100+Year+War

The Hundred Years' War

The Middle Ages was a time of war, terror, and political changes. One of the wars that occurred was the Hundred Years’ War. It started in 1328, after the death of the king of France. This caused a battle over the throne of France because it was claimed by two men, Philippe VI from France, and Edwart III from England. This conflict started in the 13th century, the King of France had two sons, Philippe IV and Valois, the younger son. Philippe IV became king, from 1285-1314. He had three sons, all of them died, and one daughter, Isabelle. Isabelle married Edward II, king of England. After Philippe IV died, there was a conflict between Edward II’s son, Edward III, who was king of England at the time, and Philippe VI, son of Valois, who was the grandson of the King of France from the 13th century because they both wanted to be the king of France.

The French Nobles chose Philippe VI to be King, which angered the Edward III, so England invaded France, starting the Hundred Years’ War. In the beginning, Edward’s armies fought well, winning most battles, but after almost 100 years, of fighting, the English were driven out of France.

media type="youtube" key="wQydMhY9OpI" height="315" width="420" align="left"This was possible because a teenage peasant girl, Joan of Arc, rallied the French troops, and led them to victory. Joan of Arc helped lead the troops to victory because the troops believed that God sent Joan of Arc and so the French armies believed they had God on their side. England eventually captured this teenage girl. Joan was trialed heresy in 1431, because she wore armor, dressing as a man, and killed.

During the Hundred Years’ War a plague called the Black Death spread over Europe. The Black Death was a deadly plague, which traveled through Europe by trade. Rats that carried fleas containing the disease were on the boats that came to European Ports. People were so scared of this plague they fled and carried this sickness with them to other towns spreading this disease even more. The Black Death killed about one third of Europe’s population. This sickness affected the war because many soldiers died, limiting the armies.

One of the effects of the war was it changed the governments of England and France. The king of France’s power grew, because he had become popular with his nobles, but in England, the king was losing power and Parliament grew in power. The English king lost power because he needed Parliament’s approval to raise money for the costly war. Parliament also gained more influence at this time. Another effect of this war was a decline in the practice of [|feudalistic practices]. [|Click here] to learn more about the effects

As you can see, the Hundred Years’ War definitely changed both France and Europe, changing people and the government.

This was written by Gordon, Dean, and Mallori June 6, 2009 Cartoon Added on June 7, 2010: by Olivia.