Narratives of the Expulsion of the English from Normandy, MCCCXLIX-MCCCL: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green

Historian, archivist and clergyman, Joseph Stevenson (1806-95) was employed by the Historical Manuscripts Commission and served as an editor of the Rolls Series, for which he produced this work in 1863. The work comprises three mid-fifteenth-century narratives which deal with the re-establishment of an independent French monarchy in the final years of the Hundred Years’ War. The first, in Latin but not translated, was written by Robert Blondel (c.1390-1460), a reliable source and influential advocate of Charles VII. It recounts events from the capture of Fougeres to the English expulsion following the loss of Cherbourg. The second, by Jacques le Bouvier, in French accompanied by a translation, provides a complementary narrative to Blondel’s. Both were printed for the first time here. Finally, Stevenson included a translated record of Anglo-French negotiations, first printed in 1454. Together, these documents offer insight into a pivotal period in diplomatic affairs.