The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) was a series of conflicts between England and France rooted in dynastic claims, economic rivalry, and feudal politics. Understanding its causes and key events reveals how medieval warfare, diplomacy, and national identity evolved over more than a century of intermittent fighting.
Causes of the Hundred Years' War
Dynastic Factors
The most immediate trigger was a succession crisis. When Charles IV of France died in 1328 without a male heir, Edward III of England claimed the French throne through his mother Isabella, who was Charles IV's sister. French nobles rejected this claim by invoking Salic law, a legal tradition that barred inheritance through the female line. Instead, they crowned Philip VI of the House of Valois. Edward initially accepted this, but by 1337 he pressed his claim openly, providing the legal justification for war.
Economic Factors
- The wool trade created a tangle of competing interests. English wool was the raw material for Flanders' textile industry, and Flanders was a French vassal. England needed Flemish markets; France wanted to keep Flanders loyal. This three-way tension made economic cooperation nearly impossible.
- The Gascon wine trade was a major revenue source for the English crown. Gascony (in southwestern France) produced wine that flowed to English markets, and both kingdoms wanted firm control over the region's profits.
- Control of the English Channel mattered for both nations' shipping and commerce. Whoever dominated Channel trade routes held a significant economic advantage.
Political Factors
Feudal relationships made the situation even messier. The English king held Gascony as a fief of the French crown, meaning he technically owed loyalty to the French king for that territory. This created constant friction over sovereignty: was the English king an independent ruler or a French vassal?
On top of that, France actively supported Scotland in its wars against England, which the English saw as a direct provocation. These overlapping feudal obligations and alliances meant that even minor disputes could escalate quickly.
Key Battles and Turning Points
Battle of Crécy (1346)
Crécy was the war's first major engagement and a shocking English victory. Edward III positioned his forces defensively on high ground and relied on massed English longbowmen, who could fire rapidly at long range. French cavalry charged repeatedly but were cut down before reaching English lines. The battle demonstrated that disciplined infantry with longbows could defeat mounted knights, challenging the dominance of heavy cavalry that had defined medieval warfare for centuries.
Battle of Poitiers (1356)
A decade later, Edward III's son (the Black Prince) won another decisive victory at Poitiers. The English again used terrain and longbows to devastating effect. The most significant outcome: King John II of France was captured on the battlefield. Losing a reigning monarch was a catastrophic blow to French morale and bargaining power, and it led directly to peace negotiations.
Battle of Agincourt (1415)
Nearly sixty years later, Henry V of England revived English claims to France and invaded. At Agincourt, his army was outnumbered, exhausted, and low on supplies. Yet the English won decisively. A narrow, muddy battlefield funneled the French into a killing zone where longbowmen tore apart wave after wave of armored knights. Agincourt confirmed that the longbow remained a dominant weapon and cemented Henry V's reputation as one of England's greatest warrior-kings.
Influential Figures in the Conflict
Edward III of England launched the war in 1337 by pressing his claim to the French throne. He oversaw the victories at Crécy and during the broader campaigns of the 1340s–1350s, transforming England into a serious continental military power.
Edward, the Black Prince was Edward III's eldest son and one of the war's most celebrated commanders. He earned his nickname (possibly from his dark armor or his fearsome reputation) through victories at Crécy, where he fought as a teenager, and at Poitiers, where he commanded the English army. His death from illness in 1376, a year before his father, deprived England of its most capable military leader and contributed to a period of English decline in the war.
Joan of Arc appeared at a moment when France was losing badly. A peasant girl from Domrémy, she claimed to receive divine visions instructing her to support the Dauphin (the uncrowned Charles VII). In 1429, she helped lift the Siege of Orléans, which had become a symbol of French desperation. This victory reversed the war's momentum and led to Charles VII's coronation. Joan was captured by Burgundian allies of England in 1430 and burned at the stake in 1431. Her execution made her a martyr and a powerful symbol of French resistance that energized the French war effort for decades afterward.
Treaty of Brétigny's Impact
Terms of the Treaty (1360)
The Treaty of Brétigny was negotiated from a position of English strength following the capture of John II at Poitiers. Its key provisions:
- England gained significant territories in France, including expanded control over Gascony, Calais, and Ponthieu
- Edward III renounced his claim to the French throne in exchange for these lands
- France agreed to pay a ransom of 3 million gold écus for John II's release, a staggering sum that strained French finances for years
Impact on the Balance of Power
The treaty made England a major continental power with vast French holdings. But the peace didn't last. The underlying causes of the war remained unresolved: feudal obligations were still tangled, economic rivalries persisted, and French resentment over lost territory ran deep.
France used the breathing room to rebuild its military and financial resources, though internal struggles slowed the process. By 1369, the French king Charles V formally resumed hostilities, beginning the war's second phase. The treaty, in the end, was more of a pause than a resolution.