The first in a ground-breaking two-volume history of Henry III's rule "Professor Carpenter is one of Britain's foremost medievalists...No one knows more about Henry, and a lifetime of scholarship is here poured out, elegantly and often humorously. This is a fine, judicious, illuminating work that should be the standard study of the reign for generations to come."--Dan Jones, The Sunday Times Nine years of age when he came to the throne in 1216, Henry III had to rule within the limits set by the establishment of Magna Carta and the emergence of parliament. Pacific, conciliatory, and deeply religious, Henry brought many years of peace to England and rebuilt Westminster Abbey in honor of his patron saint, Edward the Confessor. He poured money into embellishing his palaces and creating a magnificent court. Yet this investment in "soft power" did not prevent a great revolution in 1258, led by Simon de Montfort, ending Henry's personal rule. Eminent historian David Carpenter brings to life Henry's character and reign as never before. Using source material of unparalleled richness--material that makes it possible to get closer to Henry than any other medieval monarch--Carpenter stresses the king's achievements as well as his failures while offering an entirely new perspective on the intimate connections between medieval politics and religion.

The second volume in the definitive history of Henry III's rule, covering the revolutionary events between 1258 and the king's death in 1272 After coming to the throne aged just nine, Henry III spent much of his reign peaceably. Conciliatory and deeply religious, he created a magnificent court, rebuilt Westminster Abbey, and invested in soft power. Then, in 1258, the king faced a great revolution. Led by Simon de Montfort, the uprising stripped him of his authority and brought decades of personal rule to a catastrophic end. In the brutal civil war that followed, the political community was torn apart in a way unseen again until Cromwell. Renowned historian David Carpenter brings to life the dramatic events in the last phase of Henry III's momentous reign. Carpenter provides a fresh account of the king's strenuous efforts to recover power and sheds new light on the characters of the rebel de Montfort, Queen Eleanor, and Lord Edward--the future Edward I. A groundbreaking biography, Henry III illuminates as never before the political twists and turns of the day, showing how politics and religion were intimately connected.

The pipe roll for Michaelmas 1226 is particularly informative as it preserves the accounts for no fewer than twenty-nine English shrievalties, allowing us to analyse the collection of royal revenues in fascinating detail. This volume is the first edition of the Latin pipe roll for 10 Henry III (Michaelmas 1226). It will be invaluable for historians of the reign of King Henry III and for historians interested in medieval royal finance and administration. It is a particularly detailed roll, which preserves the accounts for no fewer than twenty-nine English shrievalties, with only Rutland and Westmorland missing. In addition to these, this pipe roll includes a number of other accounts, including those of Thomas of Cirencester for the earl of Devon's lands and the king's manors in Devon, which will be useful to local historians. Although no new scutages were levied in this accounting year, this pipe roll shows that arrears were still coming in from those of Montgomery (1223) and Bedford (1224), with some particularly detailed entries relating to the honours of Boulogne and Wallingford. The contents of this roll also allow historians interested in taxation and royal revenues to trace the collection of the fifteenth on moveable property, which had been proposed in return for the re-issue of Magna Carta in 1225. There is, similarly, interesting information relating to the business of Hugh de Neville's forest eyre of 1224-5 for Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire, Worcestershire and Dorset, offering insights into the implementation of the Forest Charter. The contents of this pipe roll also assist in studying the royal exchequer's continued attempts to recover large, outstanding debts from barons, such as Warin de Munchensy, via a policy of consolidation and attermination. Other business of potential interest to a range of scholars is covered in the pipe roll for 10 Henry III. The staffing and maintenance of royal castles are mentioned regularly, and the roll's contents provide important information about the keepers of royal castles in different counties, payments for crossbowmen in particular locations, details relating to knight service and payments for repairs to castles, such as Bedford which figured in Fawkes de Bréauté's revolt of 1224, and for building works at the Tower of London. Included among other business outlined in this pipe roll are details of the money and equipment transported to Portsmouth and Portchester for despatch to Gascony for the use of Richard, Henry III's brother, who had recently been created count of Poitou, and for the defence of Gascony against Louis VIII.