A Marriage of Convenience and Unfulfilled Promises

The year 1445 began with cautious optimism in Anglo-French relations. The Truce of Tours, signed in 1444, had temporarily halted the decades-long conflict between England and France. At its heart lay a political marriage – the union of the young Henry VI of England to Margaret of Anjou, niece of the French king Charles VII. While some English subjects prayed for “peace and fruitful results” from this union, others remained skeptical. The lavish wedding ceremonies failed to impress Parliament, which granted only half the requested subsidy.

Archbishop John Stafford’s eloquent sermon about “justice and peace kissing” at the opening of Parliament on February 25, 1445, fell on deaf ears. William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, who had negotiated the truce, warned that it would expire on April 1, 1446. His pragmatic advice to prepare for war while negotiating peace revealed the fragile nature of the agreement. Though Parliament eventually thanked Suffolk for his diplomatic efforts, they ignored his warnings about military preparedness, determined not to raise taxes during peacetime.

The Illusion of Lasting Peace

The French delegation’s arrival in London on July 14, 1445, led by Louis de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme, seemed to herald a new era. Henry VI received them warmly at Westminster, displaying genuine affection when hearing news of his uncle Charles VII’s health. The young English king’s enthusiasm for lasting peace was palpable, but the negotiations quickly revealed fundamental disagreements.

The English peace faction, led by Suffolk, faced an impossible dilemma. They couldn’t accept Henry VI renouncing his claim to the French throne or performing homage for Gascony. The French, in turn, would only concede Guienne and Ponthieu, rejecting English demands for Normandy and Poitou. After tense negotiations, the only concrete result was an extension of the truce to November 1, 1446, and an agreement for the two kings to meet personally.

Military Reforms and Rising Tensions

While diplomacy faltered, Charles VII undertook sweeping military reforms in 1445-1446. He disbanded undisciplined mercenary companies and established fifteen permanent cavalry companies, each consisting of 100 lances (a basic military unit). These “compagnies d’ordonnance” became the nucleus of France’s first standing army in over a century. The reforms included strict discipline, regular pay, and fixed garrisons – a stark contrast to the roaming bands that had terrorized the countryside.

Meanwhile, the English position in Normandy deteriorated. Richard, Duke of York, the English lieutenant in France, struggled with financial shortages and undisciplined troops. The French took advantage, challenging English jurisdiction in border regions like Beaumont-le-Roger and Pontorson. By 1446, it became clear that the English couldn’t maintain their continental possessions without significant reinforcements from home.

The Maine Controversy

The most explosive issue emerged in late 1446 when French envoys Guillaume Cousinot and Jean Havart demanded the surrender of Maine – territory promised by Henry VI to his uncle René of Anjou. This secret promise, made without parliamentary approval, caused uproar among English nobles with interests in the region, particularly Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, who governed Maine.

Despite Henry’s orders, local English commanders refused to surrender Maine without proper compensation. The resulting stalemate lasted until March 1448, when a French army under Jean de Dunois besieged Le Mans. Facing overwhelming force, the English garrison surrendered, marking the effective end of English rule in Maine. The French compensated English claimants with 24,000 livres tournois, but the damage to Anglo-French relations was done.

The Fall of Gloucester and Domestic Unrest

In England, the peace policy faced growing opposition. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Henry VI’s uncle and heir presumptive, became the focus of discontent. In February 1447, Suffolk and his allies orchestrated Gloucester’s arrest on dubious treason charges. The duke’s sudden death in custody sparked rumors of murder, further damaging the government’s credibility.

The removal of Gloucester and the death of Cardinal Henry Beaufort in April 1447 left Suffolk dominant at court, but increasingly unpopular. His elevation to duke in July failed to mask the growing crisis. The surrender of Maine, seen as a humiliating concession, became a rallying point for critics of Henry VI’s government.

The Italian Diversion

While tensions mounted with England, Charles VII pursued ambitions in Italy. Supporting the claims of Charles, Duke of Orléans to Milan and René of Anjou to Naples, the French attempted to establish influence in Genoa. A French-backed coup in January 1447 briefly installed Giano di Campofregoso as doge, but he quickly expelled his French supporters. Subsequent military interventions in Lombardy ended disastrously when French forces were defeated at Bosco in October 1447.

These Italian adventures drained French resources and distracted from the English situation. When attention returned to Normandy in 1448, the stage was set for renewed conflict. The English failure to properly garrison their territories and the French determination to exploit this weakness made the resumption of full-scale war increasingly inevitable.

Legacy of the Truce

The period from 1445 to 1448 represents a critical turning point in the Hundred Years’ War. The Truce of Tours, intended to bring lasting peace, instead exposed the fundamental incompatibility of English and French positions. Charles VII used the breathing space to reform his military and strengthen royal authority, while Henry VI’s government grew weaker and more divided.

The surrender of Maine became symbolic of English retreat, encouraging French ambitions to recover all their lost territories. When war resumed in 1449, the French reforms gave them decisive advantages, leading to the rapid conquest of Normandy by 1450. The failed peace efforts thus paved the way for France’s ultimate victory and England’s expulsion from all French territories except Calais.

The diplomatic and military developments of these years also had lasting constitutional impacts. In England, the mishandling of foreign policy and domestic discontent contributed to the political crises that would erupt into the Wars of the Roses. In France, the military and financial reforms established patterns of royal administration that would characterize the early modern French state. The fragile peace of 1445-1448 proved to be merely the calm before the final storm of the Hundred Years’ War.