Hundred Years War: The Battle Of Crecy And Poitiers

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Thesis: Summary: The Hundred Years War began in 1337 and lasted until 1453. The fighting, however, was not continual. Instead it was a cycle of battles, peace treaties, and breaches of these peace treaties. At the start of the war in 1337, though serfdom was still in practice, England had already been largely successful in establishing a capable, central monarchy. The monarch, however, was kept in check by the English parliament that had been born during the thirteenth century. It was also limited by its territories in France because the size of the kingdom made it difficult to maintain. France, on the contrary, was somewhat in disarray. States within the country proved divisive because people depended more upon their local ruler than the…show more content…
His son who succeeded him, Charles VI (also called Charles VI the mad), was mentally ill. Tensions within the country between different houses allowed England's King Henry V to begin regaining lost ground. The defeat of the French at Agincourt in 1415 solidified his position. The French loss at Agincourt was due to similar tactics that brought about their destruction by the English in the battles of Crecy and Poitiers. The improvements that the French army had made during the reign of Charles V and thus, the subsequent similarities that had arisen between the two countries' armies, disappeared. Though the English were far outnumbered, they wrought a startling defeat over the French. Their defeat caused Charles VI to sign the Treaty of Troyes with the English in 1420. It ensured that upon his death, the rule of France would be handed over to Henry V. The treaty was complicated, however, when both Charles VI and Henry V died two years later. The kingship of both countries was given to Henry V's infant son. But Charles VI's son, who would have been the heir to France, was dissatisfied and led a resistance movement against England. His position looked hopeless until the astonishing happened. Aided by the French maiden Joan of Arc, France gained an amazing victory over the English at Orleans. Joan inspired the French and stirred in them a feeling of nationalism. This rise in nationalism also contributed to the strengthening of the central monarchy in France. In 1429, Charles VI's son was crowned Charles VII. He proceeded to consolidate the country and his power. In July of 1453 the last battle of the Hundred Years War took place at Castillon, the same year that Constantinople finally fell to the Ottomans and the Byzantine Empire ended. England no longer held sway of any French territory except in the port town of
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