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How long did the Hundred Years' War actually last?
It ran from 1337 to 1453, with long truces between fighting.
The Hundred Years' War is the traditional name for a series of conflicts between the English and French crowns, usually dated from 1337 to 1453. The dates give 116 years, but the fighting was not continuous. Long truces separated phases such as the early English successes at Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360, a revival of French fortunes, Henry V's victory at Agincourt in 1415, and Joan of Arc's role in the 1420s.
The causes combine a dispute over lands held by English kings in France, particularly Guyenne, and Edward III's claim to the French throne through his mother. History.com traces overlapping claims back to 1066, when the Duke of Normandy became king of England. The war ended after the French victory at Castillon in 1453, although there was no peace treaty at that point.
The name itself is a later invention: according to History.com, the term 'Hundred Years' War' was not used until 1823. Contemporaries did not think they were in one war. England kept Calais until 1558, and English monarchs continued to claim the French throne in their titles until George III dropped it in 1800. Historians sometimes dispute the endpoints, so '116 years' is a convention rather than a precise measure of war time.