Through the 100 Years

1
The Hundred Years War

• Through the 100 Years War, England and France
  forged their identities as nation-states while
  establishing fundamental institutions of
  government.

2
Importance

• Militarily, it ended both medieval tactics and
  chivalric rules of war.
• England won most battles, the famous ones being
  Crecy in 1346, Poitiers in 1356, and Agincourt in
  1415, by using artillery for the first time and
  the longbow which unhorsed knights in armor and
  proved superior to the crossbow.
• The effective use of cannon meant stone castles
  became obsolete while the expense of artillery
  enhanced the power of national governments.
• Emergence of Nationalism
• Public opinion was manipulated on both sides by
  sensationalizing the evils of the other fostering
  mutual hatred that helped nationalism to grow in
  each.
• French won the war largely because of
  nationalistic fervor stimulated by Joan of Arc.

3
Consequences

• The death toll was huge in contrast to medieval
  wars.
• The economies of France and the Low Countries
  were devastated.
• The war helped the development of Parliament in
  England, as Edwards III constant need for money
  for the war forced him to call Parliament into
  session 37 out of 50 years of his reign.
• In other countries, representative assemblies
  were losing their role as kings centralized their
  power.
• But in England, the Commons - consisting of
  knights and wealthy burghers - separated out from
  the lords and won the right to approve all
  non-feudal taxes in 1341.
• England was also unusual in that it had one
  Parliament for the whole country, while
  elsewhere, regional assemblies was the norm.