Even so, this is an extremely important document and key to understanding the root of the Hundred Years War. Like most medieval treaties of this type - the Treaty of Montgomery would be an obvious comparison - the terms are often vague and shifty, and leave room for all manner of interpretation. Even if it was originally drawn up in good faith, the lawyers of the French court spent the following decades shamelessly exploiting gaps and vagaries in the text.
For instance, one clause states that ‘let what is right be done’ concerning the county of Bigorre. Technically this land was ceded to the king of England and his heirs, but it is no coincidence that Bigorre was the first territory to be effectively confiscated by Philip le Bel in the 1280s; any protests from Edward I foundered on the ambivalence of the clause in the original treaty. What did ‘right’ mean in this context, and whose right was it? That was for lawyers to decide, and while they spent years stroking their chins over the matter - and drawing massive salaries - the land of Bigorre remained a French possession.
“Henry, by God’s grace king of England, lord of Ireland and duke of Aquitaine. We make known to all and to all who are to come that we by God’s will have made peace with our dear cousin, the noble king Louis of France in this manner: namely that he give us and our heirs and our successors all the right that he has and holds in these three bishoprics and in the cities, namely, of Limoges, Cathors and Périgueux, in fief and domain, saving the homage of his brothers and if they hold anything there for which they are his man, and saving the things that he cannot alienate owing to letters granted by him or his ancestors, which things he must take steps to acquire in good faith from those who hold these things so that we may have them within a year next All Saints day or give us a suitable exchange, in the opinion of men standing nominated by either side the most suitable for the interests of both parties.- The aforesaid king of France shall also give us in money each year the value of the land of the Agenais according to the assessment to be made of it on the proper value of the land by men of standing nominated on either side, and payment shall be made at Paris at the Temple each year, half on the quinzaine of the Ascension and the other half of the quinzaine of All Saints. And should it happen that this land escheats from the countess Joan of Poitiers to the king of France or his heirs, he or his heirs shall be bound to surrender it to us or our heirs and when the land has been surrendered they shall be relieved of the payment. And if it comes in domain to us, the king of France shall not be bound to render this payment. And if it is decided by the court of the king of France that, to have the land of the Agenais, we ought to put down or hand over some money as security, the king of France shall return this money or we shall hold and have the payment until we have had what we have put down for this security.- Again, it shall be enquired in good faith and without impediment, at our request, by men of standing of either side chosen for the purpose, whether the land that the count of Poitiers holds in Quercy on behalf of his wife was given or granted by the king of England with the land of the Agenais as marriage portion or as security, either wholly or in part, to his sister, who was the mother of the last count Raymond of Toulouse. And if it is found that it had so been and this land escheats to him or his heirs on the death of the countess of Poitiers, he shall give it to us or our heirs, and if it escheats to another and it be found by this inquest however that it had been given or granted in the way said above, after the death of the countess of Poitiers, he shall give the fief to us and our heirs, saving the homage of his brothers, if they hold anything there, while they live.- Again, after the death of the count of Poitiers, the king of France or his heirs, kings of France, shall give to us and our heirs the land that the count of Poitiers holds then in Saintonge beyond the R.Charente in fief and in domain that are beyond the Charente, if it escheats to him or his heirs. And if it does not escheat to him, he shall take steps in good fashion to acquire it, by exchange or otherwise, so that we or our heirs shall have it, or he shall give us, in the opinion of men of standing who shall be nominated by either side, a suitable exchange. And for what he shall give us and our heirs in fief and in domain, we and our heirs will do him and his heirs, kings of France, liege homage, and also for Bordeaux, for Bayonne and for Gascony, and for all the land that we hold beyond the English Channel in fief and in domain, and for the islands, if there are any, that we hold that are of the kingdom of France, and we will hold of him as of a peer of France and as duke of Aquitaine. And for all these things aforesaid we will do him our appropriate services until it be found what services are due for these things and then we shall be bound to do them just as they have been found. About homage for the county of Bigorre, for Armagnac and for Fezensac let what is right be done about them. And the king of France absolves us if we or our ancestor ever wronged him by holding his fief without doing him homage and without doing his service, and all arrears.- Again, the king of France shall give us what, in the opinion of men of standing who shall be nominated by either side, 500 knights ought to cost to maintain reasonably for two years and shall be bound to pay this money at Paris at the Temple in six payments over the period of two years, namely the first payment, that is to say a sixth, on the quinzaine of next Candlemas, another payment on the quinzaine of the Ascension following and another on the quinzaine of All Saints and likewise with the remaining payments on the following year. And for this the king of France shall give the Temple or the Hospital or both of them together as surety. And we ought not to spend this money except in the service of God or of the church, or for the benefit of the kingdom of England, and this by view of men of standing of the land chosen by the king of England and by the magnates of this land.- And in making this peace we and our two sons have renounced and do renounce completely all claim upon the king of France and his ancestors and his heirs and successors, and his brothers and their heirs and successors, for us and our heirs and successors if we or our ancestors have or ever had any right in things which the king of France holds or ever held, or his ancestors held or hold, namely in the duchy and the whole land of Normandy, in the county and the whole land of Anjou, or Touraine and of Maine, and in the county and the whole land of Poitiers, or elsewhere in any part of the kingdom of France or in the islands, if the king of France or his brothers, or others from them, hold anything of them, and all arrears.- And likewise we have renounced and do renounce, we and our two sons, all claim upon all those who hold anything, by gift, exchange, sale, purchase, elevation or other similar way, from the king of France or from his ancestors or his brothers in the duchy and the whole land of Normandy, in the county and the whole land of Anjou, or Touraine and of Maine, and in the county and the whole land of Poitiers, or elsewhere in any part of the kingdom of France or in the islands aforesaid, saving to us and our heirs our right in the lands for which we ought to have by this peace, as set out above, to do liege homage to the king of France, and saving that we can ask for our right if we believe we have it in the Agenais, and have it there if the court of the king of France decides it, and likewise in respect of Quercy.- And we have pardoned and renounced all claim upon one another and we pardon and renounce all animosity over disputes and wars, all arrears, and all issues which have been had or which could have been had in all the aforesaid things, and all losses and expenses incurred on either side in war or in any other ways.- And so that this peace may be kept firmly and stably, without any infringement, forever, the king of France has had an oath sworn on his soul by his proxies specially appointed for this and his two sons have sworn to keep these things as long as it concerns each of them, and they have bound themselves and their heirs to keep it by their letters pendant. And that we will keep these things we are bound to give the king of France such surety from the knights of the aforesaid lands that he gives us and from the towns as he will require of us.- And the form of the surety for us from the men and towns shall be this: they shall swear that they will give neither counsel nor support nor aid whereby we or our heir may contravene the peace, and if it should happen, which God forbid, that we or our heir should contravene it and be unwilling to make amends on being requested to do so by the king of France or his heir, the king of France, those who have gone surety shall, within three months of being required by him to do so, be bound to help the king of France and his heirs against us and our heirs until this thing is sufficiently amended in the opinion of the court of the king of France. And this surety shall be renewed every ten years at the request of the king of France or his heirs, the kings of France.- And we promise in good faith for ourselves and for our heirs and successors, to the aforesaid king of France and his heirs and successors, loyally and firmly to keep this peace and this composition established between us and the aforesaid king of France and every one of the things aforesaid just as they are contained above, and we promise that we will not contravene them in any way either personally or through another, and that we have not and will not do anything whereby any or all of the aforesaid things, in whole or part, may be less firm. And so that this peace may be kept firmly and stably, without any infringement, forever, we have bounds ourselves and our heirs to this and have had an oath sworn on our soul in our presence by our proxies to keep the peace, just as it is set out and written above, in good faith as long as it concerns us, and not to contravene it either personally or through another.- And in witness of all these things we have made for the king of France these letters pendant, sealed with our seal. - And by special commandment our sons Edward and Edmund have in our presence sworn to keep and hold firmly this peace and all the things which are contained above and not to contravene them either personally and through others.- This was given at London, the Monday before the feast of St Luke the Evangelist in the year of our Lord’s incarnation one thousand two hundred and fifty nine, in the month of October.”
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