Four Gothic Kings: The Turbulent History of Medieval England and the Plantagenet Kings

by Elizabeth Hallam (Editor)

After the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 and the death of King John the following year, England went forward into the 13th century with great hope. But this hope was soon destroyed. As recorded by contemporary chroniclers, the reigns of the next four Plantagenet monarchs were marked by a series of continuing horrors, of famine and war, disorder and cruelty, culminating with the Black Death - the plague that swept across Europe and killed almost half its population.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, British Literature, Medieval, Biography, Medieval History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[William Guerrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book--very well written, illustrated, and conceived. Setting selections of writings from over two dozen chroniclers of the period alongside modern interpretative text was a great idea. My only quibble is that at times a bit more historical skepticism toward some of the claims of the chroniclers seems warranted.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using as many primary sources as possible and that are available from 700 years ago, Hallam presents an excellent text. Many events are fully explained from multiple points of view. As is the author's style, many illustrations are included.

[Arnold T · Rating 4 out of 5]

love the simple translations of the source materials along with the art of the time.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now out of date but still good.

A lovely coffee table book, glossy and filled with exquisite photos, paintings, drawings and images from illuminated manuscripts, and yet it is still academic enough to be useful to the scholar of History.

Edited by Elizabeth Hallam, formerly of the Public Records Office, and the lady who marked my History A-Level, it is a sumptuous book covering Henry III and the three Edwards. A mixture of original source material and essays written by a list of contributors that is pretty impressive, including one of the most eminent Professors of Welsh History, and incidentally the gentleman who taught me at university, it is written in a style that is accessible and useful.

Being a large tome it is not the easiest to actually handle, but it is worth it for the images contained therein. The text is now around eighteen years old and obviously does not include the most up to date interpretations of some of the sources, nothing by Mortimer or Sumption, but still incredibly useful and a beautiful book to own.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Great-uncle, our family historian on my side of the family, has done extensive research and traced our roots WAY back. His genealogy interests has spread to include myself and my daughter. We hope to carry on his hard work. One of his bits of advice is to always document your information with proof: birth, death, marriage certs, etc. He tells me that we have Plantagenets in our lineage, namely the Black Knight. Hmmmm...interesting... So I picked up this book to read up on the history. Excellent book with great photographs.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plantagenets! As made famous by Braveheart, A Knight's Tale, etc, these guys ruled England, often Wales, and sometimes bits of Scotland and France. With gusto. And swords.

This book has lots of good maps, quotes extensively from contemporary (mostly monk) authors, and covers life from the king to the peasants, as well as major historical events like wars, the plague, and so on. Henry III through Edward III.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

As many others have said, this is a good coffee table book (if not a bit outdated). I love the Plantagenet Dynasty, but there was nothing new here that I didn't already know. The layout was also kind of weird; the contemporary writers running alongside the modern writing was disjointed. It would've been better if each view had their own sections in entirety. Otherwise, as is you are almost reading two different books, having to go back and forth between the two.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, accessible account of the reigns of the middle Plantagenets (Henry III - Edward III) consisting of a combination of primary source material written by contemporary monks & brief passages going into more detail about specific aspects. Illustrated with photographs of locations & contemporary artwork.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how they placed actual writings from the 13th and 14th centuries on the left page and then short contemporary writings on the right page. It felt more like being there and then.

One couldn't find more interesting intrigue on television than what actually happened in history.

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather heavy for a coffee table, the book includes many stories.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book for it's little gems. Drawings by Mathew Paris, chronicles of Roger of Wendover and lots of coloured illustrations.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge gorgeous book, perfect for whiling away a snowy evening by the fireplace.