The Hundred Years war did not arise from a vacuum. The 12th and 13th centuries had seen near constant conflict between the English and French Crowns. As both kingdoms began to grow stronger and richer the wars between the two would also grow in intensity. In 1337 tensions boiled over yet again and war was declared. Brutal raids devastated the French countryside, disastrous battles loomed destroyed armies, and the Plague brought death even to regions untouched by violence. The 14th Century saw France hit by catastrophe and calamity, but as France was on the decline, Valois Burgundy was about to get started.
Time Period Covered: 1152-1356
Notable People: King Philip II, Henry Plantagenet, Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Philip VI, King John the Good, King Edward III, Charles the Bad, The Black Prince
Notable Events/Developments: Angevin Empire, Battle of Bouvines, The Hundred Years War, Battle of Sluis, Battle of Crecy, The Black Death
Sources
The Hundred Years War: Trial by Battle by Jonathan Sumption
The Hundred Years War: Trial by Fire by Jonathan Sumption
The Hundred Years War by Robert Neillands
Medieval Flanders by David Nicholas
The Golden Age of Burgundy by Joseph Calmette
The Black Prince and the Capture of a King by Marilyn Livingstone and Morgen Witzel
Chronicles by Jean Froissart
The Burgundians by Bart Van Loo
Lotharingia by Simon Winder
Grand Dukes of the West 