Scene of Surrender

Auguste Rodin's 'The Burghers of Calais'

Jean Froissart arrived at the court of Edward III in 1362 during a wave of plague that killed almost one in four heirs of landed estates across France. He had every reason to flatter Queen Philippa, who became his patron. This relationship naturally affected his work as a historian. Consider his portrayal of the 1347 Siege of Calais, when Edward III set…