bewildered; they could not believe that they had been victims of such a simple ruse.
And there was the Duke of Burgundy himself, riding to the Queen, bowing in his saddle, his eyes alight with pleasure and amusement.
‘Dear cousin,’ cried the Queen, ‘you have delivered me from captivity. We are friends. I shall never fail you. I know you to be a loyal servant of my poor misguided lord and all his family and a true protector of a sad war-torn realm.’
It was a great achievement. Burgundy and the Queen were allies. They set up a Court of Justice to replace that in Paris; Burgundy was now the acclaimed enemy of the King and still more inclined to be on friendly terms with the King’s enemy.
At the same time there was still no open agreement between Henry and Burgundy but they were moving closer together.
It was not until July of 1418 – nearly three years after the battle of Agincourt – that Henry took Rouen. This was the deciding factor and Rouen had held out valiantly realising that as capital of Normandy if it fell to the English that would put the seal of death on French hopes of victory.
It was a particularly heart-rending siege. The inhabitants sent urgent appeals both to the King and the Duke of Burgundy; they sent out from their city any who were unable to fight and this meant that old men, feeble women and young children were wandering in the districts beyond the city walls, dying of starvation; but the citizens were ruthless. They knew they were going to need all the food they had for those who could defend the city. All through the heat of August to the mists of September and the threat of cold in October the siege continued. December had come with all the bitterness of a hard winter. The citizens of Rouen were at the end of their resistance when a message came from Burgundy bidding them treat with the English for the best terms they could get.
It was desertion. Neither the King of France nor the Duke of Burgundy could or would help them.
Henry had expended men and wealth in the siege and he was angry with the citizens for holding out so long. He ordered that all the men should deliver themselves to him and believing this to be certain death the people of Rouen prepared to set fire to their city.
Henry was amazed at a people who could consider burning themselves to death and he immediately granted pardon to all men except a few whom he would name.
Thus on a cold January day Henry made his entry into the city of Rouen and now was the time for the French to come to terms with the English before they took the whole of France and thus made bargaining out of the question.
It was then that Henry set eyes on Katherine and no sooner had he done so than he greatly desired to marry her. He was first of all the soldier, though, and he was not going to concede too much even for Katherine. He had come for the crown of France and would take nothing else.
He was deeply aware of Burgundy. Eager as he was for the Duke’s friendship he was delighted because of the conflict between Burgundy and the King and the Dauphin. He wanted to keep that going.
Burgundy knew too well what was going on in Henry’s mind and determined to exploit it to the full. What he wanted was to enlarge his possessions, and he decided he might come to private terms with the English. He might be their ally – even against the French. Why not? The Burgundians were waging battle against the Armagnacs. At the same time he did not want Henry to think he would be a willing ally. He would have to be presented with advantages if he was going to join the English. And how could that be – a Burgundian fighting with the English to take the crown of France from the reigning French house!
At the conference Burgundy was extremely cold to Henry. Henry did not mind. He understood exactly where Burgundy’s thoughts were leading him.
They had refused his terms. They had refused to allow him to see Katherine again.
‘We want you to know, cousin,’ he
And there was the Duke of Burgundy himself, riding to the Queen, bowing in his saddle, his eyes alight with pleasure and amusement.
‘Dear cousin,’ cried the Queen, ‘you have delivered me from captivity. We are friends. I shall never fail you. I know you to be a loyal servant of my poor misguided lord and all his family and a true protector of a sad war-torn realm.’
It was a great achievement. Burgundy and the Queen were allies. They set up a Court of Justice to replace that in Paris; Burgundy was now the acclaimed enemy of the King and still more inclined to be on friendly terms with the King’s enemy.
At the same time there was still no open agreement between Henry and Burgundy but they were moving closer together.
It was not until July of 1418 – nearly three years after the battle of Agincourt – that Henry took Rouen. This was the deciding factor and Rouen had held out valiantly realising that as capital of Normandy if it fell to the English that would put the seal of death on French hopes of victory.
It was a particularly heart-rending siege. The inhabitants sent urgent appeals both to the King and the Duke of Burgundy; they sent out from their city any who were unable to fight and this meant that old men, feeble women and young children were wandering in the districts beyond the city walls, dying of starvation; but the citizens were ruthless. They knew they were going to need all the food they had for those who could defend the city. All through the heat of August to the mists of September and the threat of cold in October the siege continued. December had come with all the bitterness of a hard winter. The citizens of Rouen were at the end of their resistance when a message came from Burgundy bidding them treat with the English for the best terms they could get.
It was desertion. Neither the King of France nor the Duke of Burgundy could or would help them.
Henry had expended men and wealth in the siege and he was angry with the citizens for holding out so long. He ordered that all the men should deliver themselves to him and believing this to be certain death the people of Rouen prepared to set fire to their city.
Henry was amazed at a people who could consider burning themselves to death and he immediately granted pardon to all men except a few whom he would name.
Thus on a cold January day Henry made his entry into the city of Rouen and now was the time for the French to come to terms with the English before they took the whole of France and thus made bargaining out of the question.
It was then that Henry set eyes on Katherine and no sooner had he done so than he greatly desired to marry her. He was first of all the soldier, though, and he was not going to concede too much even for Katherine. He had come for the crown of France and would take nothing else.
He was deeply aware of Burgundy. Eager as he was for the Duke’s friendship he was delighted because of the conflict between Burgundy and the King and the Dauphin. He wanted to keep that going.
Burgundy knew too well what was going on in Henry’s mind and determined to exploit it to the full. What he wanted was to enlarge his possessions, and he decided he might come to private terms with the English. He might be their ally – even against the French. Why not? The Burgundians were waging battle against the Armagnacs. At the same time he did not want Henry to think he would be a willing ally. He would have to be presented with advantages if he was going to join the English. And how could that be – a Burgundian fighting with the English to take the crown of France from the reigning French house!
At the conference Burgundy was extremely cold to Henry. Henry did not mind. He understood exactly where Burgundy’s thoughts were leading him.
They had refused his terms. They had refused to allow him to see Katherine again.
‘We want you to know, cousin,’ he
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