Early European History Part 92

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROYAL ARMS OF EDWARD III Edward III, having in 1340 A.D. set up a claim to the throne of France, proceeded to add the French lilies (_fleurs-de-lis_) to his coat of arms.

He also took as his motto _Dieu et mon Droit_ ("G.o.d and my Right"). The lilies of France remained in the royal arms till 1801 A.D.; the motto is still retained.]

REASONS FOR THE WAR

Edward III at first accepted the situation. Philip VI, however, irritated Edward by constant encroachments on the territories which the English still kept in France. Philip also allied himself with the Scotch and interfered with English trade interests in the county of Flanders. [23]

This att.i.tude of hostility provoked retaliation. Edward now rea.s.serted his claim to the crown of France and prepared by force of arms to make it good.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ENGLISH ARCHER From an old ma.n.u.script.]

BATTLES OF CReCY, 1346 A.D., AND POITIERS, 1356 A.D.

In 1346 A.D. Edward led his troops across the Channel and at Crecy gained a complete victory over the knighthood of France. Ten years later the English at Poitiers almost annihilated another French force much superior in numbers. These two battles were mainly won by foot soldiers armed with the long bow, in the use of which the English excelled. Ordinary iron mail could not resist the heavy, yard-long arrows, which fell with murderous effect upon the bodies of men and horses alike. Henceforth infantry, when properly armed and led, were to prove themselves on many a b.l.o.o.d.y field more than a match for feudal cavalry. The long bow, followed later by the musket, struck a deadly blow at feudalism.

THE "BLACK PRINCE"

Edward's son, the Prince of Wales, when only sixteen years of age, won his spurs by distinguished conduct at Crecy. It was the "Black Prince," [24]

also, who gained the day at Poitiers, where he took prisoner the French king, John. Toward his royal captive he behaved in chivalrous fashion. At supper, on the evening of the battle, he stood behind John's chair and waited on him, praising the king's brave deeds. But this "flower of knighthood," who regarded warfare as only a tournament on a larger scale, could be ruthless in his treatment of the common people. On one occasion he caused three thousand inhabitants of a captured town--men, women and children--to be butchered before his eyes. The incident shows how far apart in the Middle Ages were chivalry and humanity.

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 Orleans. 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 ORLeANS," 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 Orleans 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 Orleans. 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 n.o.bles. 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.

FRANCE AFTER THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR

France also issued from the Hundred Years' War with an absolute government. Strengthened by victory over the English, the French kings were able to reduce both the n.o.bility and the commons to impotence. During the reign of Louis XI (1461-1483 A.D.) the royal domains were enlarged by the addition of Anjou, Provence, and the duchy of Burgundy. His son, Charles VIII (1483-1498 A.D.), made Brittany a possession of the French crown. The unification of France was now almost complete.

189. UNIFICATION OF SPAIN (TO 1492 A.D.)

THE SPANISH PENINSULA

The Spanish peninsula, known to the Romans as Hispania, is sharply separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees Mountains. At the same time the nearness of the peninsula to Africa has always brought it into intimate relations with that continent. Just as Russia has formed a link between Asia and Europe, so Spain has served as a natural highway from Africa to Europe.

THE SPANISH PEOPLE

The first settlers in Spain, of whom we know anything, were the Iberians.

They may have emigrated from northern Africa. After them came the Celts, who overran a large part of the peninsula and appear to have mingled with the Iberians, thus forming the mixed people known as Celtiberians. In historic times Spain was conquered by the Carthaginians, who left few traces of their occupation, by the Romans, who thoroughly Romanized the country, by the Visigoths, who founded a Germanic kingdom, and lastly by the Moors, who introduced Arabian culture and the faith of Islam. [27]

These invaders were not numerous enough greatly to affect the population, in which the Celtiberian strain is still predominant.

CHRISTIAN STATES OF SPAIN

The Moors never wholly conquered a fringe of mountain territory in the extreme north of Spain. Here a number of small Christian states, including Leon, Castile, Navarre, and Aragon, came into being. In the west there also arose the Christian state of Portugal. Geographically, Portugal belongs to Spain, from which it is separated only by artificial frontiers, but the country has usually managed to maintain its independence.

RECOVERY OF SPAIN FROM THE MOORS

Acting sometimes singly and sometimes in concert, the Christian states fought steadily to enlarge their boundaries at the expense of their Moslem neighbors. The contest had the nature of a crusade, for it was blessed by the pope and supported by the chivalry of Europe. Periods of victory alternated with periods of defeat, but by the close of the thirteenth century Mohammedan Spain had been reduced to the kingdom of Granada at the southern extremity of the peninsula.

THE CID

The long struggle with the Moors made the Spanish a patriotic people, keenly conscious of their national unity. The achievements of Christian warriors were recited in countless ballads, and especially in the fine _Poem of the Cid_. It deals with the exploits of Rodrigo Diaz, better known by the t.i.tle of the Cid (lord) given to him by the Moors. The Cid of romance was the embodiment of every knightly virtue; the real Cid was a bandit, who fought sometimes for the Christians, sometimes against them, but always in his own interest. The Cid's evil deeds were forgotten, however, and after his death in 1099 A.D. he became the national hero of Spain.

UNION OF CASTILE AND ARAGON, 1479 A.D.

Meanwhile the separate Spanish kingdoms were coming together to form a nation. Leon and Castile in 1230 A.D. combined into the one kingdom of Castile, so named because its frontiers bristled with castles against the Moors. But the most important step in the making of Spain was the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon to Isabella of Castile, leading in 1479 A.D. to the union of these two kingdoms. About the same time the Castilian language began to crowd out the other Spanish dialects and to become the national speech.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, UNIFICATION OF SPAIN DURING THE MIDDLE AGES]

CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 1492 A.D.

The new sovereigns of Spain aimed to continue the unification of the peninsula by the conquest of Granada. No effort was made by the Turks, who shortly before had captured Constantinople, to defend this last stronghold of Islam in the West. The Moors, though thrown upon their own resources, made a gallant resistance. At least once Ferdinand wearied of the struggle, but Isabella's determination never wavered. In 1492 A.D. Granada surrendered, and the silver cross of the crusading army was raised on the highest tower of the city. Moslem rule in Spain, after an existence of almost eight centuries, now came to an end.

RULE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA

Ferdinand and Isabella belong in the front rank of European sovereigns.

Like their contemporaries, Henry VII and Louis XI, they labored with success to build up an absolute monarchy. Spain had found, as England and France had found, that feudalism spelled disorder, and that only a strong central government could keep the peace, repress crime, and foster trade and commerce. Ferdinand and Isabella firmly established the supremacy of the crown. By the end of the fifteenth century Spain had become a leading European power. Its importance in the councils of Europe was soon to be increased by the marriage of a daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella to the heir of the Austrian house of Hapsburg.

190. AUSTRIA AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, 1273-1499 A.D.

RISE OF AUSTRIA

The name Austria--in German Oesterreich--means simply the eastern part of any kingdom. It came to be applied particularly to the territory on the Danube east of Bavaria, which Otto the Great had formed into a mark or border province for defense against the Magyars. [28] This mark, soon to be known as Austria, gained an important place among German states. The frontiers were pushed down the Danube valley and the capital was finally located at Vienna, once a Roman city. Frederick Barbarossa raised Austria to the rank of a duchy. Rudolf of Hapsburg, who became emperor in 1273 A.D., first brought the country into the hands of the Hapsburg family.

[29]

GROWTH OF AUSTRIA UNDER THE HAPSBURGS

The Hapsburgs founded the power of the present Austrian monarchy. At the end of the fourteenth century their dominions included a large part of eastern Germany, [30] reaching from beyond the Danube southward to the Adriatic. Early in the sixteenth century they secured Bohemia, a Slavic land thrust like a wedge into German territory, as well as part of the Magyar land of Hungary. The possession of these two kingdoms gave Austria its special character of a state formed by the union under one ruler of several wholly distinct nations. Meanwhile the right of election as Holy Roman Emperor became hereditary in the Hapsburg family.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, GROWTH OF THE HAPSBURG POSSESSIONS]

SWITZERLAND