Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- Dedication
- INTRODUCTION
- JEAN LE BEL'S CHRONICLE
- Prologue
- EDWARD III'S ACCESSION
- THE CAMPAIGN IN THE BORDERS 1327
- ‘THE BLACK DOUGLAS’
- THE CLAIMS TO THE FRENCH CROWN
- WAR WITH SCOTLAND
- THE WAR WITH FRANCE BEGINS
- 1340–58
- THE WAR OF THE BRETON SUCCESSION
- EDWARD AND THE COUNTESS OF SALISBURY
- THE WAR IN BRITTANY
- EDWARD AND THE COUNTESS OF SALISBURY
- THE WAR IN GASCONY
- CRÉCY AND CALAIS
- KING JOHN'S REIGN BEGINS
- THE PRINCE OF WALES'S CAMPAIGNS
- PLUNDER AND UPRISING
- EDWARD'S LAST CAMPAIGN
- Index
Prologue
from JEAN LE BEL'S CHRONICLE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- Dedication
- INTRODUCTION
- JEAN LE BEL'S CHRONICLE
- Prologue
- EDWARD III'S ACCESSION
- THE CAMPAIGN IN THE BORDERS 1327
- ‘THE BLACK DOUGLAS’
- THE CLAIMS TO THE FRENCH CROWN
- WAR WITH SCOTLAND
- THE WAR WITH FRANCE BEGINS
- 1340–58
- THE WAR OF THE BRETON SUCCESSION
- EDWARD AND THE COUNTESS OF SALISBURY
- THE WAR IN BRITTANY
- EDWARD AND THE COUNTESS OF SALISBURY
- THE WAR IN GASCONY
- CRÉCY AND CALAIS
- KING JOHN'S REIGN BEGINS
- THE PRINCE OF WALES'S CAMPAIGNS
- PLUNDER AND UPRISING
- EDWARD'S LAST CAMPAIGN
- Index
Summary
Here begins the true and remarkable history of the recent wars and events that have taken place between the years 1326 and '61 in France, England, Scotland, Brittany and elsewhere, in particular the high deeds of King Edward of England and the two kings Philip and John of France.
Anyone who wishes to read and hear the true history of the noble and valiant King Edward, presently reigning in England, should read this little book I've begun, and ignore the great book written in verse that I've seen and read, which some imaginative soul has concocted in rhyme, full of nonsense and wild invention: the first part of it, down to the beginning of the war that the said king undertook against King Philip of France, is littered with errors and lies. Thereafter it's a mixture of truth and falsehood, with a good deal of contrivance and repetition to embellish the verse, and such an abundance of feats of prowess attributed to certain knights and other persons that they test credulity, bordering on the impossible! Such a fanciful versified history is unlikely to please or appeal to people of wit and reason; for, by writing so extravagantly, it's possible to claim such outlandish deeds of prowess by certain knights and squires that their valour is diminished, for their true feats are less likely to be believed. That's a great shame for them; and it's why it's essential to speak with as much accuracy and precision as possible.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel, 1290-1360 , pp. 21 - 22Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2011