150 Conquering Hero

By 1417, Henry had sorted out his support in England, and was able to launch a war of conquest in Normandy. After butchery at Caen, castles and towns fell, and by June 1418 the final and biggest prize stood before Henry – Rouen, second city of France.

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The Normandy Campaigns

 

1418-1419 Normandy Campaigns

 

Between 1417 and 1419, Henry and his captains took to war into Normandy, and the French were unable to raise effective resistance to support the towns as they were besieged. By 1418, Henry was before the walls of France’s second city, Rouen, 70,000 citizens strong. It took 7 months before it fell, but its fall meant that Normandy was lost to France, and the road to Paris lay open.

The meeting of Henry and Catherine of Valois

Henry and CatherineHenry Vth and Catherine met first at the conference of Meulan in 1419, as he and John the Fearless tried to strike a deal. In fact one chronicler noted that the only thing to come out of the conference was love. There’s more than a suggestion the Henry was genuinely smitten (though Catherine’s views remain unknowable), above and beyond the normal verbiage of chroniclers.

In fact, the Meulan conference failed, and instead the Dauphinists and the Burgundians announced that they had resolved their differences and would once again fight together for king Charles VIth to throw the English  invader from their lands. The truth is that neither Dauphin/Armagnac nor Duke John of Burgundy could give Henry what he wanted and remain a credible leader. It would take the events at the bridge of Montereau to achieve that.

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12 thoughts on “150 Conquering Hero

  1. Great to have you back, David! And I feel quite accomplished as I only had to stop and research twice this time. Inside jokes are much of the fun and I can’t miss fun. Keep up the good work!

  2. David,
    Thanks for the unexpected episode. Hopefully you’ll remain out of sync with Kevin Stroud (I mean, really. It’s like waiting ages for a bus, then two come along at once).
    Also had to dig out your old episodes (early 1000s), since he often dips into pure history, and two heads are always better than one. (He seemed to give more mention to the St Bryce Day massacre…)
    Music: you have your signature tune, it’s worth keeping it as such. It’s NOT jarring.
    Keep up the very good work. I know you like feedback, so I should pay the price of admission more often.
    Regards
    Stephen

  3. Oh, please don’t keep the music interludes and chapter headings. It’s very jarring. I’m sorry, but I sick of that tune now. The episodes aren’t long enough to warrant so many delineated sections, anyway.
    (Sorry for the late comment, but I got behind.)

  4. Hello David, I’m only about 2 years behind but I thought I’d chime in anyway. Love the word of the week (or there about). I also like the segmenting with a “subhead” of sorts with the musical flourish but I hope going forward that you won’t continue to drown out the end of your sentences. I’m sure I’ll find as I catch up that you’ve already made adjustments that’ll keep me happy. Cheers, Rich

    1. It’s a shame…I ran out of juice on both unfortunately! I must resurrect the word of the week..I liked it too! Thanks for getting in touch, I hope 150-250 goes well!

  5. I think this link is dead or something? Can’t get it to start.

    Love the show (emailed you back in the days of yore, when blah blah were blah blah furry blah blah.) but decided to start from the beginning. It’s great stuff, well told, and I think you strike a fine balance between the extremes – of being dry and boring but informative on one side, or in being laid back and casual with no information getting through.

    This is really helping me right now. I’ve been in the hospital maybe… ive lost count at 6, in the last month or so. They took 18 vials of blood to test last time I was at the lab, and another brain mri, which is all exhausting, but — ok I would rant too long so i’m cutting myself off here.

    Long story short, having a peaceful but interesting podcast with enough episodes to last me quite some time has been very helpful for me right now, because whatever brain cells the illness leaves alone seem to get bunged up by the I guess…. 9? meds i’m on now?

    You have a good voice for this, are a good storyteller, and I “get” enough of the little in-jokes to spice things up a bit.

    It goes without saying that when you have finished THOE you must begin some new endeavor, and hopefully you get enough donations to pimp out your shed as you see fit.

    The family voice acting is also good stuff.

    1. Hi Tim; and thanks I’ll try to fix the link, but I am away at the moment and I need to be at home to remake the file.

      I’m so sorry to hear about your illness; how hideous that sounds. Do I assume they do know what it is? Do you mean you’ve actually been in hospital for 6 months, or constant visits for blood tests? I myself spent 3 solid months in hospital after treatment on a cocktail of drugs and I know how utterly debilitating it is; if you want any more advice (!) do try to keep active if you can.

      Thank you so much for your kind words; if only the kids were still around and young enough to do more plays! I am so pleased the podcast is helping – and if my best wishes and thoughts can help too, know that you have them. I am sure or very much hope, there will be a light at the end off the tunnel.

      David

  6. Oh yes, the blessed trumpets. Still.. hope you’re never afraid to experiment, stay as bold as Henry I say. You know; Every time I get to this episode I think, “whose playing trumpets, outside”.

  7. This is my least favorite episode because of the mistimed trumpets. Hard to fall asleep to! Much love still just hate those trumpets

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