Tuesday 21 October 2014

Sources for the Crecy Campaign

Sources for the Crecy Campaign


Of the medieval writers mentioned in the text, the Chronicles of Jean Froissart are the most widely available to modern readers. They have been published in a number of editions and translations. These include a translation by Penguin Classics and another by the University of Michigan Library. Even six centuries on the book is lively, exciting and thrilling.

The Chronicle of Jean le Bel is less widely available, though in 1966 the Folio Society of London produced a history of the Hundred Years War that reproduced lengthy sections of le Bel’s work, including his complete account of the Crecy campaign. This book can sometimes be found in second hand shops or on internet auction sites. A complete modern reprint of le Bel’s works (so far available only in French) was published in 2001 by Elibron. The other contemporary letters and chronicles are rarely available outside specialist libraries and collections.

Of the modern works on the Hundred Years Wars it would be unfair to pick out some that are better than others for every reader has their own tastes and preferences. I will make an exception for the impressively exhaustive tome on medieval archery written by Robert Hardy and Matthew Strickland entitled The Great Warbow and published by Sutton. The various booklets published by Osprey are easily accessible to a casual reader and the books by W.M. Ormrod reveal much about the social and economic history of the reign of King Edward III. Spellmount, the publishers of this book, have produced a number of good books on other aspects of medieval warfare.

from "Crecy : A Campaign in Context" by Rupert Matthews.


 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battle-Crecy-Campaign-Context/dp/1862273693/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413904797&sr=1-1&keywords=rupert+matthews+crecy

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