I love some of the unapologetically English (and inherently anti French) comments from dom, knowing full well it’s all in good fun

When you ask "why hadn't anyone thought of  the longbow before", you have to bear in mind that it's  not just a question of getting the right piece of wood.  You have to spend years developing the musculature to use it.   We do have longbows (although later) from the Mary Rose.   You can see videos on Youtube of people who have developed the physique to use a bow like that.  

I also had assumed it had been a Welsh tradition.   If it was a new development, you would have to plan years in advance. It would be interesting to know how that worked.

As an American, am I right in imagining Freddie Flintoff now when thinking about Edward III?

The story on blind King John was that he had 7 knights of his household tie their horses together and all charge together--and die together

Impressive and stirring tale. Well done, gentlemen. Well done.

On the longbow: Xenophon in the Anabasis describes Caucasian archers using bows of such enormous size that they required their entire body to draw, bracing the bows against their feet. This is, in a way, similar to how the English longbow requires an exact set of mechanical movements to draw back and training from youth. So while there are other analogues in history, it is still fairly unique.

39:30 “Let the boy win his spurs” what an excellent line

I'm glad you mentioned that John of ghent

Longbowmen trained almost daily from the age of 6 or 7 years old. You couldn’t just train an army for a few months.

I think we’ve all been tits up in Flanders at some point.

The longbow might have been triumphant early on but it was the artillery in the hands of the French that terminated that long drawn out conflict.

I think you need to study the The Battle of Crug Mawr, 1136… where the Welsh defeated the Normans, primarily because of the longbow

I think technological superiority was hugely pivotal in the key battles of the entire 100 years war. As was weak/strong leadership. Early on France was crippled by weak leadership and faced with a longbow barrage on the battlefield they simply couldnt deal with. By the end of the war it was England cripped by weak leadership and also up against cutting edge French artillery they couldnt deal with.

This is fantastic. Thank you.
Loved learning about the longbow and how it was introduced

Longbowmen didn’t pull the bow back to their ear - the bow was too strong - they pushed the bow forward with their left arm. Longbowmen skeletons can be easily identified by the enlarged left arm bones (due to massive muscles pulling on the bones).

The giggling!

The end of this episode has a remarkable parallel with 2019. Johnson wins a stunning victory against his continental antagonists at the precise moment a terrible new disease arrives from the east to change everything.

Sir Nigel is a fantastic book, mon dieu!  It's the prequel to The White Company, another great book

You really must do a "The Rest is History" on the Red Ferret and his sidekick the Purple Polecat!

According to the Braveheart timeline, Edward III is William Wallace's son. So you could do a Braveheart II electric Boogaloo.