The Siege of Rouen is a poetic account of Henry V’s siege of Rouen in Normandy over the winter of 1417-18. It survives in two manuscripts held at the British Library and Balliol College, and consists of thirteen hundred rhyming couplets, supposedly written by an eyewitness named John Page.
The siege itself was the most important, and perhaps most brutal, episode of Henry’s conquest of Normandy. It was the culmination of his second campaign in France; the first had resulted in the famous English victory at Agincourt, immortalised by Shakespeare. No such ‘glorious’ battles were fought in Normandy. Instead Henry captured one key city and fortress after another, skilfully exploiting divisions among the French leadership.
In August 1418 his army settled down before Rouen, the capital of Normandy. The English seized control of the river, cutting off aid from Paris while enabling them to transport supplies from the port town of Harfleur.
Inside the city, food quickly ran short. This was partly due to the overconfidence of the citizens, who had invited twelve thousand refugees to take shelter inside their walls. The burgesses of Rouen made the pragmatic decision to eject all the useless mouths – bouches inutiles – before the food ran out completely. These unfortunates included many refugees, the old, the sick, the young, and anyone who was too weak to assist in the defence.
Henry was equally cold-blooded, and refused to let these starving wretches pass through his siege lines. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, they were condemned to starve in the ditches.
Henry V depicted in the Regement of Princes by Thomas Hoccleve, c. 1411–1413
Enter John Page. The major theme of his poem is the conflict between the author’s patriotism and loyalty to his king, and horror at the fate of the victims.
The friction between Page’s loyalty and compassion creates a sustained tension in his work. He cannot conceal his anguish at the horrors he witnessed during that hellish, of his pity for the innocents who died. Witness the following passage, translated into modern English:
“They died so fast on every day That man could not all of them in earth lay, Even if a child should otherwise be dead, The mother would give it bread. Nor would a child to its mother give. Everyone tried himself to live, As long as he could last, Love and kindness both were past.”
That was not the worst of it. Young girls were forced to sell their bodies for scraps of rotten food, and there were rumours of cannibalism. Unsurprisingly, disease soon broke out. Page goes on to describe the piteous state of the refugees trapped in the ditches:
“And some were crooked in their knees, And now were lean as trees, You saw a woman hold in her arm, Her own dead child, with nothing warm. And babies suckling on the pap, Within a dead woman’s lap.”
The suffering of women and children is a constant theme. Elsewhere Page noted how “women with their children in the arms” begged Henry’s soldiers “to have mercy upon us, you Englishmen”.
Henry finally relented on Christmas Day, when he allowed his men to take food to the survivors. By now, according to Page, perhaps one in twelve of the people originally expelled from Rouen were still alive. He makes much of Henry’s mercy and generosity:
“This season of Christmas, I shall tell you of fair grace. And the makings of our king, Of his goodness a great tokening. He did send upon that Christmas Day, His heroes dressed in rich array, And said because of that high feast, Both to most and to least, Within the city and without, They that lacked food and had gone without, They should have meat and drink.”
In fact this was another calculated decision. Henry showed charity at Christmas to show off his piety, as it was one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar. If he shown mercy at any time other than a Holy Day, he might have appeared weak. His pragmatism paid off. Just six days after this act of charity, the burgesses of Rouen offered terms of surrender.
It is impossible to identify John Page with any certainty. The surviving muster rolls list eleven John Pages, serving in the French and Scottish campaigns of Henry IV and Henry V. Of these, the two archers who served under Baron Roos of Helmsley from 1415, and Sir Philip Leche, who served under the Duke of Gloucester from 1417, are the most likely candidates. Both commanders fought at Rouen, both are mentioned in the poem, and both were northern magnates. This corresponds with the northern dialect of the poem.
Page might not have been a soldier. He makes no mention of his own involvement in the fighting, and only mentions Roos and Leche in passing, among a general list of English captains. Perhaps Page was simply modest, but there are other possibilities. The rolls for the reigns of Henry V and Henry VI mention nineteen John Pages, although only one had a definite connection to the royal household. This John Page was a groom of the counting house, who in 1439 received a life grant of the king’s woods in Nottinghamshire. Another candidate is a cleric who went on to be prior of Barnwell, Cambridgeshire. It is possible this man was employed as a field chaplain in the army.
‘My’ John Page is an outlaw, on the run for killing his cousin in a duel. He not only serves in the English army in Normandy, but also finds himself fighting among the Hussites in Bohemia, far to the east. That, however, is a tale for another day…
David Pilling is a writer and researcher, passionate about history, especially the medieval era. He has a deep interest in the Byzantine Empire, post-Roman Britain, and the British and Irish Civil Wars, and writes both historical fiction and non-fiction. You can find him on X/Twitter, Substack, Facebook, YouTube and Goodreads.
Further Readings:
Brian Burfield, “They should have meat and drink”, a medieval Christmas Tale from the Siege of Rouen,” Medieval Warfare, Volume 2:6 (2012)
Joanna Bellis, “John Page’s “The Siege of Rouen”, Text and Transmission,” Medieval Aevum, Volume 83:2 (2014)
By David Pilling
The Siege of Rouen is a poetic account of Henry V’s siege of Rouen in Normandy over the winter of 1417-18. It survives in two manuscripts held at the British Library and Balliol College, and consists of thirteen hundred rhyming couplets, supposedly written by an eyewitness named John Page.
The siege itself was the most important, and perhaps most brutal, episode of Henry’s conquest of Normandy. It was the culmination of his second campaign in France; the first had resulted in the famous English victory at Agincourt, immortalised by Shakespeare. No such ‘glorious’ battles were fought in Normandy. Instead Henry captured one key city and fortress after another, skilfully exploiting divisions among the French leadership.
In August 1418 his army settled down before Rouen, the capital of Normandy. The English seized control of the river, cutting off aid from Paris while enabling them to transport supplies from the port town of Harfleur.
Inside the city, food quickly ran short. This was partly due to the overconfidence of the citizens, who had invited twelve thousand refugees to take shelter inside their walls. The burgesses of Rouen made the pragmatic decision to eject all the useless mouths – bouches inutiles – before the food ran out completely. These unfortunates included many refugees, the old, the sick, the young, and anyone who was too weak to assist in the defence.
Henry was equally cold-blooded, and refused to let these starving wretches pass through his siege lines. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, they were condemned to starve in the ditches.
Enter John Page. The major theme of his poem is the conflict between the author’s patriotism and loyalty to his king, and horror at the fate of the victims.
The friction between Page’s loyalty and compassion creates a sustained tension in his work. He cannot conceal his anguish at the horrors he witnessed during that hellish, of his pity for the innocents who died. Witness the following passage, translated into modern English:
“They died so fast on every day
That man could not all of them in earth lay,
Even if a child should otherwise be dead,
The mother would give it bread.
Nor would a child to its mother give.
Everyone tried himself to live,
As long as he could last,
Love and kindness both were past.”
That was not the worst of it. Young girls were forced to sell their bodies for scraps of rotten food, and there were rumours of cannibalism. Unsurprisingly, disease soon broke out. Page goes on to describe the piteous state of the refugees trapped in the ditches:
“And some were crooked in their knees,
And now were lean as trees,
You saw a woman hold in her arm,
Her own dead child, with nothing warm.
And babies suckling on the pap,
Within a dead woman’s lap.”
The suffering of women and children is a constant theme. Elsewhere Page noted how “women with their children in the arms” begged Henry’s soldiers “to have mercy upon us, you Englishmen”.
Henry finally relented on Christmas Day, when he allowed his men to take food to the survivors. By now, according to Page, perhaps one in twelve of the people originally expelled from Rouen were still alive. He makes much of Henry’s mercy and generosity:
“This season of Christmas,
I shall tell you of fair grace.
And the makings of our king,
Of his goodness a great tokening.
He did send upon that Christmas Day,
His heroes dressed in rich array,
And said because of that high feast,
Both to most and to least,
Within the city and without,
They that lacked food and had gone without,
They should have meat and drink.”
In fact this was another calculated decision. Henry showed charity at Christmas to show off his piety, as it was one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar. If he shown mercy at any time other than a Holy Day, he might have appeared weak. His pragmatism paid off. Just six days after this act of charity, the burgesses of Rouen offered terms of surrender.
It is impossible to identify John Page with any certainty. The surviving muster rolls list eleven John Pages, serving in the French and Scottish campaigns of Henry IV and Henry V. Of these, the two archers who served under Baron Roos of Helmsley from 1415, and Sir Philip Leche, who served under the Duke of Gloucester from 1417, are the most likely candidates. Both commanders fought at Rouen, both are mentioned in the poem, and both were northern magnates. This corresponds with the northern dialect of the poem.
Page might not have been a soldier. He makes no mention of his own involvement in the fighting, and only mentions Roos and Leche in passing, among a general list of English captains. Perhaps Page was simply modest, but there are other possibilities. The rolls for the reigns of Henry V and Henry VI mention nineteen John Pages, although only one had a definite connection to the royal household. This John Page was a groom of the counting house, who in 1439 received a life grant of the king’s woods in Nottinghamshire. Another candidate is a cleric who went on to be prior of Barnwell, Cambridgeshire. It is possible this man was employed as a field chaplain in the army.
For the purposes of fiction, I have chosen to depict John Page as a fighting man. He is the protagonist of my novels, SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (I) THE WOLF CUB and SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (II): THE HERETIC, now available as ebook and POD (print on demand) from Sharpe Books.
‘My’ John Page is an outlaw, on the run for killing his cousin in a duel. He not only serves in the English army in Normandy, but also finds himself fighting among the Hussites in Bohemia, far to the east. That, however, is a tale for another day…
David Pilling is a writer and researcher, passionate about history, especially the medieval era. He has a deep interest in the Byzantine Empire, post-Roman Britain, and the British and Irish Civil Wars, and writes both historical fiction and non-fiction. You can find him on X/Twitter, Substack, Facebook, YouTube and Goodreads.
Further Readings:
Brian Burfield, “They should have meat and drink”, a medieval Christmas Tale from the Siege of Rouen,” Medieval Warfare, Volume 2:6 (2012)
Joanna Bellis, “John Page’s “The Siege of Rouen”, Text and Transmission,” Medieval Aevum, Volume 83:2 (2014)
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