Why did we have the 100yrs war - weren't most of the nobles French descended?

Answer 1

Yes, the English monarchs of that era WERE of French descent, which is what caused the misnamed 100 years war.
It was actually a series of short wars which together totalled approx 116 years.

Edward III of England was the son of Edward II and his wife Isabelle, daughter of Philippe III of France.

After Philippe III's death, in 1314, he was succeeded by his son Louis X who died within 2 years, leaving a daughter and a pregnant wife. Since France had the Salic law, a female could not inherit the throne, so his daughter was passed over (although she was able to become the Queen of Navarre which she had inherited from HER mother)

The pregnant wife, Clemence, gave birth to a baby boy but he died a few days later (actually, we now know that he didn't die but that's another story) Thereupon, Louis X's next brother, Philippe V, became King of France.

Philippe V had only daughters, so upon his death in 1322, his youngest brother became king, as Charles IV. Although married three times, Charles had only one living daughter, Blanche, and during his reign he tried frantically to abolish the Salic law so that Blanche could succeed. However, he was unable to do this and when he died in 1328 the French throne was up for grabs.

The two best claimants were Edward III, through his mother, Isabelle, a grandson of Philippe III, and the Duke of Valois , son of Isabelle's younger brother Charles.

Since Edward's claim was through the female line, his claim was denied and the Duke of Valois became King as Philippe VI.

Much of the territory claimed by France had belonged to the English monarchs in earlier times and Edward therefore insisted on staking his claim. The result was what historians now call the Hundred Years' War. As a result, the monarchs of England claimed the French crown right up until 1558 when Mary Tudor died. Elizabeth I decided not to claim the French throne.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Hi Alison.
You have got the answer already - the war was BECAUSE our nobles were French! They had lands that they held in France that were being pressured by the French monarchy and the English kings would not pay homage to the French kings, in case the French kings then tried to claim England! So the nobles had land and title to protect, and the English kings were still Dukes of Normandy too.
Henry the Fifth claimed the French throne for himself (through blood and marriage both) and set out to unite the kingdoms - came within a whisker of doing it, tooo, until a rather suspect death after visiting a certain French noblewoman at her castle... The wars only really end when English claims are defeated and the last English possessions in France taken away.
If we had united England and France then, who knows what would have happened?
Cheers, Steve.

Answer 3

Yes, that's true, though the nobles didn't have lands in France - they had been forced to choose at the start of the 13th C.
The royal house was closely connected to the French one, and THAT caused the war.
But the course of the war made the countries diverge more and more. English nobles stopped using French. The English victories gave people a focus of pride to unite around.
All very paradoxical, because if the English King had succeeded in becoming King of France also, England would have become a backwater. It had only a quarter of the population of France, which was the centre of Medieval European civilisation.

Answer 4

At the beginning of the 100 years war, the English introduced the Frogs to the Long Bow [Welsh] for the first time to devastating effect - a killer at 200 yards.

Hundred Years' War That was really the end of the One Hundred Years war so far as England was concerned , though a formal treaty to end the war between England and France was ...
http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/100yearswar.htm

Hundred Years' War - Wikipedia, The Hundred Years' War accelerated the process of transforming France from a feudal monarchy to a centralised state. The conflict became one of not just ...
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years'_War

What was the Hundred Years war? The Hundred Years War was a vicious, costly, drawn out affair caused by ... For over one hundred years, English kings laid claim to the French throne. ...
http://www.sdsd.essortment.com/whatwashundre_rgei.htm

oops! Looks like we forgot to sign a peace treaty with France all them years ago. Lock up your daughters, the Frogs are coming.

Answer 5

Nobody actually seems to have answered your question.

There were three main causes.

1) Edward III's support of Edward Balliol in the war against King David II of Scotland. Edward Balliol invaded Scotland and won a stunning victory over David's army. He was able to have himself crowned Edward I of Scotland. His period of power was very brief, but in supporting him Edward of England got involved in a Scottish war that would simmer on for the rest of the fourteenth century.

The two Edwards also drove David II and his supporters right into the arms of the King of France. Now Edward III was already having problems with the king of France, who at this point was Philip VI.

2) In May 1337, Philip confiscated Gascony, lands owned by the English King. This confiscation became the first shot in a dynastic and eventually national war that would turn the English and the French into traditional enemies.

3) In 1337, in response to Philip VI's confiscation of Gascony, Edward had claimed the crown of France. There was some justification for his claim. Through his mother, Edward was a direct descendant of Philip IV of France. Philip VI was not so closely related to the earlier Philip.

Raising the claim was probably just a bargaining chip. But as the war went on, Edward began to put his claim to good use. By presenting himself as an alternative king, he could exploit divisions within Philip's realm, which was diverse and highly regionalized.

There you go.

Answer 6

Yes, the aristocracy including the king were all of French descent. But they were fighting for supremacy over various parts of France. Britain at the time was considered a minor possession of the ruling family.

Answer 7

That was the problem, English Kings had a good claim to the throne of France and the wars were their attempt to claim it.

Answer 8

Chronologically speaking, "HISTORY" has this WRONG! It was NOT a HUNDRED years long, - it was, actually, ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN YEARS long, in total!