Today 26 March is anniversary of the Combat of the Thirty, a contest arranged between French and English knights that took place in 1351 in Brittany! Celebrated as an "extraordinary deed of arms which should certainly not be forgotten", I present this epic battle in this thread!
This contest took placed during the War of the Breton Succession between the house of Blois and house of Montfort for the control of Duchy of Brittany. This conflict that was related to the Hundred Years' War as the French supported Blois and the English the Montforts!
This War of the Breton Succession would last from 1341 to 1365. The Combat of the Thirty happened during the time of uneasy peace in 1351 when the knights of French and English strongholds of Josselin and Ploërmel decided to settle their conflicts in this noble challenge!
The commanders who would lead their knights at the Combat of the Thirty were Jean de Beaumanoir, a local Breton knight and captain of Josselin, and Robert Bemborough, a knight of either English or German origin who was in charge of the Montfort fortress of Ploërmel.
These are the knights who fought in this legendary tournament style battle! Beaumanoir commanded Breton and French knights while Bemborough's knights were mostly English and German mercenaries. What led to such large tournament instead of a single combat between the two captains?
At the time the two opposing factions of Blois and Montfort were both led by women. Joan of Penthièvre, commanded the Blois faction as her husband Charles was in captivity, while the Montforts were commanded by Joanna of Flanders after her husband John of Montfort died in 1345.
It is said in ancient medieval chronicles that the motivation for this brutal tournament was to fight for the honor of their ladies Joan of Penthièvre and Joanna of Flanders, in spirit of medieval chivalry! Indeed, this contest was seen as one of the most noble deeds of chivalry.
Because of this instead of a single duel between the two captains a large contest of 30 against 30 was organized, "for any man who performs well in that contest will earn more honour than in a joust"! They organized a small battle, with the two sides using these symbols:
"And let us right there try ourselves and do so much that people will speak of it in future times in halls, in palaces, in public places and elsewhere throughout the world."
This heroic speech is attributed to English captain Bemborough as he inspired his men for this contest!
This heroic speech is attributed to English captain Bemborough as he inspired his men for this contest!
The men met four days later. They rode to a field nearby after hearing mass. The rules were that no one but the 30 knights on each side were allowed to fight, and the spectators were not allowed to intervene under threat of hanging. The knights dismounted and were ready to fight.
After a signal the contest started and hard brutal battle commenced! While called a chivalric tournament, it was essentially a brutal battle like any other, as the knights fought with deadly weapons to kill or maim the opponents! Early on, one French knight was already killed!
The chronicles praise how hard both sides fought and compare the courage of everyone involved to Roland and Oliver! This contest would end up having two half-times like a football match, as the knights were exhausted after initial stage of the battle and needed rest.
In this first stage one French and two English knights were dead. The knights refreshed themselves with wine and were ready to continue the contest. The chronicles report that the battle would last for "a very long time" and in the end, the French knights won!
The English captain Bemborough was killed along with 8 of his knights and the rest of the English were either wounded or forced to surrender. According to some chronicles a French squire who didn't dismount from horse was able to inflict heavy damage as a mounted knight.
The French lost 6 knights and several more died later on due to wounds. They returned to the castle of Josselin happy from victory. The survivors from both sides gained immense respect for this contest and they were indeed remembered as heroes and finest examples of chivalry!
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