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The so-called Hundred Years' War between England and France actually lasted for more than a century, from 1337 to 1453, though there were long intervals of peace during this period. The direct cause of the war was controversy over the succession to the French throne – a question that involved England because of feudal relationships going back to the Norman conquest – though issues of national identity, as well as political and cultural competition, lay just below the surface. Despite a smaller population, less wealth, and fighting on enemy soil, England got the better of France in most of the significant early battles. England began the conflict as a more cohesive state than France. Eventually, however, the French began to see past regional rivalries, and Joan of Arc inspired an emergent national pride.
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