The Hundred Years War (1337–1453) was a series of conflicts between the English and French crowns over the throne of France, lasting far longer than any single generation. It transformed medieval warfare, produced remarkable figures such as Joan of Arc, and left England without most of its French territories by the time it ended.
Why did England and France go to war?
The origins lie in inheritance and feudal obligations that made England and France perpetually entangled.
English kings had held land in France since the Norman Conquest of 1066. By 1337, Edward III of England held Gascony (in south-west France) as a vassal of the French king — meaning he owed feudal obedience to France for that territory while simultaneously being a sovereign king himself. This constitutional awkwardness generated repeated friction.
The immediate cause in 1337 was King Philip VI of France's confiscation of Gascony after a dispute with Edward. Edward responded by asserting a claim to the French throne itself: his mother Isabella was the daughter of a French king, and he argued this made him the rightful heir of France. France operated under Salic Law, which excluded inheritance through the female line — so France denied the claim and appointed a Valois king instead. This dynastic dispute became the formal basis of the war, though Gascon trade and political rivalry between two powerful kingdoms were the real drivers.
What were the major English victories and why did they happen?
English armies won a series of spectacular victories in the war's earlier phases, using a combination of longbowmen and disciplined dismounted knights that proved deadly against French cavalry charges.
| Battle | Year | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Crécy | 1346 | English longbowmen devastate French cavalry; Philip VI routed |
| Poitiers | 1356 | French King John II captured by Black Prince Edward; huge ransom paid |
| Agincourt | 1415 | Henry V defeats a far larger French army; ~6,000 French dead, ~400 English |
| Siege of Harfleur | 1415 | Henry captures key Norman port before marching to Agincourt |
Agincourt deserves particular attention. Henry V invaded France in 1415 with an exhausted, depleted army and met a French force estimated at three to four times his strength near the village of Agincourt on 25 October. The battle lasted perhaps three hours. English and Welsh longbowmen, positioned in a narrow field flanked by woods that neutralised French numbers, cut down the advancing French dismounted men-at-arms with volleys of arrows. French losses were catastrophic; Henry's were minor. The victory was so improbable that it has been retold ever since — most famously in Shakespeare's Henry V — as proof of English courage against overwhelming odds.
A historian's note: Shakespeare's version was written two centuries later, under a different monarch, for an audience with its own political needs. The real Henry V was a skilled commander who chose his ground carefully and executed his plan ruthlessly. The miracle owed more to tactical judgement than divine intervention.
Who was Joan of Arc and what changed the war's course?
By the 1420s, English and Burgundian forces (Burgundy was a French duchy allied with England) controlled most of northern France, including Paris. The French dauphin (crown prince) Charles held only the south. It seemed the English might finally achieve their goal.
Joan of Arc was a young peasant woman from Domrémy in north-east France who, from around 1428, claimed to hear the voices of saints commanding her to expel the English and crown Charles. Her military career lasted barely two years but was extraordinary:
- She arrived at Charles's court in February 1429 and convinced him — against considerable scepticism — to give her command of a relief force.
- She raised the English siege of Orléans within days (May 1429), a reversal that had seemed impossible.
- She led Charles to Reims for his coronation as Charles VII in July 1429, restoring Valois legitimacy.
- She was captured by Burgundian forces in May 1430, sold to the English, tried for heresy and witchcraft, and burned at the stake in Rouen on 30 May 1431, aged approximately nineteen.
Her capture and execution did not reverse what she had accomplished. French armies, reinvigorated by her example and the legitimacy of Charles VII's coronation, continued to fight. The alliance between England and Burgundy collapsed in 1435. By 1453, English forces had been expelled from all French territory except Calais, which England retained until 1558.
How did the war change military technology and society?
The longbow is the war's most celebrated technological story, but it is not the only one. Cannon appeared at the siege of Crécy in 1346 and became increasingly important — the French, notably Jean Bureau, used artillery effectively in the war's final phase to retake fortresses that had held for decades.
The social consequences were significant on both sides:
- In France, the experience of prolonged English occupation of the north, combined with Joan of Arc's example, fostered something like a nascent French national identity — a sense of "us" (French) against "them" (English) that had not existed clearly before.
- In England, the loss of France at the war's end (1453) was a shock. The nobles who had enriched themselves from French estates and ransoms returned home to a country where the monarchy was weakened and factional conflict intense — contributing to the conditions that produced the Wars of the Roses just two years later.
Why does the Hundred Years War matter for KS3 history?
The Hundred Years War sits in the broader theme of power, monarchy and international relations that KS3 history explores. It demonstrates how medieval kingship was inherently personal and dynastic — wars were fought because of family trees — and how military technology could shift the balance of power between foot soldiers and cavalry. It also offers a striking source-evaluation challenge: Joan of Arc's trial record, the testimony given against her, and the rehabilitation trial twenty-five years later that declared her innocent all exist — and they contradict each other in revealing ways.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called the Hundred Years War?
The name is a retrospective label applied by historians: the conflict actually lasted 116 years (1337–1453) and was not continuous — there were long truces, periods of diplomacy and shifts in alliance. It was not called the "Hundred Years War" by participants; the term became established by the nineteenth century as historians looked back at the period as a distinct era.
What made the English longbow so effective?
A trained English or Welsh longbowman could fire ten to twelve arrows per minute to an effective range of around 200 metres (and theoretically much further). In large concentrations, longbowmen could release a storm of arrows that disrupted cavalry charges before they reached the English lines. The key was sustained training from youth — drawing a war bow required significant upper-body strength developed over years — and the tactical use of terrain to channel enemy advances.
How did Joan of Arc end up burned as a heretic?
Joan was tried by an ecclesiastical court in English-controlled Rouen on charges of heresy — specifically, wearing male clothing, claiming divine authority without church approval, and refusing to submit to church authority over her claimed visions. The court was dominated by pro-English clergy. She was declared guilty and burned on 30 May 1431. In 1456, a rehabilitation trial declared the original verdict void. She was beatified in 1909 and canonised as a saint in 1920.
What did England lose at the end of the Hundred Years War?
By 1453, England had been expelled from all of France except Calais, which remained English until 1558. This meant the loss of Gascony — held by English kings since 1152 — as well as the Norman territories gained at Agincourt and afterwards. The loss was a profound shock, blamed on the weakness of Henry VI's government, and contributed to the political instability that led to the Wars of the Roses.
Want Professor Harari to help you compare French and English sources on Joan of Arc, or build a structured essay on why England lost the Hundred Years War? Connect at aitutors.me.