1215 : The Year of Magna Carta

by Danny Danziger; John Gillingham

• ISBN13: 9780743257732
• ISBN10: 0743257731
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-04
• Publisher: Touchstone

Summary

Surveying a broad landscape through a narrow lens, 1215 sweeps readers back eight centuries in an absorbing portrait of life during a time of global upheaval, the ripples of which can still be felt today.At the center of this fascinating period is the document that has become the root of modern freedom: the Magna Carta. Never before had royal authority been challenged so fundamentally. The Great Charter would become the foundation of the U.S. government and legal system, and nearly eight hundred years later, two of Magna Carta's sixty-three clauses are still a ringing expression of freedom for mankind. But it was also a time of political revolution and domestic change that saw the Crusades, Richard the Lionheart, King John, and -- in legend -- Robin Hood all make their marks on history.The events leading up to King John's setting his seal to the famous document at Runnymede in June 1215 form this rich and riveting narrative that vividly describes everyday life from castle to countryside, from school to church, and from hunting in the forest to trial by ordeal. For instance, women wore no underwear (though men did), the average temperatures were actually higher than they are now, the austere kitchen at Westminster Abbey allowed each monk two pounds of meat and a gallon of ale per day, and it was possible to travel from Windsor to the Hampshire coast without once leaving the forest.Broad in scope and rich in detail, 1215 ingeniously illuminates what may have been the most important year of our history.

Author Biography

John Gillingham is emeritus professor of history at the London School of Economics.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
Map of Britain and France	p. xxii
The Englishman's Castle	p. 1
The Countryside	p. 19
Town	p. 37
School	p. 57
Family Strife	p. 77
Tournaments and Battles	p. 95
Hunting in the Forest	p. 111
The Church	p. 125
King John	p. 141
The King's Men	p. 159
Trial by Ordeal	p. 175
A Christian Country	p. 191
The English and the Celts	p. 207
The Wider World	p. 223
The Great Charter	p. 245
The Myth	p. 267
The Text of Magna Carta	p. 275
Bibliography	p. 291
Acknowledgments	p. 297
Index	p. 299
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.