The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)
ENGLISH KING’S CLAIMS ON FRENCH LAND WAS A MAJOR CAUSE OF THE
100 YEARS’ WAR
Purple areas were claimed by English kings
FRENCH KINGS WERE FRUSTRATED BY THEIR LACK OF POWER
See the red area. This reflected poorly in comparison with the English
who had a fairly centralized kingdom.
However, several English kings swore their vassal oaths to French kings.
THE IMPOSITION OF SALIC LAW
After the death of all three of Philip the Fair’s sons, Edward III of England
had a legitimate claim to the French throne (he was the grandson of
Philip the Fair by way of his mother Isabella, Philip the Fair’s daughter).
None of Philip the Fair’s sons had surviving children. The French
invoked Salic law to keep a woman or the offspring of a woman from
becoming the French monarch. This kept the English Edward III off the
throne. It should be noted that Isabella was a strong willed woman who
was not especially popular in France where she was known as “the shewolf of France”.
Edward III paid homage to Philip VI for Aquitaine, seemingly to avoid
war, Philip VI took Aquitaine anyway. Both men had strong personalities
and loved the power and luxury of being king. Their personalities
contributed to the declaration of war.
This was the beginning of the Hundred Years’ War
100 YEARS’ WAR PARTLY A FRENCH CIVIL WAR
Many French nobles were worried about Philip VI’s power grab, so they
fought on the English side of the Hundred Years’ War.
Middle class Flemish wool merchants had strong wool trade ties to
England. They also sided with the English.
Initially the French were successful in pushing the English back.
Both sides used propaganda to tear down their enemy and build up their
own case with the public. Fighting in the war was seen as more than just
a way to display patriotism. It was also an opportunity to loot (which in
times of peace became fur collar crime for the idle soldiers), make
money or even received a pardon out of jail. Other soldiers signed up
for a tour of duty for the sheer adventure. Late Medieval sieges often
lasted for months or even years. Most of the war could be categorized
as random sieges or cavalry raids.
ENGLISH VICTORIES DUE IN PART TO NEW LONGBOW TECHNOLOGY
English holdings in France increased as Edward III won the Battle of
Crecy (1346) with 3,000 French dead to 100 English dead.
At Crecy the English used longbowmen to defeat crossbowmen and
knights. The longbows were not accurate, but they could be shot three
times as fast as the crossbows. Also longbowmen were commoners, not
knights, so they were cheaper to hire and more plentiful. This is a big
step away from feudalism.
Ten years later, Edward III’s son, Edward the Black Prince also used
longbowmen and burned crops and villages on his way to and from
victory in Poitiers in 1356.
This was not the chivalric warfare of the middle ages.
At Poitiers the French king John II was captured and held for ransom.
The higher taxes levied to pay the ransom were one of the reasons for
the Jacquerie.
Meanwhile John II was leading a pretty good life in England. As a royal
he was allowed to travel and have visitors, records show he was busy
purchasing horses, pets, clothes and hiring his own personal band. At
one point he switched places with one of his sons so he could go home
to raise the ransom. After the son escaped he voluntarily returned to
“captivity” in England.
This did not make the French people happy. While he lived the good life
in England the French were suffering greatly in the war fought almost
entirely on their soil.
FRENCH LOSSES MOUNT AS THEY DO NOT ADAPT TO THE NEW STYLE OF
WARFARE
The French lost Northern France to a decisive victory of the English
under Henry V at Agincourt in 1415.
The longbows injured and confused the French nobles who were still
planning on fighting a chivalric battle.
Both sides are now using standard armies rather than the regional
armies of feudalism.
Charles VI (who would soon show signs of mental illness – probably
schizophrenia) agreed to marry his daughter Catherine of Valois to Henry
V. Their son was to become king of both England and France. Except
that both Charles VI and Henry V died when Henry’s son was only 8
months old, hardly in the shape to defend his French inheritance.
FRENCH BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE SUCCESS WITH JOAN OF ARC
(Same map) It is at this point that Joan of Arc comes on the scene. She
is able to convince the dauphin (the son of Charles VI who has not been
crowned king of France because Henry V’s son is supposed to take that
title) that she hears messages from God telling her she should lead the
French troops in battle to relieve the siege of Orleans, despite the fact
that she is an illiterate peasant girl and she has no battle experience.
Part of her success may be due to a prophecy that “a maid” would lead
France to victory over the English. Regardless, she leads a newly
energized, increasingly nationalistic French army to victory in 5 weeks in
1428 at Orleans. Now the French are poised to advance northward.
Charles VII is crowned at Reims (which is a trek through enemy territory)
10 days after Orleans falls.
JOAN IS EXECUTD BY THE ENGLISH, CHARLES VII GOES ON TO BE AN
EFFECTIVE RULER OF FRANCE
Joan was captured by the Burgundians who were allied with the English.
She was put on trial for sorcery/witchcraft (for cutting her hair short,
dressing in men’s clothing, and claiming to talk directly to saints) though
she was able to defend herself admirably before the learned lawyers of
the church court. She was found guilty of heresy (by talking directly to
God she denied the authority of Church officials) and witchcraft and
burned at the stake. Charles VII did nothing to assist her. (He did
however, go on to be a successful king of France. More on that in
Chapter 13)
BOTH FRANCE AND ENGLAND EMERGE FROM THE HUNDRED YEARS’
WAR AS SEPARATE NATIONS
The French were able to continue their winning battles, by then end of
the war the English held only Calais.
Over then
One of the positive outcomes of the Hundred Years’ War is that England
and France clearly became separate countries. Citizens of both countries
felt nationalistic.
Britain’s Parliament began to take its modern shape with a House of
Lords and a House of Commons. The English monarchs needed to get
the permission of parliament in order to raise the taxes necessary to
fund the war. The House of Commons had to approve all new fees and
taxes. This is known as “the power of the purse” and the Commons was
proud of having this power.
France, on the other hand, retained strong regional assemblies, not a
country-wide legislature. Many kings were too weak to call a national
assembly. On the other hand, strong kings rarely called for a national
assembly, fearing the power of assembled nobles. In addition, in France
there was no sense of honor attached to paying taxes. France remained
a country with strong regional identity rather than national identity.
England experienced destruction in only some southern port towns, but
at the same time wracked up high levels of debt.
France experienced much destruction, especially of farmland, which
added to the devastation of the war. France also saw a great disruption
in trade.
One other side effect is that during the Hundred Years’ War both France
and England were too distracted to try to help end the Great Schism
(1378-1417)