Agincourt

by Juliet Barker

First published 2005

Amazon

4.5(399)

In 1415 Henry V crossed the Channel with an English army determined to press his claim in France. Juliet Barker reconstructs the campaign from the siege of Harfleur through the exhausting march towards Calais, showing how disease, supply problems and French pursuit reduced the invaders before they reached the field near Agincourt. She sets the celebrated battle in the wider politics of the Hundred Years’ War and examines the men, weapons, tactics and command decisions that shaped the encounter.

Drawing on English and French evidence, Barker strips away later patriotic legend without diminishing the drama of the victory. She explains the cramped battlefield, the importance of the longbow, the failure of successive French attacks and the controversial killing of prisoners, while following Henry’s soldiers from recruitment to their return home. The result is both a military history of 25 October 1415 and a detailed account of the campaign that made Agincourt one of the defining battles of medieval Europe.