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, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

of English-held

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

, and Flemish militia.

Prelude

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') 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. ...

had been allies against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

since 1419. But when the English walked out of peace talks during the

Congress of Arras The Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established at Arras in the summer of 1435 during the Hundred Years' War, between representatives of England, France and Burgundy. It was the first negotiation since the Treaty of Troyes and rep ...

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. Of ...

caused an outrage among the English, and the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and

Picard Picard may refer to: Places * Picard, Quebec, Canada * Picard, California, United States * Picard (crater), a lunar impact crater in Mare Crisium People and fictional characters * Picard (name), a list of people and fictional characters with th ...

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 2,000 men, who defeated 1,500 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 Cr ...

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 Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, 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 i ...

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 (; ; ) 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, completed the first aerial crossi ...

. 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 1390 – 23 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 ...

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. The fatalities included Guy of Burgundy, Lord of Kruibeke, a son of

John the Fearless John I (; ; 28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his assassination in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during the early 15th century, part ...

and his mistress Marguerite de Borsele, and Philip the Good's half brother. 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 valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

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

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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, la ...

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

References

{{reflist

External links

The Calais Garrison War and Military Service in England, 1436-1558, David Grummitt page 20-43
Calais 1436 Calais 1436 Calais 1436 Conflicts in 1436 1436 in Europe Calais 1436 Sieges involving the Netherlands Hundred Years' War, 1415–1453 Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy)

Prelude

The siege

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

References

External links