Search results for ""Author Gwilym Dodd""

Petitions are vital sources for our knowledge of life in the middle ages. A selection is presented here with English summaries, notes, and introduction. Through the petitions which they addressed to the crown the people of medieval England speak to us directly: the human interest stories they reveal are perhaps the nearest thing to local newspapers which the middle ages have leftus. Petitions were the subject's last resort when normal channels of law and government had failed, and offered kings the opportunity to exercise qualities of generosity, compassion, and sound judgment. However, despite their importance, they have not hitherto been recognized as a source for ecclesiastical history, a gap which this volume rectifies. A selection of over 200 cases shows the religious of medieval England taking full advantage of this mechanism, petitioning as landowners, neighbours, citizens, individuals, and religious orders. The subjects covered range from requests for tax rebates, and complaints about royal officials, to disputes with tenants, with townsmen, monastic rivals, and ecclesiastical superiors. National politics and international warfare are also represented, as are coastal erosion, and higher education. English summaries, explanatory notes and an extensive introduction enhance the reader's appreciation of this rich and remarkable resource. Dr Gwilym Dodd is Lecturer in History at the University of Nottingham, where Dr Alison K. McHardy also taught until her retirement.

Read more less

Articles showcasing the fruits of the most recent scholarship in the field of fourteenth-century studies. The wide-ranging studies collected here reflect the latest concerns of and trends in fourteenth-century research, including work on politics, the law, religion, and chronicle writing. The lively (and controversial) debate around the death of Edward II, and the brief but eventful career of John of Eltham, earl of Cornwall, receive detailed treatment, as does the theory and implementation of both the law of treason in England and high status execution in Ireland. There is an investigation of the often overlooked, yet ever present, lesser parish clergy of pre-Black Death England, along with the notable connections between Roman remains and craft guild piety in fourteenth-century York.There are also chapters shedding new light on fourteenth-century chronicles: one examines the St Albans chronicle through the prism of chivalric culture, another analyses the importance of the Chester Annals of 1385-8 in the writing culture of the Midlands. Introduced with this volume is a new section on "Notes and Documents"; re-examined here is an often-cited letter from the reign of Richard II and the problematic, yet crucial, issue of its authorship and dating. James Bothwell is Lecturer in Later Medieval History at the University of Leicester; Gwilym Dodd is Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Nottingham Contributors: Paul Dryburgh, Áine Foley, Christopher Guyol, Andy King, Jessica Knowles, E. Amanda McVitty, D.A.L. Morgan, Philip Morgan, David Robinson.

Read more less

New approaches to the political culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, considering its complex relation to monarchy and state. The essays collected here celebrate mark the distinguished career of Professor W. Mark Ormrod, reflecting the vibrancy and range of his scholarship on the structures, personalities and culture of ruling late medieval England. Encompassing political, administrative, Church and social history, the volume focusses on three main themes: monarchy, state and political culture. For the first, it explores Edward III's reactions to the deaths of his kinfolk and cases of political defamation across the fourteenth century. The workings of the "state" are examined through studies of tax and ecclesiastical records, the Court of Chivalry, fifteenth-century legislation, and the working practicesof the privy seal clerk, Thomas Hoccleve. Finally, separate discussions of collegiate statutes and the household ordinances of Cecily, duchess of York consider the political culture of regulation and code-making.

Read more less

Fresh examinations of the activities of Henry V, looking at how his reputation was achieved. Henry V (1413-22) is widely acclaimed as the most successful late medieval English king. In his short reign of nine and a half years, he re-imposed the rule of law, made the crown solvent, decisively crushed heresy, achieved a momentous victory at the battle of Agincourt (1415), and negotiated a remarkably favourable settlement for the English over the French in the Treaty of Troyes (1420). Above all, he restored the reputation of the English monarchy andunited the English people behind the crown following decades of upheaval and political turmoil. But who was the man behind these achievements? What explains his success? How did he acquire such a glorious reputation? The ground-breaking essays contained in this volume provide the first concerted investigation of these questions in over two decades. Contributions range broadly across the period of Henry's life, including his early years as Prince of Wales. They consider how Henry raised the money to fund his military campaigns and how his subjects responded to these financial exactions; how he secured royal authority in the localities and cultivated support within the politicalcommunity; and how he consolidated his rule in France and earned for himself a reputation as the archetypal late medieval warrior king. Overall, the contributions provide new insights and a much better understanding of how Henryachieved this epithet. GWILYM DODD is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, University of Nottingham. Contributors: Christopher Allmand, Mark Arvanigian, Michael Bennett, Anne Curry, Gwilym Dodd, Maureen Jurkowski, Alison K. McHardy, Neil Murphy, W. Mark Ormrod, Jenny Stratford, Craig Taylor.

Read more less

A new review of the most significant issues of Edward II's reign. Edward II presided over a turbulent and politically charged period of English history, but to date he has been relatively neglected in comparison to other fourteenth and fifteenth-century kings. This book offers a significant re-appraisal of a much maligned monarch and his historical importance, making use of the latest empirical research and revisionist theories, and concentrating on people and personalities, perceptions and expectations, rather than dry constitutional analysis. Papers consider both the institutional and the personal facets of Edward II's life and rule: his sexual reputation, the royal court, the role of the king's household knights, the nature of law and parliament in the reign, and England's relations with Ireland and Europe. Contributors: J.S. HAMILTON, W.M. ORMROD, IAN MORTIMER, MICHAEL PRESTWICH, ALISTAIR TEBBIT, W.R. CHILDS, PAUL DRYBURGH, ANTHONY MUSSON, GWILYM DODD, ALISON MARSHALL, MARTYN LAWRENCE, SEYMOUR PHILLIPS.

Read more less

The crucial first years of Henry IV's reign examined, to discover how he met and overcame the challenges created by his usurpation of the throne. Having seized the throne from his cousin Richard II in 1399, Henry Bolingbroke, the first nobleman to be made king of England since the twelfth century, faced the remarkable challenge of securing his power and authority over a kingdom that was divided and in turmoil. This collection of essays - the first such collection focusing specifically on the reign of the first Lancastrian king - by some of the leading historians of late medieval England, takes a fresh look at the crucial but neglected first years of Henry IV's reign, examining how Henry met and overcame the challenges which his usurpation created. Topics covered include a reappraisal of the events surrounding the revolutionof 1399; Henry's relations with his northern magnates; the Yorkshire rising of 1405; the "Long Parliament" of 1406 and the nature and purpose of the king's council. This collection adds significantly to an understanding of the character of Henry IV, as well as the circumstances in which he ruled, and will be essential for anyone with an interest in late medieval English political history. Dr GWILYM DODD is Lecturer in History at the University of Nottingham; Dr DOUGLAS BIGGS teaches at the Department of History at Waldorf College. Contributors: M. ARVANIGIAN, MICHAEL J. BENNETT, DOUGLAS BIGGS, JOEL BURDEN, GWILYM DODD, ANTHONY GOODMAN, ANDY KING, CYNTHIA J. NEVILLE, A.J.TUCK, SIMON K. WALKER.

Read more less

The fruits of new research on the politics, society and culture of England in the fourteenth century. Drawing on a diverse range of documentary, literary and material evidence, the essays collected here consider a wide range of important issues for the period. Political and institutional history is addressed in essays on Edward II's personal expenditure and the development and workings of parliament, including an analysis of those neglected "parliamentarians" of the period, the parliamentary proctors. Important new insights into the social history of the fourteenth century are provided by chapters on marriage and the accumulation of lay estates, the brokerage of royal wardship and the important and difficult subject of sexual violence towards under-age girls. Another chapter considers the enormously costly and complex task of feeding and supplying medieval armies across the "long" fourteenth century, while two final pieces offer important new insights into the material culture of the age, focusing in turn on St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and the phenomenon of royal reburial. Richly textured with personal and local detail, these new studies provide numerous insights into the lives of great and small in this fascinating period ofmedieval history. GWILYM DODD is Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Nottingham. Contributors: Elizabeth Biggs, Anna M. Duch, Bridget Wells-Furby, Alan Kissane, Ilana Krug, Alison K.McHardy, Seymour Phillips, Laura Tompkins, Kathryn Warner.

Read more less

New research into petitions and petitioning in the middle ages, illuminating aspects of contemporary law and justice. The mechanics, politics and culture of petitioning in the middle ages are examined in this innovative collection. In addition to important and wide-ranging examinations of the ancient world and the medieval papacy, it focuses particularly on petitions to the English crown in the later middle ages, drawing on a major collection of documents made newly accessible to research in the National Archives. A series of studies explores the political contexts of petitioning, the broad geographical and social range of petitioners, and the fascinating "worm's-eye" view of medieval life that is uniquely offered by petitions themselves; and particular attention is given to the performative qualities of petitioning and its place in the culture of royal intercession. With their vivid new insights into judicial conventions and the legal creativity spawned by political crisis, these papers provide a closely integrated assessment of current scholarship and new research on these most fascinating and revealing of medieval social texts. CONTRIBUTORS: W. MARK ORMROD, GWILYM DODD, SERENA CONNOLLY, BARBARA BOMBI, PATRICK ZUTSHI, PAUL BRAND, GUILHEM PEPIN, ANTHONY MUSSON, SIMON J. HARRIS, SHELAGH A. SNEDDON, DAVID CROOK

Read more less