The cutting of the elm was a diplomatic altercation between the kings of France and England in 1188, during which an elm tree near Gisors in Normandy was felled.
France in 1180. The King of England held all the red territories. Gisors lay in the Vexin, between Anglo-Norman land and the royal domain.
In the 12th century, the tree marked the traditional place of Franco-Norman negotiations, as the field was located on the border between Normandy, ruled by the English king, and the royal domains of the French king.[1][2]
At Gisors, Henry II and his advisers stood under an Elm tree while Philip and his entourage suffered in the full heat of the sun. After the meeting, Philip ordered the tree cut down and hacked to pieces, sending the message that he would offer no quarter to the English.
A quite different account is given by the Minstrel of Rheims (c. 1260), a thirteenth-century historical fiction:[4]
King Richard sent a message to the counts of Sancerre and of Barre, telling them that they took the king's bread and gave him nothing in return but if they were brave enough to come to the elm tree at Gisors, he would consider them truly courageous. The French nobles sent the message back that they would come the next day, at the third hour, to cut the tree down, in spite of him. When the English king heard that they were coming to cut down the tree, he had the trunk reinforced with bands of iron, that were wrapped five times around it. The next morning the French nobles armed themselves, and assembled five squadrons of their men, one of which was led by the count of Sancerre, another by the count of Chartres, the third by the count of Vendôme, the fourth by the count of Nevers, and the fifth by Sir William of Barre and Sir Alain of Roucy. They rode up to the elm tree at Gisors, with the crossbowmen and carpenters out front, and they had in their hands sharp axes and good pointed hammers, with which to cut the bands that were fastened around the tree. They stopped at the elm tree, tore off the bands, and cut it down, in spite of all resistance.
Popular culture
The event has been used in the history proposed by Pierre Plantard and other pseudo-historical theories. In this context, the Cutting of the elm was portrayed as marking the split between the Knights Templar and the Priory of Sion.
^Nicholas Vincent, "William Marshal, King Henry II and the Honour of Chateauroux 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine".
^W.L. Warren, Henry II, Yale University Press, p. 617.
^Bradford Smith, The Foundations of the West - Course Material, "Chapter 8 The Age of the Crusades - The Rise of France under Philip Augustus and of St. Louis 2008-06-12 at the Wayback Machine".
^A Thirteenth-Century Minstrel's Chronicle, a translation by Robert Levine of the Récits d'un ménestrel de Reims, a thirteenth-century historical fiction.
External links
, Mellen Press, Lewiston, 1990.
Smith, Bradford, The Foundations of the West - Course Material, Oglethorpe University, Summer 2000.
Vincent, Nicholas, "", in: Archives: The Journal of the British Record Association vol. 25, no. 102 (2000).
cutting, cutting, diplomatic, altercation, between, kings, france, england, 1188, during, which, tree, near, gisors, normandy, felled, castle, gisors, contents, diplomatic, significance, accounts, popular, culture, also, notes, external, linksdiplomatic, signi. The cutting of the elm was a diplomatic altercation between the kings of France and England in 1188 during which an elm tree near Gisors in Normandy was felled Castle at Gisors Contents 1 Diplomatic significance 2 Accounts 3 Popular culture 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External linksDiplomatic significance Edit France in 1180 The King of England held all the red territories Gisors lay in the Vexin between Anglo Norman land and the royal domain In the 12th century the tree marked the traditional place of Franco Norman negotiations as the field was located on the border between Normandy ruled by the English king and the royal domains of the French king 1 2 Accounts EditOne account 3 narrates the meeting between King Henry II of England and King Philip II of France in 1188 following the fall of Jerusalem At Gisors Henry II and his advisers stood under an Elm tree while Philip and his entourage suffered in the full heat of the sun After the meeting Philip ordered the tree cut down and hacked to pieces sending the message that he would offer no quarter to the English A quite different account is given by the Minstrel of Rheims c 1260 a thirteenth century historical fiction 4 King Richard sent a message to the counts of Sancerre and of Barre telling them that they took the king s bread and gave him nothing in return but if they were brave enough to come to the elm tree at Gisors he would consider them truly courageous The French nobles sent the message back that they would come the next day at the third hour to cut the tree down in spite of him When the English king heard that they were coming to cut down the tree he had the trunk reinforced with bands of iron that were wrapped five times around it The next morning the French nobles armed themselves and assembled five squadrons of their men one of which was led by the count of Sancerre another by the count of Chartres the third by the count of Vendome the fourth by the count of Nevers and the fifth by Sir William of Barre and Sir Alain of Roucy They rode up to the elm tree at Gisors with the crossbowmen and carpenters out front and they had in their hands sharp axes and good pointed hammers with which to cut the bands that were fastened around the tree They stopped at the elm tree tore off the bands and cut it down in spite of all resistance Popular culture EditThe event has been used in the history proposed by Pierre Plantard and other pseudo historical theories In this context the Cutting of the elm was portrayed as marking the split between the Knights Templar and the Priory of Sion See also EditList of individual treesNotes Edit Nicholas Vincent William Marshal King Henry II and the Honour of Chateauroux Archived 2012 02 10 at the Wayback Machine W L Warren Henry II Yale University Press p 617 Bradford Smith The Foundations of the West Course Material Chapter 8 The Age of the Crusades The Rise of France under Philip Augustus and of St Louis Archived 2008 06 12 at the Wayback Machine A Thirteenth Century Minstrel s Chronicle a translation by Robert Levine of the Recits d un menestrel de Reims a thirteenth century historical fiction External links EditA Thirteenth Century Minstrel s Chronicle a translation by Robert Levine of the Recits d un menestrel de Reims a thirteenth century historical fiction Mellen Press Lewiston 1990 Smith Bradford The Foundations of the West Course Material Chapter 8 The Age of the Crusades The Rise of France under Philip Augustus and of St Louis Oglethorpe University Summer 2000 Vincent Nicholas William Marshal King Henry II and the Honour of Chateauroux in Archives The Journal of the British Record Association vol 25 no 102 2000 Lindsay Diggelmann Hewing the Ancient Elm Anger Arboricide and Medieval Kingship Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 40 2 2010 pp 249 72 http jmems dukejournals org content 40 2 249 abstract Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cutting of the elm amp oldid 1103802548, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
