Customer Reviews
A superb analysis - By: J. Newton, 16 Feb 2005 
Medieval society accepted war as part of life, Allmand writes as muchin the first chapter of his book: "It was part of the divine plan, linked with famine, flood & plague as a manifestation of God's punishment for sins committed." It was part of the natural order & as such armed conflicts were a common enough feature of medieval life. There are few such conflicts however, which enjoy the fame that the Hundred Years War presently does. Today, it is one of the most famous, most notable conflictsin the history of both England & France, being studied intricately by experts & popular among ordinary people as well. So much soin fact, that certain events & themes are now the subject of national legend on both sides of the Channel. For example, the stories of Joan of Arcin France or the pride held for the lethal accuracy & skill of the English longbows. As a consequence of the interestin this period, there have been many accounts & publications on the subject; a small number perhaps might equal the standard of Allmand's.
Coming from a background with very little previous knowledge of the conflict, I found Allmand's text easy to read & very informative. In the first two chapters Allmand describesin detail the course & possible causes of the war. Summarising everything from the breakdown of the historic feudal orderin England & France, through the successful English campaigns culminatingin the victories at Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356) & Agincourt (1415) to the recovery & eventual success of the French. Allmand's account on the conflict itself, while comparatively short, was only surpassed by the surprising amount of depth & concise detail that meant that a potentially complicated description was grasped with relative ease.
The following chapters deal with many themes including justification for the conflict, concepts of chivalry & other contemporary views regarding the war. Allmand also addresses the military objectives of the English, military & naval organization, recruitment, & the raising of taxes. These chapters are similarin style to the account of the conflict itself. Writing concisely, Allmand gets the main points across easily, setting out the specifics & details of the period & at the same time raising a number of questions which he develops laterin the book. These focus around the idea that the war was a major agent of change; because the war was on such a scale, its effects were not limited to the battle-field & the nation as a whole became increasingly involved. For example, when discussing taxation & the raising of funds, Allmand writes: "It would be a mistake to think that the war was directed & paid for by Paris or Westminster alone... local autonomy, energy, & initiatives were all exercised for the best purpose, the defence of the common good itself." It is this theme of a 'national effort' & a 'common good' that Allmand takes upin the second half of the book.
Allmand notes the marked increasein public participation of the war. This can be seenin many areas, but a good example is contemporary literature. The number of contemporary writings, which discussed the subject of the war, show that there was certainly a growing interestin it. Obviously there were many different types of literature, & it is worth noting that some were very antiin their stance to the conflict, but the fact that they were being written show that the war was the subject for much discussion. In France especially feelings of great intensity were being provoked & many took a 'nationalist' stance. This, Allmand writes, was an engineered response on behalf of the authorities who "needed a conscious & continuous interestin the affairs of war among the different elements of the population." It is suggested that the war needed some form of continuous justification so that it would continue to be supported; Allmand identifies this as an early form of propaganda.
This camein many forms, but all of them had one aimin mind "to encourage & secure the widest possible involvement of a nationin war." Such propaganda included accounts of victories being circulated (in many parish churches there was a 'notice board' which displayed such material) & the use of the church who prayed for their nations armies. There were even celebrations, like those seenin the capital when the Black Prince returned from his victory at Poitiers with the King of France as his prisoner. Many more examples could be listedin which the two countries experienced an awakening of their national pride, to the extent that Allmand writes: "it was the long war with England which was the most influential single factor to contribute to the growing awareness of French nationhoodin this age." It is certainly true that this awakening of national pride affected France far more than it didin England, it was after all a country with internal factions & foreign soldiers on it soil. This scale of involvement would affect any town or out-laying settlement that was unlucky enough to be either the target of a pro-longed raid (chevauchées) or just caughtin the crossfire. Therefore the average French peasant would be far more aware of the war than any English one.
This risein national identity is a subject that Allmand exploresin much depth, indeed, it has not been given justicein this review butin an effort to sum up, Allmand writes that the war was an agent of great change. As well as revolutions on the battlefield &in the organised mechanics of fighting a war, Allmand paid particular attention to the awakening of a national identity. This idea is something that I personally found very interesting & informative, the extent to which it is true is obviously debatable, but I found myself unable to raise any serious objections.
Allmand's book is worthy of high praise. By combining a detailed account of the war with sections on the wider implications of the conflict, he produced a detailed & enjoyable text on the subject. The broad focus that Allmand uses is commendable, & his arguments so convincing & persuasive that I found it very hard to criticise them.
old style - By: drubhsavoch, 30 Jun 2004 
I got interestedin the 100 years war & a brainy friend told me this was the best general intro. I suppose all the facts & analysis are very credible, but this often felt like it was addressing academics rather than the general reader, & at times felt like it was point-scoring. So I'm stillin the market for a new-style not-dry book on the subject
The best introduction to this subject. - By: , 19 Apr 2001 Allmand writes clearly & persuasively about the Hundred Years War. This clarity means that it is an essential text for any student of the Hundred Years War. It is also enjoyable to read & easy to follow. He sets forth the course & possible causes of the warin the first two chapters of the book. He then goes on to discuss the reactions to defeat & warfare, paying particular interest to notions of 'nationalism' & propaganda. He places the conflictin its wider, social & economic context &in this respect it is certainly a definitive text.
