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Naval Warfare in the Hundred Years War

Naval warfare played an important role throughout the Hundred Years War. Control of the seas and the English Channel affected the movement and supply of armies, trade, communication and the security of ports and coastal communities. English and French fleets fought major engagements, attacked merchant shipping and launched raids against enemy territory, while the organisation and protection of fleets became an important part of military strategy.

This page provides an index to naval warfare during the Hundred Years War covered on this website, including naval strategy and preparation, ports and maritime logistics, coastal raids, major naval battles and the people associated with them..

Naval assault on Chastel de Saint Forget. From a Chronicle of the Hundred Years’ War.
Assault on Chastel de Saint Forget, 1384–85, a miniature cut from a 15th Century Chronicle of the Hundred Years’ War.

The War at Sea

Naval Strategy, Planning and Preparation

Medieval Fleet
Medieval Fleet

Raids and Coastal Warfare

Map of Plymouth and Plymouth Sound. There is no map of Plymouth at the time of the french Raid of 1339. This map shows Plymouth after some fortifications had been constructed.
Map of Plymouth and Plymouth Sound. [Shows some later fortifications].

Naval Battles and Engagements

  • Battle of Arnemuiden, 1338
  • Battle of Sluys, 1340
  • Battle of Winchelsea, 1350
  • Battle of La Rochelle, 1372
  • Battle of La Rochelle, 1419

People and Naval Warfare