Hundred Years' War - Background

Background

See also: The Anarchy

The Anglo-Norman dynasty that had ruled England since the Norman Conquest of 1066, was brought to an end when Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda's son Henry (great-grandson of William the Conqueror) became the first of the Angevin kings of England in 1154 as King Henry II. The King of England, in what is now known as the Angevin Empire, directly ruled more territory on the continent than the King of France. A complication was that as dukes on the continent, English kings owed homage to the King of France. However the dukes had autonomy from the 11th century onward, neutralizing the issue.

John of England inherited the Angevin domains from King Richard I. However, Philip II of France acted decisively to exploit the weaknesses of King John, both legally and militarily and by 1204 had succeeded in taking control of most of the continental possessions. The Battle of Bouvines (1214), along with the Saintonge War (1242) and finally the War of Saint-Sardos (1324), reduced England's holdings on the continent to provinces in Gascony and the complete loss of Normandy.

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