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The Hundred Years War was not an easy time for Paris. Paris was first caught up in civil conflict between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs, later occupied by the English, besieged and finally liberated (from the royalist point of view). During the 15th century the key protagonists were John, duke of Burgundy, subsequently his son, Philip (the Good), duke of Burgundy, John, duke of Bedford and brother of Henry V, Henry V and VI, and on the French side, Charles VI and VII.

Philip the Good - Duke of Burgundy
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By 1418 Charles VI (the Mad) had made Tanneguy Duchatel, a Breton and Armagnac, provost of Paris. Paris rankled under this rule and in May 1418 the Burgundians were let into the city, where they forced the Armagnacs into the Bastille and seized Paris. Several days later the Armagnacs rallied and sought to retake the city, but were repulsed and more than 400 died. This opened a general slaughter of Armagnacs in the city during the nights of June 12 and 13. A relief force of Burgundians arrived but let the mob have their way with any of their Armagnac enemies in the city. The city mob, being hard to control, continued this purging of the Armagnacs through July.

During this time Paris was firmly in Burgundian control. John duke of Burgundy was ostensibly an ally of the Charles VI, but this was a weak alliance. Charles was relying on support he was receiving in the south and the Armagnacs were his principle allies. So Charles VI, a weak king to begin with, found himself with two alleged allies who were themselves enemies. This enmity set the stage for the transfer of control of Paris from the Burgundians to the English.

In 1419 the Dauphin, the future Charles VII, established a rapprochement with the Burgundians and a meeting was arranged at the bridge of Montreau with duke John. At this meeting John was assassinated by Tanneguy, avenging the earlier death of the duke of Orleans. Naturally, this infuriated the Burgundians. John was succeeded by his son Philip, who entered into an alliance with the English in the fall off 1419. Sometime shortly after this alliance, as close as I can tell, Philip turned Paris over to the English, who were to occupy it until 1436, about 26 years.

In 1422 both Charles VI and Henry V died. Charles was succeeded by his ineffectual son (although he would come to be known as the ‘Victorious’) and Henry succeeded by his infant son, who ruled as Henry VI. John, duke of Bedford, was Regent and occupied Paris on behalf of his nephew, Henry VI. Charles was too weak to threaten Paris, but strong enough to resist the treaty his father had made with the English giving the throne of France to the English on his (Charles VI’s) death. My sense is Paris enjoyed relative peace over the next years. This state of affairs was not to last, because as Charles gained strength, largely on the motivation of Joan of Arc, Paris, as an English stronghold, was ultimately threatened.

In 1429 Charles VII was crowned at Reims. This contemporary picture is by Jean Fouguet. After Charles was crowned, Joan of Arc led a French army to Paris. From Seward “On the afternoon of 8 September Joan led an assault on the walls between Porte St. Honore and Porte St. Denis; it was not properly supported by Charles’ commanders … and the attackers failed to get over the inner moat and retreated in disorder.” In May the following year she was captured by the Burgundians and turned over to the English, who subsequently executed her as a heretic.

Life in Paris was grim, with the French in ascendancy in the country and Paris stressed in terms of knowing its future and maintaining a good food supply. From Seward “The capital itself was in a frightful state. As a result of interrupted communication and exposed supply routes, together with harassment by brigands and peasants, many Parisians were starving… At night wolves continued to prowl the streets, looking for dead bodies or children. Thousands left in despair.” Bedford ultimately regained the Regency )he had relinquished it to Philip of Burgundy) and brought relief to the city, but famine continued.

In 1431 the young (nine years old) Henry VII (of England) was crowned at Notre Dame as Henry II of France, but this did little to relieve the plight of Parisians, although they generally remained loyal to England.

Fighting continued thought out northern France, with the English generally losing ground. The death knell for the English occurred when Bedford died in 1435 and Philip of Burgundy agreed to a treaty (of Arras) with Charles VII ending his alliance with England. The English were in retreat, though they still held Paris.

In 1436 Paris was besieged again and famine spread. Parisians loyal to Charles allowed the besiegers entry on April 13, and the English retreated to the Bastille. They were subsequently allowed to retreat from Paris. This seizure was accompanied by a general amnesty and Paris returned to French control. This ended an English occupation of about 26 years.

This ended another violent phase in the life of Paris. For a fuller over view of the Hundred Years War and the contemporary coinage, please see the HYW page.

Sources:

Guizot, M. France, vol. II.

Seward D., The Hundred Year's War

*http://heraldica.org/topics/france/rois_ic.htm