A subject about which I knew too little. Reading about the ENglish raidings throughout France, all I could think of was warlords in the Congo. 600 years ago seems not so distant. ( )

This brief account of the Hundred Years War is at times a little dry but on the whole it gives a clear account of the facts. It’s not too academic, which suits me. ( )

There are many large historical events that do not make for good single-volume histories. They are too complex and the book will inevitably either be full of anecdote and/or miss the bigger picture. This short volume first published in 1978 is in that category. There are so many names and places and events given brief coverage one is more bewildered than enlightened. He often nods about this or that famous person or event, with the understanding you already have a deeper background. Seward is English and likely had an excellent English education on this subject. I do know the roots of the 100 Years War go back to land claims by the Normans who first settled Normandy as Vikings and later became English nobles after the Conquest, which is essential to understanding later motivations towards France, but none of this discussed. There is a lack of context, but many descriptions of "evil men" (Seward uses "evil" a lot), he portrays the English as perpetrators and the French as victims (mostly). The 100 Years War is complex and resistant to simple black and white narratives. Maybe it is best approached from the ground up - biographies of Kings, books about specific battles, etc.. ( )

Read this for a research paper on the battle of Agincourt, but read the entire thing so that I had a background of the entire war. It's very readable and fairly quick. I felt it was lacking something, though, perhaps because it's mostly a military history and does not at all delve into the social implications of the war (besides mentioning that there were some). It definitely gave me a very good sense of why the conflict arose and the series of battles that ensued. If, like me, you get a bit mixed up about who's who, I'd write names down on a separate piece of paper to keep them straight. Otherwise, it's written clearly and Seward is obviously full of enthusiam. I'm looking forward to reading some of Seward's biographies, especially on Eleanor of Aquitaine. ( )

Desmond Seward's Hundred Years War between France & England is an amazing work on Medieval Europe between 1337 to 1453. In this book, the reader will see the perceived grievances & made up pretenses leading to conflict which weakened both the Valois line & the Plantagenets, both claiming rights to the French throne located in Paris.
Once the conflict began, the battles raged from the coast to land with the French navy ending up destroyed, the French embarrassment in utter defeats at Crecy, Poitiers, & Agincourt, the divided loyalties, betrayals, & murders committed, the rise of Joan of Arc to raise French hopes, her murder at the hands of the English & betrayal by the French monarch. Finally, the sheer exhaustion as both sides faced with internal troubles leading to the final treaty leaving the English with Calais.
Each chapter begins with a quote from Shakespeare & a quote from a medieval source of the time. It has a chronology of the events & maps to keep track. He has a selected bibliography for further reading. It is a good read for a greater understanding of the late medieval world before the Reformation. ( )