The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War

This historical study examines the life and military accomplishments of the medieval knight who inspired one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters.
One of the most famous English knights of the Hundred Years War, Sir John Fastolf is widely thought to be a model for Shakespeare's immortal character, Sir John Falstaff. In The Real Falstaff, historian Stephen Cooper examines the link in full, shedding light on his story as well as the declining English fortunes during the last phase of the Hundred Years War. Witnessing both the triumphs of Henry V, and the disasters of the 1450s, Fastolf was one of the last of the brave but often brutal English soldiers who made their careers waging war in France.
Cooper retraces the entire course of Fastolf's long life, putting special focus on his many campaigns. A vivid picture of the old soldier emerges and of the French wars in which he played such a prominent part. But the author also explores Fastolf's legacy, his connection to the Paston family—famous for the Paston letters—and the use Shakespeare made of Fastolf's name, career, and character when he created Sir John Falstaff.

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The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War

This historical study examines the life and military accomplishments of the medieval knight who inspired one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters.
One of the most famous English knights of the Hundred Years War, Sir John Fastolf is widely thought to be a model for Shakespeare's immortal character, Sir John Falstaff. In The Real Falstaff, historian Stephen Cooper examines the link in full, shedding light on his story as well as the declining English fortunes during the last phase of the Hundred Years War. Witnessing both the triumphs of Henry V, and the disasters of the 1450s, Fastolf was one of the last of the brave but often brutal English soldiers who made their careers waging war in France.
Cooper retraces the entire course of Fastolf's long life, putting special focus on his many campaigns. A vivid picture of the old soldier emerges and of the French wars in which he played such a prominent part. But the author also explores Fastolf's legacy, his connection to the Paston family—famous for the Paston letters—and the use Shakespeare made of Fastolf's name, career, and character when he created Sir John Falstaff.

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The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War

The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War

by Stephen Cooper
The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War

The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War

by Stephen Cooper

eBook

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Overview

This historical study examines the life and military accomplishments of the medieval knight who inspired one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters.
One of the most famous English knights of the Hundred Years War, Sir John Fastolf is widely thought to be a model for Shakespeare's immortal character, Sir John Falstaff. In The Real Falstaff, historian Stephen Cooper examines the link in full, shedding light on his story as well as the declining English fortunes during the last phase of the Hundred Years War. Witnessing both the triumphs of Henry V, and the disasters of the 1450s, Fastolf was one of the last of the brave but often brutal English soldiers who made their careers waging war in France.
Cooper retraces the entire course of Fastolf's long life, putting special focus on his many campaigns. A vivid picture of the old soldier emerges and of the French wars in which he played such a prominent part. But the author also explores Fastolf's legacy, his connection to the Paston family—famous for the Paston letters—and the use Shakespeare made of Fastolf's name, career, and character when he created Sir John Falstaff.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781844687749
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Publication date: 01/31/2020
Sold by: OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED - EBKS
Format: eBook
Pages: 224
File size: 5 MB

About the Author

Stephen Cooper is an Oxford graduate, lawyer and civil servant who has previously written on life in eighteenth-century England and on English crime and criminals in the nineteenth century. But his main interest has always been in medieval history, and he has made a close study of the Hundred Years' War and of mercenary warfare in medieval Italy.
His most recent book is Sir John Hawkwood: Chivalry and the Art of War.
He currently lives in Yorkshire.

Table of Contents

List of Boxed Text vii

List of Maps and Illustrations ix

Glossary xi

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Real Falstaff 3

Shakespeare's Fastolf 3

Shakespeare's Falstaff 5

Chapter 2 Early Travels and Campaigns, 1380-1413 9

Jerusalem 9

Ireland 11

Aquitaine 14

Chapter 3 In the King's Name of England, 1413-22 19

Henry V 19

Harfleur and Agincourt, 1415-16 20

The Conquest of Normandy, 1417-19 25

Paris and Meulan 31

Chapter 4 From Triumph to Disaster, 1422-9 37

Grand Master of the Household 37

The Battle of Verneuil 43

The Conquest of Maine 46

The Siege of Orléans and the Battle of the Herrings 50

Chapter 5 Soldiering On, 1429-39 60

Joan of Arc 60

The Battle of Patay 62

Fastolf at Auxerre 69

The Congress of Arras and the Fastolf Memorandum 70

The Changing of the Guard, 1435-9 76

Chapter 6 The Army of Occupation 83

Discipline and Justice 83

Colonialism and Resistance 88

The English Garrisons 94

Masters of the Narrow Sea 100

Chapter 7 The Fall of the Lancastrian Empire, 1439-53 103

The Falstaff Moment 103

The Surrender of Maine 105

The Loss of Normandy 111

Cade's Revolt 118

The Loss of Aquitaine 123

Chapter 8 'The Old Vulture' 129

The Building of Caister Castle 130

The Profits of War 134

Warfare by Litigation 142

Chapter 9 The War of the Dukes, 1447-59 149

The Myth of the Roses 150

Strife in East Anglia 155

Chapter 10 The Legacy 160

Fastolf's Books 161

Peter Basset's Chronicle 165

The Boke of Noblesse 169

Conclusion: Fastolf and the Hundred Years' War 173

Notes 179

Bibliography 196

Index 207

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