1. 100 Years War
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2. Background
William won the Battle of Hastings = King of England, but still maintained some land in France (Gascony – salt and wine)
The French resented this and many battles were fought for control of these areas
1337 Philip reclaims Gascony = 100 Years war begins

3. 100 Years War
Struggle between the monarchs and nobles of France and England
War began over a disagreement about who should be King of France
The French supported Philip (cousin of dead king Charles) and later Philip’s son (dauphin) Charles
England supported the current English King Edward III (married to dead Charles mother, Isabella) and later Edward’s son Henry
Edward III was the nephew of the deceased French king and believed he had a stronger claim
Edward III invaded France

4. Phillip vs Edward III’s Claims
Deceased king of
France with no heir
Edward III and Philip VI both
claim to be rightful heir to throne

5. What happened?
During the war the English controlled vast areas of France, but by the end they only held the port city of Calais
Though the English had many early victories, The French won
Ideas of Nationalism were born in both England and France

7. Why 100 Years? Lasted from 1338-1453 (115 years)
Why did it last so long?
Frequent truces
Often did not fight in the winter
when roads were too muddy or blocked by snow
Troops travelled by foot
Even during an active military campaign, the armies spent less time fighting, and more time manoeuvring for position, burning homes, and raiding farmers’ food stores

8. Technology and Tactics
English had one powerful weapon that the French did not have: archers skilled in the use of the longbow.
English Archers were ordinary villagers who used a longbow.
They shot metre-long arrows from bows almost two metres in height.
The longbow was so powerful that it could send an arrow through the armoured leg of a mounted knight, the body of his horse, and the knight’s leg on the other side.

9. English Longbow Archers

10. French vs English Archers
Although the French knights could fight as well as the English, they were defeated many times during the Hundred Years’ War.
In 3 important battles, French knights refused to fight the ‘low birth’ archers and tried to ride past them to their equals the English knights.
If they did attack the archers, the arrows were so deadly that the battles were often disastrous for the French.

11. Tactics French Advantages: Greater population than England
At some point, the French army numbered 50, 000 while the English had just a little more than half of this
English Advantages:
Successful strategies: avoided big battles and banked on small, profitable raids.
Steal what you can
Destroy everything else
Capture enemy knights to hold for ransom

12. Taking the Castle
No invading army could control an area without controlling the castle there.
Two basic ways to attack a castle:
(a) Get inside and overpower the occupants. This required smashing their way in (using a trebuchet or cannon) or climbing walls.
(b) Surround the castle and starve the occupants into submission. This could take months.

13. Trebuchet A kind of catapult developed in the late Middle Ages
Most powerful of siege weapons
Wooden trebuchets were light and easy to build
It could hurl a boulder weighing hundreds of kilograms against a castle wall

14. Cannons By the 1300’s, cannons were being used in battle
Cannons at first were very heavy and expensive which made them impractical
Improvements in metalworking made for lighter, cheaper cannons and cannonballs
Cannons were used in both sieges (overtaking of a city/castle/etc) and pitched battled (chosen location)

15. Battle of Agincourt
One of the most important battles of the Hundred Years’ War.
Major English victory
French had outnumbered the English
However, the use of the English longbow won the battle

16. Battle of Agincourt
Where: Northern France near the village of Agincourt
The battlefield lay on 1,000 yards of open ground between two woods, which prevented large-scale maneuvers.
When: October 25, 1415
Who: King Henry V of England and his army against the French army
What: Henry V marched his army to Calais to meet his fleet and return to England.
At Agincourt, however, a vast French army of 20,000 men stood in his path, greatly outnumbering the exhausted English archers, knights, and men-at-arms.
French knights, weighed down by their heavy armor, began a slow advance across the muddy battlefield.
The French were met by a furious bombardment of artillery from the English archers, who wielded innovative longbows with a range of 250 yards.

17. Battle of Agincourt
French cavalrymen tried and failed to overwhelm the English positions, but the archers were protected by a line of pointed stakes.
As more and more French knights made their way onto the crowded battlefield, their mobility decreased further, and some lacked even the room to raise their arms and strike a blow.
At this point, Henry ordered his lightly equipped archers to rush forward with swords and axes, and the unencumbered Englishmen massacred the French.

18. Battle of Agincourt
Result: Almost 6,000 Frenchmen lost their lives during the Battle of Agincourt, while English deaths amounted to just over 400.
After further conquests in France, Henry V was recognized in 1420 as heir to the French throne and the regent of France.
He was at the height of his powers but died just two years later of camp fever near Paris.

19. Battle of Agincourt Significance:
English army of mainly archers defeated French knights
Demonstrated the power of new technology (longbow) and its ability to change the outcome of a battle
Ordinary people and not nobles (knights) became important in battles

20. French Victory
By the end of the war, the French began to use more effective artillery
Lighter cannons were mounted on mobile carriages
This made the cannons useful on the battlefield and during sieges
The manufacturing of gunpowder and iron cannonballs also gave the French an advantage
Cannons gave the French an advantage over the English longbow
French were victorious and the war was over in 1453

21. How did the 100 Years war lead to the decline in Feudalism???
Common archers made knights obsolete

22. Decline in Feudalism
The conflict of The Hundred Years’ War changed the way wars were fought.
Power shifted from the feudal lords to monarchs and the common people.
During the war, monarchs on both sides had collected taxes and raised large professional armies.
As a result, kings no longer relied on nobles to supply knights for the army.
Changes in military technology made the nobles’ knights and castles less useful.
The longbow proved to be an effective weapon against mounted knights.
Castles became less important as armies learned to use gunpowder to shoot iron balls from cannons and blast holes in castle walls.

23. Decline in Feudalism Nationalism also shifted power away from lords.
Previously, English and French peasants felt more loyalty to their local lords than to their king.
The war created a new sense of national unity and patriotism on both sides.
Peasants were forced to fight in the army and pay higher and more frequent taxes.
If they survived the war they were needed as paid soldiers and workers to rebuild the economy.
The common people emerged from the conflict with greater influence and power.

24. Joan of Arc 1429, a 17 year old peasant woman
arrived at French court claiming
angelic voices had told her to drive
the English out of France
The dauphin (eldest son of
French king) gave her armour
and troops
She was a very inspirational leader
Most famous victory was the capture of Orleans

25. Joan of Arc
Helped the people of France rally together behind their king
Began to think of themselves as a nation (vs. individual fiefdoms)
Played a role in the decline of Feudalism
Inspired nationalism within France
After her death the French really rallied together to win the war

26. Joan of Arc
After other military triumphs, she was at the dauphin’s side when he was crowned King Charles VII of France.
She was captured by enemies of King Charles and sold to the English.
She was put on trial in an religious court for heresy (claiming opinions against the church beliefs) and witchcraft.

27. Joan of Arc
Captured by the English and King Charles (France) refused to
pay her ransom
In 1431, she was
burned at the stake
at the age of 19

28. How did Joan of Arc Play a role in the decline of Feudalism?
Young peasant woman
Made important decisions
and lead an army
Inspired others to be
loyal to the king rather than
the lord
Commoners became
nationalists and patriots

29. Joan of Arc Canonized
Although burned at the stake as a witch and accused of heresy, Joan of Arc was officially canonized (Roman Catholic Church declares a dead person to be a saint) in 1920.
She was considered one of history’s greatest saints
Symbol of French unity and nationalism
Joan of Arc is now the patron saint of France