Historical Context

This war can be described as a string of disputes over who from either the House of Plantagenet of England or the French House of Valois has a right to the French throne. In covered five generations of kings, running from 1337 to 1453. This all began when Charles IV of France died and Edward III of England came to power. This will be overly described to you but Edward's mother Isabella was Charles IV's sister as well as the previous King, Philip IV's daughter. The French claim under Salic law that succession is only through male offspring, but the English claim they didn't start following the Salic law until recently.  This connection is brought up continually throughout the war, as it is the same way Henry V claims he deserves the French thrown. Edward then went on to invade France three times, which ended with him never claiming the throne.  Following, John of Gaunt unsuccessfully seized the French crown, which then was succeeded by a period of English Turmoil independent of the French. This included the Peasants' Revolt and the Anglo-Scottish war. The English began to build momentum after the death of Charles V of France in 1380. France was also dealing with plague, a recession, and increasing taxation. In England, Richard II was in power and he desired peace which was the not a popular opinion, so as a result, the people united around Henry of Bolingbroke(Henry IV) who deposed Richard in 1399. During Henry IV's rule, he too made the same claims to the French throne as Edward III, but much of his time was occupied by consolidating English power. Henry IV died in 1399 leading into the rule of Henry V, which can be seen in detail in the Historical Figures section. Also below there are links to articles that go in depth on the entirety of the Hundred Years' war.

​

https://www.britannica.com/event/Hundred-Years-War

​

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/hundred-years-war