The death of any ruler in the twelfth century, even if it were expected, caused a considerable amount of shock and disquiet amongst those who were left behind.
Manhood, kingship and the public in late medieval England
December 26, 2012 By
Were medieval kings like other men? A century’s work on the sacrality of kingship has tended to stress how kings differed from their fellow adult males, even fellow nobles.
King and magnate in medieval Ireland: Walter de Lacy, King Richard and King John
December 17, 2012 By
Perhaps the best way to capture the essence of the relationship between Richard, John and their magnates is to focus on one such relationship and to analyse the changes it underwent over the twenty-seven years the two brothers ruled England. The career of Walter de Lacy provides an excellent opportunity for such an analysis.
Shakespeare’s Richard II: Machiavelli for the Good of England
December 15, 2012 By
The name Machiavelli has negative connotations, and this way of thinking is not new. Throughout Europe, in Shakespeare’s time and earlier, Machiavellianism was associated with unscrupulous abuse of power, and Machiavellian methods were seen as immoral and evil.
The Sad Death of a King: The Legacy of Richard the Second
December 15, 2012 By
This thesis will examine the manner in which Shakespeare drew upon existing sources material to depict a king whose inherent character flaws made him unworthy of his crown.
The Politics of Madness: Government in the Reigns of Charles VI and Henry VI
December 9, 2012 By
This approach is further hampered by the continually changing nature of modem psychology. Due to alterations in the criteria used for diagnoses, terms and illnesses become obsolete, thus negating our previous theories.
Hincmar of Reims on King-making: The Evidence of the Annals of St. Bertin, 861–882
December 5, 2012 By
The Histories and Chronicles Hincmar had in mind were presumably Frankish ones; and Lothar II, succeeding his father, thus clearly came into this section of Hincmar’s third category. But of the timing or form of Lothar’s becoming king, Hincmar said not a word, preferring, instead, to spell out the Biblical lesson that a bad king (and he hastily disclaimed any allegation that Lothar’s father had been a bad king) would see the succession depart from his line.
Murder and Execution within the Political Sphere in Fifteenth Century Scandinavia
November 23, 2012 By
A quick glance at the regnal list of fifteenth-century Sweden shows that members of the nobility were at each others’ throats more or less all the time, especially from the 1430s and onwards.
Machiavellian Monster or Misunderstood Monarch?: Richard III and the Battle for the English Throne
October 30, 2012 By
Much like Shakespeare’s writings, many other sources for Richard’s reign are shrouded in controversy about their agenda and their historical accuracy.
Feudal Strength!: Henry II and the Struggle for Royal Control in England
October 14, 2012 By
Henry II ruled over a vast empire that no English king before could match. Through his inheritance, military success, and political cunning he managed to wield power and influence on a level that no future medieval English monarch would.
The remarkable Baldwin IV: leper and king of Jerusalem
October 10, 2012 By
Medieval teen king, precocious politician, and successful battlefield commander, Baldwin IV not only surmounted disabling neurological impairment but challenged the stigma of leprosy, remarkably continuing to rule until his premature death aged twenty-three.
Expectations of empire: some twelfth- and early thirteenth-century English views of what their kings could do
October 8, 2012 By
In this paper I shall try to see what the ways in which a number of twelfth- and early thirteenth-century English authors interpreted the past might reveal about their assumptions about the reach of the king’s government.
“The King’s Library: Construction, Representation and Reception of the Ideal Kingship in the Late French Middle Ages”
October 6, 2012 By
This paper on Charles V of France and his contribution to education was given on October 5th, 2012 as part of a workshop between Freiburg and the University of Toronto.
Aristocratic Politics and the Crisis of Scottish Kingship, 1286–96
October 5, 2012 By
In late 1292 the new king of Scots, John Balliol, did homage to Edward as his superior lord and during the next three years lived with the consequences of this act.
A Tale of Two Kings: The Use of King David in the Chronicle of Pere III of Catalonia
September 25, 2012 By
It is my contention that Pere chose to emulate David because David was a highly respected Biblical king, as well as the fact that David’s history as a warrior could be used to spiritually justify the military actions of Pere.
Why Grateley? Reflections on Anglo-Saxon Kingship in a Hampshire Landscape
September 18, 2012 By
This paper focuses on the context of the promulgation of the first ‘national’ lawcode of King Athelstan at Grateley.
The King’s Mercy. An Attribute of Later Medieval English Monarchy
September 9, 2012 By
Modern assumptions about medieval justice still tend to see this process of amelioration as merely occasional and exceptional: mercy needed to be applied only where special circumstances made it inappropriate to apply the full rigours of the law. This, however, is seriously to misunderstand both the purpose and the pervasiveness of mercy in the operation of medieval justice.
Melchizedek as Exemplar for Kingship in Twelfth-Century Political Thought
July 29, 2012 By
The figure of Melchizedek, ‘king of Salem’ and ‘priest of God Most High’,was less prominently featured in political writings than Saul, David, Solo-mon, and other biblical rulers.
The Meetings of the Kings of France and England, 1066-1204
July 15, 2012 By
Between 1066 and 1154 the kings of France and of England are known to have met each other on five occasions: in 1079, 1109, 1113, 1120, and 1137.
Transmission of Kings and Texts in Medieval Irish Tradition
July 1, 2012 By
The Irish king is a vexed issue which, for a long time, was chiefly discussed by historians. The bulk of mediaeval king-tales in the Irish tradition have traditionally been named ‘the Historical cycle’, which reveals the perception of them as historical documents.
Cultural Changes in England resulting from the Battle of Hastings
June 28, 2012 By
This paper, in examining the reigns of the Ethelred, Canute, Harold Harefoot and Hardicanute, and Edward the Confessor, will show how they came to power, the legacy each left – if any — and how the events during each reign ultimately led to the Battle of Hastings, with William the Conqueror’s victory changing England forever.
Aspects of the monastic patronage of the English and French royal houses 1130-1270
June 19, 2012 By
Before the eleventh century Church reforms, kings and nobles had regarded churches and monasteries as private property, built by them on their own lands and over which they retained substantial rights.
Medieval reads for Dad!
June 15, 2012 By
Father’s Day is just around the corner – here are some fun medieval reads to make his day special!
The Significance of Feudal Law in Thirteenth-Century Law Codes
May 31, 2012 By
In this thesis, I demonstrate the significance of feudal law to European populations and how it functions as a source of maintenance of peace and stability of land tenure.
The Quality of Scottish Mercy: Royal Letters of Remission in Medieval Scotland
May 29, 2012 By
In a plenary address for the Canadian Society of Medievalists, Professor Neville examines the development of pardons for political enemies and felons in late medieval Scotland, and how the concept of the King’s Peace differed between Scottish and English monarchs.
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