"Brabanters" Topic

"There were the Brabanters (alternatively, Brabacons, Cotereaux, or Routiers), a loose term that could refer to soldiers from Brabant, Navarrese, Basques, or even Germans. These men, by whatever name, had a vicious reputation, and were singled out for their ruthlessness during the Third Lateran Council of 1179, which ordered the excommunication of any Christian hiring their services. Yet the practical aspect of their reputation was a decent record of effectiveness in the field. As John France has observed, Brabanters were not always successful, but when commanded from above in an orderly conflict they comprised a useful group. King Henry used Brabanters to great advantage in his own campaigns and is found in the historical record hiring their services quite frequently.
Let us turn to our first example of Henry II deploying tactical units of mercenaries, the siege of Chaumont in 1167. The cause of the siege is to be found seven years prior. Henry's successful ravaging operations during the Toulouse campaign of 1159 produced an agreement between himself and Louis VII of France (1137-1180) in May 1160, which granted Henry general control over Languedoc and the regions outside of Toulouse. The spring of 1167, however, featured events that would test the practicality of his lordship in the south. William VIII, count of Auvergne (d. 1182), broke his succession oath by disinheriting his nephew of the county in April. Henry demanded he stand trial to explain himself; William refused and forged an alliance with Louis instead. In typical fashion, Henry took the affront personally and sent soldiers into Auvergne to ravage William's lands. Louis responded by attacking Normandy and burning several villages in the Vexin between Mantes and Pacy. Yet if William and Louis had hoped to form an effective alliance against the Angevin king they were sorely mistaken. Having successfully cowed William in the south, Henry swiftly marched back north to Normandy in May. Louis refused peace negotiations and Henry moved to Chaumont in July, burning it down in what Warren called a `brilliantly executed operation.' Henry secretly sent his Welsh mercenaries swimming down the River Epte and into the town while he approached the gates with his army, goading the French to sally forth to meet him. The ruse was successful: as the garrison exited the gates and began to form up into battle array, the Welshmen were able to enter from behind and torch the buildings. Behind the French Chaumont burst into flames as the fi res caught hold. Trapped between the Normans and a burning town, they rushed back into the city to douse the flames and Henry followed, taking the gate in the confusion of the moment. Here Henry deployed his mercenaries as a unit, and because the Welsh followed their orders they played a key tactical role in the siege.
Chaumont is an example of mercenary tactics employed in a constrained area of operations, but in our second case, the Battle of Dol, we find Henry placing more and more trust in the ability of mercenary groups to obey his command and those commands of his subordinates. Hired soldiers featured predominantly in the armies of both Henry and his enemies during the Great Revolt of 1173 and 1174, which include Louis VII and Henry's sons Henry the Younger (d. 1183), Geoffrey (d. 1186), and Richard, as well as an assortment of displeased magnates. Following the initial outbreaks of violence, the elder Henry quickly demonstrated a knack for defensive campaigning. In August 1173, Henry scored a victory at Verneuil that drove Louis and young Henry back into France; moving quickly to address other threats to Normandy, Henry set his sights on Brittany in the west. There, a rebel Breton army led by the malcontents Hugh, earl of Chester (d. 1181), and Ralph de Fougeres (d. 1196) was marching towards Avranches. Henry remained in Rouen to coordinate the defense of the northeast and in his place dispatched William de Humet to lead a group of Brabanter cavalry and Norman soldiers towards Brittany, keeping his familia and main host in reserve…"

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