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Edward III and the Triumph of England: The Battle of Crecy and the Company of the Garter
This is a fascinating recreation of the world of one of England's most charismatic monarchs, from award-winning author and historian Richard Barber. The destruction of the French army at Crecy in 1346 and the subsequent siege and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. The most powerful, glamorous and respected of all western monarchies had been completely humiliated by England, a country long viewed either as a chaotic backwater or a mere French satellite. The young Edward III's triumph would launch both countries, as we now know, into a grim cycle of some 90 years of further fighting ending with English defeat, but after Crecy anything seemed possible - Edward's claim to be King of France could be pressed home and, in any event, enormous rewards of land, treasure and prestige were available both to the king and to the close companions who had made the victory possible. It was to enshrine this moment that Edward created one of the most famous of all knightly orders, the Company of the Garter. Barber writes about both the great campaigns and the individuals who formed the original membership of the Company - and through their biographies makes the period tangible and fascinating. 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.
672 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2013
23 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Richard Barber
163 books31 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Richard William Barber is a prominent British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in the Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion, in 1961, which is still in print in a revised edition. His other major interest is historical biography; he has published on Henry Plantagenet (1964) and among his other books is the standard biography of Edward the Black Prince, Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine. The interplay between history and literature was the theme of The Knight and Chivalry, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1971 and he returned to this in The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief (2004); this was widely praised in the UK press, and had major reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
His other career has been as a publisher. In 1969 he helped to found The Boydell Press, which later became Boydell & Brewer Ltd, one of the leading publishers in medieval studies, and he is currently group managing director. In 1989, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, in association with the University of Rochester, started the University of Rochester Press in upstate New York. The group currently publishes over 200 titles a year.
Richard William Barber is a prominent British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in the Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion, in 1961, which is still in print in a revised edition. His other major interest is historical biography; he has published on Henry Plantagenet (1964) and among his other books is the standard biography of Edward the Black Prince, Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine. The interplay between history and literature was the theme of The Knight and Chivalry, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1971 and he returned to this in The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief (2004); this was widely praised in the UK press, and had major reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
His other career has been as a publisher. In 1969 he helped to found The Boydell Press, which later became Boydell & Brewer Ltd, one of the leading publishers in medieval studies, and he is currently group managing director. In 1989, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, in association with the University of Rochester, started the University of Rochester Press in upstate New York. The group currently publishes over 200 titles a year.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 19, 2017
At one point in these pages Richard Barber refers to the work of another historian of the period as 'masterful if somewhat indigestible', and sadly I'd say that's a pretty good description of this book too. It's a book that can't seem to decide what it wants to be - or perhaps it's trying to be too many things. Is it a biography of Edward III? Sort of. Is it a history of the beginning of the Hundred Years War? In a way. Is it a history of the Order of the Garter? Closer to that than anything else. Is it an overview of the medieval concepts of knighthood and chivalry? That's definitely in there.
Perhaps it's a failing of the publisher and the marketing team. The title of the paperback is 'Edward III and the Triumph of England', which definitely suggests a history of Edward III and his military exploits in pursuit of the French throne, and the blurb on the back does nothing to dispel this impression. But that's not what this book is about, or not in its entirety, and certainly not in such a straightforward style. If anything this book reminded me of a series of standalone essays on related concepts - there's a chapter on the history of chivalric orders, a chapter on tournaments and festivals, a chapter on the royal chapels and the College of St George at Windsor, a chapter on the laws of war. You can see the common thread running through it, but it lacks a certain narrative cohesion that makes it a challenging and quite frustrating read.
It also presupposes a great deal of knowledge about the events of the fourteenth century, which perhaps can be excused - you would assume anyone picking up this book wouldn't do so on a whim, would already have an interest in the period - but then it is a mass market paperback published by Penguin, so it's hardly aimed at a niche academic readership. There are more than a few occasions where Barber passed over significant events with scarcely a sentence, presumably assuming that his reader would know precisely what he was referring to and therefore it didn't bear repeating. Personally this is a period of history I'm interested in, and therefore, for example, I didn't need an explanation of how Henry IV succeeded Richard II, but that's not a given for everyone. I'd certainly heard of the battles of Crécy and Poitiers, but Nájera was unfamiliar to me, and again, the assumption in the text is that mentions to it need no elaboration.
But, in this book's defence, it is masterful. Barber knows his period intimately and the depth and breadth of his research is impeccable. I would imagine as an exploration of the origins of the Order of the Garter this book would be hard to beat, as long as that was all the reader was interested in. But as a wider history of the period, encompassing the context and the personalities as well as the battles and the details, I found it, yes, indigestible.
Perhaps it's a failing of the publisher and the marketing team. The title of the paperback is 'Edward III and the Triumph of England', which definitely suggests a history of Edward III and his military exploits in pursuit of the French throne, and the blurb on the back does nothing to dispel this impression. But that's not what this book is about, or not in its entirety, and certainly not in such a straightforward style. If anything this book reminded me of a series of standalone essays on related concepts - there's a chapter on the history of chivalric orders, a chapter on tournaments and festivals, a chapter on the royal chapels and the College of St George at Windsor, a chapter on the laws of war. You can see the common thread running through it, but it lacks a certain narrative cohesion that makes it a challenging and quite frustrating read.
It also presupposes a great deal of knowledge about the events of the fourteenth century, which perhaps can be excused - you would assume anyone picking up this book wouldn't do so on a whim, would already have an interest in the period - but then it is a mass market paperback published by Penguin, so it's hardly aimed at a niche academic readership. There are more than a few occasions where Barber passed over significant events with scarcely a sentence, presumably assuming that his reader would know precisely what he was referring to and therefore it didn't bear repeating. Personally this is a period of history I'm interested in, and therefore, for example, I didn't need an explanation of how Henry IV succeeded Richard II, but that's not a given for everyone. I'd certainly heard of the battles of Crécy and Poitiers, but Nájera was unfamiliar to me, and again, the assumption in the text is that mentions to it need no elaboration.
But, in this book's defence, it is masterful. Barber knows his period intimately and the depth and breadth of his research is impeccable. I would imagine as an exploration of the origins of the Order of the Garter this book would be hard to beat, as long as that was all the reader was interested in. But as a wider history of the period, encompassing the context and the personalities as well as the battles and the details, I found it, yes, indigestible.
September 6, 2018
This book sadly suffers from mis-titling. This is not a comprehensive overview of Edward III's reign, but instead a discussion of knighthood and knightly ideals, with a particular focus on the Order of the Garter, during the reign of Edward III. On this the book is excellent, and Barber writes well and clearly. But I was hoping for an overview of Edward's rule, which this book fails to deliver. The book is divided into four parts, of which three focus on the Order of the Garter. The remaining part discusses Edward's reign up to (and including) the Battle of Crecy, and this is very readable and enjoyable: it is a shame this was not a bigger part of the book.
October 15, 2020
An excellent text on Edward III and surrounding issues of his reign. A good general text, with some excellent detail on tournaments.
It is rather traditional in its view on Edward and his son, could do with some updating to address current thinking and reconsidered evidence rather than towing the party line in places.
After reading Dr Ian Mortimer's biography, it is harder to see Edward on Richard Barber's page - he's more cardboard cutout than king - but this does provide good grounding for a student of the era and does highlight that Edward was pretty magnificent.
It is rather traditional in its view on Edward and his son, could do with some updating to address current thinking and reconsidered evidence rather than towing the party line in places.
After reading Dr Ian Mortimer's biography, it is harder to see Edward on Richard Barber's page - he's more cardboard cutout than king - but this does provide good grounding for a student of the era and does highlight that Edward was pretty magnificent.
December 30, 2020
Fantastically detailed research of this far away time when England and France were comingled via the Knights and Kings of the time. An academic read rather than a page turner. Some resonance down the ages of England's schizophrenia about its relationship with the European continent, and of the Scottish alignment against England above all else.
October 14, 2013
Edward III, hero of Crécy, and one of England's most renowned Kings is the focus for this comprehensive and well written historical tome. From the beginning, the book is layered with chivalric honour and tales of military tactics which helped to catapult this small and rather insignificant country towards martial victory on a grand scale.
To be honest I found the book rather heavy going in places, and whilst I cannot deny that the book is packed full of historical content, the prospect of reading the book in linear fashion was a little daunting.
I think that this book is something to be dipped into and out of when the mood takes you, and best read in small manageable portions which are then going to be easier to digest and absorb.
I am a huge advocate for the use of ebooks but on this occasion I feel that I have missed something by reading it electronically. My opinion is that this book is probably more enjoyable in paper form, not only will it look impressive on a book shelf, but also flipping backwards and forwards is still easier on paper, and this book is definitely one of those that you need to be able to back track easily.
If you enjoy medieval history, then this book is well worth having a look at.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for my copy of this book
To be honest I found the book rather heavy going in places, and whilst I cannot deny that the book is packed full of historical content, the prospect of reading the book in linear fashion was a little daunting.
I think that this book is something to be dipped into and out of when the mood takes you, and best read in small manageable portions which are then going to be easier to digest and absorb.
I am a huge advocate for the use of ebooks but on this occasion I feel that I have missed something by reading it electronically. My opinion is that this book is probably more enjoyable in paper form, not only will it look impressive on a book shelf, but also flipping backwards and forwards is still easier on paper, and this book is definitely one of those that you need to be able to back track easily.
If you enjoy medieval history, then this book is well worth having a look at.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for my copy of this book
February 12, 2014
Hmm. Definitely heavy going. The author definitely loves his household records, given chapters on the costs of Edward III's clothing. It took a third of the book to get anywhere near Crecy, let alone the Company of the Garter. However, once he was on topic, it wasn't a bad 'social' rather than military history of knightly life and the fraternal orders of the time. And his study of Poitiers and Najera were better than Crecy, which seems more confused than I'd realised. Still, I found it heavier going than I was expecting.
October 29, 2015
It appears that it wasn't just top English bowmen who won Crecy, but the corps d'esprit fostered by Edward III amongst his leading knights and the continuation of this tight-knit elite helped give England the advantage over the ensuing fifty years.
July 22, 2016
Excellent. Barber presents all the ambiguities in the original sources, and is very open about how difficult it can be to be entirely sure about how and why events took place. He is obviously an expert in the subject, and it's an enjoyable and informative read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews