The Ordinance of Normandy is the name given to a paper attributed to

Philip VI of France Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 ...

, dated 23 March 1338 and exhibited in the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

on 8 September 1346. The document called for a second

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

, with an invading army led by the Duke of Normandy (later king

John II of France John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which kill ...

), and England was to be divided between the Duke of Normandy and his nobles as a fief for the King of France. It would have been discovered by the English army at

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Battle of Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battles ...

in 1346 that ensued from the English invasion of Normandy. The

Earl of Huntingdon Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland (David I of Scotland, David of Scotland). The seventh and most rec ...

brought the document to England after he was invalided home and it was read out in

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury,

John de Stratford John de Stratford ( – 1348) was Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop of Winchester, Treasurer and Chancellor of England. Early life Stratford was born into the landed Stratford family of Stratford-on-Avon around 1275. His father was Robert de St ...

. The document was also exhibited in Parliament on 8 September 1346, which was summoned to vote supplies to the king, who was engaged in the Siege of Calais. It was claimed that King Philip vowed to "destruire & anientier tote la Nation & la Lange Engleys" estroy and ruin the entire English nation and country However some scholars believe the letter to have been forged.Deanne Williams, ''The French Fetish from Chaucer to Shakespeare'' (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 18.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Hundred Years' War 1346 in England 1346 in France Document forgeries