This volume of essays, based on papers given at a conference on England and Europe in the reign of Henry III, at the University of Wales, Swansea in April 2000, investigates the close political, economic and cultural ties that developed between England and its neighbours during the reign of Henry III. The essays demonstrate the variety and strength of these contacts between England and her neighbours, and by seeking to place Henry's England within a broader geographical and thematic range, contribute to a broader understanding of England's place within 13th century Europe.

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 long reign of Henry III (1216-1272) was one of the most significant in English history. It saw the implantation of Magna Carta into political life, the development of parliament and the rise of English national feeling. Reforms in 1258 reduced the king to a cipher and led to a civil war which culminated in the rule of Simon de Montfort: revolutionary events which had no parallel until the 1640s. This study contains important pieces on the dating and making of Magna Carta 1215; on justice and jurisdiction under John and Henry III; on Matthew Paris and Henry III's speech at the exchequer in 1256; and on the burial of Henry III and the image of kinship. The volume also discusses the whole nature of Henry III"s personal rule, the immediate causes of the revolution of 1258, the rise of Simon de Montfort, the explosive development of English national feeling, the social and economic position of the gentry, the role of peasants in politics, and Henry III's relations with both the Tower of London and the Cosmati work at Westminster Abbey."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

This volume discusses the long reign of Henry III (1216-1272). It examines subjects such as the whole nature of Henry III"s personal rule, the immediate causes of the revolution of 1258, the rise of Simon de Montfort, and the explosive development of Engli

King Henry III of France has not suffered well at the hands of posterity. Generally depicted as at best a self-indulgent, ineffectual ruler, and at worst a debauched tyrant responsible for a series of catastrophic political blunders, his reputation has long been a poor one. Yet recent scholarship has begun to question the validity of this judgment and look for a more rounded assessment of the man and his reign. For, as this new biography of Henry demonstrates, there is far more to this fascinating monarch than the pantomime villain depicted by previous generations of historians and novelists. Based upon a rich and diverse range of primary sources, this book traces Henry’s life from his birth in 1551, the sixth child of Henri II and Catherine de’ Medici. It following his upbringing as the Wars of Religion began to tear France apart, his election as king of Poland in 1573, and his assumption of the French crown a year later following the death of his brother Charles IX. The first English-language biography of Henry for over 150 years, this study thoroughly and dispassionately reassesses his life in light of recent scholarship and in the context of broader European diplomatic, political and religious history. In so doing the book not only provides a more nuanced portrait of the monarch himself, but also helps us better understand the history of France during this traumatic time.

The tumultuous reign of Henry III, England's forgotten king.

Henry III was a determined and dynamic ruler with vision, not the weak and inept king of conventional portrayal