|
AQUITAINE AND THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR
The Battle of Castillon on July 7, 1453 finally put an end to the longest war in history, which
lasted 116 years. This war was actually a long series of ongoing campaigns carried out in
several phases by many rulers and is known for historical convenience as the Hundred Years War.
The French regard the Hundred Years War as a far more significant part of their national history
than do the English. Some consider this war as more of a series of French provincial battles with
England acting as a province, or a group of provinces, within the Anglo-French unit. The war was
fought largely in France, and much of the physical evidence in castles and walled towns still stand
today as reminders.
When looking at any snapshot in history, we necessarily exclude much that came before and after.
The Hundred Years War was very important in many ways and during the time it occurred, medieval
society and the Age of Chivalry essentially came to an end. The introduction of new weaponry in
the form of artillery allowed standing armies of peasants to defeat and replace the knights and
allowed the growth of nations and monarchies.
ENGLAND'S TIES TO AQUITAINE - ELEANOR
In 1137, the last Duke of Aquitaine died. His daughter Eleanor married Louis the Young, future
King of France. Shortly after the annulment of their marriage (1152), she married Henry
Plantagenet, future King of England, thus Aquitaine was attached firmly to the English crown.
She also became a vassal of the King of France. With the death of Charles IV at the age of 33,
and with the absence of a male heir, an assembly of Barons entrusted the regency of France onto
Philippe de Valois, Count of Maine and Anjou.
That left two men in line for the succession: the present Regent Philippe de Valois and his rival
in England, Edward Plantagenet. In terms of closeness to the direct line of succession therefore,
the throne of France should go to the Plantagenet King of England. The council, however, awarded the
throne of France to Philip de Valois, which was accepted without question by the French Nation.
He was duly crowned and anointed with the Holy Oil in Rheims Cathedral on the nineteenth of
May, 1328. Both Kings remained rivals and after various incidents, the King of France formally
confiscated Aquitaine in 1337, thus opening a conflict which was to last for more than a century.
It should be known that the long English domination of 300 years brought with it neither misery,
nor oppression. On the contrary the kings of England granted autonomy and introduced liberal
charters to the communes. The links where very close between Aquitaine and the English crown.
Trade flourished between the ports of western France, Bordeaux and English ports such as Bristol
and Southhampton.
BATTLE OF CASTILLON
The Battle of Castillon was the last battle fought between the French and the English during the
Hundred Years War. This was the first battle in European history where cannons were the deciding
factor. After the French capture of Bordeaux in 1451, the Hundred Years' War seemed at an end.
However, after three hundred years of English rule, the citizens of Bordeaux considered themselves
English and sent messengers to Henry V1 of England demanding he recapture the province. On
October 17th, 1452, John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, landed near Bordeaux with a force of
3,000 men-at-arms and archers. The citizens of Bordeaux, who then gleefully opened the gates
to the English, ejected the French garrison. Most of Gascony followed Bordeaux's example and
welcomed the English home.
During the winter months, Charles VII of England gathered his armies in readiness for the
campaigning season. When spring arrived, Charles advanced toward Bordeaux simultaneously
along three different routes with three armies.
Talbot received another 3,000 men to face
this new problem, but it was still an inadequate number to hold back the thousands of
Frenchmen on the Gascony's borders. When the leading French army laid siege to Castillon,
Talbot abandoned his original plans, acceding to the pleas of the town commanders, and set
out to relieve it. The French commander, Jean Bureau, in fear of Talbot, ordered his 7,000
to 10,000 men to encircle their camp with a ditch and palisade, and deploy his 300 cannons
on the parapet.
Talbot approached the French camp on July 17, 1453, arriving before his main
body of troops with an advance guard of 1,300 mounted men. He routed a similar sized force
of French archers in the woods before the French encampment, giving his men a large boost
of morale. A few hours after this preliminary skirmish, a messenger from the town reported
to Talbot's resting troops (they had marched through the night) that the French army was in
full retreat and that hundreds of horsemen were fleeing the fortifications. From the town
walls a huge dust clouded could be seen heading off into the distance.
Talbot hastily
reorganized his men and charged down towards the French camp, only to find the parapets
defended by thousands of fully armed archers and hundreds of cannon. Surprised but undaunted,
Talbot gave the signal to attack the French army that outnumbered his own force six to one.
Once battle started, Talbot received a thin trickle of men from his leading foot units.
After an hour French reinforcements arrived and charged his right flank. The English army
gave way, pursued instantly by the French main body of troops.
During this battle, Talbot
on his horse, encouraged his men on to the attack, until a cannon ball killed his horse,
trapping him under its weight, where a French man-at-arms finished the battle for him with
a battle-axe.
On July 17, 1453, France defeated England bringing the Hundred Years' War to
an end.
Following Henry VI's episode of insanity in 1453 and the subsequent outbreak of the
War of the Roses, the English were no longer in any position to pursue their claim to the
French throne and lost all their land on the continent, except for Calais.
The battlefields of the hundred years war are quiet today and many of the provinces which
once flamed with the passing of armies have become popular holiday destinations: Normandy,
Brittany, the Dordogne, The Lot et Garonne and the Loire are popular playgrounds for the
British visitor who may not notice that among those green hills and woods lurk old crumbling
castles and small walled towns; still visible relics of a time when the two nations were at war.
Today, they do little more than add a romantic backdrop to the countryside, but what happened
there so long ago is a brave tale worth retelling.
If you are interested in French Real Estate | Property Management and Caretaking Services or
any of the services we offer, please email
All French Services
|
|
