Government and Political Life in England and France, c.1300–c.1500

A detailed comparative study of how kings governed late-medieval France and England, analysing the multiple mechanisms of royal power.

Christopher Fletcher (Edited by), Jean-Philippe Genet (Edited by), John Watts (Edited by)

9781107089907, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 April 2015

394 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.68 kg

'Bringing together the collaborative work of 20 scholars, this volume offers comparative analyses of the governing structures and political societies of France and England in the later Middle Ages … The contributors survey the field from the point of view of how the kings ruled their kingdoms and bring to bear social, cultural, and economic history to draw out the similarities and differences in the national experiences of these countries so closely linked in both peace and war … Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.' Choice

How did the kings of England and France govern their kingdoms? This volume, the product of a ten-year international project, brings together specialists in late medieval England and France to explore the multiple mechanisms by which monarchs exercised their power in the final centuries of the Middle Ages. Collaborative chapters, mostly co-written by experts on each kingdom, cover topics ranging from courts, military networks and public finance; office, justice and the men of the church; to political representation, petitioning, cultural conceptions of political society; and the role of those excluded from formal involvement in politics. The result is a richly detailed and innovative comparison of the nature of government and political life, seen from the point of view of how the king ruled his kingdom, but bringing to bear the methods of social, cultural and economic history to understand the underlying armature of royal power.

1. The government of later medieval France and England: a plea for comparative history Jean-Philippe Genet
2. Courts Malcolm Vale
3. Kings, nobles and military networks Steven Gunn and Armand Jamme
4. Offices and officers Christine Carpenter and Olivier Mattéoni
5. Royal public finance (c.1290–1523) David Grummitt and Jean-François Lassalmonie
6. Justice, law and lawyers Michelle Bubenicek and Richard Partington
7. Church and state, clerks and graduates Benjamin Thompson and Jacques Verger
8. Political representation Christopher Fletcher
9. Grace and favour: the petition and its mechanisms Gwilym Dodd and Sophie Petit-Renaud
10. The masses Vincent Challet and Ian Forrest
11. In the mirror of mutual representation: political society as seen by its members Franck Collard and Aude Mairey
12. Conclusion John Watts.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], British & Irish history [HBJD1], European history [HBJD]