Diplomacy regularly sought to manage the conflict through negotiations, truces and formal treaties. During the Hundred Years War, these agreements could change territorial control, establish periods of peace, settle disputes between rulers, and reshape the alliances that influenced the course of the war.
Treaties and Truces
The agreements below are arranged broadly by period. Where there is a detailed article on this site, the title links to the fuller account.
Fourteenth Century
1351 — Treaty of Fontainebleau
Louis de Male, Count of Flanders, agrees a treaty with France, reflecting the complex political relationships surrounding the French crown and its neighbouring territories.
1359 — Treaty of Pontoise
A reconciliation is reached between Charles II of Navarre and the Dauphin Charles during a period of continuing political and military instability.
1360 — Treaty of Brétigny
The Treaty of Brétigny establishes a major settlement between England and France following the English victories at Crécy and Poitiers. The agreement significantly alters the territorial position of the English king in France.
1365 — Treaty of Guérande
The Treaty of Guérande establishes John de Montfort as Duke of Brittany, bringing the main phase of the Breton War of Succession to an end and strengthening the English position in Brittany.
1396 — Truce of Leulinghem
The truce is extended as England and France attempt to maintain the period of peace following Richard II’s marriage to Isabella of Valois.
Fifteenth Century
1420 — Treaty of Troyes
The Treaty of Troyes establishes Henry V of England as heir to the French throne and provides for his marriage to Catherine of Valois. It represents the high point of Henry’s political and military success in France.
1423 — Secret Treaty between Brittany and Burgundy
Brittany and Burgundy reach a secret agreement during a period in which political divisions within France remain central to the wider conflict.
1435 — Congress of Arras
The diplomatic settlement at Arras contributes to the reconciliation between Burgundy and Charles VII. Burgundy’s changing relationship with the French crown significantly weakens the English position in France.
1444 — Treaty of Tours
A new period of truce is established between England and France. The settlement forms part of the diplomatic arrangements surrounding the temporary suspension of major warfare.
1448 — Le Mans is handed to the French
The transfer of Le Mans illustrates the gradual erosion of English territorial control during the later stages of the war.
By the final years of the war, diplomacy increasingly reflected the collapse of English territorial power in France, rather than establishing a lasting division of territory between the two kingdoms.
Further Reading
- David Green, “A Century of Failure? Making Peace in the Hundred Years War”, in Reframing Treaties in the Late Medieval and Early Modern West.
- Barbara Bombi, “From the Battle of Poitiers to the Treaty of Brétigny-Calais: Administrative and Diplomatic Practice in England and at the Papal Curia”.
- John Le Patourel, “The Treaty of Brétigny, 1360”, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society.