(deep music) Fire!
(gun firing)
(intense exciting music)
The world we live in were shaped by war.
For hundreds of years, power hungry families
fought for the right to rule and Europe transformed.
For the glory of England!
(people cheering)
I, Philip Devowel, are the only king of France!
(fast intense music)
These rivalries shifted borders.
Curse be the French king!
Destroyed cities,
and brought populations to their knees.
A war of thrones.
Don't touch me!
A tale of murder, sex, and betrayal.
Greatness, Madam, that is what France needs.
Those not crowned in glory were
brutally slaughtered or condemned to rot in the shadows.
(deep rhythmic music)
This woman is a heretic!
They mush perish in the flames!
(loud screaming)
Guards, guards!
In the merciless game of war and ambition,
anything goes.
(exciting intense music)
At the dawn of the 15th century, dramatic events
shook an already weakened France.
(man screaming)
A king went mad.
A queen sided with the enemy.
The English took advantage of the confusion
to invade France.
A peasant girl sent by god came to the aide of a prince.
The Hundred Year War took a radically different turn.
(dramatic rhythmic music)
(soft peaceful music)
In the spring of 1392, the young king of France,
Charles the VI, was hunting in the forests of L'Amour.
Suddenly, he was overcome by a strange
feeling of dizziness.
(deep dark music)
(loud panting)
(muffled talking)
Then, for no apparent reason,
he erupted into a fit of violence.
Calm yourself!
Charles attacked his attendants
and even tried to kill his younger brother,
Louis, the Duke of Orleans.
Stop it!
(intense music) Hold him!
Calm down.
The young king had probably inherited
his madness from his mother, Joanna Bourbon.
The result of several centuries of inbreeding
between kings and queens of France.
(deep dark music)
In 1380, at his coronation in Hanz Cathedral,
he was known as Charles the Beloved.
But now, he will forever be remembered as Charles the Mad.
(slow dramatic music)
(soft slow music)
Charles VI was taken back to the shadow of L'Amour
where his 21 year old wife, Queen Isabeau,
rushed to his bedside.
She was devastated to see him in such a state.
(solemn slow music)
Unlike so many arranged royal marriages,
the queen was deeply in love with her king.
(bells ringing)
Their engagement seven years earlier had been
according to the usual middle ages custom
by an exchange of portraits.
But these miniatures were not very good likenesses.
(deep intense music)
This portrait is terrible!
I want to see her.
Bring her to me.
There was no chance that Charles
would marry a woman who was not to his liking.
But when they met at Omnia in June, 1385,
it was love at first sight.
Madam.
The miniature does not do you justice.
You flatter me, sire.
Enthralled, Charles VI brought forward
the wedding and married Isabeau three days later
in (mumbles) Cathedral.
(serene slow music)
Isabeau was the daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria,
one of the most powerful German princes.
This union brought Charles much needed support
against his English enemy and much needed heirs.
(simple rhythmic music)
Isabeau and Charles would have 12 children.
Sadly, only six survived, of whom three were boys.
(deep dark music) (man yelling)
But his madness put an end to the couple's
happy marriage.
During his bouts of insanity,
he sometimes believed he was a wolf.
(loud yelling)
And other times he was convinced he was made of glass
and was so terrified that he would shatter,
nobody was allowed near him.
Sire, please, sire!
(screaming)
Come on.
(deep intense music)
Isabeau desperately tried to find a cure
for Charles' madness,
including some that were supernatural.
But it was all in vain.
Drink, your majesty, drink.
Get well, get well for me and your kingdom.
(slow deep music)
(sobbing) (man screaming)
As Charles' illness grew more severe,
he sometimes didn't even recognize his wife.
Unable to put up with his fits any longer,
Isabeau chose a mistress for her husband.
A Burgundian lady called Odette de Champdivers.
(laughing)
A royal favorite, she had such an influence on the king
that she was nicknamed the Little Queen.
During one of his rare moments of sanity,
Charles the VI appointed his wife, King Isabeau,
as Regent of France.
But his enemies were watching from the shadows.
On the one side was his brother, Louis I Duke of Orleans,
on the other side, his cousin John the Fearless,
Duke of Burgundy, one of France's richest regions.
You know only how to increase taxes!
Both were ambitious for the crown.
What do you think taxes for, to wage war!
Don't you understand?
King Charles madness provided the perfect
opportunity to win over the king and
gain control over the kingdom.
The two cousins hated each other and
every meeting ended in an argument.
But I'm telling you, such was the will of my brother,
the King!
You know nothing!
The King is not capable of imposing the least of his wishes.
Poor kingdom.
(owl hooting)
On November 23, 1407, at around 8:00
in the evening, Louis d'Orlean returned home from
Queen Isabeau's palace when suddenly...
Kill him, kill him!
(deep rhythmic music)
He was ambushed.
One of the men caught of the Duke's hand.
(dark intense music)
(man screaming)
The King's brother was brutally murdered.
The assassination would plunge France and
then Europe into war.
(deep dark music)
At Louis d'Orlean's funeral, the Duke of Burgundy,
John the Fearless, couldn't hold back his tears.
(sobbing)
(intense deep music)
But two days later, he made an extraordinary confession
to his uncle and his cousin.
My uncles, we must speak.
The devil tempted me.
It was I who ordered his death.
(dark deep music)
After the confession and in fear of his life,
John the Fearless hightailed it out of Paris
to take refuge in Flanders.
(fast intense music)
But the assassination of the Duke of Orleans tore
France in two.
On one side, the Burgundian's, partisans of their duke,
John the Fearless.
On the other, the Armagnac's, loyal to John d'Orleans,
son of the murdered prince.
Both camps had the same aim,
to control Paris and the royal family,
the king, the queen, and the Dauphin.
(fast intense music)
For seven years, the Burgundians and the Armagnac's
fought one another.
(deep dark music)
Both sides took control of Paris and then lost it.
Frenchmen fought Frenchmen,
and the losses were heavy.
The kingdom was mired in civil war.
(loud panting) (deep rhythmic music)
(simple rhythmic music)
Eventually, Queen Isabeau came to a decision,
to reestablish the authority of the king
and of his 16 year old, Louis Dauphin.
Isabeau of Bavaria appointed the Argmanac's
to keep posts in the realm.
(deep dramatic music)
Completely isolated, the Duke of Burgundy
was in dire straits.
He turned to an unlikely ally, Henry the V, King of England.
(deep intense music)
(birds cawing)
Henry the V was 26 years old, he was tall,
athletic, intelligent, but above all, merciless.
Bring in the Duke of Burgundy's (mumbles).
Henry the V was just the kind of man
that the Duke of Burgundy needed to help oust
the Armagnac's from power.
(intense rhythmic music)
In June 1413, the Duke of Burgundy sent envoys to England
to ask for the English King support.
Speak.
In exchange for 2,000 English soldiers,
the Duke of Burgundy's emissaries promised a great reward.
So, you want my men for land and gold?
And what else?
But that wasn't enough for Henry.
He wanted the crown of France.
(deep dark music)
To secure it, he turned to the Burgundian's arch enemy,
the Armagnac's.
As well as the crown, Henry demanded restitution
of the territories acquired by the Treaty of Bretigny,
signed 54 years earlier.
It had never been honored.
Look at this!
Since 1360 with (mumbles),
we should have authority over Potu, right up to Beya,
but the French refuse to respect this treaty.
(deep rhythmic music)
Give me these territories, I will give you men!
I demand these lands!
But the Armagnac's hesitated in their response.
After several months without a deal,
Henry decided to wait no longer.
In November 1414, he prepared to take the crown by force.
The war that started 70 years earlier
was ready to begin again in earnest.
(soft rhythmic music)
Sunday, August 11, 1415, 1,600 English ships
crossed the channel towards Normandy.
Three days later, they arrived at Harfleur.
Henry the V wanted the town as his rear base
before attacking the capital, Paris.
But Harfleur was far harder to capture
thane he bargained for.
(guns firing) (intense music)
For nearly six weeks, the English bombarded the port
and its 3,000 inhabitants.
Lower your (mumbles).
(intense rhythmic music) Charge!
But the French held out.
(slow solemn music)
The citizens of Harfleur, exhausted and starved
by the siege, begged the Dauphin Louis for help.
He and Queen Isabeau governed France during
the King's frequent bouts of insanity.
But paralyzed by the civil war between the Armagnac's
and the Burgundian's, Louis refused to send help.
(intense music)
On December 22, 1415, Harfleur finally surrendered.
(deep dark music)
Henry V had won a precious bridge head in France,
but he had lost 1/3 of his soldiers.
Undeterred, Henry advanced towards Paris with just
6,000 men.
The King of France, Charles VI, had to react.
Confrontation was now inevitable.
Advised by Char de'Leon, the mad king and his son,
Louis, wavered.
Should the make peace with the Burgundians
to enlarge the royalist army?
No, the savage assassination of the Duke of Orleans,
Charles' father, was still fresh in all their memories.
The Burgundian's have arrived.
They've aligned themselves with the English.
Being informed of the advance
of the English towards Paris without Burgundian help,
the French raised an army of 20,000 men
to send into battle against the merciless King of England.
(slow soft music)
On October 24, 1415, the English and French armies
arrived here at Azincourt.
(slow solemn music)
Before night fell, the Armagnac's,
in the name of the King of France,
sent an envoy to negotiate with Henry.
(deep intense music)
Sire, my lords have heard that you intend
to conquer the villages, the chateaus,
and the towns of the kingdom of France.
It's also rumored that you wish to attack French cities.
Be aware, my laws will not allow you to do so
and they are prepared to fight to stop you.
Let them.
Whatever happens, I shall follow the will of God.
My men and I will march on Calais.
The message could not have been clearer,
even though the English were massively outnumbered
and exhausted.
Henry still believed he could win and he wanted to fight.
(fast intense music)
Dawn, October 25, they were ready to attack.
For the glory of England!
(yelling)
At 10:00 am, Henry the V ordered
his archers to advance.
(intense fast music)
Before the attack, the English fell to their knees,
put a pinch of earth into their mouths,
like a communion wafer.
And cried.
(mumbles)
England (mumbles) Saint George!
Before releasing their arrows.
Aim, fire!
(screaming) (intense rhythmic music)
Fire!
Many of the French were wounded
before they even reached the English line.
Advance!
(yelling)
Against all odds and far superior numbers,
the King of France's soldiers proved to be
their own downfall.
They got into each other's way and the wet ground
made the battlefield difficult to navigate.
(people yelling)
The French tried to attack the English from the rear
in vain.
(intense fast music)
For many of them, the battle raged on in bloody
hand to hand combat.
(deep dark music)
By midday, it was all over.
King Henry V of England's victory was total.
The French army had lost around 7,000 men,
among them, the cream of the French nobility
lay dead or dying.
(groaning)
The English lost no more than 300 men.
Henry the V believed that this was a sign from God
that he was the rightful King of England and France.
(deep dark music)
Azincourt cemented Henry's reputation.
With the battle over, the French and English
agreed to a truce.
Henry left for England but he would return.
Then the French court was struck by another dramatic blow.
On December 18, 1415, Louis the Dauphin suddenly died.
He was 17 years old.
Rest in peace, my child.
(sobbing) (slow solemn music)
May god protect us, protect the throne of France.
(deep intense music)
Louis was replaced by his 16 year old
brother, John, but he would die just two years later.
So, the title passed to Charles and Isabeau's
14 year old son, the future Charles VII.
(deep dark music)
But the new Dauphin detested his mother,
he was convinced she had deserted his father
and taken many lovers.
To defend his father's honor, he banished her from Paris.
(intense rhythmic music)
Furious, Queen Isabeau took refuge in Twin
in the Champagne region and switched allegiances.
In November 1417, she asked John the Fearless,
Duke of Burgundy, to join her.
Madam, it is an honor to serve you at last.
In less than three months,
they formed a government to rival that of Dauphin Charles.
They took control of the administration
and seized mad king Charles' treasury.
But John the Fearless wanted more,
he wanted the capital.
And he would get it.
(intense rhythmic music)
The Parisian's, tired of the Armagnac's rule,
let the Burgundian soldiers enter the city.
Over several hours, the loyal supporters of Charles
and the Dauphin Louis were slaughtered in the streets.
(fast rhythmic music)
Terrified, the Dauphin and his supporters ran,
taking refuge in Bourges.
(fast rhythmic music)
July 14, 1418, the Duke of Burgundy and Queen Isabeau
made a triumphant entry into Paris.
Finally we shall govern this kingdom as it deserves,
greatness, Madam.
That is what is needed to save France.
I place my trust in you, my friend.
John the Fearless now controlled not
only the Queen, but the King too.
(fast intense music)
Contrary to what he believed, John the Fearless
was not the only ruler of France.
His influence only covered the North and
the East of the kingdom.
The country was divided and under several rulers.
From his refuge in Bourges, the Dauphin Charles
formed his government with the Armagnac's.
This made him more powerful.
He ruled in Angouleme, (mumbles), Toulon,
and all the way down to the South of France.
(dramatic rhythmic music)
But there was another king on French soil
who still dreamed of wearing its crown.
After Azincourt, Henry V had set out to conquer
Normandy and Le Siege (mumbles).
Once the city fell into his grasps,
he moved his troops on towards Paris.
(deep rhythmic music)
At all costs, John the Fearless wanted to stop
Henry V's progress, even if it meant forming
an allegiance with his bitter Armagnac enemy,
the Dauphin Charles.
(deep dark music)
Royal Highness, it is time to forget our disagreements.
The enemy approaches.
We must unite our forces.
To discuss their allegiance,
the Burgundian's and the Dauphin decided
to organize another meeting, a more official one.
On September 10, 1419, John the Fearless met with
Dauphin Charles and his Armagnac counselors
at Montereau on the Yonne Bridge.
Each was entitled to be accompanied by 10 men.
But the negotiations were to be between
just the two leaders.
Your royal highness, be assured of my gratitude.
Thank you, sir.
(fast intense music)
In fact, John the Fearless had been set up.
But the assassination was a big mistake
that would have terrible consequences.
(soft peaceful music)
When John the Fearless' son, Philip the Good,
learned of his father's murder,
he vowed to destroy the Dauphin and all the Armagnacs.
(soft solemn music)
To do that, in partnership with Queen Isabeau,
Philip took advantage of the madness of King Charles
and signed an alliance with the King of England.
The Treaty of Troyes, signed May 21st, 1420,
nearly upset the history of Europe forever.
(soft peaceful music)
In this copy of the treaty in French,
the Queen of England was named as the legitimate
heir to the crown of France.
(deep dark music)
And as for the so called Daupin, as it was written,
he was excluded from the succession to the throne
for his horrible crimes, in particular,
the murder of John the Fearless.
For Henry V, this was a stunning victory.
He had been handed France on a platter.
(dark slow music)
In Bourges, the man everyone now called the so called
Dauphin, learned that the Treaty of Troyes had
precluded him forever for sitting on the throne of France.
Immoral traitors!
That was not all,
he learned that his 19 year old sister, Catherine,
had married the King of England.
The heir born to this union,
would unite the two great nations under a single crown.
(deep rhythmic music)
December 6, 1421, 18 months after her wedding
to King Henry V, Catherine went into labor.
(yelling)
If it was a boy, he would be the future King of England
and France.
(deep rhythmic music)
(baby crying)
(deep intense music)
Henry, a future King to join the great dynasties
of (mumbles) and Lancaster.
But in the shadows, conspirators plotted to prevent
the young Henry from ever wearing the French crown.
(deep dark music)
Charles VI throne was there for the taking.
Aged 54, the mad king was at death's door.
He died October 21, 1422.
(intense dark music)
According to the Treaty of Troyes,
the crown of France should have passed to Henry V,
but the English King had also died seven weeks earlier.
During the summer, Henry V, like many of his soldiers,
had contracted dysentery during the campaign.
He died in Vince San on August 31, aged 34.
(eerie slow music)
So, who was now the king of France?
Nine month old Henry of Lancaster,
or Charles de Voinnes, the so called Dauphin?
(deep intense music)
(exciting fast music)
At Chenoit, where he had settled with his court,
Charles the Dauphin saw this chaos as an opportunity
to recover his birth right and ascend the throne of France.
On October 30, 1422, he proclaimed himself Charles VII,
King of France, and renewed combat with
his archenemy, the English.
(intense rhythmic music)
Now he had to convince the French people that he
was the rightful king.
He needed a sign that God was on his side.
(triumphant music)
This divine sign would come in the form of a 17 year old
girl from Domremy, in the Northeast of France.
(dark tense music)
From the age of 13, Joan claimed to hear the voices
of Saints, Michael, Catherine, and Margaret.
Their message was that she should go and find
the Dauphin Charles and have him crowned (mumbles).
(deep intense music)
(eerie dark music)
February 22, 1429, Joan arrived at the royal court.
Charles was intrigued by the young girl.
He decided to test her powers.
Joan had never seen Charles in person,
so he hid among his courtiers.
(dark scary music)
But the maid recognized him straight away.
Noble Dauphin.
I was sent by the kingdom of heaven to
drive the English out of France.
They must go back to their own land.
For the love of God, or they will have to answer to me.
(soft serene music)
Charles trusted Joan and
gave her a mission to fulfill.
(deep intense music)
Since the Treat of Troyes,
the English had held the North and Paris.
Charles VII was master of the South of the realm.
While in the North and the East,
the young Duke of Burgundy played the arbiter.
In spite of the death of Henry V,
his army continued its pitiless march southwards
to take the cities of Charles VII.
But one city held firm, Orleans.
Since September 1428, the English had laid siege
to the city and Charles VII was desperate
it didn't fall into enemy hands.
(intense rhythmic music)
TO stop the English siege of Orleans,
Charles VII sent an army led by Joan and Jildehe.
(intense deep music)
In early May, Joan's army was at the gates of the city.
On guards, for God and the kingdom of France!
(people yelling)
She urged the soldiers on and
led a series of attacks against the English who
had seized the watch towers and the outskirts of Orleans.
For eight days, the Maid's tactic was simple,
attack the enemy head on.
(people yelling) (triumphant music)
On Sunday, May 8th, the English were defeated
and called off the siege of Orleans.
(slow dark music)
Everyone called it a miracle.
Hail Mary.
Full of grace, our lord is with thee.
Blessed (mumbles) and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
The legend of Joan of Arc was born.
(dark tense music)
News of Joan's victory spread like wildfire
across the whole of France.
English morale plummeted.
Charles the VII and his supporters were now convinced
that Joan was invincible and that, thanks to her,
God was at last on their side.
(dark rhythmic music)
As the maid prophesized, on July 17th, 1429,
Charles VII was crowned King in Reims Cathedral.
May the messenger of God and men make
you the messenger of the clergy and the people.
The French now had a king,
but the English refused to give up.
(intense rhythmic music)
On May 24th, 1430, Joan of Arc was captured
by John of Luxembourg, a support of Philip the Good.
Vile traitor.
Take her away!
No!
Let me go!
John of Luxembourg sold her to the English
for 10,000 Pounds.
(dark deep music)
England accused Joan of heresy and
demanded that she be tried by the church.
For three months, Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais,
tried to make Joan confess that she was an envoy,
not of God, but of the Devil.
When did you hear voices for the first time?
While guarding the animals, I heard a voice.
It said to me God took pity on the people of France.
The voice said, "Joan, you must go to France."
(deep tense music)
The voice told me to raise the Siege of Orleans.
If the court could prove that Joan
was an ally of Satan, the legitimacy of Charles VII
would be overturned and Henry VI would take
the crown of France.
What was the voice like?
It was a very noble voice.
And I knew that it was sent to me by God.
What proof do you have that these revelations
was sent to you by God?
All you have to do is believe me.
This woman is a heretic.
She must perish in the flames!
On the morning of May 30, 1421,
after a 55 day trial, Joan was taken to the stake
in the marketplace at Rouen.
(agonized screaming)
Charles VII did nothing to save the life
of the woman who had helped him win the crown of France.
(deep dark music)
With Joan of Arc dead, the King of England,
10 year old Henry VI, came to Paris to be crowned.
But Paris was not Reims.
And all kings of France must be crowned in Reims.
But the city was held by the Armagnacs.
(deep tense music)
Everybody considered Charles VII to be
the only king of France.
(soft solemn music)
But Charles' subjects were dying of starvation,
war, and a bad harvest were ruining the country.
For the sake of the people,
Armagnacs, English, and the Burgundian's
agreed to come together to find a solution.
(soft triumphant music)
But in August, 1435 at Arras,
the English, fearing they were losing their claim
to the French throne,
walked away from the negotiating table.
I'll sign it.
(serene soft music)
Philip of Burgundy withdrew his support
for the King of England and switched sides.
I will not back down.
On September 21, he alone signed
the Treaty of Arras with a representative
of the King of France.
(deep tense music)
After 28 years of bitter struggle,
Armagnac's and Burgundians finally agreed
to make their peace and to recognize Charles VII
as the one true king of France.
In London, when the news arrived at Westminster,
King Henry VI was devastated.
He knew the crown of France was lost.
In April 1436, the English were driven out of the capital.
After 15 years of occupation,
Paris was finally back in French hands.
In 1449, they launched an attack on Normandy.
Within a few months, all the territories taken by
the English were recovered by the French army.
All except for Aquitaine.
It was exactly in the place where the war started
nearly 100 years earlier,
that the final chapter would be written.
Charles VII was determined to drive the English
out of France once and for all.
On June 30, 1451, he retook Bordeaux.
But the city had been English for 300 years
and the inhabitants didn't want to be ruled by the French.
(deep rhythmic music)
King Henry VI sent one of his best warlords, John Talbot,
Earl of Shrewsbury.
With a relatively small army,
he retook Bordeaux 16 months later.
Charles VII prepared to retaliate.
For the campaign, the King of France employed a new weapon.
The bombard, an early cannon firing large caliber stone
or metal balls.
(loud explosion)
(tense rhythmic music)
In July 1453, with 10,000 men,
Charles VII was ready to retake Aquitaine,
starting by surrounding Castillon.
Three days later, on the morning of July 17,
without waiting for his foot soldiers and
artillery to arrive, Talbot launched the attack.
(yelling) (deep scary music)
The French immediately fired on the English.
Fire!
Destroying them.
(groaning)
On the fringes of the battle, Talbot was unseated
and slaughtered.
That day, 4,000 English soldiers lost their lives
at Castillon after just one hour of combat.
(intriguing fast music)
October 19, 1453, Bordeaux was retaken.
Aquitaine was once again French.
The war that had started 107 years earlier ended.
France was at last united, but one question remained.
The English still held the vitally important
strategic port of Calais.
So, was the 100 years war really over?
(dark triumphant music)
(dramatic slow music)