Edward III and the Triumph of England: The Battle of Crecy and the Company of the Garter

672 pp. The destruction of the French army at Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent siege and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. The most powerful, glamorous, and respected of all western monarchies had been completely humiliated by England, a country long viewed either as a chaotic backwater or a mere French satellite. The young Edward III's triumph would launch both countries, as we now know, into a grim cycle of some 90 years of further fighting ending with English defeat, but after Crécy anything seemed possible—Edward's claim to be King of France could be pressed home and, in any event, enormous rewards of land, treasure, and prestige were available both to the king and to the close companions who had made the victory possible.