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Shuffling the elements of the lead to reduce redundancy per WP:REDUNDANCY. It's probably more informative to identify the leader of the campaign and the major conflict of which it was part than to further specify when in 1345 it took place. |
Gog the Mild (talk | contribs) Adding/removing wikilink(s) |
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==Background==
Since the [[Norman conquest]] of England in 1066, [[English monarchs]] had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them [[vassal]]s of the [[kings of France]]. The status of the English king's French [[fief]]s was a major source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the [[Middle Ages]]. French monarchs systematically sought to check the growth of English power, stripping away lands as the opportunity arose.{{sfn|Prestwich|2007|p=394}} Over the centuries, English holdings in France had varied in size, but by 1337 only [[Gascony]] in south-western France and [[Ponthieu]] in northern France were left.{{sfn|Harris|1994|p=8}} The independent-minded Gascons had their own customs and claimed to have a separate [[Gascon language|language]]; they preferred their relationship with a distant English king who left them alone, to one with a French king who would interfere in their affairs.{{sfn|Crowcroft|Cannon|2015|p=389}} Following a series of disagreements between [[Philip VI of France]] ({{reign|1328|1350}}) and [[Edward III of England]] ({{reign|1327|1377}}), on 24 May 1337 Philip's [[Conseil du Roi|Great Council]] agreed that the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]], effectively Gascony, should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the [[Hundred Years' War]], which was to last 116 years.{{sfn|Sumption|1990|p=184}}
===Gascony===
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