Thursday, April 21, 2011

Some Events of 1414

Henry V had been king since March 21, 1413

An on-and-off civil war between the Burgundian and Armagnac factions had been taking place, interrupted by truces, since 1407

By November 14, 1413, the duke of Burgundy had been accused of raising troops in breach of royal proclamations and expelled from Paris.

Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, held a deed of arms at Calais beginning the twelfth day of Christmas.

Oldcastle's Lollard revolt was intended to begin with an attack on the king at Twelfth Night at Eltham palace. Forewarned by spies and informers, the king crushed the revolt, which seems to have had little support, on January 10th. Seventy or eighty were captured and 45 executed. On March 28 the king offered a general pardon to all rebels who submitted before midsummer.

On January 24th the truce with France was extended through February 2nd, 1415.

January 26th, the Armagnacs issued a summons for a French army to assemble against the Duke of Burgundy, who was marching on Paris with 2,000 men, having left Lille on the 23rd.

February 3rd Beauchamp was appointed captain of Calais. The Beauchamp Pageant reports:

In as much as he was captain of Calais he hied him thither hastily, and was there worthily received. And when he heard that the gathering in France was not appointed to come to Calais...


The gathering in France would seem to have been the forces the Armagnacs were raising against the duke of Burgundy. An undated Beauchamp retinue roll refers to 128 men raised for l'enforcement of Calais.

The Beauchamp Pageant reports that he did his deed of arms at Calais after he came there as captain, but that must be mistaken. He was made captain of Calais in February of 1414 and by twelfth day of Christmas in 1415 he was in Constance. The likeliest explanation is that he did the arms before he was made captain, and the Pageant, written many years later, was simply mistaken in its chronology.

In February, the duke of Burgundy retreated from his position outside Paris.

The English Parliament met at Leicester April 30th.

The King received envoys from both the Burgundians and Armagnacs at Leicester between April and June. Several embassies were also sent to Paris in April, May and July-August.

In May, the Armagnacs invaded the Burgundian territory of Artois, besieging Arras in June. The count d'Eu and Lord Montagu did arms in the mines.

In September John of Burgundy signed the peace treaty of Arras

October 20th, Beauchamp was appointed an envoy to the Council of Constance. The Council began November 14th.

In November Parliament met again, and at that point it was clear the Henry V was prepared to go to war with Parliaments support if his claims were not met.

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