A magisterial study of the evolution of the English parliament from its earliest origins in the late Anglo-Saxon period through to the fully fledged parliament of lords and commons which sanctioned the deposition of Edward II in 1327.
This work is an account of the evolution of parliament. It traces the development of parliament from its earliest beginnings in the late Anglo-Saxon period to the parliament of lords and commons of the early 14th century which came to be seen as representative of the whole nation and which challenged the king in 1327.
This institutional history charts the development and evolution of parliament from the Scottish and Irish parliaments, through the post-Act of Union parliament and into the devolved assemblies of the 1990s. It considers all aspects of parliament as an institution, including membership, parties, constituencies and elections.
This volume contains previously unpublished fourteenth-century parliamentary common petitions, the basis for much of the royal legislation of the period.
Henry VIII's wives, his watershed break with Rome, Mary's 'bloody' persecution of Protestants and Elizabeth's fearless reign have been immortalised in history books and the public consciousness. This book widens the scope of established historiography by examining the dynamics of Tudor power and assessing where power really lay. By considering the roles of the monarch, church and individuals it sheds a fascinating light on the study of government in 16th century England. Addressing different aspects of how Tudor England was governed, the twelve chapters discuss who participated in that government, and the extent of their power and governance. Paying close attention to the scholars who have shaped perceptions of major Tudor political figures, this book re-situates the dynamics of Tudor power and its historiography.
Named a Book of the Year by the Daily Telegraph, Times Literary Supplement, The Times, Spectator, and The Economist The English first materialized as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. From the armed Saxon bands that descended onto Roman-controlled Britain in the fifth century to the travails of the Eurozone plaguing the prime-ministership of today's multicultural England, acclaimed historian Robert Tombs presents a momentous and challenging history of a people who have a claim to be the oldest nation in existence. Drawing on a wealth of recent scholarship, Tombs sheds light on the strength and resilience of English governance, the deep patterns of division among the people who have populated the British Isles, the persistent capacity of the English to come together in the face of danger, and not the least the ways the English have understood their own history, have argued about it, forgotten it and yet been shaped by it. Momentous and definitive, The English and Their History is the first single-volume work on this scale for more than half a century.
The second volume in the definitive history of Henry III's rule, covering the revolutionary events between 1258 and the king's death in 1272 After coming to the throne aged just nine, Henry III spent much of his reign peaceably. Conciliatory and deeply religious, he created a magnificent court, rebuilt Westminster Abbey, and invested in soft power. Then, in 1258, the king faced a great revolution. Led by Simon de Montfort, the uprising stripped him of his authority and brought decades of personal rule to a catastrophic end. In the brutal civil war that followed, the political community was torn apart in a way unseen again until Cromwell. Renowned historian David Carpenter brings to life the dramatic events in the last phase of Henry III's momentous reign. Carpenter provides a fresh account of the king's strenuous efforts to recover power and sheds new light on the characters of the rebel de Montfort, Queen Eleanor, and Lord Edward--the future Edward I. A groundbreaking biography, Henry III illuminates as never before the political twists and turns of the day, showing how politics and religion were intimately connected.
This broad-ranging study explores the nature of national sentiment in fourteenth-century England and sets it in its political and constitutional context for the first time. Andrea Ruddick reveals that despite the problematic relationship between nationality and subjecthood in the king of England's domains, a sense of English identity was deeply embedded in the mindset of a significant section of political society. Using previously neglected official records as well as familiar literary sources, the book reassesses the role of the English language in fourteenth-century national sentiment and questions the traditional reliance on the English vernacular as an index of national feeling. Positioning national identity as central to our understanding of late medieval society, culture, religion and politics, the book represents a significant contribution not only to the political history of late medieval England, but also to the growing debate on the nature and origins of states, nations and nationalism in Europe.
From the Battle of Hastings to the Battle of Bosworth Field, Nicholas Vincent tells the story of how Britain was born. When William, Duke of Normandy, killed King Harold and seized the throne of England, England's language, culture, politics and law were transformed. Over the next four hundred years, under royal dynasties that looked principally to France for inspiration and ideas, an English identity was born, based in part upon struggle for control over the other parts of the British Isles (Scotland, Wales and Ireland), in part upon rivalry with the kings of France. From these struggles emerged English law and an English Parliament, the English language, English humour and England's first overseas empires. In this thrilling and accessible account, Nicholas Vincent not only tells the story of the rise and fall of dynasties, but investigates the lives and obsessions of a host of lesser men and women, from archbishops to peasants, and from soldiers to scholars, upon whose enterprise the social and intellectual foundations of Englishness now rest. This the first book in the four volume Brief History of Britain which brings together some of the leading historians to tell our nation's story from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the present-day. Combining the latest research with accessible and entertaining story telling, it is the ideal introduction for students and general readers.