Description
Book SynopsisNow available in an updated and expanded fourth edition, this is a classic introduction to medieval England from the reign of William the Conqueror to Edward I. Written by an esteemed scholar of the medieval period, the text remains an engaging and clear discussion of the key political, economic, social, and cultural issues of the period.
Table of ContentsPreface to the Fourth Edition ix
List of Abbreviations x
Maps
1. England and France xi
2. England and the Mediterranean xii
3. Edward I’s kingdom in Britain in 1305 xiii
1 England’s Place in Medieval Europe 1
England and its conquerors 3
Europe and the world 6
England’s destiny 10
Interpretations of English history 15
England and Britain 18
Part I The Normans (1066–1135) 23
2 The Norman Conquest (1066–87) 28
Immediately after the Conquest 28
Debates about the Conquest 31
English feelings about the Normans 35
Names and languages 39
Domesday Book 42
3 Norman Government (1087–1135) 47
William Rufus and Henry I 48
The development of institutions 54
The Exchequer 56
Feudalism 60
4 Church Reform 65
The Anglo-Saxon church 65
Lanfranc and Norman control 68
Anselm and religious perfection 73
Monastic expansion 77
5 The Creation of Wealth 83
Competition between churches and towns 84
Markets and money 89
What was wealth? 92
Did the Normans make a difference? 95
Part II The Angevins (1135–99) 99
6 Struggles for the Kingdom (1135–99) 106
Property and inheritance 107
Stephen and Matilda 110
Henry II’s ancestral rights 113
Henry II and his sons 118
Richard I 120
7 Law and Order 125
The law and feudalism 126
The system described by Glanvill 128
Henry II’s intentions 131
Bureaucracy 133
Why did England develop a system of its own? 136
8 The Twelfth-century Renaissance 140
England’s place in this Renaissance 142
Curiales and Latinists 145
The Owl and the Nightingale 148
Artists and patrons 150
9 The Matter of Britain 155
Arthur and Merlin 158
Wales – defining an allegiance 162
Modernization in Scotland 167
Civilization in Ireland 174
10 Family and Gender 182
Gender 185
Clerics and the family 188
The law of marriage 191
House and home 194
Part III The Poitevins (1199–1272) 198
11 King John and the Minority of Henry III (1199–1227) 203
The Poitevin connection 203
The record of King John 207
Magna Carta 210
The regency of William the Marshal 214
Implications of the minority 219
12 The Personal Rule of Henry III (1227–58) 223
Contemporary rulers 224
The return of Peter des Roches 228
Henry’s style of kingship 232
Henry’s European strategy 239
The ‘Sicilian business’ 243
13 National Identity 248
National feeling in Henry III’s reign 248
The papacy and internationalism 251
The identity of England 253
The use of the English language 257
From lordship to nation state 260
The expulsion of the Poitevins 263
14 The Commune of England (1258–72) 267
The confederates of 1258 268
The idea of the commune 271
The Provisions of Oxford 273
Henry III’s recovery 276
Monarchy versus community 278
The king and Westminster abbey 281
15 Lordship and the Structure of Society 284
Homage and honour 287
Women and lordship 291
Lords, freemen and serfs 294
Lordship and management 298
Epilogue 304
16 Edward I (1272–1307) 304
Assessing the king’s character 306
The enforcement of royal rights 310
The conquest of Wales 315
The subjection of Scotland 320
English law and nationalism 324
Genealogical Tables
Normans and Angevins 331
Angevins and Poitevins 332
The Savoyards 333
Suggestions for Further Reading 334
Index 343
