On a summer Sunday, in marshy ground between Lille and Tournai, Philip Augustus faced a coalition of Emperor Otto IV, Count Ferrand of Flanders and Count Renaud of Boulogne, funded by English money from King John. The French king had not sought the engagement: his army was withdrawing towards Lille and had to turn about when the rearguard was caught at the Bouvines bridge. Fighting on a Sunday broke convention \u2014 a sign that the battle was forced on him as much as chosen.<\/p>\n
The action opened on the wings and was decided in the centre. French cavalry broke the Flemings on the right; on the left the communal militias held under pressure; in the centre Philip Augustus was unhorsed and nearly killed before his knights cut him free. The capture of Ferrand and Renaud settled the outcome: a medieval battle was won less by casualties inflicted than by prisoners of rank, whose ransom and submission were worth more than slaughter.<\/p>\n
Giuseppe Rava reconstructs the heavy cavalry m\u00eal\u00e9e of the early thirteenth century: closed helms, mail hauberks, lances and maces in a crowded space. The political consequences were considerable \u2014 Flanders subdued, Otto IV discredited, and King John weakened to the point of conceding Magna Carta the following year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Original military art print by Giuseppe Rava: the Battle of Bouvines, 1214, a heavy cavalry m\u00eal\u00e9e and the victory that secured Philip Augustus. Limited edition, hand-signed, SRA3 format. Worldwide shipping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[431],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-10063","product","type-product","status-publish","product_cat-moyen-age","pa_format-cm-45-32-estampe-fine-art-sra3-fr","pa_format-usage-web-video-srgb","desktop-align-left","tablet-align-left","mobile-align-left","first","instock","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-variable"],"yoast_head":"\n