The Courtrai Chest is a oak chest which incorporates Medieval carvings depicting scenes from the Franco-Flemish War and, in particular, the Battle of the Golden Spurs at Kortrijk (Courtrai) in Flanders. The chest is among the few surviving contemporaneous depictions of those historically-significant events.
The Coutrai Chest is a 17th-century oak construction but incorporates an older front-face measuring 102 cm by 71 cm, dating from the 14th century. [1] This bears carvings in relief illustrating episodes from the Franco-Flemish War (1297–1305) from the Bruges Matins (13 May 1302) to the Battle of the Golden Spurs (11 July 1302).
The Chest was discovered around 1905 in the village of Stanton St John in Oxfordshire which was a village largely owned by New College, Oxford. Found by Warden of the College, William Archibald Spooner, on a "Warden's Progress", it was in a barn of a college tenant where it was used as a feed bin for animals. [2] [3] Nothing is apparently known of the circumstances in which the Chest arrived in Oxfordshire.
The Chest is kept at New College, Oxford where it is not currently on public show.
A full-sized reconstruction of the original is displayed at the Kortrijk 1302 Museum in Belgium where it is known as the "Oxford Chest" (Kist van Oxford). This reproduction comprises a reconstruction of the whole chest including the stiles or legs supporting it, as would have been present in its original form, but are missing from the remains of the original. [3]
The Battle of the Golden Spurs was a military confrontation between the royal army of France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the Franco-Flemish War (1297–1305). It took place near the town of Kortrijk (Courtrai) in modern-day Belgium and resulted in an unexpected victory for the Flemish. It is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Courtrai.
Theobald II was the Duke of Lorraine from 1303 until his death in 1312. He was the son and successor of Frederick III and Margaret, daughter of King Theobald I of Navarre.
Guy of Dampierre was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the latter at the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302.
Robert II was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant. He was a nephew of Louis IX of France. He died at the Battle of the Golden Spurs.
A goedendag was a weapon originally used by the militias of Medieval Flanders in the 14th century, notably during the Franco-Flemish War. The goedendag was essentially a combination of a club with a spear. Its body was a wooden staff roughly three to five feet long with a diameter of roughly two to four inches. It was wider at one end, and at this end a sharp metal spike was inserted by a tang.
Pieter de Coninck was a weaver from Bruges well known for his role in the events surrounding the Battle of the Golden Spurs. He was not the head of the weavers' guild as is popularly believed. Together with Jan Breydel, a butcher, he was in the forefront of the popular uprising that led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Right before that battle he was knighted together with two of his sons.
Jan Breydel is credited with leading the Bruges Matins, a violent uprising against Philip the Fair. He is said to have played a major role in the Franco-Flemish War, even though his authenticity has since been questioned.
The Matins of Bruges was the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges and their Leliaards supporters, a political faction in favour of French rule, on 18 May 1302 by the members of the local Flemish militia. It has been named "Matins" in analogy to the Sicilian Vespers of 1282. The revolt led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs, which saw the Flemish militia defeat French troops on 11 July 1302.
Jacques de Châtillon or James of Châtillon was Lord of Leuze, of Condé, of Carency, of Huquoy and of Aubigny, the son of Guy III, Count of Saint-Pol and Matilda of Brabant. He married Catherine of Condé and had issue.
The Treaty of Melun was signed in April 1226 between Louis VIII of France and Joan, Countess of Flanders.
The Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium is an annual commemoration in the Flemish Community in Belgium on 11 July which marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag) in 1302.
Kortrijk, sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray, is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders.
Raoul II/III of Clermont-Nesle was Seigneur (Lord) of Nesle in Picardy (de), Viscount of Châteaudun (de), Grand Chamberlain of France and Constable of France.
John I of Ponthieu was Count of Aumale.
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 fought Nicolaas Zannekin, a wealthy farmer from Lampernisse. Zannekin was the leader of a band of Flemish 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 3,200 Flemish rebels were killed in the battle.
The Brugse Belofte or Blindekens procession is a yearly Catholic parade held since 1304 in the Flemish city of Bruges (Brugge) on Assumption of Mary. In yearly remembrance of the safe homecoming of the craftsmen from the battle of Mons-en-Pévèle in 1304 against the French knights, a candle is brought by a procession to the church of Saint Mary of the Blinds.
The Franco-Flemish War was a conflict between the Kingdom of France and the County of Flanders between 1297 and 1305.
Simon II of Clermont-Nesle was Seigneur (Lord) of Ailly, Maulette and Nesle
Mathieu III de Triewas a 14th-century French military and political leader. He was the lord of Araines, Fontenay, and Vaumain, as well as being the 27th Marshal of France.
The siege of Tournai was an event of the Franco-Flemish War in 1303.
