OCR Specification focus:
‘French revival under Joan of Arc; desertion of Burgundy; French recovery, the loss of Normandy and Gascony and the Battle of Castillon (1450–1453); the impact of the war on English domestic politics.’
Between 1429 and 1453, the course of the Hundred Years’ War dramatically shifted. France, inspired by new leadership and political realignments, reversed English gains, leading to ultimate defeat.
Joan of Arc and the French Revival
The Siege of Orléans (1429)
In 1429, Joan of Arc, a young peasant woman claiming divine guidance, became the symbolic and spiritual leader of the French cause. Her arrival invigorated morale at a time when France was fragmented and weakened.
Joan convinced Charles VII to allow her to aid the French forces.
Her leadership at the Siege of Orléans broke the English encirclement, a turning point in the war.
Practice Questions
FAQ
Joan of Arc was captured in 1430 by Burgundian forces and handed over to the English. Her trial and execution in 1431 aimed to discredit her and weaken French morale.
Instead, her martyrdom strengthened French unity. Charles VII continued the revival she had inspired, and Joan’s symbolic role as a divinely guided leader remained powerful in galvanising resistance.
French artillery, organised by Jean Bureau, was crucial throughout the 1440s and 1450s. It was decisive in sieges, where heavy guns dismantled English fortifications.
Key impacts:
Helped retake Normandy by breaking strongholds like Rouen.
Allowed the French to dominate field battles when used defensively.
Marked a shift from reliance on longbowmen to gunpowder warfare.
Gascony had been held by the English crown since the 12th century, forming part of the legacy of the Angevin Empire.
Its importance lay in:
Economic value: trade in wine and goods, which supported English revenue.
Symbolic weight: its long possession represented enduring English influence in France.
Military utility: it gave England a base for campaigns deeper into France.
Normandy had been the backbone of English power in France. Its loss shocked English opinion and undermined confidence in Henry VI’s rule.
Consequences included:
The scapegoating of ministers like the Duke of Suffolk, who was murdered in 1450.
Fuel for popular anger, culminating in Cade’s Rebellion.
A sense that England’s military reputation built under Henry V had collapsed within a generation.
Burgundy’s reconciliation with Charles VII in 1435 gave the French monarchy a decisive advantage.
In the long term:
It restored Paris to French royal control by 1436.
It ended the most dangerous internal division in France.
It allowed Charles VII to centralise authority and push forward military reforms without fear of Burgundian opposition.
