How Did The Hundred Years War Contribute To The Decline Of Feudalism

During the High Middle Ages, feudalism was the economic and political system that everything was run by. Feudalism had peasants or serfs exchange their loyalty and labor to lords, who gave them protection. Though this system may sound like it would make sense, it was incredibly unfair because the lower class of peasants and serfs weren’t treated with respect by their lords and they weren’t given much of a say. Luckily, the decline of feudalism began due to several factors. One factor of the decline of feudalism was the Hundred Years’ War. The Hundred Years’ War took place from 1337 through 1453 and was fought between England and France. One way the war contributed to the decline of feudalism was that monarchs began collecting taxes and hiring armies. Secondly, castles that the lords lived in became useless. Also, people began having a new feeling of nationalism. Clearly, the Hundred Years’ War affected the decline of feudalism.

During the Hundred Years’ War, monarchs began to collect taxes and raise armies on their own. This contributed to the decline of feudalism because collecting taxes and raising the armies to fight were normally the lord's jobs. Lords played a huge role in feudalism. They had workers that grew crops which fed the whole area, they had a say in government, and they were important to the king.
This feeling of nationalism was started by Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc went to fight for the French and led the French to victory. She inspired all of the French people to have pride in their country. The nationalism among the people unified them. Before, “many English and French peasants felt more loyalty to their local lords than to their monarch” (Textbook 5.4). Peasants now were drifting away from their lords and began to look towards their monarch and other major leaders instead. This is how nationalism caused feudalism to