Rachel’s Reviews > The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation > Status Update
Rachel
is on page 243 of 544
'Since his victory at Halidon Hill in 1333 Edward had pioneered the systematic deployment of archers to win a battle. In the mid 1330s he was experimenting with mounted archers. By 1339 he he had a projectile-based means of fighting which was exportable, and in 1346 he demonstrated against the best-equipped and proudest military kingdom in Europe that archery could and would defeat the greatest array of chivalry..'
— Apr 21, 2017 07:55PM
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Rachel’s Previous Updates
Rachel
is on page 380 of 544
'He ordered all the bridges in Oxfordshire to be repaired because he wished to go hawking there.'
— Apr 28, 2017 07:42AM
Rachel
is on page 355 of 544
'The 1362 parliament is today remembered for one piece of legislation above all others:'pleas s be pleaded in the English tongue and enrolled in Latin'. This is the first piece of legislation which officially recognized the English language. Since the 11th century the language of the nobility had been French...'
— Apr 28, 2017 07:38AM
Rachel
is on page 326 of 544
"For he had been the king who had met the challenge of the French and begun the war, he had inspired England to pull together to become a fighting nation, and he had ordered and equipped this campaign and all those which went before against the combined might of France and Scotland. And now he had overcome them both. The kings of both France and Scotland were his prisoners."
— Apr 24, 2017 09:19AM
Rachel
is on page 308 of 544
"The reason for going into the details of these parliaments of 1351-1353 at some length is to illustrate the deep engagement which existed between king and parliament at this time. Edward was a man who listened to his representatives, and held dialogue with them, even if he did not or could not agree to their demands."
— Apr 24, 2017 09:15AM
Rachel
is on page 255 of 544
'At the age of 35 he had achieved everything his kingdom had expected of him. The English collectively had a new pride, a new identity, and it was one unparalleled in Europe. Edward's war had begun to galvanize England into a nation, with common interests and, increasingly, culture.
— Apr 21, 2017 08:13PM
Rachel
is on page 244 of 544
'..medieval society had understood that it was composed of 3 'estates' of people: those who fought (the nobility and knightly class), those who prayed (monks and the secular clergy), and those who worked (the peasantry)......at Crecy, all that changed. From now on, 'those who worked' were 'those who fought'
— Apr 21, 2017 08:10PM
Rachel
is on page 244 of 544
'It is easy to point to the effects of the approaching plague as a reason for the socioeconomic changes by which the peasant was freed from his feudal bonds in the period between 1350-1450. Fewer peasants to work the land meant more could sell their labour and move away from their original manor and its obligations.'
— Apr 21, 2017 08:06PM
Rachel
is on page 243 of 544
'From now on, group of well-disciplined commoners with longbows could destroy much larger groups of the richest, most-heavily armoured, bravest, and well-trained noblemen in Christendom, even when they were backed up with crossbowmen and huge numbers of infantrymen. The banner of aristocratic military splendour which characterizes the middle ages had been shredded ...'
— Apr 21, 2017 07:59PM
