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Edward III and the Triumph of England. The Battle of Crécy and the Company of the Garter . By Barber Richard . 230mm. Pp xxi + 650, many figs and maps, 27 col ills. Allen Lane , London , 2013. isbn 9780713998382 . £30 (hbk).
Reviews
In the popular imagination, and indeed for historians, the years between 1340 and 1360 were marked by momentous events, the great facts of any historical narrative. In 1346 Edward iii defeated the French at the battle of Crécy, and months later David, King of Scotland, was captured at Neville's Cross. A decade later Edward, the Black Prince, eldest son of Edward iii, defeated an even larger French army at Poitiers, and the French king returned to England as a captive. But between these two triumphs England, along with the rest of Europe, was ravaged by the Black Death, and between a third and a half of the population perished. Richard Barber's book gets to grips with the significance and meaning of the triumphs rather than exploring the impact of the disaster of the plague. So, this is not a political nor a social nor an economic history, though each of these approaches makes its appearance. Rather the approach is biographical and prosopographical, a significant narrative which places at the heart of its story the noble and knightly experience of the English king, and those with whom he felt comfortable. Barber has also taken to heart Marc Bloch's revered dictum that the writings of historians ought to include a series of paragraphs at every turning point which answer the question,...