Introduction: Welcome to the Hundred Years War!
Have you ever wondered how England and France became two distinct, powerful nations? Or why kings who used to speak French in London suddenly started speaking English? The answers lie in one of the most famous conflicts in medieval history: the Hundred Years War.
Don't worry if medieval history feels a bit complicated with all its kings, battles, and treaties! We are going to break it down step by step using simple explanations, clear timelines, and helpful memory tricks.
1. The Big Picture: What Was the Hundred Years War?
Despite its name, the Hundred Years War was not a single, continuous war that lasted exactly a century. Instead, it was an intermittent series of campaigns, raids, and truces fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France from 1337 to 1453.
• Exact Duration: It actually lasted 116 years!
• The Belligerents: The English Royal House (the Plantagenets and later the Lancastrians) versus the French Royal House (the House of Valois).
• Nature of the War: It was punctuated by long truces and major disruptions, including outbreaks of the Black Death.
Key Takeaway: The Hundred Years War was not 100 unbroken years of fighting; it was a 116-year clash of kings, treaties, and battles from 1337 to 1453.
2. Why Did the War Start? (The Three Main Causes)
To understand why two neighbouring kingdoms went to war, think of it like a dispute over an inheritance mixed with an argument over land ownership.
Cause 1: The Claim to the French Throne (Dynastic Dispute)
In 1328, the King of France, Charles IV, died without leaving a direct son to inherit the crown. This brought an end to the direct Capetian line of kings.
• Edward III of England believed he was the rightful King of France because his mother, Isabella of France, was Charles IV's sister.
• The French nobles did not want an English king ruling them. They used an ancient rule known as Salic Law, which stated that the royal crown could not be inherited through the female line.
• The French crowned Philip VI of Valois instead.
Cause 2: Feudal Land and Gascony (Territorial Dispute)
English kings had owned land in southwest France (the duchy of Aquitaine, also known as Gascony) since the 12th century under King Henry II.
• The Problem: Even though Edward III was an independent king in England, he held Gascony as a vassal (a feudal tenant) to the King of France. This meant he technically had to pay homage to the French king.
• In 1337, King Philip VI declared that he was confiscating Gascony from Edward III.
• Edward III retaliated in 1340 by officially declaring himself the rightful King of France and going to war.
Cause 3: The "Auld Alliance" and Wool Trade (Allies and Money)
• The Auld Alliance: France had a close alliance with Scotland. When French kings supported King David II of Scotland against England, it threatened the security of northern England.
• Wool Trade: English merchants made great wealth exporting wool to Flanders (modern-day Belgium). French interference in this Flemish trade threatened England's economy.
Key Takeaway: The war started because of a mix of royal family inheritance claims (Edward III vs Philip VI), disputes over French land (Gascony), and economic/political alliances (the Flemish wool trade and the Scottish Auld Alliance).
3. Phase One: English Triumphs & The Power of the Longbow
In the early stages of the war, English armies won stunning victories against larger French forces. How did they manage this? Through tactical organisation and a game-changing weapon: the English longbow.
Key Battles of the First Phase
• Battle of Sluys (1340): A major naval battle fought off the coast of Flanders. The English fleet won a decisive victory, securing English control of the English Channel and making it safe to transport troops to France.
• Battle of Crécy (1346): King Edward III and his sixteen-year-old son, Edward the Black Prince, faced a much larger French army. The French relied heavily on mounted armoured knights and mercenary crossbowmen. The English longbowmen fired arrows with incredible speed and range, completely shattering the French charges.
• Capture of Calais (1347): Following a gruelling year-long siege, Edward III captured the northern French port of Calais. It became a crucial military base and trading post for England.
• Battle of Poitiers (1356): Led by the Black Prince, English forces defeated another French army and achieved something extraordinary: they captured the French King, John II (Jean II), and held him for ransom!
The Treaty of Brétigny (1360)
With their king in English hands, France was forced to negotiate. Under the Treaty of Brétigny (1360):
• Edward III gave up his claim to the French crown.
• In return, Edward III received full sovereign ownership of Aquitaine and other lands, meaning he no longer had to act as a feudal servant to the French king.
Key Takeaway: Thanks to military discipline and the deadly English longbow, England dominated early battles like Crécy and Poitiers, leading to favourable land concessions in the Treaty of Brétigny.
4. Phase Two: Henry V, Agincourt, and the Rise of Joan of Arc
After a period of relative peace, the war erupted again under one of England's most famous warrior kings: Henry V.
The Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415)
Henry V invaded northern France in 1415 to reclaim English fortunes. On St Crispin's Day (25 October), his tired, hungry, and heavily outnumbered army was trapped near the village of Agincourt.
• The Battlefield: Heavy rain turned the narrow, ploughed field into deep, sticky mud.
• The Tactics: The French knights charged in heavy armour, but got bogged down in the mud. English longbow archers poured thousands of arrows into the crowded French ranks, and dismounted English men-at-arms counter-attacked.
• The Result: A stunning, unexpected English victory that wiped out a large portion of the French nobility.
The Treaty of Troyes (1420)
Following his triumph at Agincourt, Henry V forced the French to sign the Treaty of Troyes:
• Henry V was declared heir and regent to the French throne under the aging French King Charles VI.
• The French crown prince, the Dauphin (later Charles VII), was officially disinherited.
• Henry V married Catherine of Valois (the French king's daughter).
• The Twist: In 1422, Henry V died suddenly from illness before Charles VI died, meaning he never actually sat on the French throne!
Joan of Arc & The French Resurgence (1429)
Just when France seemed completely beaten, a teenage peasant girl named Joan of Arc stepped onto the stage of history.
• Joan claimed she heard divine voices instructing her to save France and help the Dauphin, Charles VII, claim his crown.
• Rather than being a battlefield general wielding a sword, Joan acted as a spiritual figurehead who gave the demoralised French troops immense hope and courage.
• In 1429, she inspired French forces to break the Siege of Orléans and escorted Charles VII deep into enemy-held territory to be officially crowned King of France at Reims.
• Her Fate: Joan was captured in 1430, handed over to an English-backed church court, and burned at the stake for heresy in Rouen in 1431. However, the patriotic spirit she inspired did not die.
The Final Chapter: The Battle of Castillon (1453)
Re-energised French armies pushed the English back across France. At the Battle of Castillon (1453), the French made decisive use of field artillery and gunpowder cannons to destroy the English army. This marked the definitive end of the Hundred Years War.
Key Takeaway: Henry V's brilliant triumph at Agincourt brought England close to ruling France, but the inspirational leadership of Joan of Arc turned the tide, leading to France's final victory at Castillon in 1453.
5. Outcomes and Consequences: How Did the War Change History?
The Hundred Years War transformed both Britain and France in four major ways:
1. Territorial Results (Who Won?)
France won the war. England was completely driven out of continental Europe, losing all its territories except for one small enclave: the Pale of Calais (which England managed to hold onto until 1558).
2. Changes in Warfare
• The age of the armoured, noble feudal knight riding into battle on horseback came to an end.
• Armies shifted towards professional, paid infantry, massed longbow archers, and early gunpowder and cannon artillery.
3. A New English Identity and Language
• Before the war, the English royal court and upper nobility spoke French (a legacy of the Norman Conquest of 1066).
• As France became England's arch-enemy, speaking French became unpatriotic. The English language (Middle English) replaced French in government, the royal court, and daily literature, forging a distinct sense of English national identity.
4. Trouble at Home: The Wars of the Roses
• The war drained England's treasury and caused financial ruin.
• English nobles returned home angry, penniless, and blaming the government for losing their French estates.
• This deep instability directly triggered a bitter English civil war known as the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487).
Key Takeaway: France won the war and took back its land. England lost everything except Calais, but developed a strong English language identity and faced domestic turmoil that sparked the Wars of the Roses.
6. Pitfalls & Common Mistakes to Avoid in History
Make sure you do not fall into these common traps in your tests and essays:
• Mistake 1: Thinking the war lasted exactly 100 years.
Correction: It lasted 116 years (1337–1453) and was not continuous; there were long pauses and treaties in between.
• Mistake 2: Thinking England won because of famous victories.
Correction: While England won famous battles like Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, France won the overall war and expelled the English from their lands.
• Mistake 3: Thinking the war ended at Agincourt.
Correction: Henry V's victory at Agincourt happened in 1415. The war continued for another 38 years until the Battle of Castillon in 1453.
• Mistake 4: Describing Joan of Arc as an armed general.
Correction: Joan was an inspirational and spiritual figurehead whose faith and presence raised French morale, not a sword-fighting military commander.
7. Quick Review Checklist
Test yourself on the essentials! Can you answer these key questions?
• Dates: 1337 to 1453 (\(1453 - 1337 = 116\text{ years}\)).
• Dynastic Cause: Edward III claimed the French throne via his mother Isabella, but the French used Salic Law to crown Philip VI.
• Territorial Cause: Conflict over Gascony (Aquitaine).
• Key Weapons: The English longbow (early phase) and French field artillery/gunpowder (final phase).
• Famous English Victories: Sluys (1340), Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356), Agincourt (1415).
• French Turning Points: Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans (1429); Charles VII crowned at Reims; Battle of Castillon (1453).
• Final Land Holding: England lost everything except the Pale of Calais.
• English Consequence: English replaced French as the main court language; defeat led into the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487).