Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
This manuscript bird's-eye view portrays one of the bloodiest engagements of these wars,
the Battle of Saint-Denis, near Paris. On 10 November 1567 a 16,000-strong army of Cath-
olics commanded by Anne de Montmorency fought a much smaller Protestant force under
Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. Despite being outnumbered by more than four to one,
the Huguenots held out for several hours before conceding defeat and retreating to the east.
The 74-year-old Montmorency was severely wounded and died two days after his victory.
As much a picture as a battle plan, the sketch is not easy to interpret. It offers no firm im-
pression of the progress of the fighting and does not even indicate clearly which troops be-
long to which side. It is possible that it employs an unusual time-lapse effect, with the right-
hand side showing events earlier in the battle than the left-hand side. The geographical posi-
tion of the battlefield, however, is firmly anchored by the views of cities and towns depicted
at its fringes: Saint-Denis to the north, Aubervilliers to the east, Paris and La Chapelle to the
south, and Saint-Ouen to the west. Disciplined ranks of infantrymen march across the lower
half of the sheet, while in the upper half a charge of cavalry sweeps from right to left. To the
right of the centre cannon are shown being loaded and fired.
The plan is believed to be the work of three young Englishmen - Edward Berkeley and
two of the sons of Sir Henry Norris, the English ambassador - who were then resident in Par-
is and may have witnessed some of the battle. Norris enclosed it with a despatch sent a few
weeks later on 29 November, one of his frequent reports to Queen Elizabeth I and her senior
ministers about events in France. A skilled political operator, Elizabeth was keen to gather
intelligence about conflicts and intrigue in mainland Europe. Having herself experienced life
as a Protestant in a Catholic country during the reign of her sister and immediate predecessor
Mary I, she was also acutely aware of the potentially deadly implications of not appearing to
conform in matters of religious faith and practice.
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