I am excited to announce that McFarland has published my husband’s (Timothy M. Thibodeau) latest book—Henry V, Holy Warrior. The book will appeal to “advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students who are new to the study of Shakespeare’s Henry V, or who are enrolled in a course on medieval English history or the Hundred Years War.” (p. 4)
Obviously, this book is not about the U.S. Civil War. It covers a different century and a different continent.
But you might be surprised about one thing. According to Tim, bicycling U.S. Civil War battlefields stimulated “his best thinking about the historian’s craft.” In fact, he specifically mentions in his book the value of touring the Gettysburg, Antietam, Chickamauga, and Shiloh battlefields. These battlefields impressed upon us a difficult to explain appreciation of history and historiography. For me, the experience drives home the importance of people, their livelihood, and their land to any military history.
I share this announcement for personal reasons, as should be no surprise. First, I admit my bias in favor of Tim’s academic projects and our joint bicycling vocation. He’s my husband, after all. Second, I contributed to the book by creating its three military maps. Since bicyclists tend to love maps, I hope that you pick up a copy of Henry V, Holy Warrior.
About King Henry V
King Henry V was one of the most famous military commanders in English history. And thanks to William Shakespeare, in whose play Henry delivers the “band of brothers” speech before a crucial battle, Henry remains a popular historical figure.
His victory against the French at Agincourt in October of 1415 gave Henry legendary status as a brave soldier and brilliant military tactician. By some estimates, the French forces that had gathered to stop Henry’s invasion outnumbered the English 3: or 4:1. They fought to end Henry’s claim to the French crown. But Henry’s archers and their longbows slaughtered the French cavalry forces that repeatedly attempted to overrun them.
June 2022 will mark the 600th anniversary of Henry V’s death.
Editorial Review
This book is original in its broad overview of the voluminous and contentious scholarship on Henry V and its reasonable perspectives, steering between the romantic hero-worship now more than a century beyond its expiration date and more recent a historical denunciations made without sufficient regard for the fifteenth-century context.
Richard Kaeuper, University of Rochester
You can read more about Henry V, Holy Warrior on McFarland Books.
To order from Amazon click this affiliate link (I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you).
About the Author
Timothy M. Thibodeau is a native of Aroostook County, Maine, of French Canadian ancestry. He earned a B.A. in history from the University of Maine, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. His research interests include medieval Christianity, the Hundred Years War, the life of Joan of Arc and historical film studies. He has been a contributor to national and international media outlets, including the History Channel.
