Ahead of a short vacation in Normandy, I’ve been reading up on the Hundred Years War. England fought with France more or less continuously between 1337 and 1453.
I think I was last taught about it when I was ten and never really grasped anything other than the Great British Victories (attributed to the innovative use of the longbow) at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt.
Here are two things I’ve now understood for the first time:
1. The first important conflict of the war was not on land, but at sea. The Battle of Sluys in 1340 was fought by the mouth of the River Eede. The vast French fleet, ready for invasion, was effectively destroyed. It was for this reason that the whole of the remainder of the war was fought on French soil. Extraordinarily, although the battle was entirely between ships, the use of onboard longbowmen by the English was new and possibly decisive.
2. In the end, the French won the war. Decisively. And England never again threatened to occupy France.
I understand why at school we were not taught Point 2. That’s how English history was communicated when I was young. We didn’t lose wars, it appeared.
But why were we not told about Point 1? Sluys is, it seems to me, as important, if not more so, than Trafalgar. And, as a result, just as much part of who (whom?) we are.
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