This Timeline of the Hundred Years War covers the main battles, sieges, revolts, naval engagements, truces, and political changes of the period. It is a lengthy timeline to illustrate how the various themes relate to each other over the chronology of the conflict. It also reflects that for much of the Hundred Years War, there actually was no warfare. Treaties and Truces are included, along with some of the major civil and civic issues impacting upon each of the major combatants. Lastly, it covers some of the marriages which were arranged between Royal and Noble families during the wars, as these often had a political role in shaping the political landscape of the 14 and 15th centuries.
Hundred Years War Timeline
This timeline of the Hundred Years War is organised into seven phases, from the origins of the conflict through the English conquests under Henry V, the rise of Joan of Arc and the final loss of English territory in France.
Jump to:
Origins of the War |
English Victories |
French Recovery |
Truces and Political Conflict |
Henry V and the English Conquest |
Joan of Arc and the French Recovery |
The End of English Power in France
Origins of the War: 1327–1339
January 1327 — Edward II abdicates and his son becomes King Edward III.
1328 — Charles IV of France dies without a male heir. Philip VI succeeds to the French throne, while Edward III’s claim through his mother, Isabella of France, contributes to the growing dispute between the two kingdoms.
1337 — Relations between England and France break down. Philip VI confiscates the English king’s lands in Gascony and Edward III renews his claim to the French crown.
1337 — England begins preparing for war, including measures to secure ships, ports and maritime resources for the coming conflict.
12 March 1339 — A French fleet under Robert Bertrand lands on Jersey, demonstrating the vulnerability of the English Channel Islands and the importance of naval warfare to the developing conflict.
English Victories: 1340–1360
26 January 1340 — Edward III formally adopts the title King of France, making his claim to the French crown an explicit part of the conflict.
23 January 1340 — England develops its naval strategy as Edward III prepares for operations against France.
24 June 1340 — Battle of Sluys. Edward III’s fleet defeats the French fleet at Sluys, helping to establish English control of the Channel.
1341–1342 — The Breton War of Succession draws England and France into conflict over the succession to the Duchy of Brittany. The Battle of Morlaix is one of the significant English victories of the campaign.
1345 — English forces resume major campaigning in Gascony.
July 1346 — Edward III invades Normandy, beginning a major chevauchée through northern France.
24 August 1346 — The English army crosses the Somme at Blanchetaque after a confrontation with French forces under Sir Godemar de Fay. The crossing clears the way for Edward III’s army to continue towards Crécy.
26 August 1346 — Battle of Crécy. Edward III and his son, Edward the Black Prince, defeat the French army commanded by Philip VI.
October 1346 — A Scottish invasion of northern England, intended to support France, is defeated at the Battle of Neville’s Cross, and King David II of Scotland is captured.
July 1347 — Siege of Calais. After a prolonged siege, Calais falls to Edward III and becomes an important English base on the continent.
1348–1350 — The Black Death reaches England and France, causing enormous loss of life and disrupting the ability of both kingdoms to wage war.
January 1350 — A French attempt to recover Calais by sea is defeated.
1355 — Edward, the Black Prince, launches a major chevauchée through southern France.
19 September 1356 — Battle of Poitiers. The Black Prince defeats a larger French army and captures King John II of France.
1359–1360 — Edward III launches a major campaign towards Rheims but fails to secure the decisive victory he had hoped for.
May 1360 — The Treaty of Brétigny establishes a substantial English territorial settlement and brings the first major phase of the war to an end.
French Recovery: 1360–1380
1362 — Edward, the Black Prince, becomes Prince of Aquitaine.
3 April 1367 — Battle of Nájera. The Black Prince intervenes in the Castilian civil war and defeats the forces of Henry of Trastámara.
14 March 1369 — Battle of Montiel. Henry of Trastámara defeats and kills his half-brother Peter of Castile, with French support.
1369 — War resumes between England and France. Charles V adopts a strategy of recovering French territory rather than risking large-scale battles with the English.
1370 — French forces capture and sack Limoges after a major English victory there had been reversed.
June 1372 — French and Castilian naval forces defeat the English fleet at La Rochelle, seriously damaging England’s ability to reinforce and supply its possessions in France.
1372–1375 — French forces recover much of the territory previously controlled by the English.
1373 — John of Gaunt leads the Great Chevauchée of 1373 across France, but the campaign fails to produce a lasting territorial gain.
9 February 1372 — Constance of Castile enters London following her marriage to John of Gaunt. The marriage strengthens John of Gaunt’s claim to the Castilian throne and has wider diplomatic implications for the war.
Truces and Political Conflict: 1380–1415
1380 — Edward III and Charles V both die. Richard II succeeds Edward III in England, while Charles VI succeeds his father Charles V in France.
1396 — Richard II marries Isabella of Valois, daughter of Charles VI. The marriage forms part of a wider attempt to maintain the Truce of Leulinghem.
1402 — Louis de Sancerre becomes Constable of France, reflecting the continuing importance of military leadership as the truce between England and France breaks down.
1404 — The French government introduces a new taille to finance the resumption of warfare.
1415 — Political divisions within France between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions weaken the French monarchy as Henry V prepares to invade.
Henry V and the English Conquest: 1415–1422
September 1415 — Henry V captures Harfleur after a prolonged siege.
25 October 1415 — Battle of Agincourt. Henry V defeats a much larger French army, establishing his reputation as one of England’s most successful medieval commanders.
1417–1419 — Henry V returns to France and systematically conquers much of Normandy.
19 January 1419 — Rouen falls to Henry V, completing the English conquest of Normandy.
May 1420 — The Treaty of Troyes recognises Henry V as heir to the French throne and provides for his marriage to Catherine of Valois.
2 June 1420 — Henry V marries Catherine of Valois.
1 December 1420 — Henry V enters Paris in triumph.
22 March 1421 — The French defeat an English army at Baugé, providing an important boost to the Dauphinist cause.
11 May 1422 — The English capture Meaux after a long siege.
31 August 1422 — Henry V dies at Vincennes. His infant son, Henry VI, succeeds him as king of England and claimant to the French throne.
Joan of Arc and the French Recovery: 1422–1435
17 August 1424 — Battle of Verneuil. An English army defeats a large Franco-Scottish force in one of the most significant English victories of the later war.
15 July 1427 — Siege of Montargis. French forces relieve Montargis, providing an important early success for the French resistance to English expansion.
1429 — Joan of Arc arrives at the siege of Orléans. The French lift the siege and begin a series of victories that changes the momentum of the war.
17 July 1429 — Charles VII is crowned at Reims, strengthening the legitimacy of the French monarchy.
23 May 1430 — Joan of Arc is captured by Burgundian forces at Compiègne.
9 January 1431 — Trial of Joan of Arc begins at Rouen.
16 December 1431 — Henry VI is crowned king of France at Paris.
1435 — The Congress of Arras leads to reconciliation between Burgundy and Charles VII, depriving the English of one of their most important French allies.
The End of English Power in France: 1436–1453
1436 — French forces capture Paris, further reducing English control in northern France.
1444–1449 — A prolonged truce provides a temporary pause in the fighting, but English territorial gains continue to unravel.
1445 — Maine is ceded to France as part of the diplomatic settlement associated with the marriage of Henry VI to Margaret of Anjou.
22 April 1445 — Henry VI marries Margaret of Anjou, linking the English monarchy more closely to French diplomacy.
28 January 1450 — William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, is impeached as criticism of Henry VI’s government and its handling of the French war intensifies.
1450 — French forces reconquer Normandy.
1451 — French forces conquer most of Gascony.
1452 — John Talbot leads an English expedition which temporarily recovers much of Gascony.
17 July 1453 — Battle of Castillon. French forces defeat the English army in Gascony. ThId timeline ends in 1453, when the Battle of Castillon effectively brought major English military power in France to an end.