Treaty of Paris (1259)

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Ratification of the Treaty of Paris by Henry III, 13 October 1259.
Archives Nationales (France). Traite Paris 1259.jpg
Ratification of the Treaty of Paris by Henry III, 13 October 1259.
Archives Nationales (France).

The Treaty of Paris (also known as the Treaty of Abbeville) was a treaty between Louis IX, King of France and Henry III, King of England, agreed to on 4 December 1259, ending 100 years of conflicts between the Capetian and Plantagenet dynasties.

Contents

History

In 1204, Philip II of France had forced King John out of continental Normandy, enforcing his 1202 claim that the lands were forfeit. However, Philip II had failed in his attempts to occupy the Norman islands in the Channel. Despite the 1217 Treaty of Lambeth, hostilities continued between the successive Kings of France and England until 1259.

Terms

Under the treaty, Henry acknowledged the loss of the Duchy of Normandy. Regarding the Norman islands in the channel, the treaty held that "islands (if any) which the King of England should hold" would be retained by him "as peer of France and Duke of Aquitaine" [1] (the islands came to be collectively called the Channel Islands, consisting of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and some smaller islands).

Henry agreed to renounce control of Maine, Anjou and Poitou, which had been lost under the reign of King John, but remained Duke of Aquitaine, and he kept the lands of Gascony and parts of Aquitaine but only as a vassal to Louis.

In exchange, Louis withdrew his support for English rebels. He also ceded to Henry the bishoprics and cities of Limoges, Cahors and Périgueux and was to pay an annual rent for possession of Agenais. [2]

Aftermath

Doubts on the treaty's interpretation began almost as soon as it was signed. [3] The agreement resulted in the fact that the English kings had to pay homage liege to the French monarchs for territories on the continent. The situation did not help the friendly relationship between the two states, as it made two sovereigns of equal powers in their countries in fact unequal. According to the late Sorbonne Professor Édouard Perroy the Treaty of Paris, "...was at the very root of the Hundred Years' War." [4]

See also

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John was King of England from 1199 until his death. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the French Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document considered an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip II of France</span> King of France from 1180 to 1223

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard I of England</span> King of England (reigned 1189–99)

Richard I was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and seemed unlikely to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father. Richard is known as Richard Cœur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. The troubadour Bertran de Born also called him Richard Oc-e-Non, possibly from a reputation for terseness.

<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.

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

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Events from the 1200s in England.

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

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The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France were the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, the royal domain originally referred to the network of "castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes" effectively held by the king or under his domination. In terms of territory, before the reign of Henry IV, the domaine royal did not encompass the entirety of the territory of the kingdom of France and for much of the Middle Ages significant portions of the kingdom were the direct possessions of other feudal lords.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capetian–Plantagenet rivalry</span> Conflicts between the dynasties of the Capetians and Plantagenets

The Capetian–Plantagenet rivalry was a series of conflicts and disputes that covered a period of 100 years (1159–1259) during which the House of Capet, rulers of the Kingdom of France, fought the House of Plantagenet, rulers of the Kingdom of England, to suppress the growing power of the Plantagenet-controlled Angevin Empire. Some historians refer to this series of events as the "First Hundred Years' War".

References

  1. Summaries of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court of Justice: Minquiers and Ecrehos Case Judgment of 17 November 1953
  2. Harry Rothwell (Editor) English Historical Documents 1189–1327, Routledge, 1996, ISBN   0-415-14368-3 [ page needed ]
  3. Hersch Lauterpacht, Volume 20 of International Law Reports, Cambridge University Press, 1957, p. 130, ISBN   0-521-46365-3
  4. Perroy, Édouard (1959). The Hundred Years War (First English edition. Trans. W. B. Wells. ed.). London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. p. 61.