Hundred Years’ War: A Visual History

The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) was a series of conflicts between the Plantagenet kings of England and the Valois kings of France over the French crown, which Edward III claimed through his mother, and over English lands in Aquitaine. English longbowmen won at Crecy (1346), Poitiers (1356, capturing King John II) and Agincourt (1415); the Treaty of Troyes (1420) made Henry V heir to France. Joan of Arc's relief of Orleans in 1429 and Charles VII's coronation turned the tide; French artillery won at Formigny and Castillon (1453), leaving England only Calais. The war forged national identities, ended feudal chivalry as a way of war and, with the Black Death, killed millions.

When it was fought: the era ribbon

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French territory under English control

Timeline of the Hundred Years' War

1. 1337
   Edward III claims the French crown
2. 1346
   Crecy
3. 1356
   PoitiersKing John captured.
4. 1360
   Treaty of Bretigny
5. 1415
   Agincourt
6. 1420
   Treaty of Troyes
7. 1429
   Joan of Arc relieves Orleans
8. 1431
   Joan burned at Rouen
9. 1435
   Burgundy changes sides
10. 1453
    CastillonWar ends.

Edward III and the Black Prince

When Charles IV died in 1328 the French chose his cousin Philip of Valois over Edward III, whose mother was Charles's sister. Edward claimed the crown in 1337. His fleet won at Sluys (1340), his longbows massacred French knights at Crecy (1346), and Calais fell in 1347. The Black Death paused the war; the Black Prince captured King John at Poitiers in 1356. The Treaty of Bretigny (1360) gave England a third of France; Charles V and du Guesclin then won most of it back by avoiding battle.

Henry V and Troyes

France under the mad Charles VI split into Armagnac and Burgundian factions. Henry V invaded, took Harfleur, and at Agincourt on 25 October 1415 his exhausted army of 6,000 destroyed a French host several times larger. He conquered Normandy; the murder of the Duke of Burgundy by the Dauphin's men in 1419 threw Burgundy into English arms, and the Treaty of Troyes (1420) made Henry regent and heir. He died in 1422, weeks before Charles VI; his infant son was proclaimed king of both realms.

Joan of Arc and the French recovery

The English besieged Orleans in 1428. Joan, a peasant girl guided by voices, persuaded the Dauphin, relieved Orleans in May 1429 and led him to be crowned at Reims. Captured by the Burgundians and burned by the English at Rouen in 1431, she had changed the war's morale. Burgundy made peace with Charles VII at Arras (1435); Paris fell in 1436, and Charles built a standing army and artillery under the Bureau brothers. Normandy was won at Formigny (1450) and Gascony at Castillon (1453), where the English commander Talbot died. Only Calais remained English.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• Kingdom of France (Middle Ages) (987 to 1498)
• British Empire (1583 to 1997)
• Holy Roman Empire (800 to 1806)
• Byzantine Empire (395 to 1453)
• Spanish Empire (1492 to 1976)

Wars of the same era and region

• Crusades (1096 to 1291)
• Reconquista (718 to 1492)
• Irish Nine Years' War (Tyrone's Rebellion) (1593 to 1603)

8 surprising things about the Hundred Years' War

1. The war lasted 116 years, not 100, and had long truces; the name was coined in the nineteenth century.
2. The two-fingered 'V' gesture is popularly (and dubiously) said to come from English archers taunting the French, who threatened to cut off their bow fingers.
3. King John II of France, captured at Poitiers, was ransomed for 3 million crowns and voluntarily returned to captivity in London when a hostage escaped.
4. Henry V ordered the killing of French prisoners at Agincourt when he feared a counter-attack.
5. Joan of Arc was 19 when burned; her trial was annulled in 1456 and she was canonised in 1920.
6. English kings kept the title 'King of France' until 1801.
7. The war's ransom economy made fortunes: the Black Prince's Poitiers haul, and Sir John Fastolf's, funded castles.
8. Castillon in 1453 was one of the first battles decided by field artillery.

Sources

• Hundred Years' War Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Hundred Years' War Wikipedia
• Hundred Years' War World History Encyclopedia
• Jonathan Sumption, The Hundred Years War, 4 vols (1990-2015) Faber

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