The Hundred Years War: A People's History

by David Green

What life was like for ordinary French and English people, embroiled in a devastating century-long conflict that changed their world.

The Hundred Years War (1337–1453) dominated life in England and France for well over a century. It became the defining feature of existence for generations. This sweeping book is the first to tell the human story of the longest military conflict in history. Historian David Green focuses on the ways the war affected different groups, among them knights, clerics, women, peasants, soldiers, peacemakers, and kings. He also explores how the long war altered governance in England and France and reshaped peoples’ perceptions of themselves and of their national character.

Using the events of the war as a narrative thread, Green illuminates the realities of battle and the conditions of those compelled to live in occupied territory; the roles played by clergy and their shifting loyalties to king and pope; and the influence of the war on developing notions of government, literacy, and education. Peopled with vivid and well-known characters—Henry V, Joan of Arc, Philippe the Good of Burgundy, Edward the Black Prince, John the Blind of Bohemia, and many others—as well as a host of ordinary individuals who were drawn into the struggle, this absorbing book reveals for the first time not only the Hundred Years War’s impact on warfare, institutions, and nations, but also its true human cost.

“[Hundred Years War] makes us care about this long-ago conflict and the society that pursued and was shaped by it. . . . [It is] likely to (and indeed should) become a standard introduction to the war.”—Charles F. Briggs, Speculum

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, France, Medieval History, British Literature, War

569 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

David Green is Senior Lecturer in British Studies and History, Harlaxton College, and a regular speaker on medieval history at conferences and seminars in the UK, Ireland, and the US.

Reviews

[Terence · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't a bad book about the period but I can't really recommend it. The writing is often awkward and repetitive (particularly in the first 1/3 or so of the book). It's as if the author wrote a series of papers on each of the topics he addresses but didn't polish a final draft, removing material already covered.

And despite the subtitle, there's little in the way of "people's" voices. I understand that peasants, soldiers, women didn't leave much in the way of written sources but there's a wealth of data from other sources that could have informed his chapters on each of these groups; and it's not as if he's unaware of them. Several times he raises potentially fascinating topics but goes nowhere with them. For example, in "Women and War: Power and Persecution," Green mentions the growing economic and social power women enjoyed in the first half of the 15th century (only to lose it in the second) but drops it to focus on Joan of Arc's meteoric career, though he concedes that she was in no way representative of a typical woman of any class.

Green does provide a nice, 20-plus-page bibliography that could be mined for further reading.

[Koray · Rating 5 out of 5]

“...Charles de Gaulle 1962'de şöyle demişti: “Bizim en büyük kalıtsal düşmanımız Almanya değil İngiltere idi. Yüz Yıl Savaşlarından Fashoda'ya kadar bizimle mücadele etmeden geçen bir anı yok gibidir . Bizim iyiliğimizi istemeye doğal olarak eğilimi yoktur…”
“...1453'ten sonra Britanya’nın jeopolitik odağı önce Britanya adalarından dışarı doğru yayılmaya, sonra da yeni dünyada yeni bir emperyal hedefe doğru yöneldi..”
“...Yüzyıl Savaşları sadece İngiliz ve Fransız ulusal bilincinin gelişmesini sağlamadı. Aynı zamanda kadının da toplum içindeki konumunu dönüştürdü. Çünkü savaşlar ve veba sebebiyle çok sayıda erkek ölmüştü…”
“... Savaş sonuçlanırken bireylerin siyasal, kültürel ve ulusal kimlik konusundaki anlayışları gitgide daha çok tanımlanmış hale geldİ. Savaşın bittiği 1453'ten sonra İngilizler kendilerini Avrupa kıtasında bulunan bir güç değil, bir ada halkı olduklarını yavaş yavaş kabul etmişlerdir. Bu nedenle Yüz Yıl Savaşlarının bir sonucu, siyasal ve ekonomik olarak dirilmiş bir Fransa'ya karşılık, önderliğini, güçlerini ve ömürlerini korumaya yönelen ve ülkenin uğradığı utançtan arınmaya çalışan bir İngiltere olmuştu…”
“...İdari reformları gerektiren savaşın profesyonelleşmesi her iki ülkede de feodal hizmetlerin sonunu getirmiştir…”

[Ryan Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying that this isn't a bad book per se. Buuuuuuut....... This should not be the first book you read about the Hundred Years War. The author crams the entire narrative into the first chapter, which of course means it is highly abbreviated. But, really, you need that narrative (and more) to really grasp the information presented in the rest of the book. Each chapter explores some aspect of the war (soldiers, the clergy, prisoners of war), and even though it centers itself in a chronology that each chapter progresses, each topic is covered for the entire war. Thus each chapter draws on examples and references which are not always fully fleshed out, and thus leaves the reader a bit on the outside. So, I would say that if you are interested in the HYW, then make this the SECOND book on the HYW that you read, when you are ready to think about the broader consequences of the war on the societies of France and England. Unfortunately, no one has written a decent, accessible narrative of the HYW in some time... but that is another story....

[Martin Empson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If one theme dominates David Green's history of the Hundred Years War above all others, it is change. Changes to the lives of those who fought the battles, or ploughed their fields; changes to religious institutions and battlefield tactics, changes to the perception of women in society, or concepts of chivalry. This isn't surprising, after all this was a conflict that lasted generations and involved a succession of monarchs on both sides of the Channel. It was also an enormously brutal war, marked by massacre on both sides and savage tactics.

An impressively researched and detailed study of the impact of the Hundred Years War on European society. Not an introductory history, but nonetheless readily accessible.

My full review: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/...

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this, but only just. The book's self-described goal was to present the hundred years war from the point of view of the various groups of people affected by it: women, clergy, captives etc. Although the chapters were divided that way each chapter skipped back and forth through time with no clear flow. The whole book seemed more like a random collection of facts about various people who lived during the time of the conflict(s). I ended up skimming the second half just to be able to say I finished it.

[William Lexner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The inability to retell history as a narrative is invariably the result of not understanding that history.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘In 1346 it started to become clear that this war would be different from those that had preceded it. The battle of Crécy marked a new high point in Anglo-French hostilities and revealed that the war would be fought according to a new and changing set of rules. Those who had previously comprised the core of French and English armies, the military aristocracy, would be changed fundamentally by the experience.’ -- Introduction (1337)

The history of the Hundred Years' War can be inscribed in terms of its consequence on English institutions. The king was out of England for long campaigns and always in need of money. Henceforward the king's subjects in parliament found it stress-free to make conditions when they granted extraordinary taxes. They asked for pledges about the spending of their money; they demanded the right to audit the king's accounts and to query whether his pledges had been kept. They suspended money grants until the end of a session and thus secured the redress of complaints before the vote of supplies.

Parliament itself was taking a separate form. It was no longer a distended meeting of the king's council; the statutes which had become the legal expression of parliamentary decisions began to be regarded as more important than the ordinances of the council. The two 'houses of parliament were also assuming something of their modern form.

The title house of lords' dates only from the 16th century, but in the early part of the 14th century certain families, or rather the holders of certain estates, were receiving writs of summons as a matter of course. By 1400 this summons by special writ was coming to be regarded as a hereditary right.

Before the demise of Edward III the knights and burgesses were putting their case to the king and lords through a Speaker; the fact that they met to deliberate their answers outside the parliament house and in the chapter-house or refectory of the Abbey of Westminster added to their awareness of themselves as a body separate from the lords spiritual and temporal.

It is also important that, although statutes and petitions were still written in Latin or, more often, in a corrupted Anglo-French jargon, parliament was opened in 1362 for the first time with an English speech. In his old age Edward, III allowed the affairs of the kingdom to be mishandled by an immoral clique of household officials, with the involvement of his mistress Alice Perrers and the support of John of Gaunt. A parliament of 1376, known as the 'Good Parliament', took matters in hand by enforcing upon the king a council of advisers.

This action --- it succeeded for only a short time -- was taken not, as fifty years earlier, by a baronial party acting on its own accountability, but by a joint committee of lords and commons.

The only territorial gain which accrued to England from the Hundred Years, War was the port of Calais. Its loss under Mary was pure gain and helped the Elizabethans to look westward for new lands.

In England and France it arrested social, moral and economic progress. It demoralised the character of the combatants, reduced the peasantry to wretchedness, made the king more despotic and the barons were ruthless and arrogant. It began the break-up of English medieval society and a period of anarchy and moral prostration.

Worst of all, it brought into prominence, a class of mercenary soldiers who became the scourge of Europe for three centuries. It also brought in some good results. If it brought any compensating good, it was of the imperceptible and academic order a strong national self-consciousness, more democratic than feudal; great memories and traditions; a belief in the island qualities, which helped Englishmen to carry their heads high in the coming century of eclipse behind the crescent monarchies of France and Spain.

In earlier medieval times hostility was normally felt against the na- tives of a neighbouring town, shire, or village. This unneighbourliness diminished as insular patriotism enlarged the mind and pointed out the Frenchman or the Spaniard as the true foreigner'. The habits of thought and feeling that were contracted during the Hundred Year's War with France sharply defined the new patriotic feeling in the form of racial hatred of the French.

It was exaggerated in the era of Bertrand du Guesclin by disparaging enemy raids on the South coast and not ineffective warfare against English shipping. The feeling the French outlasted the war and helped to put an end to that relegation of English to French culture which the Norman Conquest had established. It also added to the prestige of the English language.

A hundred years before the, days of Chaucer's Prioress, Frenchmen of Paris' used to laugh at the strange hybrid that passed for their tongue in the mouths of English gentlefolk Yet, such as it was, it was their everyday speech till the reign of Edward III, and was regarded as the hall-mark of a gentleman, till the increasingly racial character of the war compelled all men to regard French as an antagonist language.

Among other things, the pages of this book offer a renewed outlook on a period of energetic, vivacious, ruthless change. The cauldron of war forged and reforged the English and French nations into something new; it redefined the devotions and associations of individuals to one another, their internal organisation, and their place in a widening world.

The Hundred Years War brought about a revolution that fundamentally changed the character of military conduct and organisation. It led to the professionalisation of warfare, resulted in the decline of (chivalric) cavalry and the rise of infantry and artillery. The war forced the peasantry into a new role: as both victims and wrongdoers of violence peasants were battered and brutalised by the conflict, but they also emerged stronger despite their terrible experience.

The Church and clergy, too, were bound to familiarize to new circumstances, shaped as they were by political conflict and riven by disputes among the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but also galvanised by a period of intense spirituality. The war redesigned political and personal priorities, driving some individuals to extraordinary lengths in search of a resolution to the struggle, whereas others wafted the flames of the conflict, drawn to it, enticed by the promise of riches, loot and payoffs.

The miscellaneous involvements of occupation and the conditions endured by prisoners of war and women reflect many of these changes both in the wider population and in distinct groups brought into being by the grinding pressure of endemic warfare. Many were assaulted and abused, others treated with care and consideration.

This is not a narrative history of the Hundred Years War; rather it explores the impact of the conflict on those groups and individuals who fought in a struggle that redefined the peoples of England and France, and the nations in which they lived.

The book has been divided into ten chapters:

1) Knights and Nobles: Flowers of Chivalry (1346)
2) The Peasantry: Vox Populi (1358)
3) The Church and the Clergy: Voices from the Pulpit (1378)
4) Making Peace: Blessed are the Peacemakers (1396)
5) The Madness of Kings: Kingship and Royal Power (1407)
6) Soldiers: Views from the Front (1415)
7) Occupation: Coexistence, Collaboration and Resistance (1423)
8) Women and War: Power and Persecution (1429)
9) Prisoners of War: Gilded Cages (1435)
10) National Identities: St George and La Mère France (1449)

The chapters explore:

**The influence of the war on the people of England and France

**The altering roles of representative groups within the Three Orders that had comprised earlier medieval society – those who fought, prayed and worked

**The bearing of the war on those individuals drawn from a range of social backgrounds, who comprised distinct groups within the context of the struggle – such as prisoners of war, or who were influenced by the war in distinctive ways – such as women

**Given the significance of kingship to the Anglo-French war, the position and status of monarchs are questioned

**Finally, the effect of the conflict on the peoples of England and France as a whole will be considered through a confab of the ways in which the war fashioned new senses of national identity on both sides of the Channel

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Green's book is a good introduction into the subject for undergrad students and the amateur with an increased interest as it touches upon a broad range of themes: mostly cultural (e.g. chivalry), political (kingship) and military (the increased professional character of armies). The chapter on gender might still feel a bit shallow, as its anecdotes and evidence is not dealt with as exemplary in parts centered around knights, nobles and monarchs. A chapter centred around economics and/or demographics based around merchant activities and migration is also lacking entirely.

Green indeed describes the final decades of the Hundred Years War to kick-start the (early) modern era with a new (proto-)nationalistic approach to loyalty to the state. Yet he remains at times reluctant to describe the conflict as a sharp turning point. I suppose what we have to take away from this from this is that Green is a gradualist and not revolutionist. And that, in itself, is very agreeable, as conflicts are more than a string of set-piece battles.

[David Santiuste]

There's an interesting review of this book here: http://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/...

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit to a bit of disappointment with the book. From the title and description one might reasonably get the impression this is a socio-cultural history of the hundred years war, focused on the experience of the masses. In practice, however, it is a standard political history of the conflict focused on the changing organization of society and political culture over the course of the conflict. The material conditions of participants in the conflict, the economics of the war, and its impact on religious or popular culture are explored relatively briefly, even though full chapters are devoted to peasantry, soldiers, and the clergy. It is understandable given the lack of meaningful sources on the experience of the majority of the populace during the war, but what sources do exist receive far less attention than the traditional elite focused sources.

With that in mind, however, the book is a reasonably good political history of the conflict. It effectively explores the battle for power between secular and religious authorities, the impact of the war on the development of French/English nationalism and political culture, how war reordered the military world, the changing role of prisoners, and even the impact of the war on women's rights. Green makes a compelling case that the nature of the conflict accelerates the divergent evolution of France and England, helping establish the framework for the emergence of a French or English nation state. Similarly, he tackles how the war itself was shaped by a competition between chivalrous, religious, and pragmatic ideals.

But while effective, not all of his arguments land. His exploration of the peasantry and clergy during the war is disappointing, as is his examination of the war's impact on English "colonial" policy. His attempt to cover so much also undermines his efforts to support his arguments. While he makes an interesting argument about how the war's progression empowers the rights of women, albeit temporarily, he lacks the volume of evidence needed to explore the subject in a meaningful way. His failure to engage with theories of mass peasant politics or political economics likewise undermines his arguments about the wars transformative powers, and its impact on French/English society. In short, this is not a people's history, it is a history of a small political-military elite, and how they as a socio-political group change over the course of the conflict.

One other problem with this text is that it's simply not well laid out. The chapters lack an obvious sense of logical flow, and Green's habit of jumping between periods of the war within a few paragraphs makes it harder to follow his arguments and lines of evidence. His chapter specific arguments also sometimes get submerged within the chapter.

Ultimately, I would recommend this book to a pretty specific group who: are already moderately familiar with the Hundred Years War, enjoy academic history, and who are interested primarily in the evolution of state power and elite political culture. Those looking for a "peoples" history will be disappointed, while those not already pretty familiar with the war will be left lost.

[Mark McTague · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a work of obvious scholarship (39 pages of notes, 24 page bibliography), yet whether it is intended for a general audience is uncertain. Knowing next to nothing about the subject (not even the precise century - 13th? 14th?), I nevertheless plowed ahead and, after only 255 pages, I have a rough understanding of the conflict (including the period - 1337-1453A.D.), yet I would advise that a reader interested in the subject not begin with this text. Part of the problem is inherent in the subject - a century of warfare (116 years, actually) is too complex for 255 pages. Not only does the reader face the daunting challenge of all the names (Plantagenets, Capetians, Valois, and all the Charleses and Edwards and Henrys, etc.) and the blend of royal marriage and politics (France was far from the unified modern state of today, and the reasons the English kings thought that large chunks of northern and western France should belong to them was not so clear from the beginning), but the organization of the book is not helpful. The 20-page introduction attempts to encapsulate not just the century of war itself (battles, places, personages) but also to introduce the major themes of the text (how warfare changed in this period and the effect that had on politics and society, the developing sense of national identity, the decline of the divine right of kings, and the social changes the war stimulated - decline of chivalry, laying the foundation for the modern administrative state). And given the topical and not strict chronological order of chapters, there is an amount of back-and-forth discussion of said battles, places, and persons that is a bit confusing for readers unfamiliar with the history in question. I often felt as though I had signed up for a seminar in 14th century European history without having completed the prerequisites.

Given that the author packs so much into 255 pages, one felt on a whirlwind tour of the continent - if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium. Additionally, the subtitle is misleading. This is not "A People's History" ala Zinn's A People's History of the United States. One doesn't get much of the peasants' view, rather the focus remains on kings, and the discussion of women is mostly that of the royalty and landed elite, though I shouldn't have expected much else given the apparent paucity of source material. (What was I thinking?)

To be sure, there is much to be learned here, so to lessen the reader's frustration, I advise reading the concluding chapter first and familiarizing oneself with the names and dates via a summary of the era (e.g., Encyclopedia Britannica entry, perhaps). There may be more easily read works on this subject (e.g., Seward's The Hundred Years War: The English in France, 1337-1453), and seeking out one of those may be a more profitable use of the reader's time.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, providing a topical history of the Hundred Years War. The author, British historian David Green, gives a detailed who-what-why-how for the long conflict between England and France. I really enjoy topical histories as compared to chronological ones, and David Green presents a great example of the genre. He provides detailed explanations for the medieval culture and politics which influenced the war. But he also points out the many ways that this period brought forward elements of modern culture and thinking. I appreciated the insights into chivalry and feudalism, two concepts that are much more than just knights, jousts, and serfs. Green points to the widespread application of these ideas into the methods of fighting and the legal/political framework surrounding the conflict. He also explains how the course of the war, with its constant hot and cold periods, was a result of the domestic politics of both England and France. A great book for those trying to understand the medieval world. Highly recommended for anyone interested in English or French military history.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) Generally, a solid, readable history about one of the key series of conflicts during the European Middle Ages. It is not a straight chronological account. It stars with an overview of the conflict (it was not, as Voltaire might say, either a Hundred Years, not a war) and then it goes into separate chapters focusing on key themes, from the role of religion in the conflicts to the role of nationalism and women.

Sometimes, the author can get lost in a lot of names and dates, which is not always ideal for a one volume, mass market book, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Not for the expert on this era, but for those who probably didn’t remember this on the test in grade school, this is a good one book read on the subject.

[Stephen Morrissey · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those with some background knowledge of the Hundred Years' War, David Green's "A People's History" is an engaging thematic journey through the different aspects of the Anglo-French conflict. Much like modern television, Green jumps around chronologically, focusing on themes, personalities, and the causes and consequences of the war, delving into how the war affected the English and French cultures, societies, religious and state institutions. Though it may be confusing for first-timers, Green's book remains accessible for those with a bit of background on the 14th and 15th Centuries, and spends valuable time on aspects overlooked in traditional military and political histories.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was another one I was excited to read after listening to an interview with the author on a podcast.

Based on the title (and episode context) I was expecting more of an emphasis on the history of the common people affected by the Hundred Years War, but instead it was a rehash of facts I was already familiar with and (potentially interesting) general statements left unexplored.

The chapters also appeared to be individual academic essays that had been strung together; the overall book lacked cohesiveness. Perhaps worth the read if you would like to learn more about the history of 14th and 15th century England and France, but the text could be dry and meandering at various points.

[C Ervin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just fine. Not bad but not exemplary. The introduction is wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in an overview of the entire conflict. However, the following chapters seem little more than a collection of facts with no narrative or chronological through line. For the uninitiated, dates and names and locations will overwhelm. However, the last half of the book Green manages to up his game a provide a more straight forward narrative. The chapters on women, soldiers, and prisoners being standouts. Despite the title being "A people's History" I finished the book still wanting to know it.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, somewhat unorthodox recounting the impact of the war upon different aspects of medieval life during 100 yrs war. I read this after 'the Plantagenets' by Dan Jones which accounts for this period also but in a more story-like and engaging style. Mr Green's book has more of an academic and sociological purpose which is well worthwhile for the reader who is still curious after being introduced to this fascinating era by the historical plays of Shakespeare (and lends better understanding if you are a fan of Will) and the highly recommended 'Plantagenets'.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d picked up this book thinking that it might be a primer of sorts for the One Hundred Years War.

It was not.

While I think it would be a great piece of supplemental history for someone already quite familiar with this time period, if you aren’t, you’re going to be completely lost. While it does it’s best to focus on the lives of the common man, the dearth of material focusing on them makes it difficult - and so most of the focus is on the nobility. Makes sense, again, given the time period and the materials available.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a bad book, but I think anyone reading this looking for a "People's History" is going to be a little let down. At its heart, this is still a political/military history with some intellectual history going on. The author did as good of a job as could probably possibly be done - I can't imagine how difficult it must be to find primary sources from the 14C as to what a peasant's life during the Hundred Years War must have been like. Author galvanized their theses well ... but this still feels like a pretty standard history book, albeit a new one with some interesting things to say.

[Robert M. Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting presentation of the impact of the war. Perhaps because it lasted so long it had a profound effect on many aspects of life from the role of women to establishing nationalities based on common vernacular. This book gives you lots to think about and relates to what is happening in the world today.

[Alexander Lovatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 100 Years War in Context

Too often, wars are treated as discrete events when in fact they occur in the context of social, political and economic changes. The 100 Years War was a major watershed in French and English, if not European, history. This book makes good this deficiency in the other narrates of this war.

[Mitch Haegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hundred years war

Liked the detail and described the general inhumanity between English and French during and between times of war. The peoples of that era were geared for war, and its a bit of a surprise to me, that they were able to found nation-states, despite their compulsively destructive mentality.

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

as others have said, this isn't a super extensive chronological history of the conflict. I personally wasn't looking for that, so that wasn't an issue for me. did hope for a bit more of an account of the proletariat experience of the war, but do understand that there is less written material to draw from

[Andrew Gaydos · Rating 5 out of 5]

detailed

Great overview of the Hundred Years’ War and its impact on Europe. Loved that Greene tried (and succeeded) in presenting the conflict as a reshaping of European political and popular culture. Great introduction to the conflict and well referenced.

[Nosemonkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a clear linear narrative of *what* happened *when* in the Hundred Years War, look elsewhere. If you're looking to understand the *why* and *so what?*, then this is excellent. Has got me genuinely interested in this period in a way I haven't been since I was a child.

[Andy Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

i’m gonna be honest, i did not retain anything from this book

[Chic]

Not well written - I found no sense of chronological time as it jumped around alot.

[Pie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't remember much about this one

[Stephen Tubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressively researched for the eyes of the layman - well done David.