A comprehensive study of every aspect of chivalry and chivalric culture. Chivalry lay at the heart of elite society in the Middle Ages, but it is a nebulous concept which defies an easy definition. More than just a code of ethical behaviour, it shaped literary tastes, art and manners, as well as social hierarchies, political events and religious practices; its impact is everywhere. This work aims to provide an accessible and holistic survey of the subject. Its chapters, by leading experts in the field, cover a wide range of areas: the tournament, arms and armour, the chivalric society's organisation in peace and war, its literature and its landscape. They also consider the gendered nature of chivalry, its propensity for violence, and its post-medieval decline and reinvention in the early modern and modern periods. It will be invaluable to the student and the scholar of chivalry alike. ROBERT W. JONES is a Visiting Scholar in History, Franklin and Marshall College; PETER COSS is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, Cardiff University Contributors: Richard Barber, Joanna Bellis, Matthew Bennett, Sam Claussen, Peter Coss, Oliver Creighton, David Green, Robert W. Jones, Megan G. Leitch, Ralph Moffat, Helen J. Nicholson, Clare Simmons, David Simpkin, Peter Sposato, Louise J. Wilkinson, Matthew Woodcock

Develops an understanding of Warwickshire's past for outsiders and those already engaged with the subject, and to explore questions which apply in other regions, including those outside the United Kingdom. Published to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the Dugdale Society, which publishes Warwickshire's records, this book brings together a range of scholars - early career researchers, tenured academics, independent scholars and an archivist - all with records of excellence in research and writing, who cover a range of political, social, economic, cultural, architectural and religious subjects from the eleventh to the twentieth centuries. Besides providing original and well-researched interpretations of Warwickshire's past, the book goes further to discuss and analyse the ways in which writing of local history has changed over the last hundred years, paying particular attention to meanings and explanations that have emerged in recent times, from which future developments can be expected. As such the book will appeal not just to those interested in the local history of Warwickshire, but also to everyone concerned with local history in general, and how it should be studied and written.

Set to become an indispensible series for anyone who wishes to keep abreast of recent work in the field. WELSH HISTORY REVIEW

A comprehensive study of every aspect of chivalry and chivalric culture. Chivalry lay at the heart of elite society in the Middle Ages, but it is a nebulous concept which defies an easy definition. More than just a code of ethical behaviour, it shaped literary tastes, art and manners, as well as socialhierarchies, political events and religious practices; its impact is everywhere. This work aims to provide an accessible and holistic survey of the subject. Its chapters, by leading experts in the field, cover a wide range of areas: the tournament, arms and armour, the chivalric society's organisation in peace and war, its literature and its landscape. They also consider the gendered nature of chivalry, its propensity for violence, and its post-medieval decline and reinvention in the early modern and modern periods. It will be invaluable to the student and the scholar of chivalry alike. ROBERT W. JONES is a Visiting Scholar in History, Franklin and Marshall College; PETER COSS is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, Cardiff University Contributors: Richard Barber, Joanna Bellis, Matthew Bennett, Sam Claussen, Peter Coss, Oliver Creighton, David Green, Robert W. Jones, Megan G. Leitch, Ralph Moffat, Helen J. Nicholson, Clare Simmons, David Simpkin, Peter Sposato, Louise J. Wilkinson, Matthew Woodcock

Thirteenth-Century England II continues the series which began in 1986 with the publication of the first volume of the biannual Newcastle upon Tyne conferences on thirteenth-century England. Important studies of aspects of English society and politics open up new areas of research and re-examine standard interpretations.

Discussion of display through a range of artefacts and in a variety of contexts: family and lineage, social distinction and aspiration, ceremony and social bonding, and the expression of power and authority. Medieval culture was intensely visual. Although this has long been recognised by art historians and by enthusiasts for particular media, there has been little attempt to study social display as a subject in its own right. And yet,display takes us directly into the values, aspirations and, indeed, anxieties of past societies. In this illustrated volume a group of experts address a series of interrelated themes around the issue of display and do so in a waywhich avoids jargon and overly technical language. Among the themes are family and lineage, social distinction and aspiration, ceremony and social bonding, and the expression of power and authority. The media include monumental effigies, brasses, stained glass, rolls of arms, manuscripts, jewels, plate, seals and coins. Contributors: MAURICE KEEN, DAVID CROUCH, PETER COSS, CAROLINE SHENTON, ADRIAN AILES, FREDERIQUE LACHAUD, MARIAN CAMPBELL, BRIAN and MOIRA GITTOS, NIGEL SAUL, FIONN PILBROW, CAROLINE BARRON and JOHN WATTS.

This volume examines the aristocracy in Tuscany and in England across a period of two and a half centuries (1000-1250). It deals first with Tuscany, tracing the history of the aristocracy and illustrating its nature and evolution, and observing aristocratic behaviour and attitudes, and how aristocrats related to other members of society. Peter Coss then examines the history of England in the same periods. It is not, however, a comparative history, but employs Italian insights to look at the aristocracy in England and to move away from the traditional interpretation which revolves around Magna Carta and the idea of English exceptionalism. By offering a study of the aristocracy across a wide time-frame and with themes drawn from Italian historiography, Coss offers a new approach to studying aristocracy within its own contexts.

The dominant and deceptively simple theme of this book is the relationship between the moral environment of the courtroom and that of the society in which the court is situated. Like other Past and Present conference proceedings, the volume ranges widely across time and space, from ancient Greece to twentieth-century Africa. As a consequence, it encompasses not only the highly professional legal systems of the Roman, later medieval and modern worlds, but also the relatively unprofessionalized courts of classical Athens and of the early Middle Ages and the alien, imposed legal systems of colonial Rhodesia and Kenya. The Moral World of the Law is based upon papers delivered at the conference of that name, sponsored by the journal Past and Present and held at the University of Birmingham in 1996.

The gentry played a central role in medieval England, and this study is a sustained attempt to explore the origins of the gentry and to account for its contours and peculiarities between the mid-thirteenth and the mid-fourteenth century. The book deals with the deep roots of the gentry, but argues against views which see the gentry as formed or created earlier. It investigates the relationship between lesser landowners and the Angevin state, the transformation of knighthood, and the role of knights in the rebellion of mid thirteenth-century England. The role of lesser landowners in the society and politics of Edwardian England is then put under close scrutiny. It also emphasises changes in social terminology and the rise of social gradation, the emergence of the county as an important focus of identity, the gentry's control over the populace, and their openness to the upward mobility of professionals.

Although the gentry played a central role in medieval England, this study is the first sustained exploration of its origins and development between the mid-thirteenth and the mid-fourteenth century. Arguing against views which see the gentry as formed or created earlier, the text investigates as well the relationship between lesser landowners and the Angevin state; the transformation of knighthood; and the role of lesser landowners in society and politics.

The dominant and deceptively simple theme of this book is the relationship between the moral environment of the courtroom and that of the society in which the court is situated. The volume ranges widely across time and space, from ancient Greece to twentieth-century Africa. As a consequence, it encompasses not only the highly professional legal systems of the Roman, later medieval and modern worlds, but also the relatively unprofessionalized courts of classical Athens and of the early Middle Ages and the alien, imposed legal systems of colonial Rhodesia and Kenya.

This book contains a collection of political verses, venality satires and songs of social protest from medieval England. First edited by Thomas Wright in 1839, these so called 'political songs' are reissued here on behalf of the Royal Historical Society. The collection provides a fascinating insight into medieval responses to contemporary events. A new and wide-ranging introduction from Peter Coss offers observation on authorship, audience, the means of dissemination and the use of the languages involved. The reader is brought up to date on the critical study of the poems and on their significance and potentiality for the modern historian and literary scholar. Professor Coss corrects Wright's dating where necessary and puts each item into its full contemporary context, making these fascinating verses accessible to the modern reader.

This book contains a collection of political verses, venality satires and songs of social protest from medieval England. First edited by Thomas Wright in 1839, these so called 'political songs' are reissued here on behalf of the Royal Historical Society. The collection provides a fascinating insight into medieval responses to contemporary events. A new and wide-ranging introduction from Peter Coss offers observation on authorship, audience, the means of dissemination and the use of the languages involved. The reader is brought up to date on the critical study of the poems and on their significance and potentiality for the modern historian and literary scholar. Professor Coss corrects Wright's dating where necessary and puts each item into its full contemporary context, making these fascinating verses accessible to the modern reader.

In The Foundations of Gentry Life, Peter Coss examines the formative years of the English gentry. In doing so, he explains their lasting characteristics during a long history as a social elite, including adaptability to change and openness to upward mobility from below, chiefly from the professions.
Revolving around the rich archive left by the Multons of Frampton in South Lincolnshire, the book explores the material culture of the gentry, their concern with fashion and their obsession with display. It pays close attention to the visitors to their homes, and to the social relationships between men and women. Coss shows that the gentry household was a literate community, within a literate local world, and he studies closely the consumption of literature, paying particular attention to household entertainment.
Beyond their households, then gentry could assert their pre-eminence in the local community through involvement with the Church and the management of their estates. Treating the relationship between gentry and Church in both devotional and institutional terms, Coss shows how religious practice was a means for the gentry to assert social dominance, and they increasingly treated the Church as a career path for their kin. Protecting their estates was of similar importance, and legal expertise was highly prized-it consequently provided a major means of entry into the gentry, as well as offering further opportunities for younger sons.
Overall, Coss reveals that the cultural horizons of the gentry were essentially local. Nevertheless there were wider dimensions, and the book concludes with observations on how national and chivalric concerns interacted with the rhythms of regional life.

In The Foundations of Gentry Life, Peter Coss examines the formative years of the English gentry. In doing so, he explains their lasting characteristics during a long history as a social elite, including adaptability to change and openness to upward mobility from below. Revolving around the rich archive left by the Multons of Frampton in South Lincolnshire, the book explores the material culture of the gentry, their concern with fashion and their obsession with display. It pays close attention to the visitors to their homes, and to the social relationships between men and women. Coss shows that the gentry household was a literate community, within a literate local world, and he studies closely the consumption of literature, paying particular attention to household entertainment. Beyond their households, then gentry could assert their pre-eminence in the local community through involvement with the Church and the management of their estates. Treating the relationship between gentry and Church in both devotional and institutional terms, Coss shows how religious practice was a means for the gentry to assert social dominance, and they increasingly treated the Church as a career path for their kin. Protecting their estates was of similar importance, and legal expertise was highly prized-it consequently provided a major means of entry into the gentry, as well as offering further opportunities for younger sons. Overall, Coss reveals that the cultural horizons of the gentry were essentially local. Nevertheless there were wider dimensions, and the book concludes with observations on how national and chivalric concerns interacted with the rhythms of regional life.

Studies in economic, political and social history in 13c England. This latest volume in the series of selected proceedings of the conferences on thirteenth-century England, held biennially at Newcastle upon Tyne since 1985, contains fourteen papers given at the 1993 conference, most of them modified and expanded from their oral versions. As previously, they range widely over a variety of topics, embracing aspects of the political, legal, administrative, economic, religious and social history of the period, from merchantsand trade in medieval England to hagiographical writings and the role of the household knights of Edward I; there is also an important historiographical introductory essay considering past and present approaches to the study of thirteenth-century England, and indicating possible trends in the future. Contributors: M.T. CLANCHY, PHILIP MORGAN, RUTH INGAMELLS, ROBERT BARTLETT, BRIAN GOLDING, ANDREW H. HERSHEY, SCOTT L. WAUGH, JAMES MASSCHAELE, R.H.BRITNELL, W.M. ORMROD, ANDREW F.McGUINNESS, R. MALCOLM HOGG, MICHAEL BURGER, A.A.M. DUNCAN

`Set to become an indispensible series for anyone who wishes to keep abreast of recent work in the field.' WELSH HISTORY REVIEWImportant papers playing a key role in re-awakening scholarly interest in a comparatively neglected period of English history. The thirteen papers in this volume represent a significant step forward in knowledge and understanding of a number of aspects of 13th-century England -in particular its economy, coinage, religious life and belief, manorial farming, language attitudes and norms, cartography and geographic perception, domestic architecture, foreign relations, and internal politics. CONTRIBUTORS: J.L. BOLTON, R.J. EAGLEN, CHRISTOPHER THORNTON, MIRI RUBIN, MARGARET HOWELL, R.A. LODGE, PHILIP DIXON, P.D.A. HARVEY, JEFFREY DENTON, CHRISTOPHER HOLDSWORTH, NICHOLAS C. VINCENT, S.D. CHURCH, ROBIN FRAME.

Thirteenth-Century England IIIcontinues the series which began in 1986 with the publication of the first volume of the biannual Newcastle upon Tyne conferences on thirteenth-century England. Important studies of aspects of English society and politics open up new areas of research and re-examine standard interpretations. Contributors: PAUL BRAND, D.W. BURTON, P.H. CULLUM, R.B. DOBSON, ELIZABETH GEMMILL, P.J.P. GOLDBERG, ANTONIA GRANSDEN, LINDY GRANT, MICHAEL PRESTWICH, ROBERT C. STACEY, R.L.STOREY, ROBIN STUDD, CHRISTOPHER WILSON.