Joan Of Arc Essay Outline

From 1337 until 1453, the English and French kingdoms were at war with each other. Approaching the start of the war, political tensions between the English and French were high. In 1337, The French attacked the English-controlled duchy of Gascony in France, which led to the English declaring war on France. The first major battle occurred in 1346 at Crecy, where the English decimated the French with their newly instituted longbows. Although the English did not possess the resources necessary to conquer all of France, they fought on anyway, and in 1415, they engaged the French at the Battle of Agincourt. The English had the weather to their advantage, and the muddy field slowed down the advancing French to the point where they were easily killed off by the English soldiers. However, in 1412, Joan of Arc, the famous military leader and martyr, was born into a French peasant family. In 1429, at the age of 17, Joan led a French army to Orleans, where they won and captured the city. Even though Joan of Arc turned the tide of the war in favor of the French, she was captured only a year later and was burned at the stake at the age of 19. Although Joan of Arc was now dead, the French still fought on and ultimately won the war in 1453 (Spielvogel 338). The Hundred Years War was a very influential period in European history and brought about many

significant changes, such as the evolution of weaponry, the shift from focusing on cavalry to foot soldiers, and England’s transition to a naval superpower.
While there were multiple disputes which increased the political tensions between France and England, there is one major event which directly instigated the war. The English were in control of the duchy of Gascony, a small portion of southwestern France. Gascony was a fief of the French crown, which meant that the English could have the land as long as they provided service to the French king. The English despised this arrangement and wanted independant possession, but the French king refused. The war began in 1337 when King Philip VI of France seized Gascony, causing King Edward III of England to declare war (Spielvogel 338). With the added political tensions between the two kingdoms, the war waged on for over one hundred years, ultimately ending in 1453.
There were many changes that came about during and after the war, and while most of them had a long lasting impact on European society, some had a more direct effect on the region. During the war, the population in France dropped dramatically, partly due to casualties during the war but it was mostly due to famine and diseases such as the bubonic plague (Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) Genealogy Project). This major loss of life and the threat of the plague in France meant that there were less people to fight and attention had to be focused on the plague instead of the war effort. After the war ended, the feudal nobility in France was destroyed, and the French king Louis XI decided to promote the middle class, thus gaining the support of the French citizens and uniting France (Hundred Years War). Many things about daily life in France and England were changed as a direct effect of the war.
The Hundred Years War also had great significance on European society and caused changes that would have an impact on the rest of history. Significant changes that resulted from the war were advancements in combat tactics, such as the English first trading the crossbow in favor of the longbow at the start of the war. The longbow had a faster reload and could fire longer distances than its predecessor the crossbow (Spielvogel 338). This, combined with the increased striking power of the longbow, allowed the English to decimate the French armies from much greater distances than they ever could before, and the longbow went on to be used in other conflicts of the Middle Ages. Another advancement in weaponry that came towards the end of the war was the use of the cannon by both sides. This greatly helped the French win the war in the later years due to the fact that they could now provide artillery fire to help the soldiers. Outside of weaponry, there were other military tactics that were changed during the war, primarily the use of standing armies and peasant foot soldiers as opposed to just cavalry and knights. This caused a shift from having just heavily armored soldiers that would impact the tactics of many European wars to come.
There were also many changes in the kingdoms involved in the war, specifically England.

After the war ended, the English kingdom ceased to be only a continental power and pushed for the advancement of their navy. With their naval capabilities increased, the were then able to colonise other parts of the globe, and the rise of the British empire ultimately came about as a result of these naval advancements. There was also an increase in a sense of nationalism in both the English and French empires that came about at the end of the war. The Hundred Years War had a great impact on English national identity and global

dominance.
The Hundred Years War, one of the greatest military conflicts of the Middle Ages, brought about enormous changes in European society, including changes in the feudal social structure, weaponry, military advancements, and English global expansion. Entire generations of people were born and died while this significant war raged on. Because of the many ways that the Hundred Years War impacted European society and the world as a whole, it remains one of the most significant wars in history.