The siege of Aachen, which lasted from late April or early May until October 1248, was part of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
civil war that began with Pope
Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the P ...
Aachen
Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants.
Aachen is locat ...
, which was the traditional coronation site of German kings, supported Frederick II and refused to allow his rival, Count
William II of Holland
William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards.
Early life
William was the eldest son and heir ...
, to enter the city to be crowned. William and his supports besieged the city, forcing it to allow him in, where he was crowned German king.
The main
primary source
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...
Matthew of Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (; 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He authored a number o ...
's ''History of the English''.
Background
The crusade launched in 1240 was the second against Frederick II, a declared enemy of the church. The first crusade, also called the
War of the Keys
The War of the Keys (1228–1230) was the first military conflict between Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Papacy. Fighting took place in Central Italy, central and southern Italy. The Papacy made strong gains at first, securing the Pap ...
, lasted from 1228 until 1230, when Frederick and the papacy were reconciled and he was re-admitted to communion. In 1239, he was excommunicated a second time, and when he threatened to march on Rome Gregory IX proclaimed a crusade. In 1245, Pope
Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...
declared Frederick deposed and the
prince-electors
The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops.
From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...
loyal to the papacy elected
Henry Raspe
Henry Raspe (; – 16 February 1247) was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his conteste ...
, the
landgrave of Thuringia
Thuringia is a historical and political region of Central Germany.
Kings of Thuringia
*500?–507 Bisinus
*507–529 Baderich
*507–525 Berthachar
*507–532 Herminafried
:''Conquered by the Franks.''
Frankish dukes of Thur ...
, as the new German king (to be crowned emperor at a later date by the pope). On 16 February 1247, Henry died and the electorsThe electors were Konrad von Hochstaden,
archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...
archbishop of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
,
duke of Brabant
The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, Duke of Brabant, Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Le ...
. chose William of Holland as his successor on 3 October 1247.
Siege
When the city of Aachen refused to allow William's supporters in, they began to surround it to besiege it in late April or early May. William was at
Kaiserswerth
Kaiserswerth is one of the oldest quarters of the City of Düsseldorf, part of Borough 5. It is in the north of the city and next to the river Rhine. It houses the where Florence Nightingale worked.
Kaiserswerth has an area of , and 7,923 in ...
as late as May 1 and may not have taken part in the opening of the siege. The siege opened with a skirmish by one of the city gates that left sixteen attackers and one defender dead. William had arrived with a large army by May 7, and Cardinal Pietro Capocci, the
papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...
, arrived in the middle of May.
The chronicle of Bloemhof records that William's supporters who were present at the siege included the archbishop of Cologne and the bishop-elect of Liège, John of Enghien, and Counts Otto II of Guelders and John I of Hainaut. Despite the presence of the counts and their retinues, the besieging force was not large enough to completely invest (surround) the city, leaving the defenders a means of supply and communication. In an effort to force the defenders into submission, the city was pounded by trebuchets. A large dam, high, was built to stop up the river
Wurm
Wurm or Würm may refer to:
Places
* Wurm (Rur), a river in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany
* Würm (Amper), a river in Bavaria, southeastern Germany
** Würm glaciation, an Alpine ice age, named after the Bavarian river
* Würm (Nagold ...
, which flooded a third of the city.
The preaching of the crusade had its effect in the summer, when the besiegers were joined by reinforcements from Brabant,
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
and
Artois
Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...
. In the autumn, a
West Frisia
West Frisia (; ; ) is a term that, when used in an international context, refers to the traditionally Frisian areas that are located west of the Dollart (i.e. in the present-day Netherlands). Along with East Frisia and North Frisia, it is one ...
n contingent arrived and encamped on the eastern side of the city, completing the investment. These Frisians, subjects of William as count of Holland, had taken vows to join the crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, but these had been commuted to allow them to join the crusade against Frederick II instead.
With the arrival of the Frisians, Aachen was cut off from supplies. The besiegers continued to bombard the city day and night with
mangonel
The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later counterweight trebuchet, the mangonel was ...
s and pedreros (stone-throwers), according to Matthew of Paris. On the brink of starvation, the citizens negotiated their surrender with their bishop, the archbishop of Cologne, on 18 October. The imperial bailiff of the city and the twelve noble citizens pledged obedience to Pope Innocent and King William and were not punished further. William entered the city on 19 October and was crowned on 1 November.
Aftermath
The siege of Aachen was not the first nor the last siege William had to lay in order to establish himself in Germany. He began at least fourteen separate sieges between 1247 and 1251. That of Aachen, however, was the largest military endeavour, requiring enough troops to surround the entire city, most of them kept in the field for six months.
On 3 November, William as king confirmed the rights and freedoms of the West Frisians that had supposedly been granted by his predecessor,
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, almost 450 years earlier. Taking account of the help the Frisians had given him, he renewed and confirmed "all rights, liberties and privileges conceded to all Frisians by Emperor Charles the Great, our predecessor".