By Popular Demand: The Hundred Years’ War — The Birth of Nations

Over the past two months, I have had the pleasure of teaching a six-part course on Chivalry for Medievalists.net. What started as an exploration of knighthood ideals evolved into a much broader discussion about how those ideals were tested, bent, and often broken by the realities of medieval warfare. The students were highly engaged, asking sharp questions about how the loose code of chivalry (more of a guideline) struggled to survive in the brutal crucible of fourteenth and fifteenth-century conflict.

After the fifth discussion section ended, several students asked the same question: Will there be a dedicated course on the Hundred Years’ War? I checked with Terri and Peter, who manage the course catalog for Medievalists.net. They had someone scheduled to teach it, but that person decided not to do it after all. I saw a chance.

While I may write mostly about the Vikings today, my fascination with the medieval period started with knights and chivalry, including the Hundred Years’ War. In…