War, government and commerce: The towns of Lancastrian France under Henry V's rule, 1417-22

The reign of Henry V saw the greatest expansion of English power in France since the conquests of Edward III. In contrast to the chevauchées of the fourteenth century, which were raids intended to destroy crops and demoralize the population, the type of warfare prosecuted by Henry V was designed to lead to a lasting territorial settlement. As administrative, economic and military centres, the possession of towns was fundamental to Henry's strategy in France. While relations between Lancastrian rulers and their urban subjects in France have attracted the attention of historians such as Christopher Allmand, Anne Curry and Guy Thompson, for the most part these studies look broadly at the entire period of Lancastrian rule and tend to concentrate on the Dual Monarchy, rather than Henry V's period of rule in France. Amongst the most important of these works is Anne Curry's study of the military role performed by the towns of Lancastrian Normandy. Rather than focusing on the urban military sphere, this chapter looks broadly at the Lancastrian monarchy's urban policy in France and considers the interplay between municipal administration, commerce and conflict. Instead of looking across the entire period of Lancastrian rule in France, the discussion will provide focused examination of the five years from Henry V's second invasion of Normandy in August 1417 to his death in August 1422. It will be argued that this was a crucial period when the Lancastrian monarchy developed a coherent policy towards its urban subjects in France.