At the battle of Crecy King Edward III of England, who was trying to claim France for himself, defeated Phillip VI of France. This battle was won not necessarily by the English out smarting the French, but the French confusing themselves. During their charge at the English it began to rain and the strings of their crossbows lost tension. As a result when the archers fired, their arrows didn't come close to striking the English. But the English were using long bows and had removed their strings and kept them dry, so when they re-strung their bows and fired their arrows killed many Frenchmen. this caused the archers to retreat into their infantry that was still advancing creating chaos in the French Ranks. And so the English began the slaughter that won them the battle.
I chose this piece of art not to tell about the 100 years war but to show that war and people's willingness to fight for their community was still present during the Renaissance. According to Burckhardt the middle ages was a time period of war and men fighting for the cause of their king, however the 100 years war is proof that this mind set was still present during the Renaissance. In class we spoke of the 100 years war and how it actually lasted 116 years, from 1337 to 1453. The only reason this war continued for so long was because the men of England and the men of France supported their communities and kings. Of course the Frenchmen were in a tougher position considering the English were invading, but they still fought for their kings cause. Before reading about the 100 years war I was subject to Burckhardt's thoughts, that everything bad and dark happened during the Middle Ages and everything good happened during the Renaissance. But the 100 years war was actually taking place at the same time as the Renaissance. The thought that a war that was causing the death of thousands of men was actually happening during this time period is shocking, and makes me wonder if the Renaissance was a great time period to live in or not.
Great image, love the historical detail. Generally we think of the 100 years war as an event in the Middle Ages (c. 500-1500), and the Italian Renaissance as an intellectual and cultural movement that spans the Middle Ages (c. 1300) and moves into Early Modern Europe (c. 1550). The 100 years was fought mainly in France. Don't worry, Italy will have plenty of wars though, between city-states, and when the French and Germans invade.
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