Ponthieu played a small but important role in the politics that led up to the Norman invasion of England in 1066.
Norman conquest of England In 1064
Edward the Confessor sent
Harold Godwinson to Normandy in order to recognize its duke William as his successor. However, Harold shipwrecked at Ponthieu, where he was taken captive by Guy I (or Wido according to the Bayeux Tapestry), the then Count of Ponthieu. It is alleged that William (Duke of Normandy, later William I of England), discovering that Harold had been taken captive, persuaded Count Guy to hand over his prisoner. Harold then swore to support William's claim to the throne, and joined the duke in his brief campaign in Brittany before returning to England. In 1067 the chaplain of
Matilda of Flanders,
Guy, Bishop of Amiens, composed
Carmen de Hastingae Proelio, a
Latin poem on the
battle of Hastings. In 1150 the Count of Ponthieu built a fortress for himself at Crotoy, a strategic point on the mouth of the river
Somme.
House of Castile In 1279
Eleanor of Castile, wife of King
Edward I of England inherited the County of Ponthieu. Eleanor was the daughter of
Joan Countess of Ponthieu. Upon her death in 1290 Ponthieu passed to her son
Edward II of England. As Edward was a boy of six Ponthieu was granted to
Edmund Crouchback the king’s brother until young Edward came of age. However in 1294 Ponthieu was confiscated by King
Philip IV of France. Upon the end of the
Gascon War of 1294-1303 it reverted back to Edward.
The Hundred Years' War During the Hundred Years' War, Ponthieu changed hands a number of times, although the English claimed control of it from 1279–1369, and then later until 1435. During English control of Ponthieu, Abbeville was used as the capital. In late August 1346, during his campaigns on French soil, Edward III of England reached the region of Ponthieu. While there, he restored the fortress at Crotoy that had been ruined. He forced a passage of the Somme at the ford of
Blanchetaque. The army led by
Philip VI of France caught up with him at nearby
Crécy-en-Ponthieu, leading to the famous
Battle of Crécy. In 1360, the
Treaty of Brétigny between King
John II of France and
Edward III of England gave control of Ponthieu (along with
Gascony and
Calais) over to the English, in exchange for Edward relinquishing his claim to the French throne. Edward took the land but still refused to surrender his claim. In April, 1369
Charles V of France conquered Ponthieu, and a month later declared war on England (he had done so previously in 1368 as well). As a result, Edward publicly reassumed the title 'King of France' in June. In 1372 an English army under the leadership of
Robert Knolles invaded Ponthieu, burning the city of
Le Crotoy before crossing the
Somme at the ford of Blanchetaque. Also during the Hundred Years' War, in the
Treaty of Arras (1435),
Charles VII of France bribed
Philip the Good,
Duke of Burgundy, to break his alliance with the English in exchange for possession of Ponthieu. This arguably marked a turning point that led to the end of England's part in the conflict 40 years later. In 1477 Ponthieu was reconquered by King
Louis XI of France. ==Counts of Ponthieu==