Monday 12 February 2018

Philip the Bold III


Louis d'Anjou
A New King

Very much in love with his wife Louis, Duke of Anjou, John’s second son and a hostage for John’s behaviour, absconded and returned home to be with his wife. With the escape of Louis, John decided that the only thing a man of honour could do was to return to captivity in England in his son’s place, despite his advisers begging him not to do so.

‘No-one could dissuade him from his purpose, although he was strongly advised against it, several of the French prelates and barons telling him that it would be a most hazardous step to place himself in the King of England’s power.’[i]

Within three months John fell ill with some undiagnosed illness[ii] and died. He was just forty-four. A million florins[iii] were still owed on his ransom leaving the hostages languishing in England. Jean’s third son, the Duke of Berry excused himself and made so many excuses not to return to captivity that eventually the English gave up trying to persuade him to return.

The death of King John in April 1364, while still in captivity, brought the Dauphin Charles to throne as the fifth of that name. He confirmed his father’s gift of Burgundy to Philip in June and Philip’s lieutenancy was extended to cover Lyons, Mâcon, Autun, Chalons and Langres.

The Soldier

La Charité sur Loire
In the summer of 1364 Charles sent Philip to deal with the free companies still at large in the French countryside.

‘The king of France sent his brother…. against these pillagers….He went and laid siege to the castle of Marcheville…. He ordered many machines to be brought from Chartres, by which he flung into it stones and other things day and night, that much annoyed the garrison.’[iv]

Philip was not an exceptional soldier, although there was no denying his personal bravery on the battlefield. Not long after the attack on Marcheville, in August Charles sent Philip to capture a castle near Rouen, held by followers of Charles of Navarre. From there he was diverted in September to La Charité-sur-Loire to fight with the Constable Robert de Fiennes against more Navarrois and a number of English adventurers.


Arms of Louis of Dorazzo
Charles of Navarre’s brother Louis attempted to raise the siege with the aid of the English but was ordered by Charles to withdraw to Cherbourg. Charles V then authorised Philip to treat with the garrison of La Charité to persuade them to surrender. Having undertaken this commission Philip returned to Paris. He was also involved in the siege and capture of Nogent-sur-Seine in January 1365.

The next four years were relatively quiet and Philip spent much of his time harrying the free companies harassing his domains. By 1369 Philip was involved in an elaborate plan of his brother’s to invade England as hostilities between the two nations had resumed. Charles had summonsed the Black Prince to appear before him to answer complaints made against him as lord of Aquitaine. The Black Prince refused, killing the councillors sent to make the summons.

A Royal Wedding


Marguerite and Philip
In 1365 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV proposed a marriage between Philip and Elizabeth, one of the nieces of Louis I, the King of Hungary. Another proposal that Philip marry Violante[v], the daughter of Galeazzo II Visconti, was not approved by the royal family when it was made in 1367 by a French adventurer Jehan de Beaumont who was able to con Visconti out of 20,000 florins[vi] while posing as an ambassador from Charles V.

On 19th June 1369 Philip was married to Marguerite de Dampierre, daughter of the Count of Flanders[vii]. Margaret had previously been affianced to Philip’s predecessor as Duke of Burgundy, Philip de Rouvres. Edward III was keen to get hands on this heiress for his son Edmund of Langley and was prepared to pledge Calais and 170,000 livres[viii] to her father.

Marguerite and Edmund were within the fourth degree of consanguinity[ix] and this needed a papal dispensation to marry. The pope, Urban V, was French and Charles pressured him into refusing Edward’s request. To obtain the Count’s permission to the match Charles had to cede to him the towns and dependencies of Lille, Douai and Orchies and pay him 200,000 livres[x].

After a respectable interval Urban granted Philip and Marguerite a dispensation to marry and join the lands of Flanders and Burgundy to create a state within a state. Philip, now 27, sent throughout Europe for jewels for his new wife; Marguerite had a passion for jewellery and Philip showered her with diamonds, emeralds, rubies and a pearl necklace purchased for 11,000 livres[xi].

The marriage took place in Ghent and three coffers of precious gifts were forwarded there for Philip to give as gifts to the wedding guests and the local burghers; they were also used as prizes for the tournaments. Philip was determined to impress the Flemings, his future subjects.

‘They proceeded to the marriage, which was celebrated in the city of Ghent. There were great feasts at the solemnity of the wedding, and afterwards, which were attended by crowds of lords, barons and knights.’[xii]

Philip attended mass assiduously and made conspicuous offerings to the church. After his marriage to Marguerite Philip presented the statue of the Virgin Mary in Tournai Cathedral with a cloth of gold cloak and mantle lined with miniver and embroidered with the newly wedded couples joint coats of arms.

Return to the Fight

Tournehem
In July Charles handed command of the invasion of England to Philip; he was in command of one thousand lances. Philip sent for a confessor to accompany him, but the attack was forestalled by an English attack launched from Calais by John of Gaunt. Charles was forced to send Philip and his army against the English.

The French marched towards Calais and in August camped on a small eminence at Tournehem[xiii] within a league of Gaunt’s encampment. He challenged John of Gaunt to a fixed battle, the date was fixed but, inexplicably, although he had the larger army Philip chose to retreat, allowing the English to maraud through Normandy. It has been claimed that Philip did not have the wherewithal to pay his troops, but it is possible that his failings as a military leader betrayed him.

Charles V (L) makes Bertrand du Guesclin (C) Constable
Between 1370, when Charles made Bertrand du Guesclin the Constable of France[xiv], and 1372 Philip participated in the re-conquest of Poitou from the English. The main drivers of the campaigns were du Guesclin and Louis of Anjou. Philip and his brother Berry’s roles mainly involved producing the troops, although they both led their men in action.

In 1372 Philip fought with du Guesclin in Aquitaine besieging and capturing a number of English castles. He also harassed John of Gaunt’s army in 1373 as it made its grande chévauchée across France in an attempt to relieve Aquitaine. It was a bold move that changed nothing.

‘They [Gaunt and his army] marched through various narrow passes and defiles, but kept in close and good order. The council of the king of France therefore said to him: “Let them go; by their smoke alone they cannot deprive you of your kingdom: they will be tired soon, and their force will dissolve away…. thus it will befal these English.”’[xv]

Philip was able to divert the English from Paris and fertile regions of the south. Charles did not call upon his brother for military service again until 1377 by which time most of France was back in French hands, bar the lands around Calais[xvi]. Philip was involved in wresting a number of castles near Calais from the English. The plan had been to retake Calais but the weather and the failure of the French fleet to cooperate with the land forces, put paid to the idea.

Bibliography

Edward III – Bryan Bevan, the Rubicon Press 1992

Chronicles – Froissart, Penguin Books 1968

Europe: Hierarchy and Revolt 1320-1450 – George Holmes, Fontana 1984

The Fourteenth Century – May McKisack, Oxford University Press 1997

The Perfect King – Ian Mortimer, Vintage Books 2008

A Distant Mirror – Barbara Tuchman, Papermac 1989

Philip the Bold – Richard Vaughan, Boydell Press 2011

The Flower of Chivalry – Richard Vernier, Boydell Press 2003


www.wikipedia.en


[i] Chronicles - Froissart
[ii] Possibly over-indulgence at the table as John was over fond of good food and wine and indulged himself.
[iii] In 2016 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £579,600,000.00; labour earnings of that income or wealth is £7,488,000,000.00; economic status value of that income or wealth is £15,330,000,000.00; economic power value of that income or wealth is £312,800,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com   
[v] She was to marry Lionel of Antwerp, son of Edward III 
[vi] In 2016 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £13,070.00, labour earnings of that income or wealth is £148,100.00, economic status value of that income or wealth is £348,000.00, economic power value of that income or wealth is £7,053,000.00 www.measuringworth.com  
[vii] In 1356 Philip’s future father-in-law had marched his army into Brabant and forced Duke Wenzel of Luxembourg to cede his rights in the two major towns of his duchy, Malines and Antwerp to Louis de Male and recognise his right to inherit the duchy upon Wenzel’s death
[viii] In 2016 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £103,600,000.00, labour earnings of that income or wealth is £1,262,000,000.00, economic status value of that income or wealth is £3,123,000,000.00, economic power value of that income or wealth is £63,410,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com  
[ix] As were Marguerite and Philip
[x] In 2016 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £121,900,000.00, labour earnings of that income or wealth is £1,485,000,000.00, economic status value of that income or wealth is £3,675,000,000.00, economic power value of that income or wealth is £74,600,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com  
[xi] In 2016 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £6,706,000.00, labour earnings of that income or wealth is £81,670,000.00, economic status value of that income or wealth is £202,100,000.00, economic power value of that income or wealth is £4,103,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com   
[xvi] Both Edward III, who was now in his dotage, and the Black Prince, who was dying, were incapable of leading the fight back which was left to John of Gaunt who was not their equal

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