The siege of Calais between June and July 1436 was a failed

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

of English-held

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

, and Flemish militia.

Prelude

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

had been allies against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

since 1419. But when the English walked out of peace talks during the Congress of Arras in 1435, the

stayed and concluded the Treaty of Arras with the French King on 21 September 1435, thus switching sides in the war. The Duke's

betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Ofte ...

caused an outrage among the English, and the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

populace was allowed to

plunder Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

possessions of

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and Picard merchants in the city, all subjects of the Duke of Burgundy. There was also an incursion in the Duke's territories by an English force of 2000 men, who defeated 1500 Flemish soldiers under

Jean II de Croÿ Jean II de Croÿ (1390? – Valenciennes, 25 March 1473) was Count of Chimay and progenitor of the line of Croÿ-Solre. Jean belonged to the powerful House of Croÿ. Life Jean was the second surviving son of Jean I de Croÿ and Marie de Crao ...

in the Boulonnais.

reacted by declaring war on England. In this, he was supported by the Flemish cities, who saw their trade with England menaced.

The siege

The obvious target of the Duke was

. He first conquered some smaller English strongholds, like Oye castle (where he hanged part of the garrison),

Sangatte Sangatte (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. The name is of Flemish origin, meaning hole or gap in the sand. Engineering Sangatte is the location for the Channel Tunnel's Fr ...

and Balinghem. In June he started the siege of Calais, supported by large numbers of Flemish and Picard militia. The Flemish cities in fact saw a chance to deal with the Calais Staple. In total, the Duke had some 30,000 men at his disposal. He also sent a force under

to besiege

Guînes Guînes (; vls, Giezene, lang; pcd, Guinne) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically it was spelt ''Guisnes''. On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, complete ...

. The militia had been very eager to take Calais quickly, but when after a few weeks it became apparent that the city, under the command of Edmund Beaufort, Count of Mortain, was well defended and provisioned, the enthusiasm quickly decreased. When a fleet under Admiral John of Horne failed to block the harbor of Calais by sinking five to six ships laden with stone, the Flemish army started to disintegrate. When an English relief army of some 10,000 men under

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...

approached, the Duke of Burgundy had no option but to raise the sieges of Calais and Guînes and withdraw.

Aftermath

The failed siege was a humiliating defeat for the Duke. Skirmishes with the English and English

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

seriously disturbed the Flemish economy in the following years. But as the English economy also depended on trade with

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, peace was finally concluded in 1439. Calais remained under English control until 1558.

External links

The Calais Garrison War and Military Service in England, 1436-1558, David Grummitt page 20-43
Calais 1436 Calais 1436 Calais 1436 Military history of the Pas-de-Calais Conflicts in 1436 1436 in Europe History of Calais

Prelude

The siege

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

External links