England and Normandy, 1204-1259

In 1204, Normandy submitted to King Philip Augustus of
France but the kings of England refused to acknowledge the
loss of the duchy, or of the other Angevin possessions
conquered by the French kings, until the Treaty of Paris of
1259 - Apart from king John's grandiose attempt of 1214 to
recover all the conquered provinces, no serious attempt was
made by an English king between 1204 and 1259 to recover
the duchy. Consequently, most modern historians tend to
speak of the "loss of Normandy" in 1204 and the "formal"
surrender of all English claims there to in 1259 as if the
events of the former date had effectively severed England
and Normandy forever. It is generally felt that on the whole the links with England were very soon forgotten and
that after 1204 the duchy settled down quite happily under
her new French masters who adopted a conciliatory policy
towards her.
This thesis questions the current orthodoxy as summarized
above. It examines Anglo-Norman relations between 1204 and
1259 and reveals that strong ecclesiastical, economic and tenurial link continued to exist between England and
Normandy throughout the period. Consideration is also
given to the relations of the various sectors of Norman
society with their new Capetian rulers and it is suggested that these were not as harmonious as previously supposed.
Finally, an attempt is made to assess the political
significance of these two factors as far as Anglo-French
relations were concerned.