Prelude

Just over 800 years ago, lines had been drawn in the sand and Issoudun found itself between two kingdoms, two families and two powers.
On one side the Kingdom of France ruled by the Capetians, descendants of Hugh Capet.
On the other the Plantagenets, descendants of Geoffroy Plantagenet, Earl of Maine and Anjou. The family had diligently expanded their realm until it included the kingdom of England.
For several centuries, these two dynasties faced off against each other.

Summary of the situation. In the 12th century, the kingdom of France was weak. The royal estate consisted of little more than the current Paris basin with Bourges at its southern border. The rest of the modern-day France was shared among powerful counts (Burgundy, Blois, Flanders, Toulouse etc.). By medieval custom the counts should act as vassals of the French King but they were becoming increasingly independent, threatening the very existence of the kingdom.

Drama. In 1152, France suffered a new affront: Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, divorced Louis VII, King of France. Only to remarry Henry II Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy. and soon to be King of England. Between them, they ruled over a huge territory. The kingdom of France didn’t hold much weight against them! And yet...

Philip and Richard: friends and enemies

In 1180, Philip II succeeded his father, Louis VII as ruler of the small kingdom of France. He was only 15 years old, but he was determined. From the beginning of his reign, he sought to recover the French land claimed by the King of England. Skilfully, he manipulated the rivalry between the aging English King Henry II and his son Richard, who had the support of his mother, Eleanor.

The friendship between Philip and Richard was real, at least for a while. Or perhaps it was simply complicity, since both wanted rid of old Henry. But this friendship would soon be put to the test.  In line with Medieval tradition Philippe asked Richard to pay homage for his fiefdoms of Poitou and Aquitaine. Richard replied only with the excuse that he was far too busy.   He put it off week after week, in no hurry to kneel before his overlord as was the custom. Philippe became impatient...and went on the attack.

Before Issoudun

This is where Issoudun appears for the first time in our story! In May 1187 from his base at Bourges, Philippe Auguste seized Graçay and Issoudun and destroyed other neighbouring forts. This alerted Henry II and Richard I (who had made up in the meantime) who raised a large army and camped in Châteauroux. Eventually they sent an ambassador to negotiate.

A few months later a declaration of peace was signed in Gisors, under the aegis of Pope Gregory VIII. In exchange for Issoudun and Graçay, Philippe renounced all claims to Châteauroux.

The Third Crusade

In 1190, the two kings, allies once more, embarked on the third crusade. On the way, in Messines, Philip and Richard confirmed the peace established in Gisor's.

A record of the time states: “Philip King of the French, by the grace of God. Lets all men, present and future, know that a solid peace has been established between us and our friend and faithful brother, Richard, illustrious King of England, who has pledged himself by oath to the peace under the following conditions”.

Point 8 states: “for his part, he cedes the fiefdoms of Issoudun and Graçay. (...) Hereby confirmed by the authority of our seal, as a token of its eternal duration”.

Eternity didn't last very long, as we'll soon see!

In the land of Palestine, the Crusaders fought against Saladin and recaptured the port city of Saint-Jean-d’Acre. But on December 27, 1191 Philippe fell ill and returned to Paris. He intended to see to his affairs of state. Meanwhile, the intrepid Richard continued to fight alongside the Templars and their Grand Master Robert de Sablé. Weakened and divided, the Crusaders renounced their battle before the gates of Jerusalem.

On 2nd September 1192, Richard the Lionheart declared peace with Saladin.

A month later, worried about the situation in England, he decided to return. 

Richard, the comeback kid

Richard was as suspicious of his allies as he was his enemies. As he attempted to sneak back home, assuming a false identity and taking back roads, he was recognized, arrested and handed over to the German Emperor. He was released two years later, for a very high ransom.
In his absence his brother, Prince John, had tried to usurp his power. 

In March 1194 Richard finally returned to London. Where he stayed barely two months. On May 12, 1194, he headed back to Normandy accompanied by his mother, Eleanor to defend his territories against the threat posed by French king Philippe.

On July 4 1194 near to Blois a dramatic event unfolded.  Richard caught out the French armies with a surprise attack. In the melee Philippe Auguste was almost drowned and taken prisoner but avoided both. However, the English captured his carriages, which contained royal treasures and archives.

on August 1st, a new truce was established…  which, like with most medieval truces, didn’t last long!

In 1195, the two men met near Issoudun...

The kings push their pawns around Issoudun

Since returning from the crusades Richard had hired the services of a certain Mercadier, who now accompanied him on all his adventures. Mercadier was the leader of a gang of mercenaries who did not blink at bloodshed, looting and arson.

In July 1195, Mercadier threw all his power at Issoudun.

As the old chronicles state “He and his troops destroyed a suburb of Issoudun in the Berry, took the town and garrisoned it on behalf of the King of England”

Immediately, he set out to strengthen defences. The town’s keep would have to be equal in stature to that Philippe Auguste had built in Bourges. 

This keep he constructed is la Tour Blanche

Finally, it’s all called off.

In November 1195 the truce was abandoned and the two kings reengaged. This is how our old-time chronical or puts it:

“Philip assembled his army in the Berry, near Issoudun, where the King of England was stationed with his army. Suddenly, at the moment both sides were bravely preparing for battle, by a miracle of divine power, which confuses people’s thoughts and changes the minds of kings as it pleases, the King of England, against the all expectations, laid down his arms and, with a small party, entered the French camp. There, in the presence of everyone, he paid tribute to King Philip (...). The two kings swore, in that same place, to keep the peace.”

On January 14, the two kings met (again!) in Normandy to sign a new peace treaty. The text signed by Richard said:

“We want to let it to be known that here follows the convention of peace between our Lord Philippe, illustrious King of France and ourselves, between Issoudun and Chârost. So that there may be a stable peace between our Philip, King of France and ourselves, the said King of France abandons Issoudun to us and our heirs, forever.”

If this treaty were still valid, Issoudun would be eating fish & chips and drinking warm beer today!

But in reality, the agreement did not satisfy either party and, in the summer, fighting resumed both in the Berry and in Normandy.

The Lion sleeps…forever

The battles are going fairly well for Richard on the ground.  But he cannot pass up on an adventure, no matter how futile. The Count of Chalus, in the Limousin, discovered a treasure and Richard wanted it for himself, so he set off to attack the castle. During the fight, he was hit by a crossbow bolt. On April 6, he succumbed and died of his injuries.

A chronicler at the time writes: "The ant has triumphed over the Lion”.

Another poet cries: “We are all plunged into despair; the barons, the troubadours, the jugglers have lost everything”.

It's maybe a bit over the top but that’s how legends are made.

John without Land gets land (but it doesn't work out for him)

With Richard's disappearance, Prince John got what he had always wanted: the kingdom. But as always, he remained violent, unscrupulous and immoral. He quickly became hatred by all side: barons, monks, bishops, from bourgeois to peasant alike. He was even accused of killing his nephew Arthur with his own hands, to remove him from power.

We call him John no land, but history paints him more as John no heart.

And now, a little Spanish princess! 

On May 22, 1200, the newly crowned King John signed a peace treaty with Philip Augustus. 

Ce traité précise :

On May 22, 1200, the newly crowned King John signed a peace treaty with Philip Augustus. 

The treaty specified:

“John, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Earl of Angers and Poitiers, by the grace of God, salutes all present. This is a peace treaty, concluded between our lord Philip, illustrious King of France, and ourselves:

We will keep with Philip, and his heirs, the peace that King Richard made with them.

We bestow on Louis, son of the King of France, for his marriage to the daughter of the King of Castile, our niece, the fiefdom of Issoudun and that of Graçay”.

Thus, Blanche de Castile was married to Louis.

The white queen

“The white queen a lily who sang with the voice of a siren”

This is how François Villon, one of the greatest of French poets, evoked the event, two centuries later. Yet her entrance was more of a whisper.

Queen Eleanor, then 80, had gone to Spain to pick her out from among her sisters and bring her to France. By a curious twist of fate, the former queen of France chose her successor for the throne! Perhaps she was secretly hoping the two kingdoms would one day be reunited!

The wedding took place on May 23, 1200 in Port-Mort, Eure, far from the usual pomp and ceremony of the royal court. It was, after all, only the confirmation of the treaty signed the day before! Unable to resist the cliché, at the ceremony the contemporary chronicler Guillaume Le Breton described Blanche as a princess "…resplendent in innocence, heart and speech, as her name would suggest."

Turning her back on her Plantagenet origins, Blanche de Castile showed herself faithful to the Kingdom of France and her husband. In 1214, at the Battle of Bouvines, Philippe and Louis defeated the coalition formed by Jean Sans Terre. With Louis being bestowed the title The Lion!

But not queen of England!

Two years later Blanche supported Louis on his expedition across the channel.

In fact, Louis’ claim on England was in his wife’s name, perhaps in attempt to achieve Eleanor’s secret dream of reuniting the two kingdoms. At Westminster, the barons paid Louis tribute but he was not crowned. And, despite Blanche's entreaties, Philippe Auguste was reluctant to send reinforcement and get mixed up in the affair so their attempt was short-lived.
The sudden death of John - from dysentery due to excess cider - put an end to the adventure once and for all. Finally, free of their troublesome ruler, the barons crowned his son, Henry III. They no longer needed Louis, nor Blanche, who would never become queen of England, as Eleanor of Aquitaine may have wished.

Finally, a saint is born!

In court, Louis and Blanche were a model couple. Which is rare for the time! “Never has queen loved her lord so much, nor her children so strongly” wrote the poet Philippe Mouskes.

The poets and jugglers whom Philip had kicked out were invited back.

On the death of Philippe Auguste on July 14, 1223 France reclaimed much of the Plantagenets territories and Louis VIII and his wife ascended the throne, aged 36 and 35 years old respectively. Soon after, while fighting against the Cathars and the Count of Toulouse in the Midi region of France, Louis VIII was struck down by the dysentery epidemic, and died on November 8, 1226. Blanche served as regent for eleven years, until her son, Louis IX, was old enough to reign. He would be christened St. Louis, a well-loved king who inherited her piety and wisdom.

It is suggested she had a brief romance with Count Thibault of Champagne, who dedicated most of his poems to her. But there is no indication that the queen ever gave in to the poet's advances. “In you is my death or my life” he complained, "Lady of honour and wisdom, if courtly love has seized you do not reject me for it”

Often described as austere and authoritarian, Queen Blanche drew much criticism when she suppressed the university revolt of 1229,

No one knows whether Blanche de Castile often visited Issoudun. She had market halls built there in 1236 and bought several houses there in 1238.

In 1242, Blanche gave the town to her son St. Louis and Issoudun became a royal city. She adopted three lily flowers on a blue background as her coat of arms. This shade of blue, generally despised up till then, coming from medieval age and went on to become the colour of the kings and kingdom of France and even to modern day with the house of Bourbon-Anjou in Spain.

All that remains is the White Tower