Knights and Peasants - (Warfare in History) by Nicholas Wright (Paperback)

About the Book

`Succinct survey of how war was experienced by ordinary people in late medieval France ... very welcome addition to the literature.' INTERNATIONAL HISTORY REVIEW [Michael Jones]

Book Synopsis

`Succinct survey of how war was experienced by ordinary people in late medieval France ... very welcome addition to the literature.' INTERNATIONAL HISTORY REVIEW [Michael Jones]

This alternative account of peasant life during crisis is a welcome addition to the historiography of late-medieval France... a useful corrective to most standard interpretations of warfare and peasantry. SPECULUMThis work examines the soldier-peasant relationship in the context of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453), aiming to bring out more closely the realities of the situation. It seeks an understanding of different attitudes: how aristocratic soldiersreconciled the ideals of chivalry with exploitation of non-combatants, and how French peasants reacted to the soldiery, drawing on the late-medieval literature of chivalry and political commentary in England and (especially) in France. Employing additional documentary material, including the largely unpublished records of the French royal chancery, the book also describes the ways in which individual peasants and village communities were exploited by soldiers, and how, in order to survive, they adjusted to and reacted against their treatment.

From the Back Cover

Exciting and provocative... Overall, this courageous, well-written book provides us with a ground-breaking survey. It brings out a story of the Hundred Years War that has long needed to be told, and will deservedly form an essential addition to reading on the subject. HISTORY TODAY

This alternative account of peasant life during crisis is a welcome addition to the historiography of late-medieval France... a useful corrective to most standard interpretations of warfare and peasantry. SPECULUM

This study of the soldier-peasant relationship in the context of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) aims to bring out the realities of the situation. It seeks an understanding of different attitudes: how aristocratic soldiers reconciled the ideals of chivalry with exploitation of non-combatants, and how French peasants reacted to the soldiery, drawing on the late-medieval literature of chivalry and political commentary in England and (especially) in France. Employing additional documentary material, including the largely unpublished records of the French royal chancery, the book also describes the ways in which individual peasants and village communities were exploited by soldiers, and how, in order to survive, they adjusted to and reacted against their treatment.