Treaty of Canterbury (1416)

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The Treaty of Canterbury is an alliance treaty concluded on August 15, 1416 between the English King Henry V and the German King Sigismund as part of the Hundred Years War .

prehistory

After the Battle of Azincourt in October 1415, which meant a severe defeat for the French, Henry V of England was in a favorable position of power. The English king was at the beginning of his promising campaigns in France and was looking for allies accordingly. According to the Henrici Quinti Gesta , Henry V maintained diplomatic relations with the Duke of Burgundy and the German king at this time and was in lively correspondence with them in order to negotiate alliance agreements.

The German King Sigismund, meanwhile, took a trip through Western Europe during the Council of Constance in 1415 to counter the church schism , to smooth the waves of the war between England and France and to act as a mediator. His journey took him via Spain and France to England, whereby the onward journey to England in the spring of 1416 is said to be due to a spontaneous decision by Sigismund. As Sigismund's stay in England increased, his prospects of mediating between the two nations or even allying with the French became increasingly difficult. Nevertheless, he dared to attempt in June 1416, together with William of Holland, to draft a mutua convencio , which envisaged a rapprochement between England and France up to and including a peace treaty in nine points . However, these efforts were fruitless after King Charles VI. of France withdrew its consent. In further conversations and correspondence between Sigismund and Karl VI. Their relationship deteriorated noticeably, which is why Sigismund took the side of England and decided to enter into an alliance with Henry V of England.

On August 12, Sigismund and Heinrich arrived in Canterbury to sign the contract.

Conclusion of contract

On August 15, 1416, the Treaty of Canterbury was signed by Henry V and Sigismund. In the text of the treaty, several intentions of the signatories can be determined: on the one hand, the endeavor to achieve the unity of the church despite the existing schism, on the other hand, the preservation of peace and protection of the church ( ecclesiastice pacis tranquillitas ) and peace between the signing kings ( ad pacis reformacionem ). Furthermore, the contract is based on the previous correspondence with King Charles VI. from France one. This, as experience shows ( facti experiencia ), thwarted any prospect of peace and promoted the church schism. Sigismund's efforts to act as mediator also failed, according to the text of the treaty, because of the French king. So Sigismund was forced to enter into an alliance ( amiciciae alleganciae eta confederaciones ) with England in order to protect the values ​​mentioned above ( pax, ecclesia, jura utriusque regnorum ).

The treaty was ratified by the beginning of September 1416 .

consequences

The Canterbury Treaty plays only a minor role in literature due to its propaganda character. The treaty, which was directed against the already very weak French king, was only of symbolic significance for the course of the war, which in any case developed in favor of the English. Despite the efforts of the English crown to persuade Sigismund to implement the treaty, the German king only took part in the war against France in 1418 by letting Prince Elector Ludwig of the Palatinate occupy a few French positions. However, these sparse troop movements only partially fulfilled the treaty, if at all.

swell

  • Frank Taylor (Ed.): Gesta Henrici Quinti. Oxford 1975.

literature

  • Christopher T. Allmand: Henry V. Berkeley et al. 1992.
  • Walter Brandmüller : The Council of Constance: 1414-1418. Two volumes, Paderborn, Munich et al. 1991, ISBN 3-506-74690-1 (volume 1) and ISBN 3-506-74691-X (volume 2).
  • Anne Curry : The Hundred Years War: (1337-1453). Translated from the English by Tobias Gabel. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2012, ISBN 978-3-534-25469-9 .
  • Gerald L. Harriss: Shaping the nation. England 1360-1461. Oxford 2008.
  • Jörg. K. Hoensch (Ed.): Itinerar King and Emperor Sigismunds of Luxembourg: 1368–1437. Warendorf 1995.
  • Karel Hruza, Alexandra Kaar (ed.): Emperor Sigismund (1368–1437). On the rule of a European monarch. Böhlau, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-205-78755-6 ( full text ).
  • Martin Kintzinger : Western links in late medieval Europe. Foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund (= Medieval research. Vol. 2). Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-7995-4253-1 ( digitized version ).
  • Desmond Seward: Henry V as Warlord. London 1987.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Frank Taylor (ed.): Gesta Henrici Quinti. Oxford 1975. pp. 150 f.
  2. ^ Joachim Schneider: Remembrance of the rulers and symbolic communication at the court of King Sigismund. The testimony of Eberhard Windeck. In: Karel Hruza, Alexandra Kaar (ed.): Kaiser Sigismund (1368–1437). On the rule of a European monarch. Vienna et al. 2012, pp. 429–448, here: p. 430 ( online )
  3. ↑ Martin Kintzinger: Western ties in late medieval Europe: foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund. Stuttgart 2000, p. 96.
  4. ↑ Martin Kintzinger: Western ties in late medieval Europe: foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund. Stuttgart 2000, p. 98.
  5. ↑ Martin Kintzinger: Western ties in late medieval Europe: foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund. Stuttgart 2000, p. 100.
  6. ↑ Frank Taylor (ed.): Gesta Henrici Quinti. Oxford 1975. pp. 150 f.
  7. ↑ Frank Taylor (ed.): Gesta Henrici Quinti. Oxford 1975. pp. 150 f.
  8. ↑ Martin Kintzinger: Western ties in late medieval Europe: foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund. Stuttgart 2000, p. 103 f.
  9. ↑ Martin Kintzinger: Western ties in late medieval Europe: foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund. Stuttgart 2000, p. 104.
  10. ↑ Martin Kintzinger: Western ties in late medieval Europe: foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund. Stuttgart 2000, p. 101.
  11. ↑ Martin Kintzinger: Western ties in late medieval Europe: foreign policy between the empire, France, Burgundy and England in the reign of Emperor Sigmund. Stuttgart 2000, p. 116 f.