Anne Curry

Arms, armies and fortifications in the Hundred Years War

The development of battle tactics in thbe Hundred Years War, Matthew Bennett English armies in the 14th century, Andrew Ayton English armies in the 15th century, Anne Curry the war in Aquitaine, Malcolm Vale the domestic response to the Hundred Years War, Mark Ormrod war and 14th-century France, Michael C.E. Jones 14th-century French raids on Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Michael Hughes coastal artillery fortification in England in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, John Kenyon the development of artillery to 1500, Robert D. Smith the longbow, Robert Hardy winds of change? ships and the Hundred Years War, Ian Friell English church monuments during the Hundred Years War, Brian Kemp.

The Wider Context

The present century has seen two wars deemed worthy of the description ‘world war’. The term ‘Hundred Years War’ emphasises the long duration of Anglo-French conflict rather than its geographical extent. Admittedly the conflict had little significance outside Western Europe, but within this area it impinged on all countries and formed the main influence on international relations in the later middle ages. Even before the Hundred Years War, Anglo-French relations had loomed large in European affairs. English kings had never been isolationist. Their continental possessions and trading links had always necessitated a close interest in European affairs. Three factors now brought Anglo-French relations to centre stage. The first was the decline of the Empire as the main focus of Europe, a decline already well under way by 1300. The second was the claim of Edward III and his successors to the crown of France. Whether seriously undertaken or not, it elevated the significance of the Anglo-French quarrel within the international context. Third, success in France under Edward III and Henry V made England into a ‘superpower’, with a formidable military reputation and considerable political influence within Europe as a whole. On the reverse side of the coin, the loss of almost all her French possessions by 1453 reduced England’s significance in European affairs, yet it took a while for subsequent English rulers to abandon the notion that the route to greatness in Europe lay through France. For at least two centuries, therefore, English policies towards the rest of Europe, as revealed particularly by the search for allies, were determined by the conflict with France.

Where are the dead of medieval battles? A preliminary survey

Abstract Only a handful of mass graves from late medieval battles in Western Europe have been subject to large scale excavation to modern standards. The principal reason is that these, and indeed even early modern battlefield graves, have proven extremely elusive, most being identified by chance. Despite a few successes, no combination of prospecting techniques yet provides a consistently effective method of locating such small archaeological features set almost anywhere within a site covering many square kilometres. But this important resource should be explored and conserved for, as Towton has shown, much can be learnt through modern excavation and analysis of the remains. While this paper does consider the existing archaeological record, its primary focus and the starting point for almost any search for mass graves on a battlefield, has to be the documentary record. Using this evidence one must debate the number who actually died, how they were interred and commemorated and whether this varied according to status or allegiance, and where on the battlefield the graves might lie. One must also consider how often we will need to look further afield for the dead, for it is unclear how often the desire for appropriate Christian burial meant some or even most were interred in, or later moved to, consecrated ground.

Concilier les ambitions militaires et les intérêts civils: l'occupation anglaise de la Normandie (1417-1450)

Dans le contexte d’une occupation ou d’une operation de maintien de la paix, les considerations politiques jouent un role majeur, « interferant » dans les considerations militaires. Il ne s’agit pas d’un combat bien clair opposant deux armees ennemies mais d’un jeu, de facteurs strategiques et politiques, dans lequel interviennent plusieurs acteurs, la population locale, l’ancien et le nouveau regimes, les gouvernants et leurs agents, enfin les soldats eux-memes. Cet article vise a considerer ces themes dans le contexte de la conquete et occupation de la Normandie par les Anglais dans la premiere moitie du xve siecle.

Henry V’s Harfleur

This chapter aims to shed light on the evolution of the port city Harfleur during the period 1415-1422, assessing how changing military needs affected administrative structures. From the town’s surrender on September 22, 1415 to the establishment of an “exchequer” ( scaccarius ) and other administrative structures at the end of the year, in the wake of Henry’s success at Agincourt. From the early months of 1416 until Henry’s second invasion that began with his landing in lower normandy on August 1, 1417, a period which saw French attempts to retake Harfleur rebuffed by the English naval victory in the battle of the seine on August 15, 1416. From August 1, 1417 to January 21, 1420 when the separate scaccarius at Harfleur was closed and the town was integrated. This chapter ends by assessing briefly the place of Harfleur in the last two years of Henry Vs reign (1420-1422) and beyond. Keywords:1415-1422; England; France; Harfleur; Henry V; Military; Normandy

John, duke of Bedford's arrangements for the defence of Normandy in October 1434 : College of Arms MS Arundel 48, folios 274r-276v

La defense de La Normandie prevue par le duc de Bedford en Octobre 1434Entre 1417 et 1450, plusieurs garnisons anglaises occupaient la Normandie. Grâce aux archives de la Chambre des comptes nous les connaissons assez bien. Cinq listes de garnisons subsistent et, ici, nous analysons celle issue de la reorganisation des garnisons en octobre 1434 par Jean, duc de Bedford a partir d’un manuscrit inedit du College of Arms de Londres.

War or peace? Philippe de Mézières, Richard II and Anglo-French diplomacy

This chapter aims to place Philippe de Mezieres’ Epistre au roi Richart into context not only of the contemporary political situation of England and of France but also of relations between them. It also strives to date the writing of the text and its receipt in England. The commonly held view is that the Epistre was commissioned from Mezieres’ by Charles VI in 1395 to persuade Richard to marry Isabella, the French kings six-year-old daughter, as the means of a rapprochement between the two nations. The only known manuscript of the Epistre is British Library Royal 20 B. VI. The Epistre shows clearly that Mezieres’ thought that the English might choose to reopen the war. One must assume that Mzires regarded his Epistre as a success, since a marriage and peace was achieved. Richard IIs reign came to a turbulent end within three years of his marriage. Keywords: Epistre au roi Richart ; Philippe de Mezieres’; Richard II

Speakers at war in the late 14th and 15th centuries

The significance of war in the development of the medieval English parliament is well known. The origins of the speakership are located in the context of the Hundred Years War, which began in 1337 and in which the English were still embroiled at the time of the Good Parliament of 1376. It was at this parliament that the Commons first chose a spokesperson, Sir Peter de la Mare, knight of the shire for Herefordshire. This article considers the military careers of de la Mare and his successors to the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453. Did the war have an impact on the choice of Speaker? Was a military man chosen for parliaments where military matters were to be discussed? We know the identity of the Speaker in 53 of the 64 parliaments between 1376 and 1453. Several served more than once, so that we are left with a group of 33 individuals to analyse. An overall trend is discernable. Up to 1407 all known Speakers were belted knights, and most had extensive military experience before they took up office. Only five of the 19 parliaments between 1422 and 1453 had Speakers of knightly rank: otherwise, Speakers with legal and administrative, rather than military, experience were chosen. In the years from 1407 to 1422 the speakership was occupied by a mixture of soldiers and administrators many of whom were closely connected to the royal duchy of Lancaster and to revival of English aggression towards France from 1415 onwards.

The Hundred Years War and Historians

The ‘Hundred Years War’ is, strictly speaking, an invention of historians. The phrase ‘Guerre de Cent Ans’ first occurs in print in France in 1823, and was later taken up with enthusiasm in England.1 Thenceforward the term has enjoyed universal acceptance in popular and academic circles alike. By the time it was coined, much ink had already been expended on the Anglo-French conflicts of the later middle ages. Even within the period itself, the wars formed the predominant subject of many narratives, and these in turn provided the principal materials for historians of subsequent centuries. Thus there is much to read, even if some of it, both medieval and later, is blatantly derivative or prejudiced. In this study we can outline only the main themes of the subject’s historiography. As we shall see, many influences played on those who wrote about the wars in the past: the sources at their disposal; their patriotic or political sympathies; their purpose in writing; their expected audience; and the view of ‘history’ which obtained at the time of writing.

Origins and Objectives: Anglo-French Conflict in the Fourteenth Century

In 1337 Edward III held the county of Ponthieu, straddling the Somme. He also bore the title duke of Aquitaine, although the territory he actually held in south-west France was little more than a 50-mile-wide coastal strip between Bayonne and Bordeaux. This was a far cry from the days of Henry II, when a king of England held the whole of western France: from the duchy of Normandy in the north, through the counties of Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou to the extensive duchy of Aquitaine in the south, with additional claims to the overlordship of the duchy of Brittany and county of Flanders. Much happened between the twelfth and early fourteenth centuries, but in many ways, the two basic issues of English royal lands in France remained the same: the relationship between the kings of England and France that their tenure generated, and their rightful extent. It was impossible to find a peaceful solution to Anglo-French differences in 1337 because the issues had been so long-running, and had repeatedly proved themselves incapable of lasting settlement. The reasons for this, however, need to be seen in the context of each successive conflict as well as in the problems inherent in the issues themselves. A further major stumbling block was that the dispute was between kings, and was thus much affected by wider considerations of international relations and domestic politics. As a result, the issues were always more than ‘little local difficulties’, often assuming Europe-wide dimensions, as is more fully explored in Chapter 4.