When England Ruled France

choi

WARNING: In footnotes (13) Baugé and (17) Armagnac, the Wikipedia URLs are scrambled.

Stephen Brumwell, When England Ruled France; The 'French' armies relied heavily on Scottish mercenaries, who were massacred by the English at Verneuil in 1424, a 'Second Agincourt' all but forgotten today. Wall Street Journal, Mar 7, 2012
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 63673267916752.html
(book review on Juliet Barker, Conquest; The English Kingdom of France 1417-1450. Harvard University Press, 2012)

Note:
(1)
(a) Pontoise
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontoise
(b) What happened to the attack?

1430s in England
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1430s_in_England
(1437  "12 February - Hundred Years' War: English forces under John Talbot capture Pontoise")

(2) John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Talbot,_1st_Earl_of_Shrewsbury
(1384/1387-1453)
(3) Hundred Years' War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years'_War
(1337-1453; sections 1, 2 and 3; "Gunpowder for gonnes (an early firearm) and cannon played significant roles as early as 1375. The last battle of the war, the Battle of Castillon, was the first battle in European history in which artillery was the deciding factor")

Quote: "The war owes its historical significance to a number of factors. Although primarily a dynastic conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of both French and English nationalism. Militarily, it saw the introduction of new weapons and tactics which eroded the older system of feudal armies dominated by heavy cavalry in Western Europe. The first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire were introduced for the war, thus changing the role of the peasantry. For all this, as well as for its long duration, it is often viewed as one of the most significant conflicts in the history of medieval warfare. In France, civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines and marauding mercenary armies turned to banditry reduced the population by about one-half.

* homage (n):
"1a : a feudal ceremony by which a man acknowledges himself the vassal of a lord
b : the relationship between a feudal lord and his vassal
c : an act done or payment made in meeting the obligations of vassalage"
www.m-w.com
(4) charger (n): "a horse for battle or parade"
(5) Battle of Agincourt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt
(Oct 25, 1415; at Agincourt (French spelling Azincourt); [English king] Henry V's victory crippled France and started a new period in the war, during which, first, Henry married the French king's daughter and, second, his son, Henry VI, was made heir to the throne of France (although Henry VI later failed to capitalise on his father's battlefield success); The battle is notable for the use of the English longbow; The battle is also the centrepiece of the play Henry V, by William Shakespeare)

(6) The review mentioned "the Valois king Charles VI" of France.

(a) House of Valois
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Valois
(as kings of France from 1328 to 1589; They [kings] were descendants of Charles of Valois, the fourth son of King Philip III)
(b) "The Valois, originally pagus valensis, was a region in the valley of the Oise river in Picardy," France.
Counts and dukes of Valois
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counts_and_dukes_of_Valois
(7)
(a) For Armagnacs, see Armagnac (party)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagnac_(party)
(The party took its name from [Duke of Orléans] Charles' father-in-law, Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac)
(b) Count of Armagnac was named after

Armagnac (province)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagnac_(province)
(predominantly agricultural and noted for its Armagnac brandy, the oldest French brandy)
(8) Treaty of Troyes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Troyes
(an agreement that Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the throne of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France; signed in the French city of Troyes on May 21,1420 in the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt)
(9) Gascony
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gascony
("Gascony was historically inhabited by Basque-related people who appear to have spoken a language similar to Basque. The name Gascony comes from the same root as the word Basque")
(10) Aquitaine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquitaine
(The original Aquitania (named after the inhabitants [Aquitani in Latin or Aquitani, both plural) at the time of Caesar's conquest of Gaul; The name may stem from Latin 'aqua', maybe derived from the town "Aquae Augustae", "Aquae Tarbellicae" or just "Aquis" (Dax, Akize in modern Basque) or as a more general geographical feature)

(11) The review stated "Ms Barker has an eye for the kind of detail than can illuminate the mindset of the long-dead."

The "than" is a typo, which should be "that."
(12) brigand (n): "one who lives by plunder usually as a member of a band : BANDIT"

Both brigand and another English noun brigade have root in Old Italian brigare to fight.

(13) Baugé
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baugé
(14) Battle of Verneuil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verneuil
(fought on August 17, 1424 near Verneuil in Normandy and a significant English victory)
(15) For John Duke of Bedford, see John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Lancaster,_1st_Duke_of_Bedford
(1389-1435)

The first three sons of Henry IV of England were Henry V, Thomas and John (in that order).

(16) The review remarked, "All went well until 1428, when it was decided—'God knows by what advice,' as Bedford ruefully recalled—to besiege the city of Orléans, the seat of Armagnac power, on the River Loire."

Orleans is in north-central France, whereas Armagnac (province) is in southwestern corner of France (see (7)(b) above). How come Orléans was "the seat of Armagnac power"?

Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagnac–Burgundian_Civil_War
(section 1, 2 and 4; Orléans allied with Armagnac: table in right column + "on April 15, 1410, at the marriage of Charles (Louis's son; now Duke of Orléans) and Bonne d'Armagnac at Gien")

(17) Loire River
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_River
(the longest river in France; The name "Loire" comes from Latin Liger,[7] which is itself a transcription of the native Gaulish (Celtic) name of the river)

(18) Battle of Patay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Patay
(June 18, 1429; It was a decisive victory for the French and turned the tide of the war. This victory was to the French what Agincourt was to the English)

(19)
(a) Jean de Dunois
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_Dunois
(1402-1468; illegitimate son of Louis d'Orléans (Duc d'Orléans 1372-1407) by Mariette d'Enghien; In his era this [Bastard of Orléans] was a term of respect since it acknowledged him as a first cousin to the king and acting head of a cadet branch of the royal family during his half-brother's captivity)
(b) Louis I, Duke of Orléans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_I,_Duke_of_Orléans
(Louis I of Orléans (1372-1407) was Duke of Orléans from 1392 to his death; Louis was son of King Charles V of France and Joanna of Bourbon and younger brother of Charles VI; painting caption: "Louis d'Orléans unveils a mistress c1825–26 (Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid) by Eugène Delacroix, illustrating Louis' reputation as a debauchee")
(20) La Hire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Hire
(1390-1443; section 1 Nickname)
(21) Charles VII of France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VII_of_France
(1403-1461; reign 1422-1461; son of Charles VI; famously crowned in Reims in 1429 through Joan of Arc's effort to free France from the English; section 2 The Maid of Orléans)
(22)
(a) Battle of Castillon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Castillon
(July 17, 1453; the last battle fought between the French and the English during the Hundred Years' War; It resulted in a decisive French victory)
(b) Castillon-la-Bataille
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillon-la-Bataille
(23) sporting (adj):
"1a : of, relating to, used, or suitable for sport; especially : trained for trapping or retrieving game <sporting dogs>
b : marked by or calling for sportsmanship"