Battles & Wars › Medieval wars
Hundred Years' War
1337–1453· War· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A long series of wars, broken by long truces, between England and France over English lands in France and the French crown.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
In 1337 Edward III of England, whose mother was a French princess, claimed the French throne and fought to keep his duchy of Gascony. England won great battles at Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356) and Agincourt (1415), and in 1420 Henry V was named heir to France. France recovered under Charles V, then under Charles VII with Joan of Arc's help and new artillery. By 1453 England kept only Calais. Plague and civil wars ran alongside.
Why it matters
It hardened English and French national identities, ended England's empire in France, ended knights' battlefield dominance, and pushed France toward a permanent paid army.
How we know
Jean Froissart's chronicles, royal treasury and muster records, treaty texts, Joan of Arc's trial records, and battlefield and castle archaeology. The name itself was coined by 19th-century historians.
Still debated
Whether it was one war or several, and how much the Black Death shaped its course, are matters of debate.
Inside this (4)
Connections (4)
▸Battle of Crécy was an early English victory in Hundred Years' WarWell documented
The connection
Crécy, nine years into the war, showed England could beat the larger French royal army in open battle. Edward III marched on to besiege Calais, which fell in 1347 and stayed English until 1558. Repeated at Poitiers in 1356, where the French king was captured, such victories forced the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny, giving Edward large parts of western France.
When and how
Northern France, August 1346, then Calais, 1346–47; Edward III and his son Edward the Black Prince against Philip VI of France.
How we know
Royal records document the siege of Calais and English rule there, and the treaty texts of 1360 survive.
Debates and open questions
Whether Edward sought battle at Crécy or was cornered, and how much it rather than Poitiers shaped the peace, are debated.
▸Battle of Agincourt was Henry V's great victory in Hundred Years' WarWell documented
The connection
Agincourt killed or captured much of France's military nobility, already split by civil war between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions. Henry V then conquered Normandy (1417–19). Once Burgundy sided with England, the 1420 Treaty of Troyes made Henry heir to the French throne. His death in 1422 left the double claim to his infant son, Henry VI.
When and how
Agincourt, 1415; Normandy, 1417–19; Troyes, May 1420; Henry V, the insane Charles VI of France, and Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.
How we know
The Treaty of Troyes survives, and English and French chronicles tie the conquest of Normandy to the losses at Agincourt.
Debates and open questions
Whether Agincourt or the Burgundian alliance did more to bring about Troyes is debated; many historians stress France's civil war.
▸Joan of Arc turned the tide of Hundred Years' WarMostly agreed
The connection
Joan's arrival helped lift the siege of Orléans in May 1429, and the French then routed the English at Patay. She pressed Charles to be crowned at Reims that July, giving him legitimacy the English-backed Henry VI lacked. French gains followed, Burgundy switched to Charles in 1435, and by 1453 England had lost all but Calais.
When and how
Orléans, Patay and Reims, May–July 1429; Joan with Charles VII and commanders such as Jean de Dunois and the Duke of Alençon.
How sure are we?
Contemporary letters, chronicles and testimony at both of her trials, in 1431 and 1456, record her role at Orléans and Reims.
Debates and open questions
Historians debate whether she was a real commander or mainly a morale booster, and how much France's recovery owed to her versus Burgundian politics and artillery.
▸Gunpowder and cannon helped France win the last battles of Hundred Years' WarWell documented
The connection
In the 1440s Charles VII built a professional artillery train under the brothers Jean and Gaspard Bureau. Its guns knocked down English-held castles in weeks, not months, speeding the reconquest of Normandy (1449–50). At Formigny (1450) French guns drew English archers out of position, and at Castillon (1453) John Talbot attacked a fortified French gun park and was killed.
When and how
Normandy and Gascony, 1449–1453; master gunners Jean and Gaspard Bureau serving Charles VII; Formigny, April 1450; Castillon, July 17, 1453.
How we know
French royal accounts record the artillery's growth and cost, and chroniclers credit the guns with the fast fall of Norman towns and the result at Castillon.
Debates and open questions
At Formigny a late French cavalry charge decided the day; how much credit belongs to guns versus English weakness and politics is debated.