Edward III and the Triumph of England: The Battle of Crecy and the Company of the Garter

Description

A fascinating recreation of the world of one of England's most charismatic monarchs The young Edward III's destruction of the French army at Crecy in 1346 and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. Edward's claim to be King of France could be pressed home and enormous rewards of land and treasure were available both to the king and to the close companions who had made the victory possible. This is a book about knighthood, battle tactics and grand strategy, but it is also about fashion, literature and the privates lives of everyone from queens to freebooters. Barber's book is a remarkable achievement - but also an extremely enjoyable one.

Richard Barber has had a huge influence on the study of medieval history and literature, both as a writer and as a publisher. His major works include The Knight and Chivalry (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Edward, Prince of Wales and Aquitaine, The Penguin Guide to Medieval Europe and The Holy Grail- The History of a Legend. He lives in East Anglia.

Barber [has an] infectious passion for and deep knowledge of his subject matter . . . elegant prose and rigorous historical analysis . . . a valuable and thorough addition to the body of work on this most impressive of English monarchs * Sunday Times * In Edward III and the Triumph of England [Barber] has written the kind of book that the king would have enjoyed: full of battles, glitter and ceremony . . . he has an original eye and an elegant pen -- Jonathan Sumption * Literary Review * Barber shares his hero's love of chivalry . . . The book sparkles with some of Edward's own glitz * Telegraph * This absorbing book is layered rather than linear, sifting with uncommon sensitivity through challenging sources to test the boundaries of what we can and cannot know . . . We discover the complexity of the world in which Edward and his commanders lived -- Helen Castor * The Times *