The Hundred Years War: A People's History

377 Pages·2014·6.19 MB·English

by  Dr. David Green

Contents
Chronology vi
Illustrations viii
Glossary ix
Note on Money xii
Note on Names xiii
Family Trees xiv
Maps xvi
Introduction (1337) 1
1 Knights and Nobles: Flowers of Chivalry (1346) 23
2 The Peasantry: Vox Populi (1358) 43
3 The Church and the Clergy: Voices from the Pulpit (1378) 65
4 Making Peace: Blessed are the Peacemakers (1396) 85
5 The Madness of Kings: Kingship and Royal Power (1407) 104
6 Soldiers: Views from the Front (1415) 125
7 Occupation: Coexistence, Collaboration and Resistance (1423) 155
8 Women and War: Power and Persecution (1429) 177
9 Prisoners of War: Gilded Cages (1435) 204
10 National Identities: St George and La Mère France (1449) 230
Conclusion: 1453 and Beyond 248
Notes 256
Bibliography 294
Acknowledgements 319
Index 320
v
THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR
i
ii
THE
H Y W
UNDRED EARS AR
A PEOPLE’S HISTORY
DAVID GREEN
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
iii
Copyright © 2014 David Green
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Green, David, 1969-
The Hundred Years War : a people’s history / David Green.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-300-13451-3 (cl : alk. paper)
1. Hundred Years’ War, 1339-1453. 2. France—History, Military—1328–1589.
3. Great Britain—History, Military—1066–1485. 4. France—Foreign relations—Great
Britain. 5. Great Britain—Foreign relations—France. I. Title. II. Title: 100 Years War.
DC96.G74 2014
944'.025—dc23
          2014014233
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
iv
Chronology
1327 death of Edward II of England; accession of Edward III (r. to 1377)
1328 death of Charles IV (Capetian dynasty) of France; accession of Philippe VI (Valois
dynasty) (r. to 1350); treaty of Edinburgh-N orthampton (the ‘Shameful Peace’)
1329 death of Robert I of Scotland (Robert Bruce); accession of David II (r. to 1371)
1332 battle of Dupplin Moor (12 August)
1333 battle of Halidon Hill (19 July)
1337 Philippe VI confiscates the duchy of Gascony – Anglo-F rench hostilities begin
1338–40 Cambrésis campaign
1339 French raid Channel Islands, south coast of England and Gascon coastal towns
1340 battle of Sluys (24 June); siege of Tournai (July–September); truce of Esplechin
(25 September); Edward III makes a formal claim for the French throne (arroga-
tion of the fleur de lys on the English royal coat of arms)
1342 battle of Morlaix (30 September)
1346 battle of Crécy (26 August); siege of Calais begins (4 September); battle of
Neville’s Cross (17 October)
1347 Edward III captures Calais (August); outbreak of the Black Death in France
1348 foundation of the Order of the Garter; outbreak of the Black Death in England
1350 battle of Winchelsea (29 August); accession of Jean II ‘le Bon’ of France (r. to
1364); foundation of the Company of the Star (Company of Our Lady of the
Noble House); accession of Pedro I ‘the Cruel’ of Castile (r. to 1366/1367–69)
1351 Statute of Labourers (England)
1352 Statute of Treasons (England)
1355 the grande chevauchée (October–December)
1356 battle of Poitiers (19 September)
1358 revolt of the Jacquerie (France)
1359–60 Reims campaign
1360 treaty of Brétigny- Calais (May–October)
1362 battle of Brignais (6 April)
1364 battle of Cocherel (16 May); battle of Auray (29 September); accession of Charles
V ‘le Sage’ (r. to 1380)
1366 accession of Enrique II of Castile (r. to 1367/1369–79)
1367 battle of Nájera (3 April)
1369 Charles V confiscates principality of Aquitaine – Anglo-F rench hostilities resume
1370 Bertrand du Guesclin (d. 1380) appointed Constable of France; siege of Limoges
(September)
1371 accession of Robert II of Scotland (Stuart dynasty) (r. to 1390)
1371–73 French recapture Poitou, the Aunis and the Saintonge
1372 battle of La Rochelle (22–23 June)
1376 the Good Parliament (April–July); death of Edward the Black Prince (8 June)
1377 accession of Richard II (r. to 1399); papacy returns to Rome from Avignon
vi
CHRONOLOGY vii
1378 Great Schism begins (papacy)
1380 accession of Charles VI (r. to 1422); Olivier IV de Clisson appointed constable of
France (dismissed 1392)
1381 Peasants’ Revolt (England)
1383 Henry Despenser, bishop of Norwich, launches ‘crusade’ to Flanders
1385 battle of Aljubarrota (14 August)
1386 Merciless Parliament (February–June)
1390 accession of Robert III of Scotland (r. to 1424)
1392 first signs of Charles VI’s madness
1396 28- year- truce agreed (9 March); Richard II marries Isabella of France; battle of
Nicopolis (25 September)
1399 accession of Henry IV (Lancastrian dynasty) (r. to 1413)
1404 death of Philippe the Bold, duke of Burgundy (27 April)
1405 French troops sent to support Owain Glyn Dwˆr’s revolt in Wales
1407 assassination of Louis, duke of Orléans (23 November)
1409 Council of Pisa
1411 Orléanists/Armagnac and Burgundian factions both seek aid from Henry IV
1413 accession of Henry V (r. to 1422); cabochienne uprisings in Paris (April–May)
1414–18 Council of Constance
1415 siege of Harfleur; battle of Agincourt (25 October)
1416 Anglo-I mperial alliance secures the neutrality of Emperor Sigismund in the
Anglo-F rench war
1417 Henry V invades Normandy
1418 Jean ‘the Fearless’, duke of Burgundy, secures control of Paris; Henry V besieges
Rouen (July)
1419 surrender of Rouen (January); assassination of Jean the Fearless (10 September)
1420 battle of Fresnay (3 March); treaty of Troyes (21 May)
1421 battle of Baugé (22 March); death of Thomas, duke of Clarence
1422 accession of Henry VI of England (r. to 1461; 1470–71); accession of Charles VII
of France (r. to 1461)
1423 battle of Cravant (31 July)
1424 accession of James I of Scotland (r. to 1437); battle of Verneuil (17 August)
1425 Artur de Richemont appointed constable of France (7 March)
1428 siege of Orléans begins (12 February)
1429 ‘battle of the Herrings’ (12 February); battle of Patay (18 June); coronation of
Charles VII (17 July)
1430 siege of Compiègne; capture of Joan of Arc (23 May)
1431 execution of Joan of Arc (30 May); Council of Basel begins (ends 1449)
1435 Congress of Arras; death of John, duke of Bedford (14 September); treaty of Arras
(10 December) establishes peace between Philippe the Good of Burgundy and
Charles VII
1436 French retake Paris (13 April)
1437 accession of James II of Scotland (r. to 1460); Charles VII enters Paris (12
November)
1438 Jacques Coeur appointed argentier (personal treasurer) to Charles VII; Pragmatic
Sanction of Bourges (7 July)
1440 Charles d’Orléans is released from English captivity; Praguerie revolt (15
February–17 July)
1442 Yolande of Aragon (Charles VII’s mother-i n- law) dies (14 November)
1444 truce of Tours (22 May); Agnès Sorel (Charles VII’s mistress) enters the French
court
1445 Charles VII issues military ordonnances (January–March) that create a ‘standing
army’; marriage of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou (23 April)
1448 formation of the francs- archers (April); Henry VI surrenders Maine
1449 English attack Breton fortress of Fougères (March); Charles VII invades
Normandy (31 July); Rouen surrenders (10 November)
1450 death of Agnès Sorel (9 February); battle of Formigny (15 April); French capture
Caen (24 June) and Cherbourg (12 August); Cade’s Rebellion (May–July)
1451 French capture Bordeaux (12 August)
1452 John Talbot recaptures Bordeaux
1453 battle of Castillon (17 July); French capture Bordeaux (19 October)
Illustrations
1 Early cannon, from Walter de Milemete’s De nobilitatibus, sapientiis, et prudentiis regum, c.
1326. Musée de l’Armee, Paris.
2 Archers, from the Luttrell Psalter, c. 1330. © The British Library Board (Add. 42130, f.147v).
3 Battle of Sluys, from Froissart’s Chronicle, 24 June 1340, fifteenth century (Fr 2643 f.82).
Bibliothèque nationale de France / The Bridgeman Art Library.
4 Edward III paying homage to Philip VI, illumination in Grandes Chroniques de France de
Charles V, c. 1375–80. Bibliothèque nationale de France (Français 2813, fol. 357).
5 Battle of Crécy, from Froissart’s Chronicle, 24 August 1346, fifteenth century (Fr 2643 f.165v).
Bibliothèque nationale de France / The Bridgeman Art Library.
6 Peasants reaping and binding sheaves, from the Luttrell Psalter, c. 1330. © The British
Library Board (Add. 42130, f.172v).
7 Jean II, c. 1350. Musée du Louvre, Paris.
8 Edward III as a Knight of the Garter, from William Bruges’s Garter Book, c. 1440–50. ©
The British Library Board (Stowe 594, f. 7v).
9 Jean II founds the Company of the Star, from Chroniques de France, fourteenth century.
Bibliothèque nationale de France / Index / The Bridgeman Art Library.
10 Edward III’s gilt bronze tomb effigy, c. 1370s. © Angelo Hornak / Alamy.
11 Bertrand du Guesclin’s tomb effigy, c. 1380s. © 2007 David Monniaux.
12 Portrait of Richard II (’The Westminster Portrait’), 1390s. Westminster Abbey, London /
The Bridgeman Art Library.
13 Master of the Wilton Diptych, Richard II presented to the Virgin and Child by his patron
saint John the Baptist and saints Edward and Edmund, c. 1395–99. National Gallery,
London / The Bridgeman Art Library.
14 Honore Bonnet, Tree of Battles, c. 1390 (Ms 346/1561 fol.10v). Musée Condé, Chantilly,
France / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library.
15 Coronation of Charles VI in Reims, 1380, illumination by Jean Fouquet in Grandes Chroniques
de France, c. 1455–60. Bibliothèque nationale de France (Français 6465, fol. 457v).
16 Jean the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, sixteenth century. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna,
Austria / The Bridgeman Art Library.
17 Charles d’Orlèans in the Tower of London, from Poems of Charles, Duke of Orleans, c. 1500.
© The British Library Board (Royal 16 F. II, f. 73).
18 Gold noble of Henry V. © Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
19 Jean Fouquet, portrait of Charles VII, c. 1450–55. Musée du Louvre, Paris.
20 Jean Fouquet, portrait of Agnès Sorel as the Virgin, Melun Diptych, c. 1472. Musée royal des
beaux-arts, Anvers.
21 Christine de Pisan, from her Collected Works (The Book of the Queen).
22 Miniature of Joan of Arc, c. 1450–1500. Archives nationales (AE II 2490).
23 Reims Cathedral. Courtesy of Alain Tricot.
viii
1 Walter de Milemete’s treatise on kingship, De nobilitatibus, sapientiis, et prudentiis regum (c. 1326),
includes what is probably the first illustration of a gunpowder weapon. Crude cannons such as this
would evolve into formidable siege weapons by the end of the Hundred Years War and they also
began to influence the outcomes of battlefield engagements such as Castillon (1453).
2 Commissioned by Sir
Geoffrey Luttrell of Irnham,
Lincolnshire, the magnificent
Luttrell Psalter (c. 1330) is most
famous for its extraordinary
grotesques and babewyns but
it also contains fascinating
images of everyday life. Here,
the increasing significance of
archery can be seen. Tactically
and numerically, archers became
the most significant soldiers
recruited for English armies in
the Hundred Years War and
they made a vital contribution to
the victories at Crécy, Poitiers,
and Agincourt. Such was its
importance that in 1363 archery
practice became compulsory.