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Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the brutal events of 26 August 1346, when the armies of France and England met in a funnel-shaped valley outside the town of Cr\xe9cy in northern France.

Although the French, led by Philip VI, massively outnumbered the English, under the command of Edward III, the English won the battle, and French casualties were huge. The English victory is often attributed to the success of their longbowmen against the heavy cavalry of the French.

The Battle of Cr\xe9cy was the result of years of simmering tension between Edward III and Philip VI, and it led to decades of further conflict between England and France, a conflict that came to be known as the Hundred Years War.

With

Anne Curry \nEmeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Southampton

Andrew Ayton\nSenior Research Fellow in History at Keele University

and \n \nErika Graham-Goering\nLecturer in Late Medieval History at Durham University

Producer Luke Mulhall