An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

489. Hundred Years' War: Bloodbath at Agincourt (Part 3)

September 01, 2024

Description

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”. The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 endures as perhaps the most totemic battle in the whole of English history. Thanks in part to Shakespeare’s masterful...
Read more here

Books Referenced

The Face of Battle

Author: John Keegan

Context:

Tom mentions this as one of the first books he read on Agincourt, noting it covers Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme, with mud being a common theme between Agincourt and the Somme.

Agincourt: A New History

Author: Anne Curry

Context:

Described as a 'game-changing book' that came out in 2005 and was reissued in 2015. The hosts discuss Curry's controversial research into the numbers of soldiers at Agincourt, based on her analysis of primary sources and financial/administrative documents.

Agincourt: The King, the Campaign, the Battle

Author: Juliet Barker

Context:

Referenced multiple times as 'her wonderful book on Agincourt' and 'her book on Agincourt.' The hosts quote from it regarding the French battle plan being 'fair, but foolish,' details about the battle, and her pushback against Anne Curry's figures on army sizes.