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Episode Details
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Henry VI and Joan of Arc

he Hundred Years War continued in the reign of Henry VI. The Duke of Bedford commanded the northern territories of France while Charles VII controlled the south. This was the time of the seventeen year old Joan of Arc who rescued the French at the siege of Orleans in May of 1429. Shortly after this success Charles was crowned at Rheims Cathedral and the French won several battles against the English. In response the Duke of Bedford ensured Henry was crowned even though he was still too young to rule unaided. Joan was captured by the English, and executed after a trial. In December of 1431 Henry was crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris. In 1435 the English lost the support of the Duke of Burgundy with the signing of the Treaty of Arras where the Duke recognised Charles as the true King of France. The Duke of Burgundy had been the chief supporter of the English and without his support further military actions in France were difficult. In 1435 the Duke of Bedford died and Paris was retaken by the French in 1436.

Joan of Arc, known also as the Maid of Orleans, was born in around 1412 in a village called Domremy in Lorraine and was the daughter of a farmer. She had no education apart from religious instruction given to her by her mother and spent most of her time help look after the sick and tending her family's sheep. She was born in a period of anarchy in France where the king was sufferring from bouts of madness and the two rival houses of Orléans and Burgundy fourght to take control of the monarchy. After the death of King Charles, the French throne fell to his son, a young prince who supported the Armagnac Faction, a party who were fighting for the French people. The Burgundians on the other hand swearing allegience to the English king Henry V. Even in a remote farm, the politics of the time must have had an effect on the young Joan.

One evening, on one of her solitary walks, Joan saw a bright light and heard a voice coming from the direction of the local church. The visions continued informing her of her mission to rescue Orléans from the English invaders, save France and ensure the young king was crowned at Rhiems. At the age of 16 Joan went to see Robert de Baudricourt, the head of the French army at Vaucouleurs. Joan told him of the visions and her mission but he did not believe her and sent her home. Early in 1429 Joan left Domremy and returned to Vaucouleurs where again she spoke of her visions. This time she was believed and given permission to see Charles VII, the King of France. Leaving Vaucouleurs on February 24, 1429, Joan headed to Chinon and a meeting with the King.

For protection on her journey Joan dressed as a man and had some attendants. In early March Joan reached Chinon but it took several days before the King granted her an audience. The King was advised to accept Joan's help and she was supplied with white armour, a horse and a detachment of men for her journey to Orléans.

Within the month Joan and her army had reached Orléans with supplies and attacked the English besiegers. In May of 1429 the English withdrew and the siege was lifted. Following up on their success,the French defeated the English at the Battle of Patay and in July Charles was crowned at Rhiems Cathedral.

Joan's main objective was to liberate Paris from the Burgundians, but first she needed to free Compiegne. It was during the fighting here that she was wounded again and this time captured. Joan was then sold to the English who handed her over to the Church. As Compiegne was under the bishopric of Beauvais Joan was delivered to Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais, who led the trial against her in which she was accused of witchcraft and heresy. Joan was found guilty and burnt at the stake in Rouen's marketplace.

Episode Events

1423

English defeat the French at Cravant [1]

1424

The English defeat the French at Verneuil [1]

1428

The Duke of Bedford led an English army to surround the French town of Orléans and to begin the siege. Orléans was chosen because it was the most important city still under the control of Charles VII. The city was well prepared for the siege and even though the there were a small number of French soldiers in the city the defences held. Thomas Montacute, earl of Salisbury, was killed when he was hit by debris of an exploding cannonball. The siege continued into the harsh winter. The death of the Thomas Montacute meant that the Earl's title was transferred to Richard Neville who had married his daughter Anne. [1]

1429

To supply the English who were besieging Orléans the Duke of Bedford arranged for a convoy of food be sent. The convoy was attacked by the French but the English managed to fight them off. After the battle the battlefield was covered with the food which was mostly salted fish. [1]
With an escort of attendants, Joan of Arc left Vaucouleurs dressed as a man. The party headed for Chinon where King Charles VII was staying. They reached Chinon in early March.
Joan was granted an audience with the dauphin at Vaucouleurs. At the meeting Charles had disguised himself as a servant and had a servant dress as himself. Joan was not fooled and picked the king out. Charles was impressed when Joan told him that God had told her that he was the true heir.
Charles gave Joan a small army and she sets of to free Orleans from the English.
Joan reached Orleans and managed to get past the English to enter the town. There she raised the moral of the citizens trapped by the English siege.
Joan of Arc had tried to negotiate with the English to lift the siege of Orleans without success. More French troops had arrived to assist break the blockade. On May 7th, Joan was wounded by an arrow in the neck but survived and managed to lead the French to defeat the English at Les Tourelles, part of the town. On May 8th the English moved out of Orleans.
The French defeat the English.
Joan of Arc and the dauphin entered Reims. Charles was crowned in the Cathedral and became King of France.
The French fail to retake Paris that had been captured by the English. Joan was slightly injured during the fighting.
Although Henry was still too young to reign he was crowned as Henry VI, King of England in response to the Duke of Bedford's concerns over the events in France. Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

1430

The young king sailed from England and landed at Calais on St. George's Day in preparation for his coronation as the King of France. He remained at Calais for several weeks as his protectors were concerned about Joan of Arc. [2]
Joan's main objective was to liberate Paris from the Burgundians, but first she needed to free Compiegne. It was during the fighting here that she was wounded again and this time captured. Joan was then sold to the English who handed her over to the Church. As Compiegne was under the bishopric of Beauvais Joan was delivered to Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais, who led the trial.

1431

Joan's trial began.
Joan was burnt at the stake in Rouen in the Old Market Square. [1]
Henry was crowned King of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris by Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester.

1435

John, Duke of Bedford, died in Rouen. Henry was still too young to rule and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, took over as regent until Henry was old enough to rule England unaided. Gloucester was not popular and was the cause of unrest with Parliament.
The English lost the support of the Duke of Burgundy against King Charles VII of France with the signing of the Treaty of Arras where the Duke recognised Charles as the true King of France. [3]

1436

The long occupation of Paris by the English was ended when the French rescued the city. [3]

1440

The English under the command of Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, captured the port town of Harfleur on the northern coast of France.

1441

Although Richard, Duke of York, had been appointed governor of France and Normandy he did not go until reports from Rouen in Normandy of French attacks persuaded him to do so. [4]

1442

The English who were under siege inside Calais were resupplied by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. For his actions Beaufort received the title Earl of Dorset.

1443

The rulers of Europe intervened when they saw that the ongoing war between England and France was doing destructive damage to both countries. Delegates including Cardinal Beauforta and the Earl of Suffolk from England met delegates from France to discuss a peace treaty. It wasn't until the followg year that the treaty was signed. The Treaty of Tours was signed by King Henry VI of England and Charles VII of France. The treaty resulted in five years of peace between the two countries and included the arrangement of marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. [4]

1445

A French Embassy arrived in London to meet the English King and confirm terms of a peace treaty after the marriage of Henry to Margaret of Anjou.

1449

Several years after the Treaty of Arras, after which the conflict between England and France had subdued, an English force attacked and took over the town of Fougeres in Brittany. This sparked the resumption of the war between the two countries. [3]
Several French armies moved into Normandy to retake it from the English. The English garrisons began to surrender under the pressure. [2]
A large army of French soldiers were able to retake the cities in Normandy that had been captured by the English. Rouen, the last to fall, was retaken in November after a siege of almost three weeks. This was a major victory for Charles, the French king and a disaster for Henry VI. [5]

1450

An English army landed at Cherbourg under the command of Sir Thomas Kyriel. Joined by forces led by Matthew Gough the combined army laid siege to Valognes. The town fell to the English in April.
An English army under the command of Sir Thomas Kyriel and Matthew Gough were attacked at Formigny in Normandy. The English were defeated and many of them were captured including Kyriel. Matthew Gough managed to escape. [6]
English forces led by Matthew Gough held out at Bayeux against a French siege. The French used powerful cannons and finally Gough agreed to surrender the town to the French. [6]

1451

The port city of Bordeaux fell to the French and English control was lost.
After Bordeaux fell to the French it was only a matter of time before Bayonne fell as well. This marked the end of English control in Aquitaine after some three hundred years. It was in 1152 that Eleanor of Aquitaine had married King Henry II of England.

1452

John Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, landed near Bordeaux and took the area of Guyenne.

1453

Sir John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and his army were totally destroyed by the French as they attempted to regain control of the region around Bordeaux. This is regarded as the last event in the Hundred Years War.
See Also

Event Participants and Locations

Selection of references used:

  • 1: Duc de Castries, The lives of the Kings and Queens of France, ISBN:0-297-77676-2, Erdington Library
  • 2: R.L.Storey, The End of the House of Lancaster, 1966, Barrie and Rockliff (Barrie Books Ltd) (1966)
  • 3: W.H.Hudson, France, The Nation & its Development, MCMXVII, George G. Harrap & Co (MCMXVII)
  • 4: J R Lander, The Wars of the Roses, ISBN:0-75090-018-0
  • 5: C. W. Oman, Warwick
  • 6: H.T. Evans, Wales and the War of the Roses, ISBN:ISBN-0-905-778-278

    Related Information

    Henry VI

    Reign From
    September 1, 1422
    Reign To
    April 11, 1471
    Succeeded
    Henry V
    Preceded
    Edward IV
    Royal House
    Lancaster
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