228 Chapter 12The first phase of the war went badly for France.
This is at first sight surprising as England was by far the
smaller and poorer of the two countries with a popula-
tion only one-third that of her rival. The difference lay
in superior leadership. Edward quickly proved to be not
only an able commander, but also a master at extracting
resources from Parliament. By defeating the French in a
naval battle off Sluys in 1340, he secured control of the
English Channel. Subsequent campaigns were fought
on French soil, including the ones that culminated in
the victories of Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356). In
both cases, French cavalry employing traditional tactics
were defeated by the imaginative use of longbows in
massed formations.
The treaty of Bretigny (1360) secured a breathing
space of seven years during which the locus of violence
shifted to the Iberian Peninsula. Conflict there centered
on the policies of Pedro of Castile, known to the
Castilian aristocracy as “the Cruel” and to his other sub-
jects as “the Just.” Pedro’s nicknames arose from his ef-
forts to strengthen the crown against the landed
nobility. When he became involved in a border warEbr
o
R.LoireR.Ga
ron
neRhoneR.SeineR
.Mediterranean SeaEnglish ChannelR.RhineR.CRECY
1346POITIERS 1356BrestRennesCaenCherbourg
RouenToursChartres
Brétigny
Orléans
BourgesAngoulême
BordeauxAlbi
ToulouseCahors
AvignonMâconDijon BesançonLaonDover CalaisSouthhamptonBRITTANY NORMANDY ReimsBLOISMAINE
ANJOUPOITOU
LA MARCHE
SAINTONGE
AQUITAINE
PÉRIGORD
AGENAISGUYENNE
GASCONY
ARMAGNAC
BÉARN
BIGORRE
COMMINGES
FOIXLANGUEDOCGEVAUDANVALENTINOISDAUPHINÉPROVENCEAUVERGNE SAVOYFOREZBOURBONBERRYNEVERSBURGUNDYHOLY ROMAN
CHAMPAGNE EMPIREVALOISPICARDYPONTHIEU ARTOISFLANDERS0 100 200 Miles0 100 200 300 KilometersBoundary of kingdom of France, 1360
Lands held by Edward III of England on
accession, 1327
Route taken by Edward III, 1346–47
Route taken by Edward, Black Prince, 1355–57
Site and date of important battle
Lands ceded to Edward III of England
Domain of king of France, 1360
Apanages
Other fields held by king of FranceMediterranean SeaR.SeineR.Ebr
oR
.English ChannelGa
ron
neRhoneR.RhineR.LoireR.BrestCherbourg
RouenToursPoitiersBourgesAlbi
ToulouseCahorsAvignonDijon
BesançonDover CalaisSouthhamptonReimsChinonParisAmiensBRITTANYNORMANDY
MAINEPOITOUAQUITAINEGASCONY
ARMAGNAC
LANGUEDOCDAUPHINÉPROVENCEAUVERGNE SAVOYBOURBONNEVERSHOLY ROMAN
CHAMPAGNE EMPIREAGINCOURT
1415BayonneBordeauxNarbonneNeversLimburgORLEANS 14920 100 200 Miles0 100 200 300 KilometersBoundary of kingdom of France, 1429
Boundary of lands left to England, 1377
Route taken by Henry V, 1415–16
Route taken by Joan of Arc, 1429–31
Site and date of important battle
Lands held by Henry VI of England, 1429
Lands held by Charles VII of France
Lands held by duke of Burgundy
Burgundian lands recognizing Henry VIMAP 12.2
The Hundred Years’ War