Au centre, un homme en cotte de mailles et surcot mi-parti, heaume dor\u00e9, croix pectorale sur la poitrine, une masse d’armes \u00e0 la main. \u00c0 terre, en surcot d’azur sem\u00e9 de lionceaux d’or, William Longesp\u00e9e, comte de Salisbury : son grand heaume lui a \u00e9t\u00e9 arrach\u00e9, son \u00e9p\u00e9e g\u00eet dans l’herbe, ses mains sont lev\u00e9es. C’est l’instant de la capture, non celui de la charge \u2014 et \u00e0 Bouvines ce sont les captures qui ont d\u00e9cid\u00e9 de la journ\u00e9e.<\/p>\n
Philippe de Dreux, \u00e9v\u00eaque de Beauvais, \u00e9tait cousin de Philippe Auguste, avait pris la croix et avait d\u00e9j\u00e0 \u00e9t\u00e9 prisonnier de Richard C\u0153ur de Lion, qui le traita en chef de guerre et non en pr\u00e9lat. Les grands \u00e9v\u00eaques du royaume \u00e9taient des seigneurs f\u00e9odaux, avec vassaux, ch\u00e2teaux et obligations militaires. Le droit canon le leur interdisait ; leur position temporelle le supposait.<\/p>\n
La tradition veut que le clerc combatte avec une arme contondante parce qu’il lui est interdit de r\u00e9pandre le sang \u2014 l’explication donn\u00e9e aussi pour Odon de Bayeux et son b\u00e2ton sur la Tapisserie. L’explication est \u00e9l\u00e9gante et demande prudence : l’interdit portait sur le fait de combattre, non sur le tranchant, et la lecture \u00ab masse plut\u00f4t qu’\u00e9p\u00e9e \u00bb est en grande partie une rationalisation post\u00e9rieure. Ce qui reste vrai, c’est l’usage : la masse est l’attribut auquel on reconna\u00eet un \u00e9v\u00eaque arm\u00e9. Contre un homme en mailles, c’\u00e9tait du reste l’arme la plus efficace, puisque la maille arr\u00eate la taille et transmet le choc.<\/p>\n
Un comte d\u00e9sar\u00e7onn\u00e9 ne se tue pas : il se prend. Demi-fr\u00e8re de Jean d’Angleterre, Longesp\u00e9e valait une ran\u00e7on, un \u00e9change et un avantage politique \u2014 il fut effectivement \u00e9chang\u00e9 contre Robert de Dreux, le propre fr\u00e8re de l’\u00e9v\u00eaque, prisonnier des Anglais. Entre nobles, la bataille est une op\u00e9ration \u00e9conomique avant d’\u00eatre un massacre : on se bat pour prendre, et les hommes qui valent le plus courent le moins de risques. Pour les pi\u00e9tons de la m\u00eame plaine, le calcul \u00e9tait exactement inverse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bouvines, 1214 : l’\u00e9v\u00eaque de Beauvais et sa masse d’armes, William Longesp\u00e9e qui se rend \u2014 l’instant o\u00f9 une bataille entre nobles devient une transaction.<\/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":"default","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-9623","product","type-product","status-publish","product_cat-moyen-age","pa_format-300-estampes-sra3","desktop-align-left","tablet-align-left","mobile-align-left","first","instock","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-variable"],"yoast_head":"\n