alternatehistory.com
1326-7: England and France
1326-7: ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING
"In London, the effect of the short war was electric. The arms of England has been so utterly humiliated that none could recall the like--not even Bannockburn had seen so poor a showing. Edward raged against his brother's vanity and stupidity, which had provoked an out and out war even as Edward had tried to pour oil upon the waters with further peace offerings. The Lords and Commons raged against Hugh the Elder, claiming the Earl of Winchester[1] had neglected to send reinforcements that could have saved the Earl of Kent--Winchester raged back that he had had neither the money, the time, nor the spare men, especially for "so poor a cause". The matter of Scotland and Edward's "shameful truce" with Robert the Bruce[2] was brought up by various lords dispossessed of their Scottish lands--Edward insisted that it had been forced on him by treacherous followers and a lack of funds brought on by Parliament. Accounts of miracles circulated at the tombs of his late first wife, and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, especially remarkable for the latter, who had hardly been a notably pious man in life[3]. Edward and the Despensers were held in such low regard 'dogs in the street were better thought of', Froissart would declare, years later--an attempt to kill the King and his favorites by necromancy was even recorded.
"Any hopes of aid from the Emperor were gone--Louis would not expend political capital on a lost cause, especially when he was vulnerable in other matters. All that could be done was hope that the French would be relatively lenient in the peace. Fortunately, the Earl of Pembroke's previous suggestions that the King was now willing to pay homage had been listened to, though the man's unfortunate death the previous year during his mission[4] did not lend itself to a speedy resolution. After lengthy negotiations, a compromise was agreed upon--the Prince of Wales would be invested as Duke of Aquitaine, go to France and pay homage to King John, after which the restoration of England's Gascony possessions would be affected, save for the Agenais. It was, from Edward's point of view, a near total collapse. France not only recieved its wished for homage, but Gascony had been stripped of its most defensible frontier. And yet seeing as the possibility of losing it all hanged over his head, it was all he could do.
"Edward, Prince of Wales, arrived in France in early 1327 to pay homage for his father, with instructions from his father to be certain to pay homage only, not to pledge fealty. It seemed a simple matter..."
--A Magnificent Counterfeit: the Life and Reign of Edward II of England, Jason Soames 1994
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[1] Hugh the Elder was made Earl of Winchester in 1322, both IOTL and ITTL.
[2] IOTL and ITTL, following the unraveling of his 1322 campaign, one of Edward's subordinates entered into unauthorized peace discussions with the Bruce. While said subordinate was executed when this was discovered, Edward did agree to a thirteen year truce. IOTL, it was ultimately not followed.
[3] The Earl of Lancaster's astonishing cult is IOTL as well.
[4] IOTL, he died in 1324, during the necessary diplomatic mission there. It was... an awkward situation.
"In London, the effect of the short war was electric. The arms of England has been so utterly humiliated that none could recall the like--not even Bannockburn had seen so poor a showing. Edward raged against his brother's vanity and stupidity, which had provoked an out and out war even as Edward had tried to pour oil upon the waters with further peace offerings. The Lords and Commons raged against Hugh the Elder, claiming the Earl of Winchester[1] had neglected to send reinforcements that could have saved the Earl of Kent--Winchester raged back that he had had neither the money, the time, nor the spare men, especially for "so poor a cause". The matter of Scotland and Edward's "shameful truce" with Robert the Bruce[2] was brought up by various lords dispossessed of their Scottish lands--Edward insisted that it had been forced on him by treacherous followers and a lack of funds brought on by Parliament. Accounts of miracles circulated at the tombs of his late first wife, and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, especially remarkable for the latter, who had hardly been a notably pious man in life[3]. Edward and the Despensers were held in such low regard 'dogs in the street were better thought of', Froissart would declare, years later--an attempt to kill the King and his favorites by necromancy was even recorded.
"Any hopes of aid from the Emperor were gone--Louis would not expend political capital on a lost cause, especially when he was vulnerable in other matters. All that could be done was hope that the French would be relatively lenient in the peace. Fortunately, the Earl of Pembroke's previous suggestions that the King was now willing to pay homage had been listened to, though the man's unfortunate death the previous year during his mission[4] did not lend itself to a speedy resolution. After lengthy negotiations, a compromise was agreed upon--the Prince of Wales would be invested as Duke of Aquitaine, go to France and pay homage to King John, after which the restoration of England's Gascony possessions would be affected, save for the Agenais. It was, from Edward's point of view, a near total collapse. France not only recieved its wished for homage, but Gascony had been stripped of its most defensible frontier. And yet seeing as the possibility of losing it all hanged over his head, it was all he could do.
"Edward, Prince of Wales, arrived in France in early 1327 to pay homage for his father, with instructions from his father to be certain to pay homage only, not to pledge fealty. It seemed a simple matter..."
--A Magnificent Counterfeit: the Life and Reign of Edward II of England, Jason Soames 1994
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Hugh the Elder was made Earl of Winchester in 1322, both IOTL and ITTL.
[2] IOTL and ITTL, following the unraveling of his 1322 campaign, one of Edward's subordinates entered into unauthorized peace discussions with the Bruce. While said subordinate was executed when this was discovered, Edward did agree to a thirteen year truce. IOTL, it was ultimately not followed.
[3] The Earl of Lancaster's astonishing cult is IOTL as well.
[4] IOTL, he died in 1324, during the necessary diplomatic mission there. It was... an awkward situation.
- Space Oddity
- Word Count: 560