Hundred Years' War, 1337–1360
The first phase of the Hundred Years' War between England and France lasted from 1337 to 1360. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian War because it was initiated by King Edward III of England, who claimed the French throne in defiance of King Philip VI of France. The dynastic conflict was caused by disputes over the French feudal sovereignty over Aquitaine and the English claims over the French royal title. The Kingdom of England and its allies dominated this phase of the war, and Edward's sovereignty over Aquitaine was confirmed in the Treaty of Brétigny (1360), although he renounced his claim to the French throne.
Edward had been granted the duchy of Aquitaine in 1325, and as Duke of Aquitaine he was a vassal to Philip VI of France. Due to political trouble in England during his early reign as a minor, Edward initially accepted Philip as King of France, but the relationship between the two kings soured in the 1330s when Philip allied with Edward's enemy, King David II of Scotland. Edward in turn provided refuge to Robert III of Artois, a French fugitive. When Edward refused to obey Philip's demands for the expulsion of Robert from England, Philip confiscated the Duchy of Aquitaine. This precipitated war and, in 1340, Edward declared himself king of France. Edward III and his son Edward the Black Prince, led their armies on a largely successful campaign across France with notable victories at Auberoche (1345), Crécy (1346), Calais (1347), and La Roche-Derrien (1347). Hostilities were paused until the mid-1350s for the deprivations of the Black Death. Then war continued, and the English were victorious at the Battle of Poitiers (1356) where the French king, John II, was captured and held for ransom. The Truce of Bordeaux was signed in 1357 and was followed by two treaties in London in 1358 and 1359.
After the treaties of London failed, Edward launched the Rheims campaign, which, though largely unsuccessful, led to the Treaty of Brétigny, which settled certain lands in France on Edward for renouncing his claim to the French throne. This was in part caused by Black Monday (1360), the freak storm that devastated the English army and forced Edward III into peace talks. This peace lasted nine years; but then began a second phase of hostilities known as the Caroline War.
Truce of Malestroit (1343–1345)[edit]
The official reason for such a long truce was to allow time for a peace conference and the negotiation of a lasting peace, but both countries also suffered from war exhaustion. In England, the tax burden had been heavy and in addition the wool trade had been heavily manipulated. Edward III spent the next years slowly paying off his immense debt.[33]
In France, Philip VI had financial difficulties of his own. France had no central institution with the authority to grant taxes for the whole country. Instead, the Crown had to negotiate with the various provincial assemblies. In accordance with the ancient feudal customs, most of them refused to pay taxes while there was a truce. Instead, Philip VI had to resort to manipulation of the coinage and he introduced two vastly unpopular taxes, first the 'fouage', or hearth tax, and then the 'gabelle', a tax on salt.[33]
In 1343, the Seneschal of Gascony Oliver Ingham was recalled to England and replaced with Nicholas de la Beche.[34][35] Beche upheld the Truce of Malestroit in the duchy as best he could. No major campaigns were fought, between February 1343 and June 1345 but he failed to restore the civil peace and he went about himself with an escort of forty men at arms, his predecessor only had half that number.[36]
When there was a treaty or truce in place it left many a soldier unemployed, so rather than go back to a life of poverty they would band together in free companies or routiers. The routier companies consisted of men who principally came from Gascony but also from Brittany and other parts of France, Spain, Germany, and England. They would use their military training to live off the countryside robbing, looting, killing or torturing as they went to get supplies. With the Malestroit truce in force, bands of routiers became an increasing problem. They were well-organised and would sometimes act as mercenaries for one or both sides. One tactic would be to seize a town or castle of local strategic importance. From this base, they would plunder the surrounding areas until nothing of value remained, and then move on to places more ripe. Often they would hold towns to ransom who would pay them to go away. The routier problem was not solved until a system of taxation in the 15th century allowed for a regular army that employed the best of the routiers.[37]