Battle of Calais 1350
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1350 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Hundred Years' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of England, Kingdom of France | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.9475, 1.8556 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Calais took place in 1350 when an English force defeated an unsuspecting French army which was attempting to take the city. Despite a truce being in effect the French commander Geoffrey de Charny had planned to take the city by subterfuge, and bribed Amerigo of Pavia, an Italian officer of the city garrison, to open a gate for them. The English king, Edward III, became aware of the plot and personally led his household knights and the Calais garrison in a surprise counter-attack. The French were routed by this smaller force, with significant losses and all their leaders captured or killed.
Later that day, Edward dined with the highest-ranking captives, treating them with royal courtesy except for Charny, whom he taunted for having abandoned his chivalric principles both by fighting during a truce and by attempting to purchase his way into Calais rather than fight. As Charny was considered a paragon of knightly behaviour, the accusations struck deep, and were frequently repeated in subsequent English propaganda, as Charny was to write several authoritative books on chivalry.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Calais (revision 1377402311), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Calais (1596) 1596 · 0 km
- Siege of Calais (1436) 1436 · 0 km
- Siege of Calais (1346–1347) 1346 · 1 km
- Siege of Calais (1940) 1940 · 1 km
- Siege of Calais (1558) 1558 · 2 km
- Siege of Guînes (1352) 1352 · 9 km
Other battles of the Hundred Years' War
- Battle of Crécy 1346
- Battle of Neville's Cross 1346
- Siege of Aiguillon 1346
- Siege of Calais (1346–1347) 1346
- Battle of Lunalonge 1349
- Battle of Winchelsea 1350
- Battle of Ardres 1351
- Battle of Saintes 1351
- Siege of Saint-Jean-d'Angély (1351) 1351
- Siege of Guînes (1352) 1352
All 63 battles of the Hundred Years' War →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · Medieval battles