Languedoc is among the most varied and beautiful parts of France, but eight centuries ago it was far from certain that it would become part of France at all. The rich, semi-independent principality on the Mediterranean, ruled by the house of Toulouse, seemed far apart from the world of the feudal north. It was here that a persuasive heresy of eastern origin challenged the orthodoxy of Catholicism. For more than fifty years the Church retreated in the face of a rival whose teaching appeared to question the very foundations of Christian thought.

This text is the first volume in a series that details the long and violent endeavour of the English to dismember Europe's strongest state, a succession of wars that is one of the seminal chapters in European history.

In the last decade of his reign, Edward III was condemned to see his conquests overrun by the armies of his enemies. When he died, in 1377, he was succeeded by a vulnerable child, who grew into an unstable adult presiding over a divided nation. Meanwhile, France entered one of the most glittering periods of her history.

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER In the past few decades, legislatures throughout the world have suffered from gridlock. In democracies, laws and policies are just as soon unpicked as made. It seems that Congress and Parliaments cannot forge progress or consensus. Moreover, courts often overturn decisions made by elected representatives. In the absence of effective politicians, many turn to the courts to solve political and moral questions. Rulings from the Supreme Courts in the United States and United Kingdom, or the European court in Strasbourg may seem to end the debate but the division...