The Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established at

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

in the summer of 1435 during 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 ...

, between representatives of

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

. It was the first negotiation since the Treaty of Troyes and replaced the fifteen-year agreement between Burgundy and England that would have seen the dynasty of Henry V inherit the French crown. Historian Richard Vaughan has called it "Europe's first real peace congress." Toward the close of the Hundred Years' War, both the Congress and the subsequent Treaty of Arras represented diplomatic failures for England and major successes for France and led to the expulsion of the English from France.

Congregation

English negotiators entered the congress believing it was a peace negotiation between England and France only. They proposed an extended truce and a marriage between adolescent King

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and English claims to the French throne, disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V of England, Henry V, he succeeded ...

and a daughter of French king

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

. The English were unwilling to renounce their claim to the crown of France. This position prevented meaningful negotiation. The English delegation broke off from the congress in mid-session to put down a raid by French captains Xaintrailles and La Hire. Meanwhile, the French delegation and leading clergy urged Philip the Good of Burgundy to reconcile with Charles VII. Burgundy was an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

at the time, virtually an independent state, and had been allied with England since the murder of Philip's father in 1419. Charles VII had been complicit in that crime. Philip despised the French king but believed he would gain an advantage in a French government ruled by a weak French king instead of the English regent

John, Duke of Bedford John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (20 June 1389 – 14 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general, and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son ...

. Philip's sister

Anne of Burgundy Anne of Burgundy, Duchess of Bedford () (30 September 1404 – 13 November 1432) was a daughter of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (1371–1419), and his wife Margaret of Bavaria (1363–1423). Duchess of Bedford In June 1423 at Troyes, Anne ...

had been married to the English duke. Relations between the two men deteriorated following her death in 1432. When the English delegation returned to the congress they too found their Burgundian ally had switched sides. The Duke of Bedford, at this point the only man keeping the Anglo-Burgundian alliance standing, died on 14 September 1435, one week before the congress concluded.

Participants

For the English

John Kemp John Kemp ( 1380 – 22 March 1454) was a medieval English cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor of England. Biography Kemp was the son of Thomas Kempe, a gentleman of Olantigh, in the parish of Wye near Ashford, Ke ...

, Archbishop of York * Henry Beaufort, Cardinal * John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon * William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk * Walter Hungerford * William Alnwick, Bishop of Norwich * Thomas Rodborne, Bishop of St David's * William Lyndwood, keeper of the privy seal * Sir John Radcliff, seneschal of Aquitaine * John Popham, knight * Robert Shotesbrook, knight * William Sprever, doctor of laws * Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Lisieux * Jean de Rinel, royal secretary * Nicolas de Mailly, bailli of Vermandois * Robert le Jeune, bailli of Amiens * Guillaume Erard, doctor of theology * Nicolas Fraillon, Archdeacon of Paris * Raoul Roussel, doctor of laws, treasurer of Rouen * Thomas de Courcelles, Parisian ambassador and their prisoners, Duke of Orleans,

Count of Eu This is a list of the counts of Eu, Seine-Maritime, Eu, a French county in the Middle Ages (Eu, Seine-Maritime, Eu is in the department of Seine-Maritime, in the extreme north of Normandy), disputed between Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom ...

For the French

Representing Charles VII: * Charles I, Duke of Bourbon (titular head of embassy and Duke of Burgundy's brother-in-law) * Regnault de Chartres,

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

, chancellor of France * Arthur de Richemont,

Constable of France The Constable of France (, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor) and the commander-in ...

* Arnold, Duke of Guelders * Charles I, Count of Nevers * Richard, Count of Étampes * Antoine, Count of Vaudémont * Engelbert I, Count of Nassau * Catherine, Damoiseau of Cleves * John, Bishop of Liége * Jan van Gavere, Bishop of Cambrai * Bishop of Arras * Bishop of Auxerre * Seigneur de Crévecoeur * Seigneur de Charny For Burgundy: * Duke Philip of Burgundy * Chancellor Nicolas Rolin * Antoine I, Seigneur de Croÿ * Hugues de Lannoy, Seigneur de Santes * Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol * Jean II de Luxembourg, Count of Ligny * Seigneur de Roubaix Among the possibly as many as 58 who attended for the French, Guidon VII, seigneur de la Roche Guyon, and Gilles de Duremont, Abbot of Fécamp, may also have been present.

Mediating

Niccolò Albergati, Bishop of Bologna, papal legate

Treaty of Arras

The congress gave rise to the second Treaty of Arras, which was signed on 20/21 September 1435 and became an important diplomatic achievement for the French in the closing years of the Hundred Years' War. Overall, it reconciled a longstanding feud between King Charles VII of France and Duke Philip III of Burgundy (Philip the Good). Philip recognized Charles VII as

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

and, in return, Philip was exempted from homage to the crown, and Charles agreed to punish the murderers of Philip's father Duke John I of Burgundy (

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 ...

). By breaking the alliance between Burgundy and England, Charles VII consolidated his position as King of France against a rival claim by

. The political distinction between Armagnacs and

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

ceased to be significant from this time onward. France already had

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

as an ally and England was left isolated. From 1435 onward, English rule in France underwent steady decline. The congress's limited success was facilitated by representatives of

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

and the Council of Basel. Members of each of these delegations wrote legal opinions absolving Duke Philip of Burgundy from his former obligations to England.

Provisions

Charles VII disavowed participation in the assassination of Duke John of Burgundy (

) of the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

, father of Duke Philip of Burgundy (Philip the Good), and condemned the act and promised to punish the perpetrators. Furthermore, the following domains became vassal states of the

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 ...

: *The County of Auxerre and the

County of Boulogne The County of Boulogne was a county within the Kingdom of France during the 9th to 15th centuries, centred on the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was ruled by the counts of Flanders in the 10th century, but a separate Count of Boulogne, House of Boul ...

*The Somme towns and Péronne * Ponthieu *The Vermandois, with its capital Saint-Quentin. In return, the Duchy of Burgundy recognized Charles VII as King of France and returned the

County of Tonnerre The county of Tonnerre (Latin ''pagus Tornodorensis'') was east of Auxerre and south of Troyes, centred on the town of Tonnerre in the Yonne region of France. It was set up in the 8th century as a fiefdom of the bishops of Langres, and first be ...

. Also, Philip the Good was exempted from rendering homage, fealty, or service to Charles VII, as he still believed that the king may have been complicit in his father's murder. Upon the death of either the king or the duke the homage would be resumed.

References

* * *

External links

WarsoftheRoses.co.uk: A book excerpt covering the era

Gutenberg.org: ''A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Volume 3''
– ''by François Pierre Guillaume Guizot.'' Hundred Years' War, 1415–1453 1430s in law 1435 in England 1430s in France Arras 1430s treaties Henry VI of England Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy) 15th-century diplomatic conferences