Battle of
Bouvines - July 27, 1214
From a manuscript at Cambridge University. The drawing
represents the turning point in the battle. In a charge led by
one of King John's captains, King Philip Augustus of
France was unhorsed and nearly slain. A
soldier saved him at the cost of his own life.
This medieval battle, fought in Bouvines, in the County of
Flanders, in the Kingdom of France, was a decisive French
victory, ending the Angevin-Flanders War of 1202-1214 (also
known as the Anglo-French War). The primary reason for the
conflict was control over English lands in France (centered in
Normandy).
The English defeat weakened King John of
England, and contributed to him signing the
Magna Carta the following year (1215). Click here to enlarge this image. |
