Hundred Years' War
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 emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne 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 periodisation 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.
For the earlier Anglo-French conflict referred to by some French historians as the "First Hundred Years' War", see Capet–Plantagenet feud. For the later Anglo-French conflict, see Second Hundred Years' War. For the war between the Kingdom of Croatia and the Ottoman Empire, see Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War.
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.[2][3] 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.