The War of the Valois (1422-1431) was the third phase of the wars between France and England. The conflict is remembered primarily for the massive setback inflicted upon the ambitions of Burgundy, which was reduced to a scattered group of territories across north-west Europe, and the betrayal by Castile of their English allies, an act which ensured France's ultimate success. It is also noteworthy for the death of King Edmund I of England, who fell in battle in 1427.
In 1422, in response to the murder of the Burgundian duke, France broke down into civil war between two lines of the Valois dynasty. King Charles VII and Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, were the major protagonists. Taking advantage of the division, the English moved to reclaim their Continental possessions, but were delayed by actions of the Scots. The Castilian involvement was limited to actions in Gascony, outside the main theatre of the war, but nonetheless significant in determining the future borders of France and Spain.
The early stages of the war primarily involved the two Valois factions and were marked by a series of defeats for the armies of the rebellious Duke. Regularly outmanoeuvered, Burgundian forces experienced catastrophic setbacks. They held out for two years. During this first stage of the conflict, troops from England were occupied with inflicting damage upon the armies of Scotland's King David III. At the same time, forces from Castile/Aragon crossed the Pyrenees and struck into Gascony, focusing particularly on Armagnac.
The Scots campaign ended in the absolute surrender of England's northern neighbour after a smashing victory at the Battle of Glasgow (1423). In 1424, King David was deposed from his throne and the status of Scotland as a kingdom came to an end. The king's brother, James, was named as the nominal leader of the new Duchy of Lothian, and swore an oath to become a vassal of England. The Armagnac campaign was equally successful for the aggressor, with Count John IV killed in battle and his homeland crushed. The Castilian army also sieged across the south, most notably defeating a large French contingent at the Battle of Toulouse (1424). It was this defeat which forced Charles VII to recognise Castilian sovereignty over Armagnac in return for a withdrawal of enemy forces from all French territory.
By 1425, French and Burgundian representatives signed the Treaty of Metz. Under the peace, Burgundy was allowed to hold its capital and hinterland, as well as possessions in Metz, Holland, Utrecht and Antwerp. The remainder of the duchy's vast estates was ceded to France. The removal of the third parties allowed the two major protagonists the opportunity to confront each other for the first time in the war. The English victories at the battles of Caen, Rouen and Flanders gave them control over a wide region and, by mid-1427, English soldiers were approaching the French capital from the west.
Increasingly desperate, King Charles VII offered a substantial bribe to his former enemies in Castile to re-engage in the war, this time as a French ally. With a significant army already in Armagnac, King Alfonso happily accepted the boost to his treasury and opened a new theatre in the south against the English. A further French advantage came when an ambush took the life of the English king. His successor, Henry IV, was crowned on the battlefield and, despite his superior ability as a general, the new monarch began to experience setbacks.
The final phase of the war saw the English advance slowly turned back. An appeal to Portugal went unheeded as Castilian troops advanced, winning battles at Bayonne, Bordeaux and Saintes and seizing the English citadels in the south. In the north, the French forces were similarly successful, managing to displace the English from most, but not all, of their territory. By 1429, the situation had become static, with English landings in the south being repulsed and the territories in the north passing back and fro between the English and French. King Henry IV sought a peace and the representatives of the three kings met in Compiegne on 4 September of that year.
As part of the Treaty of Compiegne, England ceded its Gascon estates to become a Castilian territory with King Alfonso appointing his newly-born second son, named after his father, as the new Duke of Gascony. France agreed to allow the English annexation of the County of Flanders and the Pays de Caux in return for English recognition of King Charles VII as the legitimate ruler of France and a non-aggression pact. The Treaty would survive intact for the next twenty-two years.