Shrewsbury, John Talbot, 1st earl of

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Shrewsbury, John Talbot, 1st earl of (c.1387–1453). Talbot was the most renowned in England and most feared in France of the English captains in the last stages of the Hundred Years War. Having fought briefly under Henry V, he returned to France in 1427, where he served until his death at Castillon in 1453. The only battles in which he was in command (Patay and Castillon) were defeats; his reputation rested on his persistence, dedication, and vigour, qualities which made him a master of the small-scale war of thrust and counter-thrust that characterized the defence of Normandy between 1434 and 1444. His service to the cause of Lancaster was acknowledged in 1442 by his elevation to the earldom of Shrewsbury. A tough, cruel, and quarrelsome man, he came to be regarded as the last of the old chivalric breed. His tomb is in St Alkmund's, Whitchurch.

Anthony James Pollard

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John Talbot 1st earl of Shrewsbury

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