Remember the song from "White Sun of the Desert" - "for whom are you kind, and to whom - otherwise …"? And although in this case we are talking about "Lady Luck", in the same way it could be said about our entire history. She turns to some with a smiling face, and often completely undeservedly, and to others with a completely different part of the body, although, in theory, those who got the “wrong side” of her mercy, just like the historical events, deserve much more.
The Battle of Aur from the Chronicle of Jean Froissard, 1410. National Library of Paris.
Well, let's say, such examples: who was the first to baptize Russia and even was awarded the title of "First Baptist"? Prince Askold! And what do the overwhelming majority know about him? That he was killed by Prince Oleg (that he was a vile pagan, not even everyone knows), since he, Askold, was not a princely family! And for some reason Askold is not canonized, but those who worshiped the pagans, honoring the interests of the state in the first place, and faith (and their immortal soul!) Are only canonized are just those who worshiped the pagans!
Another miniature from the Chronicle of Froissard, 1410, showing the soldiers in the weapons characteristic of that time.
And the battles in which the fate of the country was decided? For example, the Battle of Omovzha or the Battle of Embach (if you use the German name for the river), it is not in school textbooks, but meanwhile this is a very interesting and important battle of Russian troops with the Baltic crusaders. Then in 1234, Prince Yaroslav came along with his "lower regiments" and Novgorodians and invaded the possessions of the Order of the Swordsmen, not far from the city of Yuryev, but the city did not besiege.
Miniature from the Chronicle of Saint Denis. The same time and exactly the same equipment: bascinet helmets with a "dog's face" visor, and the torsos are still covered with quilted gambesons. British Library.
The annals say: "Ida prince Yaroslav on Nemtsi under Yuriev, and a hundred did not reach the city … prince Yaroslav bish them … on the river on Omovyzha Nemtsi broke off" (PSRL, IV, 30, 178) The knights decided on a sortie, and at the same time from the city and from the town of Medvezhya Golova, located 40 km away, but at the same time they were defeated. Some of the knights managed to return back behind the fortress walls, but the other part, pursued by Russian horsemen, went out onto the ice of the Emajõgi River, fell through and drowned. Among those who died there, the chronicle calls “the best Nѣmtsov nѣkoliko and the lower (that is, the warriors of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality) nѣkoliko. The Novgorod Chronicle reports that "bowing to Nѣmtsi to the prince, Yaroslav took peace with them in all his truth." Why is this battle unpopular in our history? Maybe because the prince "came himself", the invasion of the Germans did not wait? In general, we have a lot of events that seem to be the same, but only about them practically no one knows.
Knight 1350 Drawing by Graham Turner after miniatures of that time.
However, not only our national history was unlucky here. For example, everyone knows such "key" battles of the well-known Hundred Years War, such as the Battle of Crécy and Poitiers, which unequivocally proved the power of the English "longbow" and … the inability of the French knighthood to quickly adapt to new conditions. However, if we look at such "key" battles, there will be much more, only some are well known to us, while others for some reason are not.
Meanwhile, one of these battles between the troops of England and France took place near the city of Auré on September 29, 1364. Moreover, although this battle is one of the battles of the Hundred Years War, it also refers to the battles of the war for the Breton inheritance or the "war of two Jeannes" that took place in 1341-1364, that is, it was still such a "small war", being part of the "big"!
Battle of Aur. Another medieval miniature, clearly showing all the features of the then knightly weapons and combat techniques of warfare. As you can see, short spears, swords, and daggers of the rondel type are used to finish off the vanquished.
And it all started banally, as many wars of the feudal era began: in 1341, Duke Jean III of Breton died without leaving heirs and, moreover, completely irresponsible without naming his successor, although he had such an opportunity. But … he was in such a hurry to appear before the eyes of the Lord that he did not bother himself with the issue of succession to the throne, leaving his duchy in the most difficult situation of dual power. Two Jeanne - Jeanne de Pentievre (or Jeanne the Chromonog) and Jeanne of Flanders began to challenge each other for the right to the duchy, and as a result, so worried about their husbands: Jean de Montfort and Charles de Blois, that they decided to lay claim to this duchy. And since England and France at this time were in a state of war, which began in 1337, both began to look for allies for themselves. Jean de Montfort took the oath of allegiance to the English Edward III, who declared himself king of France, but Charles de Blois decided that he could not find an ally more profitable than his own uncle, and brought homage to Philip VI.
Capture of Jean de Montfort.
In 1341, the French managed to capture Jean de Montfort and give the duchy to Charles de Blois, Jeanne of Flanders went mad, but in 1342 King Edward III landed with troops in Brest, as a result of which in 1343 the parties concluded an armistice. But the balance of power was fragile, constantly violated, and it all ended with the fact that the peace negotiations, which were going on in 1364, ended in failure, after which the English troops under the leadership of the Duke of Breton Jean V the Valiant entered the city of Auré and laid siege to its castle, which was also blocked. from the sea by the English fleet. The besieged were experiencing a shortage of food and were ready to surrender on September 29, only on the condition that help would not come to them before that day. That is, no one wanted to climb the walls and shed their blood once again. Like, you wait, and we will surrender, if help does not come, but if it does, then we will fight - a kind of medieval reasoning, right ?!
Battle of Aur: Bretons on the right (coat of arms of Brittany on plate clothing), on the left the French.
Meanwhile, on September 27, the troops of Charles de Blois were near the abbey, not far from the city. The next day, French troops crossed to the left bank of the river and took up a position opposite the city's castle. Duke Jean, fearing a double blow, together with his troops left the city and placed them on the right bank of the river. And then between the warring parties began … negotiations, the essence of which boiled down to finding out which of the dukes should leave the city and why.
Battle of Aur. Miniature by Pierre Le Bo.
However, on September 29, it became clear that neither the one nor the other side was going to yield to the enemy, after which the French troops crossed the river for the second time and stood up front to the north of the castle. At the same time, they took a very unfortunate position, since they found themselves on a swampy plain. British troops also took up a position opposite, and stood up, awaiting an attack by the French.
Battle of Aur. Miniature by Jean Cuvillier circa 1400 They all considered themselves Bretons …
Like many battles of the Hundred Years War, the British put archers in front of their line, and the French - crossbowmen. A skirmish began between them, but it had no particular result, and then the French knightly cavalry attacked the British. Interestingly, the French launched several attacks, one after the other, but the British repelled them all. At the most critical moment, the situation was saved by the reserve, prudently left by Jean and plugging the "hole" punched in his positions by the knights. Moreover, the chroniclers note that the battle was simply incredibly fierce for that time, so fierce that they did not take prisoners from either side. Then, noticing that the French were tired, the British counterattacked them on the right flank. The French could not stand it and ran, and seeing that the left flank was running, the right flank followed it! Duke Charles de Blois was wounded by a spear, fell from his horse, and was finished off by some English warrior. The British victory was more than complete and ended the War of the Breton Succession. In 1365, the first Treaty of Guérande was concluded, according to which Jean IV of Breton became the legal heir, who in turn signed a treaty of alliance with England.
Battle of Aur. Stained glass window in the Basilica of Notre Dame de Bonnet in Rennes.
