Dear Folk,
On or around this day, September 19, 1435, the man responsible for the death of Joan of Arc died.
John Plantagenet, of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford was born in 1389. He was the third son of Henry IV of England and the brother to Henry V. If you are a Shakespeare (or Bacon) fan, you will remember him from several of the Henry plays. Sir John Falstaff actually had a law suit against him. Third sons of English kings did not often do well. I mean there was this law of primogenitor which said everything went to the eldest son. John did rather well for himself though.
Continuing the 100 Years War, Henry V kicked major French backside at the Battle of Agincourt -- tune in October 25th for an account of that battle. In order to get some semblance of peace, King Charles VI "the Mad" (read my Musings "Mad King and Two Moms") accepted the Treaty of Troyes in 1420 CE. Understand that France was not united and Burgundy was very powerful at the time. The Burgundians threatened to spit and broil Charles if he did not make peace with the English. What a peace it was! Charles was forced to disinherit his son Charles VII as illegitimate. Remember who his dad could have been? That's right, Uncle Louis. Anyway, Henry V was not married and was a studly king-dude so Charles VI agreed to Henry V marrying his sister, Catharine. Henry V was also Charles VI designated heir. Pretty sweet. Henry as a wedding gift got all the disputed English lands in France all the way to the Loire river. Henry made good use of his time in France and proceeded to rape and pillage, burn and plunder. Oh, you know the routine. Charles VI finally (it was a relief probably even to him) died in 1422. Strangely enough, so did Henry V.
When Henry V died, Henry's son inherited both the crowns of England and France. Okay Henry VI was only 9 months old at the time and each crown tended to fall around his little jug ears. Somebody had better tend the state while Henry VI grew up. That would be John Plantagenet, his uncle. Incidentally, you have reason to remember Henry VI. He was that unfortunately otherworldly monarch that Edward IV, the" Son of York," had disposed of in the War of the Roses. Remember the poor old mad queen in Richard III? That was Henry VI's widow. You might want to go back and read "Oh Ricky You're So Fine (parts 1 & 2") in my Musings archive. But I digress.
John was 33 when he was named regent of France and protector of England. He had put in his time in grade. He was made duke of Bedford by his brother King Henry V in 1414. Between 1415 and 1422 he served as lieutenant of the kingdom three times while Henry was campaigning in France. He was there in France when Henry V died.
Now you cannot expect to both rule France and England at the same time if you want to have time over for cavorting. John told his brother, Humphrey the Duke of Gloucester, to watch little Henry while John went over to rule them pesky French. Bedford fairly devoted himself to the affairs of France. In his attempt to make permanent the English occupation there, he gave the country an able, if severe, administration. You know how those English can be.
John was stepping into that teeter-totter between the Burgundians supporting Henry VI in the north and the Armagnacs who supported Charles VII, the dauphin (heir apparent), in the south and east. John of Lancaster's main ally was Philip the Good (1396-1467) Duke of Burgundy. Phil was son of the guy Charles VII had assassinated for being too friendly with his mom, John the Fearless. Again, check out the column "Mad King and Two Moms." After his father was murdered (1419) at a meeting with the dauphin, Philip formed an alliance with King Henry V of England. Under the Treaty of Troyes Philip recognized Henry V as heir to the French throne. Philip aided the efforts of Henry and his successor to establish English rule in France.
John, Duke of Bedford, again turned his attention to the important stuff: war. By allying with Philip the Good, in 1423, he gained control over northwestern France, and he then opened an offensive against the dauphin, Charles VII. On Aug. 17, 1424, Bedford won an important victory at Verneuil where he got to whomp on some Scots (bonus points for English guys.) Still, it wasn't easy keeping things smooth with the Burgundians and the English. John's brother Gloucester really hated Philip. Phil was a bit of a fop and liked nice things. I doubt that Humphrey was ever nice. Humphrey even got in a pushing match with the chancellor of England, Henry Beaufort. John had to go back home in 1426 to get those two to put down their sharp sticks.
Ah, it was good to return to France in 1427! Back to a little killing and maiming. Peacemaking takes all the fun out of life. Victory after victory for the noble and mobile Duke until Orléans. There he was, having a lovely siege, when this army led by a gal in guy's armor started beating his troops. She was, of all things, supporting the dauphin. John was forced to raise his siege of in April 1429. Joan's forces next won Battle of Patay. These setbacks were the turning point of the war. Thereafter, all his energy and judgment could not keep England's hold on France from weakening.
Joan was finally captured by the Burgundians at Compiegne and then ransomed to the English in 1430. At this point the dauphin could have stepped in and declared her his general and truly ransomed her back. However, Charles VII was a tad colicky and easily given to flights of fancy. Okay, he was his dad's son; you want I should say more? His ministers were frightened of Joan's influence or potential influence on the weak dauphin. They persuaded Charles to look the other way. Charles let Joan be tried in an ecclesiastical court as a witch and burned in 1431.
This was the "poison pill" for John. In winning this victory, in killing this maid, he somehow lost the favor of fortune. In 1433, John found he did not really have enough money in either England or in English France to keep going to war. The Burgundians were eventually bought off by Charles in the Treaty of Arras in 1435. No money, no allies, no way to make war.
That same year, 1435 in mid-September, John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, Regent of France and England, died in France leaving no heir. Nephew Henry VI grew up without him. What have we learned? Being regent isn't as much fun as being king? Allies can be fickle? Kids, especially those who drool, should not be made ruler; it breeds some nasty conspiracies? How about don't mess with those who may well be Divinely Inspired?
If you are out drinking Burgundy dry, sacking a lovely little French city, or just ruling in your nephew's stead, and you want to forward these war journals to others, do so. Only please, keep my name and sig attached.
Trying not to drool so much,
J. Ellsworth Weaver
SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats