The Fourteenth Century, 1307–1399

Oxford History of England #5

by May McKisack

The fourteenth century in England was a turbulent, complex two of the century's monarchs were murdered by rivals, nearly half the population of England was wiped out by the Black Death and the Great Famine, and many more died in conflict with Scotland and in The Hundred Years War against France. During this time, the Great Schism divided the church which led to the establishment of the papacy in Avignon and an unpopular poll-tax provided the spark which ignited the Peasants' Revolt. Yet it was also a period of developments in parliamentary, administrative, and legal system, and one which witnessed the development of English literature, including Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval

618 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1959

About the author

May McKisack was a British medieval historian. She was professor of history at Westfield College in London and later professor of historiography at the University of Oxford and an honorary fellow of Somerville College Oxford.

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easier read than the volume on the thirteenth century as McKisack didn’t drown the reader in details. It still had depth though.

[Ricky Ganci · Rating 4 out of 5]

History is very interesting, and this treatise was, for the most part, very interesting. The stories of Edward II, Edward III, and Richard II were by far my favorite parts of the book, as they were entertaining, and not just informative. To imagine life seven hundred years ago is difficult, but the ultimate conclusion that I can draw from a book like this is that life wasn’t nearly as nice then as it is now—violence seemed to be a common recourse, the church was obnoxiously present in everyone’s personal life, and the king could do as he wished, with very few people to whom to answer. McKisack’s writing style was a bit difficult to follow at times, as she used various titles and names for figures, and I found myself highlighting information in different colors when it should have been the same (ex. Lancaster = John of Gaunt). But I found myself getting into the swing of it, and though it took me over two months to study it, I feel ready to take what happened during this era and apply it to the literature I’ll be studying in Septemebr.

[Zachary Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book jumps right into its subject matter, which can be disorienting for the non-specialist. I gather it was written to be read as part of a longer series, but I have only this volume and without the previous volume the first chapter is quite intimidating. After the rough start, however, the book settles nicely and picks up a smooth narrative style that paces fairly well, new topics being introduced every few pages to help keep the readers' attention. The book is quite detailed and filled with lots of information on the polticial, economic and intellectual situation of the times.