During the Hundred Years’ War, the city of Paris was captured and ruled by the English for sixteen years. The story of this violent and terrible period is vividly recounted by an anonymous writer, known as the Bourgeois de Paris.
When Medieval England was Almost Invaded
February 4, 2018 by
Froissart enthusiastically notes that many among the French host ‘considered England to be already crushed and devastated, all her men killed, and her women and children brought to France in slavery’.
A Woman as Leader of Men: Joan of Arc’s Military Career
December 26, 2017 by
Though she was radically different from other contemporary military leaders, her troops followed her with a loyalty unsurpassed by any other late-medieval captain.
The Battle of Poitiers, 1356
December 4, 2017 by
There are days when the course of the history of the world—or a large part of it, anyway—depends on the character, emotions, decisions, and actions of a few men in a single place.
Cross-Border Representations of Revolt in the Later Middle Ages: France and England During the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)
June 3, 2017 by
Combing through more than eighty chronicles from the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century, we have only been able to find some fifteen examples of popular revolt in England and France being reported by authors from the other side of the channel.
Henry V and the crossing to France: reconstructing naval operations for the Agincourt campaign, 1415
May 17, 2017 by
On 11 August 1415 a large fleet slipped out of the Solent and headed to the Chef de Caux.
The Poetry of Trauma: On the Crécy Dead
June 4, 2016 by
By Danièle Cybulskie Time and again, I’ve heard medieval knights referred to as “killing machines”, bred for a lifetime of battle and destruction. Difficult as it may be, it’s critical to for us to remember that every one of the men mired in mud and blood on the battlefield was not a machine, but a […]
Technological Determinisms of Victory at the Battle of Agincourt
November 3, 2015 by
This article takes issue with the deterministic conclusions of a recent study by three scientists who investigated the effects of wearing armour on soldier exhaustion during the battle of Agincourt.
Agincourt 1415 – 2015
November 1, 2015 by
Anne Curry talks about the myths and history of the Battle of Agincourt
Celebrating Agincourt 600 at the Wallace Collection
October 26, 2015 by
This week, historians around the world are gearing up to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, one of the most significant battles of the Hundred Year’s War.
Agincourt 1415: The Battle
October 25, 2015 by
What you haven’t got is an ordered advance – you’ve got complete and total chaos.
Five Myths about the Battle of Agincourt
October 25, 2015 by
Anne Curry explains that ‘no other battle has generated so much interest or some much myth’ as the Battle of Agincourt, fought on October 25, 1415.
Tactics, Strategy, and Battlefield Formation during the Hundred Years War: The Role of the Longbow in the ‘Infantry Revolution’
October 24, 2015 by
The English longbow had a tremendous impact on strategy and tactics during the Hundred Years War.
New Location for the Battle of Crécy discovered
September 29, 2015 by
For over 250 years it has been believed that the Battle of Crécy, one of the most famous battles of the Middle Ages, was fought just north of the French town of Crécy-en-Ponthieu in Picardy. Now, a new book that contains the most intensive examination of sources about the battle to date, offers convincing evidence that the fourteenth-century battle instead took place 5.5 km to the south.
The English way of war, 1360-1399
September 15, 2015 by
This thesis challenges the orthodox view that the years 1360 to 1399 witnessed a period of martial decline for the English.
Making Identities in the Hundred Years War: Aquitaine, Gascony and Béarn
July 23, 2015 by
This paper focuses on three phases in which political issues played crucial roles to make Gascon identities in the time of the Hundred Years War.
Routier Perrinet Gressart: Joan of Arc’s Penultimate Enemy
July 3, 2015 by
Even my English medievalist colleagues, however reluctantly, must admit that Joan of Arc played a significant role in the Hundred Years War.
Through Trial and Error: Learning and Adaptation in the English Tactical System from Bannockburn to Poitiers
January 28, 2015 by
During the late thirteenth century and early fourteenth century, the English in medieval Europe fought in two wars: the Scottish Wars of Independence followed by the Hundred Years War.
The Hundred Years War and the Making of Modern Europe
December 28, 2014 by
English and French nationalism were forged through centuries of bitter military rivalry that carved out a new European, and ultimately global, order.
The Rise of a Tax State: Portugal, 1367-1401
October 25, 2014 by
This paper uses the case of fourteenth-century Portugal to question a common assumption of “fiscal history” literature, namely the linear relationship between war-related fiscal demands increase the level of taxation.
BOOK REVIEW: A Triple Knot by Emma Campion
July 29, 2014 by
BOOK REVIEW: A Triple Knot by Emma Campion I had the pleasure of reading another Emma Campion (Candace Robb) novel recently. Campion, who has written extensively about Alice Perrers, the royal mistress of King Edward III, in her hit, The King’s Mistress, is back on the shelves with a new book released this month entitled: A Triple Knot. This […]
The Image of the City in Peace and War in a Burgundian manuscript of Jean Froissart’s Chronicles
July 22, 2014 by
The present essay, which complements a study scheduled for publication in 2000 in a volume arising from a colloquium on the theme Regions and Landscapes held in July 1997 at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds, attempts to build on this work.
Edward III and the Hundred Years War
July 7, 2014 by
The period historians call the Hundred Years War, stretching from 1337-1453, brought about a number of changes to England and France.
The Uses Made of History by the Kings of Medieval England
July 7, 2014 by
The kings of medieval England, besides using history for the entertainment of themselves and their courts, turned it to practical purposes. They plundered history-books for precedents and other evidences to justify their claims and acts. They also recognised its value as propaganda, to bolster up their positions at home and strengthen their hands abroad.
Great Medieval Fiction 2013!
November 28, 2013 by
For those of you who enjoy some fantasy or a historical novel – this list is for you!
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