Siege of Clermont (761)
Date761
Location
Clermont, Auvergne
Result Frankish victory
Belligerents
Francia Duchy of Aquitaine
Commanders and leaders
Pepin the Short Count Bladinus of Auvergne (POW)
Casualties and losses
Light Gascon levies killed or captured
Civilian population burned alive

The siege of Clermont was a Frankish siege of the Aquitanian fortress of Clermont in 761 during the Aquitanian War. The Frankish army under King Pepin the Short burned the fortress, with a large number of men, women and children dying in the flames. The Count of Auvergne, Bladinus, was taken prisoner and put in chains, while his Gascon levies were killed or captured by the Franks.

Prelude

After conquering Bourbon earlier in 761 and devastating Aquitaine, King Pepin the Short of Francia advanced with his entire army on Clermont in the region of Auvergne.[1][2] The fort was defended by Count Bladinus of Auvergne with a levy of Gascon soldiers.[2][3]

Siege

Pepin's army conquered the fortified town and set it on fire.[2] A large number of men, women and children were burned alive in the flames.[2] The massacre is mentioned by the continuator of the Chronicle of Fredegar but not by the Royal Frankish Annals.[2] The Gascon levies in the garrison were either killed or captured.[2] Count Bladinus was captured and brought in chains to Pepin.[2]

Aftermath

Pepin's army was "unscathed", according to the continuator of Fredegar.[2] That same year, Pepin also took the fort of Chantelle in battle.[2] The Frankish army penetrated as far as Limoges, burning and destroying as it went and then returned with home with much plunder.[2]

Citations

  1. ↑ Royal Frankish Annals 1970, pp. 43–44.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Petersen 2013, p. 729.
  3. ↑ Bachrach 1974, pp. 5–7.

Bibliography

  • Bachrach, Bernard (1974). "Military Organization in Aquitaine under the Early Carolingians". Speculum. 49 (1): 1–33. doi:10.2307/2856549. JSTOR 2856549. S2CID 162218193.
  • Petersen, Leif Inge Ree (2013). Siege Warfare and Military Organization in the Successor States (400-800 AD): Byzantium, the West and Islam. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-25199-1.
  • Royal Frankish Annals (1970). Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories. Translated by Scholz, B.W. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06186-0.
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