Checked content

Hundred Years' War

Background to the schools Wikipedia


Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
Henry V and the English army at the Battle of Agincourt,
Joan of Arc rallies French forces at the Siege of Orléans
Date 1337–1453
Location France, the Low Countries, England, Spain
Result French victory
House of Valois maintained throne of France
England lost all continental territory except for the Pale of Calais
Blason France moderne.svg France Royal Arms of England (1399-1603).svg England
Blason fr Bourgogne.svg Burgundy


Edward responded by declaring that he, not Philip, was the rightful king of France, a claim dating to 1328, when Charles IV of France died without a male heir. Edward was the closest male relative of Charles IV as son of Isabella of France, daughter of Philip IV of France and sister of Charles IV. But instead, Philip VI, the son of Philip IV’s younger brother, Charles of Valois, was crowned king of France in accordance with Salic Law, which disqualified female succession and the succession of males descended through female lines. The question of legal succession to the French crown was central to the war over generations of English and French claimants.

The war is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces: the Edwardian Era War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389) and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453), which saw the slow decline of English fortunes after the appearance of Joan of Arc in 1429. Contemporary European conflicts directly related to this conflict were the Breton War of Succession, the Castilian Civil War, the War of the Two Peters, and the 1383-1385 Crisis. The term "Hundred Years' War" is a periodization invented later by historians to encompass all of these events.



English Kings and Continental Dukedoms: 1066–1314

Homage of Edward I of England (kneeling) to Philip IV (seated) - 1286. As Duke of Aquitaine, Edward was also a vassal to the French king.

The Anglo-Norman dynasty that had ruled England since the Norman Conquest of 1066 was brought to an end when Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda's son Henry (great-grandson of William the Conqueror) became the first of the Angevin kings of England in 1154 as King Henry II. The King of England, in what is now known as the Angevin Empire, directly ruled more territory on the continent than the King of France. A complication was that as dukes on the continent, English kings owed homage to the King of France. However the dukes had autonomy from the 11th century onward, neutralizing the issue.

John of England inherited the Angevin domains from King Richard I. However, Philip II of France acted decisively to exploit the weaknesses of King John, both legally and militarily and by 1204 had succeeded in taking control of most of the continental possessions. Following John's reign, the Battle of Bouvines (1214), along with the Saintonge War (1242) and finally the War of Saint-Sardos (1324), reduced England's holdings on the continent to a few provinces in Gascony and the complete loss of Normandy.

Dynastic turmoil in France: 1314–1328

The principle that the kingdom of France did not descend by female line was founded on custom only. The right of women to succeed was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316, Philip V in 1322 and Charles IV in 1328. However in each case only male heirs were considered.

Philip III of France
r. 1270-1285
Philip IV of France
r. 1285-1314
Charles of Valois
d. 1325
Louis X of France
r. 1314-1316
Philip V of France
r. 1316-1322
Charles IV of France
r. 1322-1328
Isabella of France
Edward II of England
Philip VI of France
r. 1328-1350
Joan II of Navarre
b. 1312
Joan III, Countess of Burgundy
b. 1308
Edward III of England
b. 1312
Charles of Évreux
b. 1332
Philip of Burgundy
b. 1323

When France's Charles IV died in 1328 leaving only daughters, the nearest male relative was Edward III of England. Edward had inherited his right through his mother Isabella, the sister of the dead French king; but the question arose whether she should be able to transmit a right that she did not herself possess because of her sex. The French nobility, moreover, balked at the prospect of being ruled by the English king. The assemblies of the French barons and prelates and the University of Paris decided that males who derive their right to inheritance through their mother should be excluded. Thus the nearest heir through male ancestry was Charles IV's first cousin, Philip, Count of Valois, and it was decided that he should be crowned Philip VI. In 1340 the papacy confirmed that under Salic law males should not be able to inherit through their mothers.

Beginning of the war: 1337–1360


Gascony under the King of England

In the 11th century, Gascony in southwest France had been incorporated into Aquitaine (known also as, "Guyenne" or "Guienne") and formed with it the province of Guyenne and Gascony (French: "Guyenne-et-Gascogne"). The English kings became dukes of Aquitaine after Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, from which point the lands were held in vassalage to the French crown. By the 13th century the terms Aquitaine, Guyenne and Gascony were virtually synonymous. At the beginning of Edward III's reign on 1 February 1327, the only part of Aquitaine that remained in English hands was the duchy of Gascony. The term Gascony came to be used for the territory held by the English in southwest France, although they still used the title Duke of Aquitaine.

For the first 10 years of Edward III's reign, Gascony had been a major point of friction. The English argued that, as Charles IV had not acted in a proper way towards his tenant, the English should be able to hold the duchy free of any French suzerainty. However, this line of argument could not be maintained by the English, so in 1329 the 17 year old Edward III paid homage to Philip VI. Tradition demanded that vassals should approach their liege lord unarmed with head uncovered, however Edward demonstrated his reluctance by attending the ceremony by wearing his crown and sword.Despite Edward complying, albeit reluctantly, the French continued to pressure the English administration.


Franco/Scot alliance

The kings of England had been trying to subjugate the Scots for some time. In 1295 a treaty was signed between France and Scotland, during the reign of Philip the Fair. Charles IV formally renewed the treaty in 1326, promising that if England invaded Scotland then France would support Scotland. Similarly the Scots would support the French. Edward could not succeed in his plans for Scotland while they could count on French support.

Philip VI had assembled a large naval fleet off Marseilles as part of an ambitious plan for a crusade to the Holy Land. However the plan was abandoned and the fleet including elements of the Scottish navy moved to the English Channel off Normandy in 1336, threatening England. To deal with this crisis, Edward proposed that the English raise two armies, one to deal with the Scots at a "suitable time", the other to proceed at once to Gascony. At the same time ambassadors were to be sent to France with a proposed treaty for the French king.

End of homage

At the end of April 1337, Philip of France was invited to meet the delegation from England but refused. The arrière-ban, literally a call to arms, was proclaimed throughout France starting on 30 April 1337. Then, in May 1337, Philip met with his Great Council in Paris. It was agreed that the duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into the King's hands on the grounds that Edward III was in breach of his obligations as vassal; also that he had sheltered the Kings 'mortal enemy' Robert d'Artois and other unspecified reasons. Edward responded to the confiscation of Aquitaine by challenging Philip’s right to the French throne. When Charles VI died, Edward had made a claim for the succession of the French throne, through the right of his mother Isabella (Charles IV’s sister), daughter of Philip IV. Any claim was considered invalidated by Edward's homage to Philip VI in 1329. Edward revived his claim and in 1340 formally assumed the title 'King of France and the French Royal Arms'.



Relations with Flanders were also tied to the English wool trade; Edward III had commanded that his Chancellor sit on the woolsack in council as a symbol of the pre-eminence of the wool trade. At the time there were about 110,000 sheep in Sussex alone. The great medieval English monasteries produced large surpluses of wool that were sold to Europe. Successive governments were able to make large amounts of money by taxing it. France's sea power led to economic disruptions, with England shrinking the wool trade to Flanders and the wine trade from Gascony.

Outbreak, the English Channel and Brittany

Edward, with his fleet, sailed from England on 22 June 1340 and arrived, the next day, off the Zwyn estuary. The French fleet assumed a defensive formation off the port of Sluys. The English fleet apparently tricked the French into believing they were withdrawing. However, when the wind turned in the late afternoon, the English attacked with the wind and sun behind them. The French fleet was almost completely destroyed in what became known as the Battle of Sluys. England dominated the English Channel for the rest of the war, preventing French invasions. At this point, Edward's funds ran out and the war probably would have ended were it not for the death of the Duke of Brittany precipitating a succession dispute between the Duke's half brother John of Montfort and Charles of Blois, nephew of Philip VI.

Battle of Crécy, 1346


Battle of Crécy and the taking of Calais

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. Philip gathered a large army to oppose Edward, who 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 Battle of Crécy was a complete disaster for the French, largely credited to the English longbowmen and the French king, who allowed his army to attack before it was ready. Philip appealed to his Scottish allies to help with a diversionary attack on England. King David II of Scotland responded by invading northern England, but his army was defeated and he was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross, on 17 October 1346. This greatly reduced the threat from Scotland. In France, 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, allowing them to safely keep troops in France. Calais would remain under English control, even after the end of the Hundred Years' War, until the successful French siege in 1558.

Battle of Poitiers and the Treaty of Brétigny

In 1348, the Black Death began to ravage Europe. In 1356, after the plague 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. During the battle, the Gascon noble Jean de Grailly, captal de Buch led a mounted unit that was concealed in a forest. The French advance was contained, at which point de Grailly led a flanking movement with his horsemen cutting off the French retreat and succeeding in capturing John II of France (known as John the Good) and many of his nobles. With John held hostage, his son the Dauphin (later to become Charles V of France) took over as regent.

Edward III counting the dead on the battlefield of Crécy


From the Chronicles of Jean de Venette

In 1358 according to French medieval chronicler Jean Froissart, the absence of leadership in the countryside led the people to revolt against the French nobility, whom they accused of shaming the realm. The revolt became known as the Jacquerie.

Edward invaded France, for the third and last time, hoping to capitalise on the discontent to seize the throne. The Dauphin's strategy was that of non-engagement with the English army in the field. However Edward wanted the crown and chose the cathedral city of Reims for his coronation (Reims was the traditional coronation city). However, the citizens of Reims built and reinforced the city's defences before Edward and his army arrived. Edward besieged the city for five weeks, but the defences held and there was no coronation. Edward moved on to Paris, but retreated after a few skirmishes in the suburbs. The French made contact with him and forced him to negotiate. A conference was held at Brétigny that resulted in the Treaty of Brétigny (8th May 1360). The treaty was ratified at Calais in October. In return for increased lands in Aquitaine Edward renounced Normandy, Touraine, Anjou and Maine and consented to reducing King John's ransom by a million crowns. Edward also abandoned his claim to the crown of France.

First peace: 1360–1369


The French crown had been at odds with Navarre since 1354 and in 1363 the Navarrese used John II's captivity in London and the political weakness of the dauphin to try to seize power. Although there was no formal treaty, Edward III supported the Navarrese moves particularly as there was a prospect that he might gain control over the northern and western provinces as a consequence. With this in mind Edward deliberately slowed the peace negotiations. In 1364 John II died in London, while still in honorable captivity. Charles V succeeded him as king of France. On 6 May 1364, one month after the dauphin's accession and three days before his coronation as Charles V, the Navarrese suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Cocherel.

French ascendancy under Charles V: 1369–1389

Statue of Du Guesclin in Dinan

Aquitaine and Castile



Although the Castilians had agreed to fund the Black Prince, none was forthcoming. The Prince was suffering from ill health and returned with his army to Aquitaine. To pay off debts incurred during the Castille campaign, the prince instituted a hearth tax. Arnaud-Amaniieu VIII, lord of Albret had fought on the Black Prince's side during the war. Albret, who already had become discontented by the influx of English administrators into the enlarged Aquitaine, refused to allow the tax to be collected in his fief. He then joined a group of Gascon lords who appealed to Charles V for support in their refusal to pay the tax. Charles V summoned one Gascon lord and the Black Prince to hear the case in his Parlement in Paris. The Black Prince's answer was that he would go to Paris with sixty thousand men behind him. War broke out again and Edward III resumed the title of King of France. Charles V declared that all the English possessions in France were forfeited and before the end of 1369 all Aquitaine was in full revolt.

With the Black Prince gone from Castille, Henry du Trastámara led a second invasion that ended with Peter's death at the Battle of Montiel in March 1369. The new Castilian regime provided naval support to French campaigns against Aquitaine and England.

English Turmoil

With his health continuing to deteriorate, the Black Prince returned to England in January 1371, where by now his father Edward III was elderly and also in poor health. The prince's illness was debilitating. He died on 8 June 1376. Edward III only just outlived his son and died the following year on 21 June 1377; he was succeeded by the Black Prince's second son Richard II who was still a child. The treaty at Brétigny left Edward III and England with enlarged holdings in France, however a small professional French army under the leadership of du Guesclin pushed the English back and by the time of Charles V's death in 1380, the English only held Calais.

It was usual to appoint a regent in the case of a child monarch, but no regent was appointed for Richard II, who nominally exercised the power of kingship from the date of his accession in 1377. However, between 1377 and 1380 actual power was in the hands of a series of councils. The political community preferred this to a regency led by the king's uncle, John of Gaunt, although Gaunt remained highly influential.

Richard faced many challenges during his reign, including the Peasants' Revolt led by Wat Tyler in 1381, an Anglo-Scottish war in 1384-1385, and a group of noblemen known as the Lords Appellant who took over government between 1387 and 1389. His attempts to raise taxes to pay for his Scottish adventure and for the protection of Calais against the French made him increasingly unpopular.

Second peace: 1389–1415

Assassination of Louis d'Orléans





Throughout this period, England confronted repeated raids by pirates that heavily damaged trade and the navy. There is some evidence that Henry IV used state-legalised piracy as a form of warfare in the English channel. He used such privateering campaigns to pressure enemies without risking open war. The French responded in kind and French pirates, under Scottish protection, raided many English coastal towns.




Resumption of the war under Henry V: 1415–1429

Burgundy alliance and the taking of Paris

In August 1415 Henry V sailed from England with a force of about 10,500 and laid siege to Harfleur. The city resisted for longer than expected, but finally surrendered on 22 September. Because of the unexpected delay, most of the campaign season was gone. Rather than 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 outmanoeuvred and low on supplies and had to fight a much larger French army at the Battle of Agincourt, north of the Somme. Despite the problems and having a smaller force, his victory was near-total; the French defeat was catastrophic, costing many of the Armagnac leaders. About 40% of the French nobility was killed. Henry was apparently concerned that the large number of prisoners taken were a security risk (there were more French prisoners than the entire English army) and he ordered their deaths.

Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the Battle of Agincourt

Henry retook much of Normandy, including Caen in 1417 and Rouen on January 19, 1419, turning Normandy English for the first time in two centuries. A formal alliance was made with the Duchy of Burgundy, who had taken Paris after the assassination of Duke John the Fearless in 1419. In 1420, Henry met with king Charles VI. They signed the Treaty of Troyes, by which Henry finally married Charles' daughter Catherine of Valois 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.

On 22 March 1421 Henry V's progress, in his French campaign, experienced an unexpected reverse. Henry had left his brother and presumptive heir Thomas, Duke of Clarence in charge while he returned to England. Clarence engaged a Franco-Scottish force led by John Stewart, Earl of Buchan at the battle of Baugé. Apparently Clarence attacked before his army was fully assembled. He was killed and the English defeated in the ensuing battle.

English success

Henry V returned to France and went to Paris, then visiting Chartres and Gâtinais before returning to Paris. From there he decided to attack the dauphin-held town of Meaux. It turned out to be more difficult to overcome than first thought. The siege began about 6 October 1421 and the town held for seven months before finally falling on 11 May 1422.


On his deathbed, Henry V had given the Duke of Bedford responsibility for English France (as Henry VI was only an infant). The war in France continued under Bedford's generalship and several battles were won. The English won a decisive victory at the Battle of Verneuil, (17 August 1424). At the battle of Baugé Clarence had rushed into battle without the support of his archers. At Verneuil the archers fought to devastating effect against the Franco-Scottish army. The effect of the battle was to virtually destroy the dauphin's field army and to eliminate the Scots as a significant military force for the rest of the war.

Joan of Arc and French revival

Joan of Arc (c.1450-1500)



Shortly afterwards, a French army broke through the English archers at Patay, defeating an army commanded by John Fastolf and John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. This victory opened the way for the Dauphin to march to Reims for his coronation as Charles VII (16 July 1429).


French victory: 1429–1453

Henry's coronations and the desertion of Burgundy




After Joan of Arc's death the fortunes of war turned remorselessly against the English. Most of Henry's royal advisers were against making peace. Among the factions, the duke of Bedford wanted to defend Normandy, the duke of Gloucester was committed to just Calais whereas Cardinal Beaufort was inclined to peace. Negotiations stalled. It seems that at the congress of Arras, in the summer of 1435, where the duke of Beaufort was mediator, the English were unrealistic in their demands. A few days after the congress ended in September, Philip III, duke of Burgundy deserted to Charles VII, signing the Treaty of Arras that returned Paris to the King of France. This was a major blow to English sovereignty in France. The Duke died 14 September 1435 and was replaced by a lesser man.

French resurgence

The Battle of Formigny (1450)



Fall of Gascony

Charles "the Victorious".


End of the war

Although the Battle of Castillon is considered the last battle of the Hundred Years' War, England and France remained formally at war for another 20 years, but the English were in no position to carry on the war as they faced unrest at home. Political upheavals of the period and the loss of their continental landholdings at the end of the Hundred Years' War were causes of the civil war, known as the Wars of the Roses, that started in 1455.








The spread of the Black Death (with modern borders).


Bubonic Plague and warfare depleted the overall population of Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. France, for example, began with a population of about 17 million, but by the end of the Hundred Years' War it had declined by about one-half. Some regions were affected much more than others. Normandy lost three-quarters of its population. In the Paris region, between 1328 and 1470 the population was reduced by at least two-thirds, while the Black Death killed between a fifth and a third of the English population.


TimeLine100YearsWar (cropped).png


Important figures

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 Edward III's son
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster 1340–1399 Edward III's son
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford 1389–1435 Henry IV's son
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster 1306–1361 Knight
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury 1384–1453 Knight
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York 1411–1460 Knight
Sir John Fastolf 1378?–1459 Knight
King Philip VI 1328–1350
King John II 1350–1364 Philip VI's son
King Charles V 1364–1380 John II's son
Louis I of Anjou 1380–1382 John II's son
King Charles VI 1380–1422 Charles V's son
King Charles VII 1422–1461 Charles VI's son
Joan of Arc 1412–1431 Commander
Jean de Dunois 1403–1468 Knight
Gilles de Rais 1404–1440 Knight
Bertrand du Guesclin 1320–1380 Knight
Jean Bureau 13??–1463 Knight
La Hire 1390–1443 Knight
Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy 1363–1404 Son of John II of France
John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy 1404–1419 Son of Philip the Bold
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy 1419–1467 Son of John the Fearless
Retrieved from ""