Week 15 Essay

          This week I learned about the Hundred Years’ War. It was between France and England over who should rule what. It lasted from 1337-1453 AD, for almost 100 years, and it was split up into 3 parts: the Edwardian Era, from 1337-1360 AD; the Caroline War, from 1369-1389 AD; and the Lancastrian Era, from 1415-1453 AD. There were also many important people and events who/that took place during this time.

          France and England had never seen eye-to-eye with who ruled France and who ruled England. However, when William the Conqueror took over and ruled Normandy, the strings began to break. Finally, in 1337, the Hundred Years’ War started.

          It started because King Edward of England owned Gascony, which was geographically located in France. He claimed that King Charles of France was not respectful to him, so he should be able to rule the duchy with no charge. Charles did not like this, and he ordered an agreement to be made. In 1337 AD, the Great Council of Paris concluded that the duchy of Gascony should be returned to France, as rightful French territory. Of course, Edward did not like this either, and a war was started.

           In the beginning, the English had a long string of victories. They also had many new military developments. One of them was the soldiers riding in on horseback, dismounting, forming lines, and fighting. This was a much more organized technique of fighting, and it was not as much anarchy. The English also had hobelars during this time. A hobelar was a lighter group of soldiers that rode smaller horses, without any armor. This means that the hobelars could go through water, mud, et cetera (which played a major part in this war).

           Around the beginning of the war were the Battles of Sluys, Crecy, Poitiers. The Battle of Sluys was a very important battle because it was a major victory for the English. They pretended to retreat and sail off, but they came back and crushed the French. This battle gave the English a great advantage throughout most of the Hundred Years’ War. The Battle of Crecy was started by Edward III of England, when he marched across the channel and took Caen in one day. During this battle, the English also captured the French city of Calais and destroyed France and Scotland, who was fighting alongside France. The Battle of Poitiers was won by the English, and their army was led by Edward III of England’s son, whose name was also Edward. However, he is also known as the Black Prince.

          After these battles, there was a peasant uprising in France, called the Jacquerie. It was caused by the French king, King Charles’s marshals being murdered. Because of this, a peace was made. It was called the Treaty of Bretigny, and it made it so both sides would have to give up some to get what they wanted. This treaty worked for the most part, and the next part of the war did not start for several years after the war. During the peace, King John reigned over France, and he was succeeded by Charles V. Also, around this time, from 1346-1353 was the Black Death, which did not help the people in the war.

          This peace treaty during the Hundred Years’ War was ended because of a disagreement over taxes in France between France and England in 1369. During this time, Richard II of England was ruling. After the fighting, there was another peace, which lasted from 1389-1415 AD. Then the war was resumed by Henry V of England.

          One of the battles after this peace was the Battle of Agincourt. The battle took place in a small, muddy field, surrounded by woods. As the French slowly tried to maneuver through the mud in their heavy armor, the English set up steaks in front of them (in case some Frenchmen made it far enough to attack the Enshish) and used their longbows to kill the French as they efficiently moved closer. Eventually, the English hobelars came in and killed some of the Frenchmen. The French were massacred and the English won, even though the French called this battle. 6,000 French soldiers were killed, in comparison to only 400 Englishmen.

          After this battle, the Treaty of Troyes was made between King Henry V of England and King Charles VI of France. It stated that King Henry of England would marry Charles’s daughter Catherine, and their son could rule France. This would have worked out nicely for England, but Henry died when his son was an infant. They concluded that he was not eligible for the French throne, and a different turn of events happened.

          Joan of Arc was a Christian, French, peasant girl born in 1412. When she was only 12 years old, she claimed to have seen and heard Saint Michel, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret. They talked to her and eventually told her to help Charles (who was in line for the French throne) retake France. When she first requested to see Charles, the other people in charge refused. After three tries, she finally got to see the king, but he also requested to have her beliefs tested. He liked them and she took control of his army.

          She had her own suit of armor fitted and made and she made some military reforms. She required all the soldiers to stop swearing, go to church, confess their sins, and treat civilians well, which before, none of this was required. There were also soldiers that left the French army, knowing that there was no hope, who came back.

          Joan encouraged Charles to boldly march into Reims (where coronations were held) and claim the throne. They were successful, and Charles was crowned. Joan stood nearby weeping, saying that the will of God had been done at last.

          Joan and the French army went on more expeditions, and successfully regained parts of France. However, Joan was eventually captured by the Burgundian army and held there for 4 months, and then transferred to England. Charles and the French army tried to fight and free her, but they were unsuccessful. In England, she was tried for heresy because she declared that God was with the French and that He wanted France to win the War. Joan was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, at the age of 19.

          Today Joan is remembered as a hero, and she is one of the reasons why the United States of America is not owned by the British and the French fought against England during the Revolutionary War. There is even a feast on May 30 dedicated to her! She is also one of the only reasons France won the Hundred Years’ War.

          The Hundred Years’ War is a greatly remembered war, for the people that fought in it, the events that took place during it, and the many outcomes of this war. Both sides had major victories, especially the English, but France eventually won the war. I am very excited to learn about the Black Death next week, and how it affected this war.