. A history of mediaeval and modern Europe for secondary schools. us kings, frequent collisions (under mediaeval con-ditions) were inevitable; especially as the -English still held considerable terri-tory in southernFrance. A dis-puted succession inFrance, however,in which Englandwas interested, nowgave especial ani-mus to the 1338 to 1453,England and Francewere at war or ENGLISH KNIGHTS AND A FRENCH MAN-AT-ARMS merely m a state The figure to the left wears civilian costume of armed Hundred Years War2 — long, bloody, and devastat-ing — threatened once or twice to reduc
. A history of mediaeval and modern Europe for secondary schools. us kings, frequent collisions (under mediaeval con-ditions) were inevitable; especially as the -English still held considerable terri-tory in southernFrance. A dis-puted succession inFrance, however,in which Englandwas interested, nowgave especial ani-mus to the 1338 to 1453,England and Francewere at war or ENGLISH KNIGHTS AND A FRENCH MAN-AT-ARMS merely m a state The figure to the left wears civilian costume of armed Hundred Years War2 — long, bloody, and devastat-ing — threatened once or twice to reduce France to a meredependency of England. In the end, the English attack failed, 1 There were plenty of reasons why a general collision was unavoidable. TheFrench wished to expel the English from Gascony, and were helping the Scots,the enemies of England. They were also interfering in the important Englishwool trade with Flanders. 2 Of course, it really lasted more than one hundred years. On the other hand,fortunately, the warfare was by no means THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR 169 but only after France had undergone a terrible ordeal whiletrying to save her national existence. It was one of the mostuseless great wars in all history. The immediate excuse for the war was the claim whichEdward III of England asserted to the crown of France in thename of his mother Isabella, daughter of the French KingPhilip IV. According to the pretended Salic law,1 womenwere excluded from the French throne; but did the prohibitionalso exclude their male heirs? If so, Philip of Valois (a Frenchprince by a side-line) had the better claim when the directCapetian line died out (1328). If not, then Edwards preten-sions were at least plausible. The law was not clear, and prece-dents were few. Edward could well persuade himself that heought to reign in Paris as well as in London. In this contest France seemed by far the larger and richercountry, but her opponents were more united and decidedlybet
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