Edward III’s destruction of the French army at Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent siege and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. The most powerful, glamorous and respected of all western monarchies had been completely humiliated by England, a country long viewed either as a chaotic backwater or a mere French satellite.
The young Edward lll’s triumph would launch both countries, as we now know, into a grim cycle of some 90 years of further fighting ending with English defeat, but after Crecy anything seemed possible – Edward’s claim to be King of France could be pressed home and enormous rewards of land, treasure and prestige were available both to the king and to the close companions who had made the victory possible.
It was to enshrine this moment that Edward created the Company of the Garter, which was to become one of the most famous knightly orders. Richard Barber’s rich and original new book is an attempt to get as close to these extraordinary events as we can. Much is missing and many of the surviving sources heavily biased, and yet, without resorting to Romantic distortions or wishful thinking, it really is possible to reconstruct this violent, heroic world.
Barber writes about both the great campaigns and the individuals who formed the original membership of the Company – and through their biographies (sometimes fragmentary, sometimes with the most surprising information still extant) makes the period tangible and fascinating. This is a book about knighthood, battle tactics and grand strategy, but it is also about fashion, literature and the private lives of everyone from queens to freebooters. Barber’s book is a remarkable achievement. and an extremely enjoyable one.