Born a King; The Life and Times of John the Posthumous
- Thread starter Space Oddity
- Start date
Oooh, a war involving England, France, the HRE, and the Papacy?
I Like It!
Man, I almost feel like I should mention the matter of Spiritual Franciscans, and the resulting antipope Nicholas V from OTL. Which was one of the two times that the present Pope, John XXII, the second Avignon Pope, was declared a heretic by a good portion of the church...
Ahh, it will come up in time.
IOTL, the Saint Sardos War was very much a one sided war which saw Aquitaine overwhelmed in a matter of weeks by the Royal Army. I don't see reasons for this changing.
Shhh! Don't spoil the surprise! That looking it up can reveal shortly, true, but...
Not really, no.
1325-6: France
1325-6: THE WAR OF SAINT-SARDOS
"For France, the year began with a wedding. Charles d'Evereux, eldest son of Louis, Count of Evereux and heir to the lordship of Etampes, wed Marie of Luxembourg, sister to King John of Bohemia, in a lavish ceremony in Paris[1] meant to symbolize the power and wealth of the French throne. If this showed any thoughts about the upcoming conflict with England, it was contempt--a later (somewhat doubtful) story had the Regent stating that he considered the English little more than "an infestation of vermin". If this was his opinion then Edward gave him little reason to change it--the King's initial response to the sack of Saint-Sardos was to insist that he had had nothing to do with it. Ralph Bennett, the offending Seneschal of Gascony that the French believed to have met with prominent Gascon noble Raymond-Bernard of Monpezat, ringleader and architect of the sack shortly before it occurred, was recalled, and an embassy sent, lead by the King's youngest brother, Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent[2].
"By all accounts, the embassy went poorly--England's claims and excuses were treated with skepticism, and the Regent's outstanding order to muster at the border of Aquitaine in June remained active. Edward seems to have hoped that his new father-in-law might spring to his aide, but Louis was preoccupied by the matter of his own excommunication, and settling affairs in Germany, and planning his own invasion of Italy as a response. As it became rapidly became clearer that the Emperor was not coming to England's aid, Kent appears to have handled matters by giving into the Regent's demands for the Lord of Monpezat. However, upon reaching Gascony, the young Earl seems to have changed his mind, and sent the French officials back empty-handed. It would be war.
"In August, the French army invaded the duchy, the Count of Valois at its head. They found a land guarded by skeleton garrisons and underfunded troops. Within six weeks, France had almost completely occupied Gascony. The Earl of Kent had managed a few weeks of spirited resistance at La Reole, an underwhelming high point for English arms during the entire squalid mess[3]. The English, in between a rounds of apportioning blame amongst their commanders, considered various unlikely schemes of relief before woefully heading to the table. In France, celebrations of the rapid victory would be cut short, when late in December, Charles of Valois fell victim to a stroke. He would expire early in January[4], leaving the peace negotiations--and the Regency--to his eldest son, Philip..."
--John I of France, Vol. 1; A King in His Cradle, Antony Oates (1978)
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[1] IOTL, Marie would wed Charles IV of France. While this might be considered a step down, it should be remembered that Charles is a biggish wheel in France, and Marie's brother isn't even Emperor.
[2] Edmund of Kent handled things IOTL as well. This was not the start of a glorious career.
[3] This how the war ran IOTL. The Hundred Years War, it wasn't.
[4] IOTL, Charles died in December of 1325.
"For France, the year began with a wedding. Charles d'Evereux, eldest son of Louis, Count of Evereux and heir to the lordship of Etampes, wed Marie of Luxembourg, sister to King John of Bohemia, in a lavish ceremony in Paris[1] meant to symbolize the power and wealth of the French throne. If this showed any thoughts about the upcoming conflict with England, it was contempt--a later (somewhat doubtful) story had the Regent stating that he considered the English little more than "an infestation of vermin". If this was his opinion then Edward gave him little reason to change it--the King's initial response to the sack of Saint-Sardos was to insist that he had had nothing to do with it. Ralph Bennett, the offending Seneschal of Gascony that the French believed to have met with prominent Gascon noble Raymond-Bernard of Monpezat, ringleader and architect of the sack shortly before it occurred, was recalled, and an embassy sent, lead by the King's youngest brother, Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent[2].
"By all accounts, the embassy went poorly--England's claims and excuses were treated with skepticism, and the Regent's outstanding order to muster at the border of Aquitaine in June remained active. Edward seems to have hoped that his new father-in-law might spring to his aide, but Louis was preoccupied by the matter of his own excommunication, and settling affairs in Germany, and planning his own invasion of Italy as a response. As it became rapidly became clearer that the Emperor was not coming to England's aid, Kent appears to have handled matters by giving into the Regent's demands for the Lord of Monpezat. However, upon reaching Gascony, the young Earl seems to have changed his mind, and sent the French officials back empty-handed. It would be war.
"In August, the French army invaded the duchy, the Count of Valois at its head. They found a land guarded by skeleton garrisons and underfunded troops. Within six weeks, France had almost completely occupied Gascony. The Earl of Kent had managed a few weeks of spirited resistance at La Reole, an underwhelming high point for English arms during the entire squalid mess[3]. The English, in between a rounds of apportioning blame amongst their commanders, considered various unlikely schemes of relief before woefully heading to the table. In France, celebrations of the rapid victory would be cut short, when late in December, Charles of Valois fell victim to a stroke. He would expire early in January[4], leaving the peace negotiations--and the Regency--to his eldest son, Philip..."
--John I of France, Vol. 1; A King in His Cradle, Antony Oates (1978)
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[1] IOTL, Marie would wed Charles IV of France. While this might be considered a step down, it should be remembered that Charles is a biggish wheel in France, and Marie's brother isn't even Emperor.
[2] Edmund of Kent handled things IOTL as well. This was not the start of a glorious career.
[3] This how the war ran IOTL. The Hundred Years War, it wasn't.
[4] IOTL, Charles died in December of 1325.
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Edward III was born in 1312. Indeed, the only child of Edward II and Isabella who's been out and out vanished is Joan of the Tower, IOTL, Queen of Scotland.
How many regents already? The Count of Poitiers, the Count of Valois, and the Count of Valois. At least, unless something happens, the new Count of Valois would remain regent until John I comes of age.
Would the new Count of Valois confiscate Gascony? I know Charles IV IOTL didn't, but maybe the new king would act differently.
And the king is 9 or 10. At this age, there is, I'm sure, already talk or discussions on who will he marry. Who are the prospective brides for John I that are being discussed? Or even rumors on the prospective bride?
Would the new Count of Valois confiscate Gascony? I know Charles IV IOTL didn't, but maybe the new king would act differently.
And the king is 9 or 10. At this age, there is, I'm sure, already talk or discussions on who will he marry. Who are the prospective brides for John I that are being discussed? Or even rumors on the prospective bride?
I believe this was answered a few installments ago.
Not the most immediately profitable marriage from the realm's view point, but a player's gonna play.
Must have missed that. So John I is married to the new regents' sister. And Philip is the king's brother in law.
Anyway, I'd like to ask, if it were possible, how is the king coming along? What of his personality, his intelligence, and his character? He's still a boy, but surely, anecdotes on his childhood would be many given that he is the king.
As always, @Space Oddity, your writing is superb, as is your command of the facts. St. Sardos has been as ignoble an episode in the history of English and Gavin arms as it was in OTL. Without Isabella, it'll be interesting to see how renewed opposition to Edward of Caernarvon manifests itself.
Seems being Regent of France us a dangerous business. The unhappy Count of de la Marche may be counting his blessings.
Consider me subscribed!
Seems being Regent of France us a dangerous business. The unhappy Count of de la Marche may be counting his blessings.
Consider me subscribed!
Well, if he hadn't died in Cyprus I'm sure he would be.
Turns out being a child of Philip IV isn't great shakes ITTL either...
And for our next installment, stay tuned as we take a break from all this Franco-English rivalry to take a look at a nobleman who makes Edward II look like the very picture of calm competence.
Interesting teaser. Too bad I don't know enough about medieval Europe to be able to identify him. It should be fun seeing him mess things up, whoever it is. Perhaps worse so than OTL.