The Hundred Years' War is an armed conflict of 1337-1453 between France and England. It should be added here that it was interrupted by numerous truces and peace, but it did not end until 1453. From the very beginning of the conflict, archers, armed with the so-called English longbows. It is worth adding that the English army first interacted with this weapon during the fighting in Wales in the 13th-14th centuries, and it was relatively quickly adapted by them. Long bows were already particularly effective during the Battle of Crecy in 1346. In literature you can even find the term that it was "the triumph of the long bow". Considering the above, it is not surprising that in the course of subsequent expeditions to France, archers in the English army constituted from 60 to even 80% of the manpower! It is estimated that during the Battle of Agincourt they constituted just 80% of the English forces. However, next to archers, an important element of the English foot troops were also soldiers defined by the very broad term men-at-arms. Among them, we can mention mainly spearmen and pikemen, armed with spears, halberds or pikes. As a defensive weapon, they most often used simple helmets and chain mail or armor like brigantines. In general, it should be assumed that throughout the entire Hundred Years' War (up to its last stage, perhaps), the British infantry had a greater combat value than their French counterpart.
The Hundred Years' War is an armed conflict of 1337-1453 between France and England. It should be added here that it was interrupted by numerous truces and peace, but it finally ended only in 1453. The English knighthood to a large extent and actually from the very beginning supported this armed conflict, seeing in it the possibility of significant improvement of its property status through looting and looting, but also land grants in the occupied areas of France. This "social conditioning" made the Hundred Years' War different from the actions taken by Henry II Plantagenet against France in the 12th century. Moreover, English chivalry was much more disciplined and more punitive than its French opponents in the 14th-15th centuries. Often, part of it was in a hurry - for example, the Battle of Crecy (1346) or Agincourt (1415). At that time, it powered this element of the English foot troops, which was referred to as men-at-arms. During the Hundred Years' War, the English knight often (especially in the 15th century) entered the fight in plate armor, but also in chain mail with numerous elements of this armor. Much less often he used the brigantine, which was intended for the "worse" born. In addition to the shield, he also used various types of helmets - e.g. basinet. bascinet ) or salad (though the one only at the end of the war). Of course, the most prestigious weapon was the one-handed sword, but on a large scale the English knights also used various types of blunt weapons, and in the case of horse fighting - also lances.
