The Hundred Years War, Volume 2: Trial by Fire (The Middle Ages Series) [Paperback]

Jonathan Sumption (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Middle Ages Series | Publication Date: September 28, 2001

A succession of catastrophes in the middle years of the fourteenth century brought France to the brink of destruction. The bankruptcy of the French state and a bitter civil war within the royal family were followed by the defeat and capture of the King of France by the Black Prince at Poitiers. A peasant revolt and a violent revolution in Paris completed the tragedy. In a humiliating treaty of partition France ceded more than a third of its territory to Edward III of England. Not for sixty years would the English again come so close to total victory.

Yet the theme of the volume is not destruction, but survival. France's great cities, provincial towns and rural communities resisted where its leaders failed. They withstood the sustained savagery of the soldiers and the free companies of brigands to undo most of Edward III's work in the following generation. England's triumphs proved to be brittle and short-lived.

Based on a wide range of contemporary sources, both printed and unprinted, The Hundred Years War, Volume 2: Trial by Fire is the absorbing continuation of Jonathan Sumption's monumental history of the Hundred Years War.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What do most of us know of the Hundred Years War? The famous victories at Agincourt, Crecy, and Poitiers, and that it actually went on--intermittently--for a great deal longer than a hundred years. Fortunately, Jonathan Sumption is on hand to remind us that there was a great deal more to this period of medieval history that was instrumental in establishing the national consciousness of both England and France. Trial by Battle is not for the faint-hearted. Its 650 pages cover only the period from the death of Charles IV, the last Capetian King of France, to the surrender of Calais to the English in 1347. At this rate, it will take at least another six volumes to get to the end. But for those who take a deep breath and decide to go for it, Sumption more than repays the effort. He takes a decidedly old-fashioned approach to history, being short on analysis and long on narrative, but there is nothing old-fashioned about his style. He has avoided the academic pitfalls of turgid prose and inaccessibility to produce a work of great readability that challenges many traditional assumptions.

To read many historians, the Hundred Years War was a glorious period of nobility and chivalry. Sumption gives the lie to this. He shows the war to be venal, savage, and mercenary. Soldiers often gave more thought to their captives than they did for their cause, as huge ransoms could be extracted for their release. We're only talking noble hostages, mind. The ordinary foot soldier had no monetary value and was usually butchered on the spot. The same applied to civilians. This wasn't a war where human life was sanctified and the fighting was restricted to the battlefield. It had all the subtlety of the bombing of Dresden, but as the fighting was almost entirely restricted to mainland France, England created a wave of terror to force the locals into submission. "Not a man or woman of substance dared to wait in the towns and castles or in the country around; wherever our army appeared, they fled away," wrote one English observer. Sumption's readers are likely to have precisely the opposite reaction. --John Crace, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Like the great fourteenth-century chronicler Jean Froissart, to whom [Sumtion] is a worthy successor, the value of his work lies at least in part in the fact that he includes so much that others leave out. There is no other book which tells the story of this phase of the war so graphically, "the savagery, the utter savagery," to say nothing of the sheer pointlessness, of it all. Divided Houses is a compelling, sustained exercise in original research: all in all, a remarkable achievement."—Times Literary Supplement

"This will become the standard account of the War."—Choice

"A classic of sharp scholarship and dust-dispelling energy. . . . Throughout his vigorous narrative, Sumption displays an effortless command of sources."—Times Literary Supplement

"Sumption is bringing together so many different stories from so many countries and telling them with such close attention to detail that the chronicles of confusion become a trustworthy record of the time."—New York Review of Books

"A superb narrative history."—Military History

Praise for The Hundred Years War, Volume I: Trial by Battle—

"A rich book, filled with detail and incident, yet never losing a sense of the overall sweep of events."—Times Literary Supplement

"In a balanced and seamless presentation, the origins and first decade of the Hundred Years' War unfold before the reader."—American Historical Review

"Without any doubt, this book immediately takes its place as the best available account of this phase of the war. . . . It is compulsively readable, in part the consequence of a lucid style and apt choice of detail, but mainly the result of a masterly overall grasp, acute judgement, fresh insight, and a compelling sense of immediacy that fully justifies the author's preference for a predominantly narrative approach. Throughout, there is a sense of a luminous intelligence working on the material."—History

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 696 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (September 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812218019
• ISBN-13: 978-0812218015
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #901,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where is the third volume - please!!!, July 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hundred Years War, Volume 2: Trial by Fire (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

Sumption continues the same excellence in Trial by Fire that was started in Trial by Battle - an integrative and authoritative look at the Hundred Years War. As opposed to other histories if this period, his approach is detailed and authoritative - no greater praise can be made of a piece of historical work covering an "event" of such scope and length. My only disappointment is the delay in release of future volumes.

I would not recommend this book to individuals who are looking for general history or discussions of battles. On the other hand, for those with interest in the 13th to 15th century, it is highly recommended.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb narrative history, March 7, 2000

By 

Prof. Cliff Rogers (West Point, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hundred Years War: Volume 2; Trial by Fire (Middle Ages Series) (Hardcover)

Sumption's bulky, detailed study of the Hundred Years War and its antecedents is a model for modern narrative history. His research is truly extraordinary, his writing clear, his story compelling, and his judgment almost always sound (if rather pessimistic). He is better on politics, administration, and finance than on strictly military topics, however; in my opinion he fundamentally misunderstands the battle-seeking nature of English strategy in this period (cf. my article in the 1994 _Transactions of the Royal Historical Society_, or my forthcoming monograph, _War Cruel and Sharp_), and his battle narratives, while as good as any others yet published, are open to dispute.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a review of 'Trial by Fire', March 4, 2000

By 

Hugh Nicklin (Ledbury, Herefordshire, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hundred Years War: Volume 2; Trial by Fire (Middle Ages Series) (Hardcover)

This is not a review. I simply wish to point out that you have Volume II of Jonathan Sumption's (probably excellent to judge by the previous volume) book on the 100 Years' War on one of your pages, but the review below it is not of that book at all, but of Volume I. I hope this is helpful.