The Truce of Malestroit was sealed by King Edward III of England and King Philip VI of France on 19 January 1343 in Malestroit, Brittany. The Hundred Years' War had broken out in 1337 and in both 1339 and 1340 Edward had invaded north-east France at the head of a large army. On both occasions the French had declined to commit to a pitched battle and the allies had retreated with little to show. During this period Edward formally laid claim to the French crown, possibly as a diplomatic manoeuvre. On 25 September 1340 the Truce of Espléchin, which was mediated by emissaries of Pope Clement VI, was agreed. This was intended to pause the hostilities, initially until 24 June 1341 but this was later extended to 24 June 1342.
During 1341 a succession war broke out in the Duchy of Brittany, a semi-autonomous province of France. John VI backed one of the factions–led by Charles of Blois–and early in 1342 Edward III backed the other–led by John of Montfort. In August 1342 an English force won a naval battle at Brest, pushed back the French forces and then inflicted a heavy defeat on them at the battle of Morlaix. Edward landed in October with reinforcements; a lack of shipping prevented many of the available English troops from crossing the Channel with him. This English force struck at the important town of Vannes. A naval attack in November failed to take the town, and an assault by the main English army later in the month was also beaten off. The English, joined by many of Montfort's Breton partisans, laid siege to Vannes while sending out mounted columns up to 100 miles (160km) to forage and devastate the countryside. The French raised a much larger army and marched it into Brittany, but halted at Malestroit, 50 miles (80km) from Vannes.
There two cardinals mediated a truce in a few days which was sealed on 9 January 1343 and due to expire on 29 September 1346. Both monarchs pledged to send delegations to negotiate in Avignon, then the seat of the Papacy. Mediated by Clement, a treaty to permanently end the war would be drafted. In reality each saw the truce as a mere pause and neither intended to negotiate in good faith; the truce had only been agreed because each king felt it was beneficial to him. The proposals made by each side at the conference were unacceptable to the other, with neither displaying any willingness to compromise, and it rapidly collapsed. After mutual provocations Edward formally renounced the truce on 15 June 1345 and full-scale war resumed.
France in 1328: English-controlled Gascony is shown in blue in the south west
Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. By the first quarter of the fourteenth century, the only sizeable French possession still held by the English in France was Gascony in the south west; this was the last remnant of the once much larger, English-controlled Duchy of Aquitaine.[1] Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France and Edward III of England, on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council agreed that the lands held by EdwardIII in France should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last 116 years.[2][3]
Initially most fighting was in Gascony, where the English were hard pressed. The French also successfully raided several English ports and the southern counties. Eventually the English pulled together an alliance of the Holy Roman Empire and several of its constituents by the expenditure of vast sums and the promise of more. Philip recalled his forces in Gascony and announced an arrière-ban, a formal call to arms for all able-bodied males, at Compiègne in July 1339. Edward and his allies invaded France in October. After manoeuvring in the vicinity of Cambrai and a short siege of the town both armies arrayed for battle at Buironfosse. However, both dug into defensive positions and declined to take the offensive. The allied army then withdrew.[4][5]
On 26 January 1340 Edward formally claimed the French throne. The immediate effect was to allow the Flemings to join his cause without technically becoming rebels by disowning their fealty to the French crown. The extent to which Edward considered the claim more than a negotiating position is unclear. In June the French navy was annihilated by the English fleet at the battle of Sluys and in July Edward again invaded France at the head of a large, heavily subsidised, allied army. Despite the defeat of a large detached force at the battle of Saint-Omer the allies laid siege to Tournai on 1 August. On 7 September the French army arrived, but again Philip ensured there was no risk of a general battle occurring. He was probably aware that the allied army was falling apart, with the English unable to pay their allies what they had been promised, or even to feed them. Negotiations for a pause in the fighting were opened and the Truce of Espléchin was rapidly agreed, to last from 25 September 1340 to 24 June 1341.[6][7]
During the early 14th century Brittany was a province of France, but while the dukes of Brittany were vassals of the French kings they governed the duchy as independent rulers.[9][10][11] When the Duke of Brittany John III died on 30 April 1341 he left a disputed succession, with both his niece, Joan of Penthièvre, and his younger half-brother, John of Montfort, claiming the dukedom; Joan was married to Charles of Blois, a nephew of the King of France.[12][13][14] The French king correctly suspected that John was negotiating with the English, and had Charles declared the rightful heir on 7 September. He found the idea of having a relative as the duke attractive, as it would bring the traditionally semi-autonomous province more firmly under royal control. He therefore despatched an army to support Charles.[15][16][17]
On 12 September 1341 the Truce of Espléchin was extended to 24 June 1342. Edward and his council agreed that the English army would be disbanded for the winter and the fleet paid off; while this was taking place representatives arrived from John of Montfort announcing that he had broken with Philip VI and that as soon as military support arrived in Brittany he would swear fealty to Edward III as his liege lord and the rightful king of France. However, the French army swiftly overran all of eastern Brittany apart from Rennes and captured John.[18][note 1] John's wife, Joanna of Montfort, fled west with the ducal treasury and her two-year-old son, also named John, whom she set up as the faction's figurehead and heir to his father's claim to the duchy. She despatched a senior counsellor to England with a large sum in cash, to encourage rapid English military intervention.[21][22][23][24]
In 1962 a well-preserved wreck of a cog dated to 1380 was found near Bremen, Germany. This is a full-size reproduction. Merchant vessels such as these formed the bulk of the English fleet.
On 21 February 1342 Edward sealed a treaty to support the Montfort cause, as an extension of the war with France.[27][28] Edward saw the opportunity to set up a ruler in Brittany at least partly under his control; this could provide access to Breton ports which would greatly aid England's naval war and give ready entry to France for English armies.[15][29] English reinforcements took a long time to arrive.[22] Edward planned to land in Brittany himself with a substantial force, after the expiry of the Truce of Espléchin in June, but the English had extreme difficulty in assembling ships.[note 2] Eventually the English impressed 440 ships,[32] but then contrary winds caused the English departure to be repeatedly put back.[33][22][34]
In May 1342 Clement VI became pope. He was strongly pro-French and had previously been one of Philip's senior advisors. He despatched two cardinals–Pierre de Prés and Annibaldo Caetani di Ceccano–to attempt to broker a permanent settlement of the Anglo-French war. They were well received by Philip in June, but Edward would not even allow them to cross the Channel.[35][36] Instead he continued to gather ships and troops.[37]
Meanwhile, the flow of events went against the Montfortists in the face of the huge military superiority of the French. By July Joanna was besieged in the port of Brest, the only fortified place still held by her faction.[38] Charles of Blois and a large army had invested the town[39] and mercenary galleys, hired from Genoa, blockaded it from the sea.[32] Brest was on the brink of surrender when the English advance force, commanded by William, Earl of Northampton, arrived on 18 August. They took the Genoese by surprise, defeated them and burnt most of their ships.[40][41] Charles promptly broke off the siege, abandoned western Brittany and withdrew 110 kilometres (70mi) to Guingamp.[39][42][note 3]
The English marched 50 kilometres (30mi) from Brest to Morlaix, a port on the north coast of Brittany with strong fortifications and a secure harbour, and laid siege to it.[39][42] Edward's contingent was still in England waiting for the ships which had transported Northampton's echelon to return. The French mistakenly believed Edward's army would be used in northern France, probably disembarking in Picardy. A French army was gathered to confront this imagined threat, including many men transferred from Brittany. Charles became aware his force greatly outnumbered the English, despite the detachments to Picardy, and took his army west in an attempt to relieve Morlaix. He was defeated by Northampton on 30 September at the battle of Morlaix, suffering heavy losses.[44][note 4] On 6 October Edward abandoned his siege train on the beach and set sail with those troops he was able to embark onto the available shipping. They reached Brittany after a storm-wracked three-week passage.[47][48]
A map of Brittany, with modern administrative boundaries, showing the locations of some of the places mentioned in the text
After concentrating at Brest, the English and Montfortist forces moved on the major city of Vannes, the second most populous settlement in Brittany with a good harbour and strong walls. From Vannes a strong detachment could control much of southern Brittany. On 7 November both the navy and the army set off. The fleet was much depleted by most of its ships deserting; their masters and crews were unhappy at not being paid and at being forced out to sea in dangerous winter weather. Those left sailed along the south coast of Brittany under the command of Robert of Artois,[49][50][51] a reckless commander. He sailed past Vannes to attack a galley squadron overwintering at Beauvoir-sur-Mer. In the ensuing fighting the English came off much the worse, suffering many casualties and losing several ships. The surviving ships sailed back to Vannes, enduring another winter storm en route. Robert attempted to take the town with a surprise attack which came close to success but was defeated, with Robert being fatally wounded. The attack's main effect was to alert the French, who reinforced the garrison to 300 men and assigned an experienced commander.[52][49][43]
In England the King's Council attempted to organise a further fleet to carry supplies and reinforcements. Approximately 1,400 men were assembled, but only 56 vessels were mustered. These sailed on or after 3 November carrying 600 men, but were driven ashore in the Isles of Scilly by further storms. They and the 800 men who had not sailed waited for a break in the weather, fruitlessly: they were finally stood down in February 1343. The council abandoned attempts to cross the Channel in winter and agreed to reassemble with an army of 6,000–the large majority much needed infantry–on the unrealistically early date of 1 March.[53][49]
A coin of 1354, the obverse showing Edward seated in a ship; the historian Ian Mortimer states this "became one of the most enduring images of fourteenth-century kingship"
The main Anglo-Breton army marched unopposed some 120 miles (190km) through southern Brittany without opposition and on 29 November attempted to take Vannes by storm. The newly reinforced French garrison repelled this assault and a regular siege began.[56] Vannes suffered from a severe and deadly outbreak of illness in 1342, which may have raised hopes that it would fall rapidly.[57][note 5] The siege did not require the entire army and large detachments were sent on chevauchees across eastern Brittany to devastate the region and capture the fortified places. The outskirts of Dinan and the area around Dol were devastated, 100 miles (160km) north of Vannes.[56]Ploërmel, Malestroit and Redon were captured and Nantes, the ducal capital, was besieged.[58] Increasing numbers of Breton knights and lords switched their allegiance to the Montfort cause. However, there were fewer than 5,000 English troops in Brittany, and the term of service of many was running out.[53] No food supplies were arriving for Edward by sea, and although he sent out foraging columns over a broad area, living off the land in winter yielded thin returns. Edward's army was in difficulty.[59][43]
Truce
Commemorative plaque on the ruins of the Chapel of the Madeleine where the truce was sealed, reading: "Historic ruins of the Magdalene chapel, where was signed on 19th January 1343 during the Hundred Years' war by representatives of the English and French realms, the Truce of Malestroit, in the presence of Papal legates the Cardinals of Clermont and of Prenets."
The French were perturbed by Edward's landing in Brittany, when he was expected to invade further east, and by his taking the field so late in the season, when their armies had been disbanded. During November they struggled to put together an army and to accumulate sufficient supplies to feed and equip it. The army was based at the main French supply centre of Angers[61] with King Philip's oldest son, John, Duke of Normandy, in command.[60] There are no contemporary figures on the size of the French army, but it was several times larger than the Anglo-Breton force.[62]
It was 14 December before the French commenced the 50 miles (80km) journey west to the Breton border. Edward was sufficiently alarmed to invite the two cardinals he had brushed off in the summer to present their credentials. They had been observing events from Avranches, just over the Breton border, and were allowed no closer than Malestroit, 18 miles (29km) from the main English camp. Edward suspected that everything they saw would be passed on to the French, and took great care not to betray the small size and poor state of his army.[63][60] Once started, the French advance was rapid; it was Christmas Day (25 December) 1342[64] when the French relieved Nantes. Redon, Ploërmel and Malestroit were recaptured during early January and the French encamped around the latter. The two cardinals were probably in Malestroit when it fell to the French, on or shortly after 10 January.[61] As in previous years the French were content to threaten the English, without moving close enough for serious fighting to be a possibility. With both sides disinclined to commit to battle negotiations were entered into.[65]
Philip VI set up his court at Redon and also sent emissaries to the cardinals. By 19 January 1343 the terms of a truce had been agreed and it was sealed. The break in hostilities was to last until 29 September 1346 and the historian Jonathan Sumption describes the terms as "astonishingly favourable" to the English.[66] Both France and England were to retain the territory they held when the truce came into effect: this applied to Brittany, Gascony, Flanders and Scotland.[67] Vannes was to be held by the papacy for the duration of the truce, Philip was to immediately free John of Montfort[60][62] and there was a general exchange of prisoners.[68][69] Both monarchs pledged to negotiate in Avignon, mediated by Clement, a treaty to permanently end the war. In reality each saw the truce as a mere pause and neither intended to negotiate in good faith; the truce had only been agreed because each king felt it was beneficial to him.[70][71] Edward left for England, enduring another winter storm which scattered the fleet and sank several ships, and arrived on 1 March.[72]
Philip believed that with the fighting ended, all of the English would leave for home, as they had left north-east France after the Truce of Espléchin. He was mistaken, and the Breton Civil War ground on as a disjointed and inconclusive series of petty sieges, skirmishes and truces,[73][74] with the English and their Montfortist allies holding almost the whole of Brittany by 1345.[75][76] John of Montfort was not released until September,[note 6] despite the stipulation of the treaty.[78] Late in 1343 the citizens of Vannes rose against the Pope's authority, expelled his garrison and delivered the town to the English, who held it until the end of the Breton Civil War in 1364.[79][51]
Peace conference
Pope Clement VI
English quibbling over the arrangements for the peace conference at Avignon delayed its start until 22 October 1344. Both the French and the English sent delegations, as they had agreed at Malstroit. The English were represented by John of Offord, Edward's Lord Privy Seal and a seasoned diplomat,[note 7] the lawyer Thomas Fastolf, William Bateman, the dean of Lincoln, Hugh Neville and Nicolino Fieschi.[81][82][83]
They did not meet face to face, but each group talked to Clement, who conveyed messages between them. The terms of the truce required Clement to be neutral, but everyone involved believed he was pro-French and his behaviour outside the bounds of the conference did nothing to dispel this idea. The proposals presented by each side to Clement were all unacceptable to the other, with neither displaying any willingness to compromise: the English demanded recognition of Edward as king of France as a starting point, the French insisted on acceptance of Philip's overlordship of Aquitaine. After four rounds of mediation Clement handed over the role of intermediary to a pair of cardinals. They made various proposals: one was that England accept the border of Aquitaine as agreed in 1303 by the Treaty of Paris, but with Aquitaine held as sovereign English territory; the French would not accept any diminution of their kingdom. Several suggestions were put to the English delegation by which either England generally or Edward personally gave up the claim to Aquitaine in exchange for territorial compensation elsewhere, but all were rejected.[81][84][85]
Several members of the English delegation had left Avignon by December. Clement suggested that the largely ecclesiastical and low-status English delegation be replaced by high-status nobles, such as Northampton and Henry of Grosmont; both had both been among the English negotiators who had agreed the truce at Malestroit so rapidly. But his plea was to no avail. The last English delegate at Avignon–Offord– was forbidden from leaving by Clement, but he fled in February 1345.[81][82][86]
Aftermath
Neither monarch took the provisions of the truce agreement seriously. Edward was planning another major invasion of France long before the truce was due to expire in September 1346,[69] During the summer of 1343 Olivier of Clisson, a senior Breton lord, was invited from England to a tournament on French soil. As he was protected by the treaty he attended, but on John's orders was arrested and executed without trial.[87][88] Edward formally renounced the truce on 15 June 1345. The fighting had continued much as before in Gascony, and with Edward's repudiation of the truce the region reverted to full-scale war.[69] Edward personally led another expedition to France in 1346, this time landing in Normandy.[89] His army was wholly English and Welsh this time and it burnt a path of destruction through some of the richest lands in France to within 2 miles (3km) of Paris, sacking many towns on the way. On 26 August 1346 Philip was finally provoked into attacking at the battle of Crécy, where the French were defeated with a heavy loss of life.[90][91][92] In the aftermath of this battle the English laid siege to the port of Calais, which fell in August 1347. The Truce of Calais was subsequently sealed on 28 September; originally due to expire on 7 July 1348 it was repeatedly extended until 1355, when full-scale war broke out again.[93]
Notes, citations and sources
Notes
↑ John surrendered on the granting of a safe conduct to Paris and back by John, Duke of Normandy, the oldest son of the French king, who escorted him. It was proposed to John that he repudiate all claim to Brittany and his possessions there in favour of Charles of Blois, receiving an annuity and land in France in exchange. John declined, at which Philip withdrew his son's promised safe conduct and had him imprisoned.[19][20]
↑ By English common law, the crown was required to compensate the owners of ships impressed into service, but in practice the king paid little and late, which caused shipowners to be reluctant to answer summonses to arms.[30][31]
↑ Brest remained in English hands for 30 years; as the Hundred Years' War continued it was used to support forces guarding the passage of English ships to and from Gascony and to facilitate descents on the French-held parts of Brittany.[43]
↑ Morlaix was the first major land battle of both the Breton Civil War and the Hundred Years' War[45][46]
↑ Too little detail is known to be able to identify it.[57]
↑ He was released on condition he gave up the struggle. He stayed away from Brittany until his death in 1345.[77][20]
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