Trial by Battle: The Hundred Years War, Volume 1

The Hundred Years War #1

by Jonathan Sumption

This text is the first volume in a series that details the long and violent endeavour of the English to dismember Europe's strongest state, a succession of wars that is one of the seminal chapters in European history. Beginning with the funeral of Charles IV of France in 1328, it follows the Hundred Years War up to the surrender of Calais in 1347. It traces the early humiliations and triumphs of Edward III: the campaigns of Sluys, Crecy and Calais, which first made his name as a war leader and the reputation of his subjects as the most brutally effective warriors of their time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, France, Military History, War

642 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

The son of a barrister, Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption attended Eton then Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated with first-class honours in history in 1970. After being called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1975, he became a Queen's Council in 1986 and a Bencher in 1991. He is joint head of Brick Court Chambers and was appointed to the UK Supreme Court in 2011. He has written numerous books on history and is a governor of the Royal Academy of Music.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best history of the 100 Year's War I've ever read. I studied this in university--and wrote a thesis on it--and yet this secondary source has taught me again and again aspect of the war--and the surrounding politics--that either I misunderstood or never understood. Clear, well-written and never over-simplified. Superb.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book - though I would concede that it is not for everyone. A detailed write up of a 14th century war may not be attractive to all.

Me? I'm in. Totally.

Sumption does a great job of explaining how England and France came to war, and also the complex interplay of rivalry, loyalty and duplicity that was statecraft in this age. States were very much personal to the Kings that lead them, and they rose and fell according to the qualities of the chap at the helm.

Nobles that held their lands in fief to the king were important regional powers and often had their own agenda. In some respect the Hundred Years War was a series of regional civil wars where the English supported many disgruntled lords aggrieved at Paris or simply on the make, with the French king playing whack-a-mole from the centre.

The King of England also had extensive domains in France, stemming from the days of the Norman Conquest. This created much ruction, as the dignity of the King of England was held to be reduced if he was also a vassal of the French King. Add in the instability every time there was a change of king, short reigns and a great deal of inbreeding and you had the recipe for disagreement and war.

What I had not fully appreciated was the extent to which finance played a part in the wars, and in particular the necessity and huge difficulty either side had in securing regular tax income. This created great opportunities for financiers to come in to bridge the gap until, say, the wool tax came in. I lost count of the number of times the King of Englands crown jewels were pawned (not a euphemism). It was risky for the bankers too, many were made bankrupt by royal default.

The book ends with the capture of Calais by the English, with them having just destroyed the cream of the French nobilty at Crecy.

Plucky John Bull defies the odds and slaps down Johny Foreigner when he gets uppity - as I was taught when at school. The myth of English exceptionalism has deep roots.

I can't wait to see what happens next. (Spoiler alert, the war does not end well for the English)

[Yair Zumaeta Acero · Rating 4 out of 5]

De todos los libros que puedan haberse escrito acerca de ese conflicto sangriento y cuasi eterno entre Francia e Inglaterra a lo largo de los siglos XIV y XV y que se denominó “La Guerra de los Cien Años”; salta a la vista que es la ciclópea obra del historiador y juez de la Suprema Corte del Reino Unido, Jonathan Sumption – Lord Sumption - la que se erige como la publicación definitiva de uno de los conflagraciones más emocionantes y que mejor definieron el futuro y la configuración del continente europeo, así como el principio del fin de la Edad Media.

“The Hundred Years War” es una gigantesca obra histórica que está dividida en 4 volúmenes, los cuales han sido publicados entre 1990 y 2015. El estilo narrativo de Lord Sumption es una delicia de la prosa inglesa (según sus propias declaraciones, influenciado por la “pulida e impecable prosa de Edward Gibbon”), con una manera especial de narrar los acontecimientos, la preparación y el desarrollo de las batallas, la actuación de los personajes y las consecuencias de los enfrentamientos bélicos y diplomáticos; algo que se agradece considerando los distintos escenarios en lo que se desarrolló una guerra más que todo estática y llena de escaramuzas y treguas cortas seguidas de largos períodos de inactividad, lo que podría hacer perder y confundir al lector casual. La bibliografía es bastante extensa y las fuentes por lo general, son primarias y soportan un exhaustivo trabajo de investigación que se ve reflejado en una maravillosa y muy objetiva exposición histórica del conflicto que arrasó los campos y pueblos de Francia.

En este primer volumen titulado “Trial by Battle” asistiremos a las causas que originaron la guerra y que son mucho más complejas que el simple reclamo sucesoral de Eduardo III al trono de Francia, y que por su diversidad ocuparán 1/3 parte del libro. A pesar de su extensión sobre este tema, Lord Sumption logra dejarnos claro no solo el asunto dinástico, sino también las complejidades económicas, territoriales, históricas y sociales que hacían casi inevitable el estallido de un conflicto de esta magnitud entre los reinos de Francia e Inglaterra; para acto seguido pasar al plato fuerte que se abre con la muerte de Carlos IV en 1328 sin dejar herederos varones; las acciones bélicas en Escocia en las que intervienen activamente tropas francesas y la declaratoria de guerra en 1337 luego de la confiscación de los territorios ingleses en la Guyena francesa a manos del nuevo rey, el dubitativo, paranoico y muchas veces cobarde, Felipe VI. Además de los fascinantes devenires del principio de la guerra, son absolutamente destacables dos aspectos generales: La manera como los ejércitos franceses al mando de Felipe VI pasaron de ser los más poderosos de Europa y ganar casi todas las batallas que marcaron el principio de los acontecimientos, para eclipsarse poco a poco y dar paso protagónico a las tropas inglesas y a la determinación de sus dos grandes comandantes de la época, el gran rey Eduardo III y Henry de Lancaster, quienes pasaron de tener milicias inexpertas, una armada pobre y un desastroso sitio en 1340 en Tournai; a voltear las tornas y dominar el mar (Batalla naval de Sluys) y derrotar inmisericordemente al numerosamente superior ejército francés en Crécy y Calais, todo gracias a una concatenación de actos que fueron curtiendo su experiencia y técnicas en batalla gracias a las guerras con Escocia así como al uso sistemático del arco largo inglés en sus tácticas y formaciones, arma esta infinitamente superior a la ballesta francesa.
De otro lado es importante destacar la visión legal del conflicto que un hombre de leyes como lo es Lord Sumption, nos puede dar. Es interesantísimo ver como el autor se detiene en minucias y rituales legales que eran supremamente importantes en la Edad Media, como la redacción de las treguas y sus acuerdos para detener las hostilidades, la retirada de tropas de un territorio invadido, los reclamos legales derivados de las tierras adquiridas por conquista o vía hereditaria, los salvoconductos, los rescates y el repudio de treguas y el rompimiento de la paz. Suena a una narración demasiado detallista, pero minucias como estas hicieron que el conflicto fuera escalando hasta el punto de no retorno cuando Eduardo III se declaró rey legítimo de Francia e intervino activamente en la Guerra de Sucesión Bretona.

Este primer volumen termina con el asedio y la humillante caída de Calais en manos inglesas en 1347, luego de 20 años desde la declaratoria de guerra oficial en un conflicto que en su primer acto terminó involucrando a escoceses, españoles, holandeses, italianos, germanos y flamencos y que se desarrolló en escenarios que van desde las tierras altas de Escocia, los Países Bajos, la península de Bretaña y las tierras de Gascuña y Agenais en Aquitania donde tal vez la guerra fue más atroz, despiadada y destructiva.

Por la apasionante narración histórica aquí contenida; por la impresionante atención que presta el autor a los pequeños detalles y hechos que fueron configurando poco a poco la enmarañada red de acciones y protagonistas en los primeros años de guerra; por la forma minuciosa y ordenada como se presenta la cronología de una guerra que duró más de un siglo, acompañada de mapas muy bien ubicados en el texto para casi todas las campañas importantes; y por la manera amena y a la vez erudita de presentar este tomo, no me resta más que recomendar la obra a todo aquel apasionado por la historia de la Edad Media, de Francia y de Inglaterra o por quien desee conocer profundamente las causas, el desarrollo y las consecuencias de la Guerra de los Cien Años. Una lástima que ninguna editorial se haya atrevido a traducir este texto al español, considerando la poca bibliografía (en número y calidad) que hay sobre este conflicto, amén del desconocimiento casi absoluto de la obra y el autor fuera de los círculos académicos. Más que ansioso por hincarle el diente al segundo tomo, “Trial by Fire”, donde seguramente sigan los desastres para el reino de Francia.

[David McGrogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sets a new bar for popular history (which seems an odd thing to say given it was published in 1989). It is superbly readable, being written in stripped-down, elegant prose which nevertheless never patronises the reader. And there is a wonderfully dry sense of humour present in it as well, entirely at odds with the very po-faced tone taken by other writers in the genre. Best of all, there's no academic point-scoring or showing off. This is a narrative account, told like a story - exactly as history should be done.

[Norik Pallaska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular, all-encompassing, without equal in historical non-fiction. Jonathan Sumption manages to turn a highly academic work of great difficulty into a readable and accessible epic. At about 600 pages this one was a behemoth, and I can't believe the man went on to write 4 more to complete the series.

If you're a hardcore history fan with a penchant for learning about the flowering of medieval chivalry, as well as its ignominious end, this series is the one for you. Trial by Battle has made Sumption my favourite historian by a significant margin, his immense wisdom and eloquence dripping off every page. His true genius is in his prose: he manages to treat nearly every topic he writes about with a deserving degree of reverence and time, while also making his paragraphs compact. While the chapters are very long, for once this didn't bother me; I'd sit down relaxed and comfortable with this big book in my hands, content to dedicate to it my time, and attention, attributes in increasingly short supply nowadays. In short, he manages to do what so few historians can: strike the perfect balance between details and readability.

It always makes you feel like you're reading this highly dense work of academic scholarship, but at the same time as if you are wading through the canons of Western civilisation, through the intertwined history of two of Europe's most martial nations. Some of my favourite bits here took place when the author explains the status of the kingdoms of England and France, in a world so remote from the one we know them in today: it says a lot that some of the most exciting chapters covered the difficulties of Edward III in raising taxes to fund his war efforts, or the troubles of Philip VI in imposing his nominal authority over the highly autonomous French nobility. History is always a spider's web, wherein every event and concept is related to another, and Sumption excels in displaying how this came to be in medieval Europe; how taxation relates to martial prowess, how personal charm enables feudal power, how the private relationship engenders public policy.

Credit must be given to Sumption's intense source-work as well: the book reads like a story or chronicle only because the author was so impressively fastidious in scouring archives for any grain of information he could find on which to base his great narrative. Only very rarely are there "breaks" or "unknowns" in this great epic, due to the author's great skill as a traditional historian, as well as a fantastic writer.

Only minor, limited gripe was that like most history books, the narrative jumps around timeframes a little bit much, which does break up the flow at times.

Overall, thoroughly impressed. I am in awe of a person who not only dedicates his life to the creation of knowledge, but succeeds with such panache. Do I have the strength to read all 5 of these massive books? Maybe. But do I now want to educate myself on every facet of the Hundred Year's War? God yeah.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in May 2001.

In England, the Hundred Years' War is chiefly remembered for the victories of Crecy and particularly Agincourt. There was a great deal more to the war - or, more properly speaking, series of wars - and it had important consequences for the development of both the French and English states, and on the conception of these states by their inhabitants (as immortalised by Shakespeare, Agincourt was still used in Second World War propaganda).

Sumption's history of the war, of which this is the first volume, is an old fashined narrative history, if more concerned with matters like finance than earlier or more sketchy descriptions. It assumes a fair amount of knowledge of the generality of medieval history, and concentrates instead on a detailed study of the causes of the war and its earliest phase (this volume, about six hundred pages, only covers the admittedly complex events of the period 1328-1347, along with the background which sets the scene).

The major thing which comes across from this particular book is just how difficult medieval administration was. Lack of information meant that governments had little idea what could be afforded by their countries; poor communications made it difficult to gather troops; tax systems in their infancy made it difficult to collect money, especially when military defeat provoked opposition; and France in particular was an extremely complex collection of smaller communities, each with different traditions, laws and privileges (far greater unity was one of the eventual effects of the war), making it impossibly to impose any taxes or conscript armies with any degree of uniformity across the nation.

These difficulties explain why gains and losses in this stage of the war tended to be impermanent; each side could take territory when they could spend money in one place, but this would quickly be lost when the money ran out. Magnates changed sides when their expenses went unpaid, and soldiers and sailors frequently refused to fight unless their own homes were in danger.

This is an excellent history, with the same feeling for the Middle Ages shown by Sumption's portrait of the church, The Age of Pilgrimage. A must for anyone interested in the period.

[Steven Hoogwout · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik begin te vermoeden dat de Engelsen geen brave jongens zijn.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Sumption’s history of the Hundred Years War is nothing short of epic. This volume is 600 pages long and only covers the first ten years of the war, ending with the Siege of Calais in 1347. For the rest of the war, you’ll need to read the next four volumes, all equally massive, the final of which is still not finished. Research projects of this scale are exceedingly rare these days, and that makes this a particularly interesting and important book, but there are also reasons people rarely tackle projects this large. It’s hard to know where to begin when tackling something as enormous in both scope and impact as Sumption’s series and there’s a lot to talk about with this book, both its context and its contents, so let’s jump into it!

At the very start of Trial by Battle Sumption makes a passing remark that narrative history has somewhat fallen out of style and notes that his book is a bit of an outlier. Comments like these from historians tend to get my hackles up a bit, because they are often written by hacks who object to the fact that history is now telling more diverse and complex stories than just the lives of kings and their amazing accomplishments (or dramatic failures). They also usually ignore that narrative history is alive and well, it is just rarer in academic contexts. Now, Sumption isn’t a hack – although he has not exactly covered himself in glory with his comments on Covid responses – but I do think his lament is interesting, in part because his own work kind of answers why these histories have disappeared. He's not wrong, you don’t see narrative history on the scale and with the detail Sumption provides as much as you would have in, say, the mid-19th century. There are several reasons for this. Trial by Battle was published in 1990, the final volume of Sumption’s history is still not out over 30 years later. Most people don’t have time to devote themselves to a single research project for over three decades. More than that, while Sumption’s books are no doubt among the best-selling histories of the Hundred Years War I’d be highly surprised if he makes enough from book sales to support a family. Many of the classic multi-volume epic narrative histories of yore were by people who did not need their writing to pay dividends. Edward Gibbon’s famous (or infamous depending on your discipline) Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a six-volume history of Rome from 98 AD – 1590 AD published in the late 18th century, is the archetype for this kind of project. Gibbon was no wealthy lord, but he was a member of an elite political class that gave him significant advantages and time to write – he wasn’t exactly trying to fit writing time in between his work in the fields, he was a Member of Parliament. These massive narrative projects by and large tend to be the product of an elite class (Sumption sat on the UK’s supreme court and now has the title Lord Sumption) and so it doesn’t particularly surprise me that they aren’t very common. History, and academia generally, still has an elitist problem, but it is much more diverse than it was even a century ago, and with that comes changes in the types of stories that are told and how they are told. In that regard, Sumption’s series is something of a relic.

But how is the book itself? I found Trial by Battle to be deeply impressive, kind of frustrating, and a little boring. Let’s start with the good. When I said that this book only covers the war up until 1347, I was being a little misleading – Sumption’s history actually starts in 1328 with the death of Charles IV, King of France. Charles died without a male heir, and it is this fact that would eventually cause the core dispute of the Hundred Years War. Philip VI of France was Charles’ cousin while Edward III of England was the son of Charles’ younger sister. Most histories of the Hundred Years War will explain this, but Sumption goes even deeper, devoting nearly half the book to events pre-1337. He sets the context for why the English and French kings were so often in conflict, including a very close study of the political situation in Aquitaine and its role in kickstarting hostilities between Edward and Philip. The depth of background here is stunning and very important if you want to fully understand the Hundred Years War. I really like when books do this. While I’m quite familiar with the origins of the Hundred Years War, many readers won’t be and providing this context is crucial to helping people understand what is to follow. It reminded me of Peter Wilson’s history of the Thirty Years War, which devotes over a hundred pages to explaining the context of that war before the conflict even starts. It’s great, I love when big histories do this.

When Sumption ventures beyond the Hundred Years War his commentary gets a bit…messier. He will at times seemingly ignore evidence that doesn’t fit the exact point he wants to make. As an example, at one point he criticises King Philip IV of France for ceasing trade relations with Flanders between 1302 and 1305, neglecting to mention that Flanders was in open rebellion after their victory at Courtrai in 1302 and would only return to the French fold after Philip led a successful invasion in 1305. There’s no reason why Philip would have been maintaining trade with a region he was at war with. This isn’t essential knowledge, and once the book passes 1337 these issues largely disappear, but when it happened it always felt a little sloppy and rubbed me the wrong way. I think because the rest of the book achieves such depth, the fact that on the peripheries I could see the shallowness bothered me.

The thing that makes Sumption’s book so impressive, and the reason I probably wouldn’t recommend it to people, is the level of detail he captures – particularly after the outbreak of the war in 1337. Sumption has spent a very long time studying this war and he lays out exactly what is happening at each stage of the conflict in plain and easy to read language without losing any detail or complexity. It’s impressive how simple and readable, excusing the occasional needlessly obscure word, this book is. That is an achievement. If what you want is for a very detailed and very thorough blow by blow account of the Hundred Years War than Sumption delivers that better than anyone else. However, my question would be: do you really want that?

Don’t get me wrong, for scholars and dedicated amateurs of the Hundred Years War the work Sumption has done is very useful. Having an easy and reliable reference for the order these many complicated events happened in, especially given the war’s many diverse theatres, is super useful. For a general reader, though, it’s all a bit much. You don’t really need this level of detail and while Sumption’s writing is clear I wouldn’t call it particularly engaging. I’m really into this stuff and I still found it kind of boring in places and wanted him to skip to the good stuff. For this reason, I think I might prefer this volume as a reference work, something to dip into when I have a question to answer, rather than as a cover to cover read. The one problem I have here is that Sumption’s referencing is a bit sparse. I fully believe he did his research so I’m not worried about the veracity of his statements, but there are more than a few interesting anecdotes that I would love to follow up on but he offers little in the way of a guide as to where I could find it among the sea of fourteenth century sources.

I think there is a general perception that epic histories like this are the final word on their subject. People still read Gibbon despite him being hopelessly outdated historiographically because it’s long and famous and so it must be good. Trial By Battle is a great narrative of the Hundred Years War, but it’s also thirty years old. It doesn’t have the benefit of thirty years’ worth of research. This is particularly apparent in its discussion of the Battle of Crécy, an area where our understanding has expanded enormously in the past two decades. This is a huge challenge for a project like this – when the final volume comes out, I have no doubt it will be one of if not the best account of the end of the Hundred Years War, but the series beginning will be largely out of date by then. Reading Sumption’s histories will fill you with lots of information about the Hundred Years War, but it still won’t tell you anything, which gets to another issue I have.

Trial by Battle suffers because of what it is: pure narrative history. Sumption isn’t nearly as good at explaining the more complex questions around the why’s of the war as he is at explaining the how and when of its main events. This is very political history. While he dabbles in other areas, particularly economic, legal, and diplomatic history, there is so much of the Hundred Years War missing from its pages. You will learn very little about the culture of the fourteenth century. The roles of women and peasants, unless they are directly engaged in fighting, are largely left to the side which is disappointing. The church also largely exists within the political sphere in this history, the role of spirituality is not something Sumption is particularly interested in including. Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that Sumption can’t include all of this. Trial by Battle is a massive book, there isn’t much room for more, but at the same time I prefer something like David Green’s The Hundred Years War: A People’s History which while it doesn’t go into nearly the depth of Sumption does a much better job at providing a holistic view of the Hundred Years War.

That all having been said, most of my criticisms are more a critique of the kind of book I think Sumption should have written and are unfair in that they don’t consider the work on its own terms. By that measure, Trial by Battle is a success – it’s a readable and very thorough narrative history of the opening act of the Hundred Years War. I wouldn’t recommend it to any but the most diehard of Hundred Years War enthusiasts, many of whom have probably already bought and read it anyway, but it is an impressive scholarly achievement of that there is no doubt. I’m glad I read it even if I’m not particularly looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

This review was originally posted on my website, if you like it maybe consider checking out some of my other reviews there: https://www.stuartellisgorman.com/blo.... I also write other content about the Hundred Years War which you can see at: https://www.stuartellisgorman.com/blo...

[Joris van de Riet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het boek eindigt in 1347 met Frankrijk bijna volledig op de grond (Calais kwijt, finaal verloren bij Crécy, Bretagne wil weg, enz.). Hopelijk gaat het de Fransen in deel 2 een beetje beter!

* zoekt op wat er in 1347/1348 in Europa gebeurde *

Oh nee he

[Marks54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first volume of a four (and eventually five) volume history of the Hundred Years War between England and France that began in 1337 and extended into the mid fifteenth century. This was the war(s) in which England fought with France over who would be the rightful King of France (its complicated …). I have three more long volumes to go and I certainly do not want to give away any spoilers regarding whether England gained the right to rule France or not. So mum’s the word.

This book begins with the events leading to war and covers the first ten years - up to the Truce of Calais. There are some bigger battles (Crecy), a bunch of smaller ones on land and sea, and more than a little pointless movement. I wondered about why the first volume only covered ten years of a much longer conflict, until I realized that there was virtually nothing concerning the Black Death in this book. It arrives at the beginning of the second volume and makes its presence strongly felt.

This is a very detailed history of a very long war. I am sure the old joke has been made about it - “Take a couple of years off from work and read the whole set!” What does one get from reading such a detailed account of events more than 650 years old? Most importantly, the author is not just a master historian but also a supremely accomplished jurist in Britain. He is able to provide a wealth of background of low relations among nobles were structured, how taxes were raised and money was borrowed, how governments went about raising armies and paying soldiers, and how diplomacy and communications occurred in an age before electronic and digital media.

It is astonishing that anything about this war actually happened. Whatever one’s assumption about how government works today on matters of military action, economic planning, or taxes, borrowing, and debt, Sumption’s book provides a picture of how all of this worked before there was anything remotely similar to a modern national state. Imagine a nation entirely made up of a vast number of what were in effect small entrepreneurs (nobles) and their attendants. Getting any sort of national action required getting such a large and unwieldy network to move in one direction for at least enough time until various stresses and strains started tearing things apart. For example, the national debt today is large but abstract - imagine the national debt in terms of moving an army into battle when its soldiers had not been paid. …and of course, interpersonal relationships counted for a lot in terms of who got paid when and who did not. This is the case not only for internal relationships, but also for relations between politically separate actors. The book chronicles the evolution of diplomacy among different actors both before and during the war.

Another difference in perspective one gets from the length and detail of this history has to do with the place of military battles and tactics within the larger story. In more general historical accounts, there is a tendency to focus on highlights, including the big battles (Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt). Yet, the side that won the big battles did not always fare well in the Luger term. This is a big part of this history, although it is not covered as well in much shorter accounts of the war.

I could go on, but I need to start the second volume if I am going to ever finish this. It is a very enjoyable history, however, and I highly recommend it.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hundred Years War is a conflict that stands out by virtue of its length -- and yet in one sense, it is about only one part of the longstanding struggle between England and France during the Middle Ages. From the moment William the Bastard of Normandy defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings and became William I of England, England and France were intertwined by the complex ties of feudalism, with the ruler of England also a vassal of the French monarch. As the power of the French crown grew, this complicated relationship led to increasing conflict, of which the Hundred Years War represented its culmination.

That Johnathan Sumption spends nearly a third of his book recounting the tangled events that led to the start of the conflict in 1337 is in part a reflection of this. It also embodies, though, the patient, detailed recounting of a conflict that was epic in both scope and length. In this, the first of his multi-volume history of the war, he details the development of the war from its origins in the inter-kingdom politics of 14th century England and France to the English victory at Crécy and its successful siege of Calais a decade later. This is less straightforward than it may appear on the surface, as more than England and France were involved in the conflict. In one sense, the war emerged out of England's ongoing conflict with it's Scottish neighbor to the north, which France sought to exploit in its ongoing pursuit of the English crown's holdings in Gascony. As war loomed England's king Edward III sought out allies from throughout northwestern Europe, whose support he gained primarily through generous subsidies, which were financed in large measure using extraordinary loans from Italian banking houses. As Sumption demonstrates, the financial aspects of the war were central to the conflict, often playing a more decisive role in developments than events on the battlefield.

One of the reasons for the centrality of finance was the scope of the conflict, which extended from Scotland to southwestern France and encompassed both land and naval conflict. Yet the governments of the era lacked the resources to fight wars on such a vast scale, which often led what a modern age would term outsourcing, with both sides relying upon third parties such as regional nobles to advance their interests, Usually these people were more interested in profit than in strategy and politics, yet even their mercenary goals could serve the interests of their employers by tying down enemy troops, even if it came at the cost of innumerable suffering for the inhabitants of the regions where the forces were engaged.

Much of Sumption's account is devoted to recounting these side struggles, which defined the experience of the war for most of its participants and victims. Yet for all of its complexity and detail (a level that might turn off some readers) Sumption's narrative never sags from it. This in itself makes Sumption's book a considerable achievement, one that once its subsequent volumes (of which there are two, with a third coming out this fall) are completed will likely stand as the definitive account of this epic struggle for decades to come.

[Ivan Stoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

To understand how impressive Trial by Battle is, you have to know that Jonathan Sumption wrote it as a side project while he was also rising to prominence as the UK's foremost attorney, eventually arriving on their Supreme Court. Remarkable.

Sumption's treatment of the Hundred Years' war is a classic "history." That is to say that it is a narrative told in great detail, largely focused on political actors. When we learn about the economies etc of England, France and the low countries, it is because economic factors drove the circuitous descent into war. Same goes for the arcane legal systems of the time. Fascinating how much outrageously complex legal maneuvering existed, and how important it was (where does Count X's case appeal to? Can we remove it to a royal court? Is Edward III in court as a sovereign or in his capacity as vassal to Charles IV of France?).

Except insofar as that sort of history is inherently ideological--and it definitely is--Sumption's work not driven by a particular ideological or thematic framing of the war. He's just telling you what happened, as clearly as possible, in the order events occurred. He is a fine writer as well.

Unfortunately I'm not up to the task of tackling the subsequent volumes. This is a MASSIVE work. My brain is not as big as Sumption's, and I only have so much time and mental energy to devote to the minutiae of the wars of ages past.

[Ystradclud · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best narrative histories I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Insightful, informative, and highly entertaining at every juncture. I’m already looking forward to cracking open the next book in the series. Now, some general thoughts:

For two kingdoms so culturally (and royally) intertwined, the general impotence of diplomacy in the prelude to open conflict was astounding. The diplomatic norms of the time were largely to blame. Instead of dispatching swift individual messengers with specific instructions, as you would expect from powerful kingdoms in a high-pressure situation, interstate deliberation in this period usually necessitated large and cumbersome "solemn embassies" composed of dozens of men. These embassies, along with numerous tagalongs and retainers, lumbered from place to place, often without much decision-making authority. The sense of panic and unease the categorical failure of diplomacy adds to the broader narrative is something I had not considered before. There were plenty of people from all quarters hoping to avoid escalations at every opportunity. I could almost hear Philip VI’s panicked mumbling (ohnonononoshitshitshit) on several occasions.

Sumption’s meticulous and comprehensive economic breakdowns are another strong point. Figures that could easily appear arcane and confusing (for example, the cost of maintaining a war galley for a year) are made easily comprehensible thanks to his periodic reports of regional revenues and expenses. The effects of embargoes, blockades, and outright privateering; the extravagant costs of fielding armies numbering in the tens of thousands; and how and from whom these funds were raised are all clearly woven into the sequence of events.

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant start to a five book narrative history of unprecedented detail on this period. Sumption is a compelling storyteller with an eye for the telling detail. I look forward to reading the next volume.

[Ian Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Jonathan Sumption came out as a lock-down sceptic he was a distinguished historian and jurist who produced a magisterial history of the Hundred Years War between England and France. This book is volume I of that four-part history. It was published in 1990 and seems to be still regarded as the most accurate and detailed account of the war so far written – on this side of the Channel at any rate.
I have to say, it is compelling stuff, but first, a few niggles. The author consistently uses the word “Scotch” rather than “Scottish” to refer to the people of Scotland and things associated with them. I’m not sure if he is being deliberately archaic or just trying to be different. He also talks about the “German Empire” rather than the Holy Roman Empire, which is misleading because although the HRE was predominantly German over much of its one-thousand-year history, it was in no way comparable to the modern state of Germany as it included territories in what are now Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic etc. Confusingly, the author also refers to “Germany” as a political entity five hundred years before Germany became a unified state.
It’s odd because in other respects the author is very careful to show how different the political entities of the fourteenth century are from modern nation states. Fourteenth century France is very different from the France of today. Large parts of what we think of as France today, such as Provence and Brittany, were either semi-independent or part of other states. Even within the core territories, there were endless disputes over who was in charge – was it the king or the local duke or count?
England was much more homogeneous than France but was still subject to various conflicts and tensions. Nearly three hundred years after the Battle of Hastings, England is still ruled by kings who speak French and regard themselves as French. Below them are a bunch of French-speaking toffs who own large chunks of land in France. Similarly, many French nobles own estates in England (and Ireland). There is a similar situation in Scotland (which had a strong alliance with France), with English toffs owning estates over the border. It’s fascinating to learn that there were many English expats living in France at the start of the war, including a couple of blokes operating a brewery. At the start of the war English expats were subjected to an extortionate tax on the value of their property. However, instead of persuading them to return to England, it encouraged many of them to apply for French citizenship – after all, if they owned land, they couldn’t take it with them. It is noteworthy how little patriotism there is among ordinary people.
It is perhaps not surprising that for peasants and townspeople, their main concern is to protect their community without giving any thought to the state as a whole or to distant parts of it that they themselves would never see. Thus we get French towns in bribing the marauding English army to leave them in peace and suggesting they go and sack the next town on their route. And when the French sack Southampton, the citizens of Winchester, just up the road, shrug their shoulders: “Not my problem!”
The author is also very good at showing how difficult it was for medieval kings to raise taxes. In England taxes were almost always used to fund wars and whether the nobles would pay up or not depended on whether they expected to gain or lose by those wars. There is no sense of patriotism or national interest. It’s all self-interest, at least among the ruling class. The same applies in France and in other states. I was surprised that even a strong king like Edward I frequently found his requests for cash greeted by an “on your bike” from his nobles. The result was that his subjugation of Wales, and the construction of those wonderful castles like Harlech and Caernarvon were largely financed by Italian bankers.
It’s sobering to see how England struggled to do any kind of amphibious operations – like getting troops across to the Continent – before the Royal Navy. English shipping was generally poor quality and many vessels were “the wrong kind of ship” for transporting men and horses or for naval battles. Ship owners could only be induced to make their vessels available for naval operations by upfront payments. The more unscrupulous would then pocket the cash and take their ships overseas to trade elsewhere until the dust settled. They would then return to port without any apparent penalty. The author points out – to my surprise – that at this stage the definition of treason was pretty flaky, with many nobles claiming that refusing to serve a king, or even outright rebellion, could be justified, depending on the circumstances.
Another interesting fact, is that, having lost most of their possessions in France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, kings of England were still dukes of Aquitaine in south-west France. As such they owed homage to the French king as their feudal overlord. The form in which that homage was acted out was a frequent cause of conflict between men who were often related by blood or marriage. At one point we have a king of France ordering a king of England to demonstrate his allegiance by serving in the French army!
Other complications arose over the role and power of the Pope and the Catholic Church. Many of the civil servants employed by kings were churchmen who owed a dual allegiance to their king and, through the Church hierarchy, to the Pope. And in those days Popes did have political as well as spiritual power and frequently meddled in the affairs of the states that made up Christendom.
The author has given us a general account of the war that covers all aspects of the war: political, religious, social, economic and military. It is also presented as a chronological narrative rather than in a thematic way. And like all the best historians, the author interweaves fascinating vignettes about what life was like for the humble peasant and foot soldier. This first volume gives us a detailed overview of the origins of the war, going back to the reigns of the first two Edwards. It then takes us through the early years up to England’s dramatic victory at Crecy in 1346. I had always thought that England’s victory at Crecy was solely due to the English longbowmen. Now I know that although they did a brilliant job, victory was also secured by French impatience and incompetence. You end this first volume thinking that victory is just over the horizon…..
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about English history and about our relationships with our neighbours north and south.

[Butternut Longsword · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was weaned on Edward perroys brief yet nearly unrivaled history of the hundred years war. that book is some couple hundred pages,covering the entirety of the war while volume 1 and 2 alone are 586 each not counting maps, etc. volume e is nearly a third longer.
however, Mr Sumptions efforts are needed as this is the most thorough narrative history of the war available.
much of this first volume is spent on the growing tensions between the two kings and Edward III s attempted to, unsuccessfully build a low country coalition.
this is all done well, despite it's necessary redundancy. it is a history of the war. not the "best and most exciting bits". please understand that. if u do, you will get what you bargained for. if u want a briefer history go to perroys first rate account, just avoid d. Seward.
my only reason for not giving this 5 stars is the. poor editing. I must have counted nearly 40 to 50 basic and careless errors. I am not talking about elite grammatical snobbery. I'm talking about things your 8th grade teacher would circle with a red pen. such carelessness makes me question the authority behind the fact checking as well. dates can get mixed etc....I haven't found any of those, but such blatant disregard by the editor makes me wonder how much time they put in paralleled with Mr. sumptions 10 year effort(for each volume!)

[J O'Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think there can be much more to add to reviews of this book. It is pretty much a step-by-step of the long and aggravated war that Edward III incited chasing the crown of France, and though extraordinarily in-depth, is one of the easiest reads on the subject you'll likely find that is factual. Sumption does a great job of keeping on topic as well, which means anyone looking to books for a wider understanding of medieval society will unlikely find it, which to me is a bonus. Many books can waver on certain topics too long or not enough when they are broader subjects. This keep well on track, and right in the action.

Personally, I'm researching for a novel, but anyone remotely interested in how these battles were won, who was there and what they did (and what weapons they used), this is for you. It also introduces some interesting insights into weaponry of the era in motion, especially the victory at Crecy, one of the most revered historical battles, which changed everything, but didn't really gain anything.

Currently there are four books in the series, with the final one ending with the English expelled from France just before turning on themselves with the Wars of the Roses.

[Simon Chipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars
An exhaustive first volume on the 100 years war. The amount of narrative detail incorporating all the players leaves you with a comprehensive understanding of the early stages of the conflict. However, I did find it hard going at times to get through the narrative such is the detail. Some of this is determined by the amount of actors involved, such was the complex regional nature of the contemporary geography. Also, as the author admits there is no real aim for in depth analysis in the book, but rather a full presentation of the events, this I think adds to the task of reading the text. The argument in the book that is formed is very critical of Edward III and the authors distaste for him shines through so I think maybe a bit of historiography, or wider reading would be necessary alongside to form a full opinion. As one positive aside, I often find military maps depicting battles hard to follow in history books, these were very clear, some of the best I have seen.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the first years of the Hundred Years War, and the opening volume in Sumption's quartet about the era--- about wars ranging from the edge of the Pyrenees to central Scotland. Well-researched, well-written, often dryly funny, with a keen eye for personalities and places. Jonathan Sumption is a law lord, a justice of Britain's new Supreme Court, and his account of the legal intricacies of medieval warfare and the rites of feudalism and vassalage is clear, elegant, and intriguing. While not a military historian, Sumption's account of Crecy and of campaigns in Scotland and the Aquitaine is succinct and lucid. Very fine read, highly recommended.

[Windsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very dense but readable book about a time I thought I knew quite a lot about. Learned where the war actually started, the huge financial setback even the victors were experiencing, plus the sheer volume of countries involved in a war that was usually said to be between 3 or 4 people's. I cannot wait for volume 2, 3, 4, and 5 :)

[Vincenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sumption's series on the Hundred Years' War is one of the best histories I've ever read, with this volume containing a high-level of detail on the Edwardian stages of the war and its various actors. This volume begins with setting the stage of French-English relations and ends with the Battle of Crecy in 1346.

The beginning chapters successfully frame the causes and factors that lead to the war. An overview of the disastrous reign of Edward II and subsequent regency of Edward III under Queen Isabella the She-Wolf and "gentle Mortimer" are described, as well as the family tree and succession of the French royal family from Philip IV to his three sons and then onward to Philip VI, ending the so-called "Capetian miracle" of father-to-son succession.

Sumption's work is highly readable and dispute its length, I was surprised by how quickly I was able to get through it. He touches upon the economic, diplomatic, and martial aspects of the war, making this volume feel quite comprehensive. While most works on the Hundred Years' War favour retelling the wars and battles fought, Sumption excellently details the economic factors that had an even greater impact on how the war was carried out. While the economic details can get dry at times, it is still quite fascinating reading about the different methods each ruler takes to improve their finances. The telling of the battles and diplomacy on each side is also admittedly exciting.

One of the many things that makes Sumption's work so enjoyable is how he provides an even perspective on the French and English side of the war. In addition, he also takes sources from the Italian and Spanish kingdoms and principalities, the Holy Roman Empire, and duchies and counties of the Low Countries, who all contributed to the war in some aspect.

The characters of the major actors—such as King Edward III and Philip VI and the major princes and counts—involved in the conflict are described in detail, giving us excellent insight on their motives and personalities. Even relatively minor lords and figures are described in adequate detail, allowing us to either discern their motives, competencies, or skill as a commander. As an example, the lords and counts of southern France—such as the counts of Armagnac, Périgord, and Foix and the lord of Albret—have their personalities and motives outlined in detail, with Sumption noting their various claims to one region or lordship or another, ancestral disputes, or petty quarrels that may lead to them changing allegiances to any willing benefactor, as well as their own relations with each other (all four aforementioned families are of course well inter-breed, inevitably leading to further drama).

The only relatively minor issue I had with this read was that, while my geographic knowledge of France and England are relatively adequate, I often found myself needing to consult a map to find the various smaller towns, villages, and castles. There are maps of each major region in the appendix and in-text maps, usually in reference of a battle or major military movements. However, in reference to how regions and towns are connected, I often found myself lost.

Overall, I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the Hundred Years' War or medieval warfare and politics.

[Jeff Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some things, no matter how trivial or inconsequential, one never forgets. Fifty years ago when asked whether our term papers would be graded "on a curve" our English teacher quipped, "No...on the stairs." With a classroom full of puzzled 10th graders, he went on to explain: "I stand at the top of my stairs and toss the papers in the air. Those that fall to the bottom of the stairs receive the highest scores, those that reach the middle of the stairs receive middling grades. Those that flutter no further than the top will of course fail." With a nod to my teacher -- who has I presume by now ascended to the Great Lecture Hall in the Sky -- tossing Jonathan Sumption's four volumes of the Hundred Years War (a fifth is either being written or in the research stage), which in toto amount to some 3200 pages, would clearly result in an A++++. Of course this is no way to grade either a term paper or a history book. In practice, fill either with fluff or wandering prose and you will be graded accordingly.

Prior to embarking on Sumption's first volume -- which covers from 1329 to 1347 -- I had just finished Desmond Seward's much briefer (260+ pages for all 100 years!) and rather pedestrian history (see https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). It informed but did not educate. It also whet my historical appetite for something deeper, more interesting and much better written. Sumption delivers. This is no breeze-by (obviously) but instead a narrative history that explores all facets of the war: military, dynastic, economic, political, and religious (the Avignon papacy was involved). The risk is that the reader can be overloaded with the details and buried by the prose. The details survive though because the prose is so clear. No hyperbole and little in the way of metaphor. Maybe because Sumption is also a barrister (or, perhaps in spite of that!) one has to work at getting lost in text.

There are no illustrations in the book but the pictures the author paints of Edward's II and III and Phillip VI -- as well as a host of other players, major, minor, and bit -- are both defining and definitive. Close to forty maps help provide visual guidance and clarity to battles, sieges and the somewhat confusingly arrayed and continually shifting political realms. For those that would dare to check Sumption's sources he has conveniently provided numerous pages in the References and Bibliography sections. Have fun.

The research and organization needed to provide a solid bedrock and proper framework for the graceful, informative, and educational narrative that Sumption has written can only be daunting. It is the role of the historian to do so of course, but to continue at this level for another three (or, perhaps four) volumes is beyond monumental and approaches the realm of Gibbons and Runciman. And more is the better for us armchair students. On to Volume II!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there are so many things we want to do in life, we become subject to what the classical world called the law of contingency. Anything might happen.
Early Modern Europe, The Church, believed that contingency, might be contained. It all depended on what you wanted to do. Endless war, where you could not enforce your will, was remedial; it was dumb.
Edward III was a European first: a myth-maker who manufactured myth(s) no one could believe in, because it was all made-up. A leader who was all mailed fist and steel helmet. But who refuses to leave the theatre of war. Because we might suspect he is really a hopeless excuse. That cannot even explain what he is doing there in the first place.
Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry in 1152 bringing her, spectacular, dowry land that included Gascony and the "sources of English strength" Bordeaux and Bayonne (especially the former). The Treaty of Paris (1259) however reflected the growing power of the French monarchy and the zero-sum decline of the English Crown in France. Most Anglo land (including Normandy) had already been lost over the previous century. True, the Treaty increased the, legal, area of the duchy. But that only multiplied the legal problems for the King-Duke. The French courts claimed jurisdiction in Aquitaine. Appeals from the English King-Dukes law courts in the duchy to the Parlement in Paris proliferated. The French Kings exerted easy power over such appeals, bringing English kings to their knees (mis en genoux) in the feudal act of homage. A conflict of laws led to a conflict of arms. Trial by battle led to interminable armed hostilities. Who could resolve this crisis without an alternative?
On 26 January 1340 EIII said he was the King of France. But he was the vassal (or tenant) of the French king, Philip VI. A subject cannot wage war on his, liege, Lord. But a revolutionary can. Edward insisted he was the King of France, and not Philip. Europe thought, with some justice, Edward was faintly nuts. Revolutionary logic kicked in. So, even when he won, he lost. Time and time again.
The glittering victory of Crecy 1346 may have discomforted the French politically. But its military effects were nugatory. Edward could never even garrison Aquitaine, far less even protect it.
He bankrupted 2 Italian banks (Bardi, Peruzzi) who were stupid enough to lend to him in the first place. He put immense burdens on all strata of society, especially the poor. He made a poem to his ego. But he erected gallows to the consequences.
(Note I have only reviewed here the first volume of Sumption's magnificent work.
Robert Neville)

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hundred Years War was a series of conflicts primarily between the English and the French but dragged in various kingdoms on the periphery such as Scotland (which was allied with Scotland) and the low counties (modern day Belgium and Holland) at various points in the conflict. The Hundred Years War was fought throughout all of France at various times during the course of the 14th and 15th centuries. The conflict was the culmination of events running for centuries before that, with its roots way back to the Norman invasion of England and the following vast empire of Henry II of England a century later, who at one point was lord of more of France the French Kings themselves (see the wonderful biography of Henry II by W.L Warren [[ASIN:0300084749 Henry II (Yale English Monarchs)]] for more detail) though his sons proceeded to lose the bulk of it until they were left with the small duchy of Aquitaine located in south west France in modern Gascony.

This book, by Jonathan Sumption is the first of four novels which covers the War in great, complete detail. Starting with the funeral of the last of the direct male line of Capetian kings of France Charles IV, we look at the situation in France, economically, socially and politically. We then have the same treatment of England and then in the Duchy of Aquitaine, which was to be the cause of many conflicts between the two Kingdoms, until the start of the War. We then follow the course of events chronologically as they occurred up to and including the events of the battle of Crecy in 1347 which was a resounding victory for Edward III of England.

This is an excellent book about the Hundred years war. Following a narrative chronological progression, we get to see every aspect of the period and all the kingdoms and people that were pulled into the conflict. Not a dumbed down history, but not too high brow, the author brings to live the period in great detail and shows the reader all the aspects of why and how the events of the conflict occurred and keeps the readers attention. The book has plenty of maps for the reader to look at, this truly an excellent work.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hundred Years War I: Trial by Battle is a thought-provoking, vividly crafted work. I spent a lot of time consuming this well-written, extensively researched work by Mr. Sumption. And while I had a good grounding in the start of the Hundred Years War, especially the Battle of Crecy, before starting this book, I soon learned I had much to learn.

In War, there are all of the usual gleaming mail, calvary charges and &, etc. you'd expect to find in the military history of the period, but so much more. In particular, I appreciated the strong emphasis on the geography and economics that drove the hills and valleys on both the English and French sides. The constraints imposed by harvests and credit ratings, the limitations of taxation in medieval kingdoms given their structures and level of organizational maturity, the restrictions placed on royalty and nobility alike in how to respond, even when your whole life and livelihood, your crown or coronet, were on the line were brought to life page by page.

I enjoyed this book, and I think anyone interested in the war will also. But if you are looking for an overview, you can look elsewhere; this is the first of four heavy volumes. And if you want vivid full-color imagery, again, look elsewhere. There are some great options - for one I'd recommend Anne Curry's The Hundred Years War, which is highly readable and lavishly illustrated. But for someone who wants to live and breathe the period, I highly recommend Mr. Sumption's work.

[Kes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dense and dry book about medieval history and the start of the Hundred Years War - if I hadn't read the Accursed Kings' series before this, I would have lost track of the persons involved. This volume mainly concerns Edward II and Philipe VI and the lead up to their war.

Interesting parts:

* Codes of Honour - and the practice of ransoming prisoners.

* The importance of finance - the book goes into detail about each monarch's ability to tax / earn money / the Treasury. Both monarchs suffer from a dearth of finance, which hampered the war effort. We also see an early example of the impact of trade embargoes - the ban of English wool resulted in the devastation n Flanders (also an early example of industrial specialisation).

* The importance of personal ties and reputation in governing - people go to the aid of each monarch based on personal ties. King Philipe's defeats in battle - and even his avoidance of war - resulted in people drifting away from him and making it difficult for him to collect taxes (which then put him in a worst position to fight). Even when King Edward lost, his perceived valor in fighting garnered support for him.

[Tony Styles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsurpassed in its detail…

What this series shows is just how politically chaotic France was in the period covered by the Hundred Years War. Dukes were more powerful than the monarchy and the English claim to the throne of France was welcomed in some areas, despised in others. The English style of warfare was limited due to their lack of soldiers. They won battles but couldn’t occupy those areas afterwards. It reminded me of the American strategy during the Vietnam War, differing only in that, whereas the English did not have the resources to occupy and win, America had the resources but not the will or desire to win. Under Edward III and Henry V the English certainly had the will, but desire faded afterwards because of the logistical difficulties. I mainly read this book for its description of the Battle of Crecy. The battle covers a fraction of the book and seems to hide within a list of a series of more minor battles and skirmishes. The read can be heavy going at times and like Volume 4 which covers Agincourt, the book lacks a plate section which is why I docked a star. This is more like a text book, very good for reference. 4 Stars.

[Magpie6493 · Rating 5 out of 5]

To start this review off, I'm autistic and I have a special interest in the medieval period and have become especially interested in the hundred years war more soefically, and I have almost never in my whole life come across a book that was as much if not more detailed than what my autisim wanted when reading a particular book lol.

I had a great time reading this, and it's surprisingly readable and not as dense as I was worried it would be when I was initially looking at getting this. After seeing this as a suggested reading or source for a few other books I was reading, I couldn't resist the pull of eating to read this and was happily not disappointed.

Would fully recommend this book if you're interested in this subject you absolutely need to give this book a read. I'd suggest having a base knowledge of the medieval period to get the best value out of this however it does give a well detailed explanation of everything.

[Mark Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into the exercise and limitations of power. Traditionally we think that the further back in history the more that monarchs ruled as they pleased. However, the monarchs of England and France had significant limitations to their power. Neither had the means of raising money without the assent of nobles. This then conferred power to the nobles as monarchs were reliant on them for money as well as manpower. The blatant non compliance by nobles is surprising which says a lot about the independence of their power and resources.
The book is most interesting when describing the machinations of nobles and monarchs. Inevitably, once the fighting gets into full swing there is a bit too much detail of the troop movements and trailing around.

[Kit Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical approach to game of thrones. Every bit as convulted, fascinating and with even more characters. The book suffers from the fact Sumption's view on history is that their is a "fact", and so he does not engage in the historiagraphy at all. But, as a narrative, the work captures the chaos, decisions, dysfunction, and wonder of the age where England was defining its own way in the world, and redefining itself as more than the vassal of Paris. If you like Game of Thrones, this book is like The Silmarillion of that. If not, the historigraphy needs brushing up in incorporate current trends, but makes a decent reference work for the records.