On the 24th of October 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny was ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War. This treaty was a sheer calamity for France and a temporary victory for England. This document was drafted on the 8th of May 1360 between King...
Unfit to rule: the merry captivity of King Jean II of France after the 1356 Poitiers catastrophe
King Jean II of France, called the Good (le Bon), was the second Valois monarch, and, as some historians say, ‘The shame of France’. How could the ruler who also has the nickname ‘the Good’ deserve such an epithet? The clue to the understanding of this reasoning is in the...
The Drama of Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany
On the 10th of August 1241, Eleanor Fair Maid of Brittany (House of Plantagenet) died as a nun at the age of 57 or 59. Originally buried at St James’ Priory, Bristol, her remains were then exhumed and reburied at Amesbury Abbey by King Henry III of England (her cousin),...
End of the Siege of Acre (1189-1191)
On July 12 1191, the long siege of Acre (1189-1191) during the Third Crusade was finally over. The city of Acre offered terms of surrender to the Crusaders, and this time, these terms were considered suitable and were accepted. The siege had begun when Guy de Lusignan attacked Acre in...