league with Charles VII. In =1430=, by the death of the Duke of
Brabant, he inherited Brabant, and in =1436= he inherited from the
faithless Jacqueline Hainault, Holland, Zealand, and Friesland (see p.
308). He thus, being already Count of Flanders, became ruler over
well-nigh the whole of the Netherlands in addition to his own
territories in Burgundy. The vassal of the king of France was now a
European potentate. England had therefore to count on the enmity of a
ruler whose power of injuring her was indeed serious.

11. =The Duke of York in France. 1436--1437.=--Bedford's successor was
the young Richard, Duke of York, whose father was that Earl of
Cambridge who had been executed at Southampton (see p. 301); whilst
his mother was Anne Mortimer, the sister of the Earl of March. As the
Earl of March had died in =1425=, the Duke of York was now, through
his mother, the heir of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and thus, if
hereditary right was to be regarded, heir to the throne. That a man
with such claims should have been entrusted with such an office shows
how firmly the victories of Henry V. had established the House of
Lancaster in England. Disputes in the English Council, however,
delayed his departure, and in April =1436=, before he could arrive in
France, Paris was lost, whilst the Duke of Burgundy besieged Calais.
England, stung by the defection of Burgundy, made an unusual effort.
One army drove the Burgundians away from before Calais, whilst another
under the Duke of York himself regained several fortresses in
Normandy, and in =1437= Lord Talbot drove the Burgundians behind the
Somme.

12. =The English Lose Ground. 1437--1443.=--Gallant as the Duke of
York was, he was soon recalled, and in =1437= was succeeded by Richard
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Warwick, however, failed to do more than
to hold what his predecessor had gained, and he died in =1439=. Both
in England and France the suffering was terrible, and England would
find neither men nor money to support a falling cause. In =1439= a
peace conference was held at Calais, but the English continued
arrogantly to claim the crown of France, and peace was not to be had.
In =1440= York was sent back, and fighting went on till =1443=, in
which the English lost ground both in Normandy and in Guienne.

[Illustration: Gilt-latten effigy (front view) of Richard Beauchamp,
Earl of Warwick, died 1439: from his tomb at Warwick. Made by William
Austen, of London, founder, 1453.]