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Origins and Objectives: Anglo-French Conflict in the Fourteenth Century

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The Hundred Years War

Part of the book series: British History in Perspective

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Abstract

In 1337, Edward III held the county of Ponthieu, straddling the Somme. He also bore the title duke of Aquitaine, although the territory he actually held in south-west France was little more than a 50-mile-wide coastal strip between Bayonne and Bordeaux. This was a far cry from the days of Henry II when a king of England held the whole of western France: from the duchy of Normandy in the north, through the counties of Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou to the extensive duchy of Aquitaine in the south, with additional claims to the overlordship of the duchy of Brittany and county of Flanders. Much happened between the twelfth and early fourteenth centuries, but in many ways, the two basic issues of English royal lands in France remained the same: the relationship between the kings of England and France which their tenure generated, and their rightful extent. It was impossible to find a peaceful solution to Anglo-French differences in 1337 because the issues had been so long-running, and had repeatedly proved themselves incapable of lasting settlement. The reasons for this, however, need to be seen in the context of each successive conflict as well as in the problems inherent in the issues themselves.

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  1. C. W. Hollister, ‘Normandy, France and the Anglo-Norman regnum’, Speculum, 51 (1976), 202–40 provides a useful discussion of Norman and Angevin attitudes to the payment of homage.

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  3. This is not the first known appeal. For an example of 1171 see P. Chaplais, ‘English arguments concerning the feudal status of Aquitaine in the fourteenth century’, BIHR, 21 (1946–8), 203.

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  7. For the text of the treaty see Foedera, I, ii, p. 45, and English Historical Documents, vol. III, ed. H. Rothwell (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1975), pp. 376–9.

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  1. University of Reading, UK

    Anne Curry (Lecturer in History)

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Curry, A. (1993). Origins and Objectives: Anglo-French Conflict in the Fourteenth Century. In: The Hundred Years War. British History in Perspective. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22711-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22711-2_3

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