The siege of Aiguillon, an episode in the Hundred Years' War, began on 1 April 1346 when a French army commanded by John, Duke of Normandy, laid siege to the Gascon town of Aiguillon. The town was defended by an Anglo-Gascon army under Ralph, Earl of Stafford.
A medieval town under assault. A miniature from a chronicle by Jean Froissart.
Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford
A derelict section of Aiguillon's walls, pictured in 1855
A contemporary image of John, Duke of Normandy (later King of France)
Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford
Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford, KG, of Stafford Castle and Madeley Castle in Staffordshire, was an English nobleman and a notable soldier during the Hundred Years' War against France.
Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, KG. Illustration from the Bruges Garter Book, c. 1430. He displays the arms of Stafford on his tunic.
Remains of Madeley Castle in Staffordshire, now known as "Madeley Old Manor", for which the 1st Earl received a licence to crenellate in February 1347/8, together with Stafford Castle, "and to make castles of them". Red Sandstone ashlar blocks with external doorway with portcullis groove and chamfered arch at its north end. This fragment is believed to have formed part of the 1st Earl's castle, namely the west external wall and gateway.
