Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England [Hardcover]

Juliet Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2006

From a master historian comes an astonishing chronicle of life in medieval Europe and the battle that altered the course of an empire.Although almost six centuries old, the Battle of Agincourt still captivates the imaginations of men and women on both sides of the Atlantic. It has been immortalized in high culture (Shakespeare's Henry V) and low (the New York Post prints Henry's battle cry on its editorial page each Memorial Day).It is the classic underdog story in the history of warfare, and generations have wondered how the English-outnumbered by the French six to one-could have succeeded so bravely and brilliantly. Drawing upon a wide range of sources, eminent scholar Juliet Barker casts aside the legend and shows us that the truth behind Agincourt is just as exciting, just as fascinating, and far more significant. She paints a gripping narrative of the October 1415 clash between outnumbered English archers and heavily armored French knights.But she also takes us beyond the battlefield into palaces and common cottages to bring into vivid focus an entire medieval world in flux. Populated with chivalrous heroes, dastardly spies, and a ferocious and bold king, AGINCOURT is as earthshaking as its subject-and will confirm Juliet Barker's status as both a historian and a storyteller of the first rank.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Barker, a British biographer (The Brontës) and accomplished medievalist, brings an excellent synergy of academic and literary skills to this study of the 1415 British campaign in France and the battle that was its climax, around which she elaborately reconstructs the conflict's antecedents. Henry V spent years preparing the ground: asserting initially shaky authority in England, exploiting domestic strife in France and isolating the disorganized kingdom from its traditional allies. During the campaign itself, a train of artillery manned by foreign gunners supplemented the men-at-arms and the longbowmen, who were the British army's real backbone. But the French were not the vainglorious incompetents of English legend and Shakespearean drama. Many in northern France made a brave effort, often putting aside personal and political differences to stand together at Agincourt, where they came closer to success than is generally realized. Barker shows that the battle hung by a thread: French numbers against English desperation, with courage a common virtue. She also illustrates how Agincourt was decisive—not only for its consequences in France. An English defeat would have meant chaos, perhaps civil war. Destiny on both sides of the Channel turned on the outcome of St. Crispin's Day. (June 14)
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From Booklist

The Battle of Agincourt of 1415 has endured in popular awareness on the strength of Shakespeare's Henry the Fifth. The historical Henry V bears scant resemblance to Falstaff's royal drinking buddy: in Barker's lushly detailed account, Henry V was a pious warrior, an able administrator, and an aggressive diplomat. Barker dwells extensively on Henry's rapid intensification, after ascending to the throne in 1413, of the Hundred Years' War, the English attempt to control the crown and territory of France. As a result, her emphasis on the organization of the campaign that culminated at Agincourt delivers a superb description of how a medieval military force was raised. Founded on feudal precepts of lord-and-vassal obligation, Henry's army and that of France were personalistic, a trait Barker turns to positive advantage in portraying the combatants. From longbow men to men-at-arms, Barker successfully individuates the Agincourt battle so that readers perceive actual people, not just a melee of thousands, engaging in the battle. With fluency and empathy, Barker delivers a superior performance that should capture avid history readers. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1St Edition edition (June 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316015032
• ISBN-13: 978-0316015035
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling book!, June 13, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England (Hardcover)

On October 25, 1415, English King Henry V stood facing a French army that outnumbered his six thousand men by as much as five to one. The campaign that would culminate on the field in northern France in proximity to a castle known as Agincourt had started with an English invasion of France and the capture six weeks earlier of Harfleur, the highly valued strategic port in Normandy.

Henry was exercising what he deemed his god-given right to recapture the lands of northern France that were lawfully his by hereditary claim.

In Agincourt, author Juliet Baker has done yeoman's work in researching the historical record of French and English archives, and previous texts written by eyewitnesses and contemporaries of the time. The book is divided into three main parts detailing what circumstances lead the young English King to his expedition; what took place once the fleet had landed, including the siege of Harlfleur; and the confrontation at Agincourt.

Lastly Barker details the battle's aftermath and the serious impact the loss of an entire class of French nobility had on the French people and the English dominance of the region.

The account of the battle has been told many times, but with recent forensic studies and technologies available, the true impact of this disastrous loss by the French finally becomes known.

Chivalry was at its height. This dictated that the initial waves of the French attack were composed primarily of nearly every noble Prince, Duke, Baron and Knights from northern France. As is well known, the use of the deadliest of medieval weapons--the English longbow--has been given as the main deciding factor for the wholesale slaughter which the French suffered in a few hours time on the battlefield.. Those that were not slain or mortally wounded were captured and taken to England until their ransoms could be raised. Many were eventually released, but in fact many never returned home.

Juliet Barker's compilation of the facts of the English victory at Agincourt will stand as one of the truly great resources for generations to come.

Armchair Interviews says: Any military historian worth his salt should feel compelled to read Agincourt.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was a different world, August 26, 2006

By 

Paul Carleton (Pontiac, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England (Hardcover)

I've been interested in Agincourt from high-school medieval history when we were told, tho' not quite accurately, how Englishmen with their longbows, eventho' greatly outnumbered, defeated the French armored knights and changed the practice of warfare. Then forty-some years later, I saw Branagh's 1989 film of Shakespeare's Henry V and was stirred by the king's Crispin's day speech the morning of the battle. So I ordered Barker's book before it was released in the US and when it arrived, first read Chapters 14 & 15 about the battle itself, then Chapters 9 thru 18 about the whole campaign and its aftermath, and finally Part I `The Road to Agincourt'. But rather than impulsively reading about the battle first, I'd now recommend reading the book from the beginning to understand the battle's background.

It's a fascinating book which Barker has thoroughly researched in order to give a comprehensive context. But she gives more details than I wanted to know about many of the players, their names and lineages, including many of those killed in the battle. I found it confusing trying to follow who was supporting, opposing or betraying whom, since I'm not intimately familiar with the geography and aristocracy of England and France (the book was first published in England). What it illustrates was the medieval mentality regarding land and nobility which wouldn't begin to change until 260 years later when in America it was proclaimed "... that all men are created equal ..." It also portrays their unquestioned belief in God's Providence which for many today still hasn't changed.

On the other hand, she also explained many interesting details about the preparations for the campaign and contemporary technology. For example, I was pleased to learn how longbows and arrows were made and used (pages 86-9) and how an arrowhead, lodged six-inches deep into Henry's face during the battle of Shrewsbury, was extracted afterwards (pages 31-2).

A seeming inconsistency is that the battle and the book are referred to as `Agincourt', but the castle near where the battle took place is called `Azincourt'. After the battle when Henry asked the French herald the castle's name, Barker quotes Henry on page 296 as saying (in French?) "... this battle will now and for ever be known as the battle of Azincourt." That's how it's spelled in National Geographic's Atlas too, but she doesn't explain how it got Anglicized to Agincourt.

This book is a tribute to Henry V. Having read Barker's account of Agincourt, I'll have to get the DVD of Branagh's film and rewatch it with much greater understanding.

A warning: After reading this hardcover book, I loaned it to friend and when she returned it months later, the spine was cracked its full lenght seperating the pages into two booklets. She's a gentle person who doesn't abuse books, so I examined the crack carefully. Apparently to save a pittance, the printer/binder didn't use a backstrip! So be careful.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great History and Great Writing, July 10, 2006

By 

Publius Cornelius "Reviewer" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England (Hardcover)

A beautiful narrative overview of Henry V and Agincourt. Highly readable and very informative. Enough detail to bring this era to life for those with little background in it, yet not overwhelming in terms of detail. The author does a wonderful job bringing many of the important personalities to life.