Leaving The Middle Ages The Hundred Years’ War

Background the Hundred Years’ War: The Plague Between 1347 and 1351, 38 million out of a population of 75 million died of the plague. Reactions to the plague anti-Semitism the shortage of workers led to a rise in the cost of labor - many peasants became free from serfdom.

Background the Hundred Years’ War: The Decline of Church Power To get more revenue, French king Phillip IV began to tax the clergy. Pope Boniface VIII said the clergy did not have to pay taxes without the consent of the pope. King Phillip sent the French army to bring Pope Boniface to France for trial. Pope Boniface died and a Frenchman, Clement V became pope. The papacy moved to Avignon, France from 1305 to 1337. This caused a split in the church (The Great Schism) until 1417. Popes no longer could tell kings what to do.

Background the Hundred Years’ War: Political Instability English kings were technically the vassals of French kings. William the conqueror of England came from Normandy, a territory of France. Eleanor of Aquitaine was been married to King Louis VII of France at 15. When he divorced her, she married Henry Plantagenet, the Duke of Normandy. He later became king of England, Henry II, and two of her sons were kings of England, Richard (the Lionhearted) and John.

Background the Hundred Years’ War: Annexation of Gascony At one time, English kings owned more land in France than the French kings. But, by 1337, the only English owned land was the Duchy of Gascony and as Duke of Gascony, the English king Edward III pledges loyalty to King Phillip IV of France. In 1337, Phillip seized Gascony. Edward declared war on Phillip. This war lasted until 1453 and is known as the Hundred Years’ War.

Fighting in the Hundred Years’ War The French relied on their knights to lead the army. These heavily armored cavalry looked down on the peasant foot soldiers. The English also had knights, but paid large numbers of foot soldiers, especially archers who were armed with the longbow. The long bow had greater striking power, firing range, and faster speed of fire then the French crossbow.

Early Battles - Crecy By 1347, English king Edward had died and Henry V became king. Henry was determined to take over France. Crecy (1347) - The French army was much larger than the English. The French attacked, but English archers decimated the French knights. The English won the battle, but were not strong enough to defeat France.

Battle of Crecy Some highlights of the battle of Crécy - referenced from the works of Jean Froissant, The Longbow by Robert Hardy and The Medieval Archer by Jim Bradbury: French forces numbered approximately 36,000, English forces numbered 12,000 of which approximately 7,000 were archers. Each English archer carried 2 sheaves of arrows (48) into battle. The bow draw weights were normally from 80 to 120 lbs, shooting arrows, 250 to 300 yards at a rate of 10 arrows per minute. The total number of arrows shot during the battle is estimated at a half million. There were 14 to 16 charges made against the English lines from the start of the battle at 4:00 PM until the completion at midnight. Casualties were estimated from 5,000 (low) to 10,000 or more (high) for the French Knights and Genoese crossbowmen. English casualties were several hundred.

Early Battles - Agincourt October 25, 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day). In the play Henry V by William Shakespeare, Henry says, "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers." The French outnumbered the English by around 3 to 1. Heavily armored French Knights try to attack through the mud as Henry’s archers slaughter the knights. It was a one-sided English victory.

France after Agincourt The English controlled the northern and western coasts of France. The Burgundians, English allies controlled much of northeastern france. France was divided over who should be king.

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc, 1412-1431) was the daughter of peasants. She was deeply religious and had visions of saints that commanded her to free France. She made her way to dauphin (prince) Charles’ court and persuaded him to let her accompany the army to Orleans to fight the English.

Joan of Arc (continued) When Joan joined the army at Orleans, she became the standard bearer and sat in on councils with the officer. Inspired by Joan’s faith, the French were able to take Orleans from the English. Joan was captured by the Burgundians the next year (1430) and turned over to the British.

Joan of Arc (continued) The English turned Joan over to church officials to be tried by the Inquisition on heresy and witchcraft charges. Joan was found guilty and burned at the stake in 1431. Joan was considered a martyr by the France. Her death united the French more than any king ever had. Video

The End of the War 1435 - Burgundy switches sides from the English to the French. Gunpowder, firearms and cannons developed during the war. 1453 - at the last battle of the war, Castillon, the French use of the cannon was a decisive factor.

Effects of the War - France Many of the vestiges of feudalism were destroyed by the war. The ideal of nationalism grew above loyalty to lords and manors. Kings were using taxes to raise armies and no longer relied on nobles to supply them with knights. The king’s power grew to the point of an absolute monarchy with the belief in Divine Right.

Effects of the War - England After the defeat, England broke out into a civil war, The War of the Roses, over who should be the king of England. Henry Tutor won in 1485 becoming Henry VII and establishing the Tutor dynasty. Henry abolished the private armies of the nobility and cut taxes on the nobility and middle class.

Effects of the War - Spain Muslims, called Moors, from North Africa had conquered much of Spain by 725. Several Christian kingdoms arose and fought to regain their lands from the Moors. The two strongest kingdoms were Castille and Aragon. Fearing the strength of a united France, they combined with the marriage of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469. This united kingdom of Spain was able to drive out the Moors in 1492. The same year they financed a Genoese sailor named Christopher Columbus.

Conclusion The Hundred Years’ War marks the end of the Middle Ages in Europe. At the end of the war, a new interest in ancient cultures called the Renaissance develops ushering in the Modern Era.