Chronicles

After the truce ends, the English at first repel a French invasion of Aquitaine. However, under the French commander the Duke of Normandy, the French manage to besiege the English-held castle of Aiguillon. Edward III left England to lead the forces to relieve Aquitaine in person. “There must have been four thousand men-at-arms and ten thousand archers, without counting the Irish and Welsh who followed his army on foot…” (69).

Under the advice of Sir Godfrey of Harcourt, a pro-English nobleman who had to flee France, Edward III decides to invade Normandy because it is a wealthy region and relatively undefended since the Duke of Normandy had taken his forces to Aquitaine. “So was the good, fat land of Normandy ravaged and burnt, plundered and pillaged by the English…” (72). Outraged, Charles VI called on his ally the King of Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) and the King of Bohemia’s son Charles of Bohemia, who was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor. Also, he summoned a great number of nobles and knights from across France.

While Philip VI took a long time to gather his forces, Edward III devastated Normandy. Since the populace never faced warfare before, Edward III’s forces faced little resistance and took the wealthy town of Saint-Lô.