A wide-ranging study of medieval battle narratives, exploring how chroniclers across France and England constructed accounts of warfare from preparation and engagement to aftermath. This book examines the fabrication and reliability of medieval battle narratives via a large index of recurring motifs, comparing the works of around one hundred historians writing in France and England between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. It reveals a “standard narrative” of pitched battle shaped by classical, biblical, and chivalric traditions, while also tracing a gradual evolution towards an increasingly accurate understanding of tactical realities on the battlefield.