lew@ihuxr.UUCP (Lew Mammel, Jr.) (02/22/84)
A DISTANT MIRROR, by Barbara W. Tuchman, is subtitled "The Calamitous 14th Century" - Indeed. The plague, which broke out in 1348, was the most notable of these, but arguably not the worst. The author makes a case for war taxes winning that distinction. She states that these were even more debilitating than the killing and pillaging which accompanied war itself, since the taxes were afflicted on the entire society. These wars consisted mainly of the English fighting the French, but included French forays into Austria and Italy, and several late Crusades. The book is loosely centered around the life of Enguerrand VII de Coucy, the last feudal baron of Coucy, a huge castle in northern France which controlled the surrounding region. He was involved in a number of significant military campaigns and was a constant figure in the French court of the time. Two major battles between the French and the English were at Crecy in 1346 and Poiters in 1355. Both of these were disasters for the French. In fact, the French king (Jean) was taken captive at Poiters. These battles were similar to Agincourt in 1415, which is the subject of Shakespeare's HENRY V. All of these were part of the Hundred Years war. Reading this book gave me my first real inkling of what this was all about. Incidentally, the English were led at Poiters by "The Black Prince". There was also a French knight known as "The Green Duke", who outfitted himself and all his aides entirely in green. It was a colorful age. The book contains dozens of fascinating incidents and anecdotes, which make me wonder why people even bother with STARTIDE RISING. Needless to say, I highly recommend it. Lew Mammel, Jr. ihnp4!ihuxr!lew
pector@ihuxw.UUCP (Scott W. Pector) (02/23/84)
Lew, I entirely agree with your assessment of her book. A really good look at the 14th Century. I'll admit though that I never heard of de Coucy before I read her book.
rew@cbosgd.UUCP (Bob Warren) (02/23/84)
I must add a negative note on A DISTANT MIRROR. Although I have enjoyed a number of Tuchman's other books, I found this one tedious. A major part of the book is spent listing things: after the third English invasion of France for which Tuchman listed all the stuff they brought over with them I gave up and returned the book to the library. There were parts of the book that were interesting -- the battle descriptions were fair, as was the treatment of the plague and some of the religious persecution of the time. For a more enjoyable account of 14th century life, try THE ONE ROSE by Umberto Eco. Bob Warren cbosgb!rew