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Introduction
‘The Hundred Years’ War’ is a nineteenth-century term for the Anglo-French wars of 1337-1453, a tussle for control of various provinces in France inherited by the English kings, chiefly the highly lucrative Aquitaine. But some famous victories in battle could not hide that for England the war was a long and costly defeat.
AFTER the Norman Conquest in 1066, King William’s successors enlarged his French territories through marriage and battle. However, in 1204 the French King Philip II took Anjou, Normandy and much of Poitou from the hapless King John, and in 1294 Philip IV declared prosperous Aquitaine forfeit too,* forcing Edward I to add war in France to his bruising Scottish campaign.
But the Hundred Years’ War truly began in 1337, when Philip VI of France, eager to help his Scottish friends, honoured the Auld Alliance by pressing France’s claim on Aquitaine. Edward III hit back by declaring himself King of France in support of Flanders, an unhappy French possession, and after defeating a French fleet at Sluys in 1340 went on to dominate her armies at Crécy on August 26th, 1346, Calais on August 3rd, 1347, and Poitiers on September 19th, 1356, where John II was taken prisoner.* Nevertheless, by the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, Edward offered to renounce his claim in return for Aquitaine.
Aquitaine, the chief bone of contention, was a large Province down on the south western corner of France. The English desperately wanted it, as by the 1330s its trade in wine and other goods was the Crown’s principal source of income. Its borders changed considerably over time, but at its largest extent it included today’s wine-making areas of Cognac, Bergerac, Medoc, Bordeaux, Armagnac and Béarn. Gascony towards the border with Spain was the part of Aquitaine to remain the longest in English hands. See Wikipedia and Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Sluys is now Sluis in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western part of the Netherlands, just inside the border with Belgium. See Google Maps. Crécy-en-Ponthieu lies in the Somme department of Hauts-de-France, northern France, a little south of Calais. See Google Maps. Poitiers is further south, a city on the River Clain some seventy-five miles inland from La Rochelle on the west coast of central France. It is the capital of the Vienne department, and formerly was the capital of the Province of Poitou. See Google Maps.
Précis
Following the Norman Conquest, English kings inherited lands in France which the French Kings coveted for themselves. Matters came to a head in 1337, when Edward III claimed the title of King of France as leverage for ensuring that he held onto Aquitaine, the most profitable French province, and a series of military triumphs left him in a strong position. (60 / 60 words)
Following the Norman Conquest, English kings inherited lands in France which the French Kings coveted for themselves. Matters came to a head in 1337, when Edward III claimed the title of King of France as leverage for ensuring that he held onto Aquitaine, the most profitable French province, and a series of military triumphs left him in a strong position.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, may, not, or, otherwise, ought, unless, who.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
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