[MR] Wikipedia: Congress of Arras

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1435, the Congress of Arras caused the Burgundians to 
switch from the English to the French side in the Hundred Years War, 
shifting the advantage to the French: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Arras .

The Congress began as an attempt to negotiate a truce between the 
English and the French. The negotiations went nowhere since the English 
were not prepared to renounce their claim on the French throne, which on 
the surface was what the whole long unpleasantness between them was about.

The Burgundians had been involved in a long civil war, or feud, take 
your pick, with the Orleans/Armagac faction: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagnac–Burgundian_Civil_War . This dated 
to disputes between the Dukes of Orleans and the Dukes of Burgundy 
during the Burgundian regency over the mad king Charles VI beginning in 
the 1390s. As the Hundred Years War reignited with Henry V's invasion, 
Burgundy swung to the English side because of their important commercial 
links, especially the wool trade, between England and 
Burgundian-controlled Flanders. After the 1419 murder of the Duke of 
Burgundy John the Fearless by the Armagacs, Burgundy made common cause 
with the English through the Treaty of Troyes: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Troyes . This treaty recognized 
the English claim to the French crown, naming the French Dauphin, later 
Charles VII, a bastard and completely cutting him off from the throne, 
and agreeing to fight on the English side.

The Congress of Arras voided the Treaty of Troyes and brought the 
Burgundian's back into the French fold. One important provision was that 
Charles VII disavowed participation in the assassination of John the 
Fearless and promised his son, Duke of Burgundy Philip the Good, that 
the plotters (who were well known) would finally be punished. Philip 
probably never believed the king was innocent, and Charles never 
prosecuted the assassins. In exchange, Philip accepted the legitimacy of 
Charles VII and his rule, but was exempted from paying homage to him. 
Although Philip agreed to fight on the side of the French, it was a 
half-hearted promise, and the he and his son Charles the Bold enjoyed a 
close relationship with the English crown, especially with the later 
Yorkist kings.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot