Pale of Calais | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1347–1558 | |||||||||
| Motto: Veritas Temporis filia "Truth, the daughter of Time" | |||||||||
 The Pale of Calais (yellow) in 1477. | |||||||||
| Status | Overseas possession of England | ||||||||
| Capital | Calais | ||||||||
| Common languages | English, Dutch, French, Picard | ||||||||
| Religion | Official: Catholic (until 1534); (from 1553) Church of England (1534-1553) Others: Judaism | ||||||||
| Lord | |||||||||
• 1347–1377 | Edward III (first) | ||||||||
• 1553–1558 | Mary I (last) | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1353 | Reynold Cobham (first) | ||||||||
• 1553–1558 | Thomas Wentworth (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Middle Ages | ||||||||
| 3 August 1347 | |||||||||
| 8 May 1360 | |||||||||
| 8 January 1558 | |||||||||
| 2 May 1598 | |||||||||
| Currency | Sterling | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | France | ||||||||
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The Pale of Calais[a] was a territory in northern France ruled by the monarchs of England from 1347 to 1558.[1] The area, which centred on Calais, was taken following the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent Siege of Calais, and was confirmed at the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, in the reign of Edward III of England. It became an important economic centre for England in Europe's textile trade centered in Flanders.
The Pale, which was historically part of Flanders, also provided England with a permanent strategic, defensible outpost from which it could plan and launch military action on the continent. Its position on the English Channel meant it could be reinforced, garrisoned and supplied over the Straits of Dover. The territory was bilingual with English and Flemish commonly spoken.[2][3][4] It was represented in the Parliament of England by the Calais constituency.
During the reign of Mary I of England, the Pale was unexpectedly retaken by the French following a siege in 1558 during their campaigns against the Spaniards (whose king was also married to queen Mary) in the County of Flanders. Subsequently, the English textile trade abandoned Calais and moved to the Habsburg Netherlands.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Rose, Susan (2008). Calais: An English Town in France, 1347–1558. pp. 107, 156.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Dumitrescuwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rose, Susan (2008). Calais: An English Town in France, 1347–1558. pp. passim.
- ^ Sandeman, George Amelius Crawshay (October 2009). Calais under English Rule. BiblioBazaar. pp. 48, 61, 81. ISBN 9781115448154.