|
Showing 1 - 7 of
7 matches in All Departments
First published in 1984, The Royal Bastards of Medieval England
establishes a list of royal bastards in medieval England, and
discusses their roles in the history of the period. The authors
describe how gradually the church began to formulate more definite
views on sexual and marital customs, with a consequent decline in
the status of illegitimate children. By early sixteenth century,
however, royal bastards were once again making their way into the
peerage. The book charts the lives of these men and women against
the background not only of contemporary political developments, but
also of changing ideas about morality and family. This book will be
of interest to students of history, religion and literature.
Chris Given-Wilson provides an authoritative and vivid
reconstruction of the true nature of political society in late
medieval England. He looks at the social structure of the time,
discussing what contemporaries meant when they talked of the
nobility, always emphasizing the close relationship between social
status and political influence. He describes the noble household
and council, and examines the territorial and familial policies of
local and national affairs.
First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &
Francis, an informa company.
This collection of sources covers one of the most controversial and
shocking episodes in medieval English history, the 'tyranny' and
deposition of Richard II and the usurpation of the throne by his
cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, who became King Henry IV. Contemporaries
were sharply divided about the rights and wrongs of both Richard
and Henry, and this division is reflected in the texts which form
the major part of these sources. All the principal contemporary
chronicles are represented in this collection, from the violently
partisan Thomas Walsingham, chronicler of St Alban's Abbey who saw
Richard as a tyrant and murderer, to the indignant Dieulacres
chronicler, who claimed that the 'innocent king' was tricked into
surrender by his perjured barons. -- .
The time was 7.40 p.m., the date 15 February 1942. The light was
fading fast, the Allied forces were encircled, and the bombardment
was relentless, as Singapore fell to the Japanese. Discarding their
weapons, the Lancashire Loyals quietly withdrew to their quarters,
where they 'composed themselves as best they could for the silent
ordeal of the night, numbed and galled by the bitterness of
enforced surrender'. So began three and half years of incarceration
at Keijo POW camp in Korea. This is the previously untold story of
the brave Lancastrians who endured, told by Chris Given-Wilson,
whose father was one of those captured. It is a story of brutality,
starvation and disease, but also one of survival, determination and
creativity. Among the many ways the prisoners sought to keep their
spirits up were the staging of surprisingly sophisticated shows,
complete with Gloria d'Earie, the resident female impersonator; the
growing of fresh vegetables to improve their health; and the
regular publication of Nor Iron Bars (co-edited by the author's
father), with its satirical portrayals of camp life. Copies of this
banned journal were successfully concealed from the guards to be
smuggled home, and can be seen at the Lancashire Infantry Museum.
Chris Given-Wilson writes with warmth and humour, to reveal both
the best and the worst of human nature. This book should be read by
everyone, but perhaps especially all proud Lancastrians.
This definitive biography of England's Henry IV reassesses the
adversities of his reign, his ruthlessness and extravagance, and
his previously unrecognized successes "This wonderful biography of
the first of the Lancastrian kings is no less accomplished than its
subject. . . . A vivid and captivating study of England's most
neglected late medieval ruler."-David Green, author of The Hundred
Years War Henry IV (1399-1413), the son of John of Gaunt, duke of
Lancaster, seized the English throne at the age of thirty-two from
his cousin Richard II and held it until his death, aged forty-five,
when he was succeeded by his son, Henry V. This comprehensive and
nuanced biography restores to his rightful place a king often
overlooked in favor of his illustrious progeny. Henry faced the
usual problems of usurpers: foreign wars, rebellions, and plots, as
well as the ambitions and demands of the Lancastrian retainers who
had helped him win the throne. By 1406 his rule was broadly
established, and although he became ill shortly after this and
never fully recovered, he retained ultimate power until his death.
Using a wide variety of previously untapped archival materials,
Chris Given-Wilson reveals a cultured, extravagant, and skeptical
monarch who crushed opposition ruthlessly but never quite succeeded
in satisfying the expectations of his own supporters.
This is the first complete edition of the Chronicon Anonymi
Cantuariensis, a contemporary narrative that provides valuable
insights into medieval war and diplomacy, written at Canterbury
shortly after the mid-fourteenth century. The previous edition,
published in 1914, was based on a manuscript from which the text
for the years 1357 to 1364 was missing. Presented here in full with
a modern English translation, the chronicle provides a key
narrative of military and political events covering the years from
1346 to 1365.
Concentrating principally on the campaigns of the Hundred Years War
and their impact upon the inhabitants of south-east England, the
author took advantage of his position on the main news route
between London and Paris to provide a detailed account of a crucial
phase in British and European history.
|
|