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35 Works 3,946 Members 53 Reviews 6 Favorited

About the Author

Desmond Seward was born in Paris and educated at Cambridge. He is the author of Richard III, The Last White Rose, The Demon's Brood, and The Warrior King and the Invasion of France. He lives in England.

Works by Desmond Seward

The Monks of War (1972) 680 copies
Henry V: The Scourge of God (1987) 146 copies
Napoleon's Family (1986) 62 copies

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Common Knowledge

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Reviews

Definitely a heavy book to read during the war but still really informative and interesting. I have two books by Josephus that I haven't read yet but I think this book was good to read first to basically tell me to take some of his writing with a grain of salt. It is interesting that despite being Jewish that he was on Rome's side the entire time.
½
 
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Moshepit20 | 2 other reviews | Jan 4, 2024 |
This history of King Henry V of England opens with the author's self-congratulatory note about how he's been critical of Henry V, despite the medieval king's widespread acclaim. And indeed, this book is critical of the otherwise popular king and the author does lay out some evidence that while Henry was victorious on the battlefield (most notably at Agincourt), he lacked the funding, bureaucracy, and affection to translate his victories into long-term success. Furthermore, Henry waged a brutal war on France that did not endear the conquered to their conqueror. While I can buy the argument to a degree (the Hundred Years War began before Henry V and continued after him), I do wish it had been better written - Desmond Seward is no narrative genius and having read some of his other books, I'm skeptical of his sources. Still, this book can serve as a general introduction to Henry V and how England came, for a brief period, to occupy a large portion of France. And finally, I was intrigued, as I often am in histories of this particular period, by Henry V's brother John, Duke of Bedford - more should be written about this man!… (more)
 
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wagner.sarah35 | Jun 5, 2022 |
This book is serviceable as a summary of the Plantagenet dynasty, but for those with some familiarity with medieval British history, it can be a frustrating read. I started to dislike the author's approach early on in this book when he commented on the Empress Matilda: "sufficiently tamed to produce children." (Um, sorry, but that's stepping over the line.) Shortly after, in the discussion of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine is barely mentioned, and a couple of times this notable woman is left completely out of the narrative when she really should have been there. (In the conclusion, the author bemoaned that people now only think of Henry II as Eleanor of Aquitaine's husband.) In another instance, the author accepts an account of Edward II's death that a number of historians question. While I can understand some inaccuracies in a history that covers 300+ years and allow for different perspectives on history, this book make me question whether the author really put the time into truly understanding the medieval era and the subjects of this book.… (more)
 
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wagner.sarah35 | 1 other review | Sep 19, 2021 |
The author is very thorough, writing about the origins and struggles of the military orders from their beginning in the Holy Land. The many details and strange names makes following the history difficult. The Frankish Knights conquered and occupied Jerusalem during the Crusade of 1099. Palestine, then Outremer, was ruled by Baldwin, who was constantly at war with Turks, Egyptian muslims and brigands. The Templars were the first order to establish themselves, when the French knight Hugues de Payens in 1115 persuaded 7 knights to take vows to protect pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem. Hugues met St. Bernard de Clairvieux a few years later. Bernard establish a rule for the order. When not on campaign, the knights prayed and acted as priests. The Order of St. John of the Hospital, the Hospitallers, began before the Crusade as attendants to a infirmary and inn establish in Jerusalem in 1070. This order survives to this day. The first section of the book describes the wars in Outremer, ending in the storming of Acre in 1291.
The Teutonic Knights started in Outremer, when some German nobleman founded the Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital of Jerusalem. They fought in Palestine, but were overshadowed by the Templars. They transferred their efforts to subduing the pagans in East Prussia. The monasteries of Spain housed several military orders during the Recoquista. Calatrava, Santiago, Alcantara, Montesa, Avis, and Knights of Christ. The jostling and politics between the orders are convoluted.

The Knights Hospitaller held on to Rhodes until 1523, becoming Sea Knights, raiding Turkish ships. The survivors of a months’ long siege and attack by an enormous Turkish army were allowed to leave Rhodes unmolested, and they wandered in Europe until settling at Malta. There they survived another siege by the Turks.

The Templars were accused of heresy, banned by the pope, and disbanded by King Phillip of France, many Knights were burned at the stake. Jacques Molay, the last commander of the Templars, refused to confess to blasphemies, and was roasted over a charcoal fire. The Teutonic Knights were suppressed, but survived until WW1, but required several generations of nobility for membership. The Knights of Malta, were, at the time of the book, still extant, although there was an official branch under the direction of an English Grand Master, American and European branches with varying loyalty.

Quotes:
Page 29: Leper King of Outremer, King Baldwin IV - “He literally dropped to pieces during his reign, a via dolorosa on which he showed political realism and remarkable powers of leadership”

Page 44: “Perhaps the most famous of the castles was Krak des Chevalieres of the Hospitallers ... containing a fine chamber ... whose delicate rib-vaulting and stone roses recall the monasteries of France...An oddly haunting inscription was found in the Great Gallery of Krak: ‘Sit tibi copia/Sit Sapiencia/Formaque Detur/Inquinat Omnia Sola/Superbia si comitetur.’ ‘Wealth may be yours, wisdom too, and you may have beauty, but if pride touches them, all will turn to dross’”

Page 109 “Alfonso IX, el baboso (the slobberer)”

Page 135 - Spain. The short termed master of Santiago - Enrique Villena “Villena was one of the intellectual maestres, a new phenomenon. He made the first translation of the Aeniad into a vernacular language, and the first Castilian translation of Dante. ... and the compiled the first Spanish cookery bock - the Arte Cisoria, whose recipes are so bizarre that some historians think they hastened an early death”

Page 206 - Adrian Fortescue, an English Knight of Honor in the English Knights of Malta, in 1532 - “Repute not thyself better than any other person, be they never so great sinners, but rather judge and esteem yourself most simplest. Judge the best. Use much silence, but, when thou needs must, speak”
… (more)
 
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neurodrew | 7 other reviews | Aug 11, 2021 |

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Works
35
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3,946
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Rating
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