Treaty of Troyes

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Distribution of forces in France around 1420. Red: England, violet: Burgundy, blue: Armagnacs

The Treaty of Troyes was a peace treaty signed on May 20, 1420 between Charles VI during the Hundred Years War . (the madman) and Heinrich V. came about. The treaty regulated the succession to the throne after Karl's death. Henry should inherit the crown and unite the kingdoms of England and France in personal union. The Dauphin (and later King Charles VII ) was thus excluded from the line of succession. He then opposed this contract with his supporters, the Armagnacs . With the help of Joan of Arc , he was finally crowned king and expelled the English from France. With the expulsion of the English from the continent, the Hundred Years War ended.

prehistory

The Dauphin's followers are murdered in Montereau

Main article: Hundred Years War

Since the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 , the two kingdoms of England and France were linked on a feudal basis. There followed further interdependencies of a dynastic and territorial nature. When there was a power vacuum in France, as several kings without male descendants had died in quick succession, Edward III. Claim to the throne. The resulting tensions finally culminated in the Hundred Years War in 1337. There were several battles and mutual territorial gains. Various attempts to resolve the conflict through a peace treaty were unsuccessful.

Henry's invasion

In 1413 Henry V ascended the English throne. Like his predecessors, he made it his goal to win territories from France for England. From the accession to the throne, he tried to achieve this through diplomatic channels. He was willing to drop his claim to the French crown if he was given lands in return. But his demands were so high that the French king did not accept them. Henry then invaded France in the summer of 1415. He inflicted a crushing defeat on the French at the Battle of Azincourt . In two campaigns up to 1419 Heinrich brought Normandy under his control.

In France at this time there was an internal conflict between the supporters of the Duke of Burgundy ( Bourguignons ) Johann Ohnefurcht and the royal party and supporters of the Duke of Orléans ( Armagnacs ). This led to a rapprochement between Burgundy and Henry V and the capture of Paris in 1418 by Johann Ohnefurcht. Since the Dauphin wanted to prevent an alliance between England and Burgundy, he himself sought a conversation with Johann Ohnefurcht. At one of these meetings in Montereau , however, Johann was murdered by the Dauphin's followers. The negotiations then broke off abruptly. Philipp , the son and successor of Johann, now turned to the English, from whom he hoped the greatest support, in order to take revenge and to consolidate Burgundy's position in France.

Armistice of Arras

By taking Rouen during his invasion, Heinrich cut off Paris from the most important raw materials for daily use. The people of Paris then entered into negotiations with him. At the same time Philipp tried to get closer to Heinrich. Strengthened by his position of supremacy, the latter had given up his previous demands on land in France and now set new conditions for peace. He wanted the two kingdoms as a dual monarchy in personal union unite.

Charles VI was practically unable to rule at the time because of his illness. He was influenced in his actions by his wife Isabeau and Philip. On November 7th, he gave Philip the power to negotiate an armistice on his behalf. After tough negotiations, it was finally signed in Arras on December 24th. This contract was initially limited to March 1st of the coming year. According to the treaty, this time should be used to negotiate a peace treaty. The Dauphin and his followers ( Armagnacs ) were explicitly excluded from these peace talks .

In parallel to the armistice negotiations, Philipp and Heinrich negotiated an alliance between their two empires. Philip finally agreed to do everything in his power to ensure that Henry received the French crown. In return, Heinrich promised to help punish the Dauphin and his followers, who were responsible for the murder of Johann Ohnefurchts. This alliance was sealed the day after the ceasefire agreement.

Preliminary Peace

After the armistice was sealed, a definitive peace treaty had to be drafted. What is unusual about the Treaty of Troyes is the fact that the basic structure of the treaty between England and Burgundy had already been unofficially negotiated before the armistice was signed. The two parties had already agreed on the most important points of a future contract at the beginning of December.

In early January 1420, Heinrich sent the negotiator Louis de Robersart to the court in Troyes for the official negotiation with the French king . Shortly afterwards, Karl signed a document stating that the Dauphin had proven himself unworthy of the succession because of his horrific deeds. He lost the right of inheritance to the French crown, which cleared the way for Heinrich to pursue his goal. There were lengthy negotiations during which the armistice had to be extended several times. Finally, on April 9, Charles signed the preliminary peace, subject to certain points still to be negotiated with the English king. This agreement contained all points of the later peace treaty as well as the regulation of the circumstances of the meeting of the monarchs. Thereupon a French delegation went to Heinrich to negotiate the last points. In Pontoise there were brief discussions and a few changes to the contract. Heinrich signed this agreement on May 5th.

The peace treaty

The meeting in Troyes

Duke Philip the Good , painted by Rogier van der Weyden around 1450.

The meeting of two monarchs to conclude a peace agreement was always a delicate undertaking. The choice of location was of eminent importance. It had to be chosen in such a way that none of the monarchs would be preferred, as the other could otherwise break off the negotiations. A second critical point was the security of the monarchs. The murder of Johann Unafraid at a meeting with the Dauphin in advance had brought this danger back to the kings' eyes. For these reasons, various security precautions were agreed and recorded in writing in the preliminary peace. As a first security measure, the two monarchs swore an oath on the Gospels in front of a delegation from the other party. In this oath they swore to keep the terms of the treaty and not to pursue any insidious plans. Several villages were open to Heinrich on the way from Pontoise , the current seat of Heinrich's government, to the French court of Troyes. He was supposed to station troops in them to secure his way back after the conclusion of the treaty. In addition, they should protect the meeting against possible attacks by the Dauphin and Armagnacs, who had troops in the area. After the conclusion of the contract, Heinrich was to give the occupied places back to France.

While Heinrich was on his way to Troyes, the meeting was being prepared there. According to the Preliminary Peace, the meeting should take place between Troyes and Nogent . The meeting point was surrounded by a line up to which both kings were allowed to bring 2,500 men. The line should only be crossed by kings and a few confidants. For reasons that are not yet clear, these safety precautions were finally waived and the meeting was held in Troyes itself.

The meeting finally took place on May 20th. Heinrich rode with a train to Troyes, where he was greeted by Philip and some nobles. They entered the city together and Heinrich moved into his quarters. The sources differ widely about the further processes on this day. Henry probably paid a visit to the French king. Then he returned to his accommodation. The contract was then signed the next day.

Signing and signing

Isabeau , the wife and representative of Charles VI.

On the day the contract was signed, it seemed that Karl was not feeling well and was unable to sign the contract himself. Since this was foreseeable because of Karl's illness, the latter had already issued his wife Isabeau and Philipp with a power of attorney on May 19 to sign the contract on his behalf. So now Heinrich, Isabeau and Philipp met at the altar in the cathedral of Troyes. There the contract text was read to them, which they then swore. They touched a gospel book lying on the altar with their right hand. As a next step, the contracts were sealed and exchanged. For this purpose Heinrich used the seal of Edward III, which the latter had used for the Treaty of Brétigny .

In order to make the contract more legally binding, it was sworn by other people. First of all, the dignitaries present in the cathedral took this oath. The following day, other Troyes dignitaries and citizens who had been declared the treaty had to swear to oversee the peace under the treaty. The treaty was then proclaimed across the country and the people were required to take an oath to abide by it. Finally, the French parliament and the English parliament ratified the treaty.

Henry's wedding with Katharina von Valois

The Troyes peace treaty was strengthened by a marriage between Heinrich and Katharina von Valois , the daughter of Charles. The plans for such a peace wedding went back several years. Serious negotiations had been going on in this regard since 1413. Despite differences in the meantime, Heinrich remained single because he was still hoping for a contract. Since the resumption of negotiations between England and France, the wedding has been an important part of the conversation. So the wedding found its way into the armistice and the later peace treaty. The marriage finally took place in Troyes on May 21, right after the contract was signed. The wedding was then held just under two weeks later, on June 2nd.

Content of the contract

Transfer of power

Henry V of England. Anonymous portrait, late 16th or early 17th century. National Portrait Gallery (London)

The most important article in the treaty (Art. 6) regulated the succession of Charles. It was stated that from his death the crown of France with all its rights should go to Henry and his heirs forever. From that moment on, the two kingdoms were to be united in one person, not under one crown. This person was Heinrich or his heir (Art. 24). What kind of legacy this was was not specified in detail. However, this contained a certain potential for conflict. In France, women were excluded from the line of succession or as conveyors of the claim to the throne under Salian law . There was no corresponding law in England, which is why women there could inherit the crown. The question now arose what would have happened if Heinrich's heir to the English crown had been a woman. Did these articles of the Treaty of Troyes introduce Salic law in England, or did they repeal them in France? In reality, this question never had to be seriously discussed, since Heinrich had a son to succeed him and the subsequent events of the war practically dissolved the contract.

Heinrich only officially received the crown of France after the death of Charles. In fact, he ruled instead of the weak king from the time the contract was signed. In the treaty, Heinrich was officially appointed regent of the country. In this office he was supposed to run the business of France if Charles were prevented from doing so by his illness, which according to the treaty would usually be the case (Art. 7). It should be noted that Henry's takeover of the French crown did not mean that France was incorporated into the English Empire. In the contract it was explicitly emphasized that the two kingdoms should remain legally separate after Heinrich took power. Both retained their rights, manners and customs (Art. 24). For France, it was also emphasized that all of its institutions must be retained in their previous form (Art. 8, 11, 17). In the same vein, Heinrich had to recognize the rights, privileges and benefices of the French nobles and church representatives (9, 15, 16).

Legitimation for Heinrich's takeover of the crown

Charles VI (the madman) of France

The Treaty of Troyes secured the crown of France for Henry. However, it was not listed from which claims or legitimations this transfer of power came about. The treaty designated Heinrich as the heir of France (preamble, Art. 22). How he became the heir of France was not mentioned. One possibility could be the recognition of Edward III. existing claim to the French crown. However, this contradicts the fact that Heinrich himself explicitly renounces his title as King of France in the contract (Art. 21) and thus implicitly admits the illegality of this very claim. Simultaneously with Henry's renunciation of this title, Charles was designated as King of France by God's grace (preamble), thus strengthening his claim to the crown. The second possibility for Heinrich's designation as heir could be an adoption (in the Roman style) by Karl. However, such an adoption has not been proven, which makes this variant very unlikely. A frequently mentioned, but completely absurd theory says that Heinrich became an heir through his marriage to Katharina, Karl's daughter. As already mentioned above, women were excluded from succession to the throne or as conveyors of the claim to the throne according to Salic law. As mentioned in Article 1, the wedding only happened [...] pour le bien de la dite Paix [...] (for the sake of the said peace). To underline this, the wedding took place two weeks after the conclusion of the contract.

To this day, it is not possible to say what exactly was the decisive factor for Heinrich to be regarded as the heir of France and thus to claim the crown. It is possible that there was no legitimation for Heinrich's claim to the throne even before the treaty. In this case, the contract alone would represent Heinrich's legitimation.

Unification of France

Strictly speaking, the Treaty of Troyes was not a real peace treaty, because the treaty contained a call to wage war. Article 12 urged Heinrich to conquer all areas of the rebellious Armagnacs and the Dauphins in order to reintegrate them into the realm. In this sense, the order also applied that Henry, as soon as he would take over the French crown, should return all the territories conquered by him in France, including Normandy, to France (Art. 18). Both parties benefited from this arrangement. On the one hand, France emerged from it as a unified empire; on the other, Heinrich was able to avoid the impression that he held France through various claims. He wanted to rule over France as a whole, because the Treaty of Troyes or that of Edward III. existing claim legally.

Dealing with the Dauphin

The Dauphin's actions were an important factor in the creation of the treaty. The rapprochement between Burgundy and England only began with the murder of Johann Unafurchts in Montereau, which ultimately led to the conclusion of the contract. In addition, it was a treaty that excluded him from the line of succession. Interestingly, however, the disinheritance of the Dauphin is not mentioned in the treaty. Only one article (Art. 29) deals exclusively with dealing with it. It was only noted, however, that neither Karl, Heinrich or Philipp would be allowed to negotiate an alliance with the Dauphin without the consent of the others. Another article already mentioned (Art. 12) sets out provisions for dealing with the lands held by the Dauphin and the Armagnacs, which Henry was to take and return to France. The official disinheritance of the dauphin took place outside of the contract.

aftermath

Charles VII (the Victorious) ended the Hundred Years War

The Treaty of Troyes can be seen as a great, if not the greatest triumph of England in the Hundred Years War. Heinrich had enforced his claim to the crown. However, he was never able to take over this crown himself, because he died unexpectedly of dysentery two years later, on August 31, 1422. His only son, Henry VI. , was not yet a year old at the time. Power was therefore in the hands of a few rulers, who, however, were in a much weaker position than the previous king. Less than two months after Henry V, the French king also died on October 21, 1422. The Dauphin was able to exploit the power vacuum resulting from the death of the two kings in his favor. Still inferior militarily at first, he brought about the turning point with the help of Joan of Arc . In 1429 Joan of Arc liberated the besieged Orléans , after which the Dauphin was subsequently crowned the rightful King of France by his followers as Charles VII in the Cathedral of Reims , the traditional coronation place of the French kings . The English responded shortly afterwards with the coronation of Henry VI. to the English and 1431 to the French king. However, his coronation only took place in Paris, as Reims was held by the insurgents. His assumption of the throne thus had an aura of illegality.

In 1435, Philip of Burgundy and Charles VII were finally able to settle their conflict in the Treaty of Arras and come to an agreement on the future of France. In connection with this, Philipp terminated the alliance with the British. Then France went on the offensive. The weak and easily influenced English king, who also had to do with unrest in his own country, could do almost nothing to oppose France. A final attempt to maintain the bridgehead at Calais ended with the defeat of the English army and the death of the general in 1453.

Despite this defeat, the English kings continued to bear the title of King of France in official documents . Only when France officially no longer had a king did they finally give up the title in connection with the negotiation of the Peace of Amiens in 1802.

Contract editions

  • Eugène Cosneau: Les grands traités de la Guerre de Cent Ans. Paris 1889. pp. 100–115 ( Gallica digitization project )
  • Thomas Rymer: Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios quosvis imperatores, reges, pontifices, principes, vel communitates, from Ineunte Saeculo Duodecimo, viz. from anno 1101, ad nostra usque tempora, habita aut tractata (...) Vol. 9, 2nd edition. London 1726, pp. 895-904 (Latin / French), pp. 916-920 (English).
  • Modern English translation in: Anne Curry : Two Kingdoms, One King: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) and the Creation of a Double Monarchy of England and France. In: Glenn Richardson (Ed.): The Contending Kingdoms. France and England 1420-1700. Aldershot 2008, ISBN 978-0-7546-5789-7 , pp. 35-41.

literature

  • Christopher T. Allmand: Henry V the Soldier, and the War in France. In: Gerald Leslie Harriss (Ed.): Henry V. The practice of kingship. Oxford 1985, ISBN 0-19-873080-2 , pp. 117-135.
  • Christopher T. Allmand: The Hundred Years War. England and France at War c. 1300 - c. 1450. (= Cambridge medieval textbooks. Vol. 1). Cambridge 1988, ISBN 0-521-31923-4 .
  • Christopher T. Allmand: Henry V. London 1992, ISBN 0-413-53280-1 .
  • Paul Bonefant: You meurtre de Montereau au traité de Troyes (= Mémoires de la Classe des Lettres. Series 2, 52/4). Brussels 1958, ISSN  0378-7893
  • Philippe Contamine: La guerre de cent ans. 5th edition. Paris 1989.
  • Anne Curry: The Hundred Years War. New York 1993, ISBN 0-312-09142-7 ; German The Hundred Years War. Primus, Darmstadt 2012, ISBN 978-3-86312-345-1
  • Anne Curry: Le traité de Troyes (1420). A triomphe pour les Anglais ou pour les Français? In: Jean Maurice, Daniel Couty, Michèle Guéret-Laferté et al. (Eds.): Images de la guerre de cent ans. (= Études médiéval. 2). Paris 2002, ISBN 2-13-051900-8 , pp. 13-26.
  • Anne Curry: Two Kingdoms, One King: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) and the Creation of a Double Monarchy of England and France. In: Glenn Richardson (Ed.): The Contending Kingdoms. France and England 1420-1700. Aldershot 2008, ISBN 978-0-7546-5789-7 , pp. 23-41.
  • Pierre Duparc: La Conclusion du Traité de Troyes. In: Revue historique de droit français et étranger. Quatrième série, 49/1 (1971), ISSN  0035-3280 , pp. 50-64.
  • Nicolas Offenstadt: Faire la paix au Moyen Âge. Discours et gestes de paix pendant la Guerre de Cent Ans. Paris 2007, ISBN 978-2-7381-1099-2 .
  • Gerald Schwedler : Meeting of rulers of the late Middle Ages. Forms - rituals - effects (= medieval research. Vol. 21). Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2008, ISBN 978-3-7995-4272-2 ( digitized version )

Remarks

  1. ^ Anne Curry: The Hundred Years War. New York 1993, pp. 32-90.
  2. ^ Christopher T. Allmand: Henry V the Soldier, and the War in France. In: Gerald Leslie Harriss (Ed.): Henry V. The practice of kingship. Oxford 1985, pp. 125-128.
  3. ^ Philippe Contamine: La guerre de cent ans. 5th edition. Paris 1989, p. 86.
  4. Christopher T. Allmand: The Hundred Years War. England and France at War c. 1300 - c. 1450 (Cambridge medieval textbooks 1). Cambridge 1988, p. 29.
  5. Paul Bonefant: You meurtre de Montereau au traité de Troyes (Memoires de la Classe des Lettres, Series 2, 52/4). Brussels 1958, pp. 32–33.
  6. Thomas Rymer: Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios (...) Vol. 9, 2nd edition. London 1726, pp. 822-824.
  7. Thomas Rymer: Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios (...) Vol. 9, 2nd edition. London 1726, pp. 825-827.
  8. ^ Pierre Duparc: La Conclusion du Traité de Troyes. In: Revue historique de droit français et étranger. Quatrième série, 49/1 (1971), pp. 50-64, here p. 54.
  9. Paul Bonefant: You meurtre de Montereau au traité de Troyes (Memoires de la Classe des Lettres, Series 2, 52/4). Brussels 1958, pp. 128-132, pp. 153-159.
  10. Gerald Schwedler: Meeting of rulers of the late Middle Ages. Forms - rituals - effects (medieval research 21). Ostfildern 2008, pp. 258-259, pp. 275-277.
  11. Thomas Rymer: Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios (...) Vol. 9, 2nd edition. London 1726, pp. 877-882.
  12. Thomas Rymer: Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios (...) Vol. 9, 2nd edition. London 1726, p. 881.
  13. Paul Bonefant: You meurtre de Montereau au traité de Troyes (Memoires de la Classe des Lettres, Series 2, 52/4). Brussels 1958, p. 168.
  14. Christopher T. Allmand: Henry V. London 1992, p. 143.
  15. Gerald Schwedler: Meeting of rulers of the late Middle Ages. Forms - rituals - effects (medieval research 21). Ostfildern 2008, pp. 266–267.
  16. Thomas Rymer: Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios (...) Vol. 9, 2nd edition. London 1726, p. 894.
  17. Gerald Schwedler: Meeting of rulers of the late Middle Ages. Forms - rituals - effects (medieval research 21). Ostfildern 2008, p. 269.
  18. ^ Nicolas Offenstadt: Faire la paix au Moyen Âge. Discours et gestes de paix pendant la Guerre de Cent Ans. Paris 2007, p. 279.
  19. ^ Pierre Duparc: La Conclusion du Traité de Troyes. In: Revue historique de droit français et étranger. Quatrième série, 49/1 (1971), pp. 58-59.
  20. ^ Anne Curry: The Hundred Years War. New York 1993, p. 96.
  21. Christopher T. Allmand: Henry V. London 1992, p. 144.
  22. ^ Anne Curry: Two Kingdoms, One King: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) and the Creation of a Double Monarchy of England and France. In: Glenn Richardson (Ed.): The Contending Kingdoms. France and England 1420-1700. Aldershot 2008, pp. 23-41, here pp. 30-31.
  23. ^ Anne Curry: Le traité de Troyes (1420). A triomphe pour les Anglais ou pour les Français? In: Jean Maurice / Daniel Couty / Michèle Guéret-Laferté et al. (Eds.): Images de la guerre de cent ans. (Études médiéval 2). Paris 2002, pp. 13–26, here pp. 14–15.
  24. ^ Anne Curry: Two Kingdoms, One King: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) and the Creation of a Double Monarchy of England and France. In: Glenn Richardson (Ed.): The Contending Kingdoms. France and England 1420-1700. Aldershot 2008, pp. 23-41, here pp. 24-25.
  25. Thomas Rymer: Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios quosvis imperatores, reges, pontifices, principes, vel communitates, ab Ineunte Saeculo Duodecimo, viz. from anno 1101, ad nostra usque tempora, habita aut tractata (...) Vol. 9, 2nd edition. London 1726, p. 896.
  26. ^ Anne Curry: Two Kingdoms, One King: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) and the Creation of a Double Monarchy of England and France. In: Glenn Richardson (Ed.): The Contending Kingdoms. France and England 1420-1700. Aldershot 2008, pp. 23-41, here pp. 30-31; Anne Curry: Le traité de Troyes (1420). A triomphe pour les Anglais ou pour les Français? In: Jean Maurice / Daniel Couty / Michèle Guéret-Laferté et al. (Eds.): Images de la guerre de cent ans. (Études médiéval 2). Paris 2002, pp. 13–26, here p. 16.
  27. ^ Anne Curry: Le traité de Troyes (1420). A triomphe pour les Anglais ou pour les Français? In: Jean Maurice / Daniel Couty / Michèle Guéret-Laferté et al. (Eds.): Images de la guerre de cent ans. (Études médiéval 2). Paris 2002, pp. 13–26, here p. 15.
  28. ^ Anne Curry: Two Kingdoms, One King: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) and the Creation of a Double Monarchy of England and France. In: Glenn Richardson (Ed.): The Contending Kingdoms. France and England 1420 - 1700. Aldershot 2008, pp. 23–41, here p. 25.
  29. ^ Anne Curry: Two Kingdoms, One King: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) and the Creation of a Double Monarchy of England and France. In: Glenn Richardson (Ed.): The Contending Kingdoms. France and England 1420 - 1700. Aldershot 2008, pp. 23–41, here p. 35.