Hundred Years' War

Hundred Years' War
Part of the Crisis of the late Middle Ages and the Anglo-French Wars

Clockwise, from top left: the Battle of La Rochelle, the Battle of Agincourt, the Battle of Patay, and Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans
Date24 May 1337 – 18 October 1453 (intermittent)[d]
(116 years, 4 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location
Result French victory
Full results
Territorial
changes
England loses all continental possessions except for the Pale of Calais.
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Juan Vélaz de Medrano IV

The Hundred Years' War (French: Guerre de Cent Ans; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts fought between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from English claims to the French throne initially made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a broader military, economic and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fueled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodization of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death, and several years of truces.

The Hundred Years' War was a significant conflict in the Middle Ages. During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, which was then the dominant kingdom in Western Europe. The war had a lasting effect on European history: both sides produced innovations in military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, that permanently changed European warfare; chivalry, which reached its height during the conflict, subsequently declined. Stronger national identities took root in both kingdoms, which became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers.[1]

The term "Hundred Years' War" was adopted by later historians as a historiographical periodisation to encompass dynastically related conflicts, constructing the longest military conflict in European history. The war is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces: the Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). Each side drew many allies into the conflict, with English forces initially prevailing; however, the French forces under the House of Valois ultimately retained control over the Kingdom of France. The French and English monarchies thereafter remained separate, despite the monarchs of England (later Britain) styling themselves as sovereigns of France until 1802.


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  1. ^ Guizot, Francois (1997). The History of Civilization in Europe; translated by William Hazlitt 1846. Indiana, US: Liberty Fund. pp. 204, 205. ISBN 978-0-86597-837-9.