Battle of St. Quentin (1557)

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates The Battle of Saint-Quentin of 1557 was a decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1551–1559 between the Kingdom of France and the Spanish Empire, at Saint-Quentin in Picardy. A Habsburg Spanish force under Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy defeated a French army under the command of Louis de Gonzague, and Anne de Montmorency, Duke of Montmorency.

Battle

The battle took place on the Feast Day of St. Lawrence 10 August.Template:Sfn Philibert, with his 7,000 English allies,Template:EfnTemplate:Efn had placed St. Quentin under siege. Montmorency with a force of around 26,000 men marched to St. Quentin to relieve the city.Template:Sfn Facing a force twice their size, Montmorency attempted to gain access to St. Quentin through a marsh, but a delayed French withdrawal allowed the Spanish to defeat the French and capture Montmorency.Template:Sfn

During the battle the Saint-Quentin collegiate church was badly damaged by fire.Template:Sfn

File:Gallorum strages die x Augusti expugnatio vrbis die xxvii eiusdem. MDLVII.jpg

Anonymous view of the 1557 battle of Saint-Quentin.

Aftermath

After the victory over the French at St. Quentin, "the sight of the battlefield gave Philip a permanent distaste for war"; he declined to pursue his advantage, withdrawing to the Spanish Netherlands to the north,Template:Sfn where he had been the Governor since 1555. In 1558, the Habsburgs won again at the Battle of Gravelines. The Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis ended the war in 1559.Template:Sfn

Feast of Saint Lawrence

Being extremely pious, Philip II was aware that 10 August is the Feast of Saint Lawrence, a Roman deacon who was roasted on a gridiron for his Christian beliefs. Hence, in commemoration of the great victory on St Lawrence's Day, Philip sent orders to Spain that a great palace in the shape of a gridiron should be built in the Guadarrama Mountains northwest of Madrid. Known as El Escorial, it was finally completed in 1584.Template:Sfn

Notable participants

The Frenchman Martin Guerre, who was later famously impersonated in his home village, fought for the Spanish and lost his leg at St. Quentin.

In culture

("It became the one of St. Quentin") is a Spanish proverbial phrase to describe a big dispute.

Sources

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