Previously on The White Queen: Isabel followed George down a deep, deep well of paranoia before dying of childbed fever (or an Elizabeth-wrought curse, depending on whom you ask). George kept falling, until he was helped head-first into a barrel of wine.
Family dinnertime! A few years have evidently passed, and the kids are all teens or actual children. Elizabeth notes that Edward seems to be running a fever, but he reassures her he’s fine.
On 17 July 1453 the Battle of Castillon was fought between English and French forces near the town of Castillon-sur-Dordogne in Gascony. The battle marked the end of the not-so-aptly named Hundred Years’ War.
The war was less a war and more a collection of clashes and skirmishes that took place between 1337 and 1453, and they were primarily fought to determine who would wear the French crown. After the French captured Bordeaux in 1451, pretty much everyone thought the fighting was over, and indeed the English backed off for a few years, focusing on reinforcing Calais. But the people of Bordeaux weren’t happy at being forced to be French again, after years of being under English rule, so they sent King Henry VI a nice note, asking him to please recapture the province. Henry obligingly sent the Earl of Shrewsbury over with 3000 men, and the French were soon driven out of Bordeaux.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. On October 30, 1470, Henry VI gave ruling England another try when he was restored to the throne after the Earl of Warwick managed to defeat the Yorkist king Edward IV. Unfortunately, the second attempt at reigning really didn’t take. Despite being the son of the legendary Henry V, Henry VI wasn’t a great warrior; nor … Continue reading Take Two!
