Anglo-French Truce, 24th December 1419

By late 1419 the military, political, and diplomatic scenario in France weighed heavily in favour of King Henry V of England. The conquest of Normandy was all but complete, and forces loyal to the French king were weakened by divisions within the French court. Those divisions had widened following the assassination of John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy. By Christmas of 1419, the decision was made by the Queen, duke of Burgundy, and other senior nobles at the official French court, to agree terms with England.

To enable talks over those terms, Philip duke of Burgundy utilised powers that had nominally been granted to him by King Charles VI to agree a truce between the French and English armies. In a sign of things to come, that truce excluded forces of the Armagnac faction, who were fighting in the name of the Dauphin.

In reality the decision was made by the Queen and the duke of Burgundy. Kinch Charles VI was unstable and his government was controlled by his wife and the duke of Burgundy. The latter took the view that siding with the English was the best chance he had of gaining revenge for the assassination of his father. For the Queen, terms with the English would provide herself and the king with security, whilst also offering the prospect of Paris being less volatile under the rule of the powerful Burgundian faction and the English.

The truce was a precursor to the Treaty of Tours signed the following year.

Links

Britannica – Charles VII of France

Image Credit

Frontispiece of the Chroniques de Hainaut Depicted people: Jean Wauquelin, Philippe le Bon, Charles le Téméraire, Nicolas Rolin and Jean Chevrot. A Rogier van der Weyden miniature 1447–48. Philip dresses his best, in an extravagant chaperon, to be presented with a History of Hainault by the author, Jean Wauquelin, flanked by his son Charles and his chancellor Nicolas Rolin.