1415: Henry V's Year of Glory
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Review
"Mortimer creates a new and convincing likeness of medievals England's most iconic king" --The Sunday Times
"Ian Mortimer... has virtually single-handedly put medieval history back in the hands of ordinary readers" --Daily Telegraph
`Bold...new and unexpected'
--The Economist
Ian Mortimer's 1415: Henry V's Year of Glory is compelling, exuberant and erudite - combining the vivid drama of medieval character and battle with the vigour of revisionist history --Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Young Stalin
Mortimer creates a new and convincing likeness of medievals England's most iconic king --Nick Rennison, Sunday Times
Mortimer is a good historian, and his account of Henry V and of Agincourt is well worth having --Rishard Barber, Literary Review
Mortimer writes biographical history with formidable energy and panache... His method is an enthralling experiment in time-travel: this book takes the year of Agincourt a day at a time, building an in-depth picture of how those who lived through it experienced events. At times it reads like a novel, at times it offers subtly nuanced back story. This is the most illuminating exploration of the reality of 15th-century life that I have ever read --Christina Hardyment, Indipendent
Ian Mortimer has virtually single-handedly put medieval history back in the hands of ordinary readers, combining scrupulous research with a wonderfully iconoclastic approach to storytelling --Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph
Mortimer writes biographical history with formidable energy and panache... His method is an enthralling experiment in time-travel: this book takes the year of Agincourt a day at a time, building an in-depth picture of how those who lived through it experienced events. At times it reads like a novel, at times it offers subtly nuanced back story. This is the most illuminating exploration of the reality of 15th-century life that I have ever read -- Christina Hardyment, Indipendent
Ian Mortimer's 1415: Henry V's Year of Glory is compelling, exuberant and erudite - combining the vivid drama of medieval character and battle with the vigour of revisionist history --Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Young Stalin
"Ian Mortimer... has virtually single-handedly put medieval history back in the hands of ordinary readers" --Daily Telegraph
`Bold...new and unexpected'
--The Economist
Ian Mortimer's 1415: Henry V's Year of Glory is compelling, exuberant and erudite - combining the vivid drama of medieval character and battle with the vigour of revisionist history --Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Young Stalin
Mortimer creates a new and convincing likeness of medievals England's most iconic king --Nick Rennison, Sunday Times
Mortimer is a good historian, and his account of Henry V and of Agincourt is well worth having --Rishard Barber, Literary Review
Mortimer writes biographical history with formidable energy and panache... His method is an enthralling experiment in time-travel: this book takes the year of Agincourt a day at a time, building an in-depth picture of how those who lived through it experienced events. At times it reads like a novel, at times it offers subtly nuanced back story. This is the most illuminating exploration of the reality of 15th-century life that I have ever read --Christina Hardyment, Indipendent
Ian Mortimer has virtually single-handedly put medieval history back in the hands of ordinary readers, combining scrupulous research with a wonderfully iconoclastic approach to storytelling --Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph
Mortimer writes biographical history with formidable energy and panache... His method is an enthralling experiment in time-travel: this book takes the year of Agincourt a day at a time, building an in-depth picture of how those who lived through it experienced events. At times it reads like a novel, at times it offers subtly nuanced back story. This is the most illuminating exploration of the reality of 15th-century life that I have ever read -- Christina Hardyment, Indipendent
Ian Mortimer's 1415: Henry V's Year of Glory is compelling, exuberant and erudite - combining the vivid drama of medieval character and battle with the vigour of revisionist history --Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Young Stalin
Review
Ian Mortimer's 1415: Henry V's Year of Glory is compelling, exuberant and erudite - combining the vivid drama of medieval character and battle with the vigour of revisionist history
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A common problem with history books that deal with a single theme is that you leave with the impression that their particular subject was the only thing in the world at the time. Nathaniel's Nutmeg? The Elizabethans obviously spent all their time obsessing about spice. Longitude? Down to the lowest peasant, everyone in the country must have been thinking that life wouldn't be worth living unless he could crack the problem of navigation.
Of course, it's not like that at all; the vast majority of people have their own concerns completely divorced from these single topics. For example, three years into the English Civil War, a farmer at Marston Moor was advised to clear himself and his family out, as his farm was going to be the site of a battle between King and Parliament the next day. His surprised response : "What? Have those two fallen out, then?"
All of which is a long-winded way of welcoming this approach to history as a refreshing change. Instead of picking on say Agincourt, and detailing what the main people involved did, the author takes the entire year, day by day, and describes its events and their implications, up to and beyond the battle itself. He focuses of course mainly on Henry and his activities, but it takes in the broad sweep of European and Church politics at the same time.
This I found very useful. For instance, I'd heard of Jan Hus and knew he'd been burned as a heretic after being promised safe conduct to Constance. I also knew that there had been a time when there were three rival popes at the same time, but I'd never registered that these had happened in the same year as Agincourt. And this is important to bear in mind, as Henry certainly would have done - in an age when being slightly too early or too late in coming down on one side of a religious dispute could land you in big trouble, Henry must have kept a keen eye on what was transpiring, anxious to know who was likely to come out on top.
I had the feeling when reading the book that it was supposed to be a revisionist hatchet job, painting Henry as a cold-blooded schemer only out to increase his own power. So what? was my reaction. In 1415 we see one major plot unmasked, and throughout the year John Oldcastle was trying to raise a revolt in the north of the country. In an age when a failed football manager or chief executive is merely shown the door, which he exits pushing a wheelbarrow of money, it's easy to forget that the penalties for being a failed king in the 15th century were rather more serious. The century was book-ended by a couple of Richards who paid the ultimate price for taking their eye off the ball, and Henry himself could never rest easy. And as for constantly extending his realm - well, if you didn't do that, there would rapidly be someone pushing in the opposite direction, whether from Scotland, Ireland or France. So fair play to him for keeping his head above water and on his shoulders, really.
What the book doesn't do too well - and this is a necessary consequence of the structure - is to show the long term effect that the events of this year had. For instance, 130 years later Henry VIII was still fighting the French, on the back foot by now, and it was his daughter Mary who finally withdrew from Calais, after almost a century and a half of bloodshed. For what? Henry V's pride and ambition?
I wouldn't want all my history books to be written like this, but it certainly achieves its aim of giving an idea of the man in his context - even if the idea isn't necessarily the one the author wanted.
Of course, it's not like that at all; the vast majority of people have their own concerns completely divorced from these single topics. For example, three years into the English Civil War, a farmer at Marston Moor was advised to clear himself and his family out, as his farm was going to be the site of a battle between King and Parliament the next day. His surprised response : "What? Have those two fallen out, then?"
All of which is a long-winded way of welcoming this approach to history as a refreshing change. Instead of picking on say Agincourt, and detailing what the main people involved did, the author takes the entire year, day by day, and describes its events and their implications, up to and beyond the battle itself. He focuses of course mainly on Henry and his activities, but it takes in the broad sweep of European and Church politics at the same time.
This I found very useful. For instance, I'd heard of Jan Hus and knew he'd been burned as a heretic after being promised safe conduct to Constance. I also knew that there had been a time when there were three rival popes at the same time, but I'd never registered that these had happened in the same year as Agincourt. And this is important to bear in mind, as Henry certainly would have done - in an age when being slightly too early or too late in coming down on one side of a religious dispute could land you in big trouble, Henry must have kept a keen eye on what was transpiring, anxious to know who was likely to come out on top.
I had the feeling when reading the book that it was supposed to be a revisionist hatchet job, painting Henry as a cold-blooded schemer only out to increase his own power. So what? was my reaction. In 1415 we see one major plot unmasked, and throughout the year John Oldcastle was trying to raise a revolt in the north of the country. In an age when a failed football manager or chief executive is merely shown the door, which he exits pushing a wheelbarrow of money, it's easy to forget that the penalties for being a failed king in the 15th century were rather more serious. The century was book-ended by a couple of Richards who paid the ultimate price for taking their eye off the ball, and Henry himself could never rest easy. And as for constantly extending his realm - well, if you didn't do that, there would rapidly be someone pushing in the opposite direction, whether from Scotland, Ireland or France. So fair play to him for keeping his head above water and on his shoulders, really.
What the book doesn't do too well - and this is a necessary consequence of the structure - is to show the long term effect that the events of this year had. For instance, 130 years later Henry VIII was still fighting the French, on the back foot by now, and it was his daughter Mary who finally withdrew from Calais, after almost a century and a half of bloodshed. For what? Henry V's pride and ambition?
I wouldn't want all my history books to be written like this, but it certainly achieves its aim of giving an idea of the man in his context - even if the idea isn't necessarily the one the author wanted.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ian Mortimer is the author of several biographies, of his namesake Roger Mortimer (The Greatest Traitor), of Edward III, and Henry IV. Rejecting the advice of an older school of historians, in particular K.B. McFarlane, that all attempts at medieval biography were essentially fraudulent, he has put his profound knowledge of the primary and printed sources to good use. He is a fine historian and a master of the sources. His dedication to the wild idea that Edward II did not die in 1327, either by means of a red-hot poker or otherwise, should be regarded as an aberration.
At the heart of `1415' is a skilful and dramatic reconstruction of the Battle of Agincourt. Mortimer accepts Anne Curry's revised estimates of the numbers present, but makes the point that the English were still outnumbered, whatever figures one takes (and gives a convincing explanation as to why the chroniclers grossly overestimated the size of the French army). His narrative is as exciting as Juliet Barker's, though there is no `Fellas, let's go!' - Henry's supposed battle-cry. In its place, we have Sir Thomas Erpingham's `Now strike!' Mortimer also provides us with a convincing explanation for the devastating character of the English victory: the archers were able to pour down fire on their opponents at the rate of 1,000 arrows a second. It must have been somewhat like the Somme 500 years later, with the French taking the place of the British, though Henry had already crossed the Somme before arriving at Agincourt.
I liked the copious citation from original documents and there are many gripping passages: the Council of Constance and the condemnation of Jan Hus, the Southampton plot and the siege of Harfleur - as well as the battle - are vividly described. The author paints a convincing picture of the way in which religion was woven into the fabric of everyday life in the fifteenth century; but I found the portrayal of Henry himself (clearly stated in the Conclusion and in two articles in History Today and BBC History for October 2009) less satisfactory, though this is at the heart of the book.
Was Henry particularly cruel and callous, as Mortimer argues? By modern standards, undoubtedly. Many historians, and even sausage manufacturers, have noted the King's remark that `war without fire is like sausages (andouilles) without mustard.' The paradigm case cited in 1415 is the deliberate killing of the French prisoners at Agincourt, though Mortimer gives a convincing account of what actually happened. What was done was certainly inhumane, and a breach of the laws of war; but one could point to many examples, from other years in Henry's reign, of his rigid adherence to the law as then understood (including `the law of Deuteronomy') and of his attempts to protect the French population (provided that it was loyal to him). One is entitled to ask whether Henry's behaviour was not typical of the attitude of the soldier engaged in mortal combat, rather than illustrative of a trait of character. Oliver Cromwell, who also took Christianity very seriously, appears to have relished the way in which God had made his enemies `as stubble' to his sword.
Of course, it is right to be wary of Shakespeare's Henry V; but it would be surprising if the men who followed the real Henry had not taken pride in his victory. Perhaps Shakespeare was right in some respects, after all.
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages
What feats he did that day.
Stephen Cooper
At the heart of `1415' is a skilful and dramatic reconstruction of the Battle of Agincourt. Mortimer accepts Anne Curry's revised estimates of the numbers present, but makes the point that the English were still outnumbered, whatever figures one takes (and gives a convincing explanation as to why the chroniclers grossly overestimated the size of the French army). His narrative is as exciting as Juliet Barker's, though there is no `Fellas, let's go!' - Henry's supposed battle-cry. In its place, we have Sir Thomas Erpingham's `Now strike!' Mortimer also provides us with a convincing explanation for the devastating character of the English victory: the archers were able to pour down fire on their opponents at the rate of 1,000 arrows a second. It must have been somewhat like the Somme 500 years later, with the French taking the place of the British, though Henry had already crossed the Somme before arriving at Agincourt.
I liked the copious citation from original documents and there are many gripping passages: the Council of Constance and the condemnation of Jan Hus, the Southampton plot and the siege of Harfleur - as well as the battle - are vividly described. The author paints a convincing picture of the way in which religion was woven into the fabric of everyday life in the fifteenth century; but I found the portrayal of Henry himself (clearly stated in the Conclusion and in two articles in History Today and BBC History for October 2009) less satisfactory, though this is at the heart of the book.
Was Henry particularly cruel and callous, as Mortimer argues? By modern standards, undoubtedly. Many historians, and even sausage manufacturers, have noted the King's remark that `war without fire is like sausages (andouilles) without mustard.' The paradigm case cited in 1415 is the deliberate killing of the French prisoners at Agincourt, though Mortimer gives a convincing account of what actually happened. What was done was certainly inhumane, and a breach of the laws of war; but one could point to many examples, from other years in Henry's reign, of his rigid adherence to the law as then understood (including `the law of Deuteronomy') and of his attempts to protect the French population (provided that it was loyal to him). One is entitled to ask whether Henry's behaviour was not typical of the attitude of the soldier engaged in mortal combat, rather than illustrative of a trait of character. Oliver Cromwell, who also took Christianity very seriously, appears to have relished the way in which God had made his enemies `as stubble' to his sword.
Of course, it is right to be wary of Shakespeare's Henry V; but it would be surprising if the men who followed the real Henry had not taken pride in his victory. Perhaps Shakespeare was right in some respects, after all.
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages
What feats he did that day.
Stephen Cooper
29 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
'For God, Harry, England, and St. George' is the speech that Shakespeare gave his Henry V as he gave his legendary speech at the siege of Harfluer. The Henry of stage and screen took on impossible odds. The flamboyant, charming, and dashing warrior king was a great man. Unfortunatly, as Mortimer says 'in life there are no legends'. The Henry V we all know and love is not who the real king was
Mortimer has always gone against orthodox beliefs. His reassertian of Edward II's death turned many academics heads upside down. His rethinkning of Henry V is surely needed. Henry wasn't who we all think he was; he was no charming hero of Agincourt. He was a man with a so called 'divine mission' from God to rid the people of France of their sins by punishing them by death. Therefore he was cruel and cold hearted. He didn't restart the war in France for England's own security; he restarted it to make sure that God favored the Lancastrian dynasty and therefore he, unlike Edward III, was a warmonger. The hero of Agincourt is shattered by revisionist history
Mortimer's book goes from Christmas 1414 to Christmas 1415. In this microbiography of 1415 and Henry V, Mortimer explores Henry's relations with everything. He also shows that all of Henry's good law achievements, the Statue of Truces for example, were down to his ambitions for war. The Truces were there so that the Duke of Brittany and the Duke of Burgundy did not come to the aid of the French during the campaign of 1415. He also examians the Council of Constance and its importance in English history. In the Council, Henry has England recognized as a nation state the way no other European country was viewed. But after all this, and in his execution of the prisoners after Agincourt, we all see that Henry V was not the great warrior king we all knew him to be. He was a cruel, ruthless, and arrogant, and his colossal ambition contriputed to the eventual failure of his great plan: the rule of France. In the end it was all those elements that destroyed Henry himself. But perhaps it is greater that the fictinal Henry is more remebered than the real one. The fictional one was a great hero, worthy of remebrace, and in him, the English find a sense of national and courageous hope
Mortimer is always a great writer and this is his greatest work yet. It reads like a thrill and the Battle of Agincourt is very well pictured in the book. The book gets five stars. I couldn't put it down and you won't be able to either.
Mortimer has always gone against orthodox beliefs. His reassertian of Edward II's death turned many academics heads upside down. His rethinkning of Henry V is surely needed. Henry wasn't who we all think he was; he was no charming hero of Agincourt. He was a man with a so called 'divine mission' from God to rid the people of France of their sins by punishing them by death. Therefore he was cruel and cold hearted. He didn't restart the war in France for England's own security; he restarted it to make sure that God favored the Lancastrian dynasty and therefore he, unlike Edward III, was a warmonger. The hero of Agincourt is shattered by revisionist history
Mortimer's book goes from Christmas 1414 to Christmas 1415. In this microbiography of 1415 and Henry V, Mortimer explores Henry's relations with everything. He also shows that all of Henry's good law achievements, the Statue of Truces for example, were down to his ambitions for war. The Truces were there so that the Duke of Brittany and the Duke of Burgundy did not come to the aid of the French during the campaign of 1415. He also examians the Council of Constance and its importance in English history. In the Council, Henry has England recognized as a nation state the way no other European country was viewed. But after all this, and in his execution of the prisoners after Agincourt, we all see that Henry V was not the great warrior king we all knew him to be. He was a cruel, ruthless, and arrogant, and his colossal ambition contriputed to the eventual failure of his great plan: the rule of France. In the end it was all those elements that destroyed Henry himself. But perhaps it is greater that the fictinal Henry is more remebered than the real one. The fictional one was a great hero, worthy of remebrace, and in him, the English find a sense of national and courageous hope
Mortimer is always a great writer and this is his greatest work yet. It reads like a thrill and the Battle of Agincourt is very well pictured in the book. The book gets five stars. I couldn't put it down and you won't be able to either.
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