John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, was the last great English commander of the Hundred Years' War and died in the battle that ended it. Born around 1387 into a Shropshire family, he served in Wales against Owain Glyndŵr and then as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where he acquired a reputation for effectiveness and brutality. He went to France in 1427 and spent most of the rest of his life there. He was a commander of a particular kind: aggressive, fast, given to storming towns by escalade and to appearing where he was not expected, and almost entirely without strategic patience. The French called him the English Achilles and used his name to frighten children. He was captured at Patay in June 1429, when Joan of Arc's forces caught the English archers before they could plant their stakes, and spent four years as a prisoner before being exchanged. He returned and took Harfleur, relieved Le Mans, and fought through the long attrition in Normandy as the French, reorganised under Charles VII with a standing army and the Bureau brothers' artillery, took fortress after fortress. Normandy fell in 1450 and Gascony in 1451. Bordeaux, which had been English for three centuries and preferred it, invited him back, and he landed in 1452 and retook the city. At Castillon in July 1453 he attacked a fortified French artillery park with cavalry and dismounted men rather than wait for support. His horse was killed by a cannon shot and he was killed with an axe, along with his son. The war ended within months.
- Lived: 1387 CE – 1453 CE
- Nationality: English
- Roles: military_leader, noble
