The Hundred Years War: The English in France, 1337-1453 by Desmond Seward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Have you heard of the Hundred Years Wars but don’t have a clue as to when they occurred in history and who fought them? Although written some time ago (1978), this is a readable account of the series of wars, raids, and truces during which England nearly conquered France but ended up with a bankrupt treasury–a salutary tale.
This isn’t just an account of “one damn battle after another” yet it gives good accounts of Crecy, Agincourt, and the final fall of the English in Normandy and Guyenne. We also meet a parade of fascinating figures including Henry V, Charles II, the Black Prince and John of Gaunt, the Duke of Bedford, and Joan of Arc.
Two dominant impressions. One is that the war made a number of English nobles rich at the cost of the French as well as the English treasury. The other is that the rise and fall of the English in France can be traced to weaponry–the use of longbow archers by the English in ascendancy, and the development of artillery by the French before the English that led to their downfall.
This is history in the vein of Barbara Tuchman–not academic history, but history that is a good read and gives one a basic sense of the personalities and the flow of events during this time. This work is still in print in paper and a great introduction.