Battle of St. Quentin (1557)

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military conflict 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

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.<ref name="Davis-1983">Template:Cite book</ref>

In culture

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("It became the one of St. Quentin") is a Spanish proverbial phrase to describe a big dispute.<ref name="EP">Template:Cite news</ref>

Sources

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite thesis
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite encyclopedia
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite encyclopedia
• Template:Cite bookTemplate:ISBN?
• Template:Cite book