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The Battle of Agincourt
Published in partnership with the Royal Armouries, this comprehensive, sumptuously illustrated volume provides a defining reassessment of England’s legendary victory on the fields of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. Dramatized by William Shakespeare in Henry V , the Battle of Agincourt changed the course of the Hundred Years War and Britain’s relationship with her longtime enemy, France. In a remarkable work commemorating the 600th anniversary of arguably the most iconic military engagement of the medieval era, a wide range of experts examine the battle in its political, cultural, and geographical contexts, detailing strategies, tactics, armor, weapons, and fighting techniques while exploring the battlefield experiences of commanders and ordinary soldiers alike. In addition, this all-encompassing study offers deep analyses of many artifacts and aspects of the battle and its aftermath that have rarely been covered in other histories, including medicine and hygiene, the roles of faith and chivalry, the music of the times, and the experiences of women.
344 pages, Paperback
First published November 9, 2000
About the author
Anne Curry
57 books18 followersAnne Curry is Professor of Medieval History and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Southampton, after teaching for many years at the University of Reading. She has published many books and articles on the Hundred Years War, as well as definitive works on Agincourt itself and an on-line database of all known soldiers between 1369 and 1453 (www.medievalsoldier.org ). An historical advisor to the battlefield centres at Azincourt, Shrewsbury, and Bosworth, she is co-chair of the "Agincourt 600" committee, tasked with organizing the commemorations of the sixth hundredth anniversary of the battle. President of the Historical Association between 2008 and 2011, she is also a former Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 21, 2015
The only book you need on Agincourt
Whilst this is not really a period of military history I am particularly interested in this book brings alive this iconic battle on its 600th anniversary with unprecendented detail covering its political, cultural, and geographical contexts, as well as detailing strategies, tactics, weapons, and fighting techniques.
It is packed with full colour images and doesn’t just concentrate on the pure military side either, you hear the battlefield experiences of commanders and the rank and file too.
Unusually for a military history it also explores the wider contexts often left aside in other histories such as medicine, hygiene and the experiences of women.
If you buy one book detailing England’s legendary victory on the fields of Agincourt on October 25, 1415 then make sure it’s this one.
Whilst this is not really a period of military history I am particularly interested in this book brings alive this iconic battle on its 600th anniversary with unprecendented detail covering its political, cultural, and geographical contexts, as well as detailing strategies, tactics, weapons, and fighting techniques.
It is packed with full colour images and doesn’t just concentrate on the pure military side either, you hear the battlefield experiences of commanders and the rank and file too.
Unusually for a military history it also explores the wider contexts often left aside in other histories such as medicine, hygiene and the experiences of women.
If you buy one book detailing England’s legendary victory on the fields of Agincourt on October 25, 1415 then make sure it’s this one.
February 17, 2016
This is truly a wonderful history book. Single-minded in it's purpose ti is THE definitive book to have, if you wanted to have only book of the battle Of Agincourt. Written by a variety of experts and broken into different chapters covering the whole gamut of knowledge around this great battle. The topics covered are varied, though all well-written by experts, ranging from standard histoy, to military history covering troop deployments, to sociology making note of the plight of women during this age, to archaeology relating to the battlesite itself, to various other ranging from weapons and armor to Shakespeare's writing of Henry V. This boo covers a monumental amount of different subjects revolving around Agincourt, yet never overwhelms due to the relatively short length of the individual articles. The entire book is superbly illustrated, with detailed descriptions of the pictures. A well researched, well written, scholarly, yet never dry and beautifully illustrated work that is a must read for all interested in the Battle of Agincourt.
February 8, 2016
This is packed full of beautiful illustrations and information. This is a great addition to any history-buff's book collection.
**I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
**I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
March 28, 2016
As a COMPLETE history nerd, I love finding a book on a topic that I am interested in and could be accessible for people who do not have a lot of background knowledge. Curry and Mercer were able to accomplish that, which is no easy feat.
mt-tbr
November 24, 2015My copy courtesy Yale University Press/Net Galley - much thanks.
September 30, 2018
The Battle of Agincourt is an illustrated companion to an exhibition held in 2015 at the Royal Armouries for the 600th anniversary of the battle. It contains a number of essays, detailing a number of aspects of the battle as well as covering the build-up to the battle and its aftermath (including the Shakespearian play and its subsequent film adaptation by Laurence Olivier) as well as commentary on a number of items featured in the exhibition.
The essays are all excellent and surprisingly detailed – there were some I was less interested in, but all were well-written and engaging. They flow into each other as well, building towards an overview of the battle and its impact. The book is well illustrated and contains a number of images that I hadn’t seen before. The only negative things that I can say about the book is I caught a couple of typos and one mislabelled photo, and that I wished that the book had been cleanly divided into one part for the essays and one part for the items on display – I found it annoying to be reading an essay and then being interrupted mid-sentence for a couple of pages detailing the items on display, but that’s a rather small annoyance.
The essays are all excellent and surprisingly detailed – there were some I was less interested in, but all were well-written and engaging. They flow into each other as well, building towards an overview of the battle and its impact. The book is well illustrated and contains a number of images that I hadn’t seen before. The only negative things that I can say about the book is I caught a couple of typos and one mislabelled photo, and that I wished that the book had been cleanly divided into one part for the essays and one part for the items on display – I found it annoying to be reading an essay and then being interrupted mid-sentence for a couple of pages detailing the items on display, but that’s a rather small annoyance.
December 15, 2015
Received from Netgalley for review.
I am not a fan of compilations. They are usually clunky and awkward to read. Taking the work of a multitude of scholars and forcing them together, is usually not a successful endeavor. This is the exception to that rule.
This book was exceptionally well edited. Each chapter is a continuation of the train of thought in the previous chapter. The flow is so seamless, that, at times, I forgot that this was not the work of one author. It made for a pleasant read.
My area of interest has always been modern history, but I also have an abiding love for the works of Shakespeare; especially Henry V. So my interest in history, and love of Shakespeare, met in this book.
I had a limited amount of knowledge about the events that triggered Agincourt. Mostly the issue of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry V, the end of Chivalry, and the insult of tennis balls. So I was a novice in my understanding of the era.
This book was remarkably easy for a non-scholar to understand. The authors presented the information in a way that made it interesting and enjoyable. The reader is given enough information for understanding the subject matter, without being flooded with Too Much Information. The writers were focused and on point.
Many scholarly books assume that reader is more knowledgeable, so they will skip over basic information. Which is fine, if the reader is more knowledgeable, but it makes it incomprehensible to the less informed reader.
Curry and Mercer did not make that fatal error. Agincourt would, of course, be of interest to a serious scholar. But it is an easy and enjoyable read for the armchair history buff.
This book will go on the shelf next to my copy of Henry V.
I am not a fan of compilations. They are usually clunky and awkward to read. Taking the work of a multitude of scholars and forcing them together, is usually not a successful endeavor. This is the exception to that rule.
This book was exceptionally well edited. Each chapter is a continuation of the train of thought in the previous chapter. The flow is so seamless, that, at times, I forgot that this was not the work of one author. It made for a pleasant read.
My area of interest has always been modern history, but I also have an abiding love for the works of Shakespeare; especially Henry V. So my interest in history, and love of Shakespeare, met in this book.
I had a limited amount of knowledge about the events that triggered Agincourt. Mostly the issue of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry V, the end of Chivalry, and the insult of tennis balls. So I was a novice in my understanding of the era.
This book was remarkably easy for a non-scholar to understand. The authors presented the information in a way that made it interesting and enjoyable. The reader is given enough information for understanding the subject matter, without being flooded with Too Much Information. The writers were focused and on point.
Many scholarly books assume that reader is more knowledgeable, so they will skip over basic information. Which is fine, if the reader is more knowledgeable, but it makes it incomprehensible to the less informed reader.
Curry and Mercer did not make that fatal error. Agincourt would, of course, be of interest to a serious scholar. But it is an easy and enjoyable read for the armchair history buff.
This book will go on the shelf next to my copy of Henry V.
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June 24, 2016944.02542 B3365 2015
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews