Fourteenth Century England

Book excerpt: The essays collected here present the fruits of the most recent research on aspects of the history, politics and culture of England during the long' fourteenth century - roughly speaking from the reign of Edward I to the reign of Henry V. Based on a range of primary sources, they are both original and challenging in their conclusions. Several of the articles touch in one way or another upon the subject of warfare, but the approaches which they adopt are significantly different, ranging from an analysis of the medieval theory of self-defence to an investigation of the relative utility of narrative and documentary sources for a specific campaign. Literary texts such as Barbour's Bruce are also discussed, and a re-evaluation of one particular set of records indicates that, in this case at least, the impact of the Black Death of 1348-9 may have been even more devastating than is usually thought. Chris Given-Wilson is Professor of Late Mediaeval History at the University of St Andrews. Contributors: Susan Foran, Penny Lawne, Paula Arthur, Graham E. St John, Diana Tyson, David Green, Jessica Lutkin, Rory Cox, Adrian R. Bell