This study of Anglo-French relations in the century before the Hundred Years War, examines the legacy of continental rule bequeathed by the Angevin kings of England to their Plantagenet successors.

In this important study of Anglo-French relations in the century before the Hundred Years War, Vale examines the legacy of continental rule bequeathed by the Angevin kings of England to their Plantagenet successors. He explores the sources of Anglo-French tension that ultimately led to the breakdown of feudal and diplomatic relations between the two greatest powers in western Europe.

`an important new contribution to our understanding of the terrible conflict that dominated western Europe in the late Middle Ages ... outstanding both for the information it assembles and the conclusions it draws' Speculum