John Lackland--or, as the French called him, John Sans Terre--having assassinated his nephew Arthur, Duke of Brittany, in order to obtain possession of his lands, was summoned by Philip Augustus, King of France, to justify his crime.

John did not obey the summons, was declared guilty of felony, and Philip took possession of Normandy.

Thus the first step to hostilities was laid down." "The English having lost Normandy, the vassalage ceased." "Yes, so far as regards Normandy; but, in the meantime, Louis le Jeune, King of France, unfortunately divorced his wife, Elenor of Aquitaine, who afterwards married an English prince, and added Guienne, another French dukedom to the English crown." "So another vassalage sprung up." "Exactly.

All the French King insisted upon was the homage; but Edward III.

of England, instead of bending his knee to Philip of Valois, argued with himself in this way: 'If I were King of England and France as well, the claim of homage for the dukedom of Guienne would be extinguished.'" "Rather cool that," said Jack, laughing.
"'We shall then,' Edward said to himself, 'be our own sovereign, and do homage to ourself, which would save a deal of bother.'" "Well, he was right there, at least," remarked the Pilot.
"The King of France, however, entertained a different view of the subject.