Late medieval political crises (1300–1487)

Gaveston was a Gascon favourite given enormous wealth and power by Edward II. His monopoly of royal patronage infuriated the earls, who captured and executed him in 1312. His death did not end the crisis - Edward II then favoured the Despensers - but it showed how royal favouritism could directly threaten baronial interests.

Edward II's army was decisively defeated by Robert Bruce of Scotland at Bannockburn in 1314, ending effective English attempts to control Scotland. The defeat destroyed Edward's military credibility - a king who could not win wars lost the respect of his nobles. It strengthened baronial opposition and the Lords Ordainers who demanded restrictions on royal power.

The Lords Ordainers were a group of barons who seized control of government in 1311. They demanded that Edward II dismiss Gaveston, consult barons on major decisions, and accept restrictions on royal spending. They represent the baronage asserting its right to limit royal power - a precedent that Richard II would also face through the Lords Appellant.

When Henry Bolingbroke's father John of Gaunt died, Richard II confiscated the entire Lancastrian estate rather than letting Henry inherit it. This threatened the property rights of every noble in England - if a king could seize the largest estate in the country for no legal reason, no baron's lands were safe. It united the nobility behind Bolingbroke's invasion and made Richard's deposition almost inevitable.

Three interlocking causes: (1) Edward III's dynastic claim to the French throne through his mother Isabella; (2) the dispute over Gascony, which France declared forfeit in 1337; (3) France's support for Scotland (the Auld Alliance), threatening England from two sides. Commercial rivalry over Flemish wool trade also played a role. No single cause; all three reinforced each other.

The chevauchee was a mounted raid through enemy territory, burning crops, looting towns and terrorising peasants. England used it deliberately to demonstrate that the French king could not protect his own subjects - undermining his legitimacy and authority. It was a political weapon as much as a military one, not just random plundering.

Crecy (1346): Edward III's longbowmen defeated French cavalry, demonstrating the tactical revolution in English warfare. Poitiers (1356): the Black Prince defeated and captured the French king John II, bringing enormous ransom and humiliating France. Both victories came from the same English tactical formula: disciplined archers on defensive ground breaking French cavalry charges.

Bretigny gave England sovereignty over an enlarged Gascony (Aquitaine) and confirmed English possession of Calais; in return Edward III renounced his claim to the French throne. It did not last because France resented the territorial losses, English rule over Gascony was unpopular, and both sides saw it as a pause rather than a permanent settlement. War resumed in 1369.

Charles V (reigned 1364-1380) reformed French royal finances to fund a more professional army, instructed his commander du Guesclin to use Fabian tactics (avoiding pitched battle, using sieges and raids), and formed a naval alliance with Castile to challenge English control of the sea. By his death in 1380, France had recovered nearly all territory lost at Bretigny.

Parliament introduced a flat-rate poll tax to fund the Hundred Years War. The tax fell equally on rich and poor, which was deeply unfair and provoked massive resistance. Led by Wat Tyler, the revolt briefly occupied London and was only crushed with difficulty. It shows how the costs of the war were being transferred from the nobility to ordinary people, creating social tension inside England.

All three crises show that late medieval states depended on the consent of the powerful. Kings who failed to maintain baronial support - whether through weakness (Edward II), tyranny (Richard II), or financial overreach (poll tax 1381) - faced serious breakdown. External war (Hundred Years War) could strengthen rulers who succeeded (Edward III) but fatally weaken those who were already under pressure.

The Truce of Leulinghem (1389) formally paused the second phase of the Hundred Years War. It came after Charles V's death left France governed by regents who prioritised internal power struggles over war with England, while England was also paralysed by Richard II's political crisis. The truce showed that both kingdoms were exhausted and politically unstable - setting the stage for the third and final phase under Henry V from 1415.

Philip the Bold (1363–1404), Philip the Good (1419–1467), and Charles the Bold (1467–1477). Philip the Bold gained Burgundy from the French crown; Philip the Good built it into a major power; Charles the Bold over-reached and was killed at Nancy (1477).

In 1419, his father John the Fearless was murdered at Montereau by supporters of the French Dauphin. Philip the Good blamed France and signed the Treaty of Troyes (1420) with England, helping to disinherit the Dauphin. He later reconciled with France at the Treaty of Arras (1435).

Charles the Bold's military over-ambition. He fought wars on multiple fronts and was defeated three times by the Swiss Confederation: at Grandson, Murten (both 1476), and Nancy (1477), where he was killed. Without a male heir, Burgundy reverted to France and the Low Countries passed to the Habsburgs.

A coalition of French nobles — including Charles the Bold — who rebelled against Louis XI claiming he was ruling tyrannically. Louis survived by divide-and-rule diplomacy, making separate deals with each noble. He agreed to the Treaty of Conflans but later reasserted royal power.

His enemies called him 'the Universal Spider' because he relied on spying, bribery, and cunning diplomacy rather than military force or chivalric display. He 'spun webs' of intrigue around his opponents — most famously dividing the noble coalition in 1465 and waiting patiently while Charles the Bold exhausted himself in wars.

1. Henry VI's personal weakness and mental collapse (1453). 2. Exclusion of Richard, Duke of York from power by royal favourites. 3. Loss of France (Normandy 1450, Gascony 1453) discrediting Lancastrians. 4. Noble faction and bastard feudalism (private armies). 5. Crown financial crisis.

Henry VI suffered a complete mental collapse in 1453–1454. He was dominated by favourites like Somerset, whose failures lost France. He could not arbitrate between noble factions, could not enforce loyalty, and gave away crown lands causing financial crisis. His weakness triggered the Wars of the Roses.

First reign (1461–1470): seized the throne after Towton but alienated Warwick 'the Kingmaker', who briefly restored Henry VI (the Readeption, 1470–71). Second reign (1471–1483): more stable — he crushed opposition at Barnet and Tewkesbury, improved crown finances, and died with royal authority restored.

The decisive battle where Henry Tudor (Lancastrian claimant) defeated and killed Richard III, becoming Henry VII. It ended Richard III's controversial reign and began the Tudor dynasty. A final Yorkist rising was crushed at Stoke (1487), effectively ending the Wars of the Roses.

The wars devastated the old aristocracy through battle deaths, executions, and attainders (parliamentary declarations of treason that seized noble lands). This transferred enormous wealth to the crown and eliminated many of the powerful noble houses that had challenged royal authority — giving the Tudor monarchy a stronger financial and political base.

Attainder was a parliamentary act declaring someone a traitor, which automatically forfeited their lands and titles to the crown. Winning sides used attainders against defeated nobles throughout the Wars of the Roses — it became a key tool for both enriching the crown and eliminating rivals without needing a formal trial.

At Troyes (1420), Burgundy allied with England and helped disinherit the French Dauphin — making Burgundy a major obstacle to French unity. At Arras (1435), Philip the Good switched sides and reconciled with France, withdrawing Burgundian support from England. This was a decisive turning point that allowed France eventually to win the Hundred Years War.