The Origins of the Hundred Years War: The Angevin Legacy 1250-1340 [Paperback]

Malcolm Vale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0198206208 | ISBN-13: 978-0198206200

In this important study of Anglo-French relations in the century before the Hundred Years War, Vale examines the legacy of continental rule bequeathed by the Angevin kings of England to their Plantagenet successors. He explores the sources of Anglo-French tension that ultimately led to the breakdown of feudal and diplomatic relations between the two greatest powers in western Europe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Teeming not only with stimulating ideas...but also with detailed information....A brilliant book which will hold an important place in Anglo-French studies for a long time to come"--Medium Aevum

"A fine book which deserves to enjoy a wide readership and to become a standard work on its subject"--English Historical Review

"An important new contribution to our understanding of the terrible conflict that dominated western Europe in the late Middle Ages....Outstanding both for the information it assembles and the conclusions it draws"--Speculum

About the Author

Malcolm Vale is at St John's College, Oxford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198206208
• ISBN-13: 978-0198206200
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,521,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, May 5, 2011

By 

Caleb Hanson (Wilmington, MA, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Origins of the Hundred Years War: The Angevin Legacy 1250-1340 (Paperback)

This is the history of the duchy of Aquitaine(/Guienne/Gascony) under the Plantagenet king-dukes, and deteriorating relations between the kings of France and England over the same. Vale brings up some new and interesting facets, like how the local Gascon nobles actively (though not necessarily deliberately) made those relations worse, by appealing to the French crown whenever they didn't like a decision of the English king-duke, but rallying to the Plantagenet defense whenever the Capetians tried to enforce royal authority. The title is slightly ironic, in that it describes the book in terms of the historical periods BEFORE (Angevin kings of England) and AFTER (Hundred Years War) the period the book actually covers.

Not for beginners. Vale assumes a reader who already knows the overall shape of the forest, and is now looking for lots of individual trees. I think a better writer could have (i.e., I would have liked it better if Vale had) put in a little more narrative as connective tissue, but it's good if you like trees. Be advised: strong anti-Valois bias.