How did the hundred year war affect medieval europe

England, torn by the Wars of the Roses, made no further attempt to conquer France. The Hundred Years War inflicted untold misery on France. Farmlands were laid waste, the population was decimated by war, famine, and the Black Death, and marauders terrorized the countryside. France had been severely damaged during the fighting. This was partly caused by official armies conducting bloody raids designed to undermine the opposition ruler by killing civilians, burning buildings, and crops and stealing whatever riches they could find. It was also frequently caused by ‘routiers,’ brigands – frequently soldiers – serving no lord and just pillaging to survive and get richer. Areas became depleted, populations fled or were massacred, the economy was damaged and disrupted, and ever greater expenditure was sucked into the army, raising taxes. Historian Guy Blois called the effects of the 1430s and 1440s a ‘Hiroshima in Normandy.' Of course, some people benefitted from the extra military expenditure. On the other hand, while tax in pre-war France had been occasional, in the post-war era it was regular and established. This extension of government was able to fund a standing army – which was built around the new technology of gunpowder - increasing both royal power and revenue, and the size of the armed forces they could field. France had begun the journey to an absolutist monarchy which would characterize later centuries. In addition, the damaged economy soon began to recover.

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