Battle of Cassel (1328)

Battle of Cassel
Part of the Peasant revolt in Flanders 1323-1328
Henry Scheffer : Philippe VI de Valois (Le roi salique) : Louis-Philippe Ier : Bataille de Cassel, le 23 août 1328 - La galerie des Batailles - Château de Versailles
Date 23 August 1328 Location Cassel, France Result Decisive French victory
Belligerents
Flemish peasants	Kingdom of France
Commanders and leaders
Nicolaas Zannekin † Winnoc le Fiere †	Philip VI of France
Strength
15,000+
Casualties and losses
3,200 killed & wounded	17 knights killed

On 23 August 1328, the Battle of Cassel took place near the city of Cassel, 30 km south of Dunkirk in present-day France. Philip VI, (King of France from 1328 to 1350) fought Nicolaas Zannekin, a wealthy farmer from Lampernisse. Zannekin was the leader of a band of Flemish independence rebels. The fighting erupted over taxation and punitive edicts of the French over the Flemish. The battle was won decisively by the French. Zannekin and about 3200 Flemish rebels were killed in the battle.

The Count of Flanders, Louis I, was collecting taxes for Charles IV of France. Residents of the bailiwicks of Veurne, St. Winoksbergen, Belle, Kassel, Poperinge and Bourbourg united and refused to pay. The Count threatened reprisals and the people rioted, under the leadership of Nicolaas Zannekin. In 1325, Zannekin captured Nieuwpoort, Veurne and Ypres. He also captured Kortrijk and the Count of Flanders himself. Later attempts to capture Ghent and Oudenaarde failed. In February 1326, Charles IV intervened and Louis I was released and the "Peace of Arques" was agreed.

On 6 April 1327, at the request of Charles IV, Pope John XXII of Avignon renewed an interdict which denied those in Flanders, other than the aristocracy and the clergy the sacraments of the church and a sacred burial. The Pope was seen as a puppet of the King. The Flemish clergy disagreed about whether or not to apply the rule. Some clergymen (who feared they would be killed by opponents of French rule) laid the papal regulation aside. Jean Laing, Dean of St. Winoksbergen, asked the clergy of his diocese to apply the regulation. Jacob Peyt, a leader of the Flemish rebels in Hondschote, tried to capture Laing and pressure the clergy to ignore the edict. The rebels' actions had some success.

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