Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War (French: Guerre de Cent Ans; 1337–1453) was a series of conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France, and also a civil war in France, during the late Middle Ages. It began with feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was set off by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a larger military, economic, and political struggle involving many groups from across Western Europe. Growing feelings of nationalism on both sides helped fuel it.

Although the war is often said to have lasted 116 years, it was not a constant fighting. It was often interrupted by outside events, such as the Black Death, and by several years of truces. During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, which was then the wealthiest and most populous kingdom in Western Europe. The war changed European history in lasting ways. Both sides developed new military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, which permanently changed how wars were fought. Chivalry reached its height during the conflict and then declined. In both kingdoms, stronger national identities took root, and the kingdoms became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers.

Later historians used the name "Hundred Years' War" and included related conflicts in Spain and Belgium that came from the same royal families. This made it the longest military conflict in European history. The war is usually divided into three phases separated by truces: the Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). Each side brought many allies into the conflict. English forces won many early victories, but the French forces under the House of Valois ultimately kept control of the Kingdom of France. The French and English monarchies remained separate afterward, even though the monarchs of England and Great Britain called themselves sovereigns of France until 1802.

For other uses, see Hundred Years' War (disambiguation).

Overview

The Hundred Years' War had its roots in the crisis of 14th-century Europe. Tension between the kings of France and England grew over land. The official reason was the end of the direct male line of the Capetian dynasty. Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, when William II, Duke of Normandy became king of England, English kings had held titles and lands within France, which made them vassals to the kings of France. Their French fiefs caused conflict throughout the Middle Ages. According to Michael Livingston, the conflict began in 1337, when Philippe VI of France claimed that France controlled the English lands there. When Charles IV of France died in 1328 without sons or brothers, a succession crisis followed. The Estates-General had decided in 1317 that "Women do not succeed in the kingdom of France." Charles's nephew Edward III of England had a claim through his mother Isabella, who claimed the throne of France for her son by the rule of proximity of blood. The French nobles rejected this, saying she could not transmit a right she did not possess. An assembly of French barons decided that a native Frenchman should receive the crown. The throne passed to Charles's patrilineal cousin Philip, Count of Valois. Edward protested, but he submitted and did homage for Gascony. In May 1337, Philip decided Gascony should be taken back, which led Edward to renew his claim to the French throne, this time by force of arms.

Early on, the English, led by King Edward III and his son Edward the Black Prince, won major victories at Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), where John II of France was taken prisoner. Under King Charles V the Wise and Bertrand du Guesclin, the French won back most of the lands given to Edward in the Treaty of Brétigny (signed in 1360), leaving the English with few cities on the continent. The Black Death, a plague that spread through Europe between 1347 and 1351, caused huge damage. Later, Henry V of England took advantage of the mental illness of Charles VI of France and the French civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians, winning at Agincourt (1415) and Verneuil (1424). The emergence of Joan of Arc boosted French morale, and the Siege of Orléans (1429) made English hopes of conquest all but unreal. Decisive battles at Patay, Formigny, and Castillon ended the war. England kept only the Pale of Calais on the continent until the Siege of Calais in 1558. Neighbouring conflicts, such as the War of the Breton Succession, the Castilian Civil War, the War of the Two Peters in Aragon, and the 1383–1385 crisis in Portugal, were also used by the parties to advance their goals. Although mainly a dynastic conflict, the war inspired French and English nationalism. Professional troops replaced feudal armies, heavy cavalry lost its dominance, and artillery became important. The war led to the first standing armies in Western Europe since the Western Roman Empire, and it changed their role in warfare. English nobles were unhappy about losing their continental lands, which helped lead to the Wars of the Roses.

Causes and prelude

Main article: English claims to the French throne

After Louis X died in 1316, people asked whether a woman could inherit the French throne. Philip, Count of Poitiers, Louis's brother, took the crown and ruled as Philip V. When Philip V died, his younger brother Charles IV became king. When Charles IV died in 1328, the main male line of the House of Capet ended. Edward III of England was the nearest male relative, through his mother Isabella, but the French nobles would not accept an English king. They chose Philip, Count of Valois, who became Philip VI. In 1329, Edward III reluctantly paid homage to Philip VI for the duchy of Aquitaine and Gascony.

Main article: First Hundred Years' War

Further information: Peerage of France

The dispute over Guyenne was an even bigger cause of the war. Tensions went back to the Norman Conquest of 1066, when the Duke of Normandy, a vassal of the King of France, took the English throne. English kings still held lands in France but owed loyalty to the French king, who tried to weaken their power there. By 1204, Philip II of France had taken much of the English lands on the continent, leaving the English king with little more than Gascony and Bordeaux. France also had an alliance with the Kingdom of Scotland, which England had tried to conquer.

See also: Auld Alliance

History

In 1337, the French king Philip took back the Duchy of Aquitaine from Edward III of England, who had broken his duties as a vassal. Edward answered by claiming the French throne through his mother. The English won a major sea battle at the Battle of Sluys in 1340, and they later won the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Edward then captured the city of Calais in 1347, which stayed under English control for a long time. The Black Death spread across Europe during these years. In 1356, the English won the Battle of Poitiers and captured the French king John II. A peace agreement, the Treaty of Brétigny, was made in 1360, but fighting soon started again.

Peace and war went back and forth for the next century. In the 1360s and 1370s, French forces under Charles V pushed the English back, and by 1380 the English held only Calais and a few other ports. Both countries were hurt by high taxes and unrest. In 1415, Henry V of England won a great victory at the Battle of Agincourt. He later made the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, which said his heirs would inherit the French throne. The war turned again when Joan of Arc helped the French lift the siege of Orléans in 1429. The French then slowly won back their lands, and in 1453 they defeated the English at the Battle of Castillon, which is seen as the last battle of the war. The war officially ended in 1475 with the Treaty of Picquigny, when Edward IV of England gave up his claim to the French throne. Losing their lands in France was a major cause of the Wars of the Roses in England.

Significance

The French victory ended a long period of instability that began with the Norman Conquest in 1066, when William the Conqueror added "King of England" to his titles. When the war ended, England had lost its lands in France except Calais, which it kept until 1558. The war ended the English dream of a joint monarchy, and English became the official language in 1362, although Anglo-Norman had left its mark on English words. National feeling grew in both countries, and France moved toward a centralised state. In England, the troubles after the defeat were a major cause of the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). A 2021 theory suggests that war between states pushed governments to build stronger tax systems, through which a standing army could be paid for. Plague and warfare also cut the population of Europe, with France losing half its people and England losing between 20 and 33 percent.

French success in the Caroline war was largely driven by a professional standing army that Charles V had created and paid for after a bad experience with mercenaries, the routiers, who had robbed much of the country after the 1360 peace. This army was disbanded after 1380, but Charles VII set up a permanent standing army again in 1445 with the Compagnies d'ordonnance. Warfare itself changed a great deal during the war, and the feudal system and the ideas of chivalry slowly broke down. By the war's end, the heavy cavalry was still seen as the most powerful part of an army, but new tactics had been developed to counter it. The English used lightly armoured mounted troops called hobelars, who rode smaller horses over rough ground and often fought on foot. The last major battle of the war, the Battle of Castillon, was the first major battle won through the extensive use of field artillery.

Prominent figures

France

England

Burgundy