Chronicles

The Chronicles is an excellent and fun read. The 14th Century is the most amazing century for medieval Western European history. The plague, the hundred years war, the free companies, the papal schism, wow! If you aren't familiar with the century, I would suggest you first read Barbara Tuchmans "A Distant Mirror", as she gives a really fun overview of the century. Then what Froissart wrote has much more meaning. To me, history is not just about places, dates and names, but rather is about how those who lived past events, are just like us. The more human they are, the more valuable the history (to me). If we can connect to those in the past, in this emotional way, the past has more meaning, and actually in a way, can become (in your mind) your own past. What I most enjoyed about Froissart was the personal element that he interjected, telling about conversations he had, personal impressions, and his own moral judgements of events. It made the history seem more connected to our own era, as you see the characters are just people like us. What I really did not like is that these guys who edit and translate decide for us what is interesting and what is not. As a result, much interesting material (at least to me) was summarized rather than presented. If you are reading Froissart, in my opinion, you are not an ordinary reader who needs it "short and interesting". I read Froissart to see what someone who has been there has to say about events. So now, I have to go and find a translation that was not abridged. I don't like this. If there is such a translation, I suggest you read that one instead of this one.

A great book, and invaluale source for not only the Hundred Years War, but: Spain, Flanders, Medieval life .... BUT ! Some of the best chapters from Frossiart's work have been left out of this edition. Admitedly, the orginal work is to long for a penguin classic, but leaving out the chapters on the Turks, Moors, Muslim pirates, Spain..... It left me annoyed at the editing rather than Frossiart. As for Frossiart, a Chronicler of the finest calibre.

Jean Froissart (1337-1410) was a contemporary of Chaucer's (it is likely that they met on several occasions, but there is no evidence they were friends. Chaucer is often cited as the leading poet of the 14th Century and Froissart its ranking historian. Geoffry Brereton does an excellent job of rendering an abridged translation of Froissart's multi-volume work. Using the same method employed in the one-volume Penguin edition of Gibbon , many sections of the original text, covering relatively minor events and battles, are rendered in precis form. What we get therefor, is essentially "the best" of Froissart. Brereton also does a good job of providing just the right amount of footnotes and warns the reader when Froissart's account veers from more reliable sources. Froissart was gathering most of his information second-hand, primarily from noblemen of the era who were witnesses to the events, but whose viewpoints may have been colored to some degree by natural biases, and were sometimes themselves reporting information from what they had heard, not necessarily what they had seen. Froissart delivers a marvelous panorama of a fascinating era. He tells his story from the perspective of the nobility, to whose households he attached himself. He traveled from castle to castle, through several regions of France, Flanders and England, adding to his chronicles as he went. This was a turbulent period, covering a large stretch of the Hundred Year War (between France and England primarily). It begins with the deposition of Edward the II (unforgettably dramatized by Marlowe) and ends with the deposition of Richard II (likewise, by Shakespeare). Sandwiched between these bookends are some of the most unforgettable scenes in written history. Froissart infuses his descriptions of major battles (Poitiers, Roosebeke, Otterburn, etc), great tournaments (Saint-Inglevert) and feasts (the entry of Queen Isabella into Paris) with great color and panache. What makes the Chronicles so moving, however, is his treatment of incidents in which humanity is limned in a much dimmer light. The siege of Calais, for instance, is rendered quite graphically and one can readily see how the event inspired Rodin's monumental bronze, "The Burghers of Calais," depicting the town fathers being led out of the gates with iron collars fastened around their necks. Edward III, whom Froissart generally reveres, is cast in a none-too-heroic mold, both during and immediately after the siege. The Black Prince's desire for revenge is seen as undeservedly implacable. Finally he is brought around to reason by the supplications of his Queen. Equally moving is Froissart's account of the Count of Foix' ill-fated relationship with his son and sole heir. The trouble starts when the King of Navarre, brother-in-law to the Count of Foix, renigs on a ransom promise. The Count sends his wife (the King's sister)to Navarre to collect his money. The King refuses and

Froissart's Chronicles is probably one of the best works of medieval literature available to the reading public. He recounts numerous events, some of which he witnessed firsthand. Also in his chronicles are stories and legends that he learned of in his many travels through Europe. His writing style is concise and clear, although historians have found that his sources of information are not always the most accurate. Nevertheless, his stories are engaging and insightful and more or less true (he got a lot of information from knights and other people who were eager to be recorded in his chronicles as heroes, and thus gave him bias information). His works include eyewitness information on medieval towns, battle tactics, arms, castles, dress, food, social activities, customs, geography, languages, and science. For anyone who wants to know what the Middle Ages were really like, this book is absolutely necessary to have!