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Background

Armagnac-Burgundian conflict

Main article: Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War

When Charles VI of France inherited the French throne in 1380, the first phase of the Hundred Years' War was petering out. Charles VI inherited the throne as a child, and control of French policy was initially contested between the king's close advisors (the "Marmousets") and the great territorial magnates of France. After 1392, when Charles VI began to show signs of mental illness (probably schizophrenia), the Marmousets were cleared out and the royal family took over - notably his wife, Isabella of Bavaria, his brother Louis I, Duke of Orléans and his uncle, Philip the Bold (Duke of Burgundy).

The great magnates had personal interests in other European dominions - the Low Countries, Naples, Genoa, Milan, etc., and they redirected French foreign policy away from the contest with England. The betrothal of Charles VI's daughter Isabella of Valois to Richard II of England in 1396 represented perhaps the high point of Anglo-French relations.

John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy

The royal family did not, however, see eye to eye, and a keen contest soon emerged between Louis of Orléans and Philip of Burgundy, with the queen shifting her alliance as it suited. Orléans seemed to have the upper hand, but in 1404, John the Fearless succeeded his father as Duke of Burgundy, and proved to be a keener opponent.

In November 1407, a gang of ruffians in Burgundy's pay assassinated Louis of Orléans. In the aftermath, the French nobility was divided and a civil war erupted in France. The nobles of the north and east tended to side with John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy) and were known as the "Burgundian" party. Those of the south and west lined up behind Louis's successor, Charles, Duke of Orléans, although as the party was really led by his formidable father-in-law, Bernard VII (Count of Armagnac), they became known as the "Armagnacs".

Both the Burgundians and the Armagnacs appealed to Henry IV of England for support. At the time, the English crown still possessed Calais in the norhteast and coastal Gascony in the southwest, and were still players in French politics. As England had deep commercial interests in the Burgundian-controlled counties of Flanders and Artois, their initial support went to the Burgundians. In 1411, English auxiliaries helped John the Fearless seize Paris. But in 1412, the Armagnacs lured the English over to their side, by promising to hand over an enlarged Duchy of Aquitaine (which included Poitou, Angoulême and Périgord) to England. Only a sudden Armagnac-Burgundian truce at Bourges in July, 1412, forcibly imposed upon the parties by a temporarily lucid Charles VI, pevented this scheme from going forward. Unaware of the truce, an English expeditionary force landed in the Cotentin Peninsula in August 1412 and had to be paid to leave.

The Treaty of Brétigny, signed back in 1360 between Edward III of England and John II of France, had promised a large swathe of southern France to England which had since been whittled down to Calais and Gascony. But the Armagnac offer had whetted the English appetite, and revived the prospect of recovering their lost domains.

Preparations of Henry V

Henry V of England

King Henry V of England ascended to the throne following the death of his father, Henry IV "Bolingbroke" in March 1413. Young and energetic, Henry V immediately set his eyes on France, claiming the French throne by right of descendence from Isabella of France and, separately, all the old Angevin domains by right of the Plantagenets (territories which went well beyond those promised in the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny). Henry V also demanded the remaining unpaid balance of the ransom of John II of France (around 1.6 million crowns). The initial French response, delivered at a conference in Leulinghen in late 1413, was the usual one: the English claim to the throne through Isabella was ruled out by French Salic law, and the 1360 treaty had been invalidated by subsequent English violations. Appended to this, the French Dauphin Louis famously sent an insulting gift to Henry V in 1414 - a barrel of tennis balls, suggesting that the new English king ought to entertain himself with those instead.

Under the guise of a search for a French bride, Henry V pursued negotiations separately with the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. The Burgundians proved more obliging. Not trusting the high bougeoisie, the Burgundian commanders of Paris had let the government of the city slip into the anarchic hands of the poorer classes (the "Cabochiens"). The radical and often brutish excesses of the Cabochiens soon turned the citizens against the Burgundians and the Armagnacs were invited back to the city. The Armagnacs recovered Paris (and the persons of the royal family) by September 1413, and chased down John the Fearless, forcing him to sign a promise to never come near Paris again. Seeing he had little to lose, by secret negotiations, John the Fearless made an alliance with Henry V of England, directed against the Armagnacs, albeit reserving Charles VI's rights as king (the secret treaty was signed at Leicester in May 23, 1414).

In September, 1414, before the Grand Council of Lords at Westminster, Henry V laid out his inheritance demands and his case for war on France. In November, 1414, Parliament was assembled, and a substantial war subsidy was voted - the clergy putting up twice their usual sum - although they prohibited any armed expedition until Henry V first exhausted all diplomatic means to obtain his demands.. Through early 1415, shuttle diplomacy continued with English offers and French counter-offers. On April 16, 1415, Henry V announced to a Council of Lords that diplomacy had failed and war was at hand. He announced his intention to lead an English expeditionary army to France to obtain his demands, naming his brother, John of Lancaster (Duke of Bedford), as regent in England during his absence (estimated one year).

While English preparations went openly apace, preparations in France for defense were stalled by the Armagnac-Burgundian rivalry. Entering adulthood, the Dauphin Louis (Duke of Guyenne), the son and heir of Charles VI, sought to act more in his father's name, independently of both factions, introducing a third complicating factor into the political mix. In late June, French emissaries sought out Henry V in Winchester, still hoping for a last-minute deal.

In late July, 1415, Henry V's force of around 10,000 was assembled in Southampton - approximately 2500 men-at-arms, 7,000 archers, 120 miners and 75 gunners. Practically the entire peerage of England was set to accompany Henry. Preparations were hardly interrupted by the sudden discovery of a conspiracy to depose Henry V and replace him with his cousin, Edmund Mortimer (Earl of March) (See: "Southampton Plot"). Mortimer himself revealed the plot, claiming he was unaware of it until approached by the conspirators. The matter was disposed of by a quick trial and execution of the ringleaders, which included Richard of Conisburgh (Earl of Cambridge). Despite the scare, and fear of other plots and uprisings during his absence, Henry V insisted on proceeding with the expedition. The English expeditionary force departed Southampton on August 8, 1415, making a brief call in Portsmouth (August 9), before crossing the channel to France.

Campaigns of Henry V

First campaign (1415)

The Lancastrian king Henry V of England landed his expeditionary force on August 13, 1415 at the mouth of the Seine, on the Normandy coast of France, without opposition. They proceeded to lay siege to the nearby fortress of Harfleur. (See: Siege of Harfleur). Expected to only take a few days, the siege ended up lasting an entire month. Harfleur capitulated only on September 22.

English losses from disease (principally dysentry) during the prolonged siege were heavy. Seeing he did not have enough men left standing to continue the campaign in the field. Henry V dispatched a message to Charles VI offering to resolve the matter by single combat, but received no reply. Facing facts, Henry decided to suspend his campaign and return to England to raise reinforcements. Henry V appointed his uncle Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter) (at the time, merely Earl of Dorset, he was raised the next year) as captain of Harfleur and Lieutenant of Normandy, and left him a garrison of around 1,000 men. But rather than re-embarking at Harfleur, his vaunted campaign ending with the sting of humiliation, Henry V decided instead on a public show of his authority in France by taking the remainder of the English army on a march east, across Normandy, to English-owned Calais.

After initial delays, the French army, led by Charles d'Albret (Count of Dreux and Constable of France), and the marshal Jean Le Maingre ("Boucicaut"), finally assembled at Rouen and launched in pursuit. The French vanguard caught up to Henry V on the Somme River. They blocked the English army from crossing the Somme at Abbeville, forcing them to take a more circuitous route and ford the river further inland (near Nesle). This gave the rest of the French army time to swing around ahead of the English army. The French commanders found the ground by the Somme river unsuitable for a pitched battle, and so decided to shadow the English advance until a more opportune location.

Battle of Agincourt (October 25, 1415), from Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Chronique de France, c.1495.

The French army eventually positioned themselves near the village of Agincourt, blocking Henry's path to Calais. The English were outnumbered at least three-to-one, but realizing that any delay would mean the arrival of more French arms and a worse fighting condition for his own army, Henry V decided to force the issue immediately. At the Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415), Henry V decisively defeated the French army. English longbowmen cut down much of the heavily-armored French nobility and men-at-arms. The casualties were inordinately lopsided, with the English suffering improbably low casualties relative to the disastrous loss of life on the French side.

The constable d'Albret was killed at Agincourt, the marshal Boucicaut taken captive. Other notable captives included John of Bourbon (Duke of Bourbon-Auvergne), a great lord of the south, and Charles of Orleans (Duke of Orleans-Blois), the titular head of the Armagnac party. Orleans's father-in-law, Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, the de facto leader of the faction, became the new Constable of France and effective head of the French government for the mentally-incapacitated King Charles VI of France.

Although John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy) had refused to join the French muster, he was unable to prevent several of his family members and vassals from doing so. Two of John's brothers - Anthony of Brabant-Limburg-Luxembourg and Philip of Nevers-Rethel - fell at Agincourt, but this hardly weakened the Burgundian party. John the Fearless promptly took over Nevers-Rethel as regent for his infant nephews (Charles of Nevers and John of Rethel) and tried to do the same (albeit with less success) for his adolescent nephew, John IV of Brabant-Limburg (the widow Elisabeth of Görlitz retained Luxembourg for herself).

Interlude

After the battle, Henry V reached Calais and was back in England by mid-November. The matter of the French captives proved to be a troublesome point, as Henry V refused to accept ransoms unless the prisoners pledged to recognize his claims on the French crown. This was generally rejected, and many of the prisoners would remain in English captivity for decades. The onerous conditions for release may have been calculated to be unacceptable. By the laws of chivalry, the property of a prisoner could not be seized. This meant that (in theory) great swathes of France - notably the vast dominions of John of Bourbon in the south and Charles of Orleans in the center - could not be called upon or tapped for military resources so long as they remained in captivity, a prospect that would work out more favorably for the English crown than the French for the remainder of the war.

In the Spring of 1416, the German king Sigismund went to both Paris and London on business related to the Council of Constance, and offered his services to mediate the Anglo-French dispute. But he was unable to make any headway.

While Sigismund was still in England, news arrived that d'Armagnac had contracted a Genoese fleet to help the French blockade the English garrison in Harfleur. An English fleet was quickly assembled in July, and placed under the command by John of Lancaster (Duke of Bedford) (Henry V's brother). Bedford's English fleet proceeded to break up the Franco-Genoese naval blockade on August 14, 1416, securing the English hold on Harfleur.

The French actions, in the midst of negotiations, were taken as a sign of bad faith and had the consequence of persuading Sigismund to sign a treaty backing the claims of Henry V of England on August 16. At a conference arranged by Sigismund in Calais in September, 1416, he could only secure agreement by both parties to a temporary truce.

Isabella of Bavaria, Queen of France

The French political landscape went through convulsive changes during this period. The Dauphin Louis (Duke of Guyenne) died in December of 1415, and the succession of the French throne passed to his younger brother, the new Dauphin John (Duke of Turenne). But in April 1417, Dauphin John himself died rather suddenly. His younger brother, the fourteen-year old Charles (Duke of Touraine), the last remaining son of Charles VI, became the new heir apparent to the throne ("Dauphin Charles"). This deepened the political crisis in France, as John had been favorable to the Burgundians, while the Armagnacs had control of young Charles. John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy) went so far as to accuse the queen mother, Isabella of Bavaria, of poisoning her son. Bernard VII of Armagnac, seeking to drive a wedge between Charles and his mother, made his own separate accusations against the queen later that year. Isabella was banished from Paris and forced to go into exile in Blois.

Bernard d'Armagnac profited from three more fortuitous deaths during this period: the king's influential uncle John (Duke of Berry) died in June 1416, while the high magnate Louis II of Naples (Duke of Anjou-Maine-Provence) and William IV (Count of Hainaut-Holland, an important Burgundian ally) died in April-May 1417. These strengthened d'Armagnac's personal hold on power.

Second campaign (1417)

Henry V left for France on July 25 1417 with a new army of around 8,000 (c. 2,000 lances, 6,000 archers plus miscellaneous) to resume his invasion of Normandy. Landing his army at the mouth of the Touques River, he proceeded to lay siege to Caen, which fell by assault on September 4, 1417. It is reported that some two thousand defenders were massacred in the aftermath. While repairing in Caen, an English column went west along the Norman coast and captured Bayeux without a fight, while to the east, Lisieux also surrendered.

While Henry V was in Normandy, John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy) set out from Amiens at the head of a column to march on Paris, urging revolts against the Armagnac government along the way. He arrived before the city on September 16, 1417 demanding entry, but was refused. The Dauphin Charles himself informed the Duke that if he wanted to prove himself a loyal subject, then he should go make war on the English. Barred, Philip retired from Paris and made his way to Tours, to meet the ostracized queen Isabella of Bavaria. Although previously antagonistic, they now had a common enemy in the Dauphin's Armagnac handlers, so they patched things up and forged an alliance. On November 12, 1417, Isabella issued a proclamation declaring her right as regent of France on behalf of her infirm husband, Charles VI, and appointing the Duke of Burgundy as her lieutenant. Isabella then moved to Troyes (in Champagne), under Burgundian protection.

In early October 1417, Henry V resumed his campaign and proceeded into Lower Normandy along the Orne river. He captured Argentan, while detachments were sent eastwards to seize L'Aigle and Verneuil. The city of Alençon fell on October 24. Nearby Fresnay fell soon after. Henry then swung into the region of Perche, capturing Bellême and then turned back up to take Mortaigne and Sées, before returning to Alençon.

With this tour, Henry V had ventured beyond royal property and effectively conquered the domains of John II (Duke of Alençon-Perche), a child whose father had fallen at Agincourt. Alarmed, John VI, Duke of Brittany and Yolande of Aragon (dowager duchess of neighboring Maine) rushed to secure truces from Henry V to protect their dominions. The English king had paused anyway, awaiting the results from his emissaries, who had opened negotiations with French envoys at Barneville (near Touques).

The Barneville talks came to naught. In early December, 1417, the English resumed hostilities and laid siege to the fortress of Falaise (just west of Argentan). After putting up some resistane, Argentan finally fell in February 1418. Henry V returned to Caen, where he remained for a while attending to political and administrative matters. In the meantime, in March-April, his brother, Humphrey of Lancaster (Duke of Gloucester) led an English column west to Vire, and then up the Cotentin Peninsula, capturing Coutances, Saint-Lô and Carentan. Gloucester was forced to lay a long siege to Cherbourg (it only agreed to fall in August 1418).

In May, 1418, Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter) brought reinforcements (500 lances, 1500 archers) from England, and the main English army set out east across Normandy towards the Seine River. The towns of Orbec, Bernay and Harcourt were taken along the way. The English captured Evreux on May 20 and then turned north, seizing Louviers in late June, after a two-week siege.

Burgundians enter Paris (May 29, 1418)

In the meantime, the French political conflict took yet another dramatic turn. In May, papal envoys at Troyes had negotiated a peace between all the French factions, but it was rejected at the last minute by Bernard VII of Armagnac. Fed up, the people of Paris rose the very next day, May 29, 1418, and opened the gates of the city to a Burgundian column under the command of Jean de Villiers (Sieur de L'Isle-Adam). Chaos followed as popular mobs took to the city streets. The newly-built Bastille of Paris was stormed by the mob and its Armagnac prisoners seized. The constable Bernard VII of Armagnac and other Armagnac leaders were massacred in the Parisian tumult. The mad king Charles VI fell into Burgundian hands, but the Dauphin Charles (bundled by Tanguy du Châtel, the Armagnac Provost of Paris), managed to escape the city.

Biding his time in Troyes, John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy) delayed entering Paris himself until July. After restoring order, he had Queen Isabella of Bavaria recognized as regent on behalf of Charles VI, and set himself up as captain-general of France. With Burgundy's assent, Isabella appointed Charles II (Duke of Lorraine), a conciliatory figure, friendly with both Armagnacs and Burgundians, as the new Constable of France. L'Isle-Adam was rewarded with the rank of marshal.

Siege of Rouen (July, 1418-January 1419)

As the French political conflict turned again into open civil war, Henry V continued his conquest of Normandy. In July 1418, he reached Pont-de-l'Arche on the Seine river, thereby cutting the Norman capital of Rouen off from the south, intending to starve it into submission. Rouen, at the time, had already switched into Burgundian hands, but Henry V was not willing to let go of his prize. Notice was sent of the breach of the Anglo-Burgundian truce, and John the Fearless declared war on Henry V. Invested by trenchlines, the Siege of Rouen was a long and grim affair. Most notoriously, in December, after six months of siege, barely able to feed themselves, the French garrison expelled the starving civilians from the city. But Henry V refused to let them cross English lines, with the result that the expelled civilians of Rouen - estimates run up to 12,000 - were left to die in the ditches of no man's land. Horrified, the authorities of Rouen finally opened dialogue with Henry V, and the city formally surrendered on January 19, 1419.

After fleeing Paris, the Dauphin Charles had gone first to Melun, and, after some wandering, finally set up a rival court in Poitiers, under the guidance of Tanguy du Châtel, his new advisor and self-styled regent. There, Dauphin Charles received the leadership of what remained of the Armagnac faction, eager for revenge on the Burgundians. Through the Autumn of 1418, while Rouen was under siege, John the Fearless attempted to negotiate with the Dauphin, but his overtures were rejected. While these fruitless talks went on, Armagnac commanders established themselves in strong positions commanding the rivers south and east of Paris, notably at Melun (upper Seine), Meaux (on the Marne) and Compiègne (on the Oise). The Armagnacs even offered an alliance to Henry V. Talks opened between their agents in Alençon in November, 1418. Alarmed, John the Fearless opened his own talks with the English at Pont-de-l'Arche in December. But Henry V demanded a price too high for either party to swallow.

In the Spring of 1419, while Henry V repaired at Rouen, English commanders were dispatched to take the outlying towns and strongholds of Normandy. To the north, along the Norman coast, the towns of Honfleur, Fécamp, Dieppe and Eu surrendered swiftly in March. To the south, along the Seine river, the English quickly took Gaillon, Vernon and Mantes (right on the border of Normandy and Ile de France). The citadel of La Roche-Guyon fell a little later, as did Ivry (on the Eure river).

Anglo-Burgundian alliance

By the middle of May 1419, the old Duchy of Normandy was almost fully in English hands, and Henry V was in striking distance of Paris. The Armagnacs were also encroaching on the city from the other side, having captured Beaumont-sur-Oise and Soissons in early 1419. As the Dauphin's Armagnac advisors rejected all overtures from John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy arranged for a meeting on May 29, 1419 with the English king at Meulan (near Mantes) to discuss a resolution. A marriage treaty was offered, by which the bachelor king would marry a French princess, and as dowry, would be allowed to retain Normandy and Guyenne. But Henry V, having already conquered those lands by force of arms, rejected the offer, and instead demanded all the territories promised in the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny. The conference, which dragged out through June, ended with angry words and recriminations.

After the conference failed, Henry V re-opened hostilities and launched his campaign down the Seine, into the Île-de-France. He seized Pontoise by late July, and, by the next month, Poissy (in the suburbs of Paris). Burgundy hurriedly removed Charles VI and royal court from Paris and dispatched them to the safety of Troyes. Henry V's advance on Paris paused to dispatch English forces to seize remaining French pockets behind him - notably, Gisors, the keystone of the Vexin, which fell in September. Château Gaillard, a powerful fortress on the Seine, which had held out for six months, finally fell to Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter) in December 1419.

Assassination of John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy) at Montereau (September 10, 1419)

The Anglo-Burgundian conference at Meulan in June had alarmed the Armagnacs. The Dauphinois regent, Tanguy du Châtel, climbed down from his absolutist stance and opened channels to the Duke of Burgundy. With English forces threatening Paris and Henry V intractable in his demands, John the Fearless agreed to a meeting with the Dauphin Charles to settle their differences. The first conference was on July 8-11, 1419, at Pouilly-le-Fort (near Melun). They agreed to a truce and not to make a separate peace with England, but the Dauphin Charles's refusal to rejoin his father's Burgundian-dominated court in Troyes sunk any more permanent resolution. The tightening noose by English arms in August prompted renewed appeals for reconciliation between Burgundians and Armagnacs, and the Dauphin's handlers agreed to a new meeting to discuss the terms. This second meeting finally took place on September 10, 1419, on a bridge at Montereau (on the confluence of the Yonne and Seine). But in the course of the meeting, John the Fearless was assassinated by members of Dauphin's escort. By the Burgundian account, it was premedidated - John was on his knees doing homage to Charles, when he was set upon and hacked to pieces - Tanguy du Châtel himself allegedly striking the first blow. The Dauphinois claimed it was an accident, an unfortunate scuffle, provoked by the Duke himself when he lost his temper and began to draw his sword - that the escort merely sought to protect the Dauphin's life.

The eldest son of John the Fearless, Philip of Charolais, at that moment in Ghent, succeeded to his father's titles as Philip III ("the Good"), Duke of Burgundy (and Count of Artois, Flanders, Franche-Comté, etc.). Philip the Good immediately and openly accused the Dauphin Charles's chief advisors, Tanguy du Châtel and Jean Louvet, of masterminding the assassination of his father.

Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy

The assassination of John the Fearless opened the door to Henry V, who was promptly approached by envoys from the new duke, willing to pay whatever price he demanded to avenge the murder of his father. On December 2, 1419, after a conference in Arras, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, signed a formal alliance with Henry V of England, directed against the Dauphin Charles and the Armagnacs.

Simultaneously, the Dauphin Charles, invoking the Auld Alliance, appealed to the Kingdom of Scotland, then under the regency of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (on behalf of the captive James I). A large Scottish expeditionary force, estimated around 7,000 men or more, under Albany's son, John Stewart, Earl of Buchan was dispatched to France.

The Scottish appeal drew attention to La Rochelle, the only Atlantic port the Dauphin had access to, critical for his communications with Scotland. It is reported (in French sources) that an English fleet attempted to seize La Rochelle in early 1419, but was defeated by a Castilian fleet lent by the Infantes of Aragon to the Dauphin (Battle of La Rochelle). However, English sources do not report an encounter, and instead say the Castilian fleet merely ferried the Scottish expeditionary force, landing them without incident in La Rochelle by September 1419, the English receiving notice too late to react.

The Dauphin Charles also reached out to try to lure the hitherto neutral Duchy of Brittany to his side. But this backfired spectacularly in February 1420. The Dauphin had tried to procure the favor of the sons of Count of Penthievre, Olivier and Jean, who were on intimate terms with the John VI, Duke of Brittany, by confirming some of their disputed inheritances. But the ambitious brothers interpreted the Dauphin's overtures as support for a wholesale coup d'etat, and promptly took the Duke of Brittany prisoner. His wife, the duchess Joan appealed to the noble lords of Brittany, who assaulted the castles of Penthièvre brothers one by one, until the duke's person was recovered. With the Dauphin blamed for the coup attempt, Duke John VI of Brittany went into alliance with Henry V and Philip the Good.

Treaty of Troyes

In early April 1420, Henry V and Philip the Good opened negotiations at Mantes to find a permanent solution to the old problem of the English claims to the French throne. The terms settled, Henry V of England took a long cavalcade through the French countryside to meet the royal court in Troyes (in Champagne) (sidestepping Paris, but taking Crépy and other points along the way; Beaumont-sur-Oise was given in trust for the meeting). At Troyes, Henry V finally met King Charles VI of France, but the waning Charles VI was reportedly so misty in the head that he had no idea who Henry V was.

Marriage of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, June 1420

The Treaty of Troyes was signed on May 21, 1420, by Henry V of England and Charles VI of France. Henry V abandoned his putative title of "King of France", and recognized Charles VI as the rightful king. In return, Charles VI appointed Henry V as Regent of France, to govern all of the kingdom in his name (with the assistance of a Council of State) for the duration of his mental infirmity. In addition, Charles VI also appointed Henry V (and his descendants) as heir apparent and successor to the French throne. His own son, the Dauphin Charles, was promptly disinherited. The French queen Isabella of Bavaria supplemented this with a declaration that Charles was a bastard, a product of one of her many extra-marital affairs (although this was not inserted in the treaty text, out of respect for Charles VI). Instead, "Charles, the so-called Dauphin", was sidelined on the charge of "horrible and enormous crimes" against the realm, and all signatories to the treaty promised to never deal separately with him.

The Treaty of Troyes was sealed by the betrothal of Henry V of England with Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI and Isabella. They were married a couple of weeks later in Troyes (June 2, 1420). By the treaty, Henry V was allowed to retain the Duchy of Normandy separately for himself, although any future conquests by English arms of French territory from the "rebels" (i.e. Dauphin Charles and the Armagnacs) would officially belong to the French crown (that is, to Charles VI), and Normandy itself was to be reunited to the French crown upon Henry's ascension to the throne.

The Treaty of Troyes was subscribed by Queen Isabella, Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy) and John VI (Duke of Brittany). It was also eventually subscribed by John I (Count of Foix), the powerful Lieutenant of Languedoc, who had fallen out with the Dauphin Charles. The terms had been pre-communicated on April 29 by the chancellor of France, Eustache de Laistre to an Assembly and the Parlement of Paris, and were approved without objections. Abroad, the treaty was recognized by the German king Sigismund, but Pope Martin V, despite his good relations with England, did not approve. The crowns of Castile and Aragon rejected it outright.

One of Burgundy's allies, Charles II of Lorraine, whom John the Fearless had made Constable back in 1418, refused to subscribe, fearing Philip's ambition. Charles II's defection prompted Philip to interfere in the contested matter of the inheritance of the Duchy of Lorraine and the Duchy of Berg. As Charles II of Lorraine had only daughters, a complicated three-sided deal had been negotiated in 1419 between Charles II of Lorraine, the childless Louis of Châlons (Bishop of Châlons and titular Duke of Bar) and Yolande of Aragon (ambitious widow of Louis II of Naples, and effective regent of Anjou-Provence on behalf of her son Louis III). By the deal, Yolanda's younger son, René of Anjou (Count of Guise) was to be appointed by Louis of Châlons as heir to the Duchy of Bar, and to marry Charles II's daughter, Isabella of Lorraine and inherit Lorraine jointly. This had the apparent blessing of John the Fearless but his successor, Philip the Good, threw the hefty Burgundian weight behind rival claimants Anthony of Vaudemont (who sought to inherit Lorraine) and Adolf of Berg (who sought Bar).

Henry V spent his honeymoon besieging Sens, which fell in early June. Shortly after, Henry V and Philip the Good captured Montereau on June 23, and recovered the remains of the Philip's father, John the Fearless, which were taken back to Dijon to be buried. It was here that Henry V inaugurated his controversial policy of summarily executing every Scotsman that fell in English hands.

In early July 1420, Henry laid siege to the Armagnac stronghold of Melun on the upper Seine. The garrison commander, Arnaud Guillaume de Barbazan, had reportedly only 700 men against a besieging force of 20,000 but put up a famously tenuous resistance. Melun finally fell in November, 1420. Henry V sought to execute the garrison commander, but wary that violating the laws of chivalry might annoy his new French allies, instead imprisoned him in an iron cage.

On December 1, 1420, Henry V, Philip the Good and the mad king Charles VI entered Paris with great pomp and ceremony. On December 6, 1420, the Estates-General of France met in Paris, and ratified the Treaty of Troyes. Henry V and Charles VI jointly presided over a lit de justice to try the murderers of John the Fearless. Although it stopped short of declaring the Dauphin personally guilty, on January 3, 1421, the Parlement of Paris formally banished and declared the Dauphin Charles unfit to inherit any lordship or land in France.

Henry V spent Christmas in Paris, surrounded by the glittery French court at the Louvre palace, while Charles VI reportedly held court miserably alone at the Hôtel Saint-Pol. In January 1421, Henry V installed his uncle Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter) with a garrison of 500 men in Paris, and proceeded to Rouen to receive tribute from the Norman estates. Before departing for England at the end of the month, Henry appointed his youngest brother, Thomas of Lancaster (Duke of Clarence), as supreme military commander in France.

Henry V and his new bride, Catherine of Valois, arrived in England in February, 1421 and were received with near-hysterical joy. Catherine was promptly crowned Queen of England and the royal couple went on an extended tour of England. A parliament held at Westminster ratified the Treaty of Troyes.

Battle of Bauge, 21 March 1421, a Dauphinois victory

English arms soon received their first setback. As per his brother's instructions, Thomas of Lancaster (Duke of Clarence) had led the main English army into Maine and Anjou, clearing a path towards the Loire river. The English crushed a small Dauphinois force at Fresnay-le-Comte (near Le Mans) in February. Approaching Angers, Clarence's English army was met by a larger Armagnac army led by the Dauphin's marshal Gilbert de Lafayette, supported by the main Scottish expeditionary force led by John Stewart (Earl of Buchan). In the ensuing Battle of Baugé (March 21, 1421), the English were defeated. Clarence was slain, and other English notables taken prisoner, notably the Norman lieutenant Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter) (albeit soon released), his nephews John Beaufort (Earl of Somerset) and Thomas Beaufort, and John Holland (Earl of Huntingdon). In his first notable action, Thomas Montacute (Earl of Salisbury), arrived just on time to organize the retreat, salvage what remained of the English army and prevent the Franco-Scottish army from recovering Alençon.

In reward for the victory at Baugé, the Dauphin Charles appointed the Earl of Buchan as his new constable. (the sitting constable, Charles II (Duke of Lorraine), had recently resigned in order to concentrate on his inheritance quarrel with his nephew Anthony of Vaudemont).

Fresh from the victory, the Armagnacs staked out their positions in the region of Chartres (southwest of Paris), intent on taking Paris before the English could react. The wavering John VI of Brittany went so far as to meet the Dauphin Charles at Sablé in early May, and reportedly renounced the English alliance.

Third campaign (1421)

Shortly after receiving the news of the debacle at Baugé, Henry V secured an immediate subsidy in England and new reinforcements of 4,000 troops and returned to France. He also brought along the captive James I of Scotland (whom he hoped to use to impress the Scots). He landed in Calais in June 1421,and rushed to Paris to reinforce the Duke of Exeter (already ransomed from his Baugé captivity). News of the English approach prompted the Dauphinois to abandon their siege of Chartres and retreat back to the Loire river.

In July, 1421 Henry V took the English army on a march west to seize the Armagnac stronghold of Dreux, which fell in early August. Henry decided to chase down the Dauphin directly, and ordered his army south towards the Loire after him. He went through Vendôme and reached as far as Beaugency (on the Loire). But the Dauphin's army had fallen back to Amboise and, by this time, Henry V's toops were exhausted and running out of supplies. Reluctantly, Henry V called off the chase and turned back around and headed east up the Loire. Arriving before Orleans, Henry toyed with the notion of taking it, but had insufficient troops to invest the city. He continued his march east into the valley of the Yonne, taking Villeneuve-le-Roy in September, 1421.

Philip of Burgundy had not joined the English offensive on the Loire, his attentions being drawn north to defend his dominions in the Artois, where northerly Armangnac lords, led by Jacques d'Harcourt, had been making incursions. Philip laid siege to Saint-Riquier (on the Picardy-Artois border). An Armagnac army from Compiègne rushed north to relieve the citadel, but Philip of Burgundy intercepted and defeated it at the battle of Mons-en-Vimeu (now Mons-Boubert) on August 30, 1421. The Burgundian victory broke the back of Dauphinois efforts in the Picardy region.

Continuing north from the Yonne, in October 1421, Henry V reached the Marne river and laid siege to the Armagnac stronghold of Meux, stubbornly defended by the old Armagnac partisan known as "Bastard of Vaurus". The town of Meaux capitulated to the English six months later, in March 1422, although the garrison withdrew into the fortified suburb known as the "the Market" (Marché de Meaux) and held out for two months longer. The Meaux garrison finally surrendered in May. Henry V had the Bastard of Vaurus hanged.

Funerary train of Henry V of England

The fall of Meux brought remaining resistance in the Picardy region to an end, as Compiègne and other Armagnac citadels in the area surrendered shortly after. But the long siege of Meux had also taken is toll on the English army. Poor sanitary conditions in the siege camp had led to the spread of disease, notably dysentry, and Henry V himself had fallen ill. Too sick to ride a horse, Henry was carried back to Paris by litter, but was unable to complete the journey. Reaching Vincennes in June 1422, Henry V was too ill to carry on, and remained in repose there until his death on 31 August, 1422.

In the Summer of 1422, during the period of Henry's illness, the Dauphinois, having assembled a force in the south, repulsed a Burgundian invasion of Auvergne, and counterinvaded, seizing La Charité in June, and went on to lay siege to Cosne-sur-Loire (on the edge of Burgundy) in July. But the Dauphinois were forced to withdraw upon the approach of relief forces under John of Bedford and the Duke of Burgundy.

In the far west, an Anglo-Breton force was dispatched to seize La Rochelle, the landing point of the Scottish auxiliaries. But Dauphinois loyalists repulsed the invading force at Montaigu in October 1422.

Regency of England and France

Henry V had only a nine-month old infant son, who was promptly acclaimed as King Henry VI of England. It is said that earlier, upon hearing the news of his son's birth in Windsor on 6 December 1421, Henry V is to have morosely prophesied to his chamberlain that "I, Henry, born at Monmouth, shall small time reign and get much; and Henry, born at Windsor, shall long reign and lose all, but God's will be done!".

On his deathbed in Vincennes in August 1422, Henry V had time to spell out his will. Catherine of Valois being too young to take on regency duties, Henry V appointed his brothers as regents - John (Duke of Bedford) as Regent in France (provided Philip the Good of Burgundy declined the offer first), and his younger brother Humphrey (Duke of Gloucester) as regent in England. But the English lords and prelates, not quite trusting Gloucester, did not assent, and a makeshift royal council postponed the final regency decision to a Parliament to be opened that November. (some sources claim Henry V originally appointed his uncle Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter), rather than Gloucester, as English regent). Henry V's will placed his cousin, Richard de Beauchamp (Earl of Warwick), in charge of educating young Henry VI.

Before the English regency was settled, the infirm Charles VI of France died on October 21, 1422. The treaty of Troyes was invoked and, Henry VI was now also proclaimed King of France (at least by the Burgundian party) in a ceremony at Saint-Denis. Bedford immediately had the Parlement of Paris re-iterate the Treaty of Troyes and confirm the title. Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy), having turned down the regency offer, the Parlement of Paris also formally confirmed John of Bedford as regent of France on behalf of the new infant-king.

On October 30, 1422, at Mehun-sur-Yèvre, the Armagnacs proclaimed the nineteen-year-old Dauphin Charles as King Charles VII of France. But this had not been so straightforward. The question of Dauphin Charles's bastard status (alleged by his own mother, Isabella of Bavaria), meant Charles, Duke of Orleans (in captivity in England) was actually next in line to the throne, and opened the prospect of a fissure in the Armagnac camp.

Yolande of Aragon

The Dauphin's claim found a powerful sponsor in Yolande of Aragon, the dowager-duchess of Anjou-Provence. As Philip of Burgundy had foiled her scheme to secure the inheritance of Lorraine-Bar for her second son, René de Guise, Yolanda was probably looking for revenge, or at least leverage, to win them back. She took the Dauphin Charles under her wing, arranged for his marriage to her daughter, Marie of Anjou and dispatched the young couple to her estates.

When the English parliament finally opened at the end of 1422, a regency council for the infant Henry VI was appointed, much to the disappointment of Humphrey of Gloucester. He had to share the English regency with his half-uncles, Henry Beaufort (Bishop of Winchester) and Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter) and several others. Gloucester was palmed off with the special (but, in the council's view, meaningless) title of "Protector and Defender of the Realm". Furthermore, Gloucester had to suffer the indignity of losing his status to his brother John of Bedford (the regent in France), whenever John was present in England.

On April 17, 1423, John of Bedford, Philip of Burgundy and John VI of Brittany met at Amiens to sign a new treaty of triple alliance, directed against the Dauphin Charles, with promises to secure the inheritance of young Henry VI. This was sealed by the double marriage of John of Bedford with Anne of Burgundy (Philip's sister) and the marriage of Arthur de Richemont (John VI's brother, now in English service) with Margaret of Burgundy (another sister). This was supplemented by an additional, separate treaty of friendship between Burgundy and Brittany (without England).

Positions and strategies

Dauphin's position

A glance at the map of France suggests the Dauphin Charles held at least half of the country, and that the Anglo-Burgundians still had a lot to conquer. But this is a little deceptive. Although the Dauphin received widespread recognition south of the Loire River, this did not always translate into real resources that could be put to military use.

From the outset, the northern crown lands of France - Normandy, Ile-de-France, Picardy and (soon) Champagne, the traditional resource base of French kings - were all in Anglo-Burgundian hands. So were (or would soon be) the domains of most Dauphinois loyalists of the north (e.g. Alençon-Perche and the string of feudatories along the Oise). No less significantly, the English also held several great French lords in captivity - notably John of Bourbon (Duke of Bourbon-Auvergne-Forez), Charles of Orleans (Duke of Orleans-Blois-Valois) and his brother John of Orleans (Count of Angoulême-Périgord), among others. This meant (in theory) that their vast dominions could not be called upon or tapped for resources by either crown (it was against the laws of chivalry to seize the property of a prisoner, as it mars his ability to raise his own ransom). In the far south, the royal lands of Languedoc were under the sway of the unreliable John I, Count of Foix, who switched his allegiance back and forth, while the danger from English-owned Gascony pinned down the resources of the neighboring southern Dauphinois lords of Albret and Armagnac.

The Dauphin Charles, (Duke of Touraine, future King Charles VII of France)

The Dauphin Charles started off with slender domains - principally, the Touraine (centered at Tours) and the Dauphiné (in the southeast). The death of John, Duke of Berry in 1416 had added the provinces of Berry (capital at Bourges) and Poitou (capital at Poitiers) to the royal lands, thus giving the Dauphin Charles a compact royal demesne just south of the Loire. This Poitou-Touraine-Berry complex formed the principal source of the Dauphin's resources and revenues (from whence his derisive appelation, Le Roi de Bourges - the "King of Bourges"). At the same time, these dominions were very vulnerable. Should the English break through the natural barrier of the Loire river, there was little preventing their straight march to seize Tours and Bourges. The Dauphin's demesne would be effectively reduced to the far-off Dauphiné, which was simply not enough to continue the fight.

As a result, the Dauphin Charles depended heavily on his loyalists. His mother-in-law, Yolande of Aragon, placed her substantial dominions of Anjou, Maine and Provence, at the Dauphin's disposal. So did, when they could, the southern lords of Albret, Armagnac and La Marche. But compared to the ampler resources of his enemies - all of the royal lands of northern France, the vast and wealthy dominions of the Duke of Burgundy and, of course the entire Kingdom of England - the Dauphin Charles was quite poor indeed.

As a result the Dauphinois efforts were sporadic and guerilla-like, disrupting Anglo-Burgundian control in the north, but had little prospect of reversing it. The Dauphin had too few resources and arms to mount a more positive effort, except upon the occasional infusion of Scottish forces.

The Scottish contribution was quite critical to the Dauphin, providing perhaps the only fighting force which was not likely to evaporate with the advance of English territorial conquest in France. But it depended on Scottish goodwill, which in turn depended on the state of Anglo-Scottish relations, which the Dauphin was powerless to affect.

English position

John of Lancaster (Duke of Bedford) (left), regent of England and France.

On the English side, John of Bedford's initial priority was to ensure the eastern royal lands of Picardy and Champagne were safely under control, before turning his attentions elsewhere. John of Bedford was aware he did not have to invade the entire south. The conquest of the Dauphin's heartland of Touraine-Berry would probably be enough to end the war - once those royal lands were in English hands, the great feudal lords of the south would likely come to terms with the regent.

The path Bedford chose was to traverse in a westerly swing through Yolanda's active Maine-Anjou, rather than a more direct route south via the inactive region of Orleanais-Blois of his prisoner Charles, Duke of Orleans. This strategy had its detractors - some English lords regarded all of France as a plundering ground, and saw little reason to be so judicious. But John of Bedford was conscious of his role as regent, and knew he had to deliver a functional French kingdom to the young Henry VI, one which was going to be replete with French lords, and had to be governed with their cooperation. This meant respecting their rights and privileges, as expected of a rightful monarch of France, rather than a rapacious foreign invader. To the extent that he could, John of Bedford tried to act as a normal French regent, relied on French law and institutions, consulted French Parlements and Estates, and depended on French bureaucrats and officers. He tried to frame the conflict not as an Anglo-French war, but rather as just another internal conflict, the French crown against "rebels", and tried to limit operations to the estates of those in active "rebellion".

Military reality, however, meant Bedford relied primarily on English armies, even if paid for by revenues voted in Paris or Rouen rather than Westminster. English garrisons permeated through northern France, and for their services, Bedford had to allow many English nobles to acquire great estates in conquered territories. Bedford was often caught in a delicate balancing act, trying to meet the grasping demands and expectations of the English nobility while preserving political goodwill in France.

Henry V had dealt with the Scottish factor by dragging along the captive Scottish king to dissuade Scottish troops from fighting and instituting the terrifying policy of executing all Scottish prisoners. John of Bedford changed tack, and opened negotiations with the Scottish regents. In return for promises to cease providing reinforcements to the Dauphin, James I of Scotland was finally released in March 1424.

Campaigns of the Regency (1423-1429)

Invasion of Champagne

In early 1423, John of Bedford appointed Thomas Montacute (Earl of Salisbury), who had distinguished himself after Baugé, as his Lieutenant in the Champagne. Salisbury immediately set about laying siege to the powerful fortress of Montaiguillon (near Provins), dispatching detachments to take other Dauphinois-leaning towns in the region.

The Battle of Cravant (July 31, 1423), an Anglo-Burgundian victory.

Receiving a fresh infusion of Scottish reinforcements, the Dauphin's advisors gambled on an invasion of the Duchy of Burgundy. Their immediate intention was to cut across Burgundy and make contact with isolated Dauphinist pockets in the northeast. They also hoped, by venturing into Burgundian lands, to force Philip the Good to abandon the English and sue for terms. In the Summer of 1423, the Dauphinois launched their offensive simultaneously on two points - from the west (across the Yonne River) and the south (via Mâcon).

The Scottish army of John Stewart (Earl of Buchan), soon joined by French arms under Louis de Bourbon (Count of Vendôme), laid siege to Cravant (on the Yonne), the western entry point into Burgundy. Salisbury took his Champagne army south, made junction with a Burgundian army under Jean de Toulongeon (Marshal of Burgundy) at Auxerre, and proceeded to descend on the siege. In the subsequent Battle of Cravant (July 31, 1423), the Dauphinois-Scottish army was defeated and numerous prisoners taken, including Louis de Vendôme and the Earl of Buchan. The remainder of the Dauphinois army collapsed back over the Loire.

In the west, things went less well for English arms. John de la Pole (Suffolk's brother) led an English raiding force into Maine-Anjou, but was intercepted and defeated at the Battle of La Brossinière (26 September, 1423, near Mayenne) by Jean d'Harcourt (Count of Aumale). In the aftermath, the Dauphinois launched raids into Lower Normandy as far as Saint-Lô and Avranches.

Dauphinois captains La Hire and Xaintrailles

In late 1423, in the aftermath of Cravant, the Anglo-Burgundian forces consolidated their hold on the east. Salisbury resumed to the siege of Montaiguillon. With their army destroyed at Cravant, the Dauphinois resorted to a strategy of disruption. Dauphinois captains - notably, Étienne de Vignolles ("La Hire") and Jean Poton de Xaintrailles - seemed to have a knack for slipping behind the Anglo-Burgundian lines, popping up here and there, seizing towns by surprise and forcing them to be retaken again, e.g. in late 1423, Xantrailles took Ham-sur-Somme and Guise, while La Hire popped up at Compiègne, Beaumont-sur-Oise and Vitry.

In February, 1424, Bedford dispatched reinforcements to help L'Isle-Adam recover Compiègne and Beaumont. In March, after a long siege, Montaiguillon fortress finally fell to Salisbury, who promptly had it dismantled. The nearby Champagne holdouts of Sézanne and Nangis fell shortly after. On the Somme River, Ham was recovered by John of Luxembourg, and Nesle placed under siege. Le Crotoy, the defiant coastal citadel at the mouth of the Somme, finally surrendered in early March. Between April and July, Oisy (the French sliver between Artois and Hainaut), was taken, while William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk) drove the Dauphinois out of the upper Oise - seizing La Fère (in the Laonnais) and besieging Guise (taking nearby Wiège in the process). During this same period, down in the Loire, a Burgundian captain finally recovered La Charité, which had been lost two years earlier. In the meantime, Philip of Burgundy was campaigning south in the Mâconnais. Suffolk soon joined the Duke's operations there.

Transition to the West

After Cravant, by the middle of 1424, the Anglo-Burgundian hold on the east was practically complete. The Dauphinois captains, however, did not rest and were soon appearing again, this time west of Paris - taking Gaillon and Ivry (Xaintrailles again) in April 1424. The English paid them little mind at first - it seemed as if their principal intention was simply to draw English arms away from the besieged Dauphinois pockets in the east.

But the Dauphinois was preparing for a new positive offensive to consolidate their hold west of Paris. In March-April, 1424, defying the Anglo-Scottish deal on the release of James I, a new large Scottish army of some 8,000 under Archibald Douglas (Earl of Douglas) arrived in France.. Douglas was promptly rewarded by the Dauphin Charles with title of Duke of Touraine - a hefty price, given the few domains the Dauphin had left (it was also the first time a foreigner was made a French duke). A contingent of Milanese auxiliaries also arrived at this time.

John of Bedford received his own reinforcements from England in June, 1424, and proceeded to recover Gaillon by early July. In the meantime, William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk), having laid siege to Ivry, received a commitment from the garrison commander to surrender Ivry if not relieved by the French by mid-August.

At last ready, Douglas set out from Tours with his Scottish army and made junction at Châteaudun with a French army composed by John of Harcourt (Count of Aumale), John II (Duke of Alençon), William of Narbonne, Marshal de Lafayette, Xaintrailles and La Hire. They proceeded in the direction of Ivry.

The assembly of the Franco-Scottish army alarmed Bedford, who promptly called on his Burgundian allies to suspend their operations in the east and rush to his aid. The Burgundian army, under L'Isle-Adam, made junction with Bedford at Evreux, and they proceeded together to join Suffolk at Ivry in early August.

The Battle of Verneuil (August 17, 1424), an Anglo-Burgundian victory.

Marching north, Douglas's army arrived too late to prevent the surrender of Ivry. Instead, via a ruse (his Scottish soldiers masquerading as defeated English prisoners), Douglas obtained the capitulation of nearby Verneuil. Hearing the news, Bedford rushed the Anglo-Burgundian army to recover Verneuil and found Douglas waiting for them there, in array before the town walls. In the ferocious Battle of Verneuil (August 17, 1424) the Anglo-Burgundian army routed the Franco-Scottish army. Douglas, Buchan, Harcourt and Narbonne were killed in the field, the Duke of Alençon and the Marshal de Lafayette were taken captive.

The decimation of the Franco-Scottish army at Verneuil, in which the Dauphin had deposited such high hopes, was perhaps the most significant Anglo-Burgundian victory since Agincourt. 8,000 dead and another crop of French nobles had been taken out of action, which when added to the losses of Cravant, were a staggering toll. The remnant of the Scots came under the leadership of the of John Stewart of Darnley, who swore to remain by the Dauphin in France, but with the political change back in Scotland, they were never going to be replenished to their former strength.

The Dauphinois cause seemed fatally hobbled at Verneuil. There was little likelihood that the Dauphin would be able to assemble such an army again - indeed, he had little or no manpower left to keep the victorious Anglo-Burgundians in check, much less mount a new offensive on the north.

The Anglo-Burgundians, however, had taken their own heavy losses - 1,600 - and did not press immediately in full force, and perhaps allowed a unique opportunity to break through the Loire and put an end to the war to slip away. The Anglo-Burgundian army disassembled after Verneuil. Bedford retired from the field and returned to Rouen to attend to political matters, Philip of Burgundy renewed his campaign in the Mâconnais, John of Luxembourg and other commanders returned to the northeast to resume their sieges. The holdouts of Guise, Nesle and Vitry fell by September, and the last few pockets of Dauphinois resistance in Champagne-Picardy region were mopped up. There was less luck in reducing Mont Saint-Michel, a defiant rock-fortress on the lower Norman coast (near Avranches). The English launched a land-and-sea attack on the rock in late September, but the fortress held out.

William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk) was left with an English force to press south of Verneuil into the region of Maine. He registered some successes in late 1424 (see below). But by then, a new distraction had interposed itself.

Jacqueline affair

In late 1424, just as the Anglo-Burgundian tide seemed irreversible, the Dauphin's prospects were rescued by the troubles stirred up by the personal ambitions of Bedford's brother, Humphrey of Lancaster (Duke of Gloucester). Humphrey's interest in the County of Hainaut, which clashed with that of their ally, Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy), nearly broke apart the Anglo-Burgundian alliance in the troubled years of 1424-26.

Jacqueline of Hainaut

William IV, Count of Hainaut-Holland and Duke of Bavaria-Straubing died in 1417, leaving only a daughter as his heir, the famous Jacqueline of Hainaut. This had already been anticipated, and her uncle, John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy), had carefully positioned himself to try to bring her dominions into the Burgundian orbit. After the death of her first husband, the French Dauphin John (Duke of Turenne) in 1417, John the Fearless had brought the young widow under his protection.

Burgundy defended Jacqueline's inheritance from the challenge of another uncle, John the Pitiless (Bishop of Liège). The succession crisis provoked a resumption of the "Hook and Cod" conflict in the Low Countries, with the "Hooks" (nobles) backing Jacqueline, and the "Cods" (burghers) opting for John of Liège. Much to the fury of her opponents, in April 1418, John the Fearless arranged for the marriage of Jacqueline to his nephew (her cousin), the young John IV (Duke of Brabant-Limburg). John the Pitiless appealed to the German king Sigismund for arbitration. To lure him to his favor, John the Pitiless promptly abandoned holy orders and married Sigismund's niece, Elizabeth of Görlitz (Duchess of Luxembourg) (John the Pitiless, although consort duke of Luxemourg, ought not to be confused with the Burgundian general John of Luxembourg, future Count of Ligny).

Things were still unresolved at John the Fearless's assassination in 1419. His successor, Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy) was less inclined to the arrangement, and prepared to shift the Burgundian weight in favor of John the Pitiless. A power-sharing agreement was made between John the Pitiless and John IV of Brabant to rule Hainaut-Holland and Bavaria-Straubing jointly.

However, nobody had bothered to ask Jacqueline. Disdaining her marriage and the deals of her guardians, she fled the Low Countries in 1421. Jacqueline made her way to the English court, where she was quickly smitten by the gallant but bored English royal prince, Humphrey of Lancaster (Duke of Gloucester) (brother of Henry V and John of Bedford). She sought an annulment of her marriage to John IV of Brabant-Limburg on grounds of consanguinity, but Pope Martin V refused to consider it. So Jacqueline turned to the next-best thing and in March 1422, secured an annulment from the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII. She immediately married Humphrey of Gloucester.

Gloucester's invasion of Hainaut

Gloucester's ill-thought (and probably bigamous) marriage to Jacqueline roused the ire of Philip of Burgundy, and brought up the prospect of a rupture in the Anglo-Burgundian alliance. The regency settlement kept Gloucester busy in England in 1422-23, keeping the whole matter under wraps. But in 1424, Gloucester went ahead with preparations for an armed English expedition to secure his wife's dominions.

Hearing of Humphrey's plans in 1424, the furious Philip of Burgundy threatened to break the alliance with England. John of Bedford tried to appease the duke by formally handing the French titles to the County of Auxerre, the County of Mâcon and the Lordship of Bar-sur-Seine over to Philip in June, but to no avail. In late September, 1424, two months after Verneuil, Philip negotiated a seven-month truce with the Dauphin Charles to allow him to concentrate on Humphrey.

In October 1424, Humphrey of Gloucester landed his expeditionary force of around 1200 men near Calais, and made his way to Paris. John of Bedford arranged a last minute meeting between Humphrey, John IV of Brabant and Philip to settle their differences. John IV accepted, but Philip refused and challenged Humphrey to single combat to resolve the issue (a tournament was going on in Paris at the time). Gloucester declined, and led his army east to seize County of Hainaut. Furious, Philip opened negotiations in Mâcon with agents of Dauphin Charles, offering to permanently break with England and reconcile with the Dauphin. But Philip's conditions were too onerous for the Dauphin to accept, and the negotiations fell through (Philip demanded the Dauphin get rid of his closest advisors, Tanneguy du Chastel and Jean Louvet, wanted by Philip for his father's murder).

Gloucester's invasion of Hainaut went smoothly. Perhaps too smoothly, for Gloucester subsequently allowed his troops to pour over the border into the Duchy of Brabant, the dominions of John IV. The English ravage the land all the way up to walls of Brussels. This gave Philip the excuse to meet force with force, and in late December, 1424, he promptly ordered a muster in the Burgundian-owned counties of Artois and Flanders, declaring his right to defend Brabant on his newphew's behalf. In January 1425, Burgundian troops poured into Hainaut. Although they did not directly fight Gloucester's English army, they seized several critical citadels in his rear and threatened to cut off Gloucester's army.

Gloucester reacted angrily to the intervention, and Philip reiterated his challenge to a duel, which Gloucester this time decided to accept. The duel between Philip and Humphrey was scheduled for April 23, 1425 to be adjudicated by John of Bedford. In the meantime, Philip suspended hostilities and gave Gloucester a safe-conduct to withdraw his troops through Artois. Humphrey of Gloucester left by February, 1425 although at the request of the people of Hainaut, Gloucester agreed to leave Jacqueline behind in Mons. .

As soon as Humphrey was gone, Philip pounced, seized Mons, arrested Jacqueline and dispatched her under arms to confinement in a castle in Ghent. As co-governor John the Pitiless had died earlier that January, Philip of Burgundy prevailed upon the remaining governor, his nephew John IV of Brabant, to mortgage the counties of Holland and Zeeland over to him as a reward for his services. Shortly after, Pope Martin V finally pronounced himself, declaring the marriage of Jacqueline to John IV of Brabant-Limburg was perfectly valid, and thus her marriage to Gloucester bigamous.

In his bull, Pope Martin V had also forbidden the duel between Philip and Humphrey. But this was already on the backburner. At the scheduled date (April, 1425), Gloucester was still in England, presiding over the opening of Parliament and entangled in a new crisis with the chancellor Henry Beaufort (Bishop of Winchester), his principal domestic rival. Over the summer, Bedford hosted several meetings with Philip of Burgundy to mend the relations strained by Gloucester's gambit. In September, 1425, John of Bedford read Martin V's bull before the Court of Chivalry in Paris, and declared the Hainaut-Holland matter closed and the duel canceled.

Invasion of Maine

While all this was going on, as per Bedford's orders, English arms continued their offensive in the west, pressing south of Verneuil into Yolanda's county of Maine. In October 1424, Sir John Fastolf captured Sillé-le-Guillaume, while William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk) captured Senonches and Nogent-le-Rotrou. By December, they had taken in Montfort-le-Gesnois, just a few miles from Le Mans.

In 1425, a new campaign was launched under Thomas Montacute (Earl of Salisbury). In the summer of 1425, Salisbury seized Étampes and Rambouillet, southwest of Paris, and then proceeded west toward Maine, reaching the Sarthe River and taking Beaumont-le-Vicomte. In August, 1425, the Maine capital of Le Mans capitulated to Salisbury by negotiation. West of the Sarthe, St. Suzanne and Mayenne were taken shortly after (the latter after heavy bombardment). However, the resistance of La Ferté-Bernard kept Salisbury's advance in check.

Defection of Brittany

The trouble stirred by the Gloucester-Hainaut affair in 1425 had serious repercussions elsewhere. With the Anglo-Burgundian alliance on the rocks, several critical English allies began to slide away and pass over to the Dauphin Charles. John I, Count of Foix flipped back over to the Dauphin in January 1425 - but this was perhaps predictable, given Foix had changed sides several times before.

More troubling was Brittany. Arthur de Richemont, the brother of the Duke of Brittany, had been in English service since 1420. Dissatisfied with his commands, in March 1425, Richemont was lured by the Dauphin Charles with the offer of making him Constable of France (replacing the late Earl of Buchan). Richemont consulted with Philip beforehand, and the Duke of Burgundy, in the midst of the Gloucester quarrel, actually encouraged him to take the office.

In July 1245, soon after being made constable, Arthur de Richemont, with the support of Yolanda of Aragon, prevailed on the Dauphin Charles to finally dismiss the clique of his old favorites, Tanguy du Châtel and Jean Louvet - the very men accused by Philip of Burgundy of the assassination of his father. This alarmed John of Bedford, since it cleared one of the conditions for a reconciliation between the Dauphin and Burgundy. Nonetheless, Bedford's diplomacy - and perhaps Philip's greed - kept Burgundy on board. With Champagne conquered, Bedford took care to assign Burgundian officers to administer its towns and territories.

John of Bedford could not, however, prevent John VI (Duke of Brittany) from following his brother Richemont in switching sides. In October 1425, John VI met the Dauphin Charles at a conference in Saumur, and signed a separate peace (Foix signed his peace the previous month in Poitiers). Hearing the news at the end of the year, Bedford declared war on Brittany.

Bedford in England

John of Bedford could not remain in France to guide the new war - as Gloucester's misadventures now called his attention in England. On October 29, 1425, the power struggle between Humphrey of Gloucester and Henry Beaufort (Bishop of Winchester) in the English regency council spilled over into the streets of London. Claiming Beaufort was attempting a coup, Gloucester called for an popular uprising and led a London mob against him. Beaufort wrote frantically to Bedford, begging him to return to England and put his brother in order.

Bedford arrived in England in late December, 1425, calmed tempers and called for a parliamentary inquiry into the Gloucester-Beaufort affair. The "Parliament of Bats" opened in February 1426 - so-called because the partisans of Gloucester and Beaufort, forbidden from wearing their swords, brought clubs into the houses of parliament. In the subsequent inquiry, Beaufort was vindicated, but Bedford nonetheless persuaded Beaufort to resign his chancellorship in order to defuse the situation.

The Hainaut affair also raised its head again during this sojourn. In late 1425, Jacqueline had escaped Burgundian captivity in Ghent and, dressed in men's clothes, fled north to her Dutch dominions. Hearing her appeal, Gloucester set about organizing a fleet with 500 men under Lord Fitzwalter to fetch her. The fleet arrived off Zeeland in January 1426, but the Cod-dominated Dutch ports refused to let them in. Fitzwalter was forced to attempt a beach landing - an effort repulsed by Philip of Burgundy in person.

Harassment of Brittany

Before leaving France, Bedford had appointed as his lieutenants Richard de Beauchamp (Earl of Warwick) in Upper Normandy, William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk) in Lower Normandy and Thomas Montacaute (Earl of Salisbury) in Maine.

In January 1426, Suffolk's lieutenant, Sir Thomas Rempston, led an English raiding force into Brittany, penetrating as far as Rennes. The new French constable, Arthur de Richemont, rushed north to his brother's assistance, and tracked Rempston down in Saint-James-de-Beuvron (near Avranches), where Rempston's force had entrenched itself. But Rempston sallied and defeated Richemont in a battle before Saint-James on March 6, 1426, throwing him back to Rennes. In the aftermath, Rempston, now joined by Suffolk, pressed an offensive into Brittany via the region of Dol.

In January 1427, the Earl of Warwick laid siege to Pontorson, a Dauphinois-held fortress on Lower Normandy-Breton border which had thus far defied the English. John VI, Duke of Brittany had initially issued calls for its relief, but then decided against it, and Pontorson surrendered on May 8, 1427. John VI sued for an immediate truce, and opened negotiations with the English.

Reconciliations

In March of 1427, John of Bedford finally returned to France, with a force of 1,200 (inluding a new artillery train) raised primarily by Sir John Talbot. More reinforcements (some 1,900) arrived in April. Bedford immediately set about repairing the damage done by Gloucester's gambit.

The Jacqueline affair seems to have receded by this time. Humphrey of Gloucester was smitten by a new affair with Elizabeth Cobham, and made only a half-hearted attempt to claim Jacqueline's dominions when her de jure husband John IV of Brabant-Limburg died suddenly in April, 1427. The new duke, John IV's brother Philip of St. Pol, made no effort to defend Jacqueline leaving the way clear for Philip of Burgundy.

In June 1427, at a conference at Arras, John of Bedford mediated a final reconciliation between Humphrey of Gloucester and Philip of Burgundy, and formally renewed the Anglo-Burgundian alliance. Bedford appointed the Burgundian general Antoine de Vergy (Count of Dammartin, whom Henry V had raised to Marshal of France back in 1422), as his new governor in Champagne and Brie.

That same month (June), John VI of Brittany signed a treaty to rejoin, restoring the Triple Alliance. At John VI's request, the Breton Estates assembled in September 1427 formally repudiated the 1425 treaty of Saumur and reiterated the 1420 treaty of Troyes.

Abandoned by Gloucester, Jacqueline of Hainaut-Holland could no longer resist the Burgundian pressure. In July, 1427, at a conference in Delft, she signed a treaty passing the administration of the counties of Hainaut, Holland and Zeeland to Philip of Burgundy, and appointing him her heir. Jacqueline was allowed to retain the nominal titles and half the revenues, although she exercised no power and was forbidden from marrying again without Philip's consent.

Push to the Loire

When Bedford was still in England and Richemont had been thrown back in Brittany, English commanders launched a direct surge through the central region of Beauce, apparently intending to capture the counties of Dunois and Vendôme, and cross the Loire east of Tours.

In the winter of 1425-26, the English army of Maine began its crawl southeast towards the Vendômois, capturing La Chartre-sur-le-Loir, Saint-Calais and Savigny-sur-Braye. The advance continued in the summer and by September, 1426, the Earl of Salisbury captured Mondoubleau, splitting Vendômois from Dunois, while that same month, the Earl of Warwick, captured Bonneval (just a few miles north of the Dunois capital of Châteaudun).

It is reported that the William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk) finally laid siege to Vendôme in May, 1427 (its count, Louis de Bourbon (Count of Vendôme, was released from his Agincourt captivity earlier that year). However, Suffolk's siege of Vendôme (if it actually got started) was soon broken off by a new priority. With the renewal of the Anglo-Burgundian alliance and the resumption of Burgundian military activity, Bedford apparently determined that it was more important to clear the territory connecting the English area of operations in the west and the Burgundian area of operations in the east (the Burgundians had recently invaded the Auxerrois, and captured Mailly-le-Château). Skirting around the borders of the Orleannais (Charles of Orleans was still a prisoner), the English captured Pithiviers in May, and by July, 1427, Suffolk had joined the Richard de Beauchamp (Earl of Warwick) in laying siege to Montargis, a critical citadel on the Yonne.

Campaigns of Joan of Arc

Richard de Beauchamp (Earl of Warwick) in Upper Normandy, William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk)

Review of the troops

ENGLISH

Brothers of HV:

• 1. Thomas of Lancaster (Duke of Clarence)
• 2. John of Lancaster (Duke of Bedford)
• 3. Humphrey of Lancaster (Duke of Gloucester)

Regent

• 1.Thomas Beaufort (Duke of Exeter)
• 2a.John Beaufort (Earl of Somerset)
• 2b.Thomas Beaufort
• 3. Henry Beaufort (Bishop of Winchester)

• Richard de Beauchamp (Earl of Warwick)

• John Holland (Earl of Huntingdon)

• Thomas Montacute (Earl of Salisbury)

• William de la Pole (Earl of Suffolk)
• John de la Pole (brother of W).

French

• Isabella of Bavaria

• Dauphin Charles

• Charles (Duke of Touraine)

• Gilbert de Lafayette

• Louis de Bourbon (Count of Vendôme)

• John of Harcourt (Count of Aumale).

• Tanguy du Châtel
• Jean Louvet

• Charles, Duke of Orleans
• Jean Poton de Xaintrailles

• Étienne de Vignolles ("La Hire")
• John II (Duke of Alençon)

ANGEVIN

• Yolande of Aragon the dowager-duchess of Anjou-Provence
• Louis III
• René de Guise
• Marie of Anjou

SCOTTISH

• Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany
• John Stewart (Earl of Buchan)
• James I of Scotland
• Archibald Douglas (Earl of Douglas)

BURGUNDIAN

• John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy)
• Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy)
• -- Anne of Burgundy (to Bedford)
• -- Margaret of Burgundy (to Richemont)

• Jean de Villiers (Sieur de L'Isle-Adam)

OTHER:

• John VI (Duke of Brittany)
• Arthur de Richemont

• John I (Count of Foix)

• John IV (Duke of Brabant-Limburg

• John the Pitiless,Duke of Luxembourg

• John of Luxembourg

• [Elisabeth, Duchess of Luxembourg|Elizabeth of Görlitz]] (Duchess of Luxembourg) (stepmother of John IV)

• List of Parliaments of England

References

• Beaucourt, G. du Fresne de (1882) Histoire de Charles VII, v.2 Paris: Societe Bibliographique.

• Cousinot de Montreuil, G. (1864) Chronique de la Pucelle ou chronique de Cousinot, edited by M. Vallet de Viriville, 1864, Paris: Delays. online

• Forbes-Leith, W. (1882) The Scots Men-at-Arms and Life-Guards in France, from their formation until their final dissolution, A.D. 1418-1830, Edinburgh: Paterson. v.1

• Holmes, G. (1975) Europe: Hierarchy and revolt, 1320-1450. London: Collins.

• Quicherat, J. (1841–47) Procès de condamnation et de réhabilitation de Jeanne d'Arc dite La Pucelle, Paris: Renouard. v.1 v.2, vol. 3

• Ramsay, J.R. (1892) Lancaster and York: A century of English history, AD 1399-1485. Oxford: Clarendon. v.1

• Smedley, E. (1836) The History of France: from the final partition of the empire of Charlemagne, A.D. 843, to the peace of Cambray, A.D. 1529, London: Baldwin & Cradock. online

• Vaughan, R. (1970) Philip the Good. 2002 edition, Woodbridge: Bydell. excerpts

• Vizetelly, E.A. (1902) Bluebeard: An account of Comorre the Cursed and Gilles de Rais London: Chatto and Windus. online