France: The Making of a Nation

The Making of a Nation

In 1328, Philip VI (1328–50), of the house of Valois, a younger branch of the Capetians, succeeded to the throne. The succession was contested by Philip's remote cousin, Edward III of England (grandson of Philip IV), who in 1337 proclaimed himself king of France. Thus began the dynastic struggle known as the Hundred Years War (1337–1453), actually a series of wars and truces. It was complicated by many secondary issues, notably civil troubles in Flanders and the War of the Breton Succession.

The French defeats at Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), the epidemic of the Black Death, the Parisian insurrection under Étienne Marcel (1357–58), the Jacquerie (peasant revolt) of 1358, and the pillaging bands of écorcheurs plunged France into anarchy and forced John II (1350–64) to accept the humiliating Treaty of Brétigny (1360). Under Charles V (1364–80), however, Bertrand Du Guesclin recovered (1369–73) all lost territories except Calais and the Bordeaux region. Charles VI (1380–1422) became insane in 1392, although he had lucid intervals. Rivalry for power at court led to the terrible strife between Armagnacs and Burgundians. In 1415, Henry V of England revived the English claim, renewed the war, and crushed the French—unaided by the Burgundians—at Agincourt. In 1420, Charles VI made Henry V his heir, disinheriting his son, the dauphin, later Charles VII (see Troyes, Treaty of). The dauphin nevertheless assumed the royal title in 1422, but his authority extended over only a small area.

The English now held most of France, including Paris. Powerful Burgundy, under Philip the Good, was allied with England. In 1428 the English besieged the key city of Orléans. At this hour appeared Joan of Arc, who helped relieve Orléans, rallied the dauphin's followers, and in 1429 stood by the dauphin's side as he was crowned at Reims. In 1435, Burgundy, although exacting exorbitant concessions, allied itself with France (see Arras, Treaty of). In 1453 the English lost their last hold on French soil outside Calais.

It was left for Louis XI (1461–83) to destroy the power of the last great feudal lords and to incorporate into the royal domain almost all of present France. He was aided by the downfall (1477) of Charles the Bold of Burgundy and by the extinction of the Angevin dynasty. Brittany was united with France shortly afterward (see Anne of Brittany), and the larger part of the fiefs held by the Bourbon family was confiscated in 1527.

Under the reigns (1483–1560) of Charles VIII, Louis XII, Francis I, Henry II, and Francis II, France proved its amazing recuperative powers despite the heavy drain imposed on its resources by the Italian Wars (1494–1559). The superficially brilliant reign of Francis I (1515–47) was taken up with almost constant warfare against the Hapsburg Charles V; however, this period also saw the spread of the Italian Renaissance into France (see French art; French literature). The first phase of the struggle between France and the house of Hapsburg ended with the triumph of Hapsburg Spain in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559).

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