The road to Crécy

"One legend ended at Crecy; another began. The blind King Jean of Bohemia, chivalric hero and veteran of wars and crusades for the last three decades, died in battle there, mourned by friend and foe alike. Crecy was his last battle, but it was the first battle for Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales. His courage and coolness during the battle were the foundation stones for the later legend of the Black Prince." "The Road to Crecy recreates the events of the battle and the equally dramatic events that led up to it: the landing of the army at St.-Vaast in Normandy and the knighting of the Black Prince; the dramatic crossing of the river Seine, with armoured knights running across a foot-wide wooden beam to throw themselves into battle; the crossing of the Blanchetaque, where the English army forded the river under fire and broke free of the pursuit before marching on to Crecy - all these are described in vivid detail." "Using a considerable amount of new research, Livingstone and Witzel paint vivid portraits of the many characters involved and provide a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of the campaign from the moment of the landing in Normandy in July until the battle itself in August, and beyond."--Jacket.