Date by which Le Mans was to be handed to the French
The Treaty of Tours (1444) had seen England promise to cede lands to the French. This was part of the agreement that saw Margaret of Anjou, the French King’s niece through marriage, marry King Henry VI of England. The peace treaty was sought by England to stave off threats to English land holdings in Normandy. The agreement to hand lands to France unopposed was initially kept secret. When it became public knowledge, it sparked outrage among English nobles. The terms of the treaty had to be adhered to though, Charles VII of France amassed a large army near Normandy in order to guarantee the ceding of the territories. The Following extract illustrates the requirement of returning Le Mans to the French that had to be fulfilled by the 15th of January 1448.
Return of Le Mans to France, 1448
“Item, by the said fifteenth day of January, of the said city, town, and castle of Le Mans, Maicnne-la-Juhez, and the other places above said, or those which he can recover, without any fault, difficulty, or delay.
Item, as soon as delivery of the said city, town, and castle of Le Mans shall be made… shall be published the truce for one year lately made as well in England as at Bourges…
Item, all those persons who are of the party of the king of England, shall… remove their goods… at their own cost and expense…
Item, and when the said deliverance shall be done… the said letters of promise of the said king of England shall be given up…
Also, the king [of England] shall promise by his letters [patent] to consent and agree to these things above said.
Signed by the Bastard of Orleans for France and for England by the bishop of Chichester, Robert Roos, councillors, and commissioners.
AGREEMENTS for the Delivery of Le Mans and Maine to the KING of FRANCE .[i]
[i] AGREEMENTS for the Delivery of Le Mans and Maine to the KING of FRANCE. Cited in full in French and translated into English in: Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Wars of the English in France During the Reign of Henry the Sixth, King of England
Image Credit, Le Mans
Cathedral of Saint Julian of Le Mans (France). Creative Commons 2.0. Marc Garrido Clotet Via Flickr
