A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z

Outline of Universal History

G >> George Park Fisher >> Outline of Universal History




BATTLE OF POITIERS: INSURRECTION IN PARIS.--_Philip_ left his
crown to his son, _John_ (II.) of Normandy, called "the Good"
(1350-1364); but the epithet (_le Bon_) signifies not the morally
worthy, but rather, the prodigal, gay and extravagant. He was a
passionate, rash, and cruel king. His relations with _Charles_
"the Bad," king of _Navarre_,--who, however, was the better man
of the two,--brought disasters upon France. This _Charles II._ of
Navarre (1349-1387) was the grandson, on his mother's side, of
_Louis X._ of France. _John_ had withheld from him promised
fiefs. Later he had thrown him into prison. _Philip of Navarre_,
the brother of _Charles_, helped the English against _John_
in Normandy. Meanwhile the Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) ravaged
the provinces near Guienne. The national spirit in France was roused
by the peril. The _States General_ granted large supplies of men
and money, but only on the condition that the treasure should be
dispensed under their superintendence, and that they should be
assembled every year. The army of the Black Prince was small, and he
advanced so far that he was in imminent danger; but the attack on him
at _Poitiers_ (1356), by the vastly superior force of King
_John_, was made with so much impetuosity and so little prudence
that the French, as at _Crecy_, were completely defeated. Their
cavalry charged up a lane, not knowing that the English archers were
behind the hedges on either side. Their dead to the number of eleven
thousand lay on the field. The king, and with him a large part of the
nobility, were taken prisoners. _John_ was taken to England
(1357). From the moment of his capture he was treated with the utmost
courtesy. The French peasantry, however, suffered greatly; and in
France the name of Englishman for centuries afterwards was held in
abhorrence.

INSURRECTION IN PARIS.--The incapacity of the nobles to save the
kingdom called out the energies of the class counted as plebeian,--the
middle class between the nobles and serfs. It was not without
competent leaders, chief of whom were _Robert le Coq_, bishop of
_Laon_, and councilor of Parliament; and _Etienne Marcel_,
an able man, provost of the traders, or head of the municipality of
Paris. The _States General_ at Paris, at the instigation of such
as these, required of the _Dauphin_ the punishment of the
principal officers of the king, the release of the King of Navarre,
and the establishment of a council made up from the three orders, for
the direction of all the important affairs of government. The States
General, representing _the South_, at Toulouse voted a levy of
men and means without conditions; but the Dauphin _Charles_ was
obliged, at the next meeting of the States General of Paris (1357), to
yield to these and other additional demands. The king, however, a
prisoner in England, at the Dauphin's request refused to ratify the
compact. The agitators at Paris set the King of Navarre free, and
urged him to assert his right to the throne. _Marcel_ and the
Parisian multitude wore the party-colored hood of red and blue, the
civic colors of Paris. They killed two of the Dauphin's confidential
advisers, the marshals of Champagne and Normandy. A reaction set in
against _Marcel_, and in favor of the royal cause. A civil war
was the result.

REVOLT OF THE JACQUERIE.--At this time, there burst forth an
insurrection, called the _Jacquerie_, of the peasants of the
provinces,--_Jacques Bonhomme_ being a familiar nickname of the
peasantry. It was attended with frightful cruelties: many of the
feudal chateaux were destroyed, and all of their inmates killed. The
land was given over to anarchy and bloodshed. _Marcel_ made
different attempts to effect a combination with _Charles of
Navarre_; but the revolutionary leader was assassinated, and the
Dauphin _Charles_, having destroyed opposition in _Paris_,
made peace with the King of Navarre, who had kept up in the provinces
the warfare against him. The movement of _Marcel_, with whatever
crimes and errors belonged to it, was "a brave and loyal effort to
stem anarchy, and to restore good government." By its failure, the
hope of a free parliamentary government in France was dashed in
pieces.

TREATY OF BRÉTIGNY (1360).--The captive king, _John_, made a
treaty with _Edward_, by which he ceded to the English at least
one-half of his dominions. The _Dauphin_ assembled the States
General, and repudiated the compact. _Edward III._, in 1359,
again invaded France with an immense force. But _Charles_
prudently avoided a general engagement, and _Edward_ found it
difficult to get food for his troops. He concluded with France, in
1360, the treaty of _Brétigny_, by which the whole province of
_Aquitaine_, with several other lordships, was ceded to
_Edward_, clear of all feudal obligations. _Edward_, in
turn, renounced his claim to the French crown, as well as to
_Normandy_, and to all other former possessions of the
Plantagenets north of the Loire. The King was to be set at liberty on
the payment of the first installment of his ransom.




THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR:


PERIOD II. (TO THE PEACE OF TROYES, 1420).

DUCHY OF BURGUNDY.--There was an opportunity to repair a part of these
losses. In 1361 the ducal house of _Burgundy_ became extinct, and
the fief reverted to the crown. But _John_ gave it to his son,
_Philip the Bold_, who became the founder of the Burgundian branch
of the house of _Valois_. _Philip_ married the heiress of
_Flanders_, and thus founded the power of the house of Burgundy in
the Netherlands.

DU GUESCLIN: CONTEST IN SPAIN.--The provinces of France were overrun
and plundered by soldiers of both parties, under the names of
_routiers_ (men of the road) and _great companies_. King
_John_ returned to England, because one of his sons, left as a
hostage, had fled. There his captivity was made pleasant to him, but he
died soon after.

_Charles V._, or _Charles the Wise_ (1364-1380), undertook to
restore prosperity to the French kingdom. He reformed the coin, the
debasement of which was a dire grievance to the burghers. Against the
free lances in the service of _Charles of Navarre_, the king sent
bands of mercenary soldiers under _Du Guesclin_, a valiant
gentleman of Brittany, who became one of the principal heroes of the
time. The war lasted for a year, and the King of Navarre made peace. In
Brittany, _Du Guesclin_ was taken prisoner by the English party
and the adventurers who fought with them. The king secured his release
by paying his ransom; and he led the companies into Spain to help the
cause of _Henry of Transtamare_, who had a dispute for the throne
of _Castile_ with _Peter the Cruel_. The Black Prince
supported _Peter_, and, for a time, with success. In 1369
_Henry_ was established on the throne, and with him the French
party. The principal benefit of this Spanish contest was the
deliverance of France from the companies of freebooters.

ADVANTAGES GAINED BY THE FRENCH.--King _Charles_ reformed the
internal administration of his kingdom, and at length felt himself
ready to begin again the conflict with England. _Edward III._ was
old. The Black Prince was ill and gloomy, and his Aquitanian subjects
disliked the supercilious ways of the English. _Charles_ declared
war (1369). The English landed at _Calais_. But the cities were
defended by their strong walls; and the French army, under the _Duke
of Burgundy_, in pursuance of the settled policy of the king,
refused to meet the enemy in a pitched battle. The next year (1370)
they appeared again, and once more, in 1373, both times with the same
result. The _Duke of Anjou_ reconquered the larger part of
_Aquitaine_. _Du Guesclin_ was made constable of the French
army, and thus placed above the nobles by birth. The English fleet was
destroyed by the Castilian vessels before _Rochelle_ (1372). _Du
Guesclin_ drove the _Duke of Montfort_, who was protected by
the English, out of Brittany. In 1375 a truce was made, which continued
until the death of Edward III. (1377). Then _Charles_ renewed the
war, and was successful on every side. Most of the English possessions
in France were won back. The last exploit of the Black Prince had been
the sacking of _Limoges_ (1370). After this cruel proceeding,
broken in health, he returned to England.

STATE OF ENGLAND.--The Black Prince, after his return, when his father
was old and feeble, did much to save the country from misrule, so that
his death was deplored. The Parliament at this time was called "the
Good." It turned out of office friends of _John of Gaunt_,--or of
Ghent (the place where he was born),--the third son of Edward. They
were unworthy men, whom John had caused to be appointed. At this time
occurred the first instance of impeachment of the king's ministers by
the Commons. When the Black Prince died, his brother regained the chief
power, and his influence was mischievous. During Edward's reign,
Flemish weavers were brought over to England, and the manufacture of
fine woolen cloths was thus introduced.

JOHN WICKLIFFE.--In this reign the English showed a strong disposition
to curtail the power of the popes in England. When _Pope Urban
V._, in 1366, called for the payment of the arrears of King
_John's_ tribute, Parliament refused to grant it, on the ground
that no one had the right to subject the kingdom to a foreigner. It was
in the reign of _Edward III._ that _John Wickliffe_ became
prominent. He took the side of the secular or the parish clergy in
their conflict with the mendicant orders,--"the Begging Friars," as
they were styled. He also advocated the cause of the king against the
demands of the Pope. He contended that the clergy had too much wealth
and power. He adopted doctrines, at that time new, which were not
behind the later Protestant, or even Puritan, opinions. He translated
the Bible into English. He was protected by _Edward III._ and by
powerful nobles, and he died in peace in his parish at
_Lutterworth_, in 1384; but, after his death, his bones were taken
up, and burned. His followers bore the nickname of _Lollards_,
which is probably derived from a word that means _to sing_, and
thus was equivalent to _psalm-singers_.

RICHARD II. (1377-1399): THE PEASANT INSURRECTION: DEPOSITION OF
RICHARD.--_Richard_, the young son of the Black Prince, had an
unhappy reign. At first he was ruled by his uncles, especially by
_John of Gaunt_, Duke of Lancaster. Four years after his
accession, a great insurrection of the peasants broke out, from
discontent under the yoke of villanage, and the pressure of taxes. The
first leader in Essex was a priest, who took the name of _Jack
Straw_. In the previous reign, the poor had found reason to complain
bitterly of the landlords; but their lot was now even harder. When the
insurgents reached _Blackheath_, they numbered a hundred thousand
men. There a priest named _John Ball_ harangued them on the
equality of rights, from the text,--

When Adam delved, and Eve span,
Who was then a gentleman?

Young Richard managed them with so much tact, and gave them such fair
promises, that they dispersed. One of their most fierce leaders,
_Wat Tyler_, whose daughter had been insulted by a tax-gatherer,
was stabbed during a parley which he was holding with the king.

There was a _Gloucester_ party--a party led by his youngest uncle,
the _Duke of Gloucester_--which gave Richard much trouble; but he
became strong enough to send the duke to _Calais_, where, it was
thought, he was put to death. In 1398 he banished two noblemen who had
given him, at a former day, dire offense. One of them was _Thomas
Mowbray_, Duke of _Norfolk_; the other was _Henry of
Bolingbroke_, Duke of _Hereford_, afterwards called Duke of
_Lancaster_, son of John of Gaunt. When John of Gaunt died,
Richard seized his lands. In 1399, when _Richard_ was in Ireland,
_Bolingbroke_ landed, with a few men-at-arms and with Archbishop
_Arundel_; and, being joined by the great family of _Percy_
in the North, he obliged _Richard_ to resign the crown. He was
deposed by Parliament for misgovernment. Not long after, he was
murdered. _Lancaster_ was made king under the name of _Henry
IV._ It was under _Richard_ that the statute of
_præmunire_ (of 1353) was renewed, and severe penalties were
imposed on all who should procure excommunications or sentences against
the king or the realm.

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.--In the course of the reign of
_Edward III._, the French language, which had come in with the
Normans, ceased to be the speech of fashion; and the English, as
altered by the loss of inflections and by the introduction of foreign
words, came into general use. The English ceased to speak the language
of those who were now held to be national enemies. In 1362 the use of
English was established in the courts of law. The _Old English_
ceased to be written or spoken correctly. The _Latin_ still
continued to be familiar to the clergy and to the learned. _William
Langland_ wrote a poem entitled the _Vision of Piers Plowman_
(1362). _Pierce the Plowman's Crede_ is a poem by another
author. The two principal poets are _Chaucer_ and _Gower_,
both of whom wrote the new English in use at the court. Chaucer's great
poem, the _Canterbury Tales_, is the latest and most remarkable of
his works.

HENRY IV. (1399-1413): TWO REBELLIONS: THE LOLLARDS.-By right of birth,
the crown would have fallen to _Roger Mortimer_, Earl of March,
the grandson of _Lionel_, Duke of Clarence, Lionel having been a
son of Edward III., older than John of Gaunt. But there was no law
compelling Parliament to give the throne to the nearest of kin. So it
fell to the house of Lancaster.

Henry had to confront two rebellions. One was that of the _Welsh_,
under _Owen Glendower_, which he long tried to put down, and which
was gradually overcome by _Henry_, Prince of Wales, the story of
whose wild courses in his youth was perhaps exaggerated. The other
rebellion was that of the powerful Northumberland family of the
_Percys_, undertaken in behalf of _Richard_ if he was
alive,--for it was disputed whether or not he had really died,--and if
not alive, in behalf of the _Earl of March_. The _Percys_
joined Glendower. They were beaten in a bloody battle near
_Shrewsbury_, in 1403, where Northumberland's son "Hotspur"
(_Harry Percy_) was slain. While praying at the shrine of
St. Edward in Westminster, the king was seized with a fit, and died in
the "Jerusalem Chamber" of the Abbot. Under _Henry_ the
proceedings against heretics were sharpened; but the Commons at length,
from their jealousy of the clergy, sought, although in vain, a
mitigation of the statute. In the next reign, the Lollards, who were
numerous, had a leader in _Sir John Oldcastle_, called _Lord
Cobham_, who once escaped from the Tower, but was captured, after
some years, and put to death as a traitor and heretic. Whether he aimed
at a Lollard revolution or not, is uncertain. The Lollards were
persecuted, not only as heretics, but also as desiring to free the
serfs from their bondage to the landlords.

THE BURGUNDIANS AND ARMAGNACS.--In the last days of _Charles V._
of France, he tried in vain to absorb _Brittany_. _Flanders_
and _Languedoc_ revolted against him. The aspect of public affairs
was clouded when _Charles VI_. (1380-1422), who was not twelve
years old, became the successor to the throne. His uncles, the Dukes of
_Anjou_, _Berri_, and _Burgundy_, contended for the
regency. Their quarrels distracted the kingdom. A contest arose with
the Flemish cities under the leadership of _Philip Van Artevelde_;
but they were defeated by the French nobles at _Roosebeke_, and
_Arterielde_ was slain. This victory of the nobles over the cities
was followed by the repression of the municipal leaders and lawyers in
France. Two factions sprang up,--the _Burgundians_ and the
_Armagnacs_.

_Margaret_, the wife of the Duke of Burgundy, received Flanders by
inheritance, on the death of her father the Count (1384). The king was
beginning to free himself from the control of the factions when he
suddenly went mad. Thenceforth there was a struggle in France for
supremacy between the adherents of the dukes of _Burgundy_ and the
adherents of the house of _Orleans_. The latter came to be called
_Armagnacs_ (1410), after the _Count d'Armagnac_, the
father-in-law of _Charles, Duke of Orleans_. The strength of the
_Burgundians_ was in the _North_ and in the cities. They
adhered to _Urban VI._, the pope at Rome, in opposition to the
Avignon pope, _Clement VII._; for these were the days of the papal
schism. They were also friends of the house of _Lancaster_ in
England,--of _Henry IV._ and _Henry V._ The strength of the
_Armagnacs_ was in the _South_. At the outset, it was a party
of the court and of the nobles: later it became a national
party. _Louis, Duke of Orleans_, was treacherously assassinated by
a partisan of the Burgundians (1407). This act fomented the strife.

BATTLE OF AGINCOURT: TREATY OF TROYES (1420).--It was in 1392 that the
king partially lost his reason. For the rest of his life, except at
rare intervals, he was either imbecile or frenzied. By the division of
counsels and a series of fatalities, gigantic preparations for the
invasion of England had come to naught (1386-1388). _Henry V. of
England_ (1413-1422) concluded that the best way to divert his
nobles from schemes of rebellion was to make war across the
Channel. Accordingly he demanded his "inheritance" according to the
treaty of _Brétigny_, together with _Normandy_. On the
refusal of this demand, he renewed the claim of his greatgrandfather to
the crown of France, although he was not the eldest descendant of
_Edward III_. _Henry_ invaded France at the head of fifty
thousand men. By his artillery and mines he took _Harfleur_, but
not until after a terrible siege in which thousands of his troops
perished by sickness. On his way towards _Calais_, with not more
than nine thousand men, he found his way barred at _Agincourt_ by
the Armagnac forces, more than fifty thousand in number, comprising the
chivalry of France (1415). In the great battle that ensued, the horses
of the French floundered in the mud, and horse and rider were destroyed
by the English bowmen. The French suffered another defeat like the
defeats of _Crécy_ and _Poitiers_. They lost eleven thousand
men, and among them some of the noblest men in France. France was
falling to pieces. _Rouen_ was besieged by Henry, and compelled by
starvation to surrender (1419). The fury of factions continued to
rage. There were dreadful massacres by the mob in Paris. The _Duke of
Burgundy, John the Fearless_ (_Jean sans Peur_), was murdered
in 1419 by the opposite faction. The young Duke _Philip_, and even
the Queen of France, _Isabella_, were now found on the
Anglo-Burgundian side. By the _Treaty of Troyes_, in 1420,
_Catherine_, the daughter of _Charles VI._, was given in
marriage to _Henry V._, and he was made the heir of the crown of
France when the insane king, _Charles VI._, should
die. _Henry_ was made regent of France. The whole country north of
the _Loire_ was in his hands. The Dauphin _Charles_ retired
to the provinces beyond that river.




THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR:


PERIOD III. (TO THE END, 1463).

FRANCE IN 1422.--Both _Henry_ and _Charles VI._ died in 1422.
The Duke of Bedford was made regent in France, ruling in the name of
his infant nephew (_Henry VI._). _Charles VII._ (1422-1461)
was proclaimed king by the _Armagnacs_ south of the Loire. His
situation was desperate, but he represented the national cause.
_Bedford_ laid siege to _Orleans_, the last bulwark of the
royal party. The English were weakened, however, by the withdrawal of
the _Duke of Burgundy_ and his forces.

JOAN OF ARC.--When the national cause was at this low point, Providence
raised up a deliverer in the person of a pure, simple-hearted, and
pious maiden of _Domrémy_ in _Lorraine_, seventeen years of
age, _Jeanne Dare_ by name (the name _Joan of Arc_ being
merely a mistake in orthography). The tales of suffering that she had
heard deeply moved her. She felt herself called of Heaven to liberate
France. She fancied that angels' voices bade her undertake this holy
mission. Her own undoubting faith aroused faith in others. Commissioned
by the king, she mounted a horse, and, with a banner in her hand,
joined the French soldiers, whom she inspired with fresh courage. They
forced the English to give up the siege of Orleans, and to march
away. Other defeats of the English followed. The Maid of Orleans took
_Charles_ to _Rheims_, and stood by him at his
coronation. The English and Burgundians rallied their strength. _Joan
of Arc_ was ill supported, and was made prisoner at Compèigne by the
Burgundians. They delivered her to the English. She was subjected to
grievous indignities, was condemned as a witch, and finally burned as a
relapsed heretic at _Rouen_ (1431). The last word she uttered was
"Jesus." Her character was without a taint. In her soul, the spirit of
religion and of patriotism burned with a pure flame. A heroine and a
saint combined, she died "a victim to the ingratitude of her friends,
and the brutality of her foes."

THE ENGLISH DRIVEN OUT--In 1435 the _Duke of Burgundy_ was
reconciled to _Charles VII._, and joined the cause of France. The
generals of Charles gained possession of one after another of the
provinces. During a truce of two years, _Henry VI._ of England
(1422-1461) married _Margaret of Anjou_, the daughter of King
_René_. _Henry_ was of a gentle temper, but lacked prudence
and vigor. The king of France and the dauphin began the organization of
a standing army, which greatly increased the military strength of the
country (1439). In 1449 the war with England was renewed. With the
defeat of the English, and the death of their commander, _Talbot_,
in 1453, the contest of a century came to an end. All that England
retained across the Channel was _Calais_ with _Havre_ and
_Guines Castle_. France was desolated by all this fruitless
strife. Some of the most fertile portions of its territory were
reduced to a desert, "given up to wolves, and traversed only by the
robber and the free-lance."

REBELLION of "JACK CADE."--The peasants in England were now free from
serfdom. Under _Henry VI._ occurred a formidable insurrection of
the men of Kent, who marched to London led by _John Cade_, who
called himself _John Mortimer_. They complained of bad government
and extortionate taxes. One main cause of the rising was the successes
of the French. The condition of the laboring class had much
improved. The insurgents were defeated by the citizens, and their
leader was slain. In this reign began the long "Wars of the Roses," or
the contest of the houses of _York_ and _Lancaster_ for the
throne.



MILAN.--THE VISCONTI AND SFORZA.

Matteo I, VISCONTI (nephew of Archbishop Otto),
Lord of Milan, 1295-1332.
|
+--Stefano (_d._ 1327).
|
+--Matteo II,[1] 1354-1355.
|
+--Bernabo,[1] 1354-1385.
| |
| +--Catharine,
| _m._ (2),
| +--GIAN GALEAZZO, 1378-1402 (first duke, 1396).
| | |
| | +--GIOVANNI MARIA, 1402-1412.
| | |
| | +--FILIPPO MARIA, 1412-1447.
| | | |
| | | +--Bianca Maria.
| | | _m._
| | | +--FRANCESCO SFORZA, 1450-1466
| | | | |
| | | | +--GALEAZZO MARIA, 1466-1476, _m._
| | | | | Bona, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy.
| | | | | |
| | | | | +--GIAN GALEAZZO, 1476-1494.
| | | | |
| | | | +--LUDOVICO Il Moro, 1494-1500, 3, (_d._ 1510)
| | | | _m._ Beatrice d'Este.
| | | | |
| | | | +--MASSAMILLANO,[4] 1512-1515 (_d._ 1530)
| | | | |
| | | | +--FRANCESCO MARIA, [4], 1521-1535. _m._
| | | | Christina, daughter of Christian II of Denmark (1)
| | | |
| | | Jacopo (Muzio) Attendolo di Cotignola, called Sforza.
| | |
| | +--Valentina, [2] _m._
| | Louis, Duke of Orleans.
| | |
| | +--Charles, Duke of Orleans.
| | |
| | +--LOUIS XII of France,
| | Duke of Milan 1500-1512.
| |
+--Galeazzo II,[1] 1354-1378.



1 The Milanese territory was divided between the three brothers, and
united on the death of Bernabo.

2 Hence the French claim to Milan.

3 Louis XII of France took Ludovico prisoner, and held Milan
1500-1512.

4 Puppet dukes. Milan being, in fact, the subject of contention
between France and the Hapsburgs.

[Abridged from George's Genealogical Tables.]




THE THREE NORTHERN KINGDOMS BEFORE THE UNION OF CALMAR.

[D. means King of Denmark; N., King of Norway; S., King of Sweden.]


HACO IV, N. (_d._ 1263).
|
+--MAGNUS VI, N., 1263-1281.
|
+--ERIC II, N., 1281-1299.
|
+--HACO V, N., 1299-1320.
|
| MAGNUS I, S., 1279-1290.
| |
| +--BERGER, S., 1290-1320 (deposed; _d._ 1326)
| | _m._
| | +--Martha.
| | |
| | +--CHRISTOPHER II, D., 1320-1340.
| | | |
| | | +--WALDEMAR III, D., 1346-1375.
| | | |
| | | +--Margaret,[2] D. N., 1387, S., 1388 (_d._ 1412).
| | | _m._ HACO VI, N. (_d._ 1380)
| | | |
| | | +--OLAF VI, D. 1376, N. 1380 (_d._ 1387).
| | |
| | +--ERIC VI, D., 1286-1320.
| | |
| | ERIC V, D., 1250-1286.
| |
| +--Eric.
| _m._
+--Ingeburga
|
+--Magnus VII (II), N. S., 1320-1365 (deposed).
|
+--Euphemia. _m._ Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg,
| |
| +--Albert,[1] S., 1365-1388 (deposed).
| |
| +--Henry, m. Ingeburga, daughter of Waldemar III, D.
| |
| +--Mary, _m._ Wratislas of Pomerania.
| |
| +--ERIC, D. N. S., 1412-1439
| | (deposed; _d._ 1459).
| |
| +--Catharine, _m._ John, son of Emperor Robert.
| |
| +--CHRISTOPHER, D. N. S. (_d._ 1448).
| _m._ (1)
| Dorothea, daughter of John Alchymista,
| Margrave of Brandenburg
| _m._ (2)
| CHRISTIAN I,[3] D. N. S.
|
+--HACO VI, N. (_d._ 1380)

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