Miniseries Three: The Hundred Years’ War of the Roses for Brittany

Mini-Series Three: The Hundred Years’ War of the Roses for Brittany

Yes, a very uncreative name for a series about the Hundred Years’ War and its resulting conflicts, so please indulge me this once on a series title. These conflicts impact not just the thrones of France and England but also Scotland and Spain as well as the dynastic affairs of multiple counties and duchies in western Europe. I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this series, which probably isn’t a mini-series since I plan on covering at least 15 individual or group claimants, two historic theories, one conflicted succession other than the ones mentioned in the title, and three special episodes for Patrons. Before I get too far in let me name our subjects, they are:

The sons of Edward II:

*Edward, the Black Prince: our first Passed heir apparent to predecease the monarch. I am currently planning two episodes for this almost king

*Lionel of Antwerp, whose episode will include a discussion of Edward III’s entail and further discussion on succession law

*John of Gaunt, who will get three episodes, at least and will help explain the reach of this conflict outside of the traditional Anglo-Franco realms. Plus, the whole House of Lancaster thing

*I would also like to include and episode on chivalry at this point, because it’s an important part of the philosophy of the three previous sons of Edward III and of Edward himself.

*A shared episode for Edmund of Langley and Thomas of Woodstock, the former needs covered mainly due to his descendants, you may know them as the Yorkist, the latter needs covered because of his work to restrain his nephew’s tyrannical actions

Normally I wouldn’t include all the surviving sons of a king, but since four of these men will have descendants crowned I think it’s important to explain where these houses began (one of them is related to every single individual crowned since Henry IV, don’t think about how related everyone is, okay). I also can’t leave out Thomas of Woodstock, he’s an often overlooked member of Edward III’s family and I think he deserves a bit of attention. 

I’ll take a break from subjects at this point to provide historic context for the next phase of the series, because there are two changes in kings of England during this time and the ongoing conflict needs to be addressed. I will also present an episode on the War of Bretton Succession, because it’s fun to listen to kings be hypocrites, and an episode about the Black Plague, because all four horsemen of the apocalypse were invited to this party. After these three episodes I will begin covering the claimants that were usurped by Henrys IV, V, and VI. This second group includes:

*The Mortimer, Cambridge and Percy Claimants and

*Richard of York

After this I will head over the France, because they also had some dynastic strife as well. In these episodes I will cover:

*Together Louis, Duke of Gayenne and John, Duke of Touraine

*With them I will take the time to explain the dynastic upheaval that the reign of Henry V of England inflicted on France. Because it’s also the right time I will discuss the mental illnesses that inflict three kings during this period, Richard II of England, Charles VI of France, and his grandson, Henry VI of England. Mental illness is a topic that I think must be addressed when discussing those ruling vast empires whose decisions impact millions of subjects.

And lastly, back in England, but with strong French connections, the only English Prince of Wales ever killed in battle: Edward, the Prince of Wales, son of Henry VI. 

Finally, I will include the conclusion of the War of the Roses, the women with a better claim than Henry VII:

*His mother, Margaret Beaufort, the senior Lancastrian claimant 

*His wife, Elizabeth of York, the senior York claimant 

*His oldest son’s mother-in-law, Isabella of Castile, the senior Lancastrian claimant without questioned legitimacy 

Am I using the claims of these three as an excuse to do an episode on them? Yes, 100%, yes, why wouldn’t I? 

Before leaving the not-so-mini-series I want to do an episode on feudalism, both how it came about and how this incredibly long conflict began to bring it to an end in western Europe. 

I will also be offering at least three special episodes to Patrons (don’t worry these will get done since two of them are pretty much written already). These will be:

Edward III of England

Charles II of Navarre

Henry V of England

They are likely to be at least two parts each. They’ll be included in an ongoing special-episode series ‘One Kingdom is Not Enough’. Which, as you may guess will cover the kings for whom their own kingdom was not enough, they had to go trying to get a second (or more). 

And by popular request I will do a special episode on Joan of Arc, in the special-episode series ‘Heroes and Villains’.

So, what is the Hundred Years’ War? And further, what are the War of the Roses and the War of Bretton Succession? In simple terms, they’re a family squabble that got a bit out of hand. I wish I were joking, but for much of the post-Roman history if western Europe wars were basically family feuds. Instead of fighting over the silverware kings and their vassals fought over titles, land, and kingdoms. Now, not every conflict was that, I don’t want to be completely reductionist, but a lot have a basis in dynastic arguments. The Hundred Years war covers the period from May 1337 to October 1453. It, of course, wasn’t one continuous conflict, it was punctuated by treaties, the Black Death, and a few usurpation (lucky for us), but overall it was 116 years of irregular battles, skirmishes, territorial disputes, and (looking at you Charles of Navarre) shifting alliances, just like every military conflict in history. Before I start I want to disclose the risk of an Anglo-bias that I am fighting. I was raised in the US, and while my history education was more broad than most, as an anglophone it’s expected that my knowledge of English history would be greater than that of French. I can access many more sources in English without having to search for translations from French. Many of my listeners are from English-speaking countries and will have had a similar education to me, so will have a better grasp of the Anglo part of Anglo-Frankish history. So, to any of my Francophone and Francophile listeners, desole.

To even begin to explain the Hundred Years’ War I have to explain the earlier Anglo-French War that ran from 1213-1214 and French centralisation (something England had already dealt with during the reigns of Alfred the Great, his son Edward the Elder, and his grandson Aethelstan). As I discussed in the last series English territory in France had been significantly diminished from its greatest extent under Henry II. At the time of his death in 1189 he controlled more of France than the king of the Franks. His son, Richard I, did little to change the territory controlled by England, until he was captured and help for ransom while returning from crusades, he was far more interested in crusading than governing any of his kingdom. While he was captive his brother . Henry’s youngest son, King John, not only lost a great deal of English territory in France, but almost lost the English throne to the French heir Louis the Lion, the future Louis VIII. John’s son and successor did nothing to correct these losses, and he like his father, was skilled at causing arguments with his barons and choosing the wrong allies for overseas conflicts. By 1214 the only area of France left in English control was Duchy of Gascony in the south-west of France, bordering Aragon and Navarre. 

From the French point of view, Louis the Lion’s father, Philip II (the August) was the great hero. He had begun the process of centralising French royal power and the retaking of French territory, or at least being more strict on his requirements to his vassals. He even took the step of changing his title from King of the Franks to King of France, what seems like a minor linguistic change was actually a huge statement, the area that was French was to be his, not just the people living there. At the Battle of Bovine in 1214, Philip defeated a coalition of the Holy Roman Empire, the County of Flanders, and the Kingdom of England. The English commander, John’s illegitimate half-brother William Longespee was even taken prisoner (yes, Henry II took after his grandfather in more ways than one). This win for the French saw Philip as the unchallenged authority in most of France and began the decline of King John’s reign in England (cut, thankfully short by peaches). 

Philip II’s son, Louis the Lion’s reign was shockingly short (really, the Capetians, save the last four were known for their uncommonly long reigns). He died of dysentery at only 39, leaving behind a 12 year old king. This would leave France with a regency, which is normally (as we’ll see throughout this mini-series) not the best thing for any kingdom. But France or at least the French crown, got very lucky. Louis VIII was succeeded by his son, Louis IX to the throne, but the real power lay in the hands of his widow, Blanche of Castile. I have mentioned Blanche and Louis IX previously, due to their huge impact on French history. Like her great-great grandmother, the Empress Matilda, and her great-granddaughter, Isabella, she was ready for a fight if that’s what was needed to protect her son’s kingdom. Oh, yes, you may have noticed, yet again, everyone is related. With the help of France’s papal legit and Theobald of Champagne, king of Navarre (did I mention everyone is related, he’s one of Stephen of Blois’s many great nephews, Blanche of Castile’s first cousin once removed via Elenor of Aquitaine, and a great-grandfather to Isabella of France) Blanche was able to secure the royal centralisation that her father-in-law had started. She prevented the nobility of the kingdom from decentralising control of France, something many of them were in favour of because it weakens the king and allows them more freedom. Over time her son learned from her calm, and reasoned rule. He would keep his nobles in check, prevent Henry III of England’s disastrous attempt to take back lost French territory, and lead two Crusades. He was canonised less than thirty years after his death. 

By the time we reach the start of the Hundred Years’ War there has been a long-simmering, wait, who am I kidding, boiling dispute between France and England, regularly involving the Low Countries, the Papacy, and sometimes the HRE and Spain. Important interjection here because it was asked in one of my history courses in university by a very intelligent peer of mine, the Low Countries are the area encompassing the current countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. This area was an early trading centre after the fall of the Roman Empire and being on river delta that was a frontier zone during the Roman Empire and is linguistically and culturally diverse. During the middle ages it was a wealthy area, benefiting from trade and commerce with its neighbours. I’ll get into this area bit more in John of Gaunt’s episodes. 

Because covering the Hundred Years’ War, the War of Breton Succession and the War of the Roses as a whole would take a bit more than the 30 minutes I usually allot for these introductory episodes I’ll just stick to covering the general participates and the battles leading up to my first subject, Edward the Black Prince.  Nearly 150 years of history deserves a bit more than a 30 minute overview.

As discussed throughout my last mini-series, the male heirs of Philip the Fair died with only short-lived or no male issue. After the death of Charles IV, the youngest of Philip the Fair’s sons, in 1328, the leading nobility of France, something akin to an early version of the first two estates of the Estates General, declared Philip of Valois king as Philip VI. Philip VI was the nephew of Philip the Fair and therefore a cousin to Isabella of France, Edward III’s mother. At the time Edward III was 15, and his mother did not press his claim. She was busy losing in Scotland and reappropriating her dower lands (and maybe a little bit extra, don’t think any subjects in this show are heroes, they’re all just humans with fancy titles). Edward III did protest upon seizing his majority, but decided to pay homage for Gascony and to move on. All was well, or at least okayish, Edward III and Philip VI even planned to go on crusade together in 1332, though this never materialised.     

In 1334 though, tension began to rise. Philip wanted to continue French centralisation, as part of that he wanted Gascony. He had also given refuge to David II, King of Scots. In all fairness to David, he was ten at the time and didn’t have much control over his life at all and Edward may have been more upset that his younger sister, Joan, David’s wife, had been taken to France (Christmas will be awkward again this year, but at least Charles of Valios won’t be around to poison the punch). Anglo-Scottish relations hadn’t gotten any better since, well, since the Romans, despite multiple treaties and marriage alliances. 

Finally in 1336 Edward III offered refuge to Robert of Artois, Philip VI’s brother-in-law who had created a scandal by forging his father’s will, poorly by many accounts, in an attempt to inherit the County of Artois over his aunt. Robert of Artois had been one of Philip’s trusted advisors. I will make sure to cover this period and its impacts in Edward III’s special episode (or more likely episodes). 

Protecting Robert of Artois was all the excuse Philip needed to confiscate Gascony from Edward III, who had violated his vows as a vassal by harbouring his liege lord’s enemy. The reacquisition of Gascony was all Edward III needed to remember that he had a claim to the French throne that he had never pressed. I imagine both of them with shocked Pikachu faces. 

While Philip VI had ‘taken’ Gascony in 1337, he hadn’t actually gone into Gascony to secure it. Edward III’s forces were still there and the seneschal of Gascony (the closest equivalent would be the king’s steward or senior guard, basically Edward’s man in Gascony) had not turned over the territory. Feudalism comes into play with this. While Edward III owed allegiance to Philip VI as his vassal all of Edward’s retainers in England and Gascony owed allegiance to his as his vassals. While Edward had violated his oath and they could theoretically stop upholding theirs they were, in almost all cases, more interested in having an absent lord in England than one that was a little too close in Paris. 

Edward III’s plans to retake Gascony were simple, yeah, he needed his forces in Gascony to hold out for just a little while. In the meantime he would spend a bunch of money to higher mercenaries to start attacking France from the north, causing Philip to focus his forces on the north, allowing Edward to umm, well, fight in the north of France is what it looks like. Yeah, he pretty much had a plan to invade an area of France no where near the disputed area while sending no aid or support to the disputed area, simple, right? Well, in Edward the Black Prince’s first episode I will get into this. Let’s just say when Edward III was on campaign he was usually brilliant, before campaigns started he may have been a bit too grand in his planning. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed the start of this mini-series. I know I’m trying to cover a lot of people, but I think each one is pivotal to former a picture of why these wars happened. I think the actions of a king are important to understand, but all the people that could have been king (or even queen regnant) play a huge role in this era. 

I have a few people to thank this week. Last week I was welcomed as the guest host for Rex Factor’s Pub Quiz. Rex Factor is one of my favourite podcasts and getting to talk to Graham and Ali was great, they really are as lovely as they seem on their show. Thank you both for being so welcoming. Next, I have my first Patron! Carrie, thank you so much for believe in this show enough to support me. Finally, I often say ‘me’, but really I should say ‘we’, while you’re unlikely to hear my husband on the show for a long time, he is here in the background helping me all the time. He reads every script and listens to my various edits before I post them. He does a great job making sure this show sounds great for all my or our listeners. Thank you Phillip. I will be back next week with the Black Prince, Part One.