The Flemings, however, soon wearying of the oppressive administration of the French governor, Jacques de Chtillon, and the recrudescence of patrician domination, rose and overwhelmed the French chivalry at Courtrai (1302) a prelude to the coming disasters of the Hundred Years War.
Disdaining the illusory dream of the imperial crown, still cherished by his legal advisers, he pushed forward towards that fluctuating eastern frontier, the line of least resistance, which would have yielded to him had it not been for the unfortunate interruption of the Hundred Years War.
This well-established authority was also supported by the revered memory of Monseigneur Saint Louis; and it is this prestige, the strength of this ideal superior to all other, that explains how the royal prerogative came to survive the mistakes and misfortunes of the Hundred Years War.
During this century and a half France passed through two very severe crises; under the first five Valois the Hundred Years War imperilled the kingdoms independence; and under Louis XI.
However, the Hundred Years War was not mainly caused by the pretensions of Edward III.
