Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between the kingdoms of <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_England/1VqdIuFc">England</a> and <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_France/Ul6rT7cQ">France</a> and a civil war in France during the <a href="/facts/Late_Middle_Ages/XNtcJjrU">Late Middle Ages</a>. It emerged from feudal disputes over the <a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Aquitaine/6EdaxWCG">Duchy of Aquitaine</a> and was triggered by <a href="/facts/English_claims_to_the_French_throne/lFoGdR4S">a claim to the French throne</a> made by <a href="/facts/Edward_III_of_England/t0kwe6JY">Edward III of England</a>. The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across <a href="/facts/Western_Europe/YmWlV59w">Western Europe</a>, fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the <a href="/facts/Black_Death/fztxlxgl">Black Death</a>, and several years of truces.
The Hundred Years' War was a significant conflict in the <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">Middle Ages</a>. During the war, five generations of kings from two rival <a href="/facts/Dynasty/6xXfAm3Y">dynasties</a> fought for the throne of France, which was then the wealthiest and most populous kingdom in Western Europe. The war had a lasting effect on European history: both sides produced innovations in military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, that permanently changed European warfare. <a href="/facts/Chivalry/gSTevbm9">Chivalry</a> reached its height during the conflict and subsequently declined. Stronger national identities took root in both kingdoms, which became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers.
The term "Hundred Years' War" was adopted by later historians as a historiographical periodisation to encompass dynastically related conflicts, constructing the longest military conflict in <a href="/facts/History_of_Europe/UwUVuaUH">European history</a>. The war is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces: the <a href="/facts/Hundred_Years%2527_War%2c_1337%25E2%2580%25931360/lc0ToY8U">Edwardian War</a> (1337–1360), the <a href="/facts/Hundred_Years%2527_War%2c_1369%25E2%2580%25931389/wHJSMJGv">Caroline War</a> (1369–1389), and the <a href="/facts/Hundred_Years%2527_War%2c_1415%25E2%2580%25931453/PgytjBUY">Lancastrian War</a> (1415–1453). Each side drew many allies into the conflict, with English forces initially prevailing; however, the French forces under the <a href="/facts/House_of_Valois/yNsvJ3D9">House of Valois</a> ultimately retained control over the Kingdom of France. The French and English monarchies thereafter remained separate, despite the <a href="/facts/List_of_English_monarchs/qpow970E">monarchs of England</a> styling themselves as <a href="/facts/English_claims_to_the_French_throne/lFoGdR4S">sovereigns of France</a> until 1802.

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Hundred Years' War