Poitiers

Reconstructing Hundred Years War battlefields through terrain analysis, primary sources and on-site research

Walking the ground of the Hundred Years’ War battlefields – from Crecy to Formigny

The Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) was a series of campaigns, chevauchées, sieges and field battles fought across the landscapes of medieval France and England. Although defined by dynastic claims and shifting alliances, the war’s outcomes were repeatedly shaped by the ground itself — the slopes, hedgerows, meadowland, river crossings and fortified towns through which armies moved and fought.

From the ridge at Crécy and the muddy fields of Agincourt, to the forested paths at Patay and the Loire River barriers at Orléans, commanders relied heavily on terrain to offset disadvantages in numbers, armour, or tactical flexibility. The English longbowmen exploited defensive positions and prepared killing grounds, while French forces adapted over time, embracing dismounted tactics, artillery and coordinated assaults on fortified positions.

This collection of battlefield studies examines the Hundred Years War through a modern, terrain-focused lens, drawing on period chronicles, contemporary illustrations, archaeological findings and first-hand field reconnaissance. By walking the ground at Crécy, Agincourt, Patay and the Tourelles/Orléans, these studies aim to reveal why battles unfolded as they did — how armies deployed, manoeuvred and fought within the constraints and opportunities provided by the landscape.

Together, these battlefield studies offer a clear, evidence-based view of one of the most formative conflicts in medieval European history.

Selected works on Medieval Warfare

Understanding a thousand years of conflict through the historians who shaped the field

The study of medieval warfare spans more than a millennium of military, social and technological change, and its literature reflects the diversity and complexity of that evolution. Rather than a single historical arc, scholars have approached the medieval conflicts through multiple lenses: feudal obligation, chivalric culture, technological innovation, religious motivation, and the gradual emergence of centralised states. The result is a rich body of work that helps modern readers move beyond stereotypes of knights and castles to understand how and why medieval armies actually fought.

Much of the foundational scholarship centres on the structure of feudal military service, the development of the knightly class, and the shifting balance between cavalry, infantry and missile troops. Authors such as R. C. Smail, Hans Delbrück, and Charles Oman helped frame early academic debates, analysing the limitations of feudal levies and the tactical patterns visible from Hastings to the Crusades. More recent historians — including John France, Matthew Bennett, Christopher Gravett and David Nicolle — have brought sharper focus to campaign logistics, siegecraft, and the influence of terrain on medieval operations.

For the later Middle Ages, works by Jonathan Sumption, Anne Curry, Bertrand Schnerb, and Kelly DeVries offer detailed examinations of the Hundred Years’ War, exploring everything from longbow tactics at Crécy and Agincourt to the political and social factors behind shifting battlefield fortunes. Their studies also show how professionalism, paid armies and gunpowder warfare began to eclipse older feudal structures. On the eastern frontiers, the military histories of the Byzantine Empire and the Mongol conquests — illuminated by scholars such as John Haldon and Timothy May — reveal very different tactical systems and strategic cultures.

Together, these authors present a layered picture of medieval warfare: a world where faith, feudalism, technology, and emerging state power shaped how campaigns were fought and remembered. The Reading Room selections gathered here provide entry points into that vast scholarship, helping readers understand not just the battles themselves, but the historians and interpretations that define our modern understanding of the medieval battlefield.