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New Oxford History of England #5
Shaping the Nation: England 1360-1461
The Black Death. The Peasants' Revolt. The Hundred Years War. The War of the Roses. A succession of dramatic social and political events reshaped England in the period 1360 to 1461. In his lucid and penetrating account of this formative period, Gerald Harriss draws on the research of the last thirty years to illuminate late medieval society at its peak, from the triumphalism of Edward III in 1360 to the collapse of Lancastrian rule.
The political narrative centers on the deposition of Richard II in 1399 and the establishment of the House of Lancaster, which was in turn overthrown in the Wars of the Roses. Abroad, Henry V's heroic victory at Agincourt in 1415 led to the English conquest of northern France, lasting until 1450. Both produced long term the first shaped the English constitution up to the Stuart civil war, while the second generated lasting hostility between England and France, and a residual wariness of military intervention in Europe.
The political narrative centers on the deposition of Richard II in 1399 and the establishment of the House of Lancaster, which was in turn overthrown in the Wars of the Roses. Abroad, Henry V's heroic victory at Agincourt in 1415 led to the English conquest of northern France, lasting until 1450. Both produced long term the first shaped the English constitution up to the Stuart civil war, while the second generated lasting hostility between England and France, and a residual wariness of military intervention in Europe.
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First published January 27, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 26, 2021
This is an upper-level college or graduate level textbook.
I started reading English history because I read a lot of old English literature and I wanted to know the background of these stories. I have been slowly moving forward (mostly) in time. This time period was a huge gap for me. I realized that what I knew came from “A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century” by Barbara W. Tuchman and Shakespeare. Shakespeare is not an unbiased source and he compresses time a lot. I learned a lot from this book.
This book covers the century between Edward III and Edward IV. There were several major changes in English demographics. These changes reverberated upwards and affected the culture, society, and politics in a big way. They help explain the confusing political history (two kings deposed, France lost regained and lost again, several agrarian uprisings, and more).
This is not a history for beginners. The author assumes you already know the basic events of the time period and understand feudalism. You need to know (or look up) that chancery, privy seal and the signet had different meanings then. You need to know the order of the kings, that there were two violent changes in ruling houses (from Plantagenet to Lancaster to York), and similar events. It’s the basic knowledge kids in high school in England are taught (I assume).
If you just look at the political history (kings and wars) it is a very confusing time, but once you realize all the demographic and cultural changes going on it makes more sense.
At the start of the book, 1361, England is a feudal kingdom with a seemingly growing empire (France is conquered, Ireland and Burgundy are to be next, through marriage and war). It has survived the first onslaught of the Black Death (arrived in England 1346) but the population has dropped, particularly the peasant classes. This drop in population continued. It changed the ratio of workers to land. Although the landowners fought hard, wages rose. Peasants stopped being graded by their legal status (free, serf, landowner) and started being judged by wealth. The yeoman class started to appear. This reduced the income of the aristocracy and the king.
At the end of the book, 1361, England rules itself and a small part of Ireland. (The English distrust of France arose at this time.) By then, England had become a politically integrated community. The non-noble political community, Parliament, had acquired a voice and could tell the king what to do (in limited circumstances). The feudal aristocracy’s “lust for war and imperialist objectives” had been curbed by a lack of money (Black Death) and the rise of Parliament. Feudal aristocratic desires were no longer the driving force of state policy. The king is now trying to ‘live on his own’. England had developed into something close to what exists today.
Overall a very well written and researched book. I wish the author was firmer on his opinions (“One could very well think . . .).
4 stars, definitely read this book if you are interested in the subject. It’s not a book for beginners or dabblers though.
I started reading English history because I read a lot of old English literature and I wanted to know the background of these stories. I have been slowly moving forward (mostly) in time. This time period was a huge gap for me. I realized that what I knew came from “A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century” by Barbara W. Tuchman and Shakespeare. Shakespeare is not an unbiased source and he compresses time a lot. I learned a lot from this book.
This book covers the century between Edward III and Edward IV. There were several major changes in English demographics. These changes reverberated upwards and affected the culture, society, and politics in a big way. They help explain the confusing political history (two kings deposed, France lost regained and lost again, several agrarian uprisings, and more).
This is not a history for beginners. The author assumes you already know the basic events of the time period and understand feudalism. You need to know (or look up) that chancery, privy seal and the signet had different meanings then. You need to know the order of the kings, that there were two violent changes in ruling houses (from Plantagenet to Lancaster to York), and similar events. It’s the basic knowledge kids in high school in England are taught (I assume).
If you just look at the political history (kings and wars) it is a very confusing time, but once you realize all the demographic and cultural changes going on it makes more sense.
At the start of the book, 1361, England is a feudal kingdom with a seemingly growing empire (France is conquered, Ireland and Burgundy are to be next, through marriage and war). It has survived the first onslaught of the Black Death (arrived in England 1346) but the population has dropped, particularly the peasant classes. This drop in population continued. It changed the ratio of workers to land. Although the landowners fought hard, wages rose. Peasants stopped being graded by their legal status (free, serf, landowner) and started being judged by wealth. The yeoman class started to appear. This reduced the income of the aristocracy and the king.
At the end of the book, 1361, England rules itself and a small part of Ireland. (The English distrust of France arose at this time.) By then, England had become a politically integrated community. The non-noble political community, Parliament, had acquired a voice and could tell the king what to do (in limited circumstances). The feudal aristocracy’s “lust for war and imperialist objectives” had been curbed by a lack of money (Black Death) and the rise of Parliament. Feudal aristocratic desires were no longer the driving force of state policy. The king is now trying to ‘live on his own’. England had developed into something close to what exists today.
Overall a very well written and researched book. I wish the author was firmer on his opinions (“One could very well think . . .).
4 stars, definitely read this book if you are interested in the subject. It’s not a book for beginners or dabblers though.
March 28, 2025
Read this book to gain some context on the world of John Wycliffe and the Lollards, and therefore skipped some chapters on the economy and agriculture, as well as events post ~1400. It was fascinating to learn about how the government and the court system worked in the Middle Ages, what conceptions of kingship were and how the relationship between King and Parliament worked and sometimes didn’t work. It also had a lot of information about the church in medieval England, and a good section about Wycliffe and Lollardy. I will certainly be revisiting this title eventually!
July 22, 2015
A great book on Medieval England monarchs and politics.
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December 27, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews