Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War is the name modern historians give to what was actually a series of related conflicts fought over a 116-year period between the Kingdom of England and France, beginning in 1337 and ending in 1453. Historians group these conflicts under the same label for convenience. The war was primarily fought in France, and though in retrospect it has the feeling of a French civil war as much as an international conflict, the historian Philippe de Vries suggested that it had "taken place at a more or less provincial level." Fernand Braudel, quoting him, adds that "England acted as a province (or a group of provinces) within the Anglo-French unit" that was both battlefield and prize (Braudel 1984 p. 353).

Immediate precursors: 1314–1337

The specific events that led up to the war in the early 14th century began in France, where the Capetian dynasty had ruled for over 320 years, with one male heir after another taking the throne (the longest continuous dynasty in medieval European history). In 1314, the Capetian king Philip IV died, leaving three male heirs. The eldest son, Louis X, died in 1316, leaving only a posthumous son John I, who was born 1316 and died same year, and a daughter, Joan, who in 1329 became the Queen of Navarre, who was married to Philip, count of Evreux, who later in her right became king consort Philip III of Navarre.

Related Topics:
Capetian dynasty - Philip IV - Louis X - 1316 - John I - Joan - Queen of Navarre - Philip, count of Evreux

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To secure his claim to the throne, Philip's second-oldest son (Louis X's younger brother and John I and Joan's uncle) Philip V obligated to buy her claims off (using also the rumor that Joan was a product of her mother's adultery and not a daughter of Louis X), but precedent for only male heirs had been set. When Philip V died in 1322, his daughters were put aside in favour of the last brother, Charles IV, without question.

Related Topics:
Philip V - 1322 - Charles IV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1324, Charles IV and the English king Edward II fought the short War of Saint-Sardos in Gascony. The major event of the war was the brief siege of the English fortress of La Réole, on the Garonne river. The English forces, led by the Earl of Kent, were forced to surrender after a month of bombardment from the French cannons and after being promised reinforcements which never arrived. The war was a complete failure for England, and only Bordeaux and a narrow coastal strip now remained in English possession. The recovery of these lost lands became a major focus of English diplomacy. Another effect of the war was to galvanize opposition to Edward II among the English lords of Aquitaine, many of whom became sympathizers of Lord Wigmore, who would later invade England and dethrone Edward II.

Related Topics:
1324 - Edward II - War of Saint-Sardos - Gascony - Earl of Kent - Bordeaux - Lord Wigmore

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Charles IV, King of France and Navarre, the youngest son of Philip IV, died in 1328, leaving only daughters and an infant daughter yet to be born. The senior line of Capetian dynasty ended thus in tail male, creating a controversy about who would become the next king of France.

Related Topics:
Charles IV - 1328 - Tail male

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Meanwhile living in England, Charles IV's sister Isabella had been widowed of King Edward II and was at the time effectively in control of the crown, having forced her politically weak husband to abdicate in favour of their teenage son, Edward III. The young Edward III, being the nephew of King Charles, was his closest living male relative and was at that time the only surviving male descendant of the senior line of the Capetian dynasty descending from Philip IV (Philip the Fair). By English interpretation of feudal law, this made Edward III the next heir to the throne of France.

Related Topics:
Isabella - King Edward II - Edward III - Philip IV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The French nobility, however, did not want a foreigner on the throne, in particular an English king. They claimed that royal inheritance could pass only through an unbroken male line, and not through a King's daughter (Isabella) to her son (Edward) (This principle was later, from 1356 onwards, cited under the name Salic Law). They asserted that the royal inheritance should therefore pass to Philip of Valois (Philip VI), through the younger brother of Philip III, Charles. Both Edward and Philip had good legal cases for the right to the crown, and the force to back it up.

Related Topics:
Salic Law - Philip of Valois - Philip III - Charles

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Joan of Navarre, daughter of Louis X (or at least the daughter of Louis' wife), also had a good legal case to the French throne, but not the force to back it up. Navarre was accustomed to female rulers and had no Salic impediment.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England controlled Gascony in what is now southwest France, along the Atlantic coast. This territory was a remnant of the formerly large French territories inherited from the Anglo-Norman kings. Gascony produced vital shipments of salt and wine and was very profitable to the English nobility. Gascony was a separate fief held from the French crown, rather than a territory of England, and the homage for this possession was a matter more difficult to resolve. Philip VI wanted Edward's recognition as sovereign; Edward wanted the return of further lands lost by his father. A compromise homage in 1329 pleased neither side, but in 1331, facing serious problems at home, Edward accepted Philip as King of France and gave up his claims to the French throne. In effect, England kept Gascony in return for Edward giving up his claims to be the rightful king of France. In 1332, Joan, daughter of Louis X gave birth to a son, the future Charles II of Navarre. Edward III was now no longer Philip IV's male heir in primogeniture, although he remained Philip IV's male heir in proximity.

Related Topics:
Gascony - Atlantic - Anglo-Norman - Salt - Wine - Fief - Homage - 1329 - 1331 - 1332 - Joan - Louis X - Charles II of Navarre

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1333, Edward III went to war with King David II of Scotland, a French ally under the Auld Alliance, and began the Second War of Scottish Independence. Philip saw the opportunity to reclaim Gascony while England's attention was concentrated at home. However, the war was a quick success for England, and David was forced to flee to France after being defeated by King Edward and Edward Balliol at the Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333.

Related Topics:
1333 - King David II - Scotland - Auld Alliance - Second War of Scottish Independence - Edward Balliol - Battle of Halidon Hill

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1336, Philip made plans for an expedition to restore David to the Scottish throne, and to also seize Gascony. Open hostilities broke out as French ships began ravaging coastal settlements on the English Channel and in 1337 Philip reclaimed the Gascony fief, citing feudal law and saying that Edward had broken his oath (a felony) by not attending to the needs and demands of his lord. Edward III responded by saying he was in fact the rightful heir to the French throne, and on All Saints' Day 1337, Henry Burghersh, the Bishop of Lincoln arrived in Paris with the defiance of the King of England. War had been declared.

Related Topics:
1336 - English Channel - 1337 - Felony - All Saints' Day - Henry Burghersh - Bishop of Lincoln - Paris

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~