Edward Longshanks’ Forgotten Conflict: The Anglo-French War 1294-1303
By David Pilling
Amberley Publishing
ISBN: 978 1 3981 1351 0
The Anglo-French war of 1294-1303, also known as the Gascon War, was Edward I’s main focus, driving England and France into fierce battles and alliances over Aquitaine. This book delves into the bloody confrontations of the conflict, including the pivotal Battle of the Golden Spurs.
Excerpt:
This was an obscure conflict, and from a British perspective overshadowed by Edward I’s wars in Wales and Scotland. Yet it was an expensive and wide-ranging affair, at one point involving all the major powers of western Europe. The outcome had severe financial repercussions for England and France, and helped to preserve Scottish independence as well as retain Gascony for the English crown. It also sowed the seeds for the later, much better-known conflict.
For all that, the war of 1294–1303 has been virtually dismissed by some historians as a sideshow, or at best a curiosity. Joseph R. Strayer, the biographer of Philip IV of France, had this to say: ‘The war of Aquitaine (or the Gascon war) was one of the most peculiar conflicts of the Middle Ages. It was not a bloody war; there were no major battles and relatively few skirmishes.’ And further, ‘From the purely military point of view, the war of Aquitaine hardly deserves notice.’
Who is this book for?
This book fills in a gap for historians of medieval politics and warfare. It will be useful for the studying the reigns of Edward I of England and Philip IV of France, as well as those interested in the Flemish-French conflict that included in the Battle of the Golden Spurs / Courtrai in 1302.
The Author
David Pilling is a writer of history and historical fiction, often with a focus on this period of English history. You can follow him on Substack, X/Twitter or Instagram.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website
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