The Bishop of Norwich, the Sheep, and the Unholy War

The Fighting Bishop: Henry Despenser’s 1383 Crusade

A Holy War with Unholy Motives?

In 1383, an English bishop led an army across the Channel with the pope’s blessing. But, with the benefit of hindsight, the motives for the action were very mixed. Bishop Henry Despenser (c.1341–1406) of Norwich (consecrated 1370) wasn’t your typical medieval churchman. Known as the “Fighting Bishop”, he preferred armour to mere clerical robes.

At the time of the 1383 campaign the Roman Catholic Church had two rival popes – one in Rome and one in Avignon.

• Urban VI in Rome was supported by England.

• Clement VII in Avignon was backed by France.

When Despenser launched his expedition to Flanders, it was officially to attack supporters of the “wrong” pope – in other words, he was wanting fight the supporters of the Avignon pope. But scratch the surface, and you’ll find a tangled web of wool trade interests and plain old English-French hostility.

Why Flanders Mattered

By the 1380s, the Hundred Years’ War between England and France had turned into an on-again, off-again affair. The great English victories of Crécy and Poitiers were a distant memory, and Agincourt was half a lifetime away in the future. Both sides were playing chess with smaller territories, and the French controlled Flanders had the most influence and was the most valuable prize. Flanders was so important because England produced wool, and Flemish cities like Ghent turned that wool into textiles that sold across Europe. This trade was the lifeblood of both economies.

When the French-backed Count of Flanders started blocking English wool imports, it hurt everyone – English farmers, Flemish weavers, and the English royal treasury. When Ghent rebelled against their pro-French count, England saw an opportunity. After French forces crushed the rebellion at the Battle of Roosebeke in 1382, English wool exports plummeted by nearly 90%. Something had to be done.

Enter the Bishop of Norwich

Everyone agreed that something had to be done, but “what” and “by whom” wasn’t immediately obvious. Most medieval monarchs were short of money, and after forty odd years of waging war against France, the king and the English treasury had little to continue the fight. Richard II also faced a parliament extremely reluctant to grant him the necessary resources (hated poll taxes had so recently led to the Peasants’ Revolt). And although Richard had clear ideas of how a king might behave, he wasn’t your traditional, heroic, fighting king, willing and able to lead his troops into battle. He just wasn’t interested in that.

Enter the bishop. Despenser was the perfect man for the job – or so it seemed. He came from a powerful family, had military experience in Italy (1369), had caused a riot in his own backyard of Lynn (1377), and he had already shown his toughness by helping to brutally put down the Peasant Revolts in England (1381). Plus, as a bishop, he could frame the whole thing as a holy war. And if it was a holy war, the church could pay.

The timing was perfect. Pope Urban VI in Rome gave Despenser permission to lead an official crusade against the “schismatics” who supported the “wrong” pope. This gave him legitimacy in fighting against the French and the supporters of the French. And this spiritual cover allowed Despenser to raise money through church taxes and through the sale of indulgences – medieval “get out of purgatory” cards. If you gave money to the church you spent less time suffering after death. The English public loved it, seeing the campaign as both a religious duty and a way to protect their wool trade. Brave critics of the church, like John Wyclif, denounced the campaign as a cynical exploitation of spiritual privileges for temporal gain.

Early Wins and a Spectacular Failure

Setting sail in May 1383 with about 3,000 men, Despenser initially did well as he capitalised on Flemish anti-French sentiment. Richard was hoping for peace with France and specified that Despenser should wait until the experienced military commander, William de Beauchamp, arrived to take control. True to character, Despenser was having none of it and left early to ensure his own command of the expedition. His forces captured the coastal towns of Gravelines and Dunkirk, giving them supply bases and attracting local support. Contemporary chroniclers noted the expedition’s popularity among English townsfolk who viewed it as both a holy war and an economic rescue mission.

Then came the turning point – the siege of Ypres. Without proper siege equipment or enough supplies, Despenser’s army couldn’t break through the city’s defences. There hadn’t been enough preparation. After six frustrating weeks, French forces under King Charles VI arrived, forcing the English into a humiliating retreat. By October, Despenser’s army had fallen apart. Chronicler Henry Knighton attributed the defeat to poor planning and the bishop’s overconfidence, noting that “the army grew disheartened, and many deserted”. The crusade was over, and it had accomplished nothing. France tightened its grip on Flanders, and English wool remained blocked.

The Aftermath

Back home, Despenser faced the medieval equivalent of a congressional investigation. Parliament impeached him for mismanagement, temporarily stripping him of his lands and income – a rare punishment for a bishop. Though eventually pardoned, his reputation never recovered. The failed crusade had lasting consequences:

• England’s wool trade with Flanders remained crippled for years.
• France strengthened its position in the Low Countries.
• The pope distanced himself from the whole embarrassing affair.
• Parliament took a stronger role in scrutinizing military spending.
• Church-led military expeditions fell out of favour.

More Than Just a Failed Campaign

Despenser’s crusade demonstrated how religion, economics, and politics were inseparably intertwined in medieval Europe. It wasn’t just about fighting for the “right” pope – it was about wool, power, and national interests.

The campaign represented a turning point in crusading history. The original crusades had been about reclaiming Christian sites in the Holy Land from Muslim control. The enemy had been distinct: people in a far foreign land with an anti-Christian religion. However, in this crusade the enemy were near neighbours who also happened to be Christian. By the 1380s, crusades had evolved into political tools where religious language masked worldly ambitions. In many ways, Despenser’s expedition foreshadowed later European imperialism, where trade and religion would become twin justifications for expansion. It stands as a fascinating case study of how high ideals can mask practical motives.

© James Rye 2025

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Sources

• Castor, H. (2024) The Eagle and The Hart (the tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV), Allen Lane
• Sumption, J. (2009) Divided Houses: The Hundred Years War III, faber & faber
• Despenser’s Crusade – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despenser’s_Crusade
• Despenser’s Crusade (1383) – Erenow https://erenow.org/postclassical/crusades/262.php
• Henry le Despenser – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_le_Despenser
• Hundred Years’ War | Summary, Causes, Effects … – Britannica https://www.britannica.com/event/Hundred-Years-War
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