The chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Vol. 07 [of 13]

In Short

Enguerrand de Monstrelet’s fifteenth-century chronicle documents the bloody, chaotic middle phase of the Hundred Years' War and the brutal civil strife tearing France apart. Covering the years immediately following Joan of Arc's execution, this seventh volume details the strained truces, regional betrayals, and shifting alliances between the French Crown, the English occupiers, and the powerful Duchy of Burgundy. It has endured as an irreplaceable primary text because Monstrelet records every military maneuver, heraldic display, and local uprising with the unvarnished, itemized precision of a man who lived through the collapse of medieval chivalry.

The Story

The volume opens in the shadow of Joan of Arc’s martyrdom at Rouen, an event formally broadcast by the English king to his Burgundian ally to justify her execution on charges of heresy and male attire. Rather than settling the realm, her death leaves France locked in a fragmented, vicious cycle of localized warfare. Region by region, noblemen and mercenary captains wage private campaigns across the countryside. In Lorraine, the Duke of Bar marches to enforce his territorial claims against the Count de Vaudemont, only to be routed in a disastrous field battle that leaves the Duke captured and thousands of his gentlemen dead. Elsewhere, towns like Chauny-sur-Oise revolt against their own garrison commanders, pulling down their own castles from top to bottom to escape the predatory exactions of both sides.

Amid this lawlessness, the English double down on their royal claims, bringing the young King Henry to Paris for a grand coronation. Yet their grip on French territory steadily slip-slides away. Local strongmen resort to cunning stratagems—such as Burgundian troops wearing English red crosses to seize castles despite active truces—while French captains like La Hire repeatedly surprise English strongholds. Recognizing the changing tide, the Duke of Burgundy expands his own personal empire, absorbing Hainault, Holland, and Zealand through political treaties before pivoting to negotiate directly with the French Crown.

The major turning point arrives with the Convention of Arras. Legates from Rome and the Council of Basil bring the Duke of Burgundy and King Charles of France to terms, formally severing the long-standing Anglo-Burgundian alliance. The English, outraged by what they view as treason, refuse peace and turn their hostility against their former allies, harassing the Flemish borders and launching raids against Boulogne and Gravelines. The Duke of Burgundy responds by mobilizing massive municipal levies from Ghent and Bruges to lay siege to English-held Calais. However, the campaign founders due to logistical failures and fierce English sorties.

As the Burgundians retreat, internal mutinies erupt. The Flemings, furious over their losses, riot in the streets, attack royal officials, and briefly target the Duchess of Burgundy's carriage. Though peace is eventually brokered between the dukes and their rebellious towns, the true cost of these unending maneuvers falls squarely upon the peasantry and religious houses, who are left entirely undefended against rogue bands of raiders burning villages, sacking abbeys, and extorting ransoms from a ruined land.

How It Unfolds

The Maid is condemned Following her capture at Compiègne, Joan of Arc is tried and burned at the stake in Rouen, prompting the King of England to send letters throughout Christendom framing her death as a triumph for holy faith and church decency.

Battle of Vaudemont The Duke of Bar invades the lands of the Count de Vaudemont, leading to a fierce confrontation where Picard archers collapse the Barrois lines, leaving thousands dead and the Duke taken prisoner.

The English crown young Henry Seeking to reinforce their authority over a fractured realm, the English escort the young King Henry to Paris in great state for a formal royal coronation.

Demolition at Chauny-sur-Oise Fearing their garrison leaders will open the gates to foreign English troops, the townsmen of Chauny seize their own castle during a routine walk and dismantle the fortress completely to ensure their safety.

The Peace of Arras Grand diplomatic assemblies bring together cardinals, French princes, and Burgundians, culminating in a historic treaty that reconciles the Duke of Burgundy with King Charles VII and ends his alliance with England.

The siege of Calais Outraged by the new treaty, England launches border raids, prompting the Duke of Burgundy and thousands of Flemish militia to march on Calais, construct wooden blockhouses, and attempt a failed siege of the port town.

Uprisings in Flanders Disillusioned by the failed campaign, militia forces from Bruges rise in open rebellion, murdering local officials, besieging Sluys, and harassing the Duchess of Burgundy before being placated by her husband.

The People

• Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy: A calculating prince whose primary objective is expanding and securing his vast territorial possessions. He adeptly maneuvers between his English alliance and his sovereign, King Charles, ultimately abandoning the English at Arras to protect his own domains, though he faces dangerous mutinies from his own Flemish subjects.
• King Charles VII of France: The rival sovereign who seeks to reclaim his kingdom from foreign occupiers and rogue vassals. He uses diplomatic conferences and localized military pressure to slowly win back key cities like Chartres and peel the Burgundian forces away from their English ties.
• Sir John de Luxembourg: A formidable Burgundian military commander and loyal servant to the Duke. He relentlessly campaigns through Champagne and the Laonnois, conquering castles, executing rebels, and managing border security, though he remains skeptical of sudden diplomatic reconciliations.
• La Hire (Étienne de Vignolles): A fierce French military leader who relies on sudden, surprise attacks and intelligence networks to capture key strongholds like Gisors and Soissons, personifying the aggressive, irregular warfare of the period.
• The Maid of Orleans (Joan of Arc): Although executed at the very beginning of the volume, her spiritual and military legacy hangs over every political calculation, serving as a bitter point of propaganda for the English and a rallying symbol for the French.

In Its Own Voice

'It is well known, from common report, and otherwise, that the woman, erroneously called the Maid, has, for upward of two years, contrary to the divine law, and to the decency becoming her sex, worn the dress of a man, a thing abominable before God...'

The King of England's formal letter to the Duke of Burgundy describing Joan of Arc's trial and execution.

'We are very foolish to risk our bodies and souls at the will of princes and great lords, who, when they please, make up their quarrels, while we oftentimes remain poor and in distress.'

A anonymous Burgundian knight speaking aloud upon witnessing the public reconciliation between the Dukes of Burgundy and Bourbon.

'The poor labourers had no other resource than pitifully to cry out to God, their Creator, for vengeance on their oppressors.'

Monstrelet reflecting on the widespread devastation suffered by the French populace despite official truces.

What It's Really About

Beneath its steady drumbeat of sieges, skirmishes, and heraldic parades, the book is an unsparing study of political pragmatism and the collapse of feudal loyalty. It exposes how thin the veneer of chivalric honor truly was during the Hundred Years' War. Princes make and break sacred oaths based on immediate territorial gain, while lesser nobles switch banners for cold cash. The central argument emerging from Monstrelet’s record is that war is rarely a glorious enterprise of noble causes; it is an extractive industry run by grand elites at the total expense of the common folk, who bear the physical and economic ruin of every broken treaty.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers an indispensable, granular view of the late Middle Ages, ideal for serious history enthusiasts, medievalists, and readers who want to experience history without modern dramatic smoothing. Reading Monstrelet feels like sitting in an armory listening to a veteran clerk read aloud from official dispatches, town records, and intercepted diplomatic mail. There is an authentic, unvarnished rhythm to his prose that immerses you directly in the anxieties of the 1430s.

It is not always an easy read. The narrative is dense with hundreds of local place-names, complex genealogical ties, and endless lists of participating knights that can easily overwhelm those seeking a streamlined, character-driven story. Furthermore, the prose reflects the stark, uncritical period attitudes toward public executions, summary justice, and total warfare. What stays with you, however, is the sheer starkness of the world it reveals: the sudden turn of military fortune, the fragile nature of medieval peace treaties, and the haunting voice of an eyewitness watching an entire society fracture under the weight of perpetual war.