believes Froissart's account should be dismissed as a "slur".Jones (2017), pp. 405-408.

Notes

External links

The Black Prince’s Sack of Limoges (1370)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege Of Limoges 1370 in England 1370s in France Conflicts in 1370 Limoges Limoges Limoges Limoges Edward the Black Prince Massacres committed by England