The 100 Years War

Background: England

• Conquered by Normans (of France) in 1066

• English monarchs kept close ties with western France, controlling feudal lands

• Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip the Fair of France

• Norman kings required lords’ feudal skills to raise money and army

• English wool producers depended on Flanders (southern “Low Countries”) to purchase wool

Edward III and his son, Edward “the Black Prince”

Background: France

• Feudal France lacked cohesion: English influence, separate Burgundy, fickle affiliation of Low Countries

• Charles IV, son of Philip the Fair, uncle of English Edward III, had no male heirs

• 100YW was type of French civil war, in addition to war against England

• France had three times the population of England

• To raise money, the king called the “Estates General” assembly

Philip the Fair (Philip IV)

Causes of the War

• After Charles IV of France, who should be king? Philip (his 1st cousin) or Edward III of England (his nephew)?

• England’s Edward III claimed right to French throne

• French nobles bypassed Edward, placing Charles IV’s cousin on throne: Philip VI of Valois, starting line of “Valois Kings”

• France resented English influence over western fiefdoms

War Phase 1: Edward III of England

• Close economic ties allied Flanders with England

• Superiority of English longbow

• 1356, at Portiers, English defeated France and kidnapped French King John II (son of then-dead Philip VI)

• Estates General tried to rule France, but was too disunited

• Jacquerie of 1358: failed French peasant uprisings against taxation

English longbows against crossbows

Battle of Crecy 1346(Don’t write this down)

• French forces: 36,000. English forces = 12,000 (incl 7,000 archers).• Battle line was approximately 2,000 yards wide• The English army, occupying the top of a gentle ridge near the town,

consisted of three groups of men-at-arms and spearmen, with archers placed on their sides. The archers formed ranks resembling an outward V.

• Each English archer carried 2 sheaves of arrows (48) into battle. Resupply was accomplished by going back thru the lines or having more brought forward.

• The bow draw weights were normally from 80 to 120 lbs.• Arrows, depending on type and weight, could be shot 250 to 300 yards.• The English archers could shoot an average of 10 arrows per minute.• Estimated number of arrows shot during the battle: half million.• There were 14 to 16 charges made against the English lines from the start

of the battle at 4:00 PM until the completion at midnight.• Casualties were estimated from 5,000 (low) to 10,000 or more (high) for the

French Knights and Genoese crossbowmen. English casualties were several hundred.

War Phase 2: Troyes

• English Henry V attacked France

• Henry V defeated French army against superior numbers at Agincourt

• 1420 Treaty of Troyes: Henry V of England to be king of France after death of Charles VI

• Both Henry V and Charles VI died: Henry VI named king of Fr & Eng

• Most French people ignored treaty, viewing Charles VII as king of France

France in 1435

Joan of Arc and War’s End

• Peasant girl from Orleans, who saw a spiritual vision

• Charles VII agreed to let her lead troops against Orleans, held by English

• Military success: national rallying symbol

• Captured by Burgundians allied with England; tortured, and executed as heretic; canonized as a saint in 1909

• Burgundy changed sides, allied with France, pushed out English

• By 1453, England only controlled Calais

Conclusions

• New weapons and tactics eroded system of feudal armies built around heavy cavalry, lessening military value of nobles

• First "standing armies" in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire

• Helped unite both England and France in their modern geographies and national identities

• Increased financial conflict between monarchs and nobility

• Highlighted growing importance of international trade and economic strength Henry VI of England