1423–1428: Treaty of Amiens, alliances and consolidation
p5Charles VII: Joan of Arc, Reconquest and Restoration of the State (1422–1461) · HIGH MIDDLE AGES
The years 1423–1428 were a period of consolidation for Charles VII, marked by complex alliances, military setbacks and a slow rebuilding of royal authority in the south of the kingdom.
⚔️ 17 April 1423: The Treaty of Amiens
On 17 April 1423, a triple alliance was formed, under the Treaty of Amiens, against King Charles VII, between:
- John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, regent of the kingdoms of England and France, representing his nephew Henry VI of England (one year old)
- Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
- John V, Duke of Brittany
The latter would, however, reach a compromise in 1425, agreeing to break this alliance in favour of King Charles VII, through the mediation of Yolande of Aragon, Duchess of Anjou.
👑 Franco-Breton alliance through the mediation of the House of Anjou
King Charles VII had to fight hard against the English and Burgundians to recover the whole of the kingdom of France.
From 1422 to 1425, Charles VII consolidated his positions. He controlled the Berry, Touraine, Poitou, Aunis and Saintonge, Auvergne and the Limousin, Lyon, the Dauphiné, Languedoc, the Agenais, the Rouergue and the Quercy. Anjou, Maine, the Bourbonnais, the Orléanais and the Vendômois were also placed under his control.
Greatly weakened militarily following the defeat of the royal forces at Verneuil on 17 August 1424, Charles VII sought new political support. He therefore turned to his mother-in-law, Yolande of Aragon, ruler of the House of Anjou and Queen of Sicily, who had been urging him since 1423 toward an alliance with Duke John V of Brittany.
Concerned for good relations between the neighbouring duchies of Anjou and Brittany, the Queen of Sicily pressed her son-in-law to prioritise and formalise her own diplomatic interests.
⚔️ March 1425: Arthur of Richemont, Constable of France
The policy advocated by the allied Houses of Anjou and Brittany called for a return to an ideal concord among the princes, the entry of the great feudatories into the Royal Council, and the continuation of the war against the English.
In March 1425, Charles VII agreed to hand the sword of Constable of France to Arthur of Richemont, younger brother of Duke John V of Brittany. By thus placing this high-ranking Breton prince at the head of his army, the king consented to bringing the crown closer to the Duchies of Burgundy and Brittany.
Indeed, Arthur of Richemont was not only the Duke of Brittany’s brother, but also the husband of Margaret, sister of Duke Philip of Burgundy. Hence, Richemont’s family ties were supposed to facilitate the king’s diplomatic approaches to Dukes Philip of Burgundy and John of Brittany, his declared enemies after the murder at Montereau in 1419 for one, and the Penthièvre conspiracy of 1420 for the other.
🏰 The removal of the first advisors
Faced with the demands of the Dukes of Burgundy and Brittany, as a token of goodwill, Charles VII resigned himself to removing from his Council his faithful first-hour advisors, accused of involvement in the death of John the Fearless, with regard to the Burgundians, and of supporting the House of Penthièvre, with regard to the Bretons.
Among the advisors forced to leave the royal court were:
- Tanguy du Chastel
- Béraud d’Auvergne
- Hardouin de Maillé
- Robert Le Maçon
- Jean Louvet, lord of Mérindol, former president of the chambre des comptes of Aix-en-Provence
- Pierre Frotier, commander of the royal guard and Grand Master of the Stables
The medievalist Olivier Bouzy notes that the Constable of Richemont’s policy ran into difficulties with the King of France: “It goes without saying that this idyllic vision of a great aristocracy fighting in reconciliation and without ulterior motive for the salvation of the kingdom was of great naivety: it was the dream of a return to the good times of King Saint Louis, which the Burgundians had been extolling since the time of the Cabochian ordinance. The Duke of Burgundy, who had other political objectives, thwarted Richemont’s dreams (…)”
⚔️ 1425–1428: An inconclusive military situation
The alliance with the Duchy of Brittany strengthened the arms of France, notwithstanding some procrastination noted on both sides over the years. From 1425 to 1429, the royal troops facing the English and Burgundians suffered setbacks interspersed with a few victories… The fate of the kingdom of France seemed undecided.
In 1428, the royal troops conquered Chinon in order to remove this royal fief from the control of Constable Arthur of Richemont, who was at odds with Charles VII at the time. The following year, Chinon castle housed mainly the sovereign’s councillors and captains, while the Queen of France, Marie of Anjou, and her son, Dauphin Louis (future King Louis XI), sheltered at Loches castle.
The image of a royal court given over to festivities during the siege of Orléans is a received idea, shaped later from chronicles denouncing the pleasures of a considerably more mature Charles VII.
🏰 1428: The English threat to Orléans
The English returned in force and on 4 September 1428 invaded the Gâtinais. They besieged Beaugency, Notre-Dame de Cléry and other positions: their objective was to take Orléans and its bridges, the key city of the French defence, the true bolt on the Loire.
On 1 October 1428, to face the danger, Charles VII convened the Estates General at Chinon, to obtain the resources needed to resist the enemy. He obtained both subsidies and reinforcements which would be usefully deployed in the defence of the city of Orléans.
The Duke of Bedford, regent of the kingdoms of France and England, besieged Orléans, and intended to advance as far as Bourges to capture King Charles VII. But the latter had already taken refuge at Chinon.
🧠 Key points
- 17 April 1423: Treaty of Amiens — triple alliance against Charles VII (England, Burgundy, Brittany)
- 17 August 1424: French defeat at Verneuil — military weakening of Charles VII
- March 1425: Arthur of Richemont became Constable — alliance with Brittany
- Charles VII removed his first-hour advisors to appease the Burgundians and Bretons
- 1425–1428: inconclusive military situation, setbacks interspersed with victories
- 4 September 1428: English invasion of the Gâtinais, beginning of the threat to Orléans
- 1 October 1428: Estates General at Chinon to finance the defence
- The king took refuge at Chinon while his family was at Loches