This is the second volume in a new series designed to cover the previously-neglected inquisitions post mortem of the fifteenth century between 1422 and 1485. Inquisitions post mortem were compiled with the help of jurors from the area, as a county-by-county record of a deceased individual's land-holdings and associated rights, where the individual held land directly of the crown. It is this explicit connection with land and locality - in terms economic, social, political, and topographical - that makes these documents of comprehensive interest to a broad range of historians and archaeologists. The inclusion of jurors' names and full manorial extents is standard in the new series as is the calendaring of information offered by the associated writs. Analogous documents consist of proofs of age, of particular interest to historians of memory, and assignments of dower. CLAIRE NOBLE is a Research Associate, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge. Academic Director and General Editor: CHRISTINE CARPENTER

This volume initiates the completion of the calendars of medieval inquisitions post mortem for the years 1422-85. Academic Director and General Editor: Christine Carpenter This volume follows its predecessor numerically, but it initiates a new series to complete the calendars of medieval Inquisitions Post Mortem. The growth of interest in the late-medieval nobility and gentry and their estates, and the significance of IPMs for such research, makes it especially important that the gap for the years 1422-85 should be filled. The volume includes a wide-ranginggeneral introduction to the series by Dr Christine Carpenter, which considers the history and production of IPMs and their use as sources. Innovations include the addition of all jurors names, which it is hoped will encourage further interest in the prosperous villagers who characteristically sat on these juries, and details reflective of administrative processes. The volume covers the first five years of Henry VI's reign, a period of minority and of continuing war in France. Notable tenants include Edmund earl of March, Ralph earl of Westmorland and the de la Pole heiresses.

This series [pushes] the boundaries of knowledge and [develops] new trends in approach and understanding. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW The essays here provide a series of unusual, varying and complex perspectives on late-medieval society, with a particular focus on the European context. They show how in the north of England the Cliffords and tenants of the honourof Pontefract were forced to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of their conflicting loyalties to local lords and distant kings; how in East Anglia the growing cult of St Margaret was reinforced by dissemination of her life-story [published here from a manuscript in the British Library]; how at Westminster the court of Henry IV was enhanced by his purchase of luxury items, and how the inept rule of his grandson Henry VI led to the "de-skilling" ofhitherto competent bureaucracies in the exchequer and chancery; how in Normandy a fine line was drawn between brigandage and movements for independence; how in Burgundy the classic ideals of chivalry, as presented in the duchy's literature, contrasted with the grim reality of military and political confrontations; and how in Florence infants were nurtured. Contributors: Frederik Buylaert, Christine Carpenter, Vincent Challet, Juliana Dresvina, Jan Dumolyn, Andy King, Jessica Lutkin, Alessia Meneghin, Sarah Rose

Eight studies of aspects of C15 England, united by a common focus on the role of ideas in political developments of the time. The concept of "political culture" has become very fashionable in the last thirty years, but only recently has it been consciously taken up by practitioners of late-medieval English history, who have argued for the need to acknowledge the role of ideas in politics. While this work has focused on elite political culture, interest in the subject has been growing among historians of towns and villages, especially as they have begun to recognise the importance of both internal politics and national government in the affairs of townsmen and peasants. This volume, the product of a conference on political culture in the late middle ages, explores the subject from a variety of perspectives and in a variety of spheres. It is hoped that it will put the subject firmly on the map for the study of late-medieval England and lead to further exploration of political culture in this period. Contributors CAROLINE BARRON, ALAN CROMARTIE, CHRISTOPHER DYER, MAURICE KEEN, MIRI RUBIN, BENJAMIN THOMPSON, JOHN WATTS, JENNY WORMALD. LINDA CLARK is editor, History of Parliament; CHRISTINE CARPENTER is Reader in History, University ofCambridge.

Essays offering a guide to a vital source for our knowledge of medieval England. The Inquisitions Post Mortem (IPMs) at the National Archives have been described as the single most important source for the study of landed society in later medieval England. Inquisitions were local enquiries into the lands heldby people of some status, in order to discover whatever income and rights were due to the crown on their death, and provide details both of the lands themselves and whoever held them. This book explores in detail for the first time the potential of IPMs as sources for economic, social and political history over the long fifteenth century, the period covered by this Companion. It looks at how they were made, how they were used, and their "accuracy",and develops our understanding of a source that is too often taken for granted; it answers questions such as what they sought to do, how they were compiled, and how reliable they are, while also exploring how they can best be usedfor economic, demographic, place-name, estate and other kinds of study. Michael Hicks is Professor of Medieval History, University of Winchester. Contributors: Michael Hicks, Christine Carpenter, Kate Parkin, Christopher Dyer, Matthew Holford, Margaret Yates, L.R. Poos, J. Oeppen, R.M. Smith, Sean Cunningham, Claire Noble, Matthew Holford, Oliver Padel.

This is a comprehensive study of minor landowners - the gentry - in one county in fifteenth-century England. In common with other recent local studies of the later middle ages, it builds upon the seminal work of K. B. McFarlane, looking at the political and social world in the localities from which the nobles drew their power. The books aims to present a fully-rounded picture of the experiences of the gentry, relating their private and their public lives, their permanent concerns to the changing needs of local and national politics. Its approach is thus both thematic, exploring the main elements, often private in nature, which moulded their public actions, such as marriage, estate management and senses of family, and chronological, presenting a detailed narrative of politics and account of political structures and relationships. The work takes a conscious stand for a return to a more 'constitutional' form of political history than the orthodoxy of the moment for the period, which takes patronage and personalities to be the prime movers in politics.

A range of important issues in current research are debated in the latest volume in the series, with a special focus on warfare. The theme of conflict is central to the essays gathered in this volume. Apart from the renewed armed struggle with France in the final stages of the Hundred Years War, subjects covered include the theoretical foundations of the Wars of the Roses, the impact of this conflict in the provinces, the frequently strained relationship between the English, the Irish and the Welsh, and the effects of intermittent warfare between England and Scotland. Other themesthat emerge include the evolution of the English constitution, clerical practice at the centre and in the regions, and the competence (or otherwise) of Italian bankers when dealing with men at war. Contributors: JIM BOLTON, LUCY BROWN, MICHAEL BROWN, CHRISTINE CARPENTER, ANNE CURRY, GILLIAN DRAPER, PETER FLEMING, ANTHONY GOODMAN, HANNES KLEINEKE, CATHERINE NALL AND JAMES ROSS

This is a comprehensive study of minor landowners - the gentry - in one county in fifteenth-century England. In common with other local studies of the later Middle Ages, it builds upon the seminal work of K. B. McFarlane, looking at the political and social world in the localities from which the nobles drew their power. The book aims to present a rounded picture of the experiences of the gentry, relating their private and their public lives, and their permanent concerns to the changing needs of local and national politics. Its approach is thus both thematic, exploring the main elements, often private in nature, which moulded their public actions, such as marriage, estate management and senses of family, and chronological, presenting a detailed narrative of politics and account of political structures and relationships. The book is intended as a contribution to the history of England as a whole in the fifteenth century and to the study of the long-term development of the English landed classes and the English constitution.

This is a new interpretation of English politics during the extended period beginning with the majority of Henry VI in c. 1437 up to the accession of Henry VII in 1509. The later fifteenth century in England is a somewhat baffling and apparently incoherent period which historians and history students have found consistently difficult to handle. The large-scale 'revisionism' inspired by the classic work of K. B. McFarlane led to the first real work on politics, both national and local, but has left the period in a disjointed state: much material has been unearthed, but without any real sense of direction or coherence. This book places the events of the century within a clearly delineated framework of constitutional structures, practices and expectations, in an attempt to show the meaning of the apparently frenetic and purposeless political events which occurred within that framework - and which sometimes breached it. At the same time it takes cognisance of all the work that has been done on the period, including recent and innovative work on Henry VI.

The Stonor letters and papers form one of only three surviving archives of gentry correspondence from late medieval England. The collection which includes documents ranging from love letters to household accounts provides us with a wealth of otherwise unobtainable detail about the lives and careers of a gentry family, their servants and their friends. Much of the material comes from the period of the Wars of the Roses, and allows us an insider's view on national events and the people involved in them. Originally edited by the historian C.L. Kingsford at the beginning of the century, the complete collection is reissued here, with a new introduction and annotation by Christine Carpenter. In many ways more representative of gentry life than the Paston letters, the Stonor letters and papers should be valuable to scholars of late medieval England, and should also make fascinating reading for anyone interested in the Wars of the Roses or life in medieval England.

The Stonor letters and papers form one of only three surviving archives of gentry correspondence from late medieval England. The collection which includes documents ranging from love letters to household accounts provides us with a wealth of otherwise unobtainable detail about the lives and careers of a gentry family, their servants and their friends. Much of the material comes from the period of the Wars of the Roses, and allows us an insider's view on national events and the people involved in them. Originally edited by the historian C.L. Kingsford at the beginning of the century, the complete collection is reissued here, with a new introduction and annotation by Christine Carpenter. In many ways more representative of gentry life than the Paston letters, the Stonor letters and papers should be valuable to scholars of late medieval England, and should also make fascinating reading for anyone interested in the Wars of the Roses or life in medieval England.

This is a new interpretation of English politics during the extended period beginning with the majority of Henry VI in c. 1437 up to the accession of Henry VII in 1509. The later fifteenth century in England is a somewhat baffling and apparently incoherent period which historians and history students have found consistently difficult to handle. The large-scale 'revisionism' inspired by the classic work of K. B. McFarlane led to the first real work on politics, both national and local, but has left the period in a disjointed state: much material has been unearthed, but without any real sense of direction or coherence. This book places the events of the century within a clearly delineated framework of constitutional structures, practices and expectations, in an attempt to show the meaning of the apparently frenetic and purposeless political events which occurred within that framework - and which sometimes breached it. At the same time it takes cognisance of all the work that has been done on the period, including recent and innovative work on Henry VI.