Jonathan Sumption

One of Sumption's recurring themes through the whole of his history of the Hundred Years War is that because France was much more populous and (largely therefore, in an age of near-subsistence economies) richer, the English could only be successful when they were united under effective leadership while the French were simultaneously divided. That was very much the case in 1422, but the following three decades may largely be characterized as a story of the revival of the French monarchy while show more the English one started to crumble. Rising French tax revenues and declining English ones inexorably turned the tide on the battlefield.

Inevitably, the brief but spectacular career of Joan of Arc gets extensive coverage. Sumption, though, doesn't seem too impressed by her personally, and believes that the English siege of Orléans would most likely have failed even without her intervention. Her importance, as he sees it, was largely psychological, and her effect was to accelerate, rather than cause, the French recovery.

The high quality of Sumption's writing is sustained through this final volume, but editing seemed to be slightly laxer (a sign of the changing circumstances of the publishing industry I guess?). The book would have benefited from being read on paper because the maps are hard to read on my e-reader. show less

Sumptions justifies a the title of this fourth volume of his history of the Hundred Years' War by listing a whole slew of "cursed kings" in the foreword, but chief of them is obviously the sad figure of Charles VI of France, during whose decades of mental illness France is wracked first by civil war, then by English conquest and continuing civil war.

But a curse of a different kind may be said to have struck Henry V, who was struck down by disease in the prime of life, his conquest of France show more half-finished. His death left the guardians of his infant heir duty-bound to carry it on, but simultaneously too weak to complete it and too strong to be kicked out quickly, condemning both kingdoms to another generation of war.

Sumption's narrative remains lucid and engaging, despite the confusing multitude of events and personalities. I'm looking forward to getting started on the fifth and final volume. show less

Coping manfully with the mass of data, Jonathan Sumpton has completed Volume IV of a big book on a big war. While this will be a five volume work, I await the final volume as eagerly as I am waiting for the completion of Chronicles of Ice and Fire. There is a similarity of theme in these works. If there is no effective king to control matters, even the largest European Feudal state drops into a pit of vipers. Plague, local warlords indulging in cycles of revenge, and external ambitions all show more wreak havoc on the state. France, with a mad king, and a blood feud between the houses of Burgundy and Armagnac nearly falls victim to a well-organized, and ambitious neighbour, Henry V of England. This volume chronicles the complete dissolution of the French, and covers what has to be the lowest point of the conflict for them. The prose is clear, the research immense, and the maps, alas second-rate, but thus the weakest part of the work. Read, and Reread this book while waiting for George Martin to finish his opus. You'll find a lot of resemblances, and, this is all real! show less

The third volume of Sumption's history of the Hundred Years War, this covers the second or "Caroline" phase of the conflict. It's the least spectacular phase of the war, with few major battles, but its early years saw great French reconquests in the southwest, before the war settled into a bloody stalemate, in part because both England and France become riven by internal divisions under the inept kings Richard II and Charles VI.

Sumption's narrative remains crisp and lively. There's also an show more interesting thematic chapter on the lives and attitudes of men-at-arms and lesser fighting men. show less