European University Institute Library

In the steps of the Black Prince, the road to Poitiers, 1355-1356, Peter Hoskins

eng

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non fiction

In the steps of the Black Prince

electronic resource

dictionaries

792739358

Peter Hoskins

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

the road to Poitiers, 1355-1356

The author has retraced on foot the routes taken by the Black Prince during the French campaigns of 1355-1356, enabling him to provide an entirely new dimension to the events. In 1355 the Black Prince took an army to Bordeaux and embarked on two 'chevauchées' [mounted military expeditions, generally characterised by the devastation of the surrounding towns and countryside], which culminated in his decisive victory over King Jean II of France at Poitiers the following year. Using the recorded itineraries as his starting point, the author of this book walked more than 1,300 miles across France, retracing the routes of the armies in search of a greater understanding of the Black Prince's expedition. He followed the 1355 'chevauchée' from Bordeaux to the Mediterranean and back, and that for 1356 from Aquitaine to the Loire, to the battlefield at Poitiers, and back again to Bordeaux. Drawing on his findings on the ground, a wide range of documentary sources, and the work of local historians, many of whom the author met on his travels, the book provides a unique perspective on the Black Prince's 'chevauchées' of 1355 and 1356 and the battle of Poitiers, one of the greatest English triumphs of the Hundred Years War, demonstrating in particular the impact of the landscape on the campaigns. Peter Hoskins is a former Royal Air Force pilot, now living in France. He combines his interest in exploration of his adopted country with his research into the Hundred Years War.--, Provided by publisher

Prologue. Origins -- The Chevauchée in the Languedoc, October to December 1355. Advance to contact : Bordeaux to Arouille, 5 to 11 October 1355 ; Armagnac : Arouille to Mirande, 12 to 22 October 1355 ; Toulouse : Mirande to Montgiscard, 23 to 29 October 1355 ; Carcassonne : Montgiscard to Canet, 29 October to 7 November 1355 ; Turning for home : Canet to Pennautier, 8 to 14 November 1355 ; Recrossing the Garonne : Pennautier to Carbonne, 15 to 18 November 1355 ; home for Christmas : Carbonne to La Réole, 19 November to 2 December 1355 -- Interlude. Consolidation and preparation : 2 December 1355 to 6 July 1356 -- The Poitiers Chevauchée, August to October 1356. Advance to the Vienne : La Réole to Manot, 6 July to 14 August 1356 ; Romorantin : Manot to Romorantin, 14 August to 5 September 1356 ; Manoeuvre : Romorantin to Poitiers, 5 to 17 September 1356 ; Battle joined : Nouaillé-Maupertuis, 18 and 19 September 1356 ; The return to Bordeaux : Nouaillé-Maupertuis to Bordeaux, 20 September to 2 October 1356 -- Epilogue. Aftermath -- Appendix. Summary itinerary for Prince's division, 1355 ; Summary itinerary for Prince's division, 1356