France, England and the devil fighting alongside the saint (part 2)

In the first part of this article, I brought up the topic of "the invasion of Normandy" and its repercussions on Germany. Furthermore, I also discussed the consequences of the before mentioned battle on the diplomatic relations between France and England. A flourished relation that culminated in linking both countries together through the English Channel. You can read the first part here. https://read.cash/@hamedbkh/france-england-and-the-devil-fighting-alongside-the-saint-part-1-2d33ab50

A thorough look into the past, however, would reveal that before the 1900's, the relations between England and France were far from amicable as the two were actually foes for hundreds of years. The last millennium, for instance, is inundated with feuds that rightly serves as testaments to this claim: the Saintonge war (1242-1243); the Guyenne war (1294-1303); a series of four wars which was part of the Italian wars (1494-1559); the seven years war (1756-1763) and on a more recent note, the Anglo-French war from the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815),

Mind you, the list of feuds goes on and on, and the examples I have mentioned above are to name but a few.

Nevertheless, and amid this plethora of wars, there is one in particular that stands out, for it was one of the longest and most notable throughout the late middle ages. A war that the main belligerents of which were five generations of sovereigns from two rival, yet blood related dynasties. Of course, I'm referring to the Hundred Year's war (1337-1453).

The root causes of this war between the then kingdoms can be traced to the second half of the 11th century when William The Conqueror (also known as William The Bastard), the Duke of Normandy, invaded England and took over the throne after defeating the English King Harold II. This became known later as 1066's Norman conquest of England.

William The conqueror, a Frenchman by origin, ruled England as William I, and hence became the ancestor of an English Royal family of French descent, the monarchs of which still had titles and lands within their homeland France. A matter that the French monarchies deemed unacceptable and threatening to the kingdom's unity. As a result, they opted to strip away these lands from the English whenever the opportunity arose. This, in itself, was a source of great tension between both dynasties.

In 1328, Charles IV of France died and had no brothers or sons to succeed him. In addition to that, his two daughters and sister, Isabella, were all excluded from succession on account of the Salian law which disallowed female inheritance of the throne. Consequently, and by the rule of proximity of blood, the closest male relative of the late King is to be declared the next monarch. That, in this case, was ought to be Isabella's son and Charles' nephew, Edward III of England.

When Edward's mother staked her claim to the throne for her son, the French dismissed her claim. Once again, Their refusal was based on the Salian law, stating that "women can by no means transmit a right they do not originally possess."

The before mentioned law, however, was not the French's only motive to deny Edward the crown.

In a matter of fact, Edward, the eldest surviving son of Edward II, was slated to succeed his father to the English throne. A profile that, to say the least, was not appreciated by the neighboring kingdom who feared for its sovereignty. Hence, the French opted to proclaim Philip VI, a native Frenchman and a paternal cousin of Charles IV, king of France.

Initially, Edward protested the decision but soon relinquished his and his mother's demands and even recognized Philip as France's sovereign. The latter was crowned and reigned with little to no opposition until 1337, when he endeavoured to strip Edward of Gascony, the last English possessed land in France. This assault was the spark that set the war ablaze, prompting Edward to renew and press his previous claim to the throne. But this time, by force and strong-arm tactics, proclaiming war between the two kingdoms.

Over the years, each side petitioned its allies for their support, drawing them into a feud that first emerged as a strife over the French throne, but hastily broadened into a struggle of power throughout Western Europe. For instance, the kingdoms of Scotland, Bohemia and Portugal, among many others, were all involved in one phase or another of the conflict.

The hundred years war, which in reality lasted for 116 years, was punctuated with several truces, dividing it into three major phases:

The Edwardian war (1337-1360); The Caroline war (1369-1389) and the Lancastrian war (1415-1453). I will not dwell much on the first two for the sake of not rendering this article longer than it should. However, suffice it to say that the English had the upper hand to their rivals during the Edwardian Phase. This is manifested in taking the French King, John II, captive. This phase is also notably marked by a pandemic that spread through Europe, including England: the black death (1347-1351).

As for the Caroline war, the Frenchmen relatively regained control over the situation, liberating most of the lands Edward had seized. These victories, however, would eventually ground to a halt on the wake of several crisis that overburdened the already troubled kingdom.

By 1415, following the loss of half of its population to the plague, France was flailing amid acute social and economic upheavals exacerbated by a civil war that broke out a few years earlier. The English -on whom the impact of the pandemic was, in a way, smaller- seized upon the opportunity to subdue the vulnerable foes. Pummeled by the black death and the defeats they conceded, fear and despair were rampant amid a French kingdom that became a mere shadow of what it was a century ago.