The fourteenth century is one of the most turbulent and compelling periods of English history, reflected in the vitality of the current scholarship devoted to it. This new series provides a forum for the most recent research into the political, social, and ecclesiastical history of the century, and complements earlier series from Boydell & Brewer, Anglo-Norman Studies and Thirteenth Century England, which taken together offer a complete overview of debate on the middle ages. The substantial and significant studies in this volume have a particular focus on political history, including...

The fourteenth century was, for the English, a century which witnessed dramatic and not always easily explicable changes of fortune. In 1300, England's population was around seven million, and Edward I seemed to be on the verge of turning the British Isles into an English Empire. By 1400, its population was between three and four million (due mainly to the Black Death), dreams of a 'British' empire had all but crumbled, and instead England had become embroiled in a war - the Hundred Years' War - which was not only ultimately disastrous, but which also established the French as the 'national...

The essays collected here present the fruits of the most recent research on aspects of the history, politics and culture of England during the long' fourteenth century - roughly speaking from the reign of Edward I to the reign of Henry V. Based on a range of primary sources, they are both original and challenging in their conclusions. Several of the articles touch in one way or another upon the subject of warfare, but the approaches which they adopt are significantly different, ranging from an analysis of the medieval theory of self-defence to an investigation of the relative utility of...

Drawing on a diverse range of documentary, literary and material evidence, the contributors to this volume examine several inter-related topics on political, social and cultural matters in late medieval England. Aspects of both arms production and armigerous society are explored, from the emergence of royal armourers in the early fourteenth century to the social implications of later armour and armorial bearings. Another major focus is the church and religion more broadly. The nature and significance of the ceremonial entry, the adventus, of bishops is explored, as well as the legal impact of...

The wide-ranging studies collected here reflect the latest concerns of and trends in fourteenth-century research, including work on politics, the law, religion, and chronicle writing. The lively (and controversial) debate around the death of Edward II, and the brief but eventful career of John of Eltham, earl of Cornwall, receive detailed treatment, as does the theory and implementation of both the law of treason in England and high status execution in Ireland. There is an investigation of the often overlooked, yet ever present, lesser parish clergy of pre-Black Death England, along with the...