Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 1: A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History
History
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 1: A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History
Biography
In May, 1370, at the command of Charles V., who named him Constable of
France, he returned to France. War had just been declared against
England, and Du Guesclin was called to take part in it. For nearly ten
years he was engaged in fighting against the English in the south and
the west of France, recovering from them the provinces of Poitou,
Guienne, and Auvergne, and thus powerfully contributing to the
establishment of a united France. In 1373, when the Duke of Brittany
sought English aid against a threatened invasion by Charles V., Du
Guesclin was sent at the head of a powerful army to seize the duchy,
which he did; and two years later he frustrated, by a defensive
policy, the attempt of the duke with an English army to recover it.
Finding, in 1379, that the king entertained suspicions of his fidelity
to him, he resolved to give up his constable's sword and retire to
Spain. His resolution was at first proof against remonstrance; but
ultimately he received back the sword, and continued in the service of
France.
In 1380 he was sent into Languedoc to suppress disturbances and
brigandage provoked by the harsh government of the Duke of Anjou. His
first act was to lay siege to the fortress of Chateauneuf-Randou, held
by the English, strongly garrisoned and well provisioned. A day was
fixed conditionally for capitulation. Meanwhile the great warrior was
smitten with a mortal illness, and died, July 13, 1380. The commander
led out the garrison and deposited the keys of the castle on the
coffin of the hero. Du Guesclin lost his first wife in 1371, and
married a second in 1373. His remains were interred, by order of the
king, in the church of St Denis.
HENRY V. OF ENGLAND
Extracts from "Memoirs of Great Commanders," by G. P. R. JAMES
(1388-1422)
[Illustration: Ritter's arms. [TN]]
Henry, the fifth English monarch of that name, was born at Monmouth,
on the banks of the pleasant Wye, in the year 1388. He was the eldest
son of Henry, Earl of Derby, and of Mary de Bohun, daughter of the
Earl of Hereford. During his infancy reverses and successes passed
rapidly over his father's head, and at the age of thirteen years he
found himself the eldest son of the King of England, and was created
by his father Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, and Earl of Chester.
The early education of Henry the Fifth is unknown; but it may be
inferred, that during the life of his mother, principles of high honor
and virtue had been instilled into his bosom, which became dormant,
though not extinct, as rising toward manhood, evil companions took
advantage of idleness and indulgence to call into action the passions
of the young prince, in order to lead him to their own purposes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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