Michael Livingston - Crécy: Battle of Five Kings

King Edward observes as the dead are searched after the battle of Crcy. Note the naked man in the background, whose armour has already been removed from his body. (Den Haag (The Hague), Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 72 A 25, f. 144 r)

Colins de Beaumonts remarkable poem, On the Crcy Dead , begins at the lower right of this copy of Gilles li Muisits chronicle. (Rijksarchief Kortrijk (RAK), Verzameling Goethals-Vercruysse. Handschriften, nr. 135 (f112))

King Harold is the man being struck down on the right in this image from the Bayeux Tapestry. Note the stripping of the dead in the lower margin. (Myrabella/Wikimedia Commons, CC0)

The homage performed by Edward I of England to Philippe IV of France in 1286 is depicted in this 15th-century illustration. ( Tallandier / Bridgeman Images)

Though rather imaginative in its armaments, this 15th-century image captures the fact that the battle of Golden Spurs outside Kortrijk in 1302 featured men on foot decisively beating men on horseback. (Photo by Photo Josse/Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

The Ypres Cloth Hall, destroyed in World War II, was rebuilt to its medieval glory as a monument to the wool trade that flourished between England and the Low Countries. (Photo by Tom Stoddart Archive, Reportage by Getty Images)

Edward III does homage to Philippe VI in this 15th-century illustration. (Photo by Photo Josse/Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

In 1340, Edward III quartered the arms of England with those of France a visual declaration of his political claims. This new coat of arms appears here in a stained glass piece made a decade or two later. (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr., 2010, 2010-2-2)

A crusader kneels to be knighted in this image from the Westminster Psalter. (Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)

The battle of Sluys, 24 June 1340, brought England one of its first victories in the Hundred Years War. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

A page of William Retfords Kitchen Journal , which was maintained during the Crcy campaign in 1346. The day of the battle begins eight lines up from the bottom of the main block of text. (Michael Livingston)

The English attack on Caen was far more chaotic, and far bloodier, than illustrations could ever show. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

The English make their way across the Seine at Poissy in this imaginative scene from a 14th-century manuscript in the British Library. ( British Library Board. All Rights Reserved / Bridgeman Images)

Cassinis 1757 map of the region, overlaid with major roads and information discussed in the text. The red dashed line traces the likely route of the English to the battle site. The dashed blue line does the same for the two approaches of the French: the vanguard following the route to the north along the Chausse Brunehaut. (Michael Livingston)

Edward and the English fight their way across the Somme at Blanchetaque in this imaginative 19th-century illustration. (Photo by The Print Collector via Getty Images)

A close-up of Guillaume de lIsles 1704 map of Artois: the earliest map to mark the battle of Crcy in its traditional location. (Carte dArtois et des environs o lon voit le ressort du Conseil provincial dArtois / par Guillaume de lIsle by Delisle, Guillaume (16751726). Cartographe 1704 National Library of France, France No Copyright Other Known Legal Restrictions. https://www.europeana.eu/en/item/9200517/ark__12148_btv1b8592522q)

Hilaire Picards 1818 map of the traditional site of the battle of Crcy, showing place-names that were then associated with the battle. ( Bibliothque municipale dAbbeville)

The current interpretation of the battle of Crcy on the traditional site, overlaid on the topography: the French must sweep to the south, off high ground and through a choke-point to avoid the escarpment on the east side of the Valle des Clercs. A sweep to the north across high ground following the roads (faded arrow) would make more sense. An alternative, rotated interpretation is shown in faded lines: here, the French fight across the river, ignoring the presence of the bridge in town. (Michael Livingston)

Lower reach of the embankment at the traditional location, down which the French knights are imagined to charge. Its horse-maiming steepness, even blurred out by the vegetation, is apparent. (Michael Livingston)

A reconstruction of the battle of Crcy on the alternate site. (Michael Livingston)

The so-called Cross of Bohemia that stands on the former junction of roads east of Crcy-en-Ponthieu, from a postcard purchased in 1913. The base upon which the cross has been mounted is modern. (Kelly DeVries)