Routiers
The Hundred Years' War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453, was the backdrop to their pillaging. The Hundred Years' War was fought between two royal families over control of the French throne: the Plantagenets from England, and the House of Valois from France. The War, which is divided into three stages - the Edwardian War (1337-1360), the Caroline War (1369-1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415-1429) - saw the development of new tactics and weaponry that revolutionised warfare during that time period.
Treaty of Tours
The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) now raged for more than a century between the houses of Valois and Plantagenet, who were both contesting the throne of France. In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was signed which stipulated the marriage of Henry V of England to Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France, and also stated that Henry and his heirs would inherit the throne of France upon Charles VI’s death. With the death of both kings in 1422, the thrones of France and England passed to the infant Henry VI of England, son of Henry V and maternal grandson of Charles VI. Charles of Valois, son of Charles VI, disputed his dispossession of the French kingdom, and claimed the French throne as Charles VII. The military efforts conducted by Charles against the territories held by the English in France rendered the treaty of Troyes moot and the Hundred Years' War continued.