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The Hundred Years' War between England and France lasted 116 years, from 1337 to 1453. It was not one continuous war but a series of campaigns broken by truces, fought over English kings' claim to the French throne.

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It began when Edward III of England, whose mother was a French princess, claimed the French crown after the main French royal line died out, reviving old quarrels over English-held lands in south-west France. Historians divide it into three phases, separated by truces and interrupted by the Black Death. England won famous battles at Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356) and Agincourt (1415), but France recovered after Joan of Arc helped end the siege of Orléans in 1429. The last battle was fought at Castillon in 1453, although peace was only made formal by the Treaty of Picquigny in 1475. England kept only Calais, lost in 1558, yet English monarchs went on calling themselves kings of France until 1801. The name 'Hundred Years' War' was given later by historians.

Türkçe oku
İngiltere ile Fransa arasındaki Yüz Yıl Savaşı, 1337'den 1453'e kadar tam 116 yıl sürdü. Aslında tek bir savaş değil, araya ateşkeslerin girdiği bir dizi savaştı; kavganın özü, İngiliz krallarının Fransa tahtında hak iddia etmesiydi.

Savaşı başlatan, İngiltere Kralı III. Edward'ın Fransa tahtını istemesiydi: Annesi bir Fransız prensesiydi ve Fransız kraliyet soyunun ana kolu tükenmişti. Buna, Fransa'nın güneybatısındaki İngiliz toprakları yüzünden süregelen eski anlaşmazlıklar da eklendi. Tarihçiler savaşı, ateşkeslerle birbirinden ayrılan ve Kara Veba salgınıyla kesintiye uğrayan üç evreye ayırır. İngiltere Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356) ve Agincourt (1415) gibi ünlü muharebeleri kazandı; ama 1429'da Jeanne d'Arc'ın da katkısıyla Orléans kuşatması kaldırılınca Fransa toparlandı. Son muharebe 1453'te Castillon'da yapıldı; barış ise ancak 1475'teki Picquigny Antlaşması'yla resmîleşti. İngiltere'nin elinde yalnızca Calais kaldı, o da 1558'de kaybedildi; yine de İngiliz hükümdarları 1801'e kadar kendilerine Fransa kralı demeyi sürdürdü. “Yüz Yıl Savaşı” adını ise sonraki dönemin tarihçileri koydu.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Hundred Years' War
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