France

The kingdom of France, populated up until the Black Death of 1348-9 by 12-16 millions souls and including up to the Treaty of Brétigny (1360) the Ile-de-France together with the apanages of Normandy, Anjou, Bourbon, Champagne, Valois, Auvergne and Languedoc, plus a number of important fiefs such as the counties of Blois, Nevers and Foix, and (from 1349) Montpellier and the Dauphiné; diminished from 1354 by the growing activity and influence in the Cotentin and other parts of Normandy of the king of Navarre, Charles of Evreux, and by English conquests resulting in an enlarged duchy of Guyenne (essentially Gascony; will become the principality of Aquitaine) stretching from the borders of the great and at times pro-English duchy of Brittany to the Pyrenees (save for the neutral county of Béarn) and eastwards to embrace the Poitou, Limousin and Rouergue (on the border with the Languedoc); Ponthieu and Guines are also in English hands. The French re-conquest under Charles V and Du Guesclin progressively drives the English from the realm, leaving them (by 1370-80) the ports of Calais, Cherbourg, Brest, Bordeaux and Bayonne, and a much-reduced Aquitaine. Brittany returns to French allegiance from 1365 onwards (Treaty of Guérande).

England

Island kingdom bounded to the west by the Marcher lordships and the (still contested) principality of Wales conquered by Edward I; English lordships included parts of modern south Wales (from southern Pembrokeshire through Swansea, Cardiff and on towards Gloucester in England); bounded to the north by the kingdom of Scotland, to the east by the North Sea and to the south by the Channel; included Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to the south-west. Population up to the Black Death of 1348-9 approximately 4 million souls.

Brittany

The duchy of Brittany, to the northwest of France.

King Charles V of France (d. 1380)

Charles V (1338 - 1380), king of France, the eldest son of king Jean II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg.

Chartered Towns of Brittany

Brittany

The duchy of Brittany, to the northwest of France.

Jeanne de Penthièvre (d. 1384)

Jeanne de Penthièvre (1319 - 1384), countess of Penthièvre, daughter of Guy de Dreux, count of Penthièvre. She was the duchess of Brittany together with her consort Charles de Blois between 1341 - 1364, and therefore one of the main protagonists in the Breton war of succession.

Bertrand du Guesclin (d. 1380)

Bertrand du Guesclin (c. 1320 - 1380), Breton knight who became constable of France in 1370; one of the greatest war leaders of this period; his career spanned circa forty years. Upon his death in 1380, his monument was placed in the Abbey of Saint Denis, amongst those of the kings of France.

Olivier IV de Clisson (d. 1407)

Olivier IV de Clisson (1336 - 1407), one of the most important of the Breton barons, son of Olivier III de Clisson and his second wife Jeanne de Belleville. He was raised at the court of Edward III of England to which he escaped with his mother after his father was executed as a traitor to the French crown. He fought on the English side, together with Jean IV de Montfort, the future duke of Brittany, at the battle of Auray in 1364. But as he was not rewarded for his services as promised by the Black Prince, he became reconciled with the French crown in 1367 and became a 'good Frenchman’ before succeeding Bertrand du Guesclin as supreme commander of the French armies as constable of France in 1380. He became one of the most powerful men in France. He was not, however, always well-regarded by his contemporaries.

Jean I, viscount of Rohan (d. 1403)

Jean I (c. 1324 - 1403), viscount of Rohan.

France

The kingdom of France, populated up until the Black Death of 1348-9 by 12-16 millions souls and including up to the Treaty of Brétigny (1360) the Ile-de-France together with the apanages of Normandy, Anjou, Bourbon, Champagne, Valois, Auvergne and Languedoc, plus a number of important fiefs such as the counties of Blois, Nevers and Foix, and (from 1349) Montpellier and the Dauphiné; diminished from 1354 by the growing activity and influence in the Cotentin and other parts of Normandy of the king of Navarre, Charles of Evreux, and by English conquests resulting in an enlarged duchy of Guyenne (essentially Gascony; will become the principality of Aquitaine) stretching from the borders of the great and at times pro-English duchy of Brittany to the Pyrenees (save for the neutral county of Béarn) and eastwards to embrace the Poitou, Limousin and Rouergue (on the border with the Languedoc); Ponthieu and Guines are also in English hands. The French re-conquest under Charles V and Du Guesclin progressively drives the English from the realm, leaving them (by 1370-80) the ports of Calais, Cherbourg, Brest, Bordeaux and Bayonne, and a much-reduced Aquitaine. Brittany returns to French allegiance from 1365 onwards (Treaty of Guérande).

Pontorson

Pontorson (Manche), Normandy, France

Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine), Brittany, France.

France

The kingdom of France, populated up until the Black Death of 1348-9 by 12-16 millions souls and including up to the Treaty of Brétigny (1360) the Ile-de-France together with the apanages of Normandy, Anjou, Bourbon, Champagne, Valois, Auvergne and Languedoc, plus a number of important fiefs such as the counties of Blois, Nevers and Foix, and (from 1349) Montpellier and the Dauphiné; diminished from 1354 by the growing activity and influence in the Cotentin and other parts of Normandy of the king of Navarre, Charles of Evreux, and by English conquests resulting in an enlarged duchy of Guyenne (essentially Gascony; will become the principality of Aquitaine) stretching from the borders of the great and at times pro-English duchy of Brittany to the Pyrenees (save for the neutral county of Béarn) and eastwards to embrace the Poitou, Limousin and Rouergue (on the border with the Languedoc); Ponthieu and Guines are also in English hands. The French re-conquest under Charles V and Du Guesclin progressively drives the English from the realm, leaving them (by 1370-80) the ports of Calais, Cherbourg, Brest, Bordeaux and Bayonne, and a much-reduced Aquitaine. Brittany returns to French allegiance from 1365 onwards (Treaty of Guérande).

Normandy

Duchy to the north-west of the Île-de-France, bordered by the Channel; governed by the dauphin Charles, as Lieutenant of Normandy, until his accession to the French throne in 1364.

Auvergne

France, central region at the heart of the Massif Central covering approximately the modern departments of Cantal, Puy-de-Dôme and (parts of) Haute-Loire; bounded to the north by the duchy of Bourbon, the west by Limousin, the south by Viadene, the south-east by Gévaudan and the south-west by Quercy. Major towns: Clermont, Montferrand and Riom.

Duchy of Burgundy

Burgundy, a region in the east of France whose unity was based more upon historical than geographical factors.

John IV of Montfort, duke of Brittany (d. 1399)

John IV of Montfort, duke of Brittany (1365-1399), sometimes referred to as John V, the Conqueror. Through this marriage he was related to the English royal family. He remained devoted to the English cause. He owed his position to the victory won at Auray in 1364, and to the subsequent treaty of Guérande the following year.

England

Island kingdom bounded to the west by the Marcher lordships and the (still contested) principality of Wales conquered by Edward I; English lordships included parts of modern south Wales (from southern Pembrokeshire through Swansea, Cardiff and on towards Gloucester in England); bounded to the north by the kingdom of Scotland, to the east by the North Sea and to the south by the Channel; included Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to the south-west. Population up to the Black Death of 1348-9 approximately 4 million souls.

Louis I, duke of Anjou (d. 1384)

Louis I of Anjou (1339 - 1384), first count then duke of Anjou, second son of king Jean II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg. He married Marie of Blois, countess of Guise, in 1360. He was appointed duke of Anjou in 1360 and king of Sicily in 1382; died in 1384. He spent several years in the South, but did not enjoy a good reputation in the region.

Angers

Angers (Maine-et-Loire), France.

Brittany

The duchy of Brittany, to the northwest of France.

Brittany

The duchy of Brittany, to the northwest of France.

King Richard II of England (d. 1400)

Richard was born on 6 January 1367 in Bordeaux. Froissart called him Richard of Bordeaux after his place of birth. He was the second son of Edward, the Black Prince, prince of Wales and Aquitaine, and Joan of Kent. After the death of his elder brother Edward in 1372, and of his father, in 1376, Richard was created prince of Wales, duke of Cornwall and earl of Chester on 20 November 1376. He succeeded to his grandfather, King Edward III the following year, and became king on 22 June 1377. He reigned as king of England until 1399, when he was forced to abdicate by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke. Richard married his first wife, Anne of Bohemia, on 14 January 1382. In 1396, two years after the death of his first wife, he married Isabella, daughter of the French king, Charles VI.

John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster (d. 1399)

John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.

John Harleston

Sir John Harleston, a distinguished soldier, captain of Cherbourg. Also mentioned as one of Richard II’s chamber knights.

Cherbourg

Valognes

Valognes (Manche), Normandy, France.

Guillaume des Bordes (d. 1396)

Guillaume des Bordes (? - 1396 Nicopolis), captain of Valognes, and captain general of Cotentin; councillor and chamberlain of king Charles VI. He married Marguerite de Bruyères. Guillaume des Bordes died at Nicopolis.

Jean, Sénéchal of Eu

Jean le Sénéchal, seneschal of Eu. In the past he has been identified as the author of the lyric Les Cent Ballades. However, his authorship of these poems is now considered doubtful.

Guillaume 'Bracque' de Bracquemont

Guillaume 'Bracque' de Bracquemont, lord of Sedan and Florenville, the eldest son of Renaud de Bracquemont. He married Maire de Campremy.

Colart d’Estouteville, lord of Torci

Colart d’Estouteville, lord of Torci, captain of the Arques castle.

Perceval d’Esneval

Perceval d’Esneval, lord of Esneval and Pavilly.

Guérin 'Lancelot’ de Lorris

Guérin 'Lancelot’ de Lorris, son of Robert de Lorris and Perronnelle des Essars. He married Isabelle de Montmorency.

Inhabitants of Cherbourg

John Harleston

Sir John Harleston, a distinguished soldier, captain of Cherbourg. Also mentioned as one of Richard II’s chamber knights.

Cherbourg

Manuscript reading: de

Emended reading: d’Eu