Science Source ftp Apr 2015

The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France for control of the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings. Militarily, it saw the introduction of new weapons and tactics which eroded the older system of feudal armies dominated by heavy cavalry in Western Europe. The first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire were introduced for the war, thus changing the role of the peasantry. For all this it is often viewed as one of the most significant conflicts in the history of medieval warfare. Froissart's Chronicles was written in French by Jean Froissart, chronicling the years 1322 until 1400, and describing the conditions that created the Hundred Years' War, as well as the first fifty years of the war. For centuries it has been recognized as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of 14th century England and France.