Robbing Saint Martial. The War Campaign of 1183

Ca. 17 April 1183,  Henry the Young King, desperately in need of money to pay off his mercenaries in the war he was waging against his brother Richard, plundered the shrine of Saint Martial, Limoges. Thanks to Bernard Itier (1163-1225), the librerian of the monastery and author of a chronicle, the same who was to describe the last campaign and death of Henry's brother, Richard the Lionheart in 1199, we know that the Young King and his men " took from our treasury 52 marks of gold, 103 of silver, the altar frontal of gold from the altar of the sepulchre, the altar frontal of gold from the altar of the Holy Saviour, a golden chalice, a vase of silver, the cross from the altar of St Peter with half of the coffer in which it was kept, the reliquary of St Austriclianian, the cross of Bernard the hosteler." 

Chasse with the Crucufixtion and Christ in Majesty, ca. 1180-1190, Limoges, France. Photo courtesy of the MET

To his credit Henry made a solemn vow confirmed by a charter and promised to return all he was taking. As Bernard noted:  "The king, however, solemnly promised that he would return it all and gave a charter, validated by his seal  Moreover, the value of the goldsmith's artistry and of the gold that was used in the gilding of the silver was not computed. "

The Spitzer Cross, Master of the Royal Plantagenet Workshop, ca. 1190, Limoges

At the time Limoges was a thriving centre of enamel production. Thus some of the items from St Martial shrine the Young King took might have been a work of exquisite beauty. We have provided pictures of reliquaries and crosses dating to this period and preserved in museums all over the world, so that it would be easier for you to picture the scene and the "loan" taken that day by the Young King and his men. 

Chalice of the Abbot Suger of Saint-Denise, mounting 1137-1140, Widener Collection, 1942.9.277

After paying for his men Henry went to assist Aimar Taillafer of Angouleme, one of his allies. We know that On 23 May, together with his knights and mercenaries, he seized control of Richard’s castle at Aixe, hollow victory since the Duke and his soldiers had already abandoned the keep. Three days later, on 26 May in Caen, the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of Bayeux, Evreux, Lisieux, Sees and Rochester, acting on Henry II’s orders, excommunicated all who “impeded the making of peace between the king and his sons”. All with the exception of the Young King. Henry could not have known that. He was in the town of Uzerche, suffering from - as it may seem - the first bout of illness which was to kill him seventeen days later. Over to Bernard Itier again: "on the feast of St Barnabas the Apostle, the king died at Martel on Saturday of the great week of Pentecost.  In fact, it was the tenth hour when his departure, that is his death, approached.   From his heart, he implored the mercy of God. He prayed for the aid of the Virgin Mary and of all the saints. He humbly begged St Martial of the Apostle, above others--because of the affront to whom he was being mortally afflicted--to come to his aid, and thus he sent forth his soul."


Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik