Treaty of Tours

The Treaty of Tours was an agreement between Henry VI of England and the Charles VII of France, signed on 22 May 1444. The terms stipulated the marriage of Charles VII's fifteen-year-old niece, Margaret of Anjou, to Henry VI and the agreement of a 21-month truce between the Kingdoms of England and France. In exchange for the marriage, Charles wanted the area of Maine in northern France. Henry VI married Margaret a year later, in April 1445, when Henry VI was 23 years old. He did not, however, give up Maine. Charles threatened Henry VI and sent envoys to pressure him; even Margaret tried to persuade Henry to give it up. Henry eventually yielded in 1448 when Charles VII threatened English garrisons with a large army. The Treaty was seen as a major failure for England as the bride secured for Henry VI was a poor match, being related to King Charles VII only distantly, and through marriage rather than by blood. Her marriage came also without a dowry, when the amount that should have been given was 20,000 livres. Margaret of Anjou was the daughter of the impoverished René of Anjou and in addition to being presented with Margaret without a dowry, Henry was also expected to pay for the wedding. The Treaty of Tours exacerbated rifts between the court's Beaufort faction and the Dukes of Gloucester and York, and has been considered a potentially contributory factor to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses.

The Hundred Years War (1337–1453) was between the Houses of Valois and Plantagenet who were both contesting the throne of France. In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was signed which stipulated the marriage of Henry V of England to Catherine, daughter of Charles VI of France, and also stated that Henry and his heirs would inherit the throne of France on Charles VI’s death. However, with the death of both Kings in 1422, the throne of France went to Charles VII and the throne of England went to the infant Henry VI. In 1423, the Treaty of Amiens confirmed the terms of the Treaty of Troyes, but with the military battles of Charles VII against the territories held by England in France, the treaty was rendered moot and the Hundred Years War continued.

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