Battle of Muret

Battle of Muret
Part of the Albigensian Crusade

The Battle of Muret: illustration from the Grandes Chroniques de France, c. 1375–1380
Date12 September 1213
Location
Muret, France
43°28′N 1°20′E / 43.467°N 1.333°E / 43.467; 1.333
Result French Crusader victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France
Northern French Crusaders		 Crown of Aragon
County of Toulouse
County of Comminges
County of Foix
Viscounty of Carcassonne
Commanders and leaders

Simon de Montfort the Elder

Peter II of Aragon  †
Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse
Raymond-Roger, Count of Foix
Strength

1,000–1,700 men[1][2][3][4]

  • 240–260 knights
  • 500–700 mounted sergeants
  • 300–700 infantry
 Modern estimates:
No more than 10,000 fighting men[5]
16,900–22,100 men[6][7]
4,000–8,000 men[8][9]
  • 1,000–2,000 Aragonese and Catalan knights and mounted sergeants
  • 1,000–2,000 Occitan knights and mounted sergeants
  • Several thousand infantry
Casualties and losses

Light (less than 100 total casualties)[10][11][12]

  • Presumably there were only 4 to 9 dead (1 knight and 3 or 8 sergeants)[13]
  • Many thousands killed (King Peter II included)[14][15][16]
  • Unknown wounded or captured

The Battle of Muret (Occitan: Batalha de Murèth), fought on 12 September 1213 near Muret, 25 km south of Toulouse, was the last major battle of the Albigensian Crusade and one of the most notable pitched battles of the Middle Ages. Although estimates of the sizes of the respective armies vary considerably even among distinguished modern historians, it is most well known for a small force of French knights and crusaders commanded by Simon de Montfort the Elder defeating a much larger allied army led by King Peter II of Aragon and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse.

Like Hastings and Bouvines, Muret is regarded as one of the most decisive tactical victories of the High Middle Ages and a much more complete victory than the first two. It showed Montfort had no equal as a battlefield commander, having now after his previous exploits defeated, against all odds, a man whose status as a sovereign king, general and crusader matched or exceeded the Frenchman's own reputation.[17][18] Charles Oman described the battle as the most remarkable triumphs ever won by a force entirely composed of cavalry over an enemy that used both horse and foot.[19]

The death of Peter II and the heavy loss of life among the Aragonese nobility had permanent political consequences in the region. The outcome of the battle removed Aragonese influence over the Languedoc and its surrounding provinces and allowed the Crown of France to assert its own control over them, which led to an expansion of the French royal domain further south.[20]

  1. ^ Marvin 2009, p. 185.
  2. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-85109-672-5.
  3. ^ Rogers, Clifford J. (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
  4. ^ Oman, Charles (2012). A History of the Art of War: The Middle Ages from the Fourth to the Fourteenth Century. Tales End Press. p. 530. ISBN 978-1-62358-003-2.
  5. ^ Sumption, Jonathan (2011). The Albigensian Crusade. Faber & Faber. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-571-26657-9.
  6. ^ Oman, Charles (2012). A History of the Art of War: The Middle Ages from the Fourth to the Fourteenth Century. Tales End Press. p. 534. ISBN 978-1-62358-003-2.
  7. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-85109-672-5.
  8. ^ Marvin 2009, pp. 186–187.
  9. ^ Rogers, Clifford J. (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
  10. ^ Alvira-Cabrer 2008, pp. 206–208.
  11. ^ Marvin 2009, p. 193.
  12. ^ Rogers, Clifford J. (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
  13. ^ Oman, Charles (2012). A History of the Art of War: The Middle Ages from the Fourth to the Fourteenth Century. Tales End Press. pp. 536–537. ISBN 978-1-62358-003-2.
  14. ^ Marvin 2009, p. 192.
  15. ^ Rogers, Clifford J. (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
  16. ^ Oman, Charles (2012). A History of the Art of War: The Middle Ages from the Fourth to the Fourteenth Century. Tales End Press. p. 536. ISBN 978-1-62358-003-2.
  17. ^ Rogers, Clifford J. (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
  18. ^ Marvin 2009, p. 191.
  19. ^ Oman, Charles (2012). A History of the Art of War: The Middle Ages from the Fourth to the Fourteenth Century. Tales End Press. p. 529. ISBN 978-1-62358-003-2.
  20. ^ Rogers, Clifford J. (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.