RENEWAL OF THE WAR
The English, in spite of their victories, could not conquer France. The French refused to fight more pitched battles and retired to their castles and fortified towns. The war almost ceased for many years after the death of Edward III. It began again early in the fifteenth century, and the English this time met with more success. They gained possession of almost all France north of the Loire, except the important city of Orléans. Had the English taken it, French resistance must have collapsed. That they did not take it was due to one of the most remarkable women in history—Joan of Arc. [25]
THE "MAID OF ORLÉANS," 1429 A.D.
Joan was a peasant girl, a native of the little village of Domremy. Always a devout and imaginative child, she early began to see visions of saints and angels and to hear mysterious voices. At the time of the siege of Orléans the archangel Michael appeared to her, so she declared, and bade her go forth and save France. Joan obeyed, and though barely seventeen years of age made her way to the court of the French king. There her piety, simplicity, and evident faith in her mission overcame all doubts. Clad in armor, girt with an ancient sword, and with a white banner borne before her, Joan was allowed to accompany an army for the relief of Orléans. She inspired the French with such enthusiasm that they quickly compelled the English to raise the siege. Then Joan led her king to Reims and stood beside him at his coronation in the cathedral.
END OF THE WAR
Though Joan was soon afterwards captured by the English, who, to their lasting dishonor, burned her as a witch, her example nerved the French to further resistance. The English gradually lost ground and in 1453 A.D., the year of the fall of Constantinople, abandoned the effort to conquer a land much larger than their own. They retained of the French territories only the port of Calais and the Channel Islands. [26]
EFFECTS OF THE WAR
Few wars have had less to justify them, either in their causes or in their consequences, than this long struggle between England and France. It was a calamity to both lands. For England it meant the dissipation abroad of the energies which would have been better employed at home. For France it resulted in widespread destruction of property, untold suffering, famines, and terrible loss of life. From this time dates that traditional hostility between the two countries which was to involve them in future conflicts. One beneficial effect the war did have. It helped to make the two nations conscious of their separate existence. The growth of a national feeling, the awakening of a sentiment of patriotism, was especially marked in France, which had fought so long for independence.
ENGLAND AFTER THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR
Shortly after the conclusion of the Hundred Years' War the two branches of the English royal family became involved in desperate struggle for the crown. It was known as the War of the Roses, because the house of York took as its badge a white rose and the house of Lancaster, a red rose. The contest lasted 1485 A.D., when the Lancastrians conquered, and their leader, Henry Tudor, ascended the throne as Henry VII. He married a Yorkist wife, thus uniting the two factions, and founded the Tudor dynasty. The War of the Roses arrested the progress of English freedom. It created a demand for a strong monarchy which could keep order and prevent civil strife between the nobles. The Tudors met that demand and ruled as absolute sovereigns. It was more than a century before Parliament, representing the people, could begin to win back free government. It did this only at the cost of a revolution.