HUNBBEI). 318 HUNDRED YEAKS' WAR. and administrative unit; it was also a com- munal unit. It was liable in duiuiiges for a false judgment given by the hundred court. As early as the reign of Edgar it was provided that the hundred should l)e responsible for the adminis- tration of jusliec and liable to punishment by line or otherwise if thieves and other eriminals were not brought to justice. The statute of Win- ehester in 1285 (13 Edw. I., c. 2) made the hundred liable to respond in damages for rob- beries fiimmilted within its limits if the olTendcr was allowed to escape jiunishment. At a still earlier period it was subject to the famous mur- der line, imposed by the laws of Canute upon any hundred in which any one not an Knglishnian was Ir.uiid slain. (See Enkusiikry.) As lately as ISSti the humlred continued to he legally liable for <laniagcs resulting from rioting. Consult: Pollock and Maitland. History of ICnglish Laio (2d ed.. London and Boston, ISnO) ; Stubbs. Conxlitulioiutl llixlunj of Knglund (O.ford, 18S0). HUNDRED DAYS, The (Fr. hn cent joKra) . The term of Xapokon's sccinid reign as French Emperor. The ]ieriod extended from March 20. ISl,*), the date of his entry into Paris, to June 28th, when Louis XVIU. once more assumed power. At Elba Napoleon had been kept in- formed of the dissension prevailing among the Allies at the Congress of Vienna, and of the extreme unpopularity of the restored Hourbons in France. Seizing the opportunity, he left Elba, February 2nth. landed with 000 men near Cannes, and called upon the country to rise in his favor, March 1st. The apathy of the Bourbons at Paris allowed Napoleon time to recruit his strength. When Louis at last bestirred himself it was too late. The Napoleonic fever had spread, the soldiers of the Empire rallied around their old leader, and the troops sent out against him joined his standard. The tinal blow to the monarchy came when Xey. after great hesita- tion, wellt over to Napoleon, who entered Paris in triumph March 20tli. Louis having lied north- ward to Ghent. Napoleon immediately or- fjanizcd a government, issued writs for the elec- tion of an extraordinary assembly to draft a new constitution, abolished the existing Legisla- ture, and began to raise troops. Aleanwhile the Allies at Vienna, on hearing of his landing, pledged themselves to hunt down the 'bandit' and to ]nit it out of his power, once for all. to disturb the peace of Europe. Eight hundred tliousand men were sent out against him. At Paris there was a foreboding that this sidden restoration could not last; but though men had lost much of the fear and respect Napoleon had been wont to inspire, the work of organization nevertheless went on actively. On June 1st, in the Champ de Mars. Napoleon solemnly swore to this new Constitution, which was very liberal in character, and then set out with his army, for he had succeeded in raising 2H7.000 men. for the north. (See Liony; Qr.vTia>l?i!.s ; Water- loo.) Four days after Waterloo, June 22d. he alxlicated in favor of his son. attempted to escape to . ieriea, failed, and gave himself np to the Engli'ih. See France. HUNDRED YEARS' WAR, The. The name of the long series of cnntr^ts wn'jred bv the English kings, between 1337 and 14.53, to gain the Freneh crown and French territory. It was by no means an uninterrupted war, but rather a succession of battles, truces, and peaces. The lirst great period of the war extends from 1337 to 1380. Philip VI. (1328-50), of the House of Valois, had succeeded Charles IV., the lust of the direct descendants of Hugh Capet, since, in accordance with the Salic law (q.v.), the crown of France could be transmitted through the male line only, though Edward 111. of England was a nearer relation to the late King, his mother, Isabella, being a sister of Charles. Edward's claim, however, was weak in this, that if fe- males could transnut claims to the erown, then there were others who had even belter claims than the English King. On .lune (I, 1330, and May 30, 1331, Edward by letters patent recog- nized Phili|)"s claims, and had the latter been a more capable man, war might not have re- sulted. The French King interfered in the alTairs of the Flemish cities, with which England had intimate commercial relations. Moreover, Ed- ward was inlluenced by the exiled Uobcrt of Artois, who had been unable to obtain his in- heritance from Philip VI. Edward dcclariMl war in 1337, and gradually made alliances with the Emperor L<)iis IV. and John of Brittany, wim was opposed by Charles of Blois, cousin of Philip VI.. in his attempts to secure his inheritance. It is this war in Brittany which the great chron- icler Froissart (q.v.) lias especially described. On the other hand, Philip established that close alliance of France and Scotland which was to endure for centuries. There were numy small skirmishes during the first years of the war, but neither side gained decisive victories, and on January 9, 1343, a truce was concluded for three years, each side retaining its possessions. Hos- tilities, however, were resumed in 1345. At this juncture the alliance of the Flemish cities was lost to England by the death of Jakob van Arte- velde (q.v.), the" leader of the Flemings, who perished in a popular tumult. On August 20, 1340. the English, under the leadership of Ed- ward himself, won their first great victory at Crfcy (q.v.). which showed that the French knights could not stand against the well-disci- plined yeoman archers of England. The victors took possession of Calais. Meanwhile France was already experiencing the evils of war: the distress of the peasants was great: financial troubles set in, made worse by the tampering with the coin and the ever-increas- ing taxes. The second great defeat of the French took place at Poitiers (q.v.). in 13.50. where the famous Black Prince led the English, aiid where King John, the successor of Philip VI., was taken prisoner. The Stales-General now for a time had control of the Administration. Their leaders were Etienne !Marcel, provost of the Merchants, Robert le Coq. Bishop of Laon, and Charles the Bad of Navarre; but the revolt of the peasants (see Jac(}IERIF.) in 13.58 caused the more conservative classes to rally to the aid of the Dauphin Charles, who had been appointed regent by the States-General during King .John's captivitv. A brief breathingspell was brought about in 1300 by the Peace of Bre- tignv ((.v.). .John died in 1304. and his son Charles V. (q.v.). who was to be known as the 'Wise.' succeeded him. Himself an nnwarlike man. he had the help of a great soldier in T)u Gueselin (q.v.). His object was to resain the l.inds his father had lost, and by interfering with
