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Battle of Axspoele

The Battle of Axspoele took place on 21 June 1128 on the landed estate of the lords of Axpoele in the County of Flanders between William Clito and Thierry of Alsace. The two men were rivals for the title of Count of Flanders. William had been appointed to the title by Louis VI of France following the 1127 murder of Charles the Good but Thierry, cousin of Charles, had the support of Henry I of England. In 1128, Thierry secured the support of a number of Flemish cities, although most of the nobility supported William.

Background
Charles the Good, Count of Flanders was murdered in March 1127 by local enemies. Louis VI of France, overlord of Flanders in this period, installed, by means of an invasion, Charles' cousin (and a pretender to the Duchy of Normandy) William Clito as heir, in preference to another of Charles' cousins Thierry of Alsace, a grandson of Robert I, Count of Flanders (r. 1071–1093). Thierry had the support of the English King Henry I who was also Duke of Normandy and an uncle to William Clito. Additional military forces came from the cities, augmented by men from Ypres which first secretly and then openly supported Thierry. Galbert does not mention the exact location of this battle in his chronicle but Simon van Gent, the abbot of the abbey of Saint Bertin in Saint-Omer, mentions in his chronicle Gesta abbatum S. Bertini Sithiensium that this battle took place in the territory of Axspoele: "Post multa decem milia malorum, cum valida manu armatorum, in campo Hackespul, Willelmus et Theodericus ad prelium conveniunt, fugatoque Theoderico cum suis, Willelmo cessit victoria; sed in brevi victorie usus est leticia". The 1531 chronicle Dits die Excellente Chronijcke van Vlaenderen gives a brief account of the battle. ==Battle ==
Battle
Thierry's army was under observation by William Clito and he moved with 450 mounted men-at-arms to relieve the siege. William ordered his men to cut their hair short and remove any opulent clothing as a sign of their penance. On arriving at Axspoele on 21 June William noted that the majority of Thierry's force was on foot and resolved to give battle. Thierry, with Gervase, led one portion of his infantry and Frederick, a count, led the other; his cavalry was commanded by Daniel of Termonde. The first clash saw Riquart unhorsed and taken prisoner before the knights of both sides discarded their lances and engaged with the sword. Thierry reached the safety of Bruges accompanied by only ten knights. == Aftermath ==
Aftermath
During the battle William Clito captured a number of nobles and burghers for ransom. He afterwards marched south-west to Aalst near Brussels which he laid siege to from 12 July. == References ==
Source: Wikipedia ↗
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