I've Got Spurs that Jingle Jangle Jingle

Dear Folk,

On July 11, 1302, an elite cavalry force approached an untrained militia mostly made up of guildsmen, weavers. The results of that day spelled eventual victory for the weavers but death for Scots and Templars and loss for the Jews. This is the date of The Battle of the Golden Spurs.

The French king. Philip "the Fair" (meaning "good looking" not about his willingness to share) had long coveted the wealth of Flanders. The place was mostly owned and run by guilds, independent of any throne or crown. The most influential of these were the weavers' guilds. They made the fine linen cloth and lace.

Philip had been fighting with the English, led by Eddie I ("Longshanks"). Phil had even kidnapped, assassinated and bought a Catholic pope or two. All of this warring and work on Church beautification had sapped the treasury of the French. No money, no war. Simple as that. So, where could a good-looking, studly kind of king get some spending cash? Look to the merchants! You ask them first and if they refuse to pay the insurance - "shame if some clumsy knight were to wander into your shop and set fire to your loom, Monsieur Devreese" then you have to go send out some collectors. These knightly guys were led by the French commander, the Duc d'Artois. Along with them came Pierre Flotte and Raoul de Nesles. More about these three in a sec.

On July 11th, the elite of the French chivalry, mounted of course, came riding toward the city Kortrijk (Courtrai in French) in Flanders. The weavers and friends were standing their ground (the only dry spot around) on Groeninge field. The surrounding area was muddy and mucky. The French cavalry charged but got bogged down. The weavers with their bill hooks and bowmen calmly opened them up like crawfish at a Draconian (that's in Louisiana, ya'll) feast. Same results. Raoul saw that the battle was lost but plunged into it as a sort of suicide rush. He had decided better a dead hero than having to live with defeat. Duc d'Artois was stabbed by a lay brother from the Ter Doest abbey in western Flanders Guillaume Vansaeftingen. Great name, right? Several folks afterwards wanted his name tattooed on their chests; none survived the ordeal. Pierre Flotte, French lawyer and teacher, also died in the fray.

Pierre Flotte is not as remembered as his star pupil, Guillaume de Nogaret, who upon his mentor's death became king Phil the Good Looking's chief advisor and favorite badman. Any RL Templars out there? Okay, I know my Masonic friends are. Reason I asked was that Nogaret was the one who led the arrest of the Templars that Friday Oct 13, 1307.

Why is it called the Battle of the Golden Spurs? Those danged weavers cut off the spurs of the French knights and tacked the rowels up in in Onze-Lieve-Vrouw church in Kortrijk. Kind of pretty decoration. Unfortunately, French troops came back in 1382 during the Battle of Westrozebeke and took the spurs away. How rude! The spurs which are in the church today are fake ones but don't tell anyone and everyone will still dig it.

With no army, Phil had to knock off feuding with Eddie I. That suddenly meant that Eddie could devote all his efforts to whomping on the Scots. In fact William Wallace (remember "Braveheart"?) was forced out of Phil's court and back to Scotland. Wallace was betrayed to Longshanks within three years.

With no money, Phil had to figure another place or places to squeeze. He had two ready sources at home: the Jews and the Templars. Phil "nationalized" (stole) all Jewish property and kicked them out of the country. Eddie over across the channel had done a similar thing. Phil was in hock up to his good looking eyebrows to the Templars. Hmmm. Maybe he could arrest them and steal all the Templar treasure. You tell me if you think he found it all. Some of the Templars made it over to Scotland to fight against Eddie. Seemed only right. St. Clair (Sinclair) is a name you might want to look up yourselves in that aspect.

What have we learned? A strong army with get you through times with no money better than money will get you through times without an army? I don't don't think so. Cavalry is just not the answer in every situation? Don't go to other people's back yard and act tough? Didn't we have that somewhere before? It is dangerous to loan money to a king? I think the best thought is "Don't mess with the Weavers!" *G*

Wobbling but not falling down,
J. Ellsworth Weaver (tee-hee)

SCA - Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS - Polyphemus Theognis
TRV - Sebastian Yeats

As always if you forward these, leave my name and sig attached. You saw
what happened to Duc d'Artois and his Frenchy boys. Grrrrr!