Reviews for The Hundred Years War

The average rating for The Hundred Years War based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-01-20 00:00:00 Douglas Dishauzi A concise and straightforward overview of the war. Seward focuses a lot on the kings, major figures, and battles. He does a good job describing the relationships between the English and French royal families, and his discussion of the various claims to the throne of France is clear. The accounts of the major battles are detailed, and Seward clearly explains how they affected the course of events. He does a good job discussing how the war often enriched England through plunder while bringing so much destruction to French territories.The maps are clear. The narrative is lively. There's not a lot of coverage of the era's societies or technology, though. Also, when telling the story of Agincourt, Seward repeats the story of Henry V forcing the most noble French prisoners to serve him dinner, even though that story was written almost a quarter of a century after the battle and doesn't show in eyewitness or contemporary accounts (it was made popular by Tudor historians) Most of the prisoners were wounded, anyway. Still, Seward does a good job packing so much detail into such a concise work. A readable and engaging work.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-11-04 00:00:00 David Wilson Seward's book provides a good introductory history of the 100 Years War for the reader who seldom reads history. In particular it covers very well the actions of Henry IV and Henry V, two kings that Shakespeare wrote plays about. Seward's book however will disappoint the reader who specializes in English history. Seward's style is lively and his text is never boring. His choice of maps is excellent while his selection of art illustrations is dreadful. He chooses to tell the story from the English perspective which is a legitimate choice but one which will leave any reader wishing to understand the French objectives or strategies very frustrated.