Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- List of illustrations
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Introduction: England and France in the mid fourteenth century
- 1 The siege and capture of the town: Edward III and the burghers of Calais
- 2 A new ruler and a new regime: the town and the garrison in the early years of English rule
- 3 Setting up the Staple: a new role for Calais
- 4 Triumph and disaster: Henry V, the collapse of the Anglo-Burgundian alliance and the resurgence of France
- 5 Calais as a base for political intrigue: Yorkists, Lancastrians and the earl of Warwick
- 6 The heyday of the Company of the Staple: merchants and their lives
- 7 Religious and political change: Henry VII, Henry VIII and the Reformation
- 8 The town and trade: the later fortunes of the Company of the Staple and of the Johnson partnership
- 9 The end of the story: the loss of Calais to the French
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - A new ruler and a new regime: the town and the garrison in the early years of English rule
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- List of illustrations
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Introduction: England and France in the mid fourteenth century
- 1 The siege and capture of the town: Edward III and the burghers of Calais
- 2 A new ruler and a new regime: the town and the garrison in the early years of English rule
- 3 Setting up the Staple: a new role for Calais
- 4 Triumph and disaster: Henry V, the collapse of the Anglo-Burgundian alliance and the resurgence of France
- 5 Calais as a base for political intrigue: Yorkists, Lancastrians and the earl of Warwick
- 6 The heyday of the Company of the Staple: merchants and their lives
- 7 Religious and political change: Henry VII, Henry VIII and the Reformation
- 8 The town and trade: the later fortunes of the Company of the Staple and of the Johnson partnership
- 9 The end of the story: the loss of Calais to the French
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The prestige that touched those associated with the siege of Calais is well illustrated by the elaborate tomb of Sir Hugh Hastings in the church at Elsing in Norfolk. Hastings, who had been present at Sluys and in 1346 had fought alongside the Flemish in the border region, died at Calais, probably of disease, four days before the town surrendered. His memorial brass lauds his career and, by its elaboration and evident considerable expense, reveals the gains to be made by an individual from the French wars. He had been raised from ‘well-born obscurity to great renown’. His effigy is surrounded by images of the most important military men in these campaigns, among them not only the king, Edward iii himself, but also the earl of Warwick, the earl of Lancaster and Lord Despenser. He did not survive to witness the triumphant entry of the king into his new domain, but the fame of the victory followed him home to Norfolk and was recorded for all to see in his parish church.
What was Edward's attitude to the town and its inhabitants now that they were securely within his hands? The town was stripped of everything of value by the English; with a certain amount of glee, Thomas Walsingham recorded that ‘there was not a woman in England of any account who did not enjoy the pickings of Caen, Calais and other places’.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- CalaisAn English Town in France, 1347–1558, pp. 23 - 38Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2008