Siege of Rouen (1418–1419)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Sieges of Rouen during the French Wars of Religion, see Siege of Rouen (1562) and Siege of Rouen (1591).
Siege of Rouen
Part of the Hundred Years' War
Illustration of the siege
The siege depicted in a late 15th-century miniature
Date29 July 1418 – 19 January 1419 (1418-07-29 – 1419-01-19) (5 months and 3 weeks)
Location
Rouen, Normandy, France
49°26′24″N 1°05′38″E / 49.44000°N 1.09389°E / 49.44000; 1.09389Coordinates: 49°26′24″N 1°05′38″E / 49.44000°N 1.09389°E / 49.44000; 1.09389
Result English victory
Belligerents
Royal Arms of England (1399-1603).svg England France moderne.svg France (Burgundian party)[1]
Commanders and leaders
Royal Arms of England (1399-1603).svg King Henry V
Arms of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence.svg Duke of Clarence
Arms of Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter moderne.svg Duke of Exeter
Montacute Arms.svg Earl of Salisbury
Arms of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter.svg Earl of Huntingdon
Cornwall OfBishopsNympton Arms.png Sir John Cornwall[2]
Alain Blanchard Executed
Strength
10,000 troops[3] 4,000 troops[4]
Casualties and losses
Unknown troop casualties Unknown troop casualties
12,000 civilian casualties
Siege of Rouen (1418–1419) is located in Seine-Maritime
Siege of Rouen (1418–1419)
Location within Seine-Maritime

The siege of Rouen (29 July 1418 – 19 January 1419)[5] was a major event in the Hundred Years' War, where English forces loyal to Henry V captured Rouen, the capital of Normandy, from the Norman French.[6][7]

Background[]

At the time of the siege the city had a population of 20,000,[6] making it one of the leading cities in France, and its capture crucial to the Normandy campaign.[4] From about 1415, Rouen had been strengthened and reinforced by the French and it was the most formidably defended place that the invaders had yet faced.[citation needed] The previous year Henry V had successfully taken another important city in Normandy following the siege of Caen.

Prelude[]

When the English reached Rouen, the walls were defended with 60 towers, each containing three cannons and 6 gates protected by barbicans.[4][7] The garrison of Rouen had been reinforced by 4,000 men and there were some 16,000 civilians willing to endure a siege.[4] The defence was lined by an army of crossbow men under the command of Alain Blanchard, commander of the crossbows (arbalétriers), and second in command to , a Burgundian captain and the overall commander.[4][5]

Siege[]

To besiege the city, Henry decided to set up four fortified camps and barricade the River Seine with iron chains, completely surrounding the city,[7][4] with the English intending to starve out the defenders.[6][8] The duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, had captured Paris but did not make an attempt to save Rouen and advised citizens to look after themselves.[8] By December, the inhabitants were eating cats, dogs, horses, and even mice. The streets were filled with starving citizens.[8] The city expelled more than 12,000 of the poor to save food.[8] Henry would not allow the people to leave the siege line, and so the starving, expelled people of Rouen were forced to live in the ditch dug near the city wall for its protection.[9][8] Even the English felt sorry for the starving people.[8] On Christmas Day 1418, King Henry allowed two priests to give food to the starving people, but the day soon ended and the people went back to dying miserably in the ditch.[citation needed]

Despite several sorties led by the French garrison, this state of affairs continued. On New Year's Eve, Boutellier asked for negotiations with the English. Following ten days of negotiation, the French defenders decided they would surrender on 19 January 1419 if no help had arrived.[10] The surviving French would be allowed to keep their homes and property if they gave up 80 hostages, paid 300,000 gold crowns, and swore allegiance to the English.[5][10] Alain Blanchard, who had executed English prisoners, was executed by the English when the city fell.[citation needed]

Aftermath[]

Henry went on to take all of Normandy, apart from Mont-Saint-Michel, which withstood blockade.[7][10] Rouen became the main English base in northern France, allowing Henry to launch campaigns on Paris and further south into the country.[5][11]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Sumption 2015, pp. 588–589, 594.
  2. ^ Sumption 2015, p. 586.
  3. ^ Barker 2009, p. 9.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Barker 2009, p. 21.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Wagner 2006, p. 322.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Brenner 2015, p. 16.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kaufmann & Kaufmann 2004, p. 153.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Barker 2009, p. 22.
  9. ^ Wagner 2006, p. 272.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Barker 2009, p. 23.
  11. ^ Barker 2009, p. 24.

References[]

  • Barker, Juliet (2009). Conquest: The English Kingdom of France (PDF). London: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-1-4087-0083-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-12.
  • Brenner, Elma (2015). Leprosy and Charity in Medieval Rouen. Boydell & Brewer. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-861-93339-6.
  • Kaufmann, J. E.; Kaufmann, H. W. (2004). The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81358-0.
  • Sumption, Jonathan (2015). The Hundred Years War IV: Cursed Kings. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-27454-3.
  • Wagner, John (2006). Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-32736-0.
Retrieved from ""