When Edward III came to the throne of England in 1327, England's military reputation had reached a low ebb. The young king's first campaign against the Scots was a complete failure, and the next year the 'shameful peace' set the seal on Robert Bruce's victory in the first Scottish war of independence. Thirty-two years later, however, Jean II of France and David II of Scotland were both Edward's prisoners, an English army was encamped outside Paris, and Edward was widely considered the most skilful warrior in the world.

Clifford Rogers uses contemporary documents (campaign bulletins, administrative documents and chronicles) to tell the story of the battles, sieges, and chevauchees that produced this remarkable reversal -- and the subsequent restoration of French fortunes under Du Guesclin and Charles V. The majority of the texts are translated into modern English for the first time; a number have never been published before.

Complementing these primary source materials are eight classic articles covering the Scottish Wars, the outbreak of the Hundred Years War, the recruitment, organisation and supply of English armies, English strategy and war aims, and the war's impact on French society and on the development of Parliament in England. Together, they provide a complete introduction to the topic.