Chronicle And Romance

by Charles William Eliot (Editor)

1910. Contents: The Chronicles of Froissart, Translated by Lord Berners, edited by G.C. Macaulay: The Campaign of Crecy; The Battle of Poitiers; Wat Tyler's Rebellion; The Battle of Otterburn; Sir Thomas Malory: The Holy Grail; Description of Elizabethan England Written by William Harrison for Holinshed's Chronicles.

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Charles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university. Eliot served the longest term as president in the university's history.

Reviews

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read the selection of Froissart's Chronicle, after reading the exquisite historical fiction book The Ill-Made Knight I was very curious to approach the work of Froissart about medieval warfare. Very interesting and highly educative, the language of this edition is a bit archaic and remembering all the names of the characters a nightmarish task, but it is, in my opinion, a must-read to better understand the workings, the culture and the men behind the events of the earlier stages of the Hundred Years War.

[Pastor Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better volumes for the average Jim or Jenny, some may think that, "The Holy Grail," would be the best of the three works included. But I would disagree.

Of course, "The Holy Grail," is must-reading and very interesting overall. But Froissart, "Chronicles" and Harrison's, "A Description of Elizabethen England," were much more informative and enjoyable in my humble opinion.

A major point of interest is the fact that Harrison's work is basically an introduction to and description of the world that William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and the translators of the King James Bible (1611) would have been born into and raised. Viewed in that manner, his work held my attention with ease. It's sort of like my interest in the history of the United States, and the world for that matter, in the years before I was born knowing that this was not only the world that produced what I was born into but was the world of my grandparents and of my parents.

When I read with such perspective, I always enjoy such works more than I otherwise would. I would encourage anyone reading this review to consider this when reading this or any other volume of history (or historical fiction).