Born 1421 = Margaret of Anjou, 1445. | Edward. Died. CONTEMPORARY PRINCES _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._ | | | James I., 1406. | Charles VI., | Sigismund, 1410. | John II., 1406. James II., 1436. | 1380. | Albert II., 1438. | Henry IV., 1454. | Charles VII., | Frederick III., | | 1423. | 1440. | POPES.--Martin V., 1417. Eugenius IV., 1431. Nicolas V., 1447. Calixtus III., 1455. Pius II., 1458. _Archbishops._ | _Chancellors._ | Henry Chicheley, 1414. | Thomas Longley, 1417. John Stafford, 1443. | Cardinal Beaufort, 1424. John Kemp, 1452. | Cardinal Kemp, 1426. Thomas Bouchier, 1454. | John Stafford, 1432. | Cardinal Kemp, 1450. | Earl of Salisbury, 1454. | Cardinal Bouchier, 1455. | William Waynflete, 1456. | George Neville, 1460. | Sir John Fortescue, 1461.
Arrangements of the kingdom. 1422.
By the fiction of the English constitution, England was now governed by a child of nine months old. The late King had thoughtfully arranged for the government by the nomination of Gloucester to the regency in England, Bedford to the regency in France; but experience of former regencies, and the constant adherence to constitutional forms which marked the English nobility, led the Privy Council to make different arrangements. It was determined, in fact, that the Council should be virtually the governing body. This was in accordance with several precedents; even as late as the reign of Henry IV., a council named in Parliament had, during the last years of that monarch’s life, governed England. When the hero, whose popularity and ability had for a time carried all men with him, was dead, it was natural that the kingdom should fall back into the same system of government. In the first Parliament therefore, by the advice of the Council, Bedford was made Regent of both France and England, while to Gloucester was given the title of Defender or Protector of the kingdom, which amounted to little more than the position of President of the Council, by whose advice he was bound to act, and of which the members were nominated in Parliament. After this, the grant of the wool tax and of tonnage and poundage, for two years, closed the session.
Position of parties in France.
Bedford’s marriage. 1423.
All interests were still centred in France. To all appearance, both in geographical position and in the talents of their leader, the advantage lay with the English. Bedford shared all the better qualities of his elder brother; as able, both as a general and a statesman, he was of a gentler and a finer character; on the other hand, the Dauphin Charles was a man without vigour, sunk in sensual pleasure, and still under the influence of unprincipled adventurers. His possessions, too, were much restricted. He found himself confined to the centre and south-east of France. It was only from south of the Loire to Languedoc that his power was unquestioned. Either England or its great ally Burgundy possessed or dominated all other parts of France; while Savoy and Brittany, at the extreme and opposite corners, were professedly neutral. The strength of this position, such as it was, lay in its central situation. The immense extent of country the English held required resources beyond the power of that country single-handed to produce; by alliance with Burgundy alone was it possible. But misgovernment and party feeling prevented any great exhibition of strength on the part of France. She had to rely chiefly on mercenaries, and the war was merely kept alive. In 1423, Bedford succeeded in forming anew a close alliance with Burgundy, in which Brittany also joined. It was cemented by a double marriage; on the one hand, Bedford married Anne, Philip’s sister, while Arthur of Richemont, the brother of the Duke of Brittany, married her elder sister Margaret.
Release of the Scotch King.
It is useless.
Battle of Verneuil. 1424.
Consequent strength of the English in France.