The Hundred Years’ War
England & France · 1337–1453
One hundred and sixteen years of war between two kingdoms — from the succession crisis of 1328 to the fall of English France at Castillon. Explore the causes, the great battles, the kings and saints who fought it, and the world it left behind.
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The Five Great Guides
In-depth guides covering the entire conflict — read these first for the full picture.
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The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453): A Complete Historical Overview
The Hundred Years' War was the defining Anglo-French conflict of the late Middle Ages.
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Causes of the Hundred Years' War: From the Norman Conquest to 1337
The Hundred Years' War had no single cause. The conflict of 1337–1453 grew out of a century and a half of structural tension between the English and…
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Major Battles of the Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War produced a small number of engagements that have become canonical: Sluys, Crécy, Poitiers, Agincourt, and Castillon, with the siege…
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Key Figures of the Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a war of dynasties, command decisions, and individual personalities.
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The Legacy of the Hundred Years' War
The war ended in 1453 with the French victory at Castillon, but its consequences are still being measured.
Go Deeper
Explore the War by Topic
Detailed articles on the battles, people, phases, and politics of the conflict.
Battles & Sieges
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The Battle of Agincourt (1415): Henry V's Greatest Victory
The Battle of Agincourt, fought on 25 October 1415 in the narrow plain of Picardy, is the most studied single day of the Hundred Years' War and the…
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The Battle of Castillon (1453): The End of the Hundred Years' War
The Battle of Castillon, fought on 17 July 1453 on the banks of the Dordogne below the town of Castillon-sur-Dordogne, was the last battle of the Hundred…
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The Battle of Crécy (1346): The Triumph of the English Longbow
The Battle of Crécy, fought on 26 August 1346 near the village of Crécy-en-Ponthieu in Picardy, was the first great land battle of the Hundred Years' War…
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The Battle of Poitiers (1356): The Capture of a King
The Battle of Poitiers, fought on 19 September 1356 near the village of Maupertuis, a few miles southeast of the city of Poitiers, was the second great…
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The Siege of Orléans (1428–1429): The Turning Point of the Hundred Years' War
The Siege of Orléans, lifted on 8 May 1429, was the turning point of the Hundred Years' War.
Key Figures
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Bertrand du Guesclin: The Eagle of Brittany
Bertrand du Guesclin (c. 1320–1380) was Constable of France from 1370 until his death in July 1380 and the principal architect of the French reconquest of…
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Charles VII of France: The Well-Served King
Charles VII (1403–1461) was King of France from 1422 to 1461 and the ruler who completed the reconquest of France.
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Edward III of England: The King Who Started the Hundred Years' War
Edward III (1312–1377) was King of England from 1327 to 1377 and the ruler who reopened the Anglo-French conflict in 1337.
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Henry V of England: The Warrior King
Henry V (1386–1422) was King of England from 1413 to 1422 and the English king who reopened the Hundred Years' War with a campaign that briefly seemed to…
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Joan of Arc: The Maid of Orléans
Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), also known as the Maid of Orléans, was a peasant girl from the village of Domrémy, in the duchy of Bar, who claimed to have…
Phases & Timeline
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The Caroline Phase of the Hundred Years' War (1369–1389)
The Caroline phase of the Hundred Years' War, named for the French king Charles V, was the second of the three great phases of the conflict.
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The Edwardian Phase of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1360)
The Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years' War, named for the English king Edward III, was the first of the three great phases of the conflict.
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The Lancastrian Phase of the Hundred Years' War (1415–1453)
The Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War, named for the English royal House of Lancaster, was the third and final phase of the conflict.
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Timeline of the Hundred Years' War: A Chronological History (1337–1453)
The Hundred Years' War was not a single conflict but a series of wars, truces, and resurgences that stretched across 116 years.
Causes & Politics
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Economic Causes of the Hundred Years' War: Trade, Wool, and Wine
The Hundred Years' War was as much an economic conflict as a dynastic or territorial one.
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English Territorial Claims in France: The Angevin Legacy
The English territorial claims in France were one of the central causes of the Hundred Years' War.
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The Duchy of Aquitaine: England's Last Continental Possession
The Duchy of Aquitaine was the principal English possession in France at the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War, and the disputes over its status and…
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The Succession Crisis of 1328: The Trigger for the Hundred Years' War
The Succession Crisis of 1328 was the immediate trigger for the Hundred Years' War.
Warfare & Legacy
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Military Innovations of the Hundred Years' War: The Longbow, the Chevauchée, and the Rise of Gunpowder
The Hundred Years' War witnessed a profound transformation in European military technology, organisation, and tactics.
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National Identity and the Hundred Years' War: France, England, and the Birth of Two Nations
The Hundred Years' War was one of the formative events in the history of European national identity.
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Origins of the Wars of the Roses: How the Hundred Years' War Led to Civil Strife
The Wars of the Roses were the civil wars fought in England between 1455 and 1485 between the houses of Lancaster and York for the English crown.
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The Decline of Feudalism and the Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was the most important single accelerator of the long decline of feudalism as a system of social and military organisation in…
Quick Answers
Questions & Answers
Direct answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Hundred Years’ War.
- How Accurate Is Shakespeare's Henry V?
- How Did Gunpowder Change Medieval Warfare?
- How Did Henry V Die?
- How Did the War Affect Trade?
- How Did the War Create French National Identity?
- How Long Was the Hundred Years' War?
- How Many Died at Agincourt?
- How Old Was Joan of Arc When She Died?
- How Was Joan of Arc Captured?
- The Hundred Years' War and the English Parliament
- Was Joan of Arc Burned at the Stake?
- What Happened to the English Lands in France?
- What Is the Difference Between the Edwardian and Lancastrian Phases?
- What Is the Salic Law?
- What Role Did Artillery Play in the Hundred Years' War?
- What Was a Chevauchée?
- What Was a Medieval Ravaging?
- What Was Plate Armor?
- What Was the Anglo-Scottish War?
- What Was the Auld Alliance?
- What Was the Battle of Najera?
- What Was the Battle of Sluys?
- What Was the Battle of Verneuil?
- What Was the Compagnie d'Orléans?
- What Was the Dauphin in the Hundred Years' War?
- What Was the Impact of the Hundred Years' War on English Identity?
- What Was the Loire Campaign?
- What Was the Longbow and Why Was It Important?
- What Was the Most Important Battle of the Hundred Years' War?
- What Was the Ransom System?
- What Was the Role of the Duke of Burgundy in the Hundred Years' War?
- What Was the Treaty of Brétigny?
- What Was the Treaty of Troyes?
- When Did the Hundred Years' War End?
- When Did the Hundred Years' War Start?
- Who Was Agnès Sorel?
- Who Was Charles V of France?
- Who Was Charles VI of France?
- Who Was Henry VI of England?
- Who Was Isabella of France?
- Who Was John of Gaunt?
- Who Was John Talbot?
- Who Was Philip VI of France?
- Who Was the Black Prince?
- Who Was the Constable of France?
- Why Was Agincourt a Disaster for France?