Agincourt and the Treaty of Troyes

Henry V of England's invasion in 1415 found France paralyzed by civil war. The Battle of Agincourt (October 25, 1415) repeated earlier disasters as French nobility, forgetting hard-won lessons about English archery, charged to destruction in muddy fields. The losses—perhaps 10,000 French dead including much of the aristocracy—exceeded previous defeats. The psychological impact proved equally devastating, confirming English military superiority and French inability to defend the realm.

Henry V's systematic conquest of Normandy (1417-1419) demonstrated English advantages in siegecraft and administration. Unlike earlier chevauchées aimed at plunder, Henry established permanent occupation, appointing English officials and settling English colonists. The murder of John the Fearless by Armagnacs in 1419 drove Burgundy into English alliance, creating the coalition that would dominate northern France.

The Treaty of Troyes (1420) represented the monarchy's ultimate humiliation. The mad Charles VI, under Burgundian control, disinherited his son Charles VII in favor of Henry V, who would marry Charles VI's daughter Catherine and inherit the French throne. The "double monarchy" of England and France would unite both realms under Henry's heirs. Most of northern France accepted this arrangement, exhausted by civil war and seeing English rule as preferable to continued chaos.

The dauphin Charles, controlling only territories south of the Loire, seemed doomed to become a footnote in history. Derisively called "King of Bourges" after his capital, he commanded limited resources and questionable legitimacy. The University of Paris, the Parlement, and the Church hierarchy endorsed the Treaty of Troyes. Even his own mother, Queen Isabeau, declared him illegitimate. The Valois dynasty appeared finished, victim of its own failures.