John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (1384-17 July 1453) was an English commander during the Hundred Years' War, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1414 to 1419, Constable of France (the English-ruled section) from 1445 to 1453, and Lord High Steward of Ireland from 1446 to 1453.
Biography[]
John Talbot was born in Blakemere, Shropshire, England in 1384, and he served in the suppression of Owain Glyndwr's Welsh revolt from 1403 to 1413. Talbot was summoned to Parliament in 1409 before becoming Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1414, and he was accused of being harsh in governing Ireland. From 1420 to 1424, he served in France during the Hundred Years' War, and he earned the Order of Garter after the Battle of Verneuil. In 1427, Shrewsbury, the Duke of Bedford, and the Earl of Warwick served with distinction in the County of Maine and at the Siege of Orleans. Talbot was captured at the Battle of Patay in 1429 and held prisoner for four years. He later became Lieutenant-General of France and Normandy and Count of Clermont, and he was the main English general in the field after Bedford's death in 1435. In 1436, he recovered much of eastern Normandy from the French, took Pontoise (north of Paris) in 1437, defeated the Burgundians at Crotoy, and retook Harfleur in 1440. In 1442, King Henry VI of England created Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, and he was appointed Constable of France (whose throne Henry claimed) in 1445. In 1450, he suppressed Jack Cade's revolt in England, but he was ordered to Bordeaux in 1452 to save Aquitaine from the French. On 17 July 1453, Talbot was killed at the Battle of Castillon, the last battle of the war.