Battle of Pleshey
| Battle of Pleshey | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Northumberland's Revolt | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| William II of England | William, duke of Northumberland | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| William II | William, duke of Northumberland | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~2,000 | ~1,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~100 | ~400 | ||||||
The Battle of Pleshey was fought at Pleshey, England, on 14 September 1125 between the army of King William II and the forces of the rebellious William Giffard, duke of Northumberland. The battle was a decisive victory for the king's men.
Background
In June 1125 the duke of Northumberland was accused of plotting William II's assassination. The king was probably also suspicious of the duke's royal blood, as a grandson of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king. In August 1125 the king levied formal accusations of treason against Duke William. The duke gathered his household men and the levies of Essex at Waltham and prepared to resist William II; meanwhile, the king approached from London with his own household men, joined by the royal levies of Middlesex and Bedfordshire.
Battle
William II's army encountered the duke of Northumberland at Pleshey, near Waltham, on the evening of 13 September 1125, and a pitched battle began early the next morning. According to the Waltham chronicler, William II advanced onto the field with 1,000 men-at-arms under the royal banner, the mere sight of which was enough to terrify Duke William's soldiers. After his bowmen were driven back by a barrage from the king's archers, Duke William ordered a cavalry charge, but found that he only had one hundred horsemen against the king's three hundred.
The battle quickly turned into a rout, as the duke's cavalry was defeated and William II's household knights, dismounted and fighting on foot, advanced towards the Essex levies, who dropped their weapons and fled the field. Many were killed by royalist cavalry in the rout, while others were captured. Duke William himself escaped the battle, fleeing first to the sanctuary of Waltham Abbey and thence to Colchester Castle, which quickly came under siege from William II's army.
The battle, in reality little more than a skirmish, was a grave defeat for the duke of Northumberland, who surrendered to William II in 1126. After a second rebellion the duke was condemned and executed in 1129.