Inner strife and foreign wars, as well as famine (1315-16) and the occurrence of the plague (1348, 1360-62, 1369, 1375) determined the fourteenth century. But it is also the age of Chaucer, Gower, Langland, and the church reformer John Wyclif.

Around the turn of the century the main problem was the conflict with Scotland, in which Edward II proved to be far less successful than his father. He became increasingly unpopular and in 1327 he was imprisoned and killed.

In 1328 Edward III had to disown the over-lordship over Scotland. Scotland had formed an alliance with France and now formed one with Ireland so that the English lordship there also became more and more feeble. Gascony, the only remaining English ruled territory in France, was another source of conflict that finally led to the Hundred Years War when Edward III claimed the French Crown in 1337. The most famous English victories were those of Sluys (1340), Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), the latter under the leadership of Edward the Black Prince, and the capture of Calais in 1347.

As these wars were very expensive high taxes had to be raised. This led to discontent amongst the population, especially after 1369 when the success in warfare dwindled. Edward changed his policy in 1375 and agreed to a truce with France and the payment of subsidies to the much mistrusted pope. The Good Parliament of 1376 called for reforms and succeeded in its attempt to displace some of the king's ministers.

After the accession of the only ten year old Richard II the country was governed by his uncle John of Gaunt. To finance the wars he imposed a series of poll taxes on the people, which in 1381 led to the Peasants' Revolt.

After Richard had declared himself of age in 1389 he successfully revitalized English rule in Ireland in 1395. A treaty with France in 1396 and Richard's marriage to Isabelle of Valois brought peace to the country for a few years. His reign was successful and he was quite popular up to 1397. Between 1397 and 1399 however Richard became dangerous to his country and he broke the oaths sworn at his coronation. Inner strives among the nobility and his tyrannical behaviour led to his arrest and the accession of Henry of Lancaster in 1399.

At the end of Richard's reign England still faced much the same problems as at the beginning of the fourteenth century, alongside with the start of the conflict between Lancastrians and Yorkists that was to lead to the Wars of the Roses.

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