This major work is the most radical reinterpretation of the subject for fifty years. Hicks argues that Bastard Feudalism was far more complex - and positive in its effects - than previous accounts have suggested. A major contribution to historical debate which revolutionises our view of late medieval society.

This major work is the most radical reinterpretation of the subject for fifty years. Hicks argues that Bastard Feudalism was far more complex - and positive in its effects - than previous accounts have suggested. A major contribution to historical debate which revolutionises our view of late medieval society.

A fresh look at the idea of bastard feudalism, deploying little-used records to provide new insights.

This title, first published in 1989, was one of the first to directly address the legal dimension of bastard feudalism. John Bellamy explores the role and vulnerability of local officials and juries, the nature of the endemic land wars and the interference in the justice system by those at the top of the social chain. What emerges is a focus on the role of land in disputes, the importance of royal favour and political advantage and the attempt to suppress disruption. This is an interesting title, which will be of particular value to students researching the nature of late medieval and early Tudor feudalism, royal patronage and legal procedure.

This book reassesses the relationship between Edward I and his earls, and the role of English nobility in thirteenth-century governance.

The notion of service was ingrained in medieval culture, and not just as part of the wider concept of patronage. These studies examine the nature and importance of service in the 14th and 15th centuries in a variety of contexts.

Britische, französische und deutsche Historiker erforschen in diesem Band die kulturellen, gesellschaftlichen und politischen Bedingungen, unter denen in England, Frankreich und Deutschland das Phänomen des Feudalismus konstituiert wurde.

Stories of pageantry associated with kings, queens, and the upper class have long captivated readers of all ages. The reality behind how these entities have operated within set governmental systems has not always been as glamorous as these tales, but it retains an allure of its own nonetheless. This book provides a firm grounding in the historic political, social, and economic implications of rule by monarchy, including the prevalence of the feudal system in medieval Europe. Modern monarchies and the role of the aristocracy in every age are also detailed.

This is a new interpretation of English politics during the extended period beginning with the majority of Henry VI in c. 1437 up to the accession of Henry VII in 1509. The later fifteenth century in England is a somewhat baffling and apparently incoherent period which historians and history students have found consistently difficult to handle. The large-scale 'revisionism' inspired by the classic work of K. B. McFarlane led to the first real work on politics, both national and local, but has left the period in a disjointed state: much material has been unearthed, but without any real sense of direction or coherence. This book places the events of the century within a clearly delineated framework of constitutional structures, practices and expectations, in an attempt to show the meaning of the apparently frenetic and purposeless political events which occurred within that framework - and which sometimes breached it. At the same time it takes cognisance of all the work that has been done on the period, including recent and innovative work on Henry VI.