Of all the activities of the most neglected century in English History, England's trade has received the least attention in proportion to its importance. It was obviously in the course of the later Middle Ages, and more particularly in the fifteenth century, that there took place the great transformation from medieval England, isolated and intensely local, to the England of the Tudor and Stuart age, with its world-wide connections and imperial designs. It was during the same period that most of the forms of international trade characteristic of the Middle Ages were replaced by new methods of commercial organization and regulation, national in scope and at times definitely nationalistic in object, and that a marked movement towards capitalist methods and principles took place in the sphere of domestic trade. Yet little has been written concerning English trade in this period. First published in 1933, this classic volume goes a long way to fills this gap superbly. There is an abundance of material, and the writers have compiled a statistical analysis of the Enrolled Customs Account from 1377-1482, which provides an essential measure of the nature, volume, and movement of English foreign commerce during the period.

This is a truly paradigm-shifting study that reads a key text in Latin Humanist studies as the culmination, rather than an early example, of a tradition in university drama. It persuasively argues against the common assumption that there was no "drama" in the medieval universities until the syllabus was influenced by humanist ideas, and posits a new way of reading the performative dimensions of fourteenth and fifteenth-century university education in, for example, Ciceronian tuition on epistolary delivery. David Bevington calls it "an impressively learned discussion" and commends the sophistication of its use of performativity theory.

Explains the history of England's northern borderlands in the fifteenth century within a broader social, political and European context.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1966.

Annual volume of essays treating topics ranging from physical impairment to narrative afterlife and time.

English Political Culture in the Fifteenth Century is a new and original study of how politics worked in late medieval England, throwing new light on a much-discussed period in English history. Michael Hicks explores the standards, values and principles that motivated contemporary politicians, and the aspirations and interests of both dukes and peasants alike. Hicks argues that the Wars of the Roses did not result from fundamental weaknesses in the political system but from the collision of exceptional circumstances that quickly passed away. Overall, he shows that the era was one of stability and harmony, and that there were effective mechanisms for keeping the peace. Structure and continuities, Hicks argues, were more prominent than change.

Founded in 1977 as the publication organ for the Fifteenth-Century Symposium, Fifteenth-Century Studies has appeared annually since then. It publishes essays on all aspects of life in the fifteenth century, including literature, drama, history, philosophy, art, music, religion, science, and ritual and custom. The editors strive to do justice to the most contested medieval century, a period that is the stepchild of research. The period defies consensus on fundamental issues: some dispute, in fact, whether the fifteenth century belonged at all to the middle ages, arguing that it was a period of transition, a passage to modern times. At issue, therefore, is the very tenor of an age that stood under the tripartite influence of Gutenberg, the Turks, and Columbus. Volume 26 contains the customary survey of research on late-medieval drama. There are six articles on French literature, four on German topics, two on Italian art, one on Spanish medieval predication, and three on English literary matters. Six of the articles focus on women and misogyny. Further topics include: popular approaches to problems of daily living; the crusades and mysticism; an early warning against excess in travel and exploration; the conduct of princes as described in chronicles; the so-called Pope Joan; theater, including farces, passion pageants, and triumphant entries of princes; critique of the estates; the function of authors, and their rights, duties, and privileges. There are 17 book reviews and two obituary dedications. The volume has been assembled with special care for style, excellence of research, and variety of approaches. Edelgard DuBruck is professor emerita of Modern Languages at Marygrove College, Detroit, Michigan. Barbara Gusick is professor emerita of English at Troy University-Dothan, Dothan, Alabama.

A new and original study of how politics worked in late medieval England, throwing new light on a much-discussed period in English history.