How England Lost Its Empire

The Battle of Bouvines

The English surrender to the French king after the Battle of Bouvines. [1827 painting by H. Vernet]

Thousands of knights and even more infantrymen fought each other near the then-Flemish town of Bouvines in 1214 CE. The Kingdom of France went head-to-head against the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of England, and the County of Flanders. The outcome of the Battle of Bouvines shook royal courts throughout Europe, leading to the immediate collapse of the…