Born a King; The Life and Times of John the Posthumous

[Space Oddity]

1337-8: THE LOWLANDS, THE LOWLANDS

"...The Low Countries of the mid-14th century found themselves caught in a frightful web. The westernmost portions were bound by tradition and geography to France and as had been demonstrated only a few years earlier, ignoring that rarely went well. But they were also bound to England for its wool trade, on which their own textile industries depended. The Prince of Wales' wool boycott swiftly proved devastating to the region, weakening the Count of Flanders' always precarious grip on his patrimony. Louis of Nevers responded with typical tone-deafness, pledging further support to Jean of France, and to allow the as-yet-theoretical French invasion fleet to use Flanders as its launching-off point[1]. As usual, Nevers forgot that he was not a popular man in Flanders--the brutal means which had been used to return him to power in the region were not forgotten, nor was the fact that it had been the French King who had supplied them. These new actions only cemented the impression of Nevers as a French dupe...

"The eastern provinces were theoretically Imperial, though chipped, chipped away by the French monarchs and their subjects over the years. The attitude of the previous emperors had varied from bellicose resentment to wary acceptance to this. Ludwig of Bavaria tended towards the former, and was the Prince of Wales' in-law in multiple directions on top of this. Despite this, there was little worry about Ludwig intervening in the looming war between France and England initially--Ludwig had spent a lengthy reign preoccupied by his internal Imperial rivalries and feud with the Papacy, and while these problems had lessened, they had hardly ceased...

"...In early 1337, Nevers' grip on the region was failing, not only in traditional fonts of rebellion like Bruges but even in formerly loyal cities such as Ghent[2]. Despite this, both France's war and foreign policy continued on as if the region were the same as ever... In April, Jean topped his granting of the Duchy of Normandy to his heir, Prince Louis, by purchasing for the child five castles in the Cambresis from the Prince-Bishop of Cambrai, including Cambrai itself[3]. The Emperor was outraged--he had ordered the Prince-Bishop to make no such sale as an Imperial subject and been rebuffed. This was hardly a surprise--the Prince-Bishop was a suffragen of Reims, frequently dependent on the French Crown for his appointment--this present one was a Burgundian by birth, a protege of the Duchess of Anjou, and Chancellor to Louis of Nevers[4]. Still it was a blatant insult to Ludwig's status as Emperor and he took it as such.

"The alarm was not limited to the Emperor--many Imperial Princes in the Low Countries were worried about further French aggrandisement. Jean did nothing to quell their fears, refusing the Duke of Anjou's suggestion to issue a circular insisting on the Crown's good intent[5]. Reportedly, Jean stated 'The Most Christian King needs explain nothing to his lessers' when it was suggested to him, though this might be apocryphal. In truth, Anjou was hardly blameless in the affair--he had arranged the sale himself, by some reports in return for permission to pursue that more famous land deal to the south[6]... Among those offended was William of Hainault, shared father-in-law of the Emperor and the Prince of Wales. Despite being a traditional ally of the French--indeed, his wife was the Duke of Anjou's sister--the sale of the castles both threatened his own lands and interfered with his plans for territorial aggrandisement. William began to serve as a linchpin for a Low Country coalition against France, and reached out to his prestigious son-in-laws. In one swoop, Jean had turned England's hoped for Imperial alliance into a reality[7].

"Even as the external threat to France in the Lowlands increased, the internal threat suddenly reared its head again. In late December, after just over a year of no wool shipments, another urban revolt took place in Flanders, starting in Ghent. By the next year, most of the major cities had followed, and a rebel government had been put into place...[8]"

--The Long War, Vol. 1: The Campaign of Flanders, Alexander Cole (1994)
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[1] This was the case IOTL. As I noted earlier, Nevers was really terrible at running Flanders.

[2] Also OTL. See above.

[3] Philip VI likewise bought these castles for his son IOTL. Because the King of France couldn't buy them for himself. That would be alarming.

[4] This was the case IOTL.

[5] In John's defense, Philip issued such a circular IOTL, and it did not a lick of good.

[6] What is this? We shall see in THE FUTURE!

[7] Well, not quite. The author is telescoping things.

[8] Which also happened IOTL. Louis of Nevers. He was something.

 

[Redolegna]

Louis of Nevers, not quite as bad Charles Francis of Styria/Tyrol, but trying his best at it?

Anyway, it's amazing how many mistakes a young, too-sure-of-himself king can make in such a short period of time.

 

[Space Oddity]

Louis of Nevers, not quite as bad Charles Francis of Styria/Tyrol, but trying his best at it?

Anyway, it's amazing how many mistakes a young, too-sure-of-himself king can make in such a short period of time.

To be fair, John's just following French policy--he's made things only SLIGHTLY worse.

At the moment.

 

[What if]

Just caught up with the latest updates and there very interesting. I take it the OTL events within here are part of the story of how Spain ended up controlling the low Countries.

 

[Space Oddity]

Just caught up with the latest updates and there very interesting. I take it the OTL events within here are part of the story of how Spain ended up controlling the low Countries.

Nope.

That was a lot of people dying fortuitously.

 

[What if]

Nope.

That was a lot of people dying fortuitously.

I see.

 

[Daztur]

Dammit missed that update. Looking forward to this TL getting to the point in which it clearly cleaves off from OTL.

 

[Space Oddity]

Dammit missed that update. Looking forward to this TL getting to the point in which it clearly cleaves off from OTL.

In many ways it already has.

That stated, one of the points of this TL might very well be about the limitations of what one man can accomplish when his tools are a group of weak institutions...

 

[Space Oddity]

1337: WAR BY OTHER MEANS

"...By 1337, Prince Edward had become convinced a grand coalition such as his grandfather had attempted was the only means to counteract the French, and save his gains in Scotland and his holdings in Gascony. In this, he had the support of the most fervent of the war party, most notably Henry Burghresh, Bishop of Lincoln[1]. He also received assistance from an unexpected source--King John managed to alienate Low Country nobles with almost flamboyant aplomb, turning the Prince's aging father-in-law, William of Hainault, from a man cagily clinging to neutrality into a fevered anti-French tyro. And yet despite all this, the alliance would still require great efforts and funds from the Prince to pull off. The nobles of the Low Country were a fractious lot at the best of times, ruling for the most part over small and vulnerable fiefs often geographically divided and thus even harder to defend. They required a great deal of coaxing, as well as a great deal of bribing, before they would put themselves in the path of the French colossus...

"Burghresh set out, assisted by several English merchants well-acquainted with the Low Country nobility. His task was formidable, even with the friendship of the German Emperor and the Count of Hainault... He arrived in May at the city of Valenciennes, accompanied by the Earls of Cornwall and Gloucester[2]. There he would meet with the Counts of Hainault, Guelders, Cleves, Namur, and Aalst, the Margrave of Juliers, the Duke of Brabant, various lesser princes, and representatives from the Archbishop of Cologne and Emperor Louis[3]. Not there, despite being invited, was the Count of Flanders, as Louis of Nevers seemed quite dedicated to demonstrating his utter submission to French interests... This gathering of Low Country and Rhineland elites was in itself a testimony to the fear and alarm that John of France had inspired in the region. The resulting list of demands that they sent to the King of France was a further demonstration. John was instructed to abandon the recently purchased castles of the Cambrai, to cease aiding the Scottish rebels, to reach some sort of equitable arrangement with the Prince of Wales as regards Aquitaine, and to give safe passages to various French nobles who had fallen afoul of the court in the constant feuding of recent years and were now living in exile in either England or the Empire[4].

"This would have been an extraordinary list of demands for a milder-tempered monarch than John to accept--it seems to have been produced more as a pro forma excuse than as a true start of negotiations. It is perhaps tragic that it was delivered by perhaps one of the only people among the Lowland nobility who still hoped for peace in this affair, Joan of Valois, Countess of Hainault, to one of the only French nobles who still desired it, her brother Philip, Duke of Anjou, especially as its only real effect was to convince King John that his Grand Master could not be trusted. This unjust impression was only increased when the Cogge de Flandre, one of the largest merchant vessels in the King's possession, was captured bringing supplies to the Scots shortly after this meeting, something John was convinced was the result of espionage[5]... John's official response to the demands was that he was the King of France, and he would not have his business meddled in by a "pack of curs". As for the Prince of Wales, he was John's subject "as regards Aquitaine" and would be so for as long as he held the duchy. It would be far better, John suggested, that he realize that instead of offending God by upsetting the proper order of things in futile rebellion. Finally, as regards the exiles, they were wretches and traitors the lot of them and his foes showed what sort of people they were by consorting with them...

"Edward had spent a small fortune during the conference bribing the attendees with gifts--this perhaps proved less effective than John's high-vaulting reply, which alienated his opponents beyond rapprochement for the immediate future. Still both were probably necessary--the Prince's league was a barely cohesive alliance and likely to remain so. Perhaps the most powerful immediate member was the Duke of Brabant, who joined already existing doubts with a quarrel with one of the most enthusiastic members, Reginald the Black, Count of Guelders, who was also the Duke's father-in-law[6]. This was a significant source of the quarrel--the appropriately nicknamed Reginald had grown tired of his wife, and accused her of suffering from leprosy as an excuse to abandon the mortified lady to a nunnery[7]. Matters such as this required a certain amount of diplomatic lubrication to overcome. In the case of Brabant, it required hefty bribes--the Duke was promised at least 60,000 to be paid over the next four years--and the offer of turning Brussels into the new center of the English wool trade to make him swallow this pride. The other members of the alliance generally required lesser, but still substantial payments[8].

"Emperor Louis was among these. Even with the provocation of the Cambrai palaces, conflict with France was not something he could lightly pursue. His feud with Avignon was only barely made up, and John XXIII was quickly proving as quarrelsome as John XXII had been. Hostile relations with France would open it all back up again, even as Louis tried to attend to matters in the eastern sections of his fractious realm. But in the end, the Prince won his support with a hefty bribe. Louis was well-to-do for a German Emperor, but in recent times, that did not mean very much. He could hardly afford to turn away ready money, and did not. Besides, the matter of palaces and John of France's overbearing tone were things that required an answer... Louis pledged troops, and, unable to send them himself, declared the Prince of Wales his Imperial Vicar in the Low Countries[9], giving the English cause a draught of badly needed legitimacy...

"...William of Hainault lived to see the seeds he'd planted for his young son-in-law bear shoots, but not much more--he died towards the end of the year[10]. This put Hainault's commitment in the hands of William's son, a far shakier figure. The war had barely begun, and already the league had lost a linchpin..."

This Terrible Majesty (Vol. 1): Prince and Steward by Augusta Lyme (1978)
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[1] Burghresh was one of the most prominent war voices in Edward's inner circle IOTL--his ascendancy was a sign that Edward had made his mind up on foreign policy.

[2] These are Edward's full brother, John of Eltham, who was dead at this point IOTL, and our friend Gilbert Despenser. IOTL, Burghresh was accompanied by William Montague, Earl of Salisbury and William Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon.

[3] This about who attended IOTL, though the Duke of Brabant did not attend himself, instead sending a representative. Blame King John's charming personality.

[4] IOTL discussion was dominated on the matter of the most prominent of these, Robert of Artois, who Philip of Valois had rather pointedly hounded from the Low Countries.

[5] John is being unfair here--Philip lost the same ship, most likely because it was simply too obvious a target.

[6] IOTL, Reginald was, again, Edward's brother-in-law. Edward was infinitely less willing to raise a fuss over his sister's abuse than the Duke of Brabant ITTL is about his daughter's.

[7] Eleanor suffered the same treatment IOTL, though being her, she responded to this accusation by publicly disrobing to prove it false. She had moxie.

[8] Edward paid similar amounts IOTL. I'd like to say it was money well spent, but I'd be lying.

[9] Edward was likewise made Imperial Vicar IOTL.

[10] William has lived a bit longer than OTL, but only a bit. For those wondering, his son is another William.

 

[Daztur]

Looking forward to seeing John old and world-weary, he can't keep up this kind of behavior forever...

 

[Space Oddity]

Looking forward to seeing John old and world-weary, he can't keep up this kind of behavior forever...

Maybe not, but he can sure as hell try.

 

[Space Oddity]

1336-7: RUE BRITANNIA, BRITANNIA RUE THE WAVES

"In late August 1336, a small group of French warships descended on the harbor of Walton[1], and seized two merchant ships there, killing the crews. Ten days later, a larger group descended on the Isle of Wight and repeated the process on a somewhat grander scale, following this with raids on the Channel islands[2]. The English response was a confused muddle. While Prince Edward's great-great-grandfather John I had begun the work on a royal navy, his project had been the man's usual combination of sound policy pursued through unsound means--when Edward II took power a force of fifty-two galleys was down to twenty-seven ships and he had only drawn it down further[3]. At the beginning of 1336, the royal navy consisted of a grand total of three ships... Prince Edward had naturally ordered the preparation of a naval defense, but this had involved requisitioning ships from merchants, who frequently wanted them back again. A small force had actually been gathered at Portsmouth prior to the raid, but hearing rumors that the threat had passed, had dispersed back to their home ports... As news of the raids circulated the defense began to operate from panic. The ships of the western and eastern Admiralties were eventually gathered at Sandwich and sent to intercept the French, too late and to no effect[4]... Raids on shipping continued, necessitating armed convoys to escort shipping between Gascony and England...

"Efforts to improve naval defenses continued throughout the year and into the next, with dubious results. Ships were recruited, and then frequently spent weeks waiting for attacks that didn't come. In some cases, the recruited vessels decided to engage in a bit of piracy and raiding of their own. Unfortunately for Prince Edward, they seldom chose to direct this energy against the French. In the case of Great Yarmouth, the preferred target was their longtime rivals the Cinque Ports, making the English situation considerably worse[5]...

"As matters continued, mutinies and riots among the impressed sailors became common, drawing attention to the woefully underdeveloped English naval system while failing to produce any solution. Recruitment was largely ad hoc, with the closest thing to an organized system being the Cinque Ports, who had a long-standing arrangement with the Crown to provide ships as needed. Unfortunately, it was so long-standing that it had completely failed to move with the times--the Cinque Ports were no longer the thriving seafaring communities they had been--indeed, one member, Hythe, could not produce a solitary vessel when called upon to. Another, Romney, did somewhat better--they produced one. As for the rest, they failed to produce the traditional eighty ships, and indeed, even the traditional fifty-seven that proceeded that sum, with small fishing vessels being tossed into the muster in a desperate effort to fill the gap[6]... The Prince, like his grandfather, looked into the construction of galleys, but like Edward Longshanks, discovered that building ships was not an art that could be taken up as needed...

"If England had any hand in saving itself from a French invasion during these years it was through its connections with the Fieschi family of Genoa, who had had a good portion of the French Mediterranean fleet destroyed in port, and had quite possibly informed Frederick of Sicily of the true purpose of the French ships docked on his isle. The Fieschi's friendship, however, did not come free--the Prince had had to settle every outstanding debt in England in favor of the local Genoese, an act that created a certain resentment[7]. Further, if England had its ties to the Fieschis, France had its ties to the Dorias, which were perhaps greater, as can be witnessed in the fact that Ayton Doria himself came to lead the twenty galleys the French hired through him in October of 1337[8]... In the end, England's greatest defense from the French was the simple fact that France was in no better position to prosecute a war against England then England was to prosecute one against France. And yet both were going to do exactly that, very shortly..."

--The Long War, Vol. 1: The Campaign of Flanders, Alexander Cole (1994)
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[1] IOTL, it was the town of Orford that was first attacked, followed by Walton.

[2] This also occurred IOTL.

[3] At one point, he was down to eleven ships. And the English navy had not yet hit bottom.

[4] This also is what happened IOTL. England did not start the Hundred Years War off well.

[5] Yes, this is what they did IOTL. Because the English rival Scotland in all things, including self-destructive internecine feuds.

[6] This was the case IOTL as well. It turned out a volunteer navy was not a good idea.

[7] Edward and the Fieschi reached a similar arrangement IOTL. It was not popular in England.

[8] Ayton likewise commanded the French Genoese squadron in the Channel, IOTL.

 

[The Professor]

It's a bit early yet but seeing as John's death OTL lead directly to the agnatic succession we sometimes erroneously call "salic law" could this TL eventually produce a Queen Regnant of France?
A lot of succession laws solidified in the 13-1400s so at the least I could see a French Princess's son gain the crown.

 

[Space Oddity]

It's a bit early yet but seeing as John's death OTL lead directly to the agnatic succession we sometimes erroneously call "salic law" could this TL eventually produce a Queen Regnant of France?
A lot of succession laws solidified in the 13-1400s so at the least I could see a French Princess's son gain the crown.

John himself has essentially announced that "Yeah, I totally believe in succession in the female line," though whether that will stick is anyone's guess.

 

[Deleted member 94708]

It probably speaks well to this work that I can’t tell what you cribbed directly from OTL, what is slightly modified, and what is completely different without referencing your notes or other texts.

 

[Space Oddity]

It probably speaks well to this work that I can’t tell what you cribbed directly from OTL, what is slightly modified, and what is completely different without referencing your notes or other texts.

To be fair, much of what follows in what I shall call the "things suck for Britain" series of posts that I'm writing are things that would change little if at all in this scenario.

Except for Scotland and even then they're stuck with the same general cycle.

 

[Space Oddity]

1337: GASCONY; SO CLOSE TO FRANCE PROPER, SO FAR FROM GOD

"...By 1337, affairs in Gascony were at a breaking point. While in theory the Gascon nobility answered to Prince Edward in his role of Duke of Aquitaine, in reality as most contemporaries noted, the great charm of English rule was that a distant sovereign allowed the Gascons to focus on internal rivalries and local power maneuvers. Indeed, what influence the English had among them rested on manipulating those very things. In the face of the potential destruction of the Courtmanteau[1] Duchy the popular response was to bend towards France, or at best, to hedge one's bets.

"Considering the standing of the English administration, this was a completely reasonable decision. There were, at this point, nearly no English troops in Gascony, save for a few personal retinues of no great size. Forces in Gascony were based on retainers and armies of the nobility allied with England, and at the moment, they were at a low point. When Oliver Ingham, Seneschal of Aquitaine called an assembly of loyalist nobles, the entire meeting could be fitted in a small side chapel of a local church, with, it was said, room to spare[2].

"It was tribute to Ingham's talents that he was able to bring that assembly together at all. Nearly fifty, he had spent over a decade in his position, and achieved an expertise in the Duchy's affairs that blended with a natural ability. His service was one of the few things in England's favor in Gascony at the war's start. Another was the service of Berard d'Albret, a leading member of the powerful Albret clan whose natural charm and knowledge of his fellows were as great as his skill as a warrior. Berard was a dedicated loyalist to the English crown[3], something that was rare on the ground in Gascony at this time. It was certainly not common among the Albrets. The Lord of Albret did not possess it--he was notably not there in that small side chapel with his kinsman and the Seneschal. Bernard-Ezi was not as opposed to the English as his father Amanieu, who had feuded with a previous Seneschal and later sided with the French during Saint-Sardos. Indeed, in private communications to the Seneschal, he'd made it abundantly clear that he preferred Prince Edward's rule to King John--he had even offered the hand of his daughter to the Prince's son Edward of Woodstock (the future Edward IV), though this had fallen through[4]. However, he was not going to risk his family's holdings for the English's sake when this looked like backing a lost cause, even if he considered John of France to be a churlish bully. Indeed, that gave him a very good reason not to... Albret made it clear that he would not act against the English, but unless he saw a clear sign that affairs in the Duchy were changing, he would not act for them...

"If the Albrets were pursuing a scrupulous neutrality, it could at least be said they were not fixedly hostile. The house of Foix-Bearn were. The little Viscounty of Bearn had been under the Dukes of Aquitaine for centuries--however, it had been (relatively) recently inherited by the Counts of Foix, who were direct vassals of France. In better times for England, this had seen a careful balancing act on the part of the Foix-Bearns--under the present Count, Gaston II, it saw only loyalty to the French Crown. Gaston had not even bothered to ever pay homage to Prince Edward and his father, nor would he ever. In time, his brand of surly defiance towards the English would be replaced by the flamboyant adventurism of his son and grandson, Gaston-Phoebus and John-Troilus[5], which knew loyalty to neither monarch, nor indeed had time for such concepts as morality and common decency--but for now, the Foix-Bearns were the English's problem...

"Still, as troublesome as these sort of divided loyalties and active hostility among the regional nobles were, they were ultimately problems that had existed as long as the duchy had. What was new was England's utterly wretched defensive position. Keeping Gascony in English hands required strong castles, something it had had there in the past, and now largely lacked. While a not unformidable line of them still existed in the south, to give the Counts of Foix a reason to be wary, the northern line, the primary defense against the Kings of France, was in disarray. During a tour of the fortified town of Blaye, Berard d'Albret pointed out moats filled with refuse, trenches ruined by goats, and crumbling walls, some of which had had holes knocked in them to serve as shortcuts for the town's inhabitants. A sizable suburb had sprung up on the north side, which had overtaken the city walls--the south side had come to lack any fortification at all[6]. And Blaye was a vital location, whose loss could result in a collapse of the English position in the area. Many other such strongholds were in as bad a condition--others were better off, but so weakly supported as to be impotent in an actual war... Worst of all, the defense of most of these places rested with local men, whose limited loyalty to England could be easily subverted by the French exploiting their connections to the region, something Ingham himself had experienced during the War of Saint-Sardos[7]...

"It was with this desiccated infrastructure and facing such deep-rooted problems that Ingham would have to defend the Duchy after two lieutenants of the Seneschal of Perigord sent the royal decree that Gascony was now forfeit..."

--The Long War, Vol. 1: The Campaign of Flanders, Alexander Cole (1994)
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[1] The cognomen "Curtmantle" rendered in French that I am pleased to reveal serves as TTL's version of the appellation 'Plantagenet'.

[2] This was also the case IOTL. Gascons were well aware of the odds.

[3] How loyal, you ask? IOTL and ITTL, he stayed faithful throughout the War of Saint-Sardos and its aftermath. So, very loyal.

[4] This was also the case IOTL. How sincere Albret was remains up for debate, but the simple fact of the offer being made says a lot.

[5] While this is getting ahead of ourselves, it's safe to inform you that Gaston-Phoebus did not have a son named "John-Troilus" IOTL. And as it will likely be quite a time before I can mention him again, I should clarify that Gaston-Phoebus was not really named "Gaston-Phoebus"--rather he gave himself the nickname "Phoebus". Yes, that is precisely how you should react.

[6] This was all the case IOTL as well.

[7] During Saint-Sardos, Ingham saw the town he was defending rise up against him and demand he surrender.

 

[The Merovingian]

Has there been a resurgence in inspiration for this TL, or do you just have more time to write? I used to think this was one of those TL's that undated once every 2 months or so.

 

[Space Oddity]

Has there been a resurgence in inspiration for this TL, or do you just have more time to write? I used to think this was one of those TL's that undated once every 2 months or so.

Mostly it's a matter of time.

 

[St. Just]

Damn I was and am "rooting" for England...

Phoebus and Troilus sound like interesting characters -- such classical nomenclature reminds me of NBTTR...