Political Poems and Songs Relating to English History, Composed during the Period from the Accession of Edward III to that of Richard III

First published in 1859, this two-volume set contains a collection of poems and tracts from the late medieval period.

Thomas Wright (Edited by)

9781108042475, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 November 2012

578 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.3 cm, 0.84 kg

Veering between unprecedented military successes and the violent downfalls of kings, the period between the accession of Edward III and the death of Edward IV was a rich subject for contemporary political writers. This two-volume collection of poems and tracts was first compiled by Thomas Wright as part of the Rolls Series, commissioned to edit and publish publicly owned manuscript texts. First published in 1859 and including thirty-five pieces in English, French and Latin, Volume 1 covers the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. It features poems by Gower and Deschamps, a commentary on a fictional prophecy, and the much-contested Speght text of Chaucer's apocryphal 'Complaint of the Ploughman'. Also included are translations of the French poems, and a contextualising introduction. A fascinating example of Victorian scholarship and its expectations of readers, this set represents an interested resource for students of English literature and history.

Introduction
1. The vows of the heron
2. Epigram on the assumption of the arms of France
3. An invective against France
4. On the Battle of Nevile's Cross
5. On the Battle of Nevile's Cross
6. On Crécy and Nevile's Cross
7. On the truce of 1347
8. 'Songs on King Edward's Wars' by Laurence Minot
9. The dispute between the Englishman and the Frenchman
10. On Prince Edward's expedition into Spain
11. Prince Edward's expedition into Spain, and the 'Battle of Najara' by Walter of Peterborough
12. John of Bridlington
13. On the death of Edward III (English)
14. On the death of Edward III (Latin)
15. On the rebellion of Jack Straw
16. On the slaughter of Archbishop Sudbury
17. Against the Lollards
18. On the earthquake of 1382
19. On the Council of London
20. Song against the friars
21. On the Minorite Friars
22. On the times, 1388
23. Distich on the year 1391
24. On the pestilene (1391)
25. The reconciliation of Richard II with the City of London by Richard de Maidstone
26. On the truce between England and France, 1394 by Eustache Deschamps
27. The complaint of the ploughman
28. On the corruptions of the Age, 1396–7 by John Gower
29. On the vices of the different orders of society by John Gower
30. On King Richard II by John Gower
31. On King Richard's ministers
32. On the expected arrival of the Duke of Lancaster
33. On the deposition of Richard II
34. Gower's Tripartite Chronicle
35. Memorial verses on the reigns of Edward III and Richard II.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]