Capetian-Plantagenet rivalry
| Capetian-Plantagenet Rivalry | |||||||||
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 Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart at the Third Crusade |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Kingdom of France
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.svg){kind=small} Angevin Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| • Louis VII of France • Philip II Augustus • Louis VIII of France • Saint Louis • Philip IV the Fair |
• Henry II of England • Richard the Lionhearted • John Lackland • Henry III of England • Edward I of England |
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The conflict between the dynasties of the Capetians and Plantagenets covers a period of 100 years (1159-1259), during which the Kingdom of France fought against the Angevin Empire. This conflict is also called by some historians, the "First Hundred Years War." The conflict is primarily French, since both dynasties were French, the nobles that made up the English army were essentially of French origin, and the foot soldiers of the English king were local recruits in France (Anjou, Guyenne, Normandy, Brittany etc.). At this period, the English king's continental possessions were considered more important than his island possessions, and significantly greater than even those of the French sovereign, even if the latter was the overlord of the former for most of the possessions he held on the continent. And the official language of the two belligerents is the French of that time. French also remained the official language of England until 1361. Such is the origin of the expressions that can still be found today on the shields and coat of arms of the English monarchy Honi soit qui mal y pense and Dieu et mon droit. The English kings, who were of French origin, took wives from France from the 11th to the 15th century. Very rare are those who married a woman of another country, including the cadet branches. Hence the Plantagenet monarchs were ethnically French.
The war began in 1159 when the armies of the Angevin Henry II of England entered Périgueux. The King of England had decided to further expand his possessions in the southwest by annexing the county of Toulouse, which includes, among others, Quercy.
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