James Baquet

The Battle of Formigny is another of those engagements that most of us have never heard of — and that in its own way changed the world.

It was during the Hundred Years’ War, that misnamed series of conflicts that lasted intermittently for 116 years (I guess they rounded down) between England and France, with the former vying to become ruler over the latter. It was more than a mere battle for territory, though: It was a question of who should be the rightful kings of France.

As often happens, the looking-glass of history has simplified matters considerably. That war (which was not expected to last that long, so the name was coined later) has been identified as having three phases. The first, called by historians the Edwardian War, lasted from 1337 to 1360, and was named after King Edward III of England, who asserted that he, and not King Philip VI of France, should be on the French throne. It led to a peace that lasted only nine years. The Caroline War ran from 1369 to 1389, and was named for King Charles V of France, who resumed the war and dominated the action. Finally, after a quarter-century hiatus, the Lancastrian War of 1415 to 1453 saw King Henry V of England’s House of Lancaster invading France — an effort that ended unsuccessfully.

Through negotiation, Henry V had been named heir to the French King Charles VI, who outlived him by two months.With Henry’s death (at age 35, possibly of heatstroke) in 1422, his infant son became Henry VI and, shortly thereafter, at age 0, the disputed King of France, on the grounds that his father would have been crowned such had he lived a little longer.

Formigny was fought on April 15, 1450, and saw the destruction of England’s last army in Normandy (in northern France), paving the way for the French recapture of England’s strongholds there, and the end of the interminable conflict three and a half years later.

Henry VI, unfortunately, was not the man his father was. Starting at age 29, as England was losing to France after Formigny, he experienced a series of mental breakdowns. The writing was on the wall.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. attempting, striving

2. sometimes-fatal illness caused by excessive heat

3. unending

4. break, interruption

5. off and on

6. moved to nearest hundred

7. named incorrectly

8. mirror, means of looking back

9. the outcome became clear

10. claimed