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| French Civil War (Armagnac–Burgundian conflict) | |
|---|---|
| Conflict | Armagnac–Burgundian conflict |
| Partof | Hundred Years' War |
| Date | 1407–1435 |
| Place | Kingdom of France, Île-de-France, Burgundy, Picardy, Champagne, Normandy |
| Result | Ascendancy of Charles VII; Treaty of Arras (1435) |
French Civil War (Armagnac–Burgundian conflict) The Armagnac–Burgundian conflict (1407–1435) was a dynastic and factional civil war within the Kingdom of France that intersected with the Hundred Years' War and the Western Schism. It pitted the faction of the Duke of Orléans and the Count of Armagnac against the faction led by the Duke of Burgundy and allies such as the Count of Nevers, producing sieges, assassinations, and foreign interventions including from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Navarre. The struggle reshaped royal authority under Charles VII of France and culminated in the Treaty of Arras (1435), altering the balance with the Duchy of Burgundy and influencing figures like Joan of Arc.
The roots lay in the assassination of Louis I, Duke of Orléans in 1407 and the rival ambitions of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and Charles, Duke of Orléans, against the regency of Queen Isabeau of Bavaria for Charles VI of France. The atmosphere was shaped by the Great Schism, the influence of financiers such as the Taillefer and Jacques Cœur's precursors, and factional control of the Royal Council. Regional powers including the Duchy of Brittany, County of Flanders, County of Champagne, and County of Armagnac aligned with one side or the other, while military entrepreneurs like the Écorcheurs and captains like Arnaud de Cervole exploited the chaos. The contested regency and the mental illness of Charles VI of France magnified tensions between the houses of Valois and Burgundy.
The Armagnac faction coalesced around Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and the young Charles, Duke of Orléans, with support from Louis of Guyenne, the Dauphin Louis later Louis XI of France's circle, and nobles from Gascony and Languedoc. The Burgundians were led by John the Fearless, succeeded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, with important allies including Henry V of England at times, the Count of Flanders John III of Bavaria-Straubing, and urban elites in Paris and Bruges. Key military leaders included Jean de Lancastre, Duke of Bedford on the Anglo-Burgundian side, commanders such as Bourquetaine and Arthur de Richemont for the Armagnacs, and mercenary captains like Gaultier de Rieux and Enguerrand de Bournonville.
Initial violence escalated after the 1407 murder and the 1411 Cabochien revolt; the assassination of John the Fearless in 1419 on the bridge at Montereau-Fault-Yonne intensified the war and pushed Philip the Good into alliance with Henry V of England. The Treaty of Troyes (1420) followed the Battle of Agincourt (1415) and placed Henry V and his heirs as heirs to the French throne, undermining Charles VII of France's claims. The English capture of Rouen and the Burgundian seizure of Paris consolidated Anglo-Burgundian control, while Armagnac forces retreated to Bourges and regions loyal to Charles VII. The intervention of Joan of Arc from 1429 reversed several setbacks, leading to the Coronation of Charles VII at Reims Cathedral and shifting momentum before the Treaty of Arras (1435) reconciled Charles VII and Philip the Good.
Campaigns combined pitched battles such as Agincourt with sieges at Orléans, Rouen, and Paris, and with chevauchées by commanders like John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. Burgundian urban militias and Burgundian-leaning mercenaries used fortified towns and river control along the Seine and Loing; Armagnac forces employed feudal levies and mercenary companies operating from strongholds in Gascony and Auvergne. The use of longbowmen by the English and Burgundian allies, combined with artillery developments influenced by engineers such as Gaspard Bureau, changed siegecraft, while heavy cavalry and mounted lancers remained decisive in open engagements. Irregular warfare by the Écorcheurs and the impact of the Black Death's demographic shifts affected recruitment and logistics.
The conflict devastated regions like Champagne, Picardy, and Normandy, causing demographic decline, tax innovation including modifications of the taille and tax farms, and migration to fortified towns such as Orléans and Bourges. Noble factionalism eroded royal prestige, while municipal oligarchies in Paris, Lille, and Bruges gained influence; guilds and Guild of Saint Eloy analogues took local power during Burgundian control. The war accelerated centralization under Charles VII, promoted reformers like Gilles de Rais's contemporaries in military households, and influenced cultural production from chroniclers such as Enguerrand de Monstrelet and Christine de Pizan.
Diplomacy culminated in the Treaty of Arras (1435), negotiated between Charles VII's envoys and Philip the Good with mediators from Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire, which reconciled Burgundy to the French crown, ceded territorial concessions, and isolated the Kingdom of England. The agreement undermined the Treaty of Troyes's provisions and allowed Charles VII to reconquer territories including Normandy and Aquitaine in subsequent campaigns led by Arthur de Richemont and aided by Joan of Arc's earlier successes. Burgundy retained autonomy and expanded its statecraft in the Low Countries, setting the stage for later conflicts between the French Crown and the Habsburgs.
Historians have debated whether the Armagnac–Burgundian conflict represents a proto-national civil war, a dynastic feud, or a symptom of late medieval state formation, with influential analyses by scholars referencing sources such as Jean Froissart, Monstrelet, and archival documents from Châtelet de Paris. The conflict's legacy appears in the consolidation of the Valois monarchy, the rise of Burgundian institutions under Philip the Good, and the military reforms culminating in the French standing army attributed to the Compagnies d'ordonnance reforms. Cultural memory endures through portrayals in later works about Joan of Arc, chronicles of Charles VII, and studies of the Hundred Years' War in modern historiography.
Category:Wars of the Middle Ages Category:History of France