national-identity-formation

Chapter 13 chronicles the failure of peace negotiations between England and France in 1375, leading to a truce that failed to restrain mercenary companies, which resumed devastating plundering under the leadership of the Sire de Coucy. Leopold's scorched-earth tactics and reliance on Swiss defense met fierce local resistance, culminating in significant Swiss victories such as the surprise attack on the Abbey of Fraubrunnen. Coucy's shifting allegiances and the mercenary campaign's brutal impact catalyzed Swiss national identity and highlighted the complex interplay of feudal loyalties, military strategy, and medieval diplomacy.

Chapter 14 chronicles the political turmoil in England during 1376-1377, highlighting the Good Parliament's unprecedented assertion of Commons' power through impeachment of corrupt royal ministers amid widespread social unrest and clerical corruption. The death of the Black Prince and the weak regency under John of Gaunt led to the collapse of parliamentary reforms, while religious dissent intensified with John Wyclif's heretical challenges and papal condemnation. The chapter concludes with failed peace negotiations with France, the rise of national identity exemplified by Coucy's renunciation of English allegiance, and renewed French raids that exposed England's vulnerabilities and foreshadowed social upheaval.