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The Hundred Years War

Follow the Hundred Years War from succession crisis and English victories to Joan of Arc, French recovery and the fall of English France.

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What was the Hundred Years War?

The Hundred Years War was a long conflict between England and France from 1337 to 1453. It began with dynastic claims and disputes over English-held lands in France, then became a wider struggle over sovereignty, military power and royal legitimacy.

At a glance

The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without a male heir created a succession dispute.
Edward III of England claimed the French crown through his mother, Isabella of France.
English victories at in 1346 and in 1415 showed the battlefield power of disciplined infantry and longbowmen.
Joan of Arc helped lift the in 1429 and restored French confidence around Charles VII.
French victory at in 1453 ended England's major territorial ambitions in mainland France, apart from .

Common questions

Why did the Hundred Years War start?

It started because English and French rulers disputed succession, sovereignty and territory. Edward III claimed the French throne, while Philip VI challenged English rights in . Conflicts over homage, trade and alliances turned rivalry into war.

Did the Hundred Years War last exactly one hundred years?

No. The usual dates are 1337 to 1453, a span of 116 years. The fighting was interrupted by truces, treaties, plague, internal politics and periods of reduced campaigning.

How did the Hundred Years War end?

It effectively ended in 1453 after the French victory at and the loss of . England retained , but its wider mainland possessions and claim to dominate France had collapsed.

Context

Introduction

Overview

The Hundred Years War was a long dynastic and territorial conflict between the English and French crowns from 1337 to 1453. It grew from the Capetian succession crisis, English rule in , rival claims to sovereignty, trade pressures, and the ambitions of kings on both sides of the Channel.

What you'll learn: You will see how a dynastic dispute became a century-long struggle over land, legitimacy and power, and why the war changed medieval government and warfare on both sides of the Channel.

Key forces

The war began from a succession dispute after the direct Capetian male line failed in 1328.
English rule in created a dangerous conflict between feudal vassalage and royal sovereignty.
English victories showed the power of disciplined infantry, defensive positioning and longbowmen.
French recovery depended on patient strategy, stronger administration, legitimacy and military reform.

French nobles and churchmen debating the Capetian succession beside the body of Charles IV.

1328 CE

Step 1 of 101328 CEAccessible mode

The Capetian Succession Crisis

In 1328, the French royal line reached a dangerous point. King Charles IV died without a surviving son, and the question of who should rule France became impossible to avoid.

For centuries, the Capetian dynasty had passed the crown from father to son. That steady pattern gave French monarchy an unusual sense of stability.

Charles IV's death broke the pattern. His closest male relative in France was Philip of Valois. But Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip IV through his mother, Isabella of France.

“The argument was not only about blood. It was about whether the French crown could pass through a woman to her son.”

French nobles rejected Edward's claim and accepted Philip VI. They argued that women could not inherit the crown and could not transmit a claim to it. The legal language would later be tied to Salic law, but the immediate decision was political as well as legal.

Edward did not go to war immediately. He was still young, and England had its own problems. But the rejection left a dangerous claim alive.

The crisis mattered because it gave future conflict a dynastic shape. Disputes over land, trade and authority could now be wrapped in a bigger question: who was the rightful king of France?

Edward III standing before English and French heraldic banners as he claims the French crown.

1337 CE

Step 2 of 101337 CEAccessible mode

Edward III Claims the French Crown

By 1337, Edward III was ready to turn an old claim into a declaration of war.

The problem was not only the French crown. England still held in southwest France. For that land, Edward was expected to recognise Philip VI as his feudal lord.

That arrangement was humiliating and unstable. Edward was a king in England, but in he could be treated as a duke under French authority.

Tensions widened over alliances, coastal raids, support for Scotland and the wool trade with . War was becoming useful to both ambition and strategy.

“ turned a legal dispute into a territorial crisis.”

Philip VI declared Edward's French lands confiscated. Edward responded by formally claiming the French crown, presenting himself as the rightful king rather than a disobedient vassal.

The Hundred Years War had begun because succession, land, trade and sovereignty had become impossible to separate.

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