The Hundred Years War

I will be able to:• Describe the significance of the Hundred

Years War• Explain the causes of the war, the effects

of the long bow, and the impact of the war

The Hundred Years War

• 1337-1453, 100 Years War?• Causes

– King of England married to first daughter of the King of France, who also has sons.

– King of France dies.– Who gets the land?

French Lands Belonging to English Kings

• A longer standing issue was the status of lands within France that belonged to English kings.

• Edward was actually a vassal of Philip VI, holding sizable French territories as fiefs from the king of France [it went back to the Norman conquest].

Military Characteristics

• The War was a series of short raids and expeditions punctuated by a few major battles, marked off by truces or ineffective treaties.

French Advantages

• Population of about 16,000,000.

• Far richer and more populous than England.

• At one point, the French fielded an army of over 50,000 at most, Britain mustered only 32,000.

English Advantages

• Weapons Technologies.

• In almost every engagement, the English were outnumbered.– England’s most successful strategies:

/ Avoid pitched battles./ Engage in quick, profitable raids

– Steal what you can. Destroy everything else.– Capture enemy knights to hold for ransom.

Stage One of the War (1337-1360)

• King Edward III of England invades France and captures King John II of France.

• He is ransomed.

• Result of stage one: England captures ½ of France.

• The use of the English defensive position was the use of the longbow.

• Its arrows had more penetrating power than a bolt from a crossbow.– Could pierce an inch of wood

or the armor of a knight at 200 yards!

• A longbow could be fired more rapidly.– 6 arrows per minute.

The Longbow as a Weapon

The Longbow as a Weapon

Early English VictoriesEarly English Victories

The British Longbow:The Battle of Poitiers, 1356

The British Longbow:The Battle of Poitiers, 1356

The Effective Use of the Cannon at Poitiers, 1356The Effective Use of the Cannon at Poitiers, 1356

Stage Two 1361 - 1396

• King Charles V of France retakes all of the French lands from the English.

French Flag

Richard II

Stage Three (1397-1420)

• King Henry V of England invades France and forces King Charles VII of France to sign a treaty giving him his daughter.

• Meaning?• King Charles VII of France agrees, but

King Henry V of England dies before Charles, so his son, Henry VI takes over.

• Fighting Continues…..why?• Result? England takes over 2/3 of France.

King Henry V (r. 1412-1422)

• At Agincourt in 1415, the English, led by Henry himself, goaded a larger French army into attacking a fortified English position.– With the aid of the dukes

of Burgundy, Henry gained control over Normandy, Paris, and much of northern France!

Stage Three 1397 - 1420

• English nationalistic feelings soared when they heard of the stunting victory of King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt

• Henry V’s 8,000 soldiers defeated Charles VI’s 50,000 French troops

The Treaty of Troyes is signed after the Battle of Agincourt

• Charles VI who suffered

from periods of insanity gave his daughter Katherine in marriage to Henry V

• Henry V would inherit France after the death of Charles VI

• Charles VI cut his son Charles (VII) the dauphin (French heir to the throne) out of inheriting France

Charles VI

Stage Four 1421 - 1453• Henry V and Charles VI both die in 1422

• Henry VI of England is only 9 months old

• A young French girl, Joan of Arc, felt moved by God to rescue France from the English

• The Dukes of Burgundy frequently sided with the English

Joan of Arc (1412-1432)• The daughter of

prosperous peasants from an area of Burgundy that had suffered under the English.

• Like many medieval mystics, she reported regular visions of divine revelation.

• She dressed like a man and was Charles’ most charismatic and feared military leader!

Joan of Arc brings a spirit of nationalism to the French

• The “voices” Joan heard told her to go to Charles the dauphin and aid him in driving the English from France

• She helps end the English siege of Orleans

• With Joan’s aid, Charles was crowned king at Reims in 1429

• Joan, referred to as “the Maid”

Cannons Used at Orleans

Cannons Used at Orleans

Joan is captured and tried• In 1430 Joan is captured and

turned over to English church authorities

• She is charged with heresy and witchcraft because of her “unnatural dress” and claim to divine guidance, she was condemned and burned at the stake as a heretic in 1431.

• Charles VII does nothing to save her but he does win the Hundred Years War

• In 1920, Joan is declared a saint as the church retracts its judgment

Results of the 100 Years War

• New Style of Warfare– Paid soldiers– Heavy armor– Canons

• Nationalism – fighting to defend/protect your country.

Additional facts

• Nationalism – a feeling of loyalty and patriotism to one’s own land and people

• Nationalism will continue in France after Joan’s death

• Calais is the only territory in France that the French will not be able to win back

• New weapons such as the longbow & cannons lessened the importance of armored knights & castles

Weapons