|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
First ever large-scale study of Crecy and its context, bringing out
its true importance in English and French history. With additional
contributions from Francoise Autrand, Christophe Piel, Michael
Prestwich, and Bertrand Schnerb. On the evening of 26 August 1346,
the greatest military power in Christendom, the French royal army
withPhilip VI at its head, was defeated by an expeditionary force
from England under the command of Edward III. A momentous event
that sent shock waves across Europe, the battle of Crecy marked a
turning point in the English king's struggle with his Valois
adversary. While the French suffered humiliation and crippling
casualties, compounded by the consequential loss of Calais a year
later, the self-confidence and military reputation of the English -
from their king down to the lowliest of archers - soared. Well over
half a century before Agincourt, the English had emerged as the
most respected fighting force in Europe. This book assesses the
significance of Crecy, and offers new interpretations of both the
battle itself and the campaign that preceded it. It includes the
latest research on the composition and organisation of the English
and French armies, a penetrating analysis of the narrative sources
and a revealing re-appraisal of the battlefield. It concludes with
a fresh look at the role of the archer in Edward III's victory. Dr
ANDREW AYTON is senior lecturer in history at the University of
Hull; Sir PHILIP PRESTON is an independent scholar, and founding
secretary of the Battle of Crecy Trust.
The aims and personality of the second duke are illuminated, and
the development of the Burgundian state during his ducal reign
(1404-1419) charted. His supposed 'infernal pact' with the English
and his assassination are examined;his activities in France are
studied, as he exploited French resources for the benefit of
Burgundy. John the Fearless, second Duke of Burgundy, is one of the
more dramatic and puzzling characters among medieval rulers. He
inherited the newly created duchy from his father, and defended and
developed its power ruthlessly during his ducal reign (1404-1419).
In the process, he allied himself with the English party in France,
with whom he was supposed to have made an 'infernal pact', and came
to dominate French politics; his manoeuvres led directly to his
assassination on the bridge of Montereau in the presence of
Charles, dauphin of France, who may have been personally involved.
Indeed, the main theme of the book is John the Fearless's
activities in France, which are seen in the light of the continued
need to exploit French resources for the benefit of Burgundy. John
also continued to build on the administrative and financial
structures created by his father, which were the mainstay of the
ducal power, andhe had to deal with the restlessness of the Flemish
towns, only recently made part of the Burgundian state.More than
any other Burgundian ruler, it is John's personality which
determines the course of events: violent and unscrupulous, one
quality which John the Fearless completely lacked was prudence. He
was a masterful opportunist, who acted impulsively with speed and
decision, on the spur of the moment. In the end it was one of his
own favoured weapons, political assassination, which was turned
against him.
A multi-disciplinary approach to two of the most important legal
institutions of the Middle Ages. The wars waged by the English in
France during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries led to the
need for judicial agencies which could deal with disputes that
arose on land and sea, beyond the reach of indigenous laws. This
led to the jurisdictional development of the Courts of Chivalry and
Admiralty, presiding over respectively heraldic and maritime
disputes. They were thus of considerable importance in the Middle
Ages; but they have attracted comparatively little scholarly
attention. The essays here examine their officers, proceedings and
the wider cultural and political context in which they had
jurisdiction and operated in later medieval Western Europe. They
reveal similarities in personnel, institutions and outlook, as well
as in the issues confronting rulers in territories across Europe.
They also demonstrate how assertions of sovereignty and challenges
to judicial competence were inextricably linked to complex
political agendas; and that both military and maritime law were
international in reach because they were underpinned by
trans-national customs and the principles and procedures of
Continental civil law. Combininglaw with military and maritime
history, and discussing the art and material culture of chivalric
disputes as well as their associated heraldry, the volume provides
fresh new insights into an important area of medieval life and
culture. ANTHONY MUSSON is Head of Research at Historic Royal
Palaces; NIGEL RAMSAY is Honorary Senior Research Associate in the
Department of History at University College London. Contributors:
Andrew Ayton, Richard Barber, John Ford, Laurent Hablot, Thomas K.
Heeboll-Holm, Julian Luxford, Ralph Moffat, Philip Morgan, Bertrand
Schnerb, Anne F. Sutton, Lorenzo Tanzini.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|