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The Hundred Years' War

HUNDRED YEARS' WAR, THE. The name of the long series of contests waged by the English kings, between 1337 and 1453, to gain the French crown and French territory. It was by no means an uninterrupted war, but rather a succession of battles, truces, and peaces. The first great period of the war extends from 1337 to 1380. Philip VI (1328-50), of the house of Valois, had succeeded Charles IV, the last of the direct descendants of Hugh Capet. since, in accordance with the Salic Law (q.v.), the crown of France could be transmitted through the male line only, though Edward III of England was a nearer relation to the late King, his mother, Isabella, being a sister of Charles. Edward's claim, however, was weak in this, that if females could transmit claims to the crown, then there were others who had even better claims than the English King. On June 6, 1330, and May 30, 1331, Edward by letters patent recognized Philip's claims, and, had the latter been a more capable man, war might not have resulted. The French King interfered in the affairs of the Flemish cities, with which England had intimate commercial relations. Moreover, Edward was influenced by the exiled Robert of Artois, who had been unable to obtain his inheritance from Philip VI. Edward declared war in 1337 and gradually made alliances with the Emperor Louis IV and John of Brittany, who was opposed by Charles of Blois, cousin of Philip VI, in his attempts to secure his inheritance. It is this war in Brittany which the great chronicler Froissart (q.v.) has especially described. On the other hand, Philip established that close alliance of France and Scotland which was to endure for centuries. There were many small skirmishes during the first years of the war, the most important of which was the naval battle of Sluys in 1340; but neither side gained decisive victories, and on Jan. 9, 1343, a truce was concluded for three years, each side retaining its possessions. Hostilities, however, were resumed in 1345. At this juncture the alliance of the Flemish cities was lost to England by the death of Jakob van Artevelde (q.v.), the leader of the Flemings, who perished in a popular tumult. On Aug. 26, 1346, the English, under the leadership of Edward himself, won their first great victory at Crécy (q.v.), which showed that the French knights could not stand against the well-disciplined yeoman archers of England. The victors took possession of Calais in 1347.

Meanwhile France was already experiencing the evils of war; the distress of the peasants was great; financial troubles set in, made worse by the tampering with the coin and the ever-increasing taxes. The second great defeat of the French took place at Poitiers (q.v.) in 1356, where the famous Black Prince led the English, and where King John, the successor of Philip VI, was taken prisoner. The States-General now for a time had control of the administration. Their leaders were Etienne Marcel, provost of the Merchants, Robert le Coq, Bishop of Laon, and Charles the Bad of Navarre; but the revolt of the peasants (see JACQUERIE) in 1358 caused the more conservative classes to rally to the aid of the Dauphin Charles, who had been appointed regent by the States-General during King John's captivity. A brief breathing spell was brought about in 1360 by the Peace of Bretigny (q.v.). John died in 1364, and his son Charles V (q.v.), who was to be known as "the Wise," succeeded him. Himself an unwarlike man, he had the help of a great soldier in Du Guesclin (q.v.). His object was to regain the lands his father had lost, and by interfering with the possessions of the English in France and attacking them in Spain he forced a new war in 1369. Du Gueselin did not attempt to meet the English in the open, but harassed them and cut off their supplies, and the English experienced a succession of misfortunes. Moreover, in 1376 the Black Prince died, and there was no one capable of taking his place; a year later Edward III also died and was succeeded by Richard II, a minor. When, in 1380, Charles VI (q.v.) succeeded his father, few possessions remained to the English in France. In 1396 a truce for 28 years was signed, which ended the first period of the war.

In France meanwhile Charles VI had become insane, civil war broke out between the factions of the Armagnacs (see ARMAGNAC) and the Burgundians, and Paris itself was distressed by the rising of the Cabochiens (q.v.) in 1413. In England Richard II was overthrown by Henry IV in 1399, and the latter was succeeded in 1413 by his son Henry V. But the house of Lancaster did not feel secure on the throne, and nothing would turn the attention of the people away from internal affairs as completely as a foreign war. So in 1415 the war began again with the invasion of France by Henry V. France disunited offered an easy prey to the English, and soon the country was almost entirely in their possession, especially as they were aided by Philip, Duke of Burgundy (q.v.), who was eager to revenge the murder of his father John the Fearless (q.v.). To the first year of this period belongs the battle of Agincourt (q.v.), fought on Oct. 25, 1415, the last of the three great English victories. On May 20, 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was signed, by which Henry V was recognized as Regent of France and the heir of Charles VI, while the Dauphin was disowned by his own mother. The English held practically the whole of France.

In 1422 both Henry V and Charles VI died, and the former was succeeded by his son, Henry VI, a child of 10 months, who was crowned Henry of France at Paris, his uncle Bedford being Regent. Charles VII, the successor of Charles VI, gave no signs of ability, and it seemed as if Henry VI would really hold France permanently. But when affairs looked darkest, France was saved by Joan of Arc (q.v.), who came forward and raised the siege of Orléans in 1429, thus turning the tide of war. From that time on the English slowly but surely lost ground, and when, in 1453, their last great captain, Talbot, fell at Castillon, the war ceased. Of all the extensive English conquests in France nothing remained except the city of Calais and a small adjoining district. This France did not regain until 1558.

The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XI (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 595-596.