The Hundred Years’ War was a territorial conflict fought between England and France in the late Middle Ages. It was waged between 1337-1453, so the title ‘Hundred Years’ War’ isn’t quite accurate: the war actually lasted 116 years.The basis of the drawn-out series of wars originated from disputed claims to the French throne from the royal families of England’s House of Plantagenet and its rival, the French royal House of Valois.The effects of the war, which involved 5 generations of kings, not only brought about innovations in military weaponry but also created stronger national identities for both England and France with their distinctive languages and culture. At the end of the war, England became known as a nation-state and with English, rather than French, defining its sovereign language spoken by both the court and aristocracy.To date, the Hundred Years’ War is the longest military conflict in Europe. Here are 10 key figures from the lengthy conflict.Over 100 years of conflict, tw...
