For over a hundred years, England invaded France on a regular
basis, claiming (with some justification) that her kings had a
right to the French throne. France was a large, unwieldy kingdom.
England was small and poor. Yet she dominated the war, sacking
towns and castles and winning battles - including such glorious
victories as Crecy, Poitiers and of course Agincourt. The
protagonists of that war - or, more properly, wars - are among the
most colourful in European history. On the English side, we have
Edward III, his son the Prince of Wales (also known as the Black
Prince) and Henry V, immortalised by Shakespeare and again, in
Britain's hour of need, by Laurence Olivier. For the French, there
was the splendid but inept John II, the sickly Charles V, who very
nearly overcame the English, and the enigmatic Charles VII, who did
at last drive the enemy out. Desmond Seward's critically acclaimed
account of the war first appeared in 1978. Born in France, educated
in England (at Ampleforth and Cambridge) Seward was ideally placed
to tell the tale of this fratricidal conflict. He broke new ground
in stressing its materialistic nature. For Englishmen, this was a
war rich in spoils. The French remember it less fondly - for them
it was, in Seward's words, 'a dreadful experience, which involved
the entire community', a time when 'wolves entered Paris to eat the
corpses'. Seward brings to vivid life not only the intrigue and
pageantry of the two courts, but the blood and guts of battle (his
description of Poitiers is particularly gripping). He also lays to
rest some long-cherished myths - the role of Joan of Arc, for
example, was less crucial than is popularly supposed. This is a
book which manages to be both concise and scholarly, never
sacrificing intellectual rigour on the altar of accessibility, and
is amply illustrated with (mainly contemporary) maps, charts,
tables and etchings. (Kirkus UK)
For over a hundred years England repeatedly invaded France on the
pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. France was
a large, unwieldy kingdom, England was small and poor, but for the
most part she dominated the war, sacking towns and castles and
winning battles - including such glorious victories as Crecy,
Poitiers and Agincourt, but then the English run of success began
to fail, and in four short years she lost Normandy and finally her
last stronghold in Guyenne. The protagonists of the Hundred Year
War are among the most colourful in European history: for the
English, Edward III, the Black Prince and Henry V, later
immortalized by Shakespeare; for the French, the splendid but inept
John II, who died a prisoner in London, Charles V, who very nearly
overcame England and the enigmatic Charles VII, who did at last
drive the English out. Desmond Seward's account traces the changes
that led to France's final victory and brings to life all the
intrigue and colour of the last chivalric combats as they gave way
to a more brutal modern warfare.
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