Hundred Years' War: the story on HearLore

Hundred Years' War

In 1337, a seventeen-year-old English king named Edward III knelt before the French monarch Philip VI to swear an oath of loyalty, yet within months, he would be declaring war on the very man he had just pledged to serve. This dramatic reversal did not stem from a sudden desire for conquest, but from a tangled web of feudal obligations that had been festering for centuries. The root of the conflict lay in the Norman Conquest of 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy, seized the English throne, creating a paradoxical situation where the King of England was also a vassal to the King of France for his lands in Aquitaine. For generations, English monarchs held vast territories in France, making them subjects of the French crown, a reality that constantly threatened the sovereignty of the English king. By the early fourteenth century, the direct male line of the Capetian dynasty, which had ruled France since 987, was extinguished with the death of Charles IV in 1328. Edward III, the son of Charles's sister Isabella, claimed the French throne based on proximity of blood, but the French nobility rejected his claim, citing a precedent from 1317 that barred women from inheriting the throne and thus preventing them from transmitting that right to their offspring. Instead, the crown passed to Philip, Count of Valois, a cousin of the dead king, who became Philip VI. The tension over the Duchy of Aquitaine, specifically the province of Gascony, became the flashpoint. Edward III, who had paid homage to Philip VI in 1329, found his rights in Gascony increasingly undermined by the French king, who claimed the power to revoke English legal decisions within the duchy. When Philip VI moved to confiscate Gascony in 1337, Edward III responded by reviving his claim to the French throne, transforming a feudal dispute into a dynastic war that would last over a century.

The Longbow And The Plague

The early years of the war were defined by English military dominance, driven by a revolutionary weapon that would change the nature of European warfare forever. At the Battle of Crécy in 1346, the English longbowmen, armed with yew wood bows capable of piercing armor at close range, decimated the French heavy cavalry. The French king, Philip VI, had allowed his army to attack before it was fully assembled, leading to a catastrophic defeat that exposed the vulnerability of traditional feudal tactics against disciplined infantry. This victory was followed by the capture of the strategic port of Calais in 1347, which became a permanent English foothold on the continent for over two centuries. However, the war was not fought solely on the battlefield; it was also ravaged by a biological catastrophe that would reshape the demographics of Europe. The Black Death, which arrived in Europe between 1347 and 1351, killed between 30 and 60 percent of the French population, amounting to 6 to 12 million deaths, while England lost roughly 2 to 3 million people. The plague caused economic collapse, labor shortages, and social dislocation, weakening royal authority in both kingdoms. The war itself was intermittent, frequently interrupted by truces and external factors, including the plague. The Black Prince, Edward III's son, led devastating raids known as chevauchées into France, pillaging cities like Avignonet and Carcassonne, but the economic strain of the war and the plague eventually forced both sides to negotiate. The Treaty of Brétigny in 1360 temporarily ended the fighting, with Edward III renouncing his claim to the French throne in exchange for expanded lands in Aquitaine, but the peace was fragile and short-lived.

Common questions

Why did Edward III declare war on Philip VI in 1337?

Edward III declared war on Philip VI in 1337 because the French king moved to confiscate the Duchy of Aquitaine, specifically the province of Gascony, which had been a source of tension since Edward III paid homage to Philip VI in 1329. This feudal dispute transformed into a dynastic war when Edward III revived his claim to the French throne based on his bloodline as the son of Charles IV's sister Isabella.

What caused the Black Death to impact the Hundred Years War between 1347 and 1351?

The Black Death arrived in Europe between 1347 and 1351 and killed between 30 and 60 percent of the French population, amounting to 6 to 12 million deaths, while England lost roughly 2 to 3 million people. This biological catastrophe caused economic collapse, labor shortages, and social dislocation, which weakened royal authority in both kingdoms and frequently interrupted the war with truces.

How did the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 change the course of the Hundred Years War?

The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 resulted in the deaths of many French nobles, with about 40 percent of the French nobility killed, and secured English control over much of northern France. This stunning victory allowed Henry V to formalize the English claim through the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, which declared the Dauphin Charles VII illegitimate and named Henry V as the heir to the French throne.

When was Joan of Arc executed and what was the result of her death?

Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on the 30th of May 1431 after being captured by the Burgundians at the siege of Compiègne in 1430 and convicted of heresy by Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais. Her martyrdom strengthened French resolve and marked a turning point in the war as the French began to gain the upper hand thanks to the leadership of Charles VII and the development of a professional standing army.

What ended the Hundred Years War in 1453 and what were the consequences for England?

The Hundred Years War ended with the French victory at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, which was the first major battle won through the extensive use of field artillery led by Jean Bureau. The English were decisively defeated and lost all continental possessions except Calais, which contributed to internal unrest and financial difficulties that led to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in 1455.

Hundred Years' War

The Longbow And The Plague

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