The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) was a major event in the history of the Middle Ages and the longest military conflict in the history of Europe. The war broke out between England and France and contributed to shaping the identities of these countries. The significant consequences of the Hundred Years War are the beginning of nationalism in England and France and the centralization of political power in them.
The long-lasting military conflict that caused much suffering to both sides made the French and the English acutely recognize each other’s differences, feel the union with their “nation” in opposition to the “enemy,” and make a clear distinction between “us” and “them.” Among other things, propaganda – required to unite all the citizens of the country and propel them to eagerly participate in the war – played an important role in this change in people’s consciousness. The clergy, poets and writers, and even the kings’ in their rhetoric tried to strengthen the feeling of patriotism and national identity in order to justify the Hundred Years War and get people’s support for its prosecution (Green, 2014). Not surprisingly, this was the period when the concept of a motherland and national symbols became personified. In 1422, the term La Mere France (Mother France) was first used by French poet Alain Chartier (Whittington, 2016, p. 79). In England, on the other hand, St. George became the national saint who was supposed to help the country win the war (Whittington, 2016, p. 79).
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Despite clear similarities between nationalism in England and France, which was largely caused by unifying of the nation against the common enemy, there were also significant differences in the concepts, around which the peoples consolidated. According to David Green (2014), “[a] French identity had been tied closely to the growth of royal authority over a long period, alongside a developing belief in the people’s status as members of God’s most favoured nation” (p. 235). The concept of the divine origins of the king’s authority had been common in the Kingdom of France from its earliest history, and the victory in the Hundred Years War intensified this belief a lot. The special status of the French king as “the most Christian king” (Green, 2014, p. 235) granted his subordinates the status of a Chosen People (Green, 2014, p. 235). Nationalism of the English also had relation to monarchy and being loyal to the throne. However, protecting the country from losing its identity and culture because of the French influence became more important to this people’s identity as a nation. English language had a special place in this regard. Both the Parliament and Edward I often claimed that the French king was going to destroy English language (Green, 2014, p. 236). Although during the fourteenth century the aristocracy of England almost exclusively spoke French, while English was the language of common people, by the end of the Hundred Years War English noblemen mostly spoke English (Green, 2014, p. 236).
Another important consequence of the Hundred Years War related to the rise of nationalism in the countries was the centralization of political power, which was especially evident in France. Both the kings of England and France managed to increase their authority by reducing the power of local feudal lords on the preposition of the royal prerogative, which was especially important in the time of war (Thackeray, 2001, p. 50). However, the French king, enjoying the consequences of victory in the Hundred Years War, faced little resistance to expanding his authority further. The establishment of the constant standing army loyal to the king also contributed to it (Whittington, 2016, p. 75). This way the effects of the Hundred Years War led to the foundation of the absolute monarchy in France. In Britain, on the other hand, people were disappointed in the king’s authority because of the defeat (Whittington, 2016, p. 76). This was the reason why the Parliament, organized by the English king as an institution mostly responsible for taxes during the Hundred Years War, slowly started growing to prominence, which resulted in the constitutional monarchy in England (Thackeray, 2001, p. 51).
During the Hundred Years War, both England and France experienced the emergence of nationalism and the formation of national identity. Besides the common goal of winning the war and fighting the common enemy, the French united around the king, who was thought to rule by divine right, and the idea of being a Chosen People. The English united around the idea of protecting their culture and language against the French. The Hundred Years War also led to the centralization of political power in both countries and to setting the foundations of absolute monarchy in France and constitutional monarchy in Britain.
- Green, D. (2014). The Hundred Years War: A people’s history. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
- Thackeray, F. W., & Findling, J. E. (Eds.). (2001). Events that changed the world through the sixteenth century. London: Greenwood Press.
- Whittington, K. E. (2016). The social impact of the Hundred Years War on the societies of England and France. Retrieved from http://stars.library.ucf.edu
