Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years' War

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Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years' War
Chilvary and Betrayal titlecard.jpg
Genre Documentary
Written by Janina Ramirez
Directed byGraham Johnston
Presented byJanina Ramirez
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producerClare Sillery
ProducerGraham Johnston
Cinematography
  • Steve Moss
  • Craig Loveridge
Running time60 minutes
Production company BBC
Release
Original network BBC Four
Original release11 February (2013-02-11) 
25 February 2013 (2013-02-25)

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years' War is a 2013 documentary television series written and presented by cultural historian Dr. Janina Ramirez looking at a time when the ruling classes of England and France were bound together by shared sets of values, codes of behaviour and language for three hundred years that ended with the Hundred Years' War when chivalry ended with the devastating warfare of cannon and betrayal between rulers when England lost her French possessions. It was originally broadcast by the BBC in February 2013. [1]

Contents

Production notes

Locations visited during filming include Crécy, Poitiers, Agincourt, Mont Saint Michel, Carcassonne, Saint Denis, Tower of London, Gloucester Cathedral, St. Gregory’s with St. Peter’s Church in Sudbury, Suffolk, The National Archives (United Kingdom) and the National Library of Wales. [2]

Episodes

Episode 1: "Trouble in the Family 1337–1360"

Edward III of England believed he had a right to the Kingdom of France and not as a vassal of his cousin Philip VI. Philip confiscated the English lands in France and Edward takes an army and lands in Normandy sacking Caen. Philip gathers an even larger force and follows Edward to Crécy and in the ensuing battle the low-born archers of England defeated the knights and noblemen of France. Edward creates the Order of the Garter and the cross of Saint George to create an English identity.

Philip died and his son John II succeeded and created the chivalric Order of the Star but before hostilities could recommence the Black Death arrived in Europe and would kill half the population. An uneasy truce lasted five years before Edwards son, Edward, the Black Prince would lead a chevauchée from Aquitaine culminating in the Battle of Poitiers where the knights of the Order of the Star, bound by their chivalric code, were decimated and King John was captured and taken to England for ransom. The Treaty of Brétigny was signed ceding nearly a third of France to Edward.

Episode 2: "Breaking the Bonds 1360–1415"

England became rich through ransom and plunder of nobles land. English freebooters led by knights ravaged the countryside in the absence of the captured French king. When John died in 1364, his eldest son Charles V was determined to expel the English. Charles declared the Treaty of Brétigny void and appointed Bertrand du Guesclin, knowing he would forgo any chivalric tradition to conduct a guerrilla war. Charles also gained control of the English Channel and attacked defenseless towns along the south coast of England.

In the aftermath of The Black Death, Charles stabilised France and took advantage of the ageing Edward. When Edward died in 1377, his ten-year old grandson, Richard II, became king with John of Gaunt as regent. Unrest and mismanagement led to the English Peasants' Revolt, which according to Ramirez was a turning point in English history.

When Charles VI of France came to power only Calais and a small part of Bordeaux remained English. In 1389, 22-year-old, Richard II took full control from John of Gaunt and concludes a truce with Charles VI. By the end of the 14th century in England, English supplanted French in official documents, the Bible had been translated and English Perpendicular Gothic had replaced Norman Gothic architecture.

Richard had become increasingly unpopular and when on the death of John of Gaunt he seized his land, John of Gaunt's exiled son Henry returned with an army, deposed Richard and became Henry IV of England. His 14-year reign was beset by plots. To unite the country, his heir, Henry V, resumed the war with France, now led by a king who was insane. In 1415 he landed at Harfleur, which fell after a long siege weakening the English army. Against advice Henry led his army on a chevauchée to English held Calais but was intercepted by a far larger French army at Agincourt and at the ensuing battle Henry's archers killed the cream of French nobility.

Episode 3: "Agents of God 1415–1453"

At Agincourt Henry V, the son of a usurper, had proved his right to be King and he was determined to regain Normandy and recreate the Duchy and landed in Normandy taking Caen, the burial place of William the Conqueror, and in 11 months had nearly half of Normandy which he divided amongst his brothers, leading commanders and houses to London merchants.

France led by the mad Charles VI was in turmoil with two royal factions, the Orleanists led by the mad King's son and the Burgundians led by the Duke of Burgundy John the Fearless, fighting each other. John was an ally of Henry and did nothing as Henry completed the conquest of Normandy but when Henry turned his attention to the rest of France, John entered into peace treaty talks with the Orleanists who promptly murdered him. John's son Philip the Good allied himself with Henry and at the Treaty of Troyes Charles VI son was disinherited in favour of Henry and Henry was made regent, sealed by the marriage of Henry to Charles VI daughter Catherine of Valois.

The treaty meant nothing to the Orleanists and Charles' VI son, The Dauphin who still resisted as Henry entered Paris in September 1420, an occupation by the English that would last 15 years. Henry continued the war against the French and in 1422 died never having become King of France as Charles VI outlived him by seven weeks. Henry's heir to the two thrones was his nine-month-old son Henry VI and Henry's brothers would act as Regents. John, Duke of Bedford became Regent of France and continued the war and maintained the peace with the Burgundians.

The Dauphin, desperate for a victory discovered the 17-year-old peasant girl, Joan of Arc, sent by God to rid France of the English and using her to head and inspire an army defeat the English at Orleans. Inspired by the God sent Joan the French made inroads into English territory and the Dauphin was crowned Charles VII of France at Reims. Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians and sold to the English and John, Duke of Bedford executed her for heresy and witchcraft to discredited Charles VII claim to the throne. He brought ten-year-old Henry VI to be crowned in Paris in 1431.

In 1435 Bedford died and sworn enemies Charles VII and Phillip, Duke of Burgundy joined forces to get the English out and with Henry VI reluctance to wage war and to maintain peace by marrying Margaret of Anjou. Charles had no intention of peace and used cannon and sieges to retake France and Normandy culminating in the defeat of the English at the Battle of Castillon in the last English territory of Gascony ending the hundred years war.

Reception

The first episode gained 589,000 viewers, [3] the second 814,000 [4] and the third 768,000. [5]

Writing a blog for The Independent , Sam Gould praised the series for devoting time to the reign of Edward III and said that he looked forward to the third episode. He said Ramirez's "take on the war integrates cultural, political and military history wonderfully well and uses period artefacts and settings to stunning effect" and that "thankfully, it's more than just a bunch of historians talking about heraldry". [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry V of England</span> King of England from 1413 to 1422

Henry V, also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against France made England one of the strongest military powers in Europe. Immortalised in Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry is known and celebrated as one of the greatest warrior-kings of medieval England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Valois</span> Cadet branch of the House of Capet

The Capetian house of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, and Alençon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles VII of France</span> King of France from 1422 to 1461

Charles VII, called the Victorious or the Well-Served, was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a de facto end of the English claims to the French throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles II of Navarre</span> King of Navarre

Charles II, called Charles the Bad, was King of Navarre 1349–1387 and Count of Évreux 1343–1387.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Aquitaine</span> Ruler of the ancient region of Aquitaine

The Duke of Aquitaine was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford</span> 15th-century English prince and nobleman

John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford KG was a medieval English prince, general and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of King Henry IV of England, brother to Henry V, and acted as regent of France for his nephew Henry VI. Despite his military and administrative talent, the situation in France had severely deteriorated by the time of his death.

The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was formally signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of Henry's successful military campaign in France. It forms a part of the backdrop of the latter phase of the Hundred Years' War finally won by the French at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, and in which various English kings tried to establish their claims to the French throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Aquitaine</span> Medieval duchy in southern France

The Duchy of Aquitaine was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries, at times comprising much of what is now southwestern France (Gascony) and central France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English claims to the French throne</span> Claims to the French throne by English and British monarchs

From the 1340s to the 19th century, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England and Ireland also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the sororal nephew of the last direct Capetian, Charles IV. Edward and his heirs fought the Hundred Years' War to enforce this claim, and were briefly successful in the 1420s under Henry V and Henry VI, but the House of Valois, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, was ultimately victorious and retained control of France, except for Calais and the Channel Islands. English and British monarchs continued to prominently call themselves kings of France, and the French fleur-de-lis was included in the royal arms. This continued until 1802, by which time France no longer had any monarch, having become a republic. The Jacobite claimants, however, did not explicitly relinquish the claim.

The Armagnac faction was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed on a Paris street on the orders of the Duke of Burgundy on 23 November 1407.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burgundian (party)</span> French political allegiance

The Burgundian party was a political allegiance against France that formed during the latter half of the Hundred Years' War. The term "Burgundians" refers to the supporters of the Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, that formed after the assassination of Louis I, Duke of Orléans. Their opposition to the Armagnac party, the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans, led to a civil war in the early 15th century, itself part of the larger Hundred Years' War.

This is a timeline of the Hundred Years' War between England and France from 1337 to 1453 as well as some of the events leading up to the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope</span> English nobleman, soldier and chivalric figure

John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope and Milbroke, KG, PC, also known as Sir John Cornwall, Sir John Cornwaille and Sir John Cornouayl, was an English nobleman, soldier and one of the most respected chivalric figures of his era.

The ransom of John II of France was an event during the Hundred Years War, between France and England. King John was captured by the English during the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, and held for ransom by the English crown. Finally settled in the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, the ransom of John II had serious consequences for the ongoing degradation of the stability of France and helped increase English influence during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred Years' War, 1415–1453</span> Third phase of the Hundred Years War

The Lancastrian War was the third and final phase of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. It lasted from 1415, when King Henry V of England invaded Normandy, to 1453, when the English lost Bordeaux. It followed a long period of peace from the end of the Caroline War in 1389. The phase is named after the House of Lancaster, the ruling house of the Kingdom of England, to which Henry V belonged.

Louis of Luxembourg;. Bishop of Therouanne 1415–1436, Archbishop of Rouen, 1436, Bishop of Ely 1437, Cardinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Canterbury (1416)</span> 1416 alliance between the Holy Roman Empire and England

The Treaty of Canterbury was a diplomatic agreement concluded between Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, and King Henry V of England on 15 August 1416. The treaty resulted in a defensive and offensive alliance against France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred Years' War</span> Medieval Anglo-French conflicts, 1337–1453

The Hundred Years' War was a series of armed conflicts fought between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from English claims to the French throne. The war grew into a broader power struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fueled by emerging nationalism on both sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dual monarchy of England and France</span> Dual monarchy in Medieval France

The dual monarchy of England and France existed during the latter phase of the Hundred Years' War when Charles VII of France and Henry VI of England disputed the succession to the throne of France. It commenced on 21 October 1422 upon the death of King Charles VI of France, who had signed the Treaty of Troyes which gave the French crown to his son-in-law Henry V of England and Henry's heirs. It excluded King Charles's son, the Dauphin Charles, who by right of primogeniture was the heir to the Kingdom of France. Although the Treaty was ratified by the Estates-General of France, the act was a contravention of the French law of succession which decreed that the French crown could not be alienated. Henry VI, son of Henry V, became king of both England and France and was recognized only by the English and Burgundians until 1435 as King Henry II of France. He was crowned King of France on 16 December 1431.

The Treaty of Amiens, signed on 13 April 1423, was a defensive agreement between Burgundy, Brittany, and England during the Hundred Years' War. The English were represented by John, Duke of Bedford, the English regent of France, the Burgundians by Duke Philip the Good himself, and the Bretons by Arthur de Richemont, on behalf of his brother the Duke of Brittany. By the agreement, all three parties acknowledged Henry VI of England as King of France, and agreed to aid each other against the Valois claimant, Charles VII. It also stipulated the marriage of Bedford and Richemont to Burgundy's sisters, in order to cement the alliance.

References

  1. "BBC website" . Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  2. Ramirez, Janina (15 February 2013). "BBC blogg" . Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  3. Top ten viewing figures BBC4 from Barb we17 February 2013 "Top 10 Programmes - BARB". Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 2012-09-28.? Retrieved 5 March 2013
  4. Top ten viewing figures BBC4 from Barb we24 February 2013 "Top 10 Programmes - BARB". Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 2012-09-28.? Retrieved 5 March 2013
  5. Top ten viewing figures BBC4 from Barb we 3 March 2013 "Top 10 Programmes - BARB". Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 2012-09-28.? Retrieved 11 March 2013
  6. Gould, Sam (21 February 2013). "'World Without End', 'Chivalry and Betrayal' and why the Middle Ages mattered..." The Independent arts blog. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.