The Fractured Kingdom: France in 1418

The summer of 1418 marked a dramatic turning point in French history. As Parisians joined forces with Burgundian forces to overthrow the deeply unpopular Armagnac government, Queen Isabeau and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, triumphantly entered the capital. For Duke John, these were heady days – he had finally regained control of the court, the capital, and the royal family itself. The political landscape had shifted decisively in his favor following the elimination of many Armagnac leaders.

Yet this victory came at a horrific cost. The massacres accompanying this coup shocked even medieval sensibilities. When news of the atrocities reached Charles, the Dauphin (heir apparent), at Bourges in mid-July, he reacted with fury. The 15-year-old prince had already issued a proclamation on June 29 condemning the violence and declaring that his father Charles VI’s government was no longer under royal control. With remarkable political acumen for his age, the Dauphin positioned himself as France’s legitimate ruler against the Burgundian-controlled Paris regime.

The Making of a King: Dauphin Charles’ Early Years

Born at midnight on February 22, 1403, in the Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris, Charles was the third surviving son of Charles VI. Though far down the line of succession initially, fate would elevate his position dramatically. The deaths of his two elder brothers in 1415 and 1416 made him heir to the French throne. Contemporary accounts describe a physically unimpressive youth – slender, slightly bow-legged, often silent and prone to melancholy. Burgundian chronicler Georges Chastellain would later characterize him as “changeable, suspicious, and worse… strongly jealous.”

Yet this seemingly ordinary young man would ultimately lead France to victory in the Hundred Years’ War. His marriage in 1413 to Marie of Anjou, arranged by the Armagnacs to strengthen their alliance, proved fortuitous. Marie’s formidable mother, Yolande of Aragon, became Charles’ most trusted advisor, filling the emotional void left by his distant mother, Queen Isabeau.

The Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War Escalates

The political crisis deepened after the Paris coup. The Dauphin established his rival government in the Loire Valley, with key institutions based in Poitiers and Bourges. This southern court became a magnet for displaced Armagnac loyalists like Robert le Maçon and Jean Jouvenel des Ursins, who brought valuable administrative experience. Meanwhile, military leadership fell to hardened veterans like Tanneguy du Chastel and Arnaud Guillaume de Barbazan.

The kingdom had effectively split into three factions: the Burgundians controlling Paris and much of the north; the Armagnac loyalists under the Dauphin in central and southern France; and the English under Henry V, who were methodically conquering Normandy. This fragmentation created opportunities for regional powers like the Count of Foix to expand their influence, particularly in Languedoc where local nobles played Burgundians and Armagnacs against each other to preserve autonomy.

The Siege of Rouen: Henry V’s Masterstroke

While French factions feuded, Henry V advanced relentlessly. His campaign reached its climax at Rouen, Normandy’s prosperous capital. The city’s defenses were formidable – stout walls, deep moats, and a strategic position on the Seine. But Burgundian commander Guy le Bouteiller faced critical challenges: insufficient supplies for the swollen population (including many refugees) and lack of meaningful support from Paris.

Henry’s siege tactics were methodical and brutal. By late July 1418, English forces had completely encircled the city, constructing fortified camps at each gate and blocking the Seine with chains. Rather than costly direct assaults, Henry opted for starvation tactics, knowing Rouen’s food stores couldn’t last. The besiegers endured frequent sallies by defenders like the bastard of Ally, whose chivalric duel with English knight John White boosted French morale temporarily.

The Agony of Rouen

As months passed, conditions inside Rouen became desperate. Chroniclers describe inhabitants eating horses, dogs, and even vermin. The civic government took harsh measures, expelling “useless mouths” – mostly women, children, and elderly – who were trapped between city walls and English lines, dying in the no-man’s-land. By December, with no relief coming from Burgundian forces preoccupied elsewhere, Rouen’s resolve broke.

On January 19, 1419, after five and a half months of siege, the city surrendered. Henry V entered in triumph, imposing harsh terms including an enormous indemnity of 300,000 gold crowns. The fall of Rouen delivered all Normandy into English hands and marked a low point for French fortunes in the Hundred Years’ War.

Legacy: From Disaster to Redemption

The Dauphin’s government, though powerless to save Rouen, gradually regrouped. The crisis forged Charles’ political skills and revealed his talent for identifying capable advisors. The brutal lessons of these years – the cost of factionalism, the importance of unity against external threats – would later inform his policies as Charles VII.

Remarkably, the same Dauphin who seemed destined for obscurity in 1418 would, within decades, expel the English from France entirely. His eventual victory owed much to the hard experiences of these formative years – witnessing the consequences of division and learning the art of kingship amid catastrophe. The fall of Rouen, while a military disaster, became a crucible that forged France’s eventual savior.

The events of 1418-1419 illustrate how civil conflict can render a great power vulnerable to external threats – a lesson with enduring relevance. They also demonstrate how leadership can emerge from unlikely places, as the unremarkable Dauphin Charles gradually transformed into the victorious Charles VII, “the Well-Served,” who would finally end the Hundred Years’ War.