The Ardennes, so significant in terms of military history, saw a bloody conflict as early as the 13th century, arising from a comparatively insignificant cause. In the so-called “Cow War”, the entire Condroz region (where the German advance was to stall at the end of 1944) was devastated.
Today, a monument depicting a cow commemorates the event in Ciney, which is known to many people interested in military history thanks to its large military fair.
Le conte de Namur et se frère Thiris
Li jeune Godefroy de Lovay li marchis
Le dus de Lucenbor et de Baere autresi
Furent a celles jostes et mains barons jolis
Qui par lamour des dames la endroit fu acquis.
The story of the “Cow War” began in the year of our Lord 1271, when Sire Henri de Beaufort renounced his allegiance to the Prince-Bishop of Liège and gave his castle of Beaufort – high above the banks of the Meuse – in fief to the Count of Namur. And he was none other than Guy de Dampierre, also Count of Flanders (hence his common German name Guido of Flanders). In 1263, he had bought the county of Namur from his cousin Baudouin de Courtenay (or rather his son Philippe, who made the deal). This Baudouin was the fourth and last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople and was therefore more likely to be found there and less often in Wallonia. At the time of the sale of the county, which changed hands for 20,000 Parisian pounds, Baudouin de Courtenay had already been dethroned and expelled by Michael VIII Palaiologos, but in exile he could use every penny for his plan to reconquer Constantinople. He found no support for his project from European monarchs or the nobles of his homeland, who had other things to do. The aforementioned Guy de Dampierre was married to Isabelle of Luxembourg, who was the daughter of Count Henry V of Luxembourg. As lord of the county of Namur, Count Guy was one of the most powerful territorial lords in Wallonia. The often rival neighboring bishopric of Liège was subject to Bishop Henry III of Guelders, an unworthy patron who led a dissolute lifestyle and was at odds with neighboring princes and the citizens of his cities. Mechelen (successfully) revolted against his rule, Dinant rebelled and even the citizens of Liège did not lag behind and put the bishop in trouble. It was therefore hardly surprising that self-confident aristocratic vassals sought new feudal lords. The cities of the bishopric, such as Liège, Huy and Dinant, formed an alliance. Finally, Pope Gregory X ended the rule of the obstinate bishop at the Council of Lyon in 1274 and appointed Jean d’Enghien as the new prince-bishop in his place. It should be noted that this Pope Gregory had previously been called Teobaldo Visconti, had been Archdeacon of Liège, had made complaints to the unworthy Bishop Henry and had been badly insulted and kicked by the latter. The aforementioned Henri de Beaufort was the brother of a Jean de Beaufort, Sire de Goesnes. The latter had an unpleasant contemporary among his subjects, Engorant de Jallet, who had once stolen a cow from a citizen of the town of Ciney (whose name was Rigaud de Corbion). Now the rustler was trying to sell this cow in Andenne of all places, where the Count of Namur – Guy de Dampierre – was holding a great jousting tournament. Many people were being fed, so the meat prices were high. Among the visitors was Rigaud, who had been so viciously robbed and who immediately recognized the cattle and complained about it to his lord of the court. This was the bailiff of the Condroz region, where Ciney (still known today for its weekly cattle market) is located. This Maitre Jean de Halloy lured the thief out of the ban of Andenne with the promise of impunity if he made good the damage caused.
He was arrested and later hanged. Sire de Goesnes was furious about this. Not that he had anything against the hanging of cattle thieves in principle, it was just that no one should be hanged without asking the sire, because after all, the maleficant was one of his subjects. As a result, he allied himself with his brothers Henri de Beaufort and Richard Beaufort de Fallais. Two of their cousins were also present, the lords of Celles and Spontin.
This was the beginning of the so-called “Cow War” in 1275. Chronicles sympathetic to the Beaufort family say that Corbion complained to Jean de Beaufort during the tournament. He had also wanted to punish the cattle thief severely, but only the pleas of the assembled knights and the pleas of the repentant Engorant de Jallet had softened his heart. However, Engorant had been obliged to return the cow himself and had thus come under the influence of Maitre Jean de Halloy, who had him hanged in a very mean manner and in breach of his word. Be that as it may, it was now a question of honor. Condroz’s men advanced against the castles of the Beaufort family and were able to destroy Spontin. Maitre Halloy allied himself with the citizens of Dinant, Huy and Liège and reluctantly the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Jean d’Enghien, also joined them. He had only just become Bishop of Liège. Well, at the urging of the bourgeoisie and the clergy, the new Bishop Jean took sides with Halloy’s people – not particularly enthusiastically. On the other hand, the Count of Namur, the Count of Luxembourg and others came to the aid of the Beauforts. The citizens of Huy destroyed the castle of Goesnes. However, they were unable to take Beaufort Castle, situated high above the Meuse. The castle of Fallais also held out, but the lord of the castle, Richard de Fallais, was not happy. He wanted to get help from the Count of Namur, got into the saddle and rode off. On the way, the people from Condroz (or Huy) caught up with him and slew him. His son Rigald had no choice but to give his father’s castle as a fief to the Duke of Brabant. At the time, this was John the Victorious, or Jean le Victorieux, as the French tongue called him. And he, a famous tournament fighter and very, very belligerent contemporary, accepted immediately. After all, he was also married to Margaret, a daughter of Guy de Dampierre. The citizens of Dinant now joined the people from Condroz, and under the leadership of Jean de Rochefort they marched against the troops from Namur. Defeated in an open field battle, the people of Dinant fled back to their well-fortified town, where they managed to defeat their pursuers at the walls. Allegedly, and here the chroniclers become flowery again, a vanguard of the people of Namur had ventured too far, entered the town through a poorly guarded gate and fell victim to the Dinantians, who fought with contempt for death. The sleepy gate guard had only just managed to lower the portcullis before the main force of the enemy approached. But a little further east, on April 17, 1276, the army of the Count of Luxembourg met the contingent of the people from the Condroz, which, according to the chroniclers, was 2,400 strong, half cavalry, half foot soldiers. The Luxembourgers suffered heavy losses, allegedly 1,200 men. However, they were able to win the field and force the enemy to retreat to Ciney.
The defeated party had also suffered considerable losses, including Maitre Jean de Halloy. Count Henry of Luxembourg is said to have exclaimed: “Three gentlemen for one scoundrel!” in view of the many dead among his own, including a few gentlemen of noble birth. It remains to be seen whether he was referring to the cattle thief or the Maitre.
The marshal of the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Robert de Forvie, arrived too late with reinforcements and therefore retreated to Dinant. The following day, the Luxembourgers stormed Ciney and burned the church (the collegiate church of Saint-Nicolas) with the citizens who had taken refuge there. Just one day later, the troops of the Duke of Brabant conquered the town of Meeffe in the diocese of Liège and plundered it. Dozens of villages in the border region between the County of Luxembourg and the High Diocese fell victim to mutual attacks, and the death toll ran into the thousands. Attempts to involve the German King Rudolf I were unsuccessful in view of the fact that this first Habsburg on the German royal throne was busy with his campaigns against Ottokar of Bohemia in the far east of the empire at the same time. The battles raged back and forth until 1278. In the meantime, Bishop Jean of Liège had turned to the French king, not an unlikely choice given the bishop’s origins, and King Philip III mediated and brought about a peace agreement that essentially restored the status quo. In 1276, King Rudolf had written to the French king asking him to protect the rich abbey of Orval, knowing full well that he himself could not do much about it. The matter still had a bitter aftermath: the rivalry between the High Abbey of Liège and the Duchy of Brabant continued and the deposed Bishop Henry of Guelders was still lurking in the background. His henchmen succeeded in capturing Bishop Jean in 1281. He was tied to a horse, which chased the prelate over hill and dale. Bishop Jean died, badly shaken by this.
