Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). Hundred Years War: briefly about the main

The Hundred Years' War, which began in 1337 and ended in 1453, was a series of conflicts between two kingdoms, France and England. The main rivals were: the ruling house of Valois and the ruling house of Plantagenets and Lancasters. There were other participants in the Hundred Years War: Flanders, Scotland, Portugal, Castile and other European countries.

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Reasons for the confrontation

The term itself appeared much later and denoted not only the dynastic conflict between the ruling houses of the kingdoms, but also the war of nations, which by this time had begun to take shape. There are two main causes of the Hundred Years War:

dynastic conflict.
Territorial claims.

By 1337, the ruling Capetian dynasty in France had come to an end (beginning with Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, a descendant in the direct male line).

Philip IV the Handsome, the last strong ruler of the Capetian dynasty, had three sons: Louis (X the Grumpy), Philip (V the Long), Charles (IV the Handsome). Not one of them managed to give birth to a male descendant, and after the death of the youngest of the heirs of Charles IV, the council of peers of the kingdom decided to crown the cousin of the last Philip de Valois. This decision was protested by the King of England, Edward III Plantagenet, who was the grandson of Philip IV, the son of his daughter Isabella of England.

Attention! The Council of Peers of France refused to consider the candidacy of Edward III because of the decision made several years earlier that it was impossible to inherit the crown of France by or through a woman. The decision was made after the Nelsk case: the only daughter of Louis X the Grumpy Jeanne of Navarre could not inherit the French crown due to the fact that her mother Margaret of Burgundy was convicted of treason, which means that the origin of Jeanne herself was called into question. The House of Burgundy disputed this decision, but after Joan was made queen of Navarre, they backed down.

Edward III, whose origin was not in doubt, could not agree with the decision of the Council of Peers and even refused to take a full vassal oath to Philip of Valois (he was nominally considered a vassal of the king of France, since he had land holdings in France). The compromise homage made in 1329 did not satisfy either Edward III or Philip VI.

Attention! Philip de Valois was Edward III's cousin, but even close kinship did not deter the monarchs from a direct military clash.

Territorial disputes between countries arose as early as the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Over time, those lands on the continent that Eleanor of Aquitaine brought to the English crown were lost. Only Hyenne and Gascony remained in the possession of the English kings. The French wanted to free these lands from the British, as well as maintain their influence in Flanders. Edward III married the heiress to the throne of Flanders, Philippa de Arnaud.

Also, the reasons for the Hundred Years War lay in the personal hostility of the rulers of states to each other. This history had long roots and developed progressively, despite the fact that the ruling houses were connected by family ties.

Periodization and course

There is a conditional periodization of hostilities, which in fact was a series of local military conflicts occurring with long breaks. Historians distinguish the following periods:

Edwardian,
carolingian,
Lancastrian,
advance of Charles VII.

Each stage was characterized by a victory or a conditional victory of one of the parties.

In essence, the beginning of the Hundred Years' War dates back to 1333, when the English troops attacked France's ally - Scotland, so the question of who started the hostilities can be answered unambiguously. The British offensive was successful. Scottish King David II was forced to flee the country to France. Philip IV, who planned to annex Gascony "on the sly", was forced to switch to the British Isles, where a landing operation was taking place in order to restore David to the throne. The operation was never carried out, as the British launched a massive offensive in Picardy. Support came from Flanders and Gascony. Further events looked as follows (the main battles of the Hundred Years War at the first stage):

fighting in the Netherlands - 1336-1340; battles at sea -1340-1341;
the war for the Breton inheritance -1341-1346 (the devastating battle for the French at Cressy in 1346, after which Philip VI fled from the British, the capture of the port of Calais by the British in 1347, the defeat of the troops of the Scottish king by the British in 1347);
the Aquitanian company - 1356-1360 (again, the complete defeat of the French knights in the battle of Poitiers, the siege of Reims and Paris by the British, which was not completed for a number of reasons).

Attention! During this period, France was weakened not only by the conflict with England, but also by the plague epidemic that broke out in 1346-1351. The French rulers - Philip and his son John (II, the Good) - could not cope with the situation, brought the country to complete economic exhaustion.

Due to the threat of the possible loss of Reims and Paris in 1360, the Dauphin Charles signed a peace humiliating for France with Edward III. Almost one-third of all French territories retreated along it to England.

The truce between England and France did not last long, until 1369. After John II died, Charles V began to look for ways to win back the lost territories. In 1369, the peace was broken on the pretext that the English were not respecting the terms of the peace of 60.

It should be noted that the aged Edward Plantagenet no longer desired the French crown. His son and heir, the Black Prince, also did not see himself as a French monarch.

Carolingian stage

Charles V was an experienced leader and diplomat. He managed, with the support of the Breton aristocracy, to push Castile and England. The main events of this period were:

liberation from the English of Poitiers (1372);
liberation of Bergerac (1377).

Attention! England during this period was experiencing a serious internal political crisis: first, Crown Prince Edward died (1376), then Edward III (1377). Scottish troops also continued to harass the English borders. The situation in Wales and Northern Ireland was difficult.

Realizing the complexity of the situation, both in the country and abroad, the English king requested a truce, which was concluded in 1396.

The time of the truce, which lasted until 1415, was difficult for both France and England. In France, a civil war began, caused by the madness of the reigning king Charles VI. In England the government tried:

fight the uprisings that broke out in Ireland and Wales;
repel the attacks of the Scots;
deal with Count Percy's rebellion;
put an end to the pirates who undermined English trade.

During this period, power also changed in England: the minor Richard II was deposed, and as a result, Henry IV ascended the throne.

The third Anglo-French conflict was unleashed by Henry V, son of Henry IV. He led a very successful campaign, as a result of which the British succeeded in:

become victors at Agincourt (1415); capture Caen and Rouen; take Paris (1420); win at Cravan; split the French territory into two parts that were unable to contact due to the presence of English troops; besiege the city of Orleans in 1428.

Attention! The international situation was complicated and confused by the fact that Henry V died in 1422. His infant son was recognized as king of both countries, but most of the French supported the Dauphin Charles VII.

It is at this turning point that the legendary Joan of Arc, the future national heroine of France, appears. Largely thanks to her and her faith, the Dauphin Charles decided to take action. Before its appearance, there was no talk of any active resistance.

The last period was marked by a peace signed between the House of Burgundy and the Armagnacs, who supported the Dauphin Charles. The reason for this unexpected alliance was the offensive of the British.

As a result of the creation of an alliance and the activities of Joan of Arc, the siege of Orleans was lifted (1429), victory was won at the Battle of Pat, Reims was liberated, where in 1430 the Dauphin was declared king by Charles VII.

Jeanne fell into the hands of the British and the Inquisition, her death could not stop the offensive of the French, who sought to completely clear the territory of their country from the British. In 1453, the British capitulated, which marked the end of the Hundred Years' War. The French king won, of course, with the active support of the Burgundian ducal house. This is the whole course of the Hundred Years War briefly.

Causes and the beginning of the Hundred Years War (Russian) History of the Middle Ages.

End of the Hundred Years War. Unification of France. (Russian) History of the Middle Ages.

Summarizing

France managed to defend its territories. Almost everything except the port of Calais, which remained English until 1558. Both countries were economically devastated. The population of France has decreased by more than half. And this is probably the most important consequences of the Hundred Years War. The conflict had a strong influence on the development of military affairs in Europe. Most importantly, the formation of regular armies began. England entered a protracted period of civil wars, which led to the fact that the Tudor dynasty was on the throne of the country.

The history and results of the Hundred Years' War by numerous professional historians and writers. William Shakespeare, Voltaire, Schiller, Prosper Merimee, Alexandre Dumas, A. Conan Doyle wrote about her. Mark Twain and Maurice Druon.

In the 14th century, the largest and longest confrontation between England and France began, which later became known as the Hundred Years War. This is the most important part of European history, the study of which is included in the mandatory minimum of knowledge necessary for the successful passing of specialized exams. In this article, we will briefly review the causes and outcomes, as well as the chronological sequence of these significant events.

The material of this article is important, because in 1 and 11, and sometimes in 6 tasks, in order to successfully complete them, you need to know the material of World History.

Causes and start of the war

A reasonable question follows from the name: “How long did the main battle of the Middle Ages actually last?” Armed confrontation was waged between two powerful European powers and formally lasted for more than a hundred years (1337-1453). The conflict was provoked by the clash of political interests of the royal families. In fact, this event included three stages that took place at different time intervals.

It all started with the death of the French monarch Charles IV (the Handsome), who was the last legitimate heir to the ruling Capet dynasty. According to the rules of succession, power was taken over by Charles's cousin, Philip VI of Valois. However, the current king of England, Edward III, was the grandson of the deceased king, which gave him the authority to claim the French throne. France, of course, was categorically against the foreign ruler. This is the official reason for the start of the conflict.

Charles IV Handsome. Years of life 1294 - 1328

In fact, it was a struggle of interests for French lands. The British wanted to take over Flanders - an industrial region with a developed economy, as well as regain the lost territories that previously belonged to the English crown.

In turn, France claimed its former possessions - Guyenne and Gascony, which at that moment were under the rule of the British. The parties could not find official reasons for resolving mutual claims until the English king Edward III officially declared his rights to the French throne, backing up his intentions with military operations in Picardy.

Chronology of events

First stage

The first part of the Anglo-French confrontation began in 1337 and is referred to in some sources as the Edwardian War.

England began its confident attack on French lands. Excellent combat readiness and the confused state of the enemy helped the British to easily capture the territories of interest to them. In addition, some part of the local population, tired of war and poverty, was on the side of the invaders.

Edward III. Years of life 1312 - 1377

However, successful conquests, oddly enough, had a negative impact on the economic condition of England. Having entered into an unprofitable military alliance with the Netherlands, and irrationally disposing of income in general, Edward III soon led the English treasury to a state of ruin. This fact significantly slowed down the course of hostilities and in the next 20 years, events developed as follows:

1340 - the defeat of the French fleet, the capture of the English Channel.
1346 - Battle of Crécy. A turning point in the course of the war. The decisive victory of the British and the total defeat of the French army. King Edward III gains dominion over Northern France.
1347 is the date of the conquest of the French port of Calais and the signing of a formal truce. In fact, hostilities continued from time to time.
1355 - the son of Edward III, nicknamed the "Black Prince", again launched an attack on France, thereby finally annulling the peace agreement.

Meanwhile, the French economic situation is in a state of complete decline. The authority of the crown is unconditionally undermined, the country is ravaged by war, the locals suffer from poverty and hunger. In addition, taxes were getting higher - somehow it was necessary to feed the army and the remnants of the fleet.

All these events and the desperate situation of France led to the signing of several peace agreements in 1360, according to which England gained dominance over almost a third of the French lands.

Second phase

After nine years of a humiliating truce for France, its new ruler, Charles V, decided to try to retake the occupied territories, unleashing a new military conflict in 1369, called the Carolingian War.

During the years of the armistice, the French state restored its forces and resources, reorganized the army.

At that moment, England launched a military campaign in the Iberian Peninsula, experienced a popular uprising and bloody clashes with Scotland. All these factors played into the hands of the recovering France, and she managed gradually (from 1370 to 1377) to return almost all her occupied cities. In 1396, the parties again concluded a truce.

Third stage

Despite internal disunity, England did not want to remain the losing side. At that time, Henry V was king. He thoroughly prepared and organized the first attack after a long truce, which no one expected. In 1415, the decisive Battle of Agincourt took place, where France was forced to capitulate. In subsequent battles, the entire northern part of France was captured, which allowed the British to dictate their terms. Thus, in 1420, a peace treaty was signed, according to which:

The current king of France, Charles IV, abdicates the throne.

Henry V marries the sister of the French monarch and becomes heir to the throne.

The population of the defeated side was divided into two warring camps. The part that supported the British was exhausted by high taxes, robberies and robberies. Nevertheless, all large territories of France were eventually conquered by the occupiers.

End of the war

The decisive role in the further course of history was played by the famous Maiden of Orleans - Jeanne D "Arc. A simple village girl led the people's militia and led the defense of the city of Orleans from the siege of the British. She managed to awaken the fighting spirit of the French, tired of endless battles, and it was thanks to her that a large part of the conquered territories in less than a year.The French again believed in themselves and in their independence.

Jeanne D "Arc. Reconstruction

The British tried at all costs to deprive their opponents of their inspired leader, and in 1430 Joan was captured and burned at the stake.

Contrary to expectations, after the death of Jeanne, the French citizens did not lose their fighting spirit, but, on the contrary, continued the offensive with fury and bitterness. In this regard, the religious aspect played a significant role, since D "ark was considered a saint, a performer of God's providence, after being burned she was ranked among the martyrs. In addition, the people were tired of poverty and suffocating taxes, so the return of independence at any cost was a matter of life and death.

Until 1444, armed clashes continued, both sides suffered from raging epidemics of cholera and plague. It is not difficult to guess who won this protracted battle.

In 1453 the war finally ended with the surrender of the British.

Results

England lost all her conquered territories in France, with the exception of the port of Calais.
Both sides carried out domestic military reforms, completely changing the policy of the army and introducing new types of weapons.

Relations between England and France for several centuries could be described as "cold". Until 1801, English monarchs formally bore the title of King of France.

Expert opinion

"...People who lived in Europe between 1337 and 1453 did not suspect at all that they were living in the era of the Hundred Years' War...".

Historian Natalya Basovskaya

“Everything perishes when stupid people replace each other at the head of the state. On the ruins of greatness, unity disintegrates.

Maurice Druon When the King Ruins France.

In conclusion, I would like to say that this topic is just a drop in the ocean of world history. We analyze all topics both in the history of Russia and in the World in the form of video lessons and presentations, info cards in our preparation courses for the Unified State Examination.

Causes and prerequisites for the unleashing of the Hundred Years War

In the 30s of the XIV century. the normal development of France was interrupted Hundred Years War with England (1337-1453) , which led to the mass destruction of productive forces, population decline and a reduction in production and trade. Heavy misfortunes fell upon the French people - the long occupation of France by the British, the ruin and devastation of many territories, terrible tax oppression, robbery and civil strife of the French feudal lords.

Hundred Years War - a series of military conflicts between England and its allies, on the one hand, and France and its allies, on the other, lasting from about 1337 to 1453. The war lasted 116 years with short interruptions and was cyclical. Strictly speaking, it was more of a series of conflicts:
- Edwardian war - in 1337-1360.
- Carolingian War - in 1369-1396.
- Lancaster war - in 1415-1428.
- The final period - in 1428-1453.

Reason for unleashing the Hundred Years War there were claims to the French throne by the English royal Plantagenet dynasty, seeking to return territories on the continent that previously belonged to the English kings. The Plantagenets were also related by ties to the French Capetian dynasty. France, in turn, sought to oust the British from Guyenne, which was assigned to them by the Treaty of Paris in 1259. Despite initial successes, England never achieved her goal in the war, and as a result of the war on the continent, she was left with only the port of Calais, which she held until 1558.

Hundred Years War began the English king Edward III, who was maternally the grandson of the French king Philip IV the Handsome from the Capetian dynasty. After the death in 1328 of Charles IV, the last of the direct branch of the Capetians, and the coronation of Philip VI (Valois) under Salic law, Edward claimed the French throne. In addition, the monarchs fought over the economically important region of Gascony, nominally owned by the English king, but actually controlled by France. In addition, Edward wanted to regain the territories lost by his father. For his part, Philip VI demanded that Edward III recognize him as a sovereign sovereign. The compromise homage concluded in 1329 did not satisfy either side. However, in 1331, faced with internal problems, Edward recognized Philip as king of France and abandoned his claim to the French throne (in exchange for this, the British retained their rights to Gascony).

In 1333, Edward went to war with the Scottish king David II, an ally of France. In conditions when the attention of the British was riveted to Scotland, Philip VI decided to seize the opportunity and annex Gascony. However, the war was successful for the British, and already in July David was forced to flee to France after the defeat at Halidon Hill. In 1336, Philip began to make plans for a landing in the British Isles for the coronation of David II on the Scottish throne, while planning to annex Gascony. Hostility in relations between the two countries escalated to the limit.

In the autumn of 1337, the British launched an offensive in Picardy. They were supported by the Flemish cities and feudal lords, the cities of southwestern France.

Hundred Years War was mainly a struggle over the southwestern French lands under the rule of the English kings. In the early years of the war, the rivalry over Flanders, where the interests of both countries clashed, was also of no small importance. The French kings did not abandon their intentions to subjugate the rich Flanders cities. The latter, however, sought to preserve their independence with the help of England, with which they were closely connected economically, since they received wool from there - the raw material for cloth making.

In the future, the main arena of hostilities Hundred Years War became (along with Normandy) the South-West, that is, the territory of the former Aquitaine, where England, striving to re-take possession of these lands, found allies in the person of still independent feudal lords and cities. Economically, Guyenne (the western part of the former Aquitaine) was closely connected with England, where wines, steel, salt, fruits, nuts, dyes went. The wealth of large cities (Bordeaux, La Rochelle, etc.) depended to a large extent on this trade, which was very profitable for them.

FRANCE ON THE EVE OF THE Hundred Years' War (1328)

History of France:

The beginning of the Hundred Years War. Edwardian War (1337-1360)

Hundred Years War began in 1337. The invading English army had a number of advantages over the French: it was small, but well organized, detachments of hired knights were under the command of captains who were directly subordinate to the commander in chief; English archers, recruited mainly from free peasants, were masters of their craft and played an important role in the battles, supporting the actions of the knightly cavalry. In the French army, which consisted mainly of knightly militia, there were few shooters, and the knights did not want to reckon with them and coordinate their actions. The army broke up into separate detachments of large feudal lords; in reality, the king commanded only his own, albeit the largest, detachment, that is, only part of the army. The French knights retained the old tactics and began the battle, falling on the enemy with their entire mass. But if the enemy withstood the first onslaught, then in the future the cavalry was usually divided into separate groups, the knights were pulled off their horses and taken prisoner. Getting ransoms for captives and robbing the population soon became the main goal of the English knights and archers.

Start Hundred Years War was successful for Edward III. Edward during the first years of the war managed to make alliances with the rulers of the Low Countries and the burghers of Flanders, but after several unsuccessful campaigns, the alliance broke up in 1340. The subsidies allocated by Edward III to the German princes, as well as the costs of maintaining an army abroad, led to the bankruptcy of the English treasury, hitting hard on Edward's prestige. At first, France had superiority at sea, hiring ships and sailors from Genoa. This caused constant fears of a possible threat of an invasion of Philip's troops on the British Isles, which forced Edward III to go to additional expenses, buying wood from Flanders for the construction of ships. Be that as it may, the French fleet, which prevented the landing of English troops on the continent, was almost completely destroyed in the naval battle of Sluys in 1340. After that, until the end of the war, the fleet of Edward III had dominance at sea, controlling the English Channel.

In 1341 the War of the Breton Succession broke out, with Edward supporting Jean de Montfort and Philip supporting Charles de Blois. During the following years, the war took place in Brittany, and the city of Vannes changed hands several times. Further military campaigns in Gascony met with mixed success on both sides. In 1346, Edward crossed the English Channel and invaded France, landing with an army on the Cotentin Peninsula. Within one day, the English army captured Caen, which caused bewilderment of the French command, which was expecting a long siege of the city. Philip, having gathered an army, moved towards Edward. Edward moved his troops north into the Low Countries. Along the way, his army plundered and pillaged, holding and capturing territory was not planned. As a result, after lengthy maneuvers, Edward positioned his forces, preparing for the upcoming battle. Philip's troops attacked Edward's army in the famous one, which ended in a disastrous defeat for the French troops and the death of the Bohemian king John the Blind, allied to the French. The English troops continued their unhindered advance to the north and laid siege to Calais, which was taken in 1347. This event was an important strategic success for the British, allowing Edward III to keep his forces on the Continent. In the same year, after the victory at Neville's Cross and the capture of David II, the threat from Scotland was eliminated.

In 1346-1351, a plague epidemic (“Black Death”) swept through Europe, which claimed hundreds of times more lives than the war, and undoubtedly influenced the activity of hostilities. One of the remarkable military episodes of this period is the Battle of the Thirty between thirty English knights and squires and thirty French knights and squires, which took place on March 26, 1351.

By 1356, England, after a swept epidemic, was able to restore its finances. In 1356, a 30,000-strong English army under the command of the son of Edward III the Black Prince, launching an invasion from Gascony, inflicted a crushing defeat on the French, capturing King John II the Good. John the Good signed a truce with Edward. During his captivity, the French government began to fall apart. In 1359, the Treaty of London was signed, according to which the English crown received Aquitaine, and John was set free. Military failures and economic difficulties led to popular indignations - the Parisian uprising (1357-1358) and the Jacquerie (1358). Edward's troops invaded France for the third time. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, Edward's troops moved freely through enemy territory, laid siege to Reims, but later lifted the siege and moved to Paris. Despite the difficult situation in which France was, Edward did not storm either Paris or Reims, the purpose of the campaign was to demonstrate the weakness of the French king and his inability to defend the country. The Dauphin of France, the future King Charles V, was forced to conclude a humiliating peace for himself in Brétigny (1360). As a result of the first stage Hundred Years War Edward III acquired half of Brittany, Aquitaine, Calais, Poitiers, and about half of the vassal possessions of France. The French crown thus lost a third of the territory of France.

The most significant battles of the initial period of the Hundred Years War:

FRANCE FOLLOWING THE FIRST STAGE OF THE Hundred Years' War (1360)

History of France:

Second phase of the Hundred Years War. Carolingian War (1369-1396)

When the son of John II the Good, Louis of Anjou, sent to England as a hostage and guarantor that John II would not escape, fled in 1362, John II, following his knightly honor, returned to English captivity. After John died in honorary captivity in 1364, Charles V became king of France.

The peace signed at Brétigny excluded Edward's right to claim the French crown. At the same time, Edward expanded his possessions in Aquitaine and firmly secured Calais. In fact, Edward never again claimed the French throne, and Charles V began to make plans to reconquer the lands occupied by the British. In 1369, under the pretext of Edward's non-compliance with the terms of the peace treaty signed at Brétigny, Charles declared war on England.

Taking advantage of the respite, the French King Charles V (the Wise) reorganized the army and carried out economic reforms. This allowed the French in the second stage Hundred Years War , in the 1370s, achieve significant military successes. The British were driven out of the country. Despite the fact that the War of the Breton Succession ended with the victory of the British at the Battle of Auray, the Breton dukes showed loyalty to the French authorities, and the Breton knight Bertrand Du Guesclin even became the constable of France.

At the same time, the Black Prince was busy with the war in the Iberian Peninsula since 1366, and Edward III was too old to command the troops. All this favored France. Pedro of Castile, whose daughters Constance and Isabella were married to the Black Prince's brothers John of Gaunt and Edmund Langley, was removed from the throne in 1370 by Enrique II with the support of the French under Du Guesclin. War broke out between Castile and France, on the one hand, and Portugal and England, on the other. With the death of Sir John Chandos, Seneschal of Poitou, and the capture of Captal de Buch, England lost her best military leaders in their person. Du Guesclin, following a cautious "Fabian" strategy, in a series of campaigns, avoiding clashes with large English armies, liberated many cities, such as Poitiers (1372) and Bergerac (1377). The allied Franco-Castilian fleet won a confident one, destroying the English squadron. For its part, the British command undertook a series of devastating predatory raids, but Du Guesclin again managed to avoid clashes.

With the death of the Black Prince in 1376 and Edward III in 1377, the Prince's minor son, Richard II, succeeded to the English throne. Bertrand Du Guesclin died in 1380, but England had a new threat in the north from Scotland. In 1388, the English troops were defeated by the Scots at the Battle of Otterburn. Due to the extreme exhaustion of both sides in 1396, they concluded a truce in Hundred Years War .

The most significant battles of the second period of the Hundred Years War:

FRANCE AFTER THE SECOND STAGE OF THE Hundred Years' War (1396)

The third stage of the Hundred Years War. Lancaster War (1415-1428)

At the end of the 14th century, the French king Charles VI went mad, and soon a new armed conflict broke out between his cousin, the Duke of Burgundy, Jean the Fearless, and his brother, Louis of Orleans. After the assassination of Louis, the Armagnacs, who opposed the party of Jean the Fearless, seized power. By 1410, both sides wanted to call on English troops to their aid. England, weakened by internal unrest and uprisings in Ireland and Wales, entered into a new war with Scotland. In addition, two more civil wars raged in the country. Richard II spent most of his reign fighting Ireland. By the time of the removal of Richard and the accession of Henry IV to the English throne, the Irish problem had not been solved. On top of that, an uprising broke out in Wales under the leadership of Owain Glyndŵr, which was finally suppressed only by 1415. For several years, Wales was actually an independent country. Taking advantage of the change of kings in England, the Scots carried out several raids into English lands. However, the English troops, who went on the counteroffensive, defeated the Scots at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402. Following these events, Count Henry Percy raised an uprising against the king, which resulted in a long and bloody struggle that ended only by 1408. In these difficult years, England, among other things, survived the raids of French and Scandinavian pirates, who dealt a heavy blow to her fleet and trade. In connection with all these problems, intervention in the affairs of France was postponed until 1415.

From the time of his accession to the throne, the English king Henry IV made plans to invade France. However, only his son, Henry V, succeeded in realizing these plans. In 1414, he refused an alliance with the Armagnacs. His plans included the return of territories that belonged to the English crown under Henry II. In August 1415, his army landed near Harfleur and captured the city. The third stage has begun Hundred Years War .

Wanting to march to Paris, the king, out of caution, chose another route, which was adjacent to the British-occupied Calais. Due to the fact that there was not enough food in the English army, and the English command made a number of strategic miscalculations, Henry V was forced to go on the defensive. Despite an unfavorable start to the campaign, the British won a decisive victory over overwhelming French forces.

During the third stage Hundred Years War Henry captured most of Normandy, including Caen (1417) and Rouen (1419). Having entered into an alliance with the Duke of Burgundy, who captured Paris after the assassination of Jean the Fearless in 1419, in five years the English king subjugated about half of the territory of France. In 1420, Henry met in negotiations with the mad King Charles VI, with whom he signed an agreement in Troyes, according to which Henry V was declared the heir to Charles VI the Mad, bypassing the legitimate heir of the Dauphin Charles (in the future - King Charles VII). After the treaty of Troyes, until 1801, the kings of England bore the title of kings of France. The following year, Henry entered Paris, where the treaty was officially confirmed by the Estates General.

Henry's successes ended with the landing of a six thousand strong Scottish army in France. In 1421, John Stewart, Earl of Buchan defeated the outnumbered English army at the Battle of God. The English commander and most of the high ranking English commanders died in the battle. Shortly after this defeat, King Henry V dies at Meaux in 1422. His only one-year-old son was immediately crowned king of England and France, but the Armagnacs remained loyal to the son of King Charles, and the war continued.

In 1423, the already Franco-Scottish troops suffered heavy losses. In this battle, about 4 thousand British managed to win, fighting an enemy three times their number. As a result of the defeat of the French troops, communication between Picardy and the south of France was interrupted. The territory that still supported the "legitimate king" was "cut" in half. Both parts were now forced to fight separately, unable to come to the aid of each other, which caused severe damage to the cause of Charles VII. The defeat at Cravan resulted in several more lost battles.

Continuing hostilities during Hundred Years War , in 1428 the British laid siege to Orleans. The French attack on the English food convoy near the village of Rouvray near Orleans resulted in a battle, known in history as the “Battle of the Herrings” and ending with the victory of the British under the leadership of the knight John Fastolf. In France, they understood that the fate of the country was being decided near Orleans: having taken this key fortress, the enemy would rush to the south and it would be impossible to keep him. Therefore, the broad masses of the population rose to fight the enemy. A guerrilla war began in a number of northern regions of the country - in Normandy, Picardy, Maine. Partisan detachments were created from peasants, townspeople, small knights. These detachments, armed with the most primitive weapons, attacked the British, set up ambushes, smashed the carts, and kept the enemy in constant tension. The British were powerless to suppress this movement.

The most striking manifestation of popular patriotism was the performance of Joan of Arc, a peasant girl from the village of Domremy on the border of Champagne and Lorraine. The disasters of the war reached this distant outskirts. Seventeen-year-old Jeanne was very upset by the occupation of the country by the British. It seemed to her that it was she who was destined to save her country from the enemy (at that time there was a rumor among the people that such a heroine maiden should appear).When the news spread that the British had besieged Orleans, Joan of Arc decided to go to Charles VII to save the besieged city. With great difficulty, the girl managed to convince the local authorities to provide her with a horse and escort for a long and risky journey to Bourges, it was even more difficult to pass through the territory occupied by the Burgundians and the British. She was received with distrust by the king, but he decided in the end to grant her request, since the rumor about the mission of the virgin heroine had already spread in Orleans.

It was a turning point in history Hundred Years War which had been going on for nearly 100 years. It was the appearance of Joan of Arc in the camp of the French army that led to an extraordinary rise in the morale of the entire French army. In addition, it was Joan of Arc who, with her fearlessness and obsession in battle, contributed to the fact that the French military leaders finally began to change their battle strategy. sometimes, acting impudently, they managed to overturn the superior forces of opponents and achieve victories in seemingly hopeless situations. Welsh archers in the camp of the English were no longer so terrible. The French realized that they could be defeated, and Joan of Arc showed them how to do it.

FRANCE AFTER THE THIRD STAGE OF THE Hundred Years' War (1428)

History of France:

The final stage of the Hundred Years War (1428-1453). Break in the war

In 1424, Henry VI's uncles began a war for the regency, and one of them, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, married Jacob, Countess of Gennegau, captured Holland to restore her power over her former possessions, which led to a conflict with the Duke of Burgundy, Philip III.

By 1428 the British continued Hundred Years War besieging Orleans. Their forces were not enough to organize a complete blockade of the city, but the French troops that outnumbered them did not take any action. In 1429, Joan of Arc convinced the Dauphine to give her troops to lift the siege from Orleans. Raising the morale of her soldiers, at the head of the troops, she attacked the English siege fortifications, forcing the enemy to retreat, lifting the siege from the city. Inspired by Jeanne, the French conducted the Loire campaign, during which, within a week, a number of important fortified points on the Loire were liberated.Shortly after this, Joan, opening the road to Reims, where the Dauphin was crowned under the name of Charles VII.

In 1430 Joan was captured by the Burgundians and handed over to the British. But even her execution in 1431 did not affect the further course of the war. In 1435, the Burgundians went over to the side of the King of France, and Philip III, having signed the Treaty of Arras with Charles, helped him seize Paris. The loyalty of the Burgundians was unreliable, but, be that as it may, the Burgundians, having concentrated their forces on conquests in the Netherlands, could no longer continue active hostilities in France. All this allowed Charles to reorganize the army and government. The French commanders, repeating the strategy of Bertrand Du Guesclin during Hundred Years War liberated city after city. In 1449, the French retook Rouen. The Comte de Clermont utterly defeated the English troops. On July 6, the French liberated Caen. An attempt by English troops under the command of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury to retake Gascony, which remained loyal to the English crown, failed: the English troops suffered a crushing defeat at Castiglion in 1453. This battle was the last battle Hundred Years War . In 1453, the capitulation of the English garrison at Bordeaux end of the Hundred Years War .

The last possession of the British in the territory of present-day France - the city of Calais with the district - was preserved by them until 1558.

The most significant battles of the third period of the Hundred Years War:

FRANCE ON THE RESULTS OF THE Hundred Years' War (1453)

Consequences and results of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453)

In 1453 ended Hundred Years War which cost the French people incalculable sacrifices, at the cost of which they saved the independence of their homeland. The state sovereignty of France was fully restored and the claims of the English kings to the French crown and French lands were eliminated. The war-interrupted process of the formation of a centralized state resumed.

Almost as horrifying as the war itself was the social disintegration against which it took place. Since 1315, the deterioration of the climate periodically led to crop failures. The plague followed the famine. Beginning in the south in late 1347, the Black Death spread throughout Europe, leaving empty towns and villages in its wake. Meanwhile, the ever-increasing military spending placed a heavy tax burden on the shoulders of the peasantry. Violent outbursts of popular riots were brutally suppressed. Not surprisingly, this era was more culturally lean than any other period in the last millennium of French history. The days of building the great Gothic cathedrals are over, the courtly world of the troubadours is a thing of the past; only the brilliant court of the Duke of Burgundy could bear comparison with Italy and the flowering of culture that took place there. Perhaps that is why the greatest poet of that terrible era was Francois Villon, a thief and murderer who left a poetic legacy full of frightening pictures of a world engulfed in darkness.

Eventually Hundred Years War England lost all its possessions on the continent, except for Calais, which remained part of England until 1558. The English crown lost vast territories in southwestern France that it had held since the 12th century. The madness of the English king plunged the country into a period of anarchy and civil strife, in which the warring houses of Lancaster and York were the central actors. In connection with the war, England did not have the strength and means to return the lost territories on the continent. On top of that, the treasury was devastated by military spending.

No peace treaty between England and France, fixing the results Hundred Years War , neither in 1453, nor in the years and decades following it, was concluded. However, the War of the Scarlet and White Roses (1455-1485) that broke out soon forced the English kings to abandon campaigns in France for a long time. Landing on the Continent by King Edward IV of England in 1475 culminated in a truce at Piquinny with King Louis XI of France, which is often considered the treaty that ended the Hundred Years' War.

The kings of England retained their claims to the French throne for a long time, and the title "King of France" itself remained in the full title of the kings of England (from 1707 - Great Britain) until the end of the 18th century. Only during the wars with revolutionary France, faced with the demand for the renunciation of this title as a peace condition put forward by the delegates of republican France during a series of peace negotiations, did the British government agree to renounce it - in the “Proclamation regarding royal titles” issued on January 1, 1801 , heraldic signs, standard and allied flag", which determined the title and heraldic signs of the British monarch in connection with the Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland of 1800 adopted before this, the title "King of France" and the heraldic signs corresponding to this title for the first time since Hundred Years War weren't mentioned.

Hundred Years War had a strong influence on the development of military affairs: the role of the infantry increased on the battlefields, requiring less expenditure when creating large armies, and the first standing armies appeared. New types of weapons were invented, favorable conditions appeared for the development of firearms.

FRANCE DURING THE Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)

History of France:

----- Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453) -----

The history of mankind is full of terrible wars. Some lasted just a few days, others - for many years. The longest war that took place in the Middle Ages was called the Hundred Years War. In short, it lasted 116 years.
The Hundred Years War is a long military conflict between France and England that began in 1337 and ended in 1453. More precisely, it was a series of military clashes. The name of this longest feud in history appeared in the early 19th century.
Causes of the war
There were several. On the part of France, it was a desire to oust the British from the primordially French land in Hyena. The British authorities, on the contrary, sought to defend this province, and at the same time regain the recently lost rich lands of Normandy and Anjou. It fueled the conflict and confrontation over Flanders, which formally belonged to France, but maintained close trade ties with England. It must be said that the inhabitants of Flanders did not at all strive to completely come under the authority of the French king and in the future conflict took the side of England.
The Hundred Years' War, in short, began because of the claims made by Edward III to the French throne. In fact, its origins go back to the distant 11th century, when the Duke of Normandy, William, conquered England. He became the king of this country, but at the same time retained his possessions in France. And so it happened that England for a long time owned part of the French lands.

The course of the war
The first stage of the war fell on the period from 1337 to 1360. The French were defeated in all battles, lost the port of Calais and were forced to agree to difficult peace conditions. The main reason for the failures was the backward French army and outdated weapons. Charles V, King of France, understood this and decided to close the gap between his army and the English. He successfully reorganized the army, partially replacing the knights with mercenary infantry, and also put things in order in the tax system. This led to the success of France during the second stage of the Hundred Years' War in 1369-80. English troops were forced out of the previously occupied territories to the sea. Now England agreed to a truce.
The third period of the Hundred Years' War (1415-24) fell on a very difficult period for France and ended in complete defeat. Almost the entire territory was in the hands of the enemy.
And then a third force entered the war - the French people. The guerrilla war began. With the appearance of Jeanne d'Arc in the ranks of the people's militia, the war went successfully for France and ended in 1453 with the surrender of the English army.

The Hundred Years' War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453 between France and England, was the longest military and political event in the history of the two powers. In fact, it was not a war, but several military campaigns, alternating with reconciliations. Disagreements between England and France arose as early as 1066 during the Norman conquests, when the English king, being at the same time a noble nobleman in France, took possession of vast areas of land in this country. The monarchs of France, seeing this as a danger, tried to stop the expansion of English possessions. The continuation of this protracted conflict was the Hundred Years War.

Stages of the Hundred Years War

The Hundred Years War can be divided into 4 main phases. The first lasted 23 years - from the declaration of war by King Edward III of England to the truce declared in 1360 in Brétigny. During this time, France suffered many military defeats. The first days of the war, in the autumn of 1337, were marked by the advance of England in Picardy. Then there was a series of British victories - a naval victory in 1340 at Sley, in 1346 at Crecy, and in 1356 the eldest son of Edward III, the Prince of Wales, nicknamed the "Black Prince" because of the color of his armor, captured King John II. During this stage of the war, the Parisian uprising took place in France, and in 1360 a truce was concluded in Bretigny, according to which the French lost the southern lands from the Loire, and this is a third of the country's lands, and the seaport of Calais.

The second stage lasted 27 years - from 1369 to 1396. In the mid-70s, the French liberated most of their lands. There were uprisings in France caused by people's dissatisfaction with high taxes. The country at that time was very restless, the Hundred Years' War was aggravated by the civil strife of the feudal parties of the country of the Burgundians and Armagnacs, which turned into a civil war. The truce that came in 1396 gave both sides a respite for 18 years.

The third stage was the most fleeting, it lasted from 1415 to 1420 and was marked by new major victories for the British. Henry V, the English king, subjugated many areas and defeated the French army in 1415 at Agincourt. France was without money and without an army, and the strife between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians split the country's territory. The independent sovereign of the eastern and northern lands of France, the Duke of Burgundy, entered into an alliance with the British, and in 1420 a peace was signed between them in Troyes, according to which Henry the fifth became the French regent. In addition, the regent entered into a marriage alliance with Catherine, daughter of King Charles VI, realizing the union of the crowns. The son of Charles VI was deprived of throne rights.

The fourth stage lasted from 1420 to 1453, and became the most decisive and most bloody. In 1422, the king and regent Henry V died, after which the Duke of Burgundy, together with the British, declared England the son of the regent and princess Henry VI. In turn, the disinherited Dauphin Charles, the son of the previous king, proclaimed himself Charles VII, King of France. France split into three parts: the lands conquered by the English under the rule of Henry V, the areas under the political pressure of the Duke of Burgundy and the southern territories recognized by the power of Charles VII. In 1428, the Burgundians, together with the British, laid siege to Orleans, which was a ticket to the lands of southern France. At that moment, the population joined the war, and the popular movement, led by Joan of Arc, began the liberation of France. In 1429, Orleans was liberated, and this became a turning point in the Hundred Years' War. In July of the same year, Charles VII was solemnly crowned. Duke of Burgundy went over to the side of the new king in 1435, and English troops were expelled from the capital, and later from other southwestern cities and fortresses, in 1436. By the summer of 1451, the Hundred Years War was actually over, but in the fall of 1452 the British tried to win back southwest of France, capturing Bordeaux and some fortresses in Guienne, personally led the army to liberate the southwest of the country in the spring of 1453. In the summer of the same year, the French defeated the English troops at Castillon and Châtillon, and in October the enemy garrison in Bordeaux surrendered to the French - 19 October 1453 marked the end of the Hundred Years' War.

The victory of France in the Hundred Years War meant not so much the elimination of the British on the territory of the country and liberation from the conquerors, but the centralization of France, the creation of a strong national state. The memory of the war will remain in the hearts of the French as the largest-scale clash between the two powers, a complex and bloody event that gradually gave rise to fortitude in the French people.