What years was the Hundred Years' War?
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.
Invasions of the British Isles
England was spared invasion during the Hundred Years' War against France and Castile, but it was plagued by 32 years (1455–1487) of civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. The Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet, which had overthrown the direct royal line in 1399, was embroiled in fighting against the Yorkist wing of the dynasty.
Second Hundred Years' War
After William III, the opposition of France and Britain shifted from religion to economy and trade: the two nations vied for colonial domination in the Americas and Asia. The Seven Years' War was one of the greatest and most decisive conflicts. France's alliance and backing of the colonists in the American Revolutionary War against Britain was successful in undermining British colonial hegemony in North America, but in turn debts from that conflict sowed the economic seeds of France's own revolution shortly thereafter.
Peasants' Revolt
Another factor in the revolt of 1381 was the conduct of the war with France. In 1337 Edward III of England had pressed his claims to the French throne, beginning a long-running conflict that became known as the Hundred Years' War. Edward had initial successes, but his campaigns were not decisive. Charles V of France became more active in the conflict after 1369, taking advantage of his country's greater economic strength to commence cross-Channel raids on England. By the 1370s, England's armies on the continent were under huge military and financial pressure; the garrisons in Calais and Brest alone, for example, were costing £36,000 a year to maintain, while military expeditions could consume £50,000 in only six months. Edward died in 1377, leaving the throne to his grandson, Richard II, then only ten years old.
History of France
The tensions between the Houses of Plantagenet and Capet climaxed during the so-called Hundred Years' War (actually several distinct wars over the period 1337 to 1453) when the Plantagenets claimed the throne of France from the Valois. This was also the time of the Black Death, as well as several civil wars. The French population suffered much from these wars. In 1420 by the Treaty of Troyes Henry V was made heir to Charles VI. Henry V failed to outlive Charles so it was Henry VI of England and France who consolidated the Dual-Monarchy of England and France.
Duchy of Aquitaine
The Valois kings of France, claiming supremacy over Aquitaine, granted the title of duke to their heirs, the Dauphins, during 1345 and 1415: John II (1345–50), Charles VII (1392?–1401), and Louis (1401–15). French victory was complete with the Battle of Castillon of 1453. England and France nominally remained at war for another 20 years, but England was in no position to continue its campaign, due to its escalating internal conflicts. The Hundred Years' War was formally concluded with the Treaty of Picquigny of 1475. With the end of the Hundred Years' War, Aquitaine returned under direct rule of the king of France and remained in the possession of the king. Only occasionally was the title of "duke of Aquitaine" granted to another member of the dynasty, and then as a purely nominal distinction.
Hundred Years' War (1415–53)
By 1449, the French had retaken Rouen. 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 was 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 Caen on July 6 and Bordeaux and Bayonne in 1451. The attempt by Talbot to retake Guyenne, though initially welcomed by the locals, was crushed by Jean Bureau and his cannons 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.
Hundred Years' War (1337–1360)
English defences in Gascony had been severely strained for some time, relief came when two of the nobles who supported the French king pursued a family feud against each other rather than fighting the English. The two nobles involved were the Count of Armagnac and the Count of Foix. Also, further assistance was provided by the Albret family, with Bernard-Aiz, Lord of Albret declaring for Edward in 1339. The Albrets held one of the most important lordships in English Gascony and had been courted by both the English and French crowns. Albret financed Edward's campaign in Gascony and also with his family connections was able to find much needed additional manpower for Edward's army.
Crisis of the Late Middle Ages
Meanwhile, many of the largest countries, most notably England and Scotland, had been at war, using up much of their treasury and exacerbating inflation. In 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death, England and France went to war in what became known as the Hundred Years' War. This situation was worsened when landowners and monarchs such as Edward III of England (r. 1327–1377) and Philip VI of France (r. 1328–1350), raised the fines and rents of their tenants out of a fear that their comparatively high standard of living would decline.
Battle of Auberoche
The status of the English king's French fiefs was a major source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the Middle Ages. French monarchs systematically sought to check the growth of English power, stripping away lands as the opportunity arose. Towards the end of 1336, following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France () and Edward III of England (), Philip decided that war was the only way to drive the English out for good. On 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last one hundred and sixteen years.
Hundred Years' War (1337–1360)
After the treaties of London failed Edward launched the Rheims campaign which, though largely unsuccessful, led to the Treaty of Brétigny which settled certain lands in France on Edward for renouncing his claim to the French throne. This was in part caused by Black Monday (1360), the freak storm that devastated the English army and forced Edward III into peace talks. This peace lasted nine years; but then began a second phase of hostilities known as the Caroline War.
Battle of Gerberoy
In spring 1435 the Hundred Years' War, after a few years of relative calm began to come back into a hot phase. The English armies were operating from northern France and Aquitaine. They also controlled Paris, Saint-Denis and the whole of Normandy. Nevertheless, the situation in the occupied territories for the English during the last decades had become more difficult. Although Joan of Arc was captured in 1430 and executed in 1431, it seemed to be more difficult to rule France and enforce the Treaty of Troyes.
Anglo-Scottish Wars
France also played a key role throughout the period of the Anglo-Scottish Wars. Scots and English soldiers on French soil during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) generally fought on opposing sides, with the Scots standing for the French against the English under the Auld Alliance. France in later periods, in turn, often intervened on Scottish soil for the Scots. This French involvement had increasingly complex political consequences for all sides by the later 16th century.
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a time of rapid military evolution. Weapons, tactics, army structure and the social meaning of war all changed, partly in response to the war's costs, partly through advancement in technology and partly through lessons that warfare taught. The feudal system was slowly disintegrating throughout the hundred years war.
Hundred Years' War (1369–89)
The Treaty of Bruges was a treaty signed in 1375 between France and England in Bruges, present-day Belgium. The conference leading to the treaty was called at the instigation of Pope Gregory XI. France was represented in the negotiations by Philip II, Duke of Burgundy and England by John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Negotiations broke down over the issue of sovereignty over the Aquitaine. The English wanted full sovereignty over Edward's territories, while the French insisted that the House of Valois
retain sovereignty of any Plantagenet provinces. Despite attempts by the Pope to broker a compromise, agreement could not be reached and the war resumed in 1377.
Battle of Paris (1814)
Until this battle it had been nearly 400 years since a foreign army had entered Paris, during the Hundred Years' War.
Edward of Angoulême
Although Richard was only ten years old when he began his reign, towards the end of the 1390s, he began what historians consider to be a period of "tyranny". By the time of Edward's death, England was in the midst of fighting during the Hundred Years' War, which had been started by Edward III. Richard made efforts to end the war, but was unsuccessful due to opposition from his magnates and the French refusing to formally acknowledge their territorial losses by transferring land to the English. In 1399, Richard was imprisoned in the Tower of London and abdicated in favour of his cousin, the Earl of Derby. With Richard's death on 14 February 1400, the direct line of the House of Plantagenet was brought to an end.
Treaty of Paris (1303)
The Treaty of Paris was signed on 20 May 1303 between Philip IV of France and Edward I of England. Based on the terms of the treaty, Gascony was restored to England from France, thus setting the stage for the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). Moreover, it was confirmed that Philip's daughter would marry Edward's son (the later Edward II of England), as already agreed in the Treaty of Montreuil (1299).
Joan of Arc
The Hundred Years' War had begun in 1337 as an inheritance dispute over the French throne, interspersed with occasional periods of relative peace. Nearly all the fighting had taken place in France, and the English army's use of "chevauchée" tactics (destructive "scorched earth" raids) had devastated the economy. The French population had not regained its former size prior to the Black Death of the mid-14th century, and its merchants were isolated from foreign markets. Prior to the appearance of Joan of Arc, the English had nearly achieved their goal of a dual monarchy under English control and the French army had not achieved any major victories for a generation. In the words of DeVries, "The kingdom of France was not even a shadow of its thirteenth-century prototype."
Truce of Espléchin
The Truce of Espléchin (1340) was a truce between the English and French crowns during the Hundred Years' War.
Chevauchée
The chevauchée has gained recognition for its use during the Hundred Years' War between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. It was not a new tactic and had been used many times before; for example, William the Conqueror had used the tactic before the Battle of Hastings to encourage Harold to engage in a battle. The difference was that during the Hundred Years' War the tactic was used more frequently, on a larger scale and more systematically than before.
Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years' War
Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years' War is a 2013 documentary television series written and presented by cultural historian Dr. Janina Ramirez looking at a time when the ruling classes of England and France were bound together by shared sets of values, codes of behaviour and language for three hundred years that ended with the Hundred Years' War when chivalry ended with the devastating warfare of cannon and betrayal between rulers when England lost her French possessions. It was originally broadcast by the BBC in February 2013.
Hundred Years' War
In 1341, conflict over the succession to the Duchy of Brittany began the War of the Breton 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. The city of Vannes in Brittany changed hands several times, while further campaigns in Gascony met with mixed success for both sides. The English backed Montfort finally succeeded in taking the duchy but not until 1364.
Mary of Waltham
Seven years previously, King Philip VI of France attempted to confiscate the Duchy of Guyenne (also referred to as Aquitaine) from Edward III – an event that traditionally marks the beginning of the Hundred Years' War – after which Edward used military force, diplomacy and marital links to strengthen his claim to the French throne. In the Duchy of Brittany succession dispute, he supported John of Montfort since a close alliance to the English crown with Brittany would give Edward access to the port of Brest for use by English troops. When Montfort was captured, his wife, Joanna of Flanders, took over the campaign and, during the siege of Rennes, received military support from Edward. In return, she promised her son John (later John IV, Duke of Brittany) to one of his daughters.
Abbey of Saint-Vigor de Cerisy
In 1337, the dynastic rivalries between the Valois and the kings of England precipitated the country into the Hundred Years War, which plunged the country into misery, aggravated by epidemics of plague. The abbey was fortified and a garrison settled there. In 1418, Richard de Silly, knight and captain of the abbey, was obliged to cede the abbey to the King of England. However, after the victory of the constable de Richemont over the English at Formigny in 1450, Normandy returned definitively to the kingdom of France.
Battle of Lunalonge
Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France and Edward III of England, on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, which included all of Gascony, should be taken back into the Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last one hundred and sixteen years. Although Gascony was the cause of the war, Edward was able to spare few resources for it and up to 1349 whenever an English army campaigned on the continent it operated in northern France. In most campaigning seasons the Gascons had had to rely on their own resources and had been hard pressed by the French.
Hundred Years' War
Difficulties in raising taxes and revenue hampered the ability of the French to fight the English. At this point, the war's pace had largely slowed down, and both nations found themselves fighting mainly through proxy wars, such as during the 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum. The independence party in the Kingdom of Portugal, which was supported by the English, won against the supporters of the King of Castile's claim to the Portuguese throne, who in turn was backed by the French.
Hundred Years' War
The domestic and dynastic difficulties faced by England and France in this period quieted the war for a decade.
House of Valois
Because diplomacy and negotiation had failed, Edward III would have to back his claims with force to obtain the French throne. For a few years, England and France maintained an uneasy peace. Eventually, an escalation of conflict between the two kings led to the confiscation of the duchy of Aquitaine (1337). Instead of paying homage to the French king, as his ancestors had done, Edward claimed that he was the rightful King of France. These events helped launch the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between England and France. Though England failed to win that prolonged conflict, English and British Monarchs until the late 18th Century continued to maintain, at least formally, a claim to the French throne.
Battle of Blanchetaque
Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. The status of the English king's French fiefs was a major source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, English holdings in France had varied in size, but by 1337 only Gascony in south western France and Ponthieu in northern France were left. Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France () and Edward III of England, on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last one hundred and sixteen years. In 1340, Edward formally assumed the title King of France.
Wars of the Roses
Following defeat in the Hundred Years' War, English landowners complained vociferously about the financial losses resulting from the loss of their continental holdings; this is often considered a contributory cause of the Wars of the Roses. The wars were fought largely by the landed aristocracy and armies of feudal retainers, with some mercenaries.
Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years' War
In 1435 Bedford died and sworn enemies Charles VII and Phillip, Duke of Burgundy joined forces to get the English out and with Henry VI reluctance to wage war and to maintain peace by marrying Margaret of Anjou. Charles had no intention of peace and used cannon and sieges to retake France and Normandy culminating in the defeat of the English at the Battle of Castillon in the last English territory of Gascony ending the hundred years war.
Hundred Years' War
The Battle of Crécy was a complete disaster for the French, largely credited to the 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 northern France. Calais would remain under English control, even after the end of the Hundred Years' War, until the successful French siege in 1558.
Hundred Years' 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. Following defeat in the Hundred Years' War, English landowners complained vociferously about the financial losses resulting from the loss of their continental holdings; this is often considered a major cause of the Wars of the Roses, that started in 1455.
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War (1688–97)—often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg—was a conflict between Louis XIV of France and a European coalition of the Holy Roman Empire (led by Austria), the Dutch Republic, Spain, England and Savoy. It was fought in Europe and the surrounding seas, North America and in India. It is sometimes considered the first global war. The conflict encompassed the Williamite war in Ireland and Jacobite risings in Scotland, where William III and James II struggled for control of England and Ireland, and a campaign in colonial North America between French and English settlers and their respective Indigenous allies, today called King William's War by Americans.
Brittany
The Breton War of Succession, a local episode of the Hundred Years' War, saw the House of Blois, backed by the French, fighting with the House of Montfort, backed by the English. The Montforts won in 1364 and enjoyed a period of total independence until the end of the Hundred Years' War, because France was weakened and stopped sending royal envoys to the Court of Brittany. English diplomatic failures led to the Breton cavalry commanders Arthur, Comte de Richemont (later to become Arthur III, Duke of Brittany) and his nephew Peter II, Duke of Brittany playing key roles on the French side during the deciding stages of the War (the Battle of Patay, the Treaty of Arras (1435), the Battle of Formigny and the Battle of Castillon). However, Brittany lost the Mad War against France in 1488, mostly because of its internal divisions which were exacerbated by the corruption at the court of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. Indeed, some Breton lords were fighting on the French side.
List of Hundred Years' War battles
This is a list of major battles in the Hundred Years' War, a conflict between France and England that lasted 116 years from 1337 to 1453. There are 56 of them.
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.
Second Hundred Years' War
The Second Hundred Years' War (c. 1689 – c. 1815) is a periodization or historical era term used by some historians to describe the series of military conflicts between Great Britain and France that occurred from about 1689 (or some say 1714) to 1815. For the context see International relations, 1648–1814.
Hundred Years' War (1369–89)
In the Treaty of Brétigny, Edward III renounced his claim to the French throne in exchange for the duchy of Aquitaine in full sovereignty. Between the nine years of formal peace between the two kingdoms, the English and French clashed in Brittany and Castile.
Capetian–Plantagenet rivalry
Ironically, Edward III, the son of Isabella and Edward II of England would use his position as grandson of Philip the Fair to claim the Kingdom of France. Therefore, the marriage settlement that sealed the end of the "first" Hundred Years' War would lead to the casus belli employed to declare the "second" Hundred Years' War. The War of Saint-Sardos, the first major conflict between the two major kingdoms in half a century, would act as foreshadowing for the bigger war to come.
The Hundred Days (novel)
The Hundred Days is the nineteenth historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by British author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1998. The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars, specifically in their last portion in 1815, the Hundred Days.
Hundred Years' War (1337–1360)
The Truce of Espléchin marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War and resulted in a cessation of hostilities on all fronts for nine months. The cost both politically and financially had been immense. Grand alliances could no longer be afforded and some allies could no longer be relied on. The German princes all backed out of the anti-French alliance, only the burghers of Flanders remained. In England; opinion was turning against Edward, his gains on the continent had been at a large cost and most of Scotland had been lost. Essentially bankrupt, Edward was forced to cut his losses. Those whose support he could not afford to lose were repaid, others were not. The contemporary Florentine chronicler Giovani Villanni suggested that the banks of Bardi and Peruzzi failed because Edward III defaulted on the loans. Villanni was not an independent source, his brother was a member of the Peruzzi company. Villanni said that Edward owed the Bardi 900,000 gold florins (£135,000) and the Peruzzi 600,000 (£90,000). But the Peruzzis' records show that they never had that much capital to lend Edward III. In reality the English crown had forced the companies to accept a smaller amount of debt and repaid some with cash and others with royal grants of wool, a principal export of the English economy at the time.
French colonial empire
In the middle of the 18th century, a series of colonial conflicts began between France and Britain, which ultimately resulted in the destruction of most of the first French colonial empire and the near-complete expulsion of France from the Americas. These wars were the War of the Austrian Succession (1744–1748), the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the American Revolution (1765–1783), the French Revolutionary Wars (1793–1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). It may even be seen further back in time to the first of the French and Indian Wars. This cyclic conflict is sometimes known as the Second Hundred Years' War.
Charles VI of France
Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing conflict with the English, known as the Hundred Years' War. An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles' daughter, the almost seven-year-old Isabella of Valois, married the 29-year-old Richard II of England. By 1415, however, the feud between the French royal family and the House of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy throughout France that Henry V of England was eager to take advantage of. Henry led an invasion that culminated in the defeat of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt in October.
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
As York reached majority, events were unfolding in France which would tie him to the events of the ongoing Hundred Years' War. In the spring of 1434, York attended a great council meeting at Westminster which attempted to conciliate the king's uncles, the dukes of Bedford and Gloucester (heads of the regency government), over disagreements regarding the conduct of the war in France. Henry V's conquests in France could not be sustained forever, as England either needed to conquer more territory to ensure permanent French subordination, or to concede territory to gain a negotiated settlement. During Henry VI's minority, his Council took advantage of French weakness and the alliance with Burgundy to increase England's possessions, but following the Treaty of Arras of 1435, Burgundy ceased to recognise the English king's claim to the French throne.
Battle of Winchelsea
Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. Over the centuries, English holdings in France had varied in size, but by 1337 only Gascony in south western France and Ponthieu in northern France were left. Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France and Edward III of England, on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last one hundred and sixteen years.
Gascon campaign of 1345
Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. The status of the English king's French fiefs was a major source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the Middle Ages. French monarchs systematically sought to check the growth of English power, stripping away lands as the opportunity arose. Over the centuries, English holdings in France had varied in size, but by 1337 only Gascony in south western France and Ponthieu in northern France were left. The independent minded Gascons had their own customs and claimed to have a separate language; they preferred their relationship with a distant English king who left them alone, to one with a French king who would interfere in their affairs. Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France () and Edward III of England (), on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War, which was to last one hundred and sixteen years.
John Crabbe (died 1352)
The year 1337 marked the beginning of the Hundred Years War. According to Lucas, Edward III's strategy was to use the Low Countries as his base and to finance the war from the sale of English wool there. It was thus imperative that the sea lanes be kept free for English shipping. Crabbe was well positioned to serve the King in this task, and from 4 April to 12 August 1339 was with the Admiral of the Fleet North of the Thames, Robert de Morley, 2nd Baron Morley. During this period he is known to have been in command, at one time, of a hundred archers, and on a second occasion, of eight men-at-arms, seventy archers and seventy sailors.
In an attempt to prevent the English from using the Low Countries as their base, Philip VI of France gathered a fleet at the mouths of the Zwin and Scheldt, and Edward III, prepared to attack immediately, met at Orwell with his council, where John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, Morley and Crabbe urged him to delay until a larger fleet could be assembled. The King did so with reluctance, and with a larger fleet engaged the French in the Battle of Sluys on the afternoon of 23 June; by the end of the day the English had virtually annihilated the enemy. A few French ships led by a pirate named Spoudevisch managed to escape, and at the King's order were pursued by Crabbe. Unfortunately whether Crabbe succeeded or failed in this endeavour is unknown. After Sluys, Crabbe may have accompanied the King to the siege of Tournai.
Second Hundred Years' War
The recurrent rhetoric used in each country shifted from references to a "natural enemy" to an agreement to tolerate one another. Common interests led the two to cooperate in the Crimean War of the 1850s. A century after fighting one another (and with the mutual interest in checking the growing power of a united Germany, aside from Austria, with its Empire), the two were able to establish the Entente Cordiale by 1904, demonstrating that the "First" and "Second" Hundred Years' Wars were in the past; cultural differences continued, but violent conflict was over.
Artillery of France in the Middle Ages
The 14th century saw a considerable development of the new weapons in France and in Western Europe in general, especially with the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453).
Peter I, Duke of Bourbon
Peter I took part in several of the early campaigns of the Hundred Years War which broke out in 1337.
Hundred Years' War (1369–89)
In 1376, the Black Prince died, and in April 1377, Edward III of England sent his Chancellor, Adam Houghton, to negotiate for peace with Charles, but when in June Edward himself died, Houghton was called home. The underaged Richard of Bordeaux succeeded to the throne of England. It was not until Richard had been deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke that the English, under the House of Lancaster, could forcefully revive their claim to the French throne. The war nonetheless continued until the first of a series of truces was signed in 1389.
Hundred Years' War
The war became increasingly unpopular with the English public largely due to the high taxes needed to sustain it. These taxes were seen as one of the reasons for the Peasants' revolt. Richard's increasing disinterest in the war together with his preferential treatment of a select few close friends and advisors angered an alliance of lords that included one of his uncles. This group, known as Lords Appellant, managed to successfully press charges of treason against five of Richard's advisors and friends in the Merciless Parliament. The Lords Appellant were able to gain control of the council in 1388 and tried, unsuccessfully, to reignite the war in France. Although the will was there, the funds to pay the troops was lacking, so in the autumn of 1388 the Council agreed to resume negotiations with the French crown, beginning on 18 June 1389 with the signing of a three-year truce at Leulinghem.
Forty Years' War
The Forty Years' War (; 1385 – 1424; also Ava-Pegu War or the Mon-Burmese War) was a military conflict fought between the Burmese-speaking Kingdom of Ava and the Mon-speaking Kingdom of Hanthawaddy Pegu. The war was fought during two separate periods: 1385 to 1391, and 1401 to 1424, interrupted by two truces of 1391–1401 and 1403–1408. It was fought primarily in today's Lower Burma and also in Upper Burma, Shan State and Rakhine State. It ended in a stalemate, preserving the independence of Hanthawaddy, and effectively ending Ava's efforts to rebuild the erstwhile Pagan Kingdom.
Hundred Years' War (1369–89)
Charles V resumed the war in favorable conditions. France, after all, was still the foremost kingdom in Western Europe; England had also lost its most capable military leaders — Edward III was too old, while the Black Prince was languishing in sickness.
Diversionary foreign policy
In 1415, King Henry V of England invaded France shortly after his succession to the throne, resulting in a short campaign and a resounding victory at the Battle of Agincourt. This campaign initiated the third phase of the Hundred Years' War, termed the Lancastrian War ("see" Hundred Years' War (1415–53)).
Hundred Years' War
In 1366 there was a civil war of succession in Castile (part of modern Spain). The forces of the ruler Peter of Castile were pitched against those of his half-brother Henry of Trastámara. The English crown supported Peter; the French supported Henry. French forces were led by Bertrand du Guesclin, a Breton, who rose from relatively humble beginnings to prominence as one of France's war leaders. Charles V provided a force of 12,000, with du Guesclin at their head, to support Trastámara in his invasion of Castile.
Joan of Arc
The Hundred Years' War continued for twenty-two years after her death. Charles VII retained legitimacy as the king of France in spite of a rival coronation held for Henry VI at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on 16 December 1431, the boy's tenth birthday. Before England could rebuild its military leadership and force of longbowmen lost in 1429, the country lost its alliance with Burgundy when the Treaty of Arras was signed in 1435. The Duke of Bedford died the same year and Henry VI became the youngest king of England to rule without a regent. His weak leadership was probably the most important factor in ending the conflict. Kelly DeVries argues that Joan of Arc's aggressive use of artillery and frontal assaults influenced French tactics for the rest of the war.
England
During the 14th century, the Plantagenets and the House of Valois both claimed to be legitimate claimants to the House of Capet and with it France; the two powers clashed in the Hundred Years' War. The Black Death epidemic hit England; starting in 1348, it eventually killed up to half of England's inhabitants. From 1453 to 1487 civil war occurred between two branches of the royal family – the Yorkists and Lancastrians – known as the Wars of the Roses. Eventually it led to the Yorkists losing the throne entirely to a Welsh noble family the Tudors, a branch of the Lancastrians headed by Henry Tudor who invaded with Welsh and Breton mercenaries, gaining victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field where the Yorkist king Richard III was killed.
Hundred Years' War (1415–53)
The second half of this phase of the war was dominated by the Kingdom of France. With charismatic leaders such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, and with England losing its main allies, the French forces counterattacked. Charles VII of France was crowned in Notre-Dame de Reims in 1429, and from then a slow but steady reconquest of English-held French territories ensued. Ultimately the English would be expelled from France and lose all of their continental territories, except the Pale of Calais (which would be captured in 1558).
France–United Kingdom relations
The English monarchy increasingly integrated with its subjects and turned to the English language wholeheartedly during the Hundred Years' War between 1337 and 1453. Though the war was in principle a mere dispute over territory, it drastically changed societies on both sides of the Channel. The English, although already politically united, for the first time found pride in their language and identity, while the French united politically.
Arnemuiden
On the 23 September 1338, at the start of the Hundred Years' War between England and France, a naval battle was held near Arnemuiden. It was the first naval battle of the Hundred Years' War and the first naval battle using artillery, as the English ship "Christofer" had three cannon and one hand gun.
Truce of Leulinghem
The Truce of Leulinghem was a truce agreed to by Richard II's kingdom of England and its allies, and Charles VI's kingdom of France and its allies, on 18 July 1389, ending the second phase of the Hundred Years' War. England was on the edge of financial collapse and suffering from internal political divisions. On the other side, Charles VI was suffering from a mental illness that handicapped the furthering of the war by the French government. Neither side was willing to concede on the primary cause of the war, the legal status of the Duchy of Aquitaine and the King of England's homage to the King of France through his possession of the duchy. However, both sides faced major internal issues that could badly damage their kingdoms if the war continued. The truce was originally negotiated by representatives of the kings to last three years, but the two kings met in person at Leulinghem, near the English fortress of Calais, and agreed to extend the truce to a twenty-seven years' period. Other provisions were agreed to, in attempts to bring an end to the papal schism, to launch a joint crusade against the Turks in the Balkans, to seal the marriage of Richard to Charles' daughter Isabella along with an 800,000 franc dowry, and to guarantee to continue peace negotiations, in order to establish a lasting treaty between the kingdoms. The treaty brought peace to the Iberian peninsula, where Portugal and Castile were supporting the English and French respectively. The English evacuated all their holdings in northern France except Calais.
Military history of the Netherlands
The Nine Years' War was a major war fought in Europe and America from 1688 to 1697, between France and the League of Augsburg — which, by 1689, was known as the "Grand Alliance". The war was fought to resist French expansionism along the Rhine, as well as, on the part of England, to safeguard the results of the Glorious Revolution from a possible French-backed restoration of James II. In North America the war was known as King William's War.
1340s
In Europe, the decade continued the period of gradual economic decline, often mistitled the "depression" of the 1340s. This followed the end of the Medieval Warm Period and the start of the Little Ice Age in the 1300s, and affected most of Western Europe, with the exception of a few Italian city-states. The state increasingly interfered in the social and economic life of the decade, while Europe entered a period which saw almost continuous war for the next century. The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) between France and England continued, and Edward III of England led an invasion resulting in notable victories at the Battles of Sluys and Crécy in 1340 and 1346 respectively. The medieval crusading spirit continued in Spain, with a Castilian victory at the Battle of Río Salado and the recommencement of the Reconquista in 1340; and in the Baltic, with King Magnus II of Sweden's Northern Crusades against Novgorod in 1347–1348. In the east, the Byzantine Empire, then under the Palaiologoi, saw the start of the disastrous Byzantine civil war of 1341–47. Meanwhile, a crisis of confidence in the Florentine banks caused many of them to collapse between 1341 and 1346. The Black Plague which struck Europe in 1348 wiped out a full third of the population by the end of the decade.
Hundred Years' War
Edward invaded France, for the third and last time, hoping to capitalise on the discontent and 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. Next was the town of Chartres. Disaster struck in a freak hailstorm on the encamped army, causing over 1,000 English deaths – the so-called Black Monday on Easter 1360. This devastated Edward's army and forced him to negotiate when approached by the French. A conference was held at Brétigny that resulted in the Treaty of Brétigny (8 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 reduce King John's ransom by a million crowns. Edward also abandoned his claim to the crown of France.
Battle of Cadzand
The Battle of Cadzand was a minor battle of the Hundred Years' War fought in 1337. It consisted of a raid on the Flemish island of Cadzand, designed to provoke a reaction and battle from the local garrison and so improve morale in England and amongst King Edward III's continental allies by providing his army with an easy victory. On 9 November Sir Walter Manny, with the advance troops for Edward III's continental invasion, made an attempt to take the city of Sluys, but was driven off.
Hundred Years' War (1337–1360)
The confiscation of Gascony by Philip VI precipitated the war in 1337. In response, Edward's strategy was for the English in Gascony to hold their position while his army would invade France from the north. The English forces would be supplemented by a grand alliance of continental supporters whom he promised payment of over £200,000. To pay for the war Edward had to raise large amounts of money for his own forces and also his allies on the continent. It was unlikely that the English parliament could raise the requisite sums quickly, so in the summer of 1337 a plan was developed to make virtually all the nation's wool stock available to help finance the war. 30,000 sacks would be sold by the English merchants, and the sum (estimated at £200,000) would be lent to Edward. To pay the fees promised to his allies, Edward was also forced to borrow heavily from the great banking houses of Bardi and Peruzzi. Late in 1338, when he had exhausted the funds from the banking houses, William de la Pole, a wealthy merchant, came to the kings rescue by advancing him £110,000. Much of the money that William de la Pole lent the king was raised from other English merchants. Edward also borrowed money from merchants in the Low Countries, who charged extortionate rates of interest and demanded more solid guarantees of repayment. In 1340 the Earls of Derby and Northampton were held as surety for the repayment of loans. In the summer of 1339, Edward had asked the Commons for a grant of £300,000. In early 1340 they offered the grant in return for concessions from the king. Edward, delayed by his money raising efforts, was temporarily unable to proceed with his invasion plans.
Hundred Years' War
The war owes its historical significance to multiple factors. By its end, feudal armies had been largely replaced by professional troops, and aristocratic dominance had yielded to a democratisation of the manpower and weapons of armies. Although primarily a dynastic conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French and English nationalism. The wider introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, and artillery became important. The war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire, thus helping to change their role in warfare. With respect to the belligerents, in France, civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, and bandit free-companies of mercenaries reduced the population drastically. In England, political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. The dissatisfaction of English nobles, resulting from the loss of their continental landholdings, as well as the general shock at losing a war in which investment had been so great, became factors leading to the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487).
Hundred Years' War
After the death of Joan of Arc, the fortunes of war turned dramatically 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 of Bedford died on 14 September 1435 and was later replaced by Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York.
Hundred Years' War
Several overwhelming English victories in the war—especially at Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt—raised the prospects of an ultimate English triumph, and convinced the English to continue pouring money and manpower into the war over many decades. However, the greater resources of the French monarchy prevented the English kings from ever completing the conquest of France. Starting in 1429, decisive French victories at Orléans, Patay, Formigny, and Castillon concluded the war in favour of the House of Valois, with England permanently losing most of its possessions on the continent.
Maritime history of England
During the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) the French fleet was initially stronger than that of the English, but the former was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Many other sea battles were fought in this period.
History of Ireland (1169–1536)
In the background the Hundred Years' War of 1337–1453 between the English and French dynasties drew off forces that could have protected the Lordship from attack by autonomous Gaelic and Norman lords.
John II of France
In 1355, the Hundred Years' War flared up again. In July 1356, Edward, the Black Prince, son of Edward III of England, took an army on a great "chevauchée" through France. John pursued him with an army of his own. In September the two forces met a few miles southeast of Poitiers.
Hundred Years' War
Bubonic plague and warfare reduced population numbers throughout Europe during this period. France lost half its population during the Hundred Years' War. Normandy lost three-quarters of its population, and Paris two-thirds. The population of England was reduced by 20 to 33 percent due to plague in the same period.
Paris in the Middle Ages
The Hundred Years' War between France and England, which began in 1337, brought new woes to the Parisians. In 1346, the King John II was captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers. The Dauphin, the future Charles V, was named regent and tried to raise money to pay ransom for his father. He summoned the Estates-General and asked for the coins of Paris to be devalued in order to put more money into the treasury. The provost of the merchants, Étienne Marcel, a prosperous cloth merchant who represented Paris in the Estates-General, refused and demanded a role for the Estates General. When the Dauphin refused, Marcel organized strikes and riots until the Dauphin was forced to concede powers to the Estates-General. The Dauphin was obliged to wear a red and blue cap, the colors of the city of Paris. The followers of Marcel killed two of the counselors of the Dauphin, but Marcel stopped the rioters from killing the Dauphin. The Dauphin escaped Paris, raised an army, and laid siege to Paris. The followers of Marcel gradually abandoned him, and, hoping for royal pardon, killed him in 1358 by throwing him from the walls at the Porte Saint-Antoine. The king and royal government returned to the city, and the powers of the provost of the Paris merchants were drastically reduced; until the French Revolution, it became only a symbolic office.
Hundred Years' War
Tensions between the French and English monarchies can be traced back to the 1066 Norman conquest of England, in which the English throne was seized by the Duke of Normandy, a vassal of the King of France. As a result, the crown of England was held by a succession of nobles who already owned lands in France, which put them among the most powerful subjects of the French King, as they could now draw upon the economic power of England to enforce their interests in the mainland. To the kings of France, this dangerously threatened their royal authority, and so they would constantly try to undermine English rule in France, while the English monarchs would struggle to protect and expand their lands. This clash of interests was the root cause of much of the conflict between the French and English monarchies throughout the medieval era.
Périgord
Périgord was one of the main battlegrounds of Hundred Years' War between the French and English in the 14th and 15th centuries. It is also the land of medieval and Renaissance castles like Puymartin, Losse, Hautefort and Beynac situated mainly along the Dordogne and Vézère rivers. Other major castles include Jumilhac-le-Grand, Fénelon, Biron, Bourdeilles, Castelnaud, Puyguilhem and Rouffiac (Angoisse).
Forest of Retz
The period of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) marked depredations on the woodlands.
Gaillard I de Durfort
At first he took the English side in the Hundred Years' War. As a commander, he played a major role in the campaigns of 1345–46 in the Duchy of Gascony. In 1352 he changed sides, but in 1356 he returned to the English side.
Hundred Years' War (1369–89)
The Caroline War was the second phase of the Hundred Years' War between France and England, following the Edwardian War. It was so-named after Charles V of France, who resumed the war nine years after the Treaty of Brétigny (signed 1360). The Kingdom of France dominated this phase of the war.
History of Hertfordshire
Hertford Castle was used as a gaol for a series of important captives during the Hundred Years' War. This was actually a series of separate wars that lasted a total of 116 years, between 1337 and 1453. The Plantagenet Kings of England fought the Valois Kings of France, almost entirely on French soil. Queen Isabella was imprisoned by her son, the King, in Hertford Castle in 1330, as were King David II of Scotland and his queen in 1346, after the Battle of Neville's Cross. King John II of France was imprisoned there in 1359 in considerable luxury.
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global conflict fought between 1756 and 1763. It involved every European great power of the time and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain (including the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Portugal, the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and other small German states) on one side and the Kingdom of France (including the Austrian-led Holy Roman Empire), the Russian Empire (until 1762), the Kingdom of Spain, and the Swedish Empire on the other. Meanwhile, in India, some regional polities within the increasingly fragmented Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, tried to crush a British attempt to conquer Bengal. The war's extent has led some historians to describe it as "World War Zero", similar in scale to other world wars.
Picquigny
On 29 August 1475, with the Treaty of Picquigny, Louis XI brought to an end the Hundred Years' War. The French king had to pay King Edward IV an annual sum of fifty thousand crowns.
Gascon campaign (1294–1303)
The Gascon campaign of 1294 to 1303 was a military conflict between English and French forces over the Duchy of Aquitaine, including the Duchy of Gascony. The Duchy of Aquitaine was held in fief by King Edward I of England as a vassal of King Philip IV of France. Starting with a fishing fleet dispute and then naval warfare, the conflict escalated to open warfare between the two countries. In spite of a French military victory on the ground, the war ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1303, which restored the status quo. The war was a premise to future tensions between the two nations culminating in the Hundred Years' War.
Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466)
France and England were too weakened after the Hundred Years' War, and England was also embroiled in civil war, the Wars of the Roses. The Duke of Burgundy, Flanders, and the Netherlands, Philip the Good, was more interested in creating an independent Kingdom of Burgundy. Pope Nicholas V's primary concern was dealing with the Ottoman Turks.
Second Hundred Years' War
The series of wars began with the accession of the Dutch William III as King of England in the Revolution of 1688. His predecessors the Stuarts had sought friendly terms with Louis XIV: James I and Charles I, both Protestants, had avoided involvement as much as possible in the Thirty Years' War, while Charles II and the Catholic convert James II had even actively supported Louis XIV in his War against the Dutch Republic. William III, however, sought to oppose Louis XIV's Catholic regime and styled himself as a Protestant champion. Tensions continued in the following decades, during which France protected Jacobites who sought to overthrow the later Stuarts and, after 1715, the Hanoverians.
Hundred Years' War
Henry IV of England died in 1413 and was replaced by his eldest son Henry V. The mental illness of Charles VI of France allowed his power to be exercised by royal princes whose rivalries caused deep divisions in France. Henry V was well aware of these divisions and hoped to exploit them. In 1414 while he held court at Leicester, he received ambassadors from Burgundy. Henry accredited envoys to the French king to make clear his territorial claims in France; he also demanded the hand of Charles VI's youngest daughter Catherine of Valois. The French rejected his demands, leading Henry to prepare for war.
Hundred Years' War
France was an ally of the Kingdom of Scotland as English kings had for some time tried to subjugate the area. 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 Scotland that France would support the Scots if England invaded their country. Similarly, France would have Scotland's support if its own kingdom was attacked. Edward could not succeed in his plans for Scotland if the Scots could count on French support.
War of Saint-Sardos
The War of Saint-Sardos was a short war fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France in 1324. The war was a clear defeat for the English, and led indirectly to the overthrowing of Edward II of England. The war can also be seen as one of the precursors of the Hundred Years' War.
Pontvallain
It was the site, on 4 December 1370, of the Battle of Pontvallain, a significant military engagement between England and France (who had the victory) during the Hundred Years' War.
Siege of Meaux
The Siege of Meaux was fought in 1422 between the English and the French during the Hundred Years' War. The English were led by King Henry V. Henry became ill while fighting this long battle, which took place during the winter months. He died on 31 August as a result.
Second Hundred Years' War
The French military rivalry continued with British opposition of the French Revolution and the ensuing wars with first the new French Republic and then the Empire of Napoleon. His defeat in 1814 was followed by his abdication and exile, but he escaped the following year to begin the Hundred Days. These came to a close with his military disaster at the Battle of Waterloo, facing an Allied force commanded by the Duke of Wellington. The end of the Napoleonic Wars effectively ended the recurrent conflict between France and Britain. However, Britain and her allies' goal of restoring the French Bourbon monarchy in the Treaty of Paris and the subsequent Congress of Vienna, which sought to prevent further revolutions in Europe, ultimately failed with the later Revolutions of 1848.
Hundred Years' War (1369–89)
The Black Prince's intervention in the Castilian Civil War, and the failure of Pedro to reward his services, depleted the prince's treasury. He resolved to recover his losses by raising the taxes in Aquitaine. The Gascons, unaccustomed to such taxes, complained. Unheeded, they turned to the King of France as their feudal overlord. But by the Treaty of Brétigny the King of France had lost his suzerainty over Aquitaine. After reflecting on the matter, it was asserted that Edward III's renunciation of France had been imperfect. In consequence, the King of France retained his suzerainty over Aquitaine. Charles V summoned the Black Prince to answer the complaints of his vassals but Edward refused. The Caroline phase of the Hundred Years' War began.
Hundred Years' War (1337–1360)
The Edwardian War was the first phase of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. It was named after King Edward III of England, who claimed the French throne in defiance of King Philip VI of France. The dynastic conflict was caused by disputes over the French feudal sovereignty over Aquitaine and the English claims over the French royal title. The Kingdom of England and its allies dominated this phase of the war.
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was a war fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. One of the most destructive conflicts in human history, it resulted in eight million fatalities not only from military engagements but also from violence, famine, and plague. Casualties were overwhelmingly and disproportionately inhabitants of the Holy Roman Empire, most of the rest being battle deaths from various foreign armies. In terms of proportional German casualties and destruction, it was surpassed only by the period January to May 1945; one of its enduring results was 19th-century Pan-Germanism, when it served as an example of the dangers of a divided Germany and became a key justification for the 1871 creation of the German Empire.
Truce of Leulinghem
In 1369 the French government repudiated the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny, resuming the Hundred Years' War between the kingdom of France and the kingdom of England and their various allies. The war originated over the King of England's status as both a French duke and also an English king, creating conflicting interests in many of his actions. The French had declared the English duchy in southwestern France forfeit, beginning the war. The English won the first phase, and the treaty granted the English possession of the duchy as a fief independent of France. During the ensuing decade of peace, the French government strengthened and determined to establish control over the duchy. For nearly two decades, the French pursued a military policy of avoiding direct battle with the English armies and wearing them down by attrition. Although the English won a few victories, eventually almost all of their gains from the earlier phases of the war were lost, including all of the Duchy of Aquitaine except for a narrow coastal strip from Bordeaux to the border of Navarre.
Hundred Years' War
In 1348, the Black Death, which had just arrived in Paris, began to ravage Europe. In 1355, after the plague had passed and England was able to recover financially, King Edward's son and namesake, the Prince of Wales, later known as the Black Prince, led a Chevauchée from Gascony into France, during which he pillaged Avignonet and Castelnaudary, sacked Carcassonne, and plundered Narbonne. The next year during another Chevauchée he ravaged Auvergne, Limousin, and Berry but failed to take Bourges. He offered terms of peace to King John II of France (known as John the Good), who had outflanked him near Poitiers, but refused to surrender himself as the price of their acceptance. This led to the Battle of Poitiers (19 September 1356) where his army routed the French. 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 King John and many of his nobles. With John held hostage, his son the Dauphin (later to become Charles V) assumed the powers of the king as regent.
Hundred Years' War
National feeling that emerged from the war unified both France and England further. Despite the devastation on its soil, the Hundred Years' War accelerated the process of transforming France from a feudal monarchy to a centralised state. In England the political and financial troubles which emerged from the defeat were a major cause of the War of the Roses (1455–1487).
Lowe (1997) argued that opposition to the war helped to shape England's early modern political culture. Although anti-war and pro-peace spokesmen generally failed to influence outcomes at the time, they had a long-term impact. England showed decreasing enthusiasm for conflict deemed not in the national interest, yielding only losses in return for high economic burdens. In comparing this English cost-benefit analysis with French attitudes, given that both countries suffered from weak leaders and undisciplined soldiers, Lowe noted that the French understood that warfare was necessary to expel the foreigners occupying their homeland. Furthermore, French kings found alternative ways to finance the war – sales taxes, debasing the coinage – and were less dependent than the English on tax levies passed by national legislatures. English anti-war critics thus had more to work with than the French.
History of weapons
The Hundred Years' War was a series of big and small wars fought between France and England from 1337 to 1453. In the year 1337, the French King Philip VI demanded that the provinces under the English rule, Gascony and Guyenne be given back to the French. However, English king, Edward III denied this demand which led to a war between the two. The English had their eyes on the wool industry in Flanders, moreover they had a stable government and efficient soldiers ready to fight the French. During this period, most of the Europeans armies relied mainly on infantry, the infantry dominated armies were taking a toll on cavalry dominated armies. Digging ditches, constructing wagon fortresses, or flooding already marshy
ground, so that the enemy could attack from only one direction, were some of the methods employed by both the armies during the Hundred Years' War. In the final phase of the war, gunpowder was also used for the first time in Western Europe. Jean and Gaspard Bureau's effective organization of artillery weapons enabled the French army in open battlefields as well as siege warfare. At Castillon, the French army annihilated the English, effectively using cannons, handguns and heavy cavalry.