This collection of ground-breaking essays celebrates Mark Ormrod's wide-ranging influence over several generations of scholars. The seventeen chapters in this collection focus primarily on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and are grouped thematically on governance and political resistance, culture, religion and identity.

An important new contribution to the emerging field of late medieval supplicatory cultures. Late medieval petitions, providing unique insights into medieval social and legal history, have attracted increasing scholarly attention in recent years. This wide-ranging collection brings two approaches into dialogue with each other: the study of royal justice and secular petitions presented to the English crown, and the study of papal justice, canon law and ecclesiastical petitions (emphasising the international dimension of petitioning as a legal device exercising authority across Latin Christendom). In so doing, it crosses the traditional demarcation lines between secular and ecclesiastical systems of justice, of particular importance, given the participation by many litigantsand legislators in both of those legal spheres. A major focus is the mechanics of petitioning - who were the intermediaries in this process, and what were the "strategies of persuasion" they employed? The essays also re-examine the relationship between petitioners and their advisors, and the specific legal, rhetorical and linguistic choices they made in the composition of these texts. In so doing, the volume makes an important new contribution to theemerging field of late medieval supplicatory cultures. THOMAS W. SMITH is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Leeds; HELEN KILLICK is a post-doctoral researcher at the ICMA Centre, University of Reading.

This collection of ground-breaking essays celebrates Mark Ormrod's wide-ranging influence over several generations of scholars. The seventeen chapters in this collection focus primarily on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and are grouped thematically on governance and political resistance, culture, religion and identity.

Articles showcasing the fruits of the most recent scholarship in the field of fourteenth-century studies. The wide-ranging studies collected here reflect the latest concerns of and trends in fourteenth-century research, including work on politics, the law, religion, and chronicle writing. The lively (and controversial) debate around the death of Edward II, and the brief but eventful career of John of Eltham, earl of Cornwall, receive detailed treatment, as does the theory and implementation of both the law of treason in England and high status execution in Ireland. There is an investigation of the often overlooked, yet ever present, lesser parish clergy of pre-Black Death England, along with the notable connections between Roman remains and craft guild piety in fourteenth-century York.There are also chapters shedding new light on fourteenth-century chronicles: one examines the St Albans chronicle through the prism of chivalric culture, another analyses the importance of the Chester Annals of 1385-8 in the writing culture of the Midlands. Introduced with this volume is a new section on "Notes and Documents"; re-examined here is an often-cited letter from the reign of Richard II and the problematic, yet crucial, issue of its authorship and dating. James Bothwell is Lecturer in Later Medieval History at the University of Leicester; Gwilym Dodd is Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Nottingham Contributors: Paul Dryburgh, Aine Foley, Christopher Guyol, Andy King, Jessica Knowles, E. Amanda McVitty, D.A.L. Morgan, Philip Morgan, David Robinson.

Essays on crucial aspects of late medieval history. The essays collected here, offered by three generations of his friends and pupils, celebrate the outstanding career of Professor A.J. Pollard and pay tribute to his scholarship and enduring influence in furthering our understanding of late medieval England and France. Drawing inspiration from his own research interests and writing, which illuminated military, political and social interactions of the period, they focus on three main themes. The contrasting styles of governance adopted by English monarchs from Richard II to Henry VII; the differing responses to civil conflict revealed in a variety of localities; and the lives of men recruited to fight overseas during the Hundred Years' War, and beyond the border with Scotland in later years, are all explored here. These topics take us across England from the far north to the Channel, to London, the south-west and the Welsh lordship of Gower, while on the way also examining how townsmen resisted taxation, the gentry administered their estates and the western marches were ruled.

Having seized the throne from his cousin Richard II in 1399, Henry Bolingbroke, the first nobleman to be made king of England since the twelfth century, faced the remarkable challenge of securing his power and authority over a kingdom that was divided and in turmoil. This collection of essays - the first such collection focusing specifically on the reign of the first Lancastrian king - by some of the leading historians of late medieval England, takes a fresh look at the crucial but neglected first years of Henry IV's reign, examining how Henry met and overcame the challenges which his usurpation created. Topics covered include a reappraisal of the events surrounding the revolution of 1399; Henry's relations with his northern magnates; the Yorkshire rising of 1405; the 'Long Parliament' of 1406 and the nature and purpose of the king's council. This collection adds significantly to an understanding of the character of Henry IV, as well as the circumstances in which he ruled, and will be essential for anyone with an interest in late medieval English political history. Dr GWILYM DODD is Lecturer in History at the University of Nottingham; Dr DOUGLAS BIGGS teaches at the Department of History at Waldorf College. Contributors: M. ARVANIGIAN, MICHAEL J. BENNETT, DOUGLAS BIGGS, JOEL BURDEN, GWILYM DODD, ANTHONY GOODMAN, ANDY KING, CYNTHIA J. NEVILLE, A.J.TUCK, SIMON K. WALKER.

Essays exploring how England was governed during a tumultuous period. The twin themes of power and authority in fourteenth-century England, a century of transition between the high and late medieval polities, run throughout this volume, reflecting Professor Given-Wilson's seminal work in the area. Covering the period between Edward I's final years and the tyranny of Richard II, the volume encompasses political, social, economic and administrative history through four major lens: central governance, aristocratic politics, warfare, and English power abroad. Topics covered include royal administrative efficiency; the machinations of government clerks; the relationship between the crown and market forces; the changing nature of noble titles and lordship;and ideas of court politics, favouritism and loyalty. Military policy is also examined, looking at army composition and definitions of "war" and "rebellion". The book concludes with a detailed study of treasonous English captainsaround Calais and a broader examination of Plantagenet ambitions on the European stage. REMY AMBUHL is Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Southampton; JAMES BOTHWELL is Lecturer in Later Medieval Historyat the University of Leicester; LAURA TOMPKINS is Research Manager at Historic Royal Palaces. Contributors: Andrew Ayton, Michael Bennett, Wendy R. Childs, Gwilym Dodd, David Green, J.S. Hamilton, Andy King, Alison McHardy, Mark Ormrod, Michael Prestwich, Bridget Wells-Furby

Fresh examinations of the activities of Henry V, looking at how his reputation was achieved. Henry V (1413-22) is widely acclaimed as the most successful late medieval English king. In his short reign of nine and a half years, he re-imposed the rule of law, made the crown solvent, decisively crushed heresy, achieved a momentous victory at the battle of Agincourt (1415), and negotiated a remarkably favourable settlement for the English over the French in the Treaty of Troyes (1420). Above all, he restored the reputation of the English monarchy andunited the English people behind the crown following decades of upheaval and political turmoil. But who was the man behind these achievements? What explains his success? How did he acquire such a glorious reputation? The ground-breaking essays contained in this volume provide the first concerted investigation of these questions in over two decades. Contributions range broadly across the period of Henry's life, including his early years as Prince of Wales. They consider how Henry raised the money to fund his military campaigns and how his subjects responded to these financial exactions; how he secured royal authority in the localities and cultivated support within the politicalcommunity; and how he consolidated his rule in France and earned for himself a reputation as the archetypal late medieval warrior king. Overall, the contributions provide new insights and a much better understanding of how Henryachieved this epithet. GWILYM DODD is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, University of Nottingham. Contributors: Christopher Allmand, Mark Arvanigian, Michael Bennett, Anne Curry, Gwilym Dodd, Maureen Jurkowski, Alison K. McHardy, Neil Murphy, W. Mark Ormrod, Jenny Stratford, Craig Taylor.

Fresh examinations of the activities of Henry V, looking at how his reputation was achieved. Henry V (1413-22) is widely acclaimed as the most successful late medieval English king. In his short reign of nine and a half years, he re-imposed the rule of law, made the crown solvent, decisively crushed heresy, achieved a momentous victory at the battle of Agincourt (1415), and negotiated a remarkably favourable settlement for the English over the French in the Treaty of Troyes (1420). Above all, he restored the reputation of the English monarchy andunited the English people behind the crown following decades of upheaval and political turmoil. But who was the man behind these achievements? What explains his success? How did he acquire such a glorious reputation? The ground-breaking essays contained in this volume provide the first concerted investigation of these questions in over two decades. Contributions range broadly across the period of Henry's life, including his early years as Prince of Wales. They consider how Henry raised the money to fund his military campaigns and how his subjects responded to these financial exactions; how he secured royal authority in the localities and cultivated support within the politicalcommunity; and how he consolidated his rule in France and earned for himself a reputation as the archetypal late medieval warrior king. Overall, the contributions provide new insights and a much better understanding of how Henryachieved this epithet. GWILYM DODD is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, University of Nottingham. Contributors: Christopher Allmand, Mark Arvanigian, Michael Bennett, Anne Curry, Gwilym Dodd, Maureen Jurkowski, Alison K. McHardy, Neil Murphy, W. Mark Ormrod, Jenny Stratford, Craig Taylor.

A new review of the most significant issues of Edward II's reign. Edward II presided over a turbulent and politically charged period of English history, but to date he has been relatively neglected in comparison to other fourteenth and fifteenth-century kings. This book offers a significant re-appraisal of a much maligned monarch and his historical importance, making use of the latest empirical research and revisionist theories, and concentrating on people and personalities, perceptions and expectations, rather than dry constitutional analysis. Papers consider both the institutional and the personal facets of Edward II's life and rule: his sexual reputation, the royal court, the role of the king's household knights, the nature of law and parliament in the reign, and England's relations with Ireland and Europe. Contributors: J.S. HAMILTON, W.M. ORMROD, IAN MORTIMER, MICHAEL PRESTWICH, ALISTAIR TEBBIT, W.R. CHILDS, PAUL DRYBURGH, ANTHONY MUSSON, GWILYM DODD, ALISON MARSHALL, MARTYN LAWRENCE, SEYMOUR PHILLIPS.

The fruits of new research on the politics, society and culture of England in the fourteenth century. Drawing on a diverse range of documentary, literary and material evidence, the essays collected here consider a wide range of important issues for the period. Political and institutional history is addressed in essays on Edward II's personal expenditure and the development and workings of parliament, including an analysis of those neglected "parliamentarians" of the period, the parliamentary proctors. Important new insights into the social history of the fourteenth century are provided by chapters on marriage and the accumulation of lay estates, the brokerage of royal wardship and the important and difficult subject of sexual violence towards under-age girls. Another chapter considers the enormously costly and complex task of feeding and supplying medieval armies across the "long" fourteenth century, while two final pieces offer important new insights into the material culture of the age, focusing in turn on St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and the phenomenon of royal reburial. Richly textured with personal and local detail, these new studies provide numerous insights into the lives of great and small in this fascinating period ofmedieval history. GWILYM DODD is Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Nottingham. Contributors: Elizabeth Biggs, Anna M. Duch, Bridget Wells-Furby, Alan Kissane, Ilana Krug, Alison K.McHardy, Seymour Phillips, Laura Tompkins, Kathryn Warner.

New research into petitions and petitioning in the middle ages, illuminating aspects of contemporary law and justice. The mechanics, politics and culture of petitioning in the middle ages are examined in this innovative collection. In addition to important and wide-ranging examinations of the ancient world and the medieval papacy, it focuses particularly on petitions to the English crown in the later middle ages, drawing on a major collection of documents made newly accessible to research in the National Archives. A series of studies explores the political contexts of petitioning, the broad geographical and social range of petitioners, and the fascinating "worm's-eye" view of medieval life that is uniquely offered by petitions themselves; and particular attention is given to the performative qualities of petitioning and its place in the culture of royal intercession. With their vivid new insights into judicial conventions and the legal creativity spawned by political crisis, these papers provide a closely integrated assessment of current scholarship and new research on these most fascinating and revealing of medieval social texts. CONTRIBUTORS: W. MARK ORMROD, GWILYM DODD, SERENA CONNOLLY, BARBARA BOMBI, PATRICK ZUTSHI, PAUL BRAND, GUILHEM PEPIN, ANTHONY MUSSON, SIMON J. HARRIS, SHELAGH A. SNEDDON, DAVID CROOK

New approaches to the political culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, considering its complex relation to monarchy and state. The essays collected here celebrate mark the distinguished career of Professor W. Mark Ormrod, reflecting the vibrancy and range of his scholarship on the structures, personalities and culture of ruling late medieval England. Encompassing political, administrative, Church and social history, the volume focusses on three main themes: monarchy, state and political culture. For the first, it explores Edward III's reactions to the deaths of his kinfolk and cases of political defamation across the fourteenth century. The workings of the "state" are examined through studies of tax and ecclesiastical records, the Court of Chivalry, fifteenth-century legislation, and the working practicesof the privy seal clerk, Thomas Hoccleve. Finally, separate discussions of collegiate statutes and the household ordinances of Cecily, duchess of York consider the political culture of regulation and code-making.

Focusing on the key role of the English medieval parliament in hearing and determining the requests of the king's subjects, this ground-breaking new study examines the private petition and its place in the late medieval English parliament (c.1270-1450). Until now, historians have focussed on the political and financial significance of the English medieval parliament; this book offers an important re-evaluation placing the emphasis on parliament as a crucial element in the provision of royal government and justice. It looks at the nature of medieval petitioning, how requests were written and how and why petitioners sought redress specifically in parliament. It also sheds new light on the concept of royal grace and its practical application to parliamentary petitions that required the king's personal intervention.
The book traces the development of private petitioning over a period of almost two hundred years, from a point when parliament was essentially an instrument of royal administration, to one where it was self-consciously dispatching petitions as the highest court of the land. Gwilym Dodd considers not only the detail of the petitionary process, but also broader questions about the government of late medieval England. His conclusions contribute to our understanding of the nature of medieval monarchy, and its ability (or willingness) to address local difficulties, as well as the nature of local society, and the problems that faced individuals and communities in medieval society.

Petitions are vital sources for our knowledge of life in the middle ages. A selection is presented here with English summaries, notes, and introduction. Through the petitions which they addressed to the crown the people of medieval England speak to us directly: the human interest stories they reveal are perhaps the nearest thing to local newspapers which the middle ages have leftus. Petitions were the subject's last resort when normal channels of law and government had failed, and offered kings the opportunity to exercise qualities of generosity, compassion, and sound judgment. However, despite their importance, they have not hitherto been recognized as a source for ecclesiastical history, a gap which this volume rectifies. A selection of over 200 cases shows the religious of medieval England taking full advantage of this mechanism, petitioning as landowners, neighbours, citizens, individuals, and religious orders. The subjects covered range from requests for tax rebates, and complaints about royal officials, to disputes with tenants, with townsmen, monastic rivals, and ecclesiastical superiors. National politics and international warfare are also represented, as are coastal erosion, and higher education. English summaries, explanatory notes and an extensive introduction enhance the reader's appreciation of this rich and remarkable resource. Dr Gwilym Dodd is Lecturer in History at the University of Nottingham, where Dr Alison K. McHardy also taught until her retirement.

An investigation into the role of the high-ranking churchman in this period - who they were, what they did, and how they perceived themselves. High ecclesiastical office in the Middle Ages inevitably brought power, wealth and patronage. The essays in this volume examine how late medieval and Renaissance prelates deployed the income and influence of their offices, how they understood their role, and how they were viewed by others. Focusing primarily on but not exclusively confined to England, this collection explores the considerable common ground between cardinals, bishops and monastic superiors.Leading authorities on the late medieval and sixteenth-century Church analyse the political, cultural and pastoral activities of high-ranking churchmen, and consider how episcopal and abbatial expenditure was directed, justifiedand perceived. Overall, the collection enhances our understanding of ecclesiastical wealth and power in an era when the concept and role of the prelate were increasingly contested. Dr Martin Heale is Senior Lecturer inLate Medieval History, University of Liverpool. Contributors: Martin Heale, Michael Carter, James G. Clark, Gwilym Dodd, Felicity Heal, Anne Hudson, Emilia Jamroziak, Cedric Michon, Elizabeth A. New, Wendy Scase, Benjamin Thompson, C.M. Woolgar

Stories of injustice, feuding, chicanery and natural disasters told through the words of Lincolnshire people in the Middle Ages. When the normal channels for righting wrongs or asking favours were unavailable, the people of medieval England petitioned their kings - in parliament, council, or chancery. Lincolnshire's inhabitants took full advantage of these opportunities, and their stories are told now through their petitions drawn from The National Archives, edited here. Throughout the county, over three centuries, Lincolnshire's petitioners sought redress for their wrongs or requested special favours. Petitions were presented by all sections of society: men and women, aristocrats, peasants, merchants, townsmen, bishops, abbots, and other clergy. Their stories illuminate political turmoil, religious and economic change, and the influence of geography. They also show vividly how Lincolnshire's experience was part of the national, and even international, story. The introduction to this volume sets the documents within England's administrative, legal, political, economic and social framework, and is followed by the texts of almost 200 petitions. These were selected from a much greater possible number for their interest and variety; and each is enhanced by extensive notes

The first systematic examination of the expectations people had of the law in the middle ages. This book represents the first systematic examination of the expectations people had of the law in the Middle Ages. Up until now historians have used medieval legal records to demonstrate the operation of legal rules, the functioning of legal institutions and the development of the legal profession, but they have rarely considered the attitudes that arose as a result of the processes of law. The papers in this volume investigate the way expectations of the law were generated, captured, revealed or replayed for posterity in medieval Europe in jurisprudential reasoning, the activity of charter writing, the framing of definitions of "liberty", the concern for historical justifications, and the phraseology of various forms of legislation and chancery bills. Attitudes and perceptions are also considered with regard to the active role played by rulers of European states in law-giving and in the organisation of legal institutions. Contextualising some of the developments in medieval law, this volume not only enables generalisations to be made about expectations of the law, but also highlights the existence of national and supra-national similarities as well as differences arising in medieval Europe. Contributors: RICHARD W. KAEUPER, D. HEIRBAUT, M. KORPIOLA, JUDITH EVERARD, CYNTHIA J. NEVILLE, JULIA C. CRICK, H. SUMMERSON, G. SEABOURNE, G. DODD, T. HASKETT, ANTHONY MUSSON, C. STEBBINGS, P. TUCKER

Were the English and the Scots always at loggerheads in the fourteenth century? The essays here offer a more nuanced picture. Typical accounts of Anglo-Scottish relations over the whole fourteenth century tends to present a sustained period of bitter enmity, described routinely by stock-phrases such as "endemic warfare", and typified by battles such as Bannockburn (1314), Neville's Cross (1346) or Otterburn (1388), border-raiding and the capture of James I of Scotland by English pirates in 1406. However, as this collection shows, the situation was far more complex. Drawing together new perspectives from new and leading researchers, the essays investigate the great complexity of Anglo-Scottish tensions in this most momentous of centuries and in doing so often reveal a far more ambivalent and at times evena peaceful and productive Anglo-Scottish dynamic. The topics treated include military campaigns and ethos; the development of artillery; the leading "Disinherited" Anglo-Scot, Edward Balliol; Scots in English allegiance and BorderSociety; religious patronage; Papal relations; the effect of dealings with Scotland on England's government and parliament; identity, ethnicity and otherness; and shared values and acculturation. Contributors: AMANDA BEAM, MICHAEL BROWN, DAVID CALDWELL, GWILYM DODD, ANTHONY GOODMAN, ANDY KING, SARAH LAYFIELD, IAIN MACINNES, RICHARD ORAM, MICHAEL PENMAN, ANDREA RUDDICK, DAVID SIMPKIN.

Groundbreaking new essays provide a wealth of insight into a less-explored period of Henry's reign. Investigations of Henry IV's reign have tended to concentrate on how he seized power, rather than how he governed. However, the period between 1403 and 1413 was no less dramatic and challenging for Henry than the initial years ofhis rule: he faced a series of rebellions, a financial crisis, deep-seated opposition in parliament, ill-health and a number of serious dilemmas relating to foreign policy. The essays here examine, and provide fresh interpretations of, both these particular aspects, and of broader topics adding to our understanding and government and society in the period, including the role of the lower clergy in parliament, and the mechanisms and scope of royal patronage. Contributors: A.J. POLLARD, MICHAEL BENNETT, CHRIS GIVEN-WILSON, ANTHONY TUCK, HELEN WATT, MARK ARVANIGIAN, GWILYM DODD, A.K. MCHARDY, W. MARK ORMROD, DOUGLAS BIGGS, KATE PARKER

When Richard II began his reign in 1377, aged ten, there was every chance for success. Yet twenty-one years later, following a series of revolts and rebellions, the reign ended in deposition and murder. A conference was held at the Centre for Medieval Studies in the University of York to mark the 600th anniversary of the usurpation. Although this book comprises conference papers, they have been presented in an accessible manner, illustrated with notes confined to the closing pages. They paint a portrait of the man Richard, prone to fits of anger and theatrical gesture, his war with France, his relations with Parliament, his inner citadel' of Cheshire, his household, his sense of history, his downfall and, finally, his reputation.