This book investigates the Battle of Agincourt-which continues to be of immense national and international interest-as well as the wider conduct and organisation of war in the late Middle Ages. In England, Shakespeare's Henry V ensured that the battle holds a place in the English national consciousness, and through the centuries that followed the story of Henry's famous victory was used to galvanise English national spirit in times of war. In France, the immediate impact of the battle was that it helped to galvanise French national awareness in response to an external enemy. This book showcases new research into Agincourt and the wider issues of military recruitment, naval logistics, gunpowder and siege warfare, and the conduct of war. It also takes a wider European perspective on the events of 1415 by including research on Portuguese military organisation at the time of Agincourt. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Medieval History.

Essays exploring how England was governed during a tumultuous period. The twin themes of power and authority in fourteenth-century England, a century of transition between the high and late medieval polities, run throughout this volume, reflecting Professor Given-Wilson's seminal work in the area. Covering the period between Edward I's final years and the tyranny of Richard II, the volume encompasses political, social, economic and administrative history through four major lens: central governance, aristocratic politics, warfare, and English power abroad. Topics covered include royal administrative efficiency; the machinations of government clerks; the relationship between the crown and market forces; the changing nature of noble titles and lordship;and ideas of court politics, favouritism and loyalty. Military policy is also examined, looking at army composition and definitions of "war" and "rebellion". The book concludes with a detailed study of treasonous English captainsaround Calais and a broader examination of Plantagenet ambitions on the European stage. REMY AMBUHL is Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Southampton; JAMES BOTHWELL is Lecturer in Later Medieval Historyat the University of Leicester; LAURA TOMPKINS is Research Manager at Historic Royal Palaces. Contributors: Andrew Ayton, Michael Bennett, Wendy R. Childs, Gwilym Dodd, David Green, J.S. Hamilton, Andy King, Alison McHardy, Mark Ormrod, Michael Prestwich, Bridget Wells-Furby

This book investigates the Battle of Agincourt-which continues to be of immense national and international interest-as well as the wider conduct and organisation of war in the late Middle Ages. In England, Shakespeare's Henry V ensured that the battle holds a place in the English national consciousness, and through the centuries that followed the story of Henry's famous victory was used to galvanise English national spirit in times of war. In France, the immediate impact of the battle was that it helped to galvanise French national awareness in response to an external enemy. This book showcases new research into Agincourt and the wider issues of military recruitment, naval logistics, gunpowder and siege warfare, and the conduct of war. It also takes a wider European perspective on the events of 1415 by including research on Portuguese military organisation at the time of Agincourt. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Medieval History.

A remarkable and very important unpublished chronicle written by two soldiers, covering in detail the English campaigns in France from 1415 to 1429. It lists many individuals who served in the war, and was written specifically for Sir John Fastolf, the English commander. This previously unpublished chronicle from the mid-fifteenth century covers the English wars in France from 1415 to 1429. It is highly unusual in that it was written by two soldiers, Peter Basset and Christopher Hanson. William Worcester, secretary to the English commander Sir John Fastolf, also had a hand in it, and it was specifically written for Sir John. The content is unusual, as it includes many lists of individuals serving in the war, and records their presence at battles, naming more than 700 in all. Over half these individuals are French or Scottish, so it would seem that the authors had a particularly detailed knowledge of French military participation. The narrative is important for the English campaigns in Maine in the 1420s in which Fastolf was heavily involved and which otherwise receive little attention in chronicles written on either side of the Channel. The progress of the war is well mapped, with around 230 place names mentioned. The chronicle was extensively used in the sixteenth century by several heralds and by Edward Hall. As a result, it had an influence on Shakespeare. The death of the earl of Salisbury at Orleans in 'Henry VI Part I' Follows the chronicle closely. The 'Mirror for Magistrates' Salisbury narrative is also derived from the chronicle. Another point of interest is that the chronicle is by a scribe who can be identified, and proves to be the only known fifteenth-century account of the war written in England in French, which adds an important linguistic dimension to its study.

The status of prisoners of war was firmly rooted in the practice of ransoming in the Middle Ages. By the opening stages of the Hundred Years War, ransoming had become widespread among the knightly community, and the crown had already begun to exercise tighter control over the practice of war. This led to tensions between public and private interests over ransoms and prisoners of war. Historians have long emphasised the significance of the French and English crowns' interference in the issue of prisoners of war, but this original and stimulating study questions whether they have been too influenced by the state-centred nature of most surviving sources. Based on extensive archival research, this book tests customs, laws and theory against the individual experiences of captors and prisoners during the Hundred Years War, to evoke their world in all its complexity.

The status of prisoners of war was firmly rooted in the practice of ransoming in the Middle Ages. By the opening stages of the Hundred Years War, ransoming had become widespread among the knightly community, and the crown had already begun to exercise tighter control over the practice of war. This led to tensions between public and private interests over ransoms and prisoners of war. Historians have long emphasised the significance of the French and English crowns' interference in the issue of prisoners of war, but this original and stimulating study questions whether they have been too influenced by the state-centred nature of most surviving sources. Based on extensive archival research, this book tests customs, laws and theory against the individual experiences of captors and prisoners during the Hundred Years War, to evoke their world in all its complexity.