Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a long series of conflicts between England and France, fought mainly from 1337 to 1453. The struggle was rooted in competing claims to the French throne and in disputes over territories held by English kings in France. In 1328, the French king Charles IV died without a surviving son, and Edward III of England, who was related to the French royal family through his mother, claimed the crown.

The French nobility instead supported Philip VI of Valois. Tensions grew into open war in 1337. English armies achieved important victories, including at Crécy in 1346 and Agincourt in 1415, often benefiting from effective use of longbowmen and disciplined infantry. France suffered major losses, but the conflict was interrupted several times by truces, political changes, and the devastating effects of the Black Death.

During the fifteenth century, the balance gradually shifted in favor of France. The French king Charles VII reorganized his forces and strengthened royal authority, while new military methods and the increasing use of artillery improved French capabilities. Joan of Arc became an important symbol of the French cause after helping lift the siege of Orléans in 1429 and supporting Charles VII's coronation at Reims.

She was captured and executed in 1431, but the French offensive continued. By the mid-1450s, England had lost almost all of its territories in France, except Calais. The war formally ended without a single peace treaty covering the entire conflict. It strengthened the French monarchy, weakened England's position in continental Europe, and contributed to the development of more centralized states and changing forms of warfare.