War of Saint - Sardos The War of Saint - Sardos was a short war fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France in 1324 . The war was a clear defeat for the English , and led indirectly to the overthrowing of Edward II of England . The war can also be seen as one of the precursors of the Hundred Years ' War . Background . During the reign of King Philip IV of France and his sons , France ' s monarchy gradually expanded its authority , as the power of the king grew at the expense of the nobles . One of the chief tools in this process was the Parlement of Paris , which allowed people to appeal the decisions of lower courts . During these appeals their possessions were under the direct protection of the Crown , weakened one of the most important privilege s of the nobility : that of jurisdiction over their own lands . One of those who felt this encroachment the most was Edward II , King of England and Duke of Aquitaine . As Duke of Aquitaine , he ruled Gascony as a French vassal , the last remnant of the Angevin Empire . The French kings wanted this last English foothold gone too , and were very eager to settle disputes between the Duke and his subjects . Thus , unless he wanted a direct confrontation , Edward II could do little but watch the duchy dwindle away as numerous small cases were decided against him . Litigations and negotiations . One of these was the small village of Saint - Sardos . The village was within the jurisdiction of the Duke of Aquitaine , but it also contained a Benedictine priory and the priory ' s motherhouse , the Abbey of Sarlat , lay outside . In 1318 , the abbot petitioned Parlement to declare Saint - Sardos exempt from the King - Duke ' s jurisdiction . He also offered to build a " bastide " there . The case proceeded slowly , but in December 1322 , the Parlement ruled in the abbot ' s favour . In 15 October 1323 , a royal sergeant arrived at Saint - Sardos and erected a stake bearing the Arms of the King of France . Local landowners were not too pleased . They feared that the new bastide would attract settlers from their own estates and thus diminish their own incomes . The night after the sergeant ' s arrival , Raymond - Bernard , lord of Monpezat , raided Saint - Sardos . He burned the village to the ground and hanged the sergeant at his own stake . Edward II had more than enough problems at home , and did not need a diplomatic crisis with France . As soon as the news reached him , he sent letters offering his apologies and proclaiming his innocence . He was not believed . Ralph Basset , the Seneschal of Gascony and highest English official in France , had met with Raymond - Bernard only two days before the raid . The French government accused him for authorising the crime . He was probably guilty . The English employed what means they could to prolong the proceedings without making any great concessions . Basset was recalled in March 1324 and in April , an embassy was sent to France with instructions to negotiate a peaceful settlement , if possible . This embassy was led by Edmund of Woodstock , Earl of Kent and the Archbishop of Dublin Alexander de Bicknor . But time was quickly running out . King Charles IV of France had ordered his army to muster on the borders of Aquitaine in June . The ambassadors received a chilly welcome when they arrived at Paris and first promised that Montpezat would be surrendered . They then travelled to Bordeaux to see to the fulfillment of the agreement . There they learned that Charles IV ' s conduct of the affair had caused much indignation among the local nobility . The Earl of Kent therefore changed his mind and decided to resist . The French officials were forced to return empty - handed . New ambassadors were sent , but too late ; before they could arrive Charles IV declared the duchy forfeit . The War . In August 1324 Charles of Valois , the king ' s uncle , invaded Aquitaine . The English were poorly prepared : many garrisons were little more than skeleton forces , and some locations had no troops at all . Aided by local nobles , such as the Count of Foix , and approximately 7 , 000 troops , Charles of Valois swept through the region and ended the war less than six weeks after it had begun . Most towns surrendered immediately . The stiffest resistance came from the Earl of Kent at La Réole , who managed to hold out for a few weeks before he too surrendered . A truce was worked out which , as it turned out , would be the permanent end to this short conflict . Aftermath . The French were , for the time being , satisfied by the detachment of the Agenais from Aquitaine , rather than the confiscation of the entire duchy . However , the war reverberated loudly in English politics . Hugh le Despenser , the elder , whose military ineptitude and failure to relieve La Réole had led to the quick collapse of English resistance , was forced to send Queen Isabella to France to negotiate terms . She took her son Edward of Windsor , to whom Edward II had resigned Aquitaine and Ponthieu , that he might do homage for them . When they returned , it would be for the ruin of the Despensers and Edward II himself .