Chronicles

by Jean Froissart, Geoffrey Brereton (Translator), Geoffrey Brereton (Introduction)

Overview

One of the greatest contemporary records of fourteenth-century England and France

Depicting the great age of Anglo-French rivalry from the deposition of Edward II to the downfall of Richard II, Froissart powerfully portrays the deeds of knights in battle at Sluys, Crecy, Calais and Poitiers during the Hundred Years War. Yet they are only part of this vigorous portrait of medieval life, which also vividly describes the Peasants' Revolt, trading activities and diplomacy against a backdrop of degenerate nobility. Written with the same sense of curiosity about character and customs that underlies the works of Froissart's contemporary, Chaucer, the Chronicles are a magnificent evocation of the age of chivalry.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780140442007
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/28/1978
Series:	Penguin Classics Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	278,741
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.77(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jean Froissart was born in Valenciennes (c.1337) and came to England in 1361 where he joined the entourage of Edward III's Queen. While in England he travelled to Scotland and the Welsh Marshes and to the Continent seveal times, finally settling in the Netherlands on the death of the Queen. He finally took holy orders, before returning to England in the court of Richard II, whose downfall he recorded in 1399. His first book of the Chroniques was published in three versions, the second book was completed by 1388 and the third in 1390. He was still working on the fourth when he died c.1410.

Geoffrey Brereton edited and translated several modern dramatists including Claudel, Sartre and Adamov, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He died in 1979.

Table of Contents

ChroniclesIntroduction
Acknowledgments
The Chronological Background

Book One (1322-77)
Prologue
The Beginning of a Reign
Deposition of Edward II and Accession of Edward III
The Scots Invade England
Edward III Does Homage to Philip VI
Preliminaries of the Hundred Years War
Battle of Sluys
The Order of the Garter
The Campaign of Crecy
The Siege of Calais
Black Death, Flagellants and Jews
Sea Battle off Winchelsea
The Siege of Breteuil and the Poitiers Campaign
Consequences of Poitiers
The Three Estates; the Free Companies
The Jacquerie
The Last Days of Étienne Marcel
Brigandry, Warfare and Predictions
King John's Return to England and His Death
The Battle of Montiel and Death of Peter the Cruel
The Sack of Limoges
The Turn of the Tide
Du Guesclin Appointed Constable
La Rochelle Goes Over to the French
John of Gaunt's Fruitless Expedition
The End of a Reign

Book Two (1376-85)
Papal Affairs and the Great Schism
The Great Schism
The Peasants' Revolt in England
Affairs of Flanders
Battle of Roosebeke
Charles VI Marries Isabella of Bavaria

Book Three (1386-8)
At the Court of the Count of Foix
The Haunting of Sir Peter
Reminiscences of the Bascot de Mauléon, Freebooter
The Tale of the Familiar
Preparations for a French Invasion of England
Trial by Combat
Richard II's First Struggle with His Uncles
John of Gaunt's Expedition to Spain
The Battle of Otterburn (Chevy Chase)

Book Four (1389-1400)
Queen Isabella's Entry into Paris
A Royal Visitation
Tournament at Saint-Inglevert
The Duke of Touraine in Trouble
The Death of the Count of Foix
Charles VI Goes Mad
Froissart Revisits England
The English in Ireland
Two Marriages
The Downfall of Richard II
The Murder of Gloucester
The Challenge and Bolingbroke's Banishment
Richard loses Control
The Return of Bolingbroke
The Surrender of King Richard
Richard's Abdication
Coronation of Bolingbroke
Plots against Henry IV
The End of Richard of Bordeaux

Notes in Form of Glossary
Map: France and Neighbouring Territories in the Fourteenth Century
Index of Persons