Hundred Years War definition of Hundred Years War in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Hundred Years War, 1337–1453, conflict between England and France.

Causes

Its basic cause was a dynastic quarrel that originated when the conquest of England by William of Normandy created a state lying on both sides of the English Channel. In the 14th cent. the English kings held the duchy of Guienne Guienne, Fr. Guyenne (both: gēĕn`, gwē–), region of SW France.
..... Click the link for more information. in France; they resented paying homage to the French kings, and they feared the increasing control exerted by the French crown over its great feudal vassals. The immediate causes of the Hundred Years War were the dissatisfaction of Edward III Edward III, 1312–77, king of England (1327–77), son of Edward II and Isabella .

Early Life

He was made earl of Chester in 1320 and duke of Aquitaine in 1325 and accompanied his mother to France in 1325.
..... Click the link for more information. of England with the nonfulfillment by Philip VI Philip VI, 1293–1350, king of France (1328–50), son of Charles of Valois and grandson of King Philip III. He succeeded his cousin Charles IV, invoking the Salic law to set aside both Charles's daughter and King Edward III of England, the son of Charles's
..... Click the link for more information. of France of his pledges to restore a part of Guienne taken by Charles IV; the English attempts to control Flanders, an important market for English wool and a source of cloth; and Philip's support of Scotland against England.

The War

The war may be dated from 1337, when Edward III of England assumed the title of king of France, a title held by Philip VI. Edward first invaded France from the Low Countries (1339–40), winning small success on land but defeating (1340) a French fleet at the battle of Sluis Sluis (slois), municipality, Zeeland prov., SW Netherlands, on the Scheldt estuary, near the Belgian border.
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1346 he won the battle of Crécy Crécy (krāsē`), officially Crécy-en-Ponthieu
..... Click the link for more information. and besieged Calais, which surrendered in 1347. In 1356 the English won the battle of Poitiers, capturing King John II John II (John the Good), 1319–64, king of France (1350–64), son and successor of King Philip VI. An inept ruler, he began his reign by executing the constable of France (whose office he gave to his favorite, Charles de La Cerda) and by appointing
..... Click the link for more information. of France. After prolonged negotiations, the Treaty of Brétigny Brétigny, Treaty of (brātēnyē`)
..... Click the link for more information. was signed (1360); England received Calais and practically all of Aquitaine, as well as a large ransom for the captive king.

The Gascon nobles, oppressively taxed by Edward the Black Prince Edward the Black Prince, 1330–76, eldest son of Edward III of England. He was created duke of Cornwall in 1337, the first duke to be created in England, and prince of Wales in 1343.
..... Click the link for more information. , appealed (1369) to King Charles V Charles V (Charles the Wise), 1338–80, king of France (1364–80). Son of King John II , Charles became the first French heir apparent to bear the title of dauphin after the addition of the region of Dauphiné to the royal domain in 1349.
..... Click the link for more information. . The war was renewed, and by 1373, Du Guesclin Du Guesclin, Bertrand (bĕrträN` dü gĕklăN`), c.
..... Click the link for more information. had won back most of the lost French territory. In 1415, Henry V Henry V, 1387–1422, king of England (1413–22), son and successor of Henry IV .

Early Life

Henry was probably brought up under the care of his uncle, Henry Beaufort .
..... Click the link for more information. of England renewed the English claims, took Harfleur, and defeated France's best knights at Agincourt Agincourt (äzhăNk

r`), modern Fr.
..... Click the link for more information. . By 1419 he had subdued Normandy, with the connivance of John the Fearless John the Fearless, 1371–1419, duke of Burgundy (1404–19); son of Philip the Bold . He fought against the Turks at Nikopol in 1396 and was a prisoner for a year until he was ransomed.
..... Click the link for more information. , duke of Burgundy. Philip the Good Philip the Good, 1396–1467, duke of Burgundy (1419–67); son of Duke John the Fearless. After his father was murdered (1419) at a meeting with the dauphin (later King Charles VII of France), Philip formed an alliance with King Henry V of England.
..... Click the link for more information. , successor of John the Fearless, mediated between Henry V and Charles VI Charles VI (Charles the Mad or Charles the Well Beloved), 1368–1422, king of France (1380–1422), son and successor of King Charles V. During his minority he was under the tutelage of his uncles (particularly Philip the Bold , duke of Burgundy), whose
..... Click the link for more information. of France (see Troyes, Treaty of Troyes, Treaty of, 1420, agreement between Henry V of England, Charles VI of France, and Philip the Good of Burgundy. Its purpose, ultimately unsuccessful, was to settle the issues of the Hundred Years War.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and Charles recognized Henry as heir to the crown of France.

By 1429 the English and their Burgundian allies were masters of practically all France N of the Loire, but in that year Joan of Arc Joan of Arc, Fr. Jeanne D'Arc (zhän därk), 1412?–31, French saint and national heroine, called the Maid of Orléans; daughter of a farmer of Domrémy on the border of Champagne and Lorraine.
..... Click the link for more information. raised the siege of Orléans and saw Charles VII Charles VII (Charles the Well Served), 1403–61, king of France (1422–61), son and successor of Charles VI. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years War .
..... Click the link for more information. crowned king of France at Reims. Her capture by the Burgundians and her judicial murder after extradition to the British did not stop the renewal of French successes. In 1435, Charles obtained the alliance of Burgundy (see Arras, Treaty of Arras, Treaty of.

1 Treaty of 1435, between King Charles VII of France and Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. Through it, France and Burgundy became reconciled. Philip deserted his English allies and recognized Charles as king of France.
..... Click the link for more information. ). By 1450 the French reconquered Normandy, and by 1451 all Guienne but Bordeaux was taken. After the fall (1453) of Bordeaux, England retained only Calais, which was not conquered by France until 1558. England, torn by the Wars of the Roses, made no further attempt to conquer France.

Results of the War

The Hundred Years War inflicted untold misery on France. Farmlands were laid waste, the population was decimated by war, famine, and the Black Death (see plague plague, any contagious, malignant, epidemic disease, in particular the bubonic plague and the black plague (or Black Death), both forms of the same infection.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and marauders terrorized the countryside. Civil wars (see Jacquerie Jacquerie (zhäk'ərē`) [Fr.
..... Click the link for more information. ; Cabochiens Cabochiens (käbōshyăN`), popular faction in Paris in the early 15th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ; Armagnacs and Burgundians Armagnacs and Burgundians, opposing factions that fought to control France in the early 15th cent. The rivalry for power between Louis d' Orléans , brother of the recurrently insane King Charles VI, and his cousin John the Fearless , duke of Burgundy, led to
..... Click the link for more information. ) and local wars (see Breton Succession, War of the Breton Succession, War of the, 1341–65, an important episode of the Hundred Years War . Duke John III of Brittany died in 1341 without heirs. The succession was contested by his half brother, John de Montfort, who was backed by Edward III of England, and by
..... Click the link for more information. ) increased the destruction and the social disintegration. Yet the successor of Charles VII, Louis XI Louis XI, 1423–83, king of France (1461–83), son and successor of Charles VII.

Early Life

As dauphin Louis was almost constantly in revolt against his father.
..... Click the link for more information. , benefited from these evils. The virtual destruction of the feudal nobility enabled him to unite France more solidly under the royal authority and to promote and ally with the middle class. From the ruins of the war an entirely new France emerged. For England, the results of the war were equally decisive; it ceased to be a continental power and increasingly sought expansion as a naval power.

Bibliography

The great chronicler of the war was Froissart Froissart, Jean (zhäN frəwäsär`), c.1337–1410?, French chronicler, poet, and courtier, b. Valenciennes.
..... Click the link for more information. . Shakespeare, taking liberties with history, dramatized the war in Henry V and Henry VI. See also E. Perroy, The Hundred Years War (tr. 1951, repr. 1967); K. A. Fowler, The Age of Plantagenet and Valois (1967); Christopher Allmand, The Hundred Years War (1988).

Hundred Years War

reduced much of France to wasteland (1337–1453). [Eur. Hist.: Bishop, 382–395]

See : Destruction