← THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR
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NPR's Throughline podcast sort of feels like stepping into a time machine. Each episode, our Peabody Award winning show travels beyond the headlines. To answer the question, how did we get here? Listen to one of Apple's favorite podcasts of 2024. By searching for Throughline on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast app, you.
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Can hear and smell the fires before you see them. The village of Moncler, just outside the borders of Gascony, is an inferno. Everything that can be set alight has been thatch and timber, framed houses, barns and stables, haystacks and hedgerows. They're all roaring and crackling, sending plumes of thick black smoke and glowing cinders dancing in the air. It's the autumn of 1355, and the black Prince, eldest son of the Plantagenet King of England, Edward iii, looks on his work with a demonic sort of pride. He does so from a distance. The 25 year old Prince gave the command to set this village ablaze. But like everyone else, he's had to retreat from the ferocity of the burning. The flames are so hot that that nothing can survive within the village. And the closest anyone can get to it is hundreds of yards away in the open fields all around. But that feels close enough. The Black Prince doesn't need to inspect every detail of his handiwork. For one thing, he's done this many times before, in the nine years since his dad brought him on his first campaign in the Hundred Years War. Over that time, he's become a master of the English terror tactic of the Chevauche. That's a mounted blitzkrieg through the French countryside in which murder, rape, theft and arson are the approved war aims. The Black Prince has a frightening capacity for violence, and this sort of thing is right up his street. For another thing, he and his men are on a tight schedule. This Chevreche is designed to bring maximum pain to the French southwest in as quick a time as possible. The Black Prince only arrived by ship in September. He has plenty of ground to cover before autumn turns to deepest winter and it becomes muddy, cold and impossible to live off the land. But the Black Prince knows what he's doing. He has his men, maybe 6,000 of them, divided into three flying columns sweeping through the countryside. They're spread out so they can cut a path of devastation 40 miles wide, but near enough that if they're attacked, they can form up into a single army. They gnaw through the land like a plague of locusts in a huge loop that takes them in a matter of just A few weeks from home territory in Bordeaux to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, hundreds of miles away, then back again. The prince writes to England to update his dad on progress. We have wasted and destroyed this region, he says. A chronicler goes into grisly a detail. Everywhere the English visit, there is tremendous slaughter and violence. They steal everything there is to steal. When they capture anyone, no matter how lowly, they demand ransom from the family or else leave him mutilated. They leave every town they pass burning and ruinous, its citadel demolished and its walls thrown down. This news is no doubt very cheering to the Plantagenet king, Edward iii. For the King of France, however, it's a humiliation. A humiliation which must be revenged. But the man to take revenge isn't going to be Philip vi, because that old ditherer has been dead for five years. In his place is his eldest son, John, who rules France as John ii. Like the Black Prince, John II is a grown man with plenty of military campaigning under his belt. He represents the second generation of the Hundred Years War in which the beefing of the fathers is continued by their sons. The Black Prince's job is to wreak so much havoc in southern France that the people there have no choice but to submit to English rule. John II's job is to stop his newly inherited kingdom being ripped apart for good. It's an arm wrestle for supremacy. Only one of these men can succeed. Fate has thrown these 200 years war nepo babies together and their showdown is going to be spectacular. The years 1355 and 1356 are going to prove that France isn't big enough for the both of them. I'm Dan Jones and from Sony Music Entertainment. This is history. Season 6 of A Dynasty to Die For Episode 10 the Black Prince say.
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Last time on this podcast we were at sea with the English fleet destroying a mighty Castilian one at the Battle of Winchelson on 29 August 1350. That was the sort of defeat that ought to have left the old French king, Philip vi, sobbing into his morning croissants and cafe au lait. After all, the Castilians are his main allies on the waves. But it doesn't, because a week before Edward III's ships clash with the Castilian vessels, Philip dies. Aged around 56, he has a big funeral when he's buried at the French royal mausoleum in St. Denis. But really, what is there to mourn? Philip's biggest achievement was to put his own family line, the Valois, on the French throne. Beyond that, his reign has been a long story of fumbled decisions and military defeats to his cousin Edward iii. Philip signs off his unimpressive reign by alienating his eldest son and heir, John ii, by marrying fiancee Blanche of Navarre. It isn't classy and it brings no one involved much happiness. All in all, then, good riddance to Philip vi. Surely John II can't be any worse than that. Or can he? Well, let's take a moment to get ourselves acquainted with the new king on Le Block. When he becomes king of France in 1350, John is more or less in the prime of life. When he makes his grand entry into Paris, he's 31 and the image of a gallant knight. There's a striking portrait of him in the Louvre. He has flowing reddish brown hair down to his shoulders and grown out designer stubble with a little tuft of hair below his bottom lip that in my day used to be called a soul patch. Like Edward iii, John is an extravagant, high rolling, party loving showman. He makes his government headquarters, the Hotel de Nelle in Paris, where he can see and be seen by his people. He sets up his own version of Edward's Order of the Garter, known as the Order of the Star. Unlike Edward iii, however, John II of France doesn't have the political nous to go along with his flashy lifestyle. He isn't very good at reaching out beyond a small group of cronies and he quickly manages to create the impression that you're either in with the king or you're basically in the wilderness. If Edward III's court is an open party where everyone is welcome, John II's is an invite only, gathering breeding envy and resentment on the wrong side of the velvet rope. John's absolute favourite is Carlos de la Cerda, constable of France, and incidentally the man who lost the sea battle of Winchelsea to Edward. On top of this, France is in terrible shape. The Black Death has done its worst. Just like everywhere else in Europe. The public finances are a car crash. John has to impose taxes higher than anything known in living memory across the realm, which people despise. And then there's the war. Sooner or later, John is going to have to deal with the English, just as his father tried and failed to do so many times in his own reign. In 1352, they're on the offensive in the area around English owned Calais. Edward's troops take the strategically vital fortified town of Guienes and repel all French attempts to win it back. At the same time, Edward negotiates an alliance with Brittany, which pretty much sews up northwest France for the Plantagenet cause. The following year, Edward III is confident enough to make a public offer to John II to end the war once and for all. He says that if John will give him basically the whole of Aquitaine as it was back in the days of old Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, plus Normandy, Brittany and Flanders, then he'll quit banging on about being the rightful King of France and sign off on a permanent peace deal. Sounds magnanimous. Well, not really. In fact, Edward is telling John to hand over a third of France if he wants the nightmare of this war to end. That's how little he thinks of Philip VI's replacement. Needless to say, John says no. He thinks Edward is bluffing and he backs himself to get a grip on his kingdom. But a grip is the last thing John has got on France, and in 1354, his court collapses into scandal. A running quarrel between his cousin Charles, King of Navarre, and his favorite, Carlos de la Cerda turns very nasty indeed when Charles of Navarre and a crew of henchmen ambush Carlos while he's in bed in a tavern called the Eagle in Normandy. There's a skirmish and Carlos, the King's favorite, is hacked to bits in his bedroom. This sets John II on a disastrous course. He now has two dangerous enemies to contend with. Edward III on the one hand, and Charles of Navarre on the other. He's flat broke and his right hand man has been turned into a live action pop up pirate. By early 1356, there's such alarm at the state of affairs in France that rumors are circulating of a plot to murder John and his son and heir, the Dauphin. John has Charles of Navarre very belatedly arrested and tossed in jail, and executes some of his powerful noble allies. But this doesn't make things any better. If anything, it deepens the impression that John is out of his depth as king and that his kingdom is there for the taking. In the spring of 1356, Edward III can't resist the opportunity any longer. He sends his trusted general and cousin Henry Grosmont, the Duke of Lancaster with a huge army to invade Normandy. And he sends instructions to his son, the Black Prince in Gascony, telling him to get busy razing hell, make it like 1355. Redux. Kill everything that moves and burn anything that doesn't. The two English armies are told to spend July and August doing their worst. They're then to meet up in the beautiful Loire Valley sometime in early September and, if possible, goad John II into a confrontation. For the first time in a long time, Edward stays at home. He appoints himself to keep an eye on defending the English coast from any surprise attacks. In the old days, Edward would have been front and center in a campaign like this. But now he reckons he can rely on other men to do the business. It's not that he's too old, Edwards, only 44 and still in good shape. But now he has a trusted deputy he totally backs to get the job done. His son.
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Keep it that way.
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The battle for the ancient stone tower at the heart of Romarentin has been going on for three days. With no sign of letting up. The little French garrison besieged in the tower are doing everything they can to keep the Black Prince's army out. But wave after wave of attack keeps hammering against the old stone defences. Catapults swoosh and the huge rocks they chuck explode violently. Blood curdling war cries from the attackers mingle with jeers from the defenders. Bonfires crackle around the base of the walls, thick side smoke making men cough and splutter. It's just another day on the Black Prince's latest chevauche, a reign of terror in the southwest that has been in full swing all summer. But the pressure is beginning to tell on everyone. The Prince and his men are well practiced at this kind of warfare, which is why, after three days, the garrison of Romarentin surrenders. It's another smashing victory for the Black Prince. But even he can't keep going forever. His plan was to meet up with the Duke of Lancaster's army and try and force King John of France into battle. But the Black Prince has run up a big problem of geography. He's coming up hard on the south bank of the mighty River Loire, but the bridges have either been broken or passed through cities too large for him to besiege, so he can't get across. That means he's not going to be able to meet up with Lancaster to combine their armies. Meanwhile, John II is coming his way. He can cross the river and does. He's rumoured to have around 11,000 troops at his back, twice as many as the Prince does. Suddenly, goading John into battle doesn't look like such a Wise idea. Once John II crosses the River Loire with his army, he stalks the Black Prince for a few days with intermittent skirmishing between outriders from the two sides. With every day that passes, a battle looks much more favourable to the French. And on the 18th of September, the Black Prince finds himself outrun and cut off not far from the city of Poitiers. The battle he wanted, and now very much doesn't want, is looming. His men are knackered and hungry from weeks storming around the countryside on their chevachet. He's outnumbered two to one. He's in big trouble. But the Black Prince has also been fighting for a decade, since his dad threw him in at the deep end at Crecy, aged 16. He's learned plenty in that time, and he knows that a big part of fighting is keeping your cool and maintaining your game face. On September 18, a church cardinal appointed as peacekeeper by the Pope comes to the Black Prince and asks for an audience, wringing his hands and boohooing. Say it quickly, says the Black Prince. This is no time for a sermon. The cardinal starts droning on about what a waste of life the battle will cause, etc. Etc. And the Black Prince rolls his eyes. He agrees a short truce while an offer of peace comes over from the French. But when the offer comes, courtesy of John ii, it's ridiculous. Asking the prince to give up everything he's won, pay a huge fine and marry into the French royal family. There's no chance of this going through. So the next day, the 19th of September, the battle lines are drawn up. The Prince commanding his army from a strong position on top of a hill with a forest behind, concede a much bigger French army lined up in their thousands. The sacred battle flag of the Oriflu is raised where John II stands. It means no prisoners are to be taken. For now, no one's moving. And that, for the Prince, is a big problem with all the negotiating. His men have been in battle positions for for more than 24 hours. If the French don't attack, they're going to be too hungry and thirsty to actually fight. But King John doesn't realize this, or perhaps he simply panics. He orders the attack to begin, and with it he sets in motion a terrible chain of attack events. The French have been undone before at Crecy, most famously by trying to charge into a storm of English longbow shot. This time, they tried to be a bit more tactical about it, but not much more. French knights career up the hill in two directions, towards the two main English archers positions. And lo and behold, they end up shot to bits. The battle turns from ordered to chaotic. Very quickly, John's eldest son, the Dauphin, flees the field and one of the leading generals, the Duke of Orleans, goes after him. King John, for all his faults, is brave in a fight, although everything's going to pot around him. He leads the group of men he's commanding up the hill on foot towards the English centre. And as he goes, he might just be able to see hundreds of English knights saddling up, abandoning the Black Prince's side and charging away from the battlefield. John's heart must be thumping, but with excitement rather than fear. His rival, the Black Prince, is finding out what it feels like to have everything go tits up. At a critical moment, he and his troops are running towards the heart of the English army, weakened by defections. Glory lies just ahead of them. But then, from behind, and seemingly from two directions at once, comes a drumming, a thundering of hooves and a screaming of terrifying yells and whoops. In panic, John realizes he's been out. Thought those English knights weren't fleeing. They've ridden right around the battlefield in two separate groups and are now bearing down on him and his men from left and right. Seconds later, there's a deafening, hideous smash as the English knights ride straight into the dismounted trail troops around John. A chronicler writes about the carnage they create. Men trod in their own guts and spat out their teeth. Many were cloven to the ground or lost their limbs, while on their feet the blood of serfs and princes flowed in one stream. John is at the center of his body of troops, but death is coming closer to him with every minute. As well as horsemen, there are now knights on foot, armed with swords and spears and axes. John presses onwards, still madly pushing towards his rival, the Black Prince. But then, with his men falling all around him, the first hand grabs the King of France. And then. Well, to find out, you'll have to come back next time on this Is History.
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If you can't wait for the next episode, it's already out over on this Is History. Plus alongside an additional subscriber only episode where I chat to producer Georgia about everything you just heard and much more.
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And you see this over and over again, all the way from Crecy through to Agincourt in 1415.
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Really, the French just make the same.
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Mistake, which is to charge cavalry into English longbow shot over and over and over and over again. And every generation seems to think, well, all I've got to do is charge directly at the longbowmen and I'll cut them down, and then we'll win. Your arrows are no match for my soft body. Right, but.
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Easier said than done. You can start a free trial by going to thisishistorypod.com or if you're on Apple Podcasts, click Try Free at the.
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