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Hundred Years' War

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500 and
before (including Roman Britain)

   Hundred Years' War
   Romantic painting of Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans.

      Date    1337– 1453
    Location  Primarily France and the Low Countries
     Result   French victory
   Territorial
   changes    France secures control of all English continental possessions
              except Calais
   Combatants
   France
   Castile
   Scotland
   Genoa
   Majorca
   Bohemia
   Crown of Aragon
   Brittany
   England
   Burgundy
   Brittany
   Portugal
   Navarre
   Flanders
   Hainault
   Aquitaine
   Luxembourg
   Holy Roman Empire
                           Hundred Years' War
   Edwardian – Breton Succession – Castilian – Caroline – Lancastrian
                            Hundred Years' War (1337-1360)
   Cadsand – English Channel – Sluys – Saint-Omer – Auberoche – Caen –
   Blanchetaque – Crécy – Calais – Neville's Cross – Les Espagnols sur Mer
   – Poitiers
         Hundred Years' War (1369-1389)
   Nájera (Navarette) – Montiel – La Rochelle
   Hundred Years' War (1415-1453)
   Agincourt – Rouen – Baugé – Meaux – Cravant – Verneuil – Orléans –
   Jargeau – Meung-sur-Loire – Beaugency – Patay – Compiègne – Gerbevoy –
   Formigny – Castillon

   The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between France and England,
   lasting 116 years from 1337 to 1453. It was fought primarily over
   claims by the English kings to the French throne and was punctuated by
   several brief and two lengthy periods of peace before it finally ended
   in the expulsion of the English from France, with the exception of the
   Calais Pale. Thus, the war was in fact a series of conflicts and is
   commonly divided into three or four phases: the Edwardian War
   (1337-1360), the Caroline War (1369-1389), the Lancastrian War
   (1415-1429), and the slow decline of English fortunes after the
   appearance of Joan of Arc, (1429-1453). The term "Hundred Years' War"
   was a later historical term invented by historians to describe the
   series of events.

   The war owes its historical significance to a number of factors. Though
   primarily a dynastic conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of both
   French and English nationality. Militarily, it saw the introduction of
   new weapons and tactics, which eroded the older system of feudal armies
   dominated by heavy cavalry. The first standing armies in Western Europe
   since the time of the Western Roman Empire were introduced for the war,
   thus changing the role of the peasantry. For all this, as well as for
   its long duration, it is often viewed as one of the most significant
   conflicts in the history of medieval warfare.

Background

   The background to the conflict can be found 400 years earlier, in 911,
   when Carolingian Charles the Simple allowed the Viking Rollo to settle
   in a part of his kingdom (a region known afterwards as " Normandy"). In
   1066 the " Normans" were led by William the Conqueror (the Duke of
   Normandy) and conquered England, defeating the Anglo-Saxon leadership
   at the Battle of Hastings, and subsequently installed a new
   Anglo-Norman power structure. It is important to note for future events
   that starting with Rollo, Norman leaders were vassals to the King of
   France, even after they also became kings in England.

   Following a period of civil wars and unrest in England known as The
   Anarchy (1135-1154), the Anglo-Norman dynasty was succeeded by the
   Angevin Kings. At the height of power the Angevins controlled Normandy
   and England, along with Maine, Anjou, Touraine, Gascony, Saintonge and
   Aquitaine. Such assemblage of lands is sometimes known as the Angevin
   Empire. The king of England, who was still a vassal of the King of
   France, directly ruled more French territory than the King of France
   himself. This situation - where the Angevin kings owed vassalage to a
   ruler who was de facto much weaker - was a cause of continual conflict.
   The French resolved the situation somewhat in three decisive wars: the
   conquest of Normandy (1214), the Saintonge War (1242) and finally the
   War of Saint-Sardos (1324), thus reducing England's hold on the
   continent to a few small provinces in Gascony and the complete loss of
   the crown jewel of Normandy. By the early 14th century many in the
   English aristocracy could still remember a time when their grandparents
   and great-grandparents had control over wealthy continental regions,
   such as Normandy, which they also considered their ancestral homeland,
   and were motivated to regain possession of these territories.

   Notably, the Hundred Years' War is seen by many scholars as a chapter
   in the seemingly perpetual conflict between the English and French
   nations, as disputes and open war were frequent, which continued as
   late as the Napoleonic era, and which extended well beyond Europe as
   the two battled for global empires. The significance of the Hundred
   Years' war in this context is the rise of nationalism it engendered,
   compared to earlier medieval conflicts.

Dynastic turmoil: 1314–1328

   The specific events leading up to the war took place in France, where
   the unbroken line of the Direct Capetian firstborn sons had succeeded
   each other for centuries. It was the longest continuous dynasty in
   medieval Europe. In 1314, the Direct Capetian, King Philip IV, died,
   leaving three male heirs: Louis X, Philip V, and Charles IV. The eldest
   son and heir, Louis X, died in 1316, leaving only his posthumous son
   John I, who was born and died that same year, and a daughter Joan,
   whose paternity was suspect.

   In order to ensure that he, rather than Joan, inherited the throne,
   Philip IV's second-eldest son, Philip V, used the rumours that Joan was
   a product of her mother's adultery to have her barred from the
   succession; a by-product of this being a precedent against women
   inheriting the French throne. When Philip died in 1322, his daughters
   too were put aside in favour of the third son of Philip IV, Charles IV.

   In 1324, Charles IV of France and Edward II of England fought the short
   War of Saint-Sardos in Gascony. The major event of the war was the
   brief siege of the English fortress of La Réole, on the Garonne. The
   English forces, led by Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, were forced
   to surrender after a month of bombardment from the French cannons, and
   after promised reinforcements never arrived. The war was a complete
   failure for England, and only Bordeaux and a narrow coastal strip
   remained in English hands of the once great duchy of Aquitaine.

   The recovery of these lost lands became a major focus of English
   diplomacy. The war also galvanised opposition to Edward II among the
   English nobility and led to his eventual assassination ( 1327), which
   in turn caused the succession of the young Edward III. Charles IV died
   in 1328, leaving only a daughter, and an unborn infant which would
   prove to be a girl. The senior line of the Capetian dynasty thus ended,
   creating a crisis over the French succession.

   Meanwhile living in England, Charles IV's sister Isabella, widow of
   Edward II, was at the time effectively in control of the crown in the
   name of the young king. Edward III, being the nephew of Charles, was
   his closest living male relative, and was at that time the only
   surviving male descendant of the senior line of the Capetian dynasty
   descending through Philip IV. By the English interpretation of feudal
   law, this made Edward III the legitimate heir to the throne of France.
   Family tree relating the French and English royal houses at the
   beginning of the war.
   Family tree relating the French and English royal houses at the
   beginning of the war.

   The French nobility, however, balked at the prospect of a foreign king,
   particularly one who was also king of England. They asserted, based on
   their interpretation of the ancient Salic Law, that the royal
   inheritance could not pass to a woman or through her to her offspring.
   Therefore, the most senior male of the Capetian dynasty after Charles
   IV, Philip of Valois, who had taken regency after Charles IV's death,
   was the legitimate heir in the eyes of the French, and was allowed to
   take the throne after Charles' widow gave birth to a daughter. He was
   crowned as Philip VI, the first of the House of Valois, a cadet branch
   of the Capetian dynasty.

   Joan II of Navarre, the daughter of Louis X, also had a good legal
   claim to the French throne, but lacked the power to back it up. The
   Kingdom of Navarre had no precedent against female rulers (the House of
   Capet having inherited it through Joan's grandmother, Joan I of
   Navarre), and so by treaty she and her husband, Philip of Evreux, were
   permitted to inherit that Kingdom; however, the same treaty forced Joan
   and her husband to accept the accession of Philip VI in France, and to
   surrender her heritary French domains of Champagne and Brie to the
   French crown in exchange for inferior estates. Joan and Philip of
   Evreux the produced a son, Charles II of Navarre. Born in 1332, Charles
   replaced Edward III as Philip IV's male heir in primogeniture, and in
   proximity to Louis X; although Edward remained the male heir in
   proximity to Saint Louis, Philip IV, and Charles IV.

On the eve of war: 1328-1337

   After Philip's accession, the English still controlled Gascony. Gascony
   produced vital shipments of salt and wine, and was very profitable. It
   was a separate fief, held of the French crown, rather than a territory
   of England. The homage done for its possession was a bone of contention
   between the two kings. Philip VI demanded Edward's recognition as
   sovereign; Edward wanted the return of further lands lost by his
   father. A compromise "homage" in 1329 pleased neither side; but in
   1331, facing serious problems at home, Edward accepted Philip as King
   of France and gave up his claims to the French throne. In effect,
   England kept Gascony, in return for Edward giving up his claims to be
   the rightful king of France.

   In 1333, Edward III went to war with David II of Scotland, a French
   ally under the Auld Alliance, and began the Second War of Scottish
   Independence. Philip saw the opportunity to reclaim Gascony while
   England's attention was concentrated northwards. However, the war was a
   quick success for England, and David was forced to flee to France after
   being defeated by King Edward and Edward Balliol at the Battle of
   Halidon Hill in July. In 1336, Philip made plans for an expedition to
   restore David to the Scottish throne, and to also seize Gascony.

Beginning of the war: 1337–1360

   Open hostilities broke out as French ships began ravaging coastal
   settlements on the English Channel and in 1337 Philip reclaimed the
   Gascon fief, citing feudal law and saying that Edward had broken his
   oath (a felony) by not attending to the needs and demands of his lord.
   Edward III responded by saying he was in fact the rightful heir to the
   French throne, and on All Saints' Day, Henry Burghersh, Bishop of
   Lincoln, arrived in Paris with the defiance of the king of England. War
   had been declared.

   When the war began, France had a population of about 17 million,
   whereas England had about 4 million. Moreover, France was generally
   considered to have the most knights in Europe.
   Battle of Sluys from a manuscript of Froissart's Chronicles, Bruge,
   c.1470
   Battle of Sluys from a manuscript of Froissart's Chronicles, Bruge,
   c.1470

   In the early years of the war, Edward III allied with the nobles of the
   Low Countries and the burghers of Flanders, but after two campaigns
   where nothing was achieved, the alliance fell apart in 1340. The
   payments of subsidies to the German princes and the costs of
   maintaining an army abroad dragged the English government into
   bankruptcy, heavily damaging Edward’s prestige. At sea, France enjoyed
   supremacy for some time, through the use of Genoese ships and crews.
   Several towns on the English coast were sacked, some repeatedly. This
   caused fear and disruption along the English coast. There was a
   constant fear during this part of the war that the French would invade.
   France's sea power led to economic disruptions in England as it cut
   down on the wool trade to Flanders and the wine trade from Gascony.
   However, in 1340, while attempting to hinder the English army from
   landing, the French fleet was almost completely destroyed in the Battle
   of Sluys. After this, England was able to dominate the English Channel
   for the rest of the war, preventing French invasions.

   In 1341, conflict over the succession to the Duchy of Brittany began
   the Breton War of Succession, in which Edward backed John of Montfort
   and Philip backed Charles of Blois. Action for the next few years
   focused around a back and forth struggle in Brittany, with the city of
   Vannes changing hands several times, as well as further campaigns in
   Gascony with mixed success for both sides.

   In July 1346, Edward mounted a major invasion across the Channel,
   landing in the Cotentin. The English army captured Caen in just one
   day, surprising the French who had expected the city to hold out much
   longer. Philip gathered a large army to oppose him, and Edward chose to
   march northward toward the Low Countries, pillaging as he went, rather
   than attempting to take and hold territory. Finding himself unable to
   outmanoeuvre Philip, Edward positioned his forces for battle, and
   Philip's army attacked. The famous Battle of Crécy was a complete
   disaster for the French, largely credited to the English longbowmen.
   Edward proceeded north unopposed and besieged the city of Calais on the
   English Channel, capturing it in 1347. This became an important
   strategic asset for the English. It allowed them to keep troops in
   France safely. In the same year, an English victory against Scotland in
   the Battle of Neville's Cross led to the capture of David II and
   greatly reduced the threat from Scotland.

   In 1348, the Black Death began to ravage Europe. In 1356, after it had
   passed and England was able to recover financially, Edward's son and
   namesake, the Prince of Wales, known as the Black Prince, invaded
   France from Gascony, winning a great victory in the Battle of Poitiers,
   where the English archers repeated the tactics used at Crécy. The new
   French king, John II, was captured. John signed a truce with Edward,
   and in his absence, much of the government began to collapse. Later
   that year, the Second Treaty of London was signed, by which England
   gained possession of Aquitaine and John was freed.

   The French countryside at this point began to fall into complete chaos.
   Brigandage, the actions of the professional soldiery when fighting was
   at low ebb, was rampant. In 1358, the peasants rose in rebellion in
   what was called the Jacquerie. Edward invaded France, for the third and
   last time, hoping to capitalise on the discontent and seize the throne,
   but although no French army stood against him in the field, he was
   unable to take Paris or Rheims from the Dauphin, later King Charles V.
   He negotiated the Treaty of Brétigny which was signed in 1360. The
   English came out of this phase of the war with half of Brittany,
   Aquitaine (about a quarter of France), Calais, Ponthieu, and about half
   of France's vassal states as their allies, representing the clear
   advantage of a united England against a generally disunified France.

First peace: 1360–1369

   When John's son Louis I, Duc d'Anjou, sent to the English as a hostage
   on John's behalf, escaped in 1362, John II chivalrously gave himself up
   and returned to captivity in England. He died in honourable captivity
   in 1364 and Charles V succeeded him as king of France.

   The Treaty of Brétigny had made Edward renounce his claim to the French
   crown. At the same time it greatly expanded his territory in Aquitaine
   and confirmed his conquest of Calais. In reality, Edward never
   renounced his claim to the French crown, and Charles made a point of
   retaking Edward's new territory as soon as he ascended to the throne.
   In 1369, on the pretext that Edward III had failed to observe the terms
   of the treaty of Brétigny, Charles declared war once again.

French victories under Charles V: 1369–1389

   Statue of Du Guesclin in Dinan.
   Statue of Du Guesclin in Dinan.

   The reign of Charles V saw the English steadily pushed back. Although
   the Breton war ended in their favour at the Battle of Auray, the dukes
   of Brittany eventually reconciled with the French throne. The Breton
   soldier Bertrand du Guesclin became one of the most successful French
   generals of the Hundred Years' War.

   Simultaneously, the Black Prince was occupied with war in Spain from
   1366 and due to illness was relieved of command in 1371, whilst Edward
   III was too elderly to fight; providing France with even more
   advantages. Pedro of Castile, whose daughters Constance and Isabella
   were married to the Black Prince's brothers John of Gaunt and Edmund of
   Langley, was deposed by Henry of Trastámara in 1370 with the support of
   Du Guesclin and the French. War erupted between Castile and France on
   one side and Portugal and England on the other.

   With the death of John Chandos, seneschal of Poitou, in the field and
   the capture of the Captal de Buch, the English were deprived of some of
   their best generals in France. Du Guesclin, in a series of careful
   Fabian campaigns, avoiding major English field armies, captured many
   towns, including Poitiers in 1372 and Bergerac in 1377. The English
   response to Du Guesclin was to launch a series of destructive
   chevauchées. But Du Guesclin refused to be drawn in by them.

   With the death of the Black Prince in 1376 and Edward III in 1377, the
   prince's underaged son Richard of Bordeaux succeeded to the English
   throne. Then, with Du Guesclin's death in 1380, the war inevitably
   wound down to a truce in 1389. The peace was extended many times before
   open war flared up again.

Second peace: 1389–1415

   Although Henry IV of England planned campaigns in France, he was unable
   to put them into effect due to his short reign. In the meantime,
   though, the French King Charles VI was descending into madness, and an
   open conflict for power began between his cousin, John of Burgundy, and
   his brother, Louis of Orléans. After Louis's assassination, the
   Armagnac family took political power in opposition to John. By 1410,
   both sides were bidding for the help of English forces in a civil war.

   England too was plagued with internal strife during this period, as
   uprisings in Ireland and Wales were accompanied by renewed border war
   with Scotland and two separate civil wars. The Irish troubles embroiled
   much of the reign of Richard II, who had not resolved them by the time
   he lost his throne and life to his cousin Henry, who took power for
   himself in 1399. This was followed by the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr in
   Wales which was not finally put down until 1415 and actually resulted
   in North Welsh semi-independence for a number of years. In Scotland,
   the change in regime in England prompted a fresh series of border raids
   which were countered by an invasion in 1402 and the destruction of a
   Scottish army at the Battle of Homildon Hill. A dispute over the spoils
   of this action between Henry and the Earl of Northumberland resulted in
   a long and bloody struggle between the two for control of northern
   England, which was only resolved with the almost complete destruction
   of the Percy family by 1408. Throughout this period, England was also
   faced with repeated raids by French and Scandinavian pirates, which
   heavily damaged the trade and navy. These problems accordingly delayed
   any resurgence of the dispute with France until 1415.

English victories under Henry V: 1415–1429

   The final phase of warmaking that engulfed France between 1415 and 1435
   is the most famous phase of the Hundred Years' War. Plans had been laid
   for the declaration of war since the rise to the throne of Henry IV, in
   1399. However, it was his son, Henry V, who was finally given the
   opportunity. In 1414, Henry turned down an Armagnac offer to restore
   the Brétigny frontiers in return for his support. Instead, he demanded
   a return to the territorial status during the reign of Henry II. In
   August 1415, he landed with an army at Harfleur and took it. Although
   tempted to march on Paris directly, he elected to make a raiding
   expedition across France toward English-occupied Calais. In a campaign
   reminiscent of Crécy, he found himself outmaneuvered and low on
   supplies, and had to make a stand against a much larger French army at
   the Battle of Agincourt, north of the Somme. In spite of his
   disadvantages, his victory was near-total, and the French defeat was
   catastrophic, with the loss of many of the Armagnac leaders.
   Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the Battle of Agincourt.
   Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the Battle of Agincourt.

   Henry took much of Normandy, including Caen in 1417 and Rouen on
   January 19, 1419, making Normandy English for the first time in two
   centuries. He made formal alliance with the Duchy of Burgundy, who had
   taken Paris, after the assassination of Duke John the Fearless in 1419.
   In 1420, Henry met with the mad king Charles VI, who signed the Treaty
   of Troyes, by which Henry would marry Charles' daughter Catherine and
   Henry's heirs would inherit the throne of France. The Dauphin, Charles
   VII, was declared illegitimate. Henry formally entered Paris later that
   year and the agreement was ratified by the Estates-General.

   Henry continued his progress through France, but died at Meaux in 1422.
   Soon, Charles too had died. Henry's infant son, Henry VI, was
   immediately crowned king of England and France, but the Armagnacs
   remained loyal to Charles' son and the war continued in central France.

   The English enjoyed continued military success until 1429. In that
   year, a Franco-Scottish army isolated a supply convoy led by John
   Fastolf. By circling his supply wagons (largely filled with herring)
   around his archers, he repelled the much larger army in what was to be
   one of the last English successes won on the backs of their outstanding
   longbowmen: the Battle of the Herrings. Later that year, however, a
   French saviour appeared in the form of a peasant woman from Lorraine
   named Joan of Arc.

French resurgence: 1429–1453

   Hundred Years' War evolution. French territory: yellow; English: grey;
   Burgundian: dark grey.
   Hundred Years' War evolution. French territory: yellow; English: grey;
   Burgundian: dark grey.

   By 1424, the uncles of Henry VI had begun to quarrel over the infant's
   regency, and one, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, married Jacqueline,
   Countess of Hainaut, and invaded Holland to regain her former
   dominions, bringing him into direct conflict with Philip III, Duke of
   Burgundy.

   By 1428, the English were ready to pursue the war again, laying siege
   to Orléans. Their force was insufficient to fully invest the city, but
   larger French forces remained passive. In 1429, Joan of Arc convinced
   the Dauphin to send her to the siege, saying she had received visions
   from God telling her to drive out the English. She raised the morale of
   the local troops and they attacked the English Redoubts, forcing the
   English to lift the siege. Inspired by Joan, the French took several
   English strong points on the Loire. Shortly afterwards, a French army,
   some 8000 strong, broke through English archers at Patay with heavy
   cavalry, defeating a 3000 strong army commanded by John Fastolf and
   John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. The first major French land
   victory of the wars, this opened the way for the Dauphin to march to
   Reims for his coronation as Charles VII.

   After Joan was captured by the Burgundians in 1430 and later sold to
   the English and executed, the French advance stalled in negotiations.
   But, in 1435, the Burgundians under Philip III switched sides, signing
   the Treaty of Arras and returning Paris to the King of France.
   Burgundy's allegiance remained fickle, but their focus on expanding
   their domains into the Low Countries left them little energy to
   intervene in France. The long truces that marked the war also gave
   Charles time to reorganise his army and government, replacing his
   feudal levies with a more modern professional army that could put its
   superior numbers to good use, and centralising the French state.

   Generally, though, the tactical superiority of English forces remained
   a potent factor; John Talbot, for instance, who specialised in fast
   attacks, routed French forces at Ry and Avranches in Normandy in 1436
   and 1439 respectively. Talbot, one of the most daring warriors of the
   age, was the victor in 40 battles and skirmishes. This was one of the
   main reasons the war was so prolonged. The biographer of the Constable
   Richemont put it plainly when he wrote that "The English and their
   captains, above all Talbot, had a well established reputation for
   superiority, Richemont knew them better than anyone".

   But a repetition of Du Guesclin's battle avoidance strategy paid
   dividends and the French were able to recover town after town.

   By 1449, the French had retaken Rouen, and in 1450 the count of
   Clermont and Arthur de Richemont, Earl of Richmond, of the Montfort
   family (the future Arthur III, Duke of Brittany) caught an English army
   attempting to relieve Caen at the Battle of Formigny and defeated it,
   the English army having been attacked from the flank and rear by
   Richemont's force just as they were on the verge of beating Clermont's
   army. The French proceeded to capture Cherbourg on July 6 and Bordeaux
   and Bayonne in 1451. The attempt by Talbot to retake Gascony, though
   initially welcomed by the locals, was crushed by Jean Bureau and his
   cannon at the Battle of Castillon in 1453 where Talbot had led a small
   Anglo-Gascon force in a frontal attack on an entrenched camp. This is
   considered the last battle of the Hundred Years' War.

Significance

   The Hundred Years' War was a time of military evolution. Weapons,
   tactics, army structure, and the societal meaning of war all changed,
   partly in response to the demands of the war, partly through
   advancement in technology, and partly through lessons that warfare
   taught.

   England was what might be considered a more modern state than France.
   It had a centralised authority—Parliament—with the authority to tax. As
   the military writer Colonel Alfred Burne notes, England had
   revolutionised its recruitment system, substituting a paid army for one
   drawn from feudal obligation. Professional captains were appointed who
   recruited troops for a specified (theoretically short) period. This
   "modern army", to some extent a necessity—many barons refused to go on
   a foreign campaign, as feudal service was supposed to be for protection
   of the realm—also gave England a military advantage early on.

   Before the Hundred Years' War, heavy cavalry was considered the most
   powerful unit in an army, but by the war's end this belief had shifted.
   The heavy horse was increasingly negated by the use of the longbow and
   fixed defensive positions of men-at-arms, tactics which helped lead to
   English victories at Crécy and Agincourt. Learning from the Scots, the
   English began using lightly armoured, mounted troops, who would
   dismount in order to fight battles. By the end of the Hundred Years'
   War this meant a fading of the expensively outfitted, highly trained
   heavy cavalry.

   Although they had a tactical advantage, "nevertheless the size of
   France prohibited lengthy, let alone permanent, occupation," as the
   military writer General Fuller noted. Covering a much larger area than
   England, and containing four times its population, France proved
   difficult for the English to occupy.

   An insoluble problem for English commanders was that, in an age of
   siege warfare, the more territory that was occupied, the greater the
   requirements for garrisons. This lessened the striking power of English
   armies as time went on. Salisbury's army at Orleans consisted of only
   5,000 men, insufficient not only to invest the city but also
   numerically inferior to French forces within and without the city. The
   French only needed to recover some part of their shattered confidence,
   the result of many years of defeat, for the outcome to become
   inevitable. At Orleans they were assisted by the death of Salisbury
   through a fluke cannon shot and by the inspiration of Joan of Arc.

   Furthermore, the ending of the Burgundian alliance spelt the end of
   English efforts in France, despite the campaigns of the aggressive
   John, Lord Talbot, and his forces to stay the inevitable.

   The war also stimulated nationalistic sentiment. It devastated France
   as a land, but it also awakened French nationalism. The Hundred Years'
   War accelerated the process of transforming France from a feudal
   monarchy to a centralised state. The conflict became one of not just
   English and French kings but one between the English and French
   peoples. There were constant rumours in England that the French meant
   to invade and destroy the English language. National feeling emerged
   out of such rumours that unified both France and England further.

   The latter stages of the war saw the emergence of the dukes of Burgundy
   as important players on the political field, and it encouraged the
   English, in response to the seesawing alliance of the southern
   Netherlands (now Belgium, a rich centre of woolen production at the
   time) throughout the conflict, to develop their own woolen industry and
   foreign markets.

Weapons

   Self-yew English longbow, 6 ft 6 in long, 105 lbf draw force.
   Self-yew English longbow, 6  ft 6  in long, 105  lbf draw force.

   The most famous weapon was the English (or Welsh) longbow of the yeoman
   archer; while not a new weapon at the time, it played a significant
   role throughout the war, giving the English tactical advantage in the
   many battles and skirmishes in which they were used. The French mainly
   relied on crossbows, often employed by Genoese mercenaries. The
   crossbow was used because it took little training or skill to operate
   effectively. However, it was slow to reload, heavy, prone to rain
   damage, and lacked the accuracy of the longbow which was much quicker
   to reload. The longbow was a very difficult weapon to employ, and
   English archers had to have practiced from an early age to become
   proficient. It also required tremendous strength to use, with a draw
   weight typically around 140-150 pound-force(lbf) and possibly as high
   as 180 lbf. It was its widespread use in the British Isles that gave
   the English the ability to use it as a weapon. It was the strategic
   developments that brought it to prominence. The English in their
   battles with the Scots had learned through defeat what dismounted
   bowmen in fixed positions could do to heavy cavalry. Since the arrows
   shot from a longbow could kill or incapacitate plate-armoured knights,
   a charge could be dissipated before it ever reached an army's lines.
   The longbow enabled an often-outnumbered English army to pick battle
   locations, fortify them, and destroy opposing armies. As the Hundred
   Years' War came to a close, the number of capable longbowmen began to
   drop off and therefore the longbow as a weapon became less viable as
   there were not the men to wield them.

   A number of new weapons were introduced during the Hundred Years' War
   as well. Gunpowder, firearms and cannons played significant roles as
   early as 1375. The last battle of the war, the Battle of Castillon, was
   the first battle in European history in which artillery was the
   deciding factor.

War and society

   The consequences of these new weapons meant that the nobility was no
   longer the deciding factor in battle; peasants armed with longbows or
   firearms could gain access to the power, rewards, and prestige once
   reserved only for knights who bore arms. The composition of armies
   changed, from feudal lords who might or might not show up when called
   by their lord, to paid mercenaries. By the end of the war, both France
   and England were able to raise enough money through taxation to create
   standing armies, the first time since the fall of the Western Roman
   Empire that there were standing armies in Western or Central Europe.
   Standing armies represented an entirely new form of power for kings.
   Not only could they defend their kingdoms from invaders, but standing
   armies could also protect the king from internal threats and also keep
   the population in check. It was a major step in the early developments
   towards centralised nation-states that eroded the medieval order.

   At the first major battle of the war, the Battle of Crécy, it is said
   that the age of chivalry came to an end. Ironically, there had been a
   revival of chivalry during this time, and it was deemed to be of the
   highest importance to fight, and to die, in the most chivalrous way
   possible. The English even apologised for fighting non-chivalrously,
   saying they had no choice since they were so unfairly outnumbered,
   leaving the dirty business to the Welsh (non-English or French
   speakers). It was a lesson the French would take a long time to learn
   at great cost, before they also began to fight in less chivalrous ways.
   The notion of chivalry was strongly influenced by the Romantic epics of
   the 12th century and knights literally imagined themselves re-enacting
   the stories on the field of battle. Someone like Bertrand Du Guesclin
   was said to have gone in to battle with one eye closed, declaring "I
   will not open my eye for the honour of my lady until I have killed
   three Englishmen." Knights often carried the colors of their ladies in
   to battle.

   In France during the captivity of King John II, the Estates General
   attempted to arrogate power from the king. The Estates General was a
   body of representatives from the three groups who traditionally had
   consultative rights in France: the clergy, the nobles, and the
   townspeople. First called together under Philip IV “the Fair”, the
   Estates had the right to confirm or disagree with the “levée”, the
   principal tax by which the kings of France raised money. Under the
   leadership of a merchant named Etienne Marcel, the Estates General
   attempted to force the monarchy to accept a sort of agreement called
   the Great Ordinance. Like the English Magna Carta, the Great Ordinance
   held that the Estates should supervise the collection and spending of
   the levy, meet at regular intervals independent of the king’s call,
   exercise certain judicial powers, and generally play a greater role in
   government. The nobles took this power to excess, however, causing in
   1358 a peasant rebellion known as the Jacquerie. Swarms of peasants
   furious over the nobles’ high taxes and forced-labour policies killed
   and burned in the north of France. One of their victims proved to be
   Etienne Marcel, and without his leadership the Estates General divided.

   The effects of the Hundred Years’ War in England also raised some
   questions about the extent of royal authority. Like the French, the
   English experienced a serious rebellion against the king during a gap
   in the succession caused by the death of Edward III when his grandson
   had not yet reached maturity. Called the Peasants' Revolt and also Wat
   Tyler’s Rebellion, the 1381 uprising threatened saw some 100,000
   peasants march on London to protest the payment of high war taxes and
   efforts by the nobility to reduce English peasants to serfdom. The mob
   murdered and burned the houses of government officials and tax
   collectors. The young king-to-be, Richard II, met the peasants outside
   his castle, defusing their violence by promising to meet their demands.
   At the same time, agents of the throne murdered Wat Tyler, a key leader
   of the revolt, and Richard II sent the peasants back to their homes in
   the countryside. After they left, however, he reneged on his promises
   and kept taxes high.

Major battles

     * 1337 Battle of Cadsand initiates hostilities. The Flemish defenders
       of the island were thrown into disorder by the first use of the
       English longbow on Continental soil
     * 1340 Battle of Sluys June 24 Edward III destroys the Franco-Genoese
       fleet of Philip VI of France off the coast of Flanders ensuring
       England will not be invaded and that the majority of the war will
       be fought in France.
     * 1345 Longbow victory by Henry, Earl of Derby against a French army
       at Auberoche in Gascony
     * 1346 Battle of Crécy August 26 English longbowmen soundly defeat
       French cavalry at Abbeville
     * 1346- 1347 Siege of Calais
     * 1350 Les Espagnols sur Mer English fleet defeats Castilian fleet in
       a close fight.
     * 1351 Combat of the Thirty Thirty French Knights from Chateau
       Josselin under Beaumanoir call out and defeat thirty English
       Knights under Pembroke and Brambaugh
     * French army under De Nesle defeated by English under Bentley at
       Mauron in Brittany, De Nesle killed
     * 1356 Battle of Poitiers Edward the Black Prince captures King John
       II of France, France plunges into chaos
     * 1364 September 29 - Battle of Auray, end of Breton War of
       Succession French defeat, Du Gueschlin captured
     * 1367 Battle of Nájera (Navarette) Black Prince defeats a
       Castilian/French army at Nájera in Spain
     * 1372 Battle of La Rochelle Castilian-French fleet defeats the
       English fleet, leading to loss of dominance at sea and French
       piracy and coastal raids
     * 1415 Battle of Agincourt October 25 English longbowmen under Henry
       V defeat French under Charles d'Albert
     * 1416 English defeat numerically greater French army at Valmont near
       Harfleur
     * 1417 Naval victory in the River Seine under Bedford
     * 1418 Siege of Rouen July 31 ? January 19, 1419 Henry V of England
       gains a foothold in Normandy.
     * 1419 Battle of La Rochelle (1419) Castilian fleet defeats
       Anglo-Hanseatic fleet
     * 1421, 22 March Battle of Bauge The French and Scottish forces of
       Charles VII commanded by the Earl of Buchan defeat an
       outmanoeuvered English force commanded by the Duke of Clarence, the
       first English loss in a land battle of the Wars.
     * 1423, 31 July Battle of Cravant. The French army is defeated at
       Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
     * 1424, 17 August Battle of Vernuil. The Scots forces are decisively
       defeated
     * 1426 March 6 French besieging army under Richemont dispersed by a
       small force under Sir Thomas Rempstone in "The Rout of St James" in
       Brittany
     * 1429, 12 February Battle of the Herrings. English force under Sir
       John Fastolf defeats French army.
     * 1428, 12 October - 8 May 1429 Siege of Orléans English forces
       commanded by the Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of Suffolk, and Talbot
       (Earl of Shrewsbury) lay siege to Orleans, and are forced to
       withdraw after a relief army accompanied by Joan of Arc arrives at
       the city.
     * 1429, 17 July Battle of Patay A French army under La Hire,
       Richemont, Joan of Arc, and other commanders break through English
       archers under Lord Talbot and then pursue and mop up the other
       sections of the English army, killing or capturing about half
       (2,200) of their troops. The Earl of Shrewsbury (Talbot) and
       Hungerford are captured.
     * 1435 Battle of Gerbevoy La Hire defeats an English force under
       Arundel
     * 1436 John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury routs a larger French
       force under La Hire and Xantrailles at Ry near Rouen
     * 1437 John Talbot defeats the Burgundians at Crotoy
     * 1439 John Talbot disperses a French army of 6000 under the
       Constable Richemont at Avranches in Normandy.
     * 1440 John Talbot takes Harfleur
     * 1450 Battle of Formigny Two French armies under the Count of
       Clermont and the Earl of Richmond defeat the English under Kyriell
     * 1453 Battle of Castillon The Valois use cannon to defeat the
       Lancastrians and end the Hundred Years' War. The 70-year old Talbot
       is killed while trying to rally his fleeing troops

Important people

   CAPTION: England

   King Edward III                          1327- 1377  Edward II's son
   King Richard II                          1377- 1399  Edward III's grandson
   King Henry IV                            1399- 1413  Edward III's grandson
   King Henry V                             1413- 1422  Henry IV's son
   King Henry VI                            1422- 1461  Henry V's son
   Edward, the Black Prince                 1330- 1376  Son of Edward III
   Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster 1306- 1361  Knight
   John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury      1384- 1453  Knight
   Sir John Fastolf                         1378?- 1459 Knight

   CAPTION: France

   King Philip VI the Fortunate                1328- 1350
   King John II the Good                       1350- 1364
   King Charles V the Wise                     1364- 1380
   King Charles VI the Well-Beloved or the Mad 1380- 1422
   Louis I of Anjou                            1380- 1382 Regent for Charles VI
   King Charles VII the Victorious             1422- 1461
   Joan of Arc                                 1412-1431
   Jean de Dunois                              1403-1468  Jean d'Orléans
   Gilles de Rais                              1404-1440
   Bertrand du Guesclin                        1320-1380
   Jean Bureau
   La Hire                                     1390-1443

Continuing English claim to the French throne

   After the end of the Hundred Years' War, England continued to make
   claims on the French throne for years afterwards until the Act of Union
   in 1801. In that act, the title of King of France was omitted from the
   new royal style.

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