TheTreaty of Brétigny was atreaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between KingsEdward III of England andJohn II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end ofthe first phase of theHundred Years' War (1337–1453).
It was signed atBrétigny, a village nearChartres, and was later ratified as theTreaty of Calais on 24 October 1360.
KingJohn II of France, taken as aprisoner of war at theBattle of Poitiers (19 September 1356), worked with KingEdward III of England to write out theTreaty of London.[1] The treaty was condemned by theFrench Estates-General, who advised the Dauphin Charles to reject it.[2]
In response, Edward, who wished to yield few of the advantages claimed in the abortiveTreaty of London the year before,[3] besieged Rheims.[4] The siege lasted until January and with supplies running low, Edward withdrew to Burgundy.[4] After the English army attempted a futile siege of Paris, Edward marched to Chartres,[5] and discussion of terms began in early April.[a][7]
The Treaty of Brétigny was ratified on 10 May 1360, by Dauphin Charles and six English knights at the Hôtel de Sens.[8] On 14 June 1360, John II, a prisoner in England, ratified the treaty at a banquet attended by Edward III, his son thePrince of Wales, and the other French prisoners from theBattle of Poitiers.[9] The finalization of the treaty would occur in Calais on 24 October 1360.[10]
By the terms of this treaty, Edward III obtainedGuyenne,Gascony,[11]Poitou,Saintonge andAunis,Agenais,Périgord,[11]Limousin,[11]Quercy,[11]Bigorre, the countship ofGauré,Angoumois,Rouergue,[11]Montreuil-sur-Mer,Ponthieu,[11]Calais,[11]Sangatte,Ham and thecountship ofGuînes. The king of England was to hold these free and clear, without doinghomage for them. Furthermore, the treaty established that title to 'all the islands that the king of England now holds' would no longer be under thesuzerainty of the king of France. The title duke of Aquitaine was abandoned in favour of lord of Aquitaine.[12]
For his part, the king of England renounced all claims to the French throne.[13] The terms of Brétigny were meant to untangle the feudal responsibilities that had caused so much conflict, and, as far as the English were concerned, would concentrate English territories in an expanded version ofAquitaine. England also restored the rights of thebishop of Coutances toAlderney, which had been removed by the king of England in 1228.
John II had to pay three millionécus for his ransom,[11] and would be released after he paid one million. The occasion was the first minting of thefranc, equivalent to onelivre tournois (twentysous). As a guarantee for the payment of his ransom, John gave as hostages two of his sons, DukesLouis I of Anjou andJohn of Berry,[14] several princes and nobles, four inhabitants of Paris, and two citizens from each of the nineteen principal towns of France.
While the hostages were held, John returned to France to try to raise funds to pay the ransom. In 1362, John's son, Louis of Anjou, a hostage in English-held Calais, escaped captivity.[15] Thus, with his stand-in hostage gone, John felt honour-bound to return to captivity in England.[16] He died in captivity in 1364[17] and was succeeded by his son,Charles V. In 1369, on the pretext that Edward III had failed to observe the terms of the treaty, the king of France declared war once again.
By the time of the death of theBlack Prince in 1376 and the death of Edward III in 1377, English forces had been pushed back into their territories in the southwest, aroundBordeaux.
The treaty did not lead to lasting peace, but procured nine years' respite from the Hundred Years' War.[18] In the following years, French forces were involved in battles against the Anglo-Navarrese (Bertrand du Guesclin's victory atCocherel on 16 May 1364) and theBretons.
