The Battle of the Col de Panissars was fought on 30 September and 1 October 1285 between the forces of

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

and Peter III of Aragon. It was a severe defeat for the French, who were already retiring over the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

when the Aragonese fell on them. It was the last battle of the

Aragonese Crusade The Aragonese Crusade (1284–1285), also known as the Crusade of Aragon or Crusade against Catalonia, was a military venture waged by the Kingdom of France against the Crown of Aragon. Fought as an extension of the War of the Sicilian Vespers ...

, a papally-sanctioned war on behalf of

Charles of Valois Charles, Count of Valois (12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, which ruled over France from 1328. He was the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella o ...

to secure the Aragonese throne from the excommunicated king Peter III, who had conquered

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

against papal interests. The battle followed on the heels of the naval victory at Les Formigues on 4 September. __TOC__

Location and battle

The pass around the

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

of Albères (568 m) in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

was the main route through the Pyrenees in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The Romans had called it the ''Summum Pyrenæum''. It has since been superseded by the Col de Perthus (or Col du Perthus) one kilometre to the northeast. Having promised to grant passage to the French king and his family, the Aragonese troops contented themselves with attacking the retreating French army, already decimated by

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

. Peter entrusted the vanguard to Ramon de Montcada and his

Almogàvers Almogavars (; ; ; ; originally ) is the name of a class of light infantry soldier originated in the Crown of Aragon used in the later phases of the Reconquista, during the 13th and 14th centuries. Almogavars were lightly clad, quick-moving fr ...

, who massacred the fatigued French troops but spared the royal family. This first attack was followed up by a second attack by Roger de Lauria, the admiral of the fleet which had defeated the French at Les Formigues and had then disembarked to fight on land. The result of all this was a rout: the French lost further troops and there was a complete Aragonese victory. According to the

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

of Ramon Muntaner, the festivities of celebration lasted eight days in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Legacy

When, in 1302,

intervened in Sicily in support of

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (; ; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine (1285–1290); he also was King of Albania ( ...

against

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick III (also Frederick II, ', ', '); 13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Ara ...

at the head of four thousand knights in the pay of the pope, Frederick reminded him of the gesture of leniency and magnanimity which his father, Peter, had shown to Charles's family at the Col de Panissars. Admitting a lack of gratefulness, Charles ceased hostilities and signed the

Peace of Caltabellotta The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on 31 August 1302, was the last of a series of treaties, including those of Treaty of Tarascon, Tarascon and Treaty of Anagni, Anagni, designed to end the War of the Sicilian Vespers between the Houses of Capetia ...

Sources

*Chaytor, H. J
''A History of Aragon and Catalonia''
{{coord, 42, 27, 20, N, 2, 51, 22, E, display=title, type:event_source:cawiki Col de Panissars Col de Panissars 1285 in Europe 1280s in France Col de Panissars the Col de Panissars 13th century in Catalonia 13th century in Aragon