Overview

The victory at Poitiers by an English force outnumbered two-to-one, led by Edward the Black Prince on 19th September 1356 was one of the most significant of the Hundred Years War. The consequences of the battle resonated throughout the remainder of the century and influenced the war to its end in 1453. David Green has researched the battle and the raids that preceded it exhaustively and details the strategy, tactics, arms and armour used by both sides. He reconstructs the battle using an array of contemporary sources and discusses the protagonists, the siting, course and outcome of the encounter and considers the implications of the capture of King Jean II of France and many of the most important members of the French nobility.

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9780752425573

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Reviews

David Green's acclaimed biography of Edward the Black Prince, also published by Tempus, is taken a stage further here in a study of what happened at the battle of Poitiers in 1356, a confrontation central to the progress of the Hundred Years War. It can have been no easy task to pin down these details, for contemporary accounts tend to be full of flaws, anomalies and contradictions, and later writers have only muddied the issue. But now we have what is likely to be the definitive guide on this epic battle - one that proved to be as important as Crecy and Agincourt, and which influenced warfare for the best part of another century. Among questions that have dogged historians is precisely what role the Black Prince played in the battle and in the events beforehand. It has long been known that Edward was chivalrous and honourable (by the standards of his time), and that he possessed a ruthless streak that acted almost as a force of nature in itself. What we have never been sure of is whether Edward was simply attempting to undermine the role and finances of French King Jean II or whether he set out looking for a bloodbath. Green, a lecturer in mediaeval history at Trinity College, Dublin, attempts to answer these questions by a process of logic and in the light of probabilities based on what we know of the times. The book is sensibly divided into two parts. The first analyses events in 1355 and 1356, looks at the phases of battle and examines the strategy, arms and tactics used on both sides. The second contains a guide on reconstruction of the battle, followed by comprehensive biographies of those most involved in the action. This is a fine study, well focused, and with the added benefit of quality diagrams and photographs to underline points made in the text. (Kirkus UK)

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