Part II (1422-1429) – Interregnum
The death of Henry V on the field of battle came as a shock to the leaders in England. He had been very popular, particularly for his panache, and while most people tried to hide it, there was a general sense of floundering. Fortunately, there were very able men at the extremities of the executive branch of government carrying out official policy. Men like the Duke of Bedford, who was the late king’s brother, was left in charge in France regarding everything that had to do with England. His slightly less able brother, the Duke of Gloucester, ran things on the home front. The war had been fought to a highly successful conclusion. Although the war had outlived the king by a year and a half the overwhelming majority of the success was owed to the late king, and everyone knew it. That is why neither brother dared declare himself regent. The baby, Henry now the VI had risen to the throne in the wake of his father’s untimely demise. His father had, after all, been in charge of the army that had inflicted every major defeat on France, all but destroying her armies.
The war, however, had taken its toll. The drain on the treasury was such that every ducat that was earned in the immediate aftermath was directed towards building up the civilian part of the administration. Tax collectors were promoted in the richest and the most populous provinces first followed by the poorer, money was made available to help out the poor, repair roads, etc. all to increase the sense of stability and safety. This meant that the army was not rebuilt for quite a while after the war, which was to have serious consequences.
Another effect of the war was that foreign policy had been somewhat neglected. As the war wound down the main events in Europe were reviewed by the two siblings acting as Lord Protectors. There had been a large war in northern Germany when Poland with allies had attacked Prussia with allies. No lands exchanged hands in that conflict, but everyone knew that this was not the end of this matter as Poland had fixed their greedy eyes on the port city of Danzig. Before this war had even finished Brandenburg attacked Pommerania with Magdeburg and Saxony, no doubt hoping to catch the Hanseatic alliance off-guard. Magdeburg paid dearly for this mistake and was incorporated into Mecklenburg. In the summer of 1421 the Ottoman Turks captured Morea from Byzantium. It seemed that it was just a matter of time before the once strong outpost of Christianity that was Constantinople would fall to the Muslim infidels. Thankfully, England was far too far away to be affected.
Here is how central Europe looked at the conclusion of the Paris peace treaty.
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City of Rouen, location of Bedford’s court, 1423
“My brother’s marriage to the Countess of Hainaut apparently wasn’t as popular as expected. It has actually come to open rebellion in Artois.” said Bedford.
“For now that is a problem for Burgundy, but it could easily become our problem. We need to prepare the army to move towards them,” said Arendale, who was one Bedford’s most trusted advisors. “In fact, I will get to it right away!”
For a moment he just sat there, thinking. Then he nodded. Arendale got up to leave. By the time he had reached the door a dangerous light had appeared in Bedford’s eyes. Most rebellions led nowhere and were nothing more than a waste of time, lives, and money. But on the other hand, if the timing was just right, and the encouragement was just right…
“Hold, David, you will do no such thing. Here is what you will do instead…”
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Artois – a small clearing inside an unnamed forest
Though it was a beautiful spring day the dense forest made it difficult to see anywhere far. Here in the clearing it was easier but everyone present wore hoods pulled far forward to hinder identification, although by the type of clothes one could at least make a fair guess at the person’s station in life. Three people were there, one with gold-embroidered silk clothing. The other two were a sharp contrast in their rough woolens. Still, strength was evident in the way they carried themselves.
“So we are agreed then, you will not threaten the interests of my patron, and he will not move against you.”
Although the two men were obviously experienced in hiding their emotions – probably from many days spent haggling in the market place – the well-to-do man was skilled in noticing the more subtle body language that gave people away: a slight tensing in the posture, a slight increase in the rate of breathing. These small things could betray a man’s thoughts and emotions.
“How do we know that you won’t come after us here? Your ‘patron’ is allied with the duke of this land, after all.” He had expected the question.
“My patron has no interest in the further shedding of blood. The past few years have seen plenty of that. Besides, everybody has a right to stand up for their own destiny and to fight the oppressor. My patron only has the interests of the good people of this land in mind.”
After some further hesitation an agreement was reached. Both parties rode away knowing that the other was lying about the motives but reasonably assured that they would heed the agreement.
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Within two weeks of the Paris peace treaty a diplomatic legation from Brittany announced that henceforth they no longer considered themselves under the protection of England. Brittany could see after her own interests. Although it took about half a year to prepare, England declared war on Brittany over this. The delay had allowed Brittany to enter into an alliance with Gelre, Friesland, Savoy and Oldenburg. However, these states had no direct land connection to English lands and the English navy was strong. Still, a small force from Gelre managed to sneak by the English blockade and laid siege to Meath. This was but a minor distraction from the real struggle in the provinces of Brittany. The outcome was never really in question and by early 1426 England had re-asserted her status as protector of Brittany.
During this time Europe was ablaze from wars in each and every direction. Castile annexed Granada. Kleves annexed Lorraine. In a series of wars, Saxony first ceded Anhalt to Poland, and was then fully annexed by Pommerania. But most disturbingly of all, the Ottomans had captured Athens. This meant they had Constantinople in a death grip. But England was too far away to influence those events.
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Back to the city of Rouen, Bedford’s court
“You did well, David. Those rebels went to besiege Flanders after they had captured Artois. We were lucky because with our armies tied down in the war against Brittany they could have wrested northern France from our control, including Rouen. And now they are moving towards Dutch Burgundy. Strangely Philippe hasn’t moved at all. He should have stamped out this rebellion in its cradle.”
“Thank you, my lord. They weren’t fools, and neither were they fools since, but it seems they were content to hold up their end of the bargain if we held up ours.”
“Yes, and now Artois has declared independence from Burgundy and declared war on them.” With a slight smile he continued, “And we, as good allies, will come to the aid of our allies, indignant at being attacked. And if Philippe (of Burgundy) wonders why we didn’t move against the rebels…well, surely he should have been able to handle this himself. Besides, we were busy with Brittany. Maybe Flanders will follow in the footsteps of Artois…”
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The war against Artois turned out to be the quickest and most bloodless of England’s conquests to date. In fact, nobody died as English armies besieged the province before any troops could be raised. Philippe III, in a rare show of paralyzation, did not move. Thus, once Artois had been captured it was made a vassal of England. Rumors had the Duke of Bedford explaining to the citizens of Artois that it was better for them under English protection as Philippe had a reputation of being harsh against rebels. Indeed, within two years Burgundy had signed a white peace with Artois.
In the mean time, Flanders had defected to Brabant. A couple of revolts had to be put down in various French provinces. Otherwise, England continued to prosper. But peace was not meant to reign for long. In April, 1429 Orleans threw off the French yoke and claimed full independence. Inexplicably, within two months France declared war on Brittany. No doubt this move was inspired by another bout of insanity in Charles VI, also known as ‘the loon’. Auvergne, Provence and Bourbonnais all answered the alliance call, but Orleans declined. In fact, three weeks later Orleans attacked Bourbonnais. In a very important move Auvergne and Provence declined to heed the alliance call, although Provence was to rejoin the alliance at a later date. While Orleans only enjoyed another few months of independence before being added to the French nation, Brittany surprised western Europe by successfully fending off the initial attacks from her enemies.
Herein lies the dilemma for the English Lord Protectors: although Brittany is not an official alliance member, England is her suzerain. As such, this attack has given England a just cause for going to war with France. And Bedford very much wished to complete the work his brother had begun: namely the complete incorporation of France into the English kingdom. Unfortunately the English army is not prepared for such an ordeal.
It is early 1430 and if action is not taken within half a year the other European nations will not consider any English action to be justified by French aggression against Brittany.