The Hundred Years' War: from Crécy to Castillon

A succession and an act of homage

On 1 February 1328, Charles IV the Fair dies without a son. For the third time in twelve years, the crown is looking for a man. The closest relative in the male line is a cousin, Philip of Valois; the closest by blood is a grandson of Philip the Fair through his daughter Isabella, Edward III, King of England, aged sixteen. The barons assembled in Paris choose Philip, an adult, French and already regent: the “Salic law” is not yet in anyone's mind, but no one wants a foreign king, and it is held that a woman cannot pass on what she cannot hold. Edward protests, then gives way: on 6 June 1329, in the choir of Amiens Cathedral, he pays homage to Philip VI for Guyenne and Ponthieu. Here lies the knot: one king the vassal of another, for a duchy where the Parlement of Paris hears appeals against him.