Greek Gods- Rome- Middle Ages- England

City of Rouen

Two years later, Henry invaded France a second time, and the remainder of his reign was occupied with his conquests there. The French had grown cautious since the battle of Agincourt, and would not fight another great battle. The advance of the English, therefore, was slow. They first captured many castles in Normandy, and laid siege to Rouen, the capital of that province. The rulers of the city, in order to reduce the number of mouths to be fed, drove out a large number of the poorer, unarmed inhabitants. King Henry would not permit them to pass through his lines, so for several weeks these poor creatures wandered between the English line and the walls of Rouen, starving and shelterless.

An Attack on a Castle

"War," said the English King, in justifying this cruel policy, "has three hand-maidens ever waiting on her—fire, blood, and famine—and I have chosen the meekest maid of the three.

The French, meanwhile, were divided into two great parties, at war with one another. Their King, Charles VI., was insane, and the control of the government was disputed between his son, the Dauphin, and the King's uncle, the Duke of Burgundy. At last, in 1419, the Duke of Burgundy was murdered by one of the Dauphin's followers, in revenge for a murder which Burgundy had himself caused.

This made the breach between the two French parties too wide to be healed for many years. The new Duke of Burgundy went over to the side of the English, and with him went the French Queen, and the city of Paris.

Soon a treaty was signed, in 1420, by which Henry married the French Princess, Katherine. The contest for the throne of France was settled by acknowledging Henry as regent of France during the lifetime of the insane King, Charles VI., and agreeing that he was to become King in his own right after Charles's death.

Marriage of Henry V and Katherine of France

The Dauphin and his followers refused to recognize this treaty as binding. For the present this did not much matter, for the English speedily drove the Dauphin's followers south of the river Loire, leaving all the northern half of France in possession of the English King. But, in the midst of his victories, Henry V. died of camp fever, in 1422, and the upholder of the English rights was then his infant son by Queen Katherine—a babe nine months' old.

A short time after the death of Henry V., Charles VI. of France died. This left the crowns of both England and France to the baby King, Henry VI. The government was placed in the hands of Henry V.'s brother, the Duke of Bedford, who was a man of noble character and an excellent soldier.

For several years, Bedford carried on the war in France with great success. At last, the only place of importance held by the dispossessed Dauphin was the city of Orleans, and to this the English were laying siege. If this should fall, the whole of France would pass into English hands.

But now there occurred one of the most wonderful things in history—the rise to successful leadership over the French army of a young girl, named Joan of Arc.

Joan was of peasant birth, and like most peasants could not read or write. She was a good, sweet girl, and very religious; and she was deeply touched by the miseries of France. She began to hear "voices" of the saints, which urged her to free France, and to bring the Dauphin to the city of Rheims to be crowned king. She long resisted the voices, saying,—

"I am a poor girl. I cannot ride or be a leader in war." In the end, her voices prevailed; and she came, in men's armor, with a holy banner and a sword, to raise the siege of Orleans. It was only with difficulty that she secured the Dauphin's permission; but as soon as she appeared in the camp, she put a new spirit into the French. The English scarcely dared to oppose her, for they believed that she was a "limb of the devil."

Joan of Arc

In a short time, Joan drove the English from Orleans, and then led the French King to Rheims, where he was crowned. Joan then said her work was done, but the French would not permit her to return home. After some further fighting, she was captured by soldiers of the Duke of Burgundy, who sold her to the English.

At the command of the English, she was accused as a witch and a heretic. After a long and unjust trial, she was condemned to death. She was publicly burned at the stake, calling with her last breath upon the name of Jesus. One of the English soldiers was so impressed by her courage and piety that he exclaimed:

"We are lost! We have burned a saint!"

Joan of Arc had accomplished her work. She convinced the French that, if they would unite, they could drive the English from their land. Even the Duke of Burgundy finally broke off his alliance with England, and joined in the attack upon the common enemy. Just at this time, moreover, the Duke of Bedford died. With their best general gone, and the French united against them, the English were not able to hold what Henry V. had won.

Matters did not mend for the English when Henry VI. grew up to manhood. He had no taste for war or business, and would far rather have lived the life of a monk. Fierce quarrels broke out among the English nobles, and those who secured power proved corrupt and unsuccessful in their government.

So, bit by bit, the English lost the lands which they held in France. In 1450, Normandy was again taken from them. Soon Bordeaux, on the Bay of Biscay, was the only place which they held in southern France; and in 1453, after the defeat of the English in a hard-fought battle, this too was obliged to surrender. There then remained to them only one place in France—the city of Calais, which Edward III. had taken in 1347, and which England was to hold for a hundred years longer.