Product Description

Available in paperback for the first time, this volume covers the long reigns of Henry III and Edward I, who ruled England from 1216-1307. The narrative of domestic and foreign affairs includes detailed analyses of the revolt of Simon de Montfort, relations with Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and English involvement in France and the Crusades. Common themes, such as the power of the Church and the development of administrative and legal institutions, are considered in separate chapters. Placing events in their European context, the book charts the history of an increasingly important medieval kingdom during a period of considerable significance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #146822 in Books
• Published on: 1963-03-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 844 pages

Customer Reviews

Still a classic work, but history also ages
First published in 1953, this current, second edition is of 1962 vintage. Powicke reviews the history of England in the critical 13th century - Wales gets 50 pages, Scotland and Ireland warrant a separate chapter, and the Celtic nations will make significant appearances throughout the work. This is an era which shaped Scottish independence: it therefore shaped the dimensions of England. Perhaps more than any other century, during the 13th the shaping and institutionalisation of England was as much effected and affected by the politics of nationhood within the island as by politics within England or the role of Continental Europe.

These are the years of the creation of England - the solidification of its boundaries and Anglicisation of its language, monarchy, and even its church. These are the years where the English thoroughly differentiate themselves from the French and European influences, evolving a soundly English model of kingship and of the centralised state which stands in contrast to the feudal monarchies which would persist across the Channel.

Powicke writes in a very fluid, accessible style. It's a big volume, some 800 pages, and not, perhaps, one you would be likely to choose for bedtime reading. It remains an impressive study of the era, one to which a student might still refer for a general overview. It remains an influential tome ... but, it's more than half a century old, so it's a work which you need to cross-reference and cross check against the particular and the specific. The style and perspective of English history has changed somewhat since Powicke wrote, so read this in conjunction with other, more modern accounts.

Still a classic work, but history also ages
First published in 1953, this current, second edition is of 1962 vintage. Powicke reviews the history of England in the critical 13th century - Wales gets 50 pages, Scotland and Ireland warrant a separate chapter, and the Celtic nations will make significant appearances throughout the work. This is an era which shaped Scottish independence: it therefore shaped the dimensions of England. Perhaps more than any other century, during the 13th the shaping and institutionalisation of England was as much effected and affected by the politics of nationhood within the island as by politics within England or the role of Continental Europe.

These are the years of the creation of England - the solidification of its boundaries and Anglicisation of its language, monarchy, and even its church. These are the years where the English thoroughly differentiate themselves from the French and European influences, evolving a soundly English model of kingship and of the centralised state which stands in contrast to the feudal monarchies which would persist across the Channel.

Powicke writes in a very fluid, accessible style. It's a big volume, some 800 pages, and not, perhaps, one you would be likely to choose for bedtime reading. It remains an impressive study of the era, one to which a student might still refer for a general overview. It remains an influential tome ... but, it's more than half a century old, so it's a work which you need to cross-reference and cross check against the particular and the specific. The style and perspective of English history has changed somewhat since Powicke wrote, so read this in conjunction with other, more modern accounts.