County of Ponthieu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ~926–1836 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
 County of Ponthieu in 1180 | |||||||||
| Status |
| ||||||||
| Capital | Abbeville | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | Catholicism | ||||||||
| Government | County | ||||||||
| Count of Ponthieu | |||||||||
• ?-926 | Helgaud III(first) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• First count mentioned | ~926 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1836 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Hauts-de-France | ||||||||
Ponthieu ([pɔ̃.tjø],Latin:Pagus Pontivi,Picard:Ponthiu) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province ofPicardy, in northernFrance.[1] Its chief town isAbbeville.
Ponthieu played a small but important role in the politics that led up to the Norman invasion of England in 1066.[2]
In 1064Edward the Confessor sentHarold Godwinson to Normandy in order to recognize its duke William as his successor. However, Harold shipwrecked at Ponthieu, where he was taken captive by Guy I (or Wido according to the Bayeux Tapestry), the then Count of Ponthieu.[3] It is alleged that William (Duke of Normandy, later William I of England), discovering that Harold had been taken captive, persuaded Count Guy to hand over his prisoner.[3][4] Harold then swore to support William's claim to the throne, and joined the duke in his brief campaign in Brittany before returning to England.[5]
In 1067 the chaplain ofMatilda of Flanders,Guy, Bishop of Amiens, composedCarmen de Hastingae Proelio, aLatin poem on thebattle of Hastings.
In 1150 the Count of Ponthieu built a fortress for himself at Crotoy, a strategic point on the mouth of the riverSomme.
During the Hundred Years' War, Ponthieu changed hands a number of times, although the English claimed control of it from 1279–1369, and then later until 1435. During English control of Ponthieu, Abbeville was used as the capital.
In late August 1346, during his campaigns on French soil, Edward III of England reached the region of Ponthieu. While there, he restored the fortress at Crotoy that had been ruined. He forced a passage of the Somme at the ford ofBlanchetaque. The army led byPhilip VI of France caught up with him at nearbyCrécy-en-Ponthieu, leading to the famousBattle of Crécy.
In 1360, theTreaty of Brétigny between KingJohn II of France andEdward III of England gave control of Ponthieu (along withGascony andCalais) over to the English, in exchange for Edward relinquishing his claim to the French throne. Edward took the land but still refused to surrender his claim.
In April, 1369Charles V of France conquered Ponthieu, and a month later declared war on England (he had done so previously in 1368 as well). As a result, Edward publicly reassumed the title 'King of France' in June.
In 1372 an English army under the leadership ofRobert Knolles invaded Ponthieu, burning the city ofLe Crotoy before crossing theSomme at the ford of Blanchetaque.
Also during the Hundred Years' War, in theTreaty of Arras (1435),Charles VII of France bribedPhilip the Good,Duke of Burgundy, to break his alliance with the English in exchange for possession of Ponthieu. This arguably marked a turning point that led to the end of England's part in the conflict 40 years later.
In 1477 Ponthieu was reconquered by KingLouis XI of France.
Renaissance Ponthieu, specificallyAbbeville, is the setting for the 1993 filmThe Hour of the Pig, which was released in the US asThe Advocate and starsColin Firth. Part of the action turns on the difference in the Renaissance era between Ponthieu law and that of France, which was then a separate kingdom.
