The Hundred Years' War

In the 14th century, a huge conflict began when the King of England, Edward III - King of England whose claim to the French throne sparked the Hundred Years' War, leading England to major early victories., claimed he was the rightful King of France. This wasn't just about the crown; they were also fighting over rich lands like Aquitaine - A region in southwestern France. Through strategic marriages, it became a rich possession of the English Crown in France. Control over this territory was a major source of conflict leading up to and during the Hundred Years' War.. The English army invaded France, bringing a terrifying new weapon: the longbow - A powerful type of medieval bow used by the English, renowned for its immense range, armor-piercing capability, and rapid rate of fire compared to crossbows. It was crucial to English victories at Crécy and Agincourt.. The longbow was much more powerful than the French crossbows. First, its massive size (about 1.8 meters) allowed it to store incredible energy. Second, trained longbowmen used their whole body to pull the string, shooting 10-12 arrows per minute, compared to a crossbow's 1-2 shots. At the Battle of Crécy, the English rained down a storm of heavy arrows, easily defeating the famous, heavily armored French knights. To weaken France, the English also launched brutal raids called 'chevauchée - A raiding method used in medieval warfare, heavily employed by the English during the Hundred Years' War. It involved burning, pillaging, and devastating enemy territory to weaken the enemy's economy and force them to battle.,' burning villages and crops across the countryside to destroy the French economy.

The war continued for decades, interrupted only by the devastating Black Death - The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351. The disease was caused by the bacterium *Yersinia pestis*, which was carried by fleas living on rats. These rats often traveled on merchant ships, spreading the disease quickly across port cities and trade routes like the Silk Road. At the time, cities were very crowded and unhygienic, which made it easy for the rats and fleas to thrive. The plague wiped out nearly half of Europe's population. It forced countries to invent the concept of 'quarantine' (keeping ships at sea for 40 days) to prevent infected people from entering cities. Over time, as survivors built natural immunity and improved city sanitation, the massive outbreaks slowly subsided.. Edward the Black Prince - Eldest son of Edward III and a legendary military commander who won crucial victories at Crécy and Poitiers., the brave son of the English king, led another invasion and won a huge victory at the Battle of Poitiers, even capturing the French King John II. During the battle, while many French nobles fled, King John II bravely fought on the front lines wielding a battleaxe until he was completely surrounded and forced to surrender. He was taken to England and later released to raise his own massive ransom, leaving his son behind as a hostage. When France struggled to pay and his son dishonorably escaped from England, a deeply principled John II decided to uphold his royal honor and chivalric vows by voluntarily returning to his English prison, where he eventually passed away from illness. Despite the chaos of losing their king, France eventually fought back using clever hit-and-run tactics to regain much of their lost territory. However, years later, the English King Henry V launched a fresh invasion. At the famous Battle of Agincourt, his tired troops won an incredible victory against a massive French army. At the time, the French King Charles VI - King of France whose severe mental illness led to internal civil war and the disastrous Treaty of Troyes, nearly causing the collapse of the French kingdom during the Hundred Years' War. was suffering from severe mental illness, leaving the country in chaos. Taking advantage of the incapacitated king, Henry V forced Charles VI to sign the disastrous Treaty of Troyes - An agreement signed in 1420 stating that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It temporarily unified the two crowns but ultimately failed.. This treaty disinherited the French crown prince and made Henry the legal heir to the French throne.

Just when it looked like France would completely fall under English rule, a miracle happened. A teenage peasant girl named Joan of Arc - Joan of Arc was born to a peasant family in Domrémy in northeastern France, at a time when much of the country was occupied by English and Burgundian forces. appeared, claiming she had a divine mission to save her country. She inspired the discouraged French soldiers and led them to a stunning victory at the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the entire war. Capitalizing on this momentum, Joan led a daring campaign deep into enemy territory to recapture Reims, the traditional city where French kings were crowned. Thanks to her, the ousted Dauphin Charles - Charles VII, called 'the Victorious' (le Victorieux), inherited a kingdom in crisis, with much of northern France occupied by the English. was officially crowned King Charles VII at Reims Cathedral, solidly establishing his legitimacy. Though Joan was later tragically captured and burned at the stake, the hope she sparked did not die. The French army grew stronger, modernizing their forces and introducing a new, powerful weapon on the battlefield: cannon - A powerful weapon that uses gunpowder to launch heavy stone or metal balls. The core component, gunpowder, was accidentally invented in ancient China by alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. Initially used in bamboo tubes as 'fire lances' to shoot flames, it eventually evolved into sturdy metal barrels, becoming the large cannons we recognize today.This terrifying new weapon spread rapidly from China to the Islamic world and Europe through the conquests of the Mongol Empire and the trade routes of the Silk Road. By the 15th century, cannons had become decisive weapons in major historical conflicts.In 1453, during the final Battle of Castillon of the Hundred Years' War, the French army successfully deployed early field artillery to obliterate the English forces. In that very same year (1453), the Ottoman Empire used massive super-sized cannons—most notably the 8-meter-long 'Basilica' designed by Orban—to shatter the impenetrable walls of Constantinople, conquering the Byzantine Empire.The introduction of cannons revolutionized warfare. They could easily smash through the thick stone walls of castles and easily defeat heavily armored knights, bringing an end to traditional medieval warfare.s.

In 1453, the two sides met at the Battle of Castillon. This time, it was the French who had the technological advantage, using massed field artillery to utterly shatter the English forces. The French army built a fortified camp with earthworks and positioned over 300 cannons of various sizes along the walls. They lured the English forces into charging their position, and once the enemy was in range, they unleashed a devastating, coordinated bombardment that literally blew the charging English troops to pieces. After 116 years of fighting, England lost nearly all its lands in France, and the Hundred Years' War finally came to an end. This war not only brought great destruction but fundamentally changed the world. Early in the war, the English 'longbow' pierced the armor of the seemingly invincible knights, and later, the French 'cannon' smashed the high walls of noble castles. The era of the heavily armored medieval knight came to an end. Furthermore, because only Kings could afford the massive expenses of cannons and professional standing armies, the power of local lords declined while the monarchy grew immensely powerful. Through this long and brutal conflict, the people of both England and France began to feel like unified, independent nations rather than just subjects of various lords. Astonishingly, in 1453—the exact same year the Hundred Years' War ended—the thousand-year-old Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) also fell to the Ottoman Empire, whose massive cannons smashed the impregnable walls of Constantinople. Together, these monumental events in 1453 are widely considered by historians to mark the definitive end of the Middle Ages and the dawn of the Early Modern Period, leading directly into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.