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Step into the medieval world and immerse yourself in a 9-hour ASMR journey through the annals of history. From the French Wars of Religion to the witch hunts led by Matthew Hopkins, the Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses, this compilation video offers a serene retreat into the captivating tales of medieval Europe.
⚔️ Join us as we delve into the valiant exploits of knights, the noble warriors who epitomized chivalry and honor on the battlefield. Experience the thrill of jousts, tournaments, and epic battles as we uncover the legacy of these iconic figures.
🏰 Explore the tumultuous era of religious conflict with the French Wars of Religion, where Catholics and Protestants clashed in a struggle for supremacy. Witness the upheaval and chaos that engulfed France during this turbulent time in history.
👑 Discover the grim reality of witch hunts and trials with Matthew Hopkins Witch Hunter, as paranoia and superstition gripped 17th-century England. Follow the notorious witchfinder general as he embarks on a crusade to root out supposed practitioners of dark magic.
🧙♂️ Experience the epic struggle for dominance between England and France with the Hundred Years’ War, a protracted conflict that shaped the destiny of both nations. Follow the campaigns, sieges, and political machinations that defined this era of medieval warfare.
🌹 Delve into the complex web of alliances, betrayals, and dynastic rivalries with the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict that plunged England into decades of bloody civil war. Follow the rival houses of Lancaster and York as they vie for control of the English throne.
🌿 Join us on this mesmerizing odyssey through medieval history, where the whispers of the past come alive in a symphony of ASMR tranquility. Subscribe now to embark on this enchanting voyage and uncover the secrets of knights, kings, and legends of old. #asmrhistory #medievalhistory #asmr #crusades #fallasleepfast #fallasleep #history #asmrhistory
the French Wars of religion lasting from 1562 to 1598 were a series of excruciatingly brutal conflicts in France marked by intense religious and political Strife between the Catholic majority and the Protestant hugenots this period featured several key events including the infamous St Bartholomew Day Massacre of 1572 where thousands of hugenots lost their lives the wars reflected deeper power struggles within the French nobility particularly among the Catholic geysers burbons and Mont Mary chatons who exploited religious divisions to enhance their power the hostilities finally concluded with the Edict of Nantes in 1598 issued by Henry IV which granted significant rights to the hugenots aiming to stabilize and unify France under a more tolerant and centralized regime hello there and welcome to the channel if it’s your first time here it’s good to meet you and if you’re coming back it’s good to see you again as always if you like what what I do and want to support the channel link to patreons in the description or if you want to help me get to 6,000 subscribers we are very close to getting there click that subscribe button and like the video to get YouTube into gear pushing it out now without further Ado get yourself relaxed take a very deep breath and let’s begin our full history history of the French Wars of religion let’s try and Trace The Roots all the way back in the 14th century Italy Renaissance humanism emerging in 14th century Italy reached France in the early 16th century aligning with the rise of protestantism this movement stressed the importance of returning to the original sources the ad Fontes initially concerning on reconstructing secular Greek and Latin texts it did evolve to include the study of translation and New Testament and the church father’s Works aiming for significant religious reform humanist Scholars contended that biblical interpretation required knowledge of the or original Greek and Hebrew rather than relying solely on the Latin Vulgate Bible translation from the 4th Century in 1495 aldus manutius utilized the printing press a new invention for Europe to produce affordable portable additions of literature in Greek Latin and of course vernacular languages democratizing access to knowledge by 1519 the impact of printing was evident as John frobin published and widely distributed Martin Luther’s Works indicating the rapid dissemination of religious ideas and if you want to know all about Martin Luther I’ve got a video on him in the biography playlist by 1521 the circle of mayo formed by reformers like Jac lebra and gulam bronet focused on enhancing preaching and general religious life notable such as franois vbo and gulan Bud with their expertise in Hebrew and Classics supported this initiative Le’s Works pushed for a literal B Bible interpretation and underscored Christ’s centrality aligning closely with Martin Luther’s teachings the circle also included Margaret darei and gulam farell who later influenced John Calvin in Geneva despite their eventual banishment from Geneva in 1538 over conflicts about government and ecclesiastical relations Calvin returned in 1541 refining and firmly establishing [Music] Calvinism now the Reformation was partly motivated by the clergy’s corruption which Luther vly criticized a sentiment Amplified by the printing press’s ability to spread such critiques far and wide for instance Margaret’s Hep camaron highlighted clerical immorality and forel’s writings on prayer challenged the clergy’s role in obstructing genuine Faith emphasizing salvation as a Divine gift and the importance of personal understanding in prayer the Revival of classical learning in Italy greatly influenced Francis I of France who was drawn to an ancient literature and subsequently established Royal professorships in Paris however his enthusiasm for classical Revival did not extend to religious reform after the concorded of bolognia in 1516 where Pope Leo I 10th granted France’s increased control over the French Church allowing him to appoint clergy and tax Church property the French King upheld the traditional religious structures unlike the religious upheavals occurring in Germany the French nobility benefiting from the status quo largely supported these existing Arrangements despite personal reservations Francis initially tolerated the spread of Martin Luther’s ideas in France during the late 1520s partly due to the ambiguity in defining Catholic Orthodoxy at the time which more often than not blurred the lines of heresy Francis navigated a cautious path amidst emerging religious divisions however in January of 1535 Catholic authorities firmed L categorized Lutheran alongside heretical zwinglian prompting John Calin a native of noon bicardi to flee France in 1535 due to increasing persecution settling in Basel Calvin published his seminal Institutes of the Christian religion in 1538 laying down the foundation of Calvinism which quickly spread throughout France and Beyond Lutheranism found significant followers among the French commercial classes but the nobility predominantly drove the Swift expansion of Calvinism notably gai encountered Calvinism during a stop in Geneva Upon returning from a military campaign and was influenced by a sermon he heard there Jean Del Brett the queen of naare converted to Calvinism in 1560 influenced possibly by Theodore Dez alongside G and her husband Antoine of naar she and their son Henry of naar emerged as prominent henaut leaders the French monarch maintained a stance of neutrality in religious matters that was until the affair of the blackards in October 1534 a peral moment when Protestant radicals publicly denounced the Catholic belief in the Eucharist by posting blackards in Paris and other cities including one on the door of King Francis I First’s bedroom reportedly this blatant security breach I don’t know how they got in and the content of the blackards incited the king’s anger and shifted protestantism into the realm of very clearly defined heresy Francis criticized for his previous leniency responded by executing those involved in the incident on the 21st of February 1535 in a public display at nraam De Paris witnessed by both the king and the ottoman Embassy that ought to impress the guests the 1540s saw an intensified Crackdown on protestantism pushing Protestant worship underground in a notorious episode in October 15 1845 Francis ordered the brutal suppression of the wal denans at merindol a village in Southeastern France this group which had connections to protor protestantism dating back to the 13th century and had recently aligned with the Reformed Church was targeted for its increasing militancy the ensuing Mass M of merindol led to the death of many villagers and widespread [Music] condemnation also the destruction of about 22 to 28 surrounding villagers and the men that survived were very unfortunately conscripted as Galley slaves now if you don’t know what a galley slave is the galley is the deck on a ship that has the rowing ores so effectively you’re thrown down there in that hot humid sweaty compartment with 50 to 60 other guys and you just have to row the boat all day not a good job now Francis the first passed away on the 31st of March 154 47 and his son Henry II ascended to the throne continuing and intensifying his father’s policies of religious repression believing firmly in the heretical nature of all Protestant beliefs Henry enacted the Edict of chatau pront on the 27th of June 1551 which significantly restricted Protestant worship and authorized the confiscation of property from those who were labeled as Heretics from his Exile in Geneva John Calvin became a pivotal figure in organizing and leading the Reformed Church of France Calvinism appealed widely Crossing both social and occupational lines and spread in a highly regionalized manner without clear geographical pattern despite facing persecution the number of Calvinists including a significant portion of the French nobility grew substantially by the onset of the religious wars in 1562 historians estimate that France had around 2 million Calvinists supported by 1200 to 1250 congregations representing a formidable challenge to the French monarchy well Henry wasn’t around for too long his sudden death in July of 1559 led to a power vacuum in France which the Adolescent Francis II struggled to manage his uncle the Duke of G swiftly capitalized on this instability leveraging his familial ties he was the uncle of Francis II’s wife Mary Queen of Scots to dominate The Royal Court within days of Francis II’s coronation the English Ambassador noted the overwhelming influence of the Gu Family at court in a bold move on the 10th of March 1560 a faction of discontented nobles led by Jean duari plotted to abduct the young king to diminish the geyser’s control the plot however was uncovered before it could be executed leading to severe repercussions including the execution of dubar and the many alleged conspirators the GU family also had suspected Louis the of bbone the prince of gai of involvement leading to his arrest and a subsequent death sentence however he was later freed amid the chaos following Francis II’s Unexpected death in December of 1560 very lucky for him this period also saw the rise of the term hugenot to describe French Protestants following incidents of protestant iconic clasm in cities like Rowan and larell during 1561 these acts of iconoclasm involving the destruction of Catholic imagery led to retaliatory violence against Protestants across France upon the death of Francis II on the 5th of December 1560 his mother Katherine deichi assumed the Regency for her younger son Charles I 9th with the kingdom financially depleted by the Italian Wars Katherine aimed to balance the competing Noble factions she navigated the politics by securing the Rel lease of gonde in exchange for anine of nar’s withdrawal from a claim to the Regency Catherine had faced considerable challenges in addressing religious tensions options included continuing her husband’s harsh suppression of protestantism or simply adopting protestantism to appease the rising calvinist forces within the kingdom ultimately she opted for the moderate path slightly easing persecution without fully embracing Protestant demands for full religious freedom this moderate stance was reflected in her handling of the Estates General convened in December 1560 which failed to resolve religious disputes but did agree on pardon for past religious offenses Katherine further sought to Plate religious tensions by issuing the Edict of s jaman in 1562 granting limited rights to Protestant worship and I use the term limited however this very fragile piece was shattered when the Duke of G forces massacred Protestant worshippers was in v on the 1st of March 1562 and this was the event that really ignited the French Wars of religion took us a while to get there but the background is important now the situation in regions like guen became increasingly volatile with figures such as Jean delbr and Antoine of navare influen ing the rise of Calvinism among the nobility marking a region a focal point for religious conflict while traditional explanations for the escalation of violence in guen have emphasize the socioeconomic factors and influence of radical preachers like Thomas ilus recent scholarship has highlighted the politicization of religious division as a primary Catalyst for the violent outbreaks that characterize the late 16th century France the initial mobilization of the hugenots prior to the vasi massacre intensified following the violent event affirming their fears that they could not depend on the Edict of s Geron for protection in a defiant response led by K a group of protestant Nobles took decisive action by capturing or Leon on the 2nd of April 1562 signaling the start of open Rebellion this action set off a chain reaction with Protestant forces quickly seizing control of key cities along the lir such as aner BL and tours and even attacking valence in the rone the situation escalated further when leyon was overtaken on the 30th of April the city’s Catholic institutions were not only looted but also destroyed in tulus efforts by the local hugenots to align the city with gond sparked violent confrontations with Catholic residents leading to street battle and a death toll of over 3,000 predominantly [Music] hugenots similarly massacres targeting hugenots occurred in s on the 12th of April and tours in July as violence surged the crown influenced by the G faction rescinded the indict of San Jamon the conflict then and saw significant battles at ruen Dr and oron during the siege of ruen from May to October 1562 the crown forces retook the city though it was at the cost of antoan of nar’s Life due to wounds the Battle of dro in December saw the capture of both gai by Royal forces and moreni by the opposing side the siege of orans in February of 1563 culminated in the assassination of Francis Duke of G by Jean dealr de mayor sparking further unrest and leading Catherine deedi to negotiate the Edict of ambo on the 19th of March 1563 which entered the siege but didn’t manage to satisfy either party continuing tensions and the perceived inadequacy of the Edict of ambo prompted Catherine to focus on consolidating Royal Authority this effort included the recapture of lahabra from the English control following its occupation under the terms of the Treaty of Hampton Court with Elizabeth the of England with the English expelled in July 1563 Charles the 9th was declared of age in August formerly ending Catherine’s Regency although she did remain very influential between 1564 and 66 Charles and Catherine conducted a grand tour of France to reinforce the royal auth Authority during this period Katherine and Jean Dal Bret engaged in negotiations that somewhat failed to ease the religious tensions the iconoclasm in Flanders and the Strategic military positioning of Spanish forces under Philip II heightened the French Protestant fears of renewed Catholic aggression discontent led to the surprise of mayo an unsuccessful Protestant attempt to seize Charles in reaction cities like lar roelle joined the Protestant cause and significant violence against Catholics occurred such as the mishel a in Nims these events precipitated the second religious War marked by the battle ATT of St Dennis where Mont morenzi was killed the conflict continued with the Peace of long jimo in March of 1568 which briefly reinstated the concessions of the Edict of ambois however the deep-seated hostilities were so entrenched that even after the truth was declared the siege of the Protestant stronghold po Loren continued for an additional week illustrating the persistent and bitter divisions following the piece of long jamu Catholic groups throughout France openly defied the conciliatory measures by forming confraternities and leagues in the summer of 1568 the escalating tension prompted hugenot leaders like gai and and kingi to flee the court fearing for their safety as many of their adherents faced violence and murder the situation managed to worsen in September when the Edict of sent more severely restricted hugenot freedoms essentially revoking their right to worship completely well they weren’t going to take that sitting down so it all led to further Strife in November William of Orange entered France with an army to Aid the Protestants however struggling with financial issues he negotiated with the French Crown accepting money and safe passage out of the country in return for withdrawing his forces I suppose everybody has their pride meanwhile the hugenots undeterred rallied a substantial Force Under gond with additional support from Southern French forces led by Paul De morans and German Protestant militias including 14,000 Raiders commanded by the calvinist Duke of Z bruken after the Duke’s death in battle his troops continued to fight under the hugenot banner funded in part by a loan secured by Jean DL Bret’s crown jewels and substantial financial support from Queen Elizabeth of England influenced heavily by Sir Francis Walsingham the Catholic forces under the Future King Henry III then Duke of vanjo were reinforced by troops from Spain the Papal States and Tuscany this formidable Alliance faced the Protestants as they laid Siege to cities like poro Santo to secure Rosel followed by assault on angem and gak this conflict reached a critical point at the Battle of jarak on the 16th of March 1569 where KDE was killed leaving Admiral de colony to lead the Protestant forces colony’s leadership extended to protecting the young Henry of gond and Henry of naari both presented by Jean do Bret as the rightful hugenot leaders despite a victory at lar Ro La the hugenot failed to capture portiers and suffered a major defeat at mon Contour on the 30th of October 1569 kin then led a strategic Retreat to the Southwest where he joined forces with Gabrielle comp de monomer in the spring of 1570 they launched a devast ating raid through southern France reaching as far as larti sua the extensive military campaigns coupled with the burgeoning Royal debt and Charles the 9th inclination towards a peaceful resolution culminated in the Peace of s jimon on Le on the 8th of August 1570 this agreement largely negotiated by Jean dbr reinstated certain freedoms to the hugenots marking yet another attempt to quell the religious Strife that had already deeply scarred France following St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 the French monarchy pursued a strategy aimed at National reconciliation focusing significantly on a matrimonial alliance between the Protestant and Catholic nobility this was embodied in the proposed marriage between Henry of Nar son of Jean do Brett and the Protestant King Antoine of Nar and Margaret of valvo the Catholic sister of King Charles I 9th despite Jean do Brett’s reservations about potential religious compromises the marriage contract was was finalized in March of 1572 now Admiral Gaspar Deon a prominent hugenot leader who had been marginalized during the Civil War saw his fortunes reversed with the Peace of sanjon ANL welcomed warmly at the Royal Court in the August of 1571 kini used his reinstated position to advocate for a French intervention in the Spanish Netherlands aiming to unify Catholics and hugenots against a common enemy however the French Council including King Charles I 9th was reluctant to provoke a direct conflict with Spain leading to col’s departure from Court due to its reportedly unwelcoming atmosphere the August of 1572 wedding of navari and Margaret in Paris was another significant event drawing many high ranking hugenots to the city days after the wedding an assassination attempt on keni escalated tensions with hugenot Nobles suspecting involvement by the house of G and of course demanding Justice a Justice that Charles promised they would have fearing the potential for a potential Protestant retaliation or Civil War the Royal Court under Katherine dti’s influence decided to eliminate the hugenot leadership preemptively in the early hours of the 24th of August 1572 organized groups including one led by the Duke of G murdered kin and other hugenot leaders these killings ignited widespread violence across Paris and subsequently other French cities with thousands of hugenots massacred over several days the official narrative framed the massacre as a preemptive action against a purported hugenot coup leading to Celebrations by figures like Philip II of Spain and Pope Gregory I 13th who viewed it as a thwarting of protestant sedition well the massacre severely weakened the hugenot political force from prompting many to emigrate or convert to Catholicism out of survival while there were others who Consolidated in strongholds like larell but the majority of them chose to keep their heads down despite the brief military responses that followed including the seizes by Catholic forces the subsequent Edict of alone in 1573 curtailed hugenot freedoms significantly this indict limited Protestant worship to private residences within only three cities and restricted public religious ceremonies in the turmoil following the death of Charles the 9th in the May of 1574 and with the Duke of an Joo recently crowned king of Poland absent the French Court was engulfed in yet another Power struggle the Duke of allenon Charles’s youngest brother became a center of patronage for The hugenots Who rallied around him the failed coup of San jman in February 1574 which aimed to liberate the prisoned hugenots leaders K and Navar coincided with a successful Protestant uising in regions like lower Normandy and the rone valley once again reigniting the French Wars of religion 3 months after Henry evangel’s coronation as king of Poland Charles the 9th passed away prompting Henry convert departure from Poland and returned to France upon his return he confronted the defection of the Mont Morenci damville and was crowned King Henry III in February 1575 amidst these challenges The Escape of alanon from court in September of 1575 threatened to consolidate opposition forces against the monarchy the crown seeking stability hastily negotiated a truce with alanon and the invading forces of John of Casmir of the palatinate even promising a large sum to deter their further advances by May 1576 Henry III was compelled to agree to the Edict of bolo or the Peace of mure granting substantial concessions to the hugenots however the pece was shortlived due to the formation of the Catholic League by the ultra Catholic Duke of g a staunch defender of Roman Catholicism along with his relatives who wielded significant territorial influence the league quickly garnered support among the urban middle classes King Henry III initially attempted to control the Catholic League aiming for a negotiated peace however his aats were thwarted by the G who preferred a more aggressive approach the conflict came to a head during the Estates General at blo in December of 1576 where the predominantly Catholic assembly pressured the king to renew hostilities against the hugenots yet refused to fund the war the inability of the Estates General to resolve these tensions led to the hugenot taking up Arms Again by the end of 1576 despite the G faction’s support from the Spanish Crown the hugenots managed a strong base in the southwest and had covert support from foreign Protestant States although practical military aid was limited this stalemate LED Henry III to retract many of the Edict of bolio’s concessions with the Treaty of Burak in September of 1577 reaffirmed shortly afterward by the Edict of bortier this ongoing Discord saw Henry’s brother the Duke of Anjo continuously evolved in disruptive activities particularly through his participation in the Dutch Revolt this period was marked by widespread arming among both Catholics and Protestants ostens for self-defense leading to further Regional instability the cycle of conflict persisted until the Treaty of flakes in November of 1580 negotiated by an Joo which halted the fighting albeit temporarily the delicate balance in French politics unraveled rapidly following the death of the Duke of Anjo in 158 before as King Henry III had no direct heirs the line of succession pointed to Henry of naari a Protestant under salic law pretenses the potential in session of a Protestant King alarmed the Catholic factions leading to the Treaty of joinville between the Duke of G and Philip II of Spain this treaty ensured Spanish financial support for the Catholic League aiming to continue the Civil War and suppress Protestant influence in France faced with intense pressure from the Catholic league and lacking adequate funds Henry III was compelled to issue the Treaty of neor in July of 1585 which not only suppressed protestantism but also disqualified Henry of navari from succession of course this act of obvious suppression led to immediate Warfare with naari seeking assistance from Protestant powers like Elizabeth the of England and various German princes to support his cause the political climate in Paris grew increasingly volatile culminating in the day of the barricades on the 12th of May 1588 the parisians rose up barricading the streets to protect the Duke of G from perceived Royal hostility forcing Henry III to flee from the capital the control of Paris fell to the committee of 16 who imposed almost complete control over the government in favor of the Catholic league in a desperate bid to regain Authority Henry iiii convened the Estates General at blo however the situation escalated when Henry suspecting the GU of inciting the Duke of seo’s invasion and manipulating the Estates General decided to eliminate the GU threat the 23rd of December 1588 in a dramatic confrontation at the chatau deblo the Duke of G and his brother the Cardinal were assassinated by Royal Gods this bold action however had a dramatic backfire the Duke’s popularity made him a martyr for the Catholic cause and the Catholic League LED by the Duke’s brother the Duke of mayen intensified its opposition the sore bone even declared it just and necessary to depose Henry legitimizing regicide in July of 1589 the conflict reached its peak when a Dominican frier assassinated Henry III at soncloud on his Deathbed Henry named Henry of navare as his successor urging him to convert to Catholicism to avoid further conflict though navare promised to uphold the Catholic faith his Protestant background made his succession controversial among Catholics in 1589 France was once again starkly divided along religious lines for following the death of Henry III Henry ivth a Protestant controlled southern and western France while the Catholic League led by the Duke of Mayan as Lieutenant General dominated the North in the East including a significant part of rural Normandy early in his Reign Henry IV aimed to consolidate his rule by taking Paris the stronghold of the Catholic League which was fiercely resistant to a calvinist King thus Henry the for’s campaign began with a strategic victory at the Battle of Ares in September 1589 followed by a series of successful military engagements that allowed him to sweep through Normandy despite the Catholic League’s efforts to vilify Henry by spreading Tales of protestant atrocities in England Henry continued his push towards Paris the pivotal Battle of iy on the 14th of March 1590 marked yet another significant victory for Henry bolstering his forces to besiege Paris however The Siege was a grueling affair despite the parisians desperate resistance it was ultimately lifted by the intervention of a Spanish Army led by the Duke of Pala this pattern repeated in ruin where after initial setbacks The Siege was lifted in early 1592 due to Spanish intervention the Duke of Bara a formidable opponent was later neutralized as a threat when he was wounded and withdrew to Flanders falling ill and dying in December of the same year parallel to these events Philipe Immanuel Duke of maror and a leader within the Catholic League sought to carve out an independent domain in Britany leveraging his wife’s hereditary claims he declared his son as The Prince and Duke of Britany and aligned with Philip II of Spain aiming to place the Spanish infanta on the Britany Throne despite initial successes including a victory at the Battle of gron in 1592 Mer’s forces were eventually overwhelmed by combined Franco English efforts in a significant engagement in November of 1594 English forces led by Martin frobisher and John Norris captured the strategically crucial Fort croone near braist dealing a critical blow to the Spanish and League Ambitions in the area throughout these chaotic years Henry IV faced not only military challenges but also the formidable task of navigating the complex politics of a France deeply divided by religious conflicts his strategic alliances and military victories gradually solidified his position moving France towards a semblance of unity and stability under his rule after years and years of relentless cond confict and with Paris remaining resolutely Catholic Henry IV realized that his Protestant Faith was a significant barrier to securing his reign in a pragmatic shift aimed at solidifying his control he converted to Catholicism in 1593 famously justifying his decision by remarking Paris is well worth a mass his conversion facilitated his coronation at chhatris in 1594 as the traditional coronation site in RS was still under the control of League members who doubted his sincerity and continued to resist him nonetheless Henry’s formal acceptance into the Catholic church in March of 1594 and his subsequent entry into Paris marked at Turning Point leading to the capitulation or reconciliation of many other towns even the Pope Clement VII formally absolved Henry lifting his excommunication in exchange for Henry’s commitments to enforce the trentine decrees restore Catholicism in Baron and appoint only Catholics to high offices well despite these concessions Henry’s conversion raised concerns among Protestant Nobles who had hoped for more significant religious reforms rather than a mere tolerance under a Catholic boot their support for Henry now Complicated by his apparent shift in religious Allegiance was not guaranteed in 1595 with the internal religious conflicts still simmering in the pan and external threats from Spain exploiting all of these divisions Henry IV decided to declare war on Spain this move was strategically aimed at demonstrating to both Catholics and Protestants that his conversion not had not rather made him a Spanish puppet and that Spain was using religion to undermine French sovereignity the conflict known as the war with Spain creative name I know stretched from 1595 until the signing of the Peace of verin in 1598 during this period Henry aimed to reclaim territories controlled by Spanish backed Catholic forces engaging in significant battles such as the capture of Amon after a lengthy Siege in 1597 concurrently the situation in Britany needed a resolution in early 1598 Henry personally led a campaign against the Duke of Merkur a prominent leader of the Catholic league in Britany who capitulated in March 1598 this victory followed by Mer’s Exile and the Strategic marriage of his daughter to Henry’s illegitimate son the Duke of vendom helped secure Britany and further consolidate Henry’s power the Edict of nandes promulgated in April of 1598 marked the formal end of the wars of religion it granted substanti rights to the hugenots establishing a form of civil Unity that was less about genuine religious tolerance and more of a pragmatic truce between the faiths while the edict was a pivotal step in restoring peace and promoting civil Unity it was met with resistance in some quarters necessitating Henry’s personal intervention at the parliament to ensure its passage in January 15 1999 Henry IV’s reign was then characterized by efforts to rebuild and unify a fractured and impoverished Kingdom with the support of his chief advisor the Duke of Sul despite the relative peace and the formal end of the religious wars tensions lingered influencing French politics for years to come Henry’s role however was rather rudely interrupted by his assassination in the May of 1610 now this Edict of Nantes established in 1598 marked a significant milestone in French history providing substantial rights and protections to the hugenots however these concessions were perceived by some as creating a state within a state increasingly became a source of friction throughout the 17th century the demographic impact of sustained conflicts and immigration was notable with the hugenot community declining from 10% to 8% of France’s population the reign of Louis VII saw ongoing tensions and conflict related to these freedoms in an effort to assert Catholic dominance Louie decided to reintroduce Catholicism to certain regions which of course triggered a hugenot Uprising the resulting piece of melier in 1622 drastically reduced the number of fortified Protestant towns to just two being larish and montabon this was followed by another War and the significant Siege of lar relle in 1627 to 28 where Royal forces under Cardinal risho conducted a grueling blockade lasting 14 months The Siege finally ended in 1629 with the Peace of larel which while revoking the military and pastoral privileges granted by the Edict of Nantes left the hugenot religious freedoms intact now during the minority of Lou the 14th and throughout the remainder of Louis the 13th’s Reign the enforcement of the edict varied reflecting the fluctuating religious and political situation in the region by 1661 Louis the 14th began to exert greater personal control over his government and increasingly neglected the edicts provisions his hostility towards hugenots intensified culminating in 1681 with the implementation of the dragonard policy this policy aimed to coer hugenot families into converting to Roman Catholicism or immigrating through the Bing of drons who would intimidate and harass them the situation for the hugenot became dire in 1685 when Louis the 14th forly revoked the Edict of nandes through the Edict of fonte blue marking protestantism as as something illegal in France this revocation forced many hugenots to flee from for more tolerant Nations such as England Brandenburg Prussia the Dutch Republic Switzerland and of course the Americas significantly depleting France’s industrial and intellectual resources despite the official suppression of protestantism significant numbers of hugenots remained particularly in the isolated cenes region of the m Ive Central known as the camisards these Protestants openly revolted against the government in 1702 resulting in a protected conflict known as the kisad Revolt which lasted for 13 years finally ending in 1715 this rebellion was characterized by Guerilla Warfare and severe repression eventually winding down when the government LED seized its active pursuit of the Chads allowing them to finally live in relative peace the wars of the Roses a series of dynastic conflicts in England between the houses of Lancaster and York both branches of the royal plantagenet family a war that unfolded between the years of 1455 and 1487 the name the War of the Roses comes from the emblems associated with the two rival houses being the red roads for Lancaster and the white RADS for York the struggle was ignited by both political and economic issues leadership disputes and the Quest for control over the Throne of England peing with battles like Toten which was among the bloodiest for on English soil the wars concluded with the ascent of Henry dudor that being Henry iith at the Battle of Bosworth field which effectively ended plantagenet Rule and marked the beginning of the Tudor dynasty hello and welcome to the channel if you’re new here it’s good to meet you if you’re coming back welcome to another one as always if you like what I do there’s a patreon link in the description otherwise trying to hit 6K subs and we’re quite close a like comment and subscribe will certainly help me get there now with that out of the way let’s begin first a deep breath make yourself comfortable let’s start start from the very beginning the house of plantagenet originating from ano in France ruled England from 1154 until 1485 concluding with the War of the Roses and the ascent of the tutor Dynasty under Henry iith this period marked a significant transformation in England’s governance and national identity propelled by conflicts with the French Scots Welsh and Irish and of course the formalization of English as the primary language the plantagenet Reign saw the establishment of legal and feudal reforms most notably the Magna car I’m sure you’re familiar with which balance the power of the monarchy with defined obligations to the realm these reforms contributed to the emergence of a rather complex justice system and a buting sense of English nationhood now during the 15th century the plantagenets endured defeats in the 100 Years War and of course faced mouning internal strife marked by the widespread revolts and the rise of powerful Noble factions the internal Discord culminated in our very topic for today this War of the Roses which pitted the two houses Lancaster and York against one another well the subsequent tutor period after this brought about a more centralized Royal Authority Sid stepping many of the challenges that had plagued the late paginate rulers So speaking of these issues We R to an issue itself being Edward III one of the notable plantagen Kings he had several sons who played significant roles in the nobility and the historical Narrative of England his creation of dukedoms for his Sons introduced a new class of nobility that helds substantial political and military power that was independent of the crown this move laid the groundwork for what would become known as bastard fism where Nobles maintained private armies and could assert significant influence or opposition to the monarch the term bastard feudalism coined in the late 19th century describes the evolution from traditional feudal levies to a system where Nobles maintained loyalty through personal retainers rather than through feudal obligations it was a shift that allowed Nobles like John of gaun and later figures such as Richard of yor and wari the King maker to amass significant military and political power challenging the authority of monarchs like Richard II and Henry V 6 the house of Lancaster’s claim to the throne was primarily through the AFF forementioned John of gaun deriving legitimacy from a preference for the male line of succession in contrast the house of York’s claim was rooted in descent from both the male and female lions tying back to Lionel Duke of Clarence this Divergence in claims fueled the rivalries and conflicts that characterize the wars of the Roses illustrating the complexity of lineage feudal loyalty and Power in late medieval England so effectively to sum up the creation of these dukedoms while giving a little bit of people a bit of uh how can we put it putting their mind at ease giving them a little bit of power and sending them on their way to a different part of the country it came back to bite them as they all thought that they were the ones to take the throne and well disputes in these sort of matters begin a lot more Wars than religions do in my opinion just like when a relative dies and there’s a argument over the will it’s pretty much the same thing on a larger scale now the question of succession following the death of Edward the 3D in 1377 significantly contributed to the conflict Edward III was preceded by his eldest sons that being Edward the black prince and Lionel of antp creating uncertainty over who was truly the rightful Heir Edward’s grandson Richard II ascended to the throne as a child amidst this uncertainty leading to A Reign marked by Regency and unrest Edward’s third son John of gaun and his descendants through the male line were initially favored in the line of succession over the descendants of lonel of antp though who were through the female Line This set the stage for more dynastic disputes now Richard II his rule began under the influence of regencies dominated by his uncles particularly John of G his Reign saw significant challenges including the peasants Revolt of 1381 which I just completed a full video on if you’re interested also his approach to governance was characterized by a shift towards absolute monarchy which alienated and the aristocracy and led to repeated conflicts with Parliament Richard’s aesthetic and peace-oriented policies contrasted sharply with the militaristic and administrative styles of his predecessors his peace negotiations with France which would have positioned England as a lesser power were unpopular and rejected by the parliament his marriage to Isabella of valoir was part of these peace efforts but did little to secure his position oh and uh I should mention that Isabella was 6 years old at the time when she was married off to Richard II there was a rather disturbing painting of this event anyway in 1399 the confiscation of the lands of John of gun’s exiled son Henry balling Brook following gun’s death triggered balling Brook’s return from Exile and ultimately led to Richard’s deposition Bing Brook’s Ascent to the throne as Henry ivth marked the beginning of the lancastrian dynasty well Richard II reigned in last for too long it ended in controversy and a little bit of tragedy with his likely death in captivity his policies and the manner of execution have been debated by historians with some suggesting a possible personality disorder influencing his later actions of course I’m going to make a full video on Richard II which will be in interesting to say the least so look forward to that but either way his legacy heavily shaped by Shakespeare’s betrayal and subsequent historical interpretation remains complex to say the least now on to Henry ivth whose early Reign was marred by challenges and Rebellion starting with the Epiphany rising in 1400 which was aimed at reinstating Richard but it ended in the execution of the conspirators and Richard’s mysterious death soon after well in Wales Owen glinder spearheaded a significant Rebellion that persisted Beyond Henry’s Reign only concluding in 1415 the tutor family linked to glind by marriage later emerged as pivotal of figures in the later Wars of the Roses now the house of Percy dissatisfied with Henry’s governance staged multiple uprisings notably at Shrewsbury in 1403 and Brahman Moore in 1408 both of which were quilled resulting in the leader’s deaths Henry IV’s death in 14 13 bought his son Henry V to the throne who sought to stabilize his rule through military Endeavors notably in France this Henry V leverag French support for glinder as a pretext for the 1415 invasion of France culminating in the significant victory at aun cor and the subsequent campaigns that solidify the lancastrian claim to the French throne the triny of tro years in 1420 marked a high point designating Henry as the heir to the French throne through his marriage to Katherine of valoir domestically the failed Southampton plot in 1415 aimed to replace Henry V with Edmund Mortimer but was thwarted by mortimer’s loyalty this incident underscored ongoing domestic threats to Henry’s rule despite his International success well upon Henry the 5th’s death in 1422 his infant son Henry V 6 quickly ascended the throne leading to a period of Regency the young King’s Reign saw the rise of Richard of York who possessed significant claims to the throne through both York and Mortimer lines and became a formidable figure due to his vast Estates and rather impressive wealth during his early Reign Henry V 6 found himself amidst a court life with political minations and rival factions his uncle Humphrey the the Duke of Gloucester aspired to be named Lord protector until Henry reached maturity gloucester’s ambition was not merely for power he sought the approval of the populace positioning himself as a champion of the Common Man however his plans were consistently held back by Cardinal Henry bord another influential figure at court who frequently summon John Duke of Bedford and Henry’s Regent in France to mediate disputes or protect his possession from Gloucester challenges the situation abroad was equally turbulent the French under the inspiration of jonak had achieved significant victories at oron and P effectively reversing many of the English gains from Henry V’s campaigns these losses culminated in the coronation of Charles iith in RS on July 17th 1429 a significant blow to the English claims in France Henry V 6 was crowned shortly thereafter on November the 6th a symbolic move meant to reaffirm his legitimacy and also to counteract Charles II’s coronation on the mainland around the same time Henry’s mother Katherine of Vala remarried to Owen Tudor and their sons Edmund and Jasper tutor would later play pivotal roles in the war Henry’s coming of age in 1437 should have marked the transition to a more stable rule but the death of Bedford in 1435 and buford’s withdrawal from public life left a vacuum that William deapo Earl of suffk swiftly filled suffk favoring diplomacy over military confrontation became a dominant Force at court often clashing with the gluster faction and militarily inclined Richard of York suffix influenced Peak with the Treaty of DS in 1444 which he engineered to secure the peace with France through Henry’s marriage to Margaret of Anjo in exchange for the territories of Maine and ano suffk elevation from Earl of marz and subsequently to Duke was a testament to his favor with the King however the secret surrounding the territorial concessions of the treaty bred suspicion and discontent among the English populace and nobility particularly Richard of York who saw his military efforts and resources being diverted to support suuk diplomatic Endeavors in 1447 suffk minations led to the arrest of Gloucester for treason his subsequent death under suspicious circumstances likely imprison stirred further unrest among those opposed to suffix policies furthermore Richard of York was removed from a key military role in France and assigned to the less influential position of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland effectively sidelining him from immediate political influence as England’s political stability deteriorated the Duke of suuk William deapo became increasingly influential at the court of King Henry V 6 however his handling of foreign policy particularly the loss of Maine and Anjo to France as part of the marriage agreement between Henry V 6 and Margaret ofano made him very unpopular the public and many Nobles pointed the finger at him and held him responsible personally for these territorial concessions which were perceived as National humiliations the military setbacks in France including the disastrous defeat at Forin in April of 1450 further eroded suff ex standing the same year he faced the Wrath of the House of Commons and was impeached Henry V 6 intervened to mitigate the punishment by exiling him for 5 years instead of allowing his imprisonment however suffk was intercepted by Pirates while on road to Cal and was executed in 1450 a clear indication of his unpopularity and also so the volatile nature of English politics well the downfall of suffk did not lead to a restoration of stability as a lot of people wanted instead Edmund bord the Duke of Somerset took over as the leader of the peace faction at G advocating for a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing conflicts in in France somerset’s position was precarious as military failures continued and his close association with Queen Margaret ofano aroused suspicions and rumors of an affair particularly after the birth of the royal couple’s son Prince Edward in 1453 well it was further Complicated by the jack Cade rebellion in 1450 a significant Uprising in the region of Kent the rebels led by the rebellion’s namesake Jack Cade issued the compliant of the poor Commons of Kent is accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement although the rebellion was suppressed its underlying causes and grievances lingered and were later adoped adopted by Richard the Duke of York as part of his critique against the government’s failures Richard of York’s return from Ireland and his subsequent imprisonment highlighted the Deep divisions within the English nobility these tensions were exacerbated by Henry’s apparent mental health issues which led to periods of incapacity and ineffective leadership could you imagine having a ruler with mental health issues that led to periods of ineffective leadership how could they let that happen well this instability culminated in the first battle of St Alban’s in 1455 a direct confrontation between the yorkists and the royalist forces led by Somerset and this 23 minutes into the video indeed marks the beginning of the wars of the Roses yes it was a quite a wind up to that I know but it’s important to set the background well Henry VI 6 recovery from his mental breakdown in 1455 temporarily shifted the balance of power back to his loyalists leading to to the release and the restoration of Somerset and the Exile of Richard of York however the political and Military situation remained as volatile as before with ongoing feuds such as those between the Nevels and the Peres further complicating the governance of the country in the intricate weave of the 15th century politics the yorkist leaders Richard Neville the Earl of wari and Richard the Duke of York managed to capture Henry V 6 during this aformentioned battle of St Orbin setting a decisive course for a new war this Victory not only secured Henry V 6 as a porn in their political maneuverings but also led to significant casualties among their lancastrian adversar including the influential Edmund bfort second Duke of Somerset and Henry Percy the second Earl of North umberland the death of these key figures allowed York to be reinstated as the Lord protector signifying a temporary yorkist ascendancy in English politics War’s command over the strategically vital Port of Cala further for of ified the yorkest position this control provided him not only with a military stronghold but also with the ability to conduct Naval raids which while contentious underscored his Naval skill and only served to add to his reputation despite Queen Margaret of ano’s attempts to curb his influence War’s successful anti-piracy measures and his unauthorized Naval attacks against Castilian and htic forces underscored his Defiance of Royal Authority which actually enhanced his stature greatly within yorkest circles however there was a shift in 1456 when Henry V 6 resumed his personal rule diminishing York and War’s influence this period of relative stability was shortlived as the ongoing feud between the Neville and Percy families flared up again the situation was further Complicated by War’s provocative actions in 1458 which included attacks on foreign fleets leading to his and York’s summons to London to answer for their actions fearing imprisonment or perhaps worse worse they Consolidated their forces and prepared for a conflict the tension culminated in the Battle of blor Heath in 1459 where yorkist forces under the command of the Earl of Salsbury secured a victory against a larger lancastrian Force this victory was pivotal reaffirming yorkest military capabilities despite the growing lancastrian opposition which had been actively recruiting and arming under Queen Margaret’s Direction the yorkest leader’s decision to flee to K in the face of a reinvigorated lancastrian campaign led by Queen Margaret marked a strategic retreat but it also set the stage for a significant yorkest counter offensive the control of Cal played a crucial role in maintaining yor strategic options enabling them to gather resources and plan their return to England with a more strengthened military force Now by late 1460 Warick Salsbury and Edward of March L King Edward IV had returned to England quickly Gathering support and capturing Henry V 6 at the Battle of Northampton the victory provided the yorkists with another opportunity to assert control over the government the subsequent political maneuvering saw York making a bold claim to the throne which while initially shocking to the assembly led to the act of a god this agreement stipulated that York and his descendants would succeed Henry V 6 a compromise that reflected the yorkist leaders consolidation of power but also SED the seeds for further conflict as it was unacceptable to Storch lancastrian supporters and that included Queen Margaret the death of Richard of York marked a pivotal moment in the wars of the Roses dramatically altering the yorkest leadership and also their strategy Queen Margaret alongside the lancastrian supporters such as Henry Holland thei Duke of exitor and Jasper Tudor rally troops in Wales and the West country securing additional military support from Scotland and France in exchange for territorial concessions a testament to the international dimension of the conf Richard of York’s decision to leave the safety of sandal castle and engage the lancastrians was the event that directly led to his death and significant yorkest losses at the Battle of Wakefield on 30th of September 1460 this defeat not only resulted in York’s death but also the capture and execution of his allies including his son the Earl of Rutland and the influential Earl of Salsbury the events necessitated a rapid reorganization of yorkist leadership under Edward the Earl of March Richard of York’s son who inherited not only the dukedom of York but also his father’s claim to the English throne and he felt just as strongly about the L now in early 1461 Edward decisively defeated the lancastrian forces at mortimer’s Cross leveraging Celestial phenomena to boost troop morale and adopting the sun in splendor as his heraldic symbol despite his victory the lancastrians achieved a strategic Advantage with their success at the second Second Battle of St albin’s releasing King Henry V 6 and reasserting his rule the dynamic shifted quickly however as Edward v 6 was proclaimed King in London an indication of his popularity and also the city’s rejection of the lancastrian claim his physical presence and charismatic leadership contrasted sharply with Henry V 6 perceived weakness helping Edward solidify his position even more Edward and Warick subsequent March North culminated in the Battle of Toten the largest and bloodiest ever fought on English soil resulting in a decisive yorkest victory that effectively annihilated the lancastrian leadership and confirmed Edward’s sovereignity thus King Edward the for’s Reign following his coronation on the 28th of June 1461 marked a period of consolidation his decision to Pardon many attained lancastrians showed a strategic effort to stabilize his Reign by reconciling with former foes allowing them to even retain their properties and former titles which helped pacify potential sources of descent wari known as the king maker enjoyed immense benefits from Edward’s rise gaining vast lands titles and key positions such as high Admiral of England and Steward of the duchy of Lancaster in fact his influence extended to International diplomacy successfully securing a truce with Scotland and solidifying yorkest control in Ireland demonstrating his pivotal role in both domestic and Foreign Affairs however this did not mean everything was stable in 1462 Margaret aano made attempts to reclaim lost ground by capturing key Northern castles with French support though these efforts were transient showcasing the ongoing volatility by 1463 the next year internal conflicts resurfaced as Northern England Rose in support of Henry V 6 leading to further confrontations and the significant Battle of Hexum in 1464 where yorkist forces decisively defeated the lancastrians this Victory led to the capture and execution of prominent lancastrian leaders and even the capture of Henry V 6 who was then imprisoned in the Tower of London effectively quelling any significant lancastrian resistance Edward’s marriage in 1464 to Elizabeth Woodville was a pivotal event that shaped much of his subsequent Reign this Union was controversial due to Elizabeth’s relatively modest social background and the secrecy surrounding their wedding this marriage alienated wari who felt sidelined and betrayed after promoting a French Alliance and a royal marriage to solidify peace and international support Edward’s Choice undermined War’s position and inflamed tensions within the yorkist alliance the rise of the Woodville family into prominent positions further strained relationships with the nobility particularly wari who saw his influence waning as the wood bills ascended in court things became increasingly complex as Edward pursued an independent policy favoring an alliance with burgundy over France contradicting War’s diplomatic efforts and leading to further alienation thus Edward’s actions set the stage for future conflicts not only with the Lancaster in adherence but with his own own Court which was filled with disgruntled Nobles led by Warick and supported by Edward’s own brother George the Duke of Clarence and they were all conspiring against him in the turbulence of 1469 England was shaken by uprisings and power struggles culminating in significant clashes and the temporary cap of king Edward IV a rebellion in Yorkshire under Robin of reedsdale coupled with another Revolt demanded the restoration of Henry Percy as Earl of Northumberland demonstrated widespread dissatisfaction with Edward’s rule these revolts were ostensibly aimed at removing perceived evil counselors around the king but were fueled by more Deep factional manipulations by War and George Who sought to exploit the unrest for their own gain Warick and clarence’s minations included marrying Clarence to War’s daughter Isabel in Cala a strategic move to consolidate their power base against Edward Upon returning to England they alligned themselves with the Yorkshire Rebels leading to a significant confrontation at the Battle of edgcott where prominent Royal supporters were killed and Edward was captured the capture highlighted the fragility of Edward’s position and of course this formidable challenge posed by Warick and Clarence the initial success of the rebels however did not translate into a stable government the lack of broader support for Warick and Clarence combined with ongoing disorder forced them to release Edward who quickly went back to his Royal duties the political instability persisted leading to further conflicts such as the battle of losat Field where Edward decisively crushed a rebellion influenced by Warick and Clarence solidifi ing his control and forcing his adversaries into a temporary exile the situation escalated further when Warick in a remarkable turn of alliances facilitated by Louis the 11th of France reconciled with his bitter enemy Margaret of Van Joe in a bid to restore Henry V 6 to the throne this Alliance was sealed by the marriage of War’s daughter and to Edward of Westminster Margaret and Henry’s son in September 1470 using a two-pronged Invasion strategy and exploiting internal Royal conflicts War successfully deposed Edward leading to a brief reinstallation of Henry V 6 a period that was known as the redeption of Henry however the restored lancastrian regime was shortlived internal divisions the lack of solid support and external pressures quickly undermined War’s control Edward with substantial support from burgundy returned to England in 1471 Gathering forces rapidly and gaining crucial allies including the defection of Clarence back to his side the climactic battle at baronet in April 1471 saw the end of Warick and marked a decisive turn in the wars of the Roses in the favor of Edward IV the battle was characterized by tragic miscommunication among the lancastrian forces and a fierce assault by Edward’s troops capitalizing upon it leading to War’s death and a crippling blow to the lancastrian GS Edward’s return to power was solidified by his decisive victories and strategic political Maneuvers which included plenty of reconciliations and also retributions against his enemies however he did not last too long the death of Edward IV in April 1483 marked the end of his influential reign initia a period of profound uncertainty and instability in England Edward’s decision to appoint his brother Richard the Duke of Gloucester as Lord protector for his young son Edward V set the stage for significant power struggles now Richard of gloucester’s role as Lord protector was meant to be a temporary Arrangement until Edward V came to age however things shifted as Richard took steps to consolidate power around himself who could have seen that coming within a short period Richard moved to isolate his young nephews and arrest their loyal supporters by the June of 1483 Richard had successfully declared the children of Edward IV all illegitimate based on accusations of a pre-contract of marriage between Edward IV and a different woman prior to his marriage of to Elizabeth Woodville thus completely disqualifying Edward V from the throne well it seemed to have worked because on the 26th of June 1483 Richard was proclaimed King notably King Richard II significantly altering the course of English History the rapid change in governance led to widespread speculation and discontent among various factions within the realm the mystery regarding the fate of Edward the v’s Sons known historically as the princes in the tower fueled further discontent as they disappeared under mysterious circumstances the country effectively made a collective eyebrow raise and they were widely believed to have been murdered now Richard III’s Reign faced immediate challenges including invasions and rebellions which was the style at the time notably Henry Tor the lancastrian claimant with a rather tenuous claim to the throne that being said gathered support in France and launched an invasion in 1485 the culmination of these conflicts occurred at the Battle of Bosworth field on the 22nd of August 1485 where Richard III was actually killed well this was the top moment of the wars of the roses and we’ll talk about it in a little bit more detail now Henry viith worked to consolidate his power and heal the divisions caused by Decades of Civil War he married Elizabeth of York the daughter of Edward IV thus uniting the houses of Lancaster and York marking the beginning of a relatively stable period in English history of course this all had to come Crashing Down The Conspiracy against Richard III rapidly gained momentum supported by both disenfranchised yorkists and those with lancastrian sympathies who saw Henry Tudor a viable alternative to the controversial Richard of course he wasn’t as controversial as Richard II with his six-year-old wife but anyway the discontent was fueled by the m surrounding the fate of the princes in the tower Richard’s nephews which cast a long Shadow over his Reign for rather obvious reasons The Disappearance of Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury provided a focal point for opposition as it embodied the fears and suspicions many held about Richard’s methods and intentions now as we’ve said Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne was tenuous at best but his promise to marry Elizabeth of York the daughter of Edward IV offered a potential unification of the Waring houses of York in lanaster this Alliance was intended to reconcile the divide that had led to Decades of Civil War offering a new vision for a stable and United England Elizabeth woodville’s backing of Henry tutor despite her previous allegiance to the house of York under Edward IV was more of a strategic move it reflected the pragmatic shifts in loyalty that characterized the turbulent politics of the time and highlighted the adaptability of political figures who were only seeking to survive but if they could Thrive amid the shifting allegiances and fortunes of the wars of the Roses the Duke of Buckingham once a staunch supporter of Richard III played a pivotal role in the growing conspiracy due to personal Grievances and Ambitions that were not satisfied under Richard’s reign his defection to the Tudor cause was significant as it not only deprived Richard of a key Ally but also lent substantial legitimacy to the Rebellion things were not looking good for Richie and the convergence of these disaffected parties under the banner of Henry duder underscored the broad base of the opposition to Richard and set the stage for the climactic conflict at the Bosworth field it was here the forces of Richard III and Henry Tudor would ultimately Clash determining the fate of the English crown and marking the definitive end of the plantagenet dynasty the Battle of Bosworth field not only ended Richard III’s brief Reign but also marked a decisive turning point in English History signaling the final conclusion of the wars of the roses and the emergence of the tutor Dynasty his victory Henry Tudor’s that is was less about his claim to the throne which was pretty tenuous and more about his ability to consolidate support across factions weary of Decades of civil Strife also generally people were just a little bit sick of fighting each other I think and they didn’t really care which side won as as long as they could just go back to having normal lives well at least that’s what I assume the common people would be thinking War definitely takes a tll on you now Henry Tudor now Henry iith inaugurated a period of relative stability and the centralization of power in the monarchy a contrast to the feudal conflict that had been characterizing much of the 50 Century his marriage to Elizabeth of York effectively United the Waring houses of Lancaster and York symbolizing the end of dynastic conflicts and the beginning of a bright new era in English governance the significance of the battle of Bosworth field extends Beyond it immediate military outcome as it reshaped the English Monarchy and set the stage for the political transformations of the Renaissance and the cultural transformations of the Reformation that would sweep through Europe this new Tudor era beginning with Henry Tudor Henry iith would see the strengthening of the administrative capabilities of the state the expansion of overseas exploration and significant shifts in religious policies Henry the 7th’s Reign brought about more important changes in governance including the establishment of the court of the Star Chamber which helped reduce the influence of the nobility by centralizing legal Authority his economic policies often categorized by heavy Taxation and stringent control over the nobility’s financial Powers laid the groundwork for later successes and also challenges of his successors including Henry VII and Elizabeth the videos on them very very soon thus this battle of Bosworth Fields represents not merely the end of a period of bloody conflict but also the beginning of a bright New Dawn perhaps not as bright as it should be but certainly brighter by contrast now Henry’s response to the various uprisings and Pretenders throughout his Reign shows once again the fragility of his hold on the throne and his determination to establish a stable Dynasty his actions to suppress revolts and manage claims against his rule were part of a broader strategy to solidify tutor legitimacy and stabilize England after Decades of Civil War war and speaking of these rebellions by pardoning the one Lambert Sim Nell a figurehead of a rather significant Rebellion Henry not only neutralized a threat but he also displayed a kind of magnanimity that could appease potential yorkest sympathizers his decision to employ simnel in a humble but stable position within the Royal household allowed him to demonstrate both mercy and the absolute futility of opposing his Reign this act was a clear message to other wouldbe Pretenders and their supporters about the futility of their claims and the potential benevolence of the tutor regime Perkin warbeck’s claim presented a more direct challenge however as it drew on International support and prolonged yorkist factionalism Henry’s eventual capture and execution of warbeck and the simultaneous execution of Edward plantagenet the Earl of Warick marked a harsher but decisive action to eliminate viable plantagen threats the execution of Warick a genuine plantagenet with a legitimate albeit pretty weak claim to the throne underscores the lengths to which Henry was prepared to go to secure the future of his dynasty this act extinguished the direct male plantagenet line sending a stark warning to anybody considering supporting claims against the tutors moreover Henry’s strategic marriages for his children notably the marriage of his eldest son Arthur to Katherine of Aragon and the betral of his daughter Margaret to James IV of Scotland were part of this diplomatic strategy to forge alliances and legitimize his dynasty through European recognition Henry’s Reign ultimately laid the groundwork for the tudo dynasty which would Pride over a period of relative internal stability and the beginnings of what is deemed to be English Renaissance his efforts to stabilize the monarchy through strategic executions careful management of noble factions and internal diplomacy show the complexity of his rule alongside the challenges to hold onto the throne thus it’s a Reign that’s not only navigating the immediate aftermath of the wars of the Roses but also set the stage for the transformative rule of his son Henry VII and his granddaughter Elizabeth I who would oversee the flowering of English culture and expansion on the global stage thank you very much for listening there was a rather brief introduction to the wars of the roses and I know a lot of moving parts now as for some of the characters like Henry T Elizabeth I at the end Henry VII and some of the other monarchs mentioned they will have their own biographies coming up also a video on the Battle of Bosworth field but until then you’ll just have to wait a little longer Matthew Hopkins often referred to as the witch finder General a notorious figure in 1 19th century England Infamous for his roles in the witch hunts that swept through East Anglia during the English Civil War starting in the year 1644 Hopkins with no official title or public office appointed himself as a hunter of witches capitalizing on the chaotic social and religious climate of the time his methods which included coerced confessions led to the execution of an estimated 300 women making him responsible for more Witch Trials than any individual in England before or since despite his brief career which ended with his retirement in 1647 and his passing away a year later Hopkins Legacy remains a chilling reminder of the dangers of fanaticism and persecution hello and welcome to the channel are you new here if you are it’s good to meet you and if you’re coming back thank you for returning to the party as always if you like what I do and would like to support the channel links to the patreon are in the description and if you want to help YouTube push the video out to more people like comment and subscribe certainly helps push them in the right direction now without further Ado please make yourself relaxed and we may begin now first I will give a brief biography of Matthew Hopkins talk about the situation during the English Civil War and later on we will read directly from his writings a question and answer style format that he had developed so let us now begin Matthew Hopkins whose early life remains largely undocumented was born in great Wenham suffk County England he emerged as the fourth of six children to James Hopkins a Puritan clergyman who served as the Vicor of St John’s of great wenam the Hopkins family was somewhat prominent holding titles to lands near framlingham Castle the parishioners held James in high regard evidence from a bequest in 1619 intended to purchase Bibles for his three children at the time suggesting Matthew was born after this year by the time Matthew began his Infamous career he was probably no older than 28 and possibly as young as 25 given his birth post 1619 and his death in 1647 his father passed away in 1634 but the parish continued to reflect his influence when William dowsing an iconic clast working under the orders of the parliamentarian Earl of Manchester during the English Civil War visited in 1645 he noted the absence of idolatrous monuments in the parish Hopkins moved to Manning tree Essex around the early 1640s marked the beginning of his notorious career he invested an inheritance of 100 marks to purchase the thorn Inn in mistly positioning himself as a [Music] gentleman while Hopkins later betrayed himself as experienced in witch hunting through his writings notably in his book the discovery of witches 16 1847 which we will read from shortly he claimed to have gained this knowledge without having extensively traveled despite suggestions of legal training from his conduct within trials there is very little evidence supporting this and the little evidence that does support it is somewhat circumstantial his brother John became a minister in South fanbridge in 1645 but he was removed in 1646 for neglecting his duties this further complicated the family’s reputation during this chaotic period now following the events of the Lancaster Witch Trials of 612 to 634 an import animportant shift occurred in the treatment and perception of Witchcraft in England William Harvey physician to King Charles I had been tasked with examining Four Women accused during these trials leading to a significant change in legal procedure concerning witchcraft accusations from Harvey’s involvement there emerged a requirement for m iial proof of Witchcraft specifically evidence that an accused individual had formed a covenant with the devil rather than merely committing acts of the maleficum or malicious witchcraft under this new scrutiny witches were categorized as Heretics against Christianity which was deemed their most Grievous offense this classification bought witchcraft Under the Umbrella of creian except with continental and Roman law and that meant that it was considered so heinous that normal legal protocols could be [Music] overridden so effectively if you were accused of Witchcraft you no longer had any legal rights since the devil would not confess confessions had to be extracted from the accused humans themselves Often by any means necessary well the witch hunts led by Hopkins and John Stern primarily took place in East Anglia covering suffk Essex Norfolk and Cambridge Shire with some activities extending to northamptonshire and bedfordshire their operations coincided with the English Civil War and were concentrated in areas with strong Puritan and parliamentarian influence which were key components of the Eastern Association from 1644 to 47 Hopkins started his career officially in the march of 1644 after overhearing a conversation reportedly about demonic dealings in the nearby Hamlet of manningtree although the initial accusations were made by Stern Hopkins quickly became involved involed as his assistant their first major trial took place in kelsford in 1645 where 23 women were tried 19 were convicted and hanged while another four died in prison do note that not a single one of them was found innocent now it is important to note as well that during this period and outside middle and chartered towns there are no records of anyone being sentenced to death for witchcraft other than by aze judges Hopkins and Stern along with women who performed the pricking test traveled across England and claiming Parliament had officially commissioned them to expose and prosecute witches now no doubt when I just mentioned the bricking test a few eyebrows raised well what exactly is witch pricking you see it stemmed from the belief that after dealings with the devil one would receive a mark on their body that was unable to feel pain or Bleed It was kind of like a receipt or a Mark that the devil had left behind to uh show he was there and mark his territory kind of like that so which prickers would have this set of needles that they would poke into the skin of suspects trying to find which one of the marks on their bodies was the old receipt from the devil now one can only imagine that if the suspect had a lot of freckles or just a few little sunspots which many people did since people worked outside back then how long this ordeal would take reportedly the witch prickers were very [Music] thorough which led to most of the time it was so painful that people would simply confess false confessions of course of course they didn’t see this as torture they just saw this as a test well of course we know nowadays that confessions under torture are not very valid but back in those days a confession was a confession of course don’t worry the w which finders are the good guys they said so right well let’s continue on you know that they received substantial payments for their services this wasn’t a charity job at all no this was a proper business indeed capitalizing on people’s fear and being called out to a village to get rid of a witch well of course that had expenses and the more the hysteria spread the more profitable this became well this all of course has led a lot of historians to suggest a financial gain as a motivation it very well could be Hopkins himself declared that his fees covered the upkeep of his company which included three horses and he charged towns 20 Shillings each the financial burden on local communities was of course considerable Stow Market was charged 23 equivalent to about £4,000 in 2021 which is I think around $45,000 us my conversion maths is not so are good plus travel expenses of course now this might not sound like too much but you have to remember that these are small villages filled with peasants ran by peasants and perhaps a somewhat underqualified Bishop local priest of course when you have someone come from the big city it’s very easily to trust everything they tell you especially when it’s for your own safety and for your own good so that’s what Mr Hopkins was very good at doing now the impact of their activities was profound enough that ipswitch which is a very large city in modern times had to Levy a special tax in 1645 to cover the costs the activities of Hopkins and his team were well known to Parliament by the way and as evidenced by reports and concerns raised during the bur St Edmund’s trials in 1645 a report to Parliament highlighted suspicions that some had resorted to dubious methods to extract conversions of course you get paid for how many witchers you find if you show up to the town and there’s no witches there well I suppose you don’t really get any money for that don’t you so it’s in the best interest to make sure you get as many as you can to make the trip worthwhile now the subsequent trial and executions were also met with quite a lot of discomfort and criticism notably in editorial from the Parliamentary paper the moderate Intelligencer which reflected unease with the conduct and outcomes of these Witch Trials so do not think that everybody was whipped up in the frenzy whether it be the Common People the middle class or even indeed the people in Parliament there were quite a few people who were willing to ask questions about the methods and techniques and even the whole institution of having witch Hunters well the techniques that Matthew Hopkins employed in his witch hunting Pursuits Drew heavily from a text authored by King James I called demonology and I’ll have a large video on that quite soon which Hopkins reference in his own publication the discovery of the witches despite torture being officially illegal in England Hopkins engaged in coercive methods such as sleep deprivation to falce confessions from those he accused so basically they would put you in a room and keep you up for so long whenever you’d go to doze off they’d find some way to wake you up now I get quite cranky when I haven’t had my afternoon nap so I would admit to anything just so I can get that extra 10 minutes beyond the snooze button additionally he utilized a method where he would attempt to cut the arm of the accused with a blunt knife believing that if the individual did not bleed it indicated Witchcraft and here’s another controversial method employed by Hopkins that you might know about the swimming test premised on the belief that witches having renounced their baptism would be rejected by water the accused were tied up onto a chair and submerged in water floating was considered proof of Witchcraft that be dunked in the water and out of the water until the desired result was achieved however due to legal and ethical concerns Hopkins was cautioned against using this method without the consent of the accused leading to its official discontinuation by late 1645 now of course we mentioned the consent of the accused now this was one of those punishments that was yes very unpleasant but if you started sinking in the water it was pretty obvious to everybody around that you were innocent so a lot of people simply said throw me in the lake see if I sink or swim I’ll prove you wrong so there was perhaps a little bit of Hopkins that was saying well perhaps it’s better that we get rid of this test even though it could be easily rigged now Hopkins and his associates also searched for the devil’s mark on the body of the accused which would reportedly an insensible spot that did not bleed or could perhaps be a mole a birthmark or even an extra nipple this Mark was believed to be where The Witcher familiar that’s an animal like a cat or a dog perhaps a bird something like that would suckle blood from the witch kind of like a baby nursing on its mother in cases where no visible Mark was found the witch brickers came in and they were impl to slowly probe the bodies with needles often after the accused had been completely shaven to uncover any hidden marks that includes the head and everywhere else by the way this very invasive procedure was part of a broader set of practices that reflected the intense Witch Hunt fervor of the time all driven by this unique blend of fear Superstition religious zealotry and a little bit of capitalism on the side as Hopkins witch hunting activities intensified resistance began to grow particularly from John Gul the Vicor of great ston in Huntington Shire Gul was motivated to oppose Hopkins after caring for a woman from sent neots who had been imprisoned on charges of Witchcraft awaiting Hopkins examination upon discovering that Hopkins was inquiring about his reception in the area go took action by publishing a critical work titled select cases of conscience touching witchers and witchcrafts in 1646 which he dedicated to Colonel Walton of the House of Commons additionally Gul embarked on a series of Sunday sermons aiming at curbing the fervor for witch hunting so you see this wasn’t always just the full support of the church don’t think that all of the Christians and all of that were out there trying to hunt down witches because the people being accused they were Christians too and don’t think that Christianity is the only one who executes people for apparent witchcraft because that is a global phenomenon that continues into the modern day look at Africa by the way and of course well this man this gone had certainly become the arch nemesis of Matthew Hopkins certainly getting in the way of business it seems in norfol the legitimacy of Hopkins and his associate John Stern’s methods came under further scrutiny by the justices of the AC they were questioned about the ethicality of their torture techniques and also the rather large fees that they charged for their services accusations were made fingers were pointed and they suggested that Hopkins investigative methods might classify him and his followers as witches themselves pulling out the Uno reverse card on them it seems questions also arose about whether Hopkins possessed undisclosed knowledge or had resorted to unlawful courses of torture in his pursuit of alleged Witches by 1647 as the judicial sessions resumed both Hopkins and Stern had withdrawn from witch hunting with Hopkins retiring to manningtree and Stern to BU St Edmonds this withdrawal marked a significant retreat in the face of growing legal and public opposition to their controversial methods and the ethical implications of their Witch Hunt practices well Matthew hopkins’s influence on witch hunting extended Beyond England’s borders outlined in his 1647 publication the discovery of witches his methods detailed in this book which we’ll read from a little later were adop and recommended in various law books significantly impacting witch trials in the New England colonies the first recorded witchcraft execution in New England was ALS young of Windsor Connecticut who was hanged on the 26th of May 1647 shortly after Margaret Jones was tried and executed using evidence collected from techniques described by Hopkins such as searching and watching as noted in the Journal of Governor John Winthrop the execution of Margaret Jones the first person to be executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts marked the beginning of a sustained period of witch trials in New England that lasted from 1648 to 16 63 and just a quick note on Margaret Jones we actually have some case files from The Trial itself a little Journal that was kept by John Winthrop the massett governor at the time the trial of Margaret Jones was notable for its Reliance on watching and this is what is detailed in Governor winthrop’s Journal he recorded in the in his journal during that his vigil that he kept watching over her an imp kind of like a little demon believed to be a witch’s familiar appeared in broad daylight which was used as key evidence in her conviction now let’s read from winthrop’s Journal now June 15th 164 8 at this court one Margaret Jones of Charlestown was indicted and found guilty of Witchcraft and hanged for it the evidence against her was one that she was found to have such a malignant touch as many persons men women and children whom she stroked or touched with any affection or displeasure or Etc were taken with deafness vomiting or other violent pains and sickness two she practicing physic and her medicines being such things as by her own confession were harmless as Anis seed Liquors Etc yet had extraordinarily violent effects three she would use to tells such as would not make use of her physic that they would never be healed and accordingly their diseases and hurts continued with relapse against the ordinary cause and Beyond the apprehension of all Physicians and surgeons four some things which she foretold came to pass accordingly other things she would tell OF and had secret speeches Etc which she had no ordinary means to come to the knowledge of five she had upon search an apparent te as fresh as it had been newly sucked and after it had been scanned upon a forced search that was withered and another began on the opposite side six in the prison in the clear daylight there was seen in her arms she sitting on the floor and her clothes up Etc a little child which ran from her into another room and the officer following it it was vanished the like child was seen in two other places to which she had relation and one maid that saw it fell sick upon it and was cured by the said Margaret who used means to be employed to that end her behavior at the trial was very intemperate lying notoriously and railing upon the jury and Witnesses and in the like distemper she died the same day and hour she was executed there was a very great Tempest at Connecticut which blew down many trees Etc end of the passage from John winthrop’s Journal thus Margaret was executed on June 15th 1648 years later some of Hopkins interrogation and trial methods resurfaced during the infamous Salem witch trials in Massachusetts between 1692 and 169 93 these trials saw 19 individuals executed for witchcraft with Giles Cory notably being pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea and over50 others imprisoned now pressed to death I will quickly explain generally there would be a board placed on top of you and stones or other heavy objects would be added slowly increasing the weight until you would be crushed very slowly not a good way to go you end up looking like a little pancake now the lasting impact of Hopkins techniques on the American colonies highlights the profound and chilling reach of his witch hunting Legacy he passed away at his residence in manningtree Essex on the 12th of August 1647 likely from plural tuberculosis he was swiftly buried within hours of his demise in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church on M Lee Heath the legacy of Hopkins rather as historian Malcolm gasal notes continues to pervade that of an antihero and Boogeyman with his image remaining highly adaptable and eternally insubstantial a pleasing Legend regarding Hopkins death also emerged suggesting that he was subjected to his own Infamous swimming test and executed as a witch however this tale is widely dispelled by the parish registry at misley which confirms his actual bury there now we know about the life and death what about the works well you see we are lucky in a somewhat maab way to have the text of the discovery of the witches for us all to enjoy but before I read it please do keep in mind that the language is a little old and in order to remain faithful to the primary text I’m not going to change it into a more modernized English I think you should get the gist of it just fine let’s take it slow the discovery of witches in answer to several queries lately delivered to the judges of assis for the county of norfol and now published by Matthew Hopkins witchfinder for the benefit of the the whole Kingdom Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a wi to live certain queries answered which have been and are likely to be objected against Matthew Hopkins in his way of finding witches query one that he must needs to be the greatest witch Sorcerer And wizard himself else he could not do it answer if Satan’s kingdom be divided against itself how shall it stand query two if he never went so far as is before mentioned yet for certain he met with the devil and cheated him of his book wherein were written in all the Witcher names in England and if he looks on any witch he can tell by her countenance what she is so by this his help is from the devil answer if he had been too hard for the devil and got his book it had been to his great condemnation and no disgrace at all and for for my judgment in physi omony he hath no more than any man else [Music] whatsoever query three from whence proceedeth this his skill was it from his profound learning or from much reading of learned authors concerning the subject answer from neither of both but from experience which though it may be meanly esteemed of yet the shest and safest way to judge by query four I pray where was this experience gained and why gained by him and not by others answer the discoverer never traveled far from it but in March 1644 he had some seven or eight of that horrible sect of witches living in the town where he lived a town in Essex called Manning tree with divers and other adjacent witches of other towns who every six weeks in the night always on the Friday night had their meeting close by to his house and had their several solemn sacrifices there offered to the devil one of which this Discoverer heard speaking to her imps one night and bid them to go to another witch who was thereupon apprehended and searched by women who had for many years known the devil’s marks and found to have three teeths about her which honest women have not so upon command from the justice they were to keep her from sleep for two or three nights expecting that in time to see her familiars which the fourth night she called in by their several names and told them what shapes a quarter of an hour before they came in there being 10 of us in the room the first she called was one halt who came in like a white kitling two Jamara who came in like a fat spaniel without any legs at all she said she kept him fat for she clapped her hand on the belly and he sucked good blood from her body three vinegar Tom who was like a long legged Greyhound with the head of an ox with a long tail and Broad eyes who when this Discoverer spoke to and bade him go to the place provided for him and his angels immediately transformed himself into the shape of a child of 4 years old without a head and gave half a dozen turns about the house and vanished at the door four sack and sugar like a black rabbit five newest like a pole cat all these vanished away in a little time immediately after this witch confessed several other witches from whom she had her imps and named to diverse women where their marks were the number of their marks and imps and imps names as elazer paket peekin the crown gel and greig gut which no mortal could invent and upon their searches the same marks were found the same number and in the same place and the like confessions from them of the same imps though they knew not that we were told before and so paged one another thereabouts and joined together in the like damnable PR practice that in our 100 in Essex 29 were condemned at once four brought 25 miles to be hanged where this Discoverer lives for sending the devil like a bear to kill him in his garden so by seeing diverse of the men’s paths and trying ways with hundreds of them he gained this experience and for all he knows any man else may find them as well as he and his company if they had the same skill and experience query five many poor people are condemned for having a Pap or te about them whereas many people are and have been a longtime troubled with natural Rats on several parts of their bodies and other natural things as hemorrhoids piles childbearing Etc and these shall be judged only by one man alone and a woman and so accused or acquitted answer the parties so judging can justify their skill to any and show good reasons why such marks are not merely natural neither that they can happen by such natural cause as is before expressed and for further answer for their private judgments alone it is most false and untrue for never was any man tried by search of his body but commonly a dozen of the ablest men in the parish or elsewhere were present and most commonly as many ancient skillful matrons and midwives present when the women are tried which marks not only he and his company attest to be very suspicious but all beholders the skillest of them do not approve of them but likewise asent that such tokens cannot in their judgments proceed from any the above mentioned causes query six it is a thing impossible for any or woman to judge rightly on such marks they are so near to natural and they have that they find them do not presently give oath that they were drawn by evil spirits till they have used unlawful causes of torture to make them say anything for ease and quiet and as who would not do but I would know the reasons he speaks of how and whereby to discover the one from the other and so be satisfied in that answer the reasons in brief are three which for the present he judges to differ from the natural marks which are one he judgeth by the unusualness of the place where he findeth the deeds in or on their bodies being fair distant from any usual place from when such natural marks proceed as if or which plead the marks found our emerods if I find them on the bottom of the backbone shall I Ascend with him knowing that they are not near that vein and so others by childbearing when it may be they are in the contrary part two they are the most commonly insensible and feel neither Pin Needle oil Etc thrust through them three the often variations and mutations of these marks into several forms confirms the m matter as if a witch here a month or two before that the witch finder as they call him is coming they will and have put out their imps to others to suckle them even to their own young and tender children these upon search are found to have dry skin and films only and be close to the flesh keeper 24 hours with a diligent eye that none of her spirits come in any visible shape to suck her the woman have seen the next day after her teeth extended out to the former filling length full of corruption ready to burst and leaving her alone then one quarter of an hour and let the woman go up again and she will have them drawn by her imps close again probatum EST now for answer to their tortures in its due Place query seven how can it be possibly that the devil bring a spirit and want no nutriment or sustention should desire to suck any blood and indeed as he is a spirit he cannot draw any such excises having neither flesh nor bone nor can be felt Etc answer he seeks not their blood as if he could not subsist without any nourishment but he often repairs to them and gets it the more to aggravate the witcher’s damnation and to put her in mind of her Covenant and as he is a spirit and Prince of the air he appears to them in any shape whatsoever which shape is occasioned by him through joining of condensed thickened air together and many times doth assume shapes of many creatures but to create anything he cannot do it it is only proper to God but in this case of drawing out these teeths he doth really enter into the body real Corporal substantial creature and forth that creature he working on it and in it to his desired ends and useth the organs of that body to speak with all to make his compact up with the witches be the creature cat rat Mouse Etc query 8 when these paps are fully discovered yet that will not serve sufficiently to convict them but they must be tortured and kept from sleep for two or three nights to distract them and make them say anything which is a way to tame a wild cult or a hawk Etc answer in the infancy of this discovery it was only not thought fitting but enjoined in Asic and suffk by the magistrates with this intention only because they kept being awake would more the active to call their imps in open view than sooner to their help which often times have so happened and never or seldom did any witch ever complain in the time of their keeping for want of rest but after they had beat their heads together in the goal and after this use was not allowed of any of the judges and other magistrates it was never since used which is a year and a half since neither were any kept from sleep by any order of directions since but for adventure their own stubborn Wills did not let them sleep though tendered and offered to them query nine beside that unreasonable watching they were extraordinarily walked till their feet were blistered and so forced through that cruy to confess answer it was in the same beginning of this discovery and the meaning of walking over them at the highest extent of Cruelty was only then they walk about themselves the night that they were watched only to keep them walking and the reason was this when they did lie or sit in a chair if they did offer to couch down then the Watchers only desire to sit up and walk about for indeed when they be suffered so to couch immediately comes their familiars into the room and scarth the Watchers and hardeneth on the witch though contrary to the true meaning of the same instructions diverse had been the rustical people they hearing them to confess to the witchers misused spoiled and abused diverse whereof have suffered for the same but could never be proved against the discoverer to have a hand in it or consent to it and has likewise been unused by him and others ever since the time they were kept from sleep query 10 but there hath been abominable inhumane and unmerciful trial of all these poor creatures by tying them and heaving them into water a trial not allowable by lore or conscience and I would Fain know the reasons for that answer it is not denied but many were so served as had paps and floated others that had none were tried with them and sunk but Mark the reasons for first the devil’s policy is great in persuading many to come for their own accord to be tried persuading them their marks are so close they shall not be found out so as diverse have come 10 or 12 miles to be searched for their own accord and hanged for their labor as one Megs a baker did who lived within 7 miles of norch and was hanged at Norwich azers for witchcraft then when they found that the devil tells them false and they reflect on him and he as 40 have confessed advisees them to be sworn and tells them that they shall sink and be cleared that way then when they be tried that way and Float they see the devil deceives them again and have so laid open his treacheries two it was never bought in against any of them at their trials as any evidence three King James in his demonology saith it is a certain rule for sayth he witches deny their baptism when they Convent with the Devil water being the sole element thereof and therefore saith he when they be heaved into the water the water refuseth to receive of them they being such miscreant to deny their baptism and suffers them to float as the froth on the sea which the water will not receive but cast it up and down till it comes to the Earthly element on the shore and there leaves it to consume four observe these generation of witches if they be at any time abused by being called theves hores Etc by anywhere they live they are the readiest to cry and ring their hands and shed tears in abundance and run with full and right sorrowful acclamations to some justice of the peace and With Many Tears make their complaints but now behold their stupidity nature or the elements Reflection from them when they are accused for this horrible and damnable sinable Witchcraft they never alter or change their countenances nor do they let one tear fall this by the way Swimming by able divines who I reverence is condemned for no way and therefore of late hath and forever shall be left query 11 oh but if this torturing witch catcher can by all or any of these means ring out a ward or or two of confession from any of these stupified ignorant unintelligible poor silly creatures though none hear it but himself he will add and put her in fear to confess telling her else she be hanged but if she do he will set her at Liberty and so put a word in her mouth and made such a silly creature con confess she knows not what answer he is of a better conscience and for your better understanding of him he doth thus uncase himself to all and declares what confessions though made by a witch against herself he allows not of and does all together account of no validity or worthy of credence to be given to it and ever did so account it and ever likewise shall one he utterly denies that confession of a witch to be of any validity when it is drawn from her by any torture or violence whatsoever although after watching walking or swimming diverse have suffered yet per Adventure magistrates with much care and diligence did solely fully examine them after the sleep and consideration sufficient two he utterly denies that confession of a witch which is drawn from her by flattery Etc if you will confess you shall go home you shall not go to jail nor be hanged Etc three he utterly denies that confession of a witch when she confesses any improbability impossibility as flying in the air riding on a broom Etc four he utterly denies a confession of a witch when it is interrogated to her and the words are put into her mouth to be of any force or effect as to say a silly yes which Wicked enough you have four imps have you not she answers affirmatively yes did they not suck you yes saith she are their names so and so yes saith she did you send such an imp to kill my child yes saith she this being all her confession after this matter it is by him accpted nothing and he earnestly doth desire that all magistrates and jurors would a little more than ever they did examine the witnesses about the interrogated confessions query 12 if all of these confessions be denied I wonder what he will make confession for sure it is all these ways have been used and took for good confessions and many have suffered for them and I know not what he will then make confession answer yes in brief he will declare what confession of a witch is of validity and force his own judgment to hang a witch when a witch is first found with te then sequestered from her house which is only to keep her old Associates from her and so by Good Counsel bought into a sad condition by understanding of horribleness of her sin and the judgments threatened against her and knowing the devil’s malice subtle circumventions is brought to remorse and sorrow for complying with Satan’s so long and disobeying God’s sacred commands doth then desire to unfold her mind with much bitterness and then without any of the befor mentioned hard usages or questions put to her doth of her own accord declare what was the occasion of the devil’s appearing to her whether ignorance Pride anger malice was predominant over her she then declare what speech they had what likeness he was in what voice he had and familiar sent to her what names they had of what number of spirits what shapes they were in what employment she send them about to several persons in several places unbeknown to the hearers all which mischiefs being proved to be done at the same time she confessed to the same parties for the same cause and all affected is testimony enough again for all her denial question 13 How can any possibly believe that the devil and the witch are joining together should have such power as the witches confess to kill such a man child horse cow the like like if we believe they can do what they will then we derate from God’s power who for certain limits the devil and the witch and I cannot believe they have any power at [Music] all answer God suffers the devil many times to do much hurt and the devil doth play many times the deluder and impostor with these witches in persuading them that they are the cause of such and such a murder wrought by him with their consent when and indeed neither he nor they had any hand in it as thus we must needs argue he is of a long standing above 6,000 years then he must needs be the best scholar in all knowledge of arts and tongues and so have the best skills in physic judgment in fomy and knowledge of what diseas is reigning or predominant in this year or that man’s body and so for cattle too by reason of his long experience this subtle temper knowing such a man liable to some sudden disease as by experience I have found as puracy imposte Etc he resorts to diverse witches if they know the man and seek to make a difference between the witches in the party it may be by telling them he hath threatened to have them very shortly searched and so hanged for witches then they will consult with Satan to save themselves and Satan stands ready prepared with a what will you have me do for you my dear and nearest children convened and compacted with me in my hellish leak and sealed with your blood my delicate Firebrand Darlings oh thou say they that at the first did promise to save us thy servants from any out of deadly enemies Discovery and its promise to avenge and fle all of those we please that did offend us merther that wretch certainly who threatens the downfall of your loyal subjects he then promiseth to affect it next news is heard the party is dead he comes to the Witch and gets a word of reverence greed and and respect for his power and activeness when and indeed that disease kills the party not the witch nor the devil onely the devil knew that such a disease was prominent and the witch that aggravates her damnation by her familiarity and consent to the devil and so comes likewise in compass of the laws this is Satan’s usual impostering and deluding but not his constant course of proceeding for he and the witch do Mischief too much but I would that the magistrates and jurors would a little examine Witnesses when they hear witches confess such and such a murder whether the B party had not long time before or at the time when the witch grew suspected some disease or other predominant which might cause that issue or effect of death question 14 all that the witchfinder does is to flee the country of their money and therefore rides and goes to town s to have employment and promiseth them their Fair promises and it maybe doth nothing for it and possess possesses many men that they have so many Wizards and so many witches in their towns and so heartens them on to entertain him answer you do him a great deal of wrong in every of these particulars for first he never went to any town or place but they rode wrote or sent often for him and were for ought he know glad of him he is a man that doth disclaim that ever he detected a witch or said thou art a wit only after her trial by search and their own confession he as others May judge lastly judge how he fleeth the country and enriches himself by considering the vast sum he takes of every town he demands but 20 per town and doth sometimes ride 20 miles for that hath no more than for all his charges tither and back again and it may stays a week there and find find there three or four witches if it be but one cheap enough and this is the great sum that he takes to maintain his company with three horses end of the Project Gutenberg source for discovery of the witchers well isn’t the English language beautiful I certainly think it is Richard II crowned King of England in 1377 at the tender age of 10 years old faced numerous challenges during his Reign including the infamous peasants Revolt of 1381 this early crisis fueled by oppressive taxes and widespread discontent among the lower classes tested the young King’s resolve and Leadership although initially managing to Quil the uprising through a mix of diplomacy and decisive action Richard’s later Reign was marred by autocratic Tendencies and conflicts with the nobility his failure to maintain alliances and manage his assertive governance ultimately led to his disposition in 1399 hello and welcome if it’s your first time here it’s good to meet you and if you are coming back for more it’s great to see you here again as always if you like what I do patreon link is in the description otherwise help me get to 6,000 subscribers we’re almost there with a like comment and subscribe that always seems to help now with without further Ado let’s get on to our topic for the day Richard II please make yourself relaxed Richard of Bordeaux born on the 6th of January 1367 in the archbishop’s Palace of Bordeaux aquatan was the younger son of Edward Prince of Wales also known as the black prince and his mother was Joan the Countess of Kent the black prince we can’t go past him with a name like that can’t we was a renowned military leader celebrated for his victories in the Hundred Years War especially at the Battle of borer in 1356 however his military career declined after he contracted dentry in Spain into 1370 and he returned to England permanently weakened by the following year if you want to know all about the black prince there’s a video on him in the biography section Richard’s birth was notably distinguished by the reputed presence of three kings the king of Castile the king of nari and the king of Portugal which was latter symbolically referenced in the Wilton dipti portraying Richard as one of the three kings worshiping the Virgin and child now Richard’s elder brother Edward of angulam died in 1370 rather a little bit before his sixth birthday which is terrible but this made Richard The Heir Apparent after his father’s death in 13376 the English Parliament wary of potential usurpation by Richard’s ambitious Uncle John of gun acted quickly to secure Richard’s position by investing him with the titles previously held by his father and this included the princedom of Wales well upon the death of his grandfather father Edward III on the 21st of June 1377 10-year-old Richard ascended the throne Edward III’s long and debilitating illness had left the throne very vulnerable intensifying those fears about John of gun’s possible intentions to claim or rather steal away the kingship to mitigate this Richard was crowned quickly on the 13th of July 16th of July rather 1377 at Westminster Abbey and a Regency was es skewed in favor of a governance model involving continual councils from which John of gaun was conveniently excluded from well despite John of gant’s exclusion from direct governance he and his brother Thomas of Woodstock the Earl of Buckingham maintained considerable informal influence over state affairs however it was Richard’s counselors particularly Sir Simon De Burley and Robert D the ninth Earl of Oxford who increasingly dominated the administration this shift in power dynamics led to their gaining substanti IAL control over Royal Affairs within 3 years a development that did not sit well with the English Parliament the growing dissatisfaction was compounded by the imposition of three poll taxes between 1377 and 1381 to fund somewhat unsuccessful military campaigns in Europe exacerbating the discontent among the lower classes of English society by 1381 this unrest culminated in a widespread resentment against the governing classes The Peasants Revolt of 1381 while ignited by the imposition of a third btax was more fundamentally rooted in the deeper social and economic tensions exacerbated by the Black Death and its immediate aftermath which severely disrupted medieval England’s agrarian economy and demographics now one thing that really kicked this off was because there was so much fewer peasants around the peasants found themselves on the better end of the supp supply and demand scale thus if they wanted to get a better wage they could quite easily go and seek one out there simply was not enough poor people to till the fields so this is what they started doing they would go from one place to another and trade their time to the highest bidder of course this became a problem and a law came in to cap their salaries as peasants this of course made the peasants very angry so angry that the peasants revolted hence the name peasants Revolt you know well the Revolt began in Earnest in and Kent and Essex toward the end of May 1381 and it escalated rapidly as peasant bands from all over the country driven by years of oppressive taxes and the stagnation of serfdom converged on black Heath near London on the 12th of June under leaders such as watt Tyler John Ball and Jack straw the fury of the rebels led to the destruction of symbols of Royal Authority and wealth including the burning down of John of ga’s seavoy Palace one of the grandest noble residences in London not anymore the insurrectionists also targeted key figures within the government Simon Sudbury the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor alongside Robert hailes the high Treasurer were both captured and executed by the rebels who were vocally demanding the bition of served them all together how could they do that just capture members of the government and dispose of them what a novel idea well amidst all of the chaos the young king Richard II who was only 14 at the time found himself safely sheltered within the Fortress of the Tower of London along with all of his counselors faced with the overwhelming Rebel forces and lacking the military strength to disperse them the decision was made that they had to negotiate Richard’s initial attempt to speak to the rebels at Greenwich was thwarted by the sheer science of the crowd forcing a retreat to the tower well The Story Goes that this meeting was organized for somewhere a little bit down the temps River therefore Richard and his close retinue got on the barge and started going down the river towards the meeting place unfortunately when they got there the crowd being so rowdy and beating their chests and saying come on King get off your boat let’s negotiate well it perhaps would not have been the wisest decision for Richard to get off the boat he took one look at this rather excitable crowd of peasants and thought no I’m going home and that he did well that being said it wasn’t the end of it on the 14th of June he somewhat courageously met the rebels at Mile End where he actually agreed to their demands not that he really had much of a choice yet rather than pacifying them this concession rather emboldened them to Simply continue their Rampage throughout the city the situation escalated the following day at Smithfield where Richard met with wat Tyler again and during the talks Tyler was perhaps from his confidence addressing the king in a manner that he should not be addressing him I think he was calling him brother or something from memory you’ll have to watch my full video on the peasant’s Revolt but it was definitely a breach of etiquette thus during the talks a scuffle broke out and Tyler was fatally wounded by William wall worth the mayor of London who simply jumped out and started stabbing him to death Julia Caesar style this of course set the crowd into quite a frenzy but you see Richard in a rather critical and frankly surprising moment of leadership for a 14-year-old he addressed the stunned crowd and declared himself their leader and diffusing the immediate Threat by diverting them from the scene of Tyler’s death following this confrontation wallworth the mayor of London quickly organized forces to encircle the rebels while the king promised clemency allowing them to disperse back to their homes however Richard soon R necked on the charters of freedom and pardon he had issued reinstating Royal Authority through Brute Force he personally LED efforts to quell the remaining disturbances decisively ending the revolt on the 28th of June at B with a minor Skirmish that saw the last remnants of the Rebel forces finally defeated the suppression of the peasant’s revolt had a profound impact on the young Richard showcasing his potential for decisive leadership but also exposing him to the Stark realities of ruling in a period of social unrest the Rebellion undoubtedly influenced his later governance contributing to the development of a more absolutist approach to kingship which would eventually contribute to his downfall but we’ll get to that later his handling of the Revolt highlighted both his capabilities and also limitations of the royal Authority in medieval England and it set the stage for the turbulent remainder of his Reign no one ever really forgot of course if you want to learn about the peasants Revolt in particular then go and watch the whole video video on it this is just a brief little gloss over of the event well following the peasant’s Revolt Richard began to assert his authority in a more visible manner notably through his marriage on the 20th of January 1382 to an of bohemia the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV don’t worry we’ll get to the other marriage later those who know a little bit about Richard thei you know what I’m talking about well this Union was strategically aimed at securing European allies amid the fractur divisions caused by the Western Schism particularly to counter France’s influence during the ongoing 100 Years War which just seemed to Never End however the marriage while symbolically significant failed to Garner the expected military or political gains and was unpopular due to the substantial financial dowy and the significant burden on England’s treasury because of it well the marriage also did not produce any children and Anne’s death in 1394 from the plague left Richard deeply bed marking a poignant moment in his Reign and this is a bit relevant to his second marriage I believe so we’ll get back to it later now Michael deapo who had played a pivotal role in the marriage negotiations gained Richard’s trust and increasingly assumed assumed a central role in governance as the king matured Delon rise from a merchant background to high office as Chancellor and later the Earl of suffk in 1385 however sparked resentment among the established nobility who viewed his ascendancy as symptomatic of Richard’s preference for elevating favorites of a traditional Noble family jobs for mates you know what I mean well another figure who Rose to prominence during this period was Robert D the Earl of Oxford who became one of Richard’s closest confidants and was elevated to the newly created title of Duke of Ireland in 1386 well this relationship and D’s rapid rise and success fueled quite a bit of discontent and suspicion among the Nobles exacerbated by rather interesting rumors propagated by the chronicler Thomas walshingham what were those rumors well there were rumors of inappropriate intimacy between Richard and D citation needed on that I think well the political climate was further strained by differing approaches to the ongoing war in France the court party including Richard and his favorites preferred diplomatic negotiations whereas influential figures like John of gun and the Duke of Buckingham advocated for more aggressive military campaigns this divide was highlighted by the disastrous outcome of a crusade led by Henry Le despenser the bishop of Norwich which ended in a very embarrassing failure in 1385 Richard LED an unsuccessful military expedition to Scotland which failed to engage the Scots in battle and returned without achieving any of its objectives meanwhile the kingdom narrowly avoided a French invasion thanks to an uprising in Gent which managed to distract France enough to take it away from its plans in England the growing dissatisfaction with Richard’s rule however was further compounded by John of G’s departure from England in 1086 to pursue his claims on the throne of Castile amidst the swirling rumors of a plot against him in G’s absence the opposition to Richard coales around the Duke of Gloucester and Richard fitzallen the fourth Earl of Arendelle who assumed unoficial leadership of the increasingly restive nobility as the threat of French invasion loomed larger in 1386 the English Parliament known historically as the wonderful Parliament sounds great convened in October of that year in an unprecedented move Michael deap the chancellor requested significant taxation to fund the realm’s defense well that’s not very wonderful isn’t it however the parliament influenced by Duke of Gloucester and Richard Fitz Allen the Earl of Arendelle pushed back vly refusing to entertain any fiscal proposals until deul was removed from office this direct challenge to Royal Authority was emblematic of the growing conflict between the crown and its nobility well Richard wasn’t going to take this lying down his response was defiant he famously declared that he would not dismiss even a kitchen scallion at the parliament’s behest it was only under the threat of deposition that Richard reluctantly acquiesced dismissing deole well the parliament we’re not quite done yet they didn’t stop there it instituted a commission to oversee and control the Royal finances for a year further cailing the king’s autonomy in governance well these series of events deeply troubled Richard for obvious reasons leading him to undertake a nationwide tour from February to November of 1387 to drum up support for his cause now during this period he strategically appointed Robert D his best buddy as justice of Jester aiming to build a loyal military base in cheser moreover Richard secured a controversial legal opinion from Chief Justice Robert trilon which asserted that the actions of the parliament were not only unlawful but they constituted outright treason well this was music to Richard’s ears I’m sure upon his return to London tensions came to ahead Gloucester Arendelle and Thomas Deo shamp the 12th Earl of Warick escalated the political crisis by forly accusing deap de Ian Nicholas breny the mayor of London and Alexander Neville the Archbishop of York of Treon this move was a calculated strategy to eliminate the king’s closest advisers and confidence further isolating him negotiations faltered as Richard played for time anticipating military reinforcements from d however the situation quickly deteriorated when the Lords appellant a group comprising The Duke of Gloucester Earl of Warick Arendelle and Henry bolm Brook the Earl of Derby and Son of John of gaun along with Thomas dealberry the ear of Nottingham decisively defeated de at the Battle of radat bridge on the 20th of September 1387 divver forces were then routed and he was forced to flee the country which he did well old Richard was not quite feeling as chipper as he would have liked with his military support completely shattered and his advisors either captured or in Exile he was left with no option but to acquest to the demands of the Lord’s appellant the subsequent merciless parliament of February 1388 not wonderful anymore rather merciless saw the execution of brre and trilian while D and deapo were sentenced to death in absentia the parliament marked the climax of The aalon efforts effectively dismantling the network of favorites surrounding the king and significantly diminishing his power in the process following the chaotic events of the merciless Parliament Richard began to reassert control over his kingdom by 1389 Richard had reached the age of majority and was no longer obligated to rule through Regents or c this shift coincided with the return of John of Gant to England who had reconciled with his nephew and provided a stabilizing influence on the ground and National Politics on the third of May 1389 Richard took decisive steps to reclaim his authority distancing himself from the failures of previous administrations which he contributed to poor Council he publicly committed to a foreign policy aimed at peace and reconciliation with France contrasting sharply with more aggressive stances of the Lords appal this approach included promises to reduce the heavy tax burden that had fueled widespread discontent among his subjects the next 8 years of Richard’s reign were marked by relative peace and stability as he managed to reconcile with many of his previous adversaries however historical accounts do suggest that Richard hared lingering resentment particularly over the execution of his mentor Sir Simon Deb Burley which remained a deep seated grievance well amidst all these domestic achievements Richard also sought to secure a lasting peace with France in 1396 after unsuccessful negotiations that primarily failed due to the unacceptable demand that an English king pay homage to a French King no wonder they disagreed with that a 28 TR 28 year rather truce was established finally well as part of the agreement to cement this piece Richard was betrodd to Isabella of valir the young daughter of Charles the 6 of France of course this betral raised concerns due to Isabella’s age now far be it for me to push my morality onto others but it’s a little bit of a bridge too far when Richard was 29 and Isabella was six yes well just one thing that I will note on this first of all this delayed any possibility of an air for several years so that’s one thing and also it was agreed upon that the marriage would not be consummated until she was 12 years old now despite the very creepy photo of Richard II and Isabella at their wedding painting rather I should say there is a theory that Richard was still so bered with the loss of his first wife Anna and he was quite upset about that obviously that he willingly chose to marry a bride that was that much younger than him so as he could extend his mourning period I mean think about it he didn’t have to consummate the marriage for another 8 years however there is also reports of Richard apparently saying that her age wasn’t a problem because one it would fix itself as each day goes by and two he could somewhat mold her into what he wanted her to be since she was so so young so yeah there’s that too either way not cool anyway let’s get back to it parallel to his peace efforts with France Richard also turned his attention to Ireland where the English Lordships were under increasing threat from the gelic Irish kingdoms in response to this Richard led a significant military campaign to Ireland in the Autumn of 1394 commanding an army of over 8,000 men which was unprecedented in the late Middle Ages for its size the campaign proved to be a success albe it a temporary one with several Irish Chieftain submitting to English rule The Venture not only bolstered Richard’s position at home but also marked one of the notable successes of his Reign however the gains in Ireland were not durable and the English control over the region remained a little precarious in the late 1390s which were marked by what many historians consider the tyranny of Richard II second things certainly began to kick off his assertive actions in 1397 when he arrested three prominent Nobles that being the Nobles of Gloucester Arendelle and wari were crucial in demonstrating his newly established power and willingness to eliminate any and all threats while a Chronicle hints at a possible plot against the king more likely Richard was seizing an opportunity to retaliate against these men for their roles in the 1386 to 88 challenges to his authority arundell faced a swift trial in the parliament of September 1397 where a direct confrontation with the king led to his execution loster meanwhile was held in Cal under the Earl of Nottingham’s watch before he could be brought to trial Nottingham announced gloucester’s death widely believed to have been ordered by Richard to avoid the scandal of executing a prince Warick though initially sentenced to death had his penalty commuted to life imprisoned Thomas Arendelle Archbishop of Canterbury and arendelle’s brother was exiled following these high-profile actions Richard extended his retribution to local supporters of the Lords abalon leveraging heavy fines to enrich the crown this campaign was both financially and politically motivated strengthening Richard’s control at the local level and demonstrating his reach beyond the nobility during this period Richard’s Court saw significant changes in its composition with a new group of loyalists derogatively called duetti by critics rising to prominence these included Henry Bing Brook the Duke of Herford Thomas mury elevated the Duke of norfol and several others who were granted new titles and lands from confiscated Estates of their convicted appellant well despite Richard’s efforts to solidify his power the House of Lancaster remained a significant threat due to its wealth Royal lineage and potential claims on the throne especially in in any absence of direct hirs from Richard while the conflict reached a critical point when Bolingbrook and mry both former Lords appellant accused each other of treason leading to a planned trial by combat that Richard halted by exiling both of them this decision was part of a broader strategy to neutralize potential Rivals without direct confrontation the parliament of Shrewsbury in 1398 underscored Richard’s authoritarian rule by nullifying the acts of the merciless Parliament and delegating extensive powers to a small group of the king’s supporters effectively sidelining the traditional role of the parliament the situation escalated following the death of John of gaun in 1399 when Richard chose to confiscate the Lancaster Estates and extend Bing Brook’s Exile indefinitely a move that alienated not only the landcasters but also many other Nobles it was this decision that set the stage for the conflict in the future as balling Brook had substantial support both domestically and from foreign allies Richard subsequent departure for an expedition in Ireland in 1399 left the kingdom in a mid of a precarious spot with significant discontent Brewing among the nobility and the populace this would soon lead to balling Brook’s return and a formidable challenge to Richard’s reign well Richard’s rule in the final years were marked by an unprecedented consolidation of power fostering a distinct Court culture that significantly deviated from traditional English monarchical practices the shift was somewhat evident in the change of Royal address from highness to Royal Majesty or high Majesty reflecting a deliberate elevation of the king’s status to a more Divine and Untouchable level mirroring the Continental Court’s influences Richard’s lengthy silent presences on the throne during solemn festivals were Testament to this new Regal Persona demanding reverence and physical iCal demonstrations of submission from his subjects this transformation at court and kingship was undoubtedly shaped by Richard’s experiences during his formative years marked by challenges such as the peasants revolt and the confrontations with the Lord’s appal these events profoundly impacted his perspective on Royal Authority in governance steering him away from the military Cent Court of his grandfather Edward iiii the black prince Richard saw Edward’s close ties with the military nobility as a Potential Threat to Royal power leading him to forego a marshal Court in favor of establishing peace with France and reducing his Alliance on the nobility to circumvent the traditional power structures Richard developed a substantial private military retinue which was unprecedented in size for an English king and distinctively Mark the whiteart badge with the white heart badge rather symbolizing loyalty directly to him rather than the feudal system this move allowed him more autonomy from the noble class and enabled him to foster a court atmosphere where where culture and the Arts rather than martial exploits were celebrated this approach not only isolated him from traditional power bases of the monarchy but also allowed him to project an image of a monarch who was above the common fry of politics and warfare well his Reign significantly shaped the culture of England through his patronage and personal interests which extended Beyond mere political governance his efforts to cultivate a majestic Royal image were unprecedented involving the commissioning of panel paintings that depicted him with a Regal Grandeur notable among these is the Wilton diptic a prime example of the courtly International Gothic style that flourished on Continental courts this diptic likely intended as a portable alter piece for Richard’s Irish campaign reflects a broader cultural influence that Richard embraced gladly drawing from the artistic Innovations seen in that day’s Prague and Paris the king’s investment in the Arts was not limited to paintings however his expenditure on Jewel jewry textiles and metal work dwarfed his spending on the visual arts suggesting a pant for the tangible expressions of wealth and power well unfortunately only a few artifacts directly connected to him have survived except perhaps a crown believed to have belonged to his wife his first wife that being an of bohemia described as a masterpiece of Gothic goldsmithing in terms of architecture his Ambitions were manifested in his Grand project of rebuilding Westminster Hall inspired perhaps by John have gone to work at the Kenworth Castle Richard transformed the whole into a Monumental space that reflected his authority and personal likes and dislikes the introduction of the in ative Hammer beam roof allowed the merging of three aisles into a single vast Hall talked with a days where Richard could preside over the court in isolated Splendor literature also flourished under Richard’s reign particularly through figures like Jeffrey choro and John Gower both of whom benefited the cultured environment of the Court you might know Jeffrey cha from I don’t know such ah yes the film The Nights tale I’m sure many of you have watched that rest in peace Heath leder one of my countrymen while direct evidence of Richard’s patronage of poetry is pretty rare the thriving literary culture of his court indirectly fostered the development of the English language is a vehicle for sophisticated artistic expression indeed chorer serving in various capacities under Richard produced much of his renowned work during this period similarly GA initially commissioned by Richard contributed to the error’s literary richness although his later works reflected a growing disenchantment with the King furthermore Richard’s interest in the esoteric specifically geomancy highlights a broader intellectual curiosity and his desire to integrate philosophy science and the mystical into the cultural fabric of his Reign well in June 1399 as Richard was away in Ireland Henry Bing Brook who had been exiled by Richard landed at ravenspur Yorkshire with the aim of reclaiming his inheritance his Landing was facilitated by Louis I the Duke of oon who controlled the French court and saw political advantage in destabilizing England Bing Brook’s claimed that he sought only his inheritance won him the neutral of Henry Percy the Earl of Northumberland and a key Regional power broker as Richard’s forces were with him in Ireland Bing Brook encountered very little resistance as he Advanced Southward meanwhile Richard who was still delayed up in the north didn’t manage to return until the 24th of July finally Landing in Wales and proceeding to Conway for negotiations by the 19th of August 1399 Richard had surrendered to balling Brook at Flint Castle leaning to his imprisonment in the Tower of London by the first of September Bing Brook’s challenge now was to justify his claim to the throne over the rightful he Edmund Mortimer the Earl of March the solution lay in emphasizing bolingbrook’s direct male line descendant from John of G contrasting with March’s descent through a female line thus Parliament convened on the 30th of September where Richard’s abdication was presented as voluntary though alternative accounts suggest it was a more contentious relinquishment the formal deposition took Place through the acceptance of the 33 articles detailing Richard’s unsuitability as a monarch leading to his formal removal on the 1st of October and balling Brook’s coronation as Henry IV on October the 13th however Richard’s survival posed a threat to the new king illustrated by the foiled Epiphany rising of plot aimed to restore him to the throne which did not get very far this of course led to the decision to take the easy option and simply eliminate Richard who reportedly died of starvation in ponr Castle around the 14th of February the year 1400 his death was confirmed with his body displayed at St Paul’s Cathedral and later buried in King’s Langley although there were a few rumors of his survival the rumors continued to circulate fueled by sightings of an impostor in Scotland this figure was used in various plots against Henry IV but was dismissed as a mentally ill beggar by the time of his death in 1419 Henry vth seeking to quell these rumors and atone for the reputed regicide reinterred Richard’s remains in Westminster Abbey in 1413 alongside his first wife Anne in a tomb Richard had commissioned bringing a dignified end to the story of his chaotic Reign now before we go we just got a few last minute notes on Richard’s character cuz we can’t just leave it there can’t we well though physically described as beautiful with a white rounded and feminine face he was known for his intellectual prowess and cultural patronage rather than Marshal capabilities his Reign saw significant development in the Arts including architecture and literature with his court fostering this refined atmosphere that had never really been seen before unlike the warrior Kings before him Richard’s interest lay in tournaments and hunting rather than any Battlefield conquests he was a devoted follower of Edward the confessor’s cult famously impaling his arms with the mythical arms of the Confessor showing all Orthodox religious inclinations vly opposing the lonard heresy toward the end of his Reign well despite all of these contributions and administrative Ambitions Richard’s reign is often viewed through the lens of Shakespeare’s later dramatization which portrays him as a flawed Monarch whose rule pre precipitated civil Strife this narrative enduring in Tudor historiography links his perceived misrule directly to the wars of the Roses modern historiography has somewhat question this connection however suggesting a more nuanced evaluation of his political actions independent of the conflicts that followed now the debate over Richard’s mental health shows another aspect ECT of his complex Legacy early historians like Bishop stubs posited that Richard suffered from mental imbalances a theory expanded into claims of schizophrenia by later Scholars however contemporary historians noting the lack of solid historical evidence for such diagnosises have largely rejected this pathologization of Richard’s Behavior instead attributes such as good old narcissism and possibly a deteriorating grip on reality towards his Reign’s end are considered within the context of political pressures and personal challenges his political strategies particularly his efforts to centralize power and his lavish Court expenditures have been critiqued for their execution right rather than their intent his Reliance on private renue and the patronage of favorite courtiers alienated the traditional nobility and proved to be quite costly undermining his popularity and Effectiveness as a ruler his policies while Innovative in some respects failed to reduce the viscal burdens of his subjects or even to secure lasting loyalty among the broader aristocracy this disjunction between ambition and practical governance coupled with his strange response to descent well that was what ultimately led to his downfall the 100 Years War a prolonged series of conflicts lasting between 1337 to 14 53 primarily fought between England and France this struggle was ignited by disputes over territorial claims and the legitimacy of the French throne particularly after Edward III of England claimed the French Crown setting his mother’s lineage as the basis for his right to rule the war saw several pivotal battles including Cy portiers and aent cot which highlighted the evolving nature of medieval warfare notably increasing importance of infantry and the use of the Longbow the confict eventually culminated in the rise of French nationalism and the solidification of a more centralized French State under Charles iith significantly aided by figures such as Jon of AR Mar whose involvement became a turning point in the war and a lasting symbol of French unity and resilience hello and welcome to the channel if you’re new here it’s good to meet you and if you’re coming back good to see you again as always if you like what I do there’s a link to a patreon in the description otherwise liking the video and leaving your comments down below helps YouTube show other people now if you’re after something quintessentially medieval you’re certainly in the right place the Hundred Years War figures like Edward III the black prince and Joan of Ark Knights and battles and castles it has it all thus the video is going to be in two parts just so we can make it as detailed as possible of course a war of this magnitude could have 10 15 20 Parts but I’m going to try and keep it just a two parts for all of our sakes now without further Ado I would like you to become relaxed take a deep breath and we can begin when Charles I 4th of France died in the Year 13328 Edward III of England was the closest male relative through his mother Isabella Charles sister the legal question at hand was whether Isabella could pass on a claim she herself could not hold as succession laws restricted the crown to male heirs the French aristocracy instead head chose Phillip the count of valoir Charles IV’s first cousin to become king philli I 6 setting a precedent for the French Crown succession that Edward III and his descendants would contest for Generations initially quite hesitant the young Edward III aged 17 and Duke of aquatan formerly paid homage to Philip v 6 in 1329 gany a significant part of aquatan in Southwestern France was pivotal economically due to its clarate wine trade with England which the English had gained quite a taste for thus bringing considerable Revenue to the English crown now the gas gones having distinct language and Customs pered the more hands-off governance of their distant English king over the more direct control of a French monarch despite Edward’s homage the French continued to meddle in gascon Affairs including military skirmishes and bureaucratic pressures in the region especially in the French controlled area of agon Additionally the French assman support from local Lords for potential conflicts indicating ongoing tensions despite Edward’s formal submission the broader politics of the landscape was also tense during the 1330s France supported Scotland England’s adversary complicating relations even further in Flanders while the cities relied on English wool and favored England the nobility was pro- French the situation escalated when Philip v 6 gathered a fleet for a crusade later repurposed as a threat in the English Channel signaling aggressive intention towards their Northern neighbors influential Lind Edward’s Court was Robert II of ARA an exile from the French Court due to a dispute with Philip v 6 in 1336 Philip demanded Robert’s extradition from gany threatening severe consequences this demand covered with the confiscation of Edward’s territory in gany and Pono the following year was cited as a direct cause for escalating conflict the seizure of gany by Philip v 6 in 1337 marked a critical moment prompting Edward III to devise a military strategy aimed at maintaining English control in gany while also preparing an invasion from the north this dual approach was to be supported by a broad Alliance of Continental allies to whom Edward pledged over £200,000 an amount that is equivalent to around £65 million today I believe that’s about7 million us something like that to fund this costly Venture Edward capitalized on England’s wool trade planning to sell 30,000 sacks through English merchants to generate an estimated £200,000 which would be loaned to him for the war effort additionally substantial loans were secured from major banking houses like bardy and perui and later in a financial crunch the merchant William de laon provided a crucial Lifeline with a £10,000 advance pulled from his buddies who were also other English merchants Edward’s Financial strategies extended to highin loans from low countries Merchants who demanded solid repayment insurances resulting in the ears of Derby and North Hampton being held as collateral in 1339 Edward requested a 300,000 Grant from The Commons which they eventually offered in exchange for concessions these Financial Maneuvers delayed Edward’s Invasion plans providing the French with an opportunity to redirect their resources and also launch an offensive into gasan in December of 1338 capturing St mcair and bla Oliver Ingam the senal of gany faced the daunting task of defending the region with limited local resources and without reinforcements from England his strategy largely consisted of retreating to fortifications and enduring The Siege while managed to secure allegiance of the Lord Albert in 1339 which allowed for some offensive raids into French territory meanwhile the English Naval defense was slow to mobilize allowing the French with their hired genoise galys to conduct raids along the English Coast in 1339 hitting Portsmouth Southampton and gery a significant French naval assault targeted the sink ports but encountering prepared kentish defenses at Sandwich they shifted their focus to Ry and no that sentence is not a joke they are just the two names of the Town sandwich and Rye only to face the newly assembled English fleets under Robert moley now misjudging the size of the English forces the genoise mercenaries retreated to France ending their campaign after disputes over pay led to a mutiny now despite these French naval incursions England’s Coastal defenses remained largely intact barring significant Dam image to undefended locations like Hastings concurrently the English military’s focus on France weakened their position in the north enabling the Scots to recapture key locations including Perth in 1339 and Edinburgh in 1341 exploiting the reduced English presence in the region Edward the 3 under pressure to achieve military success gathered an army of approximately 12,000 men in the low countries by September drawing from his various allies with Cambry an ally of the French King as an initial Target Edward’s forces laid Siege to the bishopi on September 20th despite ravaging the surrounding area C with stood The Siege and on October the 9th Edward’s Army withdrew moving deeper into France as Edward focused on Camry King Philip I 6 of France used the time to assemble his forces at Peron near the border Edward’s troops continue their destructive march across a 20m wide swath of French Countryside prompting Philip’s Army to closely monitor their movements albeit without engaging in direct battle on October the 14th with the French army in proximity a confrontation seemed inevitable as Edward approached them but then veered off continuing his path of Devastation the armies finally positioned themselves a battle in Pier D between LA Capel and laflam mongre but no battle insued on the anticipated date of October 23rd at nightfall Edward strategically retreated from France ending his campaign without a decisive conflict and the French they chose not to pursue them meanwhile the economic ramifications of Edward’s embargo on English Goods to Flanders which remained loyal to Phillip incited a Revolt in 1337 due to the absence of essential English wool and Food Supplies Jacob van artelt leading the Revolt negotiated Flemish neutrality in exchange for lifting the Embargo by December Flanders was prepared to formerly support Edward’s cause against Phillip with gent apris and brues recognizing Edward as the king of France this political maneuver aimed to consolidate Edward’s alliances in the low countries enabling his supporters to assert their legiance to what they saw as the legitimate King of France back in gany the English defenses already stretched thin received unexpected relief when two French supporting Nobles the count of armanac and the count of fua became pre-occupied with a personal Feud rather than combating the English addition additionally significant support came from the albrett family notably Bernard a the Lord of Albert who declared allegiance to Edward in the same year of 1339 the Alberts holding a pivotal lordship in English gany provided critical financial and Military Support to Edward’s campaigns leveraging their extensive family connections to bolster English forces in the region in 1340 the French amassed an impressive invasian Fleet including French castillan and genoise ships totaling around 400 vessels gathered together in the Zain Estuary lacking purpose-built warships Edward III of England modified deep draft Merchant ships known as cogs for Naval use Edward set up his command on the Cog Thomas and sailed from Orwell Kent on June 22nd to meet the superior French Fleet the next day the French Fleet adopted a defensive stance of slis aiming to block Edward from Landing initially feigning retreat the English capitalized on a favorable wind shift in the late afternoon to launch their attack positioning themselves with the wind and the Sun at their backs Edward devised a tactical formation sending ships in groups of three two filled with archers and another filled with men-at-arms the proximity of the French ships to one another hampered their Mobility allowing the English archers to decimate the French from close range before the men at Arms boarded to complete the assault this decisive action at the Battle of SLO nearly annihilated the French Fleet ensuring English dominance over the channel and thwarting further French invasions meanwhile in Spring of the following year 13 40 Philip I 6 of France had planned a major offensive against Edward III’s allies but shifted Focus following the calamitous defeat at the naval battle of SL Edward split his forces one contingent under Robert of artwar faced a destructive encounter in artwar on June 26th while Edward himself commenced the siege of torai a significant city which was then a part of France the prolonged Siege lasted until September when Philip approached the main French army leading to a stalemate and the eventual signing of the truce of esin on September the 25th 1340 this truce paused hostilities for 9 months marking the the end of the conflict’s initial phase but certainly not the end of the conflict now the war’s financial and political toll was of course substantial promting a reassessment of alliances and Military strategies the German princes withdrew from the Coalition leaving only the Flemish Burgers as steadfast allies back in England Edward faced increasing domestic opposition due to the high costs and minimal gains of his Continental campaigns compounded by significant territorial losses in Scotland the financial strain pushed Edward towards bankruptcy necessitating selective repayments of debts while some creditors received full payment others notably the major Florentine banking houses of bardy and perui did not contemporary chronicler Giovani villani connected to the perui exaggerated Edward’s debts somewhat which were substantial but not solely responsible for the Florentine financial crisis he was probably just trying to blame it on an outside influence good strategy indeed the broader economic turmoil in Florence including the bankruptcy of the akoli a major financial company that had no dealings with Edward at all indicates that the English King’s defaults were yes a contributing factor but definitely not the sole cause of the disruption well upon the death of John III Duke of Britany April 30th 1341 a contentious succession crisis unfolded due to his lack of direct heirs the key contenders for the dugom were his younger half brother that being John of Montfort and his niece John of pentieva the daughter of his brother guy despite Jean’s close blood relation to John II the recent French laws concerning female her inheritance rather which had barred Edward III from the French throne suggested that women might not be eligible to inherit significant titles Jean was married to Charles of blo a nephew of the French King which added another layer of complexity to the succession while JN of Montfort did not wait for a royal decision and proactively assumed the title of Duke taking control of Nantes the capital of the Britany region and securing the dukal treasury at limo oh yes that was the important part by mid August he had gained control over the majority of the duchi including its principal cities that being Nantes Reigns and vanes however his Swift actions polarized the local nobility and clergy with only the minor clergy Knights and peasantry supporting him this of course led to another civil war Philip IV of France supported Charles of blo as the rightful Duke which of course prompted John of monford to flee back to England and beg some support from Edward III pretty pleas despite the ongoing truce of es Blen Edward agreed to assist monford thus monford returned to br Bry to Rally his forces but by November he found himself besieged by a French army in the city of Nantes the city’s residents eventually surrendered him up to the French and he was taken back to Paris for a Extended Stay in the dungeons with John of Monfort imprisoned leadership of the Mont Forest faction fell to his wife Joanna of Flanders she established her base at hbond in southern Britany managing to hold off Charles deo’s forces over the winter of 1341 to 42 her strategic leadership maintained vital connections between braist and hont facilitating the arrival of English reinforcements which helped recapture quite a bit of lost territory in August 1342 further English support arrived with the Earl of North Hampton who landed at brist and swiftly captured vanis subsequent battles saw the English forces including those led by Richard DEA score a victory near morl however Robert de artoa wounded in the taking of vanes later died in England and the French under Olivia Deon Rook vanice Edward III himself arrived in Britany in the late October of 1342 and then he retook vanes back and advanced to besiege Rens the French mobilized to confront him but the potential Clash was avoided when two cardinals broke at the truth of malroy on January of 1343 despite the official truce hostilities persisted in Britany with Edward III finally consolidating control in the May of 1345 the prolonged truce between England and France officially established to facilitate peace talks and address Mutual War War exhaustion significantly impacted both nations in England the heavy tax burden coupled with the manipulation of the wool trade left Edward iiii grappling with substantial debts which he spent the subsequent years trying to clear the economic strain was evident as the king struggled to balance the fiscal demands of warfare with domestic economic stability back to France under King Philip v 6 while they fa their own set of financial challenges the absence of a centralized Authority capable of imposing taxes across the kingdom forced the crown to negotiate directly with various provincial assemblies during the truce many of these assemblies resisted tax levies adhering to traditional feudal Customs that Exempted them from taxation during peace time at least to generate Revenue Philip v 6 resorted to debasing the coinage and implementing two highly unpopular taxes as opposed to the popular ones I suppose well these taxes being the Fage or the Heth tax and the Gabel attacks on salt now of course attacks on salt is serious business because everybody uses salt you have to preserve your food somehow don’t you so attacks on salt was basically like putting attack on grain or any sort of other common food stuff going up to the northern Europe and putting aack on potatoes it’s basically the same so this was not good for the lower classes but certainly gets you quite a lot of money if you can keep the people paying it well these measures only added to the already discontent Public’s woes and it only really made things more in unstable in France well in 1343 significant administrative changes occurred in gany a key region for the English side Oliver inam the then senal of gany was recalled back to England and Nicholas deabes replaced him de’s tenure was marked by strict adherence to the truths of malra although he struggled to maintain civil peace within the DU the increasing insecurity in the region was evident as deabes required a substantial armed escort to follow him around everywhere he went that ought to tell you something reflecting the growing unrest and the challenges of enforcing the truth well the truth had also unintended consequence quences for the numerous soldiers left unemployed by the cation of hostilities you know when you build a wartime economy you have so many people engaged in conflict and all of a sudden they’re all unemployed they have nothing to do they either get very drunk and cause trouble or go and start fulfilling careers in other areas most of the time it’s the former while many of these soldiers rather than returning to a life of poverty going back to being peasants in the fields formed or joined what were called roer companies that was bands of mercenaries that roamed around the countryside looking for work now as these groups comprising veterans from various regions including gasy Britany other parts of France Spain Germany and England exploited their military skills to Rob and loot local communities indeed they were more just Bandits than mercenaries when a job came up sure they would take it on make a bit of money some local Lord or Noble wanted some people shaken down for some tax money or whatever else it was but most of the time the more direct approach seemed to be uh a little bit more time efficient they were basically turning into uh the few hundred years earlier Vikings that had invaded they were effectively the same sort of thing well of course these sorts of roer companies were quite a few and they were notorious for their ruthlessness often resorting to methods as far as torture and murder to sustain themselves your money or your life the roier companies frequently Siege strategic towns or castles using them as bases to plunder the surrounding areas their presence became a significant problem doing the truce as they would demand Ransom from towns to avoid complete Devastation the issue of roers persisted as a major security concern until the 15th century when reforms in taxation allowed for the establishment of a regular army incorporating many of the more disciplined roers and restoring a measure of order to the regions afflicted by their depredation s well on July the 5th 1346 Edward III embarked on a significant campaign departing Portsmouth with a fleet of approximately 750 ships carrying between 7 to 10,000 men accompanying him was his son Edward the black prince who had recently turned 16 years old and been titled the Prince of Wales I have a full video on him by the way if you want to go watch that well the Expedition marked the start of a major Invasion across the English Channel and on July the 12th Edward’s forces made landfall at s vast Lao on the content in Peninsula now we’re very lucky to have a Chronicle from Jean froad which describes the event here so we’ll read from a contemporary Source now when the king of England arrived in the h s vast the king issued out of his ship and the first foot that he set on the ground he fell so rudely that the blood burst out of his nose the kings that were about him took him up and said sir for God’s sake enter again into your ship and come not a land this day for this is but an evil sign for us then the king answered quickly and said why this is a good token for me for the land hath desire to have me of which the answer all his men were right joyful so that day and night the king lodged on the Sands and in the meantime discharged the ships of their horses and other baggages there the king made two Marshals of his host the one the Lord Jeffrey decort and the other the Earl of wari and the Earl of arundell and he ordained that the Earl of Huntington should keep the fleet of ships with 100 men of arms and for 400 archers and he also ordained three battalions one to go on his right hand closing to the seaside and the other on his left hand and the King himself in the midst and every night to Lodge all in one field end of the passage from The Chronicle of Jean froat Edward III’s Army progressed through Norman committing to a scorched Earth policy rather than holding on to territory thus Philip II of France mobilized a large army to counter this Invasion Edward’s forces has engaged in two significant battles during this March the storming of K and the Battle of blanak both of which ended in English victories unable to outmaneuver Phil forces definitively Edward positioned his army at greasy where the ensuing Battle of greasy took place despite the French numerical superiority their attacks were systematically thwarted by the skilled English and Welsh archers the French forces suffered heavy casualties and were ultimately forced into Retreat marking a decisive and frankly humiliating ating defeat for Phillip well following the victory at greasy Edward continued North and laid Siege to Cal successfully capturing the Strategic Port City in 1347 this victory was complemented by another English success at the Battle of Neville’s cross where the Scots under David II were defeated significantly diminishing the Scottish [Music] threat while the onset of the black plague in 1348 stalled further military campaigns as it ravaged populations across Europe including England and France straining military and Financial Resources by 1350 Philip IV the 6th rather had passed away and his son John II ascended to the French throne continuing the conflict during this period tensions escalated between England and Spain due to repeated Spanish acts of aggression against English Maritime interests well they weren’t going to have that weren’t they in response to the report of the Spanish arming themselves in in Flanders Edward III remarked on their continuous provocations and prepared for a confrontation in August of 1350 the Spanish Fleet Laden with armaments and mercenaries armed to the teeth attempted to pass along England’s South Coast targeting potentially vulnerable English towns Edward’s Fleet intercepted them at the Battle of WI shall see on the 29th of August 1350 the battle which lasted until dusk saw English archers inflict severe losses on the Spanish before boarding their ships the engagement ended with significant Spanish losses capturing nearly half of the fleet while the remnants fled under the cover of night mirroring the earlier Naval Triumph at SLO well despite the presence of a truce the spirit of chivalry and rivalry persisted in Britany culminating in the battle of the 30 in 1351 this event was essentially a shival rck tournament rather than a traditional battle orchestrated between Robert de manoir a Bret commanded the Garrison at jelin and Richmond bambro an English Commander at blel they agreed to a contest where 30 knights from each side would engage in combat with sharpened weapons the English contingent included renowned men at arms like Robert NS and Hugh Calvary although bambro had to include German mercenaries to reach the required number of 30 the combat was fierce lasting the entire day and it ended in a French Victory true to the shival ideals the French Victors ransomed many of the captured English Knights that ought to show them well like we’ve said the Black Death loomed over everyone’s head quite ominously and it reached England in 1348 drastically affecting the population and temporarily halting military campaigns by the mid 1350s however England began to recover allowing Edward the black prince to resume hostilities in France in 1355 he launched a series of brutal raids known as Cheves from gany aiming to demoralize the French populace undermine their leaders and strain the financial resources of the French Crown these raids involved extensive looting and the systematic destruction of property to weaken the enemy economically and also psychologically the conflict escalated in the August of 1356 when the black prince himself leading a campaign deeper into French territory found himself and his army threatened by a larger French Force Under King John II the ensuing confrontation at the Battle of portiers on the 19th of September 1356 initially saw the English forces reliable on their formidable longbowmen successfully repelling multiple French Cavalry Chargers good old Longbow nothing beats that well as the battle intensified and the English archers began running out of arrows the situation grew a little desperate however a tactical maneuver by the gason noble Capal deuch led to a flanking attack that captured King John II and even several of his Nobles turning the tide decisively in favor of the English the capture of the French king led to a significant political instability in France naturally a truce was hastily signed with Edward III and the absence of King John caused governmental functions to falter the ransom for the King was initially set at 2 million eus but John valuing his status insisted it be raised to 4 million underscoring the high stakes and heavy burdens of Ransom Warfare During the period Well it culminated in the first Treaty of London in 1358 which established the ransom for King John II at France at 4 million with the initial payment due by November the 1st 1358 however the French never paid in response the second Treaty of London was signed on March 12th of the following year 1359 which stipulated that in place of John hostages would be held including two of his sons several Nobles four parisians and two citizens from each of the 19 upper major French towns with these hostages secured John returned to France to raise the necessary funds while the treaty granted England vast territories effectively restoring the Anan Empire during John’s efforts to collect The Ransom his son Louie of an Joo escaped from captivity in Cal in 1362 ashamed by his son’s actions and preferring to adhere to the code of honor John voluntarily returned to captivity in England where he remained until his death in 1364 his funeral in England was marked by great chivalry honoring him as a noble adversary and one who acted in the proper and upright manner befitting of a king well meanwhile France faced internal turmoil with the 1358 Jacker peasant Revolt driven by the war hardships and abuses by Nobles and mercenary companies this Revolt saw peasants led by gulam Kale committing atrocities against the nobility in northern France before being decisively defeated at the Battle of Meo which was of course followed by brutal reprisals in 1359 leveraging the instability of France Edward II sought to capture RS aiming to strengthen his position despite extensive preparations by the city’s inhabitants Edward seeds lasted 5 weeks but ultimately failed Edward then moved his army to Paris and later to chatres at chatres a catastrophic hail storm caused significant casualties promting Edward to consider peace a little bit more seriously negotiations initiated by the dine led to the drafting of the Treaty of Britany ratified at Cal on October the 24th 1360 this treaty saw Edward renounce his claim to the French throne in exchange for full sovereignity over an expanded aquatain and Galay in the aftermath of the treaty of Britany in 1360 where Edward III of England renounced his claim to the throne in exchange for full sovereignity of aquatan relative peace ensued between England and France relative however Regional conflicts continued notably in Britany and Castile which influenced the broader Anglo French negotiations the war of Breton succession a significant regional conflict persisted despite the formal peace the English supported the Montford family representing the male line of succession in Britany while the French they backed the house of blo advocating for the heir general based on britan’s acceptance of female succession this Divergence led to prolonged hostilities culminating in the English backed John of Mont for defeating and killing the French supporter Charles of blo at the Battle of oray in 1364 although John of monford secured his position he had to acknowledge the szerenity of the French King to maintain his title peacefully diminishing many of the Strategic benefits for England while during this period of the nominal peace many soldiers once again found themselves without employment leading to widespread pillaging across France these conditions prompted Charles I of France to engage these forces under beron dekalin a skilled Britain Commander to inter in the Castilian war on behalf of Henry of trastamara against Pedro the cruel of Castile Pedro seeking assistance against dug es glin and his supporters Enlisted the aid of the black prince who successfully reinstated him after the battle of Nera however Pedro’s failure to compensate the black prince and his allies led to his ultimate Downfall with Henry of trust Amara reclaiming the throne and establishing alliances against England it was this shift that significantly impacted English interests in Castile culminating in attacks on English merchants and Naval raids along England’s Southern coasts which shifted Maritime dominance back towards France the black prince seeking to recuperate his financial losses imposed high taxes on aquatan leading to unrest among the gascons who appealed to the French King as their feudal Lord however by the terms of the Treaty of brittiny the French King had relinquished his sarenity of aquatine the French Court revisiting these terms claimed that Edward II Bird’s renunciation was flawed asserting ongoing French suity over the region when Charles I summoned the black prince to address these grievances he refused tensions then escalated leading to the renewal of hostilities in what became known as the Caroline phase of the Hundred Years War this phase marked a resumption of the conflict driven by unresolved territorial disputes and broken alliances with Charles I resuming hostilities again in 1370 France as the most formidable state in Western Europe was very well positioned against England lacking in strong military leadership Edward III was aging and the black prince once a formidable force was incapacitated by illness the death of John Chandos in 1370 a pivotal English Commander was just another blow in the already weakened English military capabilities under the Strategic guidance of belon deus Glen appointed Constable of France the French adopted a strategy of attrition this approach focused on gradually reclaiming territor seeded at Britany rather than engaging in major battles this incremental method proved effective with the recapture of bers in 1372 a severe blow to the English efforts came with the naval defeat at larell in August of 1372 an English Convoy vital for supplying reinforcements and funds to aquatan was intercepted and defeated by a Castilian Fleet this loss not only deprived the English of crucial resources but also heightened their vulnerability to French and Spanish raids further isolating gascony and spurring domestic opposition for the war Jean III Dei Capal de an influential gason Noble fighting on England’s side was captured during these engagements and despite his value Charles chose not to Ransom him fearing his military prowers so he was simply imprisoned until his death in 1376 removing another key player from England’s strategic reserves in response to these setbacks the English conducted several Cheves into French territory these raids designed to devastate the French Countryside and undermine Charles the F’s Authority involved fast moving forces burning and pillaging everything as they went John of G Chev of 1373 three was particularly ambitious planned over 3 years to Traverse from Cal to aquatan and despite initial successes Charles I’s tactics of avoiding confrontation and protecting his peasantry in fortified towns blunted the impact of these raids the campaign suffered further as English forces monitored by dug escalin lieutenant Olivier de gon faced numerous challenges they lost significant numbers of men and material while crossing the rivers lir and aler by the time the remnants of G’s Army reached Bordeaux on Christmas Eve 1373 they were ravaged by disease and starvation significantly weakened and unable to maintain their campaign the failures of these campaigns Spar widespread discontent in England particularly towards John of G himself whose political influence was marred by his unpopularity and inability to secure a favorable peace with France by 1373 the territorial gains England had secured at greasy through the Treaty of Britany were effective all gone leaving England with little more than it held prior to these victories in an attempt to broker peace Pope Gregory VI 11th orchestrated the Treaty of brues in 1375 initiating a 12month truce between France and England as a sort of permanent cation of hostilities the negotiations led by Philip II Duke of burgundy for France and John of G for England ultimately faltered mainly over the status of aquatan England demanded full sovereignity over the region while France insisted that it remain under the control of the House of valoir despite the Pope’s efforts to mediate a resolution the talks collapsed and by 1377 hostilities resumed this period saw personal changes in the English Monarchy the black prince had passed away the year before in 1376 and in the following year Edward III had died leaving the throne to his 10 year-old grandson Richard II it was under Richard II’s rule and later his disposition by Henry Bolingbrook being Henry IV that the English under the House of Lancaster revitalized their claims to the French throne although substantial military action would not resume until later Charles I of France died in September of 1380 and his young son Charles I 6th succeeded him with the county governed by a Regency led by his three uncles despite the military successes during his Reign Charles I’s policies unraveled posthumously he had ended the war taxes which were critical for funding the French military efforts when the Regency attempted to reintroduce these taxes wides spread popular revolts known as the Harel erupted starting in ruin and spreading to Paris and other Northern cities the Regents were compelled to repeal the taxes to quell the unrest power to the people further complicating the politics was the onset of the great skism in 1378 instigated by Charles V’s support for the aong Pope Clement iith this Schism split the church and diminished the people Authority significantly undermining efforts to mediate peace in the Hundred Years War the fractured papacy struggling with its internal legitimacy was unable to exert meaningful influence over the Waring factions thus despite numerous peace conferences through the late 14th century no lasting resolution was achieved and the war dragged on fueled by Deep seated National rivalries and intermittent hostilities and that is the end of part one of my history of the Hundred Years War I hope you liked it and I hope you can’t hear those pesky Birds who are outside my window perhaps you’re more tolerant than I am hello and welcome back to part two of the Hundred Years War history if you are yet to watch part one then I do suggest you follow the link in the description and do so if you have watched part one and you’re here for part two well thank you for coming back today we are going to continue from where we left off last time and while we have already briefly covered the Caroline phase of the war I’d like to briefly refresh us before we go any further one for our memory and two to set the general tone for the rest of the video so if you would like to take a deep breath and relax and we can begin the Civil War of succession in Castile in 1366 pitted the forces of the incumbent ruler Peter of Castile against those of his half brother Henry of trastamara during this conflict the English crown had supported Peter while the French backed Henry the French under the leadership of Charles I dispatched a substantial force of 12,000 men led by Bertrand de gusin a notable bretan who had risen to prominence as one as France’s leading military commanders to Aid tram Mara’s bid for the throne Peter sought assistance from the black prince ruler of aquatan and a key English figure who initially hesitated due to concerns over the implications of the Treaty of brettin eventually acting more so in his capacity as the ruler of aquatan rather than a representative of England the black prince intervened he led an Anglo gason Force into Castile successfully restoring Peter to power after defeating trust amar’s forces at the Battle of Nera well despite the victory the castilians reneged on their financial agreements with the black prince who was already having enough of a hard time he was struggling with poor health upon his return to aquatan the prince attempted to recoup his life es by imposing a half tax this move was met with resistance particularly from arnard ameno theith The Lord of albrad who had supported the prince in the castian campaign but grew increasingly discontented with the influx of English administrators in the region of aquatan Albret along with other gason Lords flatly refused to pay the tax and ran straight over to Charles I’s side on the French side of things to get his support in response Charles I summoned the gascon Lords and the black prince to his high court in Paris to try to mediate and resolve this dispute M the Black Prince’s defiant response had hinted at military actions he had basically said yeah I’ll show up and I’ll bring a few thousand men with me and mop the floor with you this of course did not ease tensions in fact it led to the resumption of the war Edward thei subsequently reclaimed his title as king of France but by the end of 1369 aquatain was engulfed in another Revolt largely spurred by Charles I’s declaration that all English possessions in France were now forfeit meanwhile Henry of trust Amaro seized the opportunity to launch a second invasion of Castile with the black prince no longer present to defend Peter this culminated in the Battle of Montiel in the march of 1369 where Peter was killed effectively ending his Rule and allowing Henry to assume complete control the new castian regime aligned itself with France providing Naval support that was instrumental in the French victory over the English Fleet at the Battle of laros shell in 1362 marking a significant shift in the naval power dynamic as the British before this battle had already won significant Naval victories and effectively controlled the English Channel well after lar roell that changed in the August of 1373 John of G together with John de monford the Duke of Britany embarked on a military campaign from calay commanding a force of over 9,000 men this operation a typical chevo which was kind of like a raid essentially initially was met with very little resistance as French forces were way too dispersed and spread out to effectively counter the English movements in some areas there were simply no French soldiers at all and the English just walked right in like they owned the place in fact if you ask them they did own the place well however as the English army went further south this was not the case the French began to gather their forces and adopted a strategy of avoiding direct engagement specifically under the directives of Charles I no instead they targeted smaller detachments of the English army that had become separated from the main group either for raiding or or foraging for food they set up ambushers they lied in wait they placed bait for them to come and take you would find the French hiding in little farmhouses waiting for the English to come and pick the food out of the fields out would come the French to well do whatever they needed to do well this tactic of shadowing and harassment culminated in October of that same year 1373 when the English found themselves completely surrounded and cornered against the river alier by four different converging French armies managing to cross at the bridge at mulon the English however suffered significant losses and it wasn’t just losses in terms of Manpower all their baggage and everything they had looted was gone the French just simply took it all back the dire situation for the English continued and continued to worsen as they moved across the harsh terrain of the limosine Plateau facing increasingly severe weather conditions thus the Army suffered substantial losses both human and equine with many soldiers compelled to abandon their armor and March on foot due to the exhaustion and death of their horses in fact food became so scarce that they would choose between transport and a meal the poor old horses well I can’t feel too sorry for them horse is pretty nice actually I’ve been to Kyoto don’t worry well by December the remnants of ga’s army had reached the relative safety of English controlled gany and ultimately arrived in Bordeaux albeit in a state of utter destitution having lost more than half of the 30,000 horses they had initially set out with so more or less this whole ordeal though it started out pretty well quite promising it ended up being a gigantic waste of time with a lot of dead men and a lot of dead horses albeit most likely very tasty ones well the deteriorating health of the black prince so him returned to England in early 1371 amidst the declining health of his father the Black Prince’s condition worsened leading to his death on 8th of June 1376 his father passed the following year on June 21st 1377 and the crown passed to the Black Prince’s young Second Son Richard II who was only 10 years old at the time as Edward of angulam his first son had already passed away now under the Treaty of Britany the English had expanded their territorial Holdings in France but these gains were progressively eroded by a revitalized French military strategy under leaders like dug gusin by 1380 England’s possession in France had been reduced to Cal and a few other minor ports Richard II succession at such a young age meant that no Regent was appointed instead governance was managed by successive councils a structure preferred to a potential Regency under John of gaun who it was pretty obvious to anybody who had been in a 5T radius of him he was very much eyeing off the throne for himself well Richard’s reign was marked by significant internal challenges I’ve already made a video about Richard and a video about The Peasants Revolt of 1381 I’m yet to make a video about his conflict with Scotland in 1384 to 85 but it is on the list but one thing you can be sure of is Richard was a busy boy his fiscal policies particularly the levies imposed to fund military Endeavors and fortify Cal contributed to the growing discontent with his rule in 1380 the Earl of Buckingham LED another expedition to support the Duke of Britany laying Siege to Nantes in November however the lack of expected support from the Duke of Britany and severe attrition forced Buckingham to lift The Siege by January 1381 with Britany compensating him quite nicely to withdraw well was around this time 1380 the death of Charles and duges glin left France without its strategic leadership and of course the young Charles I 6 ascended to the French throne the governance of France was managed by his uncles during a Regency continuing the war effort against England but hampered by quite a bit of internal strife and financial constraints in 1386 Philip II of burgundy failed attempt to invade England highlighted the ongoing financial and logistical challenge that France was facing exacerbated by failed tax levies and widespread resistance from the populace indeed to fund the war Wars of aggression they decided to tell the people we’re going to tax you and take more of your money the people did not like this and they got very angry seeing how angry the people were the government changed their mind crazy how that works isn’t it well this period saw both Nations engaging in more proxy wars such as the conflict in Portugal from 1383 to 1385 and while wars were still going on this reflected a broader slowdown in the pace of the Hundred Years War at least between France and Britain and it led to the period between 1389 and 1415 which is referred to as the second piece now the Hundred Years War already deeply unpopular due to the heavy taxes levied for its funding further fueled discontent among the English populace culminating in The Peasants Revolt of 1381 the Revolt was partly motivated by the financial strain by the ongoing War efforts Richard II who ascended the throne as a child displayed very little interest in war really he preferred instead to focus on the consolidation of power around his own court and favoring his close friends and advisers this approach of course alienated many including powerful Lords within his realm who thought that having a ruler who didn’t want to fight everyone next to him was a little bit of a strange idea well by 138 at an influential group of nobles known as the Lord’s appellant frustrated with Richard’s governance and his Circle seized control of the government for themselves they managed to charge five of Richard’s closest Associates with treason doing the socalled merciless Parliament although they took control of the council the Lord’s aalan struggled to muster the necessary financial support to rekindle the war efforts in France the tide turned for Richard in the year 1389 following the return of his uncle John of gun from Spain with gun’s support Richard was able to gradually restore his authority little by little cloring back the power he used to have well by 1397 some 8 years later he felt sufficiently strong enough to strike back against the Lord’s abalon effectively neutralizing the main threats to his power however this political stability was shortlived following John of gun’s death in 1399 Richard disinherited gaun son Henry of Bolingbrook who then returned from Exile quickly gathered support and ultimately deposed Richard declaring himself Henry IV well all of this internal turmoil in England it had repercussions Beyond its own borders that is for sure some good some bad depending on who you ask in Scotland the instability invited frequent border raids prompting military responses that culminated in the Battle of hton Hill in 1402 disputes over the division of spoils from this battle ignited a fierce conflict between Henry IV and Henry pery the first Earl of Northumberland leading to the near destruction of the Percy family by the year 1408 in Wales o glender capitalized on the chaos in England by declaring himself the Prince of Wales in 1400 leading a significant Rebellion against English rule the most severe of rebellions since Edward I’s conquest of Wales in the late 13th century in 1405 glind formed alliances with France and Castile leading a combined Franco Welsh Force deep into England while Spanish forces conducted their own Coastal raids despite the initial successes the glind wewer rising was eventually quelled by 1415 though it did temporarily restore a degree of Welsh Independence and to this day if you ask any welshmen about it don’t tell you at least any Welshman who’s ever opened a book and is literate it certainly left a lasting Legacy on Welsh nationalism now the mental breakdown of Charles I 6 in 1392 plunged France into a period of Regency dominated initially by his uncles and later by his brother Louie of valoir the Duke of oron the politics in France had become increasingly chaotic as a power struggle ensued between the Duke of or and Philip the Bal that’s b o l d not b a d by the way he was the Duke of burgundy upon Philip’s death his son John The Fearless inherited the conflict but found himself at a bit of a political disadvantage due to his more distant relation to the king in a drastic move John orchestrated the assassination of Louie of oron an act that quickly exposed his involvement and shifted political power to the armanac family who were adversaries of the burgundians by 1410 the internal conflicts in France had escalated into a fullscale civil war with both Burgundian and arac factions seeking English support to gain an advantage this ongoing Strife culminated in the capture of Paris by the burgundians in 1418 an event marked by the brutal Massacre of the count of armanac and thousands of his followers by a crazed mob within the city during this period England was not free from conflict either as it faced significant destruction from Pirate raids that impacted both trade and Naval operations under Henry IV England resorted to State sanctioned private teering as a means of conducting Warfare on the Seas indirectly applying pressure on its adversaries the strategy was reciprocated by the French who under Scottish protection launched similar raids against English coastal towns these raids combined with domestic and dynastic issues confronting both England and France led to a lull in direct military conflict between the two Nations for about a decade upon the death of Henry i 4 in 1413 his son Henry V 5 ascended to the English Throne meanwhile in France the ongoing mental illness of Charles I 6 meant that governance was effectively in the hands of the royal princes whose rivalries only deepened the divisions within the country as they were all kind of just waiting for Charles to go away and however they were going to make that happen well that wasn’t important well in 1414 Henry V received ambassadors from The Burgundian faction at his court in leester he also sent envoys to the French court with demands for territorial concessions and the marriage to Katherine of valoir Charles I 6th daughter in August of 1415 King Henry V of England embarked on a significant campaign by sailing to France with a force of approximately 10,500 men his initial Target was the port city of harlur which capitulated after a prolonged Siege on September the 22nd the extended resistance at harl consumed much of the campaign season forcing Henry to adjust his strategy instead of marching directly on Paris he opted for a raiding expedition across France towards the English held gal during this maneuver reminiscent of earlier English campaigns such as Cy Henry’s forces found themselves outnumbered and completely depleted of supplies compelling them to engage a considerably larger French army at the Battle of aun Court despite the numerical disadvantage and the logistical issues the English achieved a decisive Victory the French suffered a catastrophic defeat with a significant portion of their nobility about 40% killed in the battle concerned about the security risk posed by a large number of French prisoners who outnumbered his own troops Henry just decided to execute them all I mean that solves the problem technically well the successful English campaign continued with the capture of major Norman cities including Ken in 1417 and ruin in 1419 effectively bringing Normandy under English control for the first time in two centuries well things shifted again with the assassination of John The Fearless Duke of burgundy in 1419 leading to an alliance between Henry V 5 and The Burgundian faction this culminated in the Treaty of years in 1420 where Henry married Catherine of valoir the daughter of King Charles I 6 of France well also yes she was 6 years old at the time of the wedding but this is somewhat more elaborated on in my video about Richard II I’m not going to harp on about it here because every time Richard II comes up they always call him a PDF file well maybe he was but maybe you should just watch the Richard II video well the treaty this Treaty of tro is stipulated that Henry’s heirs would inherit the French throne and dolphine Charles iith was declared illegitimate Henry’s military in was continued with the siege of mayo in October of 1421 which proved challenging and extended over seven long months before the town finally surrendered in the May of 1422 it was around this time where Henry’s Health began to deteriorate and he passed away on August 31st 1422 in the royal castle at Vin kenes his death was followed shortly by that of Charles I 6th in October leaving the infant Henry V 6 as the successor of both the English and the French Thrones well Henry’s death marked a pretty critical moment with the Duke of Bedford appointed to oversee English territories in France the subsequent military campaigns particularly the Battle of vuil in 1424 showcased the continued effectiveness of English archers and led to significant victories that bolstered English positions in France of course Joon of AR’s arrival at the siege of or Leon in 1429 marked yet another turning point in the 100 Years War revitalizing ing the French morale and Shifting the momentum against the English the English had besieged oron since 1428 but lacked the forces to completely encircle the city Joan asserting Divine guidance and a fervent belief in the Dolphin’s rightful kingship bolstered the French resolve and led a spirited offensive that compelled the English to abandon The Siege once again if you want a lot more detail full video on jonar medieval playlist now following the lifting of The Siege Jon’s influence spurred the French to seize several key English strongholds along the banks of the lair River the reinvigorated French forces then pursued the English culminating in the Battle of p in 1429 it was at pay that French Cavalry decisively breached the English long Bowman’s defenses leading to a catastrophic English defeat where they lost over 2,000 men and John Talbert the first Earl of Shrewsbury was captured the victory paved the way for dorine’s procession to Rams where he was crowned Charles iith on July 16th 14 29 despite this Resurgence the French still face setbacks such as the unsuccessful Siege of Paris in September 1429 after which Charles retreated back to the lair Valley amidst these events Henry the 6th of England was crowned King in 1429 and also Crown King of France in 1431 in the occupied Paris however the English position in France weakened further when Joon Noak was captured by bantian forces at compen in 1430 and since subsequently rather handed over to the English she was tried and executed in 1431 but was posthumously pardoned in 1456 the English war effort suffered after Jan’s death particularly following the Congress of Aras in 1435 this Congress intended to negotiate peace faltered due to the very unrealistic English demands shortly after a significant political shift occurred when when Philip The Good the Duke of burgundy deserted the English Alliance to sign the Treaty of Aras with the newly crowned King Charles iith effectively returning Paris to French control of course this defection marked a critical loss of English influence in France now the death of John the Duke of Bedford in 1435 further destabilized English governance and he was later replaced by Richard plant Janette the third Duke of York during the intermediate periods of truce throughout the 100 Years War Charles iith utilized the time effectively to centralize and strengthen the French State this period allowed for significant reforms in military organization shifting from tradition feudal levies to a more structured and professional Army which could leverage its numerical superiority much more effectively Innovations in artillery during this time you know catapults trebuchet and the like also meant that the French could conduct seur with greater efficiency employing cannons as well to breach castle walls that previously would have with stod prolonged sieges by 1449 the French had managed to retake Rowan and momentum continued in their favor in 1450 at the Battle of for mini French forces under the command of the count of Clairmont and Arthur dermont ear of Richmond Del a critical blow to the English Richmond’s timely flank and rear attacks were pivotal as they came just as the English were close to defeating clermont’s forces the following year Charles iith focused on gany the last English stronghold in France Bordeaux then fell in June 1451 but was briefly retaken by the English under John Talbert in October of 1452 the English hold was definitively ended following their defeat at the Battle of castellon in July of 1453 the battle marked by the effective use of French artillery arranged by Gan buau resulted in heavy English casualties and also the death of tber although the Battle of castelon in 1453 is traditionally and frankly widely considered the end point of the 100 Years War the formal state of war between England and France continued until 1475 where they signed the Treaty of pikin this treaty which secured Peace by offering Edward IV of England a significant cash sum and even an annual pension effectively ended English claims to French territories now despite this the title of King of France continued to be claimed by English monarchs all the way up to the year 1803 a practice finally abandoned during the Napoleonic Wars as a gesture towards the exiled French King living in in England now the wars aftermath saw significant unrest back in England as land owners dealt with the financial repercussions of lost territories this discontent is often cited as the contributing factor to the Civil Strife that preceded it the War of the Roses which erupted in 1455 the conclusion of the 100 Years War in 1453 marked a pivotal moment in European history ending a chaotic and tumultuous era that had its Origins all the way back in the Norman conquest of 1066 when William the Conqueror Duke of Normandy became the king of England a complex feudal Allegiance was established as a vassel to the king of France through his holding in Normandy yet an equal as king of England Williams dual rolls planted the seeds of a centuries old angl French conflict it was this Duality that created inherent tensions as his successors on the English Throne inherited not just a kingdom but a contentious claim over a vast French territory well by the war’s end England was stripped of its expansive Continental dominions retaining only the port of gal until it was also lost in 1558 this dream of an angl French dual monarchy inv visited by several English monarchs as they sought to exploit their historical claims was irrevocably shattered of course the social and cultural impacts of this profound conflict were also wide ranging in England the war fostered a deep seated antipathy towards all things French some things never change H well despite this the Norman conquest of all these earlier times had definitely woven French into the very fabric of English society in fact the only reason why I’m speaking the way I speak and you are understanding me the way you do is because of the amount of French that was rammed into the English language whether you like it or not well French was the language of the ruling classes you see also law and high Commerce until the mid 14th century when more proper English began to reassert itself but you see by then English had changed so much of course it didn’t help when the plague happened and we had something called the Great vow shift but well once again a story for another video well by 1385 and that’s after the plague French was no longer used in the educational system signaling a shift towards linguistic and national identity albeit they didn’t go back to the old ways the repercussions of the war wer just limited to Territorial and linguistic changes but they were rather instrumental in reshaping the national identities of both England and France in France the devastation wrought by Decades of Warfare on French soil paradoxically accelerated the centralization of royal power moving the country towards a more modern State system the French monarchy thus began to consolidate power reducing the influence of feudal Lords and laying the groundwork for a centralized administrative and Military apparatus conversely in England the political and financial upheaval resulting from the military failures abroad so the scenes of internal conflict and led quite directly to the war War of the Roses this dynastic Civil War from 1455 to 1487 further drained English resources and stability just one war after another in fact it’s been highlighted by modern historians how opposition to the protracted war in France helped mold political culture in England fostering a growing of verion to military conflicts perceived as contrary to national interests but then again who decides what is contrary to National interest this sentiment became particularly pronounced as the economic and human costs of such Wars became deeply apparent without any corresponding benefits further complicating things during this period it was the devastating impact of the black plague which drastically reduced populations all across Europe France saw its population cut in half with Normandy and Paris experiencing more severe declines of course England too suffered significant population loss ranging from 20 to 33% the demographic collapse lapse exacerbated the already difficult economic situation also undermined the feudal order and strained the resources necessary for prolonged military campaigns in the broader context of State formation the 100 Years War exemplified the role of Interstate conflicts in shaping fiscal and administrative capacities the existential threat posed by the English occupation forced the French monarchy to innovate financially notably through the implementation of regular taxation that enabled the maintenance of a proper standing army this shift was a critical step in the evolution of the modern State reflecting a transition from feudal obligations to a more Central ized and organized bureaucratic system the necessity of defending the realm from foreign Invasion justify the expansion of state power an argument that gained acceptance even among the traditionally tax ofers French nobility thus the legacy of the 100 Years War is somewhat multifaceted influencing the trajectory of both England and France in their own profound ways it shaped National identities accelerated State centralization and contributed to the overall re-evaluation of governance and Military strategy in England setting the stage for a modern age in Western Europe and with the end of the Hundred Years War everybody went home and there were no more Wars ever again and they all lived happily ever after I suppose it’s always good to end a video on a joke don’t you think don’t worry there’ll be plenty more war and violence and bloodshed to come just you wait as it’s been quoted before you will live to see man-made Horrors beyond your comprehension sorry to give you nightmares now before I go I’d like to thank my top dear patreon subscribers being Stark Factory JC Jeffrey and Susan thank you very much and if you listener would like to support the channel too Kevin ruse a Federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the 9th to the mid1 13th century was centered around KV and founded by the varangian prince ruik this medieval State laid the groundwork for the modern Slavic Nations including Russia Ukraine and bellarus it was marked by the adoption of Christianity from the Byzantine empire in the year 9 8 under Prince Vladimir the Great given Rose was a major trade Hub also especially between the Baltic and the Byzantine Empire which helped in developing a rich cultural mix along with a strong political organization but it couldn’t last forever the state eventually declined due to internal disputes and was devastated by the Mongol invasions in the 13th century leading to the rise of regional Powers such as the grand duci of [Music] Moscow hello welcome to the channel if you are new here it’s good to meet you and if you’re coming back for more it’s great to see you again as always if you want to support the channel links to patreon are in the description otherwise a like a comment and if you inclined to do so subscribe helps YouTube know that more people need to see the video so thank you in advance now with all that out of the way let’s get on to our full history of kvan ruse please make yourself [Music] relaxed before the rise of Ken Rose in the 9th century the lands north of the Black Sea were predominantly inhabited by Eastern Slavic tribes alongside other Grooms what is known as the ilman slaves settled around Novgorod with the kichi in nearby territories stretching across West Dina Denia and the vulgar Rivers the finck chud tribe resided further north in the lagoda and carelia regions further toward the south in in the modern day KV area lived the poana with the drana and Sean neighboring them on either side of the Denia the vtii were to the Northeast and Beyond them lay lands transitioning from Slavic settled forests to the steps of the nomadic herdsmen the identity of the R whether they were varangians Norsemen or slaves has also been a subject of considerable debate and will likely continue to be so for a great foreseeable future current scholarly Focus has shifted from determining their exact Origins to understanding the peace Pace rather and nature of the Norse assimilation into Slavic culture this discussion of course is hampered by a scarcity of contemporary sources and it leads researchers to rely simply on archaeological findings descriptions by Foreign writers and later historical Legends and literature the debate isn’t just academic but it’s intertwined with the foundation of myths of modern nations in the Reg often colored by nationalist agendas now during the stalinist era and I know we’re jumping forward a little bit but it’s all relevant Soviet historiography emphasized the Slavic origins of the Rose to counteract the German claims of a Germanic for foundation of the Russian State more recently post Soviet nationalism has influenced scholarly and political discourse with some efforts to revise The Narrative of the Russ’s Origins actually being supported by the state apparatus this has led to the promotion of foundation myths that align with current national identities even finding their way into educational materials like those in Russia such political involvement in historical interpretation gives us a complex relationship between history identity and state policy and it just goes to show how the past can be reinterpreted to serve present day objectives always be on the lookout for that one now the question of the Roose Origins whether they were nor Raiders and Vikings known as varangians or just slaves is another topic of debate particularly against the backdrop of Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historiography the debate is known as the Norman versus anti- Norman controversy and it’s centered around the interpretation of historical sources linguistic evidence and archaeological findings noralist theories draw heavily on the primary Chronicle a key 12th century source for East Slavic history asserting that the varangians coming from Scandinavia played a critical role in the formation of the Rose State anti Norman of course challenge this view arguing that the arguing rather that the ruse were Slavic in origin predating varangian influence they point to the minimal presence of Scandinavian words in Russian and the quick substitution of Scandinavian names with Slavic ones in historical records as evidence for their stance well despite all the Divergent views there is significant evidence of the extensive Scandinavian settlement across Ukraine bellarus and Russia alongside clear Slavic influences in the Swedish language we really cannot deny them this suggests a more complex interaction between the Slavic and Norse people which ultimately led to a rapid assimilation of the varangians into Slavic culture should the Proto root have been no there is a broadly accepted View at least outside the ultra nationalist narratives of this cultural integration a transformation from Swedish to Slavic identity within a couple of centuries this perspective is supported by descriptions from contemporary observers like Aman abin fadlan lute brand of Crona and Leo the deacon who provide external accounts of the Rose ibben fadlan noted their distinctive physical appearance and attire Li brand Associated the rousi as he called them with the nor but based on physical characteristics rather than cultural or linguistic traits and Leo the Deacon referred to the roots as cians observing of adoption of Greek rituals all makes it a little bit more confusing doesn’t it well the primary Chronicle as we mentioned before offers a narrative that depicts the early interactions between the varangians Slavic and finnic tribes and also the kazars in the 9th century outlining a foundational moment in the history of Eastern Europe according to this account Slavic and finic tribes initially paid tribute to the varangians until 862 when they decided to Rebel wanting to govern themselves independently the subsequent appeal to the varangians for a prince to bring order to their rich but chaotic lands led to the invitation of the varangian rot including the brother those rurik cus and tror to rule over them this tale which Scholars considered to be crafted by 12th century authors to justify the rurikid Dynasty’s Rule and the Swift varangian Conquest established ruic as the progenitor of the ruric dynasty with Novgorod as his seat of power ruri’s Associates asold and deer embarked on a journey to zarad which was Constantinople in their tongue stopping at Kiev which was then under Kazar tribute and establishing their Dominion there their venture to Constantinople in the mid 860s marked the first recorded military encounter between the rose and the Byzantine Empire the surprise attack led by asold and deer resulted in significant Devastation in the suburbs and nearby islands of Constantinople various accounts detailed the destruction and the roose’s eventual Retreat attributed to either a storm the emperor’s return or perhaps divine intervention following prayers to the Virgin Mary this episode spurred the Byzantine patriarch Fus to send missionaries to the north aiming to convert the root and the slaves setting the stage for the christianization of the region which is a Saga on its own this narrative from the primary Chronicle while reflecting the historiographer traditions and political agendas of its Times shows the complexity of diplomacy War Warfare and the Region’s early interactions between the varangians the East slaves and the Byzantine Empire now what about rurick well his leadership certainly did Lay the groundwork for the expansion and consolidation of ruse territories although it was a task continued by Prince Oleg after ruri’s death in the 9th century H’s military Expedition Southward significantly extended Rose control culminating in the capture of GV which he declared mother of Roose cities his actions not only established G as a pivotal political Center but also shifted the focus of the Rose expansion and trade from nood to Kiev thereby securing key trade routes across Europe Ole’s conquest of neighboring Slavic tribes and the imposition of tributes expanded the kievan state’s influence directly challenging the gazar dominance in the region his successful subjugation of tribes such as the drans and the sarian marked a significant expansion of Rose control and managed to secure very lucrative resources along with their trade routes the expansion was of course strategic aiming to monopolize the rich resources and trade routes that pass through Roost controlled territories and there were plenty of them the prosperity of the kievan State under O’s rule was significantly boyed by its control over these major trade routs nor garod positioned on the northern trade routes link the Baltic to the rich markets of Central Asia in the Middle East Via the vulgo and across the Caspian Sea the southern route from the varangians to the Greeks facilitated trade between the Baltic and black sea and onwards to Byzantium which was a crucial link for trade with the wider Mediterranean world KV emerged as a crucial commercial hub benefiting from its strategic location along the denier and its connection to both East West Overland trade route with the Kazar in Central Europe and possibly serving as a key node for rinite Jewish Traders this extensive network of trade routes enabled the flow of goods such as Furs beeswax honey and of course slaves enriching the Roose State and funding its military expansions architectural Endeavors and of course further Urban Development the economic boom facilitated by these trade networks fostered a vibrant production of luxury goods and jewelry catering to the demand for such items within and Beyond the roof territories it’s also likely led to the development of Advanced Financial practices including credit and money lending systems further strengthening the economic foundation of the Kevan State under oleg’s rule the ru established a formidable state that leveraged its strategic Geographic position to dominate the trade routes of Eastern Europe and laid the foundations in general for the prosp erity and influence of the kvan root in the region the expansion of the Roose southwards in the late 9th century not only transformed the politics of Eastern Europe but also upended a balance of power across the pontic step and the Black Sea region the period marked a shift from the dominance of the kazars who had facilitated trade and maintained peace at at least a relative piece known as the Pax kazara Pax being the Latin word for Peace by the way to an Era of increased conflict and realignment among Regional Powers including the ruse byzantines magars which are the hungarians pegs and others the Rus challenged the Kaza control all over these key trade routs aligning and then conflicting with the Kazar to secure their own strategic advantages the Rivalry was part of a broader shift caused by the westward migration of turkic peoples including the magars and ban eggs following the collapse of the go kaganate these migrations introduced new military pressures on the kazak s and disrupted traditional trade networks contributing to Regional instability the Byzantine Empire of course was watching very closely and capitalized on this turmoil strengthening its commercial and political ties first with the Kazar and later with the root and other step groups the establishment of the theme of keron in Crimea aimed to protect Byzantine interests serving both as a defense against raids and a diplomatic bridge to the step The Fortress at sarel built with Byzantine assistance exemplified efforts to maintain the Kazar buffer against incursions by the Roose and other nomadic groups oleg’s campaigns in the land of the lower denesa and nepia rivers around the year 890 show the ongoing contest for access to the Black Sea and its trade routes the Byzantine manipulation of magar and panck movements against the Bulgarian Empire in 894 further shows this intricacy of the alliances and conflicts that were shaping the region in this time the forced migration of the magars into the Hungarian plain opened the Black Sea to Rose expansion marking a significant shift in the regional Dynamic the Roose raids into the caspan sea by the early 10th Century particularly the large scale expedition in 9913 signify a broadening scope of their Ambitions and also the decline of Kazar influence as the century progressed the Kazar ability to command tribute and maintain alliances dwindled with the byzantines increasingly aligning with the petan EGS against them relations between the Roose and the pegs were characterized by alternating periods of peace and conflict reflecting a fluid nature of Step Politics the panex Strat strategic position between the rose and Byzantine Empire made them pivotal in controlling access to trade routes leading to a pragmatic if uneasy coexistence punctuated by bouns of sporadic Warfare the aftermath of the Rose raid on Constantinople in 860 catalyzed a significant shift in Byzantine diplomacy and religious Outreach leading to the mission of sirel and Methodius to the slaves sent by the Byzantine emperor at the request of Prince rastislav of Moravia the brothers aimed to evangelize the Slavic peoples who at the time lacked a written language their creation of the glagolitic alphabet which later evolved into cilic in the first Bulgarian Empire and their standardization of old church slavonic facilitated the translation of the Bible and the drafting of Slavic civil codes this linguistic and Cultural Mission helped spread Byzantine influence throughout Slavic territories including Kevan Rose interwining Evangelical efforts with Byzantine foreign policy goals by the time Oleg had seized ke the ruse interactions with the Byzantine Empire had grown increasingly complex underpinning by a blend of commercial cultural and Military Dynamic the rose economy was heavily reliant on trade with bizantium necessitating an annual journey by the princes of keev along the Denia to the Black Sea bringing good to trade in [Music] Constantinople these Expeditions were crucial not only for the wealth they generated through exchange of goods such as Furs for silk Fabrics spices and wine but also for maintaining the political and economic stature of kievan Rose disputes between the rose and byzantines often escalated into military confrontations as evidenced by The Rose attacks on Constantinople in 907 interpreted by the primary Chronicle as an attempt to secure trade access while Byzantine records of this event is lacking the subsequent treaties in 907 and 911 between the two Powers show the military and diplomatic pressure applied by the Roose these agreements afforded The Roots Merchants quarters supplies and tax-free trading privileges in Constantinople illustrating The Leverage The Root wielded over bizantium due to the latter’s Reliance on their trade the primary Chronicles recounting of oleg’s demise is steeped in quite a bit of Mythology with his death actually foretold by a sorcerer to be connected to a horse maybe you’ll fall off the horse or be eaten by a horse who knows well despite oleg’s efforts to avoid this Fate by sequestering the horse he ultimately met his end through a snake bite said to em merge through the carcass of the horse okay well obviously this narrative Blends the themes of Destiny and inevitability of Fate which is common in historical myths but I don’t think we can really take it as historical gospel Perhaps it is but it certainly sounds a little far-fetched now following o Prince eigor ascends to the rule leading kievan Rose into a period of relative peace after the initial conflicts of course marking the continuation of the Rose leadership’s lineage and their engagements with neighboring peoples the year 941 saw eor spearheading a significant Rose military Expedition against Constantinople driven by disputes likely tied to trade privileges the timing of this assault conducted with a formidable Navy and pinic allies exploited the Byzantine Empire’s preoccupations elsewhere allowing the Roose to inflict considerable damage along the bosphorous Asiatic Shores the Byzantine response utilizing Greek Fire against the rose Fleet showcase the Empire’s Ingenuity and milit capability significantly diminishing the Ruth’s military and Naval strength and curtailing their advance and it was overall a shift in the dynamic since the 9911 treaty with banum Igor’s subsequent attempts to revenge and get his revenge rather involved rallying a vast Force comprising Slavic and panic allies alongside varangian reinforcements however the 944 campaigns against the byzantines culminated not in further conflict but rather a negotiated peace with the byzantines securing terms more favorable than in the past this treaty emphasizing trade regulations and Merchant cont conduct shows byzantium’s diplomatic Acumen in mitigating the threat posed by a potential Ru panek Bulgarian Alliance now regarding Igor’s Reign from his succession to the campaigns against Constantinople and the ensuing treaty it shows the evolving power dynamic between kievan Rose and the Byzantine [Music] Empire it shows the importance of trade and diplomacy in medieval statecraft as well as the shifting balance of power that characterized interaction between emerging States and established Powers I mean it’s pretty hard to go up against Byzantium but of course that depends on the time period Well after Igor’s death in 945 Olga assumed Reg y over kvan ruse steering the state until her son sviatoslav could take the throne around 963 vaslav’s rule heralded a period of remarkable territorial expansion for the Roose notably through conquest of the kazars in the pontic step and his own Ventures into the balans this era of expansion under spaas significantly altered the politics of Eastern Europe and it was the moment that kin Rose became a formidable Power by anyone’s definition sas’s decision to relocate the capital to per asit on the danu in 969 showed his ambition and a shift towards the Balkans and Byzantine Empire however his Reign while notable for its military achievements was also marked by a steadfast adherence to Pagan Traditions setting him apart from his christianized mother Olga this Divergence in religious paths between mother and son it highlights a bit of a transitional nature of the Kevan Roose during this period which one was pretty much always a kingdom that was caught between its pagan roots and this emerging influence of Christianity a veritable seesar of theologians spatas slaves untimely death in an ambush in 972 abruptly ended his expansionist projects his conquests as vast as they were lacked the administrative framework needed to sustain a unified empire it was all Brawn no brains I’m afraid and his oversight in securing a stable succession precipitated a destructive struggle among his sons this internal Discord culminating in the death of two of svat sl’s three sons fracture the unity of the Ken ruse and once again shows the fragility of the state amidst its own territorial expansion the aftermath of spatas sl’s rule illustrates the challenges of consolidating conquests into a lasting political structure and the critical importance of stable succession mechanisms if only people would learn write a proper will now the fratricidal conflict among his heirs didn’t only just weaken Kevan ruse internally but it diminished its standing and influence externally people were beginning to talk and of course this set the stage for even more political and territorial fragmentation the snowball was beginning to roll down the hill the emergence of the title Grand Duke within kvan ruse is not precisely documented yet it’s recognized that the importance of Kev principality surged following saslav the first demise in 972 the intense struggle for power between Vladimir the Great and yapul I showed once again kio’s dominance which persisted for another two centuries the Grand Duke of Kev wielded control over the territories around the city with his relatives ruling over other cities and pain tribute marking a period of consolidation and centralization of power within K rot which brings us to Vladimir the Great whose Ascent to power was dramatic atic fleeing to Scandinavia after his father’s death Vladimir Garner support from his Uncle Earl Haron sigon of Norway and returned with a formidable Viking Force to reclaim novaro and K from his half brother yabul this Saga of Exile Alliance and Conquest shows a volatile landscape of the time and the vital role of Martial prowess and strategic Alliance the christianization of Kevan ruse a pivotal moment in its history was a gradual process and just as complicated influenced by earlier religious developments in the region and diplomatic Maneuvers despite the significant role played by Vladimir in adopting Christianity from bazan the path towards christianization had much earlier roots from the first century christianization of Greeks in the Black Sea colonies to the influence of Aryan Christianity among the Goths the region had a multifaceted religious history notably several Kevan princes and princesses such as ol of KV had embraced Christianity indicating a gradual inclination towards the faith prior to Vladimir’s formal adoption Vladimir’s decision to convert to Eastern Christianity after dispatching emissaries to explore various faiths was influenced significantly by the Splendor and rituals that he observed in Constantinople his marriage to Princess Anna of bizantium further solidified the adoption of Christianity strategically enhancing his relations with banum and ensuring kev’s access to crucial trade routes the introduction of cilic liturgy in Greek translations and into the religious and cultural life of Kevan Rose facilitated widespread conversion and integrated them into the broader Eastern Christian tradition this transform formative period in kven Rus under Vladimir’s Reign not only aligned it with the Byzantine world but it also laid the foundational stones for its religious cultural and political future the adoption of Eastern Orthodoxy had profound long-term effects shaping the Region’s identity and historical trajectory well beyond the great schism of 1054 yaroslav the wise ascending from the position of Prince of Novgorod faced familiar contention for control over Kevan Rose after the death of his father Vladimir the Great in 1015 his Ascent to power was not without challenge however it was only in 10:19 that he managed to secure Kiev and took until 1036 for him to have Undisputed rule over the entirety of kvan ruse yaroslav’s tenure was marked by a strategic focus on enhancing diplomatic relations and aligning kvan ruse with the broader European politics notably through matrimonial alliances his efforts to bind his lineage with the ruling houses of Europe marrying off his progeny to the royalty of Poland France Hungary and Norway and his granddaughter eupraxia to Henry the fourth of the Ho Holy Roman Empire were aimed at bolstering The Prestige and influence of Kevan rose on the European stage his domestic policies were equally transformative his credited with promulgating the first East Slavic law code the ruskaya Pravda laying foundational legal principles that would govern the social and econ omic parts of the kievan ruse his patronage extended to the ecclesiastical domain as well with the construction of the St Sophia cathedrals in Kiev and Novgorod standing as Monumental endorsements of Christianity reflecting the spiritual and cultural flourishing under his Reign these architectural masterpieces were not only religious centers but also symbols of the states author it and its deepening Christian identity moreover yaroslav’s contributions to education and monasticism including the development of the KV PES lavra by his sons underscore his commitment to fostering a literate and morally guided Society his reputed establishment of a school system further highlights the value he placed on learning and the dation of knowledge advancing the intellectual capital of the Kevan roots for years to come thus his legacy is that of a ruler who adeptly navigated the challenges of his times steering Kevan ruse towards greater internal cohesion religious and cultural advancement and an elevated status within the medieval European order these succession Dynamics within kvan ruse followed by establishment by ruri’s lineage presented a complex and often disputed process that played a significant role in the state’s gradual fragmentation the mechanisms for transferring royal power among the rurikid rulers still remain somewhat ambitious with Scholars divided over the the existence or nature of any standardized succession system now some have highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the actual practice but others in our modern scholarship suggest the utilization of a rotor system now this system reportedly allowed princely succession to move among family members including from Elder to younger brother from Uncle to nephew and of course from father to son typically Junior dynasty members would Ascend through the ranks by initially governing less significant districts progressing to more affluent principalities once they had a little bit more experience and ultimately vying for control over KV which was the most coveted throne however the lack of a clear and effective succession system particularly after the reign of yaroslav the wise 1019 to 1054 is cited as a catalyst for the kievan roster’s incremental destruction the absence of structured inheritance RS led to pervasive family conflict and fostered an overall environment ripe for rivalry and contention the period saw the frequent use of familicide as a means to userve power a tactic that became especially prevalent among yaroslav the wise Descendants the yaroslavich the succession to Vladimir II M monar monomark rather as the grand Prince of Kev which seemingly bypassed the established rotor system ignited significant disputes among various princely factions including the oichi from sherov the monomo from peras and the isia slavich from turov and volinia and the poos princes the challenges of succession exacerbated existing divisions within the royal family and weakened the central authority of the grand Prince of Kev growing influence of regional Clans further eroded the unity and strength of the Kevan State setting the state for its fragmentation into a patchwork of semi-autonomous principalities the web of conflicts and alliances among the principalities of kovan Rose in the 11th and 12th century show the challenges that beset the state the competition for power was not only internal among the descendants of yaroslav the wise but also involved external threats for example the invasion of the cumans which dealt a significant blow to the Rose forces at the Battle of the alter River in 1068 the aftermath saw the grand Prince isias slav seeking assistance from Poland marking a period of heightened instability and incessant Warfare the Discord culminated in the Council of Lebec in 1097 convened by Vladimir II monar near sherov the council aimed to reconcile the conflicting factions but the peace was shortlived by 1130 30 the descendants of veslav the seir were exiled by MAV the great highlighting enduring power struggles notably against the oichi and the rostis laichi with seol II’s assession to Grand Prince of Kev exemplifying the turbulent power Dynamic onto the decline of Constantinople a pivotal trading partner which severely impacted Kevan ruse as well the trade route from the varangians to the Greeks crucial for the movement of goods and the prosperity of kvan Rus lost its significance as the Byzantine Empire waned and Western Europe established alternate trade routes now mlav the great was the last ruler to maintain a semblance of unity arguably within the kievan rules his death in 1132 heralded a period of Decline and Kev actually got sacked in 1169 by Andre bogol lupski of Vladimir symbolizing the fragmentation of the state to its worst stage the end of the 12th Century saw the proper disintegration of kvan ruse into this Mosaic of different little principalities but it wasn’t quite Frank bented enough the Crusades in 124 further isolated kvan ruse especially after The Fourth Crusade sack of Constantinople in 1204 rendering the denier trade route completely obsolete meanwhile the northern Crusades threatens the baltics encroaching on novgorod’s territories but Novgorod by contrast flourished by controlling trade from the vulga to the Baltic gradually gaining independence from Kevan rule by 1136 it had effectively become a self-governing republic expanding its Mercantile influence to the west and the north now in the west the unification of halik and volinia under Prince Roman movich in 1199 and the subsequent reign of his son Dano who sought support from the west and accepted a crown from the papacy marked the continuing evolution of the former territories of kav and ruse until of course the Mongol invasion which significantly reshaped everything the kum’s flight into ruse’s territories due to the Mongol Onslaught was a precursor to the widespread Devastation that would soon follow the Mongol invasion not only decimated the population through Slaughter and enslavement but also dismantled the Region’s economy devastating its Urban centers and agricultural production but the disintegration of Gan ruse paved the way for new political entities the principality of Galia volinia emerged in the southwest finally falling under the influence of the Geminids and becoming a part of the grand duy of Lithuania this entity which would later expand to include ruthenia and Samia heavily Drew upon ruse’s cultural and legal Traditions demonstrating the lasting influence of Kevan ruse on the region and in the Northeast the Vladimir zuell principality and eventually Moscow began to rise as significant centers of power gradually absorbing the traditions of kvan ruse and leading to the form formation of a distinct Russian State the novarad and sukov federal republics with their less autocratic structures remained somewhat independent until their incorporation into the expanding Grand duci of Moscow and if you want to learn about the grand duci of Moscow I suppose you’re just going to have to wait for the video on it well thank you very much for listening to this history of kaban ruse I hope it was all you expected I’d like to thank my top dear patreon subscribers that is Jeffrey JC and Stark Factory thank you very much lad if you’d like to support the channel you know what to do if batuta born in Tangier in 1304 one of History’s Greatest explorers having traveled over 75,000 miles across continents from North Africa all the way to China a journey that surpassed even the great Marco Polo his journeys which lasted nearly three decades are meticulously documented in his master work the rla or the journey in our tongue which offers a vivid Panorama of 14th century cultures governance and religious practices this detailed account provides invaluable insights into the Islamic World during the medieval period And it marks him as a pivotal figure for Scholars and history enthusiasts alike hello welcome to the channel are you new here welcome if you’re coming back it’s good to see you again if you like what I do and like to support the channel link to the patreon is in the bio otherwise help YouTube push my video out to a broader audience by liking commenting and subscribing now with that out of the way please make yourself relaxed and we can begin our biography of ibben batuta ibben batuta born on the 24th of February 304 in Tangier Morocco during the marinid dynasty coming from a family of Islamic legal Scholars or kadis as they’re called deeply rooted in the Berber tribe known as the lat his early life was steeped in the religious and judicial traditions of his community which adhered to the Sunni Maliki School of Islamic jurist Prudence this school was the predominant form of education and religious practice in North Africa during the time given his background and the traditions of his family it was natural for ibben Batu to be requested to serve as a religious judge by his fellow Malaki Muslims reflecting his deep engagement with the legal and also religious fabric of the society on June 14th 1325 he was at the age of 21 and he embarked on his first significant Journey a journey that many Muslims had taken a pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam this is known as the Hage this marked the beginning of a vast exploration that would not see him return to his native Morocco for another 24 years setting out from his hometown he expressed a profound personal Drive and a long held aspiration to visit the revered holy sights feeling a compelling urge that overpowered all other considerations despite the Deep sorrow of leaving his family behind his desire for adventure and knowledge about distant lands pushed him to take this journey alone without the company of fellow Travelers or the security of a car an what we have here is a section from his diary about this early days writing about the prospect of a lone journey and let me read it I set out alone having neither fellow traveler in whose companionship I might find cheer nor Caravan whose part I might join but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me and a desire long cherished in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries so I braced my resolution to quit my dear ones female and male and forsook my home as Birds forsake their nests my parents being yet in the bonds of life it weighed solely upon me toart from them and both they and I were Afflicted with sorrow at this separation end of Passage ibben P’s route initially took him across North Africa’s Coastline passing through regions ruled by the Abad Al wadid and haid dynasties his journey led him further on through the city like telemin vayia and Tunis where he paused for 2 months of course the path was fraught with risks primarily from Bandits which typically encourage travelers to move in Caravans for safety in numbers although most of the time this didn’t help much during his stop in saax he married briefly a union that ended quite quickly due to familial disputes back on the road again this marriage was the first among several that punctuated his travels because what’s a vacation without a love story allbe it cut somewhat short moving on to the spring of 1326 after traversing over 3 and 1 12,000 kilm ibben batuta reached Alexandria a significant Port within the Bak ml sultanate there he met shikh burhanudin and shikh midi two Pious Aesthetics who recognized his deep seated wonderlust Buran nudin notably predicted ibben B’s future as a globe Trotter urging him to visit his brothers in India sind and China and deliver his salutations after spending several weeks exploring Alexandria ibben Puda proceeded to pyo the mamlock sultanate capital and he stayed there for about a month choosing The Road Less travel to Mecca he headed towards the Red Sea port of idab however a local Rebellion at idab forced him to retreat back to Cairo where he decided to take a detour to Damascus that’s in modern day syrial Guided by a prophecy that he would only reach Mecca if he went via the Syrian route this route through Damascus also allowed him to visit significant religious sites including Hebron Jerusalem and Bethlehem safely managed by the maml authorities to protect pilgrims after observing Ramadan in Damascus he joined a caravan that took him to Medina home of the mosque of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad spending four days in Medina he continued on to Mecca the holy city where he finally fulfilled the rights of Hajj in November thus attaining the title of el but even with his pilgrimage completed his Wonder lost was not yet sad he’d gained quite a taste for being on the road and there was such a big world out there to see don’t you think he decided to opt against returning home and he set his sights on the illc carnate in the Northeast onward now on November 17th 1326 he departed from Mecca after spending a month in the holy city he then joined a substantial Caravan of pilgrims who were making their way back to Iraq who took him in as one of their own the journey took them North to Medina and then across the Naj plateau of naaf that was a two we journey undertaken primarily under the cover of night in Naf ibben Puda paid his respects at the mosum of Ali the revered fourth caleff choosing to leave the main Caravan which continued towards Bagdad iben embarked on a six-month detour that would take him deeper into the Landscapes of Iran his travels LED him from Naf to wasid and then along the tigas river towards Basra his journey continued across the rugged terrain of the Zagros Mountains to East fahan the Iranian city of many great temples and ancient cultures you can still find some zoroastrian temples in East fahan as well quite fascinating from there he ventured South to shiras a bustling City that had remarkably escaped the devastation that the Mongol invasions had brought upon many other Northern towns and indeed just like Isfahan shiras is still there going strong now after his time in shiras he crossed back over the mountains reaching B Dad finally in June of 1327 but the situation in Baghdad if you know a little bit about the Mongols was a little different not quite like the peaceful times to be had in shiras no it was a city still marked by the scars of hulagu kan’s destructive assault in 1258 indeed they were still recovering and the breadth of the devastation would indeed need a lot more time to recover now in Baghdad he encountered a one named Abu SED the last Mongol ruler of the unified IL carnate who was preparing to leave the city with a rather large [Music] Entourage I been joined this Royal Caravan for a time traveling with the man himself Abu SED before diverting northwards on the Silk Road towards to britz now to britz was important because at the time it was a significant commercial hub and the first major city in the region to have welcomed the Mongols and a Center of Trade it’s important an magnified by the destruction of nearby rival cities by the Mongols so it was I guess pretty intelligent foresight to invite the Mongols in now after a short period ibben left Baghdad once more in what was probably July taking that Northern route along the tigas river he visited mosul where he was hosted by the Ilan Governor then his travels took him to the towns of sitre and Mardin that’s near modern day Turkey near sjar he encountered a Kurdish Mystic who bestowed upon him some silver coins returning to mosul he joined a feeder Caravan of pilgrims heading back to Baghdad to converge with the main Caravan van that was destined for Mecca now he was facing some illness at the time and this didn’t help when you’re out in the middle of the desert traveling along those long hot roads but he managed to complete his journey back to Baghdad just in time to rest up for his second hge ibben spent a significant period in Mecca following this pilgrimage possibly remaining there from September 1327 until the Autumn of 1330 although the exact chronology is somewhat of a debate after completing either the 1328 or the 1330 Hage he traveled to jedar on the Red Sea Coast from there he made rather slow progress against challenging winds along the coast in a series of small boats called jalar his voyage finally led him to Yemen where he visited zabid and later taiz it was there where he met Malik muja Hadid Nur Alin Ali of the rasid dynasty now while he mentions a visit to SAA it is uncertain if he ever went there more likely he traveled directly from Tes to the vital trading Port of Ven arriving around the start of 1329 or 1331 oh and Arden was a huge Port from this bustling Port he finally set sail to zaa on the Somali Coast dedicating about a week to explore this and other locations among the salali seabed such as Cape guui his journey through the region often referred to in medieval Arabic texts as the land of the berbers or in their tongue balad Al barbar soon brought him to Madu in 1332 and yes that is indeed the modern city of madesu at that time Mogadishu was the place to be in subsaharan Africa a flourishing City a hub of Commerce and craftsmanship widely renowned for its highquality fabric that found its markets as far away as Egypt he found madesu under the rule of the Somali Sultan Abu bakir ibin shik Umar whom he described as a dark skinned man proficient in both his native Somali and Arabic the sulan court was a bustling hierarchy of officials including ministers legal experts military Commanders and of course a large team of Royal unic all boys to serve at his command continuing his voyage he sailed South to the Swahili Coast known to the Arabs as the land of the Zan belad alzan he made a brief overnight stop at the Island Town of mumbasa that’s in modern day Kenya which though small at the time was noted for its significance in later centuries his travels then took him to kilwa in present day Tanzania a pivotal center of the gold trade kilar impressed him with its architectural Beauty and the extensive use of wood and reads in its construction he described it as one of the finest and most beautifully built towns glowing recommendation while in kilwa he visited the court of Sultan alhassan ibin suain a descendant of the legendary Ali ibin al-hassan shirazi I know the Arabic names are a little bit long I’m doing my best with them he praised the sulan humility and piety and noted their well-planned City attributing its prosperity to such organization and good leadership he then recorded significant architectural Endeavors during the time including the construction of the huni Kua Palace and the expansion of the great Mosque of kilwa which was crafted from Coral stones and noted for being the largest mosque of its kind after his time on the sahale coast he awaited the monsoon winds to carry him back to Arabia he returned via Roman and the straight of horutz eventually reaching Mecca to perform the hge of 330 or perhaps 332 well this was his third pilgrimage to Mecha you think you’d get tired of it after a while I’ve been to Tokyo three times and I think it’s the most boring City well I suppose we have different motivations well after his third pilgrimage he was driven by a desire to serve unto the Sultan of Delhi Muhammad bin tluk in the aut of 1330 or perhaps 1332 he embarked on his journey deciding on an Overland route to India that would first take him through the sjuk controlled territory of Anatolia that’s modern day Turkey his route began with a crossing of the Red Sea and the Eastern desert leading him to the Nile Valley before he turned North to Cairo from there he traversed the Sinai Peninsula reaching Palestine and retracing some of the paths he had traveled in 1326 he continued North to the Syrian Port of lakia where he barded a genoise vessel that transported him and his companions to Alania on the southern coast of modern-day turkey from elania he journeyed Westward along the coast to antalia where he encountered members of a fitan Association these semi religious associations composed of young Artisans and headed by a leader known as an akill were dedicated to welcoming Travelers and were present in most Anatolian towns during the 13th and 14th centuries iben was profoundly impressed by the hospitality he received and would later stay in their hospices in over 25 towns across Anatolia his travels then took him Inland to agira the capital of the hamds where he spent Ramadan in June 1331 or perhaps May 1333 chronologies here are a little confusing his account of his travels through Anatolia in his Rea is notably confusing with descriptions of his Westward Journey from airer to Milas followed by a sudden 420 km Eastward leap p a gear deer to con and then continuing East to urum before inexplicably skipping back 1,160 km to B historians speculate that while ibben visited many towns in central Anatolia his recounting of the sequence might not have been accurate well during these travels he arrived in isik shortly after it had been conquered by orhan the Sultan of the nent Ottoman Empire in the absence of orhan his wife commanded the stationed soldiers ibben batuta spoke very highly of her noting her piety and excellent Hospitality he described Oran as one of the greater turkman Kings rich in wealth lands and military forces and almost continuously inspecting his nearly 100 fortresses to ensure their well and constant upkeep then to the capital of the Ottoman baleck the city of bua iben found a vibrant City expansive bazaars and wide streets encircled by the most Lush and beautiful gardens and flowering Springs his journey also took him to the baleck of Adin where the ruler gifted him a Greek slave marking the first time he acquired a servant in his travels this gesture was a conspicuous sign of the wealth and Prestige that ibben had come to command later he would acquire more slaves during his stays in cities like Ephesus ismir and Basir talk about souvenirs well after departing from copee iben chose a maritime route that led him to the Crimean Peninsula within the territory of the golden horde his initial stop was at the Port Town of a of yes that a of where he met the Amir of the KH he then traveled to majar a city he described as large and affluent leaving there he sought an audience with useg G’s traveling CT which at the time was stationed near me Mount rather btel he then continued northward towards bulgar marking the northernmost point of his travels where he observed the short summer nights that Were Striking contrast to the subtropical regions he was used to it’s not so strange though is a fact about me I have never seen snow in my entire life ever but that’s not really relevant isn’t it in bulgar iben expressed a curiosity about venturing further north into what he referred to as the land of Darkness a region in Northern Siberia perpetually covered in snow where the only mode of Transport was dog drawn sleds certainly a long way from home long long way indeed now he described a unique method of trade between the southern merchants and Elusive inhabitants of this land goods were left in an open snow field overnight and by morning Traders would find their items replaced with valuable fur skins without ever even seeing the traders who took the goods despite the Intrigue iben decided against traveling to this remote land seeing no personal advantage in it as he was not a merchant and there wasn’t many Islamic holy sites to see in Northern Siberia now Ian’s Journey then took him back to the Khan’s Court which had relocated once more to asron it was here that he learned of osbe KH granting permission for one of his pregnant wives princess bolun daughter of the Byzantine emperor andronicos III Pelle Loos to return to Constantinople for child birth seizing this opportunity iben managed to join the expedition to Constantinople stepping beyond the Islamic world for the first time arriving in Constantinople around the end of 1334 he met the emperor andronicos III Palos during his stay he visited the renowned haer sopia and engaged in discussions about his travels with an Eastern Orthodox priest sharing insights from his time in Jerusalem after spending a month in Constantinople he returned to asrian and traveled to the capital Sarai Al jadid where he reported his travel accounts to sulan EG Khan who was reportedly extremely interested to hear them all continuing his extensive Journey he passed the Caspian and arel seas to reach bukara and samand the latter of which he acclaimed as one of the grandest and finest cities and the most perfect of them he noted the dilapidated state of the city was however a lingering result of the Mongol invasion and subsequent conflicts from samrand he ventured Southward to Afghanistan crossing the daunting mountain passers of the Hindu Kush into India during this Crossing he reflected on the treacherous condition of the Hindu Kush known as the Hindu Slayer due to the numerous slaves and from India who perish there from the extreme cold it’s more about the elevation in the Kush now on September 12th 1333 he finally reached the Indus River marking his entry into the subcontinent his travels soon led him to the city of Delhi where he made the acquaintance of the sultan Muhammed bin tukl this sulan Muhammad bin tuuk renowned for his wealth within the Muslim world was a patron of Scholars sufis cadis viers and other key functionaries to strengthen his rule utilizing his extensive education from Mecca ibben secured an appointment as a cardi or judge if you remember in the Sultan’s Court however he soon discovered the challenge of applying Islamic lore beyond the confines of the Delhi Court where Islamic principles held quite limited sway the exact route that iin used to enter the Indian subcontinent is a little bit unclear but we do know that during his passage he was captured and robbed by rebels can’t all be safe Journeys right he likely did cross into India via the kyber pass and Peshawar which is known for its safety or perhaps a more Southern path and eventually cross the the Su ledge river near pakatan there he visited the shrine of Baba Farid before entering rajput territory he described hansy which he visited next as a beautifully constructed and densely populated city originally founded by a prominent non-muslim King named Tara in syn he noted the presence of the Indian rhinoceros along the banks of the Indus his time in Delhi was marked by these fluctuations in Fortune oscillating between privileged status and even accusations of treason a reflection of sulan Muhammad bin duk’s erratic disposition a planned departure for another hge was thwarted by the s but in 1341 an opportunity arose with the arrival of an embassy from China seeking permission to rebuild a Buddhist temple in the Himalayas appointed to lead the embassy iban’s Journey was marred by this attack from Bandits again which he was kidnapped and nearly killed despite these adversities he managed to reunite with his group within 10 days and continued to comat before sailing to calicot on the Malibar Coast here he had the opportunity to stay as a guest of the local ruler the zamarin during a mosque visit a storm caused the loss of one of his ships and the other departed without him later captured by a Sumatran King reluctant to return to Delhi and be deemed a failure iben sought refuge in the southern region of India under Jamal Udin ruler of the naath sultanate after the fall of this sultanate he left the Maldives where he was coerced into an Extended Stay appoint as the chief judge his enforcement of stringent Muslim laws such as public punishments for missing prayers and dress codes for women eventually led to political friction during his tenure in the Maldives iben married into the local royalty and took multiple wives consistent with his practices of marrying in the regions he visited after resigning as Chief cardi possibly under duress he continued on to Sri Lanka at the time named Salon visiting sacred sites before returning to the males his subsequent attempt to travel to China was interrupted by shipwreck and piracy but he did eventually make his way to the madurai alterate and from maduray he resumed his journey to the east reaching Chittagong where he planned to meet the revered Sufi Saint sha Jalal in selet after a month-long Trek he described sha Jalal as a revered figure living aesthetically alone in a cave and he was consulted by many for guidance kind of like an oracle or a wise old man out there on the far reaches of society after this meeting he redirected North to Asam then circled back to continue his journey toward China adhering to his role as an ambassador in 1345 he embarked on a remarkable Voyage to the sumod pasai suanet which is located in what is now AR Northern Sumatra that’s Indonesia by the way after a 40-day journey from sunor kaan he noted in his travel log that the region was governed by Sultan al-malik Al Zahir Jamal Adin a devout Muslim who not only diligently performed his religious Duty but also actively campaigned against the animists in the era animism is kind of like paganism you know worshiping the sun making little things out of animal bones think about that of course that’s a drastic and rather disrespectful way to put it but well I’ll do a video on animism later on I suppose now ibben patuda highlighted the wealth of Sumatra mentioning its abundance of Commodities like campur oron nuts cloves and Tin the prevailing Islamic school of thought in samudra pasai was that of Imam al-shafi similar to what iban batuta had observed among the m pop Muslims of coastal India the sultanate represented the easternmost reach of the Dar Al Islam at the time as territories further east were not under Muslim rule iben stayed approximately 2 weeks within the wooden walls of the town as The Sultans guessed before being provided with supplies and a ship to continue his journey to China from there he sailed for 21 days from Samra pasai to mul jaah identified as the island of Java or specifically the majapahit Java which was the center of a Hindu Empire at the time this Empire according to ibben spanned two months of travel distance and and rolled over regions including kakula and Kamara he noted the militaristic and economic activities of kakula and Kuala mentioning War junks a junk is a boat by the way like a ship warship used for pirate rating and Tall collection and the use of elephants for various tasks possibly crushing people who did not pay their tlls we don’t know no his next destination was KY luani in the land of the tesi where he met the local princess urua known for bravery and opposition to the Yuan Dynasty that’s the Mongol rule over China by the way the Yan Dynasty although described as an idolator or duja had the ability to write bismah in Islamic calligraphy indicating some familiarity with Islamic culture the exact locations of kyari and talisi are somewhat debatable the possibilities range from Champa which is present day Southern Vietnam to regions in the Philippines Japan and back on the island of Java the historical existence of UA and talisi has been questioned by Scholars like Sir Henry Ule and William Henry Scott who consider them to be possibly fictitious now from KY luari Ian finally reached tranjo in fuen Province marking another significant leg in his extensive track travels and finally he had arrived in China tranjo is Beautiful by the way you should go in 1345 he arrived in the city a thriving port in China’s fujian Province under the Mongol Le Yan Dynasty he quickly observed the absence of actual olives despite the city being named daun meaning Olive he noted the local artists skill in crafting portraits of newcomers for security purposes and lorded the area’s Craftsmen for their Exquisite silk and Porcelain additionally he was impressed by the local produce such as plums and watermelons and also very taken back by the convenience of paper money which the Chinese had had for quite some time he detailed the construction of large ships in tranjo and commemorated on Chinese culinary practices which included consuming frogs pigs and dogs a notable contrast to his dietary experiences elsewhere of course anybody who’s went to China will possibly say the same though it is extremely rare and rather look down upon to eat dogs in China before you comment now his accounts however contain a few inaccuracies such as misidentifications of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal a misconception also that porcelain was made from coal I don’t know where we got that idea but it was certain ly a misconception now in tranjo iben was warmly welcomed by the local Muslim Community led by a figure possibly identified as a fan Jang and the shik AL Islam who welcome him with traditional music and Ceremony this vibrant Muslim Enclave featured its own mosques markers and hospitals they were doing pretty well quite a vibrant little Community inside the city it was here that he encountered notable Iranians such as Buran Alin of kazerun and Sharif Alin from TI britz influential figures in the Yan administration of course the UN administration were quite in the habit of employing foreigners for jobs such as this they weren’t thinking it was a strange concept to get the best help regardless of where people came from now following his time in tranjo he journeyed South to Guang Joo staying with a wealthy Merchant for 2 weeks he then Revisited tranjo and traveled to fujo where he spent time with Zahir Alin and met other prominent Muslims including albri of serut who later financed gifts for the emperor Hong of yan he then went to H Joo and he described it as one of the largest cities he had ever seen and he was Charmed by its Scenic Lake and Lush Hills the lake of course he was referring to as W Lake which is one of the most popular tourist sites in Nang Joo he noted the city’s substantial Muslim quarter and stayed with a family of Egyptian origin his experiences in hjo were enriched by witnessing the sophisticated craftsmanship of Chinese Wooden Ships and attending a banquet hosted by the Yan administrator where he was entertained by the local con ERS and magicians traveling through the Grand Canal he admired the vibrant life along the waterways marked by Fields Orchards and elegantly dressed merchants and prests upon reaching Beijing he claimed the title of Ambassador from the Delhi sultanate and was invited to the Yan Imperial Court well despite his prestigious welcome he found that knowledge of the Great Wall among the locals was unfortunately elusive contradicting his belief that it was built by the koranic figure dul carain to contain Gog and Magog while his journey continued with their return to fujo and hjo before he finally departed from tranjo on a jour back to Southeast Asia unfortunately during this leg of his journey he was overcharged by the crew that’s right they ripped him off and it led to significant financial losses in 1346 after a considerable period abroad he decided it was time to go home to Morocco beginning his return journey in tranjo he made his way to kod here he contemplated revisiting Delhi to seek the favor of Muhammad bin tukl once more but ultimately resolved against it choosing instead to proceed towards Mecca as he traveled to Basra he navigated through the straight of Hutz and received news of the death of Abu say the last ruler of the IL carate Dynasty in Iran this significant political change was marked by ensuing Civil War as the region descended into chaos between the Iranians and the Mongols by 1348 he had reached Damascus intending to follow the path of his first harsh pilgrimage it was during this time that he learned of his father’s death and it wasn’t a recent death either he had died 15 years ago his journey became overshadowed by this somber news and indeed the somber theme of death did you catch the date that I mentioned 1348 the Black Death began to ravage all of the regions that he visited he paused in homes and witnessed the Relentless spread of the plague through Syria Palestine and Arabia reports on devastating death tolls emerg from places like Gaza and by the time he returned to Damascus in July the city was suffering greatly with daily death tolls reaching up to 2 and a half thousand his visit to Gaza revealed a depopulated city a stark Testament to the plague’s deadly impact thus his travels took him back to Egypt where he stayed at abusir and he heard that daily deaths in Cairo had surged to about 1,00 despite the Grim circumstances he completed another pilgrimage to Mecca reaffirming his faith amid this widespread suffering after his har he finally resolved that was enough I’m going back home nearly 25 years after he first left though his journey did include a brief detour to sardino in 1349 he arrived in Tanger via Fez only to discover the sad news that his mother had passed away just a few months [Music] earlier after a brief stay in Tanger upon his return to Morocco iben set off in 1350 for the Muslim controlled territory of Al andalo on the Iberian Peninsula this journey was initially prompted by the threat posed by King Alonso the 11th of Castile and Leon who had planned to attack jalta eager to defend the Strategic Port he joined a group of Muslims heading to the area however upon his arrival he learned that Alonso had died from the Black Death and the threat of invasion had pretty much receded consequently he turned the journey into a general sightseing tour and decided to make the most of a bad situation eventually making his way to Granada following his time in Al andalo he decided to explore more of Morocco his travels thus took him to Marakesh where he found to be be nearly deserted during the recent plague and the relocation of the capital to Fez in the Autumn of 1351 he then left Fez for sigil Mara located on the Northern edge of the Sahara it was here he prepared for a significant leg of his journey by purchasing several camels and spending four months there he Departed Ed with a caravan in February of 1352 reaching the salt mines of Taza after a mere 25 days Taza was indeed notable for its salt buildings constructed from slabs cut by the slaves of the masua tribe and its role as a commercial center flush with Marley and gold despite its economic importance iben was unimpressed noting the prevalence of flies and the poor quality of the water after a mere 10day stay in t Gaza the Caravan moved on to the Oasis of tasara where they prepared for the challenging Dre across the vast desert to oata Oat served as the southern Terminus of the trans Saharan trade route and had recently become part of the Malian Empire the journey across the desert to this city took them two months continuing Southwest iben followed a river he mistakenly thought was the Nile but it was actually the Niger leading him to the capital of the Malian Empire here he met Mansa sulan the king since 1341 iben was reportedly critical of the local Customs particularly the attire of female slaves and the Sultan’s daughter which he found inappropriate for Muslims he also expressed negative views about the local people’s manners and intellect not very nice isn’t it well he wasn’t going to hang around there for too long he then traveled over land to Ting buuk 2 which was then a small City though it would later grow in importance of course during this journey he encountered a Hippopotamus For the First Time noting the local fear and hunting methods for the animal and fun fact out of all the animals in Africa hippopotamuses killed the most people every single year that’s right not snakes not spiders not Lions hippopotamuses after a brief stay in timbuk 2 he traveled by canoe down the Niger River to GA an important commercial hub after spending a month there he joined a large Caravan headed for the OAS of deada while crossing the desert he received command from the Sultan of Morocco to return home he then set off for a Sigil Mara in September 1353 accompanying a caravan that included 600 female slaves and arrived back in Morocco in the early days of 1354 after his return he was encourage enaged by Abu inan Faris the marinade ruler to document his extensive travels he then dictated his experiences to ibben Jay a scholar he had met earlier in Granada the resulting manuscript translated as a masterpiece to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the marvels of traveling I’m not going to try to read the Arabic name but it’s commonly known simply as the travels Rea and it remains a significant work in Arabic literature interestingly ibben did not make notes or keep a journal during his 29 years of travel relying instead on memory and the manuscripts of previous Travelers when recounting his journeys to ibben Jay this has led to more than a bit of skepticism skepticism rather regarding the authenticity of his accounts for example descriptions of Damascus Mecca and Medina closely resemble those from the work of ibin jubayer a traveler who wrote down his account more than 150 years earlier additionally passages describing Palestine closely mirror the accounts of the 13th century traveler Muhammad Al abari Scholars have questioned whether iben visited all of the places he described they suggest that to provide a more comprehensive description of the Muslim world he might have Incorporated a little bit of secondhand information or simply borrowed from some earlier accounts the skepticism extends to his supposed travels to places like the vulgar River Yemen and parts of Anatolia which some Scholars not all but some have said are quite unlikely there’s also contradictions in his accounts such as his Claim about the conversion of the Maldives to Islam by Abul bakat the Berber which differs from the Malian official history that attributes the conversion to Miracles performed by a tzi named maana shik yusf Shams Udin moreover some of his descriptions of China are thought to be plagiarized from other authors or perhaps could just be based simply on common knowledge or popular accounts of the time rather than firsthand experience in fact his writings on China share more than a few similarities with those of Marco Polo leading to further doubts about his presence there well all in all despite all the controversies I think we can all agree that his account the realer the travels remain a quite a valuable cultural document that offers quite a bit of insight into the 14th Century World capturing details of the places he visited or learned about it provides a vivid depiction of diverse cultures though colored by his own cultural perspectives and biases but ay we’re all human aren’t we his observations on local Customs especially regarding gender roles in attire reflect both his personal astonishments and the broader medieval Muslim world view his life after completing the reala is less document we know that he served as a judge in Morocco based on his scholarly and travel experience until his death in 1368 or 69 thus his travels encompassing some 75,000 miles across the known Islamic world and Beyond make his Realo an indispensable record of the time despite any questions surrounding its accuracy of course we could perhaps question it a little more to the point where it’s completely ruined but the last thing I want to do is ruin anybody’s good time I would like mmed II commonly known as mmed the Conqueror a towering figure in both Turkish history and world history in general born in 1432 he ascended to the ottoman Throne at the tender age of 19 and swiftly demonstrated his prowess by capturing Constantinople in 1453 this Conquest not only established mmed as a preeminent leader of his era but also transformed the Ottoman Empire into a formidable transcontinental power but beyond his military successes he was a patron of the Arts and an advocate for Science and education fostering a period of cultural flourishing that integrated diverse traditions and knowledge from across the continents hello and welcome to the channel a unque new here well if it’s your first time it’s good to meet you and if you’re coming back well welcome back to the party as always if you like what I do and you want to support the channel link to the patreons in description or if you want YouTube to get their act together and push the video out to a bigger audience like comment and subscribe certainly helps push them in the right direction now without further Ado take a deep breath make yourself comfortable we’re going to learn all about mmed the Conqueror mmed II was born on the 30th of March 1432 in Ed the then capital of the Ottoman State his father Sultan Murad the second ruled from 1404 to 1451 and his mother was hum hatun A Slave whose Origins are admittedly not as well documented at the age of 11 mmed was sent to Amasia with his two laas which is a Turkish word for advisor to govern the region a customary practice for young ottoman princes to gain administrative experience out in the field during this time he received a rigorous Islamic education under several different teachers notably his mentor mola gurani his education deeply ingrained him in Islamic values and the belief in his duty to conquer the city of G Constantinople a mission also heavily influenced by aksham sadin Murad II concluded a peace treaty with Hungary on the 12th of June 1444 and subsequently abdicated to the throne in favor of his young son mmed thei in July or perhaps early August of the same year however mcm’s initial Reign was brief after the Hungarian forces broke the truce by invading ottoman territory maget faced a crusade led by the formidable Warrior John hunadi despite appeals for his father to return and lead the army chroniclers of the 17th century claim that mmed II issued a challenge to Murad II prompting him to return to power Murad reassumed the throne and defeated the hungarians at the Battle of Vana on the 10th of November 1444 although historians like Hal in Alek argue that sand Dar Hal par who was the one who has persuaded Murad II not to come back rather than mmed II’s appeals now mmat II then governed Mana from 1446 until his father Murad II’s death in 1451 retaining the title of Sultan now upon becoming Sultan again mmed quickly dealt with the threats from Ibrahim II of karaman and of course the swads of internal revolts he was facing alongside threats from the byzantines to the north who considered supporting an Automan claimant Oran against him he reascended to the ottoman throne in 1451 and focused intensely on strengthening the ottoman Navy and preparing for an assault on Constantinople he enhanced his Navy controlled by completing the construction of the Rumi hisari fortress on the European side of the Bosphorus complimenting the existing anad dohari Fortress built by his great-grandfather bazid I on the Asian side this strategic positioning allowed him to exert full control over the straight and he certainly did just that in the way of imposing tolls on passing ships certainly not a bad way to make money in peacetime there was a Venetian ship that failed to stop that was until it was destroyed with a single Cannon shot resulting in the beheading of all survivors except for the captain who was impal as a gruesome warning to [Music] others certainly the Ottomans showing their kindness towards prisoners of War while during his campaign magm Med’s spiritual guide akam sadin yes the one AF mentioned discovered the tomb of Abu a Al Ansari a companion of Muhammad who died during an earlier Siege of Constantinople maget constructed the aop sultan mosque at this site to signify the conquest religious significance and his role as a gazy now jumping forward a little bit to perhaps the most pivotal year in not just ottoman history but European history Christian history perhaps even world history very arguable but we jumped to 1453 when mhmed initiated the siege of Constantinople with an army estimated between 80 to 200,000 soldiers equipped with a over 70 large artillery pieces and a Navy compromising of 320 vessels primarily transports and Supply ships the naval blockade was arranged from Shore to Shore at the entrance of the Bosphorus in a Cresent formation to cut off any Aid to the City by sea magmar’s forces surrounded the city both by land and water routes with the age beginning in early April despite the formidable defenses of the city being the theodosian walls including the boom chain blocking the Golden Horn and protected by warships mcm’s Innovative strategy on April the 22nd involved simply taking the ships out of the water and transforming them over land on a series of lubricated logs bypassing the chain and stretching the city’s defenses thinner scaring The Living Daylights out of the people of Constantinople watching all of this happen from the walls well The Siege culminated on the 29th of May 1453 with the fall of Constantinople after a grueling 57 days now just speaking about this for the last couple minutes does not pay to Justice and I made a full video on the siege of Constantinople a few days ago yes spoiler alert uh our side lost well depending on who listening but if you want to know the Gory details and when I say the Gory details I certainly mean it then go and have a look in my medieval history playlist you’ll find the video on the fall of Constantinople now let’s continue back to mmed mmed moved the ottoman capital from adrianople to Constantinople marking a significant shift in the Empire’s focus upon entering the conquered City mcmed allegedly quoted the Persian poet Sardi reflecting on the transient nature of Empires and of course ever since the city of Constantinople is now known as Istanbul go to Turkey you’ll see it uh it’s been 570 years now following this Victory maget declared himself Caesar of the Roman Empire a title based on his control of of Constantinople traditionally considered the heart of the Roman Empire since 330 a of course Rome at the time was too busy being sacked by Visigoths and vandals and all manner of Barbarians so the capital was generally a little bit safer away from all of that well you see this claim while unrecognized by the Catholic Church and pretty much all Western entities found some acknowledgement within the Eastern Orthodox Church mcmed solidified this by appointing gadius skolarus a Critic of the West as The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople who in return recognized mehmed’s rule granting him a semblance of Rel religious legitimacy now Constantine VI 11th the last Byzantine emperor died during The Siege and he left no heirs magad took these surviving princes of the Byzantine royal family into his service renaming them and integrating them into the ottoman administrative and Military hierarchy thereby absorbing the remnants of the Byzantine Authority mcmath’s conquests continued however with the subjugation of the desperat of Mara and the much smaller Empire of trebizond effectively extinguishing the final vestages of Byzantine Rule and expanding ottoman Dominion If the fall of Constantinople was putting the fire out certainly morer and Trevon was throwing a bucket of water over the ashes we may put it that way now this capture of Constantinople was not only a pivotal military Victory but it was significant for its cultural and historical significance bedly leading mmed to later boast at the ancient sight of Troy that he had Avenged the Trojans by Conquering the Greeks following the successful seizure of Constantinople mcmed didn’t feel like stopping and he turned his attention to Serbia which had been a vassal state of the Ottomans since the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 the connection between the Ottoman Empire and the Serbian death desate was further Complicated by familial ties as one of Murad II’s wives namely Mara banovic was Serbian this connection was used by mmed thei as a pretext to lay claims on the Serbian territories by 1454 after durad banovic the ruler of Serbia formed an alliance with Hungary and was inconsistent with his tribute payments that’s a big no no megmed saw an opportunity a cassus belly to assert ottoman power this led to the ottoman Army marching from aded to Serbia laying Siege to key Serbian strongholds like smid Avo and the vital mining Center of Nova bir the conflict then escalated to a significant battle at Belgrade in 1456 where John hunadi led the defense during The Siege despite the UT’s initial gains The Siege was ultimately unsuccessful and peace prevailed until the fall of Belgrade in 1521 under sulan the Magnificent what a name now after The Siege the Serbian ruler durad brankovic briefly regained control over parts of Serbia but after his death in 1456 the region quickly succumbed to internal strife and ottoman influence mehmed’s Ambitions also extended to the mara the southern part of Greece which bordered the southern ottoman Hans the region was under control of the brothers Demetrios and Thomas Palos siblings of the last Byzantine [Music] emperor the instability in Mora and the failure of the pet logos Brothers to fulfill their obligations led to an Albanian Greek Revolt which they attempted to suppress with the help of Ottoman forces by 1460 mcmed directly intervened by invading Mora leading to the Swift fall of the Byzantine stronghold of mistra the conquest of Mara was completed with the capture of monasia and the subjugation of the manai peninsula which subsequently came under Venetian control the conquest of the EMP Empire of treazon on the Black Sea Coast was meed’s Final Act in eliminating the last remnants of Byzantine rule let’s talk about in a little detail the Strategic City had formed various alliances including marital ties with the ruling dynasty of the AK koyunlu and Promises of military support from neighboring Turkish bays and Georgian princes despite these alliances the city fell to mcmed in 1461 after a brief Siege marking the final nail in the coffin of the Byzantine Legacy now all in all his Conquest not only expanded the ottoman Empire’s territory but also demonstrated his strategic skill and determination to strengthen Islamic rule this of course earned him the title of the Conqueror he earned this because of all the Conquering he was doing these military campaigns significantly altered the political landscape of Southeastern Europe and the near East setting the stage for further ottoman expansions under his successors and now we go to a character that may be a little bit Familiar of course you may already know that mmed went to war with Dracula of Romania that’s right so since the early 15th century the odans had been attempting to gain control over vakia strategically situated as a buffer zone between their empire and the kingdom of Hungary despite several attempts to install a pro- ottoman ruler each effort ended in Failure malakia was viewed as a critical State and while Ottomans expected a yearly tribute they typically refrained from deeper interference in its governance this delicate balance was part of a broader struggle between the major Balan powers of the time the Ottomans and the kingdom of Hungary each buying to turn bakia into a vassel state in an effort to finally secure vakia and prevent it with aligning from Hungary the Ottomans released Vlad III Dracula and his brother Ru the handsome who had been held as political hostages since their youth this move was calculated to install Vlad the third who had a legitimate claim to the wakan throne as a favorable ruler to the ottoman interests however vlad’s Reign was quickly challenged by John hunadi the Regent governor of Hungary who supported vladislav II of the Rival desty Clan and restored him to power forcing Vlad to flee to mavia and then finally to hunger now while he was there in Hungary vlad’s deep understanding of the Ottoman politics and his fervent opposition to the Turks caught the attention of hunadi attempts were made to utilize vlad’s expertise against the Ottomans but personal differences and you know politics complicated these interactions the year year 1456 marked a turning point when the Ottomans laid Siege to Belgrade a critical Frontier Fortress hunyadi initiated a Counterattack and Vlad took his opportunity to reclaim his leadership in wakia by overthrowing vladislav II this maneuver was a clear indication of vlad’s determination to regain and maintain power completely independent of external influences now in 1459 some 3 years later escalating tensions LED Sultan mcmed II to demand from Vlad III tributes and he wanted back pay specifically 10,000 ducats and 500 military recruits Vlad not only refused the demands but also executed the ottoman envoys in a brutal display and reportedly they had sent a few envoys to tell Vlad to hand over the money and the recruits to which he asked them why are you wearing your hats inside be polite and take them off now when they REM marked that this is a part of our religious dress we do not take them off he made sure that they would never have to take them off again by simply nailing the turbin to their heads and sending them on their way that’s right certainly knows how to assert his Defiance against the ottoman Dominion the conflict intensified when mmed dispatched Hamza parha to negotiate or potentially assassinate Vlad however Vlad anticipated these Maneuvers and orchestrated an ambush that resulted in the massacre of the Ottoman contingent and of course the invention of the Kebab with the impalement of Hamza Pasha by the winter of 1462 blad III’s aggressive campaigns against against the Ottomans reached a peak he launched a scorched Earth raid across the danu into Bulgarian territories employing Guerilla tactics and even disguising himself as an ottoman to infiltrate the enemy camps his brutal tactics were vividly described in his correspondence claiming the lives of nearly 24,000 Turks and bulgarians now mmed redirecting his efforts from a Siege in Corinth launched a retaliatory Invasion into alario despite significant suffering and losses in a surprised night raid led by Vlad which aimed to assassinate the sultan himself mcm’s forces did eventually Prevail vlad’s stor resistance while militarily significant failed to Garner sustained local support particularly from the boars and his ally Stephen III of mavia who ultimately turned against him this internal descent within wakia facilitated magmar’s reinstatement of Radu as the ruler of wacho effectively ending Vlad III’s reign of course if you want to know more about Vlad TZ Dracula you need only look on my I think it’s in the biography section and you should find a full video on him anyway following these tumultuous events Vlad III took refuge in Hungary but his fortunes waned and he was soon imprisoned by Maas corvinus based on the dud ious charges of treason this period marked the end of his direct influence although his legacy as a Fierce and implacable leader against the Ottomans endured in folklore and history no doubt everybody has heard of him more than they’ve heard of mcmed at least in my parts of the world now during the mid-5th century following the death of lar rankovic in 1458 a succession crisis triggered a civil war among his erors the internal strife provided an opportunity for the Ottoman Empire which had long seen Serbia as a strategic asset to solidify control over the region the power vacuum and ensuing conflict culminated in the ottoman conquest of Serbia in 1459 to 60 the next Regional Target was Bosnia where Stefan tomasovich ascended to the throne in July of 1461 following the death of his father Stefan Thomas facing the ottoman threat tomasovich sought alliances with Hungary and appealed to Pope pasus II for Military Support anticipating the ottoman invasion the ottoman Advance into Bosnia was thusly Swift with mmed leading the forces that overran the kingdom by 1463 the capture of key strongholds like the Royal City of babak and the subsequent fall of other fortresses marked the definitive ottoman control of Bosnia tomasovich was captured and executed and the region was absorbed as the westernmost province of the Ottoman Empire tensions escalated in the region when an Albanian slave fled from the ottoman commander of Athens to the Venetian Fortress of coron converting to Christianity and taking a significant amount of treasure this in ENT in 1462 led to a series of military confrontations ottoman forces commanded by tanoglu om Bay newly captured the Venetian stronghold of lanto in retaliation the venetians under leadership of the captain general of the sea Alvis loridan fortified their own positions in Moravia sparking further Clash es with ottoman forces the conflict intensified as the venetians attempted to secure their positions in Greece and Mora they restored fortifications at the ismos of Corinth and faced continuous skirmishes with the Ottomans despite initial success Venetian forces suffered a series of setbacks culminating in a significant defeat at Acro Corinth which for for them to retreat back in Bosnia Hungarian forces under Matias corvinus managed to capture several key fortresses including the capital of jaxi though this success was temporary as ottoman forces soon regained the upper hand the maritime engagements also highlighted the Strategic importance of the dardel straet prompting mehmed I first to enhance Naval defenses by constructing new shipyards and fortifications despite Venetian efforts to block the straight and disrupt ottoman Naval operations their Naval forces faced defeats and the campaign gradually lost momentum well either way the protracted nature of the military campaign took a toll on both both sides by 1467 Venetian military commander veto Capello died after a series of unsuccessful military engagements the death of Pope pasus II the previous year had already dampened the crusading spirit the ongoing conflict combined with the plague and other setbacks gradually wore down the Venetian resolve and resources during the latter half of the Middle Ages after the decline of the seljuk alterate a plethora of turkman principalities known collectively as the Anatolian bics sprouted all over Anatolia among these the CARiD centered around what is now modernday caraman and gona emerged as a significant Force however by the end of the 14th century the Ottoman Empire began to assert its dominance over Anatolia significantly diminishing the carin’s influence and Prestige the internal Dynamics within the CARiD Dynasty during the reign of Ibrahim II were marked by familial Strife over succession isach of karaman designated as ibrahim’s Heir and governor of CIF faced challenges from his younger brother Pier AMT who declared himself the Bay of karaman in cona following ibrahim’s death in a western City in 1464 the Bic experienced a period of turmoil and contestation for the throne with support from uzun Hassan isach initially managed to secure his position as leader however his Reign was shortlived as Pier AMT seeking assistance from Sultan mmed II promised territories to the Ottomans that isach had refused to relinquish so with ottoman backing P AMT overcame isar at the Battle of Dak bazari forcing isach to retreat back to CIF pyramid’s Victory though initially aligning him with ottoman interests soon led to regret as he tried to reclaim his seated territories during an ottoman Western campaign his efforts however were in vain as Sultan mcmed swiftly reached captured karaman and G in 1466 with pamet narrowly escaping managing to run away to the east subsequent ottoman consolidation in the region was largely facilitated by gik Ahmed Pasha who captured the coastal areas of the camid realm this conflict extended when Pier Amed and his brother kasim sought Refuge with uzen Hassan leading to further Regional instability in 1472 uzun Hassan’s forces the aunu disrupted Anatolia setting the stage for the significant Battle of OTL belly in 1473 where Sultan mcmed decisively defeated uzun Hassan curtailing AK yunu influence despite all the temporary successes including a brief recapture of karaman with aunu Aid pure ahmed’s fortunes dwindled following the ottoman Victory near bahir his blight worsened upon learning that his family had been moved to istan buul leading to his eventual Retreat to aunu territory where he received a f in babbert and died in 1474 the unification of the Anatolian bics under a single rule was initially achieved by Sultan Basit the first over 50 years before mcmetz II’s Reign however this unification dissolved after the battle of anura in 1402 mmed later took it upon himself to restore and expand ottoman dominion over these Turkish States setting the stage for future expansions even into [Music] Europe now his Eastern policies were also heavily influenced by the AK cunu under uzun Hassan who had established strong connections with Christian entities like that Empire of Trevon and of course the trading power of the Republic of Venice they even formed alliances with the kinit viewing the AKO yunu as a Potential Threat he’d already dealt with them and his engagements in eastern Anatolia were crucial for securing ottoman interests and reducing the influence of the duraman tribal federations Allied against him in 1456 Peter II Aon marking a shift in mavian politics agreed to an ottoman demand to pay an annual tribute of 2,000 gold to Cuts thus becoming the first mavian ruler to formly accept Turkish terms and acknowledging a level of sarenity this move by Peter III aimed to secure moldavia’s Southern borders from potential incursions well following Peter III his successor Stefan the great took a starkly different approach that being he outright rejected anything ottoman this Defiance marked the beginning of of an error characterized by Fierce conflict as the Ottomans did not appreciate his harsh denial of anything to do with them and they wanted their money stepan aimed to extend his influence over wakia and supported his preferred candidates for the wakan throne which fueled ongoing conflicts involving various wakan rulers and their backers from Hungary the Ottomans and malavia itself the tussle led to an ottoman punitive Expedition under hadim paraa in 1475 aimed at curbing Stefan’s interventions this resulted in the Battle of vas Loui where Stefan inflicted a crushing defeat on the ottoman forces hailed as one of the most most significant forces of Christian armies against Islam with ottoman casualties reportedly exceeding 40,000 according to Venetian and polish sources Mara brankovic the Widow of Murad II reportedly told a Venetian Envoy that this was the worst defeat the Ottomans had ever suffered Pope 6us IV recognized Stefan’s contributions to the Christian cause by bestowing him the title Athleta Christi the champion of Christ acknowledging him as a staunch defender of the Christian faith in response mmed assembled a formidable army and invaded malavia in the June of 1476 while also orchestrating Crimean tartar raids into the region to slowly try to chip away at stepan’s position the conflict reached a crucial point when stepan managed to draw the main ottoman forces into a forest which he then set on fire causing significant ottoman casualties that’s one way to do it well despite initial successes in repelling the ottoman assaults the mavian forces ultimately faced defeat in a fiercely contested battle noted for its high casualties on both sides the battlefield known as Vala Alba or akere which translates to the white Valley reportedly derived its name from the bones of the Dead left stwn across it which is probably the most metal name for a place now despite this setback Stefan managed to retreat and regroup in the Northwestern part of mavia and even into the Polish Kingdom continuing to pose a significant challenge to ottoman incursions although the Ottomans captured major mavian territories including the capital taravista they failed to take key strongholds such as suca n and hotin the ottoman forces hindered by ongoing mavian Guerilla attacks supply shortages and of course an outbreak of plague eventually decided to retreat and they left [Music] mavia simultaneously Steven also played a pivotal role in wakan politics by aiding his cousin Vlad in reclaiming the wachan throne for the third time in 1476 following vlad’s death later that year stepen continued to influence wakan politics by supporting various candidates for the throne maintaining his influence in the region for the years to come now back to the situation on the Crimean peninsula in the Early Middle Ages it was inhabited by a group of turkic peoples known collectively as the Crimean tatars following the disintegration of the golden horde under the impact of timur’s Conquest in the 15th century the Crimean tatars established Lish the independent Crimean carnate this new state was founded by Hassel I gir who claimed descent from the legendary gasan but everybody can claim descent from him on account of him being rather busy with his conquests anyway the Crimean tatars controlled the vast steps stretching from the Kuban River To The denesa River now despite their dominance over the steps they were unable to seize control of commercial towns along the Crimean Coast known as gazaria these towns have been under the rule of the genes since 1357 now how does this relate to the Ottomans it’s a long way away well you see the political landscape shifted significantly after the ottoman conquest of [Music] Constantinople the fall of this city disrupted the genu communication lines and weakened their control over gazaria as a result now sensing an opportunity to Slither in the Crimean tatars sought assistance from the Ottoman Empire to capture these towns in response the Ottomans led by GK Ahmed Pasha launched an invasion in 1475 that successfully bought kafa and other genuis towns under ottoman control following this Conquest the Ottomans solidified their influence over the Crimean carnate the Crimean K menle the first gir was initially held captive by the ottoman sulan he was later released on the condition that he accept ottoman sanity thereby allowing the Crimean KH to rule as a tributory princes with significant autonomy though the aut maintained direct control over the southern coast of Crimea the expansionist policies of the Ottomans continued under gik Ahmed Basha who led an audacious but ultimately short-lived invasion of Italy in 480 thus capturing the city of Otranto but logistical challenges forced GLE ammed paraa to withdraw most of his TR troops to Albania leaving behind a small Garrison this event sparked more than a few fears throughout Italy reminiscent of the fall of Constantinople and prompted plans for evacuating Rome Pope 6us IV called for a crusade in 1481 which resumed varying degrees of support from several Italian city stat States Hungary and France though Venice remained neutral due to a costly peace treaty with the Ottomans signed in 1479 the defense of oranto was organized by King Ferdinand of Naples who appointed his son Alonso II of Naples to lead the military campaign supported by Guess Who Hungarian troops from King mati corvinus thus the siege of Otranto began on May 1st [Music] 1481 the situation for the Ottomans worsened after the death of mmed on May the 3D 1481 which led to success in disputes that hindered any potential reinforcements for Rando thus the situation fell apart this whole thing was mcm’s idea and with mcmed gone well what are we meant to do plus The Siege only lasted 2 days until he died talk about good luck for the Italians they didn’t even have to kill mhmed he just died on his own valtion brilliant not for the Turks but for the Italians you know what I mean well the Turkish Garrison ultimately negotiated a withdrawal allowing Otranto to be recaptured by papal forces later that year so very very lucky now after megmed captured Constantinople in 1453 and we’re going to rewind it a little bit before we finish up he entered the city through the Tock carpet gate marking a significant historical transition I’m sure you’ve seen the famous painting of him entering the city yes that was the topi gate one of his first actions was to go directly to the higher Sophia which he then converted from an Orthodox Cathedral into a mosque signifying the Islamic rule over the city you will notice that there are the four large towers with the minettes those were additions added on by the Ottomans we never used to have them now he facilitated this transformation by ordering an Imam to recite the Muslim Creed there setting a clear religious imprint on his new conquest he focused intensively on re vitalizing Constantinople initiating extensive building projects aimed at restoring the city’s defenses and boosting its population his efforts included the repair of the city walls construction of a new Citadel a sophisticated Hospital cultural complexes and facilities for the Janis series and of course they couldn’t go without a fancy new gun Foundry in galat and also a new Palace because why not to repopulate the city and restore its economic and social life mcmed encouraged the return of Greek and genoes residents who had fled by guaranteeing their safety and returning their properties to further enhance the city’s demographic structure mmed issued a decree mandating resettlement of diverse populations from across his Empire including Muslims Christians and Jews he implemented the Millet system which organized communities into religiously defined mettes giving each group a degree of administrative autonomy under their religious heads this system allowed for religious coexistence and administrative efficiency within the Empire well with all these changes by 1478 Constantinople was pretty different its transformation was evident with a significant number of households shops and a vibrant population composed of Muslims Christians and Jews his policies had transformed constan Noble from a predominantly Christian City into a Cosmopolitan Islamic Capital with the Muslims of course forming the majority now the long-term impact of his policies was profound shaping Istanbul’s social and demographic character well into the future even by the mid 16th century the Greek population in the City had largely been replaced indicating a significant demographic shift though throughout mm’s Reign and Beyond the city experienced various challenges including plagues and social shifts but his foundational policies established estambul as a crucial imperial capital esteeming figures like Achilles and Alexander the Great mmed was known for his scholarly Pursuits and could Converse knowledgeably about the Christian religion fluent in multiple languages including Turkish Serbian Arabic Persian Greek and Latin his Reign marked a significant period of cultural and scholarly flourishing in the Ottoman Empire he also frequently convened the discussions with the AMA that’s the Learned Muslim teachers to deliberate on theological matters reflecting his engagement with intellectual debates under his rule disciplines such as mathematics astronomy and theology reached brand new heights albeit within the ottoman context his court also attracted humanists and intellectuals like sakio deoli of anona and benedetto de of Florence and uh also Michael copulus of imrose who described mmed as a Phil Helen because of his respect and efforts to preserve Greek Antiquities including the pathon well aside from his intellect ual interests mcmed was also a poet who wrote Under the pseudonym ay contributing to the rich tradition of dwan poetry well controversially there is some historical account that suggests that mcmed had a certain predilection for young men sparing some from execution and adding them to his personal little collection if they caught his eye this is not proven but there is some historical accounts that do suggest it perhaps next time you meet a Turkish person you can ask them or perhaps it’s best just not to mention it at all well as we’ve said mechm Med’s Reign came to to that very abrupt end which made the Italians all breathe a sigh of relief in 1481 and at this time he was preparing for new campaigns possibly aiming to conquer roads go down to more parts in southern Italy and even Egypt to claim the caliphate well he didn’t get the chance because he fell ill and died at the age of 49 in mtee Istanbul under circumstances that some suspect involved poisoning potentially orchestrated by his son and successor by Aid his death of course was met with celebrations in Europe where he was often viewed as a formidable and fearsome ruler mcmed significant ly expanded the Ottoman Empire incorporating Constantinople various Anatolian territories and much of the Balkans and yes his legal reforms predate those of suan The Magnificent contributing to the image of an autocratic yet transformative Sultan today his legacy persists in various forms including the fatti sultan MH met bridge in istambul and his depictions on Turkish currency yeah he’s on the notes his rule remains a pivotal chapter in the history of both the Ottoman Empire and the broader region but do us from the anglosphere if indeed you are like me an anglosphere person of European descent or indeed European Heritage then I suppose he may seem like a villain of the story regardless of all the legal reforms regardless of how many languages and his little collection of young men reportedly he will always be the one who broke down the walls of Constantinople and left us in this horrible mess that we find ourselves in but as they say bless the mess well thank you very much for listening to this rather long and extensive view on mmed II and thank you for being patient as I went off topic talking about the Italian campaigns for so long but indeed they are relevant in terms of the general context of the world after the fall of Constantinople and and how that kicked off the Ottomans in the early days I suppose the biography of mahmed II is essentially the short history of those first formative years of The Wider Ottoman Empire Otto the great born in 912 ad known for his role as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire and his reign as the German King from 936 to 973 Otto was instrumental in consolidating the Germanic States into a cohesive Kingdom strengthening the church’s influence and establishing a firm control over the nobility which he achieved through strategic marriages and Military Powers his most significant achievement came in the year in 962 when he was crowned Emperor by Pope John the 12th marking the Revival of the Roman Imperial title in Western Europe and beginning what would later be known as the Holy Roman Empire hello and welcome to the channel if you’re new here it’s good to meet you and if you are returning it’s great to have you with me again if you like what I do and wish to support the channel links to the patreon are in the description otherwise like comment and subscribe all that good stuff and let YouTube know that the video should get pushed out a little more thank you very much let’s begin Otto was born in the year 9912 specifically on November 23rd as the first born son to Henry the Fowler the Duke of Saxony and his second wife whose name was Matilda the daughter of deatric of ringelheim a Saxon count before this Union Henry had been married to haberg of Mur also of Saxon nobility but it fell apart in 909 and the marriage was annulled following the birth of SanMar Otto older half brother otter grew up with four siblings Bruno gbera Henry and hedwick the death of Conrad the first the king of East frania and Duke of Franconia on December the 23rd 918 set the stage for significant shifts in the Kingdom’s leadership Conrad on his his deathbed influenced by widukind of cor’s account in the Deeds of the Saxons convinced his brother Eberhard of Franconia to endorse Henry Otto’s father as his successor this was despite their previous conflicts and Conrad’s weakening political position due to his ongoing skirmishers with German Dukes like arnolf of B IA and burkard II of [Music] swabia in the May of 919 and after much deliberation Eberhart and leaders from both Saxon and Frankish territories appointed Henry as king during the Imperial diet at fritzlar marking a pivotal moment where a Saxon assumed control over the kingdom for the very first time time although burkard II of suabia pledged allegiance to Henry swiftly Arnold of Bavaria opposed him leading to his Proclamation as King by the bavarians however his Reign was fleeting as Henry soon defeated him in two military campaigns in 921 Henry besieged arnol at Regensburg ber forcing him to submit and accept Henry’s rule although Bavaria managed to preserve some autonomy including the right to appoint Bishops within its church now back to Otto Otto initially honed his skills as a military leader during campaigns against the wendish tribes along the eastern border regions of the German Kingdom in the year 929 while engaged in these military operations against the Ws or also as they’re known the Western slaves Otto’s son William was born to a captured wendish Noble woman William would later become the Archbishop of mains by this time having secured his control over the kingdom King Henry like began planning for the succession although there is no surviving written record of these plans it is during this period that utto is first referred to as King in a document from The Abbey of ranal meanwhile Henry worked to strengthen Germany’s external alliances particularly with Anglo-Saxon England aiming to bolster his Reign’s legit legitimacy and Interlink the two Saxon powers in pursuit of this Alliance King aelan of England sent Henry two of his half sisters allowing Henry to choose whichever one he likes the best for rotto Henry chose a gith Aid gith rather and she and Otto were married in the year 930 congrat ulations as Henry’s life neared its end arrangements for his succession were formalized at an imperial diet in aord some of his Estates and treasurers were allocated rather among his sons being thankar Henry and Bruno however breaking with the carolingian tradition of partitioning Royal inheritance Henry appointed a as his sole successor forging the customary formal election by the realm’s Dukes Henry the Fowler suffering a cerebral stroke died on July 2nd 936 at his Palace the Kaiser fals in mlan and was interred in quiding Berg Abbey at his death he had United various German drives under a single realm Otto then at nearly 24 years old took up his father as mtle as the Duke of Saxony and the king of Germany with his coronation following on August the 7th 936 this was at the historic capital of aren now during the ceremony conducted by Archbishop hildebert of mains Otto chose to wore Frankish attire signaling his authority over lotharingia and his succession to Charlamagne whose direct line had ceased in the year 911 at his coronation banquet according to the chronicler widin of corvy Otto had the Dukes of the major German M does that being Lorraine suabia Franconia and Bavaria serve him illustrating their submission and endorsement of his kingship arnor I of Bavaria served as Marshall Herman the first of swabia as cupbearer eart of Franconia as Stewart and Gilbert of Lorraine as Chamberlain despite seemingly smooth accession Otto’s early Reign was marked by familial Discord his younger brother Henry challenged his kingship opposing their late father’s plans and supported according to the Vita matildas Regan posterior by their mother Matilda who preferred Henry having been born in the purple as they say during Henry’s reign Otto also faced resistance from local Nobles in 936 he appointed Herman billong as margrave over the northern Watchers marshes rather which included duties like collecting tributes from the pabian slaves and defending against Slavic tribes such as the luiki OR b and the wagi this decision led to discontent within his own family count vicman the Elder Herman’s brother felt somewhat overlooked despite his seniority and connections by marriage to the queen Dowager Matilda the following year Otto’s choice of gero to succeed his deceased brother sigfried as count of margrave of the Border region of merberg further antagonized the nobility ility in particular his half brother thankar who viewed himself as the rightful heir to the position arnulf the Duke of Bavaria passed away in the year 937 and his son eard succeeded him however Eberhard and Otto did not get along a immediately EAD challenged the king’s authority over the region of Bavaria as stipulated in the peace agreement made between King Henry and alov ard’s refusal to acknowledge Otto’s Supremacy led to open rebellion in response Otto launched a military campaign in the spring and fall of 938 ultimately defeating eard exiling him from the Kingdom and stripping him of all of his titles Otto then appointed berold that was ard’s Uncle and a count in the march of Ginia as the new Duke of Bavaria but it was under the condition that he recognized Otto’s exclusive rights to appoint Bishops and of course manage royal properties within the duci concurrently Otto had to address a feud involving Bruning a Saxon Noble and Duke eard of frankonia that was a different eard also by the way not EAD of Bavaria this was the brother of the late King Conrad I first after a Saxon ascended to the throne Bruning refused to pledge allegiance to any nons Saxon ruler which of course LED eard of Franconia attacking and destroying bruning’s castle at Helman utto then summoned the feuding parties to his court in magir where he fined Duke Eberhard and sentenced his lieutenants to the humiliating punishment of carrying dead dogs around town publicly I know strange punishment but that’s the Germans for you now the tensions escalated further in 938 when eard of Franconia joined a rebellion against Otto alongside Otto’s half brother thankar the count of vicman and Archbishop Frederick of mains during this Uprising Duke Herman I first of swabia alerted Otto helping him swiftly suppress the Revolt although thankar surrendered at arburg he was tragically killed at the altar of the Church of St Peter despite Otto’s personal grief over his half brother’s death the killer got away and went unpunished following their defeat both Ard and Frederick were briefly exiled but eventually they were pardoned and restored to their positions by Otto subsequently a second plot against Otto materialized with Ard promising to support Otto’s younger brother Henry in a bid for the throne alongside Gilbert the Duke of Lorraine however Otto’s Swift actions drove Henry to seek Refuge with King Louis IV of West frania leading to a military confrontation that ended with Otto defeating Louie at Verdun despite initial success was in quelling the Rebellion Otto struggled to capture the main conspirators until a decisive battle at andak on October the 2nd 939 where both eard and Gilbert met their ends eard met his end in the battle and Gilbert drowned in the Rind while he was trying to flee in the aftermath Otto directly assumed control over Franconia restructuring it into smaller counties and Bishop bricks directly accountable to him of course he also made peace with Louis IV recognizing his rule over the reign in exchange for marrying Auto’s sister gerberga to Louie by 9:40 tensions eased as Otto and Henry reconciled through the mediation of their mother leading to Henry’s appointment as duke of Lorraine however this piece was shortlived as Henry who was still ever as ambitious conspired once more against Otto in 941 planning an assassination during Easter at klingberg ay Otto found out about this pretty quickly and thwarted the plot he arrested and later pardoned the conspirators after their public Penance on Christmas Day thereby maintaining his Reign But continuing to navigate the treacherous Waters of dynastic politics from 941 to 51 Otto began to solidify his control over the German Kingdom often sidelining traditional Noble entitlements in favor of appointing loyalists to keep positions thereby centralizing his authority his flagrant disregard for Noble lineage in favor of loyalty led to quite a few conflicts with the aristocracy and he even managed to annoy his own mother with this well he actually briefly exiled her in 947 due to her opposition to his policies though she was later reinstated at court on the advice of his wife wife adid gith Otto’s Reign marked a departure from the more collegial style of governance of his father Henry the Fowler who had seen the kingdom as a confederation of DUIs and himself as primis in bares or the first among equals in contrast utto embraced a more autocratic approach viewing his Authority as divinely sanctioned and employing the anointment of the church to underscore his Sovereign right to rule a feudal monarchy this shift disrupted the traditional balance of power and reshaped the internal dynamics of the Kingdom moving away from ducal autonomy toward a more centralized and Imperial structure throughout his Reign Otto dealt with descent through a combination of mild punishments for the nobility and severe repercussions for common Rebels maintaining control by integrating key vassels into his family through strategic marriages for instance his alliances through marriage such as his son’s leod’s marriage to Eda the daughter of the Duke of swabia helped secure his family’s position within the Empire’s hierarchy by the year 950 Otto had effectively neutralized all threats to his rule evidenced by his son’s Ascension to the duty of suabia and his nephew Lo’s rise to the French throne significantly Otto also managed internal and familial politics with great skill ensuring his lineage controlled vital duches across the realm this was seen when he appointed his brother Henry as duke of Bavaria after marrying him off to The Duchess Judith consolidating power and ending their rivalry by the time of his wife adi’s death in 946 Otto was already making arrangements for his own succession ensuring that all major Kingdom figur swore allegiance to his son liol thus securing an Undisputed claim for his continuation of the Dynasty in France the West Frankish Kings struggled to maintain their Royal Authority following internal conflicts with their nobility but continued to assert control over the duchy of Lorraine a territory also claimed by East Frankin in 940 Louis IV of West frankia attempted to assert his rights over Lorraine basing his claim on his marriage to Otto’s sister gerer of Saxony who was the Widow of the previous Duke of Lorraine Gilbert however Otto the German King did not acknowledge Lou’s claim and instead appointed his brother Henry as the Duke despite ongoing efforts from both sides to exert influence in the region Lorraine remained firmly under Otto’s control the relationship between Otto and the West Frankish kingdom was further Complicated by familial ties as both Louie and his chief domestic rival Hugh the great were connected to Otto through marriage in 942 Otto broker a peace agreement which included Hugh’s Act of submission to Louis IV who in turn agreed to renounce any claims that he had on Lorraine the pce however was shortlived in 946 after Louis IV was captured by Normans and handed over to Hugh Otto intervened militarily at the behest of his sister Goga although Otto’s forces were unable to capture key cities like Rams Leon and Paris he lifted The Siege after 3 months he succeeded in removing Hugh of Veranda from his role as Archbishop of RS and reinstalled Aral to the position to address the governance of the arch dicese of rams definitively Otto convened a sinard in ingelheim on the 7th of June 948 attended by over 30 Bishops including all of the German archbishops the sinod validated Otto’s appointment of Aral as the Archbishop of RS who admonished Hugh to respect Royal Authority it was not until 950 however that Louis IV was fully accepted as King by his powerful vassel with full reconciliation occurring in March of 953 Otto assigned oversight of West Frankish Affairs to his son-in-law Conrad the red and later Bruno the great alongside his sister gerer and hadwick who served as Regents for their sons King loar and Duke Hugh this Arrangement facilitated Otto’s indirect control over Royal and Episcopal successions in West frania Bruno’s military interventions in 958 in West frania against the reged gids in Luther ringia highlighted the personal nature of oton hemony which diminished swiftly through Hugh cit’s rise to power in 987 burgundy relations under Otto’s Reign the harmonious relations between Germany and the kingdom of burgundy initiated by his father burgundy rather were maintained burgundy which was once part of middle frano as per the Treaty of verun in 843 found itself in a bit of a succession crisis when King Rudolph II died on July 11 937 his son Conrad of burgundy with Otto’s backing successfully claimed the throne against Hugh of provant the king of Italy and Rudolph’s primary rival this solidified burgundy as a crucial yet formerly independent Ally within Auto’s sphere of influence ensuring continued peace between the two Realms Bohemian Affairs in 935 Bolas La I first ascended to the Bohemian throne but seized tribute payments to East frankia the following year breaching a a treaty with Otto’s father this led to escalated conflicts including a significant Bohemian invasion in 936 which was countered by Otto only in 950 after a prolonged series of Border skirmishes finally Otto besieged a castle held by bsl’s son compelling bonl to agree to a treaty to resume tributes bolos later allied with Otto against the magars at the Battle of Le River in 955 and played a key role in quelling Regional Slavic uprisings the magars are the precursors to the hungarians by the way if you want tow Byzantine diplomacy Otto cultivated a strong diplomatic relationship with the Byzantine Empire during emperor Constantine II’s Reign which included frequent exchanges of ambassadors and quite lavish gifts this period of Amity was marked by Otto’s attempts to forge marital ties with the Byzantine royal family reflecting his ambition to enhance his Imperial stature Slavic was conflict with the Slavic tribes along the Elba River intensified during Otto’s Reign following a notorious incident in 939 where Otto’s Lieutenant goo massacred several Slavic Chieftain during a feast the slaves were understandably upset and rallied an Army in retaliation utto temporarily bought his ongoing suppression of his brother Henry’s Rebellion to assist gero successfully defeating the Slavic forces in 941 gero and a Slavic Ally tgir orchestrated another assault solidifying German dominance in the region tgir having secured his position by eliminating Rivals acknowledged Otto’s overlordship effectively integrating his land into UT’s Kingdom Under the title of Duke these events highlight Otto’s foreign policy and Military strategies which significantly shaped the political landscape of his Reign extending German influence across Central Europe and solidifying his control over contested territories now just to rewind it back a little bit following Emperor Charles the Fat’s death I know funny name right in 888 the once unified empire of Charlamagne had fragmented into several distinct territories and that included East and West frania also the kingdoms of lower and upper burgundy and each one of them was led by its own Monarch the Kingdom of Italy also saw part of this Division and it saw its Kings crowned as quote unquote Emperors by the Pope in Rome though their Authority rarely extended beyond the Italian Peninsula after the assassination of barar the first of Italy in 924 the Imperial title remained vacant until King Rudolph II of upper burgundy and Hugh count of provance and ruler of lower burgundy vied for control of Italy in 926 Hugh defeated Rudolph taking the crown for himself and later appointing his son lther as co-ruler in 931 thus a peace treaty between Hugh and Rudolph in 933 led to Lo’s tral to Rudolph’s daughter Adelaide consolidating peace between the families in 940 barar II of IA grandson of barar I first led a rebellion against his uncle Hugh with forewarning from Lo there Hugh exiled barard thei who fled to ‘s court in Germany bangar returned in 945 with support from Italian Nobles and succeeded in driving Hugh to abdicate berengar then became the dominant force in Italy acting as a regent for lther who married adelade in 947 and when Hugh died in 948 lothar nominally ascended the throne but barar retained real power loar’s death in 950 led to berengar’s coronation on December 15th of the same year with his son adelart as co-ruler facing opposition berngard tried to secure his position by forcing Adelaide the Widow of the last three kings into a marriage with adelbert Adelaide resisted and escaped imprisonment seeking Otto’s aid from her refuge in canosa adela’s plea for Rescue and an offer of marriage reached Otto who recognized the Strategic advantage of the union for claiming the Italian Throne things were about to heat up on the [Music] peninsula in the summer of 951 Otto’s son leod doph preemptively invaded lumbardy possibly to Aid Adelaide or to strengthen his own political standing or perhaps a little bit of both despite lacking local support and facing near defeat lol’s campaign was salvaged when Otto’s forces arrived Otto’s Army received support from the Italian nobility weakening barar II’s position significantly by September of 951 Otto entered paria unopposed proclaiming himself king of Italy and assuming the titles Rex italicum and Rex Lango barbam he married Adelaide solidifying his claim after Otto’s marriage disturbances in Germany necessitated his return leaving Conrad Duke of Lorraine and Otto’s son-in-law as region to manage Italian Affairs and continue the campaign against barar back in Italy facing a precarious military position with limited troops Otto’s Regent Conrad sought a diplomatic resolution by initiating peace talks with Baron recognizing the high cost a military conflict would impose on Germany especially when facing threats from the Danes the slaves the hungarians Conrad proposed maintaining Italy as a client State under German oversight he offered barar a treaty that would allow him to remain king of Italy provided he acknowledged utto as the overlord it wasn’t a bad deal berengar accepted the proposal and the two prepared to travel North to sign off and finalize the agreement with Otto however not everybody was happy the treaty was unfavorably received by Adelaide and Henry Adelaide who was of Burgundian descent but culturally Italian had strong ties to Italy having been its Queen and having suffered imprisonment by berengar for refusing to marry his son and all of a sudden barar was getting this good deal well she was not impressed Henry the Duke of Bavaria saw an opportunity to expand his own territory into Italy should barar be AED hoping to Annex Land South of the Alps into his duch this treaty thus not only failed to align their with their interests but also strained the already tense relationship between Henry and Conrad together Adelaide and Henry sought to convince Otto to dismiss the peace agreement upon their arrival in magniberg Conrad and barar were made to wait 3 days for an audience with Otto an intentional slight that underscored the tension although Adelaide and Henry advocated for immediate rejection of the treaty Otto decided to defer the decision to an imperial diet at this diet convened in Augsburg on August of 952 otter required barar II and his son adelbert to formly swear falty to him in exchange otter reinstated bangar as the king of Italy under German suity assigning him a significant annual tribute and demanding the cation of the duci of frioli on restructured this territory into the march of Verona which he awarded to Henry in recognition of his support significantly enhancing Henry’s power and also the stature of Bia within the German realm in the late 940s Otto began significant internal policy reforms strategically utilizing the Catholic Church’s structure to bolster Royal Administration Paving the way for what would become known as the aonian Imperial Church system Otto embraced his Divine Right To Rule and positioned himself as the church’s protector fundamentally intertwining secular and ecclesiastical governance a crucial aspect of this reorganization was the placement of celibate clerics in key secular roles particularly Bishops and Abbotts thereby reducing the influence of hereditary secular nobility Otto’s approach was to create a balance of power by appointing non-hereditary Church officials to counteract the autonomous and influential Royal princes he conferred lands and the prestigious title of Prince of the Empire or reiches first in their tongue to these clerics ensuring that upon their deaths their officers would revert to the crown thereby circumventing hereditary succession these conditions rendered clerical elections largely ceremonial within the aonian realm with the king populating the episcopacy predominantly with his relatives and loyal clerks from his Chancery who were appointed to lead major German monasteries Otto’s own brother Bruno the great exemplified this dual secular ecclesiastical role serving as Archbishop of cologne and Duke of Lorraine from 953 alongside othering key figures such as Archbishop William of mains Otto’s illegitimate son Archbishop adog of Breman and Abbott hadamar of Fula Otto enriched these Bishop Ricks and abies with substantial gifts including lands and Royal privileges like tax levies and military command effectively elevating the church’s status above that of the secular dues and binding its officials as direct vassals to the king to further enforce the church’s Allegiance and resource capacity uto instituted mandatory tithing across Germany which I’m sure was very popular he also bestowed upon Bishops and abots the rank and legal rights of counts within their jurisdictions centralizing his control this appointment process not only cemented his Central Authority but also transformed the higher echelons of the German Church into an extension of the royal Administration Auto’s strategy of appointing his personal Court chaplain and Bishops after service at the Royal Court exemplified this integration with these chaplain often handling governmental duties through the Royal Chancery before being promoted to manage Dees the failure of Otto’s Italian campaign and his subsequent marriage to Adelaide led to estrangement from his son lolf who had felt quite sidelined more on Christmas day in 951 lolf hosted a significant gathering at safield attracting ke figures like the Archbishop Frederick of mains during this event lolph feeling his inheritance threatened by his father’s actions plotted Rebellion against his brother-in-law Conrad the Duke of Lorraine who also felt betrayed by Otto’s dismissal of his negotiated treaty with barar in favor of a more subjugating agreement by which win 952 amidst growing discontent Adelaide bore a son named Henry sparking rumors that utto was swayed by his wife and brother to Father of the newborn as his successor over liol this rumor intensified the dissatisfaction among the nobility culminating in a Revolt led by liol and Conrad against Henry the Duke of Bavaria in the spring of of 953 however Henry’s unpopularity due to his Saxon Origins facilitated the Rebellion among his own Bavarian vassals as news of this Uprising reached Otto he moved to secure his position by retreating to the stronghold of mains where Arch Bishop Frederick mediated an initial agreement favorable to the rebels this treaty likly affirmed lol’s position as Heir and recognized Conrad’s Italian negotiations however Otto’s return to Saxony saw Adelaide and Henry persuade him to anull this agreement leading Otto to declare leol and Conrad Outlaws as an imperial diet in fritzl his Firm Stance on maintaining control over his ity and securing the Imperial title led to further escalation he rallied the nobility of Lorraine against Conrad and intensified the conflict across swabia and Franconia in July of 953 he laid Siege to Mains ludolph and Conrad stronghold despite a prolonged Siege and growing rebellions in southern Germany Otto initiated peace NE negotiations during these negotiations overseen by the Archbishop Bruno of cologne Otter’s brother the rebels insisted on ratifying the original treaty however provocations during the discussions led to a breakdown and they all went back to fighting each other Otto responded by stripping leol and Conrad of their douches and appointing Bruno as duke of Lorraine with the Civil War ongoing utto faced additional threats from the hungarians and slaves who were Keen to exploit the internal strife to launch raids into Germany by 954 the situation was Dire bring Otto to seek a conclusive end to the rebellion in the early days of 954 peace talks resumed culminating in a Reconciliation at an imperial di in lenen where Conrad and other Rebels formerly made peace with Otto well despite this reconciliation liol continued his resistance until he was besieged in Regensburg after enduring a harsh Siege he sought peace leading to a truce and eventually a full reconciliation where in utto forgave leol and restored peace to The Realm by December 954 at the Imperial diet in arstad the Civil War forly concluded with leol and Conrad reaffirming their loyalty to Otto though they didn’t have their for for titles anymore this tortuous period concluded with Otto firmly re reestablishing his rule appointing his son William as Archbishop of mains confirming Henry as duke of Bavaria and managing the reassignment of other key ducal positions the resolution of Civil War not only quelled the immediate threats to UT’s Authority but also solid ified his status as the absolute ruler of Germany setting the stage for further consolidation of his power now the troubles were certainly not over during the chaotic period following the Hungarian invasions of Europe Otto’s German Kingdom faced more challenges in the spring of 954 as Auto grappled with ludolph Civil War the hungarians were launching destructive raids into Bavaria although lolf and Conrad managed to protect their territories in the west the hungarians wed havoc in Bavaria and Franconia they even reached the Ry River in 955 the situation escalated further with yet another Hungarian incursion this time Otto was a little more freed up from the constraints of civil conflict and was very much prepared to confront the Invaders as the hungarians besieged orberg defended valiantly by Bishop ulrick Otto rallied his forces for a decisive confrontation the Battle of lechfield on August 10th 955 saw Otto command a diverse Army including troops from suabia and Bohemia under Duke’s burkard III and Bolas the first respectively despite being outnumbered Otto’s forces achieved a significant Victory the battle began with a Hungarian assault across the Lech River targeting the Bohemian contingent and then the swabians Otto responded swiftly sending Conrad to reinforce the beler units following a fierce melee Otto’s Army drove the hungarians back disrupting their favored tactics and inflicting heavy casualties vidin of G reported that in the aftermath Otto was hailed as father of the Fatherland and even proclaimed emperor during Victory celebrations while the hungarians were not pursued into their territory the battle effectively ended their Century long incursions into Western Europe that was how much of a beat down Otto gave them they certainly were not going to be coming back for a while simultaneously the North had its own issues faced interractions from the oite slaves led by count vicman the younger the slaves exploited Otto’s focus on the south to raid Saxony prompting a severe response from Otto after his victory at lechfield in October 955 Otto decisively defeated the slaves at the Battle of REITs cementing his authority and rejecting their offer for a tributory relationship in favor of direct rule these victories were thusly celebrated across the kingdom with church leaders attributing Auto’s success to Divine favor reinforcing his Divine Right To Rule The Year 955 was certainly a pivotal moment in Otto’s Reign securing his control over Germany and diminishing the likelihood of future rebellions however the Battle of lechfield was not all celebrations it also bought personal losses Otto’s son-in-law Conrad and his brother Henry I of Bavaria both sustained fatal injuries Henry’s death led to the appointment of his young son Henry II as duke of Bavaria and his mother Judith’s Regency ludolph was tasked with leading a military campaign against Italy but he died of a fever in 957 further depleting ao’s family with his first two sons by Adelaide also having died by 957 Otto’s third son with Adelaide 2year old also named Otto was designated as the new Heir Apparent shaping the future succession of the [Music] Kingdom the turmoil in Otto’s realm intensified following the imprisonment of Queen Adelaide of Italy by berengar of IA in 950 responding to Adelaide’s plea for help Otto marched into Italy in 951 and married her effectively securing the Italian Crown in 952 berengar was forced into vassalage under rotto through a peace treaty that confirmed his subservience and also stripped him of control over the march of Verona the politics of the region shifted further after the deaths of Otto’s son lolph in 957 and Henry these losses coupled with Otto’s engagements in North Germany allowed barar to exploit the instability in 958 barar attacked Verona and extended his aggression towards the Papal States in Rome very brave prompting Pope John the 12th and leading Italian figures to seek Otto’s intervention in 960 in preparation for his second Italian gamp campaign and of course to secure his Imperial Ambitions Otto convened the Imperial diet at vers in May of 961 where he designated his young son otter II as co-ruler and air the succession was solidified with Otto II’s coronation in Aran Cathedral Otto then Advanced into Italy reaching Rome in January of 9 62 where he was crowned Emperor by Pope John thereby establishing the Holy Roman Empire it was holy it was Roman and it was an Empire well some people say it wasn’t holy it wasn’t Roman and it wasn’t an Empire but that’s for another video anyway of course if you’re going to Crown utto the emperor you need an empress right thus Adelaide was also crowned empress and then they ruled jointly the crowning was followed by the 962 sinard in Rome which reinforced Otto and Pope John’s Mutual support through the diploma otonom this agreement confirmed John’s spiritual leadership and Otto’s secular protection over the church while expanding the Papal States however the relationship somewhat soured when Otto’s growing influence in Italy began to alarm the pope leading him to conspire with baren guard’s son adelbert of Italy hard to get good friends isn’t it well utto wasn’t going to take this lying down he responded to these threats by capturing and deposing berengar after besieging him at San Leo in 963 upon Otto’s return to Rome and discovering the Pope’s betrayal he convened a council that deposed John and appointed Leo the e as Pope ensuring Otto’s dominion over the papal seat and having one of his best buddies in power now this series of events marked Otto’s consolidation of power across Germany and Italy setting the foundation for the real Empire and redefining European political politics into the Medieval Era the establishment of the arch deces of magur further exemplified Otto’s intent to extend Christian influence Eastward and to commemorate his victories particularly at the Battle of lechfield against the hungarians which was the real moment in the Sun for him after his departure from Italy in 963 Leo VII a Layman Pope faced opposition from the Roman populace they knew exactly why he was in the job and they didn’t take kindly to it he was expelled in February of 964 the Romans reinstated the last Pope John the 12th but he unfortunately died a few months later so they elected Benedict V Auto who was still undeterred returned to enforce his decision and he besieged Rome in June of 964 until the Romans gave Leo his job back and exiled Benedict V well by the January of 965 Otto returned to Germany somewhat reassured of his control in Italy however the death of his Frontier commander margra gero in May of 996 65 prompted a strategic reorganization of the vast marchland Otto divided it into five smaller territories each governed by a mrave ensuring tighter control and defense against external threats despite Otto’s efforts the peace in Italy was shortlived adelbert berengar’s son incited Rebellion challenging aonian rule thus Otto sent burkard III of swabia defeating adelbert at the Battle of the poe on June 25th 965 and reaffirming Imperial Authority now it was during this period that Pope Leo VII died March 965 and by October John VII was elected John the 13th rather was elected as Pope albeit he was very very unpopular as he had quite a lot of foreign backing the Romans weren’t stupid well by December 965 after rescuing John the 13th from his Roman captors Auto Was preparing for a third Italian campaign in the August of of the following year in 966 he made governance Arrangements appointing his son Archbishop William of mains as Regent of Germany and setting off to Italy where he quickly restored John the 13th to the papacy Otto took severe measures against the leaders of the Roman militia that had deposed John executing them all and solidifying his influence in Rome many sure they would not be trying that again by 967 Otto had not only stabilized his rule in Italy but extended it receiving fty from Lombard pandolf Ironhead Prince of benevento however this expansion drew the ey of the byzantines leading to diplomatic engagements Des the Byzantine reservations about Otto’s Imperial title and his territorial Ambitions in southern Italy peace talks ensued reflecting both parties desire for stability Auto strategic matrimonial Alliance came to fruition when the Byzantine princes sent princess theophanu to marry his son Otto II in April of 972 yes he had grown up a little bit by this time marking a significant East West reproach M the marriage celebrated in Rome not only enhanced Otto’s stature but helped settle the conflicts in southern Italy after celebrating the marriage of his son to the Byzantine Princess Otto returned to Germany with his Imperial family in the August of 97 22 the following spring he visited Saxony where he spent Palm Sunday in magdeburg it was here margrave Herman billong who had managed Saxony on Otto’s behalf during his Italian campaign received a reception akin to that of a king from Archbishop adelberg of magniberg highlighting some discontent with Otto’s frequent absences from J Germany during the Easter festivities in quedlinburg Otto’s influence and reach were unmistakably displayed the edir of mberg chronicled the presence of numerous dignitaries and the assembly including Duke mesco of Poland Duke boleslav of bohemia representatives from Byzantium and the Roman region of benevento as as well as delegates from the magar bulgar Danish and Slavic lands later that year envoys from England and Al andelo also made their way to ‘s court further showing his extensive diplomatic work after the Easter celebrations Otto traveled to meman the sight of his father’s death 37 years prior and it was here that he began to fall ill and then he felt a little more ill and then he had a fever and he was Gravely ill after receiving his final sacraments he passed away on the 7th of May 973 at the age of 60 years old not bad for the 10th Century well the transition of power to his then 17-year-old son they grow up so fast Otto II was smooth and uncontested that’s right no problems on the day following Oto the First’s death the Empire’s nobility confirmed Otto II as their Sovereign a grand funeral lasting 30 days was arranged for Otto during which he was laid to rest near his first wife wife Aid gith in magur Cathedral this Mount the end of an error for Otter the first remembered as one of the most powerful rulers in Europe the one who started the Holy Roman Empire and it marked the beginning of the reign of Oto II well thank you for listening gee that biography just kept going didn’t it but we had fun didn’t we I certainly had fun and I’m almost at 5,000 subscribers you can’t imagine the dopamine hit that I’m receiving every time I wake up and see it being higher really is something else now I would like to thank my top tier patrons that’s stock Factory J Jeffrey and Susan thank you very much and if you would like to visit the patreon you know what to do just go in the description and find it anyway until next time thank you once more it’s been a pleasure and look after yourself good night everyone for for for for for for for for for
5 Comments
Yay, you're so close and well deserved! By the time I wake up after drifting off to a lovely sleep (thanks to you) I bet you've hit your 10,000 subscribers goal!
👏👏🙌👏👏
I really love these videos. Thank you so much for helping me sleep. Please keep making them 💖
Goodnight everyone 🥱😴
This has been such a fascinating deep dive! So many interesting characters to learn all about. I looked for a "Richard The 2nd* biography as you mentioned there would be one forthcoming. But i wasn't able to find it. Is there one or hasn't it been made as of yet? I'm rather curious of how his mental disabilities shaped his decisions in the later part of his life.
Amazing presentation as always!
The galley my friend is where the cooking is done. Not the rowing