Joan of Arc

The Hundred Years’ War was the series of devastating of conflicts from 1337 to 1453 between France and England over the succession of the French crown and the control of French territories. The long-standing struggle between the kingdoms originated over a dynastic dispute during the Norman Conquest of 1066. William, the Duke of Normandy, became the independent King of England, yet in his continental holdings he remained a vassal of the King of France.1 In 1154, further complications emerged when the French Count of Anjou succeeded the English throne as Henry II and married the former French queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine.2 The English then gained control over the territory of Aquitaine by adding this large portion of southwest France to their kingdom.3 Following Henry II’s reign, his sons, Richard the Lion-Hearted and John, and his grandson, Henry III, succeeded him in ruling the kingdom of England for much of the thirteenth century.4 During this time, the French warrior-kings Philip II and Philip IV led a French resurgence that threatened to recover much of France’s previously lost domain by dispossessing the English.5 However, in 1328, the last son of Philip IV of France, Charles IV, died, ending the Capetian family line and leaving no direct male heir to inherit the French throne.6 Upon his death, the dynastic feud between England and France escalated when Charles’s two rival cousins, Edward III of England and Phillip of Valois, both asserted rightful claims to the French throne.7 Despite speculations surrounding the decision, the first cousin of Charles IV, Phillip of Valois, acquired the French crown and became Philip VI of France.8 The French had argued that the Salic Law forbade descent through a female lineage, this ostensibly disqualifying Edward’s claim via his mother Isabella, Philip IV’s daughter.9 “Nine years later, in 1337, Edward III challenged Phillip of Valois, by then King Philip VI, to a trial by combat.”10 With the latter’s assumed