Bertie Wilkinson - The Later Middle Ages in England 1216-1485

THE LATER MIDDLE AGES IN ENGLAND
12161485

A HISTORY OF ENGLAND

General Editor: W. N. MEDLICOTI

THE PREHISTORIC AGE IN BRITAIN

ROMAN BRITAIN

THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE

By D. J. V. FISHER

THE FEUDAL KING DOM OF ENGLAND

10421216

By FRANK BARLOW

THE LATER MIDDLE AGES IN ENGLAND

By B. WILKINSON

THE TUDOR AGE

By JAMES A. WILLIAMSON

THE STUART AGE

By BARRY COWARD

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ENGLAND

By DOROTHY MARSHALL

THE AGE

By ASA BRIGGS

ENGLAND 18681914

By DONALD READ

CONTEMPORARY ENGLAND

By W. N. MEDLICOTT

Already published

THE LATER MIDDLE AGES IN ENGLAND 12161485

by
B. WILKINSON

First published 1969 by Longman Group Limited
First issued in paperback 1977
Eighth impression 1993
Ninth impression 1995

Published 2013 by Routledge
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711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Prancis Group, an informa business

Copyright 1969, Taylor & Francis.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-48032-2 (pbk)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd for permission to reproduce the maps on pages 268 and 269 from The Later Plantagenets
by V. H. Green.

To Edith

O NE of the effects of two world wars and of fifty years of everaccelerating industrial and social revolution has been the growing interest of the citizen in the story of his land. From this story he seeks to learn the secret of his country's greatness and a way to better living in the future.

There seems, therefore, to be room for a rewriting of the history of England which will hold the interest of the general reader while it appeals at the same time to the student. This new presentation takes account of the recent discoveries of the archaeologist and the historian, without losing sight of the claims of history to take its place among the mental recreations of intelligent people for whom it has no professional concern.

The history will be completed in a series of eleven volumes. The volumes are of medium length, and are intended to provide a readable narrative of the whole course of the history of England and give proper weight to the different strands which form the pattern of the story. No attempt has been made to secure general uniformity of style or treatment. Each period has its special problems, each author his individual technique and mental approach; each volume is meant to stand by itself not only as an expression of the author's methods, tastes, and experience, but as a coherent picture of a phase in the history of the country.

There is, nevertheless, a unity of purpose in the series; the authors have been asked, while avoiding excessive detail, to give particular attention to the interaction of the various aspects of national life and achievement, so that each volume may present a convincing integration of those developmentspolitical, constitutional, economic, social, religious, military, foreign, or culturalwhich happen to be dominant at each period. Although considerations of space prevent minute investigation it should still be possible in a series of this length to deal fully with the essential themes.

A short bibliographical note is attached to each volume. This is not intended to supersede existing lists, but rather to call attention to recent works and to the standard bibliographies.

W. N. MEDLICOTT

The preparation of this volume has been greatly helped by grants from the Canada Council and from the A.CL.S. My colleague Professor Brieger has generously read through my discussion of architecture and art. Professor Medlicott, the general editor of this series, and Longmans' reader have given me valuable advice. As ever, my wife has been called upon to bear a heavy burden, albeit in a happy common enterprise. She has contributed not only an unfailing judgement but also a full measure of forbearance. Any virtues which may appear below are the product of our conjoint effort: for the errors which remain I must take the responsibility alone.

I N the pages below some general assumptions have been made which cannot be discussed at length but whose importance is beyond question. The interplay of the idea of the Kespublica Christiana and an emerging national order in England is a commonplace, but it represents a complex and comprehensive development. The assumption that the whole civilization of the West was still, towards grounds of convenience alone.

A good deal of attention has been given below to non-political aspects of history. Indeed, an attempt has been made to discern, however inadequately, the essence of various periods, reflected in the infinite variety of life. This gives rise to many problems, but offers compensation by a greater insight into the processes of change. The same is true of the recurring complexities of history generated by the interaction of forces and personalities. We shall never agree as to the precise contribution of the many factors of historic change: we do not need to. The historian's craft does not become less, but more, exciting by virtue of our inability to be comprehensive, and by virtue of the differences of interpretation which, for this and other reasons, will always persist.