Book Review: ‘Crécy: Battle of Five Kings’: Turning Centuries of Medieval Military History on Its Head

Michael Livingston, author of "Crécy: Battle of Five Kings," does boots-on-the-ground research using archeological technology to offer solid facts about the Battle of Crecy, where Edward III of England faced Philippe VI of France on Aug. 26, 1346. (Everett Collection/Shutterstock)

Is it possible for nearly 700 years of historical narrative to be wrong? Michael Livingston has made a strong case that much of what we know about the 1346 Battle of Crécy, the battle that started the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, is wrong.

In his new book, “Crécy: Battle of Five Kings,” Livingston takes the reader back before the battle began, reaching all the way to 1066 and the battles of Hastings and Stamford Bridge. It is a brief yet thorough historical introduction to how these two European powers fell into continual conflict.

For readers cloudy, or clueless, about the medieval conflicts between England and France, Livingston catches them up on what they should know in less than 100 pages. For medieval scholars and enthusiasts, they may skim-read through those pages but will most definitely remain enticed because of Livingston’s premise—or, I should say, premises.

The Premises

The author plays the role of detective. He walks the crime scene (the battlefield); pulls in clues, some tangible and some noticeably missing; consults witness statements (witnesses long dead); and sifts through hearsay and legend, or, as he terms it, “vulgato,” to establish the truth—or at least get nearer to it than we have been.

Author Michael Livingston walks the battlefield of the Battle of Crécy to find clues about what really happened on Aug. 26, 1346. (Kevin Free)

Livingston states in his book that “history is probabilities.” It is this thorough undertaking of surveying and establishing or dismantling these probabilities that has led him to these recent discoveries and conclusions. While reading Livingston’s analysis of the evidence (or lack thereof) and long-believed fallacies, one will undoubtedly ponder how historians throughout the centuries could have been so mistaken.

For instance, the Battle of Crécy, according to the author, didn’t happen at Crécy—or at least not in the spot in France that has become known as the location of the battle and is the destination for interested tourists. In fact, the author suggests that the battleground was miles away from the traditionally accepted location. Not dozens of miles away, but a few nonetheless.

You may wonder what the big deal is that the location is a few miles away, but consider how much location affects our view of history. What if it was discovered that Christ wasn’t crucified at Golgotha? What if the Spartans and Persians didn’t fight at Thermopylae? What if the signers of the Declaration of Independence hadn’t signed in Philadelphia? Geography is pivotal to our understanding of history.

According to the author, geography affects everything, especially for the Battle of Crécy. After reading the book, you will be hard pressed not to agree with him. This recalculation of the geographical standing for one of history’s most famous battles impacts our views of Edward III, Philippe VI (king of France), the Black Prince, and those poor Genoese crossbowmen.

By taking the probabilities, and quite often the improbabilities, Livingston begins to make sense of things that have never made sense about the Battle of Crécy. It is truly a masterclass in what historians, especially modern historians armed with so much archaeological technology and source material, should be doing.

Questioning History

Historians, true historians, are advocates for questioning what has been passed down over the years, decades, and even centuries. Livingston, who serves as the secretary general for the U.S. Commission on Military History and is a professor at the senior military college The Citadel, has done what many historians wouldn’t dare do: Question military historical orthodoxy.

He questions sources that have long been unquestioned. He ponders the motivations of contemporary and noncontemporary writers and historians. He questions their perceptions of what took place, and whether they were writing the truth or mere propaganda.

Most importantly, at least in this book, he questions the logic of what we know—or at least what we’ve been told—like logistical probabilities and tactical decisions.

Sadly, what Livingston has discovered could have, and should have, been discovered and reported long ago, even long before technology came along. It is, as the author states, “a sad testament to how few historians walk the battlefields.”

In “Crécy: Battle of Five Kings,” author Michael Livingston takes the reader back before the battle began, with a thorough historical introduction to how these two European powers fell into continual conflict. (Osprey Publishing)

An Enjoyable and Important Work

This is a book for everyone hoping to learn about the Hundred Years’ War and how it started. It didn’t start according to the long accepted “vulgato,” with pride and folly taking precedence to enable an outnumbered English army to decimate a larger French force. It started the way it did because of the location of the Battle of Crécy, or at least what this author contends to be the accurate location.

This work by Livingston should be placed among the great books on the Hundred Years’ War and this legendary battle. In many ways, this book, its discoveries, and its newly proposed probabilities are indispensable to the medieval story. Legends will still play their role in our understanding of these stories, but “Crécy: Battle of Five Kings” will help make sense of the legends—or perhaps make the legends make sense.

‘Crécy: Battle of Five Kings’ By Michael Livingston Osprey Publishing, June 7, 2022 Hardcover: 304 pages