France

Later Years of Philip

The rest of his reign was very much dominated by the war. As that story is recounted elsewhere, I will turn here to the end of Philip's reign.

The loss at audio gifCrécy in 1346 was devastating, not least in the number of nobles who died on the field. Worse, though, was the loss of royal prestige. Many directly blamed Philip who, though all acknowledged that he had fought bravely, was accused of incompetence. Calls for reform were raised, and these became more strident after audio gifCalais fell to the English in August 1347.

Depsite concerns over Philip's management of the war, great efforts were undertaken to raise new taxes and to field a new army to recover what had been lost. But this was 1348 and the Black Death caused such widespread death that the entire war effort was effectively suspended for a year. With Paris reeling, but with Englishmen dying in equal numbers, both sides signed a truce on 1 September 1348.

Crécy, and the events of the following two years, had another serious effect. All across France, nobles were raising their own small armies and operating independently of a crown they no longer trusted. Royal control even in royal lands, built up laboriously since the time of Philip Augustus, was beginning to slip away. And in the midst of this, Philip V died, in 1350.