England and Its Rulers, 1066-1307

by Clanchy, M. T.

• ISBN13: 9781405106504
• ISBN10: 1405106506
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-22
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

England and its Rulers has established itself as the most attractive and authoritative account of English history from 1066. It brings the chronicle sources to life and makes original assessments of the kings and political events. Examining a period in which England was dominated by successive waves of foreign rulers, the book emphasizes how the Norman Conquest was followed by the Angevin Empire and then by the Poitevin ministers and favorites brought in by King John and Henry III. The book includes coverage of the reign of Edward I (1272-1307), which considers his wars in Wales and Scotland and reassesses his character and achievements. The identity of British culture is analyzed in the light of these strong external influences. For this third edition, three new chapters have been added which examine the social and economic history of the period, particularly focusing on the creation of wealth, the rise of the aristocracy and the chronicling of a British as opposed to an exclusively English history. The bibliography and suggested further reading sections have been fully updated, while additions and amendments have been made throughout.

Author Biography

M. T. Clanchy is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He taught at the University of Glasgow 1964-85. He is the author of From Memory to Written Record: England 1066-1307 (Blackwell second edition, 1993) and Abelard: A Medieval Life (Blackwell, 1997). He is the editor (with Betty Radice) of The Letters of Abelard and Heloise (2003).

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition	ix
Preface to the Second Edition	x
Preface to the First Edition	xi
Maps
1. England and France	xii
2. England and the Mediterranean	xiii
3. Edward I's kingdom in Britain	xiv
1. England's Place in Medieval Europe	1	(22)
England and its conquerors	3	(3)
Europe and the world	6	(4)
England's destiny	10	(5)
Interpretations of English history	15	(3)
England and Britain	18	(5)
Part I The Normans (1066-1135)	23	(74)
2 The Norman Conquest (1066-87)	28	(18)
Immediately after the Conquest	28	(3)
Debates about the Conquest	31	(4)
English feelings about the Normans	35	(4)
Names and languages	39	(3)
Domesday Book	42	(4)
3 Norman Government (1087-1135)	46	(1)
William Rufus and Henry I	47	(6)
The development of institutions	53	(2)
The Exchequer	55	(4)
Feudalism	59	(4)
4 Church Reform	63	(1)
The Anglo-Saxon church	63	(3)
Lanfranc and Norman control	66	(5)
Anselm and religious perfection	71	(4)
Monastic expansion	75	(6)
5 The Creation of Wealth	81	(1)
Competition between churches and towns	82	(5)
Markets and money	87	(3)
What was wealth?	90	(3)
Did the Normans make a difference?	93	(4)
Part II The Angevins (1135-99)	97	(7)
6 Struggles for the Kingdom (1135-99)	104	(74)
Property and inheritance	105	(3)
Stephen and Matilda	108	(3)
Henry II's ancestral rights	111	(5)
Henry II and his sons	116	(2)
Richard I	118	(5)
7 Law and Order	123	(1)
The law and feudalism	124	(2)
The system described by Glanvill	126	(3)
Henry II's intentions	129	(2)
Bureaucracy	131	(3)
Why did England develop a system of its own?	134	(4)
8 The Twelfth-century Renaissance	138	(2)
England's place in this Renaissance	140	(3)
Curiales and Latinists	143	(3)
The Owl and the Nightingale	146	(2)
Artists and patrons	148	(5)
9 The Matter of Britain	153	(3)
Arthur and Merlin	156	(4)
Wales — defining an allegiance	160	(5)
Modernization in Scotland	165	(7)
Civilization in Ireland	172	(6)
Part III The Poitevins (1199-1272)	178	(129)
10 King John and the Minority of Henry III (1199-1227)	183	(20)
The Poitevin connection	183	(4)
The record of King John	187	(3)
Magna Carta	190	(4)
The regency of William the Marshal	194	(5)
Implications of the minority	199	(4)
11 The Personal Rule of Henry III (1227-58)	203	(25)
Contemporary rulers	204	(4)
The return of Peter des Roches	208	(4)
Henry's style of kingship	212	(7)
Henry's European strategy	219	(4)
The 'Sicilian business'	223	(5)
12 National Identity	228	(18)
National feeling in Henry III's reign	228	(3)
The papacy and internationalism	231	(2)
The identity of England	233	(4)
The use of the English language	237	(3)
From lordship to nation state	240	(3)
The expulsion of the Poitevins	243	(3)
13 The Commune of England (1258-72)	246	(17)
The confederates of 1258	247	(3)
The idea of the commune	250	(2)
The Provisions of Oxford	252	(3)
Henry III's recovery	255	(2)
Monarchy versus community	257	(3)
The king and Westminster abbey	260	(3)
14 Lordship and the Structure of Society	263	(19)
Personal display	266	(4)
Women and lordship	270	(3)
Lords, freemen and serfs	273	(4)
Lordship and management	277	(5)
Epilogue	282	(1)
15 Edward I (1272-1307)	282	(40)
Assessing the king's character	284	(4)
The enforcement of royal rights	288	(5)
The conquest of Wales	293	(5)
The subjection of Scotland	298	(4)
English law and nationalism	302	(5)
Notes	307	(15)
Genealogical Tables
Normans and Angevins	322	(1)
Angevins and Poitevins	323	(1)
The Savoyards	324	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	325	(12)
Index	337