Medieval England, 1066-1485

280 Pages·1988·39.513 MB·English

by  Edmund King

MEDIEVAL
ENGLAND
MEDIEVAL
ENGLAND
EDMUND KING
With 260 illustrations, including 48 in colour
Medieval England presents in a broad panorama
the political and cultural development of English
society from the Norman Conquest to the end of
the Wars of the Roses. It is the story of change,
progress, setback and consolidation, with Eng¬
land emerging as a wealthy and stable country,
many of whose essential features were to remain
unchanged until the Industrial Revolution.
England was a monarchy, and it is the strengths,
weaknesses and idiosyncracies of her kings that
provide the central thread of Edmund King’s
narrative. Yet the great nobles along with knights
and merchants meeting in parliament provided
constraints which bound even the most powerful
king, and a major theme of this book is the
gradual emergence of a single political commun¬
ity of shared ideas embracing all ranks of society.
Within this framework the author examines
many other facets of medieval England, including
religion and learning, agriculture and economic
developments, the machinery of government, the
administration of justice, warfare and chivalry,
everyday life, art and architecture.
The illustrations and the eighteen ‘Picture Essays’
highlight the achievements of the age in architec¬
ture and the whole range of the arts. As well as
examples of the finest workmanship, they also
include documents, coins and everyday artefacts.
Edmund King is Reader in History at the Uni¬
versity of Sheffield. His publications include
England 1175-1425 (1979), and he has lectured
and written widely on medieval English history.
Jacket illustrations: (front) Orford Castle (photo
Jorge Lewinski and Mayotte Magnus); (back) The
tomb of Hugh Despenser, Tewkesbury Abbey
(photo Lark Gilmer)
Phaidon
ISBN 0 7148 2359 7

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/medievalengland10000king
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
1066—1485
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Edmund King
PHAIDON • OXFORD
For George and Hilda Greatwood
Acknowledgements
Reproduced by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen: 106, 104, 117, 131, 148, 158, 163, p. 60 no. 2, p. 142 no. 1; Reproduced
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of Bayeux: 19; John Bethell: 24, 28, 35, 45, 121, 128, 132, p. 223 168; Warburg Institute, London: 91, p.136 no. 2; By permission of
no. 3; Bibhotheque Royale Albert Ier, Brussels: 108; Courtesy of the the Dean and Chapter of Westminster: 165; Norfolk Museums
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London: 6, 9, 13, 3L 34. 5°. 52. <58, 72, 82, 84, 87, 88, 94. 119,
King, Edmund
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Medieval England
nos. 4 & 5, p. 137 nos. 3 & 4, p. 143 no. 2, p. 174 no. 1, p. 201 no. 5,
1. Great Britain — History—
p. 206 no. 2, p. 222 no. 1, p. 243 no. 5, p. 258 nos. 1 & 3; Reprodm
Medieval period, 1066-1485
ced by Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London:
I. Title
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Contents
Introduction 8
I The Norman Conquest
and Settlement 1066-1106 11
2 The Life of the Court 1106-1154 32
3 The Angevin Empire 1154-1204 64
Magna Carta and Beyond
4 1204-1258 99
5 Civil War and Recovery 1258-1307 129
6 The End of Diplomacy 1307-1349 I6l
After the Plague
7 1349-1399 194
8 Lancaster and York 1399-1485 231
Bibliography 265
Index 268
The picture essays are listed on the next page
Picture Essays
1 Domesday Book judith green 20
2 Odo of Bayeux david bates 26
3 Rievaulx Abbey Brian golding 54
4 The Coinage in King Stephen’s
Reign EDMUND KING 60
5 Gerald of Wales julia barrow 86
6 Barfreston Church c. l. h. coulson 92
7 77ze University of Oxford rosamond faith
and RALPH EVANS 104
8 Rochester Castle c. l. h. coulson no
9 Simon de Montfort j. r. maddicott 136
10 Queen Eleanor of Castile edmund king 142
11 The Battle of Bannockburn Alexander grant 164
12 The Order of the Garter mark ormrod 174
13 A Deserted Village - Upton,
Gloucestershire Christopher dyer 200
14 Robin Hood j. r. maddicott 206
15 Peasant Seals t. a. heslop 214
16 Geoffrey Chaucer and his Family simon walker 222
17 The Lollards simon walker 242
18 Priests and People helen spencer 258
1 The effigy of Edward 11 on his tomb in Gloucester Cathedral, 1330s. See also PL 114