Richard II

by Nigel Saul

• ISBN13: 9780300070033
• ISBN10: 0300070039
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 1997-05-29
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Nigel Saul paints a picture of Richard as a highly assertive and determined ruler, one whose key aim was to exalt and dignify the crown. In Richard's view, the crown was threatened by the factiousness of the nobility and the assertiveness of the common people. The king met these challenges by exacting obedience, encouraging lofty new forms of address and constructing an elaborate system of rule by bonds and oaths. Saul traces the sources of Richard's political ideas and finds that he was influenced by a deeply felt orthodox piety and by the ideas of the civil lawyers. He shows that, although Richard's kingship resembled that of other rulers of the period, unlike theirs, his reign ended in failure because of tactical errors and contradictions in his policies. For all that he promoted the image of a distant, all-powerful monarch, Richard II's rule was in practice characterised by faction and feud. The king was obsessed by the search for personal security: in his subjects, however, he bred only insecurity and fear.

Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS	viii	(2)
PREFACE	x	(3)
ABBREVIATED REFERENCES	xiii
1 Richard II and Shakespeare	1	(5)
2 Background and Upbringing, 1367-77	6	(18)
3 Accession and Minority, 1377-81	24	(32)
4 The Great Revolt, 1381	56	(27)
5 Marriage and Diplomacy, 1381-3	83	(25)
6 The King and his Friends, 1381-6	108	(27)
7 Retreat from War, 1383-5	135	(13)
8 Humiliation and Constraint, 1386-7	148	(28)
9 Defeat and Recovery, 1387-9	176	(29)
10 The Quest for Peace, 1389-98	205	(30)
11 Patronage and Power, 1389-96	235	(35)
12 Richard in Ireland	270	(23)
13 Piety and Orthodoxy	293	(34)
14 The King and his Court	327	(39)
15 Majesty, Dominion and Might, 1397-9	366	(39)
16 Deposition and Death, 1399-1400	405	(30)
17 Richard: King and Man	435	(33)
APPENDIX: RICHARD II'S ITINERARY, 1377-99	468	(7)
GENEALOGY	475	(1)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	476	(21)
INDEX	497